Guardian of the Republic (Star Wars CYOA) Sci-Fi
By: Oshha
A Star Wars fanfic set at the start of the Clone Wars and based off of a CYOA build made using the following: /a/E9h2c3T.
Status: ongoing
Published: 2021-10-17
Updated: 2024-03-20
Words: 290587
Chapters: 103
Original source: https/forums./threads/90560
Exported with the assistance of
Guardian of the Republic (Star Wars CYOA) Sci-Fi
Introduction
1.1 (Battle of Geonosis) - Chapter One
1.2 (Battle of Geonosis) - Chapter Two
1.3 (Battle of Geonosis) - Chapter Three
1.4 (Battle of Geonosis) - Chapter Four
1.5 (Battle of Geonosis) - Chapter Five
2.1 (Indren Campaign) - Chapter Six
2.2 (Indren Campaign) - Chapter Seven
2.3 (Indren Campaign) - Chapter Eight
2.4 (Indren Campaign) - Chapter Nine
2.5 (Indren Campaign) - Chapter Ten
2.6 (Indren Campaign) - Chapter Eleven
2.7 (Indren Campaign) - Chapter Twelve
2.8 (Indren Campaign) - Chapter Thirteen
3.1 (Telos Extraction) - Chapter Fourteen
3.2 (Telos Extraction) - Chapter Fifteen
4.1 (Coruscant Politicking) - Chapter Sixteen
4.2 (Coruscant Politicking) - Chapter Seventeen
4.3 (Coruscant Politicking) - Chapter Eighteen
4.4 (Coruscant Politicking) - Chapter Nineteen
4.5 (Coruscant Politicking) - Chapter Twenty
4.6 (Coruscant Politicking) - Chapter Twenty-One
4.7 (Coruscant Politicking) - Chapter Twenty-Two
4.8 (Coruscant Politicking) - Chapter Twenty-Three
5.1 (Rhen Var Citadel) - Chapter Twenty-Four
5.2 (Rhen Var Citadel) - Chapter Twenty-Five
5.3 (Rhen Var Citadel) - Chapter Twenty-Six
Interlude - The Corellian Commodore
6.1 (Past Legacies) - Chapter Twenty-Seven
6.2 (Past Legacies) - Chapter Twenty-Eight
6.3 (Past Legacies) - Chapter Twenty-Nine
6.4 (Past Legacies) - Chapter Thirty
6.5 (Past Legacies) - Chapter Thirty-One
6.6 (Past Legacies) - Chapter Thirty-Two
6.7 (Past Legacies) - Chapter Thirty-Three
6.8 (Past Legacies) - Chapter Thirty-Four
Interlude - The Battle of Allanteen Six Shipyards
7.1 (Rodian Relief) - Chapter Thirty-Five
7.2 (Rodian Relief) - Chapter Thirty-Six
7.3 (Rodian Relief) - Chapter Thirty-Seven
Interlude - Convoy Battle
Interlude - Enterprising Engineers
8.1 (Saving Ryloth) - Chapter Thirty-Eight
8.2 (Saving Ryloth) - Chapter Thirty-Nine
8.3 (Saving Ryloth) - Chapter Forty
8.4 (Saving Ryloth) - Chapter Forty-One
8.5 (Saving Ryloth) - Chapter Forty-Two
Interlude - Troopers on Ryloth
Interlude - Vyssa's Spy Training
8.6 (Saving Ryloth) - Chapter Forty-Three
8.7 (Saving Ryloth) - Chapter Forty-Four
8.8 (Saving Ryloth) - Chapter Forty-Five
8.9 (Saving Ryloth) - Chapter Forty-Six
8.10 (Saving Ryloth) - Chapter Forty-Seven
Interlude - Woes of Tyranus
9.1 (Stealing Malevolence) - Chapter Forty-Eight
9.2 (Stealing Malevolence) - Chapter Forty-Nine
9.3 (Stealing Malevolence) - Chapter Fifty
9.4 (Stealing Malevolence) - Chapter Fifty-One
9.5 (Stealing Malevolence) - Chapter Fifty-Two
9.6 (Stealing Malevolence) - Chapter Fifty-Three
10.1 (Tano & Teth) - Chapter Fifty-Four
10.2 (Tano & Teth) - Chapter Fifty-Five
10.3 (Tano & Teth) - Chapter Fifty-Six
10.4 (Tano & Teth) - Chapter Fifty-Seven
11.1 (The Heist) - Chapter Fifty-Eight
11.2 (The Heist) - Chapter Fifty-Nine
11.3 (The Heist) - Chapter Sixty
11.4 (The Heist) - Chapter Sixty-One
11.5 (The Heist) - Chapter Sixty-Two
Interlude - Ravager Heist - Part I
Interlude - Ravager Heist - Part II
12.1 (Colliding Beliefs) - Chapter Sixty-Three
12.2 (Colliding Beliefs) - Chapter Sixty-Four
12.3 (Colliding Beliefs) - Chapter Sixty-Five
12.4 (Colliding Beliefs) - Chapter Sixty-Six
12.5 (Colliding Beliefs) - Chapter Sixty-Seven
12.6 (Colliding Beliefs) - Chapter Sixty-Eight
13.1 (Battle of Bothawui) - Chapter Sixty-Nine
13.2 (Battle of Bothawui) - Chapter Seventy
13.3 (Battle of Bothawui) - Chapter Seventy-One
13.4 (Battle of Bothawui) - Chapter Seventy-Two
13.5 (Battle of Bothawui) - Chapter Seventy-Three
14.1 (The Mandalorians) - Chapter Seventy-Four
14.2 (The Mandalorians) - Chapter Seventy-Five
14.3 (The Mandalorians) - Chapter Seventy-Six
14.4 (The Mandalorians) - Chapter Seventy-Seven
14.5 (The Mandalorians) - Chapter Seventy-Eight
14.6 (The Mandalorians) - Chapter Seventy-Nine
14.7 (The Mandalorians) - Chapter Eighty
14.8 (The Mandalorians) - Chapter Eighty-One
14.9 (The Mandalorians) - Chapter Eighty-Two
14.10 (The Mandalorians) - Chapter Eighty-Three
14.11 (The Mandalorians) - Chapter Eighty-Four
Interlude - Yavin Academy
15.1 (Bounty Hunting) - Eighty-Five
15.2 (Bounty Hunting) - Eighty-Six
15.3 (Bounty Hunting) - Eighty-Seven
16.1 (Battle of Mon Calamari) - Chapter Eighty-Eight
16.2 (Battle of Mon Calamari) - Chapter Eighty-Nine
16.3 (Battle of Mon Calamari) - Chapter Ninety
16.4 (Battle of Mon Calamari) - Chapter Ninety-One
16.5 (Battle of Mon Calamari) - Chapter Ninety-Two
17.1 (Senate Politics) - Chapter Ninety-Three
1.1 (Battle of Geonosis) - Chapter One
I wake with a start, not quite sure who I am. Impossible memories fill me, but I am not sure which set of memories are the ones that are impossible.
"General," calls a voice, a familiar voice, "Can you hear me General?"
"I can hear you," I reply as I look around, trying to take in my surroundings.
Familiar, spartan bulkheads, an infirmary with several injured individuals that have medical staff attending them and a concerned looking man, wearing armour, but no helmet as he looks down at me with great concern and relief.
"Glad to hear that General," says the helmetless man looking at me and I recognise him as Colonel Loren Belen.
That explains some things, like who I am.
"You collapsed on C-Foroon," continues Loren, "Neither Brigadier Telis nor the medics are sure why. The Brigadier didn't detect anything with the Force and the docs could find anything wrong with you physically. Oh, I got your lightsabers here General."
I hesitate for only a moment as Loren holds out a pair of lightsabers that I recognise as my own. At least that tells me which set of impossible memories are the not real ones or at least not my own.
I am Ben Shan, Knight of the Jedi Order and General of the privately funded paramilitary organisation known as the 1st Republic Patriot Legion.
Of course that leaves plenty of questions about my other memories. Like how real are they? Is the entire universe dreamt up by some human called George Lucas? Were my most famous ancestors just video game characters? Why didn't I remember myself in these other memories? Is Darth Sidious really….oh, oh no.
"Who is the Supreme Chancellor?" I demand of Loren, startling my steadfast follower as I do my best to keep my growing panic and horror in check.
"I-uh-Sheev Palpatine, former Senator from Naboo, is the current Supreme Chancellor and has been for the last decade," answers Loren as the colonel swiftly recovers from his surprise.
Oh Force. Sithspit, sithspit, sithspit. Like literally Sith.
Like the rest of my fellow Jedi, I had known that the Sith were-are still around thanks to the events surrounding Darth Maul and the Invasion of Naboo. Force, it was that series of events that had played a key factor in my decision to put together the Legion. That and a desire to deal with the threats plaguing the Outer Rim that the Senate and the rest of the Jedi Order like to ignore.
But if Darth Sidious is actually the Supreme Chancellor and nobody figured it out… no Jedi, myself included, had realised just what was laying beneath our noses…
Order 66, the Separatists, the Clone troopers, and the Galactic Empire… I had no idea if those things are real. The last one certainly isn't, but the Clones should be on Kamino right now and the Separatists should be putting themselves together. Order 66 might be a thing, but it won't be active. Not until the Supreme-not until Darth Sidious has secured his power in the Senate.
The clone troopers turned on their Jedi out of some sort of mind control, but did they do so because of being brainwashed as part of their training or because of secret bio-chips in their heads that took away their free will?
My new, utterly impossible memories aren't clear on the matter. There are different versions of reality in them, built about the same holos, but with a lot of differing background stuff. I know that the Thranta-class Corvettes indicate that the galaxy is the 'Legends' one, but at the same time, I also know that Lothal from 'Canon' exists because my second in command comes from there.
On the other hand, those two things aren't mutually exclusive and could easily fit in the same universe, but it does tell me that I can't just neatly slot my galaxy into one of the other two in my new set of memories.
"General?" inquires Loren, jolting me back to reality.
"Have some send Vyssa to fetch me one of my spare, empty holocrons," I order, "And how long ago was that assassination attempt on Senator Amidala on Coruscant?"
"Four days, maybe five by now and I'll have someone contact Commander Randanys right away," says Loren, "Is everything alright so?"
"No, I don't think much is alright at the moment," I answer, noting Loren's concern and I decide to give him an explanation, "Force visions Colonel. I want the entire fleet and legion to form up. We need to get to Geonosis as soon as possible and be ready for the hardest fight of our careers."
"Harder than Oba Diah with the Pykes?" inquires Loren.
"Yeah, harder than that," I confirm, "Unless I am horribly mistaken, the Republic's era of peace is at an end."
"I will take that into consideration General," says Loren, "Shall I let boys and girls know?"
"Yes, you should do that," I agree, "I'll speak with the regiment and battalion commanders personally."
The 1st Republic Patriot Legion has over nine thousand veterans soldiers with both light and heavy armoured elements and a mixture of light and heavy artillery. Throw in five hundred and sixty Z-95 Headhunters for aerial support and a few companies of jump infantry and I got myself an excellent force for quick, speedy strikes. On the warship department, I've got three Star Cruisers that I got the Mon Calamari to build for me after I publicly rescued a large number of their people from slavery back in the first year of the legion. The escorts are Corellian as saving the Diktat and her CEC business partners from being framed for a nasty scandal got me a discount from a grateful CEC. That leaves me with a dozen Corellian Gunships for supporting my capital ships in battle, eight Corellian Corvettes as infantry troop transports and a dozen Thranta-class Corvettes because I needed the hangar space for starfighters and they make for decent combatants despite their age.
Force, a lot of ancient warships make for decent fighters these days thanks to a thousand years of the Ruusan Reformation.
And then because I still needed more hangar space for my starfighters alongside transportation for the armoured and artillery elements of the legion, I got my hands on a dozen Quasar Fire-class Bulk Cruisers. With their bays split, each one only carries a couple of squadrons and despite the best efforts of my people, they still don't have much in the way of armaments. Not that they should be getting into shooting matches with other starships in the first place.
Of course, I need to pay for all of it so I've got a whole bunch of allies in the Senate, a mixture of Militarists who want to use me and my legion as proxies and senators from the Mid Rim and Outer Rim who want my protection for their worlds and people.
Over three years ago, back when it was first founded, the 1st Republic Patriot Legion was a few hundred rookies, some light speeders with guns strapped on, alongside a couple of old Hammerhead-class Cruisers, a squadron of ancient Aurek-class starfighters for each Hammerhead and a passenger liner converted into a trooper transport.
It wasn't much and I pissed off the Council something fierce with my 'unbecoming militarism', but success begets success and I got more and more backers, which meant more and more funding. Using said funding, I got some more modern warships and starfighters, which was good because my old relics didn't make it to the end of the second year, and my surviving rookies became a veteran core as more and more sentients signed up.
Or should that be sapients instead of sentients? My other memories had something of a bugbear about that. Ah well.
And speaking of those memories, why aren't I or any of the legion in them? I am one of the more impressive Jedi around if I do say so myself and in these upcoming Clone Wars, the 1st Republic Patriot Legion should have a major part to play.
Unless I somehow managed to keep out of everything major, to have no mention at all… that is something concerning. On the other hand, the person who I got these memories from hadn't watched or read all of the Star Wars stuff so maybe he just missed myself and the rest of the legion?
What a confusing mess I've gotten myself into.
Back to the matter at hand, the Jedi High Council doesn't approve of my militaristic adventures since as a Jedi Knight, I am supposed to be a peacekeeper, not a general of my own private army who goes around picking fights.
Fortunately, the backing of multiple senators and only going after deserving targets has resulted in just remaining on the Council's bad side rather than risking expulsion from the Order. Though it hasn't kept the Council from sending a watcher to keep an eye on me and speaking of her…
"Brigadier Telis," I greet Aria as she strides into my quarters as I close up the holocron that I have been working on as while it isn't finished yet, I doubt that my fellow Jedi Knight will be considerate enough to wait until I am done.
"What sort of game are you playing at Shan?" half-demands Aria and I feel her frustration and annoyance, "You've been so good, almost the opposite of what I worried you would be and now you are doing this? Explain yourself."
Jedi Knight Nelaria Telis is both my second in command and the Council's eyes and ears when it comes to my activities. A fellow human like much of the Order, Aria is a far more traditional Jedi than myself and is an expert diplomat, making her an excellent counterpart for myself with my martial-oriented pursuits.
The fact that she is one of the few Jedi capable of performing battle meditation to a meaningful degree just makes her borderline perfect. I would tolerate pretty much any spy from the Jedi Order in exchange for a Jedi to support the legion with their battle meditation.
Yet for all her valuable skills, Aria is a traditional Jedi and she has no hesitation when expressing her disapproval of my unconventional ways.
"I had a disturbing Force vision about events that should be happening," I answer, telling the truth from a certain point of view as I did get the information from Force Vision, one that was rather disturbing, "Master Kenobi and his padawan alongside Senator Amidala were being executed on Geonosis by Count Dooku, who has Fallen to the Dark Side, to appease Nute Gunray so the Trade Federation would join his plans to secede from the Galactic Republic.
"Master Windu and a couple hundred Jedi showed up to rescue them except most of them got killed by the droid army. Master Yoda shows up with a clone army to save the survivors and the Republic clone army and the Separatist droid army fight as the opening battle of a much larger war as vast swathes of the Republic attempt to secede and the Senate refuses to let them go without a fight."
"That sounds oddly specific but you believe it is true," says Aria as she stares at me, "Even if it proves to be untrue, I believe you did have that vision, especially since something had to leave unconscious like you were on C-Foroon."
"Thanks for believing me Aria," I tell her, glad that she isn't poking further into the matter.
Force knows that Vyssa won't be satisfied with such a basic explanation and my young padawan is sharp enough to figure out that I know more than I am letting on.
"I am not sure that this is a good idea however," states Aria, "Jedi are peacekeepers. It is one thing to run about the galaxy fighting slavers, pirates and other criminals. It is another thing to deliberately go into a major battle."
"The war is unavoidable at this point," I reply, "You've seen what things are like out on the Rim just as much as I have."
"Violence is something we should strive to avoid as Jedi," argues Aria, going all impassive on me like she does whenever the woman gets stressed.
"The megacorps want no taxes, tariffs or regulations while the Mid and Outer Rims both want either protection from criminals that plague them or decentralisation to let locals handle their own affairs," I argue back, "The Senate is corrupt, weak and ineffective with too many senators being interested in only their own power. They tax and control the Mid and Outer Rims, but they don't protect or look after the Rim. Force, the legion only exists because the Judicals are either unable or unwilling to protect the Mid and Outer Rims as they stick to the Core and Inner Rim."
"War and violence is not the Jedi way," states Aria stiffly.
"It is when it needs to be," I reply, "I don't agree with them as selling yourselves to the Sith and megacorporations is not the right solution. Yet it doesn't change the fact that is what they've chosen to do."
"I am a diplomat 'General' Shan," replies Aria, "I will try to seek a peaceful solution without violence or loss of life."
"Are you going to try and stop me?" I ask her as I stare at her.
"No, I am aware that I cannot physically stop you nor can I overwhelm the entirety of the legion," replies Aria as she meets my eyes, "Should the situation be as you believe it to be, I shall assist, but until then, I shall reserve judgement."
"Good, your battle meditation will be critical," I reply, thinking about just how many forces we will be facing at Geonosis, "The odds won't be good at all."
"We are Jedi," says Aria, "We must trust in the Force."
"Thanks Aria," I tell her.
"I will be contacting the Council regarding this," says Aria in a tight voice, as if daring me to contradict her.
"Of course."
After doing a CYOA, I decided to do a bit of writing based off of it and after reading a few Star Wars SIs on SB and SV, I decided to make it semi-SI since it was already based on a CYOA.
So meet Ben Shan, my CYOA character, as he gets some very strange and terrifying set of memories a few hours before the battle of Geonosis begins. As per the CYOA, he has made plenty of enemies amongst the criminal underworld, has his own loyal legion/brigade of elite, well-equipped soldiers who are loyal to him personally alongside his beskar armour, talented padawan and his Jedi second-in-command who is one of the few people capable of pulling off battle meditation.
Dual-wielding lightsabers and having something of a militant bent as he acts on his disagreements with the High Council, Ben has some big responsibilities dropped on him as the Clone Wars break out thanks to his new impossible knowledge.
Link to CYOA I used is here: /a/E9h2c3T
As a sort of Q , I will put some of the choices I took from the CYOA and why so people can know why things are the way they are in the story.
1.1) I picked Heavy Armour that was upgraded with Beskar Reinforcement in Equipment.
1.2) I chose this because I like the idea of Jedi wearing armour like a soldier and beskar is awesome so I'm not going to turn down the opportunity to have beskar heavy armour if I'm offered it. Despite it being made of beskar, I picture the armour as being like the armour used by Old Republic Troopers to fit in with how I picture the personal unit.
2.1) I chose to get a Personal Unit that has Abundant Supplies and is made up of Republic Soldiers. Unit size is Legion and Speciality is Sky. Unit Second-in-Command is a Jedi Knight associate while the Loyalty is to the PC. Unity Modifiers are Ariel Support, Armoured Support, Artillery Support, Blood Brothers, Engineers, Ground Pounders and Veteran Officers.
2.2) I like the idea of having a large, elite army of badass veterans who are loyal to the Jedi, especially since I was thinking of this being set at the end of the Clone Wars rather than the start of it. Order 66 comes about and then my Jedi and his Republic loyalists go and fight against the Empire in the name of the Jedi and the Galactic Republic. I kept it even though I decided to set the story at the start rather than the end of the Clone Wars even if that doesn't fit as smoothly. So rather than a non-clone unit formed for the Clone Wars, they are a privately-backed paramilitary force like the canonical Republic Outland Regions Security Force.
Soldiers look like the Old Republic Troopers because I like that theme, it fits the picture for them and it makes sense in-universe to take some inspiration from part of the old Republic Military. Plus I like the look of that armour. I also decided to give them enough warships to form a fleet that could carry all of them and their stuff because they had to have something like that to fit the backstory I came up with for them.
3.1) The default lightsaber is blue with a standard design and I took an Extra Lightsaber in equipment to get a green shoto lightsaber for dual-wielding. 4.1) I picked Form I, Form III and Jar'Kai.
3.2) I like to dual-wield in the KOTOR games so I took an Extra Lightsaber and Jar'Kai because of that. Since I picked Jedi Guardian and since blue is traditionally the colour of that path, I made the first and main lightsaber have a blue blade. Since I also like green and not wielding lightsabers of the same colour, the second lightsaber has a green blade. With the Forms, I just picked the two that I use the most in KOTOR II.
4.1) I'm going to flip this bit around by giving the explanation before stating my choices. In this case, I picked a mixture of Perks, Force Powers and Skills to make my Jedi into a martial-focused Jedi because I liked the idea of a Jedi who wants to go out and fight evil to protect the innocent. Because of this, the PC is both a personally dangerous combatant and a natural leader of soldiers both on and off the battlefield.
4.2) In Perks, I chose Adaptable, Charismatic, Natural Warrior, Quick Reflexes, Relentless, Strong, Tireless and Tough. In Force Powers, I chose Force Barrier, Force Sense, Force Control and Battle Precognition.
In Skills, I got Level 2 Athletics, Level 1 Space Piloting, Level 1 Tactics, Level 1 Strategy, Level 2 Leadership and Level 1 Training. Beskar heavy armour has already been mentioned and covered.
4.3) Charismatic, Tactics, Strategy, Leadership and Training to make the Jedi a good leader of his personal unit. Athletics, all of the other mentioned Perks and all of the Force Powers are to make the Jedi dangerous on an individual scale. While all of the skills are mentioned here, I also chose Force Healing and some other Perks.
5.1) On top of an Other Heterodoxy, I have also chosen the Complications, Attachment, Rebel and Deadly Secret. Deadly Secret is the SI knowledge while Attachment is being overly attached to the men and women of his personal unit. Rebel is from differing beliefs to the Jedi Council and actively acting on them.
5.2) Deadly Secret fits a semi-SI perfectly while Attachment and Rebel fit his more pro-active, pro-militarist beliefs so I felt that they made for good flaws since I didn't try to offset them with the Perks I chose.
6.1) In terms of opinion, I chose the Galactic Senate as an Ally while the Separatists, the Hutt Cartel, the Underworld and the Sith are enemies with everyone else being neutral. Zygerria and Oba Diah are enemies on a Local System scale while Corellia, Mon Cala and Bothawui are Allies.
6.2) Unlike the personal unit, I made the final version of these choices once I had decided to begin the story at the start of the Clone Wars rather than the end of it. I chose Galactic Senate because I like the idea of having supporters and allies in the Senate and trying to work within the system to reform it, especially since many of those allies and supporters will also be supporting the Supreme Chancellor.
Republic Command and Clone Army are left neutral because it doesn't make sense for my Jedi to be on their good side yet while in terms of enemy, my Jedi and his personal unit have been spending the last few years picking fights with the various scum of the galaxy so plenty of enemies there. Zygerria and Oba Diah were chosen specifically because they have relevance to the Clone Wars while Mon Cala, Corellia and Bothawui explain some of the supporters and backers of the personal unit.
The Sith I picked because I figured that Sidious and Dooku would see this martial-focused Jedi with a loyal, private army of non-clone soldiers to be a threat to their plans. As a result, they will put more effort into eliminating my Jedi and his personal unit because they can't rely upon Order 66 to do that at the end of the war.
7.1) I will be using a mixture of Canon and Legends both because I like elements from each and my knowledge of both is limited. It also allows me to preserve more dramatic tension because it makes the SI knowledge less reliable and potentially wrong in some cases.
8.1) I picked Ben Shan because I like the idea of him being a descendent of Revan and Bastila so picked Shan as a surname while Ben is a simple and non-fancy name that is also something of a homage to the original Star Wars film that started it all.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Oct 16, 2021
1.2 (Battle of Geonosis) - Chapter Two
"Alright folks, I'm sure that most of you if not all of you have heard it from Loren, but we are going to be facing the hardest battle of our careers so far," I inform the gathered senior officers of the 1st Republic Patriot Legion.
I only got thirty-six people here besides myself. The colonels of each regiment, the majors of each battalion, the captains of each capital ship, the commanders of each escort squadron and finally my padawan Vyssa Randanys.
"What exactly are we looking at sir?" asks Captain Heree Tazir, captain of one of my three capital ships, the Justice.
"According to the Force Vision that was bad enough to send me to the infirmary, Count Dooku is going ahead with his secessionist agenda using force," I answer, "He already has enlisted the aid of the Trade Federation, the Banking Clan, the Techno Union, the Commerce Guild and the Corporate Alliance so expect to face a lot of droid forces. However, they are our enemy, not our primary objective.
"Count Dooku has promised Nute Gunray the head of Senator Amidala in exchange for the support of the Trade Federation, hence the recent attempts on her life. Unfortunately, he has captured her and two Jedi and plans to have all three executed in arena combat to appease Gunray. We are okay to spoil the party by rescuing all three captives."
I pause for a moment, both so everybody can process what I just said and so my next words will have more of an impact.
"We are not conquering Geonosis," I state clearly so everyone understands that, "We simply do not have the forces to pull that off. Instead, we will be doing a smash and grab. We go in and blow up what we can whilst exacting Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi Padawan Anakin Skywalker and Senator Padme Amidala. Everyone clear?"
As expected, I receive a chorus of affirmatives from the assembled officers. Everyone here is a competent veteran.
"General, what sort of resistance can we expect?" asks Colonel Loren and I feel some relief that everyone trusts and respects me enough to not question the validity of my information.
"Once again, this information is from a Force Vision so I cannot verify how accurate it is until we arrive at Geonosis and take a look at things in person," I answer, deciding to emphasise the unconfirmed nature of my information, "The local Geonosians are naturally hardy but they are not tough enough to withstand blaster fire. They can fly thanks to their wings and use powerful sonic weaponry on top of being good melee combatants.
"We will also be facing battle droids similar to the ones seen at the Invasion of Naboo thanks to the megacorps backing Dooku. Expect some new surprises in their ranks as well since it has been a decade. The enemy will have plenty of fighters and starships, but they should be unprepared as they won't be expecting anyone hostile to show up. The element of surprise-"
I pause as Aria strides into the room and takes a seat.
"I spoke with Master Yoda," says Aria as I give her an expectant look, "It turns out your vision was accurate, at least to a degree. He didn't know about Padawan Skywalker or Senator Amidala but Count Dooku has Master Kenobi captive on Geonosis with a droid army. Master Yoda is currently at Kamino to get the clone army you saw and Master Windu is leading a Jedi strike force to rescue Master Kenobi."
"Good to confirm that at least some of what I saw is true," I say, "Will you be joining us for the rest of the briefing?"
"I did agree to help if your vision proved to be true," replies Aria stiffly, "I shall do my best to support the legion with my battle meditation."
"Good," I say before focusing back on the gathered officers, "As I was saying, the enemy is unprepared for an enemy force arriving and their starships are all planet side to receive shipments of battle droids from the local droid factories on Geonosis. The enemy will also have local interceptors that will be agile and plentiful, but fragile and lightly armed. The plan is to hit hard and fast, to do as much damage as possible before pulling out.
"Shuttles and squadrons need to be ready to launch as soon as we come out of hyperspace. Our warships will provide orbital support. I will be leading a strike team to rescue the prisoners while the rest of the ground team will be securing an area for us to hold. We will be heavily outnumbered so we will take defensive terrain and make the enemy come to us until we can pull out. Star cruisers will target the enemy warships long with the Thrantas and DP20s. The CR90s and Headhunters will engage the enemy starfighters once they appear and they will engage targets of opportunity before then. Commander Randanys will be joining me and Brigadier Telis be remaining aboard the Freedom to use her battle mediation. Any questions?"
I do end up getting a few. Nothing too inquisitive, just some queries about some specific details or a particular tasking. My people have been doing this for the better part of three years. They both trust me without hesitation and know how to do their jobs without my input.
Maybe I will be wrong. Perhaps there will be defences I'm not expecting or the enemy will be ready and waiting for an attack like my own.
In the end, I will just have to trust in the Force and the Force says that this is the right move.
Climbing into the assault shuttle, I can't help but wonder about a couple of discrepancies between what I know and the other world's memories. Especially the star cruisers that the Mon Calamari have produced for me. Technically the Ruusan Reformation forbids warships of their calibre, but everything has loopholes and I saw no reason to not take advantage of them for a good cause when plenty of others were taking advantage of them for less noble purposes.
In this case, the star cruisers are experimental prototypes that Mon Calamari Shipyards are loaning to me for long term testing. Or at least they are as far as the law is concerned. In practice, they are capital ships that I convinced a grateful Dac to provide me with.
Yet in the other timelines, they didn't become a thing until a good twenty years from now. And somehow, I have them here and now, when the Mon Calamari are supposed to be only producing civilian vessels.
I guess it ties into the second thing of why I and the legion exist when we didn't in either of the timelines in my memories. A baffling question, but one I can't dwell upon. There is the biggest and most important battle of my life so far coming up and I don't have the spare time to question the nature of reality itself.
I will definitely have to do so later when things aren't so urgent.
"Are you okay Master?" asks Vyssa as my padawan joins me on the assault shuttle as jump soldiers from Sky Company climb aboard.
"I haven't had time to fully process my Force Vision," I answer her, "Given the upcoming circumstances, I am waiting until a more appropriate time to figure out what my Force Vision means."
For a moment, the sixteen-year-old looks like she wants to question me further, but Vyssa instead asks me a different question.
"What should I do on the surface, Master?" asks Vyssa, looking determined, but I can tell that she is worried.
Unsurprising given her youth and inexperience. She might be a capable padawan and spent almost a year with the legion since I took her on as a learner, but the young Zeltron is still a child who hasn't experienced as much of life as myself or anyone else in the legion.
"Focus on getting Senator Amidala out of there and avoid Count Dooku," I tell her, "Master Kenobi and his padawan can look after themselves so the senator is the highest priority prisoner though try to free all of them if you can. Count Dooku is a former Jedi Master who was a padawan of Master Yoda. You will be no match for him."
"I understand Master," replies Vyssa in a determined voice, "Protect the senator, avoid the count."
Looking around at the soldiers surrounding Vyssa and I, I decide that now is the time for the usual pre-battle speech since the fleet will be coming out of hyperspace any moment now. Pulling my communicator out of my pocket, I switch to all of the legion's frequencies and begin to talk into it.
"As you have all heard by now, we are going on a rescue mission against a whole load of tinnies and bugs whose masters think they can get away with executing Jedi and senators for sport," I say as the shuttle doors close, "We are going to show them that they are not and bring them to justice for their crimes. We are not fighting noble revolutionaries like they would claim to be. No, we are fighting scum who are preying upon the hopeful and desperate by promising them salvation when they are just replacing one form of corruption with a worse one. We are the 1st Republic Patriot Legion and we are going to show these lying, corrupt and enslaving secessionists just why slavers and pirates across the Rim fear us."
Not my best speech, but a short and simple one that gets the point across while providing some motivations that my troops will accept. Force, it is less about the specifics of what I am saying and more that I, General Ben Shan, am giving a speech with the right sort of words that will inspire the legion and bolster their morale.
The bit of inspiration and boost to morale may prove critical in the upcoming battle. We have the element of surprise and better troopers, but the enemy has sheer weight of numbers. While my memories didn't tell me the exact numbers, I can expect to face over a million battle droids, tens of thousands of vehicular battle droids and thousands of starfighters on top of the native Geonosians.
And there might be other nasty surprises that the person who I got the memories from didn't know about.
"Coming out of hyperspace in three… two… one… mark!" reports a voice over the Freedom's internal comms.
And on mark, the shuttle begins to lift off as the fleet comes out of hyperspace and I take a deep breath. We got a big battle coming up and I intend to win it with minimal losses. I cannot afford for the legion to take too many losses these days.
The shuttle launches and I can only wait as we make planetfall, unable to directly act until I exit the shuttle. Not quite helpless, but uncomfortable close for my tastes.
Tapping my helmet, I pull up an overview of the tactical situation. The entire fleet came out of hyperspace fine and every available shuttle and starfighter has launched while the majority of the warship move into position for orbital bombardment. There are no enemy warships or starfighters waiting for us as the tactical operation teams aboard the warships look for any sign of the prisoners, pick out good landing sites and locations to secure for the ground team and enemy targets for both warships to bombard from orbit and for ground forces to assault the planet side.
My legion is an experienced, competent military unit who knows what they are doing and that means I am free to focus on the interesting bits. Such as the parked Jedi starfighters and the surface arena with a lot of activity in it and around it.
"General Shan here, what is the story with that very active arena?" I ask into my comlink on the command channel.
"As you saw in your vision sir, the prisoners are currently being executed in the arena by the natives," replies Commodore Wol Thak, the Corellian man who both captains my flagship and holds overall authority over the fleet of the 1st Republic Patriot Legion after myself and Aria, "I have already ordered yourself and Sky Company to engage and secure it with support from Cloud Company and Flare Company. If you haven't already noticed yourself, I would like to direct your attention to the abnormally large number of Jedi starfighters parked on the planet that we have detected."
"That would be Master Windu's team," I answer as the warships begin to open fire on the grounded separatist starships, "We can hopefully expect assistance from them once the fighting begins."
"Understood General," says the commodore and as the call ends, I observe the ongoing engagement.
The defenders are unprepared for this surprise assault by an actual military force. No warships in orbit, no starfighters in the air or ready to launch. The first warning that the enemy got is when the fleet opened fire on the landed starships, loading up on droids from the local Geonosian factories if my other memories are correct.
The Star Cruisers each tear into one of the parked Trade Federation Coreships while Headhunters fire their concussion missiles into the Techno Union starships. The Corellian Gunships and Thrantas open fire into both the Techno Union starships and the Commerce Guild starships as the Corellian Corvettes join the assault shuttles as they head down to unload the troops aboard them.
And now the enemy is beginning to react as sleek, needle-nosed starfighters take to the skies and droids of various builds begin to flood out into the surface. They do so without organisation and in shambles, but the response is there as the first of the shuttles hit the ground.
"All fighter squadrons, switch focus to the enemy fighters," I order, "We need aerial supremacy. Frigates to engage the Techno Union ships and the Commerce Guild ships while the Star Cruisers are to continue hitting those Coreships."
It is going well, almost too well. Geonosis is supposed to be a harder fight than this according to the impossible memories, but the legion is smashing the defenders. Maybe the element of surprise is just that powerful or Aria's battle meditation is pulling through, but the enemy is struggling to organise a proper defence.
On the other hand, I don't think warships were actually involved in the other Battle of Geonosis. The Separatist starships all fled without fighting back while the Republic starships just dropped off the troops, which led to the ground forces fighting it out.
Maybe the presence of warships and orbital support is making a big difference. Or perhaps things are going to get a lot harder because there is at least one Darksider planet side and over a million battle droids to worry about. The true fighting has yet to begin and perhaps then the battle will become truly hard.
Speaking of that confirmed Darksider, can I take Count Dooku in a fight? The man is a former padawan of Master Yoda and a Jedi Master in his own right before he fell to the Dark Side. He is famous for his skill as a lightsaber duellist and he is a powerful Force user.
On the other hand, I am just a Jedi Knight with a rather martial focus, a natural aptitude for fighting and finely honed body alongside Matukai techniques and beskar armour. I should be able to hold my own at the least even if beating the man is likely beyond me.
"Fire on the main viewing box in the arena," I order, "The enemy leadership and their best combatants are there. Try to avoid engaging Dooku if at all possible. I am the only one capable of engaging him and surviving."
If the Force is with me, we can blow Dooku to bits before he can do anything. But I doubt that I shall be so fortunate. The shuttle door opens as we swoop into the arena and I jump down.
A Nexu, an Acklay and some creature I recognise, but don't know the name of are all in the arena, but they are still making their way to prisoners, who are all still chained up even if Senator Amidala seems to be picking the lock to her restraints. I decide to go after the Nexu first as I land with a thud, my body and the Force more than capable of handling any harm from the impact.
Igniting both lightsabers, I charge at the Nexu and it pounces at me. Through the Force, I know what the creature will do before it even moves and I throw up a Force Barrier to block the swipe of its claws as it tries to land on me. Anticipating its moves, I throw my lightsabers up to pierces its chest as it soars over me, leaving cauterized gorges in its body.
I can hear blaster fire across the arena and I know that the big creature with the leathery skin and the horns is charging at me. I roll to the side of its charge and with a swipe of my lightsaber, I cut off the left foreleg and cause the creature to go tumbling. A bunch of blaster fire goes into its belly as a few jump soldiers of Sky Company back me up.
"We have battle droids, General!" shouts a sergeant to me and while I don't need the warning to know about the battle droids swarming into the arena, it is appreciated.
Fortunately for me and unfortunately for the droids, I am something of an expert in Form III as dealing with blaster fire is a common occurrence in my work. Instinctively, I begin to deflect the blaster fire back at the battle droids and I take a moment to look around. Aklay dead from blaster fire. Vyssa freeing the prisoners. Captain Vora directing her troops. Very angry Jango Fett shooting me.
Derailing the First Battle of Geonosis because it makes no sense for Ben Shan not to do that with the sort of knowledge that he has received. He knows what is going to happen, he has both a loyal army and the moral code of a Jedi so into battle he goes.
Secondly, going for Mon Cal Star Cruisers because one, it is plausible for them to exist in this era, two, I struggled to find pre-Clone Wars capital ships and three, I find them cool and they fit the sort of faction that Ben Shan and his legion are part of.
Third, from what I can tell from looking on Wookieepedia and watching Episode II on Disney, the First Battle of Geonosis didn't have any warships fighting in it. The Republic starships just landed troops while the Separatist starships tried to flee with troops. So for this universe, having warships for the Republic there is going to result in a different outcome because of orbital fire support.
For this story, I'm treating orbital bombardment like how it is treated in Empire at War or KOTOR or Rebels, an imprecise bombardment of an area. Good for blowing up everything there, not so good for ensuring you hit the right things or didn't hit the wrong things. You also need sustained fire to get everything in the area so a short bombardment can miss a target or a target can escape it by getting out of the area before they get here.
Finally, the big podium box gets shot to pieces because Ben Shan knows who is in there. It is a big target and I can forgive Yoda and the Clone missing it because they had the pressing matter of rescuing the surviving Jedi and didn't know that the big players were up there, but Ben does know. As a result, he isn't going to pass up a chance to blast Poggle the Lesser, Count Dooku, Jango Fett, Boba Fett and Nute Gunray and Gunray's assistant in an attempt to take them all out.
Obviously he didn't get all of them, but he had to try.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Aug 8, 2021
1.3 (Battle of Geonosis) - Chapter Three
"Deal with the droids, I'll handle the Mando!" I shout to the soldiers with me as I quickly deflect his blaster bolts away from me.
Not that it matters too much if he does hit me. I've got beskar armour and that can take a blaster bolt or a dozen any day.
Jango apparently realises that as well as he aims his wrist at me and fires off his flamethrower at me. I throw up a Force Barrier to block the flames as I charge the man, moving faster than any human has the right to. That catches Jango by surprise, but the Mandalorian warrior recovers quickly and tries to fire his whipcord at me. It doesn't work as my battle precognition means that I know what the bounty hunter is going to do and a flicker of my shoto cuts the whipcord in two before I use the Force to bring him down closer to the ground so I can actually hit him.
A swing of my main lightsaber and the blue blade cuts off Jango's right arm at the elbow, taking his blaster with it. I try to stab the bounty hunter with my shoto, but the green blade hits his chest plate and the beskar completely stops my lightsaber. Jango tries to fly away with his jetpack, aiming his remaining wrist launcher at me to fire the rocket in it, but my soldiers don't let him.
The hovering assault shuttle opens fire on the Mandalorian and he goes flying out of control as his jetpack is damaged. I'm not sure if Jango survived the hit or his landing, but I don't have time to focus on that.
"Knight Shan," says Count Dooku as the Sith Lord walks towards me, cutting down a member of Sky Company as he does so, "Or do you perhaps prefer General Shan. A shame that you have to interfere like this. I had such high hopes for you before you had to go and ruin my plans like this."
"I will never betray the Jedi or the Republic unlike you," I retort as I do not look forward to this fight.
The initial shock has worn off and Sky Company is holding for now, but they are taking casualties and those will begin to add up. My troops are good and the shuttles are providing fire support, but we need the Jedi to make their move any time now or to withdraw.
Yet I cannot worry about that even as I have to worry about that as Dooku makes his move. He raises a hand to fire off his Force Lightning and I raise my lightsaber to block it, trusting in my beskar armour to deal with any stray blaster bolts.
"That isn't going to work against me," I inform him.
"Perhaps not," agrees the Sith Lord and I barely dodge to the side in time to avoid the Force Push that he tries to hit me with.
As it is, Dooku just sends several of his droids and one of Sky Company flying. He doesn't stop there as the master duellist comes at me with his lightsaber, drawing and igniting it whilst he strikes forward.
I block with my own lightsaber with my blue blade clashing with his red blade. He swings and I block and I swipe only to be parried. It is at this point I grasp the shape of the battle. I have more physical power and the Force to sense his attacks but Count Dooku has far greater skill in the lightsaber form most suited to this type of fighting. I might be able to overpower the man, but it will be an uphill battle with brute force against finesse.
Ideally, I would be able to withdraw, but circumstances don't allow for that. I have to protect my people and I am the only one capable of holding my own against Dooku. If I don't stop him, Dooku will slaughter his way through Sky Company and I cannot let that happen.
And then Dooku outplays me. I move to intercept another precise swing of the Sith Lord, he changes his mind mid-motion and instead stabs at my leg. I see the move as he makes it, but this is one of those unfortunate times where knowing something is going to happen doesn't mean having enough time to stop it.
Thankfully for me, my armour is made from one of the few lightsaber resistant materials in the galaxy. So when Dooku's blade strikes my leg, instead of slicing through both armour and the flesh below, the red blade stops as the beskar refuses to yield to the plasma.
"So the rumours are true," says Count Dooku as he darts back before I can take advantage of his failed attack, "You do have armour made from Mandalorian iron."
I don't reply with words, just gritting my teeth as I focus on dealing with the Sith Lord as I swing at him again. He almost casually parries my blade again and breaking off his offensive as he runs for one of the gateways that the battle droids are marching out of.
I don't bother pursuing him as I focus on keeping my surviving people alive and dealing with these battle droids. It only takes me a moment to figure out why he fled as I spot the lightsabers and robes belonging to the dozen of Jedi fighting amongst the survivors of Sky Company. Ah good, Master Windu's team has finally made their presence known.
And speaking of Master Windu…
"Knight Shan," says the bald man in question as he joins me in cutting down battle droids and deflecting blaster fire.
"Master Windu," I reply, "I had a Force Vision regarding these events so I came with my legion. When Brigadier Telis last spoke with Master Yoda to check certain events of my Force Vision, he was on Kamino so we should be expecting some reinforcements soon."
"And where is Knight Telis?" asks Master Windu, "I hope you are making use of her battle meditation."
"She is using it to support the legion from aboard the Freedom," I tell him, "Do you have a plan?"
"I have been forced to improvise since someone decided to start shooting up the place," replies the Jedi Master, "Since the senator seems to be rescued, I believe I shall try my hand at arresting Count Dooku in the name of the Galactic Republic."
"I will provide what assistance I can, but my priority is going to be ensuring that the legion is going to remain intact enough for the upcoming war," I reply, "Give me a moment to contact my commanders for an update on the situation."
"Don't take too long," says Master Windu and I nod, pleased that we can put our usual dislike aside in the heat of battle.
"Status report," I ask into my comlink, contacting the Freedom.
"We lost the Wilful to enemy artillery fire and both the Hope and Valiant have been forced to withdraw due to heavy damage," promptly reports Commodore Thak, "We haven't lost any squadrons yet, but the Headhunters have been taking some casualties even if they are hurting their opponents worse. The enemy starships are all launching, but we have taken out almost half of the Coreships along with all of the Diamond-class cruisers in this region and over a hundred Hardcell-class transports.
On the ground, Sky, Cloud and Flare Companies have taken the worst losses while the rest of the legion was able to secure several defensive positions before a proper response could be organised by the enemy. That arena seems to be directly connected to a major enemy position. Now that Commander Randanys has safely extracted Senator Amidala, I would strongly advise abandoning the arena and withdrawing to the main force with the Jedi."
"Understood Commodore, send the shuttles to extract us," I tell the man before ending the call and turning back to Master Windu, "This position is taking the heaviest losses and seems to be right on top of a major enemy position. We need to withdraw to one of the sites that my legion has secured."
"I hope that the reason the senator isn't here is because you got her to safety," states Master Windu, "I doubt it is because she didn't come here with Skywalker."
"Commander Randanys has brought her up to the fleet," I inform him.
"Then Padawan Randanys has made my life easier," replies Master Windu as the shuttles begin to come down, "Get aboard these shuttles?"
"Get aboard the shuttles," I confirm and we both begin to organise the withdrawal of our respective forces as the shuttles get low enough for people to get aboard.
Between the jump troopers of Sky Company and the various Jedi that Master Windu brought with him, the majority of the shuttles don't have to actually land, but a couple do in order to collect the wounded or soldiers with broken jump packs. While in one way it is good to have enough space for all of the Jedi in the arena, it hurts to know that it comes at the cost of Sky Company losing enough people that the space exists.
To my lack of surprise, Master Windu decides to take the same shuttle as I.
"Knight Shan," says Master Windu as our shuttle pulls up, "What is your battle plan?"
"Primary objective is to extract the captives with Senator Amidala being the highest priority," I answer as I turn to one of my injured soldiers on the shuttle, "Secondary objective is to do as much damage as possible to the droid and Geonosian forces before withdrawing. If Master Yoda does show up with reinforcements, that will change the objective to assisting the secret Jedi army in securing the planet."
Placing my hand on the jump trooper's injured leg, I channel the Force and let it flow from me into her. It knits the flesh back together and while it does nothing for the armour, my fellow member of the 1st is back to mostly full strength.
"General Shan?" says Commodore Thak over my comlink.
"Here Commodore," I reply.
"We have a dozen ' Acclamator-class cruisers' under the command of one Jedi Master Yoda," says the Corellian, "I am coordinating their descent to reinforce our ground forces. We also have the rest of the Lucrehulk battleships in orbit and now that reinforcements have arrived, I am going to send the Justice and some escorts along with our reserves and Commander Randanys to secure one. I feel that securing one as a mobile base could prove useful in the future if your predictions of war are true."
"Good work Commodore," I tell him, "I approve of that idea. What about the rest?"
"Our warships are insufficient for the task of destroying them and we lack the forces to capture more than one of them right now," answers Commodore Thak, "I shall speak with Jedi Master Yoda to see if the forces he has brought with him can help us. I would also like to inform you that the enemy starships are all trying to flee the planet and many of them are beyond the reach of our ships. I can try to destroy what I can, but we have done what damage we can. I shall switch to providing fire support. We have no shortage of targets up here."
"Understood Commodore," I say and I turn to Master Windu once again, "Master Yoda has arrived and is coordinating with my forces to reinforce our position."
"Good," states the man before focusing on me, "Do not mistake the current circumstances as a validation of your beliefs and disobedience to the High Council."
"I can assure you that I was under no impression that was going to be the case," I reply with a hidden roll of my eyes even as my troops in the shuttle above get a bit more tense.
Judging from the slight glower he throws my way, my eyeroll wasn't as hidden as I thought it was. Oh well, being on the bad side of the High Council is nothing new. My more unorthodox and militarist ways ensure that I will never be popular with them, especially since I am outspoken with them and act upon them.
"Captain Vora," I call into my comlink, "Are you still alive?"
"I am over here General!" shouts the Twi'lek woman in question from further down the shuttle.
"Excuse me," I say to Master Windu before shuffling my way over to the captain of Sky Company.
"How bad?" I ask Captain Vora in a quiet voice as I reach her.
"Less than half of us made it out," answers Captain Vora with a sadness that we both share, "We kicked droid and bug butt, but there were just so many of them and they just kept coming. Even with the Brigadier's battle meditation, there were too many for us. Even with Cloud Company and Flare Company securing the outsides… they were coming from underground General."
"Yeah, I noticed," I agree as I think about the general structure of the arena and what we saw and how the whole Separatist council was still there when Dooku fled after Yoda extracted the Jedi…
"Commodore Thak," I call into my comlink as I contact the Freedom, "Once everyone is clear, I want you to level that arena and the surrounding structure as best you can."
"Understand General," replies the commodore, "May I ask why?"
"Dooku is still down there and it is important enough to the enemy to have had many droids defending it," I answer, "I want to deny the place to the enemy and kill anyone important down there since we got everyone we cared about out."
"Understood General," replies Commodore Thak, "I'll have the Freedom begin bombarding the place. Our remaining warships will continue to provide fire support for our ground forces. I would also like to report that the enemy starships are beginning to jump to hyperspace and I'm afraid we lack the forces to stop them, especially with all of the pressure that our ground forces are under planet side."
"Hopefully the army that Master Yoda is bringing can help with that," I comment, hoping that I didn't get too many of my people killed today.
"Commodore, what is the status of our fighters?" I inquire.
"Under heavy pressure with mounting losses," promptly answers Commodore Thak, "I had to withdraw from providing air support and focus on maintaining aerial superiority. Our pilots and birds are better, but the locals seem to have at least a dozen for every one of ours. I'm afraid that they won't be available for whatever you want. Things will be troublesome enough to escort our new reinforcements down."
"Understood Commodore," I say before letting the man get back to his job.
It is frustrating that I won't be able to stick a squadron or two of Headhunters on any fleeing Separatists leaders, but it is more important that we get the clones down to reinforce the legion. Without that support, we won't be able to take Geonosis and after everyone we lost and with such a massive Republic army in orbit, I find myself wanting to drive the Separatists from Geonosis.
And so when the shuttle begins to set down in friendly-held territory, I look towards the next part of the Battle of Geonosis.
The arena fight is over with less dead Jedi, but more dead Republic soldiers. With the element of surprise wearing off, the enemy is beginning to bring their numbers to be bear on the legion and they are beginning to feel it. The Republic forces are struggling to maintain aerial superiority as the clones come down as they don't have the element of surprise in this Battle of Geonosis.
In any case, Ben is going to the front lines to help his soldiers deal with the seemingly endless hordes of clankers.
In other news, I remembered why I dislike writing fanfiction. It is a pain to write established characters, I tried to write Count Dooku and Mace Windu in-character, but I wouldn't be surprised if they sound off. I also tried to portray a somewhat antagonistic relationship between Ben Shan and Mace Windu that doesn't go beyond mutual disapproval as they are on the same side at the end of the day.
With the fight with Dooku, Ben Shan is more naturally strong and tough and uses the Force to boost those further while Dooku is far more skilled in the lightsaber form ideal to lightsaber duels. I wasn't planning it at the time, but I think it is a good match up narratively speaking as any duel between the two comes down to whether Ben can overpower Dooku or Dooku can outskill Ben.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Oct 16, 2021
1.4 (Battle of Geonosis) - Chapter Four
"Where am I needed?" I ask Loren as I approach the colonel in the impromptu command centre.
"Aurek could use some support since you took half of it with the arena with you," replies Loren, "They holed up in the rocks, but the droids are trying to push in from the planes. Aurek won't break, but your presence could lessen their losses if you want to head down there with what's left of Sky."
The reminder of how badly the arena chewed up Sky Company hurts, but this is war and soldiers die in war. Given that the fighting goes on for decades in both the other impossible timelines, I need to start preparing myself for the fact that we'll be taking losses even if I do my best to prevent them.
And speaking of preventing them…
"I'll go and reinforce Aurek then," I say before looking around for Captain Vora, "Hey Vora, we are taking Sky to back up Aurek. Meet me over there."
"Of course sir," answers Captain Vora as the Twi'lek gives me a snap salute before she begins to bark orders at her surviving soldiers.
Checking their location on the HUD of my helmet, I begin to run towards the ridges and outcrop that Aurek Battalion is defending. I bound over the land and as I approach the area, I can hear blaster fire being exchanged.
While I should report in with Major Druss as she is the commanding officer of Aurek Battalion, the number of battle droids attempting to cross the dust-covered desert plains has me deciding to go straight to the front lines.
As I run past my soldiers, I note that Major Druss has a decent set up. Artillery at the rear to pound the enemy hailfire droids and spider droids while armoured elements are located behind the ridges to blast any droids that get through whilst remaining hidden from the enemy hailfire droids. A couple of squads are supporting the armour, but the majority of the infantry is in the ridges and outcrop as they hold off the droids trying to push through the ridges and into the landing zone that the legion has secured.
With the clones arriving shortly, we should have enough forces to secure the planet. At least in both of the timelines in my impossible memories, the droids were relatively quickly forced into a retreat by the clones.
Yet that is something to worry about in the future. Right now, I need to keep Aurek Battalion alive until Master Yoda arrives with the clone reinforcements.
Whilst broken up by losses, battle droids and super battle droids run towards the ridges in what remains of their formations. The sheer amount of droid wreckage is a testament to the skill of my soldiers, but there are still hundreds of them coming with some of the miniature spider droids mixed amongst them.
With both of my lightsabers in hand, I run out to the nearest formation of droids and begin cutting them up. I deflect two blaster bolts back at them, taking down a battle droid before cutting down another battle droid with my blue blade. I slice through the blaster of another with my shoto before stabbing a super battle droid with my main lightsaber. I behead a battle droid with my blue lightsaber whilst cutting off the arm of a super battle droid with my green one. I deflect a blaster bolt back into a battle droid before finishing off the super battle droid.
Cutting down another battle droid, I spot one of the mini spider droids and run towards it as it fires upon the ridge line. I cut down a couple of battle droids between us and before cutting one of its front legs with my shoto as I slash it across the spider droid across its face with my main lightsaber. I'm not sure if I have quite killed it, but I don't have time to check because my battle precognition promptly informs me that one of the remaining hailfire droids has decided to blow its payload on me.
Putting some Force behind my movements, I run out of the way of the smoky missiles that are flying towards my position. None of them hit me, but they do leave a trail of explosions and broken droids in my wake. Trusting my soldiers to deal with the hailfire droid, I continue to focus on the infantry.
The formation of droids that I have found myself in are unprepared for my sudden presence as they are still focusing on shooting at the positions of Aurek Battalion. I begin cutting down the closest battle droids, carving them up with my lightsabers before they can properly react to me.
Eventually, the battle droids do turn upon me and not just the ones immediately around me as all of the nearby droids switch from focusing on Aurek Battalion to targeting me. Which is a good thing as far as my objective of supporting Aurek Battalion goes, but the increase in blaster fire means that I now have my hands full deflecting all of the blaster bolts. I try to send a few back into the droids, but the sheer rate of fire means I have to focus on just keeping the blaster bolts from hitting me.
Given how I wanted to draw their attention, this falls within the realm of good outcomes, but it does mean that I'll have my hands full the next time the droids send some heavy firepower my way.
Then explosions and blaster fire rip through the droids, sending up dust clouds as the artillery pounds the front lines of the droid assault while Aurek Battalion fires into them with their blaster rifles. As I rush forward to start cutting up more battle droids, I begin to hear a vaguely familiar sound from above as green beams join the firepower slamming into the droids and missiles of some kind smash into the droid formations.
Looking up, I spot the recognisable shapes of the clone gunships, called LAATI or something, as they begin to come down. Most of them are ones full of infantry, but a couple of them are dropping the AT-TE or at least some kind of AT-something. As the droids are driven back, the clone troopers disembark from their transports in their shiny white armour.
"General," calls one of them, wearing the yellow of a clone commander.
Yellow is commander right? Blue is captain or is that red? Green might be pilot or that might be yellow too. Then again, the clone's armour is distinctly different to the others beyond the extra colour to it. The helmet is different and he is wearing both some kind of shoulder thing and what is maybe a short skirt over his armour.
"Clone Commander CC-5246," reports the clone commander as he runs up to me, "Awaiting your orders general."
"Forward push," I reply as the clone forces begin to push back the halted droid offensive, "I'll take the lead and draw the enemy fire. You worry about keeping your troopers alive and blasting the droids from afar."
"Understood sir," says the clone commander, "We have some of the other Republic forces arriving."
Turning slightly to follow his gaze, I spot Captain Vora running towards me with maybe a platoon's worth of Sky Company jump troopers.
"Hey General," says Vora, "If you are going to kick some tincan butt, Sky Company has your back."
I almost ask Vora if her people are up for it after everything else, but I know my people and Vora wouldn't be bringing what's left of Sky Company if she wasn't sure her people could handle more fighting.
So instead I place a hand on her shoulder and tell her, "I would be honoured to have Sky guarding my rear."
"We won't let you down," promises Vora as she gives a snap salute, "Hey yellow stripes, are you in command of the white guys?"
"Technically the General here is in command," answers the clone commander-no, CC-5246, I need to think of the clones as people, "Are we pushing the offensive?"
"Hold this position for now while I get an update," I tell him before speaking into my comlink, "Commodore Thak, Colonel Belen, what is the overall situation?"
"The droids are retreating and the new guys are taking the pressure off us and the Jedi," answers Loren, "I'm going to send some of the legion to help the clones secure the area and continue to drive back the droids."
"The situation in space is secure," answers Wol once Loren is finished speaking, "A third of the enemy starships have escaped out of the system, including the majority of the Lucrehulk rings. Commander Vyssa successfully secured one and the clone commando units were able to disable the hyperdrives of a few more before they could jump out, but those ones are far from secure, just unable to escape.
The rest of the fleet is providing orbital bombardment support to the ground forces, hitting the largest concentrations of enemy forces on the surface or providing fire support as requested. The droids and Geonosians seem to have expended the bulk of their forces and now that we have weathered the storm, the clone forces should be enough to deal with the survivors."
"What about our starfighter squadrons?" I inquire.
"Once I was able to divert several of our escorts to aid them, aerial superiority has been firmly established," answers the commodore, "The majority of the hostile starfighters have been shot down while we have lost barely a hundred of our own even if at least half of our starfighters will require repairs before they can be restored to full functionality."
Over a hundred starfighters gone and most of their pilots with them since while it isn't unheard of to survive being shot down or eject in time, more often than not, a pilot is lost along with whatever starfighter they are flying. Yet that is a problem for me to deal with once the battle has been won.
"Alright, we will be making a push to crush the droids," I say as I turn to CC-5246 and Vora, "Get your forces and follow me. We'll be moving out to get any droid forces missed by our orbit fire support. For the most part, I will be drawing their fire as the most durable combatant and the only one of us using melee while everyone else hits them from afar with blaster fire. Understood?"
"How are you taking it?" I ask CC-5246 as the clone dropship we are on takes off.
"Taking what sir?" replies the clone commander, seeming surprised by my question.
"Battle for the first time," I clarify, "Facing people trying to kill you for the first time. Having those around you dying. Dealing those under your command dying."
"I am a clone sir," replies CC-5246, "We are bred for war. Fighting and dying is just a part of that."
"You are sentient individuals," I disagree, "And specifically, you are human. Unless you have had some serious modifications to your psyche, you will be impacted by death like any other human."
"I'll admit that the real thing is different to the simulations, but I am a clone commander General," replies CC-5246, "I can deal with knowing that I won't be seeing some of my brothers again. We're clones sir, we're expendable."
"There is expendable and there is expendable," I say, "A soldier is willing to die in battle and war and their commander must be willing to spend them when necessary so you are expendable in that sense. Yet you are people, unique individuals, who are not to be treated as disposable and you are not expendable in that manner."
"Plenty of the longnecks would disagree with you sir," replies the clone commander with a shrug as I notice that my words are drawing the attention of the other clones aboard the gunship.
"I am a Jedi, not a Kaminoan," I tell him, "By the way CC-5246, I am Ben Shan, Jedi Knight and General of the 1st Republic Patriot Legion."
"You're the one in charge of all the other Republic soldiers here then?" asks CC-5246 and I can tell that I have definitely drawn the attention of all the clones.
"Technically the 1st Republic Patriot Legion is a private paramilitary force," I answer, "But yes, I am in charge of the other Republic-aligned forces on the ground and in orbit. Minus my fellow Jedi, at least those on the ground. Commander Randanys, my padawan, and Brigadier Telis, my second in command."
"Brigadier?" asks one of the other clones, "I thought all of the Jedi were Generals or Commander?"
CC-5246 looks like he is going to say something to the trooper, but I beat him to the punch.
"The 1st Republic Patriot Legion uses a different command structure to what you use," I explain, "Due to our small size, we only have a single general, who is in overall command, with a brigadier as their second in command. At the moment, I am the general of the 1st Republic Patriot Legion with Jedi Knight Nelaria Telis as my second in command."
"I understand sir," says the clone trooper, "Thank you for explaining sir."
"If I am understanding things right General, then you won't be taking command of a clone legion?" asks CC-5246.
"I'm not going to say for certain that it won't be happening, but it seems unlike when I already have my own legion to command," I answer, "Now if you don't mind me asking a question of my own, how big is the clone army?"
"While we have lost a few thousand during the fighting here on Geonosis, the Grand Army of the Republic currently has two hundred thousand legions with another million on the way General," answers CC-5246, "Each legion consists of nine thousand, two hundred and sixteen clone troopers."
"I see," I mutter as I process this unexpected information.
Two hundred thousand now and another million on the way sounds about right according to my impossible memories. But I also remember those numbers being in regard to individual clone troopers and not entire legions. On the other hand, those numbers make more sense than what the other person remembered since mere millions of clone troopers would be far too little to protect the Republic. But those units-ah, that is right. It wasn't two hundred thousand clone troopers, it was two hundred thousand units with those units being military units rather than Kaminoan fancy talk for individuals.
So doing the maths… Force, that is almost two billion clone troopers currently active with over nine billion more on the way that roughly brings the numbers involved up to ten billion. Okay, ten billion soldiers sounds more like an army capable of waging a galaxy-wide war. It also makes the bankrupting bill I can remember being the focus on an episode or two make more sense. I'm not sure if it was five million or three million clone troopers, but a measly few million more soldiers won't come close to bankrupting the Galactic Republic.
But if that was referring to legions for tens of billions of individual clone troopers….yeah, I don't know too much about the galactic economy, but that many more clone troopers could be risking the Republic going bankrupt.
"That is a lot of clone troopers," I say, "There can't be enough Jedi to supply generals for all of them."
"That's for you and the other generals to figure out sir," says CC-5246, "I just follow my orders. Because good soldiers follow orders."
"That is true," I agree even as that last sentence and the phrase in it has alarm bells ringing in my head, "Just remember that while obedience is a virtue in a soldier, blind obedience is a vice. If the Jedi and the Republic wanted soldiers who mindlessly did what they were told and couldn't think for themselves, we would have gotten droids like the Separatists."
"I'll keep that in mind sir," says CC-5246 as the gunship begins to descend and I begin to sense some presence in the Force waiting for me.
"I hope you will," I tell the clone commander before glancing at the group of Jedi waiting for me below, including the small green figure that is Master Yoda.
As you might have figured out, I've decided to finish covering the fighting parts of the Battle of Geonosis since there is only so much I can do with Jedi, clones and other Republic soldiers gunning down outmatched droid forces.
Speaking of which, it is a bit weird to see forces on each side listed on Wookieepedia and then listen to Dooku telling Gunray that there are too many clones for the Separatists to win. And since we are on the topic of weird numbers, I decided to have the 'units' referred to in Episode II as being entire legions rather than an individual trooper.
This is because this way you got an army big enough to wage a galaxy wide war and absorb all of the losses that we see on-screen because frankly, three million clone troopers is far too few for the Grand Army of the Republic to survive all of the clones that get killed. Several billion clone troopers makes more sense than a few million clone troopers and works better for this story so that is what I'm going with.
Expect some more changes like that in this story. The Galatic Republic just spent the last thousand years as a hyperpower and even with the rise of the CIS, it is still the biggest and strongest superpower in the galaxy at worst. It can afford an army with more than three million soldiers and it won't be incapable of paying for another five million without risking bankruptcy. If America could do that and more in the Second World War, the Republic can handle itself.
I haven't got too much else to say except Ben Shan will be explaining his 'vision' to some of the High Council before tallying up what the Battle of Geonosis has cost him and his people.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Oct 16, 2021
1.5 (Battle of Geonosis) - Chapter Five
Time to face the music as I step off of the gunship to meet the four Jedi waiting for me, all of them members of the Jedi High Council. Not only is Master Yoda there, but I also recognise Master Ti, Master Koon and Master Gallia. I'm not sure what they want with me, but I highly doubt it is to thank me for having the foresight to have an army of my own.
"Master Yoda, Master Ti, Master Koon and Master Gallia," I greet them, "Or should I call you generals now?"
Okay, that probably wasn't the best way to start things off.
"Unbecoming of a Jedi, pettiness is," rebukes Master Yoda, "Yet to your comment, truth there is."
"And not for the better," I say, "I'll admit that I wanted the Jedi and the Republic to take a more proactive stance in helping people, but this is not what I wanted. Is there a reason why the Jedi Order has become the commanding officers of this clone army? Because I am concerned this is another case of the Senate expecting the Jedi to deal with a problem rather than ensuring the proper elements of the Galactic Republic are capable of handling it."
"The Jedi are the most fit to command this new army of the Republic," says Master Gallia as we walk towards the command centre, "As you of all people are fully aware, all Jedi are trained in leading soldiers into battle as an ancient legacy of the Order's past."
"How does that work with there not being enough Jedi to lead every clone legion?" I ask, "I just found out that there are currently twenty legions of clones for every Jedi Knight or Jedi Master with five times that number on the way."
"That will be the Chancellor's concern, not the Jedi's," says Master Koon.
"Speaking of which, is it true that the Supreme Chancellor was given emergency powers to form a new military for the Republic?" I inquire.
I am certain that this is true thanks to the impossible memories but getting some actual confirmation would be good. There is no telling how accurate my memories will be, especially once things change further as I act upon what I know.
"Been granted emergency powers by the Senate, the Supreme Chancellor has," confirms Master Yoda, "How you know this Knight Shan, we must discuss."
Yeah, I figured this was coming. Aria already mentioned my 'Force Vision' to Master Yoda and given how my predictions have proven true and how I acted upon them in the first place, it was only a matter of time before I had to explain it to the High Council.
"It was a strong enough Force Vision to knock me out to the point that I spent some time unconscious in the medical bay," I say "Colonel Belen can confirm as can the medical records of the legion and Knight Telis. The vision itself was odd, like I was watching a holonet flick or something like that. I saw Master Kenobi's mission to Kamino, his capture here on Geonosis, the failed rescue attempt by Padawan Skywalker and Senator Amidala, that Gungan convincing the Senate to give the Chancellor emergency powers to create a military and then after that, it was the battle here on Geonosis."
"And what you saw inspired you to come to Geonosis with your army?" asks Master Gallia, "Did things go that badly?"
"Master Windu's rescue attempt failed as badly as Padawan Skywalker's in my vision," I say, "All, but a handful of Jedi were killed by Jango Fett and the battle droids and it would have been all of them alongside those being rescued had Master Yoda not shown up with the clones. I'm not sure how, the vision didn't show me much, but it went from dozens of Jedi fighting to there being maybe twenty trapped and surrounded by battle droids in the middle of the arena. I decided that trying to avert that was worth the risk of whatever was waiting for us on Geonosis."
"Concerning, this vision is," says Master Yoda, "Been averted, fortunately the events of it have."
"There were some other bits, but I am not sure what to make of them or what is still accurate after I intervened here on Geonosis," I say, speaking the truth from a certain point of view, "I can say that Dooku is the Sith Apprentice not the Sith Master according to my vision. The Sith Master is a man called Darth Sidious who apparently operates at least partially on Coruscant."
"How certain of this are you?" demands Master Koon as my words fully focus the attention of all four Jedi Masters on me.
"I am certain that is what the vision showed me, but I cannot be certain that the vision is accurate," I answer truthfully, "At least in that regard. I believe that it did reveal the truth since the rest of the vision was accurate apart from the things changed with my actions and this wasn't something that I could have altered."
"What see regarding this in the vision did you, hmm?" inquires Master Yoda.
"After he escaped Geonosis, Dooku went to Coruscant to meet with his master, Darth Sidious," I answer, "Sidious was an elderly human man who disguised his identity with a hooded cloak. Dooku delivered some Geonosian plans for a superweapon of some kind to Sidious so the Sith Master could keep them safe. Dooku's Sith name is Darth Tyranus according to my vision by the way."
"Do we know what happened to these plans?" asks Master Ti.
"I think they should be in the spire that the area was attached to," I answer, "Part of the reason I ordered it to be bombarded from orbit. If we are lucky, the plans got destroyed, but I will have my forces check nonetheless."
"Can your soldiers be trusted if they do find it?" asks Master Gallia, "I mean no offense, but if there are plans for a Sith superweapon, they cannot be allowed to fall into the wrong hands."
"For good or ill, my people are loyal to me," I state firmly and a little proudly, "The question isn't if you can trust my people, but if you can trust me."
"Trust you, we can," says Master Yoda before anyone else can reply to me, "With your methods and goals the council disagrees, but your intentions never."
Now that makes me feel proud and I can't help, but feel pleased to get a compliment like that from Master Yoda. Especially since a Jedi with my inclinations and beliefs rarely gets such things from the man who is a kindly grandfather to pretty much every Jedi.
"Thank you for your faith in me," I tell him as we reach the joint command centre that my legion and the clones have set up, "Now unless there is anything else, I need to attend to matters as the General of the 1st Republic Patriotic Legion."
"This is far worse than Oba Diah," I tell the others glumly as I look over the butcher's bill for the Battle of Geonosis.
There are four of us here in this meeting. Myself, Brigadier Telis, Commodore Thak and Colonel Belen. The most senior of the legion's officers and the very top of the command structure.
"You warned us that it would be going in," says Loren in an attempt to cheer me up or at least reassure me, "We followed you in any way without hesitation."
"And look where it got you," I say, "We lost the Wilful while the Hope and the Valiant are both going to need some dock time before they can be considered operational again. Plus, another half of our warships have taken some degree of damage and that is before you consider our starfighter losses. Force, we lost over a hundred Headhunters, a good twenty percent of our fighter force. We didn't quite lose one in five of our pilots but losing one in six isn't much better."
"We knew the risks, back when we first signed up with the legion," says Wol, "We are soldiers, General, and part of that is being willing to die. Did you send our people to their deaths for a good reason and did you do your best to ensure their survival without compromising the mission?"
"Yes and yes," I answer, taking a deep breath as I centre myself, "You're right, both of you. I don't like how bad things got, but I did my best to minimise them and things did go better as a result of our intervention."
Before today, the worst battle that the 1st Republic Patriotic Legion got into was on Oba Diah about a year ago when the Pyke Syndicate assumed that we wouldn't liberate some of their victims because they got transferred to the Pyke homeworld.
Wait, Oba Diah is where Master Sifo-Dyas, the Jedi who officially commissioned the clone army, died. On one of the moons, I think and the Pykes had a prisoner from that event as insurance against Dooku because Dooku was the one who had them kill Sifo-Dyas so he and Sidious could hijack the clone project.
But back to the matter at hand. We lost almost six hundred of our ground forces at Oba Diah along with a couple starfighter squadrons while two of the Corellian Corvettes got damaged in the process of landing our troops.
The Battle of Geonosis has turned out to be far worse. Hailfire droids took out the Wilful, one of the CR90 Corvettes that the legion uses as troop transports while it was landed and two of the Thrantas got dealt heavy damage by enemy starfighters. Outnumbered about fifteen to one by the agile, but fragile Geonosian interceptors, pretty much every starfighter squadron took losses fighting the enemy with the total adding up to over a hundred of our five hundred and sixty or so starfighters.
Ground losses were just as heavy. While the artillery was untouched for the most part, our armoured elements suffered losses with many vehicles being outright destroyed while others received varying degrees of damage. The infantry took a pounding as well with over thousand men and women dead and at least three thousand suffering injuries of varying seriousness.
As they directly followed me into the arena, Sky Company was hit the worst as more than half of them died in that arena and several more fell fighting alongside me and the clones. Barely a third of Sky Company survived Geonosis, but thankfully no other company is worse off than Sky.
On the upside, the battle was a success. Only three thousand clone troopers died while hundreds of thousands of battle droids were destroyed alongside thousands of droid vehicles. The heavy droid losses are mostly thanks to artillery and orbital bombardment either destroying the starships transporting them or blasting them whilst they were exposed in the Geonosis flats.
Speaking of destroyed Separatist starships, the legion did a number on them. Not as much as I would have liked since more than half of them got away, but we got over a hundred Techno Union Hardcell transports of maybe two hundred and fifty, twenty six of forty one Commerce Guild Diamond cruisers and twenty eight of the sixty Trade Federation core ships.
And then there were the Geonosians who took countless losses on the ground and lost seven thousand of the eight thousand starfighters sent into the skies. Of the remaining thousand, the vast majority were captured by the Republic when their pilots surrendered.
Even if the 1st Republic Patriot Legion was hit hard, we hit the Separatists far harder thanks to the element of surprise and being the only ones to have actual warships. Future battles against such long odds would be unlikely to go as well since I doubt I will be able to engage the enemy in exposed, unimportant land using mostly uncontested orbital bombardment.
Republic forces also captured seven of the Lucrehulk-class battleships though we only got the outer hulls as none of the core ships which made it into orbit went for them, instead choosing different outer hulls to escape with.
Of course, what happens with these Lucrehulks now is undecided and something that we will want to get our say on as soon as possible if we want to get involved.
"Alright, let's talk about the Lucrehulks captured," I say, "We got seven of them before they could jump out, one of them was captured by our forces whilst the others were secured by clone forces with some assistance from our forces. I want to keep them to use as mobile supply depots and starfighter bases. How viable is that?"
"We would need to get some more funding, but given the outbreak of war and our successes both here on Geonosis and in the past, I doubt we will struggle to get the funding," says Wol, "Whether or not we will get to keep the ships is the question. Judging by the normal laws for captured starships, we can certainly make an uncontested claim to one we took and we can make a claim to the other six through the Republic or the Jedi can make a claim of their own depending on which one of them is responsible for the clones."
"We should be able to take them," adds Aria, "The Jedi won't want them and by the time the Senate can weigh in, we can easily already have taken them for ourselves. Given that we took them while they are actively rebelling against the Republic, we can easily claim them as spoils of war. The only issue is if the Trade Federation tries to claim them on the grounds of them being stolen property, but that is iffy for them given the circumstances of how we acquired them. It would come down to politics in all honesty and with our political backers, we can drag things out long enough that we can get them by the virtue of having them and using them as part of the Republic war effort."
"I'm not sure about the legal status of seizing them, but I do have some questions about how many people it will take to crew them and how they will operate without those spheroid ships that we shot down on Geonosis," says Loren, "I'm no expert, but aren't those big sphere ships what controls the rest of it."
"We can run them on a skeleton crew until we can get enough recruits, especially if we just want them for mobile storage over using them as warships as the General intends," says Wol, "Without the core ships, the outer ring is a starship in its own right, perhaps more so given the hangar space and having hyperdrives onboard. The core ships are primarily for additional storage, controlling the droids and corporate activities. For what General Shan intends, we don't need the core ships and looking at the damage reports, I think we could probably salvage some."
"I thought we damaged them beyond continued usage," I say, "At the very least, we ensured that none of them will be capable of getting into orbit to reach the rest of the Lucrehulk?"
"We did, but not all of them have been damaged to the point that we can't patch up some degree of functionality to them," answers Wol, "None of them will be fully functional without some extensive repairs, but a few of the more intact ones could be patched up with spares from the more destroyed ones. In any case, we can operate the Lucrehulks to a degree if we can ensure that we get to keep them."
"The Jedi won't want them so take control of them for now," I tell Wol and Loren, "If any of the Jedi have concerns or objections, direct them to me or Brigadier Telis so we can handle them. Are you up for handling that Aria?"
"I am willing to convince the Jedi that it serves the interests of the Republic for you to make the use of the captured Lucrehulks," answers Aria primly, "At least I will contact you if there is a compelling argument why someone other than you should get them."
"Have we confirmed that Dooku got away?" I ask.
"Unfortunately, Count Dooku was able to successfully get away," says Loren, "We spotted him fleeing the arena-spire on a speeder bike and he sacrificed enough of the Geonosian interceptors that our own starfighters weren't able to take him down."
"We noticed him escaping off-world, but by the time we spotted his starship, he was too far out for us to catch before he jumped to hyperspace," says Wol, "While Dooku escaped, we confirmed the deaths of the other members of the Separatist Council that General Kenobi identified prior to his capture."
"Nute Gunray, Rune Haako and the leader of the Geonosians were killed by our forces on your order in the arena during the initial rescue attempt," adds Loren, picking up where Wol has left off, "We found the bodies of the others in the rubble left by the orbital bombardment while our forces were looking for the plans for the Geonosian superweapon that Dooku and his master want."
"What about the weapon?" asks Aria, "Did you find the plans for it?"
"No, we did not," answers Loren, "There wasn't much electronic equipment still working and we found nothing of the sort on what remained intact. I can see two possibilities for what happened to them. It was destroyed in the bombardment or Dooku was able to escape with it."
Well, that is a lot to take in. The Death Star plans won't be relevant for decades or at least they weren't until both of the… other timelines so I can worry about that later. The death of the Separatist Council is a bigger concern since nothing like that happened until the end of the Clone Wars when Darth Sidious decided that they had outlived their usefulness.
No more Nute Gunray means he won't try to coerce Rodia into leaving the Republic in an attempt to kill Senator Amidala, which means Umbara won't defect after their Senator gets murdered. And I'm not sure what the death of Wat Tambor means for Ryloth either as I have no idea if the invasion I can remember will go ahead without him behind it.
"There is another thing I should mention, General," says Wol, "The Justice was able to track the hyperspace route of one of the escaping Lucrehulks. While we cannot determine where it will go next, we have identified the star system that it has escaped to. I am planning to send one of our gunships to check out the system and see what the Lucrehulk is up to. If possible, we might be able to destroy it before it can link up with more Separatist forces."
"Is the legion up for that?" I inquire, "We took quite the beating here on Geonosis."
"We would have to send a reduced force of course," admits Wol, "But the chance to eliminate an isolated enemy battleship along with the legions of droids aboard it is a chance we cannot afford to pass it up."
"I can't help, but agree," I reply, "Alright Commodore, send one of the Corellian Gunships to investigate."
As Aria and Wol file out of the meeting room, Loren stays behind for a private word. Not something he often does, but it isn't out of character either.
"How bad is it?" I ask him.
"I'm not sure," answers Loren, "Honestly sir, it would be easier to show you then explain."
"Lead the way then," I tell him and then as I follow him out of the meeting room, I ask, "You brought whatever it was aboard the ship?"
"Yes sir," answers Loren, "Into Sky Company's quarters. They got the most spare space and can be trusted to keep their mouths shut. Not that I distrust the Jedi or the clones, but the Jedi don't trust all of us and the clones are too much of an unknown."
"You mean that Jedi don't agree with me," I correct him.
"Yeah, the Jedi don't agree with us," says Loren and as we walk towards the quarters of Sky Company, we discuss how many of our vehicles we will need to replace and with what.
After the rest of today, it is a nice change. Talking logistics with Loren, one of the men who have been with the legion since the start, is a relaxing change from the droids, bugs and death of Geonosis that have dominated the rest of the day. Eventually, the conversation comes to an end as we reach our destination and Loren raps his knuckles against the door.
"I've brought the General," says the colonel and the door promptly opens with a pair of Sky Company soldiers waiting on the other side.
"Captain Vora is keeping an eye on the prisoner with Corporal Vakui," says one of the soldiers and that certainly gets my interest.
What sort of prisoner did the legion find on Geonosis that Loren feels the need to keep secret?
"Good work troopers," says Loren as we enter the room, "Continue to keep an eye out for now."
"Prisoner?" I inquire in a quiet voice as Loren and I make our way through the far too empty quarters of Sky Company.
"Jango Fett survived," answers Loren, "Sort of. He wasn't dead when we found him, but he was definitely dying. Unconscious too so our people on the ground stabilised him and sent him up to the Freedom along with his armour."
The man has more to say, but he pauses as we enter one of the dorm rooms with four bunk beds, enough to fit eight people. In this case, there are three people waiting for us inside. Captain Vora and Corporal Vakui are in the sleepwear that doubles as off-duty casual wear for some, but despite their current lack of uniform, they both have a look of being on guard duty with alert eyes and a readiness to their stance.
The third individual is in a stasis pod and judging by how his armour is gathered off to the side, I suspect that Jango is naked inside of his pod.
"We could still kill him if you wanted to or we could hand him over to some kind of authorities," says Loren as I stare at the unconscious man, "As a Mandalorian warrior and bounty hunter, the man has racked up plenty of charges and bounties of his own.
"I wasn't aware that we had any stasis pods aboard," I say as I think about what this means.
Maybe things could have been different in the past, but right now Jango Fett hates Jedi and is aligned with the Sith so he is definitely an enemy. At the same time, he is the man responsible for the clones and his genetic data is important to continued production of the clone troopers. I'm also pretty sure that I killed his son along with Gunray and Poggle so he will hate me in particular.
But the Jedi also don't kill their prisoners so I can't do that and yet I can't afford to just let him go, even if I am letting him go by sending him to a prison. His genetic data is too important to the Grand Army of the Republic and according to the impossible memories, at least one attempt was made to destroy the current sample that the Kaminoans have and I think there might be long term issues with the sample that is currently on Kamino.
Nothing could be done about it in those timelines as Jango was long dead by then, but if he survived the battle of Geonosis, then his genetic material could be replaced by a fresh sample.
"The Freedom didn't, but the Colossus still had some stasis tech that got picked up a couple of missions ago so I transferred it over," answers Loren, oblivious to my internal debate.
"I want to get some genetic samples from the man," I tell Loren, "Given how dependent on Jango Fett clones that the Republic has decided to make their new military, it might be good to have some backup samples of the original's genetic data. And keep him secret and in stasis for now. I'm not sure how people will react if they find out about him or even who would be reacting to that."
"Will do, General," says Loren, "Any plans for the armour?"
"Do you think it would fit Vyssa?" I mutter as I think about just how many other changes that I am causing to the other timelines that I can somehow remember.
Some talking with some of the Jedi Council and then dealing with the aftermath of Geonosis. With the High Council members, Ben tried to keep things as close to the truth as he could without giving away that the 'Force Vision' wasn't really one of those.
Beyond that, we got butterflies everywhere. While Dooku escaped and possibly did so with the Death Star schematics, bombarding the place did take out the Separatist Council which will have some major changes down the line. That and Jango Fett survived if as a prisoner while Boba Fett died. The pragmatic thing to do would be to take some genetic samples and then deal with Jango permanently so he can't become a problem in the future, but the Jedi don't kill their prisoner and Ben is definitely a Jedi despite his unorthodox views.
With the casualties, I tried to do three things. First, make the Battle of Geonosis painful for the legion without being crippling. Second, make things hurt more for the Separatists without making it so one-sided that it makes characters in canon look stupid for not doing as much damage as in this fic. Third, have lighter losses for the clones and Jedi.
The end result is still a bloodbath, but the droids got heavier losses with plenty still getting away while the clones and Jedi had lesser casualties to canon, especially for the Jedi where two dozen died instead of two hundred.
Meanwhile the legion loses one warship, has another two crippled and many more damaged. Starfighters took over twenty percent losses while the ground forces got it worse with one in three becoming a casualty with a quarter of those being fatalities. So enough to leave the legion hurting and needing to regroup, but not so badly that it is crippled and unable to partake in the war for the time being.
Anyway, the next arc is going to be on an OC world where I got things sort of planned out, but I'm not going to say too much right now to avoid the risk of spoiling things.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Oct 19, 2021
2.1 (Indren Campaign) - Chapter Six
I rarely sleep these days. I'm not sure why, but as I got older, I just got less tired. While it is technically insomnia, my hardship in falling asleep was accompanied by not getting tired as I stayed awake. Or at least not as quickly. I do still have to sleep, but when I do, it is for a few hours once every few days and I can generally stay up for maybe a couple of days before the effects of sleep deprivation begin to show.
I personally put it down to how I used the Force to strengthen my physical body. My ability to stay up for so long is just another superhuman feat that I have honed my body to be capable of doing.
In this case, I spent my time up and about as I waited for the Renown to get back from scouting out that escaped Lucrehulk. Loren, Wol and Aria had all gone to bed, leaving me to oversee the seizing of the captured Lucrehulks.
It turned out to be pretty simple. Neither the clones nor my own people questioned what I was doing and with the Jedi, Master Yoda and Master Windu accepted my explanation that I wanted some mobile supply depots and starfighter bases and I got no further questions from them. I could legally claim them, nobody else wanted them and nobody had decided to bother the Senate about this or inform the Trade Federation.
I had to transfer some crew from the Star Cruisers and the Corellian Gunships to get some basic skeleton crews running on the Lucrehulks, but by the time that morning had rolled, all seven of the captured Lucrehulks were part of the 1st Republic Patriot Legion even if we are still working on getting some core ships fixed up on the surface.
By the time that the rest of my senior command was awake, the Renown had returned from her scouting run. Her captain quickly called the Commodore and me into a meeting to give a verbal report even as my inbox received the written one.
"Indren?" I repeat, "I've never heard of the place."
And the world doesn't ring about in my impossible memories either. Either it never came up in both of the timelines or the other person never read about it or watched it. And wasn't that a disturbing odd thought to think about.
"It is another Outer Rim world sir," says Commander Oraden, "Agricultural for the most part with some industrialisation and a few off-world sites in the rest of the system. A refinery at the local gas giant, some asteroid mines and what appeared to be a small colony on Indren's largest moon."
"No native sentients," comments Wol as he looks at a datapad, "Colonised twice. The first colony got destroyed in the New Sith Wars over a thousand years ago and the world was recolonised by a mixture of humans and Arkanians some point after the Ruusan Reformation. Initially an agricultural world, Indren has become more urbanised and industrialised over time to the point that the local economy is split between its farms and its factories. Mixture of democracy and aristocracy, the former mostly in the urban areas while the latter dominates the rural parts of the planet. Planetary government is an assembly made up of representatives from the elected officials and hereditary nobility."
"The Lucrehulk was still heading for the planet when we jumped out," adds Commander Oraden, "Fighting on the planet was breaking out when we left between Separatist sympathisers and Republic loyalists though we weren't able to figure out who had the upper hand before we left. Indren has a decent planetary defence fleet for an Outer Rim world. Five old Hammerhead cruisers, five Corellian Corvettes and a single Corellian Gunship. Nothing that would stand up to the Lucrehulk even if none of them defect to the Seppies."
"Thank you for the report Commander," I tell him, "You and your crew have done some good work."
"I will pass on your compliments to them," says Commander Oraden before his holograpthic figure disappears, leaving me to deal with the physically present Commodore Thak.
"Alright Wol, what can we shake loose to deal with this?"
"We could spare one of our Star Cruisers," answers Wol with a thoughtful look, "I'm thinking the Justice. I want the other two Star Cruisers to remain here until we can finish our business at Geonosis. We can spare a squadron of DP20s along with a squadron of Thrantas. If we send a Corellian Corvette, perhaps the Inspire, we will have enough space to send a regiment. We'll reassign some people around to bring 1st Regiment up to full strength and send them along with the task force. Two or three of the bulk cruisers as well to carry vehicular and starfighter support."
"I will go and speak with Loren about getting 1st Regiment sorted out," I tell Wol, "You handle the fleet side of things."
Hopefully this upcoming fight will go better than Geonosis did.
Once we enter hyperspace, I finally have some time to myself that I can use to think about those other memories I acquired. They belong to a person, but that person isn't me and they aren't my memories. I am Ben Shan, Jedi Knight and Republic General, not whoever this guy was. Or perhaps is. I don't know what to make of the source except the implications are both rather disturbing and terrifying.
Unfortunately, I cannot discard what I have learnt as being untrue since Geonosis has proven that there is at least some significant degree of truth to them. Even if my actions change how future events play out, things of the past should remain unchanged.
Such as the kriffing Supreme Chancellor secretly being a Force-forsaken Sith Lord who is masterminding both sides of this war and plotting to destroy the Jedi and the Republic. I both cannot ignore that and I cannot directly act upon it without some solid proof.
That doesn't mean I can't do anything to try and stop Sidious or whatever Palpatine should be called. Getting those Lucrehulks is the first step as they can act as mobile bases. I bet I could even set them up to grow food with the right modifications and then give them the ability to collect water from comets or asteroids or uninhabited worlds to make them set for secret, sustainable mobile bases.
Of course, that is more planning to fight the Empire as the Rebellion over saving the Republic and the Jedi. Nice to have a plan B, but ideally, I will be foiling Sidious' plans, not just surviving them.
I will need political backers and a power base of my own within the Senate, one to oppose Palpatine as he gains more power. I will need military forces that are loyal to me as well. I have the 1st Republic Patriot Legion, but I will need to expand the legion. I always planned to do that though, hence why it is the 1st Republic Patriot Legion and not just the Republic Patriot Legion. With the outbreak of war, I have a decent chance of getting a 2nd Republic Patriot Legion and maybe even a 3rd Republic Patriot Legion.
I could try and grow support amongst the Jedi, but that isn't going to be too successful. The High Council and I have too many differences and trying to recruit followers from the ranks of the younger Jedi will get the hammer brought down upon me. And if the impossible memories are anything to go by, the Jedi Order or at least the High Council might be too corrupt to save.
And doesn't that idea just hurt? I always figured that the Jedi Order was less corrupt than the Senate, but it is just a different type of corruption. Blindness and pride rather than greed and selfishness, but corruption nonetheless.
At least I can try and cultivate a friendship with Anakin Skywalker. Keeping him from becoming Darth Vader would be a victory on its own even if it didn't mess up Sidious' plans. I can be sympathetic ear, someone else who doesn't get along with the High Council and the other orthodox Jedi. A fellow Jedi who he can talk to about his secret relationship with Senator Amidala.
Speaking of Senator Amidala, I can use knowing about their relationship and keeping it secret as an in with her. I can get her support as an influential member of the Senate and to get an in with the Pacifist faction in the Senate. The fact that I saved her and Skywalker yesterday can't hurt either.
I also need to figure out Order 66 is supposed to work. Do the clones have mind control chips in their heads or are they just so thoroughly brainwashed that they'll obey any order? And which of those possibilities is the preferable one?
At least I made a holocron containing the information I could remember while it was still fresh, complete with a gatekeeper in case I died and someone like Vyssa or Aria ends up needing to use it.
I hate this, having the fate of the galaxy on my shoulders. But I will ensure that Sidious' plans don't go uncontested in this timeline.
"What is the situation Captain?" I ask Captain Heree Tazir as I walk into the bridge of the Justice shortly after the fleet came out of hyperspace in the Indren system.
"A civil war that might be going three ways," answers Heree as the blue-skinned woman indicates towards the holo-map in the middle of the bridge, "The fighting is around the planet. The Republic-aligned democrats hold the fuel refinery at the gas giant while the Nobles hold the mining outposts in the asteroid belts. The moon colony-"
"Hold up a moment Captain," I interrupt her, trying to be polite about it, "Could you tell me who the factions involved in this civil war are first?"
"I suppose I ought to start with that," agrees Heree as Aria walks into the bridge, "We got minimal information, but the various propaganda and news reports cover the basics. Some of the local urban democrats want to join the Seps in exchange for getting help to destroy the rural nobility, but the majority of the democrats were wary of getting involved with the Seps. Things came to ahead with the Lucrehulk with a couple of Hardcells showed up so we got Separatist-aligned democrats, Republic-aligned democrats and the Separatist-opposed aristocrats."
"I'm sure that there is going to be more complexity to it, but it seems pretty simple at a glance," I comment before turning to Aria, "Could you handle the diplomatic side of things? That is your speciality not mine."
"I will do my best for the Republic and the Jedi," replies Aria primly, "Try to keep from upsetting negotiations with all of the fighting."
"Thanks Aria and will do," I tell her before focusing my attention back on Heree, "Alright Captain, what's the military situation seems to be like?"
"The mining outposts in the asteroid belt are controlled by forces loyal to their feudal owners while the refinery at the gas giant is operated by the Republic supporting locals," answers Heree, "Both sides have decent anti-pirate defences. I haven't got much from the asteroids, but the people at the refinery have been helpful. They got a few hundred people onboard with fifty or so security and another hundred workers have formed up into a militia. They also got a squadrons of Aurek starfighters and while they had them for literal centuries, the locals insist that they work as well as any modern starfighter thanks to good maintenance."
"What about the settlement on the moon?" I inquire, "It has a different colour to everyone else in the system."
"Their representative has been very insistent that they are neutral in this conflict General," explains Heree, "No deflector shields and barely a handful of turrets. They don't want to fight and don't appear to be in any position to fight. With Indren itself… Separatist forces have secured a couple of cities and the Seps have the capital under siege for now. No major offensives have been made other than the siege of Irafen and everyone seems to be mustering up their soldiers and supporters. The Lucrehulk is taken up orbit around the planet while the Hardcells are landing by one of the Seppie-controlled cities."
"Looks like the space assets favour the Separatists," I comment as I inspect the display of the Indren system on the holo-projector.
"While the Lucrehulk will do that, but the feudalists have the advantage out of the purely local forces," says Heree as the blue-skinned woman focuses the holo-projector on the three fleets in orbit around the planet, "The noble have four of the Hammerhead-class cruisers, apparently owned by some of the richer families for generations. The Seps have the last Hammerhead along with the Corellian Gunship and a couple of Corellian Corvettes. Our democrats have that trio of Corellian Corvettes."
"A DP20 is about equal to a Hammerhead in terms of combat capabilities," I say as I think the possibilities over, "More firepower, but less durable with no hangar space for starfighters. Getting the local nobility on our size would give us an advantage in the space fight. Given the stated goals of the Separatists, we wouldn't even have to ally with them, just agree to work together to take out the space assets of our mutual foe. Let their Hammerheads hit the locals while our fleet deals with the Lucrehulk. Speaking of which…"
"We could pull it off," mutters Heree, half to you and half to herself as the captain of the Justice looks to be in thought, "Go to extreme range with the Justice and the Thrantas and pound it from afar. It is a big enough target that we don't have to worry much about missing even at that distance. General, we could do it though it would take a lot of time."
"I am not currently aligned with city dwellers and I am going to be actively fighting some of them, specially the ones who want to destroy you and your fellow nobility," I tell Duke Zyrgae Narth, doing my best to keep the frustration out of my voice and under control.
The pompous nerfherder is the man that is in charge of the four nobility-aligned Hammerheads and rather than discuss matters with Aria like I planned, the self-important man is insisting on speaking with the leader of the Republic fleet. Unfortunately for me, that means I have to handle the talks with Duke Zygrae.
"And yet we all know where the sympathies of the Republic lies in the conflict between the peasantry and the peerage," sneers the man and not for the first time, I want if the man realises that situation he is in.
Yes, his forces are enough to handle the rest of the local Indren warships, but they got nothing on that Lucrehulk with its dozens of turbolaser turrets and literally hundreds of laser cannons. Not to mention that even if the Lucrehulk didn't have a full complement of Vulture droids, anyone can see that it has at least a few hundred of them since its captain decided to park them on the exterior hull of the battleship.
Yet the 'noble' Duke Zygrae is oddly opposed to working with me as he has apparently got into his head that the 1st Republic Patriot Legion is here to help the rest of the democrats destroy the local nobility. I can vaguely see the logic in the sense that if the Separatists are helping one group of democrats, we are here to help the other group, but he has no reason or evidence to think that. Nonetheless, the dear duke seems to have convinced himself that is the case.
"My interests here are in defeating the Separatists and keeping them from using Indren in their war against the Republic," I tell the Arkanian for the fourth time now.
"Yet you expect me to believe the word of a boorish bumpkin," retorts Duke Zygrae, "You call yourself a knight yet I doubt you are anything, but a mere lowborn."
"My heritage does not matter-" I start.
"And you sound just like one of those city dwellers despite your claims otherwise," interrupts Duke Zygrae and as he continues on, I decide that this is pointlessly unproductive.
Reaching over to the holo-projective in my office, I switch it off and cut the dear duke off mid-sentence as his holograph flickers out of existence. While it would have been ideal to get those Hammerheads working with us, we can make do without them. Unfortunately, it looks like we might have to deal with them ourselves since after speaking with their commander, I am quite leery of what will happen if I just leave Duke Zygrae with space superiority once I am gone.
Far from ideal, but I am a Jedi Knight and a Republic General. I will do what I have to do and if that means risking my life and those of my people to keep the local aristocrats from oppressing Indren after I take out their main rivals, I will do that.
Okay, so Indren is a world I keep up with via a random generator made for a Star Wars RPG. Pretty average world apart from the ruins and junk littering the world. I decided to give the place a political divide between the rural nobility of the agricultural countryside and the urban democrats of the industrialised cities.
By arriving with a large army, the Separatists have been able to turn that divide into a civil war and between defeating the clankers, Ben will need to navigate the local politics. Especially since he is heavily outnumbered even with the Lucrehulk not being fully loaded when it fled Geonosis.
The next part will be properly showing Ben's padawan for the first time, the opening engagements of this campaign and probably some more politics.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Jun 27, 2021
2.2 (Indren Campaign) - Chapter Seven
I'm glad I have Aria to handle the diplomatic side of things because the military side is proving to be troublesome enough on its own. The Lucrehulk is the biggest problem right now, but even once the freighter-turned-battleship is dealt with, there is still the ground battle to worry about.
From what the operations department have spotted and what Aria has gotten from the locals, the local Separatist forces have some substantial forces on Indren. While both Hardcells are not warships and not a threat on their own, they are transports and that means there are potentially over a thousand Hailfire droids waiting for us on Indren. Five or six hundred Vulture droids have spotted though there is a chance of there being more hidden away on the Lucrehulk while images and reports regarding the planet have spotted at least a couple thousand AATs and what has to be at least a hundred thousand battle droids.
And there are the local Indrenese that are helping the Seppies. While there are a only a few thousand professionals on the enemy's side with the majority of the enemy organic infantry being fifty thousand or so civilians turned militia, the Seps have been able to seize the majority of the local armoured elements with about a hundred light vehicles, but over two hundred are actual tanks or at least heavily armoured and armed enough to count as one. Throw in a couple hundred starfighters and the Seps have a decent air force as well.
I am not too worried about the Dagger-class Starfighters that make up a minority of the local Separatist starfighters as despite having plenty of firepower and agility for its size, it lacks much in the way of shielding or armour. The Toscan 8-Qs are a bigger concern as they are comparable to Z-95 Headhunters used by my pilots. The stock version of the Headhunter is about as tough as the Toscan with the advantages of speed, stronger shielding and a decent targeting computer while the Toscan has slightly better firepower.
On the other hand, Commodore Thak made sure to use our funds and experienced engineers to upgrade our Headhunters to have heavy laser cannons instead of light laser cannons while the missile launchers were replaced by proton torpedo launchers. Those upgrades left enough spare space and reactor power to replace the deflector shield with one that is twice as strong as the stock model.
Those upgrades don't come cheap as they have increased the cost of the starfighter by about twenty five percent, but Wol has sold me on the benefits of having a better starfighter that keeps our pilots alive and so far the history of the legion has proved him right. In more than one mission, having the upgraded starfighters and veteran pilots had ended up as the decisive factor in an engagement.
All in all, it is the droid forces that pose the biggest problems. If it was not for the Lucrehulk and its Vulture droids, I would be confident in taking on the local Separatist space forces, even without the Justice. Likewise on the ground, my people could handle the aerial and armoured elements of the enemy and while the enemy have a lot of numbers on us, I am confident in 1st Regiment's ability to break their morale and will to fight.
But the inclusion of the droids means that the enemy have significant armoured elements on the ground along with enough infantry that they might be able to overwhelm my people with sheer numbers.
On the other hand, we do have some local support from the locals. While Aria is still talking to the nobility, the non-Separatist democrats are smart enough to realise that they can't afford to turn away Republic aid. My aid.
While a good half of their forces are besieged in Irafen, they've got a couple thousand more professionals than the local Seppies and they got eighty thousand militia across the planet rather than a mere fifty thousand. They got about eighty combat speeders, a roughly even mix of lights and heavies plus a few squadrons of starfighters, four squadrons of CloakShape Fighters and six squadrons of Z-95 Headhunters, all of them stock versions.
If I can get my forces down on the planet, we can hopefully work together to drive the Seppies from Indren. Yet as I sense a familiar presence in the Force, I will have to put my plans on hold as my padawan approaches my office.
"Come in, Vyssa," I say as I feel Vyssa arriving outside of the door.
The young Zeltron lady walks into the room, wearing the sleeveless black and silver tunic along with the black leggings that Vyssa favours as her preferred outfit. With dark pink skin, sleek blue hair that is pulled back into a ponytail and a figure with both muscles and curves, Vyssa is nothing special when compared to the rest of her species. But that means little when the average member of her species is considered to be beautiful by the standards of most others.
"Master," says Vyssa as she gives me a playful salute, "Could we talk?"
"You're my padawan, Vyssa," I tell her, "While General Shan doesn't always have time for Commander Randanys on the battlefield or command centre, Knight Shan will always make time for his padawan outside of an ongoing mission."
"Great because I want to talk about a few things," says Vyssa happily as she takes a seat opposite me, "First of all, your Force vision. I'm not stupid Master, I can tell it is bigger than you've let on."
Ah, I forgot that this is going to be a problem. Beyond being a flexible and talented fighter, Vyssa is a smart cookie who is unyielding in her search for the truth in all things, unwilling to accept lies and deceit if she can help it. Useful most of the time, but in this case, it means it will be practically impossible to get her to drop the matter. Even if I convince her to stop pestering me, it just means that she will attempt to investigate on her own without me knowing.
I doubt she will figure things out given the impossible nature of the 'Force vision', but her investigation could be successful enough to draw undue attention to her, me and the legion.
In some ways, it would be easiest to just bring her in. Her skills would be useful in my quest to save the Republic and it would be good to have some help. The only question is if I think she will believe me and if I trust her enough to tell her truth.
Ugh, Vyssa is my padawan and we served alongside each other for a couple of years now. I know her and I trust her and the same is true for her in regards to me. She might not believe me if I tell her the whole truth, but if I continue to phrase my knowledge as something from a Force vision rather than a set of memories from another world… yeah, I could convince her.
"First of all, I don't know how much of this is real or will be real as Force visions aren't reliable sources of information," I tell her and she perks up as she quickly takes a seat opposite me, "The future is always in motion and I've already changed how the First Battle of Geonosis went so I don't know how much of what I saw will remain accurate."
"First Battle of Geonosis?" inquires Vyssa, "There is going to be more than one?"
"The droid factories couldn't be repurposed for Republic use and Republic forces were stretched thin so Geonosis got a minimal garrison," I answer, "The Republic suffered a series of defeats that saw uprisings on several previously secured Separatist worlds. Geonosis was one of them and when Poggle and Gunray secured a loan from the Banking Clan to build a new major droid factory on Geonosis, the Republic invaded again."
"Archduke Poggle the Lesser and Viceroy Nute Gunray were killed on your orders at Geonosis," says Vyssa, "Okay, you changed things so what you saw isn't reliable. But wouldn't things of the past you saw still be reliable?"
"Like Darth Sidious' secret identity being Sheev Palpatine, Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic?" I suggest so I can see how she reacts and I feel a bit of smugness at her dumbfounded expression.
I wait for a couple of moments to see how she reacts and just when I decided to continue, Vyssa recovers enough to make her response.
"How certain are you?" she half-asks and half-demands, sounding a little shocked and a little frightened.
"I don't know for certain that particular part of my vision is true, but given the stakes and how accurate the rest of what I know has been, I am assuming it is true until I find out otherwise," I inform her gravely and I wonder when this conversation got so serious.
Probably when I brought up the Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic being a Forceforsaken Sith Lord.
"Kriff," curses Vyssa and I start, surprised by the unexpected expletive and Vyssa gives me a guilty look, "Sorry, but how? Why?"
"I don't know the details behind him becoming a Sith Lord, but he was trained by his master, Darth Plagueis who was actually Hego Damask and Plagueis used his wealth to fund much of the current Sith endeavours," I answer, "Such as the clone army. While Sifo-Dyas did order their creation, he was killed by Dooku so he and Sidious could assume actual control of the program. My Force vision gave a few possibilities, but it is likely that the senior leadership of Kamino is secretly and knowingly working for the Sith. The clones may or may not be. My Force Vision gave two possibilities, the first is secret mind control chips and the other is extensive brainwashing. Part of my plan is to figure out which is which."
"But why does he need the clone army?" asks Vyssa.
"He wants the Jedi to suffer losses and ruin their reputation by fighting the war against the Separatists," I explain, "Sidious will use the war to gather more and more power to the Supreme Chancellor's office and then he intends to bait the Jedi into trying to remove him from power. He will frame their efforts as all of the Jedi being traitors and then force the clones that are with every Jedi to execute Contingency Order 66, which is to kill all of the Jedi on sight as traitors to the Republic. Using his power, popular support and lack of enemies, Sidious plans to transform the Galactic Republic into the Galactic Empire with him as Emperor."
"I-uh-how are we going to stop him?" asks-no, begs Vyssa and in that moment, I remember that for all her skill as one of the Order's more talented padawans, Vyssa is still a fifteen year old kid.
"It has only been a couple of days so I'm still working on things, but I'm trying to build a power base that can be used to oppose Sidious and his willing and unwitting supporters," I tell her, "That is why I wanted those captured Lucrehulks. While I do intend to use them as mobile bases against the Separatists, I am also planning for the possibility of using them as mobile bases against the Galactic Empire. I also plan to get some bases in the Outer Rim and get support for myself and the Jedi in the Senate. Propaganda efforts for the Order to make up for Sidious intentionally leaving the Jedi out of official Republic propaganda."
"And I could try to build up a spy network?" suggests Vyssa, seeming a little calmer now, "I also wanted one like how you wanted your army, but now it is more important than just being useful to my goals. I could frame it as wanting to use it against the Seppies to avoid suspicion and get support."
"That is a good idea," I agree, "I'll look into trying to get you some starting funds and next time we are on Coruscant, I can introduce you to some of my Senate contacts. And if something happens to me, that holocron that I created after I received my vision contains all that I could remember at the time. It has a gatekeeper and will open to any light-sider when it is unable to detect my presence in the Force."
"That would be helpful," says Vyssa before shaking her head, "Okay, that is a big deal and everything, but I had some other stuff to talk about. Like Geonosis and the battle there. Will things always be that intense and bloody?"
"It will vary, but more or less," I answer, "I haven't gone to war myself before, but according to my vision and having spoken with some of the troops, the Clone Wars will be intense to the point that the Republic is brought to the breaking point. Some battles will be more intense than others and some will be less intense than others, but war is going to be war. You know what they say about war being hell. If not, chat with some of the older vets in the legion. They know more about what war is like than I do."
"I will keep that in mind," says Vyssa, "Last thing, why did you give me the armour? Not that I mind getting some beskar armour, but why?"
"It was available and as a Jedi, you will be getting into some dangerous battles and situations that some proper beskar armour will prove its weight in aurodium," I tell her, "By the way, it is fitting you okay?"
"Well enough," answers Vyssa with a shrug, "It isn't perfect and if it was as covering as your armour, I would have some problems, but it is just a few pieces that can be adjusted somewhat. A few places it is a bit loose and in others it doesn't give as much coverage as it did for Jango."
"Any problems with the chest plate?" I inquire.
"Because of my large bust?" teases Vyssa and I refuse to give her the satisfaction of reacting to the awkward topic, "Spoilsport, but it is fine. It might be an issue if it was one solid piece, but because it has multiple parts, the techs just adjusted it a little to fit my different figure. It isn't as close together as what the Mando had, but it still works as a chest piece."
"I'm glad to hear that," I say, "We aren't going to have time for you to visit a Mandalorian armourer any time soon unfortunately. And speaking of what we are or aren't going to be doing soon, do you want to be on the ground team on the first ride down?"
"You have a plan?" inquires Vyssa.
"I have a plan," I confirm.
"Then you can count me in, Master."
"Chairman Irre Velh," I greet the Arkanian man on the screen in front of me, "A pleasure to finally speak with you."
"And it is a pleasure to speak with you as well General Shan," replies the chairman, "Brigadier Telis has assured me that you can help with the ongoing issue that Indren is suffering. I fear that without Republic assistance, our world shall fall."
"I am hoping to stop that," I say, "However, I will need the help of you and your allies to win on the ground."
"So you do think you can take the giant starship?" inquires Chairman Velh.
"Not quickly, but my forces can pick apart the Lucrehulk at range," I inform him, "I am also confident in my people's ability to handle the Separatist-aligned Indrenese space forces and the droid starfighters. The primary issue will be getting forces planet side in time to keep Irafen from falling."
"Irafen not falling would be good," agrees Chairman Velh, "I take you are aware we won't be able to hold out for long?"
"Yes, hence my desire to get some of my troops down as fast as possible," I confirm, "I am going to go over the plan and then explain where I would like your aid."
"That sounds like an excellent way to go about this," says Chairman Velh with a nod of his head.
"While I don't have enough forces to match that Lucrehulk in a fair fight, the heavy turbolasers of my Star Cruisers and my Thrantas allow for long range bombardment of the Lucrehulk," I start, "Weaken the overall strength of the shots grants them longer range and the large target means we don't need to worry about missing. However that will take time that Irafen doesn't have so I need to get my Corellian Corvette and my shuttles down in the meantime. For this, I plan to assign my starfighters and Corellian Gunships to escort my troops down to find off the enemy escorts and starfighters. Which is where I would like your help. Your corvettes and starfighters would be very useful in helping ensure my ground forces make it down safely."
"That sounds like a reasonable plan and making sure our reinforcements are able to reach us in time is something I can sell to the rest of the Assembly," says Chairman Velh, looking a little more pleased and a little more hopeful than when we first started talking, "Yes, I will contact the Assembly now. I assume that time is of the essence General Shan?"
"I intend to begin my plan within an hour's time," I answer, "My troopers are loading into their transports now and my pilots are getting ready to launch. I will be heading out in my own starfighter and I will be assisting the escort mission. I may be unavailable for portions of the mission if you try to contact me."
"I will keep that in mind General Shan and let the Assembly know."
I wasn't originally going to have Ben tell Vyssa about all that, but the two of them have an established relationship and I decided that Ben would (rightfully) doubt his ability to keep Vyssa finding out and he trusts her enough to tell her about Palpy and she trusts him enough to believe him (plus Vyssa is good at telling when her master is lying or trying to trick her).
I figured that Ben would want someone else in the know because in case something happens to him and so he has someone else he can turn to. And who better than his own padawan? So now Vyssa knows and instead of just one Jedi plotting to stop Sidious and the Sith, it is two.
Beyond that, Geonosis was Vyssa's first proper taste of war so she turned to her Jedi master for advice. She is also going to be getting Jango's old armour since he is being held captive in a stasis field while Boba ended up as collateral when Poggle and Gunray died. It isn't a perfect fit, but after looking at the images of armour and rereading some articles about how women wear armour, I figured it would still be useful by Vyssa.
Otherwise, we get some cooperative locals and Ben has his plan to secure space superiority and get his forces down on the planet in a timely manner.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Jun 8, 2021
2.3 (Indren Campaign) - Chapter Eight
"Ready for your first real space battle?" I ask Vyssa on a private channel as I do the final preflight checks on my Z-95 Headhunter.
"Wasn't Bryx my first?" replies the Zeltron.
"Not compared to this," I answer, "They had a couple of corvettes, a hundred or so starfighters and a handful of gunboats. We are going up against hundreds of hostile starfighters along with a pair of frigates and a pair of corvettes. Okay, that might have been a proper space battle, but it still wasn't on the scale of the ones we'll be facing in this war."
"Oh good," says Vyssa, "I'll follow your lead in this battle?"
"Just focus on not getting shot down," I inform her, "You got some experience, but you are still a rookie while I will need to take a leading role."
"I'll do my best Master," promises Vyssa and I leave my padawan to her own thing as I focus on the upcoming battle as I take off and fly out of the Justice's hangar.
Joining Vyssa and myself is another hundred and fifty or so starfighters launching from the fleet. The majority will be coming with us, but I have left a couple of squadrons behind to safeguard the warships bombarding the Lucrehulk. Just in case the Separatists try something unexpected.
Spotting the Inspire with its escort of three Corellian Gunships, I slow down to match my speed to theirs to avoid getting too far ahead. Noting that Vyssa is following me as my wingwoman, I glance at the rest of my starfighters to see if there are any other problems. Upon seeing none, I finally focus my attention on the enemy to see what they are doing.
The Lucrehulk is there of course, but it is too far away and unable to move fast enough to intercept us. Its Vulture droids are a different matter and I begin to see them taking off as whoever is in command of the Lucrehulk has decided to send them to stop us. The Indrenese Separatist warships are off to the side as they have been since our arrival, clearly far more concerned by the Hammerheads of the feudalists than they are with my forces. Given that they are on the other side of the Lucrehulk they shouldn't be a problem unless they are rushing over now and they aren't.
At least Duke Zyrgae is doing some good by keeping some of the enemy force distracted. The arrogant fool might not be willing to help, but I will take unwitting help over no help.
Four hundred, five hundred, five hundred and fifty and then finally six hundred. That is how many droid starfighters have left the Lucrehulk to attack us. Hopefully a trio of Corellian Gunships and a good hundred and twenty Headhunters will be enough to handle them.
I'm confident in my chances. The droid starfighters might be more agile and able to pull off manoeuvres that would kill an organic pilot, but it is still lightly armoured with no deflector shield and kriffastic programming. The upgraded Headhunters that the 1st Republic Patriot Legion uses are capable of taking down a Vulture droid with a single volley of its heavy laser cannons and my pilots are more than capable of outflying some droid starfighters with cheap programming.
And that is before we get into how good a DP20 Frigate is at handling starfighters. The energy torpedoes or concussion missiles might be a problem if they can line up some good shots on the warships, but keeping them from making those shots will be the job of myself and the other Headhunter pilots.
Of course, we also got Aria using her Battle Meditation to push the odds in our favour even if her talent is less effective against droid opponents than it is against organic foes.
"This is Knight-Leader," I say into the main legion comlink channel, "Remember that priority is ensuring that our forces successfully make it to the ground. Prioritise their protection even if it means letting some of the enemy fighters get away."
With a brief and hopefully unnecessary reminder given, I focus my attention back on the enemy at the speeds we are moving at, the Vulture droids should reach the Inspire and the shuttles in a couple of minutes and it will be before then that they enter weapon range. Speaking of which, the turbolasers on the Corellian Gunship trio and the Inspire have already opened fire at extreme range. Due to sheer distance and lack of accuracy when it comes to using a turbolaser on small, noble targets, the warships are unlikely to score many hits, but the raw number of Vulture droids coming our way means that some hits are all, but guaranteed.
And then the Justice and the Thrantas begin to open fire at extreme range on the Lucrehulk and I wonder if the Separatist commander will split off some of the droid starfighters to engage the warships directly attacking their flagship. It turns out that they don't as all of the Vulture droids stay on their current course. The Lucrehulk does lumber forward, but I'm not worried about that. The Thrantas can pull back easily enough and by the time the Lucrehulk gets close enough to engage the Justice properly, I am confident that the Star Cruiser will be capable of finishing off the battleship.
Everything is going to plan so I'm left wondering what is going to go wrong.
Taking a deep breath, I keep my cool and focus on the incoming enemy starfighters. Until something does go wrong, I need to keep my focus on the Vulture droids and keep the Separatists from intercepting the ground forces as they land.
I spare a glance towards the planet. The three CR90s of my local allies are making their way towards us, getting into position to help with the escort duty in a couple of minutes. If everything else is going to plan, our allies will be prepping their starfighters on the ground to intercept the enemy ground-based starfighters if the Separatists try to send them out to stop the Republic reinforcements. Maybe that is where things will go wrong?
"This is Knight-Leader to all Escort squadrons," I say into my comms, "Move to engage those Vultures."
And so we all turn, moving almost as one as over a hundred starfighters swing around to meet the ongoing swarm of droid starfighters. With no shortage of targets, I pick the right one and open fire with my laser cannons, aiming at where the vulture droid will be in a moment's time rather than where it is right now.
I roll to the side to avoid enemy return fire that my battle precognition informs me will be coming before letting out another volley of laser fire at a second vulture. The droid starfighter goes careening out of control as I blow half of its wings off and I switch to the next foe that I can see. I adjust my course to get a clear shot, ignoring the stray shots that strike my deflector shield.
It takes a few more shots this time, but the third vulture goes down almost as easily as the first two. A pair of vultures begin to focus on me, but I swing around to throw one off, losing it in the giant furball that the starfighter engagement has devolved to. I don't see what happens to the other vulture, but as it disappears from my sensors, I suspect it got shot down by one of my pilots.
I spot a few vultures breaking away from the dogfight to engage the shuttles so I switch power to my engines to catch up with them. The first dies to one of the Corellian Gunships while the second is taken out by another Headhunter. The third falls to a Corellian Gunship and I shred the fourth with my laser cannons. The final two are taken out by the Gunships as I find myself trying to throw off another vulture droid that has decided it wants to kill me.
I go into a spin to get the droid off my tail and as I do so, I notice that the Lucrehulk appears to be unprotected. It has no escort warships and the only Separatists starfighters in local space are already engaged in battle.
"Knight-Leader to Justice," I say as I contact the star cruiser, "Have you spotted any sign that the Lucrehulk has held any starfighters in reserve?"
"I don't believe so, General," someone replies as I try to throw off this annoying vulture droid, "They appear to have committed everything to the interception attempt."
"Then I am going to take advantage of them overcommitting to pull a Skywalker Special on them," I say, thinking back to what Anakin did in the Battle of Naboo, something I heard and read about in this life and I watched in the impossible memories.
"Knight-Two," I switch comm channels to contact my padawan as I change my course so I am heading straight for the Lucrehulk, "Stay on escort duty. Do not follow me."
"Got it Master!" replies the girl, "I just got to shake this droid."
"You and me both," I mutter as the vulture following me gets a hit on my rear deflector shield.
I have a few moments before the Lucrehulk opens fire with its laser cannons as I enter firing range, but I am not too worried. Between my deflector shields and armour, I can afford to take two or three hits and while the Lucrehulk has a lot of guns, it also has a lot of space to cover. If I get my attack angle right, I can avoid the majority of its firepower. Combined with my battle precognition, my skill as a pilot and my Force-boosted reflexes, I should be able to make into the relatively undefended hanger, blow the reactor to pieces with a proton torpedo and then get back out.
Putting all power to the engines, I fly forward as fast as I can, rolling and swerving to avoid the incoming lasers from both in front of me and behind me. While I am no Anakin Skywalker or Plo Koon, I am one of the better starfighter pilots in the Order so I should be able to make it through the enemy fire. My vulture droid pursuer is not my skill level and I watch with a grim satisfaction as the defensive fire from the Lucrehulk hits its own defender as a stray laser bolt blows the droid starfighter away.
As I approach the battleship, I cut all thrust as I pull a sharp turn, spinning my Headhunter around to face the hangar bay as the starfighter comes to a halt. Even as my starfighter stops, I am already upping the thrust again so I can get into motion and not be a sitting duck for the Lucrehulk's defences.
Flying in, I ignore the various droids and vehicles below as I make my way to the far end of the enormous hangar bay. I spot the secondary reactors that they keep exposed in the hangar bay and open fire with my proton torpedoes, not even bothering to wait for a lock on as I blind-fire at the nearby stationary target.
Really, who thought it was a good idea to stick an exposed, unshielded reactor in the hangar bay? I am going to make sure that this design flaw is fixed in the captured Lucrehulks that I have claimed. I don't want some hotshot pilot taking out an entire supply base with a bit of luck and a well-placed shot.
As the secondary reactors begin to explode, I swing my Headhunter around, wincing a little at how sluggish it feels as the ship begins to explode around me. I switch all spare power to the engine as one of the explosions rocks my starfighter, almost collapsing the deflector shield. With no time to waste, I zoom out of the dying Lucrehulk, barely getting ahead of the fiery explosions chasing after me.
"This is Knight-Leader," I say as I make it back into the comforting void of space, "I've taken out the Lucrehulk."
"Excellent work General," says Captain Tazir, "None of the droids seem to be disabling so it wasn't a control ship, but I am bringing the rest of the fleet up to support the escort forces. I've already committed our defensive squadrons to aid the rest of our starfighters."
"Status?"
"A few shuttles got damaged, one seriously so, but none have been shot down," answers the Pantoran, "The remaining vulture droids are disengaging and are retreating to the surface. As per orders, we are prioritising maintaining an escort for our transports over pursuing them. We linked up with our locals and the rest of the locals have decided to fight it out."
At that last sentence, I look towards where the warships of the Indrenese separatists and the Indrenese nobility were having their standoff, which progressed into an actual fight at some point during the battle. At a glance, the feudalists seem to be winning as the Separatist Corellian Gunship has been disabled along with one of the Corellian Corvettes while none of the Hammerhead cruisers on the side of the nobility have been taken out. A couple of them have taken some major damage, but all four along with their remaining starfighters are pounding the last two Seppie warships while I can spot a couple of CloakShapes flying towards Indren.
"Should we move to aid the nobility warships?" inquires Heree.
"I should probably ask," I say, "Get me a link to Duke Zyrgae if you can."
I doubt the dear duke will be willing to accept my help, but the man might have seen some reason since we last spoke and it wouldn't be very Jedi of me if I didn't try to make one last attempt at diplomatic outreach.
"Got him, General," says a crewmember from the Justice and a moment later I can hear the sneering voice of Duke Zygrae Nath.
"Stay out of my way you upjumped peasant," barks the local blueblood, forsaking any pleasantries or politeness, "You might have blown up that oversized freighter, but my loyal retainers shall win the day against the actual warships of the enemy."
Oversized freighter? Has this idea actually convinced himself that the Lucrehulk was the cargo haul variant and not the battleship variant? Oh for Force's sake… I need to focus now. I can bemoan and deal with his stupidity later.
"Regardless of what happened, my forces are willing and able to help your warships finish off the enemy fleet," I say, "I can send-"
"We do not need your worthless aid," snaps Duke Zygrae, interrupting me mid-sentence, "We will win this battle on our own merits. I will consider any approach by your forces to be a hostile act and correspondingly my warships shall open fire upon you for your perfidy."
And with that, he ends the call before I can respond. It seems like negotiations will continue to be a bust, but I can't say I was expecting anything different from the dear duke.
"Captain Tazir, did you catch that?" I ask Heree.
"Yes General, I'll let the rest of the fleet know," replies Heree, "If I may sir, I would recommend that you join the battle on the ground. The loss of the Lucrehulk seems to have inspired the Separatist commanders on the ground to launch an assault on the capital."
This is my first attempt at writing a spacebattle in this fic and my first attempt at writing a Star Wars space battle without game mechanics determining the outcome and what happens in it. My main inspiration is taken from a mixture of Star Wars: Empire at War, the old Star Wars RPG and Star Wars: Squadrons. It doesn't exactly fit any of those, but I've taken elements from each of those to fit how I envision things working in this
In this case, the Indrenese Separatists and the Indrenese nobles were mostly concerned with each due to local tensions while the Lucrehulk had an inexperienced captain who got the position due to his corporate skills over his military ones. So throwing all of his starfighters at the enemy without any reserves and combined with the lack of escorts, the Lucrehulk was left open for a daring Jedi pilot to blow it open from the inside.
While I'm sure that is some meta reason for why it is that way, in-universe the Lucrehulk is a converted civilian ship and it shows. Insufficient weapon coverage, exposed reactor cores and easily boarded hangar bays are all the result of that and Ben has exploited that to win the day. Of course, now he has to worry about those same weaknesses since he has a few Lucrehulks of his own.
With Duke Zygrae, I picked him as an arrogant man who got his position through a mixture of birth and his political connections not because of his competency, as something of a compromise candidate or as payment for a favour for something else. He is unfit for his task as he was never expected to command the fleet into battle. He also is somewhat semi-paranoid as he sort of knows he is unfit, resulting in him seeing enemies seeking to displace him where there are none.
With the Separatist space forces having been dealt with, the ground battle remains so we will be seeing that and some more local politics in the next couple of chapters.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
2.4 (Indren Campaign) - Chapter Nine
As the Separatist forces push into the city of Irafen, Indren's capital, I swoop over it in my Headhunter to provide some close air support for the defenders. Aiming for an AAT moving down a street, I fire a burst of laser fire at it before pulling up to avoid the enemy return fire.
The enemy doesn't have much in the way of dedicated anti-air weaponry, but the infantry forces do have some rocket launchers with them and the enemy armoured elements have enough heavy firepower that they could bring down a starfighter through sheer weight of firepower. In any case, I am not going to be sticking around for the enemy to bring their weaponry to bear on me.
Another AAT down is a good enough result for me or at least it is for that particular run. With orbital, aerial and artillery supremacy, the only remaining advantages that the Separatists hold over us is in their significantly larger number of armoured elements and superior numbers in general. Because of that, taking out their tanks is a priority, especially after a third of Irafen has already fallen to the Separatist invaders.
"Colonel Belen, what is the situation on the ground?" I ask as a few enemy tanks take some shots at me and a couple of shoulder-mounted missiles come flying up.
"We're barely holding the Halfast District," states Loren as I begin the journey back to friendly territory, "We've got the chokeholds locked down with tanks, but the droids are rushing us. Our troopers are holding, but the locals are folding and ammo is constantly running low. I've sent Commander Randanys to reinforce that front, but we are going to lose that sector unless something major changes. That means either you or artillery support that'll flatten a lot of the district and upset our allies."
"I'll land and make my way over," I tell him, "Have any of the nobles committed to the fighting?"
"The brigadier's talks with Duchess Rolanas look promising, but apart from a few skirmishes between local forces, they aren't fighting the Seps," replies Loren, "If you ask me, they've decided to let their rivals weaken themselves by fighting each other while they conserve their strength for when us off-worlders are gone."
"I want to say you are wrong, but I suspect you may be right," I say as I head towards the spaceport near the centre of the city.
Landing doesn't take long, mainly because I don't bother to do it properly. I'm needed on the front lines so as soon as I get my Headhunter firmly on the ground, I switch the machine off and hop out. Someone else can handle getting it ready for another flight while I make my way to the Halfast District.
With plenty of soldiers, non-combatants and civilians going about their jobs or milling around, I make sure to be careful of getting in anyone's way even as I rush. I see a few of my people amongst the crowd, mainly pilots, but for the most part, it is only locals at the spaceport.
"Hey Jedi!" calls a voice from nearby and I snap my attention to the source of the voice.
A young man in a civilian speeder is waving at me, his red shirt and white armband signifying his membership in the recently formed Indrense militia as the hastily put together uniform of the locals. While I have never seen this man before in my life, I ought to go and see what he wants from me.
"Yes?" I ask in an inquiring tone as I stride up to the man and his speeder.
"The Republic Colonel asked me to take you to the Halfast District," says the man, his youthful energy faltering a bit at my approach before he recovers, "Said you would help keep the traitors from taking it."
"I do intend to keep the Halfast District in Republic hands," I agree before running up to the speeder and hopping into it to slide into the passenger seat, "Drive on kid."
"R-right," replies the young man, clearly surprised by my rapid entry into his vehicle, "I'll get you there in a jiffy Master Jedi."
True to his word, the kid does get me to my destination in a hurry, clearly breaking the traffic laws of peace time that have fallen wayside now that war has been brought to the city. As I can hear the screams and blaster fire up ahead, I don't wait for the speeder to stop as I jump out of it. Landing with a thud, I draw both of my lightsabers and begin to run towards the sounds of battle.
Rather than finding my own soldiers, I have ended up running towards some of the local Republic-aligned militia. Wearing a mixture of civilian clothing and impromptu armour, the soldiers are attempting to hold a residential street against a battle droid assault. With a few crashed speeders on the road, the locals are a mixture of soldiers either hiding in houses and behind makeshift barricades or lying in the street where they got gunned down by the battle droids as dead or injured. Said battle droids are marching down the street, focusing on shooting at the defenders over taking cover. Foolish of them, but battle droids are supposed to be expendable and they are doing a decent enough job of keeping the militia pinned down. Plus the number difference means they accord to be expendable unlike the defenders.
I can find Vyssa and my troops later. Right now, I need to bail out these poor soldiers from getting overrun and killed by these droids. Igniting the blades of my lightsabers, I do a Force jump to leap across the failing defensive positions and land up halfway down the street. A bit dramatic, but half of the point is to distract the battle droids from their current victims and it works as the droids all look at me. Swinging their blasters around, they open fire on me, but I am already in motion before the first shot gets off.
I slash the closest two battle droids down before sending a Force push into the droids. It isn't one of my specialties, but it is still strong enough to knock the closest of the droids off their feet and unsteady the rest in its path. With one flank handled, I begin to cut into the other side of the droid formation. As the battle droids open fire, I don't try to deflect every blaster bolt, just the easy ones or the ones that my battle precognition tells me that they will hit me somewhere other than my beskar armour.
The droids go down easy to my blades, but there are a lot of them and while the militia had taken down a good few before I showed up, the Separatist assault easily started with at least a hundred battle droids. Yet those numbers mean little to me as I cut down a battle droid with every blow, moving and reacting faster than the droids with Force-boosted reflexes and movements.
Then suddenly tank.
The first sign of the Separarist tank is when my battle precognition tells me about the AAT about to open fire on me. In response, I roll backwards to avoid the explosive shot, resulting in it blowing away a pair of unlucky battle droids.
"Of course there is a Forceforsaken tank," I mutter as I get back up to my feet, looking around for the vehicle in question.
It doesn't take long as the vehicle in question opens fire with its heavy blaster, still trying to gun me down from its position at the far end of the street from where it has just turned a corner. I leap into motion, ignoring the enemy fire as I charge at the vehicle, moving quick enough that the droid gunners can't get a bead on me. In fact, the AAT is easily more of a threat to its own infantry as a few of the remaining battle droids are mowed down by its attempts to kill me.
Carving up a hapless battle droid on my way, I leap onto the top of the tank as it fires another shot of its main cannon. Landing on top, I slash the barrel of the main cannon in half with my blue blade before stabbing down through the hatch with my green blade to get one of the droids inside. I'm about to drop down to the front of the tank to get the rest of the tank crew when the second AAT makes its presence known.
As it is, I make a hasty backflip off of the cripplied tank when I barely get a warning in time from the Force of the other tank opening fire. The laser shot blows a massive hole in the side of the first AAT, sending it careening to the side with severe damage and no remaining crew to control it.
As the second AAT opens fire with its heavy blasters, I run it. With a clear path and no battle droids in the way, I run at it, deflecting the blaster bolts with my lightsabers. I try to aim the blaster fire into the battle droids that have turned around to pursue me instead of overrunning the militia, but the angle isn't that great so pretty much all of it goes wide. It doesn't matter. Taking out this tank and protecting the militia is more important than destroying mere battle droids.
Reaching the tank, I jump on the front of it. A slash of my shoto takes out the main turret and then I stab my main lightsaber into one side of the tank's front before dragging the blue blade across to destroy the controls and pilot inside. I deflect a blaster bolt back into a battle droid before jumping on top. I slash open the top hatch, toss the pieces away with the Force before cutting down the droid inside.
I jump off of the tank and-oh Force that is a lot of droids. Thanks to my battle precognition, I am able to avoid the vast majority of the enemy fire, but even a fighter like myself can be brought down by wait of numbers and another hundred or so battle droids marching the street will do that. With what obviously is the next wave of Separatist forces, I position myself so the remains of the second AAT is between myself and the incoming company of battle droids. While I still have to deal with the remaining battle droids of the previous wave, that is far more manageable with there barely being a dozen remaining.
I down a couple with deflected blaster bolts before charging into the rest, cutting them down with inhuman speed. That deals with them, but I still got that incoming wave of battle droids that I can hear marching down the road and I still need to find my padawan.
Looks like it is time to use the Force and not my lightsabers. Taking a deep breath, I steady myself and reach out with the Force. I lift the remains of the first AAT with my mind and push it down the street. I hear the battle droids exclaiming and opening fire, but there is nothing that their blasters will do against the husk of their own tank. While it won't get all of the battle droids or even most, I can still hear a good few getting smashed by the AAT remains before I decide to drop the tank as it starts to become a strain to keep lifting it.
"Vyssa," I call into my comlink as I put a marker for her location on my helmet HUD, "How are you doing?"
"Holding my own Master," answers Vyssa and I can hear blaster fire being exchanged in the background, "I'm in the Halfast District with Steel Company. We got battle droids, tanks and some of the enemy professionals here. We're going our best, but we are going to need to either pull back or all in arty support. Unless you can get your butt over here Master?"
"I'll see what I can do," I reply as I jump over the wrecked AAT to engage my current foes, "I've got a majority of a company of battle droids to finish off or at least thin out."
"Got it Master," says Vyssa before she ends the call as I begin to deflect blaster bolts back at the battle droids.
Judging by how many are still on their feet and how many are wrecked on the ground, I got somewhere between a quarter and a third of this group of droids. As for the rest, I can handle the incoming blaster fire between my battle precognition, my beskar and my quick reflexes if I just focus on it. It gets easier as I take more droids down as the weight of enemy fire lessens, but it is taking too slow. I take out a battle droid with every other deflected shot, but Vyssa and my soldiers need me now and who knows when the Seps will send more reinforcements to bog me down.
Sithspit, I have to have taken down at least fifty of this wave. That has to be half of them right? The militia will have to handle this as I can see that Vyssa has been driven back a few meters since we talked.
Deflecting a few more blaster bolts as I go, I jump onto the rooftops, hoping that travel across them will be uncontested enough to reach Vyssa's position in a timely manner. I have to ignore the ongoing fights on a couple of streets as I bound over them, but it takes me a couple of minutes to reach Vyssa's position.
Or at least her old position as the enemy has overrun it.
This chapter didn't go as I expected or as I hoped. The fights ended up taking more of it than I expected and it turns out that a powerful character going up against a lot of weak foes isn't as impressive when done in a written format rather than in a computer game or a film or a TV series. Something I didn't really consider when doing the CYOA, but I've got my character now and it is too late to just change that aspect without rewriting more of the story than not.
So I have to look for how to make it work which means the next fight will be against some dangerous foes and then I'm going to gloss over the fighting until the climax of the Siege of Irafen. Dealing with the local politics and handling morale, logistics and such can pick up the slack.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
2.5 (Indren Campaign) - Chapter Ten
There are several soldiers with some proper armour and weapons that are moving down the street, escorting a pair of heavily armoured speeders that have some serious firepower to them. Blaster fire is being exchanged on both sides as the Separatist forces shoot at my soldiers and my people return fire. And then I glimpse the yellow blade of Vyssa's lightsaber in the distance, further down the street in the area that my soldiers are firing from.
Making a judgement call that these soldiers will be more dangerous than the battle droids, I decide to engage the infantry first this time as I drop down amongst them. I swing my lightsabers and cut down the leading two of the soldiers, ignoring their screams and cries of pain. While I've primarily fought droids for the last few days, I have spent most of my career fighting organics and even with the Separatists relying upon their battle droids, I will certainly face organic foes on more than one occasion in this war.
To their credit, the soldiers react quickly to my sudden presence, but I react faster. I cut down the next closest soldier before Force pushing his body into the rest. It won't do any harm to the others, but it should keep them off-balance and distract them from firing upon me. I dart around the next couple of soldiers as they tangle with the corpse of their fellow to slash the one behind them across the chest. As he goes down, I spin around to slash the other soldier across their back with both of my lightsabers.
It is at this point that the last four soldiers in the squad open fire on me and they are good enough shots that I actually have to worry about deflecting their shots instead of just doing so on reflex. I nick one in the soldier with a deflected blaster bolt, but it seems their armour is not just for show as he takes the hit with barely a flinch.
Then a sniper shot to the head causes one of the soldiers to topple over backwards and I take the opportunity to press my attack. I dart forward, stabbing one of the soldiers in the gut with my blue blade as I slash the blaster rifle of another with my shoto, the green blade cutting the weapon in two. I swing my main lightsaber back around to decapitate the now weaponless soldier. The last soldier goes down as I slash him across the chest.
Which leaves the tanks, of which the second one is halfway turning around to shoot me. No-it is going to shoot me. Warned by my battle precognition, I attempt to jump out of the way and while I am mostly successful, there is too little time for me to escape all of the blast from the twin laser cannons of the tank. The explosion knocks me off-course, sending me flying into the side of a house. Gripping my lightsabers tightly, I fall to the ground with a thud and an aching side.
I start getting to my feet, but the tank doesn't wait to get another shot off as it rams into me. The sheer weight of the tank causes me to gasp as the breath is knocked out of me when it slams into me. The tank doesn't stop as it continues into the house, the wall collapsing as it gives way to the raw force of the tank. I grimace in pain as the tank continues to push my body through the housing unit and then I remember it is a hover tank.
I drop down and let the tank roll over me before I stab both of my lightsabers into its lightly armoured underside. The repulsors push into me as the tank moves over my body, but it is nothing I can't handle and it barely makes my already aching body hurt just a little bit more. As the tank continues to move forward, my lightsabers cut two lines down the middle and by the time it is halfway over me, the forward repulsors are beginning to fail. I roll out of the way to avoid a faceful of tank as its repulsors begin to stop working completely, leaving it trapped in the middle of the half-destroyed house, unable to move any further.
Feeling a stab of pity for whoever used to live here, I don't bring the rest of the house down on the tank, deciding that it is already out of the fight thanks to its current position and inability to move. Or at least it will cease to be a threat once I remove its primary weapon as the turret might be able to turn around to shoot back out into the street. Wincing slightly at the pain, I push the unpleasant sensation to one side as I jump atop of the turret and slash the twin barrels of the laser cannon.
Using a touch of Force Healing to take off the worst of my injuries, I run back out into the street. The other heavy tank is down with its carcass left in the middle of the street, my soldiers having taken it out with explosives. At least twenty of the enemy professional soldiers are gathering outside, no longer advancing as they seem to be more concerned with holding their current position than pushing the offensive.
At a guess, I think they were planning a trap for me when I dealt with the tank, one that fell apart when blaster fire from my soldiers kept them from getting into position. Several of them open fire upon me as they spot me and I switch to the defensive, deflecting blaster bolts and doing my best to send them back into the enemy. I slowly advanced forward and-grenade!
I throw myself to the side as a trio of enemy soldiers toss grenades at me. A couple of blaster bolts hit me, but both shots strike beskar and I barely get out of the way of the explosions from the grenades.
One of them finally goes down to a deflected blaster bolt, but Force blast it. I need to get closer to these soldiers, but they are too good and too numerous for me to get close enough to use my lightsabers. Deflecting blaster bolts is taking too long and gives them enough time to call up reinforcements. And then there is a sniper though thankfully my battle precognition and fast reflexes let me handle that shot, deflecting into an enemy soldier, killing them as it pierces their chestpiece.
"For the Republic!" yell several people from behind me as a series of missiles fly over my hand and into the enemy position.
As the Separatist soldiers go flying, blaster fire tears into the distracted enemy and I seize my chance. I run up to the closest pair of soldiers still on their feet and cut them down before they can react. A third soldier is getting to his feet, but I stab him in the back and he slumps back down to the ground. I spot a fourth soldier, but she goes down to blaster fire before I can reach her and just like that the enemy is in full retreat. While my soldiers continue to fire upon them, I don't go chasing after the fleeing hostiles.
"Master!" calls Vyssa as my padawan runs up to me, "Glad to see you arrived. Are you okay?"
"A few bumps and bruises, but nothing serious," I assure her as I look her up and down, "Are you hurt? Your thigh looks like you took a blaster shot."
"Corporal Shoa already gave it a bacta patch," starts Vyssa defensively, but I am already leaning down.
Calling upon the Force, I use it to heal Vyssa's leg wound and any other injuries she might have sustained.
"I took another hit to the torso, but my armour protected me," continues Vyssa as the soldiers of Steel Company take up defensive positions around us, "These guys were good."
"I noticed," I agree as Captain Trathur approaches me and I turn to the Bothan, "Captain, I didn't finish off that other tank so someone will want to go and deal with it. It's stuck in the house."
"On it, General," replies Trathur and he shouts a couple of orders before turning back to me, "Anything else sir?"
"Take me to the wounded so I can give them some healing," I tell him, "Otherwise, how bad is it?"
"This way, General," says the man and I follow him as he walks off with Vyssa following me in turn, "The enemy had good soldiers and heavy armour, but we were better and had both defensive positions and Commander Randanys. We lost almost a dozen men and got twice that injured and we lost a speeder, but we got at least fifty of them and half a dozen of their tanks before you showed up. You just saw the latest engagement with them for yourself."
"Can you still hold without Jedi support?" I ask, "Because I will need to take Commander Randanys and reinforce other parts of the defence."
"We should be able to General," answers Thrathur, "We handily drove back the enemy with very favourable casualty rates. I don't know how many troops the Seps have, but they can't have that many more elite forces and my company can handle battle droids or local militia."
"Good," I reply, "I-"
"We got incoming!" shouts someone and the three of us spin around as blaster fire begins to come from the Separatist-controlled end of the street, "More battle droids!"
"Captain, look after your people," I tell Trathur, "Vyssa, you're with me."
Letting the Force flow me, I reach down and let the Force heal the injured woman. The soldier from Wind Company would have made it with regular medical care, but by using your own abilities, it means another veteran professional back into the Republic's fight for Indren. That and you feel obligated to take care of your people as their general.
"Thank you General," says the woman happily as she stretches and flexes her newly healed arm, "It feels like nothing happened at all."
"I am happy to help," I assure her, "Just keep up the good work trooper."
Glancing over to my side, I spot Vyssa attempting to heal another of the legion's wounded. Unlike myself, an experienced Force Healer, my padawan is still learning and as a result, her attempt at Force healing is taking longer and requires greater effort from her. At least, it is working since that was not the case a few months ago, but it seems that Vyssa has the technique down and just needs practice to get better.
While I wait for her to finish, I heal a legion soldier who almost took one too many blaster bolts to the chest. As it is, he survived and would have recovered in time without my intervention. Yet thanks to my intervention, he will be ready for duty tomorrow.
"Vyssa," I call to my padawan, "How is your healing going?"
"Tiring," answers the young Zeltron as she flashes me a smile, "At least I can do it now. And it feels good too, to be helping others and curing people of their ailments. It makes me tired, but it is the good kind of tiredness, where you are weary because you spent your time doing something good and meaningful."
"I know that feeling," I say, "Personally I think all combat-oriented Jedi should learn Force healing. Not only is it good in a fight, but it is a nice way to keep in touch with helping others and losing yourself to war and battle. Come one, let's go find some of the locals to heal."
"Does Master Telis know Force healing?" inquires Vyssa as the two of us exit the temporary hospital that 1st Regiment has set up for the legion.
"Yes, but only the basics," I answer, "She doesn't specialise in it like-"
"Master Jedi!" calls an unfamiliar voice and Vyssa and I both turn to see a young woman running up to us, slightly out of breath as she comes to a halt in front of us, "The Chairman and the other Jedi wish to speak with you. They sent me to bring you to them."
Vyssa glances at me and I resist the urge to sigh.
"Go and do some more healing," I tell her, "I will go and see what Chairmen Velh and Brigadier Telis want."
The Assembly Hall of Irafen is an impressive building and almost untouched by the ongoing fighting that rages throughout most of the city. Tall ceilings, spires along the sides of wide halls and large, imposing statues of important local historical figures. With a mixture of clerks and figures in rich attire going about their business, the hastily put together fortifications and the out of place militia guards are only indications of the war currently befalling the planet.
"I am here," I declare as I walk into a large circle room with rows of raised seats surrounding the sides of the room.
I recognise Aria with her wavy black hair and Jedi robes and I also remember the face of Chairman Irre Velh, the elected head of Irafen and the unofficial leader of the Republic-aligned Democrats. I don't recognise anyone else, but judging by their attire and the way they hold themselves, I suspect that they are other members of the planetary assembly or otherwise influential figures.
"Ah General Shan, I am glad you could join us," says Chairman Velh as he and the other people in the room react to my presence.
"I came as soon as I could," I reply, "What do you need me for?"
"We want to know how soon the fighting will be over," says one of the other individuals, earning both some sharp looks and some approving looks with Aria and Velh being in the former group.
"I don't know," I state bluntly, "The Separatists are losing, but whether or not we are winning depends on what the local nobility decides to do. Is there something that requires my presence?"
A bit blunt and perhaps I could have worded that more politely, but diplomacy has always been Aria's area of expertise and not mine. My way with words comes with spirited persuasion and inspiring others, not playing nice with the upper class.
"As the leading military expert on the planet, we wanted your assessment of the current situation and then your opinion on the offer that Duchess Rolanas has extended us," says Chairmen Velh as I get a few glares from those that gave the first speaker looks of approval.
"In that case, we are doing better than the Separatists," I answer with a shrug, hoping that I'll be able to stay out of local politics, "We are winning at the moment, but it is still early in the war and the Separatists retain their advantages of greater numbers and greater number of tanks. And yes, having a greater number of tanks is enough of an advantage that I count as a separate thing to a general numerical advantage.
"That said, we do have orbital and aerial superiority and those are nothing to scoff at. We have taken out all of their warships and maybe half of their starfighters. What they got left can cause trouble, but my people can handle them.
"The problem is the ground forces. The local forces are less of an issue aside from the majority of the tanks, but the droids from the Lucrehulk are a concern, especially since they brought a lot of tanks with them. A battle droid isn't a match for a professional soldier, but there are a lot of them and they can match the local militia."
"So what are you going to do about it?" demands someone, "We can't lose Irafen or let the city be destroyed!"
"Holding defensive positions gives us an advantage and the current rate of attrition favours us," I answer, "I am leveraging our aerial advantage as best I can, but putting enough firepower can bring down a starfighter even with regular weaponry. And unless you want me to start leveling parts of the city, I am limited in how much use I can make of our starships and artillery."
"We cannot do more damage to our property than is needed," says one of the crowd, "We cannot destroy Irafen in the name of saving it."
"But if the alternative is letting the traitors win…" says someone else.
"My businesses are already losing money thanks to this war and I've already lost two factories!" shouts someone who must be a local business magnate, "I will not let the rest get destroyed if we can help it."
"Saving Indren is more important than your profits!" someone shouts back and for a moment, it looks like a general argument is about to break about.
Part of me is frustrated at all this. Politics is not my speciality and if I do have to play it, it should be on Coruscant or some other important world rather than an insignificant backwater like Indren. Yet an unimportant backwater is probably a good place to work on improving my political skills without any high stakes at play.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please calm down and act like rational adults," says Chairman Velh as he steps into the brewing argument with a calm, but firm voice, "We called General Shan here for a reason and that was to receive his professional opinion, not to have him listen to us squabble like children."
"Thank you," I say quickly before anyone else can respond to the chairman's words, "My primary concern is what comes after victory. We are currently winning, but as things currently stand, I am doubtful if either side will retain enough strength to resist the demands of the local nobility once the off-world forces leave. And make no mistake, my troops will be leaving Indren and it will be sooner rather than later. This battle is ultimately just a minor front of a far bigger war and technically speaking, I've already achieved my objectives by taking out the Lucrehulk-class battleship while it was isolated from other Separatists warships."
"So you are just going to abandon us?" someone demands as my words stir up some unhappy mutterings.
"No," I answer firmly to cut off that line of discussion before it can get started, "But make no mistake, the presence of my soldiers is only temporary and I don't want to save this world from the corporates to abandon it to the nobility."
"I assume you have a solution in mind?" asks Chairman Velh before anyone else can reply to my words.
"Get the Separatists and the nobility fighting," I say, "It shouldn't be too hard since they both seem to hate each other more than they hate you. Rather than having your forces and the Separatists bled each other dry before the nobility swoops in with their mostly untouched forces, you get them to bleed each other dry instead."
"That isn't a bad idea," mutters someone from the crowd as I look between Velh and Aira.
"I suppose this is a good a time as any to bring up the proposal that Duchess Rolanas has reached out to us with," says Chairman Velh and as several others in the room begin to talk, he speaks louder to be heard over them, "General Shan, Duchess Rolanna is one of the more influential members of the Indren nobility and has assembled a substantial coalition and claims to hold authority over the a third of the feudalist-aligned infantry, most of their tanks and all, but one squadron of their ground-based starfighters."
"I assume she has offered a deal of some kind based around using those forces to help us in exchange for something," I comment and judging from the reactions, I have hit the nail on the head.
"That would be correct," confirms Chairman Velh as he swiftly continues talking before anyone can respond to my words, "In exchange for some favourable laws being passed, she is willing to commit her forces against the traitors. The duchess isn't asking for anything too unreasonable and won't badly swing the balance of power in their favour too much, but the Assembly is loath to give them more privileges and less oversight they already got."
"I can see why that would be an issue," I reply as I think about which option would leave less of a mess behind at Indren, "Alright, let's talk."
This chapter is a mix of things, but I wanted to show both the fighting against one of the local elite units and how Ben makes use of Force Healing. It is his way of retaining his connection to the Light and he likes to steady himself after fighting by taking some time to tend to the wounded.
Otherwise, some Master-Padawan moments and starting to get involved in the local political scene even though Ben would rather stay out of that just win the war. Of course there is the dilemma that while the Republic forces have artillery and orbital bombardment, they can't use those to hit the enemy without flattening parts of the capital. Which of course the locals would rather avoid so it is a balance of keeping the city without destroying it in the process.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Jun 8, 2021
2.6 (Indren Campaign) - Chapter Eleven
The next twenty minutes turns out to be a real pain in the arse. I get some useful details and for the most part, it isn't a total waste of time, but a lot of it is the local influentials going on about how they want to have their cake and eat it too. It is annoying, but made more bearable that most of the complaining and verbal sparring is being done between their own internal factions rather than being directed at me.
My part is simply making sure the Assembly is aware of the military side of things. Which amounts to the fact we can win, but the most likely scenario is leaving the Republic-aligned democrats too weak to resist the feudalists once I leave with my forces. That is something nobody here wants, but beyond getting the local nobility involved in the war or flattening parts of the capital with artillery to eliminate enemy forces, there isn't much that can be done to avoid that fate.
It would have dragged on longer, but by threatening to leave on the grounds I had a war to wage, I was able to inspire enough of the others to bring the debate to a head.
"Enough, we have already covered all of the salient points and made our respective opinions known," shouts Chairmen Velh over the noisy room, "General Shan has other duties he needs to tend to and I want him involved in my next talk with Duchess Rolanas."
Some more talking breaks out at that, but soons subsides as Chairman Velh gives the room a stern glower. It seems that the respect and authority that the chairman commands outstrips the unruliness of the Indrenese Assembly.
"General Shan and Brigadier Telis, if you could follow me," says Chairman Velh as he turns to head for a room further into the building.
With Aria following him, I fall in behind the two, easily catching up with the duo shortly before they walk through the doorway into a smaller room. The other room breaks into conversation again as I walk through the doorway and I resist the urge to glance over my shoulder. No need to get dragged into local politics anymore than I need to.
"Sorry about that Master Jedi," says Chairman Velh in an apologetic tone, "The Assembly is hard to keep under control at the best of times and the current crisis has tensions flaring up even as unity is needed."
"I've dealt with the Senate on Coruscant," I reply, "This is nothing compared to that and forgive me for saying so, the stakes are also much lower."
"While it pains me to openly acknowledge it, I am under no delusion that my world is anything beyond an minor Outer Rim world," replies Chairman Velh with a sigh, "You have a point that we need to win this war in a way that leaves us capable of holding our own once your forces have left. It will be no victory to exhaust ourselves destroying the traitors only for those nobles to swoop in and take over."
"I will do my best to prevent that," I tell him, "Now, what do you want me at this talk for?"
"Brigadier Telis informs me that you are the foremost military expert on the planet," says Chairman Velh, "Because of this and your status as our overall military leader, I want your input when it comes to military matters."
"Beyond a few specialists who know their specialities better than I do, that would be correct," I confirm, "I am certainly the most general military expert with the most overall knowledge and experience."
It might not be technically true, but it is close enough that it might as well be and for the purposes of this talk, it is true for all intents and purposes.
"Before I call Duchess Rolanas, I believe we should discuss what we shall say to her first," says Chairman Velh as he looks between Aria and I, "I am hoping that you can convince her to engage the Separatists on her own initiative or at least convince her that she position isn't as good as she thinks it is so she will make less strenuous demands."
"It shouldn't be too hard," I reply as I think things over, "Your faction is Republic-aligned and actively supporting official Republic forces. Meanwhile Duke whatshisname up there has been actively rude and belligerent to the point of threatening to open fire on Republic warships. I have a duty to ensure that I leave Indren in a state acceptable to the Galactic Republic and that means ensuring that when my troops leave, the local Republic forces aren't overwhelmed by other local forces who have only engaged in hostile actions against the Republic."
I politely ignore the look that Aria is giving me as my fellow Jedi radiates disapproval through the Force.
"Wait, Duke Narth actually threatened to open fire your warships," replies Chairman Velh, looking at you in surprise with a side glance at Aria, "I haven't heard about this. What was he thinking?"
"My forces have records of the entire exchange," I tell him, "When we took out the Lucrehulk, I offered to aid the noble fleet against the Separatists. Duke Narth responded by repeatedly insulting me and threatened to fire upon any Republic ship that approached his ships."
"That is useful," says Chairman Velh thoughtfully, "We can certainly leverage Duke Narth's foolishness against Duchess Rolanas and the rest of the nobility. Assuming that they continue to remain at arms length, how would you deal with the local nobility prior to leaving?"
"I would send my Corellian Gunships to deal with the enemy fleet while the Justice and my starfighters would launch orbital and aerial attacks against the local nobility," I answer promptly, "Without having to worry about limiting damage to the city, I could also use my artillery against the feudalist forces and precision strikes by my ground forces could hurt the enemy where blasting them from afar is impractical. I wouldn't go so far as to wipe all of their forces out, but I would hurt them enough that they would be unable to contest Republic loyalist control of the planet."
"Those sound like some reasonable courses of action," replies Chairman Velh, "Anything else General Shan?"
"Not off the top of my head," I say, glancing at Aria to see if she has anything to add.
"I have nothing to say at this moment," states Aria as Chairman Velh follows my gaze.
"Then I shall contact the duchess now then," says Chairman Velh and he moves over to what I recognise as a holo-projector. It takes a while for Duchess Rolanas to show up, but even though she isn't initially available, the duchess does appear quickly to her credit.
To my surprise, the hologram is blue-tinted colour, but given that it belongs to a wealthy planet government and is being used for communication with another part of the same planet, I can see the Indrenese Assembly going for a more high-end holoprojector.
"Chairman Velh," says the figure as she glances at me and Aria momentarily before focusing back on the chairman, "I see you brought who I believe is the famous General Shan to this call."
"Indeed I have," replies Chairman Velh, "General Shan, this is Duchess Konva Rolanas. Duchess Rolanas, this is General Ben Shan, Jedi Knight and leader of the offworld Republic forces."
"Duchess," I greet her politely.
"General," replies the duchess with a raised eyebrow, "Interesting title for a Jedi."
"I am a rather unconventional Jedi though I fear that many other Jedi will be going by General in the upcoming days," I reply, "Anyway, I am just here for my military expertise. Chairman Velh is heading this meeting and my presence here is at his request."
"I see," says Duchess Rolanas, "I presume you want to plead with me to risk the lives of people for your benefit without any gain for my own followers?"
"Actually I was planning to inform you of my plans based on Indren's current political situation," I tell her, but that doesn't really convey what I am trying to tell her so I decide to go straight to the point, "To put it bluntly, your forces have refused to aid Republic interests while the local loyalists have. In fact, Duke Narth has even threaten to open fire on my ships and between that and your attempt to extort the Assembly in exchange for aid, I feel it is in my best interests to smash the local noble forces before leaving so they won't be able to pose a military threat to local Republic forces when my troops leave."
There is a pause as Duchess Rolanas stares at me.
"Zyrgae was stupid enough to threaten you?" says the woman, clearly thrown off by what I have just said to her.
"I have recordings of it," I answer, speaking in helpful tones as if that is what I am trying to be, "It was after I took out the Lucrehulk. I offered to send some of my forces to aid him and in response, he insulted me and threatened to fire upon any of my people who approached his forces."
"What exactly is it that you want from me, General?" asks Duchess Rolana, "You wouldn't have opened up with that if you didn't have something in mind and the good chairman wouldn't have brought over for this talk unless he had a good reason for doing so."
"My priorities are the Republic's interests and the relevant part for this means I need to ensure that Indren will remained aligned with the Republic," I answer the duchess, "Right now, you and the rest of the nobility have been refusing to help fight the Separatists while the democrats have been helping. Combined with how your space forces have threatened my own, which are official Republic forces, I am forced to conclude that you are not friendly to the Republic and are reserving your forces to take over the planet from the Republic loyalists once my troops leave."
That isn't entirely true. I'm not sure what has gone on in the Senate between now and Geonosis, but last time I checked, the 1st Republic Patriot Legion is still just a privately funded paramilitary force that just happens to be privately funded by Republic senators and privately led by a Jedi. So while we are clearly aligned with the Republic, we aren't an official part of the Republic beyond our citizenship.
None of the locals need to know that however and with the recording of Duke Stupid's threats, I can sell the action as necessary to the Senate. Honestly speaking, I doubt anyone back on Coruscant will care about what happens on a backwater Outer Rim world for good or ill. I suppose that means I don't have to cripple the feudal forces before leaving, but I and my troops have been fighting alongside the normal local democrats while the nobles have been sitting things out at best.
"So you want me to commit my forces to helping repel these Separatists from Indren," concludes Duchess Rolanas as she gives me an assessing look.
"As proof of your willingness to protect Republic interests, I want you to help drive the Separatists from Indren with meaningful commitments," I tell her, "You need to prove that you are beneficial to the Republic's interests, not a threat to it. In this vein, I will require the same of the other nobility forces on Indren and Duke Narth to be removed from command of the space forces otherwise I will be forced to deal with them as threats to the Galactic Republic before I leave Indren."
"I can commit my own forces and I should be able to persuade the other big movers to do the same," replies Duchess Rolanas, "Getting rid of Duke Narth may prove to be… difficult. The man is physically aboard his warships and his house is the traditional leader of them."
"I'll send you a copy of my recording of Duke Narth's threats," I reply, "You can use that along with my stated intentions to convince the crews to remove Duke Narth. I doubt they will want to die and they have to know that they cannot take my fleet in a fight."
"I will be able to work with that," concedes Duchess Rolanas, "I am not familiar with military affairs myself, but I will direct my marshall to get into contact with you to coordinate our efforts."
"That will be most satisfactory," I inform her and after a bit of small talk, the talk concludes.
"That was far more than I or the Assembly was hoping for Master Jedi," says Chairman Velh, a pleased glint in his eyes, "To get the nobility pulling their weight in this war without having to make any concessions… we are in your debt."
"I am doing what I can," I tell him, "I am grateful that you remained loyal to the Republic and didn't side with the Separatists."
"We could never trust those megacorps to play fair with us," says Chairman Velh with a shake of his head, "The Republic was our only hope and it has paid off for us."
"I am glad that I have been able to help," I say as I notice the disapproval radiating off of Aria through the Force, "Now if you could assume myself and Brigadier Telis, we need to go and have a private talk. Jedi business."
"Of course General Shan," agrees Chairman Velh without any hesitation, "You have done a fair more for us than I could have hoped for. Now, I need to go and tell the rest of the Assembly the good news."
"What were you thinking in there?" demands Aria once we are out of the Assembly Hall and have some measure of privacy on the semi-empty streets, "You just threatened to attack and kill several uninvolved third parties."
"The nobility are involved in this as a third faction," I reply, "One that is proven hostile to the Republic and our local allies. I cannot afford to wait around and deal with the situation properly. I wasn't lying about Duke Narth's actions meaning that I couldn't trust them and I have a duty to our local allies to ensure that their support of us doesn't leave them in a position where they lost the moment we leave."
"We should have tried to find a diplomatic solution," argues Aria, "We are Jedi. You should not have just threatened the duchess to get a speedy resolution. We are meant to be peacekeepers not thugs."
"We do not have time for dragged out negotiations," I reply, biting back a remark about how the High Council has decided that we are generals now because I cannot be certain that it is true and even if it is, it wouldn't be helpful to this conversation, "We can only spend so much time here, especially with the Lucrehulk taken care of. With an actual war going on, time is of the essence."
Of course, I can't help, but wonder if I have made the right choice. I believe I did, but I might have just been cutting corners and straying from the path of the Jedi for the sake of winning the war. Maybe this is how the High Council felt in those other timelines.
"We should have still tried for a more peaceful solution before resorting to threats of violence," says Aria.
"Maybe," I mutter, "You've got a point Aria."
And she does, even if I don't regret my actions and would have repeated them if given the chance.
"Of course, I do," says Aria after a moment as she swiftly recovers from her surprise at my agreement with her, "I do not border on the line of heresy like you do. Jedi are peacekeepers and diplomats. We do not resort to threats of violence to get our way."
With that said, I remain silent because I don't know what to say. Do I agree with her or not? Are we supposed to be peacekeepers and diplomats with Jedi being generals and soldiers as something undesirable? Ever since I began to help Master Hastros and Judicials free those slaves in my padawanship, I have always felt the call to be a soldier, someone who would fight slavers and pirates to protect the innocent from them. An unconventional Jedi and a borderline heretic is what I am, but have I made the wrong choices? Aria, the High Council and even my own master would say that I have, but I don't think I have. Especially not with my newfound knowledge.
But if I was making the wrong choices, how would I know?
So this arc has been something of a learning session for me where I practice relevant plot types on an unimportant OC world before I reach any of the canonical events and locations. In this, I feel it has been successful as I've got an idea of how to properly handle action and combat without it getting too repetitive and how to handle politics.
With this chapter, I ended up wanting a quick resolution to the local politics so I went for something fitting and swift. At the same time, it makes total logical sense for a Republic general, but the solution isn't really the Jedi way so Aria ends up calling Ben out on that and has a point about it.
Anyway, another chapter or two in this arc before we move onto the third arc of the story.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Jun 8, 2021
2.7 (Indren Campaign) - Chapter Twelve
"Master, the droids are retreating," says Vyssa as I carve another battle droid in two.
"I noticed," I reply as I deflect a blaster bolt back at another battle droid and my padawan beheads one of the other battle droids before us.
It has been almost two days since the Battle of Indren began and it is almost over. Even with droid support, the combined forces of the local Republicans, the Feudalists and my own forces have proven too much for the local Separatists.
Getting the local nobility involved turned out to be a big game changer as they and the local Separatists had a mutual hatred of each other. Born from generations of local politics, said hatred outstripped any dislike the city dwellers held for each other over galactic politics and Separatists eagerly switched their attention from Irafen to crushing the nobility.
Given how quickly the Separatists began to throw battle droids at the forces of the nobility, I suspect that locals are in command after the actual Separatist leader died aboard the Lucrehulk. There is no way that a general from offworld would have weakened the siege of the capital to crush the local nobility underfoot. As things played out, the Separatist didn't break the siege of Irafen, but they certainly switched their primary focus and reinforcements to counter attacking the nobility with the bulk of their forces.
And that was a fatal mistake on their part as it gave my forces a chance to regroup as the constant waves of battle droids stopped. It took a couple of hours, but I rallied my troops and some of the local professionals to make an attempt at breaking the siege. With myself and Vyssa at the helm while Aria provided her battle meditation, it was successful. We didn't entirely drive out the Seppies, but combined with unleashing orbital and artillery bombardments on the forces attacking the nobility, they got hurt badly.
That wasn't crippling of course. They lost a good number of tanks and starfighters and plenty of men and droids, but they still had a substantial amount of manpower, AATs and battle droids left. What they didn't have was enough reserves to win a war of attrition and a good number of them knew it.
The enemy reaction was mixed. Some threw themselves at the nobility to make them bleed as much as possible before they were defeated. Others made a push to take Irafen only to find my forces too entrenched and their own numbers too few for victory to be possible. More of the Separatists decided they would rather seek the mercy of the fellow city dwellers over the feudalists and so surrendered to the local Republicans. The rest withdraw to their strongholds to continue fighting and make a last stand.
Those last two columns actually had some overlap as some commanders decided to continue the fight only to find out that their troops didn't agree with them. We actually took the Separatist capital of Dalamore as the Separatist edition of the Indrenese Assembly was taken captive by its defenders and the local Separatist general decided to trade the city and her prisoners in exchange for good terms for her soldiers and their families.
Unfortunately, the droids have ended up just continuing fighting regardless of the strategic situation or their organic allies surrendering and there were enough of them to cause some serious problems. Nonetheless, a handful of pitched battles and several running skirmishes outside of major settlements have seen the droids driven back as finally being able to use our artillery allowed us to inflict devastating losses on the enemy, especially since they lack artillery of their own or sufficient starfighter support to strike at our artillery.
Anyway, the local Separatists forces are on their last legs and the Indren campaign should be over in another day or two. The biggest holdout is General Nuta Sind as the Arkanian woman still has a few thousand organic soldiers answering to her alongside a handful of tanks, a couple hundred AATs and over ten thousand battle droids.
Which brings me to the current situation as I lead an offensive against Sind's forces as they retreat into one of the many junk yards that litter Indren's surface. Myself, Vyssa and Sky Company have already taken out a few dozen AATs and several hundred battle droids via liberal usage of fire support, but General Sind still has plenty more left for us to take out.
Blaster fire from my troopers cuts down more of the battle droids and the surviving battle droids begin to panic. Which surprises me because they aren't supposed to do that/ It must be the result of the Trade Federation being cheap because droids designed for combat shouldn't suffer from broken morale. The lack of morale loss is supposed to be one of the benefits of using droids instead of organics.
Regardless of why they are malfunctioning like this, it ultimately doesn't matter as I dart forward and with both of my lightsabers, I cut down the remaining battle droids of the droid company we were facing.
"Are we going to continue the offensive, Master?" asks Vyssa as my padawan runs up beside me.
"We are going to have to," I answer as I run the math in my head.
I've got Sky Company with me plus a trio of tanks, two light and one heavy. That should be enough to support myself and Vyssa, but who knows what the Separatists have been preparing in the junk yard that is large enough to fit a decent sized town in it. That said, they are on the ropes, but General Sind has the most remaining forces out of any of the Separatists commanders still fighting even if she has to be running low on supplies by now.
Someone will need to make the push and it might as well be myself and Sky Company. We'll have the ability to call in reinforcements and artillery support if we need it.
"Captain Vora," I call as I walk over to the twi'lek in question, "How many casualties did we take in that engagement?"
"No dead General," replies Vora, "We've got some injured and Trooper Chaka is serious enough that I'll want to send her back for medical attention instead of getting you to do some of your Jedi healing. The armour has proven to be worth every credit again."
Given how expensive said armour is, it better be. Based off of Echani designs and further modified inhouse by my engineers, the battle armour used by the 1st Republic Patriot Legion is as protective as it is costly. The armour is capable of taking multiple shots from regular blasters without overly hindering its wearer's mobility and costing over ten thousand credits per a set.
Normally that would be stupid amounts of money for a single set of armour with only individual mercenaries or bounty hunters paying that much for personal armour. Most organisations wouldn't consider that cost worth it for standardised armour, especially since said cost would be higher without the usage of inhouse engineers.
For the 1st Republic Patriot Legion, the cost is worth it as we are meant to be a small elite unit where my Jedi ideals means I consider shelling out for such good armour to be worth it if it means keeping my veterans alive and able to take a few hits on the battlefield. That said, I will need to take another look at that policy if our force expands. What is cost effective for a small, elite unit wouldn't necessarily work for a larger military force.
But for now, it means that Sky Company is still in fighting shape and fit to accompany my and Vyssa into the junk yard.
"Have someone show me the wounded while you get Sky ready for another fight," I tell Captain Vora, "We're going to be seeing where the droids were trying to retreat to."
"Yes sir," replies Vora cheerfully as she snaps a salute, "Sergeant Haldores, show the General to the wounded for healing."
A humanoid man in white and red armour comes up to me and my helm highlights the man as one Sergeant Geld Haldores.
"This way, General," says Sergeant Haldores as he waves me over and begins to walk off, "The combat medics have the wounded over here."
There are eight wounded in total. Trooper Chaka is the worst off with multiple shots to her left arm to the point that it is useless. I heal it up so it is technically functional again and isn't in constant pain, but I agree with Vora's assessment that Trooper Chaka needs proper medical attention.
The other seven wounded aren't so bad. Three have taken some more serious hits, but are still able to fight and some Force healing from myself is enough to patch them off. The last four have taken only light injuries and I let Vyssa handle it both for the practice and to save time as we split the workload in two.
My biggest concern is the armour. While nobody has non-functional armour, a lot of Sky Company has taken hits over this campaign and not everyone haven't had the chance to properly fix up their armour or swap out damaged parts for fresh ones. It isn't a major concern, but it is a concern that I need to worry about as the troopers of Sky Company are more likely to go down than if they had fresh suits of armour.
At least the troopers themselves of Sky Company are still fresh. We only had three skirmishes so far and I've been making sure to rotate the companies of 1st Regiment that are on duty to make sure everyone is getting enough rest. With the exception of myself, everyone has been getting sufficient rest and thanks to the Force, my Matukai training and my natural endurance, I can afford to go without sleeping as it takes a while before it starts to go into my performance. Though I am starting to hit my limit and some tiredness is starting to seep into my limbs.
I am definitely going to need to get some shuteye after the next fight.
It doesn't take long for Vora to get Sky Company ready for enough fight and before long, we are entering the piles of junk with wrecked vehicles, scrap metal and broken machines surrounding us on all sides. Our approach is cautious as the Separatists have had a few hours to dig in and prepare who knows what surprises for us.
"Hey General, think we could get anything useful from all of this scrap?" calls one of the troopers.
"Very unlikely Corporal Keli," I reply, having already thought about this question myself, "Any good stuff quickly gets taken by the locals so anything we might want to take for free will be from new stuff. We can try looting the clankers for useful parts, but that is about it."
And I am already planning to let the engineers spend a few hours taking apart the downed battle droids and Separatists tanks and starfighters for parts. I've already got a few of them doing it, but any serious effort will need to wait until the fighting is over. One thing that my legion has gotten good at is by directly acquiring spare parts from defeated enemies for free to save costs from having to buy them on the market and I intend to do my best to encourage that. We will need any last scrap of funding for the upcoming war and whatever may follow it.
"Aren't some of the gearheads already doing that?" inquires another trooper and some casual back and forth passes the time before the scouts report droids up ahead.
"How many?" I ask as the pair of troopers come rushing back to the main formation.
"About a hundred of the big bulky battle droids and three times that in regular battle droids," answers the more senior of the two scouts, "A dozen of the droid tanks as well and maybe a few more that we didn't spot."
"That sounds like our next target," I reply before speaking up so the rest of Sky Company can hear me, "Alright Sky, we got our next target. We are going to scrap those droids and then withdraw so some other boys and girls can have some fun. Whittle down the droids and try to take out the tanks if you can. Commander Randanys, focus on the super battle droids and I will be dealing with those tanks as they are the biggest threat."
The droids are set up in an impromptu set of fortifications with some of the battle droids standing behind some cover, but the majority are standing out in the open. The B2s are mixed in with the B1s while the AATs are hanging back.
I let Sky Company open fire before rushing in at inhuman speeds, going straight for the tanks.Grenades explode, scattering the droids as several are blown apart and others send flying or left non-functional. Meanwhile blaster fire rips into the remaining exposed droids as the B1s drop like flies to the expert shots of Sky Company.
By the time that the droids are beginning to shoot back and I have reached the tanks, maybe as much as a third of the battle droids are already down. Jumping on one of the tanks, I slash the front of it with my blue blade so that the blade cuts into the hull and gets the pilot and gunners. As the blue blade exits the tank, I jump onto the top of the turret and stab down with my shoto. The green blade pierces the armour and strikes the last member of the AAT, taking out the tank and leaving another dozen to go.
As I deal with a second AAT, the heavy tank I bought with Sky Company rolls around the corner and the veteran crew unleashes a barrage of missiles at another of the droid tanks. Enough of the missiles pierce the hull to create an internal explosion that leaves the AAT as a burning husk while the heavy cannon on my heavy tank takes aim at a fourth AAT. As the pair of light tanks begin to help mow down the infantry, a single shot from the main cannon of the heavy tank cripples another AAT.
Moving onto my third tank, I decide that the battle is going well. Despite their superior numbers, we caught the droids by surprise and Sky Company is good enough to fight through superior numbers. The fact the battle droids don't seem to be programmed to take cover helps a lot.
Then the actual Separatist trap is revealed as one of Sky Company's troopers spots more enemy forces off to the side of the current battlefield. As some of the remaining battle droids decide to focus their fire on me, I don't have time to find out what exactly is going on, but it is clear that the Separatists are trying to outflank us and this droid force is possibly just an expensive bait for the trap.
"Vora!" I shout as I deflect a blaster bolt back into a battle droid, "Call in artillery strikes on the flanks. Smash them before they can get into cover."
The captain of Sky Company shouts a response, but I am unable to hear the words as my battle precognition warns me of a tank taking a shot at me with its main cannon. I backflip into the air in time to avoid a heavy laser that tears into the ground where I was standing a moment before.
"Pull back!" I order, slicing a super battle droid in two as I land while four of the local heavy tanks roll around.
Most of the AATs are down, but those that remain are enough to dish out some damage, especially with the arrival of the heavy tanks. Something that is promptly proven as one of my light tanks goes down in a fiery explosion.
The majority of the droids have been taken out, but that doesn't mean much when enemy organic soldiers are entering the fray. Wearing proper armour and wielding military-grade blasters, these new soldiers are clearly professionals as shown by how they are using cover and actual military tactics.
"Retreat to cover Vyssa," I tell my padawan as I find myself being forced on the defensive as the enemy seems determined to take me out.
A disproportionate amount of enemy blaster fire is being directed at myself personally and I grasp the enemy intentions. They seek to slay me and honestly, that isn't a bad plan. Losing me is a far bigger blow to the Republic than losing Sky Company and while it won't save them, it is their best chance at an impossible victory.
I need to take out those tanks, but I can't do that while the enemy is laying down so much fire at me. Until either the enemy tanks or enemy blaster fire is thinned, I can't keep up the offensive and so I must retreat. I don't like it, but I am no good to my troops if I am needlessly killed. Throwing up a Force barrier will only hold the enemy fire for a couple of seconds, but it is enough to buy me some time to sprint back to cover amongst the troopers of Sky Company.
By the Force, this is not a good battle for me to be pushing my limits. There is a heaviness in my limbs from lack of sleep that I do not need right now.
"How many?" I ask, speaking to no one in particular as I begin to deflect blaster bolts away from the troopers around me.
"Five of the droid tanks plus those new four General," replies a sergeant, "Still got a few droids left and they have a couple of hundred real soldiers now. I think we can still win this sir."
"Has Captain Vora called in the artillery yet?" I ask, but my answer comes as a mixed barrage of artillery shells and energy shots come crashing down into the enemy's flanks.
Only one of the AATs is taken out while the heavy tanks are undamaged, but the enemy infantry takes a pounding as they and their cover is blown apart, killing many of them and leaving more injured or exposed. Another AAT goes down as a trooper next to me gets shot in the chest. Sensing that she still lives, I bend down to heal her, letting the Force flow into her for a second to ensure she won't die before pulling back so I can continue deflecting blaster bolts.
One of the heavy tanks hits the scrap next to us, showing my position with fragments of scrap metal as Sky Company and the Separatists continue to exchange fire with each other. Despite the numbers arrayed against us, I believe we are winning. Sky Company is one of the best units in my legion and has a defensive position while the enemy has lost the advantage of surprise. The enemy tanks are a concern, but we got artillery support to counter that.
"This is General Shan," I call into the battle net, "I need artillery support at ten to twenty metres in front of me."
"Understood sir," replies the artillery commander, "We'll have a barrage enroute in a moment."
One thing I have come to appreciate over the last couple of years is having a good, experienced contingent of accurate artillery. Being able to call down death upon the enemy without having to worry about your troopers missing or hitting the wrong thing is a very useful ability and one you suspect not enough people in the galaxy properly appreciate. Too many just see the slow and fragile nature of artillery and dismiss them as not being worth the cost and space.
Today, the Separatists are learning that this is not at all true as a second barrage smashes them. Before the dust can begin to clear, I leap into the fray and rush the enemy position once I am certain that the artillery barrage is over. I don't see any of the tanks straight away, but I run into a couple of stumbling soldiers. I slash one across the chest with my blue lightsaber while I bisect the other one across the cut with my green blade at the same time, ignoring the unpleasant sensation of taking another person's life. At least these are easy fights so my tiredness doesn't impact my ability to win too much.
I cut down another staggering soldier as I spot one of the heavy tanks, but the enemy vehicle is a burning wreck. At this point, the dust has begun to clear and the firefight has begun once again as Sky Company and the enemy forces begin to exchange fire. I begin to receive blaster fire again, but this time, it isn't enough to force me onto the defensive. I deflect a blaster bolt back into the neck of one soldier as I rush the closest group. Another falls to deflected blaster fire before I am amongst them. A slash here, a swish there and a couple more slashes along with a stab and all five Separatist soldiers are down while I've got one of their heavy tanks in my sight as it begins to reverse.
It looks like the Separatists are trying to retreat, at least the organics are. A handful of battle droids and that last AAT are still holding their ground, but the surviving organic soldiers are definitely making a withdrawal. Well, the AAT was holding its ground as my heavy tank blows the droid tank's hull open with a trio of missiles.
Despite the weariness that has invaded my limps, I run after that tank as while I could slay some more infantry, the remaining Separatists tanks are more valuable to the enemy and therefore a bigger target to take out. Especially since Sky Company can handle the surviving infantry whilst not being so capable of taking out that tank.
Casually deflecting blaster bolts away, I leap onto the back of the tank. I run across its top until I am standing on top of the turret and then slash the twin barrels of its main gun in two with my blue blade. Ignoring a blaster bolt that hits my beskar pauldron, I stab down into the hull of the tank, aiming for where I can sense the crew within. It feels too much like using the Force to kill, but it is an unfortunate necessity as I don't know this tank design well enough to figure out where to hit to kill it and I'm too worn out to try and put it together on the fly.
As I slay the last of the crew, I spot Vyssa amongst the nearby soldiers as my padawan cuts down retreating enemy soldiers with her yellow blade. She looks okay and unharmed, which is what matters. Decapitating an unlucky soldier on my way, I run up to Vyssa to join her in battle.
"Hey, Master," says Vyssa as she notices me, "Nasty ambush huh?"
"It was an unpleasant surprise," I agree, "Fortunately we had artillery support or otherwise it might have worked. I just hope we didn't lose too many."
"I kept a few troopers from being killed for what it is worth," offers Vyssa, "And Sky is tough. They won't die easily."
"No, they don't," I agree as I resist the urge to yawn, "We got to let them go, Vyssa. We don't have the strength or energy to launch a proper pursuit.
Which is true and not just because I need to hit a bed. Sky Company has to be running low on intact armour at this point and plenty have to be injured. We destroyed a significant portion of the remaining Separatist forces in this engagement and I'll just have to settle for that victory.
This is the final battle of the Indren arc and I think it went well in terms of how I wrote it. Ben is pushing his limits while he is with Vyssa and Sky Company when they push into enemy territory. Droids get used as expendable bait and once the Republic forces are engaged, they get hit by a decent chunk of the remaining enemy elite. The good guys get pushed back, but win by calling down artillery support to smash the enemy from afar.
I'm not sure how summarising how the campaign has gone between this chapter and last. I'm not going to show it all on-screen, but at the same time, I don't want to just come off as just stating the facts in a boring manner.
I also went into the armour that the 1st Republic Patriot Legion uses and that is going to be something of a big deal. This is because it is expensive upgraded armour that does its job well. While stats aren't strictly followed, I do like to use the Star Wars RPG stats to figure how certain things stack up to each other, mainly using KOTOR & KOTOR II prices over the ones provided in the Saga RPG.
Anyway, I want to figure out some elite armour and I wanted to it to be used by Ben's non-clone troopers to explain why they don't die easily and how Ben is able to keep up the numbers of his small personal army. In this case, Ben decided his limited manpower numbers meant it was more cost-effective to pay for armour that kept his troops alive than it was to pay for replacement soldiers.
So back to the trooper armour of the Republic Patriot Legion. I used Echani Battle Armour as the base stats as it is a nice set of medium armour that doesn't cost too much whilst providing a decent defence without limiting the dexterity bonus too much. This translate into using Echani designs that provide good protection whilst still being flexible enough to not limit the mobility of the wearer. I mainly went with the KOTORII armour stuff over the Saga RPG for extra upgrades.
The Saga stuff is mainly stuff that KOTOR doesn't do. In this case, a Combat Helmet for protection, comms, a HUD and low-light vision while Vacuum Seals for space ops and other hostile environments. Plus I used one of the tech guy feats to say that the legion engineers to can do a bit more upgrades to the armour to make them more protective (1 Defence) or more flexible (1 Dexerity bonus). The KOTOR stuff is a mixture of the actual armour upgrades and incorporating stuff from other gear slots into the armour. Accuracy Gloves to make the troopers slightly more accurate while an Inertial Inhibitor is there for boosted defence and a Shielding Visor provides some defence, including Energy Immunity.
Then I get onto the actual KOTOR armour upgrades. For this, I assume that the legion engineers to things in-house as I could only find component costs and not credits costs so I put the credit cost of the upgrades at the component cost times by five. The Overlay is Ablative Plating IV for some defence, a big bonus to Energy Immunity and some Energy Resist at the price of reduced mobility. Meanwhile the Underlay is Armorweave Underlay V for another big boost to Energy Immunity.
Now this is very expensive armour at over ten thousand credits per a set and that is with cutting down the price by using basic parts and in-house engineers to do some of the upgrades. For comparison, Clone Trooper Armour is two thousand credits for Phase I and three thousand credits for Phase II.
On the other hand, the legion armour is worth every credit if you want to keep your veterans alive. Over twice as tough as Phase I Clone Trooper Armour and almost twice as tough as Phase II Clone Trooper Armour, it takes a lot more hits on its own before you consider the anti-blaster/anti-Energy Damage bonuses. Each blaster hit does only 35% of its damage and then 5 points of that damage is ignored. I haven't bothered to figure out the stats would play out, but for the story, the armour can take a lot of hits. Conservatively speaking, it could take three or four very good hits and more likely, it could take a dozen before the trooper goes down and on the other end of the spectrum, a trooper in legion armour could take over twenty blaster shots.
So really expensive armour, but also really good armour. Works for a small elite unit where it is cost effective to spend so much keeping your limited amount of experienced soldiers alive, but it gets less cost effective when you begin to scale up the unit into something larger. Which will be a concern if Ben decides to start recruiting another legion or two and means it isn't cost effective to equip an army with infantry numbering in the millions or higher with it, such as the Grand Army of the Republic.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
2.8 (Indren Campaign) - Chapter Thirteen
One of the worst parts of any battle or campaign is looking up the butcher's bill once the fighting is over. This bout of fighting wasn't as bad as Geonosis, but we still took a lot of losses even if the locals took the brunt of the deaths.
The fighting technically isn't over, but all of the major settlements have been taken by Republic-aligned forces and a few scattered outholds in the countryside is something that the locals can mop up.
After getting a few hours of much-needed sleep, I made the hard choice of not returning to the battlefield as while I am a great fighter, I do need to do the paperwork as a general. Especially since none of my forces are currently assigned to any active hotzones and I intend to keep things that way until we pull out sometime later today.
Our work on Indren is done and I don't intend to lose any more of my people on this planet. I've already lost about a hundred and eighty infantry with many more wounded whilst we lost just over a dozen tanks and most of them had their crews dying with them. Combined that with a tenth of our pilots lost in either the orbital engagement or aerial dogfighters planetside, the 1st Republic Patriot Legion has paid a bloody toll. A bloody toll that I fear will become a regular price over the Clone Wars.
It isn't all bad. I didn't deprive the locals of any salvageable tanks or starfighters, but my engineers did get first pick on a good number of the more thoroughly wrecked ones. While the hulls weren't recoverable, we did acquire a decent number of spare parts for free and taking apart enemy weapons and armour got us plenty of valuable components for the engineers to make upgrades to any new gear in the future.
I would call it a decent haul even if it doesn't make up for the lives lost.
We also picked up a number of recruits as per the legion's policy of looking for any worthwhile recruits whenever we finish an operation. Here on Indren, we struck aurodium as the fighting left the planet with plenty of veterans.
A good number of Republicans and Feudalists have decided they want to continue the fight against the Separatists or see the wider galaxy or have nothing left for them on Indren. Loren has already signed on a hundred local recruits and by the time we leave Indren, we will be looking at getting another fifty.
Another source of local recruits has turned out to be captured or surrendering Seppies. Either having no loyalty to the wider Separatist cause or not wanting to take their chances remaining on Indren, many Separatists are willing to try their luck with the legion. Aria and, to my surprise, Vyssa have been vetting these potential recruits for loyalty and according to what my fellow Jedi have to report, we are looking at getting maybe forty to seventy of them that are trustworthy enough to take with us.
Those recruits are almost enough to replace the losses suffered here on Indren and at the same time, they are no replacements at all.
"Then on the behalf of Indren, I wish you and your soldiers good luck fighting for the Galactic Republic," says Chairman Velh as the man gives me what is a genuine farewell as far as I can tell.
"And may the Force be with you and Indren," I reply before the leader of Indren ends the call.
Once the politician is no longer able to hear me, I let out a sigh. The local politics are a mess despite the war or perhaps because of the war. Despite fighting against the Separatists together, there has been no love lost between the rural nobility and the Republic-aligned city dwellers. With their mutual enemies gone, they have once again turned on each other. Metaphorically speaking that is. No actual fighting has broken out between the two factions.
This has bled over into how the defeated Separatists are being treated. While there are still a handful of holdouts still fighting, the captured prisoners are either being treated as traitors who need to be punished for their crimes or well-meaning, but misguided individuals who were misled by the real traitors. That last group is basically the Republic-aligned city dwellers deciding to bring some of the captured Separatist-aligned city dwellers back into their ranks so they can put up a stronger front to the Feudalists.
While I know that the local politics of most places are a mess, I will be more than happy to leave Indren behind as it recovers from what the locals are calling the Three Day War. Dealing with politics is more Aria's forte than my own and I will settle for dealing with important politics when I do have to engage with politicians.
And alas, that will be something that I'll be getting up to in the near future. With the outbreak of war and having to amass support so I have a powerbase to confront Sidious with, I will need to expand the legion. Not only will I need to find more recruits to replace our losses, but I will need to look into creating a 2nd Republic Patrio Legion and maybe even a 3rd Republic Patriot Legion.
That will require plenty of recruits along with a lot of money to pay for all of the new equipment and warships. Certainly more than my current budget can afford even if I got enough to replace the recent losses suffered at Geonosis. I will need to speak with my backers and supporters on Coruscant to acquire more funding. With war breaking out, it shouldn't be too hard.
Let's see… Kuat will be in Palpatine's camp and Ask Aak is an active supporter of Palpatine whilst being critical of the Jedi and according to my other timeline memories, he is going to get worse. Carida, Corulag, Anaxes and Commenor all have interests in a non-clone Republic military so I can work with that. Onaconda Farr is a natural ally as a stanuch militarist who is loyal to the Republic while being critical of Palpatine. He isn't without his flaws, but if I can protect Rodia's shipments from pirates, I can make a loyal ally out of him.
Om Free Ta is a deeply corrupt man, but while he is a loyal supporter of Palpatine right now, he also supports my efforts to stop slavers and pirates in the Outer Rim. I don't like the senator, I also can't afford to turn away allies, especially when those allies will end up as my enemies. He cares about himself first, his people second and the Republic or Empire third. Ryloth will be attacked and conquered early on in the war and if I can prevent that or at least free Ryloth, I've got a good chance of putting Om Free Ta in my camp over Palpatine's.
With the other prominent militarists, Candabrine Bu is bit too much of a politician for my tastes, but he is one of the more noteworthy militarists and while he isn't opposed to Paplatine, he certainly isn't in his camp either. Not quite a wild card, but he is someone who hasn't committed to a side yet.
Corellia has already chosen to stay out of the Clone Wars and I can work with that given my pre-existing connections and unofficial status. Mon Cala is in my corner, I just need to keep the Separatists from making the Quarren turn on the Mon Calamari. Bothawui will remain neutral, but I've got connections to Bothan Spynet that I can try and leverage to get them into my corner.
Bail Organa is a good man who can be counted on to oppose Palpatine's plans as can Padme Amidala and Mon Montha even if I don't expect them to support my paramilitary. I wish I knew some other names from my knowledge of the other timelines, but while I know of the Delegation of 2000, I don't know any of their names because the other person didn't bother to learn them. I can't help, but find this lack of research irresponsible, but the other individual had no way of knowing how important this information would be to me.
Wait, when did I start taking it for granted that the Supreme Chancellor is actually a Dark Lord of the Sith? Yes, it is a major point in both of the timelines that Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine is actually the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, but I haven't actually confirmed that is true in reality. Yet I am acting and planning like it is a known fact because it feels true.
It feels true. I am a Jedi Knight, no matter how unconventional or untraditional I am as one. I need to trust in the Force and while logically I know that Palpatine and Sidious might be different individuals, everything else is just telling me that they are the same person.
What else? Ah yes, the major shipyards. I can get Mon Cala, Corellia and Bothawui and their shipyards. Kuat and Rothana will be aligned with Sidious while Rendili is currently on hard times and that drives them to switching about a fair bit as they try to get their act together. I think Duro gets destroyed during the Clone Wars, near to the end of it. Fondor sides with the Separatists as does Raxus Prime, Sullust, Foerost and Sluis Van. Lantillies is primarily civilian starships while Eriadu is Tarkin territory, which most likely means they will be aligned with Sidious. Lianna is basically ruled by Sienar, which means alignment with Sidious while I know that N'zoth and Bilbringi have major shipyards, but nothing beyond that.
Continue to cultivate my existing connections with Mon Cala, Corellia and Bothawui while investigating the current political leanings of N'zoth, Bilbringi and Duro. Look into just how closely Eriadu is aligned with Sidious and if it is possible to pry them away from the Sith Lord. I also need to try and pull Rendili into my corner. It shouldn't be too hard as the company is still feeling the backlash from the Katana Fleet debacle and not being able to keep up with Kuat and Corellia as only selling to Mid Rim and Outer Rim worlds who can't afford Kuat warships is keeping their shipyards afloat. With Kuat getting all of the new military contracts, Rendili will be very eager for a way to catch up and if I order a good number of warships from-
"Ben, are you free to talk?" asks Aria, jolting me from my thoughts as my fellow Jedi stands in the doorway of my temporary office on Indren..
"I am," I answer, indicating for her to take a seat, "I was just thinking about where we are going to get more warships and the possibility of raising a 2nd Republic Patriot Legion."
"Because of the war," says Aria, "You would want me to lead this new legion?"
"That or I could promote Colonel Belen if you don't want the position," I reply, only half-focused on the conversation as I think about Katana Fleet, "We both know that Loren would be up for the task."
If my otherworldly knowledge is anything to go by, then the disappearance of the Katana Fleet was due to a hivemind virus rather than the extensive automation of the warships involved. There should be a report to prove it by this point in time so I won't have others freaking out on me.
"I would be willing to consider the position," says Aria as I begin to look up the relevant report, "The Jedi Order seems to be going to war according to a message that my old master sent me and if we weren't, I am too experienced at leading troops to not let the Republic make use of my skills. Do you think we will be able to get enough support for a second legion? With all of those clones, the Republic doesn't have a shortage of soldiers."
"We have a proven track record and there are plenty of wealthy and influential individuals who are interested in a non-clone army for the Republic," I answer as I flick through the reports.
"I suspect that you are right," agrees Aria, "While many will settle for a clone army, a good number want their people to be involved in any Republic military. But this is not what I came to speak to you about. I wish to inform you that Duke Zyrgae Narth has been removed from command of the Feudalist warships. When faced with the threat of fighting our ships, his crew was more than willing to remove him and his shuttle should be arriving planetside any moment now. We don't know who his replacement will be, but there are enough opportunists amongst the local nobility that it will be someone else who gets the job."
"That is good to hear," I reply, distracted as I find the relevant report, the one about Zeta Magnus and his hive virus.
"Are you okay Ben?" asks Aria, "You seem distracted."
"Just doing some research," I tell her, "With Kuat getting all of the new military contracts, I was thinking of going to Rendili for some of our new warships. The Hammerhead-class Cruiser is still a respectable warship and the Dreadnought-class Heavy Cruiser is a good warship outside of its crew requirements."
"Those crew requirements will be a concern for us," points out Aria with a frown, "Correct me if I am wrong, but I was under the impression that we cannot afford to recruit and pay so many individuals. A single Dreadnought Heavy Cruiser requires as much crew as all three of our star cruisers and its manpower requirements are higher than the manpower used by all of our ground forces."
"Not if a full slave rig is used," I reply, "Extensive usage of automation can reduce the crew requirement to a seventh of what they normally are, to little over two thousand."
Aria pauses as it takes her a couple of moments to place my words and figure out just what I am talking about.
"You cannot be serious General Shan," says Aria as she stiffs, " Katana Fleet was a disaster where two hundred warships were lost along with over four hundred thousand souls and who knows how many credits. I cannot believe you would make such a reckless and dangerous suggestion."
" Katana Fleet's disappearance was unrelated to its extensive usage of slave circuits," I counter, glancing at the report that is still open on my terminal, "It has since been determined that the lost of the fleet was due to a hivemind virus created by the Arkanian genetic terrorist Zeta Magnus. The heavy cruisers themselves aren't actually that expensive and the biggest cost is finding all that manpower for the crew. A budget increase could easily get us a few automated Dreadnought-class Heavy Cruisers and that would be enough to provide transport for a second legion, both for the infantry and any vehicles."
"I'll trust that you have everything in order," says Aria, settling down a bit after receiving my explanation, "You usually do when it comes to military affairs."
"Thank you for your trust in me Aria," I say, "I must confess that I am surprised you are so familiar with the Dreadnought Heavy Cruisers and the Katana Fleet. I didn't expect that sort of knowledge from you."
Aria stiffens again and between her polite mask on her face and strong mental shields, I have no clue what she is thinking or why she is apparently getting defensive.
"I merely felt it was prudent to do some research into modern warfare once I was assigned to you," answers Aria primly, "Since we may have ended up facing them in battle, I made sure to look up the various warships and starfighters we might encounter in our missions."
"Good thinking Aria," I reply, giving her an approving look that earns me a polite, but noncommittal look in response, "While I will look into getting some more star cruisers, I am thinking of getting Dreadnought Heavy Cruisers as an alternative in the meantime. I can assign one of the Liberty Star Cruisers to a 2nd Republic Patriot Legion to act as a flagship and then fill in the gaps for both legions with Dreadnoughts. That should provide enough troop transports that we don't need to worry about Corellian Corvettes and just focus on getting more Corellian Gunships. We can fill the gaps with Hammerhead Cruisers or Thranta Corvettes as needed."
"Is there a reason that we currently have Thranta Corvettes right now, but no Hammerhead Cruisers?" inquires Aria.
"The Thrantas are a Corellian design and CEC gives us a discount on their products," I answer, "It was cheaper than to get them and so I did. The discount is why all of our escorts are from CEC. Would you like to know the military differences between the two Aria?"
"The knowledge would be appreciated," replies Aria, "Especially if we are going to be including both designs within our fleet."
"First of all, there is a reason why they are called cruisers and corvettes respectively," I tell her, "The Hammerhead was something of a not quite a capital ship back in its heyday while the Thranta was always meant to be an escort. They have the same crew requirements and overall design, but the Hammerhead has a bit more firepower and is larger and tougher with more space for troops and cargo. The Thranta is slightly smaller with less space as a result, but it has more hangar space and slightly better shielding and mobility at the price of lighter armour."
"So the Hammerhead is a tougher and deadlier warship while the Thranta is more agile with more starfighters?" summarises Aria.
"Pretty much," I confirm, "Just keep in mind that while the Hammerhead could match capital ships thousands of years ago, there was something of a shortage of capital ships in that era and today it is a tough and dangerous frigate rather than cruiser like it was originally named."
"I understand," replies Aria, "Will we be going to Coruscant next?"
"Back to Geonosis than Coruscant," I answer, "We will need to meet up with the rest of our forces and then we shall go to Coruscant to recover and get more funding, warships and recruits. After that, we will go where we are needed. Anything else?"
"Yes, there is," declares Aria and I know her well enough to settle down for a potential argument if I want to fight over it or a lecture if I do not, "Two things for that matter. Why are you looking at Rendili for more starships if we got the discount from CEC?"
"Rendili is losing out to Kuat in military shipbuilding and Corellia in civilian shipbuilding," I answer, making sure that I don't let it slip I want to put Rendili in my camp so they will side with me against Sidious, "They are getting by with Outer Rim customers who can't afford Kuat products, but with the outbreak of the war and Kuat getting all of the official Republic military contracts, I'm worried that Rendili might decide their best interest are with the Separatists."
"Do you think that is likely?" asks Aria, not letting anything slip through both her mask and her mental shields.
I think back to what I know and what the other person knew. I know that Rendili is on the decline with the vast majority of its customers being from the Mid Rim or Outer Rim. The other person knows that Kuat is going to get pretty much of all of the Republic's warship contracts and that during the final year of the war, the Separatists take over Rendili from within. That other person didn't know much about it beyond both Jace Dallin and Plo Koon were involved, the Rendili fleet consisted of Dreadnoughts and Jace Dallin was in command of the Rendili defence fleet before he suffered a mutiny. Palpatine also used that incident as an excuse to nationalise all of the local defence fleets if the other person's memory serves.
"Enough that I want to try and sway Rendili," I reply, "It might not matter either way, but I feel it is a good idea and the warships would be useful to us. Rendili does have a rightfully deserved reputation for durable and hardy warships. What was the other thing?"
At that, Aria stiffens slightly even as her expression remains a mask of politeness and respect and I resist the urge to sigh as this is going to be what she is upset about.
"I want to make it clear that your actions have worked out this time, I do not approve of threatening the third parties into compliance," declares Aria, "Using threat of violence to get what you want is not the Jedi way and unbecoming of you. Regardless of our current assignment or how the Jedi Order may or may not get involved in this war between the Republic and Separatists, Jedi are peacekeepers and we should have sought a diplomatic solution to the problem."
"Noted," I tell her, deciding not to argue back as while I feel I did go with the most viable diplomatic solution, Aria isn't without a point.
She could have been less haughty about it, but it wouldn't be a good thing for me to forget that point. Violence should not be the first resort for a Jedi and I shouldn't let it be my first resort lest I find myself falling to the Dark Side.
This chapter originally was going to be covering how the Indren campaign ended and counting up the casualty count before meeting up with the rest of the forces. Instead, the second half got replaced by Ben thinking about politics and how he is going to create an anti-Sidious faction and expand his personal paramilitary.
Anything, a mixture of this is using notes I wrote down at the start of writing this and then doing research on stuff Ben could know from growing up as he has in the Star Wars galaxy. Some places are pretty much in Palp's camp, but there are a few places and people that Ben thinks he can draw into his own camp. Now he might not be successful or uninformed about just how far Palp will get his hooks into them, but he is going to try and build his power base partially by drawing off support from Palp. Mainly because it weakens Sidious whilst strengthening his opposition while people like Bail Organa and Mon Mothma are going to oppose Palpatine on their own.
In terms of politicians, I have just gone for named characters so far. Ben is looking to get Onaconda Farr and Orn Free Taa via Rodia and Ryloth respectively while he will try to court Rendili by purchasing warships from them. Beyond that, he will get the attempt to further cultivate his ties with the three Local Systems I choose to have an Ally opinion in the CYOA.
In summary, Ben is planning to make a 2nd Republic Patriot Legion with Aria or Loren in charge and to order several Dreadnought-class Heavy Cruisers and Hammerhead-class Cruisers whilst cultivating a militarist faction that is favourable to him over Palpatine.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
3.1 (Telos Extraction) - Chapter Fourteen
"So what is it that you wanted to show me?" I ask Commodore Thak as the Corellian leads into one of the hangars of a captured Lucrehulk as we get ready to leave Geonosis. It has been almost four days since the Battle of Geonosis and the beginning of the war which means that my forces are almost ready to leave.
The bulk of my forces will be going to Coruscant with me, but the captured Lucrehulks and the more damaged ships will be going to Mon Cala to make use of the shipyards there. Even if they didn't need work done, I wouldn't want to send them to Coruscant where their presence might motivate the Trade Federation to try and reclaim them.
"When we were searching Geonosis for any good salvage, one of our teams found something very interesting," says Commodore Thak, "We were able to bring it up here without any issue and I'm sure that you will be able to make good use of it."
"That still doesn't-" I start before pausing as I spot what has to be what Wol has brought me here for.
The vessel has to be about twenty metres long and twenty metres wide if those wings are included. Sleek with plenty of smooth curves, I recognise the Slave I, personal starship of the infamous Jango Fett and in both other timelines, Boba Fett. With Jango in a permanent medical coma and Boba dead, that outcome will not come to pass and it seems that the upgraded Firespray has fallen into my hands.
Wol is definitely right. I will be able to make good use of this. It isn't uncommon for Jedi to have their own personal starships and since I haven't got one of my own yet, Slave I can be mine. I will need to change the name though as there is no way I am going to be owning and flying a ship called 'Slave'. I'm not sure why Jango decided to call it that given his own history, but I don't particularly care either.
Maybe something like Knight I because I am a Jedi Knight. Hmm, about the same length and flows off the tongue. Knight I it is. I will want to give it a colour change. Blue is nice, but I want more Republic colours.
"Can you have someone change the idents on the ship?" I ask Wol, "I want to change the name from Slave I to Knight I."
"That name does suit you better," agrees the commodore, "I assume you are pleased with your new vessel?"
"Quite," I confirm, "This will certainly come in handy. I would also like to change the colour scheme to Republic colours.
"White and red then," replies Wol, "I'll have a team take a look at it when we get the time."
"Thank you Commodore," I tell him as I place a friendly hand on his shoulder, "I appreciate your clever thinking and help in running this fleet."
A fair-skinned woman with blue eyes and white hair Meetra Surik in green armoured robes Jal Shey and a pair of lightsabers walks down the ramp of a starship Ebon Hawk . A silver utility droid T3-M4 who has clearly seen some fights follows her down it
"Atton Rand ," calls the woman as she half turns to look back up the ramp, "Stay with the ship. This is something that I need to do."
"So you are taking the droid, but leaving me behind?" fake complains a man Atton Rand from out of sight back within the ship.
"T3 has proven himself capable of keeping this secret," replies the woman.
"And I haven't?" protests the man.
"Just keep an eye on the ship for me Atton," says the woman as she turns back around to continue into the facility, but there is some warmth in her word.
The woman heads for the ramp leading further into the building from the hangar, her utility droid faithfully following her as she goes. She makes her way through the abandoned and utilitarian rooms and corridors of the facility Telos Jedi Academy . She eventually reaches an arena with six rooms attached to it.
Going to one of the unused rooms Brianna's Room , she opens one of the wall panels. Leaning in, the woman ignites one of her lightsabers and uses the silver blade to slash open the metal back of the wall. Behind the construction is a wall of rock, part of the mountain that the facility is built into. There is a small hole in the exposed part of it and deactivating her lightsaber, the woman pulls out a holocron before placing it into the hole she has exposed.
I wake with a jolt, sitting upwards. Like most Jedi, I am not prone to visions, but I know one when I see it. Between my knowledge from studying my most famous ancestors and what the memories of the other timelines have to say, I have a pretty good idea of what that vision was showing me.
That was Meetra Surik, Atton Rand and T3-M4 visiting the Jedi Academy on Telos following their victory over the Sith Triumvirate. I refused to think of those events being the plot of KOTOR II. I refused to believe that one of the most important parts of Jedi, Republic and Galactic history being something made up for the plot of some holo game.
Meetra was hiding a holocron in the Telos Jedi Academy. Logically speaking, it shouldn't be there as the Jedi Academy on Telos hasn't been operational for over three decades and the last of the Jedi holocrons over there was brought back to the main Jedi Temple on Coruscant about three decades ago. I remember that from my research into my heritage too.
Yet the Force showed me that vision for a reason. It showed me where the Exile hid the holocron and I'm not sure why it would do that if it was sitting safely over at Coruscant. I should be able to find it when we arrive at Coruscant, but…
My mind keeps sticking on Telos. Telos, Telos, Telos. That world ends up being in Separatist space during the Clone Wars according to my other memories and while that doesn't actually mean it joins with the Confederacy… oh Force.
I need to check out the Telos Jedi Academy before the war gets into full swing, to grab the holocron before any Separatist forces can truly set up shop on Telos. Go to Telos, check to see if it is still there and if it isn't, go looking for it at the temple when I arrive at Coruscant. Taking the whole fleet would be unwise so a more discreet approach is required. Fortunately, I have just acquired a perfect way to enter Telos undetected. I'll just take the Slave I-no, the Knight I and make a quick investigation of the Jedi Temple there. See if the holocron is there and take it with me if it is before going to Coruscant to meet up with everyone else.
Vyssa is my padawan so I should take her with me. Another couple of soldiers for backup while Loren, Wol and Aria stay with the fleet to run things while I am away. Nice and simple so something is probably going to go wrong.
"You want to do what?" demands Aria once I have finished explaining my plans to her, Loren and Wol.
"I want to make a quick, discreet visit to the Jedi Academy on Telos to check out something I saw in a vision I had last night," I tell her again, "I can handle myself, Vyssa can come along for the experience and a couple of soldiers can tag along to be backup if things go wrong."
"And how do you plan to get there and back out?" asks Aria as she gives me not-quite a glower.
"We'll take the Knight I," I answer.
"The Knight I," repeats Aria, "I have never heard of that before."
"Part of our loot from Geonosis," say Wol as the Corellian comes to my aid, "It used to be the personal starship of Jango Fett, the Slave I, but General Shan has renamed it to the Knight I as something more befitting of its new owner. In my professional opinion, the plan is viable. Since the fleet will be going at a class two speed and the Knight I has a class one hyperdrive, it is practical for the Knight I to swing by Telos for a quick snatch and grab before meeting us at Coruscant. Between going twice as far at twice the speeds, the away team should be able to arrive at Coruscant about the same time that we do."
"If both General Shan and Commodore Thak support this idea, then it has my approval as well," says Loren, causing Aria to glance at him before refocusing on me.
"General Shan," says Aria as we stare each other in the eye, "Just how confident are you in this vision of yours?"
"Very," I answer, lowering my mental shields so Aria can know that I am being truthful, "It feels wrong not to investigate it and I can just feel that the holocron is still in its hiding spot. I need to check this out."
The two of us stare each other down before Aria lets out a little sigh.
"If that is so, then I'll approve of this mission as well," finally says Aria, "When will you leave?"
"As soon as I can," I tell her and the other two, "I'm going to go and fetch Commander Randanys once this meeting is over."
"I'll have a team prep the Knight I then," says Wol.
"And I'll pick out a couple of soldiers to accompany you," adds Loren.
When I come out of lightspeed at Telos, it is obvious that the Separatist have already made their control of the system clear to all. Three Munificent-class Frigates are orbiting the inhabited world of the system and I wouldn't be surprised if the local government is cooperating with them. If I remember correctly, Telos currently has a streak of anti-Jedism and probably translates into being anti-Republic.
Fortunately we are not arriving in any known Jedi or Republic aligned craft. With a disguised transponder, the Knight I won't be arriving as its new identity or its old one, but as a fake and semi-respectable one.
"Hey General, should we be concerned about those warships?" asks Trooper Gemma from behind me as the Zabrak woman eyes the enemy warships warily.
"They won't know anything is wrong until we are leaving," I reassure her, "We can outgun their starfighters and outrun their warships. I'm not expecting to run into any trouble we can't handle."
"And if we do?" asks Trooper Gemma.
"That would be why I brought you and Sergeant Gyrm," I reply.
"Yes sir," replies Trooper Gemma, "I understand sir. Will you be expecting resistance, General?"
"No, but this is enemy territory," I answer, "I would rather not take risks, Trooper."
"I can agree with that sir," agrees Trooper Gemma and that is the end of our conversation for now as the local planetary authorities attempt to contact us as the Knight I approaches the planet.
That goes without a hitch. We mentioned that we got somewhere to check out, a quick bribe and nobody cares what we are doing so long as we don't start any trouble. Having looked up the exact location before we left and gotten a copy of the old access codes, I know where to find the abandoned facility and how to get inside its hangar. The trip only takes a couple of minutes as we swoop into the hangar and as the Knight I lands, the ray shield activates behind us to keep out the snow, the cold and any intruders.
"Vyssa, you are with me," I tell my padawan before turning to the pair of troopers I brought with us, "Sergeant Gyrm, Trooper Gemma, stay with the ship and guard it. Commander Randanys and I shouldn't be long."
"Understood General," replies Sergeant Gyrm as he stands there in white and red armour with a blaster rifle while Trooper Gemma hefts her shotgun in her white and orange armour, "We shall await your return."
I give the two of them a nod before heading off to the ramp. Vyssa follows along behind me, looking around the building, taking it all in.
"What is this place Master?" asks Vyssa, my padawan eager for more knowledge as always.
"One of the old Jedi Academies that are no longer in use," I answer her as we walk up the ramp, "Almost four thousand years old, it was meant to be a secret, self-sufficient backup site on an already dead world. It was used by the Jedi Order following the Jedi Purge by the Sith Triumvirate and following the Ruusan Reformation, it was used as a satellite training academy that specialised in data collection and analysis.
"At some point between a thousand years ago and thirty years ago, it stopped being used. The last time that a Jedi was here was thirty years ago when all of the remaining holocrons were brought to the Temple on Coruscant."
"You don't think that is true," says Vyssa as she looks at me, "Otherwise we wouldn't be here."
"I think they missed one," I answer, "My vision showed me the exact hiding spot of one and how to reach it. I don't think the Force would have shown me that if the holocron was safely away on Coruscant."
"It makes sense," agrees Vyssa, "And if it isn't there, we can always check on Coruscant since we are going to go there anyway."
"That is my reasoning," I say as I lead the way through the facility, "I must admit, I am hoping it is here just so this whole trip doesn't end up being a waste of time."
"Well, I get to visit a part of ancient Jedi history so there is that," says Vyssa, "I am definitely going to be looking up the history of this place while we are Coruscant. Speaking of which, any idea how long we are going to be staying there?"
"Enough time to get more recruits and maybe some more ships," I answer as we approach the room that once acted as an arena almos four thousand years ago, "Get more funding for expansion, scout out the political scene and maybe get some more allies."
"Because we need to recover from Geonosis and get ready for this war," concludes Vyssa and she pauses for a moment before continuing, "And we need to build a powerbase to use against Darth Sidious who is the kriffing Supreme Chancellor."
"Yes, that too," I quietly agree as I walk towards what was once the bedroom of The Last Handmaiden so long ago, "We cannot let him know we are onto him. Our greatest advantage right now is that he does not know that we know. If he does… neither of us could take him in a fight. Master Yoda was unable to take him in a fight in my vision."
"That is more than a little terrifying," mutters Vyssa before letting out a forced laugh, "But I guess that is nothing new. Hey Master?"
"Yes Vyssa?" I reply as I open the door to the room and look for the panel.
"How do you know where we are going in this place?" asks my padawan, "You said that no Jedi has been here in thirty years yet you are younger than thirty and know your way around the place."
"As I said, my vision last night showed me exactly where the holocron was hidden in the academy," I tell her as I spot the wall panel, not mentioning the some disturbing memories from my otherworldly memories have left me familiar with the layout of the academy, "That includes the path from the hangar."
The walls have apparently changed over the years. The panels have been replaced by a smooth singular wall. Drawing my lightsaber, I ignite the blue blade and begin to cut a hole into the wall that could allow me to access the hiding spot. I let the newly cut rectangle of wall plating fall to the ground with a clank before leaning into the newly cut all. I prepare to cut a hole into the back of the wall, but to my surprise, the hole that Grandmaster Meetra Surik cut into the wall is still there.
Knowing what to look for, I can still see the holocron behind it. Taking a deep breath, I call upon the Force and push the holocron up towards the gap. I pull it towards me, through the gap that is barely big enough for it to fit through. It floats through the air until it reaches my hand, where I release the Force and let it drop into my outstretched palm.
"Master," calls Vyssa quietly beside me, "I hear footsteps."
This is going to be something of a mini-arc, only two or three chapters long. It will bridge the gap between the Indren arc and the Coruscant Arc where Ben goes to retrieve the Ancient Holocron I from the CYOA I used to create his character and has a major influence on this story. It is going to focus around Ben and Vyssa for the most part and I've only got one major battle planned for it.
The main objective of this arc is basically to retrieve the holocron because I got plans for it though nothing that will pay off in the near future. Beyond that, Ben also gets the Slave I for his personal use because its canon owners are basically dead and I realised it was lying about Geonosis for the taking and why not give it to Ben?
So I did and I decided to rename it to Knight I because it fits Ben's character better than Slave I and that name is similar enough to be recognisable. It is basically going to be his personal starship so when he needs a non-warship starship or a starfighter, the Knight I will be his first choice because it is better than anything else he will have reasonable access to.
Beyond that, I've done my first attempt at showing a Force vision in the story for the first time. I hope it makes sense and is understandable.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
3.2 (Telos Extraction) - Chapter Fifteen
Attaching the holocron to my belt, I tap my comlink.
"Sergeant Gyrm, are you and Trooper Gemma still with the ship?" I quickly ask into it.
"Yes sir," comes the prompt reply, "Is there a concern?"
"We got other people in the facility with us," I tell him, "Stay sharp and prepare for trouble. I've got what we came for so Commander Randanys and I will be making our way back to the ship now."
"Understood, General," replies Sergeant Gyrm.
As I end the call, I feel a foul presence in the Force and I reach out to it to get a better idea of what it is. It is something filthy and unpleasant… like the puke of a drunk soldier who has had too much to drink yet there is a sense of power to the presence. The Dark Side. This has to be the presence of the Dark Side and given how it is coming closer, it is either a dark sider or a Sith artefact of some kind.
"Get your lightsaber ready," I warn Vyssa as I draw my shoto and ignite the green blade to go with my blue blade.
Vyssa gives me a nod and her own yellow blade snaps to life as I walk towards the corridor we entered the arena room from. At the far end of it, there is another room and the door on the other side of that room opens.
There are five figures on the other side, four of them surrounding the last. While I have never personally witnessed them before, I recognise the outer four figures as MagnaGuard droids, the elite of the Separatist droid armies and the personal guards of individuals like Count Dooku or General Grievous.
The fifth figure in the middle has to be the dark sider that I can sense. With cropped black hair, pale skin and eyes that are sickly yellow, the human man wears black and red robes with a lightsaber clipped to his belt.
"Ah, a Jedi," says the man as he spots me, "I must admit I was curious about who had come here. I wonder why you came here, Jedi."
"Vyssa, get behind me," I tell my padawan as I step forwards and to the side, positioning myself between my fifteen year old girl and this dark sider, "Let me handle this."
"If you want to come at me one at a time, I won't say no," sneers the man as he summons his lightsaber to his hand in an unnecessary and flashy display of the Force, "It just makes my job easier. Kill the man first and then take out the girl."
The MagnaGuards march forward, purple electricity coming to life as they activate their electrostaffs while the dark sider ignites the ugly red blade of his lightsaber. I step forward into the corridor where it will be harder for them to flank or surround me, moving into the middle of it so I have some room to retreat if needed.
The first two MagnaGuards attack at the same time and while I usually use Form III, I decide to make use of Shii-Cho as Form I is better for dealing with multiple melee opponents than Soresu. I step to the side and parry one strike with my shoto while I attempt to cut electrostaff of the other in two with my main blade. But as my blue blade bounces off of the electrostaff, I remember that they are made from one of those lightsaber resistant metals. Not pure cortosis because my lightsaber didn't short out and almost certainly not beskar, but probably a cortosis weave or phrik.
I know that the droids themselves aren't made of the metal because I can remember them being cut down with lightsabers. The one to my left comes at me again and this time I go for the droid and not the weapon, avoiding the attack as my battle precognition tells me where it will land, I slash up with my blue lightsaber. My blade carves through the upper arm and continues ontowards to cut off the head.
The MagnaGuard stops for a moment, not to fall down, but to switch its grip on its electrostaff from a two-handed one to a one-handed one. The MagnaGuard to my right steps back and it becomes clear that these two droids are preparing for another double attack. As they begin their renewed assault, I roll to the left and come up to cut the damaged MagnaGuard in two at the waist. The droid topples down in two pieces, the red lights on it fading into darkness.
That is only a brief respite as I am forced to parry the electrostaff of the other MagnaGuard as the last two advance up to join the third. They attack and while they are swift, strong and dangerous, I am stronger and swift with the Force to guide me. I hold the middle of the corridor, fending off the MagnaGuards as we both try to get the advantage over each other.
To my annoyance, I find myself being forced back. Not by much, just a couple of steps, but it is enough to tell me which side has the upper hand in this fight. That means I need to change things up. I jump back, deactivating my shoto and returning it to my belt. Enhancing my already formidable reflexes and strength, I bound forward as the MagnaGuards advance.
I decapitated one of the MagnaGuards with a slash of my lightsaber, but my main focus is on another of the droids. I slam my fist into the glowing red circle on its chest. My fist smashes into it and I let out a small telekinetic blast of Force from my hand. It isn't enough to blast through the outer casing, but it is enough to scrap the innards of the MagnaGuard.
Yet while the MagnaGuard may be down, I still have the other two to worry about, something I am promptly reminded of when one of them slams its electrostaff into my back and the other smacks me across the face with its electrostaff. I let out a grunt of pain at the electricity shocking me even if my armour takes the worst of it.
Annoyed, I grab one of the electrostaffs with my free hand toss it and the attached MagnaGuard down the corridor. I spin around just in time to intercept the electrostaff of the other remaining droid.
"This has stopped being funny," snarls the dark sider, clearly unhappy about how well I've been handling his MagnaGuards.
He throws out his hand and my battle precognition warns me he is about to toss some Force lightning my way. I step to the side positioning the MagnaGuard between myself and the dark sider, just in time for the Force lightning to hit the droid instead of me. The MagnaGuard stops moving, sparking and shaking as the electricity courses through it and I draw my shoto again before cutting its unresponsive body apart at upper chest and torso.
"You dare make a fool of me like that?" shouts the man as he charges at me along as the final MagnaGuard advances towards me.
Using a stance I vaguely recognise as belonging to Form IV, the man is aggressive in his assault. I parry and block his red lightsaber, but while this man is ferocious, I am confident in my eventual victory as I am faster, stronger and more skilled than him. While a less martial-oriented Jedi might struggle against him, I am one of the better fighters in the Order even if I am not one of its top duellists.
"You will die," hisses the man as his red blade presses against my blue blade.
"No, I will not," I calmly retort, looking for a good opening without exposing myself to the surviving MagnaGuard.
"Foolish Jedi," sneers the man as he tries to overpower me, "I know the power of the-ugk!"
In response to me stabbing my shoto into his gut, the dark sider staggers backwards, his grip loosening as he radiates pain. I smack his lightsaber aside as I pull out my shoto before slashing him across the chest with my main blade. Ignoring both the pain and the MagnaGuard as it stabs me in the side with its electrostaff, I focus on finishing the dark sider as a Force user is a bigger threat than a mere droid. I cut off the man's head with my blue blade while the green blade slashes the lower chest open. I'm not sure when the dark sider died, but he is certainly dead now.
I turn to face the MagnaGuard only to see it fall down in two as Vyssa bisects it at the abdomen. As the top half falls to the ground, my padawan stabs her yellow blade into its torso, a good move considering how MagnaGuards have a tendency to continue fighting even after being cut up.
"Sorry Master, but I saw a good opportunity and it was just attacking you…" starts Vyssa defensively as I turn my attention to her.
"You don't need to apologise for taking a good opportunity," I tell her, wincing as those electrostaff do hurt, "You took a risk, but it was a calculated risk. I only told you to stay back because I didn't want you to get hurt and because I wanted to fight them without having to worry about you at the same time. You did as I told you until it made sense to do otherwise. Now it is time for some practice."
"Practice?" repeats Vyssa, sounding confused, but curious.
"I took some hits in that fight," I say, "Use your Force healing to take care of my injuries."
"Ah right, I'll do that," says Vyssa before she holds her hand out and within a moment, I feel my injuries and pain fade.
Okay, what to do now? The dark sider was with the Separatists, but I don't know who else was with this guy or how much he told anyone else about what he was up to. I have no idea if he sent out an alert to those Munificent-class Frigates in orbit or now.
The lightsaber is valuable and so is the phrik in the electrostaffs. I might want to take the body of the dark sider as well in case he can be identified, but I could just take some samples and pics instead of taking the body and head with me. The MagnaGuard droids are valuable, but not so much when they have been destroyed and I'm not sure I could get them back to the Knight I in a timely manner.
"Vyssa, collect the electrostaffs," I tell my padawan, "The phrik in them is valuable. I will be taking our foe's lightsaber and some samples to try and identify him with."
"Yes master," says Vyssa and she bends down to pick up the closest staff.
For my part, I pick up the lightsaber from where it fell and attach it to my belt. Using my helmet, I pick up the head of the dark sider and take a few pictures from multiple angles before taking a few samples from the body using the training that all Jedi receive. It only takes a couple of minutes to that and find the man's datapad, which is more than long enough for Vyssa to collect all four of the electrostaffs.
"Are we going back to the ship now?" inquires Vyssa.
"Yes," I confirm, hoping the dark sider hasn't tipped off the local Separatists to our presence.
Not that I am worried about getting out intact, but I would rather avoid the fight if we can. It would be an unnecessary risk so far from friendly territory and I do not count the Corporate Sector as friendly space.
The walk back to the hangar doesn't take long, but the return journey has a tension to it that entry did not. Sergeant Gyrm is waiting outside the Knight I and I can feel his surprise when he spots electrostaffs that Vyssa is carrying.
"Are those what you came here for?" asks the sergeant and I shake my head.
"No, those are from the loot of the Separatist special forces that we ran into," I reply and that definitely startles the man, "Be prepared for the local Seppies to know that we are here."
"That's kriffing bad," says Sergeant Gyrm as Vyssa and I reach the ramp.
"We don't need to worry about ground forces, but we might need to fight past their space forces on our way out," I tell him as the three of us enter the Knight I, "Everybody strap in, our exit might get a little bumpy."
While Vyssa tosses the electrostaffs in the back of the ship, I climb into the pilot seat and settle in. I wait until everyone else has taken their seats before taking off and exiting the hangar of Telos Jedi Academy. I glance at the sensors once we have exited the ray shield and frown at what the instruments tell me.
A squadron of vulture droid starfighters are heading our way and that is both good and bad. Bad because it means that the local Separatists are aware of us, but also good because only sending a single squadron doesn't mean they know who we are. Because if they did, they would have sent a whole lot more. There is also a parked shuttle on the top of the mesa that the academy is built into, which must have been the transport of the dark sider and his MagnaGuard droids.
Spinning the Knight I around, I open fire on the hapless shuttle with my blaster cannons. The shuttle is shredded by the blasterfire before exploding into scrap as I hit something important.
"Was that really necessary, Master?" asks Vyssa as I turn the Knight I back around again.
"If that ship was used by a dark sider and MagnaGuards, it seems valuable enough to be worth destroying," I answer, "Besides, the Separatists are already on to us."
"About that General," says Sergeant Gyrm, "Are you confident you can fight past those starfighters and warships?"
"Easily," I reply as if I can outfight vulture droids in a Z-95, I can outfight them in the Knight I.
The droid starfighters close the gap and once they are close enough, I open fire. I don't have much of a chance of hitting, but I can hit hard and vulture droids are poor pilots. They try to dodge and while most of them are successful, one of the ones at the front goes down in a fiery explosion as my blaster fire rips it apart. The other vulture droids open fire, but between my skill as a pilot and their shots go wide. For my part, I switch targets as I duck and weave, blasting apart two more of the vulture droids and damaging a fourth before we pass each other.
A glance at the Munificent-class Frigates shows that the rest of the vulture droids are launching and another sixty droid starfighters are coming my way. Good thing I don't need to stick around for a fight because regardless of how better I am at piloting or how poor the vulture droids are or how great a ship the Knight I is, I am not confident in taking on those odds, not on my own.
"Master-," starts Vyssa as I continue to fire back, blasting another vulture droid out of the skies.
"I know," I interrupt her, "I'm not planning to take them all on. We just need to get into orbit and jump to lightspeed."
As I dodge the enemy blaster fire coming from behind, I look through the controls as I try to find a specific one. Ideally I would take the time to get properly familiar with all of the Knight I's controls, but the timeframe for this mission was rushed and I haven't had the chance to do so yet.
Nonetheless, I do find the controls that I am looking for as I figure out how to fire a seismic charge. I switch the settings on the charge to a sphere as while a smaller sphere serves my purposes better than a larger disk.
As more of the vulture droids begin to catch up, the Knight I begins to take hits despite my best efforts. Piloting skill and battle precognition can only do so much against weight of numbers and droid starfighters are.arriving faster than I can kill them.
"General?" asks Trooper Gemma as she stares at status screens.
"Give me a moment," I reply as I line up a good shot with one of the seismic charges.
As the deflector shields drop to twenty-five percent, I pull the trigger. The charge drops out of the back of the Knight I as we approach orbit, falling into the middle half of the vulture droids following us.
There is a moment of silence before the seismic charge detonates, obliterating all of the closest vulture droids and sending the rest scattering. It won't take them long for them to regroup, but it should be enough time for the shields to recharge and perhaps get into a position to make the jump to lightspeed.
"Any idea how many we got in that blast?" I ask, unable to check for myself as I focus on getting us to hyperspace as soon as possible.
"Maybe a dozen," replies Vyssa, "Looks like about a dozen and possibly a bit more. Hard to tell, but only fifty of the vultures are still on the sensors."
"Well, at least we hurt them," I say, "That's almost two squadrons gone."
"Hey General," says Sergeant Gyrm, "Can I ask a question?"
"Ask away," I reply as the vultures begin to fire on me again.
"Why are me and Trooper Gemma here again?" asks the sergeant.
"In case I needed some backup," I reply as we get far enough out to make the jump, "And it seems I didn't."
I press the button that takes us to lightspeed and the world around us gives way to the white and blue swirl of hyperspace.
This arc is only going to be a couple of chapters, which while shorter than I like, it isn't unexpected. It was always to a short chapter with discovering the Slave I, the vision followed by a quick sneak in and fight your way out and all of that turned out to take just two chapters.
Anyway, the first fight. I wanted to have something of a challenge for Ben and one of the dark acolytes showed up, but I didn't want him to be that dangerous for someone like Ben. So I had Ben positioned himself where the MagnaGuards were unable to outflank him or surround him and even then, he took a few hits and the MagnaGuard took some fighting before they went down..
I was going to have both of the troopers involved in that fight, engaging a MagnaGuard or two, but when I actually wrote the scene, they ended up being uninvolved. This was due to me deciding to have the confrontation as Ben and Vyssa left the arena room rather than when they had made their way back to the hangar.
The second bit of action was escaping the planet.where I tried to get the mix of the protagonists winning and victory being defined as running away without dying. For this, I went with Ben avoiding the frigates entirely and he doesn't so much fight the starfighters as try to keep them off his back long enough to get away. With siasemic charge, I went with what you see in the Battlefront games over what you see in Episode II and the Mandalorian. This is because if it was an easily dodged circle and not a sphere, the weapon would be very niche to the point I don't see why the likes of Jango and Boba would make use of it.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
4.1 (Coruscant Politicking) - Chapter Sixteen
The Knight I arrives at Coruscant about an hour after the rest of the fleet does. Most of my warships are in orbit around Coruscant and the only ones missing are the Hope and the Valiant. Their absence is entirely expected as both of the DP20 Frigates were badly damaged enough at Geonosis to require a shipyard for timely repairs to be done and so they went to Mon Cala with the captured Lucrehulks.
My warships aren't the only ones in orbit. There are the usual Judicial warships, but just over sixty Venator-class Star Destroyers. Sixty-three according to what the Knight I's scopes are picking up.
"What are those warships?" asks Vyssa, pointing to one of the displays showing the Venators as I set a course for the Freedom.
" Venator-class Star Destroyers," I answer, "The new capital ship of the newly formed Republic Navy. Built by Kuat Drive Yards for the clones to use. Completely outgunned by our Star Cruisers, but about half the price and makes for an excellent carrier and decent troop transport."
After all, over four hundred starfighters is enough to scoff at. And while two thousand troops isn't all that high for its size and cost, the Venator has plenty of space for tanks and artillery in addition to transports to bring them to the surface. So a decent battleship, decent troop transport and an excellent carrier.
"So General, what is the deal with these clone soldiers?" asks Trooper Gemma, "I met and fought alongside a few on Geonosis and they seemed already, but are they going to be a thing going forward?"
"I hope not," I reply, "I have nothing against the clones themselves, but I do not like the circumstances around them. The Kaminoians are unknown and I'm concerned about how much freedom, rights and pay that the clones will be getting."
"Slave-soldiers," mutters Sergeant Gyrm as he catches onto where I am going.
"Yes," I confirm, "I'm worried that the Republic will decide to make use of the clone troopers as slave-soldiers and I am unsure of what to do about that."
"But General, you have to do something if they do that!" protests Trooper Gemma, sounding outraged, "It has to be illegal."
"It would be, but I fear that many things that should be illegal will be made legal or allowed to slide in the face of the war," I answer, "Due to a lack of an army otherwise, I strongly doubt that the Senate won't make use of the clones, slave-soldiers or not. I will be making my opinions known and doing what I can, but until the war is over, I suspect that I will be able to make little progress."
"That sucks like banther poodoo," grumbles Trooper Gemma and the rest of us all give her sympathetic looks.
"General," says Commodore Thak as he waits for me in the hangar, "I hope your mission was a success."
"It was though we ran into more trouble than I hoped," I reply as I walk down the ramp with the others following me, "Nothing got past our deflector shields, but I've got a quartet of electrostaffs made from phrik and a dark sider lightsaber. Plus we expended one of the remaining seismic charges in our escape."
"Sounds like you had some excitement," replies Wol, "I'll have someone secure the staffs. Thankfully, our trip was less exciting. The Hope and Valiant went to Mon Cala for repair work, but the rest of the fleet is here as I'm sure you have noticed."
"Good work Commodore," I tell him, "I appreciate the support."
From there, we discuss some more ordinary details, about how to run the fleet after the combat losses sustained at Geonosis and Indren. We lost the Wilful, but there isn't any urgent need to replace given our other losses. We lost a fair number of vehicles as well, but the main losses have been in infantry and starfighters. We lost over a thousand troopers at Geonosis on top of another hundred at Indren and while I did pick up some new recruits at Indren, we are still down by a thousand spots.
However, the ground forces are Loren's concern, not Wol's and the Commodore's main priority is replacing the starfighter losses. Since we first arrived at Geonosis, we lost a good hundred and twenty-one of our Headhunters and another couple hundred have suffered varying states of damage. Not only do we need to replace or fix the machines themselves, but we also need to replace the pilots for almost all of the destroyed ones as well.
Fortunately, it shouldn't be too hard to find recruits. Replacing the starfighters is still well within our current budget and despite the war that has started, it shouldn't be hard to find replacement recruits, even with the actual Republic military going on its own recruitment efforts.
Ideally we should pick up pilots from the various military academies so we get already trained recruits, otherwise it will take at least a couple of months to give some civilians a crash course on how to be a soldier. My unit isn't the most professional out there, but I don't want to let standards drop if I can help it.
Ultimately, this is all standard stuff and it is far from the first time that I've had talks like this with Wol and Loren. Though those talks have never been about losses this bad before.
"You don't trust him either then," says Senator Candabrine Bu as she leans back in her chair as the two of us and Vyssa sit in her office.
"No, I do not," I tell the senator from Lansono, the woman who is both one of the leading Militarists in the Senate and one of the few outspoken critics of Chancellor Palpatine.
While I had previously dismissed her as being overly cynical or merely angling for his position, I now understand that Senator Bu is merely one of the few who were never truly taken in by Palpatine's act. Most recently, she has been butting heads with Palaptine over him blocking the vote on the Military Creation Act and unlike some of the other Militarists, she has not been endeared by his sudden turnabout. If anything, the overnight change has made her more suspicious of him.
It has been less than an hour since I've arrived on Coruscant, but I am already playing politics.Vyssa is shadowing me so she can see how politics work and meet my contracts while Aria went to speak with her old master. Loren is holding down the fort while Wol went to speak with the local Corellian representatives about something he has in mind.
After checking the latest news and getting familiar with the current situation, I took myself and Vyssa to have an impromptu meeting with Candabrine Bu and fortunately for ne, the Senator was free and willing to speak with me.
"Good," says Senator Bu, "There was a reason you were in charge of our little project after all. I assume you are here because of the war?"
"How secure are we right now?" I ask rather than give an answer.
"As secure as I can make," answers Senator Bu, "I have jammers set up and active alongside regular sweeps."
"I want to found a 2nd Republic Patriot Legion, which requires more funding and more recruits," I answer, "With the war breaking out, I'm going to need the additional forces and frankly, I don't like using the clone troopers."
"I would rather prefer a non-clone military too," agrees Senator Bu, "It would certainly be cheaper and I would trust Republic citizens who have volunteered to fight for the Republic over these clones."
"My concerns are more to do with the circumstances surrounding the clones over the clones themselves," I reply, "The clones are alright and I had no problems fighting alongside them at Geonosis. I am more concerned about why they exist, who paid for them, what the Kaminoans are like and the fact the Republic is apparently okay with basing its military around enslaved child-soldiers."
"Enslaved child-soldiers?" repeats Senator Bu, sounding shocked though I don't know if that shock is genuine or not..
"The oldest clones are ten years old and the debate isn't whether they are property or not, but whether they are property that belongs to Kaminoan or Republic," I explain, letting a hint of the anger I feel slip into my voice.
Jedi aren't supposed to be emotional, but I find letting a bit of emotion show here and there on important subjects builds trust and makes me seem like a fellow person. After all, how can you trust someone who shows no emotion even when they should?
"That is certainly troublesome," agrees Senator Bu, giving me a sympathetic look, "I must warn you, I doubt that anything will come of your concerns while the war is ongoing."
"I suspect the same, but I will at least make my feelings known," I tell her, "I'm not going to go about blaring what I think on the matter, but I want to be able to point back to the start of the war later and say how I was against it all along."
"Thinking for the future is always a good idea," agrees Senator Bu, "You want more funding and recruits? I can drum some of it up. We'll talk to the traditionally militarist worlds who want a non-clone military. They will be willing to provide recruits from their academes and some additional funding. It shouldn't be too difficult to divert the political campaign funds to your military campaign funds. It isn't like we need to pass the Military Creation Act anymore."
That last part is a little bitter and understandable so given Palpatine's sudden change of heart.
"That was what I was hoping for," I say, smiling at her, "Now, if I could introduce my padawan, Commander Vyssa Randanys…"
The rest of the day is politicking as myself, Vyssa and Senator Bu go to the various Militarist individuals in the Senate to drum up funding and support. We have a mostly positive reception, but as the day goes on, it becomes clear to me that the Militarists have a new divide amongst themselves. There are those who are happy to settle for a clone army and there are those who want a more traditional non-clone military. The latter always have some kind of vested interest in not using clones, either for personal gain or because the world they represent benefits from it. A rare few are actual idealists, but I can count them on one hand.
I don't like having such self-serving individuals as my supporters in the Senate, but I have to make do with what I've got. I need the funding and I need the sources of already trained recruits. I'm going to look into acquiring my own sources of funding and recruits, but those will take time to find and acquire while I need the extra credits and manpower now if I want to expand my paramilitary in a timely manner.
I made sure that we got to speak with those representing the worlds with the big-name military academies and training centres. The Senators of Carida and Corulag along with the Representatives from Raithal, Anaxes and Commenor have already been supplying me with recruits for the last couple of years, to the point that half of my current forces were recruited from their worlds. So when I came offering to hire more of their military trainees… well, they weren't going to say no. Nor did they have any problem diverting some additional funding my way to promote a non-clone military force with a proven track record of reliability and effectiveness.
Beyond the last three years, the prominent presence of my forces at Geonosis had flung them into the public eye alongside the clone troopers. We were heroes of the Republic, loyal sons and daughters who were willing to fight and die for the Republic and all of these politicians and their worlds wanted to show how willing they were to support us.
I found it self-serving and cynical to use the deaths of my people like that, but I did need that support so I had no choice but to accept even if I knew what they were doing and found it utterly distasteful. The Senate was more corrupt than not these days and for now, I had to work with that until I was in a position to do something about it.
Why couldn't my allies be the likes of Bail Organa or Padme Amidala or Mon Mothma? Selfless and idealistic individuals who wanted to help others and actually believed in what they were selling? I've got Garm as an old ally since business at Corellia years ago, but that is about it.
I should probably speak with Padme while I am here. Despite our political differences, my rescuing of her should give me an in with the Naboo Senator. Even if I can't make an ally out of her, I can try to cultivate her as a friendly contact and a way to get Skywalker to trust me.
Force, why am I thinking of using those two in terms of getting them in my camp? Darth Sidious is why of course, but I can't believe I am just being so cynical about it. I need to be if I am to stop Darth Sidious and save both the Jedi and the Republic, but I dislike being so cynical and coldhearted.
And then as we stop for a late lunch, I run into some clone troopers for the first time since arriving on Coruscant and amongst that group is a certain someone that I want to talk with.
I spot the clone troopers in their shiny white armour as they walk down the hall, drawing a mixture of comptemous, dismissive and curious looks. All of them are wearing the Phase I armour with colours indicating officer ranks of some kind, though I only recognise the commander yellow on one of them.
"Clone troopers from the new Coruscant Guard," says Senator Bu as she follows my gaze, "They arrived a couple of days ago. The Chancellor has been using his emergency powers to give them a wide range of necessary powers to handle any Separatists amongst the civilian populace. Similar to how he has set up the loyalist committee to handle any Separatist sentiment within the Senate."
"That sounds concerning," I mutter.
"It is for the good of the Republic," replies Senator Bu and the sarcasm is subtle enough that I almost miss it, "After all, we can surely trust the Chancellor with such broad power."
"Regardless of who holds the power, I dislike that such powers exist," I quietly reply back, "I'm going to go and speak with them. Come on Vyssa."
Without waiting for a response from Senator Bu, I stride towards the clone troopers with Vyssa falling in behind me.
"Troopers," I call out to the clones.
"General Shan, Commander Randanys," replies the one with the yellow commander markings, "What can we do for you?"
"I just wanted to speak with you, Commander…?" I reply.
"Commander CC-1010 sir," replies the clone commander and I mentally place the number as belonging to Commander Fox, the clone in charge of the Coruscant Guard.
Well, maybe. That ten-ten is distinctive enough to remember and I'm pretty sure that this is Fox rather than someone like Thire or Thorn.
"Do you have a name?" I inquire, "And you wouldn't happen to be in charge of the Coruscant Guard by any chance?"
"Fox sir," replies Commander Fox, "And yes, I am in charge of the Coruscant Guard. Is there something you require, General?"
"Nothing right now Commander Fox," I tell him, "I just want to speak with you and find out who you were. I'll let you get back to your duties."
"Thank you General," says Fox before he and the rest of the clones continue their journey.
"What was that about?" inquires Senator Bu as she joins me again.
"I just wanted to speak with the clone in command on Coruscant," I inform her as I watch Fox leave, not mentioning how I want to try and earn Fox's trust so I can turn him and the Coruscant Guard against Darth Sidious.
This is the start of the political arc and the first arc where canonical characters begin to play parts in them. There hasn't been much of one yet, but I intend for Garm Bel Iblis to play an at least somewhat prominent role while Padme, Anakin and Fox will be involved somewhat. Technically Candabrine Bu is a canon character, but we know next to nothing about them except they are a Senator from Lansono and are one of the Militarists who support the Military Creation Act and criticise Chancellor Palptine. Even their gender is unknown though I've made Candabrine into a woman for this fic.
Because of these known traits, I've decided to make Candabrine Bu into the main political backer of Ben in his pro-Militarist and anti-Palpatine political faction. Due to the lack of canon background and personality, she is basically going to be an OC however.
Beyond that, I've only shown a bit of the politicking because while it is important, a fair bit of it is boring to write. As a result, I'm limiting it to key bits and where character interaction is required or things need to be expounded upon. For example, negotiations with Rendili and Corellian representatives for more warships and starfighters will be shown on-screen as will be meeting canon characters like Padme, Orn Free Taa and Onaconda Farr. Stuff like making a dozen or so Senators to get funding and recruits from their worlds will not be because it is repetitive and I don't need to show the details to progress the story.
Also Ben is totally aware that the clones are basically slave soldiers and child soldiers who have no choice, but to fight for the Republic. He is very unhappy about that, but he is also aware that he is going to have to wait until the war is over and the Separatist threat has been dealt with before he can begin to address that situation.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Sep 26, 2021
4.2 (Coruscant Politicking) - Chapter Seventeen
"Thank you for meeting with me, Senator Tills," I tell the Mon Calamari senator, "I'm sure you must be busy with having only arrived yesterday."
"I can make time for you, General Shan," replies Senator Meena Tills, giving me a smile or the closest thing to it that her species can do, "You have earnt the respect of my people and I doubt whatever you want will be a waste of my time."
"I'm looking to expand my forces with a second legion," I say, "Would Mon Cala be willing to build some more star cruisers for me?"
"If it is for your use, King Yos would support it," replies Senator Tills, "And I would back the idea. After Senator Tikkes' defection and the formation of Free Dac Volunteers Engineering Corps, it would make my life easier to have an example of clear support for the Republic by my people."
"Another three like the ones I currently have would work," I say, "Assuming another hundred million credits per star cruiser like before?"
"Previous prices for the same type of ships seems reasonable, but I'm afraid I cannot give a certain answer until I have spoken with King Yos," answers Senator Tills and I nod in response as this is what I expected.
I'm not anticipating any troubles with this matter. I'm something of a big name amongst the Mon Calamari since I led the 1st Republic Patriot Legion in rescuing several thousand of their citizens from slavers in the legion's first year. That gratitude led to me convincing me to take advantage of that loophole for shipbuilders constructing prototypes and experimental variants when it came to warships.
The end result is my star cruisers of dubious legality that I've been very careful to keep the Judicial Forces from finding out just how well armed and armoured they really are. The fact that you almost never encounter them in the Outer Rim helped a lot in that regard even if I would prefer that wasn't the case for other reasons.
"That is all that I have to discuss at the moment," I inform Senator Tills, "Please let me know when you get a response from King Yos so we can discuss this matter further. And let me know if there is anything I can do to help. I won't make any promises since I may be unable to keep them, but I consider Mon Cala and her people to be my friends and allies."
"I do have a favour to ask of you since you are offering," says Senator Tills.
"I'm listening," I reply, curious about what the senator has in mind.
"I am new to the Senate and I am still establishing myself here," says Senator Tills, "You are well-connected and have recently become a famous war hero. I would appreciate it if you could vouch for me or put out a good word for me. Being associated with you would be helpful."
"I'll see what I can do," I reply, "I must warn you that most of the senators I associate with are Militarists though there are a few others I could mention you to."
I will be mentioning her to Candabrine Bu. That woman has become the unofficial leader of my faction with the Senate and I want Mon Cala to be in my camp. Perhaps it is selfish of me, but the Jedi and Republic do need saving.
"I will take what you think is best," Senator Tills tells me, unaware of my internal conflict.
"I shall do my best," I say before turning to Vyssa, who has been waiting patiently, "Now, may I introduce you to my Padawan Vyssa?"
"Excuse me, but Senator Amidala is in her office?" I inquire to the golden protocol droid I recognise as C-3PO thanks to my memories of the other timelines as I approach the office of the said senator.
The question itself is somewhat redundant as I can sense a powerful Force presence in the office. That has to be Skywalker if those otherworldly memories are anything to go by and if he is in there, then Amidala must be in there too.
"She is, but I'm afraid she is-oh excuse me!" starts the droid before switching to a protest as I stride past him, Vyssa following me in tow.
"Senator Amidala?" I say as I enter the office, hearing some quick, but noisy movements from within.
"Oh General Shan, I was not expecting you," replies the senator behind her desk, "What brings you to my office?"
"Nothing too urgent, Vyssa and I were just hoping to speak with you," I reply, switching my helmet to thermal vision on a hunch, "Excuse my curiosity, but is there a reason that Skywalker is hiding behind your desk?"
"Come on, there was no way that you saw me!" protests Skywalker as he stands up now that his cover has been blown.
"Thermal vision," I answer promptly, idly noting that he has both of his hands still, "Anyway, I have come to see how you are faring since Geonosis. I hope you have been recovering from your ordeal without too much difficulty."
"I made it out without any meaningful difficulties," answers Amidala, "My thanks to you Vyssa for getting me to safety. I am pleased to see that you remain uninjured despite everything."
"I'm pleased that I remain uninjured as well," agrees Vyssa cheekily, which gets a smile from Amidala and a chuckle from Skywalker, "But seriously, I'm glad you two are both okay. I hate to have missed most of the fighting to get you two to safety only for you to get hurt anyway."
"Before we get to the more serious talk, I just want to give the two of you my congratulations," I tell them.
Before this meeting, I made sure to do my own research instead of just assuming the events of the other timelines will just continue to be true. In this case, Amidala and Skywalker made a quick trip to Naboo together with their droids after Geonosis and only arrived on Coruscant three days ago. That almost certainly means that their marriage took place.
"Congratulations on what?" asks Skywalker, sounding nervous even though he should have no reason to be.
"Your marriage," I state, feeling a little smug at the shock of everyone else in the room.
"There is no karking way-I mean, what marriage?" replies Skywalker, "I have no idea what you are talking about."
"Even if I didn't already know, your reaction just gave it away," I inform him, "In any case, I just want to offer you my congratulations and let you know that I'm not going to rat you to the High Council or any other Jedi. And in your case, I wanted to let you know that I am available to discuss things with if you need another Jedi to talk to about this. Well, I am willing to do so if I am available. I can't promise I will always be available with the war and all."
And there is my play to keep Skywalker in the Light. Let him know that there is a fellow Jedi he can talk to about his marriage. It will make it harder for Sidious to turn him if Skywalker knows there is a Jedi he can discuss certain matters with.
"That's… umm… how do you even know?" asks Skywalker.
"Force vision," I tell him, "The one which led to me intervening at Geonosis in case you are wondering."
"Wait, wait, the vision that made you show up at Geonosis also showed me and Padme getting married?" says Skywalker, "That doesn't even… ugh."
"Tell me about it," says Vyssa, "Master Ben here has been having more than his fair share of Force visions lately."
"While I appreciate you letting us know that you aren't going to spill our big secret, you did mention you had some more serious talk?" says Senator Amidala.
"Indeed, I do," I say, "Senator Meena Tills is the new Senator from Calamari Sector and I've promised I would help her make some contacts in the Senate. Unfortunately, most of my contacts are members of the Militarists which leaves me in a bit of a pickle in that regard."
"Yes, I can see how that would be a problem," agrees Senator Amidala.
"Wait, what's wrong with the Militarists?" asks Skywalker, looking from me to his wife.
"For the most part, they are self-serving with selfish motivations," I answer, "Too polite and too civilised to be arseholes, at least not to me. I can't say I know how they treat others who they don't consider peers."
"Surely they can be that bad," protests Skywalker, "You wouldn't spend time with them if they were."
"Candabrine Bu and Onaconda Farr are alright people in my experience," I concede, "But I don't associate with them because I enjoy their company, I do so because I need their support."
"To pay for your private army," states Senator Amidala in disapproving tones.
"The same army that saved you on Geonosis," retorts Vyssa and I decide to step before the conversation can devolve further.
"I wanted to deal with all of the pirates and slavers running rampant in the Out Rim," I say, "I couldn't do that on my own and since the Senate and Judicial Forces weren't willing to do their jobs, I organised my own forces to support me. I needed money and recruits while the Militarists wanted to back their own little military so I got their support even if I don't particularly like them."
"Wait, you actually tried to free slaves as a Jedi?" asks Skywalker, sounding surprised.
"Of course, I started my paramilitary force before the Separatist Crisis started," I say, "And almost all of my operations have been against pirates, slavers and other criminals. In fact, I was in the Arkanis Sector engaging some slavers before we went to Geonosis and as soon as this war is over, I plan to go back to bringing justice to the Outer Rim."
"Why haven't I heard of you before?" demands Skywalker as he seems both impressed and annoyed.
"The High Council considers me to be a borderline heretic and the only reason they haven't expelled me is because I stay in the Outer Rim and I don't push my views with the rest of the Order or draw undue attention to myself," I answer, "I'm somewhat famous in the Outer Rim thanks to my exploits, but the 1st Republic Patriot Legion only became truly famous a few days ago because of the Battle of Geonosis."
"You know what Shan, I like you," declares Skywalker, "Any Jedi who tries to go about freeing slaves is someone I can get behind and I don't care what the High Council thinks about you."
"I appreciate your support," I reply, "Back to my original point, I would like to be able to introduce Senator Tills to people beyond Senator Bu and Senator Farr and give her options beyond the Militarists. If you could give her some moments of your time Senator Amidala, I would greatly appreciate it."
"I will see what I can do," says Senator Amidala, "Now is there anything else?"
"Nothing too serious, but if you have the time…"
"Ben!" calls a familiar voice that makes me pause as I walk towards the Senate Dome with Vyssa in tow at the dawn of my second day on Coruscant..
I know that voice all too well even if it isn't one I've heard for almost three years now.
"Master Hastros," I reply in formal tones, turning to face the Jedi Master walks towards me, "What brings you here?"
Jedi Master Karth Hastros is the one who chose me as his padawan and raised me to knighthood. Though he hasn't taken it as far as I have, he is an unconventional Jedi like me except instead of raising his own private paramilitary force, he sticks to working with the Judicals. Like Aria, he is skilled with battle meditation and skill combined with his other talents at fighting pushed him towards more direct methods of resolving conflict. One of the martially oriented Jedi and a devoted servant of the Republic, he taught me much of what I know and shaped me into the person I am today.
He trained me how to wage war, he helped me hone my natural talents as a warrior, he taught me to believe in the Republic and his missions ignited my desire to stop the slavers, pirates and other scum that plague the Galaxy.
What he didn't teach me is to disobey tradition like I have as my old master very much believes in the traditional ways of the Jedi Order.
"You," answers my master, "I was hoping to speak with you and I figured I would find you at the Senate today."
"I see," I answer, wondering just what he wants to talk about as my old master could want to discuss so many possible topics, "Is what you want to talk about private?"
"It isn't private per say, but I wouldn't want to talk about it in public if we don't have to," replies my master, "Is there a spot you would prefer to have that talk?"
"No and I would prefer to have any private talks away from the Senate Dome if possible," I reply, thinking of Sidious and wondering how deep he has spread into the building.
"I know a spot then," says my old master before glancing over my shoulder, "This would be your padawan, Vyssa Randanys?"
"Yes, this is my padawan," I answer as I follow his gaze to see a curious Vyssa watching our conversation intently, "Vyssa, this is my old master, Master Karth Hastros."
"The one you haven't spoken to since before you took me on as your learner," says Vyssa, making both me and my old master wince.
"That would be the one," I confirm before turning my attention back to my old master, "Lead the way. Vyssa will be joining us unless you give me a very good reason why she shouldn't."
"I have no objections to her accompanying us," replies my old master.
The three of us set off, a Jedi Master, a Jedi Knight and a Jedi Padawan all of the same lineage. Master Karth leads the way and he takes us away from the Senate building and towards the Judicial Forces Headquarters. Not surprising as it makes sense his location for a private talk would involve his extensive contacts with the Judicial Forces. A quick word from my old master gets us into the building without any hassle and before long, we are sitting in an unused conference room.
"So Master Hastros, what is it you wish to talk about?" I inquire once we are all seated.
"Must you be so formal Ben?" asks my old master, "Surely we have not grown that distant with each other?"
"We haven't spoken in almost three years and we didn't part on good terms," I point out, "And now you just show up out of the blue, so yes, I am going to remain formal until I figure out what you want with me."
"I suppose this reunion is rather sudden," concedes my old master, "Given recent events, I wanted to reassess just what you've been up to over the last few years."
"The war," I state.
To be fair, the outbreak of war and the Jedi Order becoming generals is going to cast a new light on my actions. I'm no longer the borderline heretic who went and started playing general in the Outer Rim, I'm the one who started being a general before the rest of the Order.
Or at least I'm hoping that is how it goes. If I still get given poodoo for being a general when everyone else is a general… that besides the point. It is one thing to be running about with my own private paramilitary in a time of peace, it is another thing to have done so when war breaks out a few years later and my forces end up playing a major part in the opening engagement of the war.
"Not just the war," replies my old master, surprising me, "The Council came to speak with me regarding that vision of yours, the one with the Battle of Geonosis and the Sith in it. You were never the sort to have visions like that when you were my apprentice."
"I am still not," I tell him, "That vision was a very big exception that I am still not entirely sure what to make of."
For a moment, I consider telling him about Darth Sidious being the Supreme Chancellor and the true nature of the war, but only for a moment. He might have been my master and the closest thing I had to a father, but we have grown apart since then. It isn't like Vyssa where I trust her with my life and we'll be spending at least the next few years together. Master Karth might be an unconventional Jedi, but he is very much a traditionalist who doesn't push the line like I do.
And we no longer have the bond of trust between a padawan and their master. We have spent years without talking and our relationship fell apart on a sour note when my old master decided he wasn't going to be about to convince me to stop 'playing mercenary in the Outer Rim'.
"I see," says my old master, "They've given me my own command, the 679th Armoured Division. They and the 797th Recon Division are mustering for an assault on Allateen Six to secure the shipyards there. I'm set to leave Coruscant to go and take command of them in a couple of days."
"So you're going to be a general now," I state as it isn't a question when we all know the answer.
"All of the Knights and Masters are going to be generals in the Grand Army of the Republic," says my old master, "While any padawans of theirs are going to be commanders. I can't say it is a change I am happy with, but it seems to be one necessary to save the Republic."
"Doesn't it bother you that the Jedi have gone from peacekeepers to soldiers overnight?" I point out.
"We are still peacekeepers, we just need to defeat the Separatists to restore peace," argues my old master.
"Yet we have gone from being neutral peacekeepers to generals who are aligned with one side overnight," I argue back, "Surely that isn't a little worrying to you?"
"I find it worrying," says Vyssa, "I know what it is like to be a soldier and there isn't something right with how the Order has just suddenly become soldiers like… no, they have become soldiers, but not like myself and my master."
"I understand both of your concerns, but there is little we can do," points out my old master, "The Republic is at war and it needs the Jedi Order to lead new armies and fleets. It isn't like the Republic has alternative sources of generals and it is the duty of the Jedi Order to protect the Galactic Republic. You know as well as I do that if the Order refused to aid the Republic in its hour of need, we would be labelled traitors and Separatist sympathisers."
As much as I dislike admitting it, that is a valid point. I have no doubts that Sidious would be ready to destroy the reputation of the Order if they refused to take up arms to defend the Republic. I suspect he would use his emergency powers to put some legal consequences against the Order as well if he could get away.
"That is a fair point," I concede, "I still don't like it. The Jedi aren't meant to be generals and I dislike how the clones are basically slave child soldiers."
"Their accelerated aging means that they are adults and they all choose to swear an oath to serve the Republic," replies my old master, but his argument is hollow and we both know it.
"They are ten year olds who were bred for this war and have been given no alternatives," I retort, "What other paths in life have been offered to them? What would have happened to them if they had refused to swear that oath? Furthermore you know this."
"There is no easy solution to the situation regarding clones, my padawan," he replies and I try not to bristle at the familiar address as I was his padawan after all, "The Republic needs an army and the clones are conveniently there. The Senate will make use of them and the Order cannot prevent that so we have to do our best to deal with it. Perhaps after the war…"
"There will be a reckoning after the war," I promise him, "As for conveniently just there, it is very convenient indeed."
"Something to do with your vision?" inquires my old master.
"Yes, combined with my expertise as a general," I answer, "The clones were created a decade ago supposedly on the orders of a Jedi who happened to die a decade ago and now we just find them as a convenient army just when we need an army? I don't trust it, especially with the Sith involved."
"The Sith?" asks my old master with a slight frown.
"Yes, Dooku started this war and was responsible for the events that led to the clones being discussed just as they were needed," I point out, "I'm still looking into it, but something is wrong with this war beyond what is obvious. Especially with how the Order is being forced to stray from the path of the Jedi to serve the Senate."
"You have a point," agrees my old master as he is definitely frowning now, "I shall relay your concerns to the Council with my backing."
"Thank you Master Hastros," I tell, pleasantly surprised at the support he is giving me.
"I am just doing my duty, my padawan," he replies before turning to look at me, "There is one thing I should reveal to you before we part ways."
"Oh?" I say.
"You know my ability to perceive Shatterpoints?" says my old master and I nod in response, wondering where he is going with this, "I saw one in you when you were still an initiate. It was part of what inspired me to take you on as my padawan. It grew stronger when you formed your legion, strong enough that it could potentially affect the galaxy and my concern over what that shatterpoint could be was what led to our… disagreement."
"And now?" I ask as I process this new information.
"I think it has something to do with this war that the Sith have started," answers my old master with a stern look, "And it has grown again. Or it has multiplied. I can't tell if you are one massive shatterpoint or several interconnected ones, but whatever you are going to do, it will change the course of the galaxy."
We finally get some canon characters involved, namely Anakin and Padme. Technically Meena Tills, but she is more of a background character. Meena Tills is the senator who replaced Senator Tikke when he defected to the Separatists and because of that, she would be new to the position some point after Geonosis. For this story, I'm going with it took a few days for her to be chosen as the replacement before shortly arriving on Coruscant the day before Ben does.
Because of this, she is still in the process of settling and forming connections so she decides to make use of her friendly Jedi contact who is clearly connected within the Senator. Also Ben is getting more Star Cruisers from the Mon Calamari though it will take six months for them to be built. I've tried to find some canonical shipbuilding times, but it has been difficult so I've been going for six months to a year for capital ships, three to four months for cruisers and a month for corvettes and frigates. This is all assuming that things are optimal like a proper shipyard with no shortages of material and a full work crew.
So it is going to take some time for the Ben to build up this forces and the same applies to the Republic and CIS. The first few months are going to be somewhat quiet as everybody fights with what they got at hand and then the intensity of the war ramps up as wartime production begins to kick in.
With Anakin and Padme, Ben isn't familiar enough to be on a first name basis and the only reason he is associating with them is because of Sidious. If it wasn't for Palpatine's interest in Anakin, Ben wouldn't really have anything to do with them. As it is, Anakin gets along better with Ben then Ben would with him or he and Padme would get along with each other. Padme is one of the Pacifists while Ben is in the Militarist camp so even if they are both good people, they are at odds on how to go about helping people.
Meanwhile a slave-freeing Jedi who doesn't get along with the Council and is okay with his relationship with Padme is someone who Anakin would be favourably disposed to while Ben doesn't exactly have a reason to get along with Anakin. Maybe that will change in the future, but for now Anakin will get along with Ben while Ben will associate with Anakin to build up trust and attempt to counteract Sidious' influence.
Finally, we have the introduction of Ben's old master. I used another character from the CYOA who I think would fit as Ben's master quite well, but since I didn't pay for points for that associate when making the CYOA that resulted in Ben Shan and this story, he and Ben are estranged. That will be changing over the course of the story, but right now, they haven't talked for almost three years when Karth failed to convince Ben to stop running about the Outer Rim with his own private paramilitary force.
For some background, Karth Hastros is one of the more militant Jedi in the same vein as Ben, but he is merely unconventional instead of borderline heretical. While Ben plays fast and loose with the current set of Jedi traditions and is on bad terms with the High Council, Karth is something of a traditionalist and sticks by the council.
Karth spent most of his career helping the Judicial Forces and doing that as a padawan has influenced Ben's character. In many ways, Ben is a more radical version of Karth. They both lead troops into battle, they are both naturally talented warriors, they both try to bring justice, law and order to those in need and both have a steadfast belief in the Republic.
I also think that Ben would be a Shatterpoint for the likes of Karth, Mace Windu and others who can perceive them. First, he created his own private paramilitary which has the potential to mess up Sidious' plans and alter how the galaxy turns out and how he has his otherworldly knowledge, Ben will definitely be changing the fate of the galaxy from what it would have normally been. In fact, he already has by intervening at Geonosis.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
4.3 (Coruscant Politicking) - Chapter Eighteen
The rest of the talk is less serious. We make some small talk, discuss how our lives have been since we last spoke years ago and I introduce Vyssa and Karth to each other. It ends with me giving my old master some tips on leading actual soldiers before I have to leave to tend to the other various bits of business I have planned for the day.
"So that was your master," says Vyssa as the two of us walk away from the Judicial Forces Headquarters and towards the Senate Dome, "I can see the resemblance."
"He shaped me into being who I am today," I answer in agreement, "He taught how to fight, how to lead troops, to serve the Republic and to have that desire to bring justice to those that need it most. He just didn't agree with how far I took those teachings."
"Well, at least you are talking to each other again," says Vyssa, "That has to be a good thing. I can't imagine going for years without talking to you."
"I can't imagine that myself," I reply, "And I couldn't imagine my master and I falling out like that. Those were some hard days. I had kept myself busy with my work and I had Loren and Wol to turn to. Without those two… we Jedi aren't supposed to have attachment, but my friendship with them kept me going in period."
"Is that why you are keeping the extent of Master Skywalker's relationship with Senator Amidala secret?" inquires Vyssa and I shake my head.
"Yes and no," I answer before switching to a quiet voice for what else I have to say, "It is also because Sidious wants to turn the Chosen One into his next apprentice. I want to earn Skywalker's trust and friendship to keep Sidious from pushing him into Falling."
"Wow, that I never considered that a possibility," mutters Vyssa, shaking her head, "Sithspit, that is scary. The Chosen One falling to the Dark Side and becoming one of the Sith instead of destroying them would be bad news."
"Yes, it would be," I agree solemnly, thinking to all of the Jedi who die at the hands of Darth Vader in those other timelines.
"Is there anything else from your vision that I-" starts Vyssa, but my sudden ignition of my lightsabers interrupts her.
Even with my battle meditation and reflexes, I am barely able to draw my lightsabers and I am just able to block both the first shot and the second shot in time. Looking around the skyline, I attempt to sort whoever is taking shots at me even as those around us begin to scatter.
"Sniper!" calls Vyssas as my padawan as she ignites the yellow blade of her lightsaber.
"Do you see them?" I ask her as I stare in the direction that the shots came from.
"No Master," replies Vyssa, "I wish I had worn my armour today."
My battle precognition warns me of a third shot, but I don't make an attempt to block it. Instead I trust in my beskar to keep me safe and take the opportunity to spot where the sniper is positioned. The shot staggers me slightly as it strikes me in the chest, but I see which spot the shooter has positioned themselves in.
It is one of the towers overlooking the approach to the main entrance of the Senate Dome. Which is a problem because that is really high up and I have no way to get there in a timely manner. I could try doing Force-boosted jumps, but by the time I get to the sniper's location, they will have almost certainly fled and if they have a speeder parked nearby, I will have no chance of catching them.
"Vyssa, get a speeder while I keep the shooter distracted," I tell my padawan as I block another blaster shot.
"Yes Master!" replies Vyssa as she runs off.
Someone else has to be reacting. We are right next to the Senate Dome for Force's sake and the Republic Executive Building isn't that far either. The Senate Guard should be doing something about this. It is their job to deal with snipers taking shots at people just outside the Senate Dome.
I deflect another blaster bolt and then another as the sniper begins to speed up their shots. A third blaster bolt swiftly follows the latest two and I wonder if I can aim one back at the shooter. I might be capable of pulling it off, but it is unlikely I will be able to take down the sniper in that manner. More likely I will just spook into fleeing, which is undesirable since capturing him is the preferred outcome so long as I am the target.
Suddenly there is more blaster fire, but this time I am not the target as someone is shooting at the sniper. Which is not actually good because it is going to scare the shooter into fleeing before I can get to them.
"Master!" shouts Vyssa as my padawan pulls up in a two-seater airspeeder.
Not wasting any time, I leap into the air and come down in the empty seat of Vyssa's acquired speeder.
"After the shooter now!" I tell Vyssa, "We need to stop him from getting away."
"On it Master!" replies Vyssa as she speeds off, clearly going faster than you are legally allowed to in the Senate District.
We head towards the sniper's location, but I can already see the shooter fleeing. We are close enough that we should still be able to catch him. Except he turns around and fires another shot at us. I move to deflect it, but neither Vyssa nor I are the targets as the blaster bolt hits one of the forward repulsors.
Our airspeeder remains in the sky, but it begins to dip and it doesn't look like we are going to reach the top of the tower despite Vyssa's best efforts. I could make the jump to the top, but that would mean the airspeeder colliding with the building. I have a moment to make a choice and I know which one it must be.
"Vyssa, bring the speeder down," I tell my padawan, "Avoid crashing into that building."
"But Master-!" Vyssa starts to protest, but I cut her off.
"The sniper has gotten away and I do not want avoidable collateral damage," I reply and Vyssa pulls the airspeeder into a turn so we are heading back down to the ground.
"And you don't think it was the Separatists General?" inquires Commander Fox as he interviews me about the attack earlier.
The aftermath of the attack resulted in a quick response from both the Senate Guard and the new Coruscant Guard with Commander CC-1010 personally showing up to handle the situation. I turned over my helmet footage and both Vyssa and I are giving our statements to the investigators.
It also turned out that the airspeeder acquired belonged to Senator Garm Bel Iblis as the Senator had returned to Coruscant this morning. That was interesting to know, especially since the man had apparently waved off the damage done to his vehicle in exchange for a meeting with me later. Of course, he could have just asked me for a meeting and I would have given one to the man regardless as Garm is one of my main backers and one of the few I actually like. In fact, I like the man enough to call him friend.
"It could be the Separatists, but I have many other enemies who could and would hire an assassin to send after me," I point out, "The Hutts, the Black Sun, the Pykes and the Exchange all want to see me taken down and the bounties that they have placed on my head collectively adds up to maybe twenty million. Now I'm sure that the Separatists will put a bounty on my head after my actions at Geonosis and send agents after me, but we can't be certain that this shooter was one of them."
"So it might be the Separatists, but you have made too many enemies for us to be certain it was them General," says Commander Fox as another clone notes something down.
"Yes," I answer, "Do you have any idea who the shooter was yet?"
"Yes sir," answers Commander Fox, "From the visuals that your helmet took, we have a partial match with the bounty hunter Rako Hardeen and while we cannot be certain, he is our most likely suspect right now, especially since he has been spotted on Coruscant recently."
Rako Hardeen. That is a name I recognise from my own list of bounty hunters to watch out for and also from my otherworldly knowledge. He would fit as the sniper both in his accuracy and his ability to get away.
"He would fit as the shooter," I tell Commander Fox, "Anything else?"
"Are you sure that you are uninjured, General?" asks the clone, "By your own account and those of other witnesses, you took a direct hit more than once."
"While I appreciate the concern, my armour is made of beskar," I inform him, "It is up to the task of withstanding some blaster fire and I am tough even by Jedi standards. It takes more than the norm to leave me injured."
"You're wearing beskar'gam?" says Commander Fox as he gives me another look, this one more appraising than his previous ones.
Okay, Commander Fox knows at least some parts of Mandalorian culture if he knows about Mandalorian armour. Mandalorian armour… clone trooper armour is based off of that right? Why does that feel important? Not life or death, but it is a point to pursue in this conversation.
"Yes," I answer him, rapping my knuckles against my breastplate, "I wear it all the time because of occasions like today's incident. What about you?"
"My brothers and I always wear our armour in the field, but we take it off back at base at the first opportunity, General," answers Commander Fox, "The armour is good for protection and useful on the job, but it is uncomfortable to wear."
"I could try looking into that," I muse, "My engineers are experts when it comes to armour. It is one of the major points of investment for my forces."
"If you think you can get them to make armour that doesn't chafe, I'll wish you luck in that endeavour, General," says Commander Fox, "That is going to be all sir. I will let you know if we need anything further from you, but since you didn't suffer any injuries in the incident, we only require your helmet footage and your witness statement right now."
"Thank you Commander," I tell him, "Feel free to contact me if you have any further need of my services. I can't make any promises that I will be able to help, but I will do what I can."
"I will keep that in mind, General," says the clone commander.
Having ordered the capital ships and set the foundations for recruiting the crew, it is time to place orders for some of the other warships that I will be needing. While I will be speaking with CEC, I also decided to make contact with the senator from Rendili to purchase some of Rendili StarDrive's products.
Kathrose Tashi is the current Senator for Rendili and I have been warned about what to expect from her by Candabrine Bu and a few other members of the Senate in my camp. While not quite ambitious, the woman is a patriot for Rendili and dreams of the day that Rendili StarDrive will regain its old primacy. As a result, she holds a great deal of bitterness towards Kuat and greatly resents Kuat Drive Yards getting all of the new military contracts from the Republic.
It doesn't help that many of Rendili's customers and licensee yards had defected to the Separatists, hurting Rendili StarDrive even further unless they wanted to look disloyal to the Republic. It explains why Senator Tashi was so eager to agree to my meeting with her since why else would a general with their own fleet want to meet with Rendili's senator? I mean, I do want to meet with her to purchase some warships from Rendili StarDrive after all.
"Welcome General Shan," Senator Tashi greets me happily as I enter her office, "Is there anything I can get you to make you feel more comfortable?"
"No thank you, Senator," I reply, "I would like to discuss business with you. As you might be aware, I am expanding my paramilitary force in response to the outbreak of war and I have acquired additional funding with which to do it."
"And you want to purchase warships from Rendili StarDrive," concludes Senator Tashi, clearly pleased by that outcome.
"For now, I am interested in acquiring a dozen Hammerhead-class Cruisers," I inform her, "I have some potential other interests, but they require some inquiries on my part before I can determine which ones I want."
Hammerhead-class Cruisers are a nice staple warship that have proudly served the Republic for thousands of years and will fit my purposes as an escort. While their sales have greatly declined since their main user was disbanded in the Ruusan Reform, Rendili StarDrive still produces them and over time, improved production methods have resulted in a lower price compared to when they first came out. These days you can get one for four million credits rather than ten million and because of that, they are a rather common sight in the Middle and Outer Rim. I've certainly run into plenty of them over the last three years.
As I discussed with Aria, they make for an acceptable substitute for the position that the Thranta-class Corvettes currently fulfil in my fleet. Good durable, a good amount of firepower, good transport capabilities plus a hangar that is big enough for an entire starfighter squadron and while they aren't as agile as a Thranta, they aren't flying bantha like some warships out there. There is a reason that the Hammerhead-class Cruiser continues to be built to see combat almost four thousand years after it was first introduced.
"The Hammerheads are doable," replies Senator Tashi, "I shall personally inform the Arch-Provost and ensure that they are ready for you to use in a timely manner. Now, what else did you have in mind?"
"Is Rendili StarDrive still capable of automating Dreadnoughts like they did with Katana Fleet?" I inquire and at Senator Tashi's frown, I continue, "I am aware of what happened with Katana Fleet including that its loss was the result of a hive virus outbreak amongst the crew rather than a result of the extensive usage of slave circuitry. If the problem with the overly large crew can be dealt with, the Dreadnought-class Heavy Cruiser will fit my needs quite nicely especially if I can get the carrier-fit so they can carry some of my starfighters. However, I would like the slave circuitry to be limited to the warship it is on rather than fleetwide. I don't want one compromised warship being able to control the rest of the Dreadnoughts, but the reduced crew requirements."
"I will need to check if we can still do that," replies Senator Tashi, "In theory we should be able to do it, but it has been some years since we last attempted that design. For obvious reasons, it hasn't been something that our customers have desired before now. Is there anything else that you need from Rendili, General?"
"That is all for now," I answer, "While I am looking into increasing my budget, I am only going to spend what I can be sure of. I may be back to make some more orders, but I won't make any promises. Once you have heard back regarding my heavy cruiser needs, please get in touch with my people and I will try to make myself free as soon as feasible."
"Then I wish you well and I hope that the lowlife who took a shot at your earlier gets caught," says Senator Tashi, "I and Rendili thank you for your patronage. We are grateful for the business in these times."
"I am grateful that Rendili still provides good, durable warships at affordable prices when Kuat is busy producing its expensive products for rich Core Worlds with the credits to spare," I reply, "I hope that this is just my first deal with Rendili StarDrive and that we shall have more fruitful business together in the future."
"As so I do, General," Senator Tashi tells me with a grin, "So do I."
To my surprise, Wol is also waiting for me when I arrive at Garm's office for the meeting he requested. I know that my Corellian Commodore has connections to the various leaders of Corellia, but he didn't inform me that he would be here. Not that I mind as Wol is good at his job and has earnt the benefit of the doubt. If he is attending this meeting, I trust that he is here for a good reason.
"Senator Bel Iblis, Commodore Thak," I greet the two Corellian men, "What is it that you desire with me?"
"Your man here has been talking warships and starfighters with me," answers Garm, getting straight to the point as usual, "And I think I've got something you will be very interested in."
" Liberator-class Starfighters," says Wol with a grin.
"So since Palpatiine got his emergency powers, made that army of his and this war broke out, all of the other big shots have been looking through old pre-Ruusan records to see if CEC has got anything nice hidden away," continues Garm, sharing Wol's grin which tells me that they have found something and from Wol's earlier comment, I know what it is.
"Judging by how you two are acting, I'm guessing you found the schematics for the old Liberator starfighter from the Old Sith Wars era," I say as I look between the two men, "Is it any good?"
On the one hand, it ultimately fell out of usage as it got replaced by more specialised starfighters. On the other hand, it was good enough that the Jedi of the time got their own version of it modified for their needs and according to my otherworldly memories, it is about as good as an X-Wing and the X-Wing was an excellent starfighter. Or perhaps it is the X-Wing will be an excellent starfighter.
That said, the Liberator doesn't have a hyperdrive, but that can be worked around. The Jedi of old did it so it can be done and my engineers do have experience installing hyperdrives into Headhunters.
"It is," answers Wol, "A good versatile starfighter that has decent shielding, a sturdy hull and good maneuverability. The fighter has good armament as well with a pair of heavy laser cannons and a pair of missile launchers. Throw in the hyperdrive and astromech-"
"Wait, the hyperdrive and astromech is the Jedi variant of the ship, the Striker-class," I interrupt, "I thought you had the Liberator-class designs?"
"Well Ben, the designs that CEC dug up call it the Liberator-class Starfighter and it has an astromech and hyperdrive," says Garm, "I can't say if that is historically accurate, but it is what we got to work with. It was designed by Corellia StarDrive to go along with the Thrana-class Corvette and CEC only discovered last week that they had inherited a copy of the designs when they brought out Corellia StarDrive between the Old Sith Wars and the New Sith Wars."
"I've got a summary of the designs here," says Wol as he tosses me a datapad, "It is expensive compared to most modern starfighters, but that is what you get when you've got a starfighter built for war. Rather than sacrificing speed for armour or protection for mobility like many do these days, it has both at the price of being expensive."
"I take it you want to acquire some for our forces?" I inquire as I begin to look at the datapad.
"Absolutely," answers Wol, "Regardless of whether it is called the Liberator-class or the Striker-class, this is a starfighter built for war, not piracy or system defence. I've got enough against our Z-95s, but even with our modifications, the baseline Liberator is still an upgrade."
Hmm, a quick glance shows that Wol has a point. While the design doesn't list the price tag, the Liberator-class Starfighter in the design looks like a solid design if it works as advertised. A strong hull with decent shielding, its mobility, firepower and durability are all higher end by modern standards even if they don't match the truly specialised in each department. That said, being good in all of those is a real rarity. Only the old pre-Ruusan designs still in service can match it and I suppose that makes sense since the Liberator is one of those pre-Ruusan designs, made for actual warfare rather than security forces or pirate groups.
"How much?" I ask, "And if it is a Corellian design, can we upgrade it or is that for CEC designs only?"
"It isn't as good as a real CEC design, but it is better than average," answers Wol, "From what I can tell, it seems to be left with some decent room for the design to be adapted. I suspect that was done so admirals and pilots could tweak the starfighter to fit their specific needs."
"And the price?" I inquire.
"According to the design, it should cost a hundred and fifty thousand credits, but the matter is going to be more complicated," replies Garm as he and Wol exchange another look, "My contacts at CEC assure me that they can produce the design, but we are going to be doing so from scratch minus the design and includes upgrading the design so we can make it with the technology we have today."
"It will give us some room to adjust the design to our needs," adds Wol, "Between my and Garm's connections, we got some eggheads working on it and we should hear back from them in a week or two. I'm going to get them to add some upgrades into the new design, which will get us a better starfighter cheaper, but it means we won't be able to customise it ourselves as easily."
"As for price, current estimates put it between a one hundred thousand and two hundred thousand per a fighter," says Garm, "And Shyla has ordered some production lines to be put down as one of her last acts as Diktat. She isn't changing her stance even with the outbreak of war so the Council is going to vote in a new one."
"Sithspit," I mutter, "Any idea who her replacement is going to be?"
"Dupas Thomree is shaping up to be the main candidate for the next Diktat," answers Garm, "You'll get along with him though he is more willing to play ball with Palpatine than I am happy with."
"Still criticising the Chancellor I see," I say.
"I'm going to be in you and Bu's fledgling coalition," says Garm as he grins at me, "Ambitious woman, but at least she is honest about it and has reasonable goals. I can work with that and I know that my limit for that sort of behaviour is going to be the same as yours. For as long as I am senator, you can count on Corellia to have your back Ben. I'll even help you with your pilot issue."
"Pilot issue?" I inquire.
"We are going to have a shortage of starfighter pilots with all of these new starfighters that we are getting," answers Wol, "Especially if you intend to use those Lucrehulks we captured at Geonosis as mobile bases for additional squadrons. Corellia is a good source of them."
"And I am willing to direct as many of the young patriot volunteers who want to fight for the Republic your way as I can," adds Garm, "Better they work for you than whatever Palpatine has in mind. At least I know I can trust you to look after them and not exploit them to nefarious ends."
Yeah, he can and having Corellia in my camp… well, I am not going to say no to this, especially since I was already planning on it.
"I shall endeavour to live up to your trust," I tell him, "And since you're here Wol, I want another dozen DP20 Frigates for 2nd Legion's fleet."
"I will do General," answers Wol with a casual salute, "I'll bring it up in my next talk with CEC regarding our Liberator starfighter contract."
Anyway, part of the CYOA means that Ben has antagonised a lot of the criminal underworld and therefore has bounties aplenty on his head alongside bounty hunters regularly taking potshots at him. Because of this, I decided to have a bounty hunter try to snipe Ben and bounty hunters are inopportune times will be a regular occurrence throughout the fic.
Beyond that, Phase I Clone Trooper armour had its flaws and I had already decided that personal armour is one of the main points of focus for the 1st Republic Patriot Legion so I figured I would combine the two shortly after I began writing this arc. It makes sense for Ben to offer the expertise of his people in design clone armour because it earns him favour with the Kaminoans, the clones and the Republic at large in addition to getting an in at Kamino. So discussing armour with Fox following the assassination attempt is a way to get that subplot started.
I'm also going to make canonical bounties larger for the purposes of this fic because I find them to be rather small in canon. Like if you got people who are willing to spend a few million on a personal starship, then you should have people who are willing to pay the same to have someone killed. Because of this, Ben has a bounty that is about twenty million high as he has spent the last three years making an enemy of the galaxy's criminal underworld.
Back to politics, Rendili will be backing Ben and his Militarist coalition because they want to set things up so Rendili is the provider of warships for a non-clone military just as Kuat has set themselves up as the provider of warships for the clone military. Because of this, Rendili wants to push Ben's 'goal' of making a non-clone military for the Republic so they can regain prominence and while they can't afford to offer discounts, they will be a supporter of his in the Senate. I also decided that the Hammerhead-class Cruiser will be cheaper than an estimated ten million credits after almost four thousand years of production as that is a bit expensive compared to modern ships and I figured that over the thousands of years, Rendili StarDrive will have figured out how to reduce production costs.
With Corellia, I like Garm Bel Iblis as a character even if it has been a few years since I've read any source material with him apart from Empire at War and that doesn't really include much of his character. Ben already has ties to Corellia while Garm is a vocal opponent of Palpatine and sort of person who goes on to become a founding member of the Rebellion. I figured he and Ben would get along, he would support Ben's anti-Palpatine coalition. I also decided that since he is being forced to get involved in the war, Garm would decide to do so by throwing his support behind Ben instead of whatever Palpatine has in mind.
For the Liberator-class Starfighter, it is a nice little starfighter that I want to use as the primary starfighter for Ben. While canon stats of it are limited, it has the same MGLT, speed, DPF, SDB and RU as the X-Wing and it fulfils the same role as I've decided it is roughly equivalent to the X-Wing as a versatile starfighter built for war. While it has no canon manufacturer as far as I can tell, after seeing that Corellia StarDrive developed the NovaDrive, Flashfire, Spearpoint and Vanguard, I decided it also developed the Liberator.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Aug 9, 2021
4.4 (Coruscant Politicking) - Chapter Nineteen
"So Brigadier Telis has gotten her own padawan and is now a general?" inquires Vyssa as our shuttle flies to the Senate Dome once again as our first week back on Coruscant comes to a close.
While my padawan and I have been regularly visiting the Senate Dome, we haven't walked since Rako Hardeen tried to kill me. A shame and I don't like the image of taking a shuttle instead of walking about, but I couldn't justify exposing myself to further danger like that. Especially since Hardeen is still out there and none of the law enforcement on Coruscant has any leads on where he is or what he is up to.
"Pretty much all of the Jedi are generals these days," I reply, "Except for padawans like you. You are merely commanders."
"You don't approve," says Vyssa.
"I do not," I confirm, "Now tell me why I don't approve."
"Because Jedi are meant to be peacekeepers not generals," answers my padawan before frowning, "Not like this anyway. What you, I and General Telis have done is one thing, having chosen to become military leaders, but what the Order is doing now is basically letting itself get conscripted into being senior military leadership."
"Exactly," I confirm, "Not all Jedi are meant to be a part of the military and I don't think it is a good thing for most of the Jedi to be in the military. Being forced into it like this, it will make the Order stray from its path and cloud or twist the judgement of its members."
"Which is what our insidious foe wants," mutters Vyssa.
"Not so close to the Senate building," I warn her, "We don't know where they are able to overhear us or not, but the Senate Dome is their playground not ours."
"And that is wrong," says Vyssa with a slight scowl and I sympathise as she is right, the Senate should be a stronghold for the Jedi not the Sith.
"Back to your original question, General Telis has gotten herself a padawan," I tell my padawan, "It only happened yesterday and the kid is a Miraluka lad by the name of Siaran Vareta. Does the name ring any bells?"
"It seems familiar, but I cannot put a name to a face," answers Vyssa, "Do you?"
"He is a year younger than you and I once considered taking him as my padawan before deciding on you," I say, "He should have aged out by now, but him getting sent to the ExplorCorps got delayed and now Aria has decided to give him a chance as his padawan. He seems like a good kid on paper with a strong sense of right and wrong, but confused about how the Order's duty to be guardians of peace and justice conflicts with the corruption of the Senate and the rest of the Republic. He was struggling to deal with that a couple of years ago and I suspect he still is without a master to guide him."
"Hopefully General Telis will be able to help him," comments Vyssa as the shuttle lands in one of the landing bays of the Senate Dome, "Speaking of her, do you sense her presence?"
"I can feel that she is waiting for us as well," I answer as I can feel Aria's Force presence in the landing bay alongside two strong Force presences that I do not recognise.
"We have arrived, General," calls the shuttle pilot as the doors open and the ramp extends.
I spot three figures waiting for us and I recognise Aria straight away. A Togruta in Jedi robes with light purple skin and white markings and white and pale blue montrals stands on her left. To Aria's right, there is a somewhat nervous looking human-looking teenager with his eyes covered by a white blindfold.
"Hello Aria and company," I greet my second in command, glancing at the other two individuals with her.
"General Shan," replies Aria, "It is a pleasure to see you again. May I introduce you to my old master Jedi Master Taala Sereas and my new padawan Siaran Vareta?"
"You may," I tell her, thinking back to what Aria has told me about her old master.
Unlike myself and my old master, Aria and Master Sereas never became estranged and the duo have kept in regular contact while Aria has been with me. I suspect it has to do with the fact that Aria was assigned to be my watchdog by the High Council rather than choosing to join me.
I wonder how Master Sereas feels about that decision. Aria has never hesitated to make it clear to me that she had no desire to partake in my 'ambiguously legal paramilitary' and 'borderline criminal activities' though she had the decency to save such opinions until we were in private and not in front of the troops.
"Master Taala and Padawan Siaran, this is my partner Jedi Knight and General Ben Shan," says Aria to her companions.
The uncertainty that Siaran gives off indicates that the padawan seems to be unsure of what to think of me. Meanwhile Master Sereas is unwaveringly confident and serene to the point I have no idea what the Jedi Master actually thinks of me.
"General Shan," says Master Sereas as she focuses her attention on me, "I am pleased to finally meet you."
There is no hint of reproach in her voice, but I cannot shake the feeling that I am being rebuked for not having met her sooner.
"As am I," I reply, "General Telis has many good things to say about you."
Which is true as Aria is always happy to mention how great her old master is. A little too happy in my opinion, but it would be unfair of me to begrudge her overing having a positive relationship with her old master just because I had a falling out with my own.
"I certainly hope she does," says Master Sereas, "I've noticed you have been building a coalition within the Senate."
"I need the additional support to expand my forces in response to this war," I answer, "If that means working with those whom I don't necessarily like or agree with, I am willing to do so for the greater good of the Republic."
"Your opposition to the Chancellor could be seen as disloyalty to the Republic," points out Master Sereas and I frown at the implications of her words.
"Only by fools or those whose own loyalty is to be doubted," I reply, not bothering to hide my distaste for the idea, "Personal loyalty to Chancellor Palpatine is not the same thing as loyalty to the Republic and if someone conflates the two, then I would question just how loyal they are to the Republic. The Galactic Republic is more than just the current Supreme Chancellor."
"And yet there will be many who take a lack of support for the Chancellor as a lack of support for the Republic," states Master Sereas,
"If they think that, then they are not going to sway by facts," I retort, "My record speaks for itself in terms of my loyalty to the Republic and if my actions aren't going to convince them, then they aren't open to being convinced."
"You will make enemies with that attitude," says Master Sereas and I resist the urge to frown as I try to figure out what her game is.
"Anything has the potential to make you enemies," I reply, "If I am to make enemies, I would rather do so by doing the right thing and make enemies of those who oppose me doing the right thing."
"Some of those enemies could be dangerous," points out Master Sereas, "And could threaten not only you, but those around you."
"I am a dangerous enemy to make myself," I point out, "I am personally skilled in a fight, I have a loyal and competent paramilitary and I have no shortages of connections in the Senate. I am fully capable of being a threat back to anyone who threatens me and mine."
"Master, where exactly are you going with this line of conversation?" asks Aria as my fellow knight cuts into the conversation.
"I am simply getting a feel for your partner," Master Sereas tells her former padawan, "It is one thing to hear about someone second and third hand, it is another thing to meet them in person and directly speak with them."
"And your impression of me, Master Sereas?" I inquire.
"Someone with principles which they are unwilling to compromise even if they were willing to compromise to serve those principles," answers the Togruta woman, "You are committed to what you believe in and are able to back up those commitments with enough to give the intelligent pause should they find themselves opposing you. I can also see why Nelaria values her friendship with you."
"Master!" protests Aria, shocked for a moment before she takes on that emotionless mask she considers to belong to a proper Jedi.
"It is not wrong to admit that you hold feelings, Nelaria," Master Sereas gently lectures Aria.
As the two women talk, I discreetly glance back at Vyssa and Siaran, where the two padawans are trailing behind us. The duo seem to be engaged in conversation, but they are also paying attention to the rest of us as Vyssa gives me a quick nod when I glance over my shoulder.
"Emotions are improper for a Jedi, Master," says Aria primly and stubbornly, "To be at peace and be serene, we must not indulge in either emotion or passion."
"We all feel emotion, Nelaria," replies Master Sereas, "As Jedi, we need to master our feelings, not deny them entirely."
"Of course, Master," says Aria.
"Master Sereas, may I get your opinion on the war?" I ask Master Sereas, wondering what Aria's old master thinks about it.
Jedi Master Taala Sereas is one of the Order's better diplomats as while she lacks the fame of some other Jedi, she is skilled at what she does. Unlike myself or my padawan or my old master, Master Sereas is not a martial-oriented Jedi. That isn't to say she can't handle herself in a fight, but Master Sereas is very focused on diplomacy and teaching.
Spending most of her time on Coruscant, her time is split between the Senate Dome and the Jedi Temple as Master Sereas both resolves disputes within the Senate and teaches classes to padawans and initiates. She was the one who trained Aria to be a diplomat, taking her on as her padawan because Aria had no desire to become one of the more combat-oriented Jedi despite her talent with battle meditation.
I'm grateful for that since even if she has the talent for it, Aria shouldn't be forced down a path she doesn't want to follow.
In general, Master Sereas is not the sort of the Jedi who would support the act of going to war yet at the same time, she is a traditionalist by all accounts. She might be a teacher and a diplomat, but she may also be one of those Jedi who support the High Council and their decisions and judging from Aria, I would assume that she is more likely to be one than not.
"The war is unfortunate, but necessary," answers Master Sereas, "I wish that things could have been resolved peacefully, but the Separatists have chosen to resort to violence so now we must go to war. I do wish the conflict could be avoided."
"Will you be joining the fighting, Master?" inquires Aria
"While many Jedi shall be going to the frontlines, we still require healers, diplomats and other to remain behind," replies Master Sereas, "My talents are better suited here on Coruscant than on the battlefield and so here I shall remain to make use of my connections in the Senate and to each youngsters at the Temple. I presume that you shall join the war effort my padawan?"
"Yes Master," answers Aria promptly, "We are expanding the legion to include a second one and I shall be taking command of that legion as General."
"I noticed," says Masters Sereas as she turns to me, "Your activities around the Senate have not gone unnoticed. It is clear to those that are interested in such things that the Guardian of the Republic is increasing his forces."
"Guardian of the Republic?" I inquire, not recognising the title.
"That is what the media has been calling you since the Battle of Geonosis," explains Master Sereas, "General Ben Shan, Guardian of the Republic. You are quite the heroic figure and now that Genosis has thrown you into the spotlight, the public has latched onto you as an upcoming war hero and rising star. COMPOR is already producing holos detailing your devotion to order and security and your heroic rescue of Senator Amidala and her Jedi bodyguards at Geonosis."
COMPOR or the Commission for the Protection of the Republic. Nominally a private organisation founded last year, it is sponsored by the Supreme Chancellor and it is effectively Sidous' propaganda arm. Human-centric, authoritarian and utterly amoral, my otherworldly memories tell me that it is little more than an extension of Sidious' will and it is a threat to the continued survival of the Republic.
I'm going to need my own propaganda organisation to counter it.
I'm also going to need my own intelligence agency, but Vyssa is already working on that. Republic Intelligence and Senate Bureau of Intelligence have plenty of good people in them, but they also have plenty of bad and corrupt individuals and they are both run by Armand Isard. While the man hasn't done anything to draw my suspicion yet, my other memories tell me just what sort of monster he is and
"You disapprove," notes Master Sereas.
"COMPOR is harmful to the Republic," I answer, "It is a bigoted organisation that goes against the ideals of the Republic to promote the Supreme Chancellor."
"The Supreme Chancellor founded COMPOR and sponsors it," points out Master Sereas.
"That reflects more on the Chancellor's character than it does on COMPOR," I retort.
"General Shan is right, Master," says Aria, "If Chancellor Palpatine is sponsoring an organisation that is doing harm, then that says ill things about the Chancellor rather than good things about COMPOR."
"That sort of attitude will get you into trouble and make dangerous enemies," says Master Sereas.
"If speaking the truth makes me enemies, then those are the sort of enemies worth having," declares Aria, "We are Jedi, peacekeepers of the Republic. We are supposed to stand for truth, not the Chancellor's agenda."
"I agree with Aria," I say, "I will not shy away from my duty because of politics and corruption."
"Just beware that your direct and confrontational attitude will make you powerful and dangerous enemies," warns Master Sereas, "And those enemies won't limit themselves to just targeting you and won't hesitate to go after those close to you."
"While I appreciate the warning, that is nothing new to me," I tell her, "The likes of the Hutts, the Black Sun and other criminals are like that as well and I've already made enemies of them. I can handle some more like that."
After all, taking the necessary actions to save the Republic will make me an enemy out of Sidious even if the Sith Lord won't know that I know.
"My master is different to what I remembered," admits Aria in private, "I didn't expect her to be so averse to doing the right thing."
Master Sereas left a little while ago, taking our padawans with her as she went to meet with one of her contacts. Vyssa wanted to come along and Master Sereas consented before offering to take Siaran as well to turn the meeting into a learning experience for our padawans. Aria agreed that it would be productive to her new padawan's tutorlege, but I wonder if she also agreed so she could talk to me in private.
"That is a problem with the Order these days," I reply, "Too concerned about not rocking the boat and not stepping out of line with the Senate. If given the choice between obeying the Senate or doing the right thing, they will choose the former."
"I don't remember it being like this," says Aria, "Have things around here changed or have we?"
"I suspect it is us," I answer, "Out in the Outer Rim, we do the right thing and accept any backlash as acceptable consequences of sticking to our principles. Here on Coruscant, we use the Senate to get the right thing done while the High Council just obeys the whims of the Senate."
"I just don't understand how Master Taala could just shy away from doing the right thing," mutters Aria, "We are Jedi, guardians of peace and justice throughout the Republic. We shouldn't disregard those values just because corrupt members of the Senate dislike us doing our jobs. There is seeking a peaceful outcome and then there is flinching away from your duty to avoid conflict."
For a moment, I wonder if I am going to see some actual emotion from my fellow Jedi, but Aria keeps up her cold, emotionless mask.
"I understand Aria," I assure her, "Completely. There is a reason I do what I do and why I appreciate your company."
"It is worse than that," says Aria, "Since we arrived at Coruscant, I've been looking at things, at the state of the Republic. And it is bad, but I suspect you already knew that."
"The rampant corruption, the increasing Humanocentrism and the increasing support for authoritarian rule by the Supreme Chancellor," I say, "Too many things are being done in the name of clearing out corruption and fighting the Separatists that end up undermining the ideals that the Republic stands for."
"Indeed, but unless your Force vision showed you some stuff, I'm not sure you realise how bad it has gotten," replies Aria, "COMPOR is the worst of it, but the SBI had its leadership structure gutted in the name of clearing out corruption only for previously delegated power to be conceded to the Supreme Chancellor. Republic Intelligence and the Senate Bureau of Intelligence are nominally separate, but they both have one of Chancellor Palpatine's protegees in charge. And then you've got emergency powers granted to Chancellor Palpatine. He has used them to make allowances in the Galactic Constitution for the current status of the clones and he has also used them to grant vast powers to the Coruscant Guard in the name of security."
Okay, that is pretty bad, but about par with what I expected due to my otherworldly memories. Nonetheless, it is something to be concerned about and to push back against where we can.
"We need to talk about this back on one of our warships," I tell her, "This discussion needs to be had somewhere secure and the Senate Dome is Palpatine's playground not ours."
"I agree," says Aria as she looks me in the eye, "You know more about what is going on then you are letting on."
"We'll talk about this more somewhere secure," I tell her again, "Now, I've got a meeting back on the Freedom with Colonel Loren coming up regarding what our people think of the clone trooper gear. Want to come along?"
"I might as well," agrees Aria, "But once it is done, we will continue our discussion."
And in this chapter, we get to meet Aria's new padawan Siaran Vareta (we'll get a proper introduction to him later in the arc) and her old master Taala Sereas. Taala Sereas is very much where Aria got her diplomatic nature though she is better at it due to greater experience and something that is a spoiler.
For her part, Taala is a respected and connected diplomat who also takes time to teach classes at the Jedi Temple and because of that, she is remaining behind on Coruscant rather than taking up a command as a Jedi General. She is also another of the old guard who support the High Council even if she values peace and diplomacy over violence. Anyway, I'm not going to spoil what she was up to in her conversation with Ben and Aria.
Finally, Ben and Aria have a little talk about just how the Republic is starting to fall from the inside.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Jun 16, 2021
4.5 (Coruscant Politicking) - Chapter Twenty
"Alright Loren, what have you got for us," I say as Aria and I walk into the spare workshop on the Freedom that has ended up as the meeting room.
"An analysis of the standard equipment used by the clone troopers of the Grand Army of the Republic," answers Loren, "I convinced the Coruscant Guard to let us borrow a couple of kits and while we haven't been able to engage in more extensive testing due to the need to return the gear in usable condition, we got a solid report."
"Let's hear it then," I tell him.
I have some idea of what to expect. I know what modern weapons, armour and other combat gear is like and my otherworldly memories have some info on what the clone gear is like. Mostly the armour to be honest. I know that blasters were DC-something or another and fired blue blaster bolts, but that is about it.
"I'll start with the weapons because that is pretty basic," says Loren as he picks up a blaster rifle, "The DC-15S Blaster Carbine is the mainstay alongside the DC-15A Blaster Rifle. Both are solid designs that hit hard enough to take down standard armour out there. They certainly pack enough of a punch to take out pretty much any battle droid out there though tanks and the like are still a bit too tough for them.
"Both weapons have about five hundred shots per gas cartridge and fifty shots per power pack. Both have three settings, stun, semiautomatic and automatic. Stun is stun, but semiautomatic is slower with greater accuracy and automatic has a quicker rate of fire at the expense of accuracy. Basically a trade off of accuracy versus rate of fire with trigger pull determining what you get."
"Any differences between the two?" I inquire, "There has to be a reason they have two different designs instead of just one."
"The DC-15A has slightly more power in each shot, letting it do more damage," answers Loren as he puts the blaster rifle in his hand down, "The downside is that it is more unwieldy to use and costs a bit extra due to greater amount of material used and the increased hitting power. Four hundred credits for the DC-15S and five hundred for the DC15A to be precise."
"Those sound like a pair of solid designs to me as well," I say, "What about the armour?"
"Decent attempt for a first try, but it is very clear that Kaminoians aren't in the business of making battle armour," says Loren with a slight shake of his head, "Honestly, it is nothing special. The body glove is pressurised to allow for temporary protection from vacuum and provides limited protection against extreme cold and heat. The armour itself has coolant systems to protect against overheating and the helmet has a filter that is good enough to protect against most airborne hazards.
"Downsides is that the armour is uncomfortable and it is obvious that the Kaminoan lack prior experience with making armour for humans. It is bearable for a time, but prolonged periods in the armour is going to be very uncomfortable. As for protection, it is passable for military-grade armour, but tends to be restrictive on the wearer's movements for armour of comparable protection. Despite aesthetics clearly being Mandalorian-inspired, the armour is nowhere near as good as actual Mando armour."
That is about what I expected according to my otherworldly memories. Acceptable armour, but nothing special with a few flaws due to inexperience.
"What is your opinion of the armour?" inquires Aria from beside me.
"As I said, it is a decent first attempt, but the lack of experience shows, General Telis," answers Loren with a shrug, "I can think of a few producers who could do the job better, but while it might not be that great as military armour, it is better than any civilian equivalents."
"And how does it compare to our own personal armour doctrine?" I inquire.
"Almost opposites, General Shan," promptly answers Loren, "This armour was built to be affordable and mass-produced while we invest heavily in the protection of our troops. Completely understandable given this armour is meant for an army in the billions while we have a small, but elite strikeforce.
"This armour can take a handful of hits from civilian-grade handheld blasters and maybe a couple from military-grade handheld blasters. Actually heavy weaponry will shred it. It allows for operation in extreme environments and has life support that can last for about ten hours. It also has rooms for attachments and modifications as needed for an operation.
"Our armour is vastly superior. Our troopers can take a dozen hits from military-grade handheld blasters on average and it takes multiple direct hits to bring one of our own down. It takes nothing less than a direct hit from a literal tank to bring down our troopers in a single shot. Admittedly that is against blasters and other energy-based weapons. Kinetic, sonic and other non-energy weapons are more effective against our armour, but even then what our troopers use is about twice as good as the clone armour.
"We have a full day's worth of life support as opposed to just ten hours and aim programs to help with targeting and accuracy. We also got greater room for our armour to be optimised for each individual trooper. Costs extra, but it makes our armour even better."
"I'm guessing there is a drawback to our armour," says Aria with a frown, "Otherwise it makes no sense for our armour to be so much better."
"There is," I confirm, "Cost."
"General Shan is correct, General Telis," agrees Loren, "While our armour is about ten times better, it also costs about that, well, I want to say about that much more, but our armour is really expensive. Honestly, the price difference is probably closer to thirty times than ten times. Worth every credit if you ask me, but we have little over ten thousand people to equip while the Kaminoans have to worry about paying for billions of armour sets. Frankly, we would have to consider changing our doctrine if we expanded our numbers by a major amount. What works for a small but elite force doesn't always scale up."
"That's true," I say, "We can afford to keep our current investment in personal armour, but it will always be a limitation on what we can do and how large we can grow even as it opens up different opportunities. It would be impractical for the Grand Army of the Republic to take the same approach, but that doesn't mean that there aren't any improvements to be made."
"Quite right sir," says Loren before turning to a Dug with the markings of a legion sergeant, "Sergeant Kapis?"
"Generals, Colonel," says the Dug as he comes forward, "My team has spent the last couple of days looking at the clone gear and while our work is only preliminary, we have already identified several potential areas of improvement for the clone armour based off of our prior experience with combat armour."
"Let's hear it then, Sergeant Kapis," I say, motioning for him to continue talking.
"For starters, they need to properly fit them for humans to comfortably wear," says Sergeant Kapis, "It wouldn't cost any extra and you would see both morale and combat improvements due to the lack of discomfort from wearing it. Other than that, some basic underlays and overlays would improve the armour at minimal cost. It wouldn't be on the same scale as what we do due to the costs involved, but some basic ones would be cheap enough to implement. This armour would have an advantage in that due to the fact they only need to adjust them for a single size."
"Any idea right now?" I inquire.
"Replace the coolant systems with some armourweave," answers Sergeant Kapis as he exchanges a look with the other two engineers in the room, "Doesn't have to be the good stuff like we use, just get some the cheap versions for a handful of credits. Low quality armourweave won't save someone on its own, but it can take the edge off a direct hit and turn a glancing blow into something you can walk off. It would also see more use than a coolant system because the clone troopers will be far more likely to get hit by a blaster than overheat."
"The overlay is more complicated because there are more options for us to choose," says another of the engineers, "We use ablative plating which could work well for the clone armour as well. It is bulky enough to limit mobility, but it provides good protection, especially against energy-based weapons like blasters."
"One of the lighter variants of bonded plating could work as well," suggests the third engineer, "It provides more all round protection than the ablative plating equivalent and doesn't hinder mobility unless it is the heavier version. The downside is that bonded plating isn't as effective against blasters as ablative plating."
"The third main option is energy shielding," concludes Sergeant Kapis, "Which despite the name isn't any kind of personal energy shield. It is a coating that can be added to disperse the power of energy-based attacks, not entirely and how much depends on the quality of it. About as good at it as armourweave and ablative plating. Costs about the same as armourweave and combines with it to make for an effective combination against blaster weapons. Not quite as protective or cheap as ablative plating, but unlike ablative plating, energy shielding doesn't do anything to hinder the mobility of the armour."
"We got options to improve it then," I state, "Now we just need to convince the Kaminoans to let us help them make a better set of clone armour."
"Correct me if I'm wrong, General Shan but don't we dislike the Kaminoans?" inquires Loren as the engineers exchange looks with each other at my words.
"We do," I confirm, "The Kaminoans are slavers who consider the clones they create to be their property. However, they have just gained a lot of influence with the Senate so we don't want to antagonise them unless it is being done for a specific purpose. Besides, we aren't doing this for them, we are doing it to keep the clones, the victims, alive on the battlefield."
"I can approve of that, General," says Sergeant Kapis, "It means keeping our fellow Republic soldiers alive, especially those in such unfortunate positions, then it is a worthy task even if it means working with slavers."
"We are going to do something about the Kaminoans sir?" asks one of the other engineers.
"Of course, but it is looking like we will need to wait until the war is over," I promise him, "Making too much of an issue of it now is unlikely to help and will actually make things harder in the long term."
"It is unfortunate, but so long as the Senate feels that it needs the clones to win the war, a majority of them are not going to do anything to help the plight of the clones," adds Aria, "Once the war is over, we should be in a position to change some minds."
"At the very least, I intend to force a confrontation over the issue once the war is over," I say, "I will not let this justice go unaddressed any longer than I have to."
"We have privacy in a secure location," says Aria as we sit opposite each other in her quarters, both of us in meditative positions, "We can continue our discussion from earlier."
"What do you want to know?" I inquire, wondering just what Aria wants to interrogate-I mean talk to me about.
"When I was telling you about how bad things are getting in the name of fighting the Separatists, you were unsurprised at what I had to say," says Aria, her face in a stoic mask as she stares at me, "Now I know that you could have learnt it from those senators and representatives you have been visiting since we arrived on Coruscant, but I don't think that is the case."
"Any particular reason you think that?" I ask her.
"I listen to the Force and it tells me that you learn the information through other means," answers Aria, "That is one thing and after working together for two years, I know you Ben. You know more than you are letting on and ever since you got that vision, you have been rattled. Something has you spooked."
As Aria and I stare each other in the eye, I wonder just how much I should reveal to Aria. I told Vyssa, but I trust her to keep it secret for now and not do anything to reveal to Darth Sidious that I might know what he is truly up to. Now I trust Aria as well, but do I also trust her in that same manner? Aria and I have become friends, but she is a far more traditionalist Jedi than I and she is only part of the legion because the High Council assigned her to me as my watchdog.
I do trust her though and her disagreement with Master Sereas earlier indicates where she stands on the question of doing the right thing versus obeying the Senate. Maybe not the full truth, but a partial one.
"I have doubts about Chancellor Palpatine's loyalty to the Republic," I finally tell her after a couple moments of silence, "My vision showed him using this war to gather more and more power to his office, subverting the ideals and principles of the Republic to do so. And then when the war ends, he refuses to give up his power and instead turns on the Jedi and his political opponents before declaring himself emperor.
"COMPOR lionises the Chancellor whilst subtly criticising the Jedi, Chancellor Palpatine installs and promotes his loyal sycophants while removing those that would oppose him and throughout the war, the Chancellor does his best to make the people of the Republic and the Senate believe in what supports him seizing power over sticking to the ideals of the Republic."
"You saw all of that in your vision?" asks Aria.
"That and some other stuff," I answer vaguely, "It was enough to tell me what I needed to do, but I decided to start looking into how reliable the vision is before I did anything too major. Unfortunately, from what I have learnt since returning to Coruscant, it seems to be all too accurate."
"That is why you are so aggressively seeking funding and support in the Senate," says Aria, "Why you have been building an anti-Palpatine coalition from within the Militarists. And the Lucrehulks too… you want to keep them for more than just to use them as military bases in the war."
Of course, Aria would spot what I am up to. She isn't stupid and I haven't been doing too much to hide my actions. I wonder who else in the legion has got some inkings of what I am really getting ready for.
"I'm planning to keep fighting for the Republic for as long as I am able," I tell her, "Whether that means trying to save it or trying to restore it. It is also why I am cultivating Corellia, Rendili and Mon Cala as allies. If there is a Galactic Civil War, I want to try and get them and their shipyards on my side."
"You are already planning for the next war?" asks Aria, sounding curious.
"This war is a-" I start before realising my slip up and internally cursing as Aria stares at me intently, "I have reason to believe that Chancellor Palpatine is working with Darth Sidious and Count Dooku and they have deliberately engineered this war to let Palpatine gather more and more power to himself under guise of winning the war."
"Your Force vision again?" inquires Aria.
"That and what Dooku revealed to Master Kenobi on Geonosis when he was trying to convince to join him," I answer, "I have no actual proof so I can't go telling anyone or making accusations, but the Force tells me that I am right and it is too important for me to ignore the possibility that I am right."
"For what it is worth, I think you are right, Ben," Aria tells me, "And after everything that has happened recently, I see why you are concerned about telling anyone else. Even the rest of the Order… they have become too mired in Senate politics to be trusted to do the right thing."
Now that is a surprise. Aria is quite the code doctrinaire and believes in obeying the wisdom of the High Council even if I know her well enough that she is forcing herself to be a traditional Jedi over it coming naturally to her. To see her just displaying a lack of faith in the High Council and the rest of the Jedi Order
"Are you okay Aria?" I ask her quietly.
"I am uncomfortable with the current state of the Republic," answers Aria, almost sighing before reestablishing her mask of no emotion, "Maybe I just didn't notice it before or perhaps the war has just brought it to the fore, but spending a year away from Coruscant has left the corruption more obvious to see. Combined with what you have to say, I am worried. What can the two of us do against the Supreme Chancellor?"
"Not just the two of us," I reply, "We are not alone. We have the legion, which is one of the finest military units in the galaxy with both ground and space forces. We have allies in the Senate, we have our padawans and we have seven Lucrehulk-class Battleships to stock up. We'll need to play things safe over taking risks with force preservation is key. Not enough to sacrifice civilians and allies, but keeping our forces intact is a greater priority than winning tactical victories."
"That is why you are building up your supporters in the Senate," says Aria.
"Yeah, I don't want the Republic to just become the new Sith Empire without a fight," I confirm, "I hope to get enough forces and enough support that I can push back against such an event, even if it means getting violent."
"We cannot let the Republic fall to corruption and dictatorship," agrees Aria and there is nothing more that needs to be said between us.
After another afternoon of politicking, I return to my quarters on the Freedom, intent on finally cracking open the holocron I found on Telos. Placing it on the ground, I call upon the Force to open it. It isn't a skill I have much familiarity with, but my Jedi training did cover it and the holocron responds to my touch. The holocron shines with Light and it pauses for a moment as I feel something- someone judging me before it opens as I requested it to.
A hologram appears before me, a blue woman with fair hair and blue eyes in Jedi robes. It only takes me a moment to recognise her as Jedi Master Meetra Surik from the images that I found in my research of the Old Sith Wars. For a moment, I forget to breathe as I stare at this legendary Jedi as even if the figure before me is just a holocron gatekeeper, it is based on one of the greatest in our Order.
"Young Jedi," says Meetra Surik-no, says the gatekeeper, bowing to me.
"Master Surik," I reply, finally regaining my wits, "I found this holocron mere days ago, back where you originally hid it. I am the first to use it and I was guided to its location by a Force vision."
"Then I would take it that the galaxy is in peril," says the gatekeeper, "Has the Republic fallen yet?"
"Not yet, but it will unless I take action to stop it," I tell the gatekeeper, "Shortly before I received the vision leading me to this holocron, I had another-no, it was not a vision, but something similar. The Force showed me some possibilities for the future and all revolved around the Supreme Chancellor secretly being a Sith Lord who has orchestrated the current war as a way to gain power for himself, cripple his opposition and wipe out the Jedi."
"As Kreia predicted," mutters the gatekeeper, "May I have your name?"
"Jedi Knight and Republic General Ben Shan," I answer her, "Bastila and Revan were ancestors of mine."
"A curious coincidence," muses the gatekeeper, "Or perhaps not a coincidence given the Force is involved. For this session, could you inform me about current events and just how the Republic, the Jedi and the Galaxy are in peril?"
Less politics and more talking about ideals and equipment. For clone armour, I'm going for more KOTOR pricing so the armour costs a few hundred credits rather than a few thousand credits. Anyway, the clone trooper armour is vastly inferior to what Ben's soldiers use, but the Kaminoans made their armour for an army that is several billion strong while Ben has invested heavily in armour for an army that is a few thousand strong.
That said, the Kaminoans are inexperienced with making combat armour while Ben's engineers are quite experienced with it so for the sake of the clones and the Republic, he intends to help the Kaminoans come up with better armour. It helps that it gives him an in at Kamino and makes him look better to the Senate and public.
There is also some talking with Aria where her idealistic nature is proving helpful for Ben as she disapproves of how the Jedi are compromising their ideals for the sake of the war effort and to obey the Senate. Also she and Ben know each other too well for Ben to hide everything from her so Ben partially revealed the truth to her.
Beyond that, Ben has finally gotten around to looking at the holocron he got from Telos, which is going to prove most helpful to him.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Sep 26, 2021
4.6 (Coruscant Politicking) - Chapter Twenty-One
Finding Senator Halle Burtoni proves to be no difficulty. While the Kaminoan senator is a newcomer to the Senate, she has wasted no time entrenching herself. Given how dependent the Republic has made its military on the clones produced by her people, there is no shortage of people who want to befriend the latest rising star in the Senate.
No, the difficult part is getting a meeting with her. The new Senator is quite busy these days and has a lot of demands on her time. While I had hoped to get a meeting with Burtoni the day after Loran's report on the clone armour, it ends up taking a couple of days. Still that isn't time wasted as I have plenty of other things to do on Coruscant in the meantime, but the delay rankles nonetheless.
As I am getting ready to go over, I find Aria waiting for me and my fellow Jedi clearly intends to intercept me on my way to the meeting.
"Aria," I greet her.
"General Shan," replies Aria, "I should go in your place."
"I beg your pardon?" I inquire, pausing at her unexpected words as I try to make meaning of them.
"I should go to Senator Burtoni as the representative of the 1st Republic Patriot Legion, not you," clarifies Aria, "You think that Senator Burtoni is nothing more than an opportunistic and greedy slaver who has no place in the Republic and uses the pretence of patriotism for selfish gain."
"Am I wrong?" I demand, "That woman is a monster who would enslave countless billions to make a pretty profit for her world."
"I agree completely and I am the better person to talk to someone like that," replies Aria, "Especially if we want to remain on civil terms with her and gain her agreement. Furthermore, I am better skilled at diplomacy than you are. Just your training was on the battlefield, mine was meeting rooms. This is my sort of expertise."
"Whoever needs to go requires enough knowledge of the proposal to convince the Kaminoans and answer their questions," I point out.
"And I was alongside you when Colonel Belen gave his report," easily answers Aria, "I won't pretend to be as knowledgeable as you on the subject, but I know enough for the purposes of this meeting."
"I should still be the one to do this," I argue.
"Ben, you told me yourself that we do not stand alone in our fight," says Aria as she gives me a look, "You do not need to do everything yourself. You can let others handle matters. Like how you let Commodore Thak handle day to day matters with the fleet and let the colonels do the same with their regiments. This is no different than that."
"That is true," I concede because Aria is right, "I still feel like I should be the one who handles an important matter like this."
"All those with a sense of responsibility do," simply states Aria, "Ultimately, I am the superior choice for this meeting and so I shall be going for the good of the Republic. You can take the opportunity to spend some time with Vyssa that isn't related to politics or war. Take her out somewhere nice for a meal or something."
"You know, sometimes it doesn't feel like there is a war going on," says Vyssa as we sit next to a window at a Corellian diner in Coruscant's upper city, "Not compared to how things are for us on the Outer Rim."
"In what way?" I ask as my padawan eats some of her spicy nerf sausage.
"Just we are getting ready for another fight when we are living on the fleet," says Vyssa as she waves her fork in the air, "Sure we sometimes take breaks between battles or relax stick around on a planet, but we are always getting ready for the next fight, organising after the last fight or already just fighting. Here on Coruscant, we got all this talk of war and everyone is going on about it, but they are just getting on with their lives. Nobody is getting ready for a fight or expecting to get invaded."
"That's both war and Coruscant for you," I tell her, "Life goes on if the fighting hasn't come to your world. Your daily life doesn't just pause because there are battles going on in other parts of the galaxy. And Coruscant is the capital. If it gets invaded, things have gone horribly wrong for the Republic and it will be apparent that a possible invasion is coming long before it arrives."
Or at least it should. Dooku and Grievous made a surprise invasion of Coruscant in the other timelines and there was the Sacking of Coruscant so long ago. Who knows what will happen in this war with the Sith secretly controlling both sides of it?
"It still feels like they have no idea of what they are talking about," mutters Vyssa, "I wish we could just leave Coruscant and its politics behind to go and do some actual fighting."
"You will get your wish soon enough," I tell her, "I can't say how soon it will be, but we will need to return to the frontlines in the near future. We just need time to rebuild and expand in addition to securing the foundations of a powerbase."
"Yeah, we need to make a counter balance for Palpy," agrees Vyssa, "Speaking of which, he is definitely what you saw in that vision given how things have been going since the war started."
"Indeed," I say before something occurs to me, "Speaking of which, how are you going with your plan to create an intelligence network?"
"Harder than I expected," admits Vyssa as she stares at her plate of sausages and spiceloaf, "I got some training at the Temple from a Shadow as an Initiate and I have a knack for the work, but I'm starting from scratch with basically zero experiences. I've have some contacts back on Indren, in the legion and I've been talking to some of my padawan friends, but that is about it. I've been making a bunch of Senate contacts now thanks to you, but those aren't intelligence contacts. Not yet anyway."
"I could help with that," I say, "Not directly, but Bothan Spynet owes me big time and it shouldn't be too hard to get-"
I cut myself off mid-sentence as I get warning through the Force. Summoning my lightsabers to my hands, I leap to my feet as my battle precognition warns me of the incoming blaster fire before the shooters have even fired the first shot. By the time they have opened fire, both of my blades are ignited and I am in a position to deflect them back.
The blaster bolts shatter the diner's window and those that don't miss me entirely, I deflect back at the attackers. Speaking of which, the shooters are a trio of individuals who have climbed out of an airspeeder. One humanoid individual in heavy armour with a handheld repeating blaster while the other two are a Bith and human, both wearing little to no armour while the former has a blaster rifle and the latter wields a pair of blaster pistols.
As Vyssa gets to her feet and ignites her own lightsaber, I jump through the window and into the street. The blaster fire doesn't let up and so I deflect some of it back at the shooters, trading a few hits to my beskar to accurately deflect some hits to my attackers. The armoured figure takes a couple hits to their chest, but remains standing, but their unarmoured companions are another matter.
The Bith takes a hit to the leg, dropping to one knee before a second deflected blaster bolt kills him as it strikes his chest. Meanwhile the human takes a blaster bolt to the face that sends him flying backwards even as the Bith topples over. Sending that they no longer have the element of surprise and both of their lackeys are down, the armoured figure switches from shooting to scrambling back into the airspeeder.
"Oh no, you don't," I say as I realise what my surviving attacker is up to and run forward.
As the airspeeder begins to climb into the air, I jump upon it. The driver tries to throw me off as they start to turn sideways, but I slash the rear engines with my lightsabers. The majority of its propulsion stutters and dies, the airspeeder begins to fall back to the ground before it even really gets going. The driver turns around, aiming her repeating blaster at me, but before they can pull the trigger, I slash the gun in two with a swish of my lightsaber.
"Surrender," I tell the armoured figure, pointing my primary lightsaber at her throat.
There is a moment of silence as me and the armoured figure stare each other down before the shooter raises her hands in defeat.
"Commander Fox," I say as I recognise the clone commander arriving on scene with a squad of Coruscant Guard shocktroopers, "It is good to see you again. I just wish it was under better circumstances."
"General Shan," replies the clone trooper as he steps out of the gunship he has arrived in, "We got reports of an armoured Jedi being attacked by gunmen. I presume that was you sir?"
"Yes," I confirm, indicating towards the Corellian diner, "My padawan and I were having dinner together when three individuals with blasters opened fire on us unprovoked. Two of them went down to deflected blaster fire and the third one surrendered after I disabled her vehicle and destroyed her weapon."
With that last sentence, I indicate towards the Rodian woman off to the side, where she has had her helmet removed and has been bound with improvised bindings from the Corellian diner. The owner was quite unamused to find his establishment being shot up and was more than happy to provide some materials to help keep the surviving perpetrator from escaping.
"Any idea who they are?" asks Commander Fox as he indicates for a couple of his men to arrest the Rodian.
"Bounty hunters most likely," I say, "Independent and opportunistic. If they had been agents belonging to one of the big names, they would have been more competent and better equipped. Any professional operation would not have tried something as unlikely to succeed as a driveby shooting on me."
"But there is a chance of them working for the Separatists?" inquires Commander Fox.
"Yes," I say after a moment's thought, "They could have been planning to kill me so they could collect the bounty on my head from the Separatists."
"Then I am going to arrest the criminal as a potential Separatist agent," says Commander Fox and I can feel his satisfaction though the Force even if his body language reveals nothing.
That might be worth investigating, but not today.
As Vyssa and I head back to the Freedom after our interrupted lunch out, I get someone trying to contact me on my comlink.
"General Shan here," I say as I answer the call.
"Colonel Belen here," replies Loren, "Just to let you know, I've got a couple Jedi here to speak with you and they are willing to wait until you show up to speak with them even if that takes a while."
"Interesting," I say as I try to think who these Jedi could be, "Got any names?"
"Jedi Master Rahm Kota and Jedi Knight Falon Grey," replies Loren, "Know them?"
Now that is definitely interesting. Both Rahm Kota and Falon Grey survived Order Sixty-Six with the former going on to become an important general for the Rebellion in its early history. At least in one of the timelines as I don't think he existed in the other. Falon Grey was Rahm Kota's padawan and the Kaminoans secretly made a couple of clones of him, one of which went Sith while the other went Jedi. Most interestingly is that Kota didn't trust the clone troopers though I can't tell if that was because he sensed something was wrong or because he was just a bigot.
It wouldn't be the first time that a Jedi Master has held views completely unfit for a Jedi. Pong Krell and Jorus C'baoth both come to mind as recent examples. And I ought to do something about Krell before that kriffer can do too much damage to the Republic.
"I know of them," I say, which is technically true, "Let them know that I am on my way back to the Freedom and I am interested in speaking with them. If they want to have a meeting with me now, they can come up to the Freedom and I'll talk with them when I get back."
"Will do, General," replies Loren dutifully before he ends the call.
"What was that about, Master?" ask Vyssa from beside me.
"Something good hopefully," I tell her, "Though I can't be certain."
The rest of the trip back passes quickly. I quiz Vyssa about some possible scenarios to see what she would do in them and we get a bunch of statues and cheerful greetings as we walk through the corridors of the Star Cruiser on our way to the meeting room where Kota and Grey are waiting for us.
"Master Kota, Knight Grey," I greet the two men as I enter the room with Vyssa trailing behind, "Thank you for being patient with me. I hope I didn't make you wait too long."
Both of them are wearing traditional Jedi robes and while Falon Grey looks to be about the same age as myself or Aria, I'm mildly startled to see Rahm Kota without silver hair. Oh, it is starting to grey, but for the most part, Master Kota's hair is still brown for the most part if a dark brown compared to the light brown of his former padawan.
"It was no imposition," replies Kota as I take a seat opposite them, "We were the ones who wanted to speak with you after all."
"So I heard," I say, "I'm free to hear what you've got to say."
"I will get straight to the point then," says Kota, "I don't trust the Kaminoan or their clone troopers so I want to get in on your non-clone military project. I could put together my own unit on my own, but having looked into it, I've decided that my best option is to ask you for help given your existing connections and funding. Especially since the worst case is just that you say no and I have to go back to doing it on my own."
"You want to get me to form another legion and place it under your command," I conclude, grasping what Kota has in mind.
"Ideally one for myself and one for Falon," says Kota, "I would be willing to obey your orders in exchange for command since it is your venture and you have proven yourself to be a capable commander so I have no issue following your orders. I also have some experience at leading an army myself though none of that experience is recent as it has been decades. I have also made sure to train Falon in how to properly lead troops."
"I am open to the idea, but I am curious as to why you don't want to lead clone troops?" I inquire, wondering just why these two are opposed to taking command of clone units.
"I don't trust them," says Kota, "Not the clones and not their makers. It isn't well known, but eight years ago when Falon was still my padawan, he got severely injured and we went to the nearest inhabited world for treatment, which happened to be Kamino. The Kaminoans did a good job of healing up Falon, but there was something off about them. Nothing I could point to, but the Force told me not to trust them so I don't."
"That explains about the Kaminoans, but what about the clones themselves?" I ask. "What is your issue with them?"
"Beyond the fact that they were created by the Kaminoans?" inquires Kota and when I nod, he continues, "I don't trust them. Them being made to be totally obedient and lack independence? Something is wrong about that and that isn't the sort of soldier fit for a Jedi."
"The Force is telling us that something is wrong with them and to not trust the Kaminoans," adds Grey, "That part about the total obedience, it sticks with my and my master as something wrong."
That sounds fair. The Kaminoans are not to be trusted and the clones do either have brainwashing or mind control chips to ensure that they obey orders to kill the Jedi. He is different to what I remember, but what I remember about Kota in the Clone Wars comes from Imperial sources so it isn't surprising that they are wrong about him.
"That sounds reasonable, Master" says Vyssa from beside me, "I mean the Kaminoans are doing things behind the backs of the Jedi and the clones are, well, you know."
"Alright, Master Kota, Knight Grey," I say with a sigh as both of the other Jedi turn interested looks on my padawan, "One last thing. The clones are victims of whatever plot is going on, not willing parts of it."
"You know what is going on?" asks Kota sharply.
"I have some idea, but no proof," I tell him, "I am certain that this war was brought about by the manipulations of the Sith and they have a hand in the creation of the clone army. I don't think the Kaminoans are actively working with the Sith, but they are selfish, greedy slavers who are not to be trusted. Again, the clones are victims and at worse they are unwitting pawns as they are slave child-soldiers. They have no choice, no rights and the oldest of them are only ten. How they are currently being used is slavery, but everyone seems to be willing to ignore that if it means winning the war or pretending that we aren't doing anything grossly immoral."
"Your point?" asks Kota as he leans back, but his tone isn't a hostile one and I don't sense any hostility from him through the Force.
"I don't tolerate any bigotry in my forces and that applies with the clones," I continue as we stare at each other, "If you want to be part of my legions, no discriminating against the clones or treating them as lesser. A true Jedi wouldn't do that, but unfortunately we have several individuals in the Order who are unfit to call themselves Jedi and some of them are able to make it masterhood. You don't have to command them into battle, but you have to be willing to work with them and treat them with respect."
"I understand and I can work with that," agrees Kota easily, "As you say, it is only how a Jedi is expected to act."
"Knight Grey?" I inquire as I turn to the other Jedi.
"I am more than happy to agree to such terms," answers Grey without hesitation.
"Alright, I am willing to give a provisional agreement to your proposal," I tell them, "Now let's discuss the details"
We finally get to have Ben and Rahm Kota meeting. I've changed Rahm's personality a bit or at least his motivations for not wanting the clones because while it works with the clone troopers we get in the films, his rejection of the clone troopers is pretty unJedi of him when you take it into account with how the clones are shown in the Clone Wars series. Because of this, I've kept him benign rightfully trustworthy of the clones, but rather than him accurately guessing just how mindless obedience they are, he is sensing something to do with their relation to Order 66.
In any case, he doesn't become an arsehole and he will be signing up with Ben rather than putting together a militia on his own. Also his former padawan who has only recently been knighted will be joining him.
With Senator Burtoni, I was going to have her and Ben have a meeting, but then I realised that Ben would be a terrible choice while Aria would be a much better choice so she goes instead of him. It also gives me a chance to show Ben isn't perfect by, well, you get to read it for yourselves.
Beyond that, a bit of screentime with Vyssa and another bounty hunter attack on Ben.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
4.7 (Coruscant Politicking) - Chapter Twenty-Two
"And so you just agreed to it," says Aria primly as she sits opposite me.
"Rahm Kota is one of the most experienced and capable commanders in the Jedi Order as of right now," I reply, "And he was going to do it on his own if I refused him so I figured I might as well get someone of his calibre working for me."
"I shall defer to your judgement then," says Aria, "Do we have the funding for it?"
"With our expanded budget, most certainly," I assure her.
Between my meeting with Rahm Kota and Falon Grey and this current meeting with Aria, I made sure to do some quick budget checks on if we could afford three or four legions. The idea would have been unthinkable, but with all of the budget being thrown my way since the war broke out, it is very well possible.
The answer turns out to be yes, but I would be pushing it. I have gone from a few billion credits to about thirty billion credits in terms of dependable funding, but when you are paying for a major military force, that is pushing it.
The upfront costs of all the equipment and ships is actually one of the lower parts of the projected expenses. It is paying for everyone that is the issue. Paying for four legions and their associated fleets for five years would cost somewhere around the ballpark twenty-three billion credits and that figure could go as high as twenty-five billion or as low as twenty billion. And that will take up the majority of my current budget, leaving me with about seven billion left over.
Putting a billion credits aside for emergency expenses such as replacing gear lost in battle, that would leave me with about six billion to pay for equipment, vehicles and warships. A new legion costs about half a billion to outfit and since I already have one, that is another one and a half billion spent.
Thankfully the warships are cheaper as most of their associated costs go to paying salaries, supplies and maintenance with the upfront cost of buying one being only a small part of the expense of operating a warship for an extended period.
The Liberty-class Star Cruisers are the most expensive warships, costing a hundred million credits for each one and if I want nine of those, it will cost me close to another billion credits at nine hundred million credits. Meanwhile the Dreadnought-class Heavy Cruisers are about as disportionately cheap in credits as they are disportionately costly in crew so I can get those for seven million and two hundred thousand per a warship. A dozen of those is eighty-six million, four hundred thousand credits and that would be a real bargain if they didn't require so much crew, even with extensive usage of slave circuitry.
While it was a different matter in the past, Hammerhead-class Cruisers cost four million credits per warship these days and that makes it a hundred and forty-four million credits if I want to get thirty-six of them. And since I want a dozen each for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th legions, I do want thirty-six of them.
The DP20 Frigates are a bit costlier even with my CEC discount as I am still paying four million, three hundred and twenty thousand credits for each one. If each of the new legions gets a dozen of them, that is one hundred and fifty-fifty million credits, five hundred and twenty million in total.
And all of that is just a bit shy of one billion, four hundred million credits and doesn't match the upfront costs of the ground forces. On the other hand, that is just the warships and not the starfighters. Unfortunately, I can't do the starfighter math yet because we haven't got a final price from for the Liberator-class Starfighters yet, but putting another couple of billion aside for paying for the starfighters, both the starfighters themselves and any upkeep for the next five years, including the pilot.
All of that leaves me with about a billion left over, which can be put into the emergency funds category. That end result is four legions is affordable, but it cuts it somewhat close. Personally, I am not worried about the cost as my biggest concern is trained personnel. We took heavy losses at Geonosis and even without those casualties, using the 1st Republic Patriot Legion as a core for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Republic Patriot Legions is going to gut the 1st.
We can get replacements easily enough, but those new recruits aren't going to be as good as the people they are placing. At least I have three months to get the Republic Patriot Legions into fighting shape since that is how long the Dreadnoughts are going to take.
I will probably have to spend some time on the front lines or undertake some other missions in the meantime though. I can't afford to just sit back and not get involved in the fighting for three months, even if it means going into battle without my army at my back.
"It will be cutting things a little close," I concede as Aria gives me a look.
"I trust you to know what you are doing," says Aria, "Do you have left over funds for a propaganda network? An anti-COMPOR if you will?"
That is a good idea and one I've been meaning to get around to. Still, it is probably best if Aria does it because she is better skilled for that sort of thing and I already have a lot on my plate. Running a propaganda network is something that I am probably best off leaving to someone else who I can trust. Such as Aria.
"A billion?" I offer, knowing it isn't much for that sort of work, at least not on the scale that Aria is planning, "Sorry that I don't have more to spare. I'm spending most of our budget on military things and as I said, we are cutting things close with another three legions."
"It will have to do," says Aria, "I can also work with my Senate contacts and I am sure that I can get Taala to help me out. Just earmark me some funds and I can work with that."
"I'll speak with Finance about it when I next get the chance," I promise her, "Now unless you have anything else in mind, I need to go and inform my senatorial supporters of my new plans and place orders for the additional warships."
While I don't get to speak with everyone right away, those I am able to personally inform take the news gracefully. Senator Bu expresses support for me expanding my forces so proactively while Senator Basmirk of Carida is downright pleased for the chance to send more academy graduates my way. Senator Tills lets me know that King Yos has approved my original order with construction having already begun before informing that there should be no issue with tripling the order if I am good for the credits.
I am on my way to speak with Senator Tashi about my order with Rendili StarDrive when I find myself intercepted by Vice Chancellor Mas Amedda as the Chagrian man approaches me in the corridors of the Senate Dome, flanked by a pair of Senate Guards.
"General Shan," greets Vice Chancellor Amedda, "May I have a moment of your time?"
"Of course though I am on my way to speak with Senator Tashi about business so it will have to be quick," I tell him, just wondering what Palpatine's lackey wants with me.
"It shouldn't take long," Vice Chancellor Amedda assures me, "His Excellency would like a quick word with you."
"I see," I say neutrally as I try to get my brief spike of momentary panic under control.
It was bound to happen eventually given our respective positions, but that doesn't mean I am not greatly concerned about putting myself in the same room as someone who I not only know is a Sith Lord, but a Sith Lord who is more powerful than I am. On the other hand, Sidious should have no way of knowing that I know about him.
That's right, he shouldn't know that I know so he must want this meeting for something else. Something he does know and should be able to take action over as Supreme Chancellor. Perhaps the Militarist coalition I am building or it could be that I am building up a non-clone military force for the Republic.
"In that case, if you could follow me, Master Jedi," says the Vice Chancellor before turning around and walking off.
For a moment, I hesitate as I wonder if there is someway out of this situation. But there is not, not without snubbing the Chancellor for good reason and that is something I ought to avoid doing if possible. I don't need to give Sidious any advantages over me if I can help it.
Deciding that I need to go along with this for now, I follow after Vice Chancellor Amedda and his Senate Guards. The Chargrian leads me to the hangar where we take a shuttle over to the Executive Building and I take the opportunity to calm myself. There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. Those are what I need, to clap down on my internal turmoil and face Palpatine in a calm and collected manner. I can't allow fear to drive me and I need to figure out what sort of persona I am going to show the Supreme Chancellor.
I cannot pretend to be a loyal supporter as not only am I not cut out for that sort of game, but I have been actively and openly rallying the Militarists against him. I have my opposition to him clear, but the extent of it has to still be unknown. What can I publicly express my… ah, the clones. Slave army of child soldiers that the Chancellor has authorised, yes, I can use that to explain my hostility towards Palpatine. And he won't suspect that I know he is a kriffing Sith Lord.
There is no emotion, there is peace.
Let's see… unethical clone army, loyal opposition and allegiance to the Republic not the Chancellor. I can work with that and it isn't like the man will be expecting anything different. I doubt he will move against me overtly as the Supreme Chancellor, not when he can do so as the man behind the Separatists. As Chancellor Palpatine, he might try to have COMPOR slander me or go after me politically, but I have allies to help me with that.
No, I have to worry about assassins and bad intel reports. That is what he does with troublesome Jedi and military commanders if I remember correctly. He sends bounty hunters and commando teams after us or he uses his position as mastermind behind both sides to send me to my death at the hands of the droid army.
At least Vyssa isn't here. I wouldn't want to have this meeting with her involved. She might be a smart cookie, but she is still a padawan, my padawan, and I want her as far away as Sidious as I can keep her.
There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony.
As the shuttle lands at the Executive Dome, I make a call to one of my own shuttles. Under the watchful eye of Mas Amedda, I tell the pilot to get to the Executive Dome and be ready to pick me up. While I am sure that Palpatine will offer transport back to the Senate Dome to avoid looking bad, I don't want to be dependent on him for a speedy exit. And I want the option to make an exit on my own terms as well.
"This way, General Shan," says Vice Chancellor Amedda as he walks off, not bothering to wait for a response as he just expects me to follow.
For a moment, I hesitate as I consider disobeying that order to make a point, but in the end, I decide it isn't worth it. I let the Vice Chancellor lead me to the Chancellor's office, where Palpatine himself is waiting for me.
"Ah, General Shan," says Sidious in kindly tones as he spots me entering his office, "Please come in and thank you for agreeing to meet with me on such short notice."
"You are the Supreme Chancellor," I say neutrally, "That means your schedule is much busier than mine though I don't want to take too long with this impromptu meeting."
It feels oddly normal. No stench of the Dark Side, no creeping unease, no disturbance to put me on edge. Just a nice ordinary room.
"Good, good," says the Chancellor, "If it isn't too much trouble, I would like to know why you have turned down a clone command. I understand you have your own forces, but the Republic needs a general like you on the frontlines."
Ah, so that is what this meeting is about. As a Jedi Knight, I got offered command of a clone trooper legion upon arriving at Coruscant as did Aria, but both of us turned the offer down. I want to help the clones, but I need to know more about their situation first and I am not poking about that situation until I have secured a steady position from which to do so.
Apparently Sidious doesn't approve of that and whatever reason, he wants me to lead clones into battle. Which means I have done the right thing by refusing. At least for now.
"I will take to the frontlines," I promises the Chancellor, "I have no issue working alongside the clones, but right now I cannot accept clone command in good conscience. I am sure that you have already heard by now, but I consider the clone troopers to be enslaved child-soldiers and I refuse to be a party to that when alternatives exist."
"I wish that was true," says the Chancellor in that kindly grandfather sort of way of his that I now know to be false, "It is unfortunate, but the clone army is the only way that the Republic stands a chance of fighting this war. Without them, we would be overwhelmed. The High Council and the rest of the Jedi see this and accept this unfortunate necessity."
"I am not like the rest of the Order," I retort, resisting the urge to snap as there is no emotion, there is peace and I need to be at peace to handle dealing with this Sith Lord, "I will not accept slavery in any form as a neccessary evil, epsecially when I have better options at my disposal."
"Unfortunately, but your position is understandable and I must aluad you for sticking to your principles without shying away from your duty," says the Chancellor as he gives me an understanding smile, "I won't take you away from your other commitments any longer."
As I walk back to the shuttle bay, I can't help, but wonder if Sidious was trying to convince me not to take a clone command and if so, why the kriff would he want that?
This chapter we got some finance, some logistics and some Palpatine. With the first bit, a lot of the larger estimates for ongoing upkeep are guesstimated and not set in hard numbers so don't ask me for how I calculated the numbers or for exact details. I am deliberately being vague and what you need to know is just the rough numbers as more detail than Ben needs to pay a lot of upkeep is unnecessary. That said, finance and funding will be a concern for the story and an ongoing sub-plot as Ben needs credits to pay for everything and he wants something other than private backing in the Senate
With Palpatine, this is the first time that he and Ben have met, both on-screen and in-universe as before now, he hasn't been important enough for Ben to have personally met him. Try to take a guess at what Palp was trying to achieve as while I know what it is, Ben does not. I also try to show Ben's panic and minor internal freakout at an unexpected meeting with Palpatine.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Jun 20, 2021
4.8 (Coruscant Politicking) - Chapter Twenty-Three
"We have some good news, General Shan," says Senator Tashi of Rendili once the expected greetings and pleasantries have been exchanged, "I have heard back from the Arch-Provost and Rendili StarDrive is more than capable of producing Katana-style Dreadnought-class Heavy Cruisers. It is a bit more pricey at eight million credits per warship, but it is well worth the cost as the crew cost is reduced to an eighth of what it would be otherwise."
Okay, that bit of extra pricing is going to be costly, but I can afford to spend an additional ten million on a dozen Dreadnoughts to keep the crew requirements done to a manageable level.
"And since you have proven interested in making use of extensive automation, the Arch-Provost had our research teams look into the possibility of installing slave-rigs on a Hammerhead-class Cruiser," continues Senator Tashi, sounding quite pleased with herself, "While not as efficient as what we have for the Dreadnought-class Heavy Cruiser, it is entirely possible to reduce the crew of a Hammerhead-class Cruiser via automation, reducing the crew requirements from three hundred to merely one hundred and we can do so with only a slight increase in cost at two hundred thousand credits."
I can see what Senator Tashi is driving at and she isn't wrong as that does sound appealing to me. Reducing the crew costs per warship by two thirds will let me triple how many Hammerheads I can field with only a slight increase in cost. Instead of adding thirty-six Hammerheads to my forces, I could get over a hundred at only a slightly higher cost. It gets a bit pricer than you consider paying for three times as many starfighter squadrons, but still well within what I have put aside for the emergency budget.
"By paying four million, two hundred thousand credits per warship instead of just four million per warship, I get a Hammerhead-class Cruiser with a crew requirement of one hundred instead of three hundred?" I inquire, just to make sure that I am understanding what the Rendili Senator is offering.
"That would be correct," confirms Senator Tashi, smiling like a tooka who brought the convor home, "I take it that you are interested in increasing your order?"
Yes, I certainly am and we both know it.
"A dozen Dreadnought-class Heavy Cruisers and a hundred and eight Hammerhead-class Cruisers," I tell her, "Give me a chance to let my finance people know and then get in touch with them."
"Of course, General."
After tripling my order for the DP20 Frigates, I am left to think about how to organise things going forward. I used to just have a single legion, a trio of capital ships, two scores of escorts and a few hundred starfighters. Now I am looking at having four legions, a dozen heavy capital ships, a dozen light capital ships, seven mobile bases and close to two hundred escorts alongside between two thousand and twelve thousand starfighters.
My budget has mainly increased, but I have equally increased my costs to match. I will need to start securing some additional funding outside the Senate to be on the safe side financially. Beyond that, the biggest concern is the new manpower requirements as I am going to be stretching my current force to fit something four times its size.
In that regard, the long construction times of the Mon Calamari star cruisers will be something of a blessing as the most crew intensive new warships will only need to be crewed once I have built my new forces. By that point, I should have more than enough experienced personnel to crew the star cruisers as they come off the production lines.
Fortunately I should get a good number of well-trained recruits from the various military academies so I'm not going to have completely raw recruits. Nonetheless, I'm going to take it easy for the first few months just so I can get my forces bloodied whilst keeping them alive.
But for the next few months, I need to figure out the composition of my current warships and I believe that I have it. The 3rd and 4th Republic Patriot Legions will be simple as each will have a quartet of Dreadnought-class Heavy Cruisers, a dozen Corellian Gunships and three squadrons of twelve Hammerhead-class Cruisers. Enough space for all of their ground forces and hangar bays for four hundred eighty starfighters. The 2nd Republic Legion will have a similar set of warships except I'll reassign one of the Hammerhead squadrons to 1st Legion and in exchange I will give Aria the Liberty as her flagship.
That should suffice until the nine star cruisers come online and when they do, I'll reorganise based on what warships we still have at the time.
The second biggest problem right now has been getting enough starfighters for all of the legion's warships. Before the Battle of Geonosis, my forces had five hundred, sixty-eight upgraded Z-95 Headhunters and the fighting at Geonosis and Indren since then has cost us a hundred, twenty-three of those. And not only are we down by over twenty percent of our starfighters, I need to bring our total numbers up to almost two thousand starfighters.
The issue itself isn't getting a starfighter as the market is plentiful with starfighters. No, the problem is getting some good starfighters and especially so now that the war has broken out. Everyone from sector forces to the new Republic Navy to independent groups like my own unit are trying to get their hands on quality starfighters for the upcoming war.
Still, it is a relatively minor issue since even as demand comes up, there won't be a shortage of supply. Starfighters are too cheap and quick to build for the market to run dry and worse comes to the worse, I'll just have to wait a month or two to get my hands on some good starfighters.
Wol's plans for the Liberator-class Starfighter are promising, but it will take time for the factories to get up and running, let alone start producing the starfighter. Z-95s are still a good choice, but the Republic has been contracting Incom to make starfighters for its navy. The Aurek-class Starfighter is a good choice, but that design remains pricey enough that it is just a backup plan.
The Dagger-class by Sienar is cheap, but only good if cheap is the only thing you are interested in and I would refuse to put my pilots into that deathtrap. Likewise with the Dianaga-class Starfighter and the MorningStar Assault Starfighter as all three designs are cheap, but lacking with the latter two having weak hulls, poor targeting computers and low mobility. The CloakShape relies too much on durability while lacking shields for me to get some and Cutlass-9 Patrol Fighter has good upgradability that doesn't off-set the poor maneuverability and fragile hull not to mention that its producer has sided with the Separatists.
The Freefall-class Starfighter is more of a bomber than a starfighter, but it is a good enough design that I would consider supplementing my forces with it. Still, it is large enough that calling it a starfighter is something of a misnomer and I'm leery of how well it will fare against agile droid starfighters. Not to mention that it requires a crew of four to be effective when most starfighters only need a single pilot. The Toscan 8-Q would be an acceptable design if it wasn't for how much it costs, especially when you want to upgrade it as the designers intended it to be.
In the end, I'm going to stick to the Z-95 Headhunter where I can and start supplementing with Aurek-class Starfighters. The Aurek is produced by Rendili StarDrive these days as one of its products to its Outer Rim customers so I can turn to them for the starfighter and it would make for a good interceptor. It works well with the Z-95 Headhunter for as the legion's dogfighter and the Aurek-class as an interceptor with the Z-95 ultimately being replaced by the Liberator-class. Hopefully I can get my hands on enough of each in the near-future, but if I have to, I'll bite the bolt and get some Toscan 8-Qs or grab some CloakShapes and slap some shield generators on them.
Just as I begin to write up some instructions, my comlink begins to blink as I get a call from Wol.
"General Shan here," I say as I answer it, "What is it, Commodore Thak?"
"I just got another interesting opportunity, General" replies Wol, sounding cheerfully pleased with himself, "Have you heard of the BTL-B Y-Wing by Koensayr Manufacturing?"
Why yes, I do know about the Y-Wing though admittedly it is thanks to those otherworldly memories. I don't know all of the various types, but since it has no number in it, the BTL-B is the variant used in the Clone Wars. Which makes sense. A solid bomber that was good enough continued to see use long after it became outdated before finally being replaced following the end of the Galactic Civil War.
If Wol has got the chance to get some, our forces could make use of some good bombers.
"I have," I answer, "But I expected the Republic Navy to claim the Y-Wings for themselves."
"They are," confirms Wol, "But there is debate amongst High Command that is causing some delays in their acquisition. I have some contacts and if you can spend fifty million credits, I can get us thirty-two squadrons of them. That is three hundred, eight-four individual starfighters. I'm not sure what you think of the design, but-"
Yeah, I am not going to turn down the chance to get thirty-two squadrons of Y-Wings.
"I'll take them," I interrupt Wol, "You have my approval and I don't want to let this opportunity pass us by."
Some Y-Wings will definitely help with the starfighter issue.
"I believe I see the shape of his plan in regards to you," says the holocron gatekeeper of Meetra Surik as I attend one of my private lessons with her in my personal quarters.
"You do?" I inquire as I pause my meditation to stare at her.
"He wishes to discredit and eliminate you," says the gatekeeper, "You are a capable leader, you have gained fame as a war hero and are actively opposing him even if he doesn't know the full extent. Darth Sidious wishes you to avoid taking a clone command so he can set up you and your forces to be destroyed by the enemy. You will be dead and unable to act against him with your fame and forces while the idea of using non-clone forces will suffer a blow when your attempt at it fails."
"How did you figure that out?" I ask as it makes sense.
Sidious wasn't trying to convince me to take up a clone command despite claiming he was. He wanted me to reject the request and deliberately choose his words to that effect.
"I know Sith, I know politicians and I know manipulators," states the gatekeeper, "It is the sort of plan that someone like Revan would have come up with, back when he had fallen to the Dark Side. He did something similar towards the end of the war, where he used his authority to send those he knew would not follow him down his dark path to their deaths. He may have been trying to achieve other goals such as trying to figure out your personality or how you would fit into his goals, but I lack the insight to determine whether or not he was doing that."
"I see," I say, "Any suggestions on how to counter it?"
"Keep yourself and your forces alive," answers the gatekeeper, "It seems obvious, but Sidious cannot discredit you if you don't fall for one of his traps. And beware that he is trying to lead you to your death. Confirm any information he supplies you with for yourself and try to avoid giving him accurate information about your current status. Beyond that, trust in the Force. If you stay true to the path of the Light, the Force will keep you safe if you let it."
"Thank you, Master Surik," I thank her.
"That is why I and this holocron were created," says the gatekeeper simply, "To teach those that would serve the Light and to keep the Sith from destroying the Republic and the Jedi. I am glad to have the chance to carry out that duty. Just keep in mind that I am not infallible and I may be wrong. None of the Sith manipulators I knew were as sadistic or cruel as you have described Darth Sidious as being."
"I shall keep that in mind," I told her before sighing, "There is no simple answer that solves a big problem like this."
"There never is," agrees the gatekeeper as she returns to our lesson, "Now, let the energy flow over you and into the Force. Do not think about it, just do it lest you have to actively keep up the effect in the middle of a battle. The Force is an energy field that permeates all life in the universe and you must let the energy striking you become part of the energy field that is the Force. In doing so, it is transformed into something else and the harm done to you is lessened if not outright nullified."
"Of course, Master Surik," I say before returning to my meditation as I learn one of the ancient techniques that the Jedi Order forgot during the New Sith War and have yet to recover.
A few things in this update. Ben is able to get Katana-style Dreadnoughts from Rendili for reduced crew costs and he is able to similarly automated Hammerhead-class Cruisers. This is because I noticed that it is entirely valid upgraded to the Hammerhead-class Cruiser under the RPG rules, by paying 200,000 Credits and using up the spare emplacement point to get Advanced Slave Circuits to reduce the crew requirements from 300 to 100. This is perfect for Ben because it lets him triple the number of Hammerheads he can afford with only a relatively slight increase in cost.
Beyond that, starfighter issues as Ben is quadrupling his starfighter forces before you take into account the Lucrehulks. Most of the pre-Clone Wars starfighters are either crappy, but cheap or decent, but expensive with none really being good. The closest I would say to that is the Z-95 Headhunter, but that still isn't as good as Clone Wars-era and later starfighters, at least not without some somewhat costly upgrades.
While Ben waits for the Liberator-class Starfighters to begin production, he is going for the Z-95 Headhunters he can get his hands on, some Y-Wings before the Republic snatches them all up and filling any gaps with the Aurek-class Starfighter. The Aurek-class is a great starfighter if it wasn't so costly, but since it gets produced and used up until the Clone Wars, I've decided people have figured out how to lower the cost from what it originally was. So I've applied the same cost reduction to it that I gave the Hammerhead and now the Aurek-class has gone down to affordable if still pricey costs.
As for the last bit, the Meetra Surik holocron gatekeeper has figured out Palpatine's plan from the previous update or at least she has a good idea of what it might be. Between dealing with Revan, G0-T0, Kreia, the Jedi High Council and other manipulators and schemers in her era, Meetra Surik would be good at sussing out Sith machinations. As for what she is currently teaching Ben, it is Energy Resistance because that is a basic, but useful Force power.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Jun 24, 2021
5.1 (Rhen Var Citadel) - Chapter Twenty-Four
The citadel of a tomb on Rhen Var.
The words jolt me awake from one of my few periods of sleep. That voice… I recognise it as I have heard it many times from the gatekeeper of Meetra Surik's holocron. Except it couldn't have been the gatekeeper as the holocron is not currently in use. So it must have been a vision of some kind as it couldn't have been the actual Meetra Surik because she is dead and therefore…
Or is she unable to interact with the living? Force ghosts are a thing and Master Surik should have that ability. She appeared as one during the Great Galactic War period of the Old Sith Wars. Nonetheless, there is one way to find out.
Getting out of bed, I check the time to see that I've gotten enough sleep that I don't need to worry about getting some more shuteye. Retrieving the holocron from its hiding spot, I open it up so I may speak with the gatekeeper.
"General Shan," greets the gatekeeper as the hologram of Meetra Surik appears before me.
"Master Surik," I return the greeting, "I was just awoken from my sleep by words spoken with the voice of Meetra Surik. I was wondering if that was your doing?"
"It was not," answers the gatekeeper, "Are certain it the voice of my creator?"
"Absolutely," I confirm, "I've heard it too many times from you recently to mistake it."
"Then it was either a premonition of kind from the Force or words of advice from my creator," muses gatekeeper, "May you share what you heard with me? I may be able to provide some insight into it."
"The citadel of a tomb on Rhen Var," I tell her, "Those words feel significant, important and I believe I was told them for a reason."
Rhen Var is a name that I remember and one that pops up in Jedi history every now and again. One of the Sunriders did their apprenticeship there during the time of the Old Sith Wars and during the Great Galactic War, Satele Shan fought the True Sith Empire there. There is also a Jedi facility of some kind there and I remember it being a location in a couple of hologames in my otherworldly memories though the only one I have familiar with is set during the Galactic Civil War when the Rebellion and the Empire fought over an Imperial listening outpost at an old Jedi tomb. The map was called the Citadel and-oh.
An ancient tomb on Rhen Var called the citadel. That is what those words were informing me of.
"Rhen Var," says the gatekeeper as I make my revelation, "I remember that place. It was where Ulic Qel-Droma went into his exile following the First Sith War, where he taught Vima Sunrider to be a Jedi and where he found redemption before being murdered. I suspect the tomb that is being referred to is his. The rest of my knowledge is out of date, but I can supply you with the location of Ulic Qel-Droma's tomb."
"That would be helpful," I tell her, "I believe that is the place. I think I should go and check that place out."
"I am happy that I was able to help," says the gatekeeper, "Do you require anything else from me?"
"Not right now," I say, "I'm going to follow up on this information. Thank you for the assistance."
The gatekeeper nods in recognition before her hologram flickers out of existence and I am left to investigate this mystery.
While I could check the Jedi Archives or Republic military records or Republic government records or just publicly available databases, I am leery of Palpatine or his agents keeping track of my activities. Or more bluntly, I am worried that Darth Sidious might be spying on me as a potential threat to his plans.
But I have advantages that I can use against the Sith Lord and one of those is the Bothan Spynet. While you can only trust them to a certain degree, I have a good working relationship with them and past events have left the organisation feeling rather indebted to me. I can't trust them entirely, but they are very unlikely to sell me out to Sidious and until I get my own spy network, they are my best bet for spy stuff.
Calling up one of my Spynet contacts, I let them know I am looking for information on Rhen Var. After paying the Bothan Spynet a solid five thousand credits for whatever information they can provide, I am left to wait until they contact me. It shouldn't take too long and I should be getting a message back with the info by noon. Given how early it is in the morning, that means another lesson with Meetra Surik's holocron regarding the Energy Resistance technique and getting some paperwork done as the new expansions mean there is a big uptick in paperwork that needs handling.
As the sun begins to rise in the Senate District, I finally get contacted by the Bothan Spynet as they send me a detailed file and a polite request as to why I am interested in Rhen Var. Deciding to read the file before I respond to the second bit, I pull up the document on my datapad and begin to read the info that the Spynet has acquired for me. I skip past the ancient bits on Rhen Var to get to the modern info.
Deep in the middle of Separatist space, Rhen Var has remained a Republic world despite its location due to two facts. The first is that the world has no civilian populace to side with the Confederacy and the second is its deep history with the Jedi. Speaking of which, the EduCorps currently have an expedition at Rhen Var as the group of five Jedi arrived to study some of the ruins prior to the Battle of Geonosis and have yet to leave.
Additional information includes that the Republic military has set up a listening outpost and small supply base, presumably to spy on the Separatists and support offensive operations. Nothing major as the garrison consists of just a handful of Republic Intelligence agents and a battalion of clone troopers.
Oh and apparently the Separatists, specifically Dooku, may be showing an interest in the world though none of the Bothan Spynet's sources have been unable to confirm that. It also comes from secondary sources with other Separatists commenting or spectating on Count Dooku's sudden interest in Rhen Var.
That feels significant somehow and this is one of the occasions where my otherworldly knowledge has failed me. I have the inkings that something happened, but whatever it was, the other person was unfamiliar with the details.
Nonetheless, I am a Jedi and as a Jedi, I should trust in the Force. And the Force is telling me that Rhen Var is important and I should go there soon, before Dooku does and gets whatever he wants there.
But first I need to send a response for the Bothan Spynet as I've decided to give them what they requested. The information isn't that important and I don't see how the Spynet could use it against me while indulging a simple request like this is more likely to leave them more positively disposed towards me.
I write up a quick reply stating that I had a Force premonition telling me 'The citadel of a tomb on Rhen Var' and while a Jedi source helped me identify what it was referring to, that source dated back to the Old Sith Wars and was out of date regarding Rhen Var's current status, hence my request to the Bothan Spynet for more recent info. With that dealt with, I shall return to the other matter at hand.
"Brigadier Belen," I call Loren, "Can you put together half a squad to accompany me on a mission?"
"Does General Telis know about this?" inquires Loren as he meets me at the Knight I as I prepare to leave.
"I've left her a message, but she is still sleeping," I inform the recently promoted brigadier, "She worked late last night and I didn't want to disturb her."
"I see," says Loren, "Any idea how long your journey will take sir?"
"It shouldn't take too long," I assure him, "Just a quick trip to check a Force thing before returning to Coruscant. Unless something goes wrong to delay us, we should be back in a day or two."
"I will continue to put together the new troops in your absence," says Loren, "Do try to avoid staying away too long. Things are enough of a mess right now that it would be a pain to keep it all together if you end up taking a prolonged absence."
"I shall endeavour to return swiftly for your sake, Loren," I reply and Loren lets out a laugh before walking off.
With that over, I turn back to the Knight I, where the rest of the team is waiting for us. As my padawan, Vyssa is coming along and Loren has found me half a dozen jump troopers from Sky Company to join us. That takes up eight of the nine seats on the Knight I and when she found out there was a spare seat, Captain Vora decided to join us, leaving me with an expedition of a pair of Jedi and seven veteran soldiers.
"Ready to go, General?" inquires Vora from just inside the hatch as I climb aboard the Knight I.
"That I am, Captain. Hopefully the trip won't take too long and nothing exciting will happen."
The journey to Rhen Var only takes a couple of hours and while we left Coruscant at what was early morning, we arrived at Rhen Var during the early evening or at least early evening for the inhabited parts of the frozen world.
While the local Republic forces were initially uncertain of our arrival, thankfully we cleared that up before any issues developed. Once I revealed that I was a Jedi who had come here on Jedi business, the local clone commander accepted that without issue while the local spook in charge reluctantly accepted my explanation. Especially since I was coming here for the Jedi tomb rather than his listening outpost.
Speaking of which, one of the clone companies has set up shop at the Rhen Var Citadel as its structures make for an excellent defensive position for the local garrison. A hundred and forty-four clone troopers are waiting for us when the Knight I touches down at the citadel.
"Welcome sir," says one of the clone troopers as I walk down the ramp of the Knight I, the red stripes on trooper's armour indicating that he is the officer in charge of the garrison, "Is there anything I can do for you?"
"Nothing for me right now, Captain," I reply as my HUD identifies the clone as Captain CC-5280, "I am just here to visit the Jedi tomb on Jedi business. But I would appreciate it if you could help Captain Vora and her squad settle in while my padawan and I are here on our Jedi business."
"Of course sir," says the captain, "Tag, Cerg, give the Jedi's bodyguards a tour of the place and help them find some temporary bunks."
"Captain Vora, you and your troopers go with the clones," I say to the captain of Sky Company as she and Vyssa follow me down the ramp, "Vyssa, you are with me."
"Yes Master," says my padawan dutifully as she follows me as I march off.
The place feels familiar to me and something here itches at the back of my mind. I have never been here in person, but I recognise the general layout of the place. The citadel isn't in ruins like what I can remember from my otherworldly memories, but otherwise it is the same location with the same layout.
I hope whatever fighting takes place here isn't enough to mess up the place as badly as it did in those other timelines.
"Hey Master," says Vyssa as we walk towards the crypt, "What have we come here for?"
"Information," I answer, "The Force told me to come to Rhen Var, to this citadel specifically and it mentioned the tomb. I'm hoping I will get some answers from investigating the tomb."
"So we trust in the Force then?" asks Vyssa.
"Indeed we do," I confirm.
The inside of the citadel turns out to still be heated and nowhere near as cold as the rest of Rhen Var. Which makes sense as these buildings were designed for people to live in and if the clone troopers are setting up shop here, they must have some heat generators to avoid the garrison freezing to death. While my armour keeps most of the chill away, I nonetheless appreciate getting out of the freezing cold of Rhen Var.
We draw curious looks and salutes from clone troopers as we pass them, but none of them dare to interrupt us. No matter how curious they are, the clone troopers are too professional to get in the way of a Jedi general without a good reason to do so.
The crypt itself isn't gloomy, but neither is it comforting. It has a dark, but warm feel to it as the enclosed room is small enough to avoid feeling open, but large enough to avoid feeling cramped. The stone coffin within the cygpt is intact, differing to what I can remember from the other timelines as it is intact and that… that feels significant. Staring at the coffin, I hold out my hand and reach out with the Force.
"Master?" inquires Vyssa as she notices I am doing something.
Ignoring her for the moment, I focus on using the Force to lift up the lid of the coffin and flip it around. There is a picture of a world on the interior of the lid and alongside it are two things, the first is a location on the world and the second is a star-chart map of how to reach the world.
This is why I was brought here. I can't help, but wonder just what I could find at this location. Yet even as I think that, I feel the urge that I need to keep this to myself. Frowning, I take a picture of the coffin's secret imagery with my helmet before returning the lid to its original position.
"What was that, Master?" inquires Vyssa once I am done and I realise that she and every clone trooper in the room are watching me.
"That was what we came here for," I say, "Come on Vyssa, I want to check the star-chart aboard the Knight I."
That doesn't take long as despite the age of the star-chart, the world in question isn't an unknown one. No, the problem isn't finding the planet, but the fact that it is swiftly identified as Raxus Prime and not only is the Raxus system deep in Separatist space, but Raxus Secondus is the capital of the Confederacy. That is going to be troublesome to deal with.
"So what now, Master?" asks Vyssa as I lean back in my seat, wondering what to do next, "Do we sneak onto Raxus Prime under the noses of the Separatists?"
"No," I answer, frowning, "It would be too risky and I'm not sure this is something that should be found."
As I think about what to do next, I notice that the itch at the back of my mind is still there. I should go and check that out as it could be important and part of why I am here on Rhen Var.
"I'm going to check something else out," I say to Vyssa, "Want to come along?"
"Of course, Master," answers Vyssa as I expected as my padawan will never turn down the chance to acquire more information, "We won't be spending too long in the cold will we?"
"Hopefully not, but no promises," I reply as I walk out of the Knight I, following the tug of the itch.
I walk across the snowy open grounds of the citadel, under the watchful eye of the clone troopers on guard duty and with Vysssa following in tow. Trudging along the snow-covered ground, I look for whatever could be drawing my attention so strongly, especially since that itch becomes the sensation of something resonating strongly in the Force.
Catching a glint of something in the snow, I bend down to inspect the stone foundation beneath one of the walls. Clearing the snow away with my armoured hand, I finally see what I've been sensing since I arrived at the Citadel. It is a kyber crystal, a white-silver one that is brightly glowing, both literally and metaphorically as the crystal itself has a bright glow to it and it also strongly resonates with the Force. And not just the Force, but specifically the Light Side of the Force.
Reaching out with the Force, I pluck the kyber crystal out of the wall and summon it to my hand. I put it into my pocket to keep it safe for future use.
"What was that, Master?" inquires Vyssa.
"A lightsaber crystal," I answer, "A powerful one attuned to the Light Side."
"Huh," says Vyssa, "What are the chances of finding another one?"
"For you?" I reply, "Try meditating on it. See if you can sense anything."
"Yes, Master," says Vyssa, "Do-"
Whatever she is about to say is cut off as both of us receive warnings on the HUDs of our helmets. A Separatist fleet has jumped in-system.
A side trip to Rhen Var for this arc and by the way, it is going to be a short arc. I was planning to roll into the next arc and maybe the one after it as they are similar in nature, but I ended up making them separate as they felt distinct enough even if they will only be two or three chapters long on their own. And who knows, they might end up being longer than I expected.
Beyond that, Ben gets a hint from the actual Meetra Surik and goes to Rhen Var. I've adapted the canon Rhen Var plot for the Clone Wars and I decided to make the Rhen Var Citadel map from the original Battlefront game into the place for Ulic Qel-Droma's tomb. I'm not going to state what Ben has found outright because he doesn't know it yet, but there are enough hints that if you know your Star Wars lore (or know what to look for on Wookieepedia), you should be able to figure it out.
I've also shown what Ben is going to do until he gets his own spy network in place. He is going to rely upon Bothan Spynet because he trusts them more than Republic Intelligence or Senate Bureau of Intelligence and he can count on them not to sell him out to Palpatine or Dooku even if they are their own independent organisation with their own goals. This is because Bothan Spynet owes him and likes him thanks to what I chose in the CYOA build and because Ben aligns more with Bothan Spynet than either of the Sith Lords.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Jun 29, 2021
5.2 (Rhen Var Citadel) - Chapter Twenty-Five
"What is the composition of the enemy force?" I ask as I enter a meeting between four clone officers with red stripes and one human intelligence agent in a suit.
Major Deep is the clone in overall command of the garrison on Rhen Var while Captain Hak commands the company garrisoning the Citadel. Captain Soot's company is occupying the listening outpost alongside Major Deep's and Captain Dreamer's company is occupying a series of defensive outposts. Senior Agent Casandor Brekon is the Republic Intelligence operative in charge of the Rhen Var listening outpost.
"Five Munificent-class Star Frigates, General Shan," answers Major Deep as he pushes something and a hologram of the Separatist fleet appears before us, "We have received a demand to surrender, but as per orders, we have rejected it. We aren't going to be able to hold it unless you have any special Jedi tricks."
"I might be able to buy us enough time to evacuate the survivors, but the planet is too deep in Separatist space for us to be able to hold it," I say, "Rhen Var's greatest defence was the Separatists not knowing about our presence here and now they do."
"General Shan," says Senior Agent Brekon as he addresses me directly, "I read up on your record when I heard of your arrival. Is there any chance that any of your personal forces could come to our aid?"
"That would be one of my tricks," I answer, "My padawan is calling some backup right now for us, but it will take them at least four hours to arrive and between rebuilding and expanding, I am unsure of how many combat-ready assets I have available at the moment. I will stay at Rhen Var to personally assist with the defence along with the forces I currently have with me. Speaking of which, what assets do we have available for the defence?"
"We have my battalion along with two squadrons of V-19 Torrent starfighters, three AT-TE and ten gunships," answers Major Deep, "Aurek Company and Besh Company are garrisoning the listening outpost and we have six of the gunships and both starfighter squadrons with us. Cresh Company is garrisoning the Citadel as a highly defensible structure while Dorn Company is manning a series of outposts to protect the main base. Cresh has one of the gunships while Dorn has all of the AT-TEs and the remaining gunships with them."
"The key will be aerial superiority," I say thoughtfully, "Those frigates will carry a hundred and twenty starfighters between them at most. We shoot those down and we can intercept enemy transports or launch airstrikes against their ground forces."
"General," says Major Deep in a cautious tone as he exchanges a wary look with the other clones, "Our starfighters and pilots might be better than what the Seppies have, but at those odds, it won't be enough."
"I can handle the heavy lifting in the Knight I," I assure him, "Your pilots can focus on keeping the Separatists from swarming me with overwhelming numbers."
"If you say so, sir," says Major Deep, "There are two more things that you should know, sir."
"Go on, Major," I say.
"The first is that we have sent out a call for reinforcements," Major Deep tells me, "We have received any response yet, but it is possible that Republic reinforcements will arrive."
"And the second thing?" I ask.
"Count Dooku himself is commanding the Separatist fleet," answers Major Deep, "If he gets involved in the fight, you will be the one only capable of dealing with him. I heard you fought with him on Geonosis?"
"I did," I confirm, deciding not to mention that Dooku was better than me and if the fight had just been left to the two of us, the Sith Lord would have probably won, "I can handle him again if needs be. Major Deep, if Dooku is personally leading this assault, we cannot let him take the Citadel."
"Is there something there?" asks Senior Agent Brekon as he focuses on me.
"I found something important even if I don't fully understand what I found there," I answer, deciding to be vague out this so it doesn't get back to Palpatine, "It is apparently important enough for Dooku to come here in person so whatever it is, I believe it is in the best interests of the Republic to deny it to Dooku."
"While I would like to know more, your assessment isn't wrong," says Senior Agent Brekon, "Assuming you are right that he has come here for whatever you found."
"He wouldn't have come in person if the Separatists were just after the listening outpost," I say, "Rhen Var has a long and ancient history with both the Jedi and the Sith. I suspect he is looking for one of those secrets to get an advantage in the war."
"Are you sure that you don't want me with you?" asks Vyssa as I get ready to take off in the Knight I, "I could act as the co-pilot for you or maybe a gunner."
"I can handle this on my own and I would rather have you helping with the defence here," I reply, "Dooku came here for what we found in the crypt. We cannot let the Separatists take the Citadel. You and Captain Vora need to work with Captain Hak and his troops to ensure that does not happen."
"Of course, Master," says Vyssa and she starts to leave.
"One last thing," I say before my padawan finishes leaving the ship, "Don't let the clone troopers or anyone else get a look at what we found. Destroy the coffin lid if you have to, but for reasons you are already aware of, we don't want what we found getting back to Sidious."
"I understand, Master," replies Vyssa, "No point in keeping Dooku from getting his hands on the information if things end up with Sidious just giving it to him anyway."
As Vyssa leaves the Knight I, I close the hatch behind her and begin the takeoff sequence. It has been about half an hour since the Separatists arrived in-system and ten minutes since they arrived in orbit and now they are finally making their move. Five squadrons of Vulture droids have launched and the Separatist starfighters are currently making their way to the surface.
Major Deep has launched his own starfighters in response and I'll be joining them in the Knight I while Vyssa, Vora and the rest of my troopers help guard the Citadel. And speaking of Major Deep, I get a call from him as I take to the skies.
"General Shan," says the clone officer, "I am sending a gunship to evacuate the other group of Jedi to a safer location. Any preference on where I should send them?"
"The Citadel," I answer after a moment of thought, "Commander Randanys and my troops will be able to look after them there."
"Understood, sir," replies Deep before he ends the call.
The enemy starfighter squadrons are breaking up with two of them moving to intercept me. Meanwhile the remaining three are on a course towards the V-19 Torrent starfighters that Deep has launched from the listening outpost. That shouldn't be too hard, I can take a couple dozen Vultures and those clones in the V-19s should be able to hold their own when they are only outnumbered three to two.
As the distance between me and the enemy closes, I get a lock with one of my missiles and just before the enemy are in range, I launch the missile before lighting up another droid starfighter with my blaster cannons and laser cannons. As both of the targeted Vultures explode, I swerve to both avoid the enemy blaster fire and to rip apart another enemy starfighter with my lasers. A fourth hostile goes down before we zoom by each other and are swinging around for another pass.
The Vulture droids stand no chance against me as I begin to blow more of them out of the sky. They might have had me outnumbered twenty four to one, but they are cheap starfighters with poor piloting skill while I am a Jedi starfighter ace in one of the best dogfighters in the galaxy. The only advantages that the droid starfighters have over me beyond numbers is their speed and maneuverability, the difference isn't good enough to mean much unless one of us is trying to run away.
I slaughter the Vultures as they try to swarm me using superior skill, swift reflexes and battle precognition. They try to land hits on me, but they fail to even get through my deflector shields even if they start to drop low.
"General Shan, could you provide some assistance to Horizon Squadron and Extinction Squadron?" calls Major Deep and I spare a glance to the other dogfighting ongoing in the skies of Rhen Var.
The clones aren't losing their aerial battle, but it could be going better. A squadron of the Vulture droids have been shot down, but so have four of the V-19 Torrents and several others have taken damage. With only two of my own opponents left, I can afford to provide some support to the clones.
Flipping my blaster cannons around so I can fire at anything on my rear, I zoom off towards the other dogfight. My two foes form up on my rear, but before they can get any shots off, I have blasted one out of the sky and in the next moment, I am already weaving to avoid the laser fire of the survivor. I kink to the right and as the vulture tries to follow me, I pull the trigger and blow the enemy starfighter away.
It takes me a minute to reach the remaining dogfight and in that time, one of the vultures has been shot down, but so has one of the damaged V-19s. Putting my blasters back to facing forwards, I swoop in as I target one of the droids on the tail of a smoking Torrent. A quick volley and the vulture explodes even as I am already lining up another target. I rip it apart with my laser cannons and then as I look for a third target to eliminate, the Separatist starfighters begin to withdraw back to the Munificents.
I do end up taking down a third starfighter in this second engagement as they flee and one of the clones shoots down another vulture as well, but about a squadron and a half of the Vulture droids get away. On its own, the battle was a very good trade for us as the Separatists lost three and a half squadrons while only five of the clones got shot down, but that changes when you consider fighting additional battles.
The Separatists still have six and a half squadrons left to toss into any future engagements while we only have nineteen of the V-19 Torrent Starfighters to oppose them with. Not only that, but a good half of those V-19s took damage in the dogfight and not all of it is repairable with the facilities on Rhen Var. It is no doubt a victory and we dealt the invaders a hefty blow, but the battle in the skies is far from over.
And it seems that the Separatists achieved their objective despite their heavy starfighter losses. While the dogfighting was ongoing, the Munificent-class Frigates got far enough down in low orbit to drop tens of thousands of battle droids into the frozen landscape of Rhen Var. Not as high as a hundred thousand, but certainly more than enough to overwhelm the Republic garrison as the clone troopers have to be outnumbered at least a hundred to one.
"We've got between one and two hours before the droids are in a position to launch an assault," reports Captain Dreamer, "After that, my boys and I will try to hold for as long as we can, but against the numbers we're facing, there is only so much that we can do even with the walkers."
"Do your best, Dreamer," says Major Deep before turning to me, "General Shan, is there anything you can do to even the odds?"
"Beyond making attack runs at the Separatists ground forces?" I inquire, "Not much. Right now, it is a matter of holding out until our reinforcements arrive to evacuate us. Can we hold out for another four hours?"
"Potentially, sir," answers Major Deep, "It depends on how hard the Seppies push us. If they are aggressive, they could easily overwhelm us, but if they take it steady, we should be able to hold out for a time."
"I'll see what I can do," I say, "I'm thinking that we should launch an aerial offensive. Get the gunships to attack the enemy ground forces and get them disorganised while myself and the Torrents keep any vulture droids off of them."
"That sounds better than just waiting to get attacked, General," says Major Deep as he and the other clones exchange looks, "I'll get the pilots ready."
"Let me know when your pilots are ready to go or if the situation changes," I tell the major before returning to the Knight I.
As I climb into the cockpit, I get a call from Vyssa.
"What is it, Vyssa?" I ask as I answer it.
"I destroyed the coffin lid," reports Vyssa, "The EduCorp Jedi were getting too interested in it and we didn't have any reason to leave it intact so I blew it to pieces. Except now I've upset the EduCorp Jedi and they are kinda pissed off at me."
"I'm going to be busy leading an aerial attack to disrupt the Separatist ground assault so I won't be able to come to your aid any time soon," I reply, "You made the right call and did a good job. Just keep doing a good job by continuing to be ready to protect the Citadel and don't be afraid to go to Vora and her troopers for support."
"Of course, Master," replies Vyssa, "Just be warned that you might have some complaints for you when you get back here."
"I can handle some complaints," I assure her before we say goodbye and end the call.
As I sit in the cockpit of the Knight I, I wonder how I can delay the enemy long enough for reinforcements to arrive. I can take down a squadron or two of vulture droids easily enough, but the enemy has six squadrons remaining. While the garrison can still muster up a squadron's worth of combat-worthy V-19 Torrents, that isn't enough to turn the odds in our favour. I need to see about the feasibility of sticking a deflector shield on a V-19 Torrent as even a light shield could have kept some of the garrison's starfighters from getting damaged.
The ground forces situation is even worse as the enemy could send just a tenth of their forces and it would be enough for them to win. There are just too many battle droids for the garrison to have a chance of winning if the Separatists make a serious push. Dooku must really desire whatever he wants on Rhen Var as he has committed too many battle droids to taking Rhen Var. Seriously, he has to have committed over half a billion credits of battle droids to seizing Rhen Var.
Ultimately the biggest problem is those Munificent-class Star Frigates as we have no way of touching them while they have enough firepower to blow us away if they really wanted to and had the right firing solution. Or do we?
AT-TEs have brought about Munificents before or at least they will or perhaps it is that they could. What I do know is that according to my otherworldly memories, Skywalker once used multiple AT-TEs to bring down multiple Munificent-class Frigates by hitting them in their weakly armoured rear after General Grievous had them divert their deflector shields to the front. Admittedly, that sort of feat will be practically impossible to achieve with what we got for a variety of reasons.
The V-19 Torrents have concussion missiles, but shy of a lucky hit, they won't be doing meaningful damage to the Munificents. While some concussion missiles can smash apart a starship, the ones used by the V-19 are designed for taking out starfighters over warships, prioritising speed and ability over raw hitting power.
The LAAT/i gunships do have a pair of mass drivers like the main cannon of an AT-TE. They could bring down a Munificent with those or at least they could if it wasn't for the fact that the Munificent would shoot them down before they got the chance. The gunships are too large and too slow to be anything other than easy targets for the turbolasers of the Munificent.
As for the Knight I, my missiles run into the same issues as what the V-19 Torrents have with their own missiles. Maybe if I got a good hit on the bridge or one of the engines or perhaps one of the power cores… , but no, I can't count on that. The seismic charges on the other hand, well, they could be useful. Even if they are at their best in the void of space, they are still pretty powerful in atmosphere and nothing shy of capital ship shielding or the armoured hull of a proper warship can stand up to being caught in its blast.
Unfortunately, the Munificent-class Frigates fall into that category and are capable of shrugging off getting hit by a seismic charge. Their deflector shields are especially strong for a warship of its size even if its hull is particularly weak at the same time. That said, a seismic charge could take one out if I could get it past the shielding of a Munificent. That is something worth considering.
"General Shan," says Major Deep over my comlink, "We are ready to go."
"Understood Major," I reply as I begin to take off, "I'll take the lead and I'll try to bring back as many of your pilots as I can."
"I appreciate that sir," replies Deep, "Your assistance has already been a great boon to our defence and greatly appreciated by the troops."
As the call ends, I glance over at one of the displays to see what the garrison has mustered up to assist me. Fourteen V-19 Torrent starfighters, four of which are showing signs of minor damage or hasty repairs, and all ten gunships. A potentially dangerous force, but the enemy still has close to eighty vulture droids remaining.
We'll need to bait the vultures into attacking us. The LAAT/i won't last long in a dogfight, but they are tough enough to take a hit and pack enough firepower to bring down a vulture droid. In return, the enemy launches little over fifty of their starfighters as the Separatists have chosen to hold a couple of squadrons in reserve.
"Everyone needs to prioritise the enemy starfighters," I order the clone pilots, "We cannot make effective airstrikes on the ground forces until we have claimed dominance of the skies. Don't be afraid to be liberal with your missiles. They won't do you any good if you are shot down."
I get a series of affirmatives from the clones and before long, we and the Separatists are on a mutual interception course. I line up a shot with one of my missiles, noting that the other V-19s and the gunships are doing the same. Hopefully we'll be able to thin the numbers of the vulture droids before the dogfighting begins.
The missiles launch at sub-optimal range, but with twenty-five missiles for the droid starfighters to dodge, at least some of them should hit and they do. The droids swerve and begin to open fire, but four-no, five of the vultures explode as the missiles shred them and then the dogfight begins proper as starfighters on both sides exchange blaster fire.
Even as I line up another lock, I gun down another of the droids with my blasters. I pop another missile before looking for another target. A spray of blaster fire batters my deflector shielding from the side and I blast a vulture out of the skies. I watch a V-19 go down as another vulture explodes out of the corner of my eye and I support a droid on the tail of a different V-19 Torrent, getting ready for a killing blow.
But before I can go and save that clone pilot, someone else beats me to the punch. A laser cannon volley blows apart the vulture droid and a grey and yellow Delta-7B Aethersprite swoops through the skies in front of me. I quickly glance at my sensors and I spot that a second Delta-7B Aethersprite has joined the battle as well, this one painted red and white.
Well, I have a good idea of who has joined the fight for Rhen Var.
I am keeping the broad strokes of the canon plotline for Rhen Var in the Clone Wars even if I am changing major parts of it. This includes Anakin and Obi-Wan showing up and I have no compulsion against revealing that they are the two Jedi who showed up as it should be obvious.
Anyway, this chapter is mostly dogfighting as Ben and the Republic garrison fight an uphill battle to gain aerial dominance. Vyssa handles ensuring no one else finds out the secrets that she and Ben fold while Ben attempts to defeat the enemy starfighters whilst keeping the clones alive.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Aug 24, 2021
5.3 (Rhen Var Citadel) - Chapter Twenty-Six
While the two additional Jedi are a welcome addition to the fight, there are still plenty of vultures to take out. Even as I spot Skywalker gunning down another droid, I have targets of my own to worry about. I get a quick lock on another droid starfighter before launching one of my remaining missiles at it. With that vulture dealt with, I focus on another that is making an attack run on the Knight I. We exchange blaster fire and as to be expected, the superior firepower and toughness of the Knight I wins out.
I glance at the tactical situation. Half of the vultures have been taken out, but so have almost half of the V-19 Torrents and one of the LAAT/i gunships. A favourable exchange, but still not one that we can afford as most of our survivors are damaged while any vulture droids still flying haven't taken any damage due to how fragile the droid starfighters are.
Spotting one of the vulture droids swinging about to make an attack run on one of the gunships, I move to intercept it. I light up the vulture before it can get a proper aim on the gunship and it attempts to break off. It doesn't work and my blaster fire shreds the droid before it can evade me.
"General Shan, the vultures are disengaging," reports Major Deep over the comms as I spot the same thing myself.
Seventeen vultures are still in the sky, little more than a squadron and a half, but that would still leave the Separatists with forty starfighters. I'm about to order a pursuit of the fleeing droids when the Munificent frigates open fire. Their turbolasers and laser cannons are too far away to have anything more than a slim chance of hitting at most, but the sheer weight of firepower is enough to discourage a Republic pursuit. Which is clearly why the Separatists have chosen to do this.
"All clone pilots, pull back," I order, "Avoid getting shot down. Skywalker, Kenobi, are you good enough pilots to shoot down some more vultures?"
"I can do that easily," replies Skywalker over the comm and I'm glad that I correctly guessed the identities of the new arrivals.
"Then shoot down those vultures, I've got a surprise for one of the frigates," I say as I decide to try and slip a seismic charge through the deflector shielding of a Munificent.
Skywalker shoots off after the fleeing vultures, nimbly dodging the turbolaser fire as he shoots down another droid and Kenobi soon joins him. Thankfully I've got Skywalker and Kenobi to back me up because I'm having a hard time of it avoiding the enemy laser fire. The Knight I might be agile enough to dogfight, but that only makes an attack run like this at all possible and the Separatist turbolaser fire is taking my full attention to avoid. Between my battle precognition and enhanced reflexes, I can pull it off, but I can't do it and shoot down hostile starfighters at the same time. Maybe if I had a co-pilot to act as a gunner…
The incoming fire gets both worse and better as I close the distance. Worse as the reduced distance makes the enemy gunners more accurate, but also better as their arcs of fire are reduced. I set one of the seismic charges to a ring denotation for a stronger blast. Flying up to the closest Munificent, I fire a missile into the weak hull and I pop the charge. Taking the risk of getting hit, I take a moment to use the Force and push the seismic charge towards the Munificent-class Frigate. As I zoom off, the charge goes through the hole created by my missile shot. There is a moment of silence and then a loud sonic explosion followed by more conventional explosions. As I fly away, I don't get to see it with my own eyes, but I do get to see the symbol representing the frigate disappear from the tactical display as the enemy warship is destroyed.
Having already pushed my luck enough for one day, I head back towards the listening outpost to meet up with the rest of the Republic defenders again.
"The Chancellor has called for a evacuation of Rhen Var and the High Council agrees with him," says General Kenobi as he and General Skywalker join myself and the others in our latest meeting, "This world is too deep in Separatist space to reasonably defend and Rhen Var simply lacks the importance to justify committing the forces required to defend Rhen Var."
"I agree," I say, "I've already ordered my own forces to assist in the evacuation, but I'm afraid that they won't arrive for another three hours at the earliest. Will that Acclamator you brought with you be able to assist?"
Skywalker and Kenobi didn't arrive on their own as the two Jedi brought an Acclamator-class Assault Ship with them. Unfortunately, that doesn't change the odds in our favour as while Acclamator can hold its own against a Munificent frigate, four of them is still too much for a single assault ship to handle.
"The Acclamator we brought with us has enough room for all of the garrison," replies General Kenobi, "Thanks to the aerial dominance that we have acquired, we should be able to begin safely evacuating the garrison. There are enough transports that we can lift everyone off-world in a single wave and the Separatists don't have enough remaining starfighters to stop us. Hopefully before the Separatists launch their assault."
"Do we know why the Separatists are really here?" asks Skywalker, "Count Dooku wouldn't have come here himself with such a large fleet just for this listening outpost. There has to be something else here on Rhen Var that he is after."
"There is," I say, "My padawan and I found something in the tomb of Ulic Qel Droma after being guided here by the Force. However, my padawan destroyed it on my orders to deny Dooku the chance to access it for himself."
"Would that be why I am fielding complaints from the EduCorps about your padawan recklessly destroying priceless Jedi artifacts?" asks Kenobi with a somewhat annoyed look.
"Probably," I answer without any shame, "It isn't much use keeping it intact if whatever knowledge it holds is only going to be used by the Sith against the Jedi and the Republic."
"The EduCorps would disagree with you," replies Kenobi with a bit of a sigh.
"I don't see the problem," says Skywalker, "We're abandoning Rhen Var to Dooku and we don't want to leave ancient Jedi secrets behind for him to find."
"Regardless-" starts Kenobi when a warning starts flashing and the tactical display appears before us.
"The Separatists are launching their attack and they are focusing on the Citadel," I summarise what we can all see.
The all four Munificent-class Frigates are moving on an intercept course for the Citadel while all of the remaining vultures have been launched and all of the battle droids on the ground are heading either for the Citadel or the listening outpost.
"We need to stop them," declares Anakin before turning to me, "Can you take out another frigate like you did that other one?"
"Maybe?" I admit, "If someone can keep those fighters off my back, I should be able to take out another Munificent, but I don't fancy my chances beyond that. One or two hits is all that is needed to bring me down."
"Our gunships won't be able to reach the Citadel before those Separatist warships will be able to intercept them," says Kenobi.
"Yours might not be able to, but the garrion has gunships of their own," I add, "Major Deep, I need you to launch your gunships for an evacuation of the Citadel now. Time is of the essence."
"Are you sure that the gunships will be able to make it there in time?" asks Kenobi.
"They can," answers Skywalker, drawing the attention of both myself and his old master, "They'll be cutting it close and the troopers will need to be quick getting aboard, but they have a short window of opportunity."
"One we could make larger by causing trouble for the enemy," I say, "If you can keep those vultures busy, I can try knocking another Munificent out of the skies."
"I'll go get in my fighter then," replies Skywalker as he turns around and begins to quick walk towards the exit, "You coming, Master?"
"No, I'll be staying here to oversee the evacuation," answers Kenobi.
"That's twenty-seven vulture droids out there," I say to Skywalker as the two of us fly towards the Munificent frigates and what is left of their starfighter escort, "Think you can handle all of them on your own?"
"Of course, they're just vultures," replies Skywalker, "It isn't a question of if I can do it, but how long it will take me. Can you handle those warships?"
"I am good enough to make a single attack run," I reply, "As I said in the meeting, I don't want to try my luck more than that. Just make sure to keep those enemy starfighters off my back."
"Will do, Shan," says Skywalker and our conversation ends as he speeds up to intercept the last couple squadrons of Separatist starfighters.
As I watch him dogfight, I realise that Skywalker is an extremely good pilot and easily better than myself or anyone under my command. He is slaughtering the vulture droids, weaving between turbolaser fire as he picks off another droid starfighter with each volley. The vultures are no match for him and I regret I am not able to keep watching as I am forced to focus on dodging the Separatist turbolaser fire.
The enemy warships focus their firepower on me, but it isn't enough as I dodge and weave my way to the lead Separatist frigate. I blast a hole in its side on my initial attack run, but the incoming fire is too intense for me to stick around to drop a seismic charge through that gap in the frigate's hull. Unable to stop to pop a charge, I continue onwards and swing back around for another run on the Munificent. As I do so, I notice that the enemy is really focusing their fire on me, doing so to the point that they are actively hitting my own target just for the chance of hitting me.
Force-forsaken clankers. I'm not sure if I should be considering the willingness to engage in friendly fire to be good or bad on their part. On the one hand, they are showing a disregard for their fellows, but at the same time, risking damaging their own would be worth it if it stops me from destroying the warship outright like I intend to.
In the end, it doesn't matter as I fire a seismic charge and guide it into the hole I made in the frigate's hull. The charge goes off within the warship's deflector shields and the lead Munificent begins to fall out of the sky as it is wracked with internal explosions and denotations.
"Skywalker, I'm pulling out," I inform my fellow Jedi as I fly away, trying to put as much distance between myself and the enemy turbolaser fire as I can, "I've taken out a Munificent and that is all I am up to right now."
"Understood, I just got a couple of vultures to hunt down," replies Skywalker and I look at the tactical display.
There are literally two vultures left, both heading different direction while Skywalker chases after them.
"Don't worry about them," I tell him, "I don't need you to keep them off my back anymore and two vultures aren't going to pose a threat to the evacuation. At least not one that we can't handle."
"Let me just get this one," Skywalker calls back, "I'll meet you back at base."
"Understood, I'll see you there," I say, "But first, I've got to pick up my padawan and troops."
While a Munificent-class frigate is fast for a ship of its size, it still isn't able to reach the same speeds as the Knight I. So despite heading for the same destination from what might as well be the same starting point, I easily outpace the Separatists. As I approach the citadel, the Munificents cease firing their turbolasers at long range lest they destroy whatever Dooku is after by accident.
The last of the LAAT/i gunships have already left, but Vysssa and my troopers are still waiting for me.
"Get aboard everyone," I call over the ship's speakers as I land, "As I'm sure you are all aware, we are evacuating and I'm sure none of us want to be left behind."
As Vyssa climbs into the seat next to me, I feel a bit of disappointment from her though the Force.
"You okay?" I ask her as I begin to take off.
"I wasn't able to find a crystal," answers Vyssa, trying not to pout, but I can sense the disappointment coming from her.
Ah, I can see why my padawan is disappointed. While I was able to find a rare and therefore powerful lightsaber crystal, she was not and now that we are evacuating, she must think that she missed her chance. Afterall, it would be foolish to stay behind just to go looking for a crystal, even a lightsaber crystal when the enemy still has three warships and an overwhelming amount of ground forces.
"The Citadel isn't the only place on the planet," I say thoughtfully as I realise that I have already made my decision, "And the enemy is only covering a small part of Rhen Var. Not to mention that we have reinforcements arriving in an hour or so and we can just escape via hyperspace on our own."
"Master?" inquires Vyssa as she gives me a look.
"Trust in the Force and pick a location on the planet," I tell her, "If it isn't too close to the Separatists, we can spend some time looking for a crystal."
"Thank you, Master!" replies Vyssa happily before closing her eyes and focusing on the Force.
"I can drop you and your troops off at the listening outpost for evacuation," I say to Captain Vora, "You don't need to risk your lives on what basically amounts to luxurious Jedi business."
"You just explained to the commander that it isn't actually dangerous," replies Captain Vora, "Besides we don't mind getting put into a bit of danger over Jedi business after all you've done for us. Isn't that right troopers?"
As the troopers in the passenger seats give a series of affirmatives, I feel satisfied that everyone is onboard with this plan and I'm not needlessly risking their lives. It doesn't take long for Vyssa to pick a spot about halfway across the planet and it isn't long after that before we have landed outside a cave.
"Vyssa, follow the Force," I instruct my padawan before turning to the troopers with me, "Guard the ship and prepare for a quick takeoff. I'm not expecting any trouble, but I prefer to be safe rather than sorry."
I get another series of affirmatives as Vyssa darts off into the cave.
"Before I go after my padawan, a quick word, Captain Vora," I say to the Twi'lek in question and she gives me a nod.
"Of course, General," replies Captain Vora, "What is it that you would like to know?"
"What is your opinion on the clone troopers after spending the last couple of hours with them?" I ask her.
"Extremely disciplined and professional," answers Captain Vora, "Very devoted and focused, but at the same time definitely human even if it took a bit to get them to loosen up. By our standards, they are a bit too eager to obey orders without question and no offense to them, but I don't trust that. Some orders need to be questioned, you know?"
"Yes, I do," I say, thinking about the order to genocide the Talz on Orto Plutonia, the whole mess with Krell on Umbara and everything to do with Order Sixty-Six, "Do you think there will be any issues working with them?"
"No so long as our orders don't clash," replies Captain Vora, "With that said, we will have issues if we get conflicting orders, I'm not sure what would happen, but I doubt it would be good. Not because the clones are bad people, but they just follow orders without thinking."
"Thank you for your assessment, Captain," I say to her as I turn to face the cave that Vyssa went into, "Now I'm going to go and catch up with my padawan."
"Of course, General," says Captain Vora before she goes to join her troops while I march into the cave with its glistening ice formations.
Reaching out with the Force, I follow Vyssa's presence in my search for her. It isn't a perfect solution as knowing what direction she is in doesn't tell me how to find my way through the tunnels within the cave, but I do know where she is. It takes me a couple of minutes to find her and when I do find her, Vyssa is standing in the middle of a small cavern, clutching something in her hand.
"Vyssa?" I call and she startles, jolted out of her thoughts.
"Oh, Master," replies Vyssa, "I found a crystal."
"Congratulations," I tell her, giving her a smile even though she can't see it under my helmet, "And did anything else happen? You seemed out of it when I found you."
"Oh, I just got some wisdom and advice from a Force Ghost," replies Vyssa before hesitating, "Do you know about those?"
"I am aware of what a Force Ghost is even if I have no idea on how the technique works," I tell her, "Want to share what happened?"
"Actually Master, I would like to keep it to myself if you don't mind," replies Vyssa and I resist the urge to frown.
"Of course," I say despite my curiosity as this is about my padawan and not myself, "The advice was given to you and not me. Now let's head back to the ship so we can get going."
It ends up taking my reinforcements another half an hour to arrive. The Freedom shows up with half a dozen DP20s and a trio of Thrantas and that is more than enough to handle the remaining Separatist forces. It also answers the question of what to do with the garrison's gunships as there isn't enough room around the Acclamator for them.
Strictly speaking, there isn't enough room aboard the Freedom and the Thrantas, but all of my legion's Z-95 Headhunters have been modified to be hyperspace capable. By launching my starfighter squadrons and having them travel using their own hyperdrives, I am able to make room for the LAAT/i gunships and the surviving V-19 Torrents.
And the presence of the latter is why I called Skywalker over to the Freedom.
"General Skywalker," I greet him as he hops out of his own starfighter.
"General Shan," replies Skywalker before pausing, "And you can call me Anakin. We have been through enough together for that."
Debatable. I rescued him from Geonosis, I didn't sell him out on Coruscant and we just fought together on Rhen Var. I personally wouldn't consider that to be enough, but on the other hand, Skywalker does and I do want to get closer to him.
"In that case, you can call me Ben," I tell him in return, "To get down to business, I was wondering if you could help my engineers with something. I've heard that you are a good mechanic."
"I am an excellent mechanic," declares Sky-no, Anakin, "What do you need help with?"
"I'm looking into the feasibility of installing deflector shielding into a V-19 Torrent starfighter," I tell him, "Things would have gone much better on Rhen Var if the V-19s did have a shield generator. Less starfighters would have been lost or damaged and less clones would have died. And having more intact starfighters would have shifted the odds more in our favour. I have some old light shield generators that we took out of our Z-95 Headhunters onboard and I'm already having my engineers attempt to install them into the V-19 Torrents we have aboard."
"And you want me to help them," concludes Sky-Anakin.
"I would like that if you don't mind," I confirm.
"Hey, I'm always up for a challenge," says my fellow Jedi as he clamps a hand on my shoulder, "Especially if it helps with the war and keeps more people alive. Just show me the way."
This is the end of the Rhen Var arc. It ended up being rather different to how I originally planned it as before I started writing it, I had Ben fighting Dooku at the Citadel while clones and droids fought around them (hence the arc title). Instead Ben ends up shooting down Munificent-class Frigates and the Republic forces end up withdrawing before any major engagements took place.
I was also originally planning for only Ben to find a lightsaber crystal, but I ended up feeling sorry for Vyssa so I wrote about her finding a crystal of her own. Beyond that, Ben is going to be looking into getting some shielding for the V-19 Torrents. It would be a major upgrade for the starfighter, not that expensive and if you can refit them with a hyperdrive, you can refit them with deflector shielding instead.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Jul 19, 2021
Interlude - The Corellian Commodore
Wol Thak is no fool. He has served with Ben Shan since the 1st Republic Patriot Legion was founded. He might not understand all of that Force business with his friend, but he does know that whatever he saw in the vision on C-Foroon has left the Jedi shaken.
The fact it was bad enough to hospitalise Ben would be concerning on its own, but whatever Ben saw has left him uncharacteristically spooked ever since. And Wol can believe in whatever Ben thinks about his vision because given how Geonosis went down as Ben predicted, there has to be some accuracy to that vision. Especially since that Telos business ended up with another vision being right on the mark.
And you don't need to be a Jedi with visions of the future to see the warning signs. He knows that things are getting bad in the heart of the Republic as things are going beyond the usual levels of corruption. Not that corruption should be acceptable at all, but Wol is smart enough to recognise when things are going from bad to worse.
A slave army, conscripting the Jedi Order into being generals for said slave army, emergency powers for the Supreme Chancellor, unchecked powers for the military police on the capital, that humancentric propaganda group that is a proxy for the Supreme Chancellor and one of the Supreme Chancellor's lackeys being put in charge of both major government intelligence agencies.
Wol always thought that Garm had the right of Palpatine and the events of the last couple weeks have made the Corellian more certain than ever of that. The man is a rotten apple and he is amassing too much power to himself in a way that is unhealthy for the Republic that he is supposed to serve.
Wol isn't the only one. Ben sees it. Nelaria sees it. Little Vyssa sees it. Garm sees it. Even Loren has noticed things are off. Not that Ben has been taking it lying down as the Jedi Knight is too devoted to the Republic and doing the right thing to just let Palpatine go about uncontested. That militarist coalition he has been building with Senator Bu, expanding the legion into legions and bringing Rendili into their corner alongside keeping Corellia and Mon Cala in it. He is even supporting Nelaria as she goes about trying to build a propaganda network to act as a counterbalance to COMPOR and Ben is almost certainly looking into his own intelligence network so he isn't reliant on Director Isard.
None of that stands out to Wol. He would expect that of Ben and he firmly stands behind his friend in those endeavours. No, the usual part is when Ben started doing all of that, having made his first moves back at Geonosis rather than after they got to Coruscant. Keeping the Jedi alive, prioritising force preservation over tactical victory and taking those captured Lucrehulks, Wol knew Ben was up to something back then. And while he has figured it out himself after some time on Coruscant, Wol also knows that Ben had no way to know what was going on back then. Apart from the Force vision which knocked him out and has left him spooked about something since.
Yet in the end, it doesn't really matter. Palpatine is a rotten core at the heart of the Republic and needs to be opposed. Corruption needs to be pushed back with justice and the war needs to be won without losing what the Republic stands for in the process. Ben can handle his Jedi business and Wol is going to help his friend by supporting him to the best of his ability.
And in this case, that means calling upon his connections to get some old faces from his time in the ORSF.
"Admiral Wol," says Senator Tashi of Rendili as Wol enters her office, "A pleasure to see you again."
"I am pleased to see you as well," replies Wol with a grin, "While as a Corellian I am obligated to support CEC, as one of the fleet commanders using them, I am very happy with the latest Hammerhead variant out of Rendili StarDrive. Reducing the crew requirement like that is a major boost to our capabilities and something that puts the warship ahead of Corellia's own Thranta-class."
"It gladdens my heart to hear that you approve of them as much as General Shan," replies Senator Tashi with a smile of her own, "Now, you mentioned you want to discuss personnel transfers with me?"
"I do," confirms Wol, "With our expansions, I've been looking for suitable officers to recruit and one of them currently works for the Rendili Home Fleet. Are you familiar with Jace Dallin?"
"Director Thalin," greets Wol as the woman appears by holonet before him.
"Admiral Thak," replies the executive of Corellian Engineering Corporation, "Congratulations on the promotion, Wol."
"Thanks Arvass, but it isn't much of one in truth," admits Wol with a shrug, "The only thing that has changed is my external status. My job has remained the same as before, but with all of these new Republic Navy admirals, General Shan agreed that a change from commodore to admiral is in order so some people don't get the idea that they outrank me."
"Speaking of General Shan, how is he doing?" inquires Arvass.
"He left to go to Rhen Var on Jedi business," answers Wol, "I just sent some reinforcements to back up because he sent a message back that a Separatist fleet has shown up there."
"I would ask if he is in any trouble, but the general has proven competent enough that I suspect I know the answer to that," says Arvass with a smirk.
"Oh, I am sure I know as well," agrees Wol, "Now this is nice and all, but I doubt you contacted me for a social call."
"No, I did not," admits Arvass, "I've got an update on the Liberator-class Starfighters."
Now that is definitely interesting. Those new-old starfighters are going to be important to the expanded Republic Patriot Legions and the sooner they enter the production, the better. With the war going on, they are going to need them sooner rather than later even if they got Z-95s and Aureks to fill out the hangar bays in the meantime..
"Oh?" inquires Wol as he straightens up at Arvass' words.
"Things are looking good," says Arvass, "We have the basic design sorted out and have started to get production lines for the fuselage and wings up and running. Our eggheads are mostly sorting out the internals now and it is those that I want to discuss with you."
"Of course," replies Wol.
"Let's start with the weapons," says Arvass as she pulls out a datapad, "We've kept the heavy lasers as they are though we used modern models instead of trying to replicate the ancient ones. The concussion missiles have been replaced with proton torpedoes with the starfighter keeping two tubes each with three projectiles. It is a bit more expensive, but the designers figured it would fit better with your desire for some anti-warship capabilities. Heavy lasers for enemy starfighters and proton torpedoes for anything heavier. Any comments?"
"Only that it suits what I want from the bird," says Wol, "And it means we won't have to change our current doctrine either."
"I'm glad to hear that," says Arvass, "Next up is defensive capabilities. We figured out how to put in the light deflector shielding and we got the armour plating sorted when we got a handle on the general design. That said, the Liberator-class has a lot of room for improvements and while we will release a more upgradable and cheaper base model later, I've ordered the first production model to be adapted to your needs off of the factory line. To the end, we've installed the heaviest deflector shields that we can and upped the armour plating a touch for maximum survival ability."
"That sounds like what we would do ourselves," agrees Wol, "Well, the shielding bit. Mucking about with the armour plates tends to be too expensive and time-consuming to be worth the effort. Thanks Arvass, I appreciate it."
"You're the customer," replies Arvass dismissively, "Now the rest of it. We used some of our modern engines in place of whatever the original design used. Its size means it won't be one of the fastest starfighters around, but it will be one of the fastest for its size. The craft itself is very agile with high maneuverability compared to the other starfighters out there. It doesn't need them, but we are putting in more high-end maneuvering jets to put the Liberator-class at pretty much top tier in terms of agility."
"I approve of that," says Wol, "The legion runs on quality starfighters instead of cheap ones we have to replace along with the pilot after a couple of battles."
"And that is what you will get," declares Arvass, "The Liberator-class Starfighter won't be the toughest or the fastest or the cheapest or the most agile or even have the most firepower, but it will be one of the most versatile starfighters out there. A proud new design for Corellian Engineering Corporation."
"You know that you just modernised an ancient design right?" retorts Wol with a roll of his eyes, "You didn't invent anything, Arvass."
"The original design was made by Corellians," counters Arvass with a fake sniff of distain, "Back to business, the price isn't that bad. The base design would be about a hundred and fifty thousand credits and our upgrades would add about fifteen thousand to the cost. With your general's discount, I'm thinking we call it about a hundred and fifteen thousand per a starfighter."
"Sounds like a fair number and an easy one for logistics to count," agrees Wol, "How soon can you begin delivering them to us?"
"Production should have begun by the end of the month," answers Arvass, "Starfighters don't take that much time to construct and apart from the hull, we already got all of the parts that we will be using. We can produce several per day and after that, it is just a matter of getting them to your forces in a timely manner. It would probably be best if we put them in a secure warehouse and you send a ship or two to pick them up."
"Sounds agreeable for the time being," replies Wol, "Anything else before I go?"
"A few questions," says Arvass, "What are the odds we can get the Republic military to begin purchasing them for their own forces."
"If they are smart, it should be pretty easy," answers Wol after a moment's thought, "But I've spoken with a few members of the new Republic High Command and there is a lot of politics and favourtrading caught up in there. Kuat Drive Yards is a big favourite right now and Kuat won't let go of that position without a fight. They'll try to muscle anyone else out, but they can't do everything yet."
"The Republic has been coming to us for our escort warships," notes Arvass as she pulls up another report on her datapad, "DP20 Frigates, CR90 Corvettes and a refit program for all of their Consular-class Cruisers. Priority for all of it."
"Will that cause any issue for our orders?" asks Wol, feeling slightly concerned that the Republic will delay their new warships as they crash start their new military.
"No, I've made sure of that," Arvass assures him, "A few dozen DP20s won't be missed by the Republic Navy in the long run and between our prior agreements and you being part of the war effort, they won't complain. Not with your new fame from Geonosis."
"Good," grunts Wol, satisfied that Ben's expansions won't be interrupted.
"In any case, I'm sure you could get some more warships from Rendili if you really needed some in a hurry," comments Arvass as she peers at Wol, "Rendili StarDrive seems to be a new favourite of your general."
"He wants to keep them in the Republic and in his camp," answers Wol with a shrug, "Giving them business works for that and they do produce some solid warship designs."
"I've heard that they are going back to extensive automation on their warships," says Arvass as she gives Wol an expectant look.
"General Shan considers it a good way to handle our need for low crew requirements," says Wol, "I can't say that I disagree. Katana-style Dreadnoughts makes them affordable for us and by cutting down the crew requirements for the Hammerhead-class Cruiser by two thirds, they tripled how many we can afford to buy from them. If you want to keep your Thrantas competitive, you'll need to match that."
"I'll mention to my eggheads," says Arvass, "Are things on Coruscant as bad as Garm says or are he and Shyla overestimating the severity of the situation?"
"I would say that Garm is a pretty good judge of the situation," says Wol neutrally, "Is this call secure on your end?"
"As much as I can make," replies Arvass, "You?"
"The same," answers Wol, "Palpatine is a rotten core at the heart of the Republic and what he is up to isn't healthy for it. I wouldn't have said this before, but I think Garm had the right of him before and the good Chancellor has been playing the long game. All of my Jedi have just decided to work against him and we've been treating him as an enemy to oppose rather than an ally to work with. He is not a friend of Corellia or the Republic and Corellia should not be Palpatine's friend."
"A shame that Shyla is retiring then," comments Arvass.
"Is Dupas still on track to replace her and how likely he is to work with Palpatine?" asks Wol.
"Provided nothing changes, he is going to be the next Diktat and he is all too likely to bend knee to Palpatine if he benefits from it," answers Arvass with a glint in her eyes, "But I am the Executive Director of Corellian Engineering Corporation and I have some weight to throw about. Get Garm to back me and I can get someone more acceptable to be the next Diktat."
"Make sure it is someone who is willing to make an open stand against tyranny and evil," states Wol bluntly to make sure that Arvass understands the stakes when she is picking out the next Diktat, "Ben has been trying to be secret about it, but I know him too well and so when he is preparing for rebellion, that stakes are too high to risk business as usual."
"Rebellion?" repeats Arvass, both looking and sounding startled, "Are things truly that bad?"
"Something about that vision he got has left Ben spooked ever since," says Wol, "I don't know about the Force myself, but I trust Ben and whatever he saw in that very accurate vision of his has left him rattled. Combined with all of the corruption and power being amassed here on Coruscant by Palpatine, I think the corruption of the Republic is going to come to a head. Garm, you, I and the others are all patriots of both the Corellia and the Republic and now that patriotism means making sure that Corellia is willing to fight for what the Republic is supposed to stand for instead of giving into the corruption that blights it."
"Nice speech," snarks Arvass before sighing, "But I get your point. I trust you, I trust Garm and General Shan has proven himself more than once. I will make sure that Corellia and the next Diktat will stand behind us."
"Thanks Arvass," says Wol, "The Republic needs people like us."
And so does Ben, Wol thinks to himself.
Here is some insight into Ben's main space commander. For those wondering, Wol is a well-connected Corellian who served with the Republic Outland Regions Security Force prior to the disastrous Stark Hyperspace War. He is also one of Ben's oldest friends and knows him quite well.
This interlude is to partially flesh out one of the background characters a bit and provide a viewpoint that isn't Ben's. It also covers some of the background stuff like politics and the new starfighters while also showing that Ben isn't the only one who is up to things.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Jul 20, 2021
6.1 (Past Legacies) - Chapter Twenty-Seven
"I sincerely hope your trip was worth it," says Aria primly as I step off of the shuttle as it lands at the Senate Dome.
As expected Aria is not happy even if she refuses to show it. With her arms crossed, the look she gives me isn't one of annoyance, but one of stern disapproval. Like a teacher rebuking a student who has made a major and avoidable mistake. Her padawan Siaran stands behind her, both looking and feeling uncertain about what is going on.
"It was," I answer, ignoring Aria's look, "We denied the location of an ancient Sith superweapon to Dooku, we successfully evacuated everyone, the Separatist lost a couple of capital ships and several squadrons of starfighters and I found a lightsaber crystal."
"You still should have told me," says Aria after a moment, "I did not enjoy waking up to find you had gone gallivanting off to halfway across the galaxy."
"I left you a message," I point out and her frown only deepens, "Look Aria, I didn't want to wake you because you needed the sleep and the Force didn't leave me with much leeway when it came to the timeframe. It worked out for the best and we foiled a Separatist scheme and dealt them a greater blow than they dealt us."
"You still should have told me," repeats Aria and I leave it at that since this argument is going to go nowhere.
"Anything I should be aware of in my absence?" I inquire.
"Are you aware that CEC has finalised the design of the modernised Liberator-class Starfighter?" asks Aria and I nod.
"Wol messaged me about that and recruiting Jace Dallin to be the commander for your space forces," I reply before deciding to clarify, "That is to be the admiral of the 2nd Republic Patriot Legion's fleet."
"Those are the main two highlights," says Aria, "I've got a formal and detailed agreement with Senator Burtoni to send some of our armourers to assist them in designing an updated set of clone trooper armour. While it proved harder than it should have been, I have enlisted the aid of my master in creating our own propaganda group. I haven't made much progress yet, but I should have something up and running by the end of the month."
"I'm glad to hear your side of things is going smoothly," I tell her, "I've got another project started."
"I would like to remind you that we are running low on spare funds," says Aria as she purses her lips, "Paying for this new project will require taking away from the budget already assigned to other things unless you got a secret stash of Corusca Gems lying about."
"I do not, but this project doesn't require any additional funding to it," I say and Aria quirks an eyebrow at me so I elaborate, "After witnessing them in action against Separatist vultures at Rhen Var, I decided to look into the plausibility of installing some deflector shielding into a V-19 Torrent Starfighter. The surviving ones at Rhen Var had to evacuate in the Freedom's hangars and we still had some old shield generators leftover from modifying the Z-95 Headhunters so I enlisted Knight Skywalker's aid and decided to give it a shot."
"How did it go?" inquires Aria.
"It went smoothly and successfully," I answer, "The V-19 has some spare internal space and unused power and while it isn't enough for a heavy deflector shield like we use in our starfighters, a V-19 can support a light deflector shield. It can even support a regular one if you want to push things. I have proven it works and I have evidence that it would be effective, but I still need to convince Republic High Command of those things."
"Do you expect difficulty doing so?" asks Aria and I shrug.
"Possibly," I reply, "From a purely military perspective, doing so is superior to not doing so as it majorly increases the survivability of the starfighter at minimal cost. From a financial perspective, it just needs to save one out of thirty V-19 Torrents to be cost effective and I can assure you it will do far more than that."
"Then what would be the issue?" asks Aria as she frowns slightly.
"Politics," I state, "Maybe someone wants to have cheap and replaceable starfighters as the Republic doctrine and considers paying deflector shielding to get in the way of that. Maybe they don't want to listen to a Jedi or perhaps they won't want to do it because of personal interests. Corruption runs too deep in the Republic these days for me to trust Republic High Command to actually be doing their jobs."
"I would hope that a newly founded institution of that importance would be free of it, but I understand your concern," says Aria.
"Why?" suddenly cuts in Siaran, Aria's new padawan, "Why do you think that it being new would make it better than the rest of the Republic?"
I shoot Aria a look as she turns a disapproving look on her padawan.
"Padawan Vareta has concerns that the Republic may be too corrupt to be worth defending," says Aria as she stares down at her padawan, "Part of the reason I was directed to him was in the hopes that I might be able to help him with it.
Directed to him. That is something I'll need to follow up on, but perhaps not right now.
"While the Republic is undoubtedly corrupt, the solution isn't to tear it down and replace it with something more corrupt," I tell him, "At its core, the Republic is made to stand for freedom, democracy and diversity and its ideals are a net good to the galaxy. Corruption is an issue, but the solution isn't worse corruption, which is what the Confederacy of Independent Systems represents."
"I thought that the Separatists were doing their thing to get rid of corruption," says Siaran with a frown, "Isn't that the whole point of their movement?"
"It is what they officially claim," I reply, "Personally, I care less about their words and more about their actions. And those actions are handing all power over to a Sith Lord and a bunch of immoral megacorporations whose objection isn't the corruption within the Republic, but the Republic not being corrupt enough to let them get away with things like the Invasion of Naboo."
"But if all of these people want less corruption, then why would they be supporting all that?" asks Siaran.
"A mixture of ignorance, wilful ignorance, self-delusion and selfishness," I answer without hesitation as I have had some time to think this over in the last week, "Ignorance because they don't realise how bad the Confederacy really this and they actually believe the lies that they are being told. Wilful ignorance because they know something is wrong, but for whatever reason, they don't want to believe it so they just convince themselves that things are fine.
"Self-delusion is like wilful ignorance except they genuinely believe that they are doing the right thing and just refuse to accept evidence otherwise or convince themselves that it is somehow justified. Selfishness is that they don't care about how others are suffering so long as they and their own are okay.
"Regardless of whatever it was originally meant to be and point it might have had, the Separatist cause has been hijacked by the Sith and the megacorps. There is no justice or freedom to be found within it any more, just unchecked tyranny and saying otherwise is either ignorance of the facts or just outright denying them."
"I see," says Siaran, "I thank you for your wisdom, Master Shan."
"That was knowledge not wisdom," I reply, "I just imparted facts that you were previously unaware of."
"Nonetheless, it was informative," says Siaran.
"I am also grateful for your help," says Aria, "Do you have any plans for today?"
"Right now, I've got another couple meetings lined up for getting some new recruits for our new ships," I tell her, "Beyond that, I am going to be looking at who I need to speak with about the V-19s and getting a meeting with them as soon as possible.
Republic High Command is currently a mess as they are still trying to get their act together despite having to hit the ground running as a result of the ongoing war. Unlike the Separatists, the Republic didn't get any forewarning about this war and it is still trying to throw together a military even though the war has already begun in earnest.
They haven't even got a formal headquarters yet, resulting in Republic High Command operating from a dozen or so different places on Coruscant. That will change when the new Republic Center for Military Operations finishes construction, but for now Republic High Command has to work with what they can get their hands on.
Fortunately, the staff structure of Republic High Command is in better shape and after a briefing, I know who I need to go and in which order. First I need to go to the Chief of the Republic Starfighter Corps and if she turns me down, then I will go to the Vice Chief of the Republic Navy. Following her is the Chief of the Republic Navy then next above him is the Vice Chief of the Defence Staff and finally I would have to go to Chief of the Defence Staff. Chief of the Defence Staff General Maximus Augdona is the highest ranking officer in Republic High Command.
As for who was above Republic High Command, things got murky. In theory, Republic High Command could answer to either the Jedi High Council, the Galactic Senate, the Supreme Chancellor or the Supreme Commander though that last title doesn't currently exist. It is another one of those things that needs to be sorted out and knowing what I know, I doubt Republic High Command will end up answering to anyone, but Palpatine.
In any case, I just had to contact Admiral Calloway and the Chief of the Republic Starfighter Corps was more than happy to meet 'the Guardian of the Republic' on the same day. They've been calling me that since Geonosis, but it is still going to take some time to get used to that. In the meantime, I have the opportunity to read up on the admiral.
Admiral Ellalai Calloway is a native of the world of Commenor in her mid forties and born to a local old guard family with plenty of prestige and wealth on Commenor. Signing up for the local naval academy at sixteen, she graduated at nineteen as an junior officer of the Commenor Planetary Defence Force. She spent the next two and half decades rising through the ranks until taking a position with the newly formed Republic military about a week ago.
High grades, no demerits and while she is noted for taking decisive and bold action, Admiral Calloway isn't reckless either. She has a solid career with no obvious red flags and a reasonable personality, but that doesn't necessarily mean that is actually the case. With how things are these days, certain things that might have made Admiral Calloway look bad may have been left out for various reasons.
In any case, I intend to meet the admiral for myself before I make a judgement on her. Reaching the Judicial Forces office that Admiral Calloway is currently using on a temporary basis, I am quickly welcomed in.
"General Shan," says Admiral Calloway as she spots me, giving me a feel that seems genuine given the sense of interest and respect I can feel coming from her, "It is an honour to have someone of your fame come to visit me. What can I do for you?"
"I was hoping to offer my expertise to help the Republic military, Admiral Calloway," I tell her as I hold out a datapad with the collected evidence to her, "While helping defend Rhen Var from the Separatists, I noticed a major improvement that the Republic could make as a result of my experience."
"Do tell, General Shan," replies Admiral Calloway as the woman takes the datapad from, "I am quite eager to hear whatever expert advice you have to offer."
"The details such as records and proof are on the datapad for you to browse at your leisure, but the gist is that I figured out how to improve the V-19 Torrent starfighters by installing deflector shielding," I say, "I notice that on Rhen Var while durable, the V-19s were taking crippling or otherwise severely damaging hits that they should have survive unharmed if they had shielding to absorb the blows. Because of damage sustained in the first engagement, there were two starfighters which were unable to participate in the second engagement when even a light deflector shield would have kept them undamaged.
"Following the evacuation, I took the opportunity to install some spare starfighter deflector shield generators into the surviving V-19s. As you can see, they have more than enough spare space and power to support a light deflector shield or even a medium version. Admittedly, they are unable to support the heavy deflector shields that my own forces favour, but just some deflector shielding is superior to having none. Furthermore, it is a very cost-effective measure as it only increases the V-19's cost by another percent or two depending on how strong the deflector shielding is."
"So not only did you identify a potential line of improvement using your prior experience, but you have good some solid evidence on how the measure can be affordably implemented," says Admiral Calloway as she begins to look over the datapad, "Would you mind if I took some time to look through the information you have provided me?"
"Not at all provided it doesn't take you too long," I tell her, "I can afford to wait for a bit, but I am too busy to wait around for hours."
"Aren't we all?" says Admiral Calloway as she gives me a sympathetic smile.
In the end, it only takes a few minutes for her to look through it given that there isn't that much to go through. Despite having some evidence, I don't actually have all that much of it with only a single battle to go off of and while that could work against me, in this case it allows for Admiral Calloway to go through it all in a timely manner.
"Well, the evidence here certainly backs your assessment, General Shan, and I am inclined to agree with it based on this," finally says Admiral Calloway as she puts the datapad down, "I believe that this is in line with the doctrine you have adopted, correct?"
"Capable quality starfighters with skilled pilots," I confirm, "Starfighters with staying power both win fights and don't need to be replaced as often. They also allow for their pilots to gain skill and a skilled pilot is a significant force multiplier. It is also cheaper to not have to constantly be replacing most of my starfighters and their pilots after every battle."
"That does seem to be some sound reasoning and your successes indicate that there is some merit to it," replies Admiral Calloway, "Your view seems to be contrary to established doctrine, but then again, established doctrine has proven to be less than effective over the last decade."
"Times have changed," I say, "When swarms of cheap light starfighters clash against quality starfighters with skilled pilots, the latter have repeatedly emerged victorious. The engagements around Naboo proved this, Geonosis proved this, Indren proved this and now Rhen Var has also proved this. By investing in my pilots and starfighters, I have repeatedly defeated swarms of cheaper expandable starfighters, both winning the battle and inflicting greater losses."
"And you believe that is the way forward?" inquires Admiral Calloway.
"I do and frankly, the Republic has already committed to it by using clone pilots," I tell her, "Clone pilots are well-trained and skilled pilots who take a long time to train and compared to the droids they fight against, are few in number. We already have good, but expensive pilots and now we just need to make sure we give them birds to match."
"And what would be your response to those that advocate for using the Republic's manpower and industrial advantages to make use of low cost and easily replaceable starfighters to overwhelm the enemy?" asks Admiral Calloway.
"Two things," I answer, "First is that the Separatists are already doing that, but better. Their droid starfighters are cheaper, quick to produce and can be casually thrown away in battle. We cannot match that. Our starfighters are going to cost more and our pilots are nowhere near as cheap or replaceable. Even if we were using conscripts, we would still need to train them and we would quickly run into morale problems once our recruits caught onto how they would be used as cannon fodder.
"Second, starfighters might be able to be cheap and expendable, but the individual flying them won't be. Clone pilots aren't easily replaced and regular pilots take time to train and money to pay them. You would need to use droids to get around this, which is why I suspect the megacorps have chosen to favour droid starfighters over organic pilots."
"Sound reasoning once again," says Admiral Calloway, "I assume that this all comes from experience?"
"Indeed," I answer, "Not only do I have to lead my forces into battle, but I am also in charge of the budget. I have to balance tactical concerns against financial ones and I found that if you have to regularly engage in combat, the costs of relying upon cheap and expendable starfighters quickly add up. A good starfighter may cost more, but in the long run, not having to replace your equipment and pilots after every fight actually saves you money and getting more experienced pilots makes future battles easier."
"Your starfighter doctrine has proven itself and has proven effective against the Separatists so far," notes Admiral Calloway, "And you have more practical experience than most others along with the evidence that indicates you are correct. Do you think the Republic Patriot Legion's starfighter doctrine could serve as the starfighter doctrine of the Republic Navy?"
"Given you are relying upon clone pilots, I think it has to," I reply, "Not perfectly as some of what we do is due to circumstances that apply to us, but not the Republic military. For example, we customise and upgrade our starfighters to get the most out of them, but we can only afford so many pilots and starfighters due to our limited budget so it is more cost effective to upgrade our starfighters where we can. The Republic Navy has enough funding that it can just purchase more starfighters and train up some pilots for them."
"That is quite helpful," says Admiral Calloway, "Thank you, General Shan. Your expertise is most appreciated and I am sure that the Republic will benefit from the wisdom that you and your troops have already acquired the hard way."
Ben returns to Coruscant (for now) and continues with his business. He catches up with Aria, talks with her padawan before attempting to influence Republic starfighter doctrine to something which gets less people killed and more battles won.
By the way, Republic High Command is mostly made up by myself for this story since canon is sparse on details. We know it existed as the top office of the Republic military, that it was led by a Chief of Defence Staff and that it operated out of the Republic Center for Military Operations. However, it is going to be more relevant in this story than it was in canon so I'm having to flesh out the details.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Jul 25, 2021
6.2 (Past Legacies) - Chapter Twenty-Eight
Unless you got a secret stash of Corusca Gems lying about.
Those words stick with me as I return to the Freedom after finishing my political business for the day.
Aria is right. The Republic Patriot Legions are running low on spare funds and while I haven't misspent any of it, I do need to look into additional sources of credits. I can't keep relying upon my senatorial backers to provide me with credits, not when the Senate is Sidious' playground.
But Aria's specific words are sticking with me and the bit about Corusca gems seems to be the important part of it. As a result, I decide to look up what is known about Corusca gems upon returning to the Freedom. After about ten minutes of searching through old records on my terminal, I do believe that I have found the information that I am looking for.
Corusca gems are mostly valued for their appearance as they are said to have great beauty and are often used in jewellery. However, they also have industrial uses as between their sharpness and nigh indestructibility they can cut through pretty much anything with great precision.
Despite their near unbeatable toughness, Corusca gems have some natural weaknesses called shatterpoints. A single blow to a shatter point of a Corusca gem can break it apart and it sounds similar enough to the Force technique that I wonder which one was named after the other.
Corusca gems are worth a great deal of credits and are especially rare these days. Created in the atmospheres of a handful of gas giants across the galaxy, Corusca gems are hard to get, especially since the location of the most common place to find them was lost during the New Sith Wars. And that place was the gas giant Yavin Prime.
Yavin. That is one major place. It was where Exar Kun was defeated and-ah Force, that guy's ghost might still be haunting Yavin 4 and someone ought to do something about that. And someone probably means me. Rejecting him and his dark side ways should work along with using Force Light. Force Light is what they used to defeat him four thousand years ago and according to my otherworldly memories, it is what several Jedi apprentices used to defeat him in the future.
I can do that. I just need to learn how to use Force Light and that is a pretty simple thing for a Jedi to learn. I just need to find the right teacher and I already have one at hand. I can speak with the Gatekeeper Surik in a bit about learning Force Light.
The Yavin system also contains other valuable things. Two of its moons have primitive sapient species on them and while Yavin Station has been gone for thousands of years, I do remember some of its treasures being scattered across the moons of Yavin and not collected until about a couple decades into the future. There may be other stuff, but my otherworldly memories aren't all that helpful. Too much stuff happened at Yavin for it all to be true and it will take a personal visit to sort out fact from fiction.
Of course, I would need to find a way to reach the Yavin system first, but I have something in mind for that. Meetra Surik came from the era following Yavin's major historical events and I would be surprised if knowledge of Yavin's location isn't included in her holocron.
Heading towards the spot where I hide my prized holocron, I swiftly get it out and ready to use. Reaching out with the Force, I open it up and the holographic image of Meetra Surik appears before me.
"General Shan," says the gatekeeper.
"Master Surik," I reply, "There are two things I wish to ask you. The first is that I would like you to teach me how to use Force Light. The second is that I wish to know the location of the Yavin system. Knowledge of how to reach it has been lost to time and I was hoping coordinates for it might be included in your holocron."
"I can easily provide the coordinates," says the gatekeeper and a set of holographic coordinates appear before me, which I can look at later using the recording from my helmet, "As for Force Light, it is a simple technique that any lightsider is capable of using. Given your previous progress in my lessons, it should be simple enough for you to learn. It is a simple matter of learning how to handle the Light Side of the Force through yourself."
As midnight approaches, I have acquired a basic handle on Force Light and there is little more that I can learn from the holocron. What comes next is practicing it on my own to get more experience and familiarity with the technique. So with that task handled, I turn to my other task of finding a hyperspace route to the Yavin system.
Astrogation is something that all Jedi are taught and while I am not one of the best at it, it is a skill that I have some degree of competence in. Given that I have the coordinates to where I am going, I just need to find a safe path to it, preferably from a discreet location that can't be easily tracked. Fortunately, while the exact coordinates of Yavin have been lost, a lot of the local navigational data remains and I am quickly able to call it up on my navicomputer.
After that, figuring out a safe route is just a matter of time as I figure out a few safe paths to the Yavin system. There isn't just one path as I need to figure out each route from every starting destination. I start with Mon Cala before moving on to Corellia and Bothawui as my oldest bastions of support and the ones least likely to be subverted by Sidious. But those places are quite far away from Yavin and the journeys are long so I look at a couple of other locations as well.
Mandalore is the place that comes to mind, but I don't have allies amongst the New Mandalorians and I dislike how corrupt they are according to my otherworldly memories. Instead I pick the world of Ordo as while it isn't much of a world, I have some friends there and it is also in the Mandalore sector. I also look at some possible routes from Concord Dawn as another unaligned world in the Mandalore sector and it is just as I am finishing that set of calculations when I receive a very unexpected visitor.
Sensing a presence suddenly behind me, I spin around, not sure what to expect given this is my secure quarters in my flagship. Especially since the presence is unmistakably brimming with the Light Side of the Force.
As I lay eyes upon the intruder, I instantly recognise her and for a moment, I think it is the gatekeeper from the holocron. But then I realise that this blue and translucent Meetra Surik lacks the telltale ripple of a hologram.
"Hello, Knight Ben Shan," says the Force ghost of Meetra Surik.
"Master Surik," I reply respectfully, bowing to the revered Jedi Master.
"Go to Dantooine first," commands Master Surik, "Investigate the ruins and then the caves. Only then go to Yavin, where you should investigate its station before going to confront the ghost of the Dark Lord."
And with a warm and welcoming smile, she vanishes, leaving me alone in my quarters once again.
Those were instructions and they are instructions I am going to listen to. I trust Meetra Surik, one of the Jedi Order's greatest, and frankly, I trust her more than I do any of those currently leading the Order. Even Master Yoda as for all I respect him, he is still going along with the slave army that is the clone troopers and even if I like him as an individual, I can't trust him to deal with Darth Sidious and to prevent the fall of the Republic. He failed to do it in the other timelines and I see no reason why that would change in this current timeline.
As for the instructions themselves, they are pretty clear or at least they are to meet with my otherworldly knowledge. The ruins have to be the old Jedi Enclave on Dantooine and the cave must be the nearby crystal cave where Jedi once got lightsaber crystals from thousands of years ago. With the Yavin parts, the ghost of the Dark Lord must be Exar Kun and the station bit, well, that has to Yavin station with that genius Rodian S-something Tan? Tav? Regardless of the name, I remember it from two games in my otherworldly memories. The first is the holovid game with Revan, Bastila and their companions during the Second Sith War where it orbited Yavin Prime. The second is an adventure for a roleplaying game, called the Big Red One or something along those lines where it had crashed on one of the moons. Twenty-something?
I'll have to consult my holocron of memories later to refresh my knowledge. In any case, I know what I need to do.
"You want to go to Dantooine," says Aria as she, myself, Wol and Loren have an impromptu command meeting.
"It was quite clear," I tell her, "Check out the ruins of the ancient Jedi Enclave on Dantooine, then the nearby crystal cave and then I need to check out a couple of Yavin's moons."
"Isn't Yavin long lost?" asks Aria before frowning in thought, "Or do you expect to find its location at Dantooine?"
"No, he already has the coordinates," adds Wol, "I can't be certain until we actually send a ship there, but the coordinates Ben got in his vision are in the right region. Given his past record with vision, I am going to assume that they correct coordinates until proven otherwise. Ben has my support."
"This is Jedi business," says Loren, "And I trust Ben when it comes to the Force. So long as this doesn't take too long and doesn't interfere with our war buildup, I am backing Ben in this matter."
"This isn't the first vision you had recently and the other three have all proven important," says Aria as we look each other in the eye, "What do you plan to do?"
"I figured you and I could take the Knight I to check out Dantooine with our padawans and then we go to Yavin together once we've dropped off the kids back here," I tell her, "It should take more than a day or two."
Dantooine could be a good experience for Vyssa and Siaran, but there is no way I am bringing a pair of junior padawans to face off against Exar Kun even if he is just a ghost right now.
"That is acceptable to me," says Aria after a moment of silence before turning to Loren and Wol, "Are there any objections from either of you?
As my two friends reaffirm their support for my plan, I decide it is a good time to call the meeting, especially if I want a shot at getting things done in a single day.
"Alright then," I say, "I'm going to get the Knight I ready to go. Aria, round up the padawans. Wol, Loren, you go back to your respective duties."
"Did this vision give you any clues on what we are supposed to do on Dantooine?" asks Siaran as the Knight I heads towards the town of Khoonda.
"Check out the enclave ruins and then the crystal caves that the Jedi used to get lightsaber crystals from before everyone in the Order began to use Ilum," I answer, "For myself, that is enough to go off of."
"As it is for myself," adds Aria, "You should be thankful that this vision has that much clarity to it. Most visions are far less clear."
"I like the mystery," says Vyssa, "Uncovering the truth is more enjoyable than just having it handed to you for free."
"Anyway," I cut in as we begin to make our final approach, "We are going to land now and the enclave ruins are only a few minutes away on foot. I don't know what to expect so assume that we will ruin into hostiles. Better to prepare for the worst and hope for the best."
"What can we expect from Khoonda?" asks Siaran.
"Second largest settlement on the planet and the only place apart from the capital to have a spaceport," answers Vyssa, "And the capital is on the other side of the planet. Somewhere between ten thousand and twenty thousand people live in Khoonda and it doesn't have anything of note beyond being an urban centre on an otherwise rural farming world."
"We only plan to pass through Khoonda," I add, "Both the ruins and the cave are within walking distance of the town and it is a good spot for leaving the ship while we attend our business on Dantooine."
The trip through Khoonda proves to be quiet and uneventful as nobody tries to stop us or get in our way. The species we see the most of as we walk through the streets are humans, but at the same time, humans don't make up the majority of the people going about Khoonda. For every human, there are two or three nonhumans of varying species and not all of them I recognise.
Thanks to my otherworldly memories, part of me is expecting to run into some hostile kath hounds. But there are no hostile animals between us and the ruins and given how long we are to a major settlement, that isn't unsurprising. People don't like to live with dangerous threats nearby and tend to take care of them if they can.
When they come into view, the ruins are as I expected them to be. Part of me wonders if we'll find any ancient Jedi artefacts or relics, but the more logical part notes that the ruins have been abandoned since the Old Sith Wars and anything easily found would have already been uncovered and taken by looters.
"It looks small," says Siaran as we begin to enter the courtyard, "Way smaller than the Temple."
"That is because it is small, especially when compared to the main temple," I answer, "This is just an enclave while the temple back on Coruscant is the size of a town in its own right and is meant to hold the entirety of the Order instead of a small part of it."
"Where are we going?" asks Vyssa as we approach a half-rubble structure that I recognise as once being the courtyard's water fountain, "Left or right?"
"Left leads to the surface parts while the right leads to the underground parts," I say as I think back to the layout in the holovid games, "I was planning to look at the basement first before checking out the top parts."
"We could split up," suggests Aria, "Siaran and I go left while you and Vyssa go right. If one of us finds something, we can call or fetch the others."
"That sounds acceptable," I agree and we split up into pairs.
Getting into the lower levels is easy. There have been no locks for ages now and the biggest problem is navigating the ruins. The darkness would also be an issue, but both myself and Vyssa have helmets that let us see in the dark. The overgrown ruins are an abandoned mess and oddly empty. I wasn't expecting to find anything of value, but the total lack of unwanted wildlife is surprising. Unlike in the plains between here and Khoonda, I would be surprised to find out that they had been clearing out the ruins of hostile wildlife as well. That said, they might make regular extermination checks to keep anything nasty from settling in close proximity to the town.
And yet, I can sense something down here. A hint of something dark.
"Vyssa," I ask cautiously as I pull out my lightsabers, "Do you sense anything?"
"No, I do not, master," replies my padawan after a moment and she draws her own lightsaber, "Do you?"
"I believe I do," I answer, "I am concerned about just what it is."
"Should we get General Telis and Commander Vareta?" inquires Vyssa.
"I'll call him," I say as I attempt to call Aria via comlink, "Force, no signal. Not sure if it is on our end or their end."
"Are we going to fetch them before investigating further?" asks Vyssa and I consider it.
"No," I answer after a moment's thought, "We'll look a bit further and try to get some idea of what it is. Once we have some info or have checked out a bit more of the ruins, we can go and regroup with them."
"Yes Master," says Vyssa and we set off once again though neither of us put our lightsabers away.
We make it another three or four corridors, just before entering a wider space before my battle precognition warns me of an incoming punch. I duck and roll out of the way, igniting both of my lightsabers. The fist slams into the stone wall, leaving a crater in it from the raw strength behind the attack.
I take a good look at my unexpected attacker. The being is a hulking giant, easily four metres tall and over a metre wide. The individual wears very concealing clothing wearing robes with a shiny breastplate and an oversized helmet that covers not just the head, but the neck and most of the shoulders as well but leaves a gap over the eyes. A gap which shows only a pair of red eyes amongst the pitch black darkness. An engulfing cloak is worn around the shoulders and covers most of the body and a giant one-headed battleaxe is held in one hand.
"Who are you?" I ask the giant as Vyssa ignites the yellow blade of her lightsaber.
"Your doom, Jedi," replies the giant as he moves with inhuman speed, swinging that axe of his at me.
Cliffhanger time! Anyway, Ben is looking into things and as expected of this arc's title, he is uncovering things from the past. He also gets some advice from Meetra Surik and because of this, he has gone to Dantooine. For those wandering, the ruins have been used by the Jedi since the Old Sith Wars so at this point, everything Jedi has been cleared out and if there is anything of value, it is because of squatters who have made themselves at home since.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Jul 27, 2021
6.3 (Past Legacies) - Chapter Twenty-Nine
While my foe moves faster than any ordinary person can, he isn't the only one with inhuman speed and between my own reflexes and the Force warning me, I move out of the way in time to avoid it. I attempt to intercept his axe head with my lightsaber, but as my weapon touches his, the blue blade flicks and frizzles.
That axe is made out of cortosis and that is going to be a pain. Lightsabers don't particularly work well against cortosis given that the metal shorts them out on contact.
"Vyssa, go and get Aria!" I shout at my padawan as I realise she is about to jump into the fray.
The giant turns to look at and begins to move after her, but I don't give him the chance. While my primary blade might still be shorted out, I do have my shoto. I stab at the giant with the green blade and I force his attention back on me. He spins around and swings his axe at me again, forcing me to break off my attack.
"You are meddling in affairs beyond your understanding, little Jedi," states the giant as he hefts his weapon.
"You were the one who attacked me," I point out as my blue blade reignites as the effects of the cortosis wear off.
"And so you will die," declares the giant before leaping into motion.
He comes at me with his axe and using my battle precognition to time my movements, I roll out of the way to avoid the axe coming down on my head. Tossing one of my lightsabers aside, I grab the axe with one hand as I bring my shoto to slice off the giant's hand. Realising what I am trying to do, my opponent releases his grip on the axe. With that done, I throw the axe as far down the corridor as I can, using the Force to enhance both my grip and my throw.
Unfortunately, that moment of distraction lets the giant make a move of his own before I can react in time. He punches me in the gut, knocking the breath out of me before grabbing me by the leg. Before I can do anything, my foe throws me into the ground, leaving a small impact crater behind where I slam into the floor tiles. Grimacing in pain, I attempt to get to my feet, but the giant merely kicks me, sending me flying across the room with a thud as I crash into the wall.
Dismissing the pain, I send a burst of Force healing though my body, dealing with the worst of my injuries. Getting to my feet, I barely get a warning of the giant trying to attack me again. I duck out of the way of the fist and attempt to throw a punch of my own, but my opponent is too fast and clearly more skilled in hand to hand combat. He knees me in the gut to knock the breath out of me again and as I let out a wheeze, he grabs by the shoulders with both hands. Lifting me up off the ground, he begins to squeeze.
"I am Zeta Magnus and I am the one responsible for the downfall of the Arkanian Renegades and their Assimilators," proclaims the giant as I grunt in pain as while I am tough, my foe is stronger as my body begins to give way, "I am the one who was behind the disappearance of the Dark Fleet and I am the ruler of the Dark Worlds. And now Jedi, I shall slay you before feasting upon-"
I don't give him the chance to finish. I have a limited number of tricks to pull, but my newest ones seems to be one that will work in this situation. Channelling the Light Side of the Force within me, I unleash outwards, becoming a beacon of Light. Zeta Magnus grimaces in pain, jerking backwards as his grip slackens. That moment of slackness is all that I need as I throw up a pair of Force barriers on both sides of me before pushing away Zeta Magnus as much as possible.
The giant goes stumbling backwards, just a few steps, but enough for me to roll under his arms as I look for where my lightsabers are. I spot them, but I don't get time to do anything else as Zeta Magnus kicks me in the side. I go flying across the room again, landing in a rolling tumble.
"You don't die easily, Jedi," rumbles Zeta Magnus as the giant strides towards me.
"No, he does not," agrees Aria as she and the padawans stride into the room, all of their lightsabers drawn and ignited.
"More Jedi," sneers Zeta Magnus as he eyes the newcomers, "You can all die at my hand then."
"We aren't finished, big guy," I growl as I get to my feet, reducing my pain and injuries with the gentle flow of Force healing.
"I suppose we are not," concedes Zeta Magnus before rushing me again.
Or attempting to rush me as he finds a Force barrier between us. Reach out my hands, I summon both of my lightsabers back into my grip as Zeta Magnus shatters the Force barrier with a single punch. I charge him and the giant hesitates as I reclaimed my lightsabers while he has yet to regain his cortosis axe. I slash him across the side of his arm, but Zeta Magnus is already in motion as the giant runs towards the entrance tunnel, either to go after Aria and the padawans or to retrieve his axe from where I threw it.
He doesn't reach Aria or the others as Zeta Magnus slams into another Force barrier as Aria outholds her hand at him. He smashes this barrier like he did the last, but it is enough for me to catch up with the giant. This time, I aim for the legs as I stab one and slice the other at what I think is the location of the knee. Hissing in pain, Zeta Magnus turns around to face me.
"I will not die to the likes of you!" growls the giant as he swings as fist at me.
I jump back as Vyssa leaps into the fray with Siaran close behind her. Before I can shout a warning, my padawan has already thrown herself at Zeta Magnus as she attempts to cut him down with her lightsaber. The giant smacks her aside, catching my padawan in the chest with one of his meaty hands and sending her flying backwards Aria. Siaran pauses his own attack while I renew my assault.
He throws a fist at me, but I dodge, slashing the giant's arm as I do so. I strike at Zeta Magnus' legs again and this time, I do enough damage to drop him to his knees. He swings his other fist at me, but a Force barrier from Aria intercepts it. With no way of capturing this man and him being too dangerous to let go, I take the opportunity to go for a lethal blow. I stab at the eyes, before slashing at them, hoping to do enough damage to the head to end Zeta Magnus.
It takes several more strikes from my lightsabers, but eventually, Zeta Magnus does topple over dead and I am unable to detect any more life from him using the Force. Letting out a breath of relief, I call upon the Force to heal myself, letting it sweep through my body and heal up the various injuries I suffered fighting against Zeta Magnus. It will be enough for now though I should let a medic take a proper look at me once we get back to the legion.
Having tended to myself, I look for Vyssa as while I can sense she isn't seriously injured, I saw her take a blow in the fight. When I do see her, she is on her feet, leaning against the entryway.
"Vyssa, are you okay?" I ask her as I dart over to her side.
"Yes, Master," replies Vyssa as she rolls her shoulders, "It hurt, but nothing got broken and I used some Force healing on myself. Who was that guy?"
"That is something I would also like to know as well," says Aria as she and Siaran join us, "Do you have any idea who that being was?"
"He called himself Zeta Magnus, the Arkanian terrorist behind the disappearance of Katana Fleet," I answer, "Either way, he is dead now though I do want to know what he was up to here in the ruins of the enclave."
"As do I," says Vyssa, "We killed the guy, we might as well go and see what he was doing here."
"We should investigate this man's purpose on Dantooine and ensure it isn't dangerous to any of the locals," agrees Aria, "Any idea of where we should go?
"I say we should continue on our old path," I reply, "Zeta Magnus wanted to stop us from going further so further is where we should go."
The four of us head further into the underground ruins with Aria following the rest of us due to being the only unable to see in the dark. It isn't long before we run into a large laboratory that has been set up in the ruins, clearly what Zeta Magnus was trying to keep us from finding.
"Are these bacta tanks?" asks Siaran as he inspects one of twenty or so pods in the room, each one containing a grown figure surrounded by fluid.
"Definitely not," replies Vyssa from beside him, "They look more like cloning pods. And look at how all of these people look like the same guy."
"Zeta Magnus was a prime clone used by Arkanian Dominion during their revolution," I say, "He probably picked up a thing or two and has been using it in his own projects. We know he has some substantial knowledge of biology from how he took out Katana fleet so Zeta Magnus being a capable cloner makes sense."
"What are we going to do with them?" asks Siaran.
"It depends," I answer, "As much as I would like to help them, we need to make sure that they are in a position to be helped. They might have clone madness or be indoctrinated to oppose us. Zeta Magnus might have gone ahead with unethical experiments that have left incapable of surviving long term."
"General Shan is correct," says Aria, "We should try to help them, but we need to make sure that Zeta Magnus has left them in a condition where helping them is possible."
"I am going to call in some ships to help deal with this," I say as I look around the laboratory, "This is too much for us to carry out on our own yet alone fit in the Knight I. We will need the extra space and cargo capacity while lack of a Separatist presence means that it should be safe to bring in some of our forces. In the meantime, we can go and check out the crystal cave while we await the arrival of our ships."
Before making our way to the crystal caves, we take a trip back to Khoonda to stop by the Knight I. I call up Wol, explain the situation and leave putting a task force together and sending it out in Wol's hands. Meanwhile, we buy some local street food for lunch and discreetly ask around about the crystal cave.
It turns out that the cave is known to the locals though I get warnings to avoid it. Just as the case was four thousand years ago, the crystal cave is home to kinrath spiders and they are a threat for anyone who ventures into the cave. Not much of a threat to a band of four Jedi, but still something to be wary of lest you get sloppy.
Entering the cave is simple and while there is some darkness, the glowing crystal formations have enough brightness to them to provide enough light to see. Between the helmets of myself and Vyssa and Siaran's Force sight, only Aria needs the light, but I welcome it nonetheless on her behalf.
"What are we looking for, Master?" inquires Vyssa as she looks around.
"Presumably lightsaber crystals, but you never know," I answer, "I certainly wasn't expecting to find an Arkanian terrorist and his secret cloning lab in the enclave ruins. We should follow the path that the Force wants us to take."
This place is strong with the Force and it is clearly a Force nexus. The cave certainly isn't a Dark Side nexus despite the presence of the Kinrath and while I wouldn't go as far to call it a Light Side nexus, this place feels stronger in the Light Side of the Force than the Dark Side of the Force. In particular, there is an echo of the Light Side, like an impression left here long ago.
And it is that echo of light that I intend to follow.
It doesn't take long for us to run into our first batch of Kinrath. The spiders come charging at us, swinging their arms to strike us down and in return, we cut them down with our lightsabers. While they might have been threats to our padawans, Aria and I easily deal with the Kinrath as we easily avoid their attacks with our experience before cutting them down.
The clusters of Kinrath spiders grow in intensity as we follow our path through the cave as we both encounter larger groups and do so in greater frequency. Even if they don't feel like it, these Kinrath do seem to be guardians, a challenge of some sort that you have to pass before you can claim whatever prize lies within the crystal cave. I doubt it however as I consider it more likely that the Kinrath are drawn here by the Force and the spiders centre themselves around wherever the Force is strongest.
"How many of these spiders are there?" asks Vyssa as we finish off a group of twenty or so Kinrath.
"Not enough to stop us," I answer, "I am sure the locals will be grateful to us for lowering the numbers of the predators close to their homes."
"And we are drawing near to our destination," says Siaran, "I can sense that much."
"I believe we are getting close as well," I agree, "I suspect we shall only have one more group of Kinrath to defeat."
The tunnel has a bend to it and as we turn that corner, we can finally see the end of the cave or at least one of its ends. Calling this place a cave is a bit of a misnomer as it is more a natural tunnel network. As I predicted, there are more Kinrath ahead and there are a lot of them.
At least this is good practice for the padawans and for myself as well. I am finding that taking out the Kinrath is proving to be a good source of Form I practice.
"That should be the last of them," I declare as the last of the spiders go down, "Does anybody disagree that this is our destination?"
I look around the room, a small peninsula of stone surrounded by a shallow pond with crystal formations and Kinrath eggs. It is familiar and as I reach out with the Force, I feel one of the formations calling for me. A tall blue formation of crystal is drawing me towards it and I waddle into the shallow water of the lake to reach it.
I reach out to the crystal formation and press my palm against it. Spot where I touch it feels cold, a chill spreading through my body and mind when I make contact with it. But not an unpleasant one as it calms and cools me rather than freezing me. It is pleasant enough that I don't use my Matukai training to raise my temperature to counter the chill.
I let the Force flow out from me into the crystal formation and I feel something crack. Pulling my hand away, I close it and when I open it again, there is a small crystal in my hand. A purple one with a blue-white glow that is both full of the Force and generating the calming cold that I could feel. Can feel.
Staring at what has to be a lightsaber crystal, I put it away in my belt to keep it safe. Turning around, I look to see what the others have been doing only to find that they are already doing the same thing that I was. Siaran is inspecting a glowing-white crystal formation while Vyssa is investigating some of the other crystal formations and I am not sure if my padawan has yet to find a crystal of her own or if she is just looking for more.
Yet it is Aria who confuses me the most as the woman has ignored all of the crystal formations to inspect some broken eggs. I can't tell if they hatched or got damaged by an outside force, but I sincerely hope it is the former because the latter would mean Aria destroyed them and the Kinrath only lay fertilised eggs.
"Aria, what are you doing?" I ask her as I waddle back across the lake.
"Looking," replies Aria in a non-answer and I resist the urge to press her for more information.
Instead, I settle for just watching her and Aria continues to root about the egg shells before she apparently finds what she is looking for. At least, she plucks something out of the egg shells and stuffs it into her robes before I can see just what it is. When Aria meets my gaze for a moment before quickly looking away, I decide to see how the padawans are faring.
Looking back at them, Siaran seems to have found what he was looking for while Vyssa has moved onto more crystal formations. At this point, I'm pretty sure that Vyssa has already found a lightsaber crystal and is just looking for more amongst the other crystal formations.
"Have both of you found your crystals?" I call out, drawing the attention of both padawans.
"I have, but I already have a crystal for my lightsaber and I'm not interested in Jar'Kai," says Siaran.
"I found one for myself and some others for future use," says Vyssa, not looking at me as she continues her search.
"In that case, we are going to head back to Khoonda while we wait for our backup to arrive," I tell them as I wonder just why we have come here and for what purpose we have found these additional lightsaber crystals.
Hopefully Master Surik will explain herself or at least guide me towards my own understanding of what I am supposed to do.
Nobody guessed it, but the guy was Zeta Magnus. Not that I am surprised since he is a pretty obscure character and personally, he looks a bit pretentious from a meta-point of view. That said, I'll admit he isn't any worse than the likes of Thrawn or Daala in their initial appearances when I think about it.
I wasn't originally going to include him, but when I was figuring out this arc, I decided to look up the Jedi Enclave's status in the Clone Wars and found out he had set up a secret cloning lair in the ruins. Since Ben and co were already going to Dantooine and Zeta Magnus had already been mentioned in the story, I decided to add him into the story and here we are.
As for the last bit, lightsaber power crystals ho! Like armour and starships, I always liked to tinker about with lightsabers in KOTOR and KOTOR II to get a cool laser sword. So while power crystals aren't really a thing in the prequel era, I'm bringing them into the story because I liked using them in my playthroughs. Anyway, try to guess what Ben and Aria found. I feel I left enough details for them to be figured out without being too obvious about it.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Jul 29, 2021
6.4 (Past Legacies) - Chapter Thirty
"The most valuable loot is the cortosis axe, the cloning setup, the medical equipment and the data on the terminals," says Wol as we meet up in the Freedom, "Whether we sell it directly or smelt it down, the cortosis axe can be sold for a few hundred thousand credits though we may want to be careful that it doesn't end up in the hands of someone who will use it against the Republic."
"I certainly wouldn't want to get any Jedi killed because I let the Separatist get their hands on some cortosis," I agree, "Do we have any use for it?"
"Maybe," answers Wol thoughtfully, "You would be better off asking Loren about that because ground forces is his area of expertise and I can't think of any space-based usage for cortosis."
"I'll do that when we get back to Coruscant," I say, "What about the other stuff?"
"Medical equipment is something we can keep for ourselves," says Wol, "Pretty good stuff. Not state of the art, but definitely high quality equipment and something we have plenty of use for. The other stuff is more iffy. I'll start with the cloning tubes because that is the simpler issue of the two."
"Before we get onto that, have we gotten a handle on the clones?" I inquire.
"Fast-grown GeNode clones with flash training," says Wol, letting his distaste flow into his voice, "They have been programmed to be unaware that they are clones and have been given skills and knowledge via flash training. They don't seem to have clone madness, but frankly, we are not at all equipped to deal with this unless you want to conscript them into the legion and give them a set of armour and a blaster."
"That would be too unethical," I reply with a grimace, "Could we hand them over to someone like Alderaan?"
"That might work," replies Wol in thoughtful tones, "They are involved in enough humanitarian causes that they must have an organisation that has some idea of how to handle a case like this. And we wouldn't need to worry about how ethically these poor saps would be treated."
"We can drop them off at Alderaan on the way back then," I decide, "I doubt the Alderaanians will raise too much of a fuss. You were mentioning something about the cloning pods?"
"They are Arkanian-derived designs, but according to what we can find, they are more advanced than what the Arkanian Dominion uses," says Wol before shrugging, "Or at least what the Arkanian Dominion is publicly known to have. Those Bantha-sons might have some advanced cloning setups in secret. I certainly wouldn't put it past them."
"And what do you suggest we do with the cloning gear?" I ask, "We certainly have no use for it."
"Sell them to the Arkanian Dominion, maybe in secret," suggests Wol and I stare at him in surprise, "They are Arkanian designs so we won't be giving those mad scientists anything too new and they have a known use for them. For all twenty of these tubes, we could charge at least a hundred million credits. More if we do it discreetly and in secret."
"Why would we want to do it in secret?" I inquire as while I get selling the cloning tubes for over a hundred million credits, I don't grasp what the need for secrecy is.
"This morning the Senate started debating a decree to ban all non-Republic government cloning so nobody can do what was done with the Grand Army," explains Wol, "Arkania and others are pushing back, but at the moment, it looks like it is going to pass. I figure that Arkania might be willing to pay extra to get some secret high-end cloning equipment to use without anyone knowing."
"There are probably ethical or legal issues with doing it, but I'm inclined to agree," I say after a moment, "We can make a lot of use with that amount of money and we do need additional sources of funding, even if this one will be a one-off."
"We could almost certainly collect Zeta Magnus' bounty," says Wol, "I took a look at it on my way over and while it isn't much of one thanks to his obscurity, a couple million credits is nothing to scoff at. At least on the level that we spend at."
"Have someone look into doing that then," I say, "The credits would be useful. I know space is your thing, but I'm thinking we could get some better blasters for our ground forces. We use standard military grade blasters and I'm thinking we could get some higher quality stuff for our troopers to use."
"We can't focus entirely on upgrading our fleet," concedes Wol, "And the ground forces are as much part of the legion as the space forces. Got anything in mind?"
"I was planning to put Loren in charge of it," I answer, "He is better than either of us in that regard and he can either do it himself or delegate to a subordinate who can do it better than he can. Back on topic, you mentioned the data was iffy and complicated?"
"Our slicers haven't cracked all of the security yet, but we have got some information and it is a mixed bag," replies Wol as he frowns, "We could sell it for money, but a lot of it is immoral enough that I don't think we should."
"Do you think we should just flush it all?" I inquire.
"Possibly," says Wol, "I think you should take a look at it for yourself before making a decision either way. I think we should wait until we get it all before making a call on what to do with it. The cloning stuff is too unethical to be of use to us, but we might get some strategic or tactical information out of it."
"That sounds good for me," I say, "We should discuss what we are going to do next."
"Or what you are going to do next and how it will affect the rest of us," notes Wol idly.
"That is one way of looking at it," I concede, "I'm planning to take the Knight I with Aria to Yavin to check some stuff out. Once you are done here, I want to you to take the fleet back to Coruscant with both Commanders Randanys and Vareta."
"You're not bringing the little Jedi with you?" inquires Wol with some surprise.
"I don't want to bring them along until I've made sure Yavin is safe," I answer, "Let's just say I have a bad feeling about what awaits us at Yavin."
"Well, I know to trust a Jedi like you when you start having feelings about things," says Wol, "Don't worry about the padawans, I'll look after them. Just make sure that you and Aria make sure to take care of yourselves."
"We will," I assure him, "This is just going to be a reconnaissance mission."
"This looks like Yavin alright," says Aria as we both look at the sensor scans, "Congratulations Knight Shan, you have rediscovered the Yavin system after over a thousand years of it being lost."
"Thank you, Aria," I reply distractedly as I look over the scans in more detail.
Yavin Prime has twenty-six satellites and of those, only the largest three moons are capable of supporting life. Yavin 4, the lush jungle moon and ancient stronghold of the Sith. Yavin 8 is a moon covered in tundras and mountains. Yavin 13 is a place that consists mostly of rocky plains and dry deserts. Yet I know my prize doesn't lie on any of those worlds as Yavin Station crashed on Yavin twenty-something. That leaves six moons to check and hopefully, it won't take too long.
"Which moons do you want to check out?" asks Aria, "Do you have any idea on which two your vision is directing you to. Because investigating all twenty-six will take some time and only three of them are capable of supporting life."
"The first moon is one of the twenty-somethings," I answer, "Once we've been there, the second moon is Yavin 4. And yes, the order in which we go to them is important."
"Having to only investigate six moons is easier than investigating twenty-six, but it should be troublesome," says Aria, "Shall we get started?"
"Might as well," I agree, "Where do you want to start? Feel like working our way up from Yavin 20 or working our way down from Yavin 26?"
"What about that captured asteroid?" inquires Aria, "The one that is called Yavin 22?"
"I suppose we could start there," I reply, "Any reason you want to go there in particular?"
"It stands out," answers Aria, "The other five are regular barren rocks while this one is an asteroid."
"Then Yavin 22 it is," I say and I set a course for the enormous asteroid that was captured in Yavin Prime's orbit many thousands of years ago.
"It looks your guess was right," I tell Aria as we get a ping from Yavin 22, "There is wreckage of a surprisingly intact crashed station. I bet that is what we are looking for."
"Gambling is unbecoming of a Jedi, but I agree with your conclusion," says Aria as I set a course for a spot near the station wreckage, "Are you landing?"
"Yes, " I answer, "I'm going to check it out in person. My armour can support me in a vacuum so the lack of an atmosphere won't be an issue. If you want to come with me, there should be spare spacesuits aboard."
"I'll go and get changed then," replies Aria, her face going serenely stoic, "Stay up here until I'm done."
"Of course," I say as I have no intention of going down while she is still changing.
As the ship flies towards Yavin 22 and Aria gets changed in the deck below, I decide to run some scans of Yavin 4. The greater size and thriving ecosystem means that it will be longer and harder to scan than Yavin 22, but if there is anything obvious on the moon, the Knight I will pick it up.
As the sensor scans come in, they are about what I expect for basic scans. A lot of jungle with what could be called either inland seas or massive lakes depending on if they are saltwater or freshwater. There are a handful of structures on the surface of the planet, but until I can get closer and do some more detailed scans, I am not getting much detail beyond the fact that they exist.
It isn't long before Aria returns, displaying nothing of what she really feels as she looks all stoic and serene in her tight-fitting white and red spacesuit. Given that she wears loose, flowing Jedi robes all the time, it is easy to forget that Aria has quite the figure on her and that is the main reason why she finds having to wear a spacesuit so distasteful. She considers flaunting her body in such a way to be improper for a Jedi and is uncomfortable with the attention that she gets from her appearance.
"I'll put it on when we land," says Aria as I glance at the fish-bowl helmet that is in her hands rather than on her head.
"Suit yourself," I reply and Aria shoots me a look of disdain at my pun.
We end up landing not too far from the wreckage. The low gravity is annoying, but the two of us have done enough boarding ops that it isn't any trouble as Aria and I make our way to the crashed space station. The station was clearly a small and simple one before it crashed with a long central corridor with multiple corridors branching off as they lead to other rooms. No part of the station is able to support an atmosphere and despite how intact it is, I see no point in trying to fix it up. Especially if the source of it crashing was due to poor materials used in the construction of its hull if I recall things correctly.
"I don't see anything of value," says Aria as we walk through the wreckage, "Maybe those sealed crates still have something useful inside, but it looks like anything of value has already been taken by scavengers."
"Perhaps," I reply as I try to think of what could be here.
There was a Rodian, S-something Tan or Tanwa or Tanwhi. The first one was a man who ran the place before it crashed and the second was his descendant, a woman who came here during the time of the Empire. After the Battle of Yavin I think as I vaguely recall her having to dodge Imperial forces. She was an explorer who wanted wealth and recognition, who didn't quite get what she was expecting and was willing to settle for trying to acquire the deed to one of Yavin's moons.
I have already found two lightsaber crystals on this quest. Maybe there is another one here? This is where Revan got the Mantle of the Force and the Heart of the Guardian except that was four thousand years ago and I know that those two legendary crystals are stored somewhere in the Jedi Temple these days. Maybe a different lightsaber crystal? Or perhaps something that will help me face down Exar Kun on Yavin 4 or stop Sidious from destroying both the Republic and the Jedi Order.
Wait, wait, lightsaber. There was a lightsaber at the end of this adventure right? I remember that the other guy always wanted to get his hands on it for a game character of his because of how powerful it was compared to other lightsabers. Coruscant Gems on Yavin Prime, a blaster on Yavin 8 or Yavin 12, I can't remember what was on the other moon, Exar Kun's armour on Yavin 4 and the station with a powerful lightsaber on Yavin 22. A lightsaber that had something to do with cortosis.
"Ben?" asks Aria, "What is wrong?"
"I have an idea of what I am looking for," I answer vaguely as we approach the end of the main corridor.
The first thing I notice in the laboratory with its shattered windows is the corpse. A Rodian corpse that has been well-preserved by the vacuum of space. I swiftly make my way over to it and inspect the body. Frozen solid by the freezing cold of the space, the adult male Rodian has what can only be described as a smirk on his face. Looking him over, I find what I suspected I might find here as I pull a lightsaber out of one of the corpse's back pockets.
"Is that a lightsaber?" demands Aria as she joins me.
"It certainly looks like it," I reply as I flick it on.
A white blade springs to life before me and both Aria and I stare at it as it hums with power. A lot of power. This has to be what Meetra Surik wanted me to find, but why and what makes this lightsaber special?
"What do we do now, Ben?" asks Aria as I deactivate the blade and tuck the lightsaber away.
Now that is a good question. I have another lightsaber in addition to two I already have plus a pair of lightsaber crystals. Exar Kun is awaiting us down on Yavin 4, but Master Surik had me gather all of this lightsaber stuff first. While Yavin 4 is right there and Aria is right here with me, I think I ought to make an attempt at figuring out what Master Surik wants me to do. Especially since I know where I can find and access one of the greatest lightsaber experts in the galaxy.
Hopefully Professor Huyang is still at Coruscant and not on a trip to Ilum.
A bit of a shorter chapter this time around, but I hit the points I wanted to in this chapter and found a good stopping point. We cover what is done with the loot from Zeta Magnus's laboratory and touch upon some potential future improvements for Ben's forces.
Beyond that, we find out what Ben was sent to find in the Yavin system. In case you are wondering, Ben has found the lightsaber from the final part of the Yavin: The Big Red One module from the Star Wars SAGA RPG. While I never got a chance to do anything with it before, I always liked the little series and decided that if I get the chance to do something with it, I would take it. The end result is that I have chosen to have my Jedi character find the special lightsaber at the end of it when I had the chance to do so except it ended up taking place in a story rather than a tabletop session, especially since there are a few plots that can be done with its special properties.
Anyway, Ben isn't going to confront Exar Kun on Yavin 4 right away. He needs to get himself sorted out before going into an encounter of that calibre. He plans to speak with Professor Huyang about the lightsaber and crystals that he has found. After all, if you have easy access to a subject expert, why not consult them?
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Sep 26, 2021
6.5 (Past Legacies) - Chapter Thirty-One
"Professor Huyang," I call as I enter the Crucible with Aria and our Padawans in tow.
"Here," says the droid as he comes marching into view from his workshop, "What brings you two to my humble works. I hope it is because your Padawans wish to learn Jar'Kai like you because I will be most disappointed if you have managed to lose one of your lightsabers."
"Fortunately, we have not lost a lightsaber," I assure him, "In fact, I managed to find one."
I hold out the lightsaber I found on Yavin 22 for Professor Huyang to inspect, hoping the lightsaber architect might have some idea of why Meetra sent me to that lightsaber in particular.
"Interesting," says Professor Huyang as the droid takes the lightsaber from me and begins to inspect it, "Very interesting. Who built this?"
"An ex-slave of Exar Kun who died thousands of years ago," I answer, "I found it after following a Force vision and I was wondering if you could share some insight into what makes it so special?"
"A shame, I would have liked to have met a prodigy of this talent," replies the professor, "Oh well, at least I can add the specs and data of this creation to my memory banks. And I suppose I can certainly tell what makes this lightsaber stand out. I presume you desire to use it yourself?"
"I'm considering it," I admit, "But I am awaiting more information before I can make a judgement call on the matter."
"You should," says Professor Huyang bluntly as he hands the lightsaber back to me, "A work of art that lightsaber is and I remember your trip to Ilum. You did a good job as a youngling, but this ex-slave inventor outclasses you tenfold."
"But my lightsaber is, well, my lightsaber," I point out as I look down at the weapon in my hand.
"A lightsaber is a lightsaber," says Professor Huyang, "Plenty of Jedi replace their first lightsaber with a different one for one reason or another. And back when the Order warred with the Sith, a Jedi often had to make do with whatever lightsaber they could get their hands on. Contrary to what some teach, a lightsaber is not your life. It is a tool and sometimes a tool gets replaced, especially when you have access to a superior tool for free. This lightsaber is a few notches above yours and if the Force brought you to it, there is all the more reason to use it."
"Could you at least explain what makes it so much better?" I ask as I feel conflicted about following the professor's advice.
"Certainly," says Professor Huyang, "The general skill of its creator means that it is a particularly high-quality and finely-tuned lightsaber. That emitter matrix is of particular interest with how the modulation circuitry is set up. Not only does it provide an especially powerful and precise blade, but I say it is good enough to resist the effects of cortosis."
"Cortosis?" I repeat before realising that isn't what I should be asking, "I mean, how does it resist cortosis? I didn't know that was possible."
"It normally isn't," replies Professor Huyang, "First of all, you require an understanding of how cortosis interacts with lightsabers so all four of you listen up. Cortosis is one of those lightsaber resistant metals like that beskar you are wearing. A cortosis weave or alloy is usually enough to keep a lightsaber from carving up an item like it normally would. Pure cortosis has different effects. The strength of the metal is weak enough that it isn't as resilient as the vast majority of weaves and aloys, but mostly pure cortosis can only resist a few blows of a lightsaber."
"So how does it take out a lightsaber blade?" asks Vyssa and Professor Huyang turns a quelling look on her.
"I was getting to that youngling," says the professor, "Where was I? Ah yes, pure cortosis is too brittle and toxic to use, but mostly pure cortosis can short circuit a lightsaber blade upon contact. This comes from pure cortosis initiating a feedback crash within the modulation circuitry that runs throughout the entire system. Depending on how you built your lightsaber, the effects can vary between rendering the lightsaber non-operational for several minutes to merely requiring it to be turned back on. With this lightsaber you found, the work on the modulation circuitry is good enough that the blade will remain active. It might frizzle and flicker, but it won't cut out."
"That would have been useful against Zeta Magnus," I mutter.
"Zeta Magnus," repeats Professor Huyang as he squints his lenses at me, "Is that some kind of droid?"
"A bio-terrorists with a cortosis axe that I fought on Dantooine," I answer, "So the lightsaber is special because it resists cortosis?"
"That is part of it," answers Professor Huyang, "The way it is built, it could take on a cortosis weave as almost as easily as it would mostly pure cortosis. There is also the primary crystal involved in this blade that makes it stand out. While far from the most impressive I've seen, it is one of the most powerful power crystals that I've seen though I am unable to tell what it does without being able to sense the Force myself. I say perhaps higher than the greatest of the Adegan crystals, but below the level of the truly legendary."
"Power crystal?" I inquire, "Is that another term for lightsaber crystals?"
"In a manner of speaking," replies Professor Huyang, "Hmm, have any of you taken an advanced lightsaber construction course? No? Then listen up for some education in the affairs of lightsabers. Technically all lightsaber crystals that provide additional effects beyond making it work are called power crystals, but with how everyone uses an Ilum crystal these days, it has come to refer to using an non-Ilum crystal. An Ilum crystal is a power crystal for how it can bond with its owner and how it provides a lightsaber blade on par with the strongest Adegan crystals like mephite or pontite."
Huh, that gives me some insight into those crystals that I and the others found. Power crystals sound exactly like what we found though I have to admit, I am still not sure how I will be able to make use of them. But Professor Huyang isn't finished yet so maybe if I pay attention, I might receive the answer I am looking for.
"These days, power crystals tend to be, well, they are not rare, but most Jedi don't make use of them," continues Professor Huyang, "Some Jedi Masters choose to use an Adegan crystal over getting another Ilum crystal when they are replacing a lightsaber that they have lost and a handful of especially talented or fateful initiates and Padawans make use of a power crystal that they have acquired one way or another. Take Mace Windu as an example. Instead of using a Ilum crystal like everyone else, he managed to get his hands on a legendarily rare hurrikaine crystal and used that to create his lightsaber.
"Another example would be the late Qui-Gon Jinn where when he made his second lightsaber, the High Council let him use one of the very few kaiburr crystal shards that the Order has access to. A shame it wasn't enough to save him, but there is a lesson in that. Having a legendary power crystal or powerful lightsaber won't necessarily save you just as it didn't save Master Jinn and you can still die like anyone else."
"A third example of power crystal usage would be in the training sabers. Have you ever wondered why they do harmless stunning instead of real harm like a normal lightsaber? Even a lightsaber on a low setting will still give you a burn or sear your skin and yet training sabers do not. That would be because they use a bondar crystal as their primary crystal and the blades of a bondar crystal are made of a different energy to other lightsaber blades. Instead of doing you harm, it will merely stun you. Make sure to remember all of that. You might come across a power crystal someday and it would be a shame if you ignored it out of ignorance."
"Actually Professor Huyang, I believe I have already come across a couple," I say as I put the Yavin lightsaber away and pull out the crystals that I found on Rhen Var and Dantooine, "Though I am unsure of how I could make use of them."
"Let's see here then," says Professor Huyang as he looks at pair of lightsaber crystals in the palm of my head, "Again, I cannot be certain due to my inability to use the Force, but I do believe I recognise what these two crystals are. They are certainly lightsaber power crystals at any rate. That one there. Did you find it on Sacorria or Rhen Var by any chance?"
"I did find that one on Rhen Var," I answer, "Do you know what it is then?"
"Now, my own limitations mean I cannot be certain, but I do believe that is a rare solari crystal," says Professor Huyang as he looks back up at me, "One of the more powerful and rarer crystals even if it isn't as rare as a kaiburr crystal shard or hurrikaine crystal that I have previously mentioned. Given your lack of recognition, I presume you would like an education on its nature?"
"I remember solari crystals being attuned with the Light Side of the Force and that the ancient Jedi Master Ood Bnar gave one to a student of his, but that is it," I reply, "I would appreciate any further knowledge you have to share."
"You are correct that solari crystals are attuned to the Light Side of the Force," says Professor Huyang, "While most lightsaber crystals have a connection to the Force, a solari crystal is specifically connected to the Light Side. It can only be used by those pure in spirit, which is to say only a devout follower of the Light Side. It cannot be corrupted and will not work for anyone who strays from the path of the Light."
"So if I was to use it, would my lightsaber stop working for me if I began to fall to the Dark Side?" I ask.
"Yes and no," replies Professor Huyang, "What you suggest would be true, but it is not all. With a solari crystal, you do not need to fall to darkness, merely stray from the light. You need to walk the path of the Light Side, something as simple as compromising yourself would be enough to render you incompatible with the solari crystal."
"That sounds more like a benefit than a hindrance," I say, "I do not fear following the Light Side of the Force."
A way to check that I am not falling to the Dark Side is hardly a bad thing and knowing that I need to reevaluate what I am doing the moment my lightsaber stops working would be handy. Especially if I don't want to lose myself in this war or my attempts to stop the plans of Darth Sidious.
"Perhaps, but we will see," says Professor Huyang before turning his attention to the second lightsaber crystal, "Now this one, I recognise it as a pontite crystal, the most powerful and rarest of the Adegan crystals. Perhaps as rare and powerful as a solari crystal, but unlike the solari crystal, a few Jedi still make use of pontite crystals these days. Beyond making for an excellent blade, it has a powerful aura to it. I am sure that you noticed the chill that it gives off. Well, that chilling aura cools both skin and temper so to say. A lightsaber blade will deal a bit of cold damage in addition to the normal harm done by a plasma blade. Furthermore, a lightsaber with a pontite crystal will soothe and calm the wielder, cooling their spirits and letting them project a greater force of presence."
"That is interesting," I say neutrally because I really don't know what to make of all that and it is interesting, "But what does it mean for me?"
"Assuming that you wish to make use of the lightsaber and crystals that you found, it means that you have a great challenge coming up in your life," says Professor Huyang, "You will need to follow the Light Side, you will need to lead others, you will need to keep your cool and you will be battling evil. Given the return of the Sith and the recent war that I assume they started, I have some idea of what the Force is expecting from you and I suspect you do as well. Now the question is do you wish to make use of that lightsaber and those crystals?"
That is certainly the question. On the one hand, the answer seems obvious. I already intend to do all of those things and the lightsaber and crystals are superior to what I am already using. On the other hand, my lightsaber is my lightsaber. I've used it since I first built it on the way back from Ilum. I used it for the entirety of my padawanship and as I forged the 1st Republic Patriot Legion into what it is today.
And yet a Jedi needs to avoid attachment or at least being overly attached. Connections and bonds can be good things so long as you don't obsess and can safely let go of them when the time comes. That means that if I have no reason to reject the lightsaber and the crystals other than attachment to my original lightsaber, then I have no good reason to reject them. And it isn't like I have to just throw away my original lightsaber. I can still keep it around just in case I do need it in the future.
"I do," I finally answer after a moment of thinking.
"Then hand them over," says Professor Huyang and I dutifully pass the lightsaber and both crystals over to him, "I shall install the power crystals into your new lightsaber and thankfully, it has enough room to incorporate them. Normally I would make you do it yourself, but this lightsaber is a work of art and you are not an artist by any measure. I won't have you making a mess of irreplaceable genius."
It only takes the droid a few moments to open up the lightsaber and insert the crystals into it, slightly changing the interior to accommodate the new additions. I have to admit that Professor Huyang has a point. I would have never been able to do what he did with the same ease and skill.
"I would recommend meditating on that lightsaber to attune yourself to the crystal inside," says Professor Huyang as he hands the lightsaber back to me, "Strictly speaking, it isn't necessary for it to be usable, but an attuned lightsaber is superior to a non-attuned lightsaber. Now which one of you is next or is that it?"
"I would be next," says Aria as she steps forward and I step back to let her take my place, "I also found what I believe to be one of these lightsaber power crystals."
"It certainly looks like one," says Professor Huyang as he inspects the multi-hued crystal that Aria is holding out, "You found this on Dantooine in the old crystal cave? Perhaps in the remains of a Kinrath egg?"
"That would be correct in both cases," says Aria, "Do you know what it is?"
"It looks like an untainted dantari crystal," answers Professor Huyang, "Annoyingly little is known about them except that they have a weird connection to the Force. Found only in the crystal cave of Dantooine, they can be found in Kinrath eggs or more rarely as part of a natural formation. What they do is inconsistent because they seem to attune themselves to whoever has attuned to them. Smashing an egg to get one taints the crystal thanks to the Dark Side act of killing an innocent, turning it red and denying it further growth as it feeds off the Dark Side energies in that ruthless act. But if you can get an untainted dantari crystal, you have a lot of potential in it.
"The best ones come from natural crystal formations, but yours comes from a Kinrath egg which makes it weaker. In both cases, a dantari crystal will grow alongside whoever attunes to it, absorbing their excess Force energies. The effects and nature of the dantari crystal will reflect the individual they are attuned to and they will be useless in the hands over anyone who isn't the first person who attunes themselves to it."
Now that all sounds oddly familiar. Where have I heard that before? Probably something in my otherworldly memories.
"What does that mean for me?" demands Aria as she stares at the crystal in her hand, "Why was I drawn to it?"
"Start of a new journey in your life or perhaps the next section in your current one," replies Professor Huyang, "As any Jedi Master will tell you, the future is always in motion, but if the Force lead to this crystal, I would say it has big things in mind for you and you will be growing into your full potential along the way. Just make sure to regularly attune yourself to your crystal so it can synchronise with your latest growth. Now, do you want to add into your existing lightsaber or forge a new one for your lightsaber crystal?"
Aria shoots me a look of mixed emotion that I cannot make out before a prim and proper mask takes up its usual place on her face.
"I'll… I'll make a new one," says Aria, "Double-bladed."
"Interesting choice," says Professor Huyang as he turns around and heads back amongst the cabinets, "I hope you know how to use one."
"I do," answers Aria primly, "My master uses one and she made sure to teach me how to wield one."
"Just let me find the right set of parts," says Huyang as the droid begins to look through the various selves that each contain various lightsaber components, "Ah-ah, here we go. Take this and head over to the workshop. You do still remember how to make a lightsaber?"
"Yes, I do," answers Aria as she takes the shelf that Huyang is holding out to her, "Thank you for your assistance, Professor Huyang."
"Helping Jedi with their lightsabers is what I am here for," replies Professor Huyang as Aria marches out-no as she stalks out, "Do either of the padawans require my assistance?"
"They both found power crystals of their own," I tell him, "We went to Dantooine as a group."
"That sounds interesting and after seeing a solari crystal, a pontite crystal and a dantari crystal, I am piqued to see what else you have to show me," says Professor Huyang, "Which one of you is first?"
Vyssa nudges Siaran and after they exchange a look, the Miraluka steps forward and holds a sharp silver-grey-white crystal for Professor Huyang to see.
"Let's see," says Professor Huyang as he inspects the crystal, "Not a solari, already seen one of those recently so I can tell the difference. Not quite the right hue for an Adegan crystal and wrong shape for nextar crystal. Maybe a sigil-ah, an eralam crystal. Supposed to only be from Erai, but Dantooine has always been weird like that. Decently strong, but not especially interesting compared to the others. A good power crystal for enhancing a blade, but nothing special. If the Force led you to this, padawan, then you have a future as a warrior. Expect to find yourself using your blade in battle a lot. Your lightsaber is still new so a new one wouldn't be appropriate unless you want to get a second one so you can start learning Jar'Kai. Do you want to do that?"
"No, I am fine with the one lightsaber," replies Siaran, "Maybe when I'm older, no, I just want to worry about a single lightsaber at the moment. And I knew I was going to be a soldier when I chose to be Master Telis' Padawan."
"I'm next and last," says Vyssa as she steps forward, "Like my master, I have two crystals, but unlike him, I have no new lightsaber. I also want to keep using my current lightsaber."
"You are a girl who knows what she wants, but are you a girl who knows what she needs," says Professor Huyang, "Let's see what you have. Ah, another solari crystal. As you heard me tell your master, you will need to stay in the Light to make use of that. Are you ready for that, padawan?"
"I have already made the decision to follow my master down his chosen path," answers Vyssa resolutely, "This crystal is just a sign of that commitment. I was made aware of that by-by another when I found the crystal."
"For your sake, I hope you do understand what you've gotten yourself into," says Professor Huyang, "The other crystal looks like an upari crystal with that bright cyan hue. Interesting crystal that is known for its versatility and its potential to be powerful, but that potential needs to be realised. You will need to figure that out before just adding it to your lightsaber and you will not be doing so before you complete a course on advanced lightsaber construction. She will be taking an advanced lightsaber construction course before she can begin to try and add that crystal to her lightsaber on her own."
As Vyssa's master, Professor Huyang directs that last sentence at me.
"Of course, Professor Huyang," I assure him, "I wouldn't want to have my Padawan endanger herself or damage her lightsaber because she didn't know what she was doing."
"See to it that you do," says Professor Huyang to me before he turns his attention back to the Padawans, "Now you two younglings, let me guide you as you place your new crystals into your existing lightsaber. We shall do it here. No need to disturb Knight Telis while she is constructing her new lightsaber."
The work doesn't take too long. A couple of minutes as Professor Huyang shows the padawans how to open up their lightsabers and fit in the power crystals into them along with a warning to not go above three when putting kyber crystals into a lightsaber. At that point, things tend to get a bit odd and you need to specifically modify your lightsaber to accommodate that many crystals.
It is shortly after both Vyssa and Siaran are finished when Aria returns. She walks stiffly with a serene expression on her face that I know is false as I am aware of what Aria is like. Something has her agitated and upset and I am going to need to deal with that before I drag her off to face Exar Kun with me.
"Aria," I call out gently and she pauses for a moment to address me, shielding her true feelings from me both on her face and in the Force.
"Knight Shan, I shall be heading back to the Freedom now," says Aria primly, "Please bring Padawan Siaran with me once he is done here."
And with that, she stalks out of the Crucible.
"Is Master Telis going to be okay?" asks Siaran nervously.
"She is just in one of her… moods," I answer neutrally as I try to reassure the Padawan, "Something has her upset and she is trying to pretend nothing is wrong while attempting to suppress her feelings. It will pass and I'll talk to her. In the meantime, Vyssa can help you out."
"I will be happy to aid you," says Vyssa to Siaran as she gives the younger Padawan a friendly nudge.
And here we are mostly at the end of the lightsaber arc. I was planning to wrap it up in this chapter with the exposition taking place in the first half and the interpersonal conflict in the second, but the exposition ended up taking far longer than I expected. So now this chapter is all about lightsabers and their crystals while the next chapter will be covering the associated personal issue.
Anyway, I have tried to be subtle about the themes and symbolism by using subtext, but you don't get it. I would request that you ask about it in the thread first. At least give me a chance to answer or more overtly explain things before deciding to make a complaint that there isn't enough narrative behind the lightsaber crystals.
Also the lightsaber stuff is tied into long term stuff and the character development over the course of the story rather than the next future chapters. And speaking of future chapters, this arc is going to be the last war-prep arc and I intend for the next arc to have something of a short time skip as we skip a couple of weeks to get into the start of Ben and his forces getting involved in the fighting proper.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Aug 4, 2021
6.6 (Past Legacies) - Chapter Thirty-Two
I wait until little remains of the afternoon has passed and evening has come before I decide to approach Aria. My second in command has holed herself up in her quarters since returning to the Freedom and has not left since. She will probably be fine in the morning, but she might not be and I would rather deal with this before she bottles whatever is bothering her away and pretends nothing is wrong.
While I could use my override codes to just enter, that would be rude and be fairly deemed an abuse of power. Instead I knock and wait for Aria to respond. There is no need to introduce myself as I am not hiding my presence in the Force and the briefest check will reveal who I am to Aria.
"Come in, General Shan," says Aria from though the door and the formality being used is not a good sign.
"How are you doing, Aria?" I ask her as I open up the door and step into Aria's austere quarters, which are practically devoid of anything that isn't work related or assigned to all quarters on the Freedom.
"I am doing fine," replies Aria primly, "Why do you wish to speak with me?"
"I was hoping to help you with whatever is upsetting you," I tell her, "I know you well enough to know that you were unhappy with something earlier."
"I am not unhappy," states Aria as she stares at me sternly, "There is no emotion, there is peace."
"That isn't how the code works and even if it was, you are not at peace," I retort, "We are friends, Aria. I want to help you."
"Attachment is unbecoming of a Jedi," Aria shoots back and it is moments like this where I understand just how Aria pushed all of her other friends away.
"Aria, you have been unhappy about something ever since Professor Huyang explained to you what a dantari crystal was," I say, pushing aside my growing annoyance as I focus on what is important here, "Is the dantari crystal being a reflection of yourself or the part about starting a new journey and entering the next stage of your path in life?"
"It is none of your concern," says Aria as she refuses to let her mask budge, "I am handling it and I don't need you interfering with my life further."
"It is my concern both as your friend and as your commanding officer," I tell her, "I understand that your lightsaber and kyber crystal is a personal thing, but when it is clearly affecting you so and doing so in a way that interferes with your duties, it becomes my business as well."
"What we feel has nothing to do with this," replies Aria, "We are Jedi, our feelings are irrelevant in the face of the will of the Force."
"We are Jedi that means we are supposed to be compassionate and kind," I counter, "And that means trying to help someone when they are clearly suffering a problem."
"That is not-ughh!" huffs Aria as her facade breaks for a moment, "My apologies, Knight Shan, that was unbecoming of me."
"Seriously, Aria," I say as I try to decide whether or not it is a good idea to try and poke through that facade, "What is the problem? I am here to support you here as you are here to support me."
"I do not need your support," declares Aria imperiously, "And if you were less of a heretic, I wouldn't need to be here."
Well, that came out of nowhere.
"Aria…" I start, but she cuts me off with a glare.
"Please leave, General Shan, I do not desire to talk with you further at the moment," interrupts Aria as she fixes me with a disapproving look and I decide that perhaps it is time to give her some space.
Hopefully she will be in a better mood in the morning.
"So what have you got for me?" I ask Loren as the recently promoted brigadier pulls me into an impromptu meeting.
I wasn't expecting to get dragged into important work so soon after the argument with Aria, but work waits for no one, especially when there is a war ongoing and we are undergoing a major expansion.
"I'll understand if we don't have the funds for it right now, but I've been talking to a few of our Mandalorian soldiers and I have an idea for improving our ground forces," says Loren, "I know that our focus is on high quality armour with blasters being standard military-grade, but Concordian Crescent Technologies has put out some new blaster models recently that I think we could make use of. Nice compact weapons that are both easily maintained and durable. And like all traditional Mandalorian blasters, they are high-quality and pack a disproportionate punch for their size."
"Tough, low maintenance blasters that dish out firepower sounds like an excellent addition," I reply, "Are there any downsides?"
"Only cost," answers Loren, "They aren't nearly as expensive as what we put into our armour, vehicles or starfighters, but right now, a regular blaster rifle and blaster pistol as a primary weapon and sidearm costs about five hundred credits. But getting a WESTAR-35 Blaster Pistol and a GALAAR-15 Blaster Carbine from Concordian Crescent Technologies would cost about two thousand credits. Not too expensive, but to replace the entirety of our expected arsenal means finding out dishing out little over seventy-five million credits. Which is a big increase when our current arsenal is looking at costing us a bit under twenty million."
"And getting enough spares to replace those losses in combat in an extended campaign would cost even more," I note.
"Exactly," says Loren, "It will be expensive, but with the war going on, I think it is something we should look into. If we are going to be an elite unit, we need to use more than standard weaponry even if we won't be investing into it as much as we do with our armour."
"Do you have price estimates?" I inquire.
"We can recoup some losses by selling our current blasters, but that is going to add up to a million or two at most," answers Loren, "With four legions, we are looking at seventy-five million to get all of our troopers a set of Mando blasters, a hundred fifty million to give them that and a spare set. If we can afford it, spend as much as three or four hundred million to get some more spares whilst replacing the blasters used by your personnel. As I said before, I'll understand if it isn't affordable right now."
Technically speaking, we can't afford it right now. But if Wol's plans to sell Zeta Magnus' cloning pods to the Arkanian Dominion works out or I can get some Corusca Gems from Yavin, we could do it. Or I could just take some of the funding put away in the budget for paying our troops in four or five years time and put towards more immediate needs whilst hoping I will be able to cough up the missing funding in a few years.
Assuming that we are still around in four or five years. This war only lasted three and a half in the other timelines and there is a good chance that by the time the missing pay will be relevant, we will be dead or have far bigger concerns than paychecks.
"Take some of the funding put aside for paying our troops in four or five years," I tell Loren as I make my decision, "We need this blasters before we get engulfed in fighting the war and we should be able to get enough money by then assuming that we are still around by then to care about it."
"I will do," says Loren, "This is one of those cases where the immediate concerns outweigh the long term ones isn't it?"
"Yes," I agree, "Take half a billion credits and replace our entire blaster arsenal. We'll need the firepower and we won't always be able to restock as needed. And don't sell our current arsenal. We might need a bunch of spare blasters at hand in future more than we need another million or so credits right now."
"Of course, General," says Loren before pausing, "Thanks for listening to me, Ben."
"You're my friend and you have proven yourself more than a hundred times over," I tell him, "I'm always willing to listen to you, especially when you have good ideas like this."
"Well, if you are still listening, I'm looking into some stealth armour," says Loren, "In case, you need to bring some backup on a sneaky sort of mission or we need to pull some stealth ops. Nothing solid yet and I'll make no promises about what I might find, but I figured you might want to know I am looking into it."
"Good work as always, Loren," I tell my friend.
I am practicing in my lightsaber katas in my quarters to get a feel for my new lightsaber when Rahm Kota and Falon Grey arrive the Freedom. It wasn't a prearranged visit, but technically speaking, they are members of the Republic Patriot Legions now and don't need to arrange a visit.
I am going to need to get used to them. It is no longer just myself, Aria and Vyssa anymore. Just as Siaran has joined our merry band of Jedi, so have Master Kota and Knight Grey and as their commanding officer, I should be making an effort to get to know them better. Especially since we will be going to war shortly. So when the duo request a meeting with me, I grant their request and quickly make my way over to the free meeting room that I agreed to speak with them in.
"Master Kota, Knight Grey," I greet them, "I apologise for not being available to meet sooner. I have been busy over the last few days."
"So I've noticed," says Kota, "I heard you played a key part at Rhen Var and were able to hunt down a dangerous terrorist."
"Yes to both accounts," I confirm, "Now, how may I help you."
"Your people have been helping us get up to speed with how your organisation works, but I was wondering about the composition of the forces that Falon and I will be commanding," says Kota, "I am hoping that enough details have been finalised that you might be able to give us an answer."
"A few of the details are still being sorted out, but barring an unexpected influx in funding, the basics are in place," I reply, "I expect the 3rd and 4th Republic Patriot Legions to be operational in three months. That is how long the Dreadnoughts will take to build and to get the new recruits properly organised and trained. As for composition, both legions will be the same in that regard.
"Troopers are twelve men in a squad, four squads in a platoon and three platoons in a company. Four companies in a battalion, four battalions in a regiment and each legion has four regiments. Including leadership for each unit, that puts infantry at nine thousand four hundred ninety three and each one will have supporting elements of armour and artillery alongside combat shuttles.
"In addition to the ground forces, each legion also has its own fleet of warships and starfighters. Each of your legions will have four Dreadnought-class Heavy Cruisers to act as capital ships and your primary transports. Beyond that, three squadrons of four DP20 Frigates and thirty-six Hammerhead-class Cruisers will act as escorts. Each Dreadnought will have a squadron of Y-Wing bombers while half of the Hammerheads will contain Aurek-class starfighters and the other half will have Liberator-class starfighters. In total, that is forty-eight bombers, two hundred eighty-eight fighters and two hundred eighty-eight interceptors as your starfighter complement.
"I also have several star cruisers like the one we are on under construction, but they will take six months to come online. Once they are ready, each of your legions will be receiving three of them, but by that point, the fighting should be fully underway. Any questions?"
"None that I need to bother you about," says Grey while Kota shakes his head, "I assume you have the specs for those aboard the ship's computers?"
"I do, just try to keep them secret," I say, "The Liberator-class is effectively a new model while the Hammerheads and Dreadnoughts we will be using have been modified to reduce the crew requirements using automation. I have made sure to check that it is safe despite the horror stories you hear about automation."
"A Jedi makes their decision based on facts and the Forces, not rumours and superstition," says Kota.
"Indeed," I agree, "If you need to know anything or require my help with something, let me know. I won't make any promises, but I will do what I can to help."
"I shall keep that in mind, General Shan," says Kota, "Thank you for meeting with us. Unless there is anything you require of us, we will take our leave now."
I am about to say that there isn't when a thought occurs to me. I don't want to bring the Padawans to Yavin 4 to face Exar Kun, but some more backup beyond Aria would be appreciated. If I am going to trust Kota and Grey with command positions, I can trust them to help me handle the ghost of an ancient Sith Lord.
"Actually there is," I tell them and they both perk up with interest, "Aria and I will be going on a mission to Yavin 4 today. Would you mind joining us?"
"Yavin 4," repeats Grey, "Wasn't the location of that system lost? I distinctly remember that."
"It was, but the Force showed me how to find it again," I answer, "Aria and I have made one trip there, but I decided to get some rest and regroup before visiting Yavin 4."
"Expecting trouble on Yavin 4?" inquires Kota.
"Nothing that I can prove, but I am certain there is a great darkness there," I reply, "Enough that I am refusing to bring the Padawans along and inviting you to come along."
"We'll go," says Kota before pausing as he spares a glance at his old Padawan, "I'll go."
"As will I," adds Grey, "When will we be leaving?"
"Hopefully later today," I answer, "We'll be taking the Knight I, my personal starship. And I'm hoping to give Yavin's location a secret for now. The system is valuable for a bunch of reasons and I would like to keep it for our forces as much as possible. I don't want the Separatists or certain elements within the Republic to find out about the place."
"I understand," says Kota, "Some things need to be kept secret, even from friends and allies if they don't need to know. Both Falon and I will do what is necessary. Right, Falon?"
"Don't worry, General Shan," says Grey, "You can count on us."
"Thank you," I say, "I'm glad that I have your support."
Another short chapter, but this is a good point to stop it since the next chapter will be Yavin 4 and all that entails. Anyway, we have some interpersonal conflict between Ben and Aria and the return of Rahm Kota and Falon Grey. I intend for these two to be more plot relevant and them coming to find out the composition of their upcoming legions is a good way to cover both what the 3rd and 4th legions will look like to you guys and put Ben in a position to invite them along to Yavin 4.
Beyond that, I also want to cover some upgrades to the infantry of Ben's forces and show that Ben's current resources are being strained as he has to start compromising his long term financial security to cover what is needed at the moment. That and I wanted to give Loren some more screen time so to say.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Aug 6, 2021
6.7 (Past Legacies) - Chapter Thirty-Three
"Did your vision give any insight into what sort of darkness to expect here?" asks Rahm Kota as I land the Knight I in the clearing outside of the largest temple on Yavin 4.
"Exar Kun," I answer tersely as despite my attempts to remain calm, coming to Yavin 4 has left me tense, "I have reason to suspect that from what my vision showed me."
I can't tell the truth about how I know without them thinking that I am mad and yet at the same time, I cannot just go in blind. This is too dangerous for that and so I am going to tell them what I can and attribute it to a Force vision. I'm not sure they entirely buy it from the looks that the other Jedi give me, but none of them actively question it.
A Jedi Master and three Jedi Knights to face off against the ghost of Exar Kun. Hopefully we can pull it off otherwise I am going to be very disappointed in Master Surik. The only question is where to go first because I have no clue on what I am supposed to do. I know that Exar Kun has a temple devoted to him, but going straight there doesn't strike me as a good idea.
Perhaps some of the other temples will provide some clues on how to defeat Exar Kun? Including the one we landed outside, there are three of them around the river fork, one each on a different side of the water.
"Any idea on how we are supposed to deal with that?" asks Falon Grey as we begin to head out of the Knight I.
"I figure we should check out these three temples," I reply, "Hopefully one of them will provide some insight into what we should do. At the very least, I want to check them out before we go to that isolated black temple in the middle of the volcanic lake."
"That temple does seem to be rather dark in nature," says Kota, "And I cannot think of a better plan so I say we go for it."
"Same," says Grey.
"Aria?" I inquire.
"I have no objection," says Aria primly.
"Okay, we'll go to this temple, then the smaller one before checking out the long one," I say as I come up with a hasty plan of action, "Nobody split up. We don't know what awaits us except it is almost certainly dangerous so we stick together as a group."
We do not need anyone wandering off and getting ambushed by the ghost of Exar Kun while they are on their own. Nothing good will come from that and things will be dangerous enough even if we stay together.
As we enter the closest and largest temple, part of me feels like it should be awed by what I am seeing, to walk about this part of galactic history. Despite my inclinations towards battle, I don't think I would have done poorly as an archaeologist as I have always had a fondness for history. Yet wonder I might feel is overshadowed by the impending threat posed by Exar Kun.
As we make our way through the temple, it becomes progressively disappointing. We are clearly not the first ones here because despite being overgrown and neglected, the temple is lacking when it comes to anything valuable. No hidden treasure, no ancient relics, nothing. The building is still structurally sound and solid enough that with a bit of modernisation and refurbishment, it could make for an excellent base.
I can see why the Rebel Alliance used it as their headquarters and Luke Skywalker picked as the location for his Jedi academy.
It isn't until we enter the top that I begin to hear the whispers.
"You could do it," whispers a man's voice in my ear, "The power to slay Darth Sidious and his followers is right here, but not if you follow the teachings of the Jedi. They are-"
It cuts off as I call upon Force Light, flooding my body and my immediate surroundings with the Light Side of the Force. I come to a halt as do the others as they pause to stare at me.
"General Shan-" starts Master Kota, but I interrupt him.
"Did any of you hear that?" I demand as I look around, "The voice offering power if we reject the ways of the Jedi?"
"No," answers Aria as the rest of them exchange looks, "I didn't hear anything."
"Neither did I," says Grey.
"I heard nothing," says Kota gruffly, "Do you think it was related to Exar Kun and the darkness here?"
"I believe so," I say as my Force Light begins to dim, "From what I could make of it, my vision indicated that upon his defeat, Exar Kun bound his spirit to the temples and he now haunts them."
"And the Force Light made the voice stop?" asks Kota.
"Yes, it did," I answer.
"Then this is what we will do," says Kota as he looks the rest of us in the eye, "If you hear a voice in your head tempting you to the Dark Side, use Force Light to silence it. And if you can't use Force Light, tell one of us so we can do it."
He gives Aria a look at that last bit and she stiffens.
"I'm afraid Force Light is something I never learnt to do," admits Aria.
"Aria, if you start to get a voice in her head offering you the power of the Dark Side, let one of us know so we can bathe you in Force Light," I tell her, "Hopefully that will be enough."
"I will," says Aria.
"I suggest we leave and move onto the next temple then," I say, "There seems to be nothing for us in this one."
The next one of us to be tempted is Kota as one our way back to the outside, he suddenly flares with Force Light.
"He offered me power to enforce my will when it comes to dealing with criminals and handling treaties," says Kota as we continue to make our way out, "Tempting, but I've seen what darkness can do to people to know that the Force version is nothing I desire. Mace taught me that much."
"Do we want to try crossing the river on foot or try to find a landing spot for the Knight I?" I ask the others as the exit comes into sight.
"Given the size of it, I would say taking the ship would be better," says Grey, "I wouldn't fancy trying to cross a river that wide even without a Sith ghost haunting us."
"Agreed," says Aria, "You might be able to cross that wide on foot, but it is far too wide for me."
"Then back to the Knight I it is," I say.
There isn't as much space outside the smallest temple, but the clearing is big enough to fit the Knight I as I bring my ship down. This temple is a lot smaller than the main temple so it shouldn't take too long to investigate.
As we disembark, all of us are alert as the two brief encounters with Exar Kun's ghost have left us wary. Moving as a group, we enter the temple and none of us are expecting what we would find.
"What is that?" asks Grey upon entering the temple.
This temple seems to be radically different in layout to the first one. Instead of levels going upwards, the exterior of the temple seems to be a dome around a large room dug into the ground. With multiple alcoves at the bottom and along the walls, there is a sloping pathway to the bottom of the temple. And as a centrepiece to the temple, the bottom has a tall spike of blue crystal that hums with energy.
"No clue," I answer, "Can you sense anything with the Force?"
"This place feels odd, but I cannot sense anything wrong within the Force," says Aria after a moment.
"That is something abnormal about that crystal, but I don't think it is a kyber crystal," says Grey, "No clue on what it could be."
"Let's investigate it then," I say as I begin to walk down the sloping ramp.
Like the previous temple, this one is also devoid of life and anything valuable. Well, at least anything valuable that isn't the crystal spire in the middle of it. I'm pretty sure it is valuable even if I have no idea what it is. Part of me wonders how many credits I could sell for and another part feels annoyed that is something I am even considering doing.
"I don't see anything, but the crystal," says Grey as we look about the bottom of the temple.
"Yes, this temple seems to exist only to contain or display this crystal," adds Kota, "Does that crystal have anything to offer, General Telis?"
"No, I-" starts Aria before stiffening and I rush over to her, "Ben, the voice is-"
I don't let Aria finish before I am glowing with Force Light, bathing her in it. For a moment, Aria relaxes before she straightens up again.
"Did that help?" I ask.
"Yes, it did," replies Aria as she steps away from the crystal, "Thank you, Ben."
"Did it have anything to do with the crystal?" asks Kota and I notice that the Jedi Master has drawn his lightsaber even if he hasn't ignited it yet.
"No, the crystal has nothing to do with the Force," says Aria, "There is something off with it, but it isn't anything Force-related. Exar Kun's timing was just a coincidence."
"Or he could have been trying to trick us into thinking there is a connection," I point out, "As intriguing as the mystery presented by this crystal is, this temple seems to be no help in defeating Exar Kun. Let's move onto the third."
As we near the top, Grey stumbles his step and he suddenly becomes a beacon of Force Light. Our group slows down and no explanation is needed for us to know what happened.
"His temptation was rather poor," says Grey as we begin to move again, "He only offered me to surpass my master and I have little desire for that, especially if it means embracing the Dark Side."
"Perhaps the lack of what he could tempt you with is why he targeted you last?" I suggest, "If the rest of us make for easier targets, it would only make sense he would go after us first and only go after you once the rest of us had rejected him."
"That makes sense," agrees Grey and we hurry back to the Knight I.
At the third temple and final one in this cluster, I land the Knight I not in a clearing, but in the courtyard in front of the entrance. I would have gone for the former, but this temple is surrounded by the jungle and the gap between the two isn't big enough to fit the Knight I.
"I can sense something here," says Aria as we disembark, "There is a darkness within the temple. Not the temple itself, but something within it emitting a powerful Dark Side presence."
"I can sense it-" starts Kota when the four of us find ourselves under attack.
The creatures are flying reptiles, each with two heads, a set of leathery wings and a barbed tail that is clearly meant for striking. Not including the wings, each one is about a metre tall and maybe twice that in length given how long those tails are. A dozen or so of them, they come swooping down to attack us.
Six lightsaber blades ignite into existence. Two green, one blue, one white and two purple blades with the last two belonging to the same lightsaber. One of them swoops at me and I slice off both heads with one slash of my new lightsaber and I stab the body with my shoto. It drops dead and the others attack. I cut off the stinger off the tail of one and slashing the face of another as it tries to bite me.
Pushing two attackers away with the Force, I call up the Knight I's slave circuits on my HUD. Its blaster cannons swivelling around, I have my starship open fire with its blaster cannons into the flying swarm attacking us. The blaster fire tears into the flying reptiles and while they can take a couple of hits before going down, our attackers are soon forced back, especially since we are still fending them off with our lightsabers. Yet despite their losses, the creatures refuse to give up their assault, choosing death over survival. Kota gets the final kill, finishing off a maimed lizard by stabbing his lightsaber into chest.
"So we all agreed that Exar Kun sent them after us," says Falon.
"I would believe so," I agree, "With us having rejected his temptation attempts, he seems to have moved onto just trying to kill us."
"That sounds about right," says Kota before glancing at the Knight I, "That was a nifty trick. How did you get your ship to pull it off?"
"That was more the previous owner's work than mine," I admit, "I just linked up the ship's systems to my armour, but yes, it is a useful little trick."
"Shall we enter?" asks Aria as she indicates towards the temple, "I am not eager to enter a place containing something emitting a Dark Side presence when we are being haunted by the ghost of a Sith Lord, but our search may be more fruitful than the last two times."
"Let's," I reply and we warily enter the third temple, both curious and cautious about the dark presence we can sense within.
"It is a golden globe?" says Kota questioningly as we find the source of the Dark Side presence down within the lower levels of the temple.
"So it would seem," I reply as we all stare at the massive and glowing golden crystal sphere as it glistens with something within.
"There is an animal," says Aria suddenly as she looks at something beside the golden globe, "Some sort of white cat-rabbit."
Following Aria's gaze, I do spot what she is talking about and white cat-rabbit is a fairly accurate description of the small sleeping creature. Yet unlike the flowing glowing sphere it is next to, the creature should feel like the Dark Side of the Force. If anything, it feels like the Light Side, which is odd, but intriguing.
"It isn't a creature of the Dark Side," says Grey as we all stare at the creature.
"Somebody keep an eye on it," I say as I turn my attention back to the globe, "I'm going to investigate this thing."
Bathing myself in Force Light, I reach out to touch the floating sphere. As I make contact, I can feel the Light Side pushing up against the Dark Side and then- Boom!
I find myself being explosively flung away from the golden sphere, getting sent across the room. I slam into the wall and drop to the ground. Shaking off the flicker of pain, I deal with whatever minor injury I might have with a burst of Force healing as I get to my feet.
"Ben, are you okay?" asks Aria sharply as she rushes to my side.
"I am," I assure her as I roll my shoulders, "No serious injuries, but don't touch the thing. You lot might not be as tough as I am."
"I had a similar reaction when I tried to touch it," says an unfamiliar voice and I look around for the source, "And so I have been in a hibernation trance ever since, awaiting someone who could help me in my task to show up."
Recognising who is talking, I stare at the cat-rabbit creature as it is both clearly awake and talking to us. Clearly no mere beast as that level of communication means it-they must be a sapient being.
"Who are you?" asks Kota as the first to recover from the schok.
"I am Jedi Master Ikrit," replies the creature, "I'm afraid I don't recognise any of you and I have no idea how long I have been in my trance. I do hope I haven't missed much. Is Master Yoda still amongst the living?"
"Yes, he is," answers Aria, "My apologies, Master Ikrit, but neither I or any of my colleagues have heard of you."
"But you said you wanted our help with a task?" I inquire as I note that the creature does have a strong Force presence now that he is awake.
"Not your help," answers Master Ikrit, "I'm afraid that you are unfortunately far too old for that. Yet those just arriving are not."
"Those arriving?" inquires Grey, but I don't pay attention as I feel a familiar presence who should not be here.
"To the entrance!" I shout at the others as I run towards the stairs that lead up to the top of the temple.
Running up the stairs, I can hear a starship landing outside. Reaching the entrance, I am just in time to see a Freefall-class Starfighter landing next to the Knight I. As the boarding ramp comes down, I scowl at the sight of a cheerful Vyssa walking down it with Siaran in tow.
"Force forsake it, Vyssa," I growl at her.
The next chapter should be the last one in this arc. I was planning to have chapter be the last one, but things got dragged out and I figured that this point is a good point to break the Yavin 4 section of the arc in two.
Anyway, I did decide to work Ikrit and the Golden Globe into the story and from the beginning, I always planned for Vyssa to invite herself to the adventure against Ben's wishes. Now Ben has two Jedi Masters, three Jedi Knights and two Jedi Padawans for the confrontation and showdown with the ghost of Exar Kun.
For those wondering, the first temple is the Great Temple, the second one is the Blueleaf Temple and the third one is the Woolamander Palace. All of those are canonical locations with the first being the location of the rebel base in the Star Wars film that started it all.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
6.8 (Past Legacies) - Chapter Thirty-Four
"Hi Master," replies Vyssa and my disobedient padawan has the audacity to wave at me.
"What are you doing here?" I demand and Vyssa pauses at my glare, her cheer transforming into defiance.
"I decided to tag along on your adventure after you tried to ditch me," answers Vyssa.
"I left you behind for a reason and that was that this mission is too dangerous for a padawan," I tell her, "This moon is haunted by the ghost of Exar Kun."
"It is true, padawan," says Kota as Vyssa's defiance begins to turn to worry, "He has already been whispering temptations in our ears and those corpses around you belong to the beasts that he sent to attack us."
"And yet your presence is going to be helpful," says Master Ikrit from his perch on Aria's shoulder, "Thanks to the machinations of Exar Kun, I require the assistance of Jedi children. No adult Jedi is able to aid me in my task."
"Is this task safe?" I ask Master Ikrit as I turn my attention from my Padawan to the Jedi Master, "As Vyssa's master, I am responsible for her wellbeing."
"It shouldn't be too difficult," says Master Ikrit, "A Jedi Padawan should be more than up for it."
"Being easy doesn't equal being safe," I point out, "I am not asking if my padawan will be up for the task, I am asking if she will be safe doing it. Actually, what is this task that you are asking of her?"
"Merely to destroy the Golden Globe and free the souls trapped within," answers Master Ikrit, "Only a Force Sensitive can break it and only a child can touch it. You've experienced firsthand what happens when an adult touches it."
"That doesn't explain how safe the task is," notes Kota.
"It should be safe for a Jedi Padawan," says Master Ikrit, "The primary defence that Exar Kun left on it was that only a Force Sensitive child has a chance of breaking it. The barrier can be defeated with Force Light or similarly breached with the Force and then a child has to break the Golden Globe using the Force. The biggest concern is interference by the ghost of Exar Kun. I have not personally encountered him, but if he is causing trouble for you since your arrival, then he may attempt to stop this. "
"Can we go back to this whole part about Exar Kun's ghost causing trouble?" asks Vyssa as she interjects herself into the conversation, "Because that sounds really bad."
"It is and that is why I had you stay behind," I tell her, "This mission is too dangerous for a Padawan hence why I didn't bring you along, Vyssa. What are you doing here and how did you get here?"
"I decided that I didn't want to get left behind on an important mission," answers Vyssa, "Siaran felt the same way so I convinced him to come along and then I got the coordinates from telling Admiral Thak that I was going to be looking at potential routes in and out of Yavin. So I bought a secondhand Freefall bomber because it has a hyperdrive and space for more than one person whilst being cheap. As you saw, we used to come here."
"How did you get the money to afford it?" I ask, hoping she hasn't spent legion funding on this.
"I hit a Pyke warehouse and stole fifty thousand credits from it before setting the spice aflame," replies Vyssa, "I had already found a seller and figured out my route here before that so we went straight to the seller, brought the ship and then took it from the landing pad on Coruscant to here. In and out before anyone could react, but don't worry, I sent Admiral Thak a message explaining things before we jumped to hyperspace. I still have most of the money by the way."
"By the Force, Vyssa," I mutter before turning back to Master Ikrit, "Vyssa can help you. Let's just get this dealt with quickly so Exar Kun doesn't show up to cause trouble."
"Of course," answers Master Ikrit, "Back to the Golden Globe."
"Padawan Vareta," says Aria as we begin our way back to the lower levels of the temple, "Do you feel up to this task?"
"I do, Master," answers the Miraluka boy, "I would like to help."
"Then you can join Vyssa in this task," Aria tells him.
"Once we have returned, those of you that can use Force Light will need to surround the Golden Globe and weaken the energy barrier using Force Light," says Master Ikrit as we walk down the stairs, "Once the energy barrier is down, then the Padawans may enter the Golden Globe to break it from the inside using the Force."
"Enter it?" I say sharply as I turn my gaze to the ancient Jedi Master, "You mentioned nothing of that earlier. What is stopping Vyssa and Siaran getting trapped inside?"
"Just their control over the Force," replies Master Ikrit, "For themselves and everyone else inside to leave, they will need to break down the Golden Globe from within."
"Don't worry, Master," says Vyssa, "I can pull it off."
I certainly hope she can. Master Ikrit and I will be having words if she can't.
Once we reach the room containing the Golden Globe, I exchange a look with Kota and Grey as we silently agree on what to do. Each of us takes up position around the Golden Globe so we are forming a triangle around it. We call upon Force Light and the Golden Globe glow brightly for a moment as the Light Side battles against the Dark Side and then it dims as the energy barrier protecting is broken or at least temporarily taken out.
"Go Padawans!" calls Master Ikrit and Vyssa runs forward with Siaran following close behind.
Vyssa touches the floating sphere and instead of being thrown across the room like I was, her hand sinks into it. The rest of her quickly follows and then Siaran walks in after her. Just like the Padawans are gone and the rest of us are left to wait.
"Now what?" asks Aria.
"Now we wait on the Padawans to do their part," says Master Ikrit, "We must trust in them to succeed."
"Fine," I say, annoyed at not being able to do anything to help Vyssa, "Aria, I'm going to give you a crash-course on Force Light while we wait."
While we wait on the padawans, I give Aria a brief rundown on how to use Force Light with Master Ikrit chipping in. She quickly grasps the basic concept though actually doing it takes longer and I am still trying to help her get the hang of it when the Golden Globe begins to crack. Abandoning our previous efforts, both Aria and I focus our full attention on the Golden Globe as it begins to break apart. Then it shatters into sand of all things as Vyssa and Siaran emerge.
"Master, we-" starts Vyssa, clearly looking pleased with herself before she begins to choke and float into the air.
"I am not amused," declares Exar Kun as his ghost steps into view.
He is a dark and shadowy figure, an onyx silhouette and yet that black form is detailed. His face has high cheekbones, obsidian skin and haughty ebony eyes to go with a thin, angry mouth. His long black locks of hair sweep across his shoulder whilst also being pulled back in a thick ponytail. Most distinctively, a tattoo of a black sun pulses with dark light from where it is burnt into his forehead.
And he sneers at my Padawan as he holds an outstretched arm, his hand pointed in a grip at Vyssa and in that moment, I know he is choking her with the Force.
"You shall not!" I growl and ignite the white blade of my lightsaber as I swing it at him.
Exar Kun laughs as he catches the blade with his other hand.
"You think that will stop me!" crackles Exar Kun as he throws Vyssa into a wall, where she slumps to the ground, "You are nothing before me, Jedi!"
I get a glimpse of my arm getting broken in the Force just before there is an audible snap in my arm. I scream in pain as one of the bones in my arm is broken and I drop my lightsaber. Something-Exar Kun-picks me up and I feel myself being thrown across the room. I hear shouts and fighting as I grit my teeth and try to fight through the pain. It hurts, but I'm pretty sure that I have been through worse and I push the pain down as I get to my feet.
Calling upon the Force, I send a burst of Force healing through my injured limb. Not enough to fully heal it, but enough that the pain goes down to an ignorable level and my arm should be somewhat functional. At the very least, it should be functional for this fight even if I will need to see a medic for proper treatment later.
When I look over at the fight, Siaran is being thrown against a wall while Kota is being choked. The latter stops when Master Ikrit slams into the spectre of Exar Kun, unsteadying the Sith Lord. Grey strikes at the ghost, but Exar Kun catches him in a telekinetic grip and flings him in my direction. I dart out to catch Grey and I grab him with both arms before he can crash into anything.
"You okay?" I ask.
"Just peachy," replies Grey with a wince, "This guy is tough."
"I know," I say, "We need to withdraw. Get the Padawans and escort them back to the ships. The rest of us will keep Exar Kun busy while you do that."
"Okay," comes the reply and I throw myself into the fray.
Aria spots me making my return to the fight and launches an attack on Exar Kun from the opposite direction to me. Swinging the purple blades of her lightsaber, she doesn't make it far because before she is lifted off the ground. That doesn't stop Aria as she tosses her lightsaber at the shade, but the weapon pauses mid-air in front of the Sith.
"A paltry effort," sneers Exar Kun, "You should have accepted my offer, Nelaria. You have so much potential. It will be a shame to end it."
"I will never turn to the Dark Side!" Aria shouts back and I slam into Exar Kun as I blaze with Force Light.
Exar Kun howls with pain as the Sith Lord is burnt by the power of the Light Side and he tries to toss me away like he did before. Except this time, I am ready for it and thanks to my battle precognition, I already have a Force barrier in place to keep me from going anyway. As I slam against the invisible barrier with a grunt, Aria slashes Exar Kun across the face with her lightsaber.
He sends her flying across the room with a Force push and Kota stabs Exar Kun through the heart as he becomes another beacon of Force Light. Before the ghost can react, Ikrit jumps on Exar Kun's face, claws digging into the midnight black skin before the ancient Jedi Master positively glows with Force Light, channelling in far greater strength than either I or Kota can.
Roaring with rage and pain, Exar Kun attempts to summon my lightsaber to his hands. I reach out with the Force to bring it to my own hand and it freezes midair as Exar Kun and I struggle for control over it. Then with one last howl of fury and agony, the ghost of Exar Kun vanishes, leaving us with our injuries and a room with sand scattered across its floor.
"Did we get him?" asks Rahm in surprise as he holds out his lightsaber, refusing to deactivate it or even lower it.
"I believe we won a fight," I answer as my lightsaber flies into my hand, "But I also believe that Exar Kun is still out there."
"I agree with, Knight Shan," says Ikrit, "We might have vanquished Exar Kun in this battle, but I doubt we have vanquished him for good."
"Where are the Padawans?" asks Aria sharply as she looks around.
"I had Falon take them upstairs to the ships," I answer, "I saw no point in endangering their lives in the fight against Exar Kun."
"We should go and join them," says Aria and she begins to walk towards the stairs.
"First, let me do some healing," says Ikrit as he hops from Aria's shoulder to Rahm's head, "I may not be the most proficient fighter and I am certainly no lightsaber duelist, but I do know how to heal quite well."
After a moment on Rahm's head, Ikrit jumps to me and the ancient Jedi Master gracely lands on my head. Within a moment, I feel a comforting warmth flowing through my body as my aches go away and the throbbing pain in my arm vanishes. By the end of it, I can feel any sign that my arm was broken at all.
"Thank you, Master Ikrit," I thank my fellow Jedi as we reach the stairs and he hops back to Aria's shoulder.
The others are waiting for us at the top and as soon as they spot us, both Vyssa and Siaran come running up to myself and Aria respectively.
"Master!" exclaims Vyssa, "Are you okay?"
"Master Ikrit is a most proficient healer," I tell her, "I am as good as new."
"What about Exar Kun?" asks Falon, "Did you defeat him?"
"He was defeated in battle, but he has yet to be vanquished for good," answers Ikrit.
"Speaking of which, does that Freefall of yours have any bombs aboard?" I ask Vyssa and she blinks.
"Yeah, but not a full load," answers Vyssa as her face scrunches up in thought, "Eight or ten proton bombs. Why?"
"Because there is a dark and ominous Sith temple not too far away and I would like to bomb it," I say.
"Ready, Vyssa?" I call over the comms.
"Master Kota is ready with the bombs," replies my Padawan as the Freefall-class Starfighter she is piloting does a slow loop over the ominous obsidian temple in the middle of the volcanic lake.
While Aria and Ikrit have joined me in the Knight I, Rahm and Falon made the choice to join the Padawans in their Freefall bomber to help fill out its crew of four. That and if anything should go wrong, the Padawans will have a pair of more experienced Jedi at hand to help them out.
"Drop them when you are ready," I tell her.
"Yes, Master," replies Vyssa and a moment later, the bombs begin to drop from the Freefall-class bomber.
The proton bombs slam into the ancient temple below and explosions tear through the obsidian structure, ripping it apart. For a moment, it looks like my plan has worked and the temple is destroyed judging from the fire blazing below and the rumble of the ruined building. Then something rips through one of the wings on the Freefall bomber and the crippled starfighter begins to go crashing to the ground as Vyssa is unable to maintain control.
"Force forsake it," I curse as I bring the Knight I down, firing both the laser cannons and the blaster cannons at the ruins of the temple as I blame Exar Kun for what just happened.
Exar Kun unleashes another telekinetic strike, but I dodge out of the way. Perks of having battle precognition, fast reflexes and being an ace starfighter pilot. I fire a missile down at Exar Kun's location for what it is worth, but the missile is deflected into the lake.
"I'm going to put the ship on remote," I tell Aria and Ikrit as I get up from the pilot's seat, switching control of the Knight I to my armour systems, "I'm joining the others on the ground."
Vyssa has managed to improvise an emergency landing on the island and I am not leaving her and the others to face Exar Kun on their own. With Aria following while Ikrit sits on her shoulder, I open the hatch and open out of the air. Using the Force to soften my fall, I land in front of Rahm and Falon, who have placed themselves between the Padawans and Exar Kun.
"You dare destroy my temple!" shouts Exar Kun as he imperiously points a hand at us while Aria makes her own landing next to me, "You shall-agh!"
Whatever the ghost of the Sith Lord was going to say, he is interrupted when Ikrit decides to land not with the rest of us, but on the face of Exar Kun. Exar Kun howls with pain as Ikrit shines with Force Light
"Work together and trust in the Light Side of the Force," I tell the others as I draw and ignite both of my lightsabers, "We can bring him down so long as we trust in ourselves, each other and the Force."
"You foul beast!" screeches Exar Kun as he rips Ikrit off of his face and slams the ancient Jedi Master into the ground, "All of you dare to defy me! I am Exar Kun and you shall have no victory on this day."
I am about to make a retort back, pointing out that we already bested him at the third temple when I feel my throat being constricted. An invisible stranglehold is throttling my ability to breathe and from the sounds about me, I know I am not the only one that Exar Kun is Force choking. A dangerous technique, but I am not helpless. With the Knight I already in position just in case, all I have to do is fire the blaster cannons with one remove activation and Exar Kun's position is lit up with blaster fire. It isn't enough to defeat the Sith Lord, but it is enough to stop the ghost's attempt to kill us all.
"You think such paltry methods are enough to stop me?" mocks Exar Kun before he laughs, "You shall learn to fear me before I grant you the mercy of death. Most of you at least since I think those children with you will make an excellent foundation for a new Brotherhood of the Sith."
"He's bluffing," says Falon quietly as he and Rahm move up to be next to Aria and I, "He is weaker than last time and he isn't confident of victory."
"You sure?" I ask back quietly and he nods, "Okay, Aria-what are you doing Aria?"
"What needs to be done," replies Aria as she enters a meditative-like state.
And just like that, I also know what needs to be done and I know that everyone else knows what needs to be done. As Exar Kun threatens and mocks us, all of us take up positions around the ghost, encircling the Sith Lord.
"You will not be enough to stop me," gloats Exar Kun, "The full might of the Jedi Order could not truly defeat me. What makes you find a mere handful of Jedi could accomplish what your betters could not?"
"Because, Exar Kun, we are stronger than you," replies Aria as we all work together to channel Force Light in harmony, "We stand together and we stand in the light. That will be enough to finish off the decayed ghost of a once great Sith Lord."
"Foolish girl," retorts Exar Kun and he lashes out with the Force.
Yet we stand together in unity and Aria stands firm as our combined light snuffs out Exar Kun's dark power.
"We might not be as great as those who defeated you before, you are a mere shadow of your living self that refuses to die," says Rahm as our Force light becomes a wall, a Wall of Light.
"And the way to get rid of a shadow is to shine light over it," adds Ikrit as our Wall of Light encloses around the ghost of Exar Kun.
Then another figure joins us, another ethereal form except this one is closer in nature to the ghost of Meetra Surik than the ghost of Exar Kun. Short and hunched, the figure has a tentacled funnel face with relatively small eyes beneath thick brows made of shell. I don't recognise them, but Exar Kun suddenly does judging by how he freezes with an expression of grimace mixed with shock.
"Together, Jedi can emerge triumphant over their foes," declares the Jedi Force ghost and I try to figure out who the individual is, "Exar Kun, my student, you are defeated at last."
"No!" screeches Exar Kun as the Wall of Light closes in on him and he desperately looks for a way to escape.
Telekinetic strikes slam into the Wall of Light as Exar Kun either tries to breach it or attack one of those behind, but his power is too little to defeat our combined strength. The Wall of Light engulfs Exar Kun and he lets out one last scream that is quickly curtailed as his dark figure is no more.
Then our unity is broken as Aria ends her battle meditation, leaving the rest of us nonplussed. Shaking off the brief moment of disorientation, I got to Aria's side.
"Are you okay?" I ask her as I help her steady herself.
"Just fine," answers Aria as she shakes her head, "I'm just-I don't usually use my battle meditation like that."
"It worked," says Rahm, "Very well and I'm glad that is over."
"Yeah, me too," I agree as I begin to wonder just what sort of use I could get out of this moon.
And this is the end of this arc. I could have dragged it out, but at this point, I wanted to finish up this arc and move onto the Clone Wars proper. I hope I did Exar Kun and the other characters justice as I didn't want Exar Kun to be a pushover and I wanted all of the characters to have different parts in the fight against him.
Anyway, Exar Kun is gone and the Yavin system is free for Ben and his forces to use. Also bonds have been forged and friendships have been strengthened in the heat of battle though I hope the subtext in the chapter is enough that I don't have to spell it out for you.
With the next arc, there will be a bit of a time skip between there and now. Nothing major as it will be two to three weeks, but I want to get to the Clone Wars part of this fic and I don't want to cover Ben expanding/upgrading his forces when I have already covered what he is going to do. So I'm skipping to some of the action.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Interlude - The Battle of Allanteen Six Shipyards
"What does the situation look like, Admiral Dalden?" Jedi Master Karth Hastros asks the Republic admiral assigned to his flagship.
"Substantial, but that was to be expected given the shipyards here," answers Admiral Trus Dalden as the man inspects the holomap, "A pair of Dreadnought Heavy Cruisers, a dozen Banking Clan Frigates and six-no-seven Corellian Corvettes. While they have yet to launch any, assuming that all enemy warships have a full fighter complement, the enemy should be capable of fielding twenty-six starfighter squadrons to the thirty two that we have on the Jurisdiction."
"We'll have to close the distance to engage them," says Karth as he tries to remember the specs of the warships on both sides of this upcoming fight, "They'll have us outgunned at long range. We will need to get up close to bring our full firepower to bear."
"Do you have a plan, General?" inquires Admiral Dalden.
"Yes," answers Karth, "Launch all starfighters to bait the enemy into engaging, send them out to engage the enemy with our frigates and corvettes. The Carracks will stay back to project our capital ships. The enemy has more capital ships, but we have more escorts and starfighters so we will leverage that by prioritising taking out the enemy starfighters and corvettes.
"Our V-19s will be a match for their Vultures and our DP20s will make short work of their CR90s. Once that is gone, those Munificent frigates have a lot of firepower and good shielding, but their hulls are only lightly armoured. We can hit them with missiles and torpedoes while we whittle down the Dreadnoughts with our turbolasers."
"Good plan, General," says Admiral Dalden, "I shall inform the ship captains. You should also be aware that we have detected indications that the Separatists have battle droids both aboard the shipyards and occupying several key locations on the planet."
"Unfortunate, but not unexpected," replies Karth, "The expectation of a ground fight is why we brought a couple of legions with us. We will worry about that once we have gained superiority in space. No point in planning a ground engagement when you aren't sure if you are going to even reach the planet."
"Of course, General," says Admiral Dalden, "What position will you be taking in this battle?"
"I shall be making use of my battle meditation," answers the Jedi Master.
The Confederacy warships open fire first and the Republic forces soon return it. The weight of firepower goes to the defenders, but the Republic warships have greater accuracy as they unerring strike true against the enemy Munificent-class Star Frigates.
In the meanwhile, close to four hundred V-19 Torrent Starfighters fly at the enemy fleet and the Republic starfighters are accompanied by a dozen CR90 Corvettes and ten DP20 Frigates. Little over three hundred enemy starfighters fly out to engage them, overwhelming droid starfighters, but amongst the vultures are a couple dozen Z-95 Headhunters.
As a Munificent goes down to acutely accurate turbolaser fire of the Republic attackers, the enemy starfighters engage. Concussion missiles obliterate several squadrons of Vultures before the dogfighting begins and with the clones having both skill, superior equipment and numbers on their size, there is no contest. It isn't entirely one-sided as some of the Republic starfighters are shot down, but for every V-19 Torrent that is blown away, a dozen VultureS are blasted apart by the clone pilots. With the Corellian Corvettes and Frigates in the fray as well, any chance of a Separatist victory in the dogfight dwindles to nothing.
There is a brief upset when almost four dozen Cutlass-9 Patrol Fighters jump out of the hyperspace, but the Separatist reinforcements are too few, too late to change how the battle is going. Their concussion missiles are enough to cripple a CR90 Corvettes and knock out the engines of DP20 Frigate, leaving them vulnerable to the Separatist warships as they are unable to avoid being ripped apart by turbolaser fire.
But in the end, the dogfight ends and the Separatist forces are clearly fighting a lost battle. All of the Z-95 Headhunters and the droid starfighters are destroyed while half a dozen of the Cutlass-9s successfully escaped to hyperspace.
One of the Carracks defending the Republic capital ships is ripped asunder by Separatist turbolaser fire, but is only a salve to the Separatists' showing when they have lost another two Munificents along with one of their Corellian Corvettes. Their chances of a victory are long gone and it seems that the Confederate commander is smart enough to realise that truth. The surviving Separatist warships break from their defensive position as they begin to seek a good position to jump to hyperspace from.
The Republic starfighters and escort wave amongst their formation while the Republic capital ships pound them from afar. A trio Separatist corvettes are taken out while another three Munificent frigates are blown away by the Republic forces. The survivors successfully jump away with the exception in the form of a stray Munificent-class Star Frigate that had its hyperdrive knocked out. A missile barrage from the remaining Republic DP20 Frigates is another to finish off the already damaged warship, leaving the Republic invaders to count up their losses.
"What is the plan, General Hastros?" asks CC-6104 as the clone commander stands beside the Jedi Master as their gunship flies towards the occupied shipyards of Allanteen Six.
"Land in the hangars, push through the outer defences to the power core and the primary control centre," answers General Hastros, "The main fight will be on the world itself, but the priority is securing the shipyards as soon as possible so the Republic can begin using them for its own needs. To this end, we are looking at facing a few thousand droids that will be defending shipyards. Mostly battle droids, but we suspect there will be some of the new super battle droids added to the mix."
"Understood, General," replies CC-6104.
They are going to be outnumbered, but nothing that CC-6104 and his troops can't handle. B1s go down easy enough and B2s may take a few more shots, but they also go down without too much difficulty. And with one of the generals with them, they shouldn't take too many losses in the process of retaking the shipyards.
As the gunship lands in the next alongside three of its kind, General Hastros activates his lightsaber as he leaps out of the gunship, the first one to exit the transport after its hatches open up. Two squads of B1 Battle Droids are waiting and General Hastros wastes no time charging them. The droids open fire and General Hastros brings down two of them with precisely aimed deflected blaster fire before he begins to cut them down.
CC-6104 joins the attack, opening fire with his DC-15S blaster carbine and one of the battle droids falls to the blue blaster bolts. More of the clones open fire and between them and General Hastros, both squads of battle droids are demolished within moments and the hangar is secure.
"Hangar secure, sir," reports CC-6104 as he jogs up to join the Jedi, "Further orders?"
"Take half of the troops and push towards the command centre, Commander," replies General Hastros, "I shall lead the rest to secure the power core. We don't want the enemy overloading it to destroy the shipyards."
"Understood, General," replies CC-6104 before turning to the clone troopers behind them, "First Platoon and Red Squad, you are with General Hastros. Second Platoon and Blue Squad, you are with me. Green Squad and Yellow Squad, you are to stay here and defend the hangar from any attempts to retake it by the enemy. Good luck, sir."
"I don't need luck," replies General Hastros as he marches towards one of the corridors, "I have the Force."
"Of course, General," says CC-6104 as he isn't sure of the proper response to that.
After taking a brief moment to check a map of the shipyard's layout, CC-6104 decides on the best route to the command centre that oversees the shipyard.
"Blue Squad, take point," orders CC-6104 as the clone commander walks towards the entrance that leads to the command centre, "Second Platoon behind me. Let Grey Squad take up the rear."
It isn't long before their group runs into more of the droid defenders. A dozen B1s are running down the corridor as they move to retake the hangar. A firefight takes place between the droids and the clones, a brief one that ends in favour of the latter.
"Anyone get hurt?" asks CC-6104 as the last of the battle droids go down.
"Verger took a hit, but he is only injured," replies one of the sergeants, "He can still fight."
"Let one of the field medics take a look at him," decides CC-6104, "We need to keep pushing."
"Sir, yes, sir," say the rest of the clone troopers and once again, they are off.
As they reach one of the more open areas where supplies are normally stored for easy access, the clones run into a hastily organised defence. A score of B1s are standing behind crates with a handful of B2s mixed into their numbers.
"Take cover!" shouts CC-6104 as both sides open fire.
A trooper next to CC-6104 goes down as a pair of blaster bolts strike in the chest and the clone commander returns fire, blasting the head off of a battle droid. As he runs towards a crate, CC-6104 targets one of the super battle droids and with a couple of his fellow clones also targeting it, the droid goes now.
"Commander, this is General Lezow," says the general of the other legion supporting the attack over CC-6104's comlink, "We have secured the other hangar and are pushing in. I am also leading a push to secure the command centre."
"Understood, General," replies CC-6104 as he guns down another B1, "We have been running into multiple pockets of resistance. Expect multiple fights on your way to the command centre, ma'am."
"Thank you for the warning, commander," replies General Lezow, "Hopefully we will see each other soon."
The general ends the call and CC-6104 switches his full attention back to the battle at hand. He blasts another B1 in the chest before shooting a series of blaster bolts into the one next to it. He ducks behind the crate when one of the last two B2s fires at him before rolling out and unloading a barrage into the super battle droid until it topples over backwards. He looks around for more targets only to find that there are no more droids left.
"Casualty report!" calls CC-6104 as he takes stock of the situation.
"We lost Seven-Five," reports someone.
"Mags and Clix also brought it," says someone else, "And I got a hit to the shoulder."
"My leg got hit and it isn't working anymore," calls another clone, "Hurt a lot too."
"Nub out cold, but he is breathing," says one of the sergeants, "He took a couple of bad hits though."
"Ten-Twenty, Bellow, escort the wounded back to the hangar," says CC-6104, "Duggy, go with them and carry Nub. Verger and Blitz, can you two support Eighty? Good, do that. The rest of you, we are still pushing the command centre."
Their journey continues and is interrupted twice more, first when they run into a trio of battle droids that are quickly dispatched and then when they encounter another squad of B1s supported by a B2, to which they get another injured trooper. The next big issue is when they run into a junction where they have two different routes that they can take.
"Blue Squad, Grey Squad, you are with me on the right," decides CC-6104, "Orange Squad, Brown Squad, take the left corridor and secure it. Remember the objective. We need to secure the command centre."
And with only fourteen clones out of the hundred and eight that landed with him, CC-6104 is forced to push into the Separatist defences. The next challenge is the first one where his force doesn't outnumber the enemy as they wind up facing a platoon's worth of B1 Battle Droids marching down the corridor.
"Pull back!" orders CC-6104, unloading his blaster carbine even as two clone troopers go down to the enemy opening fire on them. They duck back around the corner they came past, hostile blaster fire slamming into the wall.
"What now, sir?" asks one of the clone troopers, "We don't have enough blasters to take them out before they overwhelm us."
"We have grenades," replies CC-6104 as he pulls out a frag grenade, "We'll use those to thin their numbers."
Not bothering to stick his head out and risk getting shot, CC-6104 just lobs his grenade around the corner while one of the sergeants tosses an EMP grenade. Once those both go off, CC-6104 throws another EMP grenade around just be sure.
"Blue Squad, move up," orders CC-6104 once the third grenade has gone off as while he would like to lead from the front, it would be inappropriate for a commander like himself to risk himself so needlessly.
"Yes, sir," comes the response and the last four clone troopers of Blue Squad run around the corner.
CC-6104 quickly joins them, running around the corner just in time to see one of his brothers go down to Separatist blaster fire.
"For the Republic!" shouts CC-6104 as he fires into the remaining B1s, perhaps ten of them still standing.
He personally guns down three of them with the rest of his force taking out the rest.
"How bad?" asks the clone commander as he bends down to inspect one of the downed clone troopers, taking only a moment to notice that he is dead.
"Niks is dead and so is Trigger," says the sergeant of Grey Squad, "Longshot is alive, but needs medical attention."
"Greenbird is dead too," replies CC-6104, "Blue Squad, get Longshot back to the hangar for medical attention. Grey Squad, we have to keep pushing. Make sure none of these droids are getting up after those EMP grenades and then we move on. Reinforcements will be linking up with us shortly and we have a mission to complete."
"Sir, yes, sir," comes the response and the clones move on because they have a job to do."
"Good work, commander," says Karth as he joins his clone commander in the captured command centre of Allanteen Six's shipyard.
While he led the assault on the power core easily enough, Karth understands that the clones had a harder time of it with seizing the command centre. Knight Lezow and her forces were pinned down by a good portion of the droidekas on the shipyards, leaving Commander CC-6104 to spearhead the attack on the command centre with only his fellow clones to help him out.
"Thank you, General," says the clone commander, "We tried to minimise the damage, but the command centre may need some repairs before it can be used. It will certainly need some repairs before it can be restored to full functionality."
"The droids didn't give up without a fight," inquires Karth as he looks around at the various remains of the battle droids and super battle droids that have been dragged off to the side so they don't get in the way.
"The clankers never give up without a fight, sir," replies the clone commander, "I don't believe that surrendering is in their programming.
"You have a point there, commander," agrees Karth, "I hope we didn't lose too many troopers."
"Casualties are well within acceptable parameters," answers the clone commander, "We have lost almost two hundred so far, but we have inflicted far greater losses on the droids. With the command centre and power core secured, the remaining operations aboard the shipyards are eliminating all of the remaining droids."
"Remember to prioritise keeping losses low," says Karth, "Men are not as expendable as droids and we can afford to take some time to reduce how many of our own die. Commander, I need you to run things from here. I'll be taking to the frontlines so I can use my skills to minimise our own losses and maximise those of our enemies."
"Of course, General," replies the clone commander, "Our forces in Sector G-T3 have encountered heavy resistance with at least two hundred hostile droids fortifying the chokehold. They are currently holding position while we look for a way to flank the droids, but if you go down to help them assault the enemy position, it would greatly speed up our time frame."
"I will," decides Karth as it feels like a good idea, "Give me a route to the location and inform whoever has local command over there that I am coming."
"Yes, General."
This update is something of an experiment. I wanted to try writing an interlude from multiple perspectives to show how a battle has progressed, but I'm not happy with how it turned out. It feels a bit too disjointed for me, but I wrote it so I decided I might as well post it.
Anyway, for those wondering, Karth Hastros is Ben's old master and one who trained him to knighthood.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Battle of Allanteen Six Shipyards
Republic Forces Commanders
Jedi Master/Jedi General Karth Hastros
Jedi Knight/Jedi General Mivva Lezow
Admiral Trus Dalden
Taskforce Jurisdiction
Venator-class Star Destroyer Jurisdiction
-32 Squadrons of 12 V-19 Torrent Starfighters (384 Total)
Acclamator-class Assault Ship Kestrel Ravager
Acclamator-class Assault Ship Fury Fire
4 Carrack-class Light Cruisers
10 DP20 Frigates
12 CR90 Corvettes
679th Armoured Division
-9,216 Clone Troopers
-78 TX-130 Saber-class Fighter Tanks
-96 AT-TEs
-86 LAAT/i Gunships
-26 LAAT/c Gunships
797th Recon Division
-9,216 Clone Troopers
-640 BARC Speeders
-360 AT-RTs
-86 LAAT/i Gunships
Losses
1 Carrack-class Light Cruiser
1 DP20 Frigates
3 CR90 Corvettes
37 V-19 Torrent Starfighters
254 Clone Troopers
Separatist Forces
Commanders
Admiral Danya Zoon
Space Forces
2 Dreadnought-class Heavy Cruisers
-2 Squadrons of 12 Z-95 Headhunters (24 Total)
12 Munificent-class Star Frigates
-24 Squadrons of 12 Vulture Droid Starfighters (288 Total)
7 CR90 Corvettes
5 Squadrons of 9 Cutlass-9 Patrol Fighters (45 Total)
Ground Forces
Droid Army (1 Corps)
-78,400 B1 Battle Droids (Roughly 5,000 aboard the shipyards)
-30,800 B2 Super Battle Droids (Roughly 1,200 aboard the shipyards)
-4,368 Droidekas (Roughly 200 aboard the shipyards)
-2,850 AATs
Losses
7 Munificent-class Star Frigates
4 CR90 Corvettes
24 Z-95 Headhunters
288 Vulture Droid Starfighters
39 Cutlass-9 Patrol Fighters
5,000ish B1 Battle Droids
1,200ish B2 Super Battle Droids
200 Droidekas
7.1 (Rodian Relief) - Chapter Thirty-Five
"Green Squadron, engage those CloakShapes," I order as I pursue the modified freighter that the pirates are using as a warship, "Red Squadron, finish off that pair of Skyhoppers. Thunder Squadron, help me finish off this freighter."
Dealing with pirates is a common, but necessary job. Especially so these days with how much of the usual protection for interstellar shipping is being diverted to war purposes. Fortunately for the traders, it is a job that my people are ideally suited for and it is a nice simple mission that is good for breaking in new recruits.
Of course, we haven't been getting poor recruits. The best graduates from worlds like Carida, Anaxes, Corulag and Raithal have been eager to sign up with my forces. The Battle of Geonosis made the 1st Republic Patriot Legion the new darling war heroes of the Republic and a desirable unit to join for anyone wanting to defend the Republic. Combined with my second victory against Dooku at Rhen Var and their representatives in the Senate have been pushing their worlds in supporting me, the latest batch of young hotshots and eager youths have been signing up in droves as they graduate from their military academies.
At first I thought it was a lucky coincidence that the war started just as the premier military academies across the galaxy turned out their latest batch of graduates. But having thought about it, I suspect Palpatine was arranging that timing to get a load of non-clone recruits signing up for the Republic military.
But even if we haven't been getting poor recruits, a rookie is a rookie. They might be well-trained and/or naturally talented, but they still need to get some experience and pirate hunting is an excellent task. Especially since it helps me get some goodwill from the worlds I am helping stay supplied with vital trade.
And as a side bonus, it is a nice way to get a feel for our new starfighters as I begin to phase out the Z-95 Headhunters in favour of Liberator-class Starfighters, Aurek-class Starfighters and Y-Wing bombers.
I am personally flying one of the first, trading away my old Z-95 Headhunter for one of the new Liberators. Production of them began almost a week ago and the first shipment arrived a couple of days ago with enough showing up to fit five squadrons. And the best part is that I don't have to pay for them as to show his support for the war effort, the new Corellian Diktat made a public show of personally paying for three thousand Liberator-class Starfighters to be delivered to the 1st Republic Patriot Legion.
Personally, I am extremely appreciative of that deed and hopefully it is a sign that Diktat Horsha could be a potential ally against Palpatine. Especially since Sidious' humanocentric supporters are going to look down upon a Drall, especially when they are a nonhuman in charge of an important system like Corellia.
Locking onto the freighter's engines as it tries to flee, I fire a burst from my heavy laser cannons. Of the two sunlight engines, one explodes as the laser bolts tear into it, rocking the pirate vessel as the other engine flickers and fails.
As the enemy returns fire, I pull up and away as a couple of laser turrets on the freighter open fire on me. Neither come close to hitting me and I am left amazed at just how much of an upgrade the Liberator is to the Headhunter. It isn't a total improvement across the board as while the firepower is superior to the default armaments of a Headhunter, it is about par with the upgrades we apply to our Z-95s and the top speed is actually slower.
But the Liberator has better armour and its computers and thrusters are so much better. The sensors are both significantly faster and more precise while the targeting computers lockon to a target with noticeably greater speed and superior accuracy. And the turning is just amazing. The Z-95 Headhunter was a good starfighter, but it wasn't agile as it had sluggish turns and was slow to manoeuvre. The Liberator-class has even better agility as it turns on a dime and manoeuvrability on par with an Aethersprite.
I really need to figure out how to get the rest of the Jedi Order to replace their Aethersprites with Liberator-class Starfighters. The only thing that the Delta-7 Aethersprite Light Interceptor has on the Liberator-class Starfighter is speed as the latter matches the former in agility and outclasses it when it comes to firepower, armour and shielding. And looking at what Corellia will charge for a Liberator versus what Kuat charges for an Aethersprite, it would be cheaper as well in addition to having an inbuilt hyperdrive.
On the other hand, I suspect that Sidious might be conspiring to keep the Jedi in starfighters like the Delta-7 Aethersprite Light Interceptor. It would explain why the Jedi only used light interceptors with poor armour and shielding with no inbuilt FTL capabilities.
In any case, that is a concern for another day when a dozen BTL-B Y-Wings swoop in. The lead two each fire off a proton torpedo while the other ten open fire with their laser cannon. The converted civilian starship stands no chance against that amount of firepower, not when its shields are already down and its hull has sustained damage. The proton torpedoes rip huge chunks out of the vessel and the laser cannons are just the deathblow.
"Good work, Thunder Squadron," I say to the pilots of the Y-Wing bombers before checking how the rest of the battle is going.
Red Squadron and Green Squadron are all flying Liberator-class Starfighters like I am and the second-rate pirate starfighters are both outclassed and outnumbered. Red Squadron has taken out both of the flimsy Skyhoppers while Green Squadron has dealt with all, but one of the CloakShapes and they are currently engaging that last one. For a moment I debate finishing off that last pirate myself, but in the end I decide that the pilots need the experience more than I need to ensure the kill.
" Freedom, this is General Shan," I call my flagship over the holonet, "Pirate freighter is down and the enemy starfighters have been dealt with. Send a shuttle over to investigate the wreck and another one for salvage operations."
There won't be much useful loot from the destroyed enemy starfighters, but intact parts can either be sold off in a pinch or potentially used to replace damaged components in our own equipment. We don't have any pressing engagements and my new engineers should use the experience so looting operations are a go and maybe that pirate starship might have something valuable onboard. At the very least, I want to see if we can find some information that could lead us to more scum to take care of.
"Understood, General Shan," replies one of the new voices from the Freedom, "Prepping two shuttles for launch now."
Turning my attention back to the space around me, I watch as a couple of Green Squadron finally finish off that last CloakShape, picking it apart with their laser cannons. That should be the last of this band of pirates, but it won't mean much. They weren't that big and only unescorted traders and convoys had to seriously worry about them. On the other hand, the war means that there are a lot less escorts to go around these days so taking out this group of pirates will almost certainly save some lives.
"Be advised that I'll be returning to the Freedom," I inform the woman on the other end of the comms, "The squadrons here can keep the situation under control while salvage operations are underway."
"Yes, sir," replies the rookie and I end the call.
"R4, plot a route to the Freedom and get ready to jump," I tell my new astromech.
"General Shan," says Ikrit as I climb out of my starfighter.
"Master Ikrit," I reply as I eye the Kushiban Jedi Master, "What brings you here?"
While I had expected to part ways with Ikrit when we arrived back at the temple on Coruscant, our separation was only temporary. After Aria, Ikrit, Rahm and Falon had made their reports about our adventure on Yavin 4 to the High Council with footage from my helmet and Vyssa's, the High Council had seen fit to assign Ikrit to me. I'm not entirely sure why, but the official explanation is that's lack of desire for combat would go well with my affinity for it and the ancient master's wisdom would help keep me from straying from the path of the Jedi.
That left me with mixed feelings. On the one hand, Ikrit is a talented Jedi Master and after our experiences together on Yavin 4, I would happily welcome his company. On the other hand, I dislike the fact that the High Council considers me straying from the Light Side to be a meaningful concern.
"Reports and a desire to speak with you," answers Ikrit.
"Let's hear the reports first," I say, "Then we can focus on what you wish to speak with me about."
"General Kota has identified another pair of possible pirate bases on his patrols and plans to take a squadron of Corellian Gunships to check them out," says Ikrit, "General Grey encountered a couple of traders on his patrol route and there has been no sign of any active piracy. He also reports that he has found some indications of a hasty withdrawal from the area and intends to investigate that before moving onto the next region."
"Good news then," I say, "What about the others?"
"General Telis and Commander Vareta have successfully escorted the convoy to Lantillies," continues Ikrit, "They are escorting another convoy to Herdessa as the fighting there has left the locals in need of both medical supplies and construction materials. Commander Randanys hasn't sent any more messages since her last one."
"Spywork doesn't always allow for regular contact," I note.
With a small window of opportunity to get some training and Vyssa's stated desire to become the spymistress of my forces, I took the opportunity to hand her off for more specialist training. I don't trust the Bothan Spynet, but until I get my own intelligence organisation, they are my best option and they are good at what they do. So calling in a favour and handing over a pile of credits, I arranged for Vyssa to be tutored by Faresk Nir'wey, an old friend of mine who happens to be both a Republic patriot and a senior operative for the Bothan Spynet.
Contact has been irregular since Vyssa left almost two weeks ago, but I sense that she is okay through the Force. I can't tell precisely how well she is doing, but I feel that she is doing well and so I know that she is doing well. And that is enough to satisfy me.
"You have more knowledge about that than I do," says Ikrit, "We only received another message from Senator Farr while you were away. He wanted to let you know that the next food shipment for Rodia would be leaving tomorrow and asked if you could spare some of your forces to make sure it arrives safely."
"I'll see what I can do," I reply, "Is that all or is there anything else you wish to talk to me about?"
"Only the personal matter I desire to discuss with you," answers Ikrit, "I believe a private location would be better for that sort of talk."
"Of course," I reply, "Hop on my shoulder and I'll find us a spot."
It doesn't take long to find one of the secure meeting rooms aboard the Freedom that get used as briefing rooms and locations for private talks amongst the senior leadership. As I lock the door, Ikrit jumps off of my shoulder and onto the table.
"Okay, Ikrit," I say as I turn to face him, "What do you want to discuss?"
"You are keeping secrets," says Ikrit, phrasing it as a statement not a question.
"I am," I confirm.
"Why?" inquires Ikrit, "You do not seem like a secretive man by nature, but you seem to act like one."
"The stakes are too high and the evidence is too little for me to make the sort of accusations," I answer, "I am looking for proof and a good way to deal with the situation, but until then, I need to keep things quiet lest we are all doomed should the wrong people find out."
"And the reason you haven't told any of your fellow Jedi?" asks Ikrit.
"I've told Vyssa the full truth and Aria the parts that she'll believe," I protest before slumping under Ikrit's gaze, "I can't trust any old Jedi and the High Council must have noticed at least some of it which means that they don't consider it a big deal otherwise they would have already taken some action. Instead, they have just gone along with it so they are either wilfully ignorant or they are refusing to upset the status quo."
"And what about myself?" asks Ikrit, "Or Master Kota or Knight Grey?"
"You haven't asked," I reply, "Until now that is. Anyway, I think Chancellor Palpatine is secretly Darth Sidious and masterminding both sides of this war to destroy the Jedi Order and transform the Galactic Republic into an empire."
Ikrit stares at me for a moment before sitting down.
"You are not lying," says the ancient Jedi Master after a moment, "Or at least you are claiming what you believed to be the truth. Why do you think that?"
"The key parts were revealed to me in the same vision that informed me about Geonosis," I answer as I know that Ikrit believes me or is at least willing to hear me out, "My vision was one of the downfall of the Republic as the Jedi Order was wiped out in a Second Jedi Purge that was thorough as the First Jedi Purge, tyranny and oppression replaced liberty and justice, and the Sith were ascendent. I decided to try and confirm before believing it was true and once you know what to look for, the signs are all there."
"And what are these signs?" inquires Ikrit.
"Slave army of child-soldiers complete with partial legalisation of slavery," I tell him, "The Senate Bureau of Intelligence has been gutted for 'corruption' and yet all of that power delegated to those removed has been turned out to the Supreme Chancellor's office. Both the SBI and the newly Republic Intelligence are run by the same person, who happens to be one of the Supreme Chancellor's lackeys.
"COMPOR is a humanocentric propaganda network sponsored and backed by the Chancellor that promotes speciesism and authoritarianism as desirable and even necessary for the Republic. The Chancellor has also used his emergency powers to let the Coruscant Guard trample over any rights regarding liberty and privacy in the name of combatting the Separatist threat.
You also have the Jedi being forced to become generals. It might seem hypocritical of me, but it is because of my own work that I know you cannot stuff any Jedi into a command position and expect things to turn out well. Most Jedi are just not cut out for it. And you've got the contingency orders. They are kept hush hush, but my vision warned me about them and I know a clone on Coruscant, Fox, who confirmed to me that they exist in addition to providing me with a copy. I sent a copy to the High Council, but their reply was they had been informed of them and while seemingly concerning, I didn't need to worry about it because it was for extreme emergency situations."
"Perhaps they aren't as bad as you fear?" suggests Ikrit.
"Order Sixty-Six," I say with a shake of my head before quoting the contingency order in question, "'In the event of Jedi officers acting against the interests of the Republic, and after receiving specific orders verified as coming directly from the Supreme Commander, GAR commanders will remove those officers by lethal force, and command of the GAR will revert to the Supreme Commander until a new command structure is established'. It is a kriffing directive to genocide the entire Order."
"Judging by the emphasis you are placing on it, would I be correct in assuming it is relevant to your vision?" asks Ikrit.
"Yes, it is what Sidious used to take out the Jedi Order," I answer, "It doesn't seem too bad at face value except I asked Fox just what constituted 'Jedi officers' and here is what he said."
Tapping some controls on the holoprojector in the room, I call up a clip from my conversation with Commander Fox.
"In the context of Republic military regulations, General Shan, a Jedi officer is any member of the Jedi Order who is old enough to hold a command position regardless of whether they currently hold one," says Fox's voice, "It also applies to any similarly capable Force wielder who is in service to the Republic. The Supreme Commander can make exceptions to the kill order as needed."
"I see," comes my reply, "What is considered old enough to hold a command position?"
"Basically, if the Jedi can talk and understand the situation, they are to be targeted and killed," replies Fox, "You don't need to worry about it, sir. I can't think of any plausible circumstances in which it would be required. Besides, it isn't to be invoked without being absolutely necessary."
The recording ends and I turn my attention from it back to Ikrit, whose fur has changed from its usual white to grey for some reason.
"Who is the Supreme Commander that this foul order refers to?" asks Ikrit, "And why have you not sent this recording to the High Council?"
"It is currently an unfulfilled position, but I believe that Palpatine will seek to acquire it for himself," I answer, "It could have been Supreme Chancellor instead of Supreme Commander, but I believe Palpatine wants to mislead people until he acquires the latter position. And I did send it to the High Council, but they agree with Fox that it is just a contingency order that won't ever be abused so I don't need to worry about it."
"And yet the very fact it exists should be concerning," says Ikrit, "Especially since I doubt that is the only concerning order amongst those contingencies."
"It is not," I confirm, "Some are fine as such as determining what should happen should something happen to the Supreme Chancellor, but those are just the first thirty and the last thirty. Those between them tend to be more concerning. One of them is an order to wipe out all life on a planet. Another is to use mass arrests and executions to cover an individual and then to cover it up afterwards. A third is to eliminate a VIP on our side and then frame or blame the enemy for it."
"I see," says Ikrit and he is silent for a few moments before speaking, "I have been away from the Jedi Order for little more than three and a half centuries and much has changed. My master and the Order in general was always steeped in tradition and hesitant to upend the status quo, but it is far worse in this day and age. They fear change and acting out against the Senate, choosing to accept the unacceptable lest they be viewed as opposing those in power. The High Council when I was a Padawan and then a knight would not have accepted this contingencies. Did none speak out against it?"
"The High Council puts up a united front to avoid spreading division within the ranks of the Order," I answer as I watch Ikrit's fur change colour again as it goes from grey to black, "Some almost certainly raised their concerns in private, but when a majority decided it was not an issue, they would have kept their mouths shut than undermine the decision of their colleagues."
"Have they forgotten what it means to be a Jedi?" protests Ikrit.
"I believe so," I reply, "They act like enforcers of the Senate and champions of the government, not servants of the Force and protectors of the people. It has been a slow trend, but a noticeable one across the Order for the last decade."
"Was not a decade when Palpatine became a Supreme Chancellor?" asks Ikrit sharply.
"Yes, it is," I confirm, "I didn't miss that coincidence either."
"Perhaps because it isn't a coincidence as we both suspect," says Ikrit, "Is there a way we can stop the Chancellor from becoming the Supreme Commander? Perhaps by getting someone more trustworthy into the position first?"
"It wouldn't work," I answer with a shake of my head, "The wording is just a legal technicality to sell it to the public after the fact. Palpatine is relying upon the chips, not military regulations to enforce it."
"The chips?" repeats Ikrit in a questioning tone.
"In my vision, the Sith had secret mind control chips placed in the heads of all the clone troopers," I explain, "When Palpatine gave the right words, they would activate and force the clones to carry out Palpatine's will in addition to suppressing the free will and personalities of the clones. He had Dooku convince the Kaminoans to go along with it and keep them secret by having him pose as a Jedi who was concerned about the possibility of the Jedi using the clone army to turn on the Republic. I am still looking into a way to investigate this without drawing undue attention."
"This vision of yours was quite extensive," notes Ikrit.
"It was," I agree, "It knocked me out in the middle of a mission and left me unconscious for hours. I woke up in the infirmary unsure of who I was and what reality was real."
"I must meditate on this," says Ikrit suddenly, "If you could send me copies of your conversation with this Fox, what you sent to the High Council, their response and anything else you have identified regarding the Chancellor's true character and intentions, I would appreciate it."
"Of course, Master Ikrit."
Start of a new arc and Ben is going pirate hunting to pass the time as he waits for his new ships both to earn some goodwill from helping people and to break in his new recruits. The aftermath of a minor anti-pirate action to start things off. The gap before going to war is also something Ben is taking advantage of to get Vyssa some spy training from his Bothan contacts.
Other than that, Ikrit has been assigned to Ben as someone who will balance him out by the High Council and now Ikrit has decided to call out Ben on the secrets that he is keeping. Ben spills the beans and we see some of what he has been up to such as investigating Order 66.
Given that the Jedi apparently knew about them, but weren't worried about them, my take is that most were unaware and the High Council didn't see the need to go against the Chancellor and the Senate on this matter when they didn't expect the contingencies to be abused. So basically their response to Ben expressing concerns is telling him not to worry because while the contingencies might seem concerning, they won't ever see use except in extreme circumstances.
With the High Council and the Jedi Order, I decided that they have slowly stagnated over time, something Ikrit has been in a position to notice as the Order becomes more and more hidebound, both to its traditions and the Senate. I am also going with the idea that Palpatine has used his position as Supreme Chancellor to slowly tie the Jedi Order close to the Senate and the Republic government.
They aren't as bad as Ben worries they are, but in the Clone Wars, the High Council do seem to be averse to directly opposing the Senate or Chancellor as while they express concerns in private, they never do so publicly and tend to back down when they and the government disagree. It isn't until the end of the Clone Wars that they begin to act against the Chancellor, when it is too late. They also seem averse to showing division or dissent within the ranks as they present a united front despite private disagreements
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Aug 15, 2021
7.2 (Rodian Relief) - Chapter Thirty-Six
While I leave Ikrit to process the information I've given him, I decide to get some more of my paperwork done. While the expansions to my forces are going well, they are also producing a lot of paperwork for me at the same time. It will lessen with time, but the ongoing additions are taking up a fair chunk of my time.
For starters, it looks like we are going to be ahead of schedule as my timeframe had the new warships being built from scratch. With Rendili StarDrive and Corellian Engineering Corporation, I turned out to be wrong as they both pulled my purchases from stock that had been completed and was for sale on the market.
I got my DP20 Frigates from Corellia within days and it only took a little over a week before Rendili had supplied me with all of the Hammerhead-class Cruisers and Dreadnought-class Heavy Cruisers. I suspect Rendili would have done it as soon as the Corellians, but they had to refit their warships with increased automation.
It hasn't all been early finishes however. The Star Cruisers will still take months to finish and all of the starfighters are taking as long as I expect them to. Right now, we are primarily waiting on the new Liberator-class Starfighters from Corellia. The Aurek-class Starfighters have mostly arrived at this point and we have all of the Y-Wing bombers that we were able to scoop up before the actual Republic military got their hands on them.
In other news, Yavin has solved my funding issues, at least for the foreseeable future. While I am still figuring out what to do with the loot from the wreckage of Yavin Station, the rubble of Exar Kun's temple had a lot of Corusca gems in it. Some Force Light to ensure they weren't tainted by the Dark Side, but it seems like that when vanquished his spirit, we also purged the temple and the rest of the island of Dark Side energies.
I wasn't personally involved in selling them thanks to my lack of market expertise, but after three years of funding ourselves, the 1st Republic Patriot Legion doesn't lack for mercantile expertise within its ranks. I traded the matter over to our internal experts and waited until they brought in credits for me to spend as I figured out how to acquire more Corusca gems to sell.
For the 'miners', I needed to use droids as I couldn't afford to spare any trustworthy personnel and didn't have the time to find more. None of the current mining droids on the market were quite right so I put the question over to my best experts, the engineers of the 1st Republic Patriot Legion. And as is usually the case when a good engineer is presented with a doable challenge, they came up with a solution.
While going for the larger gems in the depths of Yavin Prime is going to take more time to figure out, my engineers did come up with a way to harvest the smaller Corusca gems and Corusca gem dust. Using reasonably cheap off-shelf parts, a flying collection droid could be created. Basic processor, four extendable claw arms, a cheap plasteel shell and an upgraded sensor package for detecting Corusca gems with some storage compartments. Using an energy seine that they would carry in their claws, the droids would comb the upper atmosphere of Yavin for Corusca gems and Corusca gem dust as both of those would get caught in the energy seine.
It was an effective and cheap idea as the equipment wouldn't require too many credits to acquire, the risks were minimal and the sale of a single Corusca gem could pay off the entire investment. The endeavour would be made even easier by the fact that my engineers could put together the droids. And thanks to Wol having the bright idea at Geonosis to convince the rest of the Republic forces to use our captured Lucrehulks as locations to safely dump all of the destroyed droids, we have plenty of droid parts to make use of.
The biggest part would be constructing a station at Yavin to support the 'mining' droids and store the Corusca gems that they collect until they can be transported elsewhere. That will take some time to construct though a basic orbital mining station will do the jump and it can be modified as needed.
With the initial investments made and the work already begun, my Corusca gem mining operations should be up and running in a week or two. That venture being a success will make my adventure on Yavin worthwhile. Not that it wasn't already worthwhile with my new lightsaber, defeating Exar Kun, finding Ikrit and saving the trapped souls, but this is something that will benefit my forces as a whole rather than just myself as a Jedi.
While I am waiting for the Corusca mining operation to begin, the credits from selling those I found on Yavin 4 quickly began to flow into my coffers, giving us plenty of money to work with as we got hundreds of thousands of credits from the initial sales and are approaching a billion credits. Once all of the Corusca gems from Exar Kun's temple are sold, I wouldn't be surprised if we made two or three billion credits from the profits.
Part of that went into replacing the budget that was taken to pay for better blasters, some went into stocking up on supplies and more into buying astromechs for the new Liberator-class Starfighters. Wol also decided to finally take advantage of the fact that our DP20 Frigates are quite moddable even if they weren't as modular or flexible as most CEC designs. Using our newfound credits and his contacts at CEC, he had all of our DP20 Frigates upgraded at Corellia.
For a relatively measly six hundred thousand credits, Wol got a series of light upgrades across the board. While the weapons went untouched, stronger armour was added while the internal hull was reinforced and the deflector shielding was upgraded by a notch. Additionally, he increased both the speed of the sublight engines and upgraded the hyperdrive from a Class 2 to a Class 1 to match up our Star Cruisers and new Liberator-class Starfighters.
Which ties me in nicely to my current paperwork of signing off on upgrading all of our hyperdrives to Class 1. Right now, the majority of our warships and starfighters use Class 2 Hyperdrives and it wouldn't be too much of a hassle to upgrade them. A Class 1 Hyperdrive doesn't take up more space or power than a Class 2 Hyperdrive, but the upgraded parts do cost more so the primary concerns are finding the time and the credits.
Before, it hadn't been a concern. Class 2 Hyperdrives were speedy enough that upgrading them to Class 1 wasn't worth the credits. Now we still have a surplus of credits from the Corusca gem sales while the ongoing war means getting around the galaxy as fast as possible has rapidly increased in priority. With our ongoing training and equipment procurement, now is an excellent time to upgrade our warships and starfighters before we get properly involved in the fighting.
All in all, it isn't too expensive. Just sell back the default hyperdrives to CEC and RSD so they can use them in future constructions and purchase some replacements on the market. Have our mechanics and engineers install them and this task is something our veterans have been taking advantage of to train up the rookies with some practical experience. Total cost comes up to fourteen million credits and I have little doubt that this investment is going to be worth it in the future.
Once all of that is handled, I move onto my next task of figuring out how to escort the next food shipment to Rodia. Rodia is one of those worlds that has been suffering due to the uptick in piracy and not only does Rodia have an influential Senator who could be a potential ally, but I am aware of how bad things could get Rodia is left to starve by the Republic.
That and I have no desire to let innocent people starve if I can help it.
Bringing up the attached document from Senator Farr's message, I see that the supply convoy is ten Action VI Transports packed full of foodstuff and they need escorting from Brentaal IV to Denon along the Hydian Way. From Denon, they will go down to Herdessa along the Corellian Run before making a couple of minor jumps to finally reach Rodia.
It shouldn't be too much trouble. About half a day of travel time given how slow Action IVs are. Let's see, I can lead the Freedom's starfighter complement to give an escort of sixty starfighters. Which should be sufficient, but given how much food the convoy is carrying, I would rather put something more substantial. Perhaps one of the Hammerheads to provide a warship escort and if I pick one with a squadron of Aureks in its hangar, then it should round out the starfighter escort.
The Hammerhead-class Cruiser Enduring Will, her squadron of Aurek-class Starfighters along with the Freedom's starfighter squadrons. One frigate, a dozen interceptors, a dozen bombers and forty-eight superiority fighters. That will be more than enough to keep the convoy safe from any reasonable threats it could face.
As soon as we come out of hyperspace, my sensors begin to beep with alarm as they pick up multiple unexpected contacts. My astromech, R4-M7, beeps a message as he quickly identifies the various warships and starfighters.
It would appear that a small pirate fleet is awaiting us as the warships and starfighters waiting for us are sporting the colours and emblems of the Black Sun. Now that doesn't necessarily mean that they are actually Black Sun, but very few people get away with pretending to be the Black Sun for long.
A Marauder-class Corvette is apparently acting as a flagship at the centre of the formation with a CR90 Corvette on either side while a Sphyrna-class Hammerhead Corvette is slightly ahead of it. Three squadrons of starfighters are hovering about with my sensors picking up a score of Cutlass-9 Patrol Fighters and eleven Toscan 8-Q Starfighters.
With that Marauder being more of a frigate than an actual corvettes, the enemy has a pretty substantial force for a pirate flotilla with a frigate, three corvettes and thirty-one starfighters. It would be impressive, but compared to the escort I brought, they aren't going to cut it.
"To the defenders of his convoy, stand down," comes a voice over an open comm channel, sound both confident and cordial, "This is Captain Croto of the Black Sun. Turn over enough cargo to fill the holds of our ships and we shall let you go free, unharmed and whatever remains. And if you do not-"
As this Captain Croto pauses, a couple dozen Z-95 Headhunters launch from the hangar of the Marauder. All standard models according to my sensors, nothing like the upgraded versions that we used to use.
"-we will kill as many of you as it takes to get enough cargo to fill our holds," finishes Captain Croto, "Make the right choice. You don't need to make this any harder than it has to be."
Depending on how standard those enemy starships are, they could fit anywhere between fifteen thousand tons to twenty-five thousand tons of cargo in their holds. In theory, we could resolve this peacefully, but that would mean letting people on Rodia go hungry and leave these pirates free to prey on other peaceful travellers and traders.
"This is General Shan," I say on an internal channel, "We will not be surrendering to this pirate scum and we will not be defeated by them either. Enduring Will, engage the enemy flagship. Swift Squadron, deal with those Toscans. Green Squadron, take out the first squadron of Cutlasses. Blue Squadron, handle the second squadron of Cutlasses. Red Squadron and Ocean Squadron, engage those Headhunters that just launched. Thunder Squadron, smash those Corellian Corvettes. I will be flying support as needed."
While I am obviously biased, I do believe that my plan is a good one. My superior frigate against their inferior frigate while the bombers go after those corvettes before any of them can do any serious damage to the transports. The interceptors engage the most agile enemy starfighters while the Liberators handle the rest of them. It leaves both myself and the last enemy corvette free, but that Sphyrna isn't much of a threat with just three laser cannons. It could be trouble if it goes after the transports, but I suspect the enemy will commit to trying to win the military battle first.
"Captain Croto, this is General Shan of the 1st Republic Patriot Legion," I reply to the Black Sun leader, "I will give you one chance to surrender. If you decline, we shall engage and destroy your force."
As the enemy shifts into an offensive stance just as my forces have, I know what Captain Croto's response is going to be before I hear his voice.
"Sorry, 'General', but no dice," replies Captain Croto as his cordial tone has been replaced by a harsh voice, "We will destroy your sole warship and wipe out those greenie starfighters of yours."
For a moment, I wonder why he is still so willing to fight before it occurs to me. While Enduring Will and Swift Squadron consist of designs that Captain Croto should recognise, the Y-Wings and Liberators are still new to the galactic scene. There is a very good chance that the Black Sun force doesn't recognise them and doesn't grasp just how good they are.
Oh well, it sucks to be them.
Looking at the Toscan 8-Qs and noticing how their pilots are the best of all of the enemy starfighters, I choose them as my first target. The warships on both sides open fire with the enemy focusing all of their turbolaser fight on the Enduring Will as the Hammerhead-class Cruiser lashes out at the Marauder-class Corvette.
Despite the numbers involved, the capital ship fight is going in my favour as half of the enemy shots go wide while the Enduring Will repeatedly slams turbolaser shots into the shield of the enemy flagship. A promising start and all I get to see as the dogfight begins.
In the head to head pass, I tear into one of the enemy Toscans with my laser cannons, shredding its armour and causing it to explode into a fiery fireball. Spotting another one, I swing around so I am on its tail and unload with my cannons into its rear. The enemy pilot tries to shake me, but I am just the better pilot as Black Sun starfighter loses one of its engines and goes careening out of control.
Having dealt with two of the Toscans, I decided to switch priorities. A glance at the battle shows my forces dominating the dogfight, both the enemy flagship and the Enduring Will are taking a pounding while Thunder Squadron is lining up a bombing run on one of the enemy CR90s.
As I spot an enemy starfighter flee by jumping to hyperspace, I make the decision to introduce one of the enemy warships to my proton torpedoes.
Another shorter chapter. I'm not too happy where I left off, but the start of the battle would have been too short while the end of it would be too long. I feel that Ben deciding to go after the enemy warships is a good compromise between the two.
Anyway, Ben has been selling the Corusca gems that were in the walls of Exar Kun's temple while he gets his Corscua gem collection operation going. And Corusca gems sell for a lot and that means Ben is making a lot of money, which allows for more spending. In this case, he has gone for upgrading the hyperdrives to standardise them across his entire fleet and doing some upgraded refits of his DP20 Frigates, which is something I came up with before writing this story using the Saga RPG.
Beyond Ben improving his forces and handling logistics, he is also escorting a food convoy to Rodia and that means a space battle against pirates. I got a couple of smallish fleets, one which Ben would use to escort an important convoy and another decently powerful pirate fleet that is strong for a paramilitary force, but is second-rate compared to the Republic or Separatist militaries. This fight will be the big battle of this arc as there will be some more logistics and politics once the battle is concluded. I expect there to be another chapter in this arc, maybe two more depending on whether or not things drag out.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Sep 26, 2021
7.3 (Rodian Relief) - Chapter Thirty-Seven
Weaving through the ongoing dogfight, I go after the enemy flagship. The Marauder-class Corvette's shields have to almost be done from all of the hits that the Enduring Will is dishing out on it, but it still holds the majority of the enemy firepower with eight double turbolaser turrets. A pair of proton torpedoes could do a lot to disrupt that firepower before the deflector shields of the Enduring Will go down.
My approach doesn't go unnoticed as one of the enemy Z-95 Headhunters comes after me. I am forced to dodge a couple of shots before a Liberator-class Starfighter comes on its tail. As laser fire slams into it, overwhelming its deflector shield, the enemy starfighter breaks off to try and shake its own pursuer before it is destroyed.
The Headhunter wasn't the only foe to notice me as enemy Marauder begins to turn, switching from engaging the Enduring Will to targeting me. Not an entirely bad idea to engage the Jedi on an attack run, but that warship doesn't have any anti-starfighter weaponry on it and it is the only enemy ship that has a chance of taking down the Enduring Will.
"Get a lock on those engines, R4!" I tell my astromech as I begin to dodge the enemy turbolaser fire, which is an easily enough task that I could succeed even without my battle meditation.
Swooping under the enemy warship, I wait until I have a lock with my proton torpedoes before firing a pair at the Marauder. They fly straight up as they get out of the tubes and I fly out from under the Black Sun flagship. Checking my sensors, I see that the proton torpedoes have blown out both of the Marauder's engines, leaving it dead in the water.
Swinging my starfighter around, I assess the battlefield. A handful of my starfighters have been damaged, but they dominated the enemy with the few still left actively trying to flee. One of the CR90 Corvettes is a drifting hulk with its escape pods launched after being hit by a squadron's worth of proton torpedoes. The other one is attempting to escape to hyperspace as Thunder Squadron pursues and I am just in time to spot the Sphyrna-class Hammerhead Corvette jump to hyperspace as half a dozen Liberators begin to assault it. The Marauder-class Corvette is trying to turn to engage the Enduring Will, but its turning speed is minimal without its engines and its deflector shields have finally failed.
As the Enduring Will smashes the enemy flagship apart with turbolaser fire, a few of the Black Sun starfighters escape to hyperspace and a moment later, the last corvette jumps to hyperspace as well after a trio of torpedoes smash into its side.
The battle is over and it was an overwhelming victory as most of the enemy was slaughtered while I'm not sure we lost anyone. As the Marauder-class Corvette is finally taken out and escape pods launch from it, I do a brief review of the battle's logs to figure out what happened. As I watch a sped up replay of the tactical display from the Enduring Will, it appears that after the initial dogfighter clash went decisively against the Black Sun, the morale of their pilots broke as they stopped fighting to win and started trying to get away.
An Aurek got damaged along with four of the Liberators with one Liberator being quite severely damaged, but that was it. The Enduring Will's deflector shielding barely withstood the enemy turbolaser fire while the heavy shield generators on the Liberators and Y-Wings proved to be worth every credit.
" Enduring Will, this is General Shan," I say over the comm channel, "Send a shuttle of troopers to secure the wrecks of both enemy warships for salvage before beginning pick up operations of the enemy escape pods. Swift Squadron and Blue Squadron will provide starfighter support to you. I shall lead Green Squadron, Red Squadron, Ocean Squadron and Thunder Squadron in continued escort of the convoy."
It is a risk, but I doubt the Black Sun will be coming back any time soon and I also doubt we will run into another major pirate force on the last point on our route before we finally jump to Rodia. We can afford to take some prisoners and find some loot to fill the cargo bays of the Enduring Will.
"General Shan, on the behalf of both myself and all of Rodia, I grateful for you and your soldiers have done for us," says Senator Farr as we meet in his office on Rodia, "Our people dearly need that food and I fear for what would have happened if our supply ships had been destroyed by those pirates you fought off."
"Nothing good," I say, "And I am always happy to help the people of the Republic. I have not forgotten that the Republic's duty is to its citizens nor that it is a Jedi's duty to protect the innocents of the galaxy. Too many of the Order are more concerned these days with the will of the Senate and obeying bureaucratic laws over doing their duty to actually help those in need."
"A trend I have unfortunately noticed over the last few years is that the Senate and the Jedi are too busy getting caught up in their own affairs to help those of us in Rim," notes Senator Farr, "Nor I have failed to notice that it was not the Republic who came to my people aid, but you, General Shan."
"I wouldn't say that is true," I protest, "I might not be acting on the behalf of its government, but I do consider me and my people to be part of the Republic and we do believe in its ideals."
"But what good are those ideals if they are not followed?" asks Senator Farr, "As grateful for your aid as I am, I fear the Republic is failing and the Separatists might have a point."
"They do have a point," I reply, "The problem is that their point is overshadowed by them being more corrupt and acting in direct defiance of their supposed ideals. Some of them might be idealists, but many more are just opportunists who wish to be free of those of us who do try to uphold the ideals of the Republic. Just look at how this war started with Dooku trying to have Senator Amidala killed to appease Nute Gunray's pettiness just so he could gain the support of the Trade Federation. And frankly, the fact they want to unshackle the megacorps from any pretense of following Republic regulations shows you just how little the Confederacy stands for its supposed ideals."
"That is true," agrees Senator Farr, "The Separatists did try to murder Padme and how they denounce the Republic's corruption whilst enabling corruption of their own. But what does that mean for the Republic's future?"
"It means we need idealists who need to make a stand for the Republic's ideals and push back against its corruption," I answer, "Individuals such as myself, Senator Amidala, Senator Bel Iblis and Senator Organa."
"Only two of those are your political allies," notes Senator Farr as he studies me, "In fact, Senators Amidala and Organa could even be considered your enemies."
"We disagree on policies, but we all believe in supporting the freedom and liberty that the Republic is supposed to bring," I reply, "My enemies are those that would subvert the ideals of the Republic to their own ends."
"Which you believe to include the Chancellor amongst their number," states Senator Farr.
"To be blunt, yes," I answer, "I don't like his sudden turnabout on the military, especially since the clone troopers are legally slaves. I don't like what he has done with his emergency powers such as stamping down on civil liberties in the name of stopping the Separatists or creating contingency orders for committing genocide, exterminating all life on inhabited worlds and enslaving useful species."
"Those are some very dire accusations," says Senator Farr sharply, "I do hope you have some evidence for them."
"The enforcement rights of the Coruscant Guard and the new holonet restrictions are public proof of my second point," I tell him, "And the last point can be found in Contingency Orders for the Grand Army of the Republic one through one hundred fifty. I can give you a copy of them if you wish to look through them yourself. Some of them are quite reasonable, but some of them go directly against what the Republic is supposed to stand for. As for the first point, just look up the legal status of the clones."
"I would like to see those contingency orders," says Senator Farr, "I must confess I hope that you are wrong, but from everything I know of you, I suspect you are telling the truth."
"I wish I was wrong as well, but it seems that the Chancellor is using this war to further the Republic's corruption rather than end it," I say, "I'm not sure what to do about it except make my opposition known and try to do the right thing where I can."
"Perhaps that is the best we can do," says Senator Farr, "Again, I must thank you for ensuring the arrival of this food shipment. Some of our people may still yet starve, but what this convoy has brought will greatly lessen that."
"What do you mean that some will still starve?" I demand sharply as I had not been expecting that and Senator Farr sighs in frustration.
"When the Abrion sector signed up with the Separatists, we were unexpected cut off from their food shipments and that has led to shortages," explains Senator Farr, "Senator Esu Rotsino refused to let us buy any foodstuff from the Abrion sector unless I withdraw Rodia and the rest of the Savareen sector from the Republic and join the Confederacy."
"What about importing from other areas?" I inquire, "Surely you could get food from elsewhere?"
"That is what I've been trying to do," answers Senator Farr, "You just escorted my successful endeavour in that regard, but it isn't enough. We have imported several million tons of food, but the small time traders just aren't enough to sustain our needs when piracy is on the rise. I've traded to use the Trade Federation, but they have declined citing wartime dangers while hinting that we might be able to work out a deal if we were to join the Separatists."
"How much more food do you need?" I ask as I try to think of a solution to this problem.
"At least another five million tons of food to see us through the upcoming months," answers Senator Farr, "That should be enough to get some new trade deals up and running and to improve our local food production. More would be ideal to give us some breathing room."
"I see."
When the Enduring Will shows up at Rodia, she does so with a cargo hold full of loot and over a hundred prisoners. Only about half of the crew successfully got off of both Black Sun warships and Captain Croto isn't amongst them, having died along with his entire bridge crew to turbolaser fire. The loot was decent, but nothing spectacular. A few thousand credits from crew quarters on the wrecks, a bunch of spare parts from the destroyed starships and the most noteworthy part of the haul is three intact turbolasers from the Marauder-class frigate.
Not having room for a hundred and some pirates, I hand them off to the Rodians as Rodia is right there and we took them prisoner when they attacked a Rodian food convoy. Meanwhile the credits can go into our coffers and the spare parts can be transferred to a Lucrehulk to be stored until we need them.
And speaking of those Lucrehulks, I captured seven of them at Geonosis and since then, they've been sitting at Mon Cala, full of droid parts as they get refitted to support an organic army. With the droid brain doing most of the work, each Lucrehulk only needs a crew of twenty-five organics along with a hundred fifty droids and supplying a crew of a hundred seventy-five organics is something I have been able to do.
More recently, I started to stock them up on spare supplies and transferring any spare starfighters to their hangars, which only consists of Y-Wings right now. In the future, I plan to put our old Z-95 Headhunters over there as well once we have enough Liberators and Aureks to replace all of them.
Right now, I am looking at our Lucrehulks with a different purpose in mind. Senator Farr and his people need someone willing to transport several million tons of food to Rodia and a Lucrehulk-class Battleship can carry at least five million tons in its cargo holds. That is only a fifth of what the cargo hauler variant can haul about, but it is more than another for Rodia's needs since I have a few of them to work with.
Grab a couple of Lucrehulks from Mon Cala, put together a proper-sized escort and then load them up with food before sending them to Rodia. It is completely doable and the only hitch is paying for all that food. On average, a ton of basic foodstuff is ten thousand credits and five million tons would be a whooping fifty billion and I do not have that kind of spending cash.
That said, Rodia might and that is something I want to check before I leave Rodia..
"Senator Farr," I greet the senator as I enter his office for a quickly arranged meeting.
"General Shan," replies the Rodian, "You wish to speak with me?"
"I do," I confirm, "You mentioned earlier that you needed someone willing to transport the food that you wish to import to feed your people."
"I did," says Senator Farr, "What of it?"
"I believe that I can do it," I tell him, "My forces included a few captured Lucrehulks of the battleship variety and they have enough cargo space to haul enough food to ensure Rodia is fed. The only issue is that I don't have the credits to pay for all that food. If you can handle paying for the food, I can safely transport it to Rodia."
"You can do that?" asks Senator Farr even as a calculating look enters his eyes.
"Yes, I'm not currently using the Lucrehulks for anything, but storage," I answer, "I might have to use two or three to carry all of the food, but I can use them for a cargo run"
"The Trade Federation might not take kindly to you using Lucrehulks in this way," points out Senator Farr.
"Kriff them," I state bluntly, "They are a corrupt and abusive organisation who deserved to be stripped of their power and dismantled. If they want to stop me, they will need to use force of arms and I can assure that is not a fight they want to start. Especially not when they are so heavily associated with the Separatists while I am a poster boy for the Republic."
"I'll trust that you have your end of things then," says Senator Farr, beginning to perk up, "I will look into Rodia's treasury and see what I can afford to purchase. I will let you know where and when to collect the goods."
"Sooner is better," I warn him, "I am not using my Lucrehulks right now, but with the war going on, I cannot promise that will remain the case, especially since it almost certainly won't."
"I understand," replies Senator Farr, "This matter is urgent for my people. Haste is important. Thank you for your help, General Shan. It is more than I could have expected and I shall ensure that my people do not forget who came to our aid in our time of need."
Another short chapter to cap off a short arc. There isn't much to this arc, but I want to show some of what Ben and his forces have been doing, which has been protecting trade routes and hunting down some pirates before they can start to cause too much trouble. He has also been building up some goodwill by helping those who would have otherwise been abandoned.
I was planning to include a confrontation between Ben and the Trade Federation, but it didn't fit in. So I settled for the pirate battle and supplying Rodia with enough food to avoid starvation. The next arc will be against the Separatists as Ben leads his forces into battle against the CIS for the first time since Indren.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Defence of Rodian Supply Convoy
Republic Forces Commanders
Jedi Knight/Paramilitary General Ben Shan
1st Republic Patriot Legion
1 Liberator-Class Starfighter (Ben Shan)
Hammerhead-class Cruiser Enduring Will
-Swift Squadron/1 Squadrons of 12 Aurek-Class Starfighters
Green Squadron/1 Squadrons of 12 Liberator-Class Starfighters
Blue Squadron/1 Squadrons of 12 Liberator-Class Starfighters
Red Squadron/1 Squadrons of 12 Liberator-Class Starfighters
Ocean Squadron/1 Squadrons of 12 Liberator-Class Starfighters
Thunder Squadron/1 Squadrons of 12 BTL-B Y-Wings
Civilian Traders
10 Action VI Transports
Losses
1 Damaged Aurek-Class Starfighter
3 Damaged Liberator-Class Starfighters
1 Badly Damaged Liberator-Class Starfighter
Black Sun Forces
Captain Croto
1 Marauder-class Corvette
-2 Squadrons of 12 Z-95 Headhunters (Combined total is 24)
2 CR90 Corvettes
1 Sphyrna-class Hammerhead Corvette
2 Squadrons of 10 Cutlass-9 Patrol Fighters (Combined total is 20)
1 Squadrons of 11 Toscan 8-Q Starfighters (Combined total is 11)
Losses
Captain Croto
1 Marauder-class Corvette (Destroyed)
1 CR90 Corvette (Destroyed)
1 CR90 Corvette (Damaged)
24 Z-95 Headhunters (Destroyed)
18 Cutlass-9 Patrol Fighters (Destroyed)
8 Toscan 8-Q Starfighters (Destroyed)
Last edited: Aug 18, 2021
Interlude - Convoy Battle
Ensign Helene Towe, also known as Ocean-Four, is ready for some more action and a real fight. Since graduating from the Anaxes War College and joining up with the 1st Republic Legion, Helene has seen some action against inferior pirates and other criminal scum. She gets why they are going after such weak foes as she and the other new recruits need experience and the trade routes need to be kept safe, but it grates that she isn't actively fighting the Separatists.
She consoles herself that they will be fighting the Separatists sooner or later and according to some of the veterans, it is going to be sooner rather than later. And it isn't like what they are doing is unimportant. Missions like this ensure that Republic citizens continue to get fed despite the war and Helene cannot deny that some things need to be learnt in the heat of battle, not in the simulations.
Perhaps this pirate fleet will provide her with an actual challenge. They got four times as many warships even if three of them are just corvettes and they have almost as many starfighters. At least all of them are inferior or they should be as they are pirates while the Republic Patriot Legions use state of the art military equipment.
"This is General Shan," comes General Shan's voice over the comm channel, confident and calm, "We will not be surrendering to this pirate scum and we will not be defeated by them either. Enduring Will, engage the enemy flagship. Swift Squadron, deal with those Toscans. Green Squadron, take out the first squadron of Cutlasses. Blue Squadron, handle the second squadron of Cutlasses. Red Squadron and Ocean Squadron, engage those Headhunters that just launched. Thunder Squadron, smash those Corellian Corvettes. I will be flying support as needed."
Okay, she can do that. Helene might have dreamt of something as good as a Z-95 Headhunter before she graduated, but that was before she flew a Liberator-class Starfighter for the first time. The Z-95 Headhunter might have been one of the better starfighters around before the war, but it has nothing on the Liberator. It might be supplanted as the war goes on, but right now, the Liberator-class Starfighter is the best in the galaxy as far as Helene considered and she is honoured to be able to fly one into battle.
"Captain Croto, this is General Shan of the 1st Republic Patriot Legion," says General Shan on an open channel as a reply to the pirate scum, "I will give you one chance to surrender. If you decline, we shall engage and destroy your force."
And Helene is also honoured to be part of the 1st Republic Patriot Legion. She was hoping for a nice position in a more prestigious Core World defence force or maybe in the Judicial Forces when she graduated, but the war changed all that as the Republic reformed its military after a thousand years. She could have signed up with the Republic Navy, but there was no guarantee that she would have been assigned to a good unit. Not when all of the units are new and full of those clone troopers.
So when word came around that the Guardian of the Republic was recruiting to expand his forces in response to the outbreak of war, Helene didn't hesitate to sign up. The 1st Republic Legion was a proven military unit, having seen success for three years before becoming to the forefront of the galactic stage at the Battle of Geonosis, where they won a decisive victory over the Separatists at the start of the war. Helene wanted to be a part of that and when the chance came calling, she took it for all that it was worth.
"Ocean Squadron, pick your targets and remember your training," says Ocean-Leader, "Survival is a higher priority than kills. Don't be afraid to pass up a kill to shake a tail or let your shields recharge."
"Sir, yes, sir," replies Helene and the rest of Ocean Squadron as they and the Z-95 Headhunters zoom towards each other.
As they begin the head to head pass, Helene lines up a target on one of the incoming pirate starfighters. She unleashes her laser cannons as she enters optimal firing range, adding to the barrage on both sides. A trio of laser blasts hit the side of her starfighter, dropping her shields to little over sixty percent. In exchange, Helene helps blow away an enemy starfighter as she and another pilot both target it, leaving the Z-95 unable to stand up to their combined firepower.
Pulling into a turn, Helene looks for a new target, hoping to get a kill amongst the ongoing dogfight. She spots a Z-95 zip across her front and she pulls into a pursuit with her greater agility. The enemy tries to shake her, but the Z-95 is a tough and reliable starfighter not an agile one. Helene easily stays on their tail and opens fire with her laser cannons, ripping into the rear of the Headhunter and then…
And then someone from another squadron zips across and takes her kill, swooping down and finishing off the pirate with a burst of their laser cannons. Frustrated, Helene looks for another kill, but as the number of hostile contacts rapidly dwindle, so do her chances.
Captain Viz Croto of the Black Sun is not having a good day. What was supposed to be an easy job keeps going down the refresher and it is showing no signs of letting up. First the kriffing convoy has an actual escort and if that wasn't bad enough, the escort consisted of real soldiers. Real soldiers led by a Jedi no less. He had tried to offer them generous terms so he could at least get something out of this, but no. That stinking Jedi wanted a fight and had refused to back down.
Now everything has gone to crap. He had more warships and almost as many starfighters, but it hadn't been enough like it was supposed to be. Those new unknown starfighters of the Jedi are tearing his starfighters apart like a pack of nexus ripping apart a bantha and the enemy Hammerhead just refuses to die.
He has dealt with Hammerhead-cruisers before and they are not suppose to be this good. An old outdated design that isn't that bad, but it shouldn't be able to dodge and shoot as well as this.
"Report!" demands Captain Croto as the Scarlet Killer shudders as another turbolaser strikes the Marauder-class Corvette.
"Starfighters are being torn to pieces, Cap'n!" shouts one of his bridge crew, "This new Pubby fighters are like nothing else out there."
"And the enemy Hammerhead?" demands Captain Croto, "Why the kriff aren't its shields down already?"
"They have to be going down any moment now," reports another bridge crewman, "No way that they can hold on this long. Not with how much we are shooting-oh no."
Captain Croto doesn't need anyone to tell him the latest thing to go wrong as he watches the Red Raider get taken out. He grits his teeth as explosions rip through the CR90 Corvette, leaving her a drifting wreck.
"Someone explain that to me!" hisses Captain Croto as he points to the wreckage of the Red Raider.
"Cap'n, those new starfighters appear to be bombers and-Cap'n!" starts one of the bridge crew before breaking off in alarm, "That's the one with the Jedi in and he's coming straight for us!"
"Turn to engage him!" orders Captain Croto as he slams a fist down, "We kill that Jedi and we might be able to salvage something from this."
"But, cap'n-" starts one of his bridge crew, but with a hiss of frustration, Captain Croto whips out his blaster pistol and aims at the naysayer.
"I gave an order!" shouts Captain Croto, "Engage that kriffing Jedi!"
Breaking off her attack on the Republic Hammerhead, the Scarlet Killer turns to engage the incoming starfighter. The Marauder-class Corvette opens fire with all eight of its turbolaser cannons, but they are far from being a point defence weapon and the Jedi in his new starfighter model easily dodges every last shot.
"Why aren't we hitting him?" demands Captain Croto as the Republic starfighter flies under his flagship.
"We are trying to hit a starfighter with turbo-" snaps one of the bridge crew before being cut off as the Scarlet Killer shakes with a loud explosion coming from somewhere else in the warship.
"Cap'n! We just lost both engines and one of the turbolasers!"
"Kriff it!" shouts Captain Croto as he resists the urge to shoot the next person who gives him some bad news.
"We just lost the deflector shields!" shouts one of the bridge crew, "We got to get all of here before we all die."
"Damn it all," curses Captain Croto, regretting ever taking this job, "Jump to hyperspace!"
"Hyperdrive got taken out with the engines," reports someone, "We aren't going anywhere."
"Then engage that Hammerhead before it kills us," orders Captain Croto as he gets up from his seat on the bridge, deciding that now might be a good time to get into an escape pod.
He only takes three steps before he and everyone else on the bridge is blown away when the Scarlet Killer suffers a direct turbolaser shot to its bridge.
A couple of other perspectives on the latest battle. One of them is one of the new rookie pilots in the legion while the other is the late Captain Croto. Hopefully they will be interesting to you.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Aug 19, 2021
Interlude - Enterprising Engineers
"Alright ladies and gentlemen," says Major Gaxtin Dellex as the Besalisk engineer addresses the other engineers of the Republic Patriot Legions that he has gathered here, a mixture of old hands and fresh faces, "We have successful provided the General with the mining droid design that he wanted, but it got me thinking. We have a lot of spare battle droid parts and only so much manpower. I figured we could solve the latter with the former."
"You want to build some battle droids?" asks someone.
"Of course I do," answers Gaxtin, "Get a decent battle droid and we can stick it on garrison duty, either to free up some troopers or to supplement them."
"Sir, that sounds sort of like a bad idea," says someone else, "Aren't battle droids the Separatists' thing?"
"They are, but that doesn't make them a bad idea or unusable by anyone else," replies Gaxtin, "While they might desire one, the megacorps don't have a monopoly on battle droids. We got a use for them and a lot of spare parts so we might as well look into it."
"How good would these battle droids be anyway?" asks another engineer, "Because these Seppie droids suck and you want to use their parts."
"Because we will come up with a good design," answers Gaxin confidently, "The corps build their droids to be cheap and numerous. We'll come up with something that can hold its own in a fight. Come on, we should at least try."
"The basic design is going to be humanoid," says one of the engineers, "A pair of legs, a pair of arms with a body and head. We can put that together by taking spare parts from the wrecked battle droids."
"It isn't a bad design choice," notes someone else, "A lot of droid designs use a humanoid form for a reason. Two legs for versatile movement, a pair of arms to hold stuff or helping the legs with movement and a sturdy body to be built around."
"How should the arms end?" asks someone, "A claw is good for unarmed combat and can hold stuff, but not so good for finicky stuff like firing a blaster."
"We want them to use blasters right?" asks another engineer, "Our old ones that we threw into storage."
"We want them to use blasters," confirms Gaxtin, "The ranged firepower is going to be vital in an actual battle and we have plenty of spare military-grade blasters to make use of."
"Then no claws," says someone, getting murmurs of agreement, "The question is if we want them to hold the blasters like the B1s or directly integrate them into the droids like the B2s and Droidekas."
"Direct integration would be cheaper, but it also limits them if they've got guns for hands," says someone.
"Not that much cheaper, especially if we are using salvaged parts," argues someone else.
"Hands allow for them to do other things than just shoot," adds an engineer, "Like holding something or opening doors."
"And the blasters we plan to give them are designed for being held, not directly integrated to the droid," says Gaxtin, "All things considered, our reusing of old parts means that not only are hands more versatile, but they would also be cheaper as we don't need to figure out how to integrate existing parts together. Any objections?"
"The processors are all poodoo," declares an engineer, "Half of them are still using remote receivers and the other half have been hastily refitted with shavit basic professors that barely allow the droids to function independently."
"It is no wonder that the Seppies suck if they are using these sort of processors they are putting in their droids," someone else scoffs, "Just look at this junk! It can follow basic orders, move on its own and shoot whatever is in front of it, but you aren't getting much more than that."
"And not suitable for our needs," says Gaxtin before this meeting can devolve into (rightful) complaining about how terrible the Separatist battle droids are, "We need to make droids that don't need babysitting. How do we go about doing that?"
"Buy some heuristic processors to put in the droids," says someone instantly to general sounds of approval and agreement, "They will be more expensive, but intelligent droids who can adapt and learn are what we need."
"Karp is right," adds another engineer, "We need smart droids that can adapt to unexpected changes in a battle. Even if it costs more, we need that intelligence."
"Yeah, it might cost more, but this is one of those cases where you need to invest credits if you want to get something worthwhile," says a different engineer, "We use heuristic processors in smart droids like our astromechs for a reason.
"Kriff, imagine relying on an astromech that used a basic processor," says Karp and the other engineers either laugh or wince at the idea.
"And on that note, we all agree that we need to get some heuristic processors instead of relying upon basic processors or remote processors?" says Gaxtin and nobody disagrees.
"Vocabulators are a must," says someone, "They need to be able to report stuff and we cannot count on people being able to understand binary. I know we all do, but someone is far more likely to speak Basic or Huttese than Binary."
"And it isn't like we got plenty of them that we can use from all of those battle droids and super battle droids," says another person, "Like internal comlinks, we don't need to worry about not having enough vocabulators."
"We have enough vocabulators that we don't need to worry about getting more," says Gaxtin as he steps into the brewing debat, "We can look at the plausibility of adding them once we get around to the design. Given how little space they take up, I doubt there will be any issues with implementing them. Next topic?"
"Magnetic feet," says Karp, "If we are going to be using them to protect warships and space stations from boarders, we will want to give them magnetic feet so they can move about in zero gee. The Dwarf Spider Droids and the Spider Droids had their own magnetic feet so we have the salvaged parts to make use of them."
"How viable is it to reuse the parts?" asks someone, "Our security droids are going to be a lot smaller than either spider droid."
"Very viable," answers Karp confidently, "We just need to take the parts out, split them up and then put what we need into our new droids. It won't be a problem."
"We should be able to work, but I want to do some calculations of my own before saying where it is worth it not," says an engineer.
"We can look into the possibility of adding magnetic feet depending on how viable it is in regards to what parts we have in our salvage," says Gaxtin, "Alright, next idea?"
"Upgraded sensors, especially since we want to put them on guard or garrison duty," says someone, "A good sensor package would be good for detecting any infiltrators, especially if we got a darkvision upgrade."
"We might have the parts to it as well," says Karp thoughtfully, "Both types of spider droids have substantial sensors to them including darkvision upgrades. We might be able to get something from that."
"What about the B1s and B2s?" asks someone, "Do they have any useful sensor parts?"
"Not for what we need," answers Karp, "Cheap droids with basic sensors."
"That gives an option if we give our droids darkvision," says one of the other engineers, "Bait the battle droids and super battle droids into a room, turn off the lights and let our droids take out the Seppies with their darkvision."
"It is a viable idea with sound reasoning behind it," says Gaxtin, "We can have someone look into seeing how many advanced sensor components we have in our salvage. Next suggestion?"
"We got a lot of shield generators from the droidekas," says an engineer, "They might be too lethal on any organic user for our troops to use, but our droids might be able to make safe use of them."
"Smart idea," says Gaxtin approvingly, "We will definitely be looking into that one."
"Now we move onto the big question," says Gaxtin, "What sort of armour do we put on these proposed security droids?"
"We won't get anything from our salvage," says Karp, "B1s don't use any and B2s have cheap plasteel shells. Droidekas have some bronzium on them while the spiders have quadanium plating, but none of that will be in the right shape."
"So like our processors, we will need to buy any armour for our droids," notes Gaxtin, "Alright, any idea on what armour we should look into buying?"
"No plasteel," says someone instantly, "Stuff might be cheap, but it is too fragile."
"What about durasteel?" suggests someone else, "It is a good, sturdy material for armour."
"Expensive, but it would get the job done," replies Gaxtin, "We'll put into our lists of possible options to look into. Any other ideas?"
"Quadanium," says Karp, "It is a viable alternative to durasteel and while it isn't quite as strong, quadanium is noticeably cheaper. Cheaper enough to be more cost effective in my opinion unless you are going to cash out those extra credits to get a little bit more protection."
"Another viable material for the droid armour," says Gaxtin, "We will look into the possibility of quadanium armour as well. Next?"
"What about duranium?" asks someone, "It makes for really sturdy armour."
"It is also very expensive and weighs down on the movements of the user," says someone else, "Same thing with neutronium. Extremely good protection that comes with extreme cost and limited mobility. It isn't what we are looking for in this project."
"We could take a look at those, but I suspect that the high costs will make them impractical," says Gaxtin.
"Major Dellex, Lieutenant Karp, Sergeant Bralor," General Shan greets them as they enter his office, shortly after his return from Rodia, "What can I do for you?"
"We have an idea that you might find interesting, General," says Gaxtin, "You remember how you asked us to put together that mining droid to get those Corusca gems?"
"I do," answers General Shan, seeming thoughtful at what Gaxtin and the others have to say.
"I noticed that we had a lot of spare droid parts and not enough reliable personnel," continues Gaxtin, "So I thought about the former being the solution to the latter by constructing some droids to fill out our manpower. Something that could be used for garrison or guard duties to free up some of our troopers for other jobs. So I got together some of the other engineers and looked into what we could come up with."
"I am going to take it that you have come up with something for me to take a look at," says General Shan.
"We have, sir," confirms Gaxtin as he pulls out his datapad and opens up the preliminary design, "We came up with a security droid that could serve well as a defensive droid."
"Talk me through it," says General Shan and Gaxtin wastes no time obliging him.
"Standard humanoid design with a body, a head, two legs and a pair of arms," says Gaxtin, "We have specialised them towards defensive security duties as that is what we expect them to perform. The feet are magnetised due to the expectation of using them aboard warships or space stations while the arms have hands so they can use some of our old blasters. Advanced sensor package to help identify any intruders or infiltrators and we got some heuristic processors so the droids can adapt to changes on a battlefield instead of being as stupid as a Seppie clanker.
Quadanium comb armour for solid protection without hindering the mobility or flexibility of the droid. We have also taken some shield generators off of some scrapped Droidekas to install on these security droids. They can't run them at full strength due to power constraints, but deflector shielding at seventy-five percent strength is still impressive."
"It sounds like a solid design," says General Shan, "What is the cost and what are the drawbacks?"
"We are estimating about ten thousand credits per droid, but thanks to our surplus of salvaged parts, we are looking at only paying for the armour and processor for the time being," answers Gaxtin, "Which is about seventy percent of the cost, but still cheap enough. We are still working on modifying the programming packages and the droid will only be good for defence. It has high defensive capabilities, but isn't built for offensive action. Not that it is bad, but it is average at best for the cost. And we would need to put each one together by hand so long as we are using spare parts. No quick factory production at the moment."
"How would it stand up to the Separatist forces?" inquires General Shan.
"On the defence, it could slaughter B1s and B2s," replies Gaxtin, "It could still be overwhelmed with sheer numbers and some of the more advanced and expensive droid models could give it trouble. I can't say how it would prefer on an attack or against organic foes. Too many unpredictable variables. It wouldn't stand up for a Jedi or a rogue one, I can tell you that for certain."
"Good work, Major," says General Shan, "The rest of you as well. This could serve well for defending our Corusca gem mining operation or ensuring nobody decides to recapture our Lucrehulks. How soon can you get the design finalised and how quickly could production get underway?"
Another interlude before we start the next arc. This time we have the engineers thinking about what else they could use all of the spare droid parts for and since Ben has a shortage of reliable manpower, I figured a capable security droid would be the answer.
I believe the basic specs of the droid have been covered enough so I'll just mention how it stands compared to other droids. The RPL Security Droid will be in the same leagues as the IG-100 MagnaGuard and the BX-Series Commando Droid, but as a droid specialised towards holding a defensive position. It will still be better than B1 or B2 in other sorts of operations, but it won't perform as well compared to its price tag. Which would probably be over ten thousand credits if you have to worry about paying someone to build it for you, but Ben doesn't need to worry about that since his engineers are the ones putting them together.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
8.1 (Saving Ryloth) - Chapter Thirty-Eight
Coruscant. I'm not sure if I am glad to be back at the Republic's capital because on the one hand, it is a safe place where I don't need to worry about a Separatist attack, but on the other hand, coming here means playing politics.
On the other hand, politics aren't too bad right now. I've drawn some flack for not commanding clone troopers or throwing my support behind the Chancellor or winning any flashy victories in the last few days, but that has been minimal. For the most part, my victory at Geonosis has still taken the centre stage in terms of my public perception while having my own forces means I have a reason not to command clones in the eyes of the Republic and no one is going to accuse me of disloyalty to the Republic.
And if anyone looks closer, my victory at Rhen Var and my collection of Zeta Magnus' bounty combined with my protection of trade routes is enough to satisfy anyone who isn't already looking for a reason to be negative about me. It helps that I have support from worlds whose trade routes I've been keeping safe and those worlds who are invested in having a nonclone military for the Republic.
I will have to make the usual political rounds before I head out again, but destroying a Black Sun fleet and ensuring the Rodia won't starve will be enough that people will be happy with me.
At least the High Council isn't causing any trouble for me.
"Senator Bu," I greet the leader of my political supporters, "How are you faring?"
"Quite well," replies Candabrine Bu as I enter her office and take a seat, "I heard from Senator Farr that your mission to Rodia went successfully and then some."
"We took out a substantial portion of the local Black Sun forces in the region," I tell, "And I was able to ensure that Rodia received sufficient foodstuffs that it will be able to avoid starvation in the near future."
"So I've heard," says Senator Bu, "Both from Senator Farr and Senator Dod."
"Why would the Trade Federation care?" I ask with a frown, "Senator Farr contracted them first and they declined. Is it because I used my captured Lucrehulks?"
"Officially, they are making noises about the legality of your ownership over those captured battleships on grounds they were illegally taken from the Trade Federation by Separatist extremists," answers Senator Bu, "And so they claim that those stolen starships should be legally returned to the Trade Federation."
"I captured them in battle from an enemy that the Republic is at war with," I point out, "They don't have a leg to stand on."
"Especially since they are fending off lawsuits and accusations regarding how much support the Confederacy has received from the Trade Federation," says Senator Bu, "It won't go anywhere. The Trade Federation has made too many enemies and you have made too many allies for them to formally declare a lawsuit let alone win it."
"Good to hear," I tell her, "Speaking of my allies, what do they think of me these days?"
"Some annoyance about how you aren't winning victories against the Separatists, but your previous victories and current circumstances are enough that they don't expect you to be fighting the Separatists at the moment," answers Senator Bu, "Your forces are still regrouping and you are actively using them to the benefit of the Republic and the war effort. That said, you may want to get your forces into good enough shape to start fighting the Confederacy sooner rather than later."
"I'm planning to," I reply, "The war isn't going too well in the Rim."
"No, it isn't," agrees Senator Bu, "You know this better than I do, but this war caught us by surprise. Even with the clones, the Republic isn't in a position to protect most of these worlds while the Confederacy is in a position to take them."
"I don't know how much I will be able to do, but I can make the Separatists pay a hefty price for their success," I say.
"Good," says Senator Bu, "Both our coalition and the Republic need those victories. Now how long do you intend to stay on Coruscant?"
"A day or two," I answer, "Long enough to get resupply and repair some battle damage to our starfighters."
"Then I have a few visits I would like to make with you," says Senator Bu, "We need to shore up support and that there are a couple of representatives I believe we can draw into our coalition's corner if we play our cards right."
"Commander Fox!" I call as I approach the clone commander as he exits the Senate Dome.
"General Shan," he calls back and while he doesn't show it, I can feel that he is pleased to see me though the Force, "You're back on Coruscant, sir?"
"Just for one or two days," I tell him, "Got anything you need help with?"
The Coruscant Guard showed up following the start of the war, I made a point of befriending Commander Fox along with Commander Thorn and Commander Stone. I'm not sure what good it will do in the long run, but having the senior leadership being friendly to me can't hurt. And it isn't like they had any Jedi friends in the other timelines.
"A couple of Black Sun warehouses, a Pyke dealing den and a Hutt casino," answers Fox, "If you could spare some troops to help us with our raids, I would appreciate it. The Guard is stretched thin."
Deciding to kill two targets with one shot, I took the opportunity to befriend the Coruscant Guard whilst also training up my own new recruits. The shocktroopers are spread pretty thinly across a planet as big as Coruscant and they aren't able to go over as many targets as they would like. Meanwhile my forces are both capable and heavily armed and armoured in addition to being in need of some real experience. Combining the two, I've been leading out some of my troopers to help out the Coruscant Guard, primarily by helping the Guard out with their raids on more heavily armed criminal organisations.
The Coruscant Guard get more of their job done, my new recruits get some live experience and the criminal syndicates take blows to their operations on Coruscant. It is win-win for the Republic and loss for its foes so I'll take it, especially since it furthers my own covert goals.
"Send me the details and I'll see what I can do," I reply, "The Senate giving you much trouble?"
"Nothing out of the ordinary, sir," answers Fox, "A few senators have differing opinions on what counts as appropriate respect or what my troopers are supposed to do, but nothing too onerous."
"Let me know if you have any troubles," I tell him, "And I will do what I can to help."
"Of course, General," replies Fox.
"Rahm," I greet the Jedi Master as he appears before me in hologram.
"Ben," replies Rahm, "Good work on the Rodia mission. A shame you couldn't get all of the Black Sun, but sometimes that is just the way things turn out."
"We took out their frigate and most of their starfighters," I reply, "A decent warship isn't easy to replace and while getting new starfighters and pilots for them is cheap, getting good ones are not. Especially since good pilots require time to get experience, something you can't speed up with credits."
"That is true," agrees Rahm.
"How about you?" I inquire, "What did those pirate bases turn out to be?"
"One was a bust," answers Rahm, "Whoever was there had packed up and left at least a week before. The power was out, no electronics capable of holding data had been left behind and any meaningful supplies had been taken when they left. We shot it to pieces with the turbolasers to give the new recruits some target practice."
"And the other?" I ask.
"We had much more success with that one," replies Rahm with a smile creeping onto his face, "Fully operational and active pirate base that we caught by surprise. A handful of turbolaser turrets and point defence guns with a few squadrons of starfighters, a corvette and a whole bunch of freighters. We took out the turbolasers with concussion missiles first and then picked off the enemy starfighters when they counterattacked before picking off the rest from afar. A few ships tried to flee, but we dealt with them before they could make the jump to hyperspace.
Since I only had Corellian Gunships with me, I called him some backup for the salvage operations and storming the base. But while we were waiting a pirate fleet jumped in. Nothing major, just a couple of corvettes, a converted freighter and a squadron of starfighters. We smashed them as well and nothing else made an appearance before our backup arrived. In the end, we took a few hundred prisoners, freed a few hundred slaves and acquired a whole bunch of loot, including what appears to be some valuable items. I'm currently figuring out what to do with the new prisoners and free slaves and while that is going on, we're engaging in salvage operations. It shouldn't take more than a day or two."
"Good work," I tell him, "Any idea on if that pirate base was part of a larger faction?"
"Just a local pirate gang," answers Rahm, "They did some business with the larger criminal organisations, but they weren't a part of them. And I'm pretty sure I got all of them."
"That is good to hear," I say, "How are you taking to command?"
"It isn't my first time, but it is different to my first time in ways I didn't expect," admits Rahm, "Part of it is the different nature of the warfare and the unit, but part of it is the experience difference. When I first went to war, I was a kid and barely eight when they conscripted me. I grew up in the trenches and I was ten when they stuck me on the firing line for the first time."
"Your record mentioned you were a child soldier," I say neutrally.
"Yeah, I was," says Rahm, "Different though. I rose to command thanks to my natural talent and sound instincts, but that was ground combat in bitter trench warfare. I've fought alongside the Judicial and local military forces plenty of times, but this is my first time commanding a fleet. Some things are completely different while other things feel exactly the same."
"Need any help?" I inquire.
"No, but thank you for offering," replies Rahm, "I am a natural at command and my prior experience isn't completely useless. Giving me some competent subordinates is enough help for me to get a handle on it. You don't trust the Chancellor, do you?"
"No, I don't," I admit, a little surprised at this sudden change in topic, "Why do you ask?"
"I took a look at those contingency orders and what you found from poking around them," answers Rahm with a scowl, "I used to think the clones were trouble, but now I'm thinking that they are just a symptom of the real problem. I used to think the Chancellor was the sort of man that the Republic needed to root out corruption, but if he is doing this sort of thing, I can't trust a Chancellor who feels that these actions are acceptable. Especially since this isn't the only concerning thing he has been doing."
"No, it isn't," I say, "Chancellor Palpatine might change the nature of the corruption within the Republic, but he won't get rid of it."
"And the High Council," says Rahm, "I've questioned them before on not doing enough, but this is different. There being legal plans to genocide the whole Order should not be something we accept or tolerate just because it should never be implemented. Ben, how do you still trust the High Council when they consider kowtowing to the politicians more important than our Order?"
"I don't," I reply bluntly, "We had our differences, but their refusal to risk rocking the boat or looking bad has become too excessive for me. I understand their position. Jedi require a degree of trust to operate as we have been for the last thousand years. And I understand why the Order is subordinate to the Senate. Jedi are not meant to be rulers and us being subordinate to the Senate is good for rule of law and government legitimacy. Things which were especially important a thousand years ago."
"The question is what to do when the government is doing bad things and doesn't deserve support or legitimacy," concludes Rahm.
"Yeah, that is the question," I agree, "We shouldn't support the authorities when they are doing wrong."
"It is stupid," says Rahm, "I know High Council or most of them anyway. They know better than this and yet they are doing it anyway."
"Are you okay?" I inquire.
"I will be fine," Rahm assures, "I know what I am doing. I'm just worried that the High Council doesn't."
"Master Ikrit," I greet the Kushiban as he enters my office, his fur grey instead of the usual white and I can sense his unhappiness.
"Ben," replies Ikrit as he hops onto my desk, "I have spoken with my old master."
"Ah," I say, "I take it that it did not go well."
"No, it did not," confirms Ikrit, "I had believed that he resisted all change, but after being away for a few centuries, I now know that to no longer be true. I am at a loss as to what sort of changes he accepts or supports, but I do know that there are some."
"I won't pry, but if there is anything you wish to talk with me about, you can," I tell Ikrit.
"Having reviewed your evidence, I spoke with Master Yoda about my own concerns," says Ikrit, "I was not dismissed, but he disagreed with the severity of the situation. No, that isn't right. He didn't disagree on how bad things are getting, but we disagreed on the need to take action in response to it."
"In what way?" I inquire.
"My master that it was in the best interest of the war effort and the Republic for the Jedi Order to stand behind the Chancellor to present a united front," answers Ikrit, "I feel the existence of these unacceptable contingency orders and the other questionable actions by the Chancellor mean we should distance ourselves from him."
"Anything I can do to help?" I offer.
"Only that you continue to do what you are already doing," says Ikrit, "I have also decided to believe you about Sidious."
"I see," I reply, taken back even if I am not unhappy about this turn of events, "May I ask why?"
"There are too many concerning things happening and your explanation makes too much sense when too little is otherwise explained," answers Ikrit, "I trust you and connection to the Force. You lack physical evidence for your claims, but I am a Jedi, not a court. It feels right in the Force and so until proven otherwise, I have decided to accept your conclusion."
"Thank you, Ikrit," I tell him.
"No need to thank me," says Ikrit with a sigh of sorrow, "I remember what it means to be a Jedi. I just wish that others did as well."
Another short update, but I felt this is a good stopping point. We got the return to the Coruscant at the start of this arc followed by a political checkup with Candabrine Bu for both Ben and the readers, including a complaint by the Trade Federation. Technically speaking, the Trade Federation does have a case, but only because the war means different laws contradict each other. In practice, their respective reputations means that the Trade Federation has no chance of successfully using Ben and his people.
Other than that, showing part of Ben's attempt to befriend Fox and the Coruscant Guard and a check up with Rahm Kota to see what he is up to and to show more of his character. I also wanted to show Ikrit getting frustrated with Yoda. I decided that Yoda wouldn't disagree with Ben and Ikrit's assessment on Palpatine's public actions, but at the same time, he wouldn't see the Jedi Order distancing itself from the Supreme Chancellor as the answer.
I also decided that Ikrit would come down on the side of believing Ben. This is because Ben is right and as a Jedi Master who particularly specialised with the Force, Ikrit would be able to determine this via the Force.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Aug 22, 2021
8.2 (Saving Ryloth) - Chapter Thirty-Nine
"Falon, how are you doing?" I ask my fellow Jedi.
"Good," answers Falon over a holonet call, "I just wanted to let you know that we ran into our first bit of trouble a couple of hours ago."
"Anything I need to be concerned about?" I inquire.
"No," answers Falon, "We just ran into a Separatist patrol. Or a Separatist raiding party. Without seeing how they treated civilian ships, it is hard to tell what their objectives were. In either case, we engaged and destroyed them."
"Any losses?" I inquire.
"No, the enemy weren't expecting a force of our calibre," replies Falon, "A trio of Gozantis and a carrier variant of the Trade Federation lander. Proton torpedoes took out the carrier and the Gozanti cruisers went down to sustained laser fire. Vulture droids were outnumbered and no match for us. A few fighters got damaged, but no pilots or starfighters were lost and we can repair the damage done in our hangars. I just figured you would appreciate a timely update on what happened."
"I do," I tell him, "Do you need any backup? There isn't much to spare, but I can scrounge something up."
"My current forces are sufficient for more patrol jobs," answers Falon, "It might change if the enemy starts actively hunting us and if they do come after us in force, I will need to rally my forces so we don't get picked off. If the Separatists begin to send capital ships after us, I will want to borrow one of your Star Cruisers, but in that case, we might just need to call things off."
"If the Separatists start sending capital ships after you, I'll send at least one of our other legions to reinforce you," I say, "Continuing your patrols is for the best right now. We get to train up our new recruits, we get some goodwill and we minimise how innocent people suffer due to the war."
"I'm glad you see it that way," says Falon, "Now, how are you doing, Ben?"
"Mostly well," I tell him, "I've spent today playing politics, but I ensured Rodia won't starve and I took out a small pirate fleet. Part of me is envious of you getting to fight the Separatists, but I know that I will have plenty of that to look forward to in the future."
"We all do," says Falon, "If it helps, the battle earlier indicated that the Liberator starfighters stand up to the vulture droids extremely well. But back to my original point, how are you doing, Ben? On a personal level, not a military or political one."
"I am holding up fine," I answer, "Unlike many Jedi, this war isn't changing what I am doing, just the stakes and extent of it. I have my friends, old and new, to support me and nothing has gone wrong so far. That might change as the war goes on and we take losses, but for now, I am just making use of the calm before the storm."
"Ben," calls Aria as she walks down the corridor towards me, Siaran in tow behind her.
"Aria," I reply, "I thought I sensed you, but I wasn't aware you were back on Coruscant."
"I needed to come back to check on something," answers Aria, "I feel it would be appropriate to check in with you given our relationship."
"Relationship, huh?" I reply, deciding to tease Aria, "I didn't realise we were like that."
"We are not!" snaps Aria, her composure breaking for a moment before she gets all prim and proper on me, "I was referring to our professional relationship, which is the only relationship that we have and not whatever you were referring to."
"I was making a joke," I tell her before turning my attention to the person behind her rather than get into that argument, "Hello Siaran. How are you?"
"I am doing well, Master Shan," replies Siaran, "I have been learning much about both being a Jedi and leading troops. I have also been gaining practical knowledge about how the galaxy works. I just wish that our missions would be more interesting than just escorting ships from place to place though it has been fun to visit those new places, however briefly."
"Good to hear," I reply before turning my attention back to Aria, "I take it that your missions have gone well?"
"We were able to successfully escort all of the trade ships to their destinations without any trouble," answers Aria, "None were lost or damaged and we suffered no attacks by pirates, Separatists or anyone else."
"Good work," I say, "Now what brings you back to Coruscant if you don't mind me asking?"
"I wanted to check up on my propaganda network and my own connections in the Senate," answers Aria, "With the aid of my master, I have been able to find multiple allies amongst the Pacifists such as Senators Organa, Amidala and Mothma. They all agree with my concerns and are willing to support my ideas to deal with them. As Senator Organa is about to leave on a relief mission for an unknown period of time, I took the opportunity to return to Coruscant to meet with those three leaders in person before Senator Organa left."
That has to be a good thing. While I am only personally familiar with Senator Amidala and even then barely so, I recognise those three from my otherworldly memories. If Aria is working with them, then she is in good hands and has found some excellent allies.
"I see," I reply, "I hope that your meeting goes well."
"Thank you for the sentiment, but it has already taken place," replies Aria, "It did go well however and we made progress, such as Senator Mothma agreeing to take over the day to day running of the propaganda network as of the four of us, she is the one with the least commitments that will take her across the galaxy. What I was hoping to ask of you was a spar."
"A spar?" I repeat as I think it over, "I can spare some time. I don't currently have any meetings lined up and there is no other urgent business to worry about."
"Good," says Aria, sounding pleased, "I have been meaning to practice with my new lightsaber and sparring with Siaran is good for teaching him, but less effective when it comes to helping me hone my own skills."
"I would be happy to," I tell her, "Shall we go to the training room?"
"I was thinking we could use one of the dojos in the Temple," replies Aria, "There are enough Jedi out fighting the war that some are guaranteed to be free that we can find one to use on short notice."
"As you wish," I agree.
As Aria predicted, it is easy enough to get a spare training dojo for us to use at short notice and I can't help, but feel that the Temple is empty. Well, not empty, but it feels quieter and less full of life than it normally is. Not unexpected given the current war, but the discrepancy between how the Temples feel right now and how I remember it feeling is jarring.
"I'm surprised that you didn't make Siaran stick around to watch," I say as Aria and I take up positions opposite each other.
"We don't know how long we will remain on Coruscant," answers Aria, "And given the trying times and the potential for tragedy, he deserves the chance to spend some time with his friends while he still can."
"Wise," I say as we draw our lightsabers and ignite them, a white blade and green blade on my end while Aria has a pair of purple blades.
Duelling Aria is an interesting prospect. On the one hand, I am stronger, tougher and faster in addition to being more experienced with a greater instinct for combat. On the other hand, Aria specialises in Makashi and has greater strength in the Force than I do. Not to mention that while I am more experienced at fighting in general, Aria has more experience at lightsaber duels than I do.
All in all, I am confident I can win, but lightsaber duels are something of a weak point of mine as fighting other lightsaber-wielders isn't something I expected to do until I got my otherworldly memories. And this is one of those situations where my otherworldly memories offer no help at all.
I let Aria make the first move since this is a spar and not a real duel. She goes for a winning blow to start off with though she has to know that it can't succeed and it doesn't. I parry it to one side and launch some probing attacks. I would push harder in a real fight, but this little spar is to get Aria some practice and going for a swift victory would beat the point of that.
She fends me off and I find this spar to be noticeably different to our previous spars as while it is similar, a double-bladed lightsaber is distinctively different to Jar'Kai. I wouldn't say that one is inherently better than the other, but I can tell that Aria has greater experience with Jar'Kai than she does with a saberstaff.
Which leaves me wondering why she chose to make a double-bladed lightsaber in the first place.
On the other hand, Aria clearly knows how to use her new lightsaber as I am forced to use my shoto to block her second blade even as my main blade and her first blade are clashing against each other. Aria pulls back because she has to as a contest of physical strength between us will go in my favour and we both know it.
Before Aria can recover for another attack, I make one of my own, pushing Aria on the defensive. No overwhelming attacks, no trying to crush her with my superior strength as I fight to press her defences rather than overwhelm them.
As spar goes along those lines as Aria and I both fight to give the other the challenge without going all out in the name of the victory. Aria clearly needs the experience as her saberstaff form is lacking compared to what it could be and I myself am finding out some new things. Such as how effective my new lightsaber can be.
As my fights have primarily been from a cockpit over the last couple of weeks, just like Aria, I haven't had much opportunity to use my lightsabers. I don't think I've had to make serious use of them since Yavin and I am noticing some differences between my new primary lightsaber and my old one. For starters, it is easier to aim and angle in a way that is hard to explain as the lightsaber just feels swifter to move in my hand and the blade is easier to position just how I want it or need it.
And I just feel more focused when I wield my blades, channeling the power of the Light Side through me as I wield my white blade. Not only is the blade itself stronger than my old one, but I just know how to better aim it, the Light Side of the Force guiding me as I fight. That is probably the solari crystal and if this is its power fighting against a fellow Jedi in a friendly spar, I wonder what sort of strength it grants when I am battling against real darkness and evil.
We spar for about the next twenty minutes and as the fight goes on, I have the upper hand more often than not. It isn't unexpected as I am more of a natural warrior than Aria is even if she is a prodigy with battle meditation and I have greater training and experience when it comes to combat. Combined with my greater stamina, well, by the time the spar is over, Aria is both sweating and breathing heavily from exertion while I have barely broken a sweat.
"Now that your spar is over, Knights, I would request a moment of your time before you leave," says Adi Gallia as the Tholothian Jedi Master steps into the dojo.
"Of course, Master," replies Aria before I can react, inclining her head in respect towards Master Gallia as she deactivates her lightsaber.
"Thank you, Knight Telis," says Master Gallia before the councilor turns her attention to me, "General Shan, on the behalf of the High Council, I would like to ask if you have any insights to share from your visions?"
Ah, this is happening then. I wondered if the High Council would try to glean more information about my vision and I guess that now is that time. I told only a part of it on Geonosis and if they've been paying attention to me, it is clear that my visions have had more to them than that.
And I'm not surprised at how they have cornered me about it. Master Gallia is a renowned diplomat who is unlikely to get on my bad side and confronting me about it while I am at the Jedi Temple with Aria limits my ability to avoid the subject.
Now I just need to figure out what to share and how much. Some bits I obviously cannot share such as Chancellor Palpatine being Darth Sidious, other bits I probably shouldn't be sharing such as the holocron I found on Telos, but there are some things I can get away with sharing and in all honesty, I probably should share.
"I am not sure," I answer semi-truthfully, "The future is always in motion and much of it is unclear without context. I am uncertain how much of it was about things that could have come to pass and will no longer come to pass thanks to my actions."
"Such is the danger with Force visions," agrees Master Gallia, "But if there is anything you could share to help the Jedi Order, myself and the rest of the Council would like to know."
"What I mean is some things are unclear and don't make sense without greater context," I try to clarify, "Like I saw some things which I lack context for them going about and with my actions so far, I have no indication that things will continue as they did in my vision."
For starters, I killed off most of the Separatist Executive Council on Geonosis. No Nute Gunray getting involved on Rodia, no Wat Tambor getting involved with Ryloth and no Poggle the Lesser getting involved with new droid factories on Geonosis. Some things like the Malevolence or the Battle of Mon Cala might still take place, but I've made too many changes to be certain.
There are some things which might not happen, but will probably still happen such as Death Watch aligning with Dooku or the return of Darth Maul. Also things like Sidious trying to kidnap the younglings or everything to do with Ziro.
"There are still some things that we should be concerned about," I say, "The Mandalorian warrior faction Death Watch had been secretly rebuilding to the point of being able to conquer some minor worlds. They were working with Dooku to trick the Republic into launching a military occupation of Mandalore by exaggerating the threat Death Watch poses to the New Mandalorians to topple the New Mandalorian regime and gain support from the Mandalorian public against the military occupation.
"We should also be wary of the Dathomirians, specifically the Nightsisters. Dooku's personal assassin and sort of apprentice, Asajj Ventress, is one of them and so was Maul. When Dooku has to replace Ventress, he picks Maul's brother as his new apprentice and assassin. He actually killed you in my vision. Eventually, Dooku ended up having General Grievous wipe out the Nightsisters after they turned on Dooku following him turning on both Ventress and Savage-ah, Savage being Maul's brother and Dooku's second apprentice."
"If I may, your visions have contained information on General Grevious?" interrupt Master Gallia, "That could be very important. He has proven himself to be a rather dangerous commander of the Separatists who has been driving Republic forces out of the galactic north since the start of the war. Any insight you could provide on him might be vital."
Huh, I hadn't considered that. I just took it for granted that someone like Grievous would be someone I will end up fighting that I never considered everyone else would only just be finding out about him for the first time.
"He is a Kaleesh warlord turned cyborg," I answer, "When the Huk began to enslave and genocide his people, he led them to freedom and victory against the invaders. When the Republic stepped in to stop him thanks to the Huk's connections to the Trade Federation, Grievous viewed that as the Republic and the Jedi refusing to step in when his people were being genocided by the Huk, but being willing to step in when his people had turned the tables on the Huk. He viewed the resulting sanctions on his people as unjust and watching his people starve and wither away resulted in Grievous nurturing a hatred of both the Republic and the Jedi.
"He became a cyborg after suffering severe injuries in a shuttle crash and the MagnaGuards, based after Kaleesh warriors, were created for Grievous to use when he found the standard battle droids insufficient and the Banking Clan refused to hire more of his people. According to my vision, he was one of the more talented Separatist military leaders and Dooku trained him to use lightsabers. At least, he used multiple looted lightsabers in my visions."
"He has already begun to use the lightsabers of the Jedi that he has killed," says Master Gallia, "One in each hand."
"In my vision, he had the ability to split his arms in two and wield up to four lightsabers at once," I tell her, "He is something of a coward and only fights when he can stack the odds in his favour, but he is otherwise a capable military commander. Callous, but when you are using expendable droids and not organic troopers, that isn't a drawback and can even be useful. He hated Gunray and vice versa, but given that Gunray is dead, I doubt that is a concern."
"That is some hopefully useful information," says Master Galli, "Would it be too much to ask if your visions showed you how to kill him? That would be quite useful."
"Master Kenobi did the deed in my vision," I answer as I think about how to frame this information without giving too much away, "They fought during the endgame of the war. Master Kenobi took off half of Grievous' hands, disarmed him of all his lightsabers, pulled away his chest plating to expose his insides in unarmed combat and then in a moment of desperation, Master Kenobi choose shooting Grievous' exposed organs with a blaster over dying at Grievous' hands.
"This was after Kenobi had isolated Grievous from his bodyguards and other droid forces so I say the best way to take down Grievous is to get him away from his backup and escape routes and then target his organic parts behind his armour plating. Those are his weak points and he can survive the loss of any limb with ease beyond losing the utility of having the limb."
"Once again, thank you for that information," says Master Galli, "That shall prove useful to know. Do you have any other insights to share?"
"Well, there is Cad Bane," I reply as I think of what else I can share with Master Galli and the rest of the High Council.
While on the short side, this update took a long time to write due to how I struggled with the conversations. Some talking with Aria and Falon along with a bit of sparring with the former. The main bit to me feels like Ben giving the information from his vision to the High Council. I'm not going to cover all of it because that would take too long and it would mostly be repeating canon info, something I realised when I was writing up Grievous' background.
So I have decided to leave it at covering Grievous on-screen and then next chapter, I'll go over what Ben did and didn't share. As it is, Ben will be sharing some information, but a lot of it will be kept to himself because it is sensitive and he lacks proof or he can't be sure it will still be relevant due to his changes. One thing about derailing canon is that your canon knowledge becomes rapidly less useful.
On another note, I am currently looking for a beta-reader if anyone is interested in doing that, primarily for catching grammar and spelling mistakes.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Sep 3, 2021
8.3 (Saving Ryloth) - Chapter Forty
"General Shan!" a voice calls after me as I walk down the corridors of the Senate Dome, one that I recognise though I am not particularly happy to hear it.
"Senator Free Taa," I reply, turning to face the corrupt and obese Twi'lek senator as he runs off towards me, "Is there something I can help you with?"
"Y-yes," grasps Senator Free Taa as he tries to catch his breath, "Yes, there- wheeze-is. Ryloth is under- wheeze-attack!"
Ah, yes, that would be happening about now though I had wondered if Ryloth would still get invaded without Wat Tambor around. It seems that the Separatists have gone after Ryloth anyway and I am not surprised by that. Ryloth is on the Corellian Run and a major world in that part of the Outer Rim. And while the Separatists control a good portion of the Mid Rim regions of the Corellian Run, they have a limited hold on the Outer Rim sectors of it.
If they had kept Herdessa or are able to retake it alongside seizing other major worlds in that part of the galaxy like Rodia, Ryloth and Christophsis, then the Confederacy would have a major stronghold along the southern half of the Corellian Run. While that would be beneficial on its own merits, it would also put the Separatists in an ideal place to retake Geonosis and link up with their territories based around the Abrion sector. Which in turn would isolate Rothana and threaten that important world alongside others like Kamino and Bothawui.
Even if it didn't mean bad things for the native Twi'leks, Ryloth is a place that the Republic needs to stop the Separatists from conquering purely for strategic reasons.
"I see," I reply, "I can understand why that is concerning for you. I don't want to be presumptuous, but why do you desire my help?"
"Ryloth's current defences are too little to hold off the Separatists," says Senator Free Taa as he gets his breath back under control, "They haven't fallen yet, but it is only a matter of time and the Republic military won't send anything to help! They say that they are stretched too thin in the Outer Rim, but Ryloth will fall without reinforcements and I know that the Core has plenty of warships and soldiers to defend it from attacks that won't be coming. But General Shan, you have warships and soldiers of your own and you have proven yourself to be willing to fight for both the Republic and those of us in the Outer Rim."
"And so you want my aid to save Ryloth," I conclude, "Hmm, my forces are still expanding and rebuilding and we are currently stretched pretty thin. I can try to put a relief force together, but I cannot promise how quickly I can do that."
"Please do what you can, General Shan," pleads Senator Free Taa, "My people will suffer greatly at the hands of the Separatists without help and you are the only one who can both provide their help in time and is willing to do so. I shall greatly be in your debt if you can save the people of Ryloth."
"I will see what I can do," I promise him as no matter what I think of Orn Free Taa as an individual, he isn't wrong about the plight of the Twi'leks.
Not to mention that Orn Free Taa owing me one could prove useful in the future.
"Emergency meeting time," I say as I start the impromptu meeting that is taking place shortly after my encounter with Senator Free Taa, "What can we shake free to reinforce Ryloth's defenders and fight back the Separatist invasion that is currently ongoing?"
The senior leadership of the 1st Republic Patriot Legion and 2nd Republic Patriot Legion is here. That means regulars like Aria, Wol and Loren are here, but there are some newcomers, Ikrit, Admiral Jace Dallin and Brigidier Renu Zhi, who are joining us as well.
"What sort of enemy forces are we dealing with?" asks Wol instantly, "What sort of task force we can put together is very dependent on what sort of opposition we can expect."
"The Republic garrison has three of those Venator-class Star Destroyers plus a squadron of CR90 Corvettes and a squadron of refitted Consular-class Cruisers," I answer, having taken advantage of my nominal position within the Republic military to read the latest reports on Ryloth after speaking with Senator Free Taa, "The invading Separatist fleet has a Lucreulk for its flagship and it appears to be a droid control ship variant rather than a battleship variant. It has a full load of starfighters and ten Munificient Frigates backing it up, all also with a full load of starfighters."
"Not a fight that a fleet of that size can win even if that Lucrehulk isn't a battleship," mutters Wol, "We don't have a full legion availabe, but we do have elements from both 1st and 2nd that we can make use of. The Justice is still away, but we have both the Freedom and the Liberty available. Those two should be enough to turn the tide on their own, but I would like to give them some escorts."
"I have all of my Dreadnought-class Heavy Cruisers and eleven of my Hammerhead-class Cruisers currently unassigned and available," says Aria, "I was going to send them on more trade route patrols, but they can be used to escort the Star Cruisers instead."
"We still have some of our Hammerheads free, don't we?" I say to Wol.
"We do," confirms Wol, "Along with most of our DP20 Frigates and all of our Thranta-class Corvettes. We were also going to send them on additional patrols, but they can be sent to Ryloth instead."
"That sounds like enough for this strike force," I say, "How soon can we get things going?"
"A few hours," answers Wol.
"A bit longer for me," answers Admiral Dallin, "Our command and organisational structure is still new enough that we haven't quite got the same efficiency as 1st Legion yet."
"What about ground forces?" I ask as I turn my attention to Loren and Brigadier Zhi.
"We can muster up enough soldiers for a legion's worth between us," answers Loren, "If 2nd Legion hasn't got a problem with us using their Dreadnoughts to transport some of 1st Legion's troopers, we are set for transportation."
"It shouldn't be an issue," says Brigadier Zhi, "Even split across the legions, our troopers are meant to be able to work together as a single unit. It should be no different than two regiments working together before we expanded."
"Excellent," I say, "We'll take six hours to get things ready to go. Is there enough time for everyone? Good, let's get back to work. I'll call the Republic military leadership at Ryloth and let them know that we are coming."
"Admiral Dao," I greet the harried-looking Republic officer.
"General Shan," replies Admiral Dao, "Do you have news for us? Has the Council decided to send reinforcements to us?"
"Not the Council, but Senator Free Taa," I inform him, "It seems that for all of his many flaws, Senator Free Taa does care about his people and does so enough to expend his political capital on protecting them. Specifically, I shall be arriving at Ryloth with a task force soon."
"That is a relief to hear, General Shan," says Admiral Dao, "General Di and I are doing our best, but the Separatist invasion force is just too strong for us to hold out for long without assistance. How soon can I expect your arrival and what are you bringing with you?"
"About seven hours," I answer, "Six to assemble a task force and then another hour on the Corellian Run. Fortunately both Coruscant and Ryloth are on the same super-hyperlane."
"It is indeed fortunate," agrees Admrial Dao, "A small mercy in such dark times, but I will take it."
"As for warships," I continue, "I will be bringing six capital ships and two scores of escorts along with a few hundred starfighters. A mixture of veterans and well-trained rookies. It is the best I can do on short notice. How are you holding out?"
"It is not going well," admits Admiral Dao, "The Separatists have punched a hole through our defences and are landing an invasion force even as we speak. This has the benefit of keeping much of my force intact, but the enemy is landing hundreds of thousands of battle droids on the surface of Ryloth.The Twi'leks and the Republic garrison will only be able to hold out for so long against such a force and my remaining warships are not enough to break the Separatist blockade on their own."
"What do you have left?" I inquire, "You had three star destroyers and a couple dozen corvettes according to my information."
"I did, but the enemy has been whittling down my forces," answers Admiral Dao, "The Polaris is still intact, but took heavy damage to the point I am hesitant to call her combat capable and I have lost many of my escorts over the course of the fighting. I have done my best to eliminate the enemy, but the Separatist commander has been content to sacrifice his starfighters to take out my escorts. Seven of my Corellian Corvettes have been taken out by the enemy Munificiants and while I was able to take down one using wolfpack tactics with my Consulars, I lost a quarter of them in the process and I doubt the enemy will let such a ploy work against them again."
"That sounds rough," I say, "As the commander currently onscene, do you have a plan in mind?"
"Not yet," replies Admrial Dao, "But I favour holding my forces back until you arrive to reinforce us. I might be able to take out one or two more Separatist warships, but I would lose most of my own in exchange. Our losses would be lessened if we wait to combine our forces before attacking."
"That seems acceptable," I agree, "Can the defenders on the ground hold out for that long and will the enemy let you get away with not attacking them in space?"
"The Separatists have settled into a blockade and ground invasion," answers Admiral Dao, "They will not care if I go a few hours before attacking. As for the defenders, I will need to speak with General Di for a detailed assessment, but my estimate is that Ryloth will not fall so quickly. They have enough supplies to hold out for a couple of weeks of heavy fighting and General Di will not let himself get overwhelmed so quickly. We can afford to wait for you to arrive and in any case, the Separatists seem to be in no rush to conquer Ryloth now that their blockade is firmly in place."
"Then I would agree with your assessment," I tell him, "We should let our forces meet up before launching our counterattack."
"Thank you for this, General Shan," says Admiral Dao, "I am not sure what we would have done without reinforcements except die valiantly in the defence of Ryloth."
They would have too according to my otherworldly memories. I am about to say farewell to the Admiral, but nothing leaves my mouth as I feel there is something I need to follow up on before I put an end to this call.
"One last thing," I say, "You mentioned that the enemy is invading Ryloth with their ground forces. Do you have any idea of how much of its complement the Lucrehulk has committed to the ground?"
"All of its complement to the best of our knowledge," answers Admiral Dao, "We witnessed all of its landing craft heading down to Ryloth and they are deploying the standard droid complement of a Lucrehulk. They've landed in one of the more remote and indefensible regions of the planet, but they can safely do so because the blockade means we can't hit from above and the numerical discrepancy means that General Di can't attack them without taking unsustainable losses in the process."
"And what about the starfighters?" I ask, "You mention that the Separatist commander has been sacrificing their starfighters."
"The starfighter exchange has been favourable to us, but not favourable enough," answers Admiral Dao, "We have inflicted far greater losses, but the enemy greatly outnumbers us. Both my own force and the Separatists have lost over half of our starfighters."
"You're flying V-19 Torrent Starfighters right?" I inquire.
"With some of Y-Wing bombers mixed in," replies Admiral Dao, "We had a ratio of seven V-19s to one Y-Wing at the start, but casualties have been heavier on the V-19s so we are closer to a four to one ratio now. And if you are wondering, General Shan, the enemy has been using a mixture of vulture droids and those new hyena bombers and like us, the Separatist starfighter losses have primarily been their starfighters rather than their bombers."
"Understood, Admiral Dao," I reply, "I have the start of the plan."
"Given your track record, it should be a good one," says Admiral Dao.
"I hope it will be," I tell him, "Good luck, Admiral, and may the Force be with you."
"Likewise, General."
One of the shortest updates in the story, if not the shortest, but I decided it would be better to have this chapter finish at the end of Ben and Admiral Dao's conversation and then have the next chapter start off with the battle.
Anyway, the Battle of Ryloth is happening and while Ben hasn't noticed or realised this, it is actually happening earlier than in canon. This is partially because I want it to happen this early for plot reasons, but also because the Separatists are having to push their initial offensive harder as between their heavier losses at Genosis and Dooku's failure to go on a rampage with the Dark Reaper, the Confederacy is in a worse off position. Especially since the Republic has started to give deflector shielding to their V-19 Torrent Starfighters.
On another note, I am currently looking for a beta-reader if anyone is interested in doing that, primarily for catching grammar and spelling mistakes.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Sep 3, 2021
8.4 (Saving Ryloth) - Chapter Forty-One
"This is going to be an interesting fight, Ben," says Wol over a private comm channel as I sit in the cockpit of the Knight I, "But I am confident we can pull off your plan."
"Yeah, we can," I reply, "I'm just hoping that the Separatists aren't packing some extra forces that are still aboard that Lucrehulk."
"Unlikely," answers Wol, "They are being stretched pretty thin after they took some early defeats. The only reason they are doing as well as they are is because the Republic is stretched even thinner than the Separatists are."
"Hopefully we can leave them a little more stretched once we are done at Ryloth," I say, "Has Admiral Dao reported any changes since we last talked?"
"I would have told you if he had, but no, he has not," replies Wol, "He will play his part and he will let our forces take the lead as agreed. We will have the enemy severely outgunned when it comes to both warships and starfighters. Your plan has its risks, but they are calculated risks and based on what we know, it has a high chance of success and the payoff will certainly be worth it if it works."
"I get it," I reply, "I'm just worried I'm going to get some of our people killed in avoidable deaths because I was trying to be clever and take the big prize.'
"It'll be fine, Ben," says Wol, "Just keep your head in the game. I'll handle the space battle. You worry about securing the Lucrehulk."
And with that, Wol ends the call and a moment later, the automated system on the Freedom announces that we have one minute until we exit hyperspace.
My plan is pretty simple. The enemy is running low on starfighters and has deployed their ground forces aboard the Lucrehulk to the surface, which leaves it vulnerable as the droid control ship variant has limited anti-warship weaponry on the ring while the coreship has limited anti-starfighter weaponry. If I can get some troopers aboard, we should be able to seize the relatively unprotected Lucrehulk. While getting another Lucrehulk would be beneficial for my forces in general, taking over this one in particular means that I would have a strong chance of sending override codes to the droids on the surface.
Our escort warships like my DP20 Frigates and Admiral Dao's CR90 Corvettes will engage the remaining enemy starfighters alongside our own starfighters while our bombers and capital ships will eliminate the Munificent-class Star Frigates. Once the enemy starfighters are sufficiently occupied, my shuttles will drop out of hyperspace to launch a swift boarding of the Lucrehulk to try and seize it intact and I'll be joining them in the Knight I. To the end, half a dozen veteran troopers are sitting in the passenger seating below me.
Finally, Aria will be aboard the Liberty and my fellow Jedi Knight will be using her battle meditation to support our forces to give us a decisive edge that should keep losses down even if we don't need it to win.
The plan is sound in theory and should work, but no battle plan survives contact with the enemy. I'm just worried about what unexpected surprises the Separatists might have in store for us.
It doesn't take long for the Freedom to exit hyperspace and once we are back in realspace, I quickly check the tactical overview. As I begin to launch, I note that the rest of the fleet is here as expected and so are most of Admiral Dao's remaining forces.
One of his Venators has withdrawn to Kuat for repairs as she has sustained crippling damage and a CR90 Corvette and Consular went with her, partially as escorts and partially because they took damage of their own that needs fixing. Meanwhile Admiral Dao has brought both of his other Venator-class Star Destroyers back to Ryloth along with four CR90 Corvettes and eight refitted Consular-class Cruisers. He has also transferred his remaining starfighters to the two remaining Venators he brought with him, leaving them with mostly full hangars.
Meanwhile the enemy force has weakened. While the Lucrehulk is still there, it originally had ten Munificent-class Star Frigates and the enemy flagship currently only has six of them still with it. While Admiral Dao was able to take one out before he was forced to withdraw, that still leaves three of them unaccounted for.
The Separatists could have withdrawn them to support other fights in the galaxy, but there is another option. An option that was used in the Battle of Ryloth in my otherworldly memories and is similar to my own plan for this battle. If Mar Tuuk is still the commander of the Separatist blockade in this timeline…
"Separatist flagship," I say as I open a channel to the Lurcehulk, "This is General Ben Shan. Please respond."
"Your reputation precedes you, General Shan," comes a quick reply, "This is Captain Mar Tuuk of the Confederate Navy. What do I owe the honour of this call to?"
"I just wanted to offer you the chance to peacefully surrender," I tell him, keeping the satisfaction that I feel out of my voice, "As you can clearly see, Republic reinforcements have arrived while you have been deprived of some of your warships."
"As generous as that offer of yours is, I think I shall decline," replies Captain Tuuk, "I have my orders and your defeat here shall be my greatest victory. Dooku will personally award me for your downfall."
And with that, the Neimoidian cuts the connection.
"What was that about, Ben?" asks Wol as he quickly calls me once I have finished talking with Captain Tuuk.
"I wanted to see who the enemy commander was," I inform him, "Could you let Admiral Dao know to expect a trap? I believe the Separatists are planning to jump in the missing Munificents to ambush our forces the same way that we are planning to jump in our shuttles for the boarding op."
"I will do so," replies Wol, "Care to share how you know about that?"
"Force vision," I answer, "Things are playing out differently, but not that differently it seems. How will this affect our plans?"
"Not too much given that we are forewarned," says Wol, "We will have our capitals take the enemy frigates already present and we can have the bombers ready to target the ones that will jump in. We can mix them into the starfighter and interceptor squadrons and make it look like their actual target is the Lucrehulk. It will help disguise our true intentions of boarding the ship and our bombers can switch to their real targets once they appear."
"Good work, Admiral," I reply, "I'll focus on clearing a path to that Lucrehulk for the shuttles."
Speaking of my task, both sides are launching their starfighters. The enemy has about five hundred vulture droids launching from both the Munificents and the Lucrehulk while we have almost five hundred V-19 Torrent Starfighters, a hundred eighty Y-Wings, three hundred twenty four Liberator-class Starfighters and almost two hundred Aurek-class Starfighters. Good odds as our starfighters outnumber theirs by over two to one whilst also being of higher quality.
Trusting Wol and Admiral Dao to handle the rest of the battle, I position myself near the front of the starfighter formation. Not right at the front as the Aureks have that honour due to their superior speed, but I am with the foremost squadron of Y-Wings.
The battle starts without me as the Aureks engage the vultures to kick things off. A decent number of the enemy starfighters are taken out for a first pass, but more importantly, it leaves the droid formation scattered and vulnerable to the Liberators and V-19s. Before the Aureks can begin to get overwhelmed by the enemy, the other Republic starfighters swoop in and begin to gun down the vultures.
At that point, as the DP20 Frigates and Consular-class Cruisers begin to close in, five Munificent-class Star Frigates come out of hyperspace almost right on top of the dogfight. Expecting this to happen, the Y-Wing swiftly adapt as they break off their current course for the Lucrehulk to launch attack runs on the newly arrived enemy warships.
Meanwhile I stay focused on the enemy flagship, making sure that the space between us is clear. And it quickly becomes apparent that it is not as a dozen squadrons of hyena bombers launch from the Lucrehulk.
"Hang on," I call down to my passengers, "We have bombers incoming. This ride might get a little bumpy."
As a couple squadrons of droid bombers split off from the rest, they begin to angle towards me and I know that Captain Tuuk has decided to single me out as a priority target. Clever of him, but a couple dozen droid starfighters won't be enough to bring me down.
The hyena bombers might pack more firepower than their vulture counterparts, but they lack agility and durability in exchange. Locking onto the lead vulture droid of the second squadron with my missile launcher, I aim my blaster cannons at the lead droid of the first squadron. Firing both of my weapons, I swiftly pull into a roll to avoid incoming barrage of concussion missiles before swinging back around to engage the rear half of the hyena bombers, ripping into them with my blaster cannons.
Only partially aiming, I lay into the swarm with a focus on dishing out as much firepower as I can to break up the enemy formation. A couple of hits is all I need to take out a hyena and even one will do the job if I hit the payload. The hyenas try to swing around to get on my tail, but the Knight I can match them in turning speed and with the cheap parts used by the Trade Federation, hyena bombers can only pull off so much of a sharp turn before their structural integrity falls apart.
And I am not fighting alone either as a trio of Liberators swoop in to help me out. Hitting the hyena droids from another angle, the surviving enemy bombers are forced to choose between continuing to pursue me or avoiding the new attackers. They choose the former, but that just means that my starfighters tear them apart as a solid couple of hits is also all that a Liberator needs to blast a droid starfighter apart.
"Brigadier Belen," I call as I decide that enough enemy starfighters have been cleared out, "Commence phase two of the plan."
"Of course, sir," comes the prompt reply.
Moments later, almost a score of assault shuttles come out of hyperspace in the gap of space between the front of the Lucrehulk and the ongoing dogfight, using the data we have been transmitting to them to safely jump in from a neighbouring star.
The Shen-class Combat Shuttle is a niche Corellian design for those that want a shuttle that can endure the rigors of a dogfight or hostile combat drop to at least some degree. Well-armoured and decently agile, the Shen-class is a blocky rectangular design with a rotatable engine at each corner of the hull while the cockpit is at the front and the entry/exit ramp is at the rear. A laser cannon and a missile tube are both mounted on the front to give it some firepower while a shield generator provides additional protection and a class three hyperdrive gives it FTL capability for long ranged operations.
That isn't to say that it is without its flaws. Decently agile still leaves the combat shuttle vulnerable to serious starfighters and even if it can take one or two in a fight, the Shen-class can't handle multiple enemy starfighters at once. It isn't slow, but it isn't fast either and one or two hits from a turbolaser will bring it down. And while it does have a hyperdrive, the navicomputer only has space for five pre-programmed jumps.
Nonetheless, my forces make heavy use of them because they serve our purposes well. Upgrading the firepower on the laser cannon and replacing the shield generator with a heavy-duty one is a cost-effective method of improving the survivability of the combat shuttles and replacing everything in the back with troop seating, each combat shuttle can comfortably fit up to twenty and if you are willing to get a bit cramped, as many as thirty-two. If you wanted to really jam the back of the shuttle full of troopers, you could maybe get fifty in there, but my forces generally go for somewhere around thirty troopers per shuttle.
In this case, it means I have a battalion worth of troopers heading for the Lucrehulk's hangars. As the shuttles beeline for the open hangar doors, I swing the Knight I around to join them as more friendly starfighters begin to help clean up the remaining hyena bombers.
Captain Tuuk seems to realise what we are doing as the blast doors of the hangars begin to slide shut, but it is too late. We have made too much ground and are going too fast for the blast doors to close in time. I join the shuttles heading for the port hangars.
We soar through the wide, open hangar bays of the Lucrehulk as we try to make it as far into the ship as possible. Those bays are surprisingly empty as all of the vultures and hyenas have been launched while all of the ground forces have been sent down to Ryloth. There are a few B1s hanging about below and a lot of supply crates and containers, but we go unopposed until we reach the far end of the hangar.
"Be extremely careful with your shots," I warn the rest of the boarding party on the comms as I land the Knight I, "We don't want to accidentally blow up the reactor while we are standing next to it."
As two companies of troopers disgorge themselves from their shuttles, I run further into the starship. The best bet for getting the Lucrehulk intact is to make sure we capture it while the commanding officer is still aboard. While the benefits of taking a senior enemy officer are obvious, the Separatist commander is also less likely to blow up the warship to deny it to us if they would be blown up alongside us.
A few unlucky B1 Battle Droids try to stop me as I run through the corridors, but they don't even slow me down as I carve my way through them. Sensing only one lifeform who was already on the Lucrehulk when we boarded it, I run towards it, easily tracking it as it stands out amongst the otherwise lifeless vessel.
Turning a corner, I am just in time to see the back of a Neimoidian climbing into an escape pod. Knowing that it has to be Captain Mar Tuuk, I reach out with the Force and pull him back. It isn't enough to send him flying, but it is enough to yank him out of the escape pod and leave him staggering. Casually deflecting the blaster fire of the four B1 bodyguards as they open fire on me, I run up to Captain Tuuk as he steadies himself.
"Captain Tuuk," I inform the bemused Neimoidian as I aim my white lightsaber blade at his neck, "I am going to give you another chance to surrender."
"I surrender," replies Captain Tuuk in a defeated tone as he slumps, gazing bitterly down at my lightsaber blade.
And this is the space battle for Ryloth concluded. I figure covering all of it would make for a solid update so this chapter is just going to be the space battle. Anyway, I went for something similar to canon, but with a twist on it.
More warships got involved on both sides and rather than destroy the enemy Lucrehulk, Ben decided to capture it for reasons covered in the update. Both sides had a trick up their sleeves, but Ben knew about the Seppie trick thanks to his meta memories though those memories are becoming increasingly irrelevant as seen in how even in situations where they are still useful, things are increasingly changing from canon. Also I feel I should mention that the reason the Republic did so well in this battle is due to a mixture of superior numbers, better quality and a Jedi performing Battle Meditation.
Anyway, the next update will be the ground battle on Ryloth because even with the droid control ship, things won't be as simple as just flicking an off switch on the droids. There might be one or two updates after that, but I'm not sure how long things will stretch out for so I can't say for certain how long this arc will last.
On another note, I am currently looking for a beta-reader if anyone is interested in doing that, primarily for catching grammar and spelling mistakes.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Battle of Ryloth (First Space Engagement)
Republic Forces Commanders
Republic Admiral Dao
4th Outer Rim Garrison Fleet
3 Venator-class Star Destroyers
-84 Squadrons of 12 V-19 Torrent Starfighters (1,008 Total)
-12 Squadrons of 12 BTL-B Y-Wings (144 Total)
12 CR90 Corvettes
12 Consular-class Cruisers (Charger c70 retrofit)
Losses
43 Squadrons of 12 V-19 Torrent Starfighters (516 Total) (Destroyed)
2 Squadrons of 12 BTL-B Y-Wings (24 Total) (Destroyed)
7 CR90 Corvettes (Destroyed)
3 Consular-class Cruisers (Charger c70 retrofit) (Destroyed)
1 Consular-class Cruisers (Charger c70 retrofit) (Damaged)
1 CR90 Corvettes (Badly Damaged)
1 Venator-class Star Destroyer Polaris (Badly Damaged)
Separatist Forces
Commanders
Separatist Captain Mar Tuuk
Ryloth Invasion Fleet
1 Lucrehulk-class Droid Control Ship Procurer
-100 Squadrons of 12 Vulture Droid Starfighters (1,200 Total)
-25 Squadrons of 12 Hyena Droid Bombers (300 Total)
10 Munificent-class Star Frigates
-20 Squadrons of 12 Vulture Droid Starfighters (288 Total)
Losses
1 Munificent-class Star Frigate
74 Squadrons of 12 Vulture Droid Starfighters (888 Total)
3 Squadrons of 12 Hyena Droid Bombers (36 Total)
Battle of Ryloth (Second Space Engagement)
Republic Forces Commanders
Jedi Knight/Paramilitary General Ben Shan
Jedi Knight/Paramilitary General Nelaria Telis
Republic Admiral Dao
Paramilitary Admiral Wol Thak
Republic Patriot Legions
2 MC80 Liberty-type Star Cruisers Liberty and Freedom
-4 Squadrons of 12 Liberator-Class Starfighters (48 Total)
-1 Squadron of 12 BTL-B Y-Wings (12 Total)
-5 Squadrons of 12 Aurek-Class Starfighters (60 Total)
4 Dreadnought-class Heavy Cruisers
-4 Squadrons of 12 BTL-B Y-Wings (48 Total)
8 DP20 Frigates/Corellian Gunships
12 CR-12 Thranta-class Corvettes
-12 Squadrons of 14 Liberator-Class Starfighters (168 Total)
20 Hammerhead-class Cruisers
-9 Squadrons of 12 Liberator-Class Starfighters (108 Total)
-11 Squadrons of 12 Aurek-Class Starfighters (132 Total)
4th Outer Rim Garrison Fleet
2 Venator-class Star Destroyers
-41 Squadrons of 12 V-19 Torrent Starfighters (492 Total)
-10 Squadrons of 12 BTL-B Y-Wings (120 Total)
4 CR90 Corvettes
8 Consular-class Cruisers (Charger c70 retrofit)
Losses
3 Aurek-class Starfigthers Destroyed
2 Liberator-class Starfighters (Destroyed)
8 BTL-B Y-Wings (Destroyed)
14 V-19 Torrent Starfighters (Destroyed)
1 DP20 Corvettes (Damaged)
1 Consular-class Cruisers (Charger c70 retrofit) (Damaged)
Separatist Forces
Commanders
Separatist Captain Mar Tuuk
Ryloth Invasion Fleet
1 Lucrehulk-class Droid Control Ship Procurer
-46 Squadrons of 12 Vulture Droid Starfighters (552 Total)
-12 Squadrons of 12 Hyena Droid Bombers (144 Total)
11 Munificent-class Star Frigates
-4 Squadrons of 12 Vulture Droid Starfighters (48 Total)
Losses
1 Lucrehulk-class Droid Control Ship Procurer (Captured)
11 Munificent-class Star Frigate (Destroyed)
50 Squadrons of 12 Vulture Droid Starfighters (600 Total)
12 Squadrons of 12 Hyena Droid Bombers (144 Total)
Last edited: Sep 8, 2021
8.5 (Saving Ryloth) - Chapter Forty-Two
"General Shan, we have a problem," reports one of the slicers from the bridge of the captured Lucrehulk about half an hour after the ship was captured.
Not an entirely unexpected turn of events. Things were going too smoothly and I have rarely been that fortunate since the war started. We have smashed the enemy fleet with minimal losses despite them receiving an extra pair of Munificent-class Star Frigates. Of course, that was expected given our superior quality and numbers while we also had the advantage of knowing about the enemy trap beforehand in addition to having Aria perform her battle meditation.
"What is it?" I reply back.
"We sent the shutdown signal, but only some of the battle droids are dependant on the control ship," answers the engineer, "As much as two thirds of the enemy force and at least half of it have been refitted with backup processors and since the Separatist commander on the ground outranks the captain of this ship, they have been able to counter our shutdown signal with their own orders."
"Unpleasant news, but good work letting me know," I reply before ending the call as I need to make another one, "General Di, we have a situation."
"What sort of situation?" replies the Jedi on the ground.
"Over half of the droids have been given backup processors," I inform him, "The enemy commander down there outranks Captain Tuuk so they are able to override the shutdown signal on the droids with the backup processors."
"That is an unpleasant turn of events, but we were always expecting to fight a battle," replies General Di, "What are the invaders doing now?"
"Give me a moment to check," I reply as I quickly pull up the tactical feed, "It looks like they are fortifying the area around the shield generator that they set up. Sending out some forces into the highlands and jungle where we will have trouble hitting from the air or orbit and they can strike out at some of the local settlements. I'm not sure what their plan is, but they will run out of supplies sooner or later. They just don't have a way to logistically sustain themselves even if they are able to hold us off militarily."
"They might just be making the best of a bad situation?" suggests General Di, "What is the likelihood of them receiving reinforcements?"
"Unknown," I answer promptly as I have already thought about that possibility, "The Separatists are stretched almost as thinly as the Republic is. Any reinforcements for them would come at the expense of somewhere else. The Confederacy could free something up, but it would mean pulling whatever they could muster up off of other offensives or abandoning some other systems. It could go either way and without more information, I don't know which is more likely."
"You are the more experienced general between the two of us," says General Di, "Any ideas on what we should do?"
"Some," I reply as I think about how to handle this, "I'll need to check some things first. In the meantime, can you begin to evacuate or fortify the local settlements? They will be the biggest priority for our defence right now as the only meaningful places that the Separatists can attack. Anything else is too far away for them to reach without exposing themselves to orbital bombardments and airstrikes."
"The defence of the Twi'leks should be our priority," agrees General Di, "I shall begin the coordination of our efforts with Cham Syndulla. Call me back once you have found what you need to know."
"Of course, General Di," I reply before the call ends.
"Sergeant Kapis," I call the highest ranking engineer on the bridge of the Lucrehulk, "Can we give new orders to any of the droids we shut down?"
"Absolutely, General," replies the Dug without any hesitation, "It won't work on any of those with a backup processor of course, but we can give orders to the rest of the droids and they will be unable to disobey them just as they were unable to resist our shutdown order. Do you want those droids to do something?"
"I want to use them to weaken the Separatist forces on Ryloth," I answer, "They might not be able to win on their own, but a fight between our turned droids and the Separatists would leave the invaders a lot weaker. That would make our victory easier and reduce our casualties."
"We can do that, General," says Sergeant Kapis, "Any orders in particular that you want to give our droids?"
"Designate the shield generator and proton cannons as priority targets," I tell him, "Eliminating that shield generator would leave most of the enemy force vulnerable and those cannons are the biggest threat amongst the enemy force. Beyond that, they are to do maximum damage to the Separatists with hurting the enemy being more important than their own survival."
"Understood, sir," replies Sergeant Kapis, "Do you want us to send the orders as soon as we've got them written up?"
"No, I should speak with General Di before doing that," I answer, "It shouldn't be a problem, but I need to keep him informed of what is going on, especially since he is in command of the Republic forces down on Ryloth."
"Of course, General," says Sergeant Kapis, "Just let me know when you want the orders sent or if there are any additions to be made to them."
"Hopefully I will be in touch with you again shortly," I say before ending the call and contacting General Di again.
"General Shan, have you found out what you needed to know?" asks General Di as he picks up my call.
"I have," I answer before filling him in on my discussion with Sergeant Kapis.
"That sounds like a good plan," says General Di, "What shall be our part in it?"
"For now, just continue to fortify the local settlements," I tell him, "I want to let our droids weaken the Separatists before committing our own forces. What we will do will very much depend on what the Separatists have left once the dust has been settled. Unless you have any objections, I am going to give the new orders to the droids now."
"I have no argument with this plan as it preserves both the lives of my men and those of the Twi'leks," replies General Di.
"Good," I say before ending the call and getting ready to Sergeant Kapis again when I receive a different call, this one from Major Vora.
"Major Vora, is there a problem?" I inquire.
"No, General, but there is something I think you will want to know about," replies the Twi'lek, "You know that Seppie captain you captured? He wants to talk to you. Something about cutting a deal by providing information in exchange for his freedom."
"I'm not too busy right now so I can hear him out," I inform Major Vora, "I just need to give Sergeant Kapis some orders first."
"You wanted to talk with me?" I ask Captain Mar Tuuk as I speak with the Neimoidian a couple of minutes after reactivating the battle droids on Ryloth.
"Yes, I do, General Shan," quickly answers Captain Tuuk, "While I am aware of my circumstances, I do have information that is tactically relevant to you. In exchange for my safe release, I am willing to share that information with you."
"And how do you expect that to happen?" I inquire, "Because if you think I am going to trust you to give me the information once I have let you go, you would be wrong."
"I do not," replies Captain Tuuk, "I will give you the information in exchange for you promising to let me go. Your actions in this war have been prominent enough that I have made a point of studying your record, General. You are a man of honour with a reputation for trustworthiness. I trust that you will uphold your end of the bargain even if it is with your power to discard it."
"You aren't wrong," I concede, "Alright, if the information is good, I shall let you go. Now what do you have to tell me?"
"The commander of the invasion force is one of Count Dooku's Dark Acolytes," says Captain Tuuk, "The Confederacy's answer to the Jedi Order. This one is some dwarfnut human called Rart Vilt. He has force powers and a lightsaber like you Jedi, but he is absolutely obnoxious to be around. He will smash a battle droid for pathetic reasons like bringing him bad news and he seems to take pleasure in creating suffering for others. I certainly try my best to avoid being in the same room as him."
Well, that is some useful information. I remember that Dooku had a bunch of darksiders working for the Confederacy during the Clone Wars in my otherworldly memories, but none of them got involved at Ryloth. On the other hand, it was Wat Tambor who led the invasion of Ryloth in those memories and since I killed him at Geonosis, it seems that someone else has taken his place.
Though I have never heard of a Rart Vilt before.
"Alright, that information is acceptable for the deal," I inform Captain Tuuk, "Druckenwell is still under Separatist control so I'll have one of my ships drop you there in an escape pod. You'll have enough fuel to make it to the planet though it will be on you to convince your fellow Separatists to not shoot you down and let you land."
An escape pod isn't free, but it isn't expensive or onerous to replace either. It is certainly a cheap enough price to pay in exchange for knowing that the enemy is being led by a darksider.
"I can live with that," says Captain Tuuk, sounding pleased while I can sense his relief through the Force, "I am glad we have been able to cut a mutually beneficial deal, General Shan."
"As you say," I reply non committedly before I turn to go and give some orders.
"A darksider leading the invasion is troubling news," says General Di once I have filled him in on the situation, "Was Captain Tuuk able to give more information?"
"I don't believe so," I reply, "Given his lack of a record and his behaviour fitting standard darksider patterns, he appears to be a fresh recruit to the Dark Side. I would be surprised if he was a match for either of us, but at the same time, we shouldn't discount him either. That said, he doesn't seem to be one of the smart ones. Captain Tuuk had zero respect for him and actively avoided Rart due to his tendency to lash out for petty reasons. Unless he happens to be exceptionally talented or strong in the Force, we shouldn't have a problem and if he is like that, I am confident we would have sensed something."
"I am inclined to agree," says General Di, "How is your plan going? Will this have an impact on that?"
"Unlikely," I reply, "Our reprogramming of the battle droids is having an effect, but it won't be enough to win on its own. Only B1s and B2s lack backup processors so we have been unable to get any of the more powerful droids to turn on the Separatists and even amongst the B1s and B2s, it is primarily the former. That said, there is something to be said for having the weight of numbers on your side and we got little over half of the B1s and a third of the B2s engaging the remaining invaders."
"My scouts have reported that the enemy shield has gone down so I presume that the battle is seeing some success," notes General Di.
"Some of the B1s were aboard the AATs, MMTs and landing craft," I inform him, "It isn't enough to turn the tide, but it has been enough to provide the heavy firepower needed to take out the shield generator and the proton cannons. Since we took down the shield, the enemy has been fleeing into the jungle and highlands and in the process, they are being forced to leave a significant amount of supplies behind. We can either seize or destroy with either artillery fire or airstrikes and their timeframe for remaining an effective fighting force has sharply decreased."
"Which of those do you plan to do?" asks General Di.
"Once the Separatists have sufficiently withdrawn and the fighting has died down in the immediate area, I plan to send some troops down to secure any remaining supplies for our own use," I answer, "In the meantime, I would like you to continue fortifying the local settlements for the same reasons as before. Has Admiral Dao been able to dedicate some of his starfighters to support you?"
"He has," answers General Di,
"Then I don't need to unless you feel you require the extra air support," I say.
"Our current air support should be sufficient for now," says General Di, "Though if the Separatists attack one location in full force, we may require additional starfighters to aid us."
"Of course," I reply, "I have given Admiral Thak and Admiral Dallin orders to provide air support to you as needed. In the meantime, I intend to join my forces on the ground. I would normally do this anyway, but if the enemy has a darksider with them, I need to be there. I have great faith in my troops, but they aren't up to taking on a darksider, not without suffering heavy losses at least."
"I understand," says General Di, "Do you have a plan in mind to deal with the invaders?"
"Harass them and keep up the pressure on them," I answer, "Their droids can only remain active for so long without a recharge and keeping them busy doing things will just make them run out of power faster. Could you ask Cham Syndulla to provide me with some scouts who know the local terrain? Some local expert knowledge could save some lives."
"I shall ask General Syndulla," promises General Di, "I am confident he shall say yes. He takes his duties very seriously and he has appreciated the aid for Ryloth that you have brought with you."
"Thank you, General Di," I tell him, "I'm going to be taking a shuttle down shortly. Perhaps we shall finally be able to meet in person."
I'm starting a trend towards shorter chapters. They are easier to write and keep track of what is going on in them. In this case, we are in the second stage of Ben's part in the Battle of Ryloth where he uses the captured droid control ship to turn a significant portion of the droids against the Separatists and break their attempts to fortify. The next stage will be Ben arriving on Ryloth to pursue and finish off the Separatist forces on Ryloth.
Also there is a darksider because the early capital ships losses for the Separatists is going to result in the Dark Acolytes being more prominent to make up for it. There and I wanted to provide a twist since Wat Tambor is out of the picture.
Anyway, I know this chapter is a bit dialogue heavy, but that is because the action parts are split off into the previous chapter or the next one. Sometimes chapters just turn out like this and there is enough non-dialogue in the story that I am willing to accept that.
On another note, I am currently looking for a beta-reader if anyone is interested in doing that, primarily for catching grammar and spelling mistakes.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Sep 12, 2021
Interlude - Troopers on Ryloth
Corporal Xara Karn of the 1st Republic Patriot Legion rolls behind the boulder as Seppie blaster fire flies through the air towards her. Hefting her GALAAR-15 Blaster Carbine, Xara pokes her head out of cover to fire off a few return shots, scrapping a couple of B1s with far more accurate blaster fire.
"Does anybody have an estimate on the enemy force size?" asks Lieutenant Lonnson over the comm.
"Looks like a platoon of B1s, sir," reports Xara as she snaps off another shot at the incoming battle droids, blasting a third B1 in the chest, "No armoured support that I can see."
"Actually, there is a spider droid further down the canyon," reports a different trooper in their squad, one of the rookies, "One of the big ones with the beam laser."
"Understood, troopers," replies the lieutenant, "Do we need to call in air support?"
"Not if we can take out that spider droid with one of our missiles, sir," answers Sergeant Ruht, "The only real threat here is that. So long as nobody gets cocky and does something stupid, those B1s won't be able to hurt us beyond maybe damaging some of our armour."
"Understood, sergeant," says Lieutenant Lonnson, "In that case, continue to engage the enemy."
Xara likes Lieutenant Lonnson as her immediate commanding officer. Even though she would have preferred to serve under someone with some experience, the academy graduate from Carida does know his business as much as a fresh-face rookie can. And he doesn't have any issues with nonhumans like her. One of the big worries when the General began to pull in all of those Core Worlder recruits following the start of the war was that they wouldn't play nice with their nonhuman comrades.
Fortunately, those fears didn't materialise outside of a few cases and those exceptions had it made clear to them that they could shape up or get out. According to the scuttlebutt, the General had made it clear to the Core World academies that any recruits would have to work with nonhumans, which meant they had to be willing to respect them and take orders from some of them. Xara isn't sure if that is true or not, but if it is, it would explain some things.
"Alright squad," calls Sergeant Ruht, "We need to push and take out those battle droids so Jorin can take the shot with the missile launcher. Xara, take point."
Xara isn't particularly happy to take point, but she understands why Ruht has chosen her. Unlike most of their squad, she is a veteran who knows what she is doing while the majority of them are rookies who still need to get a proper taste for combat.
Hefting her blaster rifle, Xara rolls out of the cover and comes up blasting at the B1s. There are still over thirty of them, but Xara isn't particularly worried about them. They will go down to a single hit while the droids will struggle to land a single hit in return. The Seppie droids might be cheap and numerous, but they aren't worth the credits spent on them when fighting pros like the troopers of the Republic Patriot Legions.
"For the Republic!" yells Xara as the Zabrak woman leads the counterattack on the enemy assault.
Laying into the enemy, Xara mows down the surviving battle droids as she charges forward, the rest of her squad joining in. The droids start to retreat, but Xara and her squad don't give the Seppies the time they need to fall back, blasting them as they try to turn.
"Jorin!" calls Sergeant Ruht, "Get ready to take the shot!"
"Yes sir!" replies the rookie as he aims his missile launcher at the big spider droid that is just starting to come into view.
As Xara and the rest of the squad gun down the last few battle droids, a missile flies over their heads and strikes the spider droid where one of its legs attaches the spheroid body. The mechanical limb goes flying off while explosions ripple through the main body. Just like the infantry and starfighters, the Seppie tanks tend to be cheap and numerous, but poor in quality and Xara knows for certain that the legion tanks can take multiple missile hits before going down just like the troopers and starfighters of the legions.
"Lieutenant Lonnson, the spider droid is down and the battle droids have been wiped out," reports Sergeant Ruht.
"Good work, Sergeant," replies the lieutenant, "I'll bring the rest of the squad to you so we can link up for a push on the enemy position. The Captain wants us to push further into this sector to keep up the pressure on the Separatists."
"Of course, sir," says Sergeant Ruht, "Corporal Karn! Get up front! I want to know if the Seppies are sending any more droids our way."
"Yes sir," replies Xara, quickly recharging her blaster rifle before she pushes forwards once again.
Ensign Helene Towe flies through the skies of Ryloth in her Liberator-class Starfighter on another recon patrol. If she is lucky, she might get called in to provide some air support for the ground pounders, but that is unlikely. While she got some kills against the vultures in the space battle, the enemy has practically no starfighters left and the Separatist commander has been guarding what few he does have vigorously.
Not that she can really complain as Helene already got a couple of kills in the void and the enemy doesn't have anything in the way of dedicated anti-air. She gets to fly, she gets to do so safely and she has gotten her share of glory for this campaign. Helene can hardly complain about that even if she wishes that she had been able to get that third vulture.
Glancing at her sensors, Helene makes sure that the Separatists below are still on their current path. Flying too high to spot anything in the jungle below with her eyes, Helene's job is to provide some relatively close sensor data to keep an eye on the movements of the remnants of the invading army. Something she can do with ease, but there is no challenge to it. The sensors are doing all of the work and the only thing that Helene has to do is stay on the right course for the sensors to do their job.
Force, she had intellectually known that parts of the job would be boring, but it is another thing to just be following a slow moving ground force. At this point, she almost hopes the Separatists send a starfighter squadron after her. At least she would get some excitement that way.
But nothing changes as Helene continues her boring slog of an uneventful recon flight.
"Get to work stripping these droids for parts and get them loaded into the shuttles," orders Sergeant Selvus Kapis as he oversees his group of engineers, "You've done enough work with us now to understand why we want them and we want them in usable condition."
There was rarely time for rest for the engineers of the 1st Republic Patriot Legion and that had carried over to the engineers of the Republic Patriot Legions. Unlike their naval and army forces, Sergeant Kapis and his fellow engineers have had no trouble training up their new blood. Mainly because they don't need to wait for some real fights as they have no shortage of work to be doing as they upgrade the new equipment to legion standards and take apart the salvage left over from the battles.
Where most would just see a battlefield full of broken droids, wrecked vehicles and scattered supplies, someone like Kapis sees a metaphorical aurodium mine. There is plenty of scrap here for the legion to loot and there is enough of it that there will be a lot of high quality and intact parts. Instead of scraping by with what they can find, they should be able to pick what they want. Ideally they would get all of it, but Kapis knows that will be dependent on how much the ships can hold and how much time they have to get the work done.
Given that General Shan is unlikely to stick around for more than a few days at most and it is more likely to just be one or two, Kapis intends to waste no time getting to work. Making his way over to one of the few wrecked droidekas, Kapis swiftly gets to work himself. He starts by cutting off the bronzium plating with a plasma torch as it is the second most valuable part on the droid after the shield generator. While the legion has no direct use for the material, it can be sold on the market to get credits to buy the things they do use.
Kapis is no salesman or trader, but he knows his engineering business enough that all of the bronzium used on a droideka could sell for a few thousand credits if you could find the right buyers. Once the bronzium is removed, Kapis just needs to remove the shield generator before seeing what components are still intact. Even if the shield generator is damaged, most of the time it will be more valuable to fix it up than to ditch it, especially since Major Dellex's proposal got approved by General Shan.
Once the bronzium plating is off, Kapis puts it to one side before moving into the more complex parts. Shield generator goes first and it is shortly followed by the power core, both expensive parts going into Kapis' satchel. The upper body of the droideka was smashed by the tank shot that took down the droid so Kapis is unable to retrieve its processor while both the comm system and sensors got literally blown away. The Dug instead moves onto removing the repeating blasters and while the legion has no direct use for them, the blasters contain parts that can be reused in other equipment that the legion does use.
And that is about it. Beyond taking some of the circuitry and wiring in the remaining lower half, this droideka is basically scrap metal. Still potentially useful, but not important enough to spend time collecting when Kapis has a bounty like this before him. Making his way over to a nearby B2 Super Battle Droid that went down to multiple blaster bolts to the chest, Kapis removes what remains of the plasteel shell on the upper body with his plasma torch.
A quick glance shows that a few of the innards got damaged by those blaster shots, but a decent amount are still intact and Kapis quickly gets to work. The legion will need these parts to help keep itself supplied and it is the job of its engineers to ensure that they get these looted parts. A job that Kapis is more than happy to live up to.
Three perspectives on the Battle of Ryloth from the 1st Republic Patriot Legion. I was going to cover it from Ben's, but the early parts of the battle will be boring yet necessary parts of keeping up the pressure on the Separatists. So I am going to show an interlude covering some things that are going on during that time period and then switch back to Ben during the endgame when everything is going down.
That said, the next part will probably be an interlude showing some of what Vyssa has been getting up to.
On another note, I am currently looking for a beta-reader if anyone is interested in doing that, primarily for catching grammar and spelling mistakes.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Interlude - Vyssa's Spy Training
"The target is the starship Nightingale Huntress," says Faresk Nir'wey as Vyssa's Bothan mentor briefs her on her target, "I want you to steal it. That will be all since you've picked up enough to do this on your own and that means acquiring your own intel."
"I shall rise to the challenge then," replies Vyssa as the Jedi Padawan begins to plot how she is going to get the information that she needs.
The Bothan spymaster has been giving Vyssa personal tutelage for the last couple of weeks and Vyssa has been thriving under his instruction. She always had a knack for this kind of work in addition to being a quick study so the opportunity to study under a master of the art has been excellent for improving her skillset.
And now Faresk has decided that Vyssa has learnt enough to pull off a mission on her own. With minimal information, she will need to acquire the necessary information to steal the Nightingale Huntress in addition to actually stealing the starship. Given that they are on the ecumenopolis of Denon, Vyssa's best starting point is the local records to see what is officially known about the Nightingale Huntress.
Dressed in her black legging and sleeveless shirt, both made from high quality armourweave, Vyssa walks away from the local spaceport with newfound knowledge of her target and a couple new leads on where to find the starship.
It had been a very simple affair to break into the databanks of the local orbital traffic control. She wasn't allowed access of course, but the firewalls had been unable to stop her once she had gotten direct physical access to the computer systems. That had been easily enough to accomplish given the lax security of the spaceport. Cameras and doors were sliced without difficulty while the guards were just going about their business and were completely unprepared for a Jedi sneaking about.
Vyssa had been in and out without anybody noticing and had covered her tracks well enough that even if anyone noticed someone had been snooping about, they would be unable to identify her as the culprit.
Which would be a good thing as the Nightingale Huntress is the personal ship of the local Exchange boss. The crime syndicate was no longer one of the top dogs like the Black Sun, Pyke Syndicate and the Hutt Cartel, but the Exchange was very much one of the secondary big players like the Zygerrians or the Haxion Brood. Even for the Jedi, the Exchange was not someone to be trifled with.
Unless you are one of the big names, that is. Vyssa is confident that the likes of Master Windu or Master Kenobi could easily get onto the bad side of the Exchange without much issue and she would lean towards adding Master Shan to that number given his past record. But while Master Shan is good enough to get away with pissing off every criminal organisation that gets in his way, Vyssa is merely a Padawan and not in the same league and so being cautious is vital for her.
In any case, the Nightingale Huntress is a modified HWK-290 Light Freighter from Corellian Engineering Corporation. Vyssa was unable to get the details of the modification, but the starship moved with greater speed and agility in the traffic control records than the stock model. Combined with some weaponry and deflector shielding on the grounds of needing to fend off pirates, Pori Rarmy had clearly gone to some expense to improve his personal starship.
The question is how much expense the Exchange boss has gone to and if Vyssa needs to be wary of any added security features. Pori Rarmy will have some sort of security and in addition to identifying the current location of the Nightingale Huntress, identifying the extent of the security is next on Vyssa's list of things to do.
And when it comes to getting information on criminals, the best bet is to find the right cantina.
While she is still a Jedi at heart, Vyssa has come to appreciate being able to act like a stereotypical Zeltron. Or perhaps just a stereotypical teenager. Between being a Zeltron and an early bloomer, Vyssa has the looks to appear older than she is and wearing more scoundrel-like attire gives her the chance to show off her appearance in a way that she could never pull off whilst wearing the robes of a Jedi or the armour of a soldier.
Using the Force to pick a seedy cantina to check out, Vyssa ties back her hair in a ponytail, puts on her tight-fitting armourweave outfit and swaps out her lightsaber for a DL-44 heavy blaster pistol that she picked up a couple weeks ago along with her armourweave outfit. No one could mistake her for a Jedi when she looks like this unless they already know that she is one.
Ignoring the stares that she receives as she marches up to the bar, Vyssa takes a seat near the bartender.
"A glass of Corellian wine if you've got any," Vyssa tells the bartender as she pulls out a few credits to show that she can pay.
Another part of this training that Vyssa enjoys is the chance to try out some alcohol. Her second liver means that she can drink a few alcoholic drinks without suffering any meaningful ill effects, but try telling that to her master. She knows that Master Shan won't approve of it, but Vyssa enjoys getting some booze with him being none the wiser.
This must be what teenage rebellion feels like.
"That'll be twelve credits," says the bartender as he begins to pour a glass.
"I'll cover that for a charming lady," says a man as he walks up behind Vyssa and puts some credits down on the bar next to her.
Vyssa glances at him as he takes a seat next to her and instantly assesses him as a thug of some sort. Cheap, but durable gear, muscular build, an imposing face and he just radiates an attitude of confidence and intimidation. An attitude that Vyssa can also sense through the Force alongside his less than savoury intentions towards her.
And from what she can sense in the Force and the smell on his breath, Vyssa is certain that the thug has already had a few drinks.
"I'm not interested in showing you a good time if that is what you are looking for," says Vyssa bluntly as she gives him a disdainful look, "Go and spend your credits on someone else if that is what you want."
If she was older, pretending to be interested in his advances might have been an option, but Vyssa has zero desire to act seductive or alluring. It is one thing to enjoy being a rebellious teenager. It is another to be like… that and Vyssa just isn't the sort of person who has what it takes to pull that off.
Unfortunately, it seems that the man isn't taking the rejection well.
"Now listen here you little schutta," hisses the man as he reaches for Vyssa angrily.
"Touch me and you'll regret it," snaps Vyssa as she bats his hand away, reaching for the Force in her head and for her blaster with her other hand.
"Oi!" barks the bartender as he returns with Vyssa's glass of wine, "No harassing the customers."
"Don't you know who I am?" demands the man as he turns his ire on the bartender.
"He knows you are, Mac," says another thug as he walks up to join them, "Don't get us thrown out because you're drunk and got angry that the chick turned you down."
"The chick who is in a relationship already," adds Vyssa as she lies through her teeth while the bartender collects the credits that the first thug left on the bar counter.
"Shut your mouth schutta," snaps the first thug as Vyssa begins to sip her wine.
"Force forsake it, Mac," says the second thug, "Just get back to our seats before you get us into some real trouble,"
"Let me get my credits first," grumbles the first thug as he turns his gaze towards the bar counter.
"You should have taken them back when the lady said to instead of leaving them laying about," states the bartender, focusing the first thug ire on him.
"Kriff you!" shouts the first thug as he swipes for the bartender who leans back out of the way, "We're Black Sun! You don't want to mess with us."
And Vyssa decides that makes this outing worth it. It isn't the Exchange, but the Black Sun will keep tabs on their rivals so she can use these two jokers as a starting point for her investigation.
"I pay my dues so back off or I'll call up Olison about what your behaviour has been like tonight," retorts the bartender, "He won't like me for complaining to him, but he'll like you even less for forcing me to make the complaints.
Growling, the thug back down from his fight with the bartender before turning his attention back to Vyssa.
"You'll give me the credits that you stole from me," snaps the thug as he tries to puff himself up menacingly.
"I stole nothing from you," retorts Vyssa, "You should have checked if I was interested before paying for my drink."
"Kriff you schutta!" shouts the drunken thug as he pulls back a fist for a swing.
"Don't even try it," replies Vyssa calmly, as she whips out her heavy blaster, aiming it at the man point blank.
Thank the Force that she got some blaster lessons from the troopers over the last couple of years.
"I said no harassing the customers," snaps the bartender at the thug as the drunken man freezes and the cantina gets a lot quieter, "And you! Put that blaster away."
"I'll put it away when I am no longer being threatened with violence," replies Vyssa calmly as she keeps the blaster trained on the drunk thug, calling upon the Force to keep her grip firm and steady.
After a moment of tense silence, the second thug pulls the first back and the drunk relents, walking away from Vyssa and the bar. With the thug having turned his back on her, Vyssa holsters her blaster and returns to drink, her mind already formulating ways to take advantage of this situation.
Having hit her fourth destination of the night, Vyssa begins to feel tired. While she has learnt some Matukai techniques from Master Shan, she is nowhere near as good as him at them. She is already pushing a full day of no sleeping and now the tiredness is beginning to set in. Vyssa could keep going, but given that her next task will be actually stealing the Nightingale Huntress, the Jedi Padawan would rather get a few hours of sleep first.
Stealing and slicing Mac's datapad had given Vyssa a list of locations to check out. Picking one with the Force had led her to a small Black Sun-owned tailor that the crime syndicate uses as a front. Hacking into the computer in the backroom had provided Vyssa with a more substantial Black Sun base to check out.
Breaking into there had been more of a difficulty as the small mansion had plenty of alert guards who knew what they were doing. Slicing into the security system had let her slip in undetected while using both the Force and her recent stealth lessons had gotten Vyssa past the guards. Once inside, she found a terminal and downloaded what information she could on the Exchange in addition to a few sites of interest to check out later and several credit chips from a locked vault.
The only downside is that she ran into a guard on the way out. Not that he had posed any issue as Vyssa had gunned him down with her heavy blaster, but it would draw some attention to her as she had left the corpse of a guard in a major local Black Sun outpost. Fortunately for Vyssa, she won't be spending too long on Denon so it shouldn't be too much of a concern as she should be gone before long.
A few minutes of reviewing the stolen data on the Exchange had given Vyssa the location of Pori Rarmy's personal skyscraper that the local crime lord operates out of. Security there was sloppy in its own way. The guards were alert for some things, but all Vyssa had to do to get in undetected was knock out a janitor and steal their uniform. Then nobody gave her a second glance except to ogle her and so long as she didn't get caught doing anything suspicious, she had basically free run of the place.
Getting access to a secure terminal ended up being as simple as cleaning the room that it was in. From there, Vyssa downloaded what she could on the Nightingale Huntress and anything else that looked interesting in the short time that she had before someone else walked in on her. With her objective achieved, Vyssa left the building with no intention of returning, stopping only to change back into her original set of clothing.
"I'll review the data then get some sleep," decides Vyssa as she pulls up the files on her datapad.
The Nightingale Huntress is a very heavily modified HWK-290 Light Freighter, having significantly diverged from the original specs. About half of the cargo space is gone, replaced to make room for the additional upgrades. Upgraded engines, improved hyperdrive, additional thrusters for extra agility, a heavy duty shield generator, upgraded computing systems, part of the cargo bay converted into a compact medical bay and several luxury upgrades for a level of comfort that you would expect from a nice hotel rather than a freighter.
A very nice ride and Pori Rarmy has spared no expense on upgrading his personal starship. Running some quick math in her head, Vyssa suspects he has spent four or five times the original price on upgrading the Nightingale Huntress. It will certainly be painful for the man to lose what is clearly a prized possession, but having seen some of his involvement in the slave trade and targetting children to get at their families, Vyssa has no sympathy for the man. Pori deserves whatever he gets and Vyssa is confident that she will find a much better use for the starship than he would, regardless of whether she uses it herself or gives it away to someone else.
The most important part is that Vyssa has information on both the location of the Nightingale Huntress and the security protecting it. Pori has his starship stored away in a private hangar with several guards watching over it, a mixture of security droids and Exchange thugs. The ship might have some civilian droids abroad, but Vyssa doesn't see anything that indicates that she will face resistance once she has gotten aboard the freighter.
Given the previous security measures that she has faced from the local criminal syndicates, Vyssa expects it will be easy to sneak past the security around the Nightingale Huntress. The question is what she does when she takes control of the Nightingale Huntress as she can't just sneak away with a ship. A disappearing spaceship would cause a lot of attention and the Exchange would definitely notice their boss' personal and expensive starship flying off.
Not to mention Vyssa doesn't know what Faresk wants her to do with the Nightingale Huntress once she has gotten her hands on it. Calling her Bothan mentor would probably be a good idea right now.
"Frank," calls Vyssa on her secure comm once she has found a more private spot where she won't be casually overheard, "This is Lily. I haven't run into any trouble I could handle so far, but I am going to be picking up the package soon. Is there anything in particular that you want me to drop it off at?"
"Just pick a safe place to store it, Lily," replies Faresk, "Call me once you have gotten it there so I can come and meet up with you. See you later, kid."
"Got it, Frank," replies Vyssa, "See you later as well."
"This is too easy," mutters Vyssa as she shoots the Exchange thug in the chest as she strides around the corner.
The woman topples over backwards, dropping her blaster pistol while Vyssa swings her heavy blaster pistol around to aim at the repurposed police droid that is partnered with the thug.
"Intruder!" reports the CP-Series Droid, raising its blaster pistol to take aim at Vyssa.
A quicker aim, Vyssa doesn't give it the chance as she fires off a few shots. The first blaster bolt strikes the droid in the chest and it isn't enough to bring it down. The second and third shots do prove to be enough and the security droid collapses, its chest half melted and sparking.
The guards aren't putting up much of a challenge as Vyssa storms the Exchange private hangar. These two were the last of the half a dozen guards protecting the Nightingale Huntress and now nothing, but the ship's security stands between her and seizing the vessel.
Putting her blaster away, Vyssa marches up to the Nightingale Huntress and slices open the hatch. For a moment, Vyssa pauses as she takes in the insides, surprised by what she finds. The freighter is extremely full with the cargo hold being jammed packed with plasteel crates. Making her way further into the vessel, Vyssa finds the crew rooms empty, but extremely luxurious and climbs up into the upper deck.
The bridge has an R2 unit in it, powered down at a charging station. A fortunate turn of events since while it might prove troublesome if it had been active, it being shut down gives Vyssa an opportunity. Reprogramming the astromech to aid her in stealing the Nightingale Huntress would be useful and it is within Vyssa's recently expanded skillset. That said, she should finish checking out the rest of the ship first just in case there are any surprises.
The upper deck cargo hold has been converted into a medical bay with a couple of beds, a bacta tank and a GH-7 Medical Droid while the lounge, kitchen and refresher are mundane outside of their high quality. Each of the passenger cabins are equally luxurious as the rest of the vessel with the only noteworthy thing being that each one has a deactivated BD-3000 Luxury Droid inside. Vyssa would be surprised, but given the state of the rest of the ship, she isn't surprised that Pori bought a bunch of those for the Nightingale Huntress.
A quick check of the fuel tanks shows that the Nightingale Huntress has enough fuel to make more than enough hyperspace jumps to get away. Using the navicomputer, Vyssa finds a suitable series of hyperspace coordinates to make a sequence of jumps to throw off any pursuers or trackers and pre-enters them into the ship's computers. Once she has put sufficient time in travelling away from Denon, she can call Faresk to arrange a rendezvous with him.
Deciding that the ship is currently safe enough and it has been sufficiently prepared for the escape, Vyssa gets to work on slicing the R2 unit so it will aid her in her escape from Denon. Technically speaking, Vyssa doesn't need anyone to help her pilot the ship, but having a gunner to help fire the weapons would be useful should a fight break out.
"Alright buddy," says Vyssa after a few minutes as she activates the astromech, "Let's get out of here."
Lifting off, Vyssa quickly gets to work figuring out how best to get into orbit and then into hyperspace. She doubts the Exchange will just let her go without issue and if they try to report her as stolen, Vyssa might need to worry about avoiding the Republic authorities.
Exiting the hangar is easy and while she gets some comm calls, Vyssa ignores those as she heads for the stars. No need to exchange words with the Exchange, that would only make it easier for them to identify her and given how Vyssa has done her best to scrub any electronic trace of her from their security systems, the Jedi Padawan feels she has a good chance of getting away with the Exchange being none the wiser as to who she is.
A pair of Z-95 Headhunters and a CloakShape Fighter rise from the surface. but they are too far away. The Z-95s might be able to catch up with the Nightingale Huntress in atmosphere, but the upgraded ion engines mean that the freighter will leave the starfighters in the dust once she makes it into the void. And taking a path straight up means that it doesn't take long for Vyssa to reach orbit around Denon.
As she does so, the presumably Exchange fighters aren't her only concern. A squadron of V-19 Torrent Starfighters and a CR90 Corvette have broken off from the local garrison, but Vyssa isn't worried about those either. The Nightingale Huntress can outrun them as well and Vyssa just needs to jump to hyperspace and then make a few more jumps to lose any pursuers. None of the starfighters have hyperdrives and if that CR90 has a class two hyperdrive like the stock model, then Vyssa can outrun it with the Nightingale Huntress' class one hyperdrive.
Humming to herself, Vyssa keeps a careful eye on her pursers in case something does go wrong up until she is in a position to jump. A moment later, the white-blue of hyperspace is surrounding her and Vyssa relaxes, having successfully made her escape. A few more jumps will be needed before she can be confident in her getaway, but with a hour of hyperspace travel, Vyssa has some free time and plenty of things to do between the various droids onboard and the cargo hold full of crates.
I was hoping to get 8.6 done before posting this interlude, but the main story has been giving me some mild writer's block so I finished this interlude instead. This is showing some of what Vyssa has been getting up to as she becomes a budding spymaster and a spook in general. We get to see what she is good at and where she draws the line at certain activities.
I like the HWK-290, but its canon stats don't make sense in compared to its size. Because of this, I've been going with the following diagram for its size and internal structure:
[img: data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7]
On another note, I am currently looking for a beta-reader if anyone is interested in doing that, primarily for catching grammar and spelling mistakes.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Oct 2, 2021
8.6 (Saving Ryloth) - Chapter Forty-Three
"Are you certain that the Separatists will make their big push now, General Shan?" asks General Cham Syndulla from beside me.
"They'll have to," I reply, "They've been on the move all day and we've been harassing them for all of that time. They have to be reaching their limits and their only remaining option is to try and do as much damage to our forces as they can before getting destroyed."
"And what if they don't?" asks General Syndulla, "What if they decide to keep running or make a last stand?"
"Then we win more easily and with less casualties," I answer, "If they let themselves get pinned down in a last stand, we can just wait for them to run out of power and there is a good chance we could get a lock for airstrikes or orbital bombardment to wipe them out. Likewise with them running. They have to attack or they lose by default."
"So they'll attack in force," says General Syndulla, "I presume you have a plan to deal with that."
"It will depend on what they do," I reply, "If they go after a settlement, we'll defend that. If they go directly after my forces, I'll kite them, pulling back and baiting them into further attacks whilst trying to whittle down their forces. If we can expose their commander, I might try to personally take a crack at him if it proves feasible."
"Is it true that they have a Dark Jedi with them?" asks General Syndulla.
"They have a darksider, but I'm not sure if they are a Dark Jedi," I reply, "I wouldn't put it past Dooku and the Separatists to recruit Force sensitives from outside the Jedi Order. That said, I can definitely sense a darksider within the Separatist force."
"Then I agree that we should let you deal with them personally," says General Syndulla.
"That or we blow them up with a lot of explosions," I say.
"I'll trust your judgement," replies General Syndulla before hesitating.
"Is there something you wish to discuss?" I ask him as I sense his concern through the Force.
"Ah, I don't wish to be presumptuous, General Shan, but I am concerned about what happens once we have won," says General Syndulla, "You came here at the request of Senator Free Taa, yes?"
"I did, but he is no ally of mine," I answer, "He is firmly in Chancellor Palpatine's Loyalist camp while I am supported by Senator Bu and her Militarist coalition, who oppose Palpatine's power grabs whilst also supporting the war effort and the Republic. Senator Free Taa was taking a gamble when he asked me for aid and I came to Ryloth out of concern for its people more than out of a desire to win political points with Senator Free Taa."
"Then I shall let you know that I am worried about what the senator has planned for Ryloth once the war is over," says General Syndulla, "I have fought against one attempt to militarily occupy my home and I have little desire to resist a second one though I shall do so if it comes to that."
"I understand your concerns," I reply, "I have similar worries about the direction that the Republic is going in and what will remain of the Republic once the war is over. The ideals that the Republic is supposed to stand for are being discarded in the name of winning the war and I don't trust Palpatine to give up his emergency powers once the crisis has passed. I wish I could assure you that your fears are unfounded, but the growing corruption in the Republic leaves me equally concerned about what the future holds."
"That is not the response I was hoping for, but it is the one I feared," replies General Syndulla, looking away from me for a moment before returning his gaze to me, "But I do appreciate the honest response that you have given me. Where do the Jedi stand in this? Or you and your soldiers?"
"While I trust many of my fellow Jedi to do the right thing, the Jedi Order as a whole is hesitant to act against the Chancellor or the Senate," I tell him, "The High Council shares my own concerns to an extent, but unlike myself, they consider opposing or talking out against Palpatine and the Senate to be the greater evil rather than the lesser one. They fear what it would mean for the Jedi or the Republic in the eyes of the public and to a lesser extent, they fear a return to the times of the Jedi Lords, where the Senate answered to the Order rather than the other way around."
"You disagree with them," states General Syndulla.
"I do," I confirm, "The rule of law is as important as supporting the legitimacy of the government. But supporting a tyrannical government is worse than undermining the respect for rule of law. If the Republic begins to lose itself, I consider it my duty as a Jedi Knight and a Republic patriot to make a stand against those who would corrupt the Republic. To that extent, I have made my concerns known to both the Senate and the High Council and I've been gathering allies in the Senate and beyond to form a coalition to pushback against these attempts to pervert what the Republic stands for."
"Would I be one of these allies?" inquires General Syndulla perceptively.
"I would like it to be so, but I shall not force the matter," I answer, "A system is made up of people and for a system to work, good people have to be willing to stand up to the bad people within it. You are concerned about Ryloth's future and are willing to do something about that just as I am concerned about the future of the Republic and the galaxy at large and I am willing to do something about that."
"I will need to think about this," says General Syndulla after a moment, "I understand and sympathise with your position, but this is an important matter that I cannot make a hasty decision on."
"I understand," I assure him, "I have no desire to force you into supporting me."
General Syndulla opens his mouth to reply, but our conversation is interrupted as we both receive an alert.
"Generals, the Separatists are launching an all-out offensive," reports a clone trooper over our comlinks.
"It won't succeed, General Shan," declares Loren at the impromptu command meeting, "While our forces were initially forced to fallback to avoid getting overwhelmed and destroyed by the Separatists, we have been able to concentrate them along the outskirts of Pas'lasa. Between our fortified infantry and our armoured elements, the enemy will have a hard time assaulting our position. With artillery and starfighter support, they have no chance of successfully crossing the open ground. There might be some substantial damage to the outskirts of Pas'lasa, but we finished evacuating the area of civilians earlier today as a possible target for a Separatist attack."
"I agree with Brigadier Belen's assessment of the situation," says Captain Keeli, "I'm not sure what the clankers are thinking, but they have no chance of winning this attack."
"This seems too ideal," says General Di as we all watch the tactical display, "Is there something we are missing?"
"Just the darksider in charge," I say as I take a closer look at the display of the ongoing battle, "He hasn't made an appearance yet and from what I've been told about him, he isn't the type to sit back and do nothing."
The attack on Pas'lasa is going as Loren said. A mixture of my forces, the 4th Outer Rim Garrison and the local militia are holding fortifying positions around the outskirts of Pas'lasa as we concentrated the Republic forces there once it became clear it was the target of the Separatists. We have artillery support nearby, a mixture of my artillery assets and AV-7 Antivehicle Cannons from the 4th Outer Rim Garrison and we have a few dozen starfighter squadrons providing aerial support. Even as we speak, there is a squadron of Y-Wings making a bombing run. With Aria supporting the defenders with her battle meditations, things are about as good as they are going to get.
The Separatists forces are making a full-scale attack, emerging from the highlands as they march across the open plains between them and the settlement of Pas'lasa. With no cover, they are getting torn apart in the open ground and there is no way that they can sustain these losses for long.
And yet I cannot spot Rart Vilt amongst the Separatist assault. Nor can I find the tactical droid that remains unaccounted for nor any MagnaGuards. And none of the few remaining Separatist starfighters are being used in this attack. All of that has to mean something, but what it means remains beyond me.
"I'm going to get personally involved," I say, drawing the attention of everyone else at the meeting, "The enemy leadership and elites aren't partaking in this attack and all of their starfighters are missing too."
"Where will you be joining the defence?" asks General Di.
"I won't," I say, "I want to take a ride somewhere behind the Separatist force and then try and sneak into their rear to see if I can find their missing forces and leadership."
"I can have a gunship ready to bring you to your destination, General Shan," says Captain Keeli, "I currently have one on standby and I can muster up some troopers to go with you, sir."
"That'll be acceptable," I reply, trying to not think of all those times that LAAT/i gunships got shot down in my otherworldly memories, "I would like to bring some of my own troopers with me if possible."
"I'll just get a couple of squads then," says Captain Keeli, "You fill up the rest of the space in the gunship with your soldiers, sir."
"Agreed," I say.
Before long, I am zooming across the skies of Ryloth in a LAAT/i gunship, two squadrons of clone troopers and a squad of jump troopers from Sky Company with me. The battle is still underway, but our flight path completely avoids it so long as the enemy does launch some starfighters to engage us.
To that end, we have a squadron of Liberators escorting us and so far, it seems to be an effective deterrence as the Separatists haven't launched any of their starfighters to intercept us. That or they have decided that they don't want to intercept us.
"Coming in for a landing," says the pilot as the LAAT/i begins to descend.
"Clones, you're with me on the ground," I order, "Nora Squad, you use your jetpacks to get on top of the highlands and follow us from up high. The enemy might be fully committed to the assault, but we still got the enemy elite forces unaccounted for so stay alert. There is a decent chance that we might run into them."
I get a series of affirmatives and moments later, we are disembarking from the gunship. Nora Squad quickly jets up to the top of the ridges along the gorge that we landed.
"I'll take point," I say, "If we run into any trouble, I am the best one to be stumbling into it."
"Sir, just so you are aware-," starts the clone lieutenant who is in charge of the clone detachment.
"I am the most durable and toughest amongst us in addition to having some mastery over the Force, Lieutenant Haymaker," I reply, "If there is an ambush, I am the best choice to spring it."
"Yes, sir," replies Haymaker, dropping the argument as we begin to move out.
Moving along the bottom of the rocky gorge is quiet with nothing, but rocks and some vegetation. We can hear the sounds of battle in the distance, but we are from it. The only noteworthy thing is the signs that at least part of the droid army moved through here recently, but there are too many overlapping tracks to tell just what went through here except it was a decent chunk of the remaining Separatists forces.
And then I sense his presence. While I am not the best at sniffing out other Force wielders, Rart Vilt is making no effort to hide his presence in the Force. Well, that isn't quite true, but the Dark Acolyte's efforts are very amateur and untrained, making it easy for me to see through them.
"We have the enemy commander up ahead," I report quietly to the clones, "Get to cover and prepare for a fight. I'll try and bait the enemy into engaging us."
"Yes, sir," replies Lieutenant Haymaker and I begin to march forward even as the clone troopers take up defensive positions along this part of the gorge.
"Nora Squad, get back and out of sight," I order my troopers, "I want you to be in a position to get behind the enemy and hit them in the rear."
As I move forward, I look around for the enemy and I am somewhat disappointed as my HUD begins to highlight the positions of poorly hidden droids. On the other hand, those droids are IG-100 MagnaGuards so they don't need the element of surprise to be dangerous. Not to mention that there are at least a few dozen of them. While a few of them are armed with the usual electrostaff, the majority are wielding blaster rifles though these ones seem to be heavier variants. Not quite large enough to be repeating blasters, but close and definitely larger than a regular blaster rifle.
Alright, time to spring this ambush.
"Rart Vilt," I call, "I am giving you one chance to surrender and end this peacefully and without further bloodshed."
For a moment, there is silence as the clone troopers wait behind cover behind me and the MagnaGuards before me continue to wait in poorly concealed positions. Then the Dark Acolyte decides on his response to my offer.
"Blast him!" yells the Separatist commander.
I'm finally glad to get this done and post. I kept running into a wall when trying to show the big battle so in the end, I decided to skip it by having Ben focus on his actual objective, engaging the darksider leading the Separatists. I also had Ben and Cham Syndulla sounding each other as potential allies as they hold similar fears and worries about what the future holds though they are operating at different scales as Ben cares about the galaxy while Cham's primary concern is his planet and his people.
As for the MagnaGuards, I am going to repeat my stances that they aren't superduper Jedi killers, but mass-produced droids that are on the elite and expensive end of the spectrum for the CIS. Because of this, you can expect most Dark Acolytes and a few other important individuals to have some hanging around with them as previously seen earlier in the story on Telos.
On another note, I am currently looking for a beta-reader if anyone is interested in doing that, primarily for catching grammar and spelling mistakes.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Oct 6, 2021
8.7 (Saving Ryloth) - Chapter Forty-Four
By the time the first of the blaster bolts reach me, I already have my lightsabers drawn and ignited. Surprise attacks aren't exactly effective on somebody who can see them coming via the Force and I am already deflecting what few blaster bolts will actually hit me instead of missing me entirely or striking my beskar.
The clones open fire from behind me, blue blaster bolts joining the red ones as beams of light fly through the air, while Nora Squad continues to stay out of sight as they continue to flank the enemy. Meanwhile a dozen of the MagnaGuards, all twelve armed with electrostaffs, are advancing on me while Rart Vilt continues to hang back, barely out of sight.
The current situation is not tenable and will only last until those electrostaff-armed MagnaGuard engage me in melee. Even once Nora Squad joins in, the enemy will still outnumber us closer to three to one than two to one and that is a problem since the MagnaGuard are elites. My troopers might be able to match them, but the regular clones certainly do not and that is when the MagnaGuards match us for numbers instead of outnumbering us like they do now.
Acting as a lightning rod for enemy blaster fire is an unpleasant job, but one I am well suited for as I keep the enemy focused on me while the troops lay into them. If that was all, I could keep this up until my backup finishes picking off the enemy. The expectation of melee combat changes that as I will need to use Shii-Cho to engage the MagnaGuard with the electrostaff while I will need to use Soresu to fend off the ones with the blaster bolts. I could try to split the difference, but I am unsure about how long I could keep that up.
"This is General Shan," I say over the comm built into my helmet, "I need fire support, in front of me and in the gorge. I got hostiles in front of me and friendlies behind me and along the top of the gorge."
"Understood, General," comes a prompt reply from Loren, "I'll direct an artillery barrage your way using the datalinks from your armour and those of Nora Squad."
"Roger that," I reply, "Just try to make it quick. I walked into an ambush and this one is a pretty good one."
"Of course, you did," mutters Loren, "Sit tight, Ben, I'll get you your fire support in a jiffy."
And with that, the call ends, leaving me to focus on deflecting these blaster bolts. I back up a bit, acting under the impression that I am being forced back by the weight of fire when I actually want to increase the time that it will take for those MagnaGuard to engage me in melee combat.
Nora Squad finally engages the enemy as a dozen soldiers, evenly split between both sides of the gorge, open fire upon the droids. The MagnaGuards are tough, but my troopers are wielding top of the line blasters that have been further upgraded by my engineers and Nora Squad has had the opportunity to aim their shots.
To my pleasant surprise, they made the choice of gunning down the dozen MagnaGuard that are advancing on me. All twelve are brought down by a precision shot to the back and I grin, pleased at the competence of my troopers. While a couple of the MagnaGuard are still operational, they are crippled to at least some degree and the rest are offline.
The battle changes as Nora Squad begins to fire at the other MagnaGuards and in return, some of the MagnaGuard switch their focus from me to my troopers. The blaster fire I have to deal with lessens, but not enough that I am able to advance though I have the breathing room to deal with the last two electrostaff-armed MagnaGuard.
As the first one comes into range, I dart forward and pierce its chest with my white lightsaber blade before it can attack me. I block the eletrostaff of the second one with my shoto and then slice my primary lightsaber across its abdomen, bisecting the droid. A casual use of Force push sends the upper body flying back and I am able to focus on deflecting blaster fire again.
A moment later, a pair of supersonic missiles come down, striking the two largest clusters of MagnaGuards. The ensuing explosions shred the droid lines and while it doesn't take all of them out, it does take out the majority of them or at least the majority of the MagnaGuards are caught in the blast radius. It certainly takes out enough that I feel confident going after Rart Vilt. Between Nora Squad and the clones, the surviving MagnaGuard should be handled, but I need to stop Rart Vilt before the darksider either escapes or does something recklessly stupid. Because while he might not survive being recklessly stupid, he could get a lot of people killed before he goes down.
As to what he could do, I am unsure, but you don't underestimate darksiders or any Force user for that matter. Rart Vilt may not be a Sith, but anyone with some degree of connection to the Force has the potential to be disportionately dangerous.
I still receive some blaster fire from the droids, but nowhere nearly as much as what was previously being sent my way. Deflecting it away, I spot Rart Vilt and to my surprise, the darksider is running away. In his position, it is probably the smartest move as his main force is doomed, his clever ambush ended up failing and now he needs to get away before he is killed or captured. I would probably make the same decision in his place though I and my troops are good enough to make sure I wouldn't have ended up in the same position in the first place.
"This is General Shan," I say over my comlink as I begin to chase after the fleeing darksider, "I am pursuing the enemy commander. Continue to engage and eliminate the remaining MagnaGuard."
Rart Vilt might have a headstart on me, but I am faster than he is and I quickly begin to close the distance between us. With only the need to deflect some blaster bolts slowing me down, there is no chance of Rart Vilt outrunning me and I doubt he has what it takes to best me in a fight. Or at least it looks that way until a pair of droidekas come rolling around the latest corner in the gorge.
I attempt to push what distance I can before the droidekas begin to open fire, but I am unable to close to melee range in time. I get close, but close isn't enough as the destroyer droids force me to take cover as they open fire with their blaster cannons. It won't be enough to stop me, but it might buy Rart Vilt enough time to get away and carry out whatever his backup plan is.
Maybe he is planning to slip away into the local populace before finding a way to get off-world and back to Separatist space? It is what I would do in this position, but Rart Vilt has already shown that he doesn't think the same way as I do.
Using the Force to boost my movements, I jump on top of the boulder I am taking cover behind before jumping through the air. With the Force enhancing my movements, I backflip through the air so I can land behind the droidekas before they can take a proper aim at me. Activating my lightsaber, I stick it inside the shield around the closest droideka before igniting the blade and slicing the Separatist droid in two. While that droid goes down, it takes long enough for the surviving one to regain its aim on me.
Deflecting its blaster fire away, I advance on the droideka with the need to focus on deflecting its shots slowing me down to a walk. It isn't enough to save the droideka, but every moment that it delays me is more time for Rart Vilt to escape. Reaching my foe, I swing my lightsaber at the droideka. Its shield is strong enough that a single blow won't take it out, but it won't be able to withstand a few lightsaber hits.
My white blade connects against the deflector shield and pushes against it for a moment as it tries to breach it. I know that it won't go through the shield and in a moment, it will bounce back, which will be when I pull it back.
So it is to my surprise that the droideka's deflector shield collapses and my blade keeps going forward. Not expecting that to happen, my lightsaber is only in a position to hit one of the blaster cannons, but I swiftly recover from the surprise and slash the droid with my shoto.
As the remains of the droideka falls to the ground, I try to figure out what happened only to push those thoughts to one side. I can worry about that later, but right now, I need to keep up the pursuit of Rart Vilt before the darksider escapes. My lightsaber being more effective than it should be is a mystery that can wait for now.
Heading down the gorge, I reach into the Force with my senses as I look for the unshielded Dark Side presence of Rart Vilt to guide me to him. Easily able to sense his foul presence, I run towards him, hoping that I haven't let him get too far ahead or he hasn't left some kind of physical barrier between me and him.
As I begin to hear the sounds of starfighters, I almost pause, but with no time to waste, I cannot afford to slow down. I'll just have to face whatever the Separatists have in store for me.
Turning another corner in the gorge, I find myself in a small clearing with a decent Separatist presence. A dozen or so B2 Super Battle Droids are milling about while a dozen starfighters are rising into the air. While I have personally never seen them before, I do recognise them using my otherworldly memories. They are Utapauan designs called the Rogue-class Starfighter or maybe the P-28 Starfighter. I'm not entirely sure, but I remember MagnaGuards using them and Sidious gave a tricked out one to Cad Bane as payment for kidnapping younglings. If I recall correctly, it is a decent starfighter for the era, the Separatists used them for more elite pilots such as organic commanders or MagnaGuards. Or perhaps that is they use them or will use them.
Ugh.
Regardless, I can sense Rart Vilt in one of them and I know what he is planning.
"Admiral Thak, Admiral Dao," I call into my comlink as I throw myself behind cover from those starfighters, "The Separatist commander is trying to escape with a squadron of elite Separatist starfighters. They'll be flying up from my position and I believe they are trying to escape to hyperspace using onboard hyperdrives."
"Understood, General Shan," comes a swift reply from Wol, "I will send some squadrons of our own starfighters to intercept them."
"Good," I say as I hide behind cover as a few of the starfighters light up the path I came from with their laser cannons.
It seems that they spotted my arrival, but lost track of me when I went for cover. Which is good, but frustrating as I am a fighter who doesn't like to hide from a fight. But I am also a soldier and a Jedi, which means I know when to swallow my pride to get the job done.
My starfighters can take care of Rart Vilt and his escort. I just need to worry about taking out those B2s once the Separatist starfighters are gone and then heading back to help deal with any remaining MagnaGuards.
Fortunately for me, I don't have to hide for long as all twelve enemy starfighters soon begin their ascend to orbit. I switch my focus to the super battle droids as I have to trust in my people to handle the escaping starfighters. Which is easy to do as I trust Wol to get the job done, we have shelled out credits for excellent starfighters and my pilots are some of the best in the galaxy.
In the end, those super battle droids went down quickly and before long, the rest of the ground battle was wrapped up. The MagnaGuards were finished off with only a handful of survivors when I rejoined that battle while the rest of the Separatist army was wiped out as the one-sided battle came to an end. The unaccounted for tactical droid was found amongst the wreckage of the droid army, leaving that loose end tied up.
The only downside is the escape of Rart Vilt. The dozen Rogue-class Starfighters weren't the only Separatist starfighters as a couple squadrons of vulture droids and three scores of hyena bombers linked up with Rart Vilt's squadron, giving the darksider over eighty starfighters to cover his escape.
Unfortunately for him, the Separatist commander ran into over two hundred Republic starfighters and three DP20 Frigates. The Separatist starfighters were brutalised and all, but two of them were destroyed in exchange for the loss of a single V-19 Torrent Starfighter and several other Republic starfighters suffering non-crippling damage. A great victory if it wasn't for the fact that those last two Separatist starfighters were two Rogue-class Starfighters that successfully jumped to hyperspace.
I can't be certain that Rart Vilt got away as nobody was able to identify his starfighter and it could have been one of the two that successfully jumped away. On the other hand, it could have been one of the starfighters that got destroyed as while a few Rogue-class Starfighters got identified as having MagnaGuard pilots, the rest were so thoroughly destroyed that it isn't possible to tell who was flying them.
But regardless of whether or not Rart Vilt escaped, today has been a good day. Ryloth has been saved, a Separatist fleet and army were both destroyed with, well, not minimal, but low losses for the Republic and my legion has gained access to plenty of scrap and loot.
This is the end of the fighting on Ryloth though there may be one or two more chapters in the arc as I wrap some stuff up. I have a couple of Ryloth things to cover and then I have some strategic/logistic/financial things to handle as the Ben's forces go through the teething issues. It turns out that going from a single unit that beats up pirates, mercenary bands and jumped-up security that can only rarely muster up an equivalent force to a multi-unit formation that is fighting massive armies in a galaxy wide war means having to make some adjustments, including some that you don't see coming.
On another note, I am currently looking for a beta-reader if anyone is interested in doing that, primarily for catching grammar and spelling mistakes.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
8.8 (Saving Ryloth) - Chapter Forty-Five
With the last of the Separatist forces on Ryloth destroyed, I have decided to spend another day or two on the Twi'lek homeworld. Not only is there a lot of scrap to loot, but I want to give my troops the chance to celebrate and strengthen the bonds with the clone garrison and the local Twi'leks that have been hastily forged in this shared battle.
Besides, my troopers could do with a bit of a rest while we have the chance since I am not sure how much of it I will be able to offer them as the war goes on.
In any case, I am something of a local celebrity as I walk through the streets of Pas'lasa, where the Republic soldiers and the locals are mingling together within walking distance of the final battlefield of the invasion. My troopers respect and believe in me, the clone troopers like me for bailing them out of otherwise doomed defence and the Twi'leks respect me for coming to their aid.
Fortunately for me, the reputation of the Jedi is such that I only have to worry about turning down a few advances from the locals as I make my way to the cantina that Cham Syndulla asked me to meet him in.
The cantina itself is one that looks reasonably classy and the few Twi'leks drinking and chatting outside it are all members of the local militia. It looks like Cham Syndulla has this place secured though I am not worried about any kind of ambush or trap here. Politely acknowledging the cheers that my presence receives from the Twi'leks outside, I enter the cantina to find it to be both lively and noisy, though not in an obnoxious way, as the occupants celebrate the end to the Separatist invasion.
Spotting Cham Syndulla tucked away in a corner, I quickly make my way to him and to my surprise, he isn't alone in the both as a green-skinned Twi'lek woman and an equally green-skinned Twi'lek girl are also in there with them.
"General Syndulla," I greet Cham as I take the final seat in the booth, sitting next to the girl and opposite Cham and the woman.
"General Shan," he greets me in turn, "This is my wife Eleni and my daughter Hera. I hope you don't mind the company."
"Not at all," I reply as I recognise Hera from my otherworldly memories through her mother is something of a blank for me beyond Hera apparently being similar to her, "Business or pleasure first?"
"Business," answers Cham, "I would like to get the work out of the way rather than leave it hanging over our heads."
"This is to do with what happens to Ryloth next," I guess.
"You are correct," says Cham, "I have spoken with General Di and Admiral Dao and their orders are to remain garrisoning Ryloth due to its important strategic location."
"You aren't happy about that," I state with no need to ask as I can already sense the answer via the Force.
"No, I am not," admits Cham as Eleni puts a comforting hand on his shoulder, "I believe in freedom. I believe in democracy. I am just not sure how much of the Republic still stands for those things. I don't want a strong Republic military presence on Ryloth, but I also want to protect my people and not just from the Separatists, but also Hutts, pirates and slavers."
"I will do what I can do to support you, but I expect I will be of little help," I reply, "My forces will only be staying for a day or two and I have my concerns spread across the galaxy rather than focused on a single world."
"I understand and that is why I seek to formalise the militia that was formed in response to the Separatist invasion," says Cham, "Victory has spirits high and my part in it has given my words clout. A lot of clout."
"While the clans will resist any attempt to centralise authority in a way that reduces their own power, their people will wholeheartedly support defending ourselves from pirates and slavers," adds Eleni, "If we do things right, we can leverage the support from successfully repelling this invasion into something that will become part of the new status quo."
"And we would like to have any advice that you can offer in that regard," concludes Cham.
"Well, the first thing that I can think of is don't try to copy my forces," I say after a moment's thought, "My legions are a small, but elite force that operates primarily as an offensive force and overspends on our equipment compared to a conventional military. You don't need a big fleet, but some starfighter squadrons and smaller warships would go a long way to deterring any opportunistic raids. Beyond that, get some decent equipment for all of your fighters and train them to be able to use it properly.
"If you can afford them, get shield generators for important locations such as military bases or major settlements. And since the clone garrison will be sticking around for a while, I would suggest getting some of them to help train your recruits up to a decent standard. I will also give my troops orders to leave the E-5 Blasters intact for your people to use. They aren't the greatest blasters out there, but they are military-grade blasters that you don't have to pay any credits to get your hands on."
"Those suggestions sound like a good starting point," says Cham.
"No, a good starting point is what you already got," I disagree, "My ideas are for expanding upon the force that you already have assembled."
"What would you consider to be decent equipment for our people?" inquires Eleni.
"Well, get some military-grade blasters and get enough for everyone to have them," I say, "Just getting enough cheap ones will be a worthwhile boost to your military capabilities. You won't always need them against pirates, but some of the bigger groups will equip their grunts with proper armour and it will help with repelling any more military invasions. I would also recommend getting some basic body armour though it should be good enough to take at least one hit from a military-grade blaster. Those two things should be enough to deter any opportunistic raids as most small-time scum only use civilian blasters and wear regular clothing.
"Beyond armour and blasters, get some heavy weapons. Snipers can be very useful and you'll want some weaponry that can take down a tank or gunship if the situation calls for it. It doesn't need to be universal like the blasters and armour, but you'll want to have at least some heavy weapons at hand in case you need them."
"And what about starfighters and small warships that you mentioned?" asks Cham.
"Beyond stopping the pirates before they reach the planet, they can be used for orbital and aerial support as you saw in this invasion," I answer, "Not to mention that there is a big difference between raiding a planet that has no space forces and one that has a small fleet. In your case, you will only need some starfighter squadrons and a squadron or so of small warships to deter the enemy.
"Personally, I would recommend Corellian Engineering Corporation. Their CR90 Corvettes and DP20 Frigates should suit your needs without being overly expensive and they are the ones producing the Liberator-class Starfighters that my pilots have been using here on Ryloth. If you have a desire for bigger warships, Rendili StarDrive's Hammerhead-class Cruisers are a classic warship for a reason without being too pricey and while expensive, their Aurek-class Starfighters make for excellent interceptors."
"I want to fly one of those," suddenly says the girl next to me, her patience coming to end.
"One of what?" I inquire.
"A starfighter!" exclaims the young Hera, "When I'm old enough, I am going to fly one across the skies and stars."
"Hera has become enamoured with all of the starfighters that she has seen recently," explains Eleni as Cham chuckles, "And now she has set her heart upon becoming a pilot."
"And I'm going to be the best starfighter in the galaxy," declares Hera proudly.
"I suppose this is as good a point as any to move onto less serious topics," says Cham and the conversation does just that as we switch from talking about the future of Ryloth's military defences to more casual and light-hearted topics.
An enjoyable way to spend my evening, but the cynical part of me considers it a good way to get Cham Syndulla into my corner.
As midnight approaches, I meander through the streets of Pas'lasa on my way back to the improvised base that my forces have set up. I have had a nice night out forming friendships with Cham and his family and now I am returning to the Freedom to get some paperwork done before we leave Ryloth in a couple of days.
Or at least I am before I sense a nearby presence in the Force. Not a strong one, but one that is stronger than normal and is heading my way. Not picking up any ill intent from whoever I am sensing, I let them come to me and before long, a young Twi'lek boy comes up to me. The kid is… odd. I say he is nine or ten, but his air of youth is matched by a sense of maturity. Combined with clearly being albino with his white skin and red eyes, the kid is without a doubt unusual and as he gets closer, I can feel him sensing me through the Force.
Well, this night has certainly gotten interesting. Especially since I can sense a mixture of hope, ambition and desperation from him.
"Greetings kid," I reply to him as he comes to a stop.
"Hello, General Shan," says the Twi'lek boy politely, "I am Boc Aseca and I can use the Force."
While I have already noticed that, young Boc decides to prove his claim by floating a pebble. Something that any Jedi can do, but something of an impressive feat for a self-taught kid. Part of me feels that this kid is familiar, but I can't place him. I think I might remember him from my otherworldly memories, but only in the passing and those memories lack any details on him. Or maybe I am confusing this albino twi'lek with a different one that is vaguely in my otherworldly memories.
In either case, I am a Jedi Knight and while they are helpful, I don't need otherworldly memories to get the job done or to tell me what needs doing.
"I see," I say, "Let me guess, you want me to train you as a Jedi."
I don't even need to hear Boc's words to know his answer. The surge of hope, desire and desperation I can sense from him via the Force is all I need to know to figure out his response.
This is going to be a problem. By all rights, the kid is too old to begin Jedi training as he is even older than Skywalker was when Master Jinn found him. On the other hand, Rahm was already an adult when he was brought into training and if the rumours are true, Master Mundi was brought into the Order at Boc's age.
Not to mention that plenty of Jedi were recruited and trained by the Order in their teens or adulthood. Like all of Meetra Surik's disciples or Nadia Grell or Kira Carsen as just a few examples. And according to my otherworldly memories, a good portion of the New Jedi Order not to mention Luke Skywalker himself.
Nonetheless, I would be defying the High Council by training Boc as a Jedi twice over as not only is Boc supposedly too old for training, but I already have a Padawan and Jedi are forbidden to take more than a single Padawan Learner at a time. I could train Boc in the ways of a Jedi, but it would mean defying the High Council and perhaps the rest of the Jedi Order.
And then there is the fact that what I can sense coming from Boc is concerning. His ambition and desperation are a dangerous combination and the fact that he is seeking out a Jedi to train him means he wants to wield the power of the Force. Not an inherently bad thing, but an ambitious and desperate individual deliberately seeking out power is certainly something to keep in mind.
On the other hand, the kid has already figured out how to use the Force without any help. That means even if I refuse to train him, he is likely to self-teach himself how to use the Force and that combined with his ambitious and desperate nature means there is a good chance his self-teaching could lead him down the Dark Side. Or worse, he might find another teacher in the form of the Dark Acolytes or some other darksider organisation.
If Boc is denied the chance to follow the path of the Light Side, he may find himself embracing the chance to go down the path of the Dark Side.
Ah kriff, this is a big, complicated decision. Fortunately for me, I don't need to make it here and now nor on my own. Master Ikrit is still aboard the Freedom and I brought Meetra Surik's holocron with me, which leaves me with two sources of greater wisdom than my own.
Now, what to say to the kid.
"I'm afraid that I cannot give you an answer right this moment," I inform young Boc and the kid's fear and hope spike in equal measure at my words, "I need to consult with a couple of people and check up on some things first. I'll find you tomorrow and give you an answer before I leave."
A couple things got covered in this chapter. One is Ben meeting Cham and his family as they celebrate, make friends and discuss the future of Ryloth. As I mentioned in the comments between this update and the last, protecting Ryloth will primarily be Cham's job and not Ben's though Ben is willing to give Cham some advice and maybe pull some strings.
As for the second bit, I looked into the Kyle Katarn games (the first two that is) about two months after I started posting this story when I found out that Skytop Station was in the Ruusan system. While the gameplay wasn't interesting to me, I found the narrative mildly intriguing. Particularly the part where Boc Aseca wanted to become a Jedi, but got refused for being too old.
I figured it would be interesting to have Boc approach Ben on Ryloth about becoming a Jedi because it leads to an interesting dilemma. Does he turn down the hopeful kid or does he blatantly defy the High Council even if he isn't open about it? As I said, an interesting dilemma as it tests Ben's character and forces him to make a choice.
Anyway, I'm thinking there should be one more chapter in this arc followed by an interlude that looks at the Sith side of the war. Once those are out of the way, we will be moving onto the next arc in the story.
On another note, I am currently looking for a beta-reader if anyone is interested in doing that, primarily for catching grammar and spelling mistakes.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
8.9 (Saving Ryloth) - Chapter Forty-Six
Upon returning to my quarters, I beeline straight to the holocron of Meetra Surik, knowing exactly where it is as I have been learning from its gatekeeper most nights. While I primarily use the holocron as a source of knowledge, tonight I shall be using it as a source of wisdom.
"Master Surik," I greet the gatekeeper as the holographic woman appears before me.
"Knight Shan," replies the gatekeeper as she gives me an assessing look, "You seem troubled."
"That would be because I am," I admit, "I have won the Battle of Ryloth and crushed the Separatist invasion, but I have been given a dilemma upon my way back to the ship. A dilemma that I would like to consult your wisdom on."
"I am always happy to aid those that serve the Light Side," replies the gatekeeper.
"I don't think we expanded upon it, but I believe I told you how one of the changes since your time is that the Jedi Order doesn't take older students, generally sticking to those that are three or younger," I say.
"You did," confirms the gatekeeper, "And I'm sure you understand that I consider that rather ridiculous."
And I do understand because what else could a Jedi Master who taught several adult students, including a former Sith apprentice or two, to be Jedi Knights find a rule to limit yourself to only teaching toddlers and babies to be.
"Given that you have brought up this rule, I presume it is related to your dilemma," continues the gatekeeper, "Perhaps you have found a prospective student who is too old to be taught according to that foolish rule?"
"Yes, though it would be more accurate to say he approached me," I reply, "A twi'lek boy by the age of ten. He has some basic self-taught ability to use the Force and he desires to become a Jedi."
"And beyond the rules, what else is stopping you from teaching him?" inquires the gatekeeper.
"He gives off some questionable feelings in the Force, but those aren't really a mark against him," I answer, "If anything, it is more of a reason to get him some proper teaching so he doesn't go down the path of the Dark Side as a result of being left to self-teach. There is also the fact that I already have a Padawan. Even if it wasn't against the Order's rules, I'm not sure I could handle teaching multiple Padawans on top of my other duties."
"And what alternatives do you have?" asks the gatekeeper.
"The Altisian Jedi are the only viable option," I answer, "Beyond being a bunch of selfish kriffers, the Corellian Jedi don't take older recruits even if they do buck the tradition of not having families. The others are either non-accessible to me, too isolationist or not exclusively aligned with the Light Side. The Altisian Jedi aren't picking in who they teach, they are followers of the Light Side and I believe they maintain an outpost on Bespin that can be used to contact them."
I pause for a moment as I consider what other options are available to me.
"I suppose that I could find another Jedi within the Order to teach him rather than doing it myself," I answer, "Perhaps one who doesn't already have a Padawan so we would only be breaking one major rule rather than two."
"Do you know what the right course of action is?" asks the gatekeeper.
"I do," I reply with some hesitancy before I quench that uncertainty, "No, I do."
"Then I shall leave you to it," says the gatekeeper.
"Master Ikrit," I call to the Jedi Master as I enter his quarters, "I need to speak with you."
While Rahm would be my first choice out of my little band of Jedi as a fellow soldier and someone who was taken into the Order later in this life, he isn't with us here on Ryloth. Ikrit on the other hand is and I feel he is open-minded enough to bring up this matter with him. In any case, I would need to bring up with him at some point because I couldn't hide Boc or my training from him.
And speaking of that, I'll need to explain my decision to Aria and that is not something I am looking forward to.
"Ben," replies Ikrit as the Kushiban Jedi looks up at me, "Is there a reason for the formality?"
"I intend to break one of the Jedi Order's major rules," I inform him, cutting straight to the point and drawing Ikrit's full attention.
"Not one of the truly important ones," replies Ikrit as I feel him probing me and my intentions with the Force, "I don't sense that kind of darkness in you."
"No, I merely intend to train an individual who the Council would consider too old to become a Jedi," I answer, "Possibly breaking a second major rule by taking on a second learner."
"I see," says Ikrit, "I would like to know more. Especially about the individual who you are breaking these rules for and the circumstances that led you to making this decision."
And so I fill him in about both Boc and the circumstances of our meeting. The only thing I leave out is my conversation with the gatekeeper of Meetra Surik's holocron. That is a secret that I am not willing to give up just yet and fortunately Ikrit decides to not press that matter or my vagueness in that part of my story.
At the end of it, Ikrit is silent as we sit opposite each other, the ancient Jedi Master looking at me searchingly.
"I was older than the usual ages for a Jedi recruit," says Ikrit after a few moments have passed, "Old enough that my master took me as a padawan after he found me rather than turning me over to the creche. Perhaps I shall do the same with this young Boc and emulate the example that my master set for me."
"You take him as a Padawan then?" I ask.
"I shall meet with him myself before making the decision," says Ikrit, "He was in the town of Pas'lasa?"
"Yes," I answer, "Though I am not sure if he is a local or came there to meet me. Given his age, the former is most likely, but if it is the latter, that speaks to the lengths that he is willing to go to on this."
"Indeed, it does," agrees Ikrit, "Have you thought about doing this would mean for us should we be found out? When we are are found out?"
"The Council won't be happy, but the worst they can do is expel me or I can walk if I don't like the restrictions," I reply, "I have the political support that they can't easily overcome for a minor matter like this and should things truly go too far, I have an army to back me up."
I pause at that last sentence, as something that has been on the back of my mind since we started expanding.
"Actually, I'm not too sure about that last one," I admit, "My political support is about as good as I can make it. My legion was firmly behind me, but since it became my legions, I have my doubts. I hold respect and loyalty from the new recruits, but the old guard has been split up between the legions and they took heavy losses at Geonosis. They'll support me on easy things like fighting the Seppies, but if I make a stand against the Council or the Senate or the Chancellor? Some will side with me, but not all and I suspect not even most. Unfortunately, I'm unlikely to have the couple of years needed to win that loyalty gradually over time."
"Hmm," hums Ikrit, "I am not a general and if it wasn't for the looming threat of Darth Sidious or my own doubts about the direction that the Order is taking, I wouldn't be giving this advice, but I have some wisdom for you. On Yavin IV, the bonds between our band of Jedi was forged in the struggle against the spirit of Exar Kun. If you desire to acquire similar bonds with your legions, then you will need to fight yourself a similar challenge to forge a sense of unity and kinship in the face of shared hardship."
"Like with drill instructors in boot camp," I mutter as while I have never been to one, I do know how they work, "Thank you, Ikrit. That is most helpful."
"I am a Jedi Master and giving wisdom to young Jedi like yourself is what we do," replies Ikrit, "Now I have a prospective student to meet and I suspect you have something you need to do with that new information."
"Yes, I believe I do," I say.
Sorry about the long hiatus, but we are back. In this chapter, Ben discusses his situation with Ikrit and the gatekeeper of Meetra Surik. Fortunately for him, both of them have some good advice for him.
In regards to the suggestions of bringing Boc to the Green Jedi, I decided it wouldn't work. First, the Corellian Jedi might have families, but I don't know of any sources that say they accept older students. Second, I did find a source of a Green Jedi rejecting a student for being too old and funnily enough, it was the Green Jedi who told Boc he was too old to become a Jedi. So yeah, Green Jedi aren't an option as they already rejected Boc for being too old even if Ben didn't scorn their isolationist stance. After all, how could someone like Ben not have issues with the "Kriff you, I've got mine" stance of the Corellian Jedi in regards to the galaxy outside of the Corellian Sector.
Anyway, this arc should last for one more chapter. Ben needs to have a talk with Aria, he needs to discuss an issue with his engineers and he needs to figure out what he is doing next, the last of which will bring us to the start of the next arc.
On another note, I am currently looking for a beta-reader if anyone is interested in doing that, primarily for catching grammar and spelling mistakes.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Nov 30, 2021
8.10 (Saving Ryloth) - Chapter Forty-Seven
"Aria, we need to talk," I call after my fellow Jedi as I find her walking down the halls of the Liberty, having taken a shuttle to Aria's flagship.
She pauses as she turns to face me, looking at me with a hint of curiosity.
"We can talk in my quarters," replies Aria, "I presume that this is important."
"Not exactly, but I figured you would like to know about it before it happens," I reply as I catch up with her in the corridor and we begin to walk together.
"Generally knowing about things beforehand is preferable," says Aria, "The battle for Ryloth went well."
"It did, but we had several advantages," I reply, "We outnumbered the enemy and we had the element of surprise and superior quality on top of that. We can't count on future battles to go as well, especially taking out the Lucrehulk so easily or quickly. Likewise on the ground. If we hadn't been able to use the control ship to flip a good chunk of the enemy army or if they had already pushed their attack or landed somewhere important rather than the middle of nowhere."
"Nonetheless, we did well and we took advantage of factors in our favour," replies Aria, "I may not be as good as you at tactics, but I know enough to know that we won a mighty victory. Even if the degree of the success was due to the situation being fortunate to us, we won due to our skill and superiority and we proved good enough to make use of the advantages open to us."
"That is true," I concede, "I just fear that the Battle of Ryloth is going to give a mistaken impression of how good we are when the harder battles will be closer to the slugfest of Indren or the bloodbath that was Geonosis."
"That is true, but we have enough old hands to keep the youngsters in check," says Aria, "Any idea on what we are going to do next?"
"I want to do something big with all of our legions," I reply, "Something to put the Separatists on the backfoot or at least deal them a heavy blow and I think I know just the right target."
"Do tell," says Aria as we enter her quarters.
"The Calamari Sector," I answer, "Mon Cala is an ally of ours, but its people are divided as plenty of Quarren and some Mon Calamari are supporting the Separatists. A particularly noteworthy example is the Free Dac Volunteers Engineering Corps, the organisation responsible for providing the Confederacy with its Providence-class Carrier/Destroyers and Recusant-class Light Destroyers."
And if my otherworldly memories are right, that monster of a ship that is the Malevolence.
"I know they have some shipyards in the sector," I continue, "I haven't been able to confirm them yet, but the worlds Pammant and Minntooine stood out in my visions and they are in the Calamari Sector so they will be a starting point. Worse case, we just secure Mon Calamari for the Republic along with the shipyards that are building our new capital ships."
"That sounds like a good plan," agrees Aria, "You mentioned all of our legions?"
"Yes," I confirm, "We have four legions and that is a lot of weight to throw around. We have been doing some good work spread about, but I want to have the Republic Patriot Legions fight as one to forge a sense of camaraderie, like what we had before our casualties at Geonosis and Indren and we split up the survivors to have enough veterans in each of the new legions."
"I noticed that," comments Aria, "We'll be leaving Ryloth then?"
"At some point today," I reply, "I need to have this talk with you and then our engineers want to speak to me about something. Also, either I or Ikrit are going to do something, which is what I need to talk to you about."
"I am not going to like this, am I," says Aria sharply and I don't bother holding back my sigh as she gets all prim and proper on me.
"I doubt so," I reply, "I was approached by a Force-Sensitive Twi'lek while I was still on the surface. Plenty of potential and some rudimentary self-taught usage of the Force, but ten years old, which is-"
"Which is too old to become a Jedi," interrupts Aria as she gives me a disapproving look, "Please tell me you haven't."
"I have not," I tell her and she gives me a look, "Really, I haven't. I've talked Ikrit into doing it."
"Master Ikrit is a Jedi Master," snaps Aria, "And one of Master Yoda's old students. How could he just disregard the Order's rules so flagrantly?"
"He agreed with my take on the subject," I say under Aria's impassive glare, "And if there was anything else to it, you'll need to ask him yourself as Ikrit didn't explain himself and I didn't ask him to."
"To go against the Order's rules…" mutters Aria and while I can't see or sense anything from her, I get the feeling that Aria is conflicted.
Or confused or uncertain. It is hard to tell with Aria and I am only picking up this much because I know her so well.
"You okay, Aria?" I inquire.
"I am just thinking about it," says Aria abruptly, "I will speak with Master Ikrit. Is there anything else you desire to talk to me about?"
"Not right now," I reply, "Wol and I have an impromptu meeting with the engineers and since whatever has their knickers in a twist is important enough for them to raise this urgently, it may be important enough for me to discuss it with you."
"I see," says Aria curtly, "Do you know where Master Ikrit is?"
"Last time I checked, he was heading down to Ryloth," I inform her.
"Then I must go," says Aria as she swiftly marches out of her quarters, "May the Force be with you."
"And may the Force be with you," I reply as the doors close behind her.
"Alright Sergeant Kapis," I say as I march into the room containing Wol, the Dug engineer and the majority of the other engineers currently with the taskforce, "You wouldn't have requested this meeting if whatever you are concerned about wasn't important."
In the future, I should avoid getting into situations where the most senior engineer with the taskforce isn't even a proper officer.
"To be blunt sir," says Sergeant Kapis, "Our current salvage operations are insufficient for our increased size and tempo. While things worked fine when we were smaller, they are too inefficient and wasteful in our current circumstances."
"Give me a rundown on the problems and the possible solutions to them," I tell Sergeant Kapis after exchanging a look with Wol.
"The main thing is that we are still doing things by hand, General," replies Sergeant Kapis, "And it is particularly everything, that we are doing by hand. This was fine when we just needed to loot a pirate band or slaver ring after we took them out, but it is just too slow and time-consuming when we are looting an enemy army, even with the extra hands we got during recruitment. It isn't too much of a problem here on Ryloth because we won quickly and got to stick around for a couple of days, but if we were more pressed for time or had to worry about repairing a lot of damage, things would be too inefficient to get things done.
"It mostly comes down to two things, General. Those are a lack of manpower and dedicated facilities. I understand that we can only afford to hire so many people, but I and the others feel that purchasing some droids would be a cost-effective way to get enough manpower. By letting the droids handle basic tasks, it would free up the experts to handle more important or complex tasks. With a lack of dedicated facilities, we've been making do with the hangars and spare space aboard the ships, but that isn't sustainable anymore. We'll need some dedicated salvage and repair ships if we are going to keep up with the new tempo."
"I've been half-expecting this to happen," I reply, "Could we convert one of the Lucrehulks into what we need?"
"In theory, I guess it could be done," says Sergeant Kapis as he and the more senior engineers exchange some looks, "But it wouldn't be ideal. We would need to bring the salvage ships with us, so we would need to drag the Lucrehulk around with the fleet and we would need one for each fleet that we have active."
"So not particularly viable then," I comment.
"We would probably be better off looking at a dedicated salvage ship," says Wol, "There are plenty of those around the galaxy. I can look into what CEC offers and I am certain they will produce something. It is too much of a market for them to leave untapped."
"I'll let you take care of that matter then," I reply before turning my attention back to the engineers, "What about droids? Do you have any specific models in mind? Given our limited funds at the moment, try to keep things limited to cheaper models."
"A few, General," answers Sergeant Kapis, "The R4-Series Astromech is reliable and relatively cheap so we could order a bunch of them. The LE-Series Repair Droid would also be a good choice, as while it lacks the versatility of the R4 Astromechs, it is cheaper and just as good at the sort of engineering work that we'll be using them for."
"Some KDY-4 Tech Droids from Kuat Drive Yards would be good for repairing battle damage or more difficult jobs, General," adds another engineer, "A bit on the pricier side, but not too much and they are really good at their jobs."
"She's right," agrees Sergeant Kapis, "The KDY-4s will be more expensive and don't do much beyond repair or construction work, but they do that work really well. It would be a boon to have them at hand, especially if we need to repair some heavy battle damage without access to a shipyard."
"I'll look into it," I say, "Anything else?"
"Some more pit droids would be useful for the extra sets of hands and handling basic work, but acquiring some droid helpers and salvage ships should suffice."
Before the day is out, my forces are ready to leave Ryloth. The last of the troopers have taken transports back up to the warships and all of our desired salvage has been loaded into the cargo bays. We even pick up some new recruits from the locals, including a new Padawan for Ikrit.
The Republic defenders in space aren't in good shape, but the enemy doesn't have enough spare warships to smash them and I trust that Master Di and General Syndulla will be able to hold the ground. Clone garrison is all but untouched, while the Twi'lek militia has only been strengthened by this invasion. Looted Separatist arms and equipment have bolstered their arsenal and both suffering an actual invasion and repulsing it has inspired the local population.
Not the best of situations, but it could be far worse, like being defeated and conquered like they were in my otherworldly memories.
And this is the end of the arc. It took longer than I would have liked, but we are here. It isn't the greatest of battles, but Ryloth has been saved and canon has been further invalidated as the likes of General Di, Admiral Dao and Captain Keeli have survived. Meanwhile Cham Syndulla and his fighters have not been left so cynical as the Republic has not failed to defend them and they have not suffered under Separatist occupation.
On a more personal note towards the protagonists, Ben has another Lucrehulk for his forces, acquired a possible ally or two on the galactic stage and he has taken another step towards defying the High Council.
The next update will probably be an interlude, but after that, it will be the ninth arc of the story, Stealing Malevolence.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Interlude - Woes of Tyranus
Darth Tyranus is not having a good day as he has just finished the latest batch of reports. General Grievous is performing as expected in the galactic north, but that is the end of the good news in the most recent reports.
The various corporate leaders are still squabbling about who gets to take over their respective megacorps and claim their seats on the Executive Separatist Council. While it is providing Tyranus and his master the opportunity to influence the next generation of corporate leadership to be more malleable towards the goals of the Confederacy, it is also hurting the war effort. Too many of them are focused on undermining each other to the point that sometimes it feels like they are more focused on stopping each other.
Geonosis had resulted in greater losses to the Confederacy and fewer losses to the Republic than had been planned and things had gone down from there. Rhen Var had been a failure with far too many assets being lost for ultimately nothing and in general, the Confederacy is losing warships at a far greater rate than the Republic.
It started with losing half of the coreships and eight of the rings at Geonosis and things have gotten worse from there. Capital ships like the Lucrehulk-class are expensive to build from scratch and to do so takes the better part of a year. It is possible to get the Trade Federation to convert more of them, but getting anything from the Neimoidians was a chore. It didn't help that the aliens had something of a point, handing over too many Lucrehulks to the Confederacy would undermine their ability to keep up their trade contracts and it would weaken their pretence of neutrality.
And the pretence of neutrality for the megacorps is required as part of his master's plans to bring more of the Republic under his control. By having them maintain it, they can weaken the Republic so more of it falls under the direct control of the Supreme Chancellor and when the time is right, the pretence of neutrality can be broken to switch their economic might from corporate control to government control, specifically the executive's.
But none of that solves Tyranus' current headaches. The Confederacy might be destined to lose this war as per the Grand Plan, but his compatriots don't know that and some of them are smart enough to understand the position that these early losses leave the Separatist movement in.
He needs a way to turn these losses around and recent events like those at Christophsis or Ryloth don't help. Even if a hundred minor battles are won in the Outer Rim, it helps little if the major ones are repeatedly lost. First Allanteen and its shipyards were lost and then so was Herdessa.
The southern reaches of the galaxy had looked to be such a promising front and now it is falling to pieces. What had been a simple plan to link up their territories around Druckenwell with the Abrion sector, leaving them in a position to reclaim Geonosis and threaten important worlds like Kamino, Rothana and Bothawui had fallen apart. Allanteen and Herdessa were the first blows, but the invasions at Ryloth and Christophsis are failing. In Ryloth's case, it has outright failed though Christophsis is still salvageable.
"If only that fool Trench hadn't gotten himself blown up by Skywalker along with his dreadnought," mutters Darth Tyranus, "We can ill afford to lose our competent leadership nor any more capitals."
Kenobi and Skywalker have landed their forces on Christophsis after breaking the blockade, but things can still be turned around. In fact, Tyranus decides that it may be a good test for his apprentice, Asajj Ventress, to take a relief force to turn the Battle of Christophsis around so that events there are once again going in favour of the Separatist cause. Unfortunately, Ryloth is a write-off as Mar Tuuk got his fleet destroyed and Rart Vilt got his army wiped out. The latter has yet to show their face if they even survived, but the former arranged their return to Separatist hands.
As much as Tyranus would like to make an example of Mar Tuuk for his failure, he still needs the Neimodian captain. The Confederacy is lacking too many competent and loyal officers to just discard one. No, Mar Tuuk gets to live for now.
If only Sev'rance Tann hadn't gotten herself killed off so early. That girl was so promising and none of her replacements can fulfil all of her roles. Grievous is a suitable replacement commander-in-chief and Ventress seems hopeful as a new Sith Apprentice. Finding someone to lead the Dark Acolytes is harder as none of them quite stand out from the rest as Sev'rance did.
What else can he do to salvage the situation regarding the Abrion sector? The losses along the Corellian Run can be handled, but the Abrion sector and its agriworlds cannot be allowed to be returned to Republic hands. Tyranus would have liked to have Trench or Sev'rance for this, but those two managed to get themselves killed off.
Ah, Merai seems like a promising candidate. A decorated veteran of the Quarren War a couple of decades back and a talented commander. Loyalties aren't firm and he has an unfortunate tendency to care too much for his troops, but they are clear enough that his talents can be put to use. Giving the Mon Calamari some of their reserve forces to take Manda, Dennaskar and Boranda should be enough to secure the Abrion Sector provided that the Corellian Run continues to hold out. Not to mention it will be enough to threaten Bothawui, Kamino and Rothana.
Ventress can secure Christophsis, Mar Tuuk can be given some forces to retake Allanteen or cripple its shipyards if he cannot and Merai can forge a link between the Abrion Sector and the Corellian Run. Once Grievous has finished handling things in the galactic north, he can take the Malevolence from Pammant to the Corellian Run to conquer the Outer Rim regions of it.
Hardly ideal, but it should be sufficient though it wouldn't hurt to speak with his master about putting some pressure on the Republic side of things. The Confederacy might be destined for defeat, but it wouldn't be following the Grand Plan if it lost too much too quickly and found itself facing an early defeat.
And speaking of his master, he is receiving a holocall. Tyranus taps the button to accept and kneels down on one knee as is customary, bowing his head.
"Darth Tyranus," says his master.
"Master," replies Tyranus.
"The war is not going as expected," states his master.
"I am taking action to stabilise the situation with the Corellian Run and Abrion sector," replies Tyranus, "I intend to send Dark Acolyte Asajj Ventress and Admiral Merai to get things under control until Grievous can arrive with the Malevolence to bring things back on track. Unfortunately, these unexpected setbacks are beginning to add up and my compatriots in the Separatist cause are beginning to notice. Doubts are beginning to form and if the war continues as it is, they will soon become cracks. They may be fools, but they are not stupid. They require enough victories to overlook how perilous the long term is for them."
"Yes, Ben Shan and his legions have been proving more of a factor than we anticipated," muses his master, "Can you take care of him?"
Tyranus embraces the flash of anger that he receives from the mention of that upstart Jedi Knight. An outcast in the Order who ran about in the Outer Rim with his own private army and a babysitter sent by the High Council. There was some trouble expected from him, but Ben Shan was supposed to be nothing more than the current pet project of the Militarists, a positive example of the Jedi being used as generals and something that would get swept up into the ranks of the Republic military once the war broke out.
Instead Ben Shan and his followers have completely broken from their previous mould. He has gone from a nobody tool of others to being a prominent figure in his own right and has been showing up and winning battles for the Republic where he has no right to be. From Geonosis to Rhen Var to most recently Ryloth. He even ruined the attempts to pressure Rodia into joining the Confederacy by supplying it with sufficient food, using stolen Lucrehulks to add insult to injury.
He has even begun to play galactic politics in the Senate where he was previously content to play hero in the Outer Rim. He has been gathering political allies to oppose his master even if he avoids directly presenting it as such and he has been setting up his own political network. And he has apparently acquired his own intelligence network at some point because how else could he keep consistently showing up to get in the way. Even for a Jedi, Force visions can only go so far as an explanation.
But his master doesn't need to hear his ire at the nobody Jedi Knight who has become a very annoying somebody.
"I could defeat him in a fight," answers Tyranus confidently, "For all of his advantages and tricks, I am more skilled with both a lightsaber and the Force. If it wasn't for Mace Windu and the rest of the Jedi showing up at the right moment, I would have slain him on Geonosis. The only exceptional thing about him is his unexpected behaviour since the beginning of the war, which has ended in our plans failing to account for him. His victories have come from him showing up unexpectedly and our side being unprepared for him as a result. Which unfortunately leads into the main difficulty of ridding ourselves of him."
"General Shan has proven to be adept at showing up where he is unwanted," agrees his master.
"If he could be isolated from his allies or a trap set for him, then I am confident in my chances of dealing with him," says Tyranus, "Ideally, we should try to separate him from his forces if possible. They might be limited in size, but they are either veterans or top graduates and while excessively expensive by any reasonable standard, their equipment lives up to their cost according to our reports."
"I shall take measures to set up such a situation," says his master, "Given his distrust of myself and his political connections, it may take some time to force his hand. I presume that this Jedi hasn't been too troublesome for our plans?"
"As I said earlier, Master, the main concern is getting some clear major victories to offset our recent string of defeats," replies Tyranus, "I am doing what I can on my end, but if you could help arrange things on your side of the conflict."
"Of course, it wouldn't do for the Confederacy to fall too quickly," agrees his master, "I shall supply the necessary information in due time. In the meantime, I do have something that will shore up the Confederacy's position. Something which you will implement."
"As you will, my Master," replies Tyranus though he is intrigued about what his master has planned.
"As you are aware, our order has many secrets, including ancient knowledge," says his master, "And as Ben Shan has shown us, there is no need to reinvent the wheel when our predecessors have already done the work for us. Especially they did things with the intention of facing war whilst those today are still making the switch from peacetime to war. Tell me, my apprentice, how does the Confederacy's attempt to create new droids fare?"
"We have a couple of promising designs that could see mass-production," answers Tyranus, "And many designs that are too expensive compared to what they provide to produce outside of limited production runs. The BX-Series Droid Commando looks to be worth its credits and allow for delicate and precise missions in situations where overwhelming force isn't a valid option. It can also act as an elite soldier on the battlefield if the situation calls for it. Perhaps not as good as a clone commando or a Jedi, but certainly superior to a regular clone trooper.
The IG-110 Lightsaber Droid is also a hopeful design. Despite costing the same amount to produce as an IG-100 MagnaGuard, the IG-110 is a stronger and more agile opponent even if it has less intelligence. While it has no ability to use the Force, it has astounding reflexes for a droid and its combat programming is based off of thousands of hours of lightsaber combat. While it is no match for a true master, the prototypes have displayed proficiency with the first six Lightsaber Forms, including consistently deflecting blaster fire though reflecting back at a target is still a work in progress. It should be able to match a lesser Jedi in a fight and overwhelm a better Jedi with superior numbers. And by using synthetic lightsaber crystals, we will be able to supply them with an adequate number of lightsabers and ensure that they use red blades. Going back to our earlier conversation, I feel that Ben Shan and his soldiers might make for a good field test for them once we have some production lines up and running."
"Excellent work, my apprentice," says his master and Tyranus is pleased to hear the satisfaction in his master's voice, "And now I have something for you to take advantage of…"
A bit of a bad guy interlude. I'm not entirely pleased about writing Dooku's point of view, but I feel I have it appropriately gentlemanly and Sithy. Anyway, things aren't going well for Dooku as the corporate leadership, the Corellian Run is suffering a series of major defeats and his Separatist compatriots are starting to get doubts about their chances of victory.
Anyway, I didn't mean to have them focus on Ben for a bit, but in this case, he is the biggest unexpected variable that is interfering with their plans. He got involved in Geonosis, blocked them from getting the Dark Reaper and has recently begun to cause problems in the Corellian Run by feeding Rodia and stopping the invasion of Ryloth when it would have been a Separatist victory without his involvement. Combined with his political coalition, fledgling propaganda group and that intelligence network that he clearly has, Ben has stood out to the Sith by being such an unexpected variable. That said, he is only standing out to the Sith for unexpectedly interfering with their plans and they are only viewing him as an annoyance to be dealt with rather than a threat that must be dealt with.
Beyond that, both Dooku and Palpatine are looking to shore up the Confederacy so it doesn't fall too quickly. Dooku is looking into new elite battle droids to use in limited numbers while Palpatine's plot is currently secret.
Again, I am not sure about the Sith specifically focusing on Ben for part of their conversations, but he has been the biggest butterfly so far and he has unexpectedly messed up a few of their plans. It makes sense, but I'm worried that my OC is standing out too much in the eyes of the canon baddies
For those wondering, this interlude takes place following the Saving Ryloth arc of this story and between the events of the canon episodes "Cat and Mouse" and "The Hidden Enemy" with Trench's death being a reference to what happened in "Cat and Mouse".
By the way, the IG-110 Lightsaber Droid and BX-Series Droid Commando are both canon designs
On another note, I am currently looking for a beta-reader if anyone is interested in doing that, primarily for catching grammar and spelling mistakes.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Dec 31, 2021
9.1 (Stealing Malevolence) - Chapter Forty-Eight
"King Yos," I greet the Mon Calamari King before turning to the individual next to him, "Chieftain Nossor."
There are four of us in this room. Myself and Rahm are representing the Republic Patriot Legions while King Yos Kolina and Chieftain Nossor Ri represent the local people of Mon Cala.
"General Shan," King Yos greets me in turn, "General Kota. What brings you to Mon Cala?"
"The war unfortunately," I reply, "Specifically, the Free Dac Volunteers Engineering Corps."
"You cannot believe that my people-" starts Chieftain Nossor, bristling at my words.
"I do not expect to find them on Mon Cala, but in the Calamari Sector," I interrupt him, "Senator Tills and King Yos both vouch for you and your people and I trust their judgement. I merely wish to strike at the shipyards at Pammant, where the Free Dac Volunteers Engineering Corps are building capital ships for the Separatist fleet."
"I understand," says King Yos, "You wish to use my world as a staging ground for your attack?"
"Mon Cala is a very short jump away from Pammant and it is loyal to the Republic," I reply, "I was and am hoping to use it, but if you feel it is too risky for your people-"
"No, you are right to say we have chosen to side with the Republic," interrupts King Yos, "Supporting your attack invites retaliation from the Confederacy, but merely being a bastion for the Galactic Republic already invites that, especially when we are so close to Separatist strongholds."
"And what about the Quarren people?" I ask Chieftain Nossor, who is pleased with my question.
One thing Aria did before this meeting was to give me a rundown on the local politics and some advice on how to make friends. Part of that was treating Chieftain Nossor as someone to be dealt with in his own right and not just a subordinate of King Yos. The Quarren are touchy about their status relative to the Mon Calamari and treating them as equals is a good way to get on their good side.
"I'm afraid that we are more divided on the matter, General Shan," answers Chieftain Nossor, "I support King Yos and the Republic and so do many of my people, but many of my people have Separatist sympathies and not just those who have gone and outright joined the Separatist cause. The majority of them are still undecided and could be swayed in either way as while they chafe at the dominance of the Mon Calamari and view the Republic as corrupt, they are not yet convinced that the Separatists are the lesser evil rather than the greater evil."
"I see," I reply, "It is about what I expected, but I thank you for your assessment. Do I have permission to use Mon Cala as a staging ground for my attack on Pammant?"
"You may," says King Yos, "Not only have we sided with the Republic against the Confederacy, we are also already sheltering your warships and building new ones for you. An attack like this might draw more attention to us, but it won't be more provocative than our previous choices."
"We can spin it as protecting ourselves from a neighbouring Separatist threat," suggests Chieftain Nossor, "It wouldn't even be untrue as the concentration of Separatist military strength is a threat to our people for as long as we don't join the Separatist cause. We can even say it is the Republic supporting us in turn for us staying loyal to them. Senator Tills has put herself in your camp hasn't she, General Shan?"
"Indeed she has," I confirm, "And I do hold the position of Jedi General within the Grand Army of the Republic even if my forces are still independent Republic-aligned paramilitary."
"Then launch your assault on Pammant with the support of Mon Cala and her people," declares King Yos.
As my legions prepare for the upcoming attack on Pammant, I do my own preparations as I plan the details. Some aspects of the plan are already decided such as committing all of our forces to the assault and that is no small thing. A trio of Star Cruisers, a dozen Dreadnought-class Heavy Cruisers, forty eight DP20 Frigates, a dozen Thranta-class Corvettes, seven CR90 Corvettes, over a hundred Hammerhead-class Cruisers, eight Quasar Fire-class Bulk Cruisers and seven Lucrehulk-class Battleships. The only one of my warships that won't be involved in the attack will be the Lucrehulk I captured at Ryloth as I still need to sort out a crew for it.
That is a lot of firepower and it should be enough to match whatever Pammant has for defences. Especially since we will have over five thousand starfighters between my own forces and the starfighters that King Yos and Chieftain Nossor are committing on the behalf of Mon Cala. They have scourged up enough starfighter pilots for the four hundred or so Z-95 Headhunters that I have aboard the Lucrehulks.
That said, I'm not particularly impressed by the quality of the Mon Cala support even if I do appreciate it. Most of their pilots haven't seen any actual combat before and the light Amphib Starfighter is better than a vulture droid, but only because it has some higher quality thrusters and a deflector shield. The heavy Amphib Starfighter is better with heavier shielding, lasers, armour and just generally superior in everything, but it is about equal with the Z-95 Headhunters that we used to use rather than the superior starfighters that my legions currently use.
Regardless, they should be enough to stand up to the Vulture droids or whatever starfighters the Seppies will have at Pammant.
Unfortunately, there is only so much that I can do. The Free Dac Volunteers Engineering Corps has had Pammant on lockdown since the war started and my otherworldly memories aren't helpful in telling me what to expect except for Providences and Recusants under construction, which I already knew without them. Without any intelligence to go on, I cannot come up with any specific plans and I am better off letting Wol handle organising the fleet as the actual expert on the subject.
I had hoped to just swoop in and smash their orbital shipbuilding infrastructure, but things become more complicated than that as I was informed that Pammant has its shipyards in an underground tunnel network. That still leaves things doable, but it means a ground assault in addition to the space battle.
The Quarren provided some old maps on Pammant, but the Separatists were being secretive with Pammant and its shipyards in the lead up to the war so I don't know how useful they will be. They certainly won't provide any clues where the ground defences will be set up. It is increasingly looking like I will just need to improvise a plan once I get a firsthand look at Pammant.
"General Shan?" calls a voice from the corridor outside my quarters, "Are you free to talk?"
Ah, that would be Aria's padawan Siaran.
"Come in, Padawan Vareta," I reply and the Miraluka Jedi does just that, "I was just finishing what I was doing and don't have anything urgent to do."
"I was hoping for some advice, General Shan," says Siaran, "I appreciate Master Telis' teachings, but she isn't always the best person to turn to for understanding."
"She can be a bit hidebound on certain subjects," I agree, "I won't say that I will always be free, but I am free right now to give you some advice."
"It is the Jedi Code," says Siaran, "I just don't get it and Master Telis isn't much help. She takes a very, ah, traditional view on it."
"That she does," I concur, "Okay, first of all, I am a bit of a radical in my beliefs and I just consider the Code to be the Code itself rather than lumping in the current set of traditions. Not that those traditions are all bad. I actually agree with a few of them, but they aren't part of the Jedi Code because the traditions change, but the Code doesn't. You know what the Jedi Code is?"
"There is no emotion, there is peace," recites Siaran, "There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. There is no death, there is the Force."
"Let's start with the first one," I say as Siaran raptly pays attention, "There is no emotion, there is peace. Despite the wording and what some would believe, it is not actually about finding peace by having no emotion. It is more about sensible decision making by not letting your emotions cloud your judgement and interfere with your ability to make sound decision making. You don't deny your emotions, you find peace by keeping them in check and not letting them dictate or bias your choices.
"The second line, there is no ignorance, there is knowledge, ties into the first. Finding inner peace and making non-biased decisions is no good if you are lacking knowledge of the relevant factors. Lacking that knowledge can result in you making a bad decision that seems good to you as a result of your ignorance. Think of it like gathering intelligence or performing reconnaissance. Knowing more about the situation can be the difference between victory and defeat, between life and death. Good decision making needs to be paired with knowledge of the situation, so we attempt to educate ourselves and lessen our ignorance."
I stop to think about how to explain the rest of the Code as the latter parts are more complicated than the first two lines of the Code.
"Some might find it to be different, but to me, the latter half of the Code is more complicated," I tell Siaran, "There is no passion, there is serenity. That one often gets conflated with the whole no emotions equalling peace and to a degree, it is related to the rest line of the Code. I'm not sure where the best starting point is, but passion isn't emotion. It isn't happiness, it isn't excitement and it isn't love either. In the context of the Code, passion isn't enthusiasm or enjoyment, it is overly strong emotions, so intense that they are barely controllable or do overwhelm you. And by letting your emotions be so strong that you cannot control them, you let them control you, losing your inner peace and serenity."
"And passion is still a bad thing then," says Siaran.
"Eh," I say noncommittally as my initial response as I hesitate to agree with him as that isn't quite true, "I wouldn't say that passion is bad. It can easily lead to the Dark Side if you aren't careful, but it isn't an act of Darkness to embrace passion like it would be to embrace anger or hatred. It just isn't the Jedi way. Our way is one of balance and self-discipline so we hold our passions in check to maintain a sense of serenity. Hence that part of the Code."
"I believe I understand," says Siaran slowly as he thinks it over, "What about the next part? There is no chaos, there is harmony."
"That part of the Code is the one that I am most unfamiliar with," I admit, "Mainly because it isn't always included as part of the Jedi Code. That said, my understanding is that it is referring to being a stabilising element rather than a disruptive one. Being in balance, in harmony with the world around you rather than causing chaos and being something that adds to the problem. Or maybe it refers to internal harmony and being internally in balance rather. I think it is the former because the latter is already sort of covered by passion and serenity, but again, this is my weakest part when it comes to the Jedi Code."
"You're being more helpful than Master Telis has been," Siaran assures me and I give him a look, "Not that Master Telis is bad or unhelpful…"
"Aria is hidebound when it comes to the traditional way," I say, "Don't worry, Siaran. She has been my partner for over two years now. I have a very good idea of what she is like, both her flaws and her virtues."
"Right," says Siaran, "What about the last part of the Jedi Code?"
"There is no death, there is the Force," I state, "First of all, it isn't saying that people don't die because we all know that they do. It is more about death not being the end. The Force permeates the universe and is connected to every living thing. Life comes from the Force when it comes into being and when life ends, it returns to the Force. The part of the Jedi Code is about accepting death and becoming one with the Force. That isn't to say that we should actively embrace death, but it warns against being afraid of death and embracing questionable measures to avoid it when your time comes."
"Like Exar Kun did on Yavin IV," says Siaran quietly.
"Yeah, like that," I agree.
"Thank you, Master Shan," says Siaran as he bows to me, "You have given me much to think about."
A few things are being covered in this chapter. First, showing the local leadership on Mon Calamari as the formal Mon Calamari and Quarren governments are still united right now due to a lack of assassinations that (briefly) broke them apart in canon. Second, covering the forces that Ben will have available for the attack on Pammant and speaking of that, it turns out that Pammant's shipyards are all underground. I was originally expecting to be writing an orbital smash and grab, but it seems that I'll be writing a ground assault instead so I decided to write that unexpected change of plans as something happening to Ben in-character.
Finally, I decided to cover the Jedi Code because I find it interesting and most fics don't cover it. They usually ignore it or gloss over it or bash it. At most, some will go into a surface look at it to say how the older version of the code is better without actually doing any research into what the code means because if they did, they would find out that both versions of the Jedi Code have the same meaning and only the wording of the Code differs. Admittedly it tends to be old sourcebooks that actually get into the details of what the Jedi Codes mean, but I'm ranting now.
Anyway, we have Ben's perspective on what the Jedi Code means and he believes in it and uses it to influence his choices. I meant to bring it up before, but now is the first good point I've been able to work it into the story.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Jan 13, 2022
9.2 (Stealing Malevolence) - Chapter Forty-Nine
"General Shan," says Aria as she marches up to me, apparently having taken a shuttle to the Freedom as she now interrupts my conversation with Wol, "We need to talk."
Ah, something has upset Aria and that upset is directed at me.
"Alright," I reply before turning back to Wol, "If you could excuse me for a moment."
"We already worked out the basics and most of the details," replies Wol as he waves me off, "I'll let you and General Telis discuss whatever it is and get started on what we've already decided upon. Come and find me once you are done."
"Of course," I say before turning my attention to Aria.
"What have you been telling my padawan?" Aria half-demands, half-asks as she clearly tries to keep her emotions in check though I doubt anyone who doesn't know her as well as I could tell.
Ah, this. I have been expecting this to come up sooner or later.
"He was struggling to understand the Jedi Code," I inform her, "He came to me for advice and I told Siaran my understanding of the Jedi Code and how I follow it."
"I do not need you teaching my padawan your heretical views," states Aria primly.
'Borderline heretical views' is the immediate response that springs to mind, but I bite back the snark in favour of a more helpful reply.
"Siaran came to me for help," I tell Aria, "I am not going to turn him away empty-handed when I am able to aid him. Not then, not now and not in the future."
"I don't interfere with your padawan's training," says Aria and I feel a pang of longing as I am reminded of Vyssa, who is still away with Faresk on her spook training.
"If Vyssa comes to you for help with her training, feel free to assist her as best you can," I reply, "I have no problem with that and I would expect you to help if you can."
"I see," says Aria and I can see her struggling with something else to complain at me about.
"Is that all?" I ask.
"I would like to know the battle plan and my part in it," answers Aria.
"Your part is pretty simple," I reply, "With all of our forces here and going after a major target, I'll need you to use your battle meditation to minimise our losses and maximise our effectiveness. As for the plan, I don't know what defensive force is awaiting us, but I intend to smash through the defensive fleets with our warships while our starfighters take care of theirs and then launch an assault on the shipyards. It is unfortunately simple, but it is the best that I can do without more detail to work with. I figure that if we can secure the shipyards, we can loot from them for valuables and maybe secure a few of the more finished warships under construction. A warship is a warship and the Seppies do tend to favour automation and small crews."
"And where will you be?" asks Aria.
"Leading the charge in the Knight I," I answer, "We have better fleet commanders than I to command the space battle and I can do more good picking off a few starfighters and spearheading the ground assault."
"That is the best course of action with what we know," agrees Aria, "Shall I remain aboard the Freedom for the battle or return to the Liberty?"
"Your choice, Aria."
"Ten seconds until we exit hyperspace," calls one of the officer's over the fleet's comms, letting us know that we are about to arrive at Pammant.
Part of me is giddy at the sheer force I have mustered. Almost two dozen capital ships, nine scores of escorts and over five thousand starfighters. Even if Pammant is a major shipyard for the Confederacy, I doubt they have enough to match my forces let alone overwhelm them.
So I am excited for what is to come, to bring the full force of my legions to bear against a major Separatist target and crush it. A Jedi doesn't take pleasure in violence, but I am a soldier and a general who is about to break his foes in open battle, showing them just how strong my troops are.
As we come out of hyperspace, our starfighters launch within a moment of entering realspace as Aria's battle mediation coordinates our actions. As I swing the Knight I around, I look at the tactical displays to see what the enemy has waiting for us.
One of the relatively rare Lucrehulks, a battleship variant rather than a droid control ship, alongside a Providence-class and a trio of Rescustant-class Light Destroyers. The five are the sort of ships that I was expecting to see here. Supporting them is a trio of Dreadnought-class Heavy Cruisers and four Hammerhead-class Cruisers, similar to the ones in my own force. Those I was not expecting to see, but thinking about it, it makes sense. Dreadnoughts and Hammerheads are fairly common in the Outer Rim and Mon Calamari Shipyards did some joint work with Rendili StarDrive.
Likewise, I was not expecting the Captor-class Heavy Munitions Cruiser nor the ten Lupus-class Missile Frigates, but it makes sense for the Trade Federation hand-me-downs to be here. The outdated designs might not be something that the Seppies want to use on the frontlines, but they are good enough for secondary duties like escorting convoys or garrisoning important systems.
Honestly, it is a pretty decent garrison force. Eight capital ships and fifteen escorts with maybe two thousand starfighters between them alongside whatever starfighters that the planetary garrison can muster up. Enough to stop any regular invasion force and even enough to give one of my legions pause.
Unfortunately for the Seppies, they don't face one of my legions, but all four of them.
"We have vulture droids launching from enemy warships," reports someone from the command crew of the Freedom, "Roughly one thousand and eight hundred hostile starfighters. Thirty-six heavy amphib starfighters have lunch from the enemy Dreadnought-class Heavy Cruisers. Forty-eight light amphib starfighters have launched from the enemy Hammerhead-class Cruisers."
Mon Calamari-designed starfighters launching from the Rendili-designed warships. That means that the Dreadnoughts and Hammerheads must be part of the local defence fleet that is crewed by Quarren. The Separatist and Trade Federation warships must have been assigned here as part of the Confederate garrisons. I'm not sure how tactically relevant that will be, but it is nice to know.
As they are the most capable and dangerous of the enemy starfighters, I angle myself towards a squadron of heavy amphibs. I don't bother with the comms as there is minimal need for communication amongst my forces with Aria using her battle meditation as we just know what everyone else is doing. Anyone who sees what I am doing will know what I am doing.
My warships open fire at the same time as our starfighters do, our advance coordinated so we reach optimal firing ranges at the same time. My laser cannon shots strike true on one of the heavy amphib starfighters, stripping the enemy craft of its deflector shielding and melting some of its armour. Not enough to take it out or even cripple it, but follow up shots from someone else takes care of that, blowing away the Seppie starfighter as a joint kill.
A glance at the tactical display shows that the battle is going well. My starfighters are overwhelming the enemy with superior numbers and equipment while the Providence has been crippled alongside one of the Hammerheads. The rest of the enemy fleet is also taking a pounding as my warships are hitting them with superior firepower and accuracy.
By the Force, I am enjoying unleashing the full might of my legions.
Swinging around, I join a Liberator-class Starfighter in the tail pursuit of another heavy amphib whose shields are already down. Even as the Liberator continues to fire its laser cannons, I add my own lasers and blasters to the mix, shredding what remains of the amphib and blowing it away in a ball of explosion and shrapnel.
"Enemy vultures are launching from the planet," reports the Freedom, "Counting just shy of three thousand of them."
Ah, that might be a bit of a challenge since that will put the Seppies starfighters on equal numbers with our own. Or it would if we haven't destroyed a decent portion of the enemy starfighters already. Nonetheless, that many vulture droid starfighters is a threat that must be honoured.
Turning in the direction of Pammant, I decide to make a strafing run on one of the enemy Dreadnoughts, its shields down and leaving its armoured hull exposed to the Knight I's weapons. Its remaining laser cannons open fire on me and I ignore one of the shoots striking me as I lock onto a turbolaser cannon with my concussion missile. They'll need at least three or four shots to breach my deflector shields and the Knight I can take a bit of a pounding even after that.
I fire the missile before rolling to the side to return fire at the laser cannons with my own blaster-based armament. One of the turrets explodes as I overwhelm it while a second is left merely damaged as I finish flying over the enemy warship. Ignoring the Seppie Dreadnought, I focus on the incoming swarm of vulture droids as a squadron of Y-Wings swoop in to finish off the warship.
The swarm of enemy starfighters is daunting, but a quick look at the tactical display shows that I have a few hundred of my own starfighters backing me up while a squadron of DP20 Frigates have broken off to provide fire support.
Republic and Separatist forces clash once more as my starfighters make contact with the reinforcing vultures. I fire a missile into the swarm whilst opening fire with my laser and blaster cannons.
The wing is blown off of a vulture, sending it careening out of control, while two more are directly destroyed as my relatively heavy firepower blasts them in fiery explosions. Blaster fire lashes out against my deflector shields and I pull into an evasive turn as a pair of vulture droids try to shoot me down.
Flipping my blaster cannons around, I return fire at the droid starfighters. Strike the foremost one with the blasters, causing it to smoke as I burn away its armour. The final blow is denied to me as an Aurek swoops in and finishes off the vulture with a couple of shots before moving onto the second.
With those two foes dealt with, I look for a new target and with a couple thousand vulture droids still in the fight, there is no shortage of targets. Spotting a Separatist starfighter on the tail of a Liberator or at least for a moment before the Republic pilot uses the superior agility of their starfighter to pull into a turn that the droid starfighter cannot match. That doesn't stop the vulture from trying and I take the opportunity to rip it to shreds with my laser cannons.
This is an excellent battle.
Only two parts to this chapter. The first is Aria confronting Ben about the advice that he gave to Siaran, which is to be expected, but I also used it to show Ben's battleplan. Which is far less than I would like, but Ben is pretty much going in blind so the best he can do is send in everything and overwhelm the enemy using superior quality and quantity.
The second part is the battle itself or at least the space part. It is focused on Ben flying about in the Slave I/ Knight I with the rest of the battle being off-screen as that is what Ben is doing and he trusts his officers to do their jobs well. So we get to see Ben fight his way through the Separatist forces until I felt the point had been gotten across and got bored writing how Ben destroyed the next vulture droid.
The next chapter will be the ground assault on Pammant where things get more interesting as the Separatists will have more of an advantage.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Feb 7, 2022
9.3 (Stealing Malevolence) - Chapter Fifty
It took less than ten minutes to wipe out the Separatist fleet. My warships tore the defending ones a new one and any time one of my smaller warships took too much damage to their deflector shields, they withdrew until their shielding had recovered.
We lost a few starfighters, but it was the inexperienced Mon Calamari who took the bulk of the casualties with their relatively inferior starfighters. For my forces proper, superior skill and hardware combined with a parity in numbers and Aria's battle mediation were enough to score a crushing victory.
So long as things don't go entirely heads up on the surface, the Battle of Pammant will be quite the feather in my cap. Something that will be needed if I am to build up the political support to go against Sidious and his attempts to destroy the Republic from within.
While assaulting the tunnels will be a challenge, the upside of Pammant consisting of an underground tunnel network is that we are free to smash any surface defensive installations without having to worry about civilian bystanders.
As the troopers gear up for landing planetside, the fleet takes up positions in orbit above Pammant and blasts anything on the surface that is identified as a defensive position. By the time that the Shen-class Shuttles are zooming towards the ground, there is nothing left to try and shoot them down.
Of course, that leaves us with the difficulty of storming fortified tunnels, but thankfully the defenders are primarily Seppie battle droids. With my troopers being well-armoured and well-equipped, the usual difficulty of that task is lessened.
Which leads to me and a platoon of troopers from Sky Company gathered around a semi-collapsed tunnel. The entrance to one of Pammant's shipyards, it got hit by the orbital bombardment and while all of the defences got destroyed, the entrance was left only partially intact. Using the Force, I move the rubble out of the way, clearing enough away that a couple of us can fit in at once.
"Lieutenant Lonnson," I inform the young officer in charge of the platoon, who seems a bit unsure about having me here with him, "I'll be taking point. Your company will follow me once I have made sure that the enemy doesn't have any surprises waiting for us."
"Of course, General," replies Lieutenant Lonnson and I give him a quick nod before darting into the tunnel.
I draw my main lightsaber, but I don't ignite it. The light it emits could give me away and having it out is good enough should I need to make use of it in a hurry. The tunnel is empty and while it shows signs of use, recent use in fact, it appears to be abandoned right now.
Perhaps they wrote it off as unusable after the bombardment? Or maybe they have just fallen back to the second line of defence after we obliterated the first one.
"Did you hear something?" says the distinctive voice of a B1 Battle Droid, up ahead and just out of sight.
"Is your processor glitched?" says a second, "I didn't hear anything."
"Maybe they started shooting the surface again," says a third, sounding closer now and I can hear footsteps from up just up ahead now.
"I can hear it now," says the first one, "Someone is walking."
"You're just hearing us, glitchhead" says the second, "We're walk-"
Stepping around a turn in the sloping downward corridor, I find myself face to face with a trio of B1s. Igniting my lightsaber before they can even process that I am here, I carve through all three of them, the last one only just beginning to raise its blaster when my white blade carved through its torso.
I report the contact before moving further into the underground shipyards. It doesn't take long to find the first enemy defensive position. I first learn of it when my battle precognition warns me that going around the corner will result in plenty of blaster fire coming my way. So I pause and use my helmet to get a better idea of what I am facing.
It won't let me see through the walls per se, but switching to thermal vision should let me see whatever is on the other side of the cold underground wall. And thankfully my helmet is high-end as the thermal vision just picks up and highlights the battle droids and the weaponry emplacements. They are of little concern except for that heavy repeating blaster that is mounted on a manned turret. That weapon could do some serious damage even to me if I let it get past my defences or leave it for my troops to handle.
Darting around the corner, I swing the barrel of the turret around so it is unable to fire at me. I deflect one of the first blaster bolts to come my way at the B1 manning the turret, causing the gunner to slump as it is taken offline. I swiftly close the distances, sliding over the barricade with ease as I engage the remaining battle droids up close. I slaughter the remaining B1s while both B2s are cut down without difficulty.
I report the elimination of the defensive position before pressing onwards once more.
For me, the rest of the battle continues like that. A steady, but cautious advance sees our forces push into the tunnels. Despite having the advantage of being the defenders, superior skill and equipment means that my troopers actually have the upper hand in the confined tunnels of Pammant. The lack of open space means that the Seppies are unable to bring the numbers of their droids to bear and that is crippling their ability to defeat my soldiers.
It is a slow systematic purge and there is nothing that the Separatists can do to stop us. The local forces are just too little to hold us off and we have stuck too suddenly and swiftly for reinforcements to show up in a timely manner. The only thing that the Separatists can hope to do is destroy the shipyards and hulls under construction before we can take them and so far, they are not.
I'm not sure why, but I am grateful for it. Perhaps they don't want to destroy their livelihoods by taking out the shipyards. Maybe they think we are here to destroy them ourselves and they don't want to do our job for us without realising that I am interested in seizing some of the warships for myself. Regardless, it makes our job easier.
Things only begin to get interesting when I run into the berth containing the massive Malevolence and by the Force, it looks so big, even compared to other warships that I've run into. I can't even begin to see either end of the future flagship.
The Subjugator-class Heavy Cruiser looks mostly done, which adds up if I remember the timeline correctly, and I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't complete enough to be used. Force, I would be more surprised if it wasn't built enough to be launched.
A platoon or two of B1s and a few squads of B2s stand in my way when it comes to reaching the future Separatist flagship, but they aren't the real threat to me. Neither are the Quarren shipwrights who have taken up blasters to defend their workplace. No, the biggest challenge to me is the two pairs of droidekas who have their deflector shields up and are blasting away at me.
I throw myself behind cover, darting behind a stack of crates as I think about the best way to win this fight. There is a bit more space here thanks to the wide open space around the berth that the Malevolence is in and the clankers are using that to muster up a decent defence here. Some of the droids are advancing on me, clearly trying to outflank me and defeat me that way.
Time to get a little creative. I can't let the droids outflank me so getting out of cover before that happens is the first step. I am skilled enough to keep the blaster fire deflected and keeping on the move should be enough. If Ryloth is anything to go by, I may be able to break the shields of the droidekas with my lightsabers, but that isn't something I want to test while surrounded by so many other battle droids, especially if it doesn't work.
Fortunately, I am not alone. I might have been racing ahead of Sky Company and the rest of my troops, but I haven't completely left them in the dust. I just need to keep the droids busy, distract them from the entrance I used and thin their numbers where I can.
With that in mind, I run out of the other side of the cover, moving away from the entrance. The droids instantly switch their focus to me and open fire and it is all that I can do to keep ahead of it. I deflect some back, but right now, my attention is caught up with not being overwhelmed by the sheer number of blaster bolts being sent my way.
I scrap a few B1s when a squad of Sky troopers comes running out of the entrance, guns ablazing as they hit the clankers in the flank. Not letting the droids recover their bearings, I charge into the fray, going from the defensive to the offensive. I take out a super battle droid with an upward slash of my main blade before cutting down a B1 with a swipe of my shoto.
"Look at the size of that ship," comments somebody, but I have no time to pay attention as I fight my way through the thick of it.
More of my troopers flood into the berth while the squad already here takes cover as I cut my way through the disoriented droids. I carve my way through the battle droids and the occasional super battle droid, leaving them no time to get a proper handle on the defence or choose between focusing on me or focusing on my soldiers.
I make a point of ignoring the armed Quarren workers. I doubt that they will survive as they are attacking my soldiers with lethal weapons, but I don't want to be the one to end their lives. Only slaying droids is one of the upsides to the war and if I can, I would rather avoid slaying another person.
Spotting one of the droidekas, I charge it, swinging my main lightsaber at it. The white blade slams into the energy shield and stalls for a moment as the lightsaber and deflector shield struggle for dominance. Then the shield collapses it and the blade continues onwards, cutting through the destroyer droid and leaving it into non-functional pieces.
The rest of the battle is short as it doesn't take long to clear the berth of enemies, leaving it, or at least this side of it, in Republic hands.
"Lieutenant Lonnson," I call as I spot the officer in charge of the platoon, "Get your troopers ready. We're seizing this warship."
There is no way that I am letting Grievous or anyone else in the Confederacy get their hands on the Malevolence if I can help it. But if I play my cards right, I might be able to claim the warship for myself.
And here we have the battle of Pammant. I was planning it to be longer or more action-y, but I am not planning on the Separatists having any surprises waiting for Ben and looking at the force comparison, a tight-confined fight favours the Legions more than it does the battle droids. So a relatively short battle that is nothing less than major victory.
That said, this is going to be the last quiet/easy arc for Ben. A bit spoiler-y here, but smashing the shipyards at Pammant and Minntooine alongside stealing the Malevolence just before it is ready to be used by the Separatists is going to be the last straw for the Sith. After the events of this arc, Palpatine and Dooku are going to start treating Ben as a threat that needs to be dealt with rather than an annoyance that won't make a meaningful difference.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Feb 9, 2022
9.4 (Stealing Malevolence) - Chapter Fifty-One
"My reports say that we have secured the shipyards, but also that there is still fighting ongoing," I say as I march into the command centre of Freedom, where the senior leadership of my legions are gathered for a meeting.
Wol is here in person, but everyone else is attending via hologram as they are either aboard one of the other warships in the fleet or still on the surface.
"We have driven the Separatists from the Pammant Shipyards, but the rest of the planet is unsecure," explains Loren from a forward command centre on the ground, "They have taken up secondary defensive positions at the major settlements and we are still fighting some holdouts along the outskirts of the shipyards. The shipyards themselves are ours and we have secured the berths, the ships under construction and material depots."
"Speaking of the ships, what did we capture and how usable are they?" I ask.
"The most interesting ones are the two Subjugator-class Heavy Cruisers according to Separarist records that we found," says Admiral Jace Dallin, "I believe you were involved in the capture of one."
Two Subjugator-class Heavy Cruisers. I was not expecting that as I was only aware of the Malevolence. I could vaguely recollect a second one being built before it was destroyed whilst still under construction, but that was later in the war and after the destruction of the Malevolence. I was not expecting the Confederacy to have two under construction right now. Perhaps the second one isn't close to being finished and work on it got discontinued after the destruction of the Malevolence.
"Despite the name, both ships are large enough and well-armed enough to be considered dreadnoughts rather than heavy cruisers," continues Admiral Dallin, "For that matter, they are two different designs despite supposedly sharing the same class."
"And one of them is more of a mobile superweapon than a warship," adds Wol, "The one you found is a turbolaser platform built around an experimental ion weapon system, but the second is an insanely powerful ion cannon attached to sublight engines and a hyperdrive with some turbolasers for defence."
Okay, that does not sound promising.
"How close are they to completion?" I ask.
"Effectively done," answers Admiral Dallin, "Only the ion cannon superweapons on each one are unfinished. If you are willing to accept those being unusable, they could operate as a warship in their current state."
"That sounds like the sort of thing I would be willing to do," I say, "Have someone perform an analysis of how feasible it is for us to use them and send it to me. What about the rest?"
"The only other military lines are for the Providence-class, either the smaller Carrier/Destroyer or the larger Dreadnought," replies Wol, "Pammant Docks still has their civilian lines and they used to construct some Rendili StarDrive products, but any military production lines have been converted for either one of the Providence-class over the last couple of years. We have captured several dozen that have varying degrees of completion."
Several dozen Providence-class warships. Even if we don't take any for our own use, taking out that many Separatist capital ships before they can even see the battlefield would make this endeavour a major victory for the Republic.
"That is a lot of warships," says Rahm, "Do we know why they are building so many here?"
"Pammant is the primary shipyard for the Providence-class," explains Wol, "Perhaps a third of all Providence-class Carrier/Destroyers and half of the Providence-class Dreadnoughts are constructed here at Pammant."
"Then this shall be a crippling blow to the Confederacy," declares Rahm.
"That aside," I say, cutting into the conversation, "What are the state of the hulls that we captured and how viable they are for use."
"The Seppies didn't want to destroy them so apart from damage when fighting took place inside the ship, we got all of them intact," answers Wol, "Unfortunately, they are at various stages of construction. A fair few are pretty much done and could be deployed as warships, but others have only just begun construction. We can make use of the former, but everything else will require more construction time before they can be used."
"Give me a quick rundown," I order.
"I'll start with the Dreadnoughts since there are less of those," replies Wol, "Those are the larger two kilometre ones. Four almost done with another two in the latter stages of construction with three more about halfway done and a final one in the early stages. With the Carrier/Destroyer models, the one kilometre models, there are a lot more. Sixteen at the almost done stage with another eleven in the final stages. Fourteen at the halfway one, a second eleven in the early stages and a final thirteen that have yet to finish their structural frame."
"How many of those can we take back to Mon Cala with us?" I ask.
"Both Subjugators, seven of the bigger Providences and about thirty of the smaller Providences have their hyperdrives and sublight engines installed and ready for use," answers Wol, "The rest aren't leaving the system and a good few aren't even leaving atmosphere or their berths."
"Alright, get those into orbit and ready to make the jump to Mon Cala," I order, "As for the rest of the warships and shipyards, loot anything useful or valuable. I don't intend to stick around long and we'll be destroying anything that we don't take with us to deny war material to the Separatists. Any questions?"
"I have one, General Shan," says Admiral Dallin, "Why are we planning to use Separatist warships? Won't that cause confusion with our allies about what ships belong to us and which ones belong to an enemy?"
Wol starts to reply, but I cut him off with a wave of my hand.
"I'll take this one," I say as I turn my attention to Rendili man, "It is a valid question for a relative newcomer like Admiral Dallin. To give you the answer to your question Admiral Dallin, it is due to our unit's nature as a paramilitary unit. Our limited budget combined with our ambitious goals means that we need to be unconventional and acquire additional assets where we can. This is where our loot and salvage policy comes in as no small portion of our military hardware comes from taking from defeated opponents. In this case, we have captured several capital ships and even if they are primarily used by the Confederacy, I am not going to turn down adding them to our own forces if that is a viable course of action."
"It should be," says Wol, "The Separatists go for high-automated and low-crew counts like we do and it shouldn't be too hard to convert them to be capable of supporting organic crews."
"Thank you for answering my question, General Shan," says Admiral Dallin, "When put like that, I can see the logic."
"With that in order, let's sort out what everyone will be doing," I say, "Looting the enemy and doing so swiftly is the primary objective right now. We came here for the shipyards and we've got them so the remaining Separatist military assets are a secondary concern."
The rest of the action of Pammant is the non-combat kind as the rest of the day and the following night are spent either readying our captured warships for the journey to Mon Cala or taking anything of value from Pammant Docks. With even our new recruits having some experience at looting and salvaging, the operation is a finely-tuned machine as the shipyards are gutted and our cargo bays are filled.
And once we have made the jump to lightspeed the day after we arrived, Wol comes to me with the analysis report that I requested.
"The long and short of it is that we should be able to make good use of the captured warships," says Wol as the doors close behind him in office, "Separatists have automated the kriff out of all of them with only the larger Providences having a crew count above three digits. That doesn't reach two thousand. The rest of them all have a crew of nine hundred, including those two massive Subjugators. They aren't currently set up for an organic crew, just an organic command staff, but it shouldn't be too much hassle to make the conversions. We also got some optimistic predictions that we might be able to involve some slave circuits to automate them even further. It wouldn't be cheap, at least a couple million credits for each warship, but it should be doable barring any unpleasant surprises."
"That is some excellent news, Wol," I reply, "This mission would have been undoubtedly a success even without that, but being able to add more warships to our ranks just makes it better. The low crew counts are good, but can we afford to pull it off?"
"The salvage should cover the conversion costs and then some," answers Wol, "The Providence-class is an upgraded Dreadnought-class design and that works to our advantage here. We could strip half of our Dreadnought Heavy Cruisers of their crews to outfit all of our new ships and they would have some familiarity with the systems."
"And that would be an upgrade?" I inquire, "I'm sure you wouldn't be purposing it if it wasn't, but I need to know the details."
"It is," says Wol, "The Providence-class fulfils its purpose as an upgrade to the Dreadnought-class very well and is superior in almost all aspects apart from cost and production time. And since we didn't have to pay for them or wait for them to be built, they are just an upgrade for us. We would like to invest in some anti-boarding systems to make up for the small crew counts, but I recommend including the captured Providences into our forces."
"If we can pull off the conversions, I shall approve your plan," I say, "That is the Providences handled. What about the other two warships, the Subjugator-class Heavy Cruisers?"
"That is a bit more complex," says Wol with a frown, "Despite their vastly larger size, they both have the same requirement of nine hundred crew members as the smaller Providences. According to the records, it was supposed to be the flagship of the Confederate Navy and it is a good enough design that I strongly recommend we use it ourselves without those experimental ion cannons working. Actually, I would recommend stripping out those ion cannons. There is no guarantee that we can finish installing them and while I am no expert, they look a little too unstable to me. If you ask me, we should just use it as an overpowered conventional warship. Smash any enemy warships with escorts to handle any starfighters."
That is a little disappointing. The biggest feature of the Malevolence was-is its pair of ion cannons, but Wol is the expert here. If he thinks they are too experimental for our purposes, I'll trust his judgement even if it is disappointing.
"That's one of them," I note, "What about the other?"
That one, the Devastation, I am really curious about. I have vague recollections of it in my otherworldly memories, but that other life was never really interested in it or aware of it. I know it was a thing in the other timeline, but nothing useful such as what it does. That said, essentially being a massive mobile space cannon isn't encouraging, especially given who is behind its construction.
"As we said earlier, it is more of a mobile superweapon than a warship and has little in common with the Malevolence despite supposedly sharing the same class," answers Wol, "Its ion cannons also aren't functional and beyond needing the installation to be finished, it requires 'kyber crystals' to power it. And as thanks to hanging out with you over the last few years, I know enough to know just how bad that sounds."
"It does sound bad," I agree and I join Wol in frowning, "Is the second Subjugator viable as a warship without it's ion cannons?"
"No," answers Wol bluntly and without skipping a beat, "It has some turbolaser batteries for defensive purposes, but nowhere near enough for its size or to be used as a conventional warship. As I said, it is a mobile superweapon and its superweapon isn't functional."
On the one hand, I should probably just destroy it or take it apart for parts and be done with it. On the other hand, having something like that as a backup should be useful. I don't have to use it, but that risks someone else stealing it and using it. That said, having a conventional counter for something like the Death Star or one of the many other superweapons that Sidious and his lackeys come up with would be nice.
This is more complicated than I thought.
"Thanks for bringing me up to speed, Wol," I tell the admiral, "We'll see what can be done at Mon Cala and make the final decision there."
"Actually there is one last thing you should be aware of before I take my leave, Ben," says Wol, "It is about the second Subjugator-class, the Devastation. According to the records that we captured, the Separatists believed its ion cannons would be capable of destroying a moon or a small planet."
And here we are with the immediate aftermath of the raid on Pammant. Lots of Providence-class warships including the regular ones that we commonly see and the larger variant like the one that Admiral Trench used. Beyond that, the Malevolence and her sister ship, the Devastation. The latter of which I only found out about whilst researching for this story so Ben has no meta-knowledge about it, but it is pretty simple to figure out.
Anyway, I decided that the ion cannons on both warships wouldn't be finished yet and as the most complex and experimental system aboard each ship, they would be the final part that needs finishing for both.
I also went for the lower crew count for the Providences because this makes more sense. Because you have the Munficient with 200, the Recusant with 300 and the Malevolence with 900 before having the Providence with either 900 or 22,000 and it is pretty obvious which one of those fits the prior pattern.
Anyway, Ben will be taking the Malevolence as his new flagship and adding the more complete Providences to his fleets. The Providences that require more work on them will be donated to the Mon Calamari Guard for them to use after the Mon Calamari Shipyards have finished building them.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
9.5 (Stealing Malevolence) - Chapter Fifty-Two
"This is greatly concerning news," says Chieftain Nossor Ri as Aria and I finish informing him and King Yos Kolina about the Devastation and its intended purpose, "But at least it shows that I was right in my choices."
"In what way?" asks Siaran from where he floats behind Aria.
"Padawan," hisses Aria as she gives her apprentice a rebuking look.
"Many amongst my people have questioned my choice to align ourselves with the Mon Calamari and the Republic over our brethren with the Separatists, young Jedi," answers Chieftain Nossor, "They worry that I have allowed my friendship with King Yos to unduly bias my decision making. The revelation that those of us who sided with the Separatists were building something as terrible as the Devastation on the behalf of the Confederacy? My people may chafe at the dominance of the Mon Cala, but none of them would consider something like that to be an acceptable price to be free of it."
"I am glad to hear that," I reply, genuinely glad to hear that the Republic has been strengthened while the Separatist cause has been weakened.
"Now we should address the reason for this meeting," says King Yos, "The fate of the warships that you brought back with you. I presume that you already have something in mind for them."
"I do," I confirm, "I'll be taking just over half of them for my own usage after they have been converted for organic crews. I would be taking the functionally complete ones, which consists of the Malevolence, four of the Providence Dreadnoughts and sixteen of the regular Providences. The rest I was planning on donating to your Mon Calamari Guard, King Yos, though I'll admit that they will require additional construction before they can be used as warships.
"I'm hoping to have Mon Calamari Shipyards do the conversions, but I won't deny that I am a bit short on credits right now. We got enough high-value salvage to sell that we could make up the difference and then some, but we haven't been able to sell that salvage yet."
"You have proven your character enough that I am willing to have the Shipyards work on promise of payment," says King Yos, "And even if they are only partially constructed, the value of those warships should be enough to cover the expenses of converting your warships."
"And it will keep those in the Senate from doubting our commitment to the Republic," adds Chieftain Nossor naively, causing Aria and I to share a look.
"That isn't quite true, Chieftain Nossor," says Aria delicately, "While I hate to speak ill of the Senate, there are some who would dismiss your contributions because you are either nonhuman or your world is part of the Outer Rim."
"And I am hardly politically unaligned," I add, "My stance of supporting the ideals of the Republic and opposing the corruption within it has left me with political enemies. Even if it is for the greater good of the Republic, your support of me would make them look upon you unfavourably rather than favourably."
"Given your character, I am willing to share those enemies with you," says King Yos, "Meena Tills has already gotten herself in bed with your supporters in the Senate so that ship has already sailed regardless of what we decide upon now. You are a friend of Mon Cala and both of our people and I shall consider it an honour to aid the Republic via assisting you."
"For what it's worth, doing it on the back of the destruction of the Pammant Docks should earn you more credibility than you lose," says Aria, "Not only was it one of the major Separatist capital shipyards, but we took out close to eighty capital ships while they were still under construction, including what would have been the flagship of the Confederate Navy. Even with how prominent the Quarren are in the Confederacy, your involvement in this would make it very hard to paint Mon Calamari as holding secret Separatist sympathies."
"This brings me to another concern of my people and one that I share with them," says Chieftain Nossor, "How likely is it that we are going to see a retaliatory attack by the Separatists for what was done to Pammant? We have our own military leaders, but you are more experienced with the Separatists and have more experience in general."
"I'm not actually sure," I admit after thinking about it, "I am certain that they would like to, but it is less certain whether they can afford to do so. They are stretched pretty thin right now and between Geonosis and Pammant, the Separatists have taken substantial capital ship losses. I just cost them billions in terms of warships alone at Geonosis and at Pammant, I have just cost them what must be tens of billions of credits in the warships I either stole or destroyed. Not to mention that Pammant was one of their major capital shipyards. Even if they can replace the credits, replacing the shipyard or the warships themselves is significantly harder and time-consuming, time which they don't have to spare.
"They could muster up the forces for it, but with my forces here, what they need is significantly higher. I would be surprised if they can afford to spare the necessary amount of warships when they are still struggling to secure the Outer Rim and their own borders. I can keep the bulk of my forces around for a bit while we wait for the conversions to finish and you build up your own defences. And if the Separatists do decide to attack here, building up enough forces to stand a chance of success means that we will know it is coming before it arrives."
"While it isn't the ideal answer, it should be enough to satisfy my people," says Chieftain Nossor, "Enough of them anyway. Some people just won't be happy with anything."
"With that sorted, I would like Admiral Wol Thak to be the point of contact for converting my warships," I say, "He knows his stuff and knows it better than I do. In the meantime, I intend to launch a similar raid on Minntooine as the other major Separatist capital shipyard in the sector. While far from a death blow to the Confederacy, the loss of the shipyards at Pammant will hurt them and a similar loss at Minntooine will be another painful blow. And it will further secure Mon Calamari and the rest of the sector. Not only will they find it harder to supply local forces with more warships and supplies, but they will have less incentive to commit forces to the sector without those shipyards in it."
"Sound reasoning and an equally sound plan, General Shan," says King Yos, "Just as I have come to expect from you. Would you like Mon Calamari assistance in this endeavour?"
"If you want to commit forces to show support or be able to claim that you took part, I won't say no, but I don't require any help," I answer, "I actually intend to leave some forces behind. While it is unlikely for the Separatists to make a move within the timeframe, I don't wish for my new warships to be left unguarded."
"I understand," replies King Yos as he exchanges a look with Chieftain Nossor, "When do you intend to leave?"
"Within an hour to two," I answer promptly, "Sorry about the short timeframe, but my forces are ready for another raid and I intend to strike the Separatists while they are still off-balance."
"I'll be joining you aboard the Liberty," I say to Aria as the two of us plus Siaran swim back to the surface for pickup, "I'll be leaving the Freedom behind with Wol as it is his ship."
"I understand," replies Aria and I resist the urge to glance over my shoulder, "There within your rights and I trust your judgement."
My official reasoning for taking the lead is because I am the fastest swimmer of our trio, I have something of an ulterior motive. In a tight-fitting swimsuit, Aria's physique is on display and that is… distracting. So I take the lead and be grateful that Vyssa isn't here to pick up on what I am thinking.
"I'll leave Ikrit behind with Wol in case a Jedi is needed here," I continue, "The rest of us, that being us Jedi, will come along. Rahm, Falon and I have our places in our starfighters while I am planning to have you use your Battle Meditation from aboard the Liberty. Siaran's position will be up to you as his master and a capable general in your own right."
"Our usual basic yet effective plan," says Aria, "I assume that we will be using a similar plan for the ground assault?"
"No ground attack at Minntooine is planned," I reply, resisting the urge to look back at her, "Unlike Pammant, Minntooine's shipyards are purely orbital. There are some resource depots and part manufacturing on the surface, but they are nothing compared to the infrastructure in orbit. The closest thing that I am expecting to ground action will be the boarding parties to seize the shipyards if we can."
"Are you sure about that?" asks Aria, "You held similar thoughts about Pammant before you discovered otherwise."
"I am," I answer confidently, "It was my research that revealed that Pammant's shipyards were underground and I've done my research on both Pammant and Minntooine. Unlike the former, the latter's shipbuilding is orbital-based."
"I will trust your judgement," declares Aria.
The garrison fleet at Minntooine is nothing compared to the one at Pammant. It has nine Recusant-class Light Destroyers for capital ships, but that is it in terms of meaningful threats. The other Separatist warships are Diamond-class Cruisers, which are troop transports rather than true warships, or cheap pre-war warships that are barely worth being called that. None bigger than a corvette and all they've got going for them is some speed and a couple of turbolaser batteries. As for the starfighters, they have a lot of vulture droids, but even with reinforcements from the planet and shipyards, they are barely able to outnumber my forces.
My forces are crushing the defenders, but unfortunately, the Separatist forces aren't the biggest concern for me. No, that would be Sei Shur of the Commerce Guild, Chief Executive Manager something or whatever his title is, who has the gall to try and claim neutrality. Despite the fact there is a Separatist fleet engaging my forces and the shipyards are building Separatist warships in plain sight.
"This is an unprovoked attack on the Commerce Guild," declares Executive Shur over the Knight I's comms as I dogfight the vulture droids.
"I am literally fighting Separatist forces right now over warships that are being built for the Confederate Navy," I retort as I get on the tail of another Separatist starfighter, "I only came here because of the Separatist military assets at Minntooine."
"You are making an unprovoked attack against a neutral world," says Executive Shur, repeating himself for about the tenth time now, "Just wait until the Senate hears about this."
"The Galactic Senate or its Separatist counterpart," I shoot back, "Because I only care about one and that one will be praising my actions not condemning them."
"The Republic one you uncouth dog," retorts Executive Shur, "When they hear about how you are violating in the neutrality of the Commerce-"
"You aren't neutral, your boss signed up with the Separatist Executive Council and the Commerce Guild is actively aiding the Confederacy," I interrupt as I open fire with my laser cannons, blowing the vulture out of the skies, "Your warships are part of the Separatist navy and you are actively building more warships for them."
Normally I would fob someone like him off to Aria for my fellow Jedi to handle with her superior diplomatic expertise, but Aria is busy with her battle meditation. Getting distracted by this conversation isn't ideal, but the effects of that are greatly outstripped by the benefits of Aria being able to use her battle meditation without interruption. An annoyance like Executive Shur is just something I will need to endure for now as I am obligated to at least hear out the local leadership.
"That is a legitimate contract," says Executive Shur, "The Confederacy of Independent Systems have hired the Commerce Guild to construct new warships, a completely valid-"
"Valid or legitimate, the Separatists are at war with the Republic and that makes their military assets legitimate targets," I say as I take a moment to assess the battlefield, "If you don't want to suffer Republic attacks, don't take contracts that involve building Separatist military assets."
As expected the battle is going well with most of the lighter enemy ships being slaughtered. Enough vultures have been slaughtered that we have clear starfighter superiority and half of the Recusants are either crippled or destroyed with the survivors taking a pounding from my fleet. Given dominance in space having been established and the enemy not self-destructing the warships under construction or the shipyards themselves, now is an excellent time to begin boarding operations.
I am about to give the orders when I remember that I am still on the line to Executive Shur. In fact, the Gossam businessman is actually speaking though whatever it is that he has to say isn't important enough for me to pay attention to.
"This conversation is nice and all, but I do have a battle to fight up here," I say, interrupting Executive Shur without bothering to listen to his words, "You sprouted your nonsense and I've listened to it so I'm going to finish my mission and leave."
And with that, I end the call and I call out orders in my latest effort to acquire more warships for my allies within the Republic.
Not one of my stronger chapters in my opinion. I wanted to show the politics over the Pammant raid, both the local Mon Calamari ones and the wider galactic implications and I feel I did that well. Yet I struggled with the Minntooine raid because I didn't just want a repeat of the Pamment one. So I'm setting up a minor problem/confrontation for Ben and I'll be skipping to the aftermath in the next update.
Also for those wondering, Ben will be taking some Recusant-class Light Destroyers because they are free, have a low crew-count and are a decent light capital ship even if they do lean towards more firepower at the expense of survivability alongside an overreliance of deflector shielding.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Feb 27, 2022
9.6 (Stealing Malevolence) - Chapter Fifty-Three
As we leave for Mon Cala once again, I decide that now is a good time to inform the rest of the Republic of what we've been up to. Entering the bridge of the command centre with Aria in tow, I call Republic High Command, requesting to speak with General Maximus Augdona, the Chief of the Defence Staff and highest ranking member of the Republic military outside of Chancellor Palpatine and arguably the High Council.
Given that I have stated that I wish to discuss a couple of major victories by my forces and my own track record of wins for the Republic, I suspect that General Augdona will be more than happy to speak with me. The young lieutenant that I spoke with certainly perked up at the news.
So I am unsurprised when I only have to wait a couple of minutes for General Augdona to answer. I am surprised to see who has joined him as not only does the holographic image of General Augdona appear before me, but so do Master Windu, Director Isard and Chancellor Palpatine. Or as I know him to secretly be, Darth Sidious.
"General Augdona and company," I greet them, earning a look from Aria, "I wish to report that my forces have successfully carried out raids against both Minntooine and Pammant and their respective Separatist shipyards."
"You took out both of those?" says Director Isard, lighting up at my words as does General Augdona, "That does sound like a major victory for the Republic and puts some of my most recent reports into perspective."
"How much damage?" asks General Augdona, not even bothering to hide his eagerness as he beams at me.
"Both shipyards have been destroyed," I answer, my eyes straying towards Palpatine to watch the reaction of the secret Sith Lord, "The Separatists lost seventy-five Providence-class at varying stages of completeness at Pammant and they lost two hundred sixty-two Recusant-class at varying stages of completeness at Minntooine. We also captured what would have been the flagship of the Confederate Navy and its sistership. The former I am repurposing to use as my own flagship while the latter is nothing more than a mobile superweapon and I am scrapping it for parts because the Republic has no use for a planet killer. Tens of billions of credits have been inflicted in damage between both strikes and that is beyond the military impact of the fact it will take months for the Separatists to replace those losses, time that they cannot afford."
Chancellor Palpatine focuses his attention firmly on me, but his reaction is not one of annoyance or frustration. No, it is the opposite as Palpatine displays nothing, but joviality and satisfaction at my news.
"Excellent work, General Shan," says Palpatine as the Supreme Chancellor gives me a grandfatherly smile, "That is truly a great victory."
"It is just what we need to inspire the people and show them that we are going to win this war," agrees General Augdona, "I am certain that our propagandists will be able to make excellent use of this."
"I will send them some of the battle footage," I answer, "It should make for good viewing."
"Good, good," says General Augdona, looking chuffed with himself, "This is just the thing I needed to make my day, don't you agree Sheev?"
"Quite," replies Chancellor Palpatine as he studies me, "Since you have recently finished your current mission, perhaps you could be free to assist us in a matter of some importance."
"With all due respect to both you and General Shan," says Master Windu with a frown, "I do not believe that General Shan is the best choice for the matter we were discussing. He and the Hutts get along very poorly and assigning General Shan to this mission would be counter-productive to our goal."
"Master Windu is right," I add, "I don't know what is going on, but my presence is only good for doing something about the Hutts, not something with them."
"I find myself agreeing with both Master Windu and General Shan," says Director Isard, "General Shan's record is impressive, but there is too much mutual bad blood between him and the Hutts for him to conduct diplomacy on the Republic's behalf."
"Knight Shan should not be given any diplomatic assignments involving the Hutts or any other criminal organisations that engage in slavery or otherwise prey upon the innocent," says Aria from besides me.
"Perhaps General Shan could free up another Jedi for the task?" suggests General Augdona, "Waging war is a good use of his skills and it allows us to assign a more suitable Jedi to retrieve Jabba's son so we can get access to the Hutts' hyperlanes. You did mention that a Skywalker and a Kenobi were available."
"Skywalker and Kenobi have just liberated Christophsis," agrees Master Windu, "If General Shan could take his forces to Christophsis and relieve Skywalker and Kenobi, they would be free to rescue Jabba's son."
"I would just take one of my legions as the rest need to recover, but otherwise, it sounds doable," I answer, "Just keep in mind that my forces are not garrison troops. We can finish eliminating the Separatist forces still on Christophsis, but once that is done, you will need to rotate in some new troops to maintain a garrison."
"That can be done," agrees General Augdona easily, "And I agree that it would be a waste of your forces to keep them pinned down on a world instead of striking the Separatists."
"In that case, I'll take a legion to Christophsis as soon as I can."
"The Recusant might not be my first choice of warship, but by the Force did you bring back a great bounty," says Wol cheerfully as we hold another of our informal meetings, "I hope things went as well on your end as they did for us."
"We took a handful of casualties, but we have been able to pick up replacements from the locals," I reply, "The biggest issue was having to deal with Executive Shur of the Commerce Guild's complaints. I haven't made any friends there, but given he ended up annoying Aria with his blustering, I can't say that I care."
"Normally I would be concerned about antagonising the Commerce Guild, but given they have thrown their lot in with the Seppies, that starship has already jumped to lightspeed," says Wol, "Before I get going, what are you planning to do with this set of captured warships?"
"Same with the Providences," I answer, "Keep the mostly finished ones for ourselves and give the reminder to King Yos and Chieftain Nossor. Provided that we can afford to crew all of them that is."
"It should be doable," answers Wol promptly, "Rigging the Recusants up with some extra automation and slavery circuits shouldn't be too much harder than it is with the Providences and it should cost about the same as well. There is some concern about how low we are putting the crew size at as we are pushing it pretty close to the limit should anything befall some of the crew or the enemy boards the warships."
"It is no worse than it is with our Hammerheads," I point out.
"That is true," concedes Wol, "But both the Recusant-class and the Providence-class are capital ships. I understand that our budget limits our ability to hire more organic personnel, but perhaps we could look into some droids to supplement our crews. Nothing too expensive or fancy, but enough to get some spare hands to help out."
"I'll have someone look into it," I promise him, "But for now, is it plausible to automate and crew the captured warships?"
"Certainly," confirms Wol, "Installing the automation would cost two million credits and take two to three days per warship. The presence of Mon Calamari Shipyards gives us access to the workforce and facilities needed to make the change while King Yos has agreed to cover the costs since even only partially constructed, the value of the warships we are giving him more than make up for the costs. Mon Calamari Shipyards has also been talking with Rendili StarDrive about the installation of the slave circuits since they are the most experienced company in this area that hasn't aligned themselves with the Confederacy. Fortunately both corporations have collaborated with each other in the past and their respective senators are allies so we'll be having some Rendili personnel arriving either later today or tomorrow with some critical parts.
"Once they arrive, the work will begin and with all of these Recusants that you have brought with you, I'm estimating a couple of weeks to finish automating them all. That said, the low crew counts and how we acquired them in the first place means that I want to install some anti-boarding systems as well. It'll be expensive at about ten million credits per warship, but both I and King Yos agree it falls under the value of the warships we are gifting them and he has expressed an interest in installing such systems in his warships. Beyond the credit cost, we are looking at just over two weeks of work on each warship and even if we free up multiple berths, we are looking at two to three months of work before all of our new warships are upgraded."
"A couple of months can be a long time, but I presume that some of the warships will be finished before that?" I inquire.
"Most of the Providences and your new flagship will be done in a couple of weeks," replies Wol, "It is all of those Recusants that will take time."
"I see," I say, "What about their crew? Do we have enough personnel to crew all of those warships?"
"With the automation, we can strip half of our Dreadnought Heavy Cruisers for sufficient crew," answers Wol, "The upkeep will be more expensive than we are used to, but our mining operation should be enough to off-set any costs and the credits we'll make from selling some of our loot will give us a small warchest. Want to donate those Dreadnoughts to Mon Cala as well? We won't be getting the manpower to crew them in the foreseeable future."
"Maybe to someone else," I reply, "We've given a lot of warships to Mon Cala already and I don't want to stretch their resources too thinly. And someone else might have a greater need for them and we could get some sway with someone else in the process."
"I understand," agrees Wol, "I know I just mentioned this, but I would like to get some droids to supplement the crews of our new warships. I understand the necessity of automating our warships, but there are dangers of having so few people aboard the capital ship. Getting some cheap, but capable droids would go a long way to helping with the situation."
"If we have the funds from our loot sales, go for it," I say, "Just remember to keep to reasonable prices. I appreciate the need for it, but this isn't something I want to go big credits for quality on. In the meantime, I need to swing by Coruscant to pick up a messenger before heading to Christophsis to relieve Generals Skywalker and Kenobi. Republic High Command needs them for a diplomatic mission."
"A diplomatic mission," repeats Wol as he gives me a curious look, "Any reason they aren't sending you and General Telis on it?"
"A diplomatic mission to the Hutts," I clarify, "One that doesn't involve stabbing them, freeing their slaves and looting their riches."
"Ah yes, I can see how that would be a problem," says Wol with a knowing smile, "Alright, should I get the First ready for travel?"
"No, I'll be taking the Second," I answer, "Aria and I will swap commands temporarily and I'll be leaving First, Third and Fourth here to guard our gains. It shouldn't take too long, just delivering a messenger and then crushing some local Seppie holdouts."
Except I know that it isn't. In my otherworldly memories, Anakin and Kenobi got trapped by another Separatist army after their supposed victory while a new fleet blockaded the planet. I don't know how things have played out this time around with all of the changes that I have been making, but my instincts tell me that part of things hasn't changed. And when you are a Jedi, you listen to your instincts.
End of this arc with a whole load of captured warships. I understand that Recusant-class Light Destroyer isn't a fan favourite and for decent reason, but it is a solid warship for this time period and Ben has basically gotten them for free so he is keeping them.
Beyond that, it would be amusing to have Palpatine react to the news, but Sidious has too much of a poker face to break character like that. Nonetheless, Ben's actions are finally forcing Sidious to take note of him.
Finally, Ben will be interjecting himself into the events of the Clone Wars film as if you haven't figured it out yet, the messenger he is delivering is Ahsoka Tano.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
10.1 (Tano & Teth) - Chapter Fifty-Four
Meeting Ahsoka Tano is something of an interesting experience to me. I have never met her before, but my otherworldly memories give me a very clear picture of her or at least who she could grow to be. The newly appointed padawan has a lot of potential to her, but that potential has yet to be realised. I've been in a similar situation with some others since Geonosis, but Ahsoka is the first one who doesn't have a prior reputation that I've been aware of. At the start of her journey if you will, rather than partway into it.
"We're not actually part of the Republic military," I say to Ahsoka as she pesters me with questions on our way to Christophsis, "We're actually a Republic-aligned paramilitary force that is led by some Jedi who are also generals rather than Jedi Generals."
"I'm not really seeing the difference," replies Ahsoka, "What you've described is basically the same thing."
"The difference isn't much, but it is there and part of that is that while you might be a Jedi Commander in the Grand Army of the Republic, our status means you aren't part of our chain of command," I reply back, "And that is an important distinction when it comes to the law and politics. And before you complain, yes, politics and the law are important, especially for Jedi like us, to the point it can very literally be a matter of life and death. Being careless about such things is more likely to turn them into a matter of life and death or at least something where someone gets hurt. Understand, padawan?"
"I've got it," says Ahsoka, preening at the reminder of her new title.
I can't begrudge her that, especially given her age means she was on the verge of being sent to the service corps. That isn't a bad fate, but it is one that no one aspiring to become a Jedi Knight wants to suffer and it is certainly one I would never wish upon anyone, especially with my new perspective on life reinforcing just how unnecessary having a second-class set of Jedi is.
"So…" says Ahsoka, drawing out the word, "You've met Master Skywalker before? What's he like?"
"Powerful, caring and reckless," I reply, "Fresh out of being a padawan himself, but I wouldn't say he is unsuited for teaching you. If anything, I think having a padawan will do him some good as he will be less reckless if he has someone under his wing to worry about. He won't be happy to have a padawan at first, but don't let that get to you. Go through a couple of messy situations together and he'll have trouble letting you go, but that is far enough in the future that you don't need to worry about it."
"Right, he'll be stuck with me," says Ahsoka with confidence.
"Anyway, we'll be coming out of hyperspace soon and I'm expecting to fight our way through a Separatist fleet to reach the surface," I tell her, "Provided you don't make a nuisance of yourself, you can watch the action from the bridge, but if you want, you could join me in the Knight I to join in the dogfight. That won't be much for you to do there either, but you'll get to see the action up close and personal."
"I'll take the second one, General Shan," answers Ahsoka eagerly.
The Separatist blockade is about what I expected. A single Lucrehulk-class Battleship backed up by half a dozen Munificent-class Frigates and to my surprise, a single Captor-class Heavy Munitions Cruiser. Seppies must be assigning some of their older hardware to the frontlines.
It isn't a bad fleet. That Lucrehulk would be a threat on its own between its sheer number of turbolasers and starfighters while the other warships acting as a screening force will make eliminating it harder. I do have an advantage in ship numbers, but the Separatists have heavier ships and about five times as many starfighters.
"Admiral Dallin," I call the commander of the 2nd Republic Patriot Legion's space forces from the cockpit of the Knight I, "Do you have a plan for defeating the enemy fleet?"
"I believe I do," answers the Rendili man, "The key is limiting the enemy starfighters. Once we do that, we can engage the enemy warships at range. Either they break formation and we can engage them or they hold position and we pick them apart from afar. Unfortunately, that battleship has enough firepower that getting into a brawl is too dangerous.
"The biggest concern is their number of starfighters as according to our databanks, the enemy fleet can support more than five times as many starfighters as we have with us. I understand we have better pilots and birds, but I intend to send our Corellian gunships to support our dogfighters. Their speed and firepower should turn the tide in our favour and once the enemy fighter element is broken, they can support attacks on those Munificents."
"I agree with your assessment," I reply, "I'll be joining the dogfight in the Knight I. I'll trust you to handle the spacebattle without me."
"Understood, General Shan," says Admiral Dallin, "May the Force be with you."
"And may the Force be with you," I reply before turning to Ahsoka, where the young Togruta has strapped herself into the co-pilot seat, "What are your pilot skills like?"
"I was one of the best in my class when it came to flying," boasts Ahsoka.
"Then take command of the blaster cannons and try not to hit any friendlies," I tell her and Ahsoka grins as I show her the controls.
"Got it," replies Ahsoka, "It isn't like I'll have any shortage of targets. Is it there always that many?"
"Not always, but if there is a Lucrehulk amongst the enemy fleet, you can expect a thousand and a half vultures," I answer as the Knight I launches from the Liberty, "In general, expect to be outnumbered by the Separatist starfighters as they go for swarm tactics with cheap and expendable droid starfighters."
"Should I be worried about how many there are?" asks Ahsoka, "Because there are a lot."
"They outnumber us eleven to two," I agree, "But my starfighters and my pilots are significantly better than those droid starfighters. They might be cheaper, but both of us are getting what we paid for. We could probably take at least two hundred of them in the opening clash and it is just downhill from there for the vultures. You want to watch out for the Separatists fielding something like a Belbullab or a P-38 as those tend to be piloted by more capable droids or a skilled organic."
"I have no idea what either of those are," replies Ahsoka and I ignore her as I focus on the upcoming engagement, locking onto one vulture with a concussion missile whilst aiming my laser cannon.
The opening clash goes as I expect with my starfighters taking hits, none taking enough damage to take down their high-end deflector shielding. My missile smashes a vulture while a second is blown apart by my lasers and Ahsoka shares a kill with an Aurek.
Swinging the Knight I around, I open fire on another vulture droid, blasting it along its side until it explodes in a fiery explosion. As the dogfight devolves into a furball following the opening clash, a pair of vultures come at me from the side. As blaster bolts begin to impact the Knight I's deflector shields, I twist out of the way, firing off another of my missiles at the enemy duo before losing them in the chaos of the dogfight.
"Hold still!" calls Ahsoka, "I can't get a good aim on them."
"That would let the enemy overwhelm us and get past our shields," I reply, "Better to miss a kill than to be killed."
I help one of my pilots finish off a droid starfighter before taking a look at the situation. As is usually the case, the dogfight is going in my favour. Not as much I would normally like, but we are decisively winning even if it will take a while. It is the doctrine of the Republic Patriot Legions to trade time for lives if possible, to keep our experienced pilots alive and preserve our limited reserves of manpower and equipment. While those things are less of a concern since the war began, the doctrine remains so instead of risking their own hides to finish off an enemy, my starfighters will pull back and let an opponent go rather than risk getting taken out themselves.
Part of me hopes that the Republic forces down on Christophis aren't actively fighting and dying in a battle where my reinforcements could make a meaningful difference. Meanwhile another part of me points out that any losses suffered groundside would be less harmful for the Republic in the long run than my forces losing some of its experienced starfighter pilots.
"Is there a reason we are going so slowly?" asks Ahsoka, "Everyone else is going faster than us."
"The Y-Wings are going at the same speed as us," I point out before answering the question as we engage another of the Separatist starfighters, "And no, we cannot go faster. The Knight I is already pretty speedy for a ship of its size. It is just a case of smaller ships having higher upper limits on how fast they can go. On the upside, we have more durability and firepower than any of them."
"The Seppies are going down really easily," agrees Ahsoka, "No wonder they need the numbers if they are this bad."
"Just keep in mind that not all Republic starfighters are this good," I warn her, "While I have been working to change it, my starfighter forces are pretty much high end with high quality starfighters and experienced pilots. I've been bringing the Republic military around, but there are those who think that cheap, expendable starfighters with replaceable pilots are the way to go. I'm working on changing that, but my influence is limited so even if the clone pilots are skilled, their rides are of lesser quality."
As I take down another vulture that is on the tail of a Y-Wing, I assess the dogfight once again. At least half of the droid starfighters are gone and while that still leaves my forces outnumbered over two to one, those odds are very manageable.
"Admiral Dallin, this is General Shan," I say as I call the flagship.
"Admiral Dallin here," comes the quick response, "Is there a problem?"
"No," I reassure him, "With the dogfight firmly in our favour, I am going to take the Knight I down to the surface so Padawan Tano and I can meet up with Generals Kenobi and Skywalker. I'll trust you to handle the destruction of the enemy fleet."
"Underst-" begins Admiral Dallin before he pauses mid-word, "General Shan, the Separatist warships are charging their hyperdrives. They aren't making any moves to recover their starfighters, but they are almost certainly retreating."
"They can't hope to win this battle so they are conserving their forces by withdrawing and leaving their starfighters behind to keep us busy," I say, "Not a bad plan."
"I must inform you that we won't be able to stop them from getting away," warns Admiral Dallin, "Even if their starfighters weren't in the way, there is just too much distance for our own warships to close."
"Destroying them isn't the mission," I reply, "Delivering the High Council's messenger and relieving Generals Kenobi and Skywalker are our objectives. Taking out another Separatist fleet would be ideal, but hardly necessary so long as we get to Christophsis. Once the vultures are mopped up, take up defensive positions and make sure that the fleet is ready to send the ground forces now. I don't believe the Separatists on Christophsis are as wiped out as the High Council believed."
Start of a new arc and another space battle. I don't want them to get too repetitive so I tried to switch it up a little by giving Ben a co-pilot and having the Separatists retreat to preserve their relatively limited supply of warships.
Anyway, start of a new arc where Ben will be interjecting himself into the events of the Clone Wars animated film.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
10.2 (Tano & Teth) - Chapter Fifty-Five
"Ben!" calls Skywalker-no, calls Anakin as I walk down the ramp of the Knight I, Ahsoka by my side, "I'm glad that you're our reinforcements. Who's the youngling?"
Both Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi are walking towards me, a squad of clones troopers trailing behind them.
"This is Ahsoka Tano," I answer as Ashoka huffs up and is about to give her own response, "Your new padawan."
"What?" exclaims Anakin in surprise, "No, no, no. There must be some mistake. He's the one who wanted a new padawan."
"No," retorts Ahsoka as she crosses her arms, "Master Yoda was very specific. I'm assigned to Anakin Skywalker and he is supposed to supervise my Jedi training."
"For what it's worth, I think this is a good idea," I add before anyone else can say anything as Anakin looks confused while Kenobi smiles at him, "She is a bit rough around the edges, but nothing that you shouldn't be able to handle, Anakin."
"I was also told to tell both of you that you must get back to the Jedi Temple immediately," continues Ahsoka, "There's an emergency."
"Well, in case you haven't noticed, we have an emergency right here," replies Anakin.
"I can handle the Separatists here," I say before the brewing argument can get going, "The mission requires some particular diplomacy that I am extremely ill-suited for."
"We can discuss this later," says Kenobi as he steps forward, "I'm afraid that we will have more pressing matters though I do have to question where you got your ship. I've seen one like it before, but it certainly wasn't piloted by a Jedi or any friend of the Order."
"I found it on Geonosis," I answer, "Jango was dead and it was a nice ship so I took it for myself. The Knight I has been serving me well ever since."
"Well, that is one mystery cleared up," says Kenobi, "But back to the matter at hand, I'm afraid that we've been calling for help though our communications have been unreliable."
"My ships can get a signal to Coruscant," I reply, "You can inform the Council of the situation using them. As for Christophsis' Separatist problem, I suspected that I might need back up so I brought one of my legions with me. Once the fleet has finished off the last of the vultures, they can begin deploying my soldiers along with some fresh supplies for your forces."
"Excellent," says Kenobi, "I'll contact Master Yoda then."
"You do that," I say, "I'm going to get a feel for what I've got to deal with."
As I expected thanks to my otherworldly knowledge, the Separatists have deployed an energy shield to counter the local Republic artillery. Speaking of that artillery, the AV-7 Anti-Vehicle Artillery Cannon is a very nice piece of artillery that is both cheap and simple to use, something that would make an excellent addition to my forces. The only real drawback would be keeping it supplied as I would need to fit all of the shells in my cargo holds and pay for replacement ammunition as it gets used in battle.
However, those are future concerns and right now, I need to worry about taking out that deflector shield and dealing with the Separatists. Unfortunately for the Seppies, they will be dealing with the 2nd Republic Patriot Legion rather than the beleaguered forces of Anakin and Kenobi.
"I can send a squadron of Aureks at the shield generator," I declare confidently, "They can get in, splatter the area with proton torpedoes and then get out before the Separatists can react."
"Good to see you're as reliable as ever," says Anakin, "What about when the shield is down?"
"We hit the enemy force with artillery and then my forces launch a counter-attack," I answer, "We'll put the Separatists on the backfoot and keep pushing them until they are defeated. My troopers are fresh for a fight and this kind of offensive push is the sort of thing that they excel at. No offence to your soldiers, but they've been fighting hard and need a break."
"A reasonable assessment," says Kenobi, "Our troops do need a rest."
"Of course, if you or Anakin wish to join the frontlines, I would be happy to have you," I say, "Just remember that my soldiers are not part of the Grand Army so you have no authority over them. So don't be surprised if they just ignore any orders that you try to give them."
"Thank you for the offer and warning," replies Kenobi, "I do believe that I will be best retaining command back here, but I expect that Anakin and Ahsoka will be taking you up on your offer."
"Who says I'll be bringing the youngling with me?" protests Anakin.
"The fact that she is your padawan," I point, empathising that last word, causing Anakin to narrow his eyes at me, "Give her a chance before you write her off. Especially since this is her last chance before the Order writes her off as a Jedi."
"That is not how it works," protests Kenobi, looking shocked.
"You may have not noticed it with your unconventional entry into the Order, but usually they make younglings compete with each others for the chance to become a padawan," I tell Anakin, ignoring Kenobi, "Those who fail to find a master to take them on are either kicked out or forced to become second-class Jedi."
"The Service Corps are an honourable alternative to those unsuited to the vigours of becoming a padawan," argues Kenobi, "And the Order does not make younglings compete against each other. All are given an equal chance to become a padawan and some are just unsuited for the next step in becoming a Jedi Knight."
"No, we pretty much compete against each other for it," disagree Ahsoka, "We even fight each other in tournaments to earn the attention of a Jedi Master."
"And not enough knights and masters are interested in taking on a student for every youngling to have a fair chance," I continue, speaking up after Ahsoka before anyone else can, "There are less knights and masters interested in taking a padawan than there are initiates interested in becoming a padawan. The numbers involved mean that younglings are forced to compete for a limited number of positions."
Having this particular debate with Aria on the semi-regular means that I am quite familiar with the numbers and statistics in question, having cause to look them up and keep them in mind. Not that having the facts on my side keeps Aria from arguing back.
"Not every Jedi is-" starts Kenobi, but before he can get going, Rex of all people interrupts him.
"I don't mean to get in the way of Jedi business, Generals," says the clone captain, "But we have a battle to win and that deflector shield keeps getting closer."
"Right, I'll launch my squadrons and get my soldiers ready," I say, stepping away from the holo-project that we are gathered around, "I'll see you again either on the battlefield or once the fighting is over."
"Hey Anakin," I call after my fellow Jedi Knight as he and Ahsoka step aboard a LAAT/i gunship, "Want some company on Teth?"
"I wouldn't say no, but I thought you weren't getting involved in this mission," replies Anakin, giving me a curious look.
"I have no intentions of dealing with the Hutt Cartels, but Jabba's son is innocent of Jabba's wrongdoings," I answer, "I don't believe in the sins of a parent being passed down to their child and I have a feeling in the Force about Teth so I want to get involved."
And while I intended to go to Teth due to my otherworldly knowledge, I'm not lying about the Force telling me it is important. Whenever I think about Teth and what is going to happen there, it sticks with me and feels significant.
"We Jedi are supposed to trust in the Force so welcome aboard," says Anakin, "And I wouldn't say no to having your troopers backing up the 501st. They've proven themselves to be some of the best. Will you be bringing your whole legion?"
"I was thinking a squadron of Hammerhead Cruisers and a battalion of troopers split between them," I reply, "It should be enough for whatever we will be facing and the Hammerheads will make for good escorts for your capital ship."
"I'll be glad to fight alongside you again," says Anakin before glancing down at Ahsoka, "And perhaps you could share some tips on having a padawan?"
"I would be happy to," I assure him.
Feeling in the Force and Jabba's son aside, I have my own reasons for wanting to go to Teth and helping Anakin rescue Jabba's son provides a convenient cover story for my true objective. And that objective is the records of the Hutt Council that are hidden away at the tomb of Ziro the Hutt's father.
Putting aside Darth Sidious and his plans for galactic domination, I have also considered the Hutts to be my greatest enemy. There is no greater bastion of slavery and suffering in the galaxy than Hutt Space and it was decided long ago that my forces and the Hutt Cartel would be at odds.
The Hutt Council records wouldn't contain every last dirty deed done by the Hutts, but it would contain most of them. It will certainly carry enough to successfully blackmail or break the Hutt Cartels and even if I have to wait until the war is over, I intend to do the latter at some point.
Unfortunately, knowing that the records are on Teth at the tomb of Ziro the Hutt's father doesn't equal being able to find the records. Teth is a big place and it isn't like there is a map for random, unimportant locations like the remote tomb of some Hutt. There are ways to find out the exact location, but many of them would tip off certain individuals that I am looking for the tomb of Ziro the Hutt's father, including both other Hutts and agents of the Sith.
I could rely upon the Force to guide me to the right location, but even as a Jedi, I don't like to leave things up to the Force. Too much like leaving things up for chance and there is no guarantee that the Force will do what you want it to.
I might not have my own spy network yet, but that doesn't mean I am without access to a spy network. I haven't made too much use of the Bothan Spynet in the war so far, but this is the sort of circumstances where they can be useful to me.
So I call up one of my contacts in the Spynet and I drop a couple thousand credits for the service.
I'm skipping the Battle of Christophsis being shown on-screen. There isn't too much storytelling to do there as Ben brought enough forces to crush the local Separatists and without Trench or Ventress, there aren't any serious threats. Instead we got character interaction where Ben furthers his relationship with Anakin while Anakin and Ahsoka are going to have more of a rocky start to their relationship as they didn't get their shared experiences on Christophsis to bond over.
With the Jedi Service Corps and that part of conversation, remember that Ben is something of an outspoken radical and Obi-Wan didn't get to explain his side of the argument. Ben hasn't got much against the Service Corps themselves and he sees them as a solution to a problem that shouldn't exist. He sees the only recruiting from early youth and an arbitrary cut-off age for becoming a padawan as the real problems for the Jedi Order.
Of course, this is a debate that Ben and Aria have had multiple times before so he already has his arguments lined up and ready to go. I could have had the argument go on for longer, but this isn't the point in the story that I want to address it so I dropped it to show it is a thing for later on and then had Rex cut it off on the grounds that the enemy is actively marching an army their way.
Finally, Ben is going to Teth to help Anakin, but really he is after the Hutt Council records because while the Sith are his main focus right now, Ben hasn't forgotten about the Hutts and their evils.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Apr 3, 2022
10.3 (Tano & Teth) - Chapter Fifty-Six
"Ben!" calls Anakin as soon as I step off of the shuttle that brought me to the Acclamator-class Assault Ship that Anakin is using as a flagship for this mission, "Is your padawan this much of a pain?"
"Padawans can be a handful when you first get them, especially if they are your first one," I answer as I try to think about what Ahsoka could have done, "Vyssa struggled with having secrets kept from her and not knowing everything and more recently, Aria has been struggling with Siaran's lack of faith in a corrupt Republic compared to her own steadfast belief in the proper authorities and doing things by the book."
"Ahsoka is disrespectful and full of herself," says Anakin, "The youngling has decided to start calling me Skyguy in front of the troops. I left Snips with Captain Rex so she can learn something about respect, but I'm not sure what to do about her."
"Well, don't stoop down to her level if you are trying to make a point about maturity and respect," I tell him, "Giving her a nickname like Snips when she gives you a nickname like Skyguy is more likely to reinforce that kind of behaviour than deter it. See how things are in a few missions. Some bonding under fire and having some actual adventure instead of just daydreaming about it should temper her attitude to something more manageable. I know Vyssa became less annoyingly inquisitive after running into some unpleasant ones in our first couple of missions together."
"That makes some sense," says Anakin, "She's like a shiny right now? All fresh-faced and in need of a battle or two to break her in?"
"Pretty much," I agree before something occurs to me, "Have you spoken to Kenobi about this? I know that you and your master get along and you have enough similarities with Ahsoka that he might have some useful tips for you."
"I'm planning to do, but he is with the Hutts right now while you are right here," answers Anakin, "So padawan troubles aside, do you have any idea of what to expect on Teth? The scouts reported a couple of droid battalions holed up in a heavily fortified monastery. I only have a company ready for fighting after Christophsis, but you brought a battalion of your own."
"A droid battalion is about two hundred soldiers larger than one of my battalions, but as we both know, my troopers are each worth multiple droids," I reply, "The biggest concern is whatever personal touch Dooku has involved. Antagonising the Hutts like this is too much of a big deal for Dooku to stay out of it. Either he himself will be involved or one of his personal lackeys will be involved. We should go in expecting to face a Darksider and probably some kind of trap."
"The Sith are a tricky bunch," agrees Anakin, "I'll let Rex and the men know to expect some kind of Separatist trap. Are you sure it is the Separatists?"
"The Force says it is when I meditated on it," I answer, "It isn't good enough proof for a court, but for Jedi like you and I."
"We trust in the Force," says Anakin, "Okay, I'm going to get the 501st ready for launch. Want to ride in a gunship with me?"
"I appreciate the offer, but I'll be taking the Knight I," I tell him, "The firepower it brings could be useful."
"Enemy fire," I report over the comms, "Cardinal Squadron, engage the enemy anti-air unit. Keep them off our transports."
To be frank, the enemy fire isn't that bad, almost certainly tanks or some other form of heavy weaponry being improvised as anti-air. If I recall things correctly, it is dwarf spiders backed up by B1s and B2s.
Moving to dodge the enemy fire, I am careful not to be too good. I could probably avoid it all, but the Knight I can take more than a few hits. It is better that I take a few avoidable hits than be good enough at avoiding enemy fire that they decide the LAAT/i gunships and Shen shuttles are easier targets.
"This is Cardinal-Seven, it looks like dwarf spiders," reports one of the Liberator pilots that are flying escort with me.
"Stick to laser cannons," orders Cardinal-Leader, "A direct volley will take one of those out and I don't want to waste proton torpedoes on targets that don't need them."
It takes only seconds for it to become apparent that I won't have much of a part to play in this part of the battle. Cardinal Squadron in their Liberator-class Starfighters are going ahead to engage the enemy and while Knight I isn't that far behind, I am slow enough that I will miss the initial pass. I might get some leftovers, but Cardinal Squadron should smash the bulk of the defenders in their first pass.
Disappointing for having some fun, but a victory for me nonetheless.
My prediction quickly comes true as Cardinal Squadron smashes the droids on the landing pad and the enemy fire almost grinds to a halt. But not a complete halt and I focus on a handful of dwarf spider droids attached to the cliffside below the landing platform.
Switching to hover as I come up on the enemy, I open fire with both my blaster cannons and laser cannons. I take a few hits, but Knight I's shields can take it while the spider droids can't take the firepower that I am dishing out. Mere moments and it is over.
"The landing platform is clear, Anakin," I report over the comms, "We still got droids in the courtyard and the rest of the monastery so expect a hot landing."
"Got it, Ben," replies Anakin, "You hear that, men? We'll be landing under fire. Ahsoka, stay close to me. This isn't practice, Ahsoka. Just stay by me and don't get yourself hurt doing something reckless."
Ignoring the one-sided byplay over the comms, I bring the Knight I up and around to get a good view and aim on the courtyard. Rather than opening fire right away, I take a moment to take stock of what the Separatists have deployed in the courtyard. Maybe between a couple of platoons of B1s and B2s, but even combined with the forces on the landing platform, that is too few.
The scouts reported two battalions, but even if the enemy has more droids hidden away in that monastery, there should be more defending the courtyard and landing platform. Either the scouts overestimated the size of the enemy forces or the Separatists are up to a trick-ah, that is it.
The plan is for the Sith to frame the Jedi for their own kidnapping of Jabba's son to gain the support of the Hutts for the Separatist cause. That means letting the Jedi get their hands on Jabba's son so they can send footage of it to Jabba before reclaiming the Huttlet so they can return him to his father themselves.
Unfortunately for the Sith, I have no intentions of letting that happen.
As the enemy begins to open fire at me, I unload into the droids in the courtyard. It is a one-sided slaughter and by the time that the transports have arrived, I am picking off the last handful of battle droids.
"Courtyard is clear," I report, "But be careful entering that monastery. The droids weren't making a serious effort to keep us out. A trap is waiting for us inside the monastery."
"Got it," comes the curt reply from Anakin.
"Make sure to secure the courtyard," I add after a moment's thought, "I suspect the enemy will attempt to bog us down with their remaining droids in the monastery and then hit us from behind with another force. A classic hammer and anvil manoeuvre."
"Any suggestions on how to deal with that?" asks Anakin.
"You and Ahsoka take Torrent Company inside to secure Jabba's son," I reply, "I'll have Osk Battalion hold the courtyard to repel any Separatist reinforcements and to keep it secure for your extraction with Jabba's son."
"Got it," replies Anakin, "Rex, get the men and come with me."
As Anakin and the 501st get to work, I decide to fulfil my secondary objective. Using the information that the Bothan Spynet provided me with, I land next to the tomb of Ziro the Hutt's father. I use the Force to push the slab of stone to open up the tomb and just as I remember, there is a holodiary stuffed between the arm and body of the mummified Hutt.
Gently removing it, I step back and use the Force to return the stone slab to how I found it and let the tomb seal itself back up. No point in letting any visitors know that someone has already been here and there is no need to allow the tomb to be defiled by exposing the corpse to the elements.
"Ben, this is Anakin," says my fellow Jedi over the comms as I reach the monastery again, "We've cleared the interior of the battle droids and found Jabba's son. We're securing him for extraction now."
"Good work, Anakin," I reply, "Bring Rotta up so-wait a moment, I have another call."
"General Shan, this is Captain Zax," says the Weequay in charge of the Hammerheads that I brought with me, "We have half a dozen Munificents that just jumped in. They arrived in close orbit and are closing on our position."
"Understo-" I start to reply before Major Bato of Osk Battalion cuts in with his own report.
"General!" shouts the Gand, "We have multiple Separatist landing craft inbound with vulture droid escort. They must have been landed nearby, hiding beneath the jungle canopy."
"That would be the rest of the two battalions that were supposed to be here," I say, "This doesn't change anything. We'll fight and defeat the Seppies."
"Got it, General," replies Major Bato while Captain Zax gives his own affirmative response.
"Anakin, the Separatists have sprung their trap," I tell Anakin, "Multiple enemy warships have arrived and the rest of the garrison is moving on our position."
"Not good," replies Anakin, "We'll head back up with the Huttlet now. Do you need the 501st to back you up?"
"Not up here," I reply, "Keep them securing the inside. My troopers might need to retreat inside or there might be ground entrances that the droids will work their way up from. You focus on keeping Jabba's son safe. Head towards one of the balconies and I'll pick you up from there."
"I'll meet you there," replies Anakin and as the call ends, something feels off to me, like I am missing-Ventress.
I forgot about Ventress. Dooku's assassin/apprentice was at Teth, but I can't remember if she was already in the monastery or part of the arriving forces. Either way, she will be a problem. My troopers are good, but I don't fancy their chances against the informal apprentice of a Sith Lord.
Following Anakin and Ahsoka's location on the Knight I's sensors, I swoop down to meet them at the balcony as they arrive at it, opening the hatch for them to jump aboard.
"Get in!" I call as the sounds of battle begin to pick up and I can see the engagement kicking off on my ship's sensors.
The two Jedi both jump in, Anakin holding the Huttlet in his arms. Closing the door as they get settled in, I wait until the door is closed before swinging back around to the front of the battle.
"We've got Jabba's son so now what?" asks Anakin as he clambers up into the cockpit.
"You and Ahsoka get Rotta safely back-" I start to reply when I get rudely interrupted by the sight of Ventress jumping down into the monastery courtyard, both of her lightsabers ignited.
Sithspit.
The Battle of Teth gets underway and it is going quite differently as both sides have brought more forces to play. Not too much more to say except I believe this is the first time that Ben and Ventress have met in person.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
10.4 (Tano & Teth) - Chapter Fifty-Seven
"Ventr-" starts Anakin before he is cut off as I leap out of my seat, using the remote systems to open up the exit hatch.
"Take the controls!" I yell at him, "Get the Huttlet to Tatooine! I'll take care of Ventress!"
Running past Ahsoka and Rotta, I throw a quick Force heal at the Huttlet. Nothing much, but a little something to help keep him going because I remember Rotta getting sick. That was a plot point in the holovid.
"Wait-" begins Ahsoka as I jump out of the now open hatch.
Spotting Ventress, I aim my freefall towards her as she engages my soldiers, using the Force to direct my descent. Drawing both of my lightsabers, I ignite them as I reach the ground, swinging them at Ventress. The Sith assassin leaps back, barely avoiding my white and green blades.
"General Shan," sneers the bald woman as she eyes me up and down, "I was wondering when one of you Jedi was going to show yourselves."
I am silent as I throw myself at her. No need to let her know Anakin and Ahsoka are taking Rotta to Tatooine already, that we already have Jabba's son and he is beyond her reach. No, let Ventress get herself distracted fighting me while my fellow Jedi complete the mission without her getting in their way.
Red blades clash against white and green as we duel in the courtyard, trying to get the upper hand. Ventress is significantly better than I would like as while I may have an advantage in physical strength and speed, she is very skilled with her Jar'Kai Makashi. Not as good at Dooku and I can spot some sloppiness in her technique, but Ventress is better with a lightsaber than I am.
Thankfully, it isn't just a matter of skill as I force Ventress back. I have my battle precognition to give me an edge and I am strong enough to disregard the usual weakness of Jar'Kai unlike my opponent. Even if I don't have enough of an edge to win, I am good enough to keep myself in the fight and that is all I need.
I don't need to beat her. I just need to keep her distracted. Anakin and Ahsoka will get Jabba's son back to his father, my troopers can take care of the battle droids and my warships can handle twice their number. Time is on my side.
"No wonder my master had trouble with you," hisses Ventress as our blades press up against each other, "You have enough brute force to avoid going down without a fight. A shame there is no finesse to your technique."
An insult, but one I don't actually care about. I take criticism for sure, but not from people who are trying to kill me and vice versa. Besides, I am good enough to keep up with her and that is what counts. So instead, I stab my shoto at her, searing her upper left arm.
"Damn you, Jedi scum," grunts Ventress and she tries to throw me back with a Force push.
I brace myself, barely moving backwards as I let it wash over me. I move forwards to press the attack once more, but Ventress is already in the air. As my blades cleave through the empty space that she previously occupied backflipping out of the courtyard and into the upper level of the monastery.
I take a quick glance around to confirm that my soldiers are winning before jumping after her. I cannot let Ventress run amuck. The Sith assassin is one of the few threats here on Teth and cannot be allowed to be left unchecked. I jump after her, also using the Force to boost myself up to reach the same heights as Ventress.
As I chase Ventress into the monastery, it quickly becomes apparent that I am faster than her as I track her with the Force. Her foul stench of the Dark Side is too close for her to hide it from me and the Sith assassin isn't even trying to conceal herself.
I hear clone screams as I finally catch up with her as she reaches the main building of the monastery. I turn the corner to find her sighting a group of 501st troopers. Two have already been cut down by her lightsaber, a third has been hit by a deflected blaster bolt and Ventress is bringing her red blades down the fourth and final clone.
I reach out with the Force and twist her lightsabers back, jerking Ventress back as she yanks along with her weapons. She sneers at me as she turns to face me, ignoring the surviving clone in favour of the greater threat that I pose to her.
"You don't know when to give up, Jedi," hisses Ventress as she charges at me.
"Says the one who was running away," I retort before intercepting her red blades with my own weapons.
"You are just getting in the way of my true mission," replies Ventress with a sneer, "A Jedi weakling like you is no match for the power of the Dark Side."
"The Dark Side?" I repeat as we clash, "Master Narec would be ashamed. What you have become is an insult to his memory."
"You have no right to speak about him, you Jedi dog!" shouts Ventress and she rages at me, lashing out with the Force.
She pushes and the world yields before her might. I'm sent flying back and so is the wall of the monastery as it breaks apart under the power of Ventress' rage. I lose my grip on my lightsaber as I am thrown back. Ventress leaps after me, intent on finishing me off, but my battle precognition reveals her ploy to me.
I raise one of my beskar gauntlets to catch both of her lightsaber blades on my forearm before using my other hand to grab her as I tumble through the air. I slam her into the ground as we do. A couple of my troopers come rushing to my aid as Ventress and I get to our feet, but the Sith assassin pushes them aside, sending them tumbling off of the bridge that we have landed on. I instinctively pull them to safety with the Force, unwilling to let my people die even as my battle precognition warns me that Ventress is taking advantage of my distraction to attack me.
I turn just in time to see Ventress rush me, using the Force to summon my primary lightsaber to her hand even as I summon my shoto to me. She grabs my lightsaber and swings it at me and I slash at her with the green blade of my shoto in turn. Courtesy of my Solari crystal, my lightsaber fails to ignite for her grubby Dark Sider mitts and my shoto carves through her forearm.
Ventress howls with pain as I snatch my lightsaber back from her now lifeless hand. I ignite its white blade where the Sith assassin failed to and move to finish her off only to find myself dodging blocks of broken stone as Ventress tosses the rubble of the wall at me. It isn't enough to stop me on its own, but it turns out to be enough to cover Ventress' escape as she leaps down to the jungle below.
I hesitate as I try to decide on whether or not to pursue her. On the one hand, she is a dangerous enemy and one of Dooku's most capable assets. On the other hand, she has lost a limb today and slaying her isn't the mission. No, I've brought enough time for Anakin and Ahsoka to get Jabba's son to safety and now I just need to worry about getting my troops out of this fight in one piece.
Ventress gets to live this day though she certainly hasn't made it out in one piece. Maybe I can find her lightsabers lying around somewhere?
"Did the side mission go well?" asks Admiral Dallin as I return to the Liberty.
"It went very smoothly," I answer as I step out of the Knight I, "We took Teth, rescued Jabba's son and then General Skywalker was able to meet up with General Kenobi aboard the Negotiator. They made it to Tatooine where they forced Dooku to flee and cut a deal with Jabba and the rest of the Hutts. And as distasteful as I find it, the Republic now has a treaty with the Hutt Cartel to use their hyperlanes. The only downside is that we took unexpected losses thanks to Ventress showing up."
"Casualties are always unfortunate," says Admiral Dallin, "Did you deal with this Ventress?"
"I fought her off and cut off half an arm, but I'm afraid she escaped to terrorise the Republic again," I reply as we didn't find any sign of a body on Teth, "Hopefully needing to get a replacement limb will slow her down a bit, but I'm not getting my hopes up. At least we secured Christophsis and the Republic will be able to reach the Outer Rim more easily. As much as I dislike the treaty with the Hutts, it would have been disastrous if the Separatists had gone one in our place."
"It would certainly give them an advantage in the war," agrees Admiral Dallin, "I don't think it would be enough to undo the dent we put into their warship production, but it would let them shift their reserves about. Perhaps enough to start making some headway."
"Silver linings and all," I say.
"What is next, General?" inquires Admiral Dallin.
"Back to Mon Cala to regroup with the rest of our forces," I answer, "We've got some breathing room and with our newly enlarged fleet, we'll need to plan our next move."
Especially since I have all of that Hutt data to begin reviewing for anything immediately useful.
The Ventress fight gave me some trouble because on the one hand, I wanted to do Ventress justice, but on the other hand, Ben is specced for personal combat. In the end, I feel I have done a decent job giving both sides a decent showing.
Anyway, this is the end of the arc. Anakin and Ahsoka were able to meet up with Obi-Wan aboard his Venator without any trouble this time around and then they got to Jabba on Tatooine with Dooku being unable to stop them. The next couple of arcs I've got planned is Ben sorting out his forces and logistics whilst helping out here and there before he and his legions get back into the war proper.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: May 31, 2022
11.1 (The Heist) - Chapter Fifty-Eight
"Sergeant Dasou," I greet the leader of the engineers that I sent to Kamino as he appears before me via hologram.
Sergeant Jacpa Dasou is one of the few Mandalorians under my command and the only Mandalorian armourer who works for me. That expertise made him an ideal choice to help design the next generation of clone armour. A decision that has paid off for both me and the Republic.
"General Shan," replies Sergeant Dasou, "General Telis, Admiral-"
"We can skip the introductions," I say before Sergeant Dasou can greet everyone here with me, which is the entirety of the senior command across all four of my legions, "We all know who everyone is."
"As you say, General," says Sergeant Dasou before getting on with his report, "My mission has been a success. The Kaminoans were receptive to our freely offered expertise and were happy to have our assistance in addressing the complaints about the current clone armour.
"It was something of a challenge to balance cost and capability whilst giving more favour to the former than we usually do. In the end, we were able to find an acceptable middle ground though we did get some push back from the pencil pushers about the price increase."
"I remember," I say as I recall getting brought into that.
I ended up tossing that to my allies in the Senate, hoping that the Militarist coalition would be happy to support getting some decent armour for the clones. Given that it had my name and prestige as a successful war hero, Republic High Command was receptive despite the complaints of the Treasury over the costs.
In the end, Sergeant Dasou got approved yesterday after the Pacifists and Loyalists threw their lot in with the Militarists on the matter. The Pacifists were apparently happy to support spending on something designed to protect rather than kill while the Loyalists were… I'm not entirely sure why they supported Sergeant Dasou's new armour. I suspect Palpatine's hand in the business though I can't be certain. The new armour would make the clones survive a bit longer against Jedi and getting his supporters behind it would keep the affair from being a sole victory of my political allies, but at the same time, I may be paranoid.
This is a victory for me yet I find myself seeing Sidious' influence tainting it. And at the same time, the stakes are too great for me to dismiss the possibility of the Sith Lord getting involved.
"Like with the Phase I Clone Trooper Armour, we went with a Mandalorian design," continues Sergeant Dasou, "A light combat armour for a mixture of protection and flexibility. We kept the combat HUD, utility belt and vacuum seals of the Phase I armour for the Phase II, but upgraded to full environmental sealing for effectiveness in the vast variety of terrains and conditions that the clones will be fighting under. Apparently our predecessors wanted individual variant armours for each different environment. Can you believe that? And they complained about our ideas costing too much."
"As much as we all agree, you need to stay on track, Sergeant Dasou," Loren reminds the Mandalorian Armourer, his light tone taking any bite out of his words.
"Of course, Brigadier," says Sergeant Dasou, "We went for some common ablative plating and armourweave for additional protection. Not the high quality stuff that we go for, but the cheap, common stuff to keep costs down. It should provide enough protection to let the clones take another couple of shots before going down. Our improvements making sure that the Phase II armour is designed to be worn comfortably by humans while using high quality Armourplast ensures that it will be light on the operator. It still has some limited flexibility, but nothing beyond what you would expect from armour of its type."
"What about the cost?" asks Aria, "Not that I am concerned about it, but I am curious how valid the complaints are."
"The Phase II Clone Trooper Armour will cost about five times as much as the Phase I Clone Trooper Armour and less than a fifth of what we pay for our own armour," answers Sergeant Dasou, "However, my design improves the combat ability of the wearer far more than just five times and you just need a single suit of armour for all terrains, not a fresh one for each different environment."
"Certainly sounds like it," I say, "Now you mentioned a second matter that you wanted to raise at this meeting, Sergeant."
"That is correct, General," confirms Sergeant Dasou, "While we were coming up with the Phase II armour for the clones, we thought about what we would do if we were doing it for our troopers. And we came up with a workable design, one that we consider better than our current armour."
"That certainly has my interest," I say as I take the opportunity to look at Loren and the other ground officers here, all of whom are looking as interested as I am, "Lay it out for us, Sergeant."
"Like with the clone armour, we used a Mandalorian design for the base," says Sergeant Dasou, "The battle armour that was middle ground before the customised beskar'gam of today and often used by those who can't afford a custom-fitted armour. A bit on the expensive side, but highly modifiable with a bunch of features built into it such as a helmet package, internal comlink, a day of life support and a jet back. One of the earliest designs to include a jetpack."
"Do we need to worry about that jetpack going haywire if it is hit?" demands Rahm.
"No, General," answers Sergeant Dasou, "It is an older design. Slower than modern counterparts and an absolute pain to refuel in the field, but it is built with failsafes to shut down if hit rather than explode or go careening out of control."
"Acceptable," says Rahm.
"So we upgrade the life support with vacuum and environmental sealing for all-terrain operations," continues Sergeant Dasou, "Utility belt for spare supplies and all of the good stuff that we put into our current armour such as ablative plating and armourweave. However the Mandalorian design gives us more room to add things compared to the Echani design that we are currently using even if it is less flexible.
"We've added a gyro to keep the wearer from being knocked down by things like a nearby explosion and a repulsorlift system is built into the boots. The repulsorlift only allows for hovering a metre at most, but it can break a fall and allows for traversing into otherwise impassable terrain such as a body of water or something too fragile to put weight on. We also added an internal power generator to handle keeping the repulsors or HUD going in addition to being able to recharge a blaster or power pack.
"It is a bit more expensive than our current armour by around a thousand credits and it isn't quite as flexible, but myself and the rest of my team feel that the new capabilities are worth it. And there is one other thing, but given the price and how the new design doesn't strictly need it, I figured it could wait until the end."
"Go ahead, Sergeant," I tell him.
"It is an energy shield, General," says Sergeant Dasou, "The Kaminoans have a really nice one for the armour they give to their clone commandos and I feel that it should be useful for this new armour. The internal generator would keep it powered and it would let the wearer take a couple of hits before needing to recharge, which could let our troopers take a lot more hits if they pace themselves."
"That sounds like an excellent upgrade," says Loren, "From what I remember of personal energy shielding, the downside is cost or area?"
"Cost in this case, Brigadier," answers Sergeant Dasou, "It doesn't quite double the cost of the armour, but it comes close at several thousand credits per unit."
"Credits that we may not have," mutters Loren before he glances at me, "Credits that we may not have for rolling out a new armour design in the first place."
"We got some options for a single influx of credits," I say, thinking about the Hutt council records and how it has to have something that we can use to get rich quickly, "Worst case, we hit the Pykes for the spice to resell for credits."
"That is a bad idea," says Aria as she fixes me with a disapproving look.
"I know, but if we need a major amount of credits in a hurry, it would work," I reply, "Again, this is a worst case situation. We have better options to try first though I will need to look through them to see if any of them are currently viable for us. Brigadier Belen, get someone on this and look into the logistics of getting production set up. By the time that we are ready to begin placing orders, I'm confident that we'll have the funds ready. If not, then we will cross that bridge when we get to it."
"Understood, General," replies Loren.
"Now that Sergeant Dasou has presented their report and we have a plan of action going forward, I'm going to call this meeting to an end," I say, addressing the room at large, "Make sure to review the documents that Sergeant Dasou has sent us and let me know if you spot anything that you feel needs addressing."
"Hello Vyssa," I greet my padawan as she skulks in the shadows, feeling her familiar presence in the Force for the first time in the better part of a month.
"Master," she replies fondly as she steps out into the light of the landing platform, "It is good to see you again."
"Likewise my padawan," I tell her, "What brings you to Coruscant?"
"Faresk has taught me the basics and I've decided that now is a good time to return to the fold," answers Vyssa, "Everything I've been seeing is indicating that the war is fully getting into full swing despite the setbacks you've given the Seppies. Great work on that by the way. You've given them some bloody blows with your work up in the Mon Cala Sector and over at Ryloth."
"I've done what I can," I reply modestly, "Unfortunately, it isn't close to being enough."
"Our true foe does still hold the upper hand," agrees Vyssa, glancing in the direction of the Republic Executive Building.
"Yeah, he does," I say, "Anyway, I'm on business. Want to tag along?"
"Of course, I do," replies Vyssa, "Going at Ziro's riches to fund the war effort now that he is in jail?"
"Yes," I confirm bluntly, "We have a new armour in the works and while it is superior to our current model, it is also more expensive. I'm hoping Ziro has enough credits to cover the costs and if not, then I have other options to hit up and Ziro will be curtailed without his wealth."
"Sounds about right, Master," says Vyssa, "What's the plan? I'm guessing slicing is involved since you brought your astromech with you?"
"I'm planning to hack into his personal files, steal his bank details and then empty his accounts of credits," I say, "As a secondary benefit, I want to be able to claim that I got some information on the Hutts from Ziro to obfuscate my actual source. I got Commander Fox to request my assistance as a Jedi to help him resolve this case. That gives me grounds to get involved and from that, we have access to anything of value that Ziro has on Coruscant. I'm just waiting for-ah, here is our ride."
One of the police gunships used by both the Coruscant Guard and the Coruscant Security Force swoops down, its bay doors opening to reveal a pair of clone shock troopers waiting within. I can't help, but think that the gunship looks incredibly ugly, but maybe I am just biassed by those solar panels reminding me of the TIE Fighter and its ilk.
If I have any say about it, the Republic will not be introducing those deathtraps into its service.
"General Shan," greets one of the clone shock troopers, "We're here to take you to the crime scene."
Alright, Vyssa is back from her spy training and the Republic Patriot Legions are getting some new armour upgrades. Well, they will be once they find the funding for it because sourcing their own gear is an issue for Ben's forces. Fortunately, the Hutts are right there and Ziro has made himself a particularly inviting target due to him antagonising both the Republic and his fellow Hutts.
Anyway, this arc is going to be something of a breather arc as Ben makes trouble for the Hutts and expands his forces before the Sith begin to make their first moves to properly deal with Ben.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
11.2 (The Heist) - Chapter Fifty-Nine
"Commander Fox," I greet the leader of the Coruscant Guard as I find the man waiting for us.
"General Shan," replies the clone commander, "We have secured the building. You can begin your investigation now, but we have an inspector from the CSF arriving in the afternoon."
That means we have at least a couple of hours before we have a professional looking at what we are up to. Of course, this is the Coruscant police so that professional might just be an amateur or they might be corrupt enough to overlook our activities. On the other hand, if they are corrupt, they might already be on someone else's payroll with their own ulterior motives.
All in all, I would rather get our business here done before the inspector shows up.
"I would rather this started as soon as possible, Fox," I tell him, "I'm afraid my time is at a premium, especially with the war raging. This is my padawan, Commander Vyssa Randanys, and my astromech, R4-M7. They'll be taking point since Vyssa has formal training in investigating and R4 is very capable when it comes to electronics and machinery. If you could have someone show them around, I would like to discover the overview of the situation"
"Understood, General," replies Fox, "Jott, take the commander and the droid to Ziro's office."
"My first question is what exactly we are going after Ziro for?" I ask as a shock trooper escorts Vyssa and R4 into the building, "I understand he was involved in helping the Separatists kidnap Jabba's son and he attempted to have Senator Amidala killed."
"Those are the main things we arrest him for, sir," says Fox, "We can't actually arrest him for kidnapping Jabba's son as that is out of our jurisdiction, but we have got Ziro the Hutt for working with the Separatists and attempted murder of a Galactic Senator. Either one of those would have given us grounds to search here for further evidence of wrongdoing."
"He is an ambitious Hutt crime lord," I say, "There will be more to uncover."
"That fits with what I know, General," agrees Fox.
"Let's head inside," I suggest, "Less chance of eavesdropping or any other spies."
"Yes, sir," says Fox and we enter the building, passing a pair of clone shock troopers standing guard at the giant door that is partially raised, just enough to let a normal person through.
"The primary reason I asked for you to request my assistance is so I could get a look at Ziro's data, but I am wondering what the rules on the confiscated goods are," I inquire, "Out in the Outer Rim, I'm allowed to take what I want as loot after I've defeated a pirate lord, but I suspect that things work differently here on the capital."
"We have to do things a lot more by the book, sir," replies Fox, "That said, the fact we have evidence connecting Ziro to the Separatists gives me a great more latitude in what I can do."
"I bet Ziro has a great deal of things here that could be put to good use in service of the Republic," I muse, "I don't suppose you would be open to letting me requisition some of it for the war effort."
"That would depend on what you mean, General," says Fox after a moment, "I have a great deal of authority when it comes to dealing with those conspiring with the Confederacy, including seizing property that is being used for subversive purposes."
"Take astromechs for example," I say, "I could use them in my starfighters while Ziro could use them for criminal deeds such as hacking into military databases."
"He was using them as waiters, but I see your point, sir," replies Fox, "I can see the argument for it, but…"
"You're worried it goes against the spirit of the law even if it obeys the letter, Fox," I say and the clone commander pauses.
"Yes, General," confirms Fox after a moment of silence, "That is correct."
"In this case, I say that the law is about limiting threats to the Republic and its citizens," I tell him, "Using it to take something basic as the car or computer of a lower-class citizen would be unjust as while technically they can be used against the Republic, in practice, they hold no meaningful threat to the Republic. Someone as rich and wealthy as Ziro, he has a lot of items that can be used. Assassin droids that can target Republic officials, large enough credits to put a meaningful bounty on important Republic leaders or give significant funding to subversive activities. We've already covered how he could meaningfully misuse his astromechs and he already helped Dooku kidnap Jabba's son and frame the Jedi for it."
"I understand, sir," says Fox, "His greater wealth and power means that he can do more harm with what he can do. Therefore it is justified under the law to seize his means of doing harm whereas it wouldn't be with some citizen off the street who doesn't have the means to pose a credible threat."
"Exactly, Fox," I agree, "The law requires good judgement on those enforcing it to be just, not mindless obedience to what is technically allowed under it. This conservation, including standing up to me instead of just giving in, shows me that you have that good judgement."
"Thank you, sir," replies Fox, "Shall we go and see what subversive materials Ziro has that can be repurposed for the Republic war effort?"
"I would appreciate that, Commander," I reply, smiling beneath my helmet.
"Senator Bu," I say as I step into the senator's office, "I apologise for the short notice, but I'm only on Coruscant for a short amount of time before I return to fighting the war."
"I understand, General Shan," replies Candabrine Bu, Senator of Lansono and leader of the Militarist Coalition, "The Republic's greatest war hero is certainly going to be very busy, but neither I nor your other supporters will complain about it. Your series of impressive victories have benefitted us very well."
"I'm happy to help the Republic and its people," I reply, "I trust that asking you to support the armour upgrades wasn't too much trouble?"
"Hardly, General," replies Senator Bu with a smirk of genuine emotion, "Regardless of one's opinion on using clone troopers over recruited citizens, one thing that we Militarists can agree upon is properly supporting our troops. That means giving them some proper armour and not cheaping out to save some credits. Not to mention that the design is from one of our own."
One of mine to be precise, but given that I have hitched myself to the Militarist cause, I am hardly going to call Senator Bu out on her wording.
"I am glad to hear that," I say, "I don't suppose you have any insight into why the Loyalists threw their support behind it? I can understand why the Pacistists would want to keep people alive, but the motive of the Loyalists is eluding me."
"Either they want to claim credit from supporting the motion or perhaps they wanted to deny us claiming full credit for it," answers Senator Bu, her smirk giving way to a frown, "Or perhaps I am being too paranoid and they merely also believed it was a good idea."
"There is no such thing as being too paranoid where Palpatine is involved, but my thoughts on the matter mirror your own," I say, "Alas, I lack the political astuteness to dig further."
"It is unfortunate, but you would be surprised how that has helped your standing," says Senator Bu, "There are many who see your lack of political skill as something which makes you safer to associate with as there is less chance of you becoming a rival or threat to them."
"Really?" I inquire, not really sure what I should make of this.
"Really," replies Senator Bu, "While nobody would call you neutral or say that you lack political stances, it is quite clear that you have no political ambitions and merely recognise politics as something useful. They are happy to work with someone who brings standing and an elite, reliable military force to the table, but lacks the inclination to challenge their own power and ambitions."
"What about you, Senator Bu?" I ask her as I look her in the eye, "Is that what you think of me?"
"I share more of your ideals than most, General Shan, but I find your military expertise to be very useful for my own ambitions," answers Senator Bu as she meets my gaze as best she can with my helmet in the way, "Especially with the ongoing war. Just as you value my political expertise in wrangling our Militarist coalition and providing a counterbalance to the Chancellor's growing power. It is a mutually beneficial relationship that works out well for both of us."
"Okay then," I say, thinking about where to go from here.
"Since we are talking politics, I have a few of our Militarists who would like to speak with you," says Senator Bu, "Provided that you don't need to return to the frontlines or you aren't too busy running about the underworld with the Coruscant Guard. Speaking of which…"
"Commander Fox has requested my assistance with a number of matters," I answer her unspoken question, "Given that I have my own interest in some of them, I agreed. While not as glamorous as fighting on the battlefield, helping the Coruscant Guard deal with dangerous Separatist and criminal elements here on Coruscant is also important."
Because it gives me an in with Fox and the Coruscant Guard, something that may be important in the future. I'm not confident it will be enough to sway them from Palpatine's side, but muddying the waters may be useful, especially if I can find a way to neutralise the biochips. And busting up some of the more dangerous and heavily armed gangs on Coruscant is hardly something that I'll turn my nose up at.
"I suppose there is merit in that," says Senator Bu, "And your forces have been active since Mon Cala, protecting trade routes from pirates and Separatist raiders. Speaking of which, I understand you had a hand in that new treaty with the Hutts?"
"I was there at the time and General Skywalker asked for help," I reply, "It was a choice of either the Republic or the Confederacy getting the treaty and as much as I oppose cutting deals with the Hutts, it is better that they align with us rather than the Confederacy. At least for the duration of the war."
"The pragmatic approach then," says Senator Bu.
"The lesser evil is what I prefer to call it," I say, "Because while it might be necessary right now to deny the Separatists a vital advantage, compromising with the Hutt Cartel leads to the continued suffering of innocents. In any case, my forces don't count as officially being part of the Republic so thankfully we aren't covered by the treaty."
"Thankfully?" inquires Senator Bu, raising an eyebrow at me.
"My legions and the Hutts have a mutual issue with the other," I answer, "Neither of us wanted this treaty to get in the way of targeting each other."
"Some would be concerned that you are worrying about the Hutts instead of focusing on the Separatists," warns Senator Bu, "Including some of our own Militarists."
"Leave the Hutts unchecked and they'll just grow in power whilst the rest of the galaxy is busy with the war," I warn right back, "Same with all of the other criminal syndicates."
"I agree, but going after the Hutts rather than the Separatists will be something that is used to attack you," says Senator Bu, "Not within our own coalition, but I know of a few Loyalists who will leap at such a chance to knock you down a notch and some of the neutrals will side with them. Perhaps some of the Pacifists too as they might view it as starting a second war, but you seem to be oddly popular with them for some reason. Corporates will want to try and attack you, but they've been in damage control on a semi-permanent basis since Geonosis and since you are a famous war hero, I doubt they will risk such a clash in the court of public opinion."
"Thank you for the warning," I tell even though it changes nothing for me, "Now, you mentioned that some of the Militarists wanted meetings with me?"
"I did," replies Senator Bu with a smile, "Does that mean you are up for some?"
"If I can fit them in my stay on Coruscant, I would be happy to," I tell her.
"You would hardly be happy for this, but thank you, General Shan," says Senator Bu, "Meeting with your supporters is important to keeping them happy and ensuring that they remain supportive."
"I'm aware," I say, biting back a sigh, "Just bring up the requests, I'll see which ones I can make."
A mixture of Commander Fox and Senator Candabrine Bu this chapter. For those of you who have forgotten, Senator Bu is the leader of the Militarist coalition in the Senate that is supporting Ben and while technically a canon character, she is basically an OC.
Anyway, Ben has been giving moral advice to Fox whilst he is doing his political rounds while he is Coruscant. Not too much to say beyond that except the next chapter will be wrapping up Coruscant before we move onto the second half of the arc.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Jun 12, 2022
11.3 (The Heist) - Chapter Sixty
"I might be able to lend you some trainers, Garm," I tell the Corellian Senator, "I must admit that I am surprised that you are getting involved in the war. I thought Corellia was going to stay as neutral as possible."
"Oh, we were going to support you, Ben," says Garm, "But Palpatine has been making things harder for us. Barely a month into the war and he is already putting pressure on us. Rendili too. Insufficient patriotism and an unwillingness to do our part for the Republic. Nothing major or outright, just hints and comments that we should be kowtowing to Palpatine and Kuat. All deniable of course, but the message is there and we all know it."
"How bad is it?" I ask, feeling a little worried as according to those memories of mine, Corellia and Rendili would go over to the Empire in both timelines.
"He won't make much headway with us Corellians," declares Garm, "We're too stubborn to bend knee and we are too influential and powerful to be pressured into it. Perhaps if Dupas Thomree had ended up as Diktat, but Diktat Horsha won't bow. He might be a Drall, but he has the spirit of a true Corellian. The Chancellor won't sway Corellia from your side to his as long as Horsha remains Diktat. Not with myself and Arvass backing him up."
"Good to hear that Corellia is politically secure, but what if something happens to the Diktat," I inquire, "Because I wouldn't put it past Palpatine to arrange a convenient death and then there are the Separatists and the other threats out there."
"Not too trusting of our dear old Supreme Chancellor are you, Ben?" says Garm, "I can't say I blame you. Too few see Palpatine for what he really is."
"Indeed," I agree, "What about Rendili? Are they staying as firm or does it look like they'll fold to the pressure?"
"Too much bad blood between them and Kuat for that," answers Garm, "Palpatine is offering them a greater profit margin and to clear doubts about their loyalty after so many of their subsidiary shipyards defected to the Separatist cause. It is actually a good deal for Rendili, better than what you and I can offer them except it means working with Kuat, which is a dealbreaker for them."
"Things are that bad between them?" I ask as while I knew there was bad blood between Rendili and Kuat, I didn't realise it was that bad.
Even if a feud of that severity was a good thing for my plans to save the Republic.
"It has gotten worse since the war started," answers Garm with shrug, "Arch-Provost Urlan was able to poach Walex Blissex from Kuat Drive Yards for Rendili StarDrive, which has hurt Kuat's new project to make a more combat-oriented Star Destroyer. The Chancellor tried to reconcile them with a joint project, but Rendili rebuffed him by partnering with Mon Calamari Shipyards to make their own competing design with Blissex as the project head. Combined with the Militarist-aligned systems and poorer systems choosing Rendili for traditional Republic designs and cheaper prices, Rendili StarDrive is making enough of a profit that they can afford to get away with spiting Kuat."
"That's good," I say, "But I must admit that I expected a better handling of the situation from the Chancellor."
"Palpatine is usually a deft hand at politics," agrees Garm as a smirk appears on his face, "But in this case, it seems he was caught by surprise. He was too aligned with Kuat to really salvage the situation. He can't make too many concessions to Rendili without antagonising Kuat and by the time that he realised what was happening, Rendili had already taken their swing at Kuat. At that point, he couldn't compromise without antagonising both so he doubled down on the one that was already in his corner."
"That sounds more like the Palpatine I know," I say.
"Just don't take it for granted that Rendili will stay on our side," warns Garm, "They are spiteful enough to take lesser profits over having to work with Kuat, but they are ultimately a business. Rendili will choose to not only work with Kuat, but be willing to work for Kuat if it means making some profits over no profits. Not a major concern as things are currently going, but we need to keep the Militarist cause profitable for Rendili StarDrive if we are to retain the support of Rendili."
"I have got some additional funding," I say, "And I've recently come into a surplus of capital ships. I can look into purchasing some more Hammerhead-class Cruisers and some Aurek-class Starfighters to keep up my escorts."
While what I primarily got from Fox was a small armoury of blasters, droids and other equipment that could be used for military purposes, Vyssa was able to uncover a few of Ziro's secrets alongside evidence of his various crimes. And one of those secrets was where Ziro kept his secret stash of aurodium for emergency funds. It was a bit of a hassle to sneak past the shock troopers, but given that there had been enough aurodium to trade in for at least a few billion credits, I consider the effort worth it. Especially since the Hutt won't be able to utilise it for whatever nefarious purpose he would have used it for.
"Perhaps you could do some purchasing from CEC as well?" suggests Garm, his smirk becoming more an easy-going grin, "As a Corellian, I am obligated to stand up-what is it?"
Whatever the Corellian senator was going to say is cut off as one of his aides pokes their head into his office.
"Apologies Senator, but Vice Chancellor Amedda is here requesting to speak with General Shan," reports the aide.
"Garm?" I ask inquiringly, leaving this politically-charged choice for the Corellian Senator to handle.
"Bring him in," orders Garm, "And make sure he knows that he is interrupting my meeting with General Shan."
"Yes, Senator," replies the aide before ducking back out of the office.
"Any idea what he wants?" I ask Garm.
"Beyond advancing Palpatine's ambitions?" replies Garm, "Not a clue. Mas Amedda is Palpatine's creature through and through. Don't expect him to show any initiative of his own, just what the hand up his arse is telling him to do."
It isn't long before the blue-skinned Chagrian walks in in all his finery. A strong, regal looking man who is neither of those things in actuality. A man who is nothing more than a proxy for Darth Sidious and I'm fairly certain that Amedda knows it as well.
"General Shan, Senator Bel Iblis," says Vice Chancellor Amedda, "I apologise for the interruption, but the Chancellor wishes to speak with General Shan. I understand this is rather short notice, but the Chancellor is a very busy man and it is rare for him to get open moments in his schedule like this."
"Senator?" I ask Garm again as I drop this in his ball pit once more.
"We have covered the highlights of what I wanted to discuss, General Shan," replies Garm, "If I may get in touch with Admiral Thak about the specifics?"
"Of course, Senator Bel Iblis," I answer, taking Garm's cue in not mentioning just what our business is with Vice Chancellor Amedda in earshot, "Alright, Vice Chancellor Amedda, I have some free time though I cannot promise how long that will remain the case."
"Of course, General Shan," replies the Chagrian.
"General Shan," says Chancellor Palpatine in that fond, grandfatherly tone of his as I stride into his office, "The Guardian of the Republic. I am pleased to see that you could acquiesce to my request. I apologise for the short notice, but I'm afraid that my time is rather busy. A sentiment that I'm sure you know all too well yourself."
"Indeed, I do," I agree as I move closer to his desk, stopping just shy of the chairs facing his desk.
"Would you like to take a seat, General?" asks Palpatine as he indicates towards one of the chairs.
"I'll stand," I answer him, resisting the urge to cross my arms and glare at him.
I hate having to talk with Palpatine. I have to keep watching my words and emotions to keep the Sith Lord from catching on that I know the truth about him. At least I have plenty of non-Sith related reasons to explain my antagonism to the Chancellor. By the Force, give me an honest battle any day of the week.
"I just wanted to congratulate you on your men's work on designing the new clone armour," says Palpatine, "It is good to see you taking an interest in our brave soldiers. I feared that your disdain for the clones would cloud your judgement after our last conversation."
"You seem to remember our last conversation poorly," I retort, "The only disdain for the clones I have is in regard to how poorly they are treated. For the clones themselves, I only have sympathy for their plight and respect for how well they handle themselves."
"Hmm," hums Palpatine as he stares me in the eye, despite the helmet in the way, "In that case, would you be open to taking command of a clone legion? I am aware that you have your own legion, but the Republic could do well with more forces at your expert command."
"I am open to the idea of it, but I don't think I'll be able to take command of one right now," I answer, "I'm still in the process of reorganising my forces after my actions in the Calamari sector. Adding clones into the mix right now would be… needlessly disruptive. Perhaps once my people and I have finished sorting things out we could look into adding clones to my military structure."
"I shall keep that in mind," says Palpatine and I brace myself for the follow-up push, "And since you mentioned your most recent victories, I must confess some curiosity about how you found out about the Malevolence? Republic Intelligence hadn't heard anything about it until after your capture of it."
That's it? No push to make me take a clone legion now, just a change in subject? Kriff, I'm missing something.
"Will of the Force," I answer as it is technically true, "It felt like a good idea to me so as a Jedi, I trusted my instincts and acted upon them. Not the best strategy, but I am a Jedi and it has been working for me so far."
"I see," replies Palpatine, "It is indeed an unconventional strategy as you say, but the results speak for themselves. Could you pass on any insights that you have to Republic Intelligence? It could be quite valuable for the war effort."
"Unfortunately, it doesn't work like that," I reply, refraining from telling him that there isn't a chance in Korriban of me doing that, "The hints that the Force gives me… they are in the heat of the moment. I got forewarning of Geonosis and the war breaking out mere hours before it happened. It is a do or do not thing. Either I take advantage of the insight that the Force has given me or I don't. And I'm no seer so I can't produce these feelings on demand."
"A shame, but I suppose that is just the way that the Force works for the Jedi Order," says Palpatine, managing to sound regretful about it, "As useful as it would be, you lack the ability to bend the Force to your will."
He's mocking me. No, he's mocking the Jedi Order, thinking that I won't realise he is making a joke about our unwillingness to dominate the Force like the Sith do. Like he does.
And I can't address that, not without needlessly tipping him off that I know more than I should. Force, he is probably already suspicious with how much I have disrupted his plans already since the war started.
"You can feel that way," I eventually say as a way of a nonreply, "Now, I believe that I will be going. I'm a busy man and all."
"Must you go so-" starts Palpatine, but I've already turned and begun to make my way to the exit.
"Yes, I've got to go," I say, ignoring how rude I am being.
There is only so much conversation with Palpatine that I am willing to endure and only so much time I am willing to risk spending in the presence of Darth Sidious. This man is my enemy and no amount of talk will change that.
Some more politics, both with Ben's supporters and his greatest opponent. Not too much to say here except Palpatine got his victory here.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Jun 19, 2022
11.4 (The Heist) - Chapter Sixty-One
"He wants you to have a clone army at your back, I'm sure of it," declares Vyssa as we take a speeder to meet with Republic High Command.
"Are you sure it isn't a case of reverse psychology?" I ask her, "Pretending he wants me to take command of a clone army when he is actually trying to exploit my mistrust of him to make me refuse to take a clone army?"
"I am sure," answers Vyssa firmly, "He does-wait a moment."
Through our bond in the Force as Master and Padawan, I feel her presence reaching out to me.
He doesn't know that you know about the chips, says Vyssa in my mind, He wants you to have clones at your back so you and I can die like every other Jedi is supposed to when Order 66 is given. He wants that blade pointed at your back, like he has with the rest of the Order. Right now, you only have soldiers who are loyal to you and he has no leverage over. He wants to fix that and this is the current ploy to that end.
"Your reasoning does make sense," I agree outloud, "No need to look for overcomplicated answers when a simple-watch out!"
I summon my lightsaber to my hand and ignite the white blade just in time to deflect the blaster bolt that my battle precognition warned me of. Another one follows it and I deflect that one with my shoto.
"Bounty hunters!" I tell Vyssa, "You drive, my Padawan!"
"Got it, Master!" replies Vyssa as more danger approaches us
I throw up a Force barrier to block the next threat that my battle precognition warns me of, a grenade being fired at my airspeeder by a Trandoshan in a yellow jumpsuit with a white combat vest in another airspeeder that is rapidly approaching mine. A group of four IG-series droids are also in the Trandoshan's airspeeder, most likely the IG-86 Sentinel model, and all four are armed with blasters.
They aren't the only hostile speeder approaching us as several armed speeder bikes try to flank myself and Vyssa, with more speeders on either side. The first has a Klatooinian with plenty of pockets while another has a Weequy who has replaced half an arm with the forearm of a B1 and another half a dozen are ridden by what has to be commando droids.
"Call Fox and let him know what is happening," I order Vyssa as the various bounty hunters and their droids get ready to open fire, "Find an alternative ride. This one is about to be toast."
There is too much blaster fire for me to block it all so I go on the offensive. Leaping from my speeder to the closest one, the one with the Klatooinian. The bounty hunter panics and tries to shoot me out of the air, but I am too fast for him. I slash him across the chest, slaying him before I kick him off of the bike to take his place as its driver.
Or at least I was before my battle recognition warns me of my other opponents blasting it to smithereens. So instead I jump clear, letting the speeder bike explode under extensive blaster fire behind me.
I deflect a blaster bolt back at one of the commando droids before sending a blast of ion energy at the speeder bike. I'm not quite proficient enough with the technique to take out one of the droids themselves, but I am good enough to send that speeder bike offline at least temporarily and careening out of control into the depths below. There is no guarantee that it will take out that commando droid for good, but it will remove it from the fight for the immediate future.
I land on the front of the Trandoshan's airspeeder and toss a grenade to one side with the Force before it can impact my face. Then before I can react, the sniper from before shoots me in the back of the knee, hitting one of the weak points in my armour. It doesn't do too much to me, but it is enough to distract me long enough for the Trandoshan to toss his grenade launcher into the back of the airspeeder, activate some kind of energy shield and draw a curved sword.
Another sniper shot hits my spaulder, but I ignore it as I try to take out this Trandoshan bounty hunter. Yellow flight suit, white vest, grenade launcher, is this guy Bossk? Bostk?
It doesn't matter as I try to slash him across the chest and I realise too late that his blade is cortosis as he brings it up to intercept my white blade, giving a snapshot vision of it before it happens in fact. Fortunately for me, my lightsaber isn't just any old lightsaber and I give a quick mutter of thanks to Suvam Tan as the white blade of my lightsaber merely flickers and struggles instead of collapsing outright.
"What?" hisses the Trandoshan, "Shoddy dealer!"
I'm about to stab him with my shoto when one of the IG droids leaps at me, apparently having had enough of fruitless shooting at me. I redirect my shoto to slice it into two, which leaves me open to the Trandoshan, who promptly slams something onto my chest. I don't get to see what it is with my eyes, but my battle precognition warns me that it is a thermal detonator.
Another sniper shot to the back of the knee leaves me reeling as the Trandoshan jumps clear of the speeder. The thermal detonator goes off a moment later, sending me flying backwards and taking out the airspeeder.
As I fall, I summon my lightsabers back to me so I don't lose them as I look for a good place to land. The air traffic is busy as is the norm on a world like Coruscant with airspeeders zipping past as I fall.
Then Vyssa pulls up alongside me on a speeder bike and I grab a hold of it before pulling myself up.
"Took it from one of the droids," says Vyssa in a way of explanation, "I took out the Weequay and the biker droids, but the Trandoshan got away. I could either chase him or get you and I choose you."
"Good call," I tell her as I put my lightsaber away, "He gave me enough trouble that I'm not sure you could have taken him."
"That was my reasoning, Master," says Vyssa, "Anybody who is good enough to take you on is going to be too much for me to handle. So where to now?"
"Republic High Command as we previously were," I answer, "We report this attack and go about our business as normal.
"This is terrible news, General Shan," says General Maximus Augdona, the Chief of the Defence Staff, "Separatist bounty hunters attacking a famous Republic war hero on Coruscant is quite unacceptable. I can assure you that I'll be having someone dealing with this right away."
"I trust you will handle this," I tell him, "I'll give you a copy of my helmet recording from the fight to help with the investigation. I'm fairly certain that the Trandoshan was Bossk, a promising young bounty hunter. I'm not sure how much of a name he has made for himself so far, but if he is taking jobs for the Separatists, I would recommend having Republic Intelligence look into him. He has proven himself good enough that I was able to recognise him from sight."
Of course, I can't tell him the true source of my knowledge, but Bossk is no friend of the Republic. Republic Intelligence might be part of the problem right now, but I don't see the harm in making them expend resources on dealing with an actual threat to the Republic.
"I shall certainly pass on your recommendation," says General Augdona, "Again, what occurred is simply unacceptable. We will need to make an example of this Bossk and his compatriots to deter others from trying similar attacks. The Republic just can't afford for this sort of thing to become common."
"It certainly could have gone a lot worse if the target was someone less capable than myself in a fight," I agree, "Now, you called me here for a reason?"
"Ah, straight to business as usual, General Shan," replies General Augdona regretfully with a shake of his head, "As you wish. There are a couple of matters that I would like to discuss with you, the first being your meeting with the Chancellor earlier."
Oh yes, General Augdona is Palpatine's creature. Not that the man is incompetent, but he considers himself an old friend of the Supreme Chancellor and is firmly in his camp.
"Is this about the clones?" I inquire, hoping that it is and not about anything else that happened in that meeting.
"Indeed, it is," replies General Augdona, "The Chancellor has relayed to me that you have expressed an interest in taking up a clone command."
"It isn't so much that I've expressed an interest and more that I am willing to accept the proposal," I clarify, "Not right away, but once my forces have finished reorganising in a week or two, I'll be open to discussing the concept."
"Of course, of course," says General Augdona, sounding and looking pleased with himself, "This will do a great deal for the Republic. Our valiant clones need good men like you leading them, General Shan. I can assure you that it will greatly help the war effort."
"I'll trust your judgement then," I say, deciding that he is probably being honest even if his boss has ulterior motives, "And the second thing?"
"Straight to business again," mutters General Augdona, "This was originally Admiral Calloway's idea, but I want to let you know that I fully support it and endorse it. With the time that has passed since the start of the war, we've had several proposed starfighter designs presented to us for use in the Republic Military. To decide which ones will see service and receive contracts from us, we are holding something of a starfighter expo here on Coruscant. Just a quick thing in four-ah, no, three days.
"Admiral Calloway was very pleased with your modifications for the V-19 Torrent Starfighter along with your own highly successful starfighter doctrine so she wants to extend an invitation to you. However, I fully agree with her and so I'm making her invitation not just from her office, but from Republic High Command as a whole from my own office. I hope that you will be able to attend. The Republic would benefit greatly from your expertise."
Force, that is pretty important. The Republic started out only using V-19s for its official starfighter force, but they quickly branched out. I know that the Y-Wing and Z-95 Headhunter were early additions and then the V-Wing and the ARC-170 Starfighter came later in the war. Given how much of a game changer starfighters can be and how the Republic would devolve towards a doctrine that relied upon TIE Fighters, I really ought to get my say in the matter. Especially since my actions have resulted in my say having a lot of sway.
On the other hand, I've already got Belen and Wol prepping for a mission in the next couple of days. I would be cutting things close and kriff it, I have subordinates for a reason. My presence at this Starfighter Expo will be required, but this raid on Hutt assets can be delegated. Rahm is a capable general in his own right. I can hand command of the mission over to him and be able to trust him to see it through.
"I would be happy to accept," I tell General Augdona, "I find myself agreeing with your assessment that my expertise could benefit the Republic there and it certainly sounds important enough. I'll have to delegate a few jobs, but that is one of the reasons I have competent subordinates."
"Excellent!" declares General Augdona as he beams at me, "I can assure you that this will be worth your time. We're talking about the future of the Republic Navy after all."
"I trust in your judgement that it will be," I say.
"Good, good," says General Augdona, still looking quite pleased with himself, "Now I have another invitation to extend. Myself and a few others here at High Command are holding something of a shindig for dinner shortly. I would be honoured if you chose to join us."
My instinctive response is to say no, but Republic High Command isn't my enemy and I don't want them as my enemies. Palpatine may be sinking his hooks into it, but he isn't fully entrenched yet and while they aren't my allies, Republic High Command is merely neutral towards me and leaning towards being friendly due to my consistent victories for the Republic.
I've got a couple of things I want to do tonight before I leave Coruscant, but Vyssa can do those. My padawan has the skill set and if I'm honest about it, she is probably better for turning the looted aurodium into credits. As for the purchases, I already know what I want and Vyssa can just contact Wol if she is uncertain about anything.
Ah kriff it.
"Of course," I tell General Augdona, "I'm sure that dinner with some fellow generals and admirals will be more exciting than schmoozing with politicians."
A bit of action and a bit of politics in this update. The bounty hunter scene should be self-explanatory, but the second half is setting things up for later as well as forcing Ben to delegate some stuff. Beyond that, things will be wrapping up on Coruscant again.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
11.5 (The Heist) - Chapter Sixty-Two
"Over six billion credits, Master," declares Vyssa proudly over the comms as we fly our respective starships off of Coruscant.
"I thought you were only taking twenty of the ingots," I reply, surprised at how much money she was able to get from selling a portion of the aurodium ingots we stole from Ziro.
I was expecting her to get a couple billion credits, not three times that.
"I did," answers Vyssa, "If you know the right buyers, ingots of that size can be very valuable. And between my recent training and the Force, I was able to hunt down the appropriate shady businessman."
"Good work, Vyssa," I tell her, letting my pleasure and sense of pride flow across our Force bond, "I trust that you placed the orders with Rendili StarDrive? That should have been more than enough credits to pay for it."
"Eighteen Valour-class Cruisers and eighteen Hammerhead-class Cruisers," says Vyssa, "With the advanced slave circuit set up, that costed just under one and half billion and we can expect the Hammerheads in just under a month and the Valours in around three months. They would usually take longer, but I received a message from the Arch-Provost that Rendili StarDrive would be prioritising our order."
"Good," I say, "Thanks for handling that. I would have done it myself, but Republic High Command is a place where I want to make some friends."
"I understand, Master," replies Vyssa, "Getting contacts in the military beyond our legions will be important. Trust me, I know enough to figure that out."
"I trusted that you would, my padawan," I reply, "Now, did you make any observations that you would like to share with me?"
"Republic High Command was full of humans," she answers without hesitation, "All of the big names were human and primarily from the Core. Even in their staffs, they only really had humans and humanoids. Anything more exotic was a rarity and even amongst the humanoids, the less humanoid looking species were rarer than the human looking ones."
"Palpatine's hand," I say, "I bet he is preparing to engage in Humanocentrism by stuffing the military's senior leadership with humans or those who look like one."
"That was my conclusion as well," says Vyssa, "Another thing I noticed is that you are embracing our Glory of the Old Republic theme and image in our latest purchases."
"The Valour-class Cruiser is a good warship with a solid track record," I say, "It has good mobility and firepower in addition to being an excellent carrier. Lacking when it comes to armour, but the core systems are properly protected and it can dance around most warships of a similar size. We'll need to get some more starfighters and pilots for them, but the Valour-class is a good complement to the warships we acquired at Pammant and Minntooine."
"And the Hammerhead is another warship that is iconic to the Republic," says Vyssa, "It can act as an escort for the larger ships. Oh, and are you going to get the crew from stripping our Dreadnought-class Heavy Cruisers?"
"Correct," I tell her, "The Dreadnought is a decent warship for its cost in credits, but its manpower requirements are too high for us. It is better for us to spend more on low crew warships to increase the number of warships that we can field."
"And going from six warships to thirty-six warships is a big improvement in force projection," says Vyssa, "Especially since half of those warships are significantly more dangerous."
"Right again, my padawan," I say, "Plus it gives Rendili some more business which puts them further in our camp. Something which is important as Palpatine is trying to court them away from us. I'm also thinking of retiring our Quasar Fires. They did their job well prior to the war, but with all of the funding and actual warships we got these days, we don't need some budget combat transports anymore. Their crews could be used to bring our Lucrehulks up to strength and with those credits we got from selling the aurodium, we can afford to get enough starfighters and pilots to fill out both the Valours and the Lucrehulks."
"We would have the credits for the starfighters," says Vyssa thoughtfully, "Another billion to a billion and a half credits even if we stick with our higher end models. And another billion and a half to hire the pilots and put aside some credits for their paychecks."
"And the best part is that Ziro is paying for it all," I say with a relish, "Let that kriffing Hutt be good for something for once."
"Any thoughts on what sort of starfighters we would get, Master?" inquires Vyssa.
"Y-Wings for bombers if we can get more of them," I say, "I also intend to get more Liberator-class Starfighters and Aurek-class Starfighters. Both are respectable generalist starfighters and getting them would strengthen our ties with Corellia and Rendili respectively. Not to mention that both would play to our Glory of the Old Republic theme as you so kindly put it."
"That's some good thinking," says Vyssa and like that, our conversation is over as we both jump to lightspeed.
"I must confess that your trip was certainly far more successful than I was originally expecting," says Wol as the senior leadership of the Republic Patriot Legions gather for a meeting.
"I endeavour to impress," I reply with a grin, "Though I must also confess that like you, I was not expecting this degree of success. Thank the Force that we found Ziro's secret stash of aurodium. Now, I would like to address the purpose of this meeting, which is the future of our forces. Between the warships we looted from the Separatists and the aurodium, we have substantial room to grow. Something I have further compounded by letting Palpatine and Republic High Command 'convince' me to let myself and the other Jedi with us take command of the clone legions."
"You agreed to that?" demands Rahm.
"They were being insistent and the price of resisting wouldn't have been worth the benefits," I answer, "Palpatine wanted this and I didn't have grounds to say no. The clones have proven themselves and our forces are well-established at this point. I also begged off the deadline until a couple of weeks on the grounds that we still need to finish reorganising our forces. Which is true and what we are here to discuss."
"You've been expanding our naval assets," comments Loren, "Again."
"Getting the Providences and the Recusants was seizing an opportunity, but yes, I am using our newfound riches to expand our fleet once more," I reply, "Before I go into the details, I should go into my vision for the future of our forces. Traditionally, we have had a fleet to support our ground forces and we kept that as we grew with a fleet to transport and support for each of our armies. This is going to be a departure to that as we will have naval elements that won't be paired with army elements."
"What are you saying, General?" asks Admiral Dallin, "Are you talking about a raiding complement?"
"The opposite actually," I reply, "I want something that can escort convoys and fight off raiders. Separatist, slaver, pirate or whoever is responsible, raiding is a blight upon galactic travel and trade. It was a problem before the war and now that the powers of the galaxy are focused on fighting this war, I believe it will only get worse. The Hutts won't pass up this opportunity to inflict more suffering for profit and as we have already seen Rodia has suffered due to no one caring about the trade routes."
"General Shan is right," says Aria, "Over the last millennia, many systems have become dependent on external trade and the galactic hyperlanes have become their lifelines. If galactic trade is unable to safely operate on those hyperlanes, then their worlds will wither and their people will suffer, in many cases to the point of death."
"To prevent such outcomes from coming to pass, I intend to use our forces to patrol the trade routes and keep them open," I say, "With a high number of low-crew warships, we can project enough force to make a meaningful impact and reduce the toil of this war on the citizens of the galaxy."
"You'll be stripping our Dreadnought Heavy Cruisers to find the manpower for these warships," notes Wol, "You've already done it to get the crew for our Seppie ships we captured and those Dreadnoughts are very much the opposite of a low-crew warship."
"Correct," I answer, "The required crew for even an automated Dreadnought is enough to fit a trio of Valour-class Cruisers and an equal number of Hammerhead-class Cruisers once they have both been automated as well. And while it is debatable if the Hammerhead is a superior vessel to the Dreadnought, the Valour is undeniably better. We now have the credits for it so the choice between having a single warship or half a dozen is obvious."
"Those Dreadnoughts are currently performing in a capital ship role within most of our fleets," points out Admiral Dallin.
"Some of the Valour-class Cruisers can act as replacements," I answer, "We'll need to hire more starfighter pilots to fill their hangar bays, but I'm already planning to do that for other reasons. I am intending to bring our Lucrehulks up to full status. Our Quasar Fires have served us well, but modified freighters are outdated in face of all the proper warships we have now. Their crews will be transferred to the Lucrehulks so they aren't running on skeleton crews anymore and they will act as mobile bases and supply stations for us. Using our newly acquired credits, we can afford to purchase enough starfighters and hire enough pilots to bring the starfighter complements of each Lucrehulk up to combat status."
"We'll need to find enough sufficiently capable and reliable pilots," notes Wol.
"And what starfighter models do you have in mind, sir?" adds Admiral Dallin.
"We can comb the worlds supporting us for pilots," I answer, "Most of them have militarist traditions and if needed, we can find suitable recruits to train up ourselves. As for the starfighters, I am looking at Rendili for Aureks and Corellia for Liberators. Both have proven themselves as highly capable generalists in our service. I am looking to get more Y-Wings if we can, but the Republic Navy currently has an exclusive contract with Koensayr Manufacturing for them. I might be able to get access to them via my connections, but I'm not counting on it as the senator involved in the Y-Wing project is a firm and outspoken supporter of Palpatine."
"We'll be looking at just shy of three hundred warships and easily over ten thousand starfighters," comments Rahm, "We'll certainly have the forces to support a substantial patrol network in addition to having a fleet for each of our armies."
"And while we are on the subject, I'll be funding the rollout of the new personal armour for our ground forces," I say before deciding to add a joke, "Just in case they were feeling left out."
"You don't need to worry about that, General," says Loren, "Our boys and girls will love the new armour."
"What about the old armour, sir?" asks Renu, Aria's brigadier.
"We'll pass it off to other members of the legions where we can," I answer, "Ground forces get first dibs. Brigadier Belen, you are in charge of that in addition to handling the deployment of the new armour."
"You can count on me," he replies and I give him an approving nod.
"What about our old naval assets?" inquires Wol, "Even with our old Z-95s donated to Mon Cala, we're still looking at a dozen Dreadnought Heavy Cruisers and eight Quasar Fire Bulk Cruisers that we'll no longer be using."
"We'll donate them to our supporters for political gains," I answer, "If no opportunity pops up by the time we have finished transferring the crews, I'll let Senator Bu handle who gets them. She's the leader of the Militarist coalition in the Senate for those of you who don't recognise the name."
"That would be an acceptable choice," agrees Aria, "Senator Bu has proven herself most competent at managing the Militarists and setting herself up as the loyal opposition to the Chancellor."
"Which brings us to the last major point I wish to discuss," I say, "Interdictors. How plausible would it be to get some of them for our own forces?"
To my surprise, I am met not with an immediate response, but by blank stares and looks of confusion.
"Interdictors, General?" asks Wol in an inquiring tone as he frowns in thought at me.
"Ships with gravity well projectors," I clarify, "Like the Republic and Sith used in the Old Sith Wars."
"I have never heard of it," admits Wol, "I presume that from its name and what is implied by the term 'gravity well projectors', that these indicator warships have something to do with stopping the enemy from entering hyperspace?"
"Or dropping them out of it," I answer, "The gravity well projectors should be used to artificially create mass-shadows that would drop starships out of hyperspace or prevent them from entering it though they weren't powerful enough to destroy any starships in hyperspace."
"That would have astounding potential," says Admiral Dallin, "No offence to you, General Shan, but how sure of this are you?"
"It is a matter of historical record and I made sure to brush up on them," I answer, "The Republic used the prototypes in the Mandalorian Wars and then the crews that commanded them defected to the Sith Empire, who used the Star Forge to mass produce the Interdictor-class Cruisers. Both Darth Malak and Darth Revan used Interdictor-class Cruisers as their flagships and the class played a key role in the bombardments of Telos and Taris. Republic Sienar Systems came up with the designs, but licensed out production of the prototypes to one of the Corellian shipyards."
"Corellian Engineering Corporation?" inquires Loren as he glances at Wol, but the Corellian admiral shakes his head.
"Possibly, but unlike today, Corellia's shipbuilding industry wasn't united back then," says Wol, "It could have been one of CEC's rivals or one of the small-time builders. That said, CEC has consolidated its hold on Corellia's shipbuilding so we might have the records of the construction and potentially the design as well. General Shan, from your earlier comments, I got the impression that you have the relevant records at hand?"
"I do," I confirm.
"I would like you to pass over copies of them to me," says Wol, "So I can pass them onto Director Thalin and she can launch a discreet investigation into the matter."
"That sounds acceptable," I say, "I would rather keep this matter in-house as much as possible. No offence to Rendili, Admiral Dallin, but I don't want the Separatists getting word of this technology if we can help it and Rendili has something of a problem with Separatist sympathisers."
"As much as it pains me to admit it, General, you are correct on both accounts," replies Admiral Dallin, "We must do what we can to keep the Separatists from coming up with their own interdictors and you are right about how many of my people are secretly sympathetic to the Separatists. I have my own doubts about how many of those who haven't defected to the Confederacy are really staying behind to feed information to the Separatists."
"With that sorted, I wish to address our upcoming mission to Sleheyron and a change that needs to be made to it," I say.
Mostly naval stuff, logistics or a combination of the two in this update. With his new funds, Ben is taking the opportunity to reorganise and expand his forces. Some ships are being retired for not fitting the needs of the fleet whilst Ben is expanding his navy to help keep galactic trade running, the lack of which caused problems in the clone wars.
This will be it for Ben's perspective in this arc. I'll cover Rahm Kota leading the titular heist, but we won't be seeing Ben again until 12.1.
This was meant to be posted before the heist interludes with Rahm Kota's perspective, but I forgot to post it.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Interlude - Ravager Heist - Part I
The objective is the Harrower-class Dreadnought Ravager owned by Grakkus the Hutt, an ancient warship that has been kept running and up to date with modern standards by the Hutt. Rahm isn't quite sure why Ben wants it, but the younger Jedi has a good head on his shoulders and a very solid track record so Rahm isn't going to question it too much. Not when he can see the benefits of taking the warship for their own use given how it is still a very capable combatant for this era despite its age.
Not so capable that the Republic Patriot Legions couldn't take the Ravager. Even if it has more starfighters, lower crew requirement and more troop transport capability, the Harrower-class Dreadnought is outclassed in direct combat capabilities by the Mon Calamari Star Cruisers used by the legions. Not to mention that the escorts are piddly compared to what they can bring to bear.
Not that they are meaningless. A Dreadnought-class Heavy Cruiser, a couple of Corellian Gunships and a pair of Corellian Corvettes are a decent set of escorts by pre-war standards. Easily enough to deter pirates and opportunists and requiring any attackers to commit a significant amount of military might to them. They just aren't enough to threaten the Republic Patriot Legions.
Unfortunately, winning a direct military confrontation isn't the worry here. No, Rahm needs to worry about securing the Ravager before it can jump to lightspeed and escape. The Republic Patriot Legions are still working on acquiring some of that interdictor technology that Ben mentioned and the Harrower-class is a tough enough opponent that they can't rely upon knocking out the engines before the Ravager can escape to lightspeed.
And that is where Rahm comes in. The Hutt warship is going to be part of a convoy and that convoy is stopping at Sleheyron to refuel and resupply, giving the Jedi and their soldiers an opportunity to strike at it. All they need to do is to discreetly insert a team, who will make their way through the port and board the Ravager before crippling it and sending a signal for the main force to jump in to secure the Ravager and eliminate its escorts.
Nice and simple except for the fact that instead of leading the infiltration team, Ben was forced to deal with politics on Coruscant. Which led to Rahm standing aboard a YT-1300 Light Freighter, one owned and piloted by a smuggler friendly to the Republic Patriot Legions.
"It's good to see that the RPT hasn't forgotten its roots despite getting all big and the war with the Seppies," says Qel Esrilq, the Weequay woman piloting the ship, "I was afraid you guys would just ignore the little folk in need of aid now that you are all big shots."
"Rest assured that we will not abandon our prior duties," replies Rahm as he stands next to her seat, "While it may not be our primary focus anymore, we still continue to strike at slavers, pirates and other scum of the galaxy. In fact, our most recent discussions have been plans to help keep the trade lanes secure from raiders in order to keep trade flowing despite the war."
"Good to hear that," says Qel, "Been hearing too much talk about how pirates are going to hit the trade lanes now that the galaxy is too busy fighting itself to stop them. It might be good for my business, but people are going to suffer, you know, and I'm not a fan of that. Well, innocent people suffering anyway. Guilty folk have it coming and I'll shed no tears for them."
"Actions do have consequences," Rahm agrees as the spaceport rapidly comes into sight, "I take it that we are almost there?"
"Yup," confirms Qel, "Just got to land, pay my bribes to the local customs agent and then you can leave once nobody is looking."
"You don't need to worry about a search of the ship?" inquires Rahm.
"Not if I pay the right amount of credits," answers Qel confidently, "Just let me do the talking once we land and wait until I come and give ya the all clear."
Rahm looks at the smuggler for a moment and as he senses no ill intent or deceit in the Force, he gives a nod of approval.
"Anyway, you might want to head back down now," continues Qel, "People might see you and wonder who you are or where you are. And trust me, neither of us want people asking those questions."
"I agree, Captain Esrilq," is Rahm's simple reply before the Jedi Master makes his way down into the freighter's innards and it isn't long before his presence is noted by the rest of his team.
"Hey, General Kota, what's the news?" asks Major Oveya Vora, the Twi'lek trooper who is acting as his second in command for this mission.
"We will be landing soon," answers Rahm, "Our captain will handle the local officials and then give us an all clear when it is safe for us to leave."
"You trust her to deal with us straight?" asks another of the troopers.
"I do," answers Rahm, ignoring what most other militaries would call insubordination.
The Republic Patriot Legions have always been more informal than most, relying upon shared purpose, brotherhood and camaraderie to remain a functional military force rather than strict hierarchies and unyielding regulations. Not like the military he knew in his youth or this modern Republic military and for that, Rahm is grateful. He prefers the esprit de corps that defines the Republic Patriot Legions and has grown accustomed to it over the last month.
For their part, Major Vora and the other troopers accept this response, having come to trust the intuition of a Jedi over the time they spent serving under one.
And so they wait. They wait as the ship lands, they wait as Qel leaves and they wait until she returns.
"Alright, the coast is clear," says the Weequay woman as she pokes her head around the corner, "I've got my droids unloading my cargo and I'll get the kriff out of dodge. No offence to you guys, but I don't want to be around when you go loud and I really don't want them to figure out that you came from my ship. Capeesh?"
"We understand, Captain Esrilq," replies Rahm as he pulls out the cloak he'll be wearing to conceal his identity.
For the sake of disguise, it is a different cloak to those normally worn by the Jedi, but no less concealing. Major Vora and the other six troopers that make up the team wear similar cloaks as stealth will be vital until they get close enough to board the Ravager. Once they reach the warship, then they go loud.
There is silence as they leave their ride to Sleheyron behind and silence as they walk through the spaceport. While Sleheyron is technically a volcanic world, the majority of the planet has long been urbanised and industrialised. The spaceport shows no sign of the original terrain with metallic, ceramic and wooden structures being the only thing in sight. Despite that, Sleheyron was still far from being an ecumenopolis like Coruscant or Nar Shaddaa with towering heights and plummeting depths, instead being closer to a world like Christophsis where despite being covered in urban landscape, the cities were relatively groundlevel.
Or so Rahm would wish that is the case because the people he sees make his stomach churn, something that Christophsis lacks. Sleheyron is a major Hutt world on a major trade route and that means a thriving slave market. Slavers and their slaves are a common sight as their little group makes their way through the streets and not just the former selling the latter as many slavers are just putting their slaves to work.
There are other people out, ordinary workers, regular merchants, smugglers, pirates and wealthy dirtbags that work with the Hutts in hopes of furthering their riches, but for the likes of Rahm and his team, it is the evils of slavery that dominate their view as they walk the streets of Sleheyron.
"I hate this," mutters Major Vora from beside Rahm, "Being able to see it all and do nothing about it."
"We will return someday," Rahm whispers back, "Someday we will strike at the Hutts and free their slaves. But not today, we just aren't in a position to do so at the moment."
"I know," replies Major Vora, "We have a war with the Seppies and megacorps to win, but the General will lead us to victory over the Hutts one day."
The General. That is how the old hands in the Republic Patriot Legions think of Ben. He isn't just their commander, he is their leader. No wonder the High Council has been so wary of him. Especially when you combine this loyalty of some highly capable soldiers with Ben's radicalism and his willingness to act upon his beliefs.
Rahm sympathises with both even if he ultimately finds himself siding with Ben. The High Council isn't wrong to regard Ben as a destabilising element who threatens the peace and status quo of the galaxy. At the same time, what Ben was doing wasn't wrong and he was doing the job that the Republic and Jedi Order were supposed to be doing, even if it meant disrupting the current state of affairs.
Maybe that was why the High Council turned a blind eye to Ben, because they knew that he was ultimately doing the right thing. For the sake of his old master, Rahm hopes that was the case, but the more cynical part of him suspects that they were hesitant to go against Ben's supporters in the Senate.
It isn't long before they reach their target or at least the target they must get through to reach their real target. The Ravager isn't suited for landing on the ground so instead it refuels and resupplies in low orbit. A series of platforms are kept afloat in low-orbit by repulsors and a set of lift towers connect them to the spaceport, a primary one in the centre with a trio of secondary lifts surrounding it.
Storming one of those lifts and using it to reach the Ravager is their plan. They'll need to be speedy about it as their team will need to reach the Harrower-class Dreadnought before it can withdraw. Between Rahm's control of the Force and the jetpacks of the troopers, they had some options once they got up to the platforms, but they still need to make it to the platforms in a timely manner.
There are several guards patrolling the lift towers, no doubt due to the presence of the Ravager. Humans, Twi'leks, Nikto, Weequays and a couple of other species that Rahm doesn't recognise off the top of his head, all male and all armed.
"Remember the plan?" Rahm asks Major Vora in whispered tones.
"Seize the closest secondary lift, which is the one closest to the Ravager and then board the Ravager," replies the Twi'lek woman, glee in her voice, "And we kill any slavers who get in the way."
"Just remember the objective," Rahm reminds her, a bit surprised at her bloodlust.
"Don't worry, we will," replies Major Vora, "We're professionals and we won't let the General down."
"On my mark-" starts Rahm when there is an explosion on the other side of the structures and blaster fire breaks out.
"What is that?" demands Major Vora.
"Trouble," replies Rahm as he narrows his eyes in the direction of the commotion, "Come on, someone just sped up our schedule."
And with that, Rahm leaps forward, tossing his cloak aside as he draws his lightsaber and ignites the green blade.
"You heard General Kota!" shouts Major Vora from behind him, "Move! Move! Move!"
The guards begin to react, but they are close and unsure of whether to respond to the initial fighting or the presence of Rahm. He makes them regret that hesitation as he uses the Force to close the distance. He slashes one across the chest, bisects another, sends another two flying with a push of the Force and that is it. The rest of the guards have been put down by precise blaster fire from Major Vora and her troopers.
"It looks like the lift is already down here," comments Rahm as the major catches up with him.
"Will of the Force," replies Major Vora, "Xara! Get these doors open!"
"Yes, ma'am!" replies the trooper in question as she darts up to the controls and it isn't long before the large, wide doors to the lift tower slide open.
"Quickly," orders Rahm, "Before reinforcements show up."
Their team piles into the wide open platform of the lift tower and a moment later, the doors are sliding shut again and the platform is rising up the tower.
"Going too slow," says Major Vora after a few seconds have passed.
"It is a cargo-lift," replies Rahm, "It isn't going to go that fast."
"We need to go faster," says Major Vora.
"Got any ideas to make it go faster?" inquires Rahm.
"Not the lift itself, but using our jetpacks would be faster," replies Major Vora as she holsters her blaster, "If you don't mind being carried…"
"I can endure that," retorts Rahm and it isn't long before he is being carried in the arms of Major Vora as she and other troopers are soaring up the lift tower with their jetpacks.
"Any idea on what else is going on?" inquires Major Vora on their way up.
"Either someone else is making a run on the Ravager like we are or they just want to take out something at the resupply station," replies Rahm, "Just poor timing that it took place at the same time as our own."
"Or good timing," suggests Major Vora, "They seem to be doing a good job of distracting the defenders for us judging by all the fighting we can hear."
"Only if the Force is smiling on us today," says the Jedi Master as they approach the top of the lift, where the doors are still sealed shut.
"Hey, General Kota-" starts Major Vora.
"On it," interrupts Rahm as he gets up the Force and charges up a Force push.
He unleashes in an instant, the power of his Force push slamming into the doors. They buckle with only marginal resistance before being torn from their tracks and sent flying across the upper platform, taking out two or three guards with them. Any remaining guards in the immediate area are swiftly taken out by blaster fire as Major Vora lets Rahm go.
"We need to get to the Ravager," says Rahm as he glances not in the direction of the warship, but to the other side of the platform, where the fighting is no longer just taking place at the bottom and has spread to the top.
"I know," replies Major Vora as the Twi'lek woman breaks into a run.
The other troopers and Rahm are following her in an instant and as they run, Major Vora and the troopers pick off any of the Hutt guards that they spot. The thugs hired by the slugs aren't a real threat to them, having only basic armour if they have any protection at all and their blasters are all second-rate. Despite being outnumbered several times over by the defenders of the resupply station, their team isn't running into any serious resistance.
Not until they reach the final approach to the docked Ravager anyway.
Rahm senses the newcomer first, feeling the approach of their sickening presence in the Force as the darksider fights their own way to the Ravager.
The Gamorrean stands tall, burly with muscle while their body is mostly covered in thick purple-tinted black armour. His lower arms and face are the only parts exposed, leaving the sickly yellow glow in his sunken eyes clear for all to see. In each hand is a weapon, a red lightsaber in the right hand whilst what can only be described as a lightsaber axe is held in the left hand, also with a red blade.
Well, this just got a whole load more interesting. And dangerous.
And we are back with the first half of the Rahm Kota interlude. Well, it was intended to just be one update, but then it got long and I decided to split it up. It shouldn't have more than two parts, three tops.
Anyway, the Republic Patriot Legions are stealing a warship from the Hutts and only for a darksider to show up and join the party.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Interlude - Ravager Heist - Part II
"Continue the mission!" orders Rahm as he positions himself between the new arrival and the rest of his team, "I'll deal with him."
"Heh, like you can do that," says the darksider in a surprisingly level voice as the Gamorrean strides towards him, two cargo crates behind him rising into the air.
Without any warning, both cargo crates go flying at the Republic troopers, but Rahm grabs both with the Force and smoothly redirects them at the darksider. The Gamorrean's eyes widen in surprise and he swings out with his lightsaber, clearly attempting to cut the cargo crates in two. The attempt fails as the red blade is too small to cleave the crate in half in time, leaving it to slam into the darksider along with the second one.
The Gamorrean is thrown back with a grunt as he goes tumbling before staggering back up to his feet with a grunt. As he does so, several battle droids show up. They look like the usual B1 except for how they don't and the more Rahm looks at them, the more the differences pile up. Their bodies and limbs are too bulky, they are dark purple and orange, their eyes are a glowing white rather than a dull black and their heads are more human-looking than the curving arch of a B1. They still have the same blasters though.
"Huh, looks like you might be tougher than you look," says the Gamorrean as he grins at Rahm, "Shoot him you bucket of bolts!"
And with that command, these new battle droids open fire, targeting Rahm with accurate blaster fire that is unbecoming of a B1 battle droid. Rahn falls back on his Soresu to block and deflect the blaster fire, but he struggles to bring down this new model of battle droid. They apparently take more than one blaster bolt to go down and Rahm's speciality is Form VII not Form III.
While the Gamorrean lets out a throaty laugh, Rahm grabs another cargo crate and gives it a shove in the direction of the closest batch of battle droids. They try to jump out of the way, but the droids are too slow with only one successfully clearing the cargo crate. The cargo crate smashes into the rest and if that doesn't reduce them to junk, then the fall as the cargo crate goes over the edge will.
"I forgot you Jedi could do that," says the Gamorrean before charging forward, letting out a wordless, but guttural battle cry.
The darksider closes the distance faster than one would expect of a Gamorrean, but Rahm is ready for him, raising his green blade to meet the red blade of his foe. Sparks fly for a moment before their lightsabers break away and Rahm jumps back to avoid the swing of the darksider's axe.
He deflects a blaster bolt back at one of the commando droids as his true opponent charges forwards once more. Rahm ducks and rolls under the lightsaber swing of the Gamorrean, and slashes his opponent from behind as he comes back up to his feet. His lightsaber connects, but the green blade bounces off of the dark armour harmlessly.
Clearly some kind of lightsaber resistant material. Not pure cortosis and it doesn't look like beskar either. Probably phrik or a cortosis weave.
A blaster bolt strikes Rahm's pauldron and he counterattacks with the Force, sending out a strong Force push at the droid responsible. It and another with the misfortune of standing too close are sent flying over the edge as the Gamorrean spins around to face Rahm.
He blocks his foe's lightsaber swing with his own weapon before knocking the lightsaber axe off-course with a burst of the Force. Rahm stabs at the darksider's face, but his opponent twists so that his helmet takes the blow and then slashes at Rahm. The Jedi Master leans back, barely avoiding the red blade before jumping backwards to put some distance between them.
"You here for the kids too?" asks the Gamorrean as he rolls his shoulders.
"Kids?" repeats Rahm as he tries to figure out what the darksider is referring to.
Slaves perhaps? Or it is something else that the Jedi Master lacks context for.
"Heh, you don't know do you," replies the darksider with a throaty laugh, "Then what are you here for? Did you Pubbies ally with the slugs?"
"I have a mutual exception," answers Rahm.
"What does that even-?" starts the Gamorrean only to break off as several starfighters launch from the Ravager, a mixture of Z-95 Headhunters and what Rahm believes are Toscan 8-Qs.
Without another word, Rahm spins around and breaks into a run for the Ravager.
"Hey!" shouts the darksider from behind him, "Get back here! I wasn't done with you yet!"
"But I am done with you, boy!" retorts Rahm without looking back as the Hutt starfighters begin their attack run on the refuelling station.
The starfighters open fire with both lasers and concussion missiles. Not enough to blow through the sturdy structure of the platform on their own, but certainly enough firepower to burn and blast gashes out of the platform's surface. It is definitely more than enough firepower to take out anything on the surface.
Rahm jumps into the air to avoid the worst of it, letting the waves from explosions ripple past him as he lands again. Still sensing the presence of the darksider, the Jedi Master glances behind him even as he continues his run for the Ravager. For a moment, he cannot see anything through the explosions and the flames left behind from them, but things are rapidly settling and it isn't long before Rahm sees the Gamorrean chasing after him.
"General Kota, the surviving crew is detaching the warship from the refuelling station," reports Major Vora over Rahm's commlink, "We also have a situation on our hands. We have found a cargo hold full of Force-wielding slaves and I'm pretty sure that other parts of the ship have some Jedi stuff. Orders?"
"Continue your mission," replies Rahm as some of what the darksider said clicks into place for him, "We can worry about rescuing the slaves once we have secured the Ravager."
"Understood, General," replies Major Vora as Rahm takes this new information into consideration.
Those Force-sensitive slaves, they must be what the darksider is after. The Sith and the Separatist must want them to train them up as, well, not as Sith due to the Rule of Two, but most likely as expendable dark side Force adepts like the one that he is currently dealing with. It makes sense as their best option for countering the advantage that the Jedi give the Republic in the war.
"Get back here, Jedi!" roars the Gamorrean and Rahm looks behind him just in time to see a cargo crate being tossed at him.
As the Ravager's thrusters begin to ignite and as the warship starts to forcibly detach from the resupply station, Rahm makes a snapshot decision. Leaping up and forward, his feet come down on the still in motion cargo crate and Rahm leaps off of the cargo crate. Even as the extra momentum carries him forward, Rahm uses the Force to shove the cargo crate back at the darksider, reversing the direction of its movement.
With a very limited time-frame to catch his target, Rahm ignores the Gamorrean as he reaches the edge of the platform and jumps, boosting his movement with the Force. The Jedi Master barely reaches the Ravager, grabbing onto the outside of the warship's hull as the Harrower-class Dreadnought continues to rise from the low orbit into regular orbit. Taking a deep breath as the air remains scarcely breathable, Rahm mentally curses his lack of a spacesuit as he climbs up to the closest airlock.
While the airlock is sealed and locked, Rahm has just the right tool to open it. With his lightsaber, he cuts a hole just big enough to climb in. He has to instantly roll to the side to avoid being sucked out of the airlock as the Ravager continues to rise higher and higher. Using the Force, Rahm opens the inner airlock and jumps forwards. As he reaches the inside of the ship proper, he has barely enough time to slam the inner airlock closed again as everything not nailed down in the corridor begins to get sucked out of the ship.
With the return of an atmosphere, the Jedi Master lets out several deep gasps for breath as he takes in the fresh air. It only lasts for a couple of seconds and within moments, Rahm has recovered and is ready to continue his mission.
"Major Vora, I am aboard the Ravager," says Rahm into his commlink as he gets to his feet, "What is your status?"
"Split into two teams," answers the Twi'lek woman, "I'm leading a team to secure the power core while another is going for the engines."
"Not the bridge?" inquires Rahm.
"No, sir," replies Major Vora, "If we can get manual control over the engines, they can't use the bridge to get away. And if we have the power core, they cannot cut power to the engines."
"I'll call in the next phase of the plan then," says Rahm, "And I'll secure the bridge."
"Understood, General Kota," replies Major Vora before ending the call, leaving Rahm to make his next call.
"Admiral Thak, are you reading me?" asks Rahm.
"General Kota, this is Admiral Thak aboard the Freedom," answers the Corellian, "Ready for us to arrive?"
"Not quite, but you should show up now," replies Rahm, "The Ravager is heading into orbit and the mission got a lot more complicated. The Ravager has Force-sensitives slaves aboard along with Jedi artefacts and we ran into a Separatist commando team led by a darksider, presumably here to seize the warship and its cargo for the Sith. I'm fairly certain that we left them behind on the planet, but…"
"I understand," says Admiral Thak, "We'll begin jumping into the Sleheyron system now, General Kota."
With nothing more to say, the call ends as Rahm continues to run through the warship. Blaster marks and corpses litter his path, clear signs of the presence of the rest of his team even if they have already moved on. Of course, his path eventually diverges from their path as Rahm takes a lift up to the bridge.
It isn't until the top of the lift that Rahm finally encounters some enemy resistance aboard the Ravager. There are a couple of startled guards at the top of the lift and Rahm cuts them down before they can even finish raising their blasters let alone open fire. Unfortunately, they aren't the only people up in the corridor as Rahm finds himself dealing with several members of the Ravager's crew.
He darts forward and begins to cut them down without hesitation. They are part of a warship crew and they have blasters, which makes them legitimate targets. And even if they aren't directly caught up with it, they knowingly work for and with slavers so Rahm has little sympathy for them.
A few attempt to draw their blasters and fight back, the rest try to flee or cower. All die to Rahm's green blade or deflected blaster fire from their fellows, barely slowing down the Jedi Master as he makes his way to the bridge.
Outside the bridge of the Ravager, Rahm runs into more guards, half a dozen of them standing outside the pair of sealed blast doors.
"Scum," mutters Rahm as he charges and the Hutt guards open fire on him.
He deflects a blaster bolt into the head of one then another blast bolt into the shoulder of a second guard. Rahm cuts a third guard in two along with his blaster before decapitating the second guard with a flick of his weapon. He sends another two flying with the Force and stabs the sixth guard in the chest. The fourth and fifth guard die to his green blade as they try to get back to their feet.
Now Rahm just needs to get past the blast doors that are separating him from the bridge.
"General Kota," calls Major Vora over the comms as Rahm figures out the best way to breach the blast doors, "We have secured both the engines and the power core with some injuries, but no deaths. We have also tapped into the warship's systems and the enemy comms and I can report that our reinforcements have arrived. Your status, sir?"
"I am just outside the bridge," replies Rahm, "I just have to take care of some blast doors before I can deal with the bridge crew. Just keep the engines and power core secure until reinforcements show up."
"Yes, sir," says Major Vora as Rahm readies his lightsaber to do this the old fashion way as he prepares to cut a hole in the blast doors.
Getting a firm grip on the hilt with both hands, Rahm stabs his lightsaber into the centre of the blast doors and pushes forward so far that the hilt is pushing up against the doors. It holds it firm as the green blade slowly, but surely melts its way through the blast doors.
Once enough of the blast doors have melted into molten slag, Rahm pulls back his lightsaber and reaches out with both hands, calling upon the Force to pull the doors open. He doesn't have to do it all the way, just enough that he can walk through without touching the melted portions of the door.
Unfortunately for the Jedi Master, his efforts are interrupted by blaster fire coming from inside the bridge. Most hit the door and the remainder miss him, but the threat is real enough that Rahm is forced to cease in his efforts lest a lucky blaster bolt strikes him.
"General Kota, boarding parties have arrived aboard the Ravager," says the semi-familiar voice of Brigadier Belen over Rahm's commlink as he tries to figure out the best way to finish getting past these blasted blast doors, "I've got a company aboard and a second company should be arriving shortly."
Rahm isn't too familiar with the man, but he has spent time with the de facto leader of the 1st Legion's ground contingent. The man is a trusted friend and subordinate to Ben and he is so because he is both loyal and competent. Rahm can trust Brigadier Belen to get the job done, but he ought to point the man in the right direction.
"I hear you, Brigadier," replies Rahm, "Reinforce the engines and power core so Major Vora's people aren't left hanging. And send some people to the cargo holds. I don't want any surviving crew trying to do anything to the slaves down there. I'll be securing the bridge shortly."
"Understood," replies Brigadier Belen, "Want me to send a squad or two to reinforce you?"
"Only if you cover the other objectives first," says Rahm, "I won't say no to some help, but I don't need it."
"I'm sure Oveya would say the same," says Brigadier Belen and it takes Rahm a moment to place the first name of Major Vora.
Those two must go back for the familiarity. Rahm knows that both are veterans from before Geonosis, but he wonders just how far back their service with Ben goes if the effective leader of the ground forces casually refers to someone who used to be a mere company commander by their first name.
Something to ponder later, once he has dealt with these Force forsaken blast doors and secured the bridge of the Ravager.
And here is the second half of this interlude. There won't be a third part because the interesting parts of the battle are over and it is just the superior Republic Patriot Legions mopping up the inferior Hutt forces. I even decided to not show Rahm taking the bridge because it was dragging out and I didn't feel writing it out and showing it on-screen added anything to the story. The battle is won and anything else would be describing how badly the Republic forces are kicking Hutt butt.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
12.1 (Colliding Beliefs) - Chapter Sixty-Three
I don't know what I was expecting for the Republic Starfighter Expo, but what Vyssa and I got was not it. Centred on Coruscant of course, the convention took place on a nicer part of Coruscant for all of the bigwigs attending whilst the skies were reserved for the various companies demonstrating their prospective products to the Republic military.
It is a rather glorious and prestigious affair where the choices made here today will be dependent as much on politics as the merits of the starfighters in question. Even I will be pushing my own politically-motivated agenda as I have some companies I would rather get ahead whilst also desiring to keep Kuat out as much as possible. Corellia and Rendili are in my camp so I want Rendili StarDrive and Corellian Engineering Corporation to do well while Incom Corporation is the future inventor of the X-Wing so if I can, I want to get them in my corner.
Things will be going differently compared to the original timeline thanks to the butterflies I have introduced. I haven't been keeping track, but I know that Walex Blissex has jumped ship from Kuat to Rendili which means no V-Wing from Kuat Drive Yards while Wol has let me know that CEC is planning to present the Talon-class Starfighter, a less high-end version of the Liberator-class Starfighter used by my own forces. Senator Tashi of Rendili has hinted to me that Rendili StarDrive has something beyond the Aurek-class and I have no idea what Kuat will be bringing to the table, only that they have come up with something for the expo.
"General Shan!" calls a bombastic voice that I have recently become accustomed to, "Glad you could make it."
"I am glad to be here, General Augdona," I reply, "This is an important part of getting the Republic military into top form."
"Indeed, it is," agrees the head of the Republic military, "Now, you are familiar with Admiral Blakdayt and Admiral Calloway, but I don't believe you have met my third companion today."
And yet I have from a certain point of view. He might be older in most of those impossible memories, but I would recognise Wilhuff Tarkin anywhere. I'm not sure what the man is doing here, but I know that he has been Palpatine's creature since before the Clone Wars began and he is ideologically aligned with those who would corrupt the Republic rather than those who would save it.
"Captain Tarkin," I greet him with a polite nod, remembering that he didn't get the rank of Admiral until later into the war.
"I was not aware that you were familiar with me, General Shan," says Tarkin.
"I like to keep an eye on rising stars," I half-lie as while that is true, it isn't the real reason that I am so familiar with the man, "And I have reason to keep an eye on the Tarkin family as many of my oldest personnel are veterans of Ranulph Tarkin's Outland Regions Security Force. I believe that the man was your cousin or uncle?"
"Cousin," clarifies Tarkin, "And I am glad to see that his legacy is still remembered to this day."
"Tarkin is something of a protege of the Chancellor, Ben," says General Augdona, "Like yourself, he likes to keep an eye on rising stars and guide them so they can serve the Republic as best they can."
"Like General Skywalker," I comment neutrally though something about that sounds off to me.
"Exactly," agrees General Augdona, "Captain Tarkin will be following me around today. The Chancellor wants him to have an accelerated career path to help meet the needs of the war."
"I understand that sentiment," I say, "To make ends meet, I've had to recruit more than a few people when I would have rather let them get some experience first. Unfortunately, the war doesn't allow for such luxuries of peacetime. I can only imagine how much worse it must be for you when you don't have a cadre of veterans to call upon."
"Oh, it is such an ordeal," replies General Augdona, "Thankfully we have the clones, the Jedi and your legions. That has proven sufficient so far and if the Force is willing, it will
continue to be enough until we can get the military into fighting form."
"General Shan, I would like to personally thank you for attending today," says Admiral Reginald Blakdayt as the Coruscanti native interjects himself into the conversation, "To have such a famous war hero here is an honour and as the person who has effectively written modern starfighter doctrine, your insights will be invaluable."
"I would hardly say that I've done that," I reply, "I'm only responsible for one starfighter doctrine and I would hardly say I wrote it, I'm just championing it in this day and age."
"Regardless of the details, your track record speaks for itself when it comes to your starfighter pilots," says Admiral Calloway as she gives me a reassuring smile, "As the Chief of the Republic Starfighter Corps, I can say that your expertise is something that the Republic wants."
"This starfighter doctrine?" says Tarkin as he interjects himself into the conversation, "Is this the one that you've been having the Starfighter Corps adopt, ma'am?"
"Indeed it is," confirms Admiral Calloway and she does so proudly.
"I'm afraid that the Chancellor has some… concerns regarding it and I'm afraid I must admit to sharing them upon hearing them," says Tarkin, "Nothing against anyone in Republic High Command, but the Chancellor has worries that it might not be the most optimal usage of the Republic's resources."
And then it hits me as I figure out what is off about this situation. If I recall things correctly, Palpatine shouldn't be taking an interest in Tarkin yet. That takes place later in the war, not long before he gets promoted to Admiral and should be at least a year in the future. So what has happened that Tarkin has gained the attention and favour of Sidious so early in the war? Or maybe I am just recalling things wrong or my knowledge is incorrect. It is hard to know, especially as things have firmly changed from what they were in those other possible timelines.
"I'm sure we can discuss and allay those concerns today," I say as I decide to get some control over this conversation, "Now forgive me if I have already introduced her to you in the past, but this is my padawan, Commander Vyssa Randanys and she'll be here with me today."
"Ah, Commander Randanys!" exclaims General Augdona in a jovial manner as he beams at my padawan, "Good to see you again. I hope today is a good learning experience for you. We always need more people like your master, especially in these trying times."
"I shall endeavour to live up to your hopes," answers Vyssa with a smile and General Augdona lets out a friendly laugh in response.
"I'm sure that you will, young lady," says General Augdona, "Alright Ben, let's start looking around. I'm sure you also heard that Rendili has a special surprise that they are raring to show off."
"Senator Tashi mentioned something along those lines," I reply and the six of us set off.
"Keep an eye on Tarkin," I tell Vyssa quickly as I pull my padawan to one side once we get a moment to ourselves.
"I already am," replies Vyssa, "Any particular reason on your end?"
"My visions of possible futures show him as being one of Sidious' most prominent and high-ranking lackeys," I answer, "Tarkin is either politically or militarily competent or a mixture of the two. When you have a chance, could you look into him? I know what he will be like by the end of the war and in a decade or two, but I'm afraid the Force didn't share too much on who he is right now, just the sort of monster that he'll grow into."
"I'll get you a profile on him," promises Vyssa, "What do you think of Rendili's product line?"
"The Aurek is an old standby of theirs and while it has a long record of proven history, I don't think that General Augdona is going to go for it," I say, "Maybe I'm misjudging things, but he wants something new for his new Republic military, which means no Aurek. It doesn't help Rendili's case that the Aurek is expensive for a starfighter."
"Small expenses can add up over time," notes Vyssa, "The Aurek is affordable for a small elite force, but if you want something to buy in bulk? There are cheaper alternatives."
"Exactly," I agree, "I do think that he'll go for the Nimbus-class. Rendili really outdid themselves there."
The RD-10 Nimbus-class Starfighter is Rendili StarDrive's surprise product and this timeline's answer to the V-Wing. When Walex Blissex jumped ship from Kuat to Rendili, I assumed he would be working on capital ships, but it seems that Rendili put him to work on designing a new starfighter line. Given how the project turned out, it can't be denied that it was a good call.
It is a sleek and swift starfighter as one of the fastest and most agile around. A relatively robust fuselage combined with a basic shield generator provides good survivability while a pair of heavy laser cannons lets the Nimbus hunt other starfighters. Combine it with a reasonable price tag and you have yourself a desirable interceptor.
It isn't all sunshines and roses though. Pushing the Nimbus' engines and thrusters takes up enough of the power that you can't fire the guns and it keeps the deflector shield from recharging if it is down. Not to mention that it is a new design and while they have prototypes to show off, Rendili StarDrive hasn't finished building any production lines yet.
"Fancy getting some for ourselves?" inquires Vyssa with a grin.
"Maybe if we need to save some credits," I answer, "Don't get me wrong, it is an excellent starfighter for its role, but what it has in speed, it lacks in toughness and what it has in affordability, it lacks in firepower. I can see why Augdona would prefer the Nimbus as an interceptor for the Republic military, but I will pay extra for the Aurek so long as I have the credits to spare."
"It would be ideal for taking out droid starfighters," says Vyssa.
"I do believe that is the intended purpose for the Nimbus," I reply, "Now let's get back to the others."
"I do believe that this is an ideal starfighter for the Republic's needs," says Tarkin after we have finished with the Kuat Drive Yard, "The A-7 Hunter Interceptor will serve as an excellent screen to keep enemy starfighters off of our star destroyers."
"Captain Tarkin, that is an outdated doctrine," says Admiral Calloway, "Peacetime theories developed after the Ruusan Reformation that have since been disproven by this very war."
"To be fair, it could be useful," I say as I try to weave the line of shutting down the line of thinking that Tarkin has brought up without being too aggressive and confrontational with the man, "If the Republic was truly building a military from scratch, there would be some merit to mass-training expendable pilot and then sticking them in cheap starfighters as a possible course of action. As things are, we have the clones so I don't feel that the A-7 is the right starfighter for our elite clone pilots."
"General Shan is correct," Admiral Calloway agrees hurriedly as she shoots me a grateful look.
"Aren't the clones expendable?" inquires Tarkin, "After all, I thought that was the entire point of them."
"Not in that manner," I reply smoothly, "They are expendable in the sense that they don't have people back home who will miss them if they die and potentially raise discontent or lower support for the war. From a combat point of view, they are elite soldiers who take a lot of time and credits to train up to a high standard. Their elite training combined with how long that training takes and how much it costs means that they aren't cheap cannon fodder to be used up on the battlefield and then replaced in time for the next one."
"General Shan is quite right, Captain Tarkin," says General Augdona, "I've seen some of the financial reports for producing new clones and let me tell you that it costs as much as a small warship for each clone. Anyone who considers them insignificant enough to be thrown away on the battlefield has never had to worry about balancing the Republic's budget."
"That would be paying for eight to ten years of growth and training," I say, "Clones are the opposite of the droids where the clankers are quickly and cheaply mass-produced cannon fodder while the clones are expensive and time-consumingly mass-produced elite soldiers."
"To bring this conversation back around to the original point, I am getting the general impression that the A-7 Hunter Interceptor doesn't fit the current needs of the Republic?" says Admiral Blakdayt.
"It does not," answers Admiral Calloway firmly, "It doesn't fit the troops at our disposal and reeks too much of trying to beat the Separatists at their own game and failing because we aren't committing to it as much as they are. We need quality starfighters to go with our quality pilots and while Kuat produces excellent warships, I am less than impressed with their starfighter lines. Not compared to Rendili with that new Nimbus of theirs."
"Its increased capabilities do seem to outstrip its increased costs," agrees Admiral Blakdayt, "I will be the first to acknowledge that I am not the most knowledgeable when it comes to starfighters, but even I can see the superiority of Rendili's design."
"I think it is due to Rendili coming up with something in response to the war while the A-7 seems to be an improvement on the A-6 that was in development prior to the war," I add, "While the Nimbus has been designed to reflect new realities, the A-7 is clearly developed according to pre-war beliefs. If we are going by old standards, I would consider the A-7 to be a decent starfighter, but it just isn't what the Republic needs in light of modern warfare."
I wait for Tarkin's counterargument, but it seems that the man has fallen silent now that the others had started weighing in and it is General Augdona who is next to speak.
"So it looks like we'll be going for the Nimbus," says General Augdona.
"I wouldn't count your chickens before they hatch, Maximus," I say, "I know that the Corellians have an excellent general-purpose superiority fighter to show off and I'm interested in seeing what Incom has to offer after using their Z-95 Headhunter for the last few years."
"Quite right, Ben," agrees General Augdona with a hearty laugh, "I shouldn't get ahead of myself. Kuat might have been disappointing, but that doesn't mean that the others won't have some pleasant surprises up their sleeves."
"Before we move on from Kuat, I would like to hear General Shan's opinion on their other product," says Admiral Blakdayt.
Right, the prototype Eta-2 Actis-Class Interceptor and I do mean prototype as Kuat hasn't finished sorting out all of the kinks and assorted bits yet. It looks alright, but from what I can remember of how it turns out, I am not a fan of it. No shields, no hyperdrive and no anti-warship weaponry combined with a reliance on speed for defence? No thanks and goodbye.
On the other hand, it is debatably a decent upgrade to the Aethersprite-class Interceptor. Maybe. To be honest, I never really cared for the standard Jedi interceptor and I don't remember much about how the two starfighters match up except the Actis is supposed to be an upgrade to the Aethersprite.
"I think that I am not qualified to judge it," I answer honestly, "It might be an upgrade to the Aethersprite-class, but I am not a user of it, preferring a modified Headhunter. With no shields, hyperdrive and anti-capital ship weapons, well, the High Council might want it as an upgrade to the Aethersprite, but I'm not touching it. Not when I have access to Liberators and Aureks. Put simply, I might be a Jedi, but the intended buyer is the Jedi High Council, not myself."
"Understandable," says Admiral Blakdayt.
Start of a new arc and the first update in quite some time. This will be the last story arc before the timeskip because I am dawdling too slowly at the start of the Clone Wars and need to get on with the plot/timeline. Anyway, this starfighter expo will last for another chapter or two before we get into the second half of the arc.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Oct 8, 2022
12.2 (Colliding Beliefs) - Chapter Sixty-Four
As expected, Corellian Engineering Corporation's bid is the Liberator-class Starfighter or rather its reduced variant that they are calling the Talon-class Starfighter. No, that isn't reasonable. I might be using the Liberator-class, but the truth is that the Talon-class is the base variant and the Liberator-class is a souped up version of the Talon that increases the cost in exchange for superior performance.
While I prefer the Liberator-class, I am fully aware that the Talon-class might be CEC's best option for mass production. I can see it now, CEC selling the Talon-class as the mass produced and affordable version while advertising the Liberator-class as the option for elite units.
In any case, the Talon-class Starfighter is one of the better options out there today and even if I prefer the Liberator-class, I'd take the Talon-class over ninety percent of other starfighters being produced today. It is a solid, jack of all trades compared to the cheap and fragile crap that most people like to make.
Thankfully, it took minimal convincing to get my companions for the day onboard with my stance. All of them had seen CEC's demonstration first hand and they knew how the Liberator-class Starfighter had been performing in the hands of my pilots. It wasn't quite fair as the Liberator-class is a bit better than the Talon-class and my pilots range from good to downright elite, but if it means getting an almost as capable starfighter into the hands of the Republic military, I'll go along with a bit of misrepresentation.
No, my problem isn't getting the Republic High Command to purchase the Talon-class Starfighter. It is getting them to also purchase the latest version of the Z-95 Headhunter that Incom Corporation has put out.
Now, the Clone variant of the Z-95 Headhunter is an improvement upon the older variant. Its sleeker design isn't just for show as it comes with increased manoeuvrability, firepower and survivability. Not quite as much as a future X-Wing or a contemporary one, but to my eyes, it is very clearly the bridge between the old Z-95 Headhunter and the X-Wing that Incom has the potential to make.
Perhaps best of all, all of its increased performance comes at a slight reduction in price. Not much of one, just a few thousand credits, but the fact that Incom was able to pull that off is a noteworthy feat on their part. It isn't perfect as it still lacks a hyperdrive and an astromech, but it is a solid starfighter.
If only the ARC-170 Starfighter hadn't been such a letdown. Not that Incom's second starfighter on display was truly bad, it just didn't fit my style or preferences or the direction I want to take the money. I can certainly see why the Republic went with both of Incom's starfighters in a timeline where I wasn't pushing my political allies to develop starfighters that would have fitted in with the Rebel Alliance's starfighter fleet.
Unfortunately, the high maintenance and crew requirements just drag the ARC-170 down for me and even then, requiring three pilots instead of just one is the real deal-breaker. It isn't that I don't want the sort of thinking that the ARC-170 brings to the table, it's just that I already brought that thinking to the table thanks to the Corellians and the Liberator-class Starfighter. I would have certainly taken Incom's newest products if the usual fare were the only alternatives.
Thinking about it, perhaps what I want isn't what Incom is currently producing, but the potential that the corporation has. While Rendili StarDrive and CEC have gone down the path I wanted with my urging, Incom has done it on their own initiative after seeing which way the winds are blowing.
"It is as I told the Incom representative, I am impressed with what they have come up with," I tell the others as we discuss Incom's display.
"You didn't seem particularly fond of either starfighter," points out Admiral Blakdayt.
"I wouldn't buy them for my legions," you admit, "But my legions have different needs to the Republic military. We are a small elite offensive force who invests heavily into our gear. The new Headhunter is good, but it is still favouring being affordable over combat capability. For garrison forces and other defensive units that aren't expected to have a primary role on the frontlines, it is a good choice that balances effectiveness with expenses."
"I do believe I see your point," says Admiral Calloway, "While the Talon-class Starfighter might be the superior option in a fight, not every posting will require a bird as powerful and accordingly as expensive as the Talon. The new Z-95 Headhunter is a capable combatant, but with a price range more suited to what we should be spending on a garrison or reserve unit."
"Yes, that is a very astute view of things," adds General Augdona as he gives me an approving look, "Good to see that it isn't true you don't know how to handle the needs of lesser units. Not that I personally believe such things, but some concerns have been raised about how well you would do if you couldn't go for the most expensive thing on the market."
"As someone who has to figure out their own funding and budget, I am well aware of the need to balance how many credits I am spending," I answer, "My forces being able to purchase extensive elite gear and stay in the black is a testimony to my ability with finances as opposed to being a sign of extravagant spending on my part. It isn't so much of a concern these days, but if you look at my pre-war budget and spending, it shows my ability to balance the needs of the battlefield with my finances."
"I will certainly direct any doubters that way," agrees General Augdona.
"I know that I will be taking a look at it after today," says Captain Tarkin, "Are you aiming for the position of Supreme Commander?"
"The thought hasn't particularly crossed my mind," I answer the politically charged question, "But no, I hold no particular interest in taking that position. I am quite content with where I am right now. In any case, the position doesn't currently exist and I would rather devote my time and energy towards tangible benefits for the Republic than non-existent rewards."
And from the look that General Augdona is giving me after Tarkin's question, I would say that the man has his own ambitions. He wouldn't make a bad one, but Augdona is more of a politician and quartermaster than a battlefield tactician or strategist. Not to mention that he is too friendly with Palpatine for my tastes. I doubt that he will be a true believer, but General Augdona is certainly the type to stay the course if the Republic was to turn into the Empire and worry about his career rather than any moral or ethical implications.
"Back to the matter at hand, what about the ARC-170, General Shan?" asks Admiral Calloway as she shoots Tarkin an annoyed look.
"The fact it requires a crew of three is a deal-breaker for me, but that is only because I am more easily able to get additional starfighters than additional pilots," I answer, "However, it is a solid starfighter besides that and if you can spare the extra pilots, I would recommend it. As for how it fits into the Republic military, I don't see it displacing the Liberator-class as a superiority fighter or the Y-Wing as a bomber, but getting a few for long recon operations or special operations might be worthwhile.
"Between its hyperdrive, durability, heavy firepower and sensors, the ARC-170 would make for an excellent long-ranged scout where you can't justify or spare a warship like a corvette. Especially since they have the firepower and toughness to take advantage of any opportunity that might pop up."
"I can see the logic," says General Augdona, "Admirals, your thoughts?"
"I also see the reasoning and it sounds good to me, but starfighters are Ellalai's area of expertise not mine," answers Admiral Blakdayt as he passes the buck to his subordinate.
"General Shan's reasoning is sound and I find myself agreeing with it," says Calloway and she shoots me an apologetic look before continuing, "But I would need to do a proper analysis of the situation and run the numbers before saying whether or not there is a place in the Republic military for the ARC-170 starfighter."
"Of course, today is to get to know our options, not make final decisions," I say, "All I request is that you listen to what wisdom I have to offer."
"Having your expertise here is why we brought you here," says General Augdona jovially, "So far, it is proving to be as valuable as we hoped for from a war hero like yourself."
"I am glad to hear that," I reply, "Now, we have Slayn & Korpil next?"
"That is correct," answers Calloway, "They have the improved version of the V-19 Torrent Starfighter and then we have Koensayr Manufacturing who are hoping to secure the Y-Wing's position as the Republic's bomber. Then that wraps things up for today and we'll spend tomorrow going through the less promising candidates. Word of warning, don't expect anything good from them as I had my office put all of the promising designs on the first day. Then for the rest of the week, we will have private and more detailed presentations for why the Republic military should purchase their product rather than the general displays for every potential buyer we have today."
"Good, good," says General Augdona as he gives Calloway an approving look before turning his attention to me, "Will you be able to join us for the rest of this expo, Ben?"
"I will attempt to make time," I promise him, "Unfortunately, there is a war going on and something might come up that requires my attention."
"Completely understandable," says General Augdona sympathetically, "You are of course a more frontline general than the rest of us and the needs of the Republic must take priority."
"I am glad you are so understanding of my situation," I reply.
"It is the least that I can do," declares General Augdona, "We all seek to serve the Republic after all."
And yet what it means to serve the Republic will differ depending on who we ask.
A bit shorter than I would like, but the rest of this arc requires me to do some source-reading, which I forgot before writing this chapter. Still, it is closer to two thousand words than a thousand so I'll take it. Anyway, this is the last part of the expo part of the arc. The rest of it will be Ben rushing off with Anakin to deal with the latest crisis.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Dec 21, 2022
12.3 (Colliding Beliefs) - Chapter Sixty-Five
Warning
This update discusses Anakin's killing of the Tusken raiders. Also please remember that the viewpoints of the character don't equal those of the author.
I am in the middle of a training session with the gatekeeper of Meetra Surik's holocron, honing my knowledge of the Force and its applications, when my comlink starts going off.
"General Shan here," I say as I snatch it up and answer the call.
"Ben, it's Anakin," says the person on the other end, "I need a ride out to the Outer Rim. Something fast with useful firepower and I need it without being asked too many questions."
"The Knight I does fit the bill," I answer as I try to think about what this could be about.
It isn't quite accurate to say that I blank as I have the opposite problem of nothing coming to mind. What I can remember of the other timelines isn't consistent when it comes to the timeframe of the war and its various events. There are a variety of different things that could have Anakin making that request of me and that is before I get into how my actions could have butterflied old events out of existence or butterflied new ones into existence.
I know for a fact that the hunt for the Malevolence won't be happening this time around.
"Great," says Anakin, "Could I borrow it?"
Should I? I don't need it right now and it would gain me more goodwill with Anakin. On the other hand, Anakin has a habit of crashing ships and I have grown fond of the Knight I, not to mention that it isn't the sort of ship that is easily replaced. And yet this feels important which means that it is important.
I need more information.
"Sure, but what is going on?" I ask.
"I just got a call from Rex," replies Anakin, "He is out in the Outer Rim with Ahsoka to break in a few shinies on a shakedown cruise for a new prototype cruiser. Only a bunch of Seppie warships have shown up in the area so Rex gave me a heads up in case it escalates into something I need to be aware of. Since I'm not exactly supposed to be here on Coruscant at the moment. So I need to get out there fast and without too many questions being asked."
Meaning that Anakin took advantage of an easy mission to delegate it so he could sneak a visit to Padme.
"And you need firepower because you feel like things are going to go wrong," I say.
"More that it is the Outer Rim," says Anakin, "Even without the war going on, the Rim is a dangerous place."
"You'll find no disagreement from me," I reply, "Alright, swing by my hangar bay and I'll meet you there. I trust you won't mind having a companion with you?"
"Sure, but don't you have that starfighter thing going on?" inquires my fellow Jedi.
"The Force is telling me that I should accompany you and I already did the most important parts of the Expo," I tell him, "I'll let General Augdona know that something related to the war effort came up and send Vyssa in my stead."
"Then it will be a pleasure to have you coming along," says Anakin, "I'll meet you at your ship."
The Leveler, the Acclamator-class with experimental concussion missiles, isn't conveniently located and even worse, it is on the move. The Fath sector is still nominally a Republic territory at this point, but it is also on the front lines and I am not surprised to hear that the Separatists are making a push.
Unfortunately, that means no singular hyperspace jumps as Anakin and I are forced to make around half a dozen of them just to reach the Leveler's current location in the JanFathal system. Still, it gives me time to talk with Anakin and there is one subject in particular that I want to discuss.
"If it is okay with you, I would like to discuss what happened on Tatooine," I say gently, "Not delivering Rotta back to his father, but just before the war."
At that, Anakin winces. Probably a good sign as hopefully, it means he recognises that what he did was wrong.
"You know about that?" asks Anakin nervously.
"I'm not going to turn you in for it," I tell him, "What you did was wrong. I know that and from your reaction, I believe you know that it was."
"So why bring it up?" asks Anakin, looking glum.
"Because I think you should have a talk with another Jedi about what happened and it might be egotistical of me to say this, but I believe that I am the best option available to you," I tell him, "Now I might be wrong and you might have already told someone like your master or have someone else you would rather speak with. But you should speak with someone about this.
"I trust Obi-wan with my life, but I don't think he would understand," says Anakin before letting out an explosive sigh, "They killed my mother. Just as I got her back, she died in my arms. Because of what those animals did to her. So I lost my temper and cut down all of them. I know it was wrong and I regret it, but… I don't know."
To a degree, I sympathise with him. I never had a mother myself as my parents were the sort that if the Order hadn't taken me in, I would have ended up in an orphanage, but the desire to avenge those you care about is understandable. Not to mention something I regularly come across between the slaves that I liberate and their loved ones.
And while genocide is bad and I firmly believe in that, I also struggle to sympathise with Anakin's victims. In truth, I only feel sorry for the children that died at his hands because those Tuskens decided to kidnap and torture an innocent woman to death. What's the phrase? Ah yes, they kriffed around and found out.
"Genocide is wrong and I won't relent on that," I answer, causing Anakin to wince in guilt again, "But at the same time, I can't undo the past, I struggle to sympathise with the plight of your victims and I see no benefit from turning you in. What I can do is help you and try to keep you from making the same mistakes again."
"I appreciate that," replies Anakin before asking, "I hate to look at the gift bantha in the mouth, but why? We haven't known each other long, but you don't seem the sort to just overlook something like this."
"The truth is that you are right, I am not," I tell him as I put my thoughts in order, "As for not reporting you. It doesn't help any victims and it doesn't benefit anyone else. Tuskens aren't part of galactic society and there isn't any real authorities to report what you did to except for the local rulers, the Hutts, or those with authority over you, which is the Jedi Order or the Republic. For the Hutts, kriff their slaver arses. As for the other two, the Republic won't care and won't do anything that would lose them a valued general like yourself. The Jedi Order might do something, but honestly, that would just piss me off."
"Wait, what?" exclaims Anakin, looking at me in shock.
"I have seen so much suffering in the Outer Rim, some worse than what you did, some not, but almost every time the Jedi Order refuses to do something," I continue, "Because they say it isn't our place, we would be breaking our neutrality, the Senate hasn't given permission or we have no jurisdiction. So if the High Council suddenly decides those things no longer apply in your case and decides to do something about what you did after ignoring everything else, kriff them. I won't be a part of that Jedi Order. You committed an evil act and that is wrong, but so many similar evils have happened and been ignored by the Jedi Order. Worse evils since I only consider you killing the kids to be truly wrong. The adults kriffed around and found out by kidnapping and torturing your mother to death. No, what I care about is making sure you don't end up falling to the Dark Side."
"You don't think I already have?" inquires Anakin, sounding like he is unsure of how to respond to my little speech.
"I think you gave into the temptation and embraced the Dark Side to do what you did," I say, "That happens to many Jedi but it doesn't mean that you or them are condemned to embrace the Dark Side. You found your mother and then had her die in your arms from being tortured by her kidnappers. That made you lose your temper and lash out at the kidnappers, which you happen to identify as the whole Tusken tribe due to either being directly involved or passively going along with it. Sith, the only reason we are even calling it a genocide is because it happened to a very small cultural group. Had it been some gang on Coruscant or a similar sized group that is part of a larger society, it would just be mass murder. So yeah, you lost your temper for understandable reasons and committed mass murder against the group responsible, which just happens to count as a genocide because of the nature of that group."
How the kriff did I go from calling it genocide to just claiming it was mass murder? Not that mass murder is much better, but kriff. I mean, if it had been some underworld gang or a band of slavers, nobody would be calling it a genocide, but because it was some tribe, it is suddenly somehow worse? Sithspit, this isn't something I can figure out the answer to in mere moments.
"Look, Anakin," I continue, "I'm going to condemn you for two things, killing a bunch of kids and deciding to kill people because you lost your temper. I'm sure you agree both of those things are bad, right?"
"I do," says Anakin.
"So in the future, you should avoid repeating the same mistake," I tell him, "Which can be boiled down to don't kill children and don't lose your temper and go on killing sprees. In general, keep your emotions in check. I'm not one of those Jedi who say you shouldn't feel emotions or that having emotions is wrong, but you can't let them take control of you. Jedi tend to be impersonal when explaining it, but if it is okay with you, I would like to lay out a personalised example."
"Go ahead, I can take it," replies Anakin.
"Okay, let's say you and the 501st are on a mission with Senator Amidala," I start, "You and Ahsoka go off to do Jedi stuff while Rex and the clones hang back to protect the senator. Rex promises to keep her from getting hurt, but due to too many droids attacking them, Amidala gets shot by a blaster. You come back to find that Rex has failed to keep his promise and your wife is hurt. Rationally and logically, you know that Rex isn't at fault and if you keep your emotions in check, you don't hold it against him.
"But going by what happened with the Tuskens, let's say you lose your temper like you did back then. You violently lash out and attack Rex in a fit of rage because he failed in his promise, your wife was hurt and you didn't keep a handle on your anger, letting it make your decisions for you. I'm certain that you would regret it later, but in the heat of the moment, in your anger? You wouldn't be thinking straight and you would do something you would never normally do. Do you follow?"
"Yes, I do," replies Anakin, sounding more than a little choked up as he doesn't want to look at me, "The worst part is that I can see that happening. I would never intentionally hurt Rex, he is a good and loyal soldier, but if I had the same anger that I had when my mother died? I think I would kill him."
"I don't know enough about your temper to say if you would go that far or not," I reply, deciding not to rely upon potentially unreliable future knowledge, "But the fact that you consider that a possibility means I strongly recommend getting a handle on your temper. I'm not saying that you should deny your anger or pretend it doesn't exist and repress it. I will freely admit that seeing how slaves are treated or seeing innocent people suffer at the hands of pirates, crime lords and tyrants makes me angry. What you must do is keep your anger under control otherwise you will find it controlling you."
"Thank you, Ben," says Anakin as he looks both troubled and thoughtful, "You were right about needing to talk with a fellow Jedi about it. You have given me a lot to think about."
"And one last thing, might I suggest seeing a therapist, mind healer or some other mental health professional about it?" I say, deciding that this is enough to bring up in a single conversation, "When it comes to trauma such as losing your mother, doing something serious that you regret or just seeing the horrors of war, you are better off speaking with an expert than ignoring it and allowing it to potentially fester into something worse."
"I'll look into it."
And we are back. Again. I'm hoping to update more than once a month, but I'll take that for now. Anyway, I am hoping to finish this arc before the month is out.
As for the update, Anakin asks Ben for a favour and Ben decides to tag along for the ride. And when they are on their way to the mission, Ben decides to discuss a troublesome subject with Anakin. Speaking of that, I surprised myself when writing it when I realised because while it was an genocide if by accident, Ben wouldn't particularly care about it because he is kinda of jaded like that so he would have a different take on things to me, the author of this fic.
He feels sorry for the kids who got caught up in it, but he has dealt with worse and since the Tusken kidnapped and tortured to death an innocent woman, he has basically zero sympathy for them. His biggest concern is ensuring that Anakin doesn't give into the Dark Side again so even if the Tuskens were genocided, Ben's basically indifferent because while he intellectually knows it's bad, he doesn't actually feel sorry for them from an emotional point of view.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Jan 20, 2023
12.4 (Colliding Beliefs) - Chapter Sixty-Six
"Hey Ben," says Anakin when we are moments away from the Fath system, "What do you think about my marriage?"
"As I said before, I think it was a little rushed, but I have no objection to you and I wish the two of you the best," I reply, "Is that something specific you wanted to ask me about?"
"It is just that I'm worried about keeping it secret," admits Anakin, "I could have gotten myself and my men into serious trouble because I snuck off to see my secret wife and while we are on Coruscant together, Padme was worried about us being discovered and it being a big scandal. I understand the need for secrecy, but I feel that it is wrong, that I shouldn't need to hide my marriage."
"I can see where you are coming from," I say, "While there is nothing wrong with your marriage, I do think that there are concerns that come from hiding it. Alongside the actions taken to hide it, there are potential conflicts of interest that you won't be able to disclose due to the marriage being a secret. That would be where any sensible scandal would come from."
"You think it would be bad?" asks Anakin, "I mean, I know it would be bad if it got out, but how bad do you think it would be?"
"Well, your political opponents and people who care about rules above all else would attack you over it," I answer as I think it over, "Beyond that, I can't really say. Politics isn't my area of expertise and what I do know is limited to what I have to deal with."
"Yeah, I'm not a big fan of politics either," says Anakin, "I guess I'll just have to trust Padme to handle it and hope things don't get too bad."
"You can count on my support," I tell him, "I don't know much good I'll be for the politics, but I can offer you a place within my ranks, especially since you've proven yourself over the last month and a half. It won't necessarily be the same, but at least you got something to fall back upon. That's something of no small significance."
"I suppose," agrees Anakin and I can't tell if he means it or if he just agreeing with me to keep the conversation going, "Do you have a place to fall back on?"
"The legion, well, it is legions these days, my troops are my fall back option," I say recovering despite the scrambled start, "If the High Council ever had enough of me and expelled me from the Jedi Order, the Republic Patriot Legion would still be mine and it would become my new home. Honestly, it is more of a home to me than the Temple these days. I spent most of my padawanship running about the galaxy with my master and almost all of my knighthood has been spent out in the Outer Rim, fighting pirates and slavers."
"Sounds like you have things worked out for you," says Anakin wistfully.
"Well, I have set myself an impossible challenge of trying to save everyone in the galaxy," you say, "My troops are tough, but the Hutts or one of the big names in the underworld could still give us a lot of trouble. Less so these days with all of our war gains and expansions, but I've set myself up for a very uphill battle."
Especially if the Hutts do have all of those tricks that they used against the Vong and others. At least I know about them beforehand rather than finding out when they get deployed against me.
We arrive in the Fath system to find an ongoing mess. A malfunctioning experimental Republic warship with an enemy warship moving to engage it while there is a commotion on the ground. And there are some unknown Jedi in the system, their presence in the Force giving them away as they are stronger than Ahsoka has any right to be.
Well, I assume and hope they are Jedi. At the very least, they aren't Dark Siders judging by their presence in the Force.
"Skywalker to Leveller?" Anakin calls into his comm as I take a closer look at the local Separatist warships.
I don't recognise the designs, but the Republic Military's database does, flagging as known vessels of the Confederate Navy. They must be local forces using local designs that have been seconded to the Confederacy. I wonder if their crew will be organic or droid?
I vaguely pay attention to the conversation between Anakin and the captain of the Republic warship, one Gilad Pellaeon. Given what he would have done in the future, I am certainly interested in taking Captain Pellaeon's measure and influencing him to my side. I could use an officer of his talents or potential talents under my command.
Though there is the question of why he is still a captain a good thirty years into the future when he is already a captain now. Politics perhaps? I know he is capable when it comes to his job so getting blacklisted might explain such a long career stall.
Then I hear a certain name get mentioned between Anakin and Captain Pellaeon that focuses my attention back on their conversation.
"Master Altis is here?" I say.
"Yes, he is," confirms Captain Pellaeon.
"You know him, Ben?" asks Anakin.
"I know of him, but I have never actually met the man," I answer, "I was tempted to seek him out and join him, but my ambitions were a bit too militaristic for that. Anyway, him being here is a good thing. That man is more than worthy of being called a Jedi Master. Unrelated to Master Altis, I have a question, captain."
"Go ahead General Shan."
"First is what is your plan to deal with that Separatist warship bearing down on you," I inquire and I can hear Captain Pellaeon biting back a curse, "Ah, I'll send you a data link from the Knight I."
"We can't fight that and win," says Captain Pellaeon, "The Leveller has her lasers and turbolasers, but our concussion missiles are offline and our sensors are on the fritz. And the shuttle of the ground team doesn't have a hyperdrive."
"How many people are in the ground team?" I ask as I begin to put together a plan in my head.
"Eight clones, four Jedi and one intelligence field agent," answers Captain Pellaeon dutifully.
"A tight squeeze and some people will need to sit in the cargo hold, but the Knight I can get them out of there if you don't mind sacrificing the shuttle," I tell him.
"If it gets all of our people out of this alive, I will happily take that loss," replies Captain Pellaeon.
"In that case, you jump the Leveller to safety while Anakin and I meet up with the ground team and have them transfer over to the Knight I," I tell him, "We'll get them out of there while you get your ship and crew out of here. I'll make this an order so you don't need to worry about command blaming you."
"I don't like it, but it is a better plan than anything I can come up with," says Captain Pellaeon, "Before I go and carry out your orders, do you know if reinforcements will be coming?"
"With how stretched the Republic is, Janfathal's lack of strategic importance and the fact the locals are supporting the Seppies?" I reply, "There's no chance of any reinforcements. We don't have the forces to spare nor the reason to fight here."
To my surprise, the plan goes off without a hitch. The Leveller jumps out before the Seppie warships can get within range while we meet up with the ground team on the planet's surface. As predicted, it is a tight squeeze with a few people having to fit themselves into the cargo hold, but it is bearable for a short jump to a nearby system to meet up with the Leveller.
The cramped confines of the Knight I weren't conducive to holding private conversation, but aboard the spacious Leveller, there is more than enough room for groups to split off. For my part, I give Ince another once over. My Force healing had stabilised the clone trooper enough that his wound wasn't in danger of killing him, but it was a rush job during a hasty transfer between ships into a particularly cramped ship.
After the medics take Ince to the infirmary, I catch up with Anakin before he can get too far away.
"Do you need something, Ben?" inquires the other Jedi.
"I just want to tell you that I think you should speak with Master Altis," I tell him, "I feel that his philosophy and perspective will interest you and chat with him is to your benefit. I am happy to speak with you about him after you have a talk with him, but I would rather not bias your opinion of him before you have the chance to form one on your own."
"I'll take your advice," says Anakin, "I don't have any idea of how to talk with him."
"Just ask him what he thinks of attachment and relationships," I reply, "That is a good starting point for you in my opinion. Now, would you mind if I went and had a chat with Ashoka? I'm sure she has plenty of questions and no offence, but I think I might be better placed to answer them right now than you."
"No, no, it's fine," replies Anakin, "I have about as many questions as Snips does right now."
"Ahsoka," I say as I spot the young Togruta girl sitting alone, "Do you mind having a chat? I understand that this has been a hard and stressful mission for you."
"Master Shan?" exclaims Ahsoka as the padawan was too caught up in her thoughts to recognise my presence, "No, not at all."
"You have a question on your mind," I state, feeling her turmoil in the Force.
"Do you ever have days where everything you thought you knew for sure is just gone, overturned, and you don't know where to start again to make sense of it all?" asks Ahsoka.
"A couple of times," I answer, "The second was shortly before Geonosis when I received a vision. What my vision showed me upended many things I had taken for granted or perhaps it just forced me to confront things I already knew, but was in denial of. The first time was at the end of my own padawanship. My master spent much of it serving with the Judicial Forces in the Outer Rim and as it came to an end, I was awakened to several political realities."
"How did you cope?" she asks almost pleadingly.
"The second time was easier because the vision also showed me answers in addition to the problems," I answer, "And I was already a Jedi Knight with a path in life. So while what I saw changed everything, some things changed more than others. I had my legion, I had my supporters in the Senate, I had Vyssa and I had Aria. Combined with the war breaking out, I just focused on what I did have and I focused on finding ways to solve the problems that had been revealed to me.
"The first time was harder and it almost broke me. I had witnessed the evils of the Outer Rim and I had realised that the Republic wasn't going to do anything about them. It wasn't going to uphold its laws because it was too expensive, it didn't affect the core worlds and it would inconvenience influential people. Injustice was going to run rampant because the Republic was corrupt.
"Perhaps worse than that was that the Jedi Order wasn't going to do anything. Because we were peacekeepers not soldiers, because it would be against the will of the Senate and because the Jedi Order had become stagnant and corrupt in its own way that it was going to ignore problems instead of upholding its own ideals. I almost left the Order and the only reason I didn't is because I wanted to be a proper Jedi who followed the will of the Force rather than the will of the Senate.
"And so the Republic Patriot Legion was born. I argued with my master that we weren't doing enough and after my knighthood ceremony was over. I sought out allies. I got a small group of followers who wanted to make a difference and were willing to fight to make that difference. I got some support from the Militarists, who had been looking for a new flagship project since ORSF had fallen apart and thought I might be the next big thing. I got my hands on some Z-95 Headhunters and I purchased some warships from my Corellian contacts using the funding provided by my militarist backers. Then I went after pirates, slavers and other scum in the Outer Rim. I won, which led to more political and financial support, more recruits, more equipment and a core of veterans.
"It wasn't all good. My master and I had a falling out over my actions and chosen path, something which lasted until a couple weeks ago. I almost got kicked out of the Order and if I hadn't confined myself to the Outer Rim and therefore out of sight, I do believe that I would have been expelled. I even got my own minder when the High Council assigned Aria to me. It was all worth it. I was following the will of the Force, I was using my Jedi training to help people instead of ignoring their plight and I knew I was doing the right thing no matter how hard or difficult it got.
"But that was just me and my problems. What are you struggling with, Ahsoka?"
And we are back. Sorry about the really long delay, but I'm going to be wrapping up this arc and then doing Guardian of the Republic as my project for NaNoWriMo this year. I'm going to be doing another chapter or two as Ben finishes his talk with Ashoka and then has talks with Altis and Anakin.
After that, I'm going to be doing a change in style. Rather than follow Ben's perspective, I'm going to write two or three arcs for NaNoWriMo following the perspectives of other characters as they deal with Ben Shan and his actions upon the galaxy. This is mainly because I feel that Ben works better now as a secondary character or a supporting character than as the viewpoint character. While he will still be doing his thing, I won't need to worry about constantly coming up with challenges and narrative tension for him every arc.
Also my usual beta-reader is currently unavailable so this chapter hasn't been proofread and may have a higher number of mistakes than usual.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Oct 29, 2023
12.5 (Colliding Beliefs) - Chapter Sixty-Seven
"It is Master Altis and his followers," answers Ahsoka, refusing to meet my eyes, "They have attachment and they haven't fallen to the Dark Side. All of my teachers back at the temple taught me that having attachment leads to the Dark Side, but Master Altis and the others haven't and he even lets his followers get married. The galaxy is full of attachment, but only the Jedi are forbidden to have them and who knows if that is even true. And Geith said that we were just using Rex and all of the other clones, that we aren't asking questions and just blindly following orders."
"Well, you are asking questions now," I offer helpfully and chuckle when the young girl glares at me, "I believe I understand. You are experiencing conflict between what we get taught in the Jedi Temple and what happens when we get out in the wider galaxy. Pretty much every padawan experiences something like this. Mine was what I just told you about, when I realised the corruption of the Republic and the Order's unwillingness to act if it meant keeping a delusion of peace. Would you like to hear my thoughts on your dilemma? I should warn you that I am quite unorthodox. Borderline heretical even."
"Can't be that bad if they haven't kicked you out yet," points out Ahsoka and I take her answer as permission to continue.
Now how to phrase all of my beliefs in a way that makes sense to Ahsoka.
"Padawan Tano, the current traditions of the Jedi Order have only been around since the Ruusan Reformation and prior to that, the line of thought that currently dominates the Order was just one of several competing beliefs," I tell her, "To hold no attachments, it doesn't necessarily mean having no relationships. It means being able to let go and not let your relationships unduly bias your actions or compromise your ability to act objectively as a Jedi. For whatever reason, the High Council at the time decided that the Jedi Order wouldn't allow any relationships and would only recruit from babies and toddlers so they didn't have prior relationships from before joining the Order. The logic behind it makes sense as you cannot fall to the Dark Side via attachment if you have no attachments. Of course, there have been exceptions to those rules such as Anakin and some of the satellite academies, but for the most part, well, you know what they teach in the temple.
"As for how the Altisian Jedi fit into that, the Jedi Order doesn't control all the Jedi. Not all Jedi stayed under its banner following the Ruusan Reformations with the Corellian Jedi being the most prominent example. And from time to time, Jedi like the Altisian Jedi appear with their divergent beliefs. I suspect that with time and if I had been more of an active recruiter, I could have formed my own little merry band of heretical Jedi. But I am getting away from the main point, which is that while what they teach you in the Jedi Temple is one right way of doing things, it isn't the only way nor is it necessarily the best way for everyone. Think of it like lightsaber styles. You can certainly do it the wrong way, but there are multiple right ways to do it and different people are better suited to different methods. Are you following me?"
"Yes, I am," says the young Togruta, "So about what Geith said, is that just us having different ways of doing things?"
"Not quite, that's more of a separate matter to do with politics than differing ways of being a Jedi," I reply with a slight grimace, "Look, what is going on with the clones is wrong, but there is no easy way to deal with it. The clones are effectively slave child soldiers, bred for war and denied a childhood or alternative way of life. Any that try to escape and live a different life are hunted down as traitors if discovered and too many people treat them like property."
Probably best not to mention that legally speaking, the clones are property of the Republic. That would just get back to Anakin and I don't want to reveal that the clones are slaves to him until I had more opportunity to shake off Sidious' influence on him.
"So yes, using the clones as soldiers is immoral, but what alternative is there?" I continue, "Too many influential people aren't going to ignore an awfully convenient army appearing just when the Republic is in desperate need of one to let the clones get away with not fighting. The Jedi could refuse to lead the clones, but isn't going to help them and would just get more of them killed. So I don't disagree with the Jedi leading the clones and I'm sure that this Geith you mentioned discovered that clones are going to go into battle with or without him."
"He did," says Ashoka, "Rex and the others made it clear they weren't going to be left behind."
"That sounds like Rex," I agree, "Anyway, my point is that while the situation with the clones is bad, there aren't any good alternatives so we just have to find the least bad decision. The problem is that the High Council and most of the Order aren't looking at the alternatives or questioning what they are doing, they are just obeying the decrees of the Supreme Chancellor and the Galactic Senate. They aren't doing what they are because it is the right thing or even the least bad option, they are doing it out of political expediency so they don't have to make a stand against the Chancellor or the Senate.
"At the end of the day, being able to follow orders is a virtue, but blindly following orders is not. You do what you have to Ahsoka, but don't obey orders just because they are orders. Trust in the Force and if something feels off or wrong, question it. Try to find the right decision, which might be following orders or it might be disobeying them. At the end of the day, a Jedi Knight follows the will of the Force and protects the people of the galaxy and we are not just another branch of the Republic government for the Senate or Chancellor to order about it."
"But how will I know what questions to ask?" asks Ahsoka, once again almost pleadingly, "I haven't been asking the right ones if it has come to this."
"Ahsoka, you are a padawan and a recently assigned one at that," I tell her, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder and letting her feel my confident and assurance through the Force, "You cannot be expected to know all of this stuff as you, but don't worry, you are assigned to Anakin Skywalker. Your relationship with him will be challenging and have its ups and downs, but you can trust him to do his best by you and to have your back. If there is one problem that your master has, it is unwillingness to give up on those he feels responsible for. And quite honestly, Ahsoka, I don't think you have a problem with not asking questions from what Anakin has been telling me. So just keep trying your best, learn from your master and get in touch with me if you need any guidance. I won't always be immediately available, but I will do my best to get back to you in a timely manner."
After my little chat with her Ahsoka, her master is next on my list of people to have a talk with as I run into him on his way out from Master Altis.
"Anakin!" I call out, getting his attention, "I hope your talk with Master Altis went as well as mine with Ahsoka."
"I think it did," replies my fellow Jedi, "At least I feel a bit more enlightened from it. Does Master Altis really have thousands of students?"
"Force sensitive ones?" I reply, "No, he does not, but he doesn't limit himself to just those. If you include the non-Force sensitives he has taught, then yes, he has easily taught thousands over the years, Perhaps even tens of thousands."
"Right," says Anakin, looking troubled or perhaps thoughtful or even both, "I asked him about attachments and relationships like you suggested. Altis said there was nothing wrong with having a relationship as a Jedi and the problem isn't attachment, but obsession."
"I agree with him," I tell Anakin, "The Jedi Order just teaches us to have no attachment because there is no chance of being unable to let go if there is nothing to let go of. But I feel it is better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all. Having no attachment just leads to Jedi losing focus on the little picture for the big picture and ignoring problems that they can just put out of mind. Too many of the galaxy's plights are ignored by the Order simply because nobody has any connection to those in need of salvation."
"I can get behind that," says Anakin, looking distant, "Nobody would have gone to my mother's aid if I didn't have an attachment to her."
"There is something else on your mind," I say after a moment of silence as I feel the turmoil rolling off of Anakin.
"Altis also asked me if I could let Padme go," admits Anakin, not quite meeting my eyes, "If I could let her walk away from me if I wanted. How far I would be willing to go to keep her. But none of that applies to me because she would never leave me and I would never leave her."
"We don't always leave people by choice," I point out gently, "Let me know if I'm going too far with this, but your mother didn't choose to leave you. She was taken from you against her will. If Padme was killed, how far would you go in the name of bringing her back? Or avenging her?"
"I won't repeat my mistake with the Tuskens," promises Anakin, but his flinch is revealing.
"I'm not saying that you shouldn't bring those responsible to justice, but just remember to avoid going too far," I say, "Find someone you trust to speak with about-hmm, I think I might have someone for you to speak with. A couple of someones, actually, though neither of them are right here."
"Introduce me next time we are all in the same system together," says Anakin as he clasps me on the shoulder, "Want to swap conversation partners now? I need to speak with my padawan and I'm sure you want to have your own chat with Master Altis."
This update is on the shorter side, but I didn't want to start Ben's conversation with Altis so close to the end of this chapter. Anyway, Ben gives some advice to the younger generation and he continues to work on Anakin. Feel free to speculate on who Ben wants to introduce Anakin to.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Nov 2, 2023
12.6 (Colliding Beliefs) - Chapter Sixty-Eight
As I enter the hangar, I know exactly where to find Master Altis. Even if I didn't know the old master by sight, I can sense his presence in the Force. Welcoming and commanding, but also oddly introspective, perhaps even worn down
"General Shan, I was wondering if I was due to a talk with you," says the man as Master Altis spots me approaching him.
"I couldn't just leave without having a chat with you, Master Altis," I reply back, giving him a smile that he won't see beneath my helmet, but I know he will feel through the Force, "If you don't mind, I would like to have our conversation aboard the Knight I. Less chance of our words getting back to the wrong ears that way."
"Certainly, General," agrees Master Altis easily and the two of us set off towards where my ship is parked.
"Your example was an inspiration to me," I tell him idly as we walk, "The fact you and your followers existed showed me that I didn't have to choose between being a Jedi and following the dictates of the High Council. That I could walk my own path and still call myself a Jedi. I would have even joined the ranks of your followers if the path I had to walk wasn't so martial in nature."
"That is heartening to hear, to know that I have made a difference," replies Master Altis, "And regardless of choices you have made, I would always accept one in need of guidance as a student."
"I know," I assure him, "But the dangers of my calling are such that I don't feel comfortable dragging anyone else into it. That is a good part of why I forged my own organisation from the ground up, so that everyone is following me of their own choosing and isn't being dragged along by my own actions."
"A commendable sentiment," says Master Altis as we walk up the ramp of the Knight I.
I take a moment to let the ramp rise and then take a deep breath. Master Altis waits patiently, letting me do what I feel like I need to do.
"First, what do you know of the coming darkness?" I ask him.
"Only that it is coming and it is not a separate entity from us," answers Master Altis, "It is us, it is in us, it is part of us. Our blindness to our acceptance of evil because we call ourselves the good guys. It is all too easy to blame Count Dooku, but he was a good man when I knew him. He was a principled man with honest passions who was driven to the extreme when we ignored what troubled him. The Dark Side is in all of us and it is what we do. And what we don't do."
"The Jedi Order has lost its way," I note, "It follows the will of the Senate rather than the will of the Force and the High Council is accepting evil in favour of political expediency rather than making a stand against the government. This war, the clones, they are the most prominent sign of the Order's corruption, but they are far from the only ones."
"I see that you are not blind to the follies of Master Yoda and his followers," says Master Altis with a sigh, "Who planned such an army? And how did they know war was coming?"
"The official story is that Master Sifo-Dyas was behind the clone army," I answer, "The truth is more complicated. I wasn't around for most of it, but this is what I've been able to piece together. Master Sifo-Dyas had his visions about the coming war ignored by the High Council and was later approached by Hego Damask, who claimed to believe him. Damask told him about the Kaminoans and convinced him to commission a secret clone army using his funding. It would be for the Republic, so it could fight the darkness when it arrived"
"And so he played right into the hands of his enemies," notes Master Altis grimly.
"That is more true than you realise," I tell him, "Damask and Sifo-Dyas were both killed by Darth Sidious and his apprentice Darth Tyranus, who then co-opted the project for their own ends. Darth Tyranus, better known as Yan Dooku, pretended he was a Jedi to the Kaminoans and a friend of Sifo-Dyas, neglecting to mention that he only used to be those things. Of course, the involvement of the Sith isn't known to anyone outside of them and us, something they have gone to great lengths to conceal to the point of erasing records of entire star systems from the Temple archives."
"That's… that is far more troubling than I originally envisioned," says Master Altis, "But it does beg the question, why did Count Dooku and his master create the clone army if it was to fight for the Republic? Without it, the Separatists could have crushed the Republic and no offence to you or your soldiers, there is a good chance that the Republic could have already fallen by now."
"None taken," I answer, "As to why, that requires perhaps the most important piece of the puzzle. Just as Darth Tyranus is Count Dooku, his master Darth Sidious is Supreme Chancellor Palpatine."
"Ah," says Master Altis quietly because what else is there to say to such a revelation.
"Ah," I agree.
"Do you have proof of that claim?" asks Master Altis gently.
"Only my visions and the circumstantial evidence they have led me to," I tell him, "Certainly not enough to dislodge him from his power base. To be honest, I'm not sure even clear and undeniable evidence would be enough to remove Palpatine from power. The Chancellor is too entrenched and the war has only made it worse."
"I want to say that you are lying, but the Force tells me that you speak the truth," says Master Altis, "By the Force, is the galaxy doomed? Are we too late to stop the Dark Side?"
"Sidious hasn't won yet," I say firmly, "We are still free to resist him and the Sith don't know that we know. It is an uphill battle, but we are merely on the verge of losing."
"Oh how dire the situation is that being on the verge of defeat gives us hope," bemoans Master Altis before sighing, "Forgive this old man for his foibles, General Shan. Perhaps you could go over what the Sith have planned?"
"Of course, Master," I tell him, deciding to start at the beginning. Hego Damask was Darth Plagueis and the master of Darth Sidious until Sidious decided he wanted to be the master rather than the apprentice. Damask Holdings funded the clone army along with many of the Sith's projects and investigating what their money was used for is something I am currently doing to get more information on the Sith.
"As for what Darth Sidious and Darth Tyranus have planned, they are masterminding both sides of the war, going as far back as to be behind the Invasion of Naboo a decade ago. The Confederacy was never meant to win and the Clone Wars exists only as a means for Chancellor Palpatine to amass power to his office. The idealists who would oppose him are split between the Republic and the Separatists and the worst of the megacorps will have their power broken from losing the Clone War.
"In the meantime, Sidious will use the excuse of the war to slowly more emergency measures to garner more power to the point of engineering igniting incidents. Each individual measure will be reasonable on its own merits and they will only begin to look bad when you look at the overall picture. Once the Chancellor's office has been sufficiently empowered and his opposition defanged, the war will end with the destruction of the Jedi Order.
"The Separatists will lose, the Republic will emerge victorious and the Jedi Order will be framed for trying to overthrow the Chancellor. Sidious will either provoke the High Council into action or frame them for it. It doesn't matter either way as he just needs to paint himself as the victim and the Jedi as the aggressors to justify executing Order Sixty-Six."
"Order Sixty-Six?" inquires Master Altis.
"One of a hundred-fifty contingency orders for the Grand Army of the Republic and Order Six-Sixty is to kill every Jedi. Not just those in the military, but the younglings and even those who aren't part of the Order like your followers. The clones will turn on the Jedi and kill enough of them that they aren't able to meaningfully oppose Darth Sidious declaring himself Emperor and turning the Republic into the newest edition of the Sith Empire."
"Do you really believe that the clones will just turn on the Jedi?" asks Master Altis, "I've seen how Rex and his brothers looked at Ahsoka. I have a hard time believing that they would just turn on her due to orders."
"So do I and apparently so do the Sith," I reply with a grim and humourless smile, "Which is why they made sure to have secret voice-activated mind-control chips in all of the clones. When the clones turn on the Jedi, it will because Darth Sidious stripped them of their free will with a single sentence."
"By the Force!" exclaims Master Altis, sounding aghast, "Each time I think it can't get worse, you reveal something more horrifying than the last."
"That's the Sith for you," I say with a sombre chuckle, "Not all hope is lost. The chips can be removed and the Sith won't activate them until exposed or the war is over so we have time to find a way to disable them. In the meantime, we do what we can. You help those in need of aid and I'll continue to wage this war in a way that opposes Sidious' attempts to pervert the Republic further."
"Do you truly believe that the Republic can still be saved even after all that you learnt?" asks Master Altis and from what I feel in the Force, it is a genuine and earnest question.
"Yes," I answer, "The Republic as it is corrupt, but what it stands for are good things, things that benefit the galaxy and improve the lives of those living in it. Furthermore, those things are part of its legacy and that isn't something to be lightly discarded. The Galactic Republic doesn't need to be torn down and replaced by something with no weight or tradition to its name, it needs to be reformed back to what it once stood for. The things that it should stand for.
That is why. As for how, it won't be easy and Palpatine's followers won't make things easier even if we do get rid of Dark Sidious,but I know it is possible. And I won't give up on doing what needs to be done just because it is difficult. I will defeat the Sith and I will save the Republic."
"Ah, the fire of the younger generation," says Master Altis, "Remind me to introduce you to Geith. The debates you could have."
"From what I know of him, arguments sounds like it would be more accurate," I say.
"Perhaps," agrees Master Altis, "Now I would ask a question of you, General Shan. My disagreements with Master Yoda, is it just vain ideology on my part, some idiotic schism that prevents the Jedi from uniting against the true enemy?"
"No, it is not," I answer firmly, "You have your path and Master Yoda has his and I have my own. It isn't just about our beliefs, but how we go about acting on them. As for your actions, many would call saying this to be treasonous, but I don't believe that you should get directly involved in the war. Just continue helping where you can and follow the will of the Force. I fight this war because that is my path and what the Force wills, but I don't think the same is true of you."
"Perhaps it isn't," says Master Altis, "Force, you have given me much to think about."
"One last thing before you go," I say, sensing that this conversation is coming to an end.
"Another galaxy-shaking revelation, General?" inquires Master Altis as he fixes me with a weary look.
"No, I would just like to put you in touch with Master Ikrit," I tell him, "I think you have much in common and the two of you could find cooperation in opposing the Sith without actively fighting in the war."
And here is the conversation between Ben and Altis along with the end of this arc. Now I go and write for NaNoWriMo. Like with Ikrit, Ben has made a judgement call to tell Altis about the true enemy. Don't expect much of it in the near future, but like with Ikrit, Altis won't be sitting on this revelation and will be acting upon the information that Ben has given him. Even if it is taking place out of Ben's perspective.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
13.1 (Battle of Bothawui) - Chapter Sixty-Nine
Commander CC-5246 of the 602nd Elite Legion or, as he prefers to be called, Rook wonders what the new general will be like. General Eekin had been a good one as far as Rook could tell, but it had been less than two months before the Jedi Master fell in battle.
Rook still feels guilty about letting the general die on his watch, but he knows that he couldn't have stopped that monstrous four-armed lightsaber-armed clanker. No, if General Eekin was unable to slay General Grievous then Rook stood no chance. He followed General Eekin's final order and saved as many of his brothers as he could when the Seppies forced the legion off-world.
They'll be back for Yaga Minor. Rook knows that the Republic won't let the Separatists keep its shipyards for long. But for now? The clone commander will have to settle for that promise of future vengeance because he has a war to fight and his living brothers still need him.
"Hey, commander," calls one of his brothers as Rook ponders the future of the 602nd, "You've met the new general before, any idea what he's like?"
His brother has something of a point. General Ben Shan is something of a mystery to the clones with a lot of conflicting rumours. Some say that he hates the clones, viewing them as lesser to his own natborn soldiers. Others claim that he cares about them and he is one of the generals who are willing to risk his life for mere clone troopers.
And there is what the Senate, High Command and all of the other generals think about him. Rook doesn't pay too much attention to politics, but what he has heard of General Shan has been diverse. Some praise him as a hero of the Republic and how he will only do good things for it. Others complain about his disregard for authority and disobedient nature. More are more moderate, bemoaning his refusal to play nice and do as he is told whilst also respecting and admiring his military record and prowess.
The only thing for certain is that General Shan is a master at his job. He was winning the opening battle of the war before the clones even arrived and Rook can't remember hearing of the general losing a battle in this war yet. Though the cynical side of him notes that could just be the propaganda at work, the Republic covering up its defeats like how they've been downplaying or ignoring the loss of Yaga Minor in the holonet.
And he keeps his losses low. Geonosis is where he lost the most soldiers and Geonosis was Geonosis. Even if the general does turn out to hate the clones, Rook is hopeful that General Shan will keep the deaths of those under his command low if only out of pride or pragmatism.
Speaking of Geonosis, Rook can remember what General Shan was like when they briefly met there. He was calm and confident with his own legion of non-clone soldiers. He knew exactly what he was doing and adapted as needed to the rapidly changing situation. He also treated Rook and his brothers with respect, indulging the questions of shinies rather than rebuking them like the Kaminoans would have.
"He seemed like he would be a good general," answers Rook neutrally after careful consideration, "Like General Eekin was."
That seems to satisfy his brothers as the clone who spoke up and the others listening return to their duties. Pleased to have handled that landmine, Rook decides to make his way to the bridge to speak with Admiral Gilad Pellaeon. The newly assigned and newly promoted admiral was assigned to 602nd because General Shan had personally requested for the man to be placed under his command.
Given that Admiral Pellaeon had only served in battle alongside General Shan, the man must have clearly made a good impression on the Jedi and should have some idea of what the new general is like.
"Admiral Pellaeon," says Commander Rook as he strides, "If you have a moment, I would like to have a word."
Rook likes Admiral Pellaeon. Unlike many of the Republic's senior officers, the man sees Rook and his brothers as people. Even if they have no families and no lives outside of the Grand Army, he gives them the same respect and consideration as if they were natborn like him.
"Of course, Commander," says the admiral, "Is it urgent? Or private?"
"No, sir," answers Rook, "I just wanted to get your thoughts on the new general. Myself and the troops have been wondering what he'll be like and I understand that you have previously served alongside General Shan."
"Only if that is what you call briefly interacting with the man a couple of weeks ago," replies Admiral Pellaeon with a polite smile, "I'll be frank with you, Commander. General Shan may have personally requested me, but only the Force knows why. I tried to think of what I did to impress him, but truth be told, I only had two or three conversations with him at the tailend of a mission. My performance in the previous mission wasn't all that good and as for my prior service, let's just say that General Shan's recommendation may have saved me from a dead career."
"So no insights into what sort of general he'll be?" says Rook, disappointed at the lack of information, but accepting it nonetheless.
"Ah, I wouldn't say that," says Admiral Pellaeon, "General Shan's record speaks for himself and for good or ill, he isn't shy about expressing his beliefs. If you are wondering what he thinks of you clones, then you don't need to worry. The man sees you as people and will treat you as such, just as I do. He is good at what he does with a long string of successful missions with low or minimal losses. Just, ah, just be warned that General Shan has something of an independence streak. The autonomy that he has is much to do with his willingness to do his own thing as it is about the free hand that High Command gives him."
"Thank you for the information, sir," says Rook, pleased to hear that the 602nd's new general will be one of the good ones, "How are you settling into the Chimera, Admiral?"
"It is certainly an upgrade on my previous command," answers Admiral Pellaeon, "No experimental systems either. That's always a good thing."
"That sounds like a story," says Rook inquiringly.
"Not too much of one," replies the admiral, "The Leveller was a testbed for a new concussion missile system. Our voyage wasn't meant to see combat, but then we got the distress message and we were the only available ship to respond."
"And you did your duty," concludes Rook.
"And we did our duty," confirms Admiral Pellaeon, "I'm just grateful that Generals Shan and Skywalker showed up when they did. If they hadn't, then things would have gotten messy. Messier than they already were that is."
Satisfied with his information gathering so far, Commander Rook begs his leave so he can catch up with his paperworks. Not even a life of being bred for war can prevent Rook from having to sort out his reports and forms.
Commander Rook frowns as he reads the latest briefings. The fall of Falleen was another Republic disaster, just like Yaga Minor. Also like Yaga Minor, General Grievous was involved through this time, the cyborg wasn't in command as Count Dooku had personally commanded the Separatist forces at Falleen.
Not only has the Confederacy secured the Doldur sector by crushing the last major bastion of Republic resistance, but the losses sustained have been… grievous. An entire Republic battle group was lost and eight Jedi died with it. That's a major blow to the war effort through one that the Republic intends to downplay.
For Rook and his brothers in the 602nd, the most pertinent information is how it relates to their next deployment. With their forces in the Doldur sector and its neighbouring sectors freed up, Separatists will be able to launch a new wave of advances. One of those new invasions is being aimed at Bothawui and is being personally led by General Grievous. And the 602nd is being assigned to stop them.
Kark, that isn't good. As much as Rook would like to have a shot at avenging General Eekin, he also knows that the 602nd is still recovering from Yaga Minor. The legion was formed from the top-scoring troopers, but they lost a quarter of their number at Yaga Minor and half of the survivors were laid up in the medbays. They got some new shinies aboard the Chimera when it came to replace the Freedom, but it isn't nearly enough.
And the 602nd is running low on their heavy armoured assets as they lost all of their artillery and most of their AT-TEs. Their starfighter losses have also yet to be replaced through one of Admiral Pellaeon's first actions was to reorganise things so they had a fewer number of full strength squadrons rather than a larger number of under-strength squadrons.
Their attached fleet is also understrength as while they have the Chimera to replace the destroyed Freedom, the Dawn is looking at months of repair work before the star destroyer will be combat ready again. Rook is hoping that they will be assigned a substitute in the meantime, but right now, they only have two Venators to face down the fleet that General Grievous is sending to Bothawui.
Of course, that isn't on him. Admiral Pellaeon will be handling the naval fight not Rook and the clone commander should probably make sure that he is aware of their newest set of orders. The admiral should have received the same briefing as Rook, but he doesn't know if Admiral Pellaeon has had the chance to see it yet. And sooner that the admiral is aware of the bantha poodoo they are about to step in, the sooner he can start planning to deal with it.
"Admiral Pellaeon, do you have a moment?" calls Rook as he taps his wrist to active his comlink.
"If this is important, then yes, I do," comes the reply.
"Have you had a chance to look at our newest batch of orders?" inquires the clone commander, "General Grievous is invading Bothawui and we're being sent to stop him."
"Ah," comes the reply and Rook can almost feel Admiral Pellaeon restraining himself from saying something unprofessional, "Thank you for letting me know, commander. That is rather important."
"We also aren't receiving any reinforcements," adds Rook and the admiral lets out a frustrated sigh.
"In this case, we better hope that General Shan lives up to his reputation."
A new arc and as I mentioned before, it will be from a different perspective than Ben's For this arc, we will be following the perspective of Commander Rook, who is both the clone commander of Ben's new legion and the clone commander that he briefly met on Geonosis.
In other news, this is another change from canon as canonically speaking, Anakin and the 501st were in charge of defending Bothawui (1x6), but this time around, it will be Ben's responsibility.
There may be more spelling and grammar mistakes than normal as I don't currently have a beta-reader and I'm terrible at proofreading.
13.2 (Battle of Bothawui) - Chapter Seventy
General Ben Shan is exactly how Rook remembered him, a man of above average height who is covered head to toe in armour. He looks like a proper soldier, unlike all of their other generals who wear their robes and will only have a few pieces of armour if that. He is also currently blue because he is speaking with Rook and Admiral Pellaeon via the holonet.
"That is a concerning situation, but one that is easily within my ability to handle," says the general confidently, which is oddly reassuring to Rook, "Just worry about getting yourselves to Bothawui. I'll be meeting up with you there with elements from the 1st Republic Patriot Legion."
That sounds like a good thing in Rook's limited opinion. He hasn't interacted with General Shan's soldiers outside of the Geonosis, but what he did see that impressed him. They are certainly on the same level as him and his brothers, especially given their track record in the war so far.
"Some reinforcements will be a blessing," says Admiral Pellaeon, "Do we have any estimates on size and composition of General Grievous' fleet?"
"Republic Intelligence is still uncertain, but I have some intel from my own sources that I consider reliable," says General Shan, "Several Munificent-class Frigates, perhaps even as many as a dozen."
"Just Munificents? No other capital ships?" inquires Admiral Pellaeon.
"I doubt they have any to spare right now," says General Shan, "Geonosis cost the Confederacy deeply on Lucrehulks and it will be several months before they even begin to have a chance of recovering from that. And at Pammant, I destroyed one of their primary shipyards for Providences and Recusants so they'll have to be careful with those at least until the turn of the year. Munificents are plentiful and relatively cheap to make. I'm not surprised that the Separatists are becoming more reliant upon them."
"Even without any heavier capital ships, that many Munificents is still too many for our diminished fleet to handle," says Admiral Pellaeon, "I trust that you will be able to provide some reinforcements?"
At that moment, another man appears via hologram, wearing a uniform that Rook can't quite place even if it looks familiar. Certainly nothing like the Republic military uniform.
"We have other commitments, but we will be able to spare some ships to Bothawui," says the man, "Even without your presence, we would still be committing forces to its defence. I recommend a combat strategy built around starfighters. Munificents have a lot of anti-starship firepower, but they are too dependent on their vulture droids to fend off enemy starfighters. If we can get past those, then Munificents have weak armour once you get though their shields."
"That is still easier said than done," says Admiral Pellaeon, "We are looking at hundreds of vulture droids between those Separatist vessels and in the best case, we might have numerical equality, but more likely, our pilots will be outnumbered."
"And you are still using Torrent starfighters which means you don't have much of a quality advantage to even the odds," muses the man before he turns to General Shan, "General, do you know how many of the old shield generators we have in storage?"
"A few, but I have a better idea, Admiral," replies General Shan and Rook makes a mental note that the new man is an admiral, "We still have over a thousand Liberator-class Starfighters in our stockpile."
"Ah, yes, I see your logic," says the general's admiral, "And according to the intelligence that the Bothans provided us, we should have time to pick some up on our way to the Both system. Clever thinking, general."
"Pardon me, but would I be correct in thinking that you are planning to replace our Torrent starfighters with these Liberators of yours?" inquires Admiral Pellaeon.
"That's correct, admiral," confirms General Shan, "We can make the trip to one of our store ships and then join you at Bothawui with enough time spare to transfer them over."
"There shouldn't be any problem with the clones piloting them," adds the other admiral, "They use the same standard starfighter layout that all interstellar manufacturers use."
"The admiral is correct, Admiral Pellaeon," Rook agrees, pleased at himself for successfully evading revealing he doesn't know who General Shan's admiral is, "Starfighter training for my brothers isn't specific to any one design. We didn't know what specific starfighters would be using so those responsible for designing our training courses chose to be general in our lessons."
"That assuages any worries on my part," says Admiral Pellaeon, "General Shan, Admiral Thak, I'll see you at Bothawui."
"I'm afraid it will just be me," says General Shan, "Thak will be handling our other commitments."
"Understood, general," says Admiral Pellaeon and like that, the meeting is over as both of the holographic figures flicker and vanish.
"General Shan appears to be living up to his reputation," says Rook.
"He certainly is," agrees Admiral Pellaeon before adding a louder voice, "We got a solid plan to deal with Grievous' fleet."
That last bit was said loud enough for any of the bridge crew listening to hear. Not that the watchstanders should be eavesdropping on their commanding officers, but soldiers are going to soldier.
It isn't how Rook would have handled things, but he'll trust the admiral to know what he is doing. In the meantime, he should check in with his brothers before their next big mission.
"Hey, commander!" calls Razor, one of Rook's friends and trusted subordinates.
"Lieutenant," replies Rook as his brother waves him over to their table in the cafeteria,
"I hear we are going to get some payback against Grievous," says Razor as Rook places his tray of food down at their table and takes a seat, "Is that true?"
"We aren't directly going after the head clanker, but we'll be trying to stop his advance again," answers Rook, "Any with any luck, this time will go better. General Shan already has workable intel on the enemy and a solid plan to deal with them."
"What's the new general like then?" inquires Boar as another of Rook's brothers leans forward, "I've heard mixed things about him."
"I've heard good things from reliable sources," says Ratchet, "I've got a couple of batchmates in the 501st and they speak highly of him. He and his soldiers proved real helpful to them on Christophsis and Teth."
"General Shan is one of the good ones," says Rook confidently, "We'll be in good hands under him."
"I hope he lives up to his reputation as a general," says Boar idly, "We lost too many at Yaga Minor."
"That we did," agrees Razor.
"Judging by his plan, he will do," says Rook, "Unless Grievous has some surprise tricks up his sleeve, we'll crush him. And even if the head clanker does try something, I'm confident in our chances."
"We'll get payback for Yaga Minor?" inquires Boar eagerly.
"If all goes well, we will," answers Rook, privately hoping that he isn't giving false hope to his brothers.
Ensign Helene Towe of the 1st Republic Patriot Legion swerves her Liberator-class Starfighter as Ocean Squadron skirmishers with a bunch of vulture droids. She gets a momentary lock and she squeezes the trigger in that brief window of opportunity. Her starfighter spits out a burst of laser fire and she blows wings off one side of a vulture droid, sending it careening out of control.
"Four, you got two on you," calls one of her squadron-mates as Helene spots two of the droid starfighters lining up on her rear.
She remembers her training as she pulls into a hard turn. The legion invests a great deal into their training and equipment so your own survival is prioritised over the destruction of the enemy. The exception is if you are protecting something important enough like a refugee convoy or a civilian settlement, but that isn't the case here.
They are just harassing the Separatist Fleet as General Shan deployed a portion of the 1st Legion's naval forces to skirmish with General Grievous' invasion force. Four DP20s and a handful of starfighter squadrons aren't enough to defeat ten Munificent-class Frigates on their own, but they certainly pick off one or two if the Seppies don't take them seriously.
So here they are, duelling with the vulture droids as the Republic forces thin out the swarm of droid starfighters aboard the Munificents. Helene doesn't know why, but she and the rest of her squadron were even given orders to prioritise the destruction of the enemy starfighters over dealing damage to the Separatist capital ships. Even if she lacks the knowledge to understand why it is important, she trusts General Shan to believe that it is. The General has proven himself enough to have that much and more from her.
The vulture droids attempt to follow her, but while they have the edge in speed, the Liberator has greater manoeuvrability. The droids do their best and it isn't enough as Helene slowly gives them a slip. As she does so, the Republic pilot spots another Liberator from a different squadron struggling with its own tail.
Deciding to give her fellow pilot a hand, Helene breaks out of her turn to intercept the vulture droid. She flanks it from the side, blowing to pieces with a sustained burst of her laser cannons shredding its side. Another kill for the aspiring starfighter ace though Helene has little time to celebrate her small triumph as blaster fire rakes across her fighter.
Pulling into another turn, Helene looks at where her beeping astromech has pinpointed the offenders, the pair of vulture droids that she hadn't quite given the slip. While the outraged part of Helene wants to take out those clankers for the audacity, the more sensible part of her checks her deflector shield. Which has been brought down to the double-digit and would have gone down if Helene had reacted a second slower.
As much as the young pilot would love to take out these vultures, her next move is clear. She needs to get clear of the furball and give her deflector shields a chance to recharge. One thing that her trainers and officers have drilled into Helene's head is that deflector shields are renewable protection. You can't replace your armour or hull in the middle of battle, but you can let your deflector shield recharge.
Switching the power to her weapons to her engines and shields for a little extra boost to both of those, Helene zooms towards the closest Corellian Gunship. The escort ships are a relative bastion of safety between their heavy firepower and the inability of the vulture droids to inflict meaningful damage to them.
The vulture droids remain on Helene's tail, but the Republic pilot isn't fighting this battle alone. A fellow Liberator-class Starfighter rolls up behind the vultures and quickly strafes one of the droid starfighters into oblivion. The other one makes the smart decision of breaking off through Helene doubts that will be enough to save it as her rescuer continues their pursuit of the Separatist starfighter.
"This is Captain Cevi Oraden of the Renown," calls out the leader of their little taskforce, "All Republic forces are to withdraw. We've scrapped enough enemy starfighters and now the Seppies are taking us seriously enough to swarm us. I repeat, all Republic forces are to withdraw. We come back another day to give the clankers another whooping."
Even as her astromech begins to charge up the hyperdrive, Helene glances at the overall tactical view. The immediate number of vulture droids has gone down from numbering them three to one to just having numerical parity, but a couple hundred more droid starfighters are fast approaching.
Helene knows that she and the other pilots in the 1st Republic Patriot Legion are good, but there is a certain point where quantity is a quality of its own and the incoming clanker reinforcements are enough to reach it. No wonder Captain Oraden made the call to retreat.
"All right, K3," says Helene to her astromech, "Let's get out of here.
Okay, I was going to do things entirely from Rook's view point, but I wanted to save him meeting Ben in person until the next update. As of such, we go back to Helene Towe, whose perspective has popped up a couple of times before. I figured she was as good an opportunity as any to show how Ben is ensuring he has enough time to pick up the Liberators for the 602nd.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
13.3 (Battle of Bothawui) - Chapter Seventy-One
For such a larger than life figure, General Ben Shan looks rather unassuming without his helmet on in Rook's opinion. Sharp, alert blue eyes, blonde hair that is cut short to better fit into a helmet and a plain face. Not forgettable, but not memorable either, not compared to the sheer reputation and war record of the famous General Ben Shan, who the media is coming to call the Guardian of the Republic.
"Admiral Pellaeon, Commander Rook, it is good to meet both of you in person again," says General Shan as he boards the Chimera, helmet held in one hand, "I'm looking forward to serving alongside both of you."
"Likewise, General Shan," replies Admiral Pellaeon as the three of them begin to walk up to the bridge, "I presume that the rest of your naval force is busy elsewhere?"
The general arrived with a decent sized fleet, a dozen escort warships that the Chimera's sensors flagged as Thranta-class Corvettes. Rook has never heard of them before, but he is sure that they are a solid warship. General Shan wouldn't be using them if they aren't.
"That would be correct," confirms General Shan, "The Separatist counter offensives have left a few targets of opportunity that I would like to exploit before they cover their rear. I want to teach them that the Fall of Faleen won't be the start of a comeback by the Confederacy. Their victory there will be followed by defeats."
"If that is the case, you are the man for the job," says Admiral Pellaeon, "I can't help, but notice you didn't bring any capital ships with you."
"I only have a couple of star cruisers right now and I need them acting as temporary flagships for the counter-attacks," answers General Shan, "We have a couple of Star Destroyers here. That will be more than enough with the escorts and starfighters I'm bringing with me."
"Speaking of starfighters, I presume that you brought those Liberators with you?" inquires Admiral Pellaeon.
"I did," answers General Shan, "I brought enough birds to outfit sixteen squadrons on both of your Venators. We can begin to arrange the transfer shortly, but we have some time. I sent a force to harass Grievous' fleet. They won't be able to stop him, but we should have another day or two before the Separatist fleet joins us here. And they'll thin the numbers of the invasion force while they're at it."
"That's good news," says Admiral Pellaeon, "We don't have enough pilots to crew all of those starfighters, but we will be able to field thirteen squadrons from both the Chimera and the Courage. Do those Thrantas of yours have any starfighters aboard them? I am unfamiliar with its class of warship."
"Each one can support a large starfighter squadron," answers General Shan as they reach the lift, "In this case, each ship I brought with me can field a squadron of fourteen Liberators. Combined with your own pilots, that should be more than enough to gain starfighter dominance against Grievous. Do we have any bombers aboard Chimera or Courage?"
"We do," says Rook as the lift doors close, "You have a plan in mind, General?"
"If we have enough Liberators to crush the vulture droids, we could afford to send some bombers after the Munificents," replies General Shan while the lift begins to rise.
"We have two squadrons of Y-Wings aboard the Chimera and a third squadron aboard the Courage," says Admiral Pellaeon, "Crewing them would mean fielding fewer Liberators."
"We would still have sufficient numbers to ensure starfighter dominance," says General Shan, "Admiral, I want those Y-Wings available for deployment. Once the vulture droid swarm has been thinned sufficiently, I want to be able to send those bombers to hit the enemy capital ships."
"I'll make it so," promises Admiral Pellaeon as the lift doors open again and the three of them march out into the bridge, "Do you have a specific plan in mind for the upcoming engagement?"
"I do," says General Shan, "We'll position ourselves around gas giant Golm, also known as Bothawui Prime, behind its asteroid belt. As for the exact details, I'll need to make sure we are somewhere secure before I give the details."
"Isn't my bridge secure enough for you, sir?" inquires Admiral Pellaeon, sounding low-key offended in Rook's opinion.
"I trust you, Gilad," replies General Shan as he looks the admiral in the eyes, "But I have enemies back on Coruscant. The sort of enemies who wouldn't mind spying on me and leaking my plans to the Seppies in the hopes of handing me a defeat or even getting me killed. So until I can do a sweep for any bugs or other listening devices, I'm going to consider both of your star destroyers to be insecure."
For this part, Rook is perturbed by what the General is saying even if the clone commander does his best to hide and remain professional looking. He was aware that General Shan was a controversial figure and had political opponents within the Republic, but the idea that they opposed him enough they would be willing to help the Separatists? The General was basically accusing his political rivals of being willing to commit treason against the Republic.
For his part, Admiral Pellaeon just nods grimly and knowingly, taking General Shan at his words without complaint. Which only confuses Rook further because the admiral is just taking accusations of treason without saying a word.
"General, admiral," says Rook, getting the attention of both men, "I am supposed to just ignore the implication that there are a bunch of traitors back on Coruscant?"
At his words, General Shan and Admiral Pellaeon exchange a look before the latter defers his head.
"Ah, how familiar are you with politics, Rook?" inquires General Shan.
"It isn't part of our training," answers Rook, "We carry out our orders like good soldiers. Giving orders is for others."
"Then consider this your first lesson in politics," says General Shan, "War is a continuation of politics by other means so understanding the politics behind this war will be vital to fighting it and keeping your brothers alive."
"I see," says Rook neutrally as he doesn't quite understand why politics is pertinent to fighting the war.
"The basic thing is that the war is political difference escalating to open conflict," says General Shan, "For varying reasons between its members, the Confederacy wishes to be independent of the Republic. Some have good reasons, but most have bad reasons. Obviously, the Republic doesn't want to let them be independent and rather than talk things out, the Separatists resorted to violence and, well, you were on Geonosis so you saw how things were there for yourself."
"They had an army of droids to wage war," says Rook.
"Right because the Confederacy decided to resort to violence to enforce their political aims," says General Shan, "Now within the Republic, there are differing political opinions and like the Separatists, some people are willing to resort to more extreme methods to get what they want. Some of them like me or Senator Organa are idealists who wish to see the Republic uphold its ideals and bring justice and fairness to the galaxy.
"Others are greedy and selfish, seeking personal wealth, material gain and amassing political power to their name. That is one internal political conflict with the Republic. Another conflict would be democracy vs authoritarianism. I wish to preserve and uphold the democracy of the Republic while others wish to take aways power from the citizens of the Republic and turn the Supreme Chancellor into a dictator. "
"You're being a little biassed there, General," adds Admiral Pellaeon, but Rook notes that he isn't actually disagreeing.
"I never claimed to be unbiased," replies General Shan with a shrug, "And I'm not naming names. Anyway, me winning battles and being successful strengthens my political position thanks to my fame and status as a war hero in these dark and troubling times. And having a strong personal military force limits their ability to threaten violence or otherwise use overt force to oppose my goals because I can push back.
"All of this leads back to my rivals wanting to sabotage me to weaken my political position and relatively strengthening their own as a result. While not all of my political rivals are that bad, I oppose corruption and injustice in the Republic, which makes me enemies of those that benefit from those things and want them to continue. If you are always abusing your position for power, why not leak intelligence about one of your rival's plans to the enemy in the hopes that the enemy will take care of them for you?"
"I believe I follow that, General," says Rook thoughtfully, "Is it really that bad?"
"It happened time to time back when I was still political small fry and operating relatively unknown in the Outer Rim," answers General Shan, "Now that I am a war hero with galaxy wide fame and a key name in a major political coalition, well, it will only increase and that doesn't account for actual Separatist spies."
"I'm not supposed to say this and officially, I'll deny I've said this, but unofficially, General Shan is right, Rook," says Admiral Pellaeon as he fixes Rook with a stern and grave look, "General Shan has outspoken political opinions and made a lot of enemies in the Senate. Now I personally believe that those opinions have some merit to them and most of those enemies are the sort that are worth having, but it makes things more dangerous to us. We have friends in our bosses, but we also have enemies."
"I'm liking politics less and less the more I learn about it," states Rook, earning himself a small chuckle from the admiral.
"You shouldn't have to worry about it, Rook," says General Shan, "That sort of thing will be my job to handle and, to a lesser extent, Admiral Pellaeon's. You just worry about keeping your brothers alive and scrapping droids. Just remember that while obedience to orders is a virtue, blind unquestioning obedience is not. If the Republic wanted unthinking soldiers, it would have a droid army like the Seppies, not one full of living and thinking sapients."
"As you say, General," replies Rook, but he privately resolves to learn more about politics.
Rook has never really cared for politics as he never saw it as being relevant to his job. If politics is going to be a threat that can get his brothers killed, then it is Rook's duty to learn more about the dangers that it poses to the 602nd.
And now we have Rook meeting with Ben in person. He also gets his first crash-course in politics because unfortunately for Rook, Ben is a very controversial figure in politics and that'll bring trouble to those serving under him without the issue of the Supreme Chancellor being a secret Sith Lord who wants Ben out of the picture.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Friday at 3:38 PM
13.4 (Battle of Bothawui) - Chapter Seventy-Two
This is the part of the fighting that Rook hates the most. Even more so than the waiting. No, the boringness of waiting is nothing next to the helplessness of sitting back and watching the fleets fight it out. He is a soldier, but he can't fight this sort of battle so he just watches without any way to influence the outcome. Even if he is just sitting back in headquarters, he can still read the battlefield and give orders, but Rook can't even do that in a void battle.
Still, he trusts General Shan and Admiral Pellaeon to know what they are doing. Especially since everything is currently going according to the General's plan as the Separatist fleet ploughs through the asteroid belt. The clankers may think that they have the advantage, but the truth is that they are playing right into General Shan's hand.
"All squadrons launch," orders Admiral Pellaon and Rook looks away from the tactical display to glance out the view point.
It takes a second or two, but it isn't long before Rook sees dozens of Liberator-class Starfighters emerging from the spinal hangar, switching from their landing mode to their attack mode with the wings of their starfighters spreading out. Between the Chimera and the Courage, over two hundred Republic starfighters sally forth into battle.
The Separatists meet them in turn as hundreds of vulture droids launch off of the Munificent-class Frigates. They aren't even specks at this distance, but Rook can see their sensor contacts marked clearly on the tactical display as a swarm of droid starfighters speeds ahead of the Separatist capital ships.
"That's good," says Admiral Pellaeon for Rook's benefit, "They outnumber us, but they only have three starfighters for every two of our own. I wouldn't be happy with those odds if we were using our Torrent starfighters, but with these new Liberators, our pilots can easily handle these numbers."
And once the enemy starfighters are committed and unable to react, the second stage of the plan will begin. It is ambitious on the General's part, but Rook agrees that the risks are calculated and the potential reward is worth the payoff. Besides, it isn't as flashy as some of the tactics used by other Jedi and Rook will be grateful if he doesn't have the same sort of tales to share as some of his fellow clone commanders.
"Admiral, the Separatist warships are diverting power to their forward shields," reports one of the watch-standers.
"They'll be banking on the asteroid field to protect their flanks," says Admiral Pellaeon, "A good idea if we hadn't already taken it into account."
Despite the questions on his mind as he watches the battle unfold, Rook stays his tongue. The admiral needs to focus on fighting the battle and Rook is too professional to interrupt with constant questions. Instead he focuses on the tactical display, splitting his attention between the massive dogfight taking place between the two fleets and on the steadily approaching Munificents.
"And now their numbers are low enough," mutters Admiral Pellaeon before speaking up into the comms, "Bronze, Silver and Gold Squadrons are cleared to launch. General Shan, begin phase two of the plan."
Phase two is fairly simple as Rook watches a dozen Thranta-class Corvettes escorted by a squadron of four Corellian Gunships exit hyperspace on the other side of the asteroid belt. The warships from the 1st Republic Patriot Legion will cut off the escape of Grievous' fleet while their starfighters will hit the Munificents in the rear while the Y-Wing Bombers make their way over.
And while the Separatists are distracted by the arrival of enemy reinforcements, General Shan will pilot his personal craft from it's hidden position in the asteroid field to land a boarding team on General Grievous' flagship. While Rook would like to just blow away the head clanker's flagship away with the Seppie general along with it, he understands why General Shan wishes to board the Separatist flagship. Due to the high-ranking position of General Grievous, there is a potential treasure trove of valuable enemy intelligence aboard that particular Munificent.
As a result, the Republic defenders will need to refrain from destroying the enemy flagship, but with nine other Separatist capital ships to worry about, Rook doubts that Admiral Pellaeon will find that limitation to be problematic. Especially since Grievous is going to be busy handling a Jedi-led boarding party on his flagship.
Everything is going according to plan. The Separatist fleet is trapped between two Republic fleets with no way to escape, their starfighter complement is engaged and rapidly dwindling while Republic bombers are fast approaching the Separatist capital ships while a boarding party is attempting to steal invaluable strategic data from the enemy flagship.
So of course, the Separatists decided to reveal their own trick in plan as an entire invasion force jumps out of hyperspace near the inhabited world of the Both system. Over twenty Separatist landing craft begin a direct course for the surface right after coming out of hyperspace, which throws Rook for a second because he distinctly remembers that type of Separatist transport lacking its own hyperdrive.
"Blasted hells, of course things were going too well," curses Admiral Pellaon as he glares at the alerts popping up on the tactical display, "General Shan, we have a problem!"
"Can it wait, admiral?" comes the quick response from the General.
"I'm afraid not, sir," answers Admiral Pellaeon, "The Seppies just jumped in a few dozen landing craft over Bothawui. We're looking at a full-scale invasion while our entire defence force is out here. Standing by for new orders, General."
"Kriff," curses General Shan, "How bad is it?"
"We won't be able to intercept them before they reach the surface even if we were able to divert our forces right now," reports Admiral Pellaeon as Rook glares helpless at the tactical display, "And we still have to take care of Grievous' fleet."
"Will you be able to handle the fleet if I send my warships after the invasion force?" inquires General Shan.
"It would come down to how well our bombers do against the Munificents," answers Admiral Pellaeon, "And we would likely lose one of our star destroyers in the process."
"I'll leave you the DP20s," says General Shan after a moment, "Any sign of starfighters amongst the transports?"
"None, sir," replies Admiral Pellaon, "Though they could be holding them in reserve."
"I'll send the Thrantas to engage what they can of the transports and provide fire support to the defenders," says General Shan, "Their Liberator squadrons will continue to engage Grievous' fleet."
"That will have to do," says Admiral Pellaeon and this time, Rook understands what is going on.
They can't afford to ignore the invasion forces, but they also need to retain enough of their strength to win the current battle. Even if he doesn't know the ins and outs of the forces involved, Rook does understand the balancing act of trying to complete two objectives at once with insufficient forces.
"It's the right decision," says Rook to the admiral, "We can't just ignore the invasion force, but we can't let ourselves get destroyed here."
"I know," replies Admiral Pellaeon, "But it doesn't make the hard choices any easier. I will just have to finish this fight quickly so we can get involved in the ground battle."
"I won't be complaining about the chance to finally do something," says Rook semi-jokingly before getting serious as he stares at the tactical display around Bothawui, "That many transports. That has to be at least an entire corps worth in those transports, perhaps even an army's force of battle droids."
"And that transport isn't supposed to be capable of independent hyperspace travel," says Admiral Pellaeon, "It seems like the Separatists are getting innovative."
And doesn't that just send a shiver down Rook's spine. He can still handle the clankers being smart about things, but it does mean that more of his brothers will die. As he watches one of the enemy frigates get destroyed by a barrage of proton torpedoes from the Y-Wings, Rook begins to plan for repelling the invasion force currently landing on Bothawui. The 602nd is good, but they'll be outnumbered at least twenty to one by the droids.
They'll have General Shan, but he is only one Jedi and of his personal army, he only has a couple of battalions spread out across the Thrantas. They'll be reliant on the local defences and militia and so Rook pulls out a datapad to review what Bothawui has in the way of a garrison.
"We're going hard and hot," says Commander Rook to his brothers as their LAAT/i gunship flies down to the planetary surface alongside made others, all of them protected by multiple Liberator squadrons, "There are going to be a lot of clankers waiting for us, but this is a defensive op. The Seppies are going to be taking the fight to us and we are going to let them break upon us. Keep your heads down and stay behind the fortifications."
By the time that the 602nd finally arrived at Bothawui, the fighting on the surface had already been ongoing with the 1st RPL being the backbone of the defence alongside assorted mercenaries and bounty hunters on surface that the Bothan Clans had hastily hired to defend their world. Even General Shan had already arrived after he completed his smash and grab aboard Grievous' flagship.
A shame that the head clanker got away, but Grievous didn't even try to fight General Shan. Once it was clear that the vulture droids weren't going to win the furball and his Munificents began to die to the Y-Wings and the Corellian Gunships, the Separatist commander fled. Abandoning his flagship, he jumped aboard his personal starfighter, dodged a couple squadrons of Liberators and jumped to hyperspace.
Of the Separatist fleet? The vulture droids were wiped out and three battered frigates jumped to safety once they got clear of the asteroid field while the rest were added to the asteroids as drifting wreckage.
"Go! Go! Go!" shouts Rook as the side doors slide open and blaster fire flies through the air.
With his pair of DC-17 hand blaster in his hands, Rook runs towards the closest fortified position as the assorted defenders of the capital engage fire with B1 battle droids. Rook fires a few shots, but the vast majority of damage is done by the LAAT/i gunships as their weapons lay into the advancing droid columns. Hundreds of droids are slaughtered and some of the less professional defenders break out into cheers, but not Rook.
No, Rook is concerned about how reckless and destructive the battle droids are as they are shooting up the city almost as much as they are shooting at their opponents. They aren't just idiotic like the tinnies can be, no, if Rook had to say something he would say that the destruction being wrecked by the droids feels deliberate on their part.
"General Shan, the droids are attacking the city," reports Rook over his comlink as he blasts a B1 in the head, "I mean that they are deliberately attacking the city itself and not just trying to secure it."
"I noticed," replies the General grimly, "Civilian casualties… have been unacceptably high. This invading army, it is here to destroy what they can, not to conquer the planet."
That is bad. Things can be rough on the locals when both sides are just trying to secure the planet. With the clankers trying to destroy not conquer, Rook dreads to think about what damage they can inflict before they are defeated.
From a certain point of view it makes sense if they are just trying to deny Bothawui to the Republic. They don't have a hope of successfully taking the planet anymore so they'll just destroy what they can before they are defeated. It is going to take years to recover from the damage inflicted so far and the droids are only going to do more harm before the last of them are put down.
And Rook is going to do his part as he blasts yet another battle droid.
And here we have the twist to the Battle of Bothawui where the naval fight is the distraction to get ground forces on the surface. That and the fact that the Separatists came here to destroy not conquer, which I leave the thread to speculate on the reason for that.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Nov 29, 2023
13.5 (Battle of Bothawui) - Chapter Seventy-Three
"I'll say it if no one else will, but Bothawui was a kriffing mess," says Admiral Thak, "No blame to anyone there, but the Separatists went for a deliberate war crime there and we failed to stop it."
Rook discreetly looks around as General Shan has a not so small meeting with the senior officers under his command. With seven Jedi, eight admirals, four brigadiers and four clone commanders, there are quite a few individuals gathering the tactical display though only General Shan and Admiral Pellaeon are here in person with Rook.
"I'll take some responsibility for this mess," says General Shan as he looks around, meeting everyone in the eye, "I was too focused on the naval battle that I never considered it to be a distraction for a large-scale ground invasion. I was too busy baiting Grievous away from Bothawui to realise that I was leaving it undefended."
"None of us saw it coming, Ben," says Admiral Thak, "Count Dooku made General Grievous the Separatist Supreme Commander for a reason. He is capable enough to duel wits even with you."
"I'm not actually that great at tactics or strategy and I forgot that," says General Shan, "I let my successes get to my head and blind me to my limitations and now over a hundred million Bothans have died because of that."
"Grievous has far more responsibility for this than you do, sir," says one of the brigadiers firmly, "It is as you have told us many times before, we try to save everyone, but we won't always succeed."
"What happened to Bothawui is a tragedy, General Shan, but I agree that the blame lies with the Separatists for doing the deed, not you for failing to stop them," says an admiral, a Jace Dallin, "We'll get justice for Bothawui."
"The 602nd already owes the head clanker payback for Yaga Minor," says Rook, reading the room and deciding to add his pieces, "We'll be happy to get payback for Bothawui as well."
"Thank you for the support," says General Shan before taking a deep breath, "We can come back to getting justice for Bothawui later. How are our war efforts going? Admiral Pellaeon?"
"Despite the tragedy on the planet, our own military losses have been minimal," answers Admiral Pellaeon, "We lost only a handful of starfighters and only we took double digit losses on the surface. We are certainly capable of fighting another engagement as we are."
"Our counter offensives in the Doldur sector have been doing well," reports Admiral Thak as Admiral Pellaeon finishes speaking, "We haven't liberated any worlds, but we have picked off four small Separatist fleets so far and hit two military convoys that we relieved of their cargo. The Separatists haven't finished reorganising themselves so they aren't quite so overextended and until then, we still have a small window of opportunity to deal damage."
"We have been securing the Mon Cala sector," says General Telis, "We have crushed the last of the Separatist holdouts around Mon Cala, but the situation is still tenuous until King Yos can finish his build up of the Mon Calamari Navy. Once that is done, Mon Cala will be secure enough to allow redeployment of my legions."
"Our convoy escorts have been successful," says General Grey, "We have fought off both regular pirates and Separatists privateers who wanted to take advantage of forces redeployed to support the war effort. It is a drop in the bucket, but we saved some lives and we'll be making those that would prey upon the trade routes more hesitant."
"I've been picking off pirate bands who have been getting too big for their britches," says General Kota, smoothly picking up from where General Grey left off, "Too many wannabe warlords are attempting to take advantage of the war to expand their operations. We're been crushing them where we can, but there is no shortage of scum in the galaxy. The biggest problem so far has been finding them, but the upside is that these pirates are no match for real soldiers so we're been racking up one-sided victories when we do find them.
"We're also made a nice little collection of assorted loot. Some of the supplies are useful to us, but others are only good for selling or donation. We have captured several ships, plenty of starfighters and a lot of vehicles. The main issue with the loot is that few of them meet the standard we've been using for our gear. Still, there might be a day when we need something and anything will be useful so I've stuffed them away at one of our secret bases."
"If nothing else, we can always donate them to those in need, either for good will or to secure their position," says General Shan before looking around the meeting once again, "Alright, here are your orders for the foreseeable future. 1st Republic Patriot Legion and 34th Elite Legion, continue the counter offences into the Doldur sector and its neighbouring sectors, the 602nd Elite Legion will join you as soon as they are done on Bothawui. Hit them where they aren't expecting it and make them bleed. I want small one-sided engagements where they are taking losses and we aren't. I'll be heading to Coruscant to touch base with the Militarist coalition and help out Fox with some issues, but I'll be taking command upon my return and until then Admiral Thak has command.
"2nd Republic Patriot Legion and 333rd Sky Legion, I want you to continue your operations in the Mon Cala sector until King Yos and his people are able to stand on their own. Priority is the defence of the Mon Cala Sector, but don't be afraid to strike targets of opportunity in the surrounding sectors.
"4th Republic Patriot Legion and 117th Mechanised Legion, continue convoy escorts. Your work may not be glorious, but it is saving lives and doing its part to help the war effort by making raiders more wary of preying upon traders. 3rd Republic Patriot Legion, continue to cull the pirate population. I'll tap into my sources to see if I can get a list of targets for you to hit. May the Force be with you."
And with the traditional parting phrase from the General, the meeting comes to an end as the holograms of the officers from the other units flicker and disappear, leaving just General Shan, Admiral Pellaeon and Rook in a conference room aboard the Chimera.
"Is the business on Coruscant anything I should be concerned about?" inquires Admiral Pellaeon.
"No, I just need to do some political niceties with my supporters and give Fox a hand," replies General Shan, "Some people have gotten it in their heads that they can give Fox and the Coruscant Guard the run around because they are just clones. I'm going to correct their misjudgement on the matter."
"Hopefully you won't bring down too much trouble on our heads," jokes Admiral Pellaeon, but it is too close to the truth for any of them to laugh as they exit the conference room.
As Rook makes his way down to the hangar of the Chimera, he can't help, but wonder what General Shan wants. The clone commander is certain that it has something to do with his padawan as Commander Randanys arrived in the last hour aboard her highly modified freighter, the Nightingale Huntress. Perhaps the Commander brought an important guest? Or maybe it is an equally important prisoner?
"Rook!" calls General Shan as he spots the clone commander approaching, "Over here!"
Looking over in the General's direction, Rook spots a smaller figure next to him who must be Commander Randanys. Or at least Rook assumes so because the figure looks nothing like the Commander in her profile as she is covered head to toe in pink and white Mandalorian armour with a breastplate that is curved to reflect a bosom.
"General Shan," Rook greets his commanding officer, "Do I have the honour of meeting Commander Randanys?"
"You certainly do, Commander," says the young woman chipperly as she sticks out a hand, "Pleasure to meet you!"
Rook glances at the hand, unsure of what to do before deciding to fall back on his training. He snaps a salute to the Commander, ignoring her outreached limb.
"Welcome to the Chimera, Commander Randanys," says Rook professional, "I look forward to serving with you."
"Likewise, Rook, and just call me, Vyssa," replies Commander Randanys before she turns to General Shan, "He's like Master Aria, isn't he?"
"No, he is just being professional," replies General Shan, "Because most soldiers are professional and follow proper protocol. Or at least most of the ones who are good at their job do. Rook, despite her youth, Vyssa is the head of our informal intelligence network given how intelligence from Coruscant can be… unreliable."
"Politics again, General?" guesses Rook.
"That and Separatist spies," answers the General, "I've dealt enough damage to the Separatist cause that I am something of a priority for them. The Confederacy would happily burn an agent or two to lead me into a trap."
"Is now a good time to mention that I'm not a fan of politics, sir?" replies Rook, "My speciality lies in defeating the enemy on the battlefield."
"Sounds just like you, Master," says Commander Randanys as she elbows General Shan in the ribs.
"But unlike me, Rook doesn't have to make politics his concern," says General Shan, "Rook, I want you to show Vyssa around the 602nd. If all goes to plan, she'll be working closely with you and your brothers over the upcoming months."
"Of course, General," answers Rook before turning to the Commander, "If you would like to follow me, ma'am."
Rook politely ignores Commander Randanys giving General Shan a quick embrace before she follows after him.
"Are you a Mandalorian, Commander?" asks Rook, eyeing her distinctive style of armour as they walk through the hangar.
"Not at all, I just wear the armour of one," answers the Commander, "This armour actually belonged to your original. Master Shan found it on Geonosis after Jango Fett was killed and he gave it to me so I would have better protection, especially since the war had just started. I got it refitted to my proportions so it would be a more comfortable fit and had it painted in my preferred colours. I expected to offend some real Mandalorians with it, but so far they've either been in the Legions or they assumed that I was one of them. I guess I carry myself like a warrior."
"You certainly have a deadly allure, ma'am," says Rook, "Where would you like to start your tour?"
"Stuff you need to see in person," says Commander Randanys, "I already read up on your legion so anything that was discoverable remotely is a close priority."
"Does that include the layout of the ship?" asks Rook.
"Only if it is still adhering to the standard design of a Venator," answers Commander Randanys, "I am certainly not seeing any modification or patch jobs done to the vessel."
"Not many of those so far," says Rook, "The Chimera has just rolled out of the shipyards and she has only seen a single battle so far where the Seppies didn't even bring down her shields. Still, I can think of a couple of spots where my brothers have been enterprising."
"Excellent," says Commander Randanys and Rook is certain that the young Jedi actually means it, "And I would like to meet your brothers too. My master always taught me that the men and women under your command are more important than any hardware."
"Of course, Commander."
Now we have reached the end of this arc. It is a fairly short one, but I wanted to introduce Rook and Ben's clone legion. It isn't the best of introductions, but the main conflict of this arc was the space battle and in hindsight, Rook didn't have much of a part to play in that.
Anyway, next time is going to be the start of the Mandalorian arc.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Nov 29, 2023
14.1 (The Mandalorians) - Chapter Seventy-Four
Like the other lieutenants within Death Watch, Gar Saxon stands at attention as the dar'jetii Count Dooku appears before the true leader of Mandalore and Gar's master, Pre Vizsla. The leader of the Confederacy of Independent Systems has come to Death Watch with a proposal and no one here has any delusion about what Dooku will be offering them. They all know that Death Watch seeks to overthrow the weak and corrupt New Mandalorian regime and restore Mandalore to its true glory. Dooku will offer aid in achieving that in exchange for whatever he wants accomplished by the Death Watch.
"Count Dooku," says Pre Vizla as the rightful Mand'alor stands with his beskar helmet held in one hand and the Darksaber strapped to his belt.
"Pre Vizla," replies Dooku, looking dismissively over the assembled Mandalorian warriors, "I come to you with an offer that you will be most interested in."
"It must be an offer to reclaim Mandalore from that snivelling coward Satine or I am not interested," states Pre bluntly and Gar respects his leader for not wasting everyone's time by beating around the bush.
"Of course, I would expect nothing less," says Dooku gracefully, any disdain for them hidden from his words and voice, "Once it has had a change in leadership, I'm sure that Mandalore would be a welcome new addition for the Separatists."
"Is that your price then?" demands Pre, "We join your war in exchange for returning to our rightful place?"
Gar doesn't know what to think about that. On the one hand, the idea of being subordinate to a dar'jetii rankles at his Mandalorian sensibilities, but if it is the price for getting rid of those pesky New Mandalorians… Gar has stomached worse things in the name of their cause.
"Not quite," replies Dooku, "There is a troublesome Jedi who has proven far more of a pest than I anticipated. I believe you have heard of Ben Shan?"
Aye, they certainly heard of that jetii. A supposed descendant of the likes of Revan Shan, Bastila Shan and Satele Shan… Gar can respect that sort of linage especially since the Republic lapdog is living up to the legend of his ancestors. Unlike the other modern Jedi, that Ben Shan is a real warrior, taking the fight to the slavers and pirates of the Outer Rim even before the war. And since the war broke out, Ben Shan has proved himself better than the rest of his fellows. A shame that the man is a Jedi. From everything that Gar has heard, he wouldn't mind having Ben Shan as one of his vode and if you listen to some of the rumours, he might actually be one of them.
"Nobody who has been paying attention to the war hasn't," answers Pre, "You want us to kill him for you?"
"Is it truly that obvious?" wonders Dooku before a holographic image of a Jedi appears, invoking negative reactions from everyone in the room.
"Is that beskar'gam?" demands someone, earning a glare from Pre for speaking out of turn.
"As you all noticed, Ben Shan wears a suit of beskar armour into battle," says Dooku with just a hint of smugness, "Some of you may have heard the rumours and I can assure you that it is all true. After Geonosis, he took the beskar armour off of Jango Fett's corpse and had it refitted to serve him."
The mention of Jango brings up mixed feelings in Gar. On the one hand, the self-proclaimed Mand'alore was the leader of the True Mandalorians and Jango Fett had a mutual hatred of the Death Watch. On the other hand, he was a true warrior and Gar would have followed Jango Fett over Satine Kryze any day. To be slain by a jetii who then looted his ancestral beskar'gam for his own use, osik, that isn't right.
"He dares to wear beskar like that?" snarls Pre angrily as he glares at the image, "He dares to wear the sacred metal of my people despite being one of its enemies."
"Indeed he does," says Dooku, "Part of the reason that General Shan has proven so hard to kill is the fact that he wears his stolen beskar into battle. General Shan has inflicted enough losses upon the Confederacy that I am willing to go to great lengths to be rid of him and I would handsomely reward anyone who does the deed."
"How handsomely?" asks Pre and Gar can just imagine the look of greed on his face.
Ka'ra, Gar himself is wondering what kind of riches the dar'jetii is willing to part with if it means the death of his biggest enemy. But Gar is no fool and he knows that it won't be an easy prize to claim. If it was, then Dooku would not need to offer such a great prize.
"Should you succeed in killing Ben Shan, Vizsla, not only will you have my aid in claiming Mandalore, but I shall grant you a position on the Separatist Council," answers Dooku and there is more than a few hisses of breath at that revelation.
That is no small prize. While the war leaves the future uncertain, the Confederacy is one of the two major powers in the galaxy, three if you include the Hutts. To be offered a place in the uppermost echelons of the Separatist leadership, that is a great reward indeed. Especially when it is combined with the restoration of the Death Watch's rightful rule over Mandalore.
"That is most handsome indeed," replies Pre and the greed in his voice is clear, "Well, Count, you have yourself a deal. The true sons and daughters of Mandalore shall kill this Jedi for you."
"I shall be watching with great interest, Vizsla," says the dar'jetii, "I hope you live up to your people's reputation."
And just like that, the hologram of Dooku disappears and conversations rapidly break out amongst the assembled Mandalorians. After all, everything they could have hoped for is being offered to them and all they have to do for the prize of their dreams is to kill some chakaar of a jetii.
How hard could it be to kill one measly Jedi Knight?
Tarr Bralor makes his way across the rooftops of Coruscant with ease. Even with the war going on, security hasn't increased that much. Places like the Senate Dome might be harder to get legitimate access to these days and there are all of those clone trooper patrols wandering about, but for anyone who knows the tricks of the trade, it is as easy as it ever was.
Tarr didn't even get checked on his arrival. He just paid for a ride across to one of the lesser districts aboard a trader who didn't mind a side of shady business. The apathetic and underpaid port official didn't even take a bribe and just dotted down their arrival until Tarr asked her not to. And she just did it rather than pick a fight or kick up a fuss. Maybe it was the fact that Tarr was in his armour and armed, but he felt obligated to leave a few credits. Not much, just enough to buy a meal or two as a reward for her helpfulness.
Hefting his sniper rifle, Tarr makes his way through the lower levels of Coruscant until he is below the important districts. Nobody dares stop a Mandalorian warrior, as while Tarr receives some looks, nobody gets in his way and no law enforcement shows up. Once he is at the right location, he begins his ascent.
As befitting of a corrupt and decadent government, the Republic secures its most vital districts from the sides and above with only a token amount of resources going into securing it from below. Oh, there are some security checkpoints and patrols by the Coruscant Police and the Coruscant Guard, but Tarr easily avoids those.
If the intelligence that the Mand'alor provided him with is correct, General Ben Shan will be exiting the Senate Dome shortly. One shot from the expert sniper and the troublesome Jedi will be no more. Settling into position, Tarr waits for his target to reveal himself.
It takes half an hour of patient waiting, but Ben Shan finally exits the building. The jetii is easy to spot, wearing his distinctive stolen beskar'gam. Even if he never agreed with him, Tarr did respect Jango Fett's worth as a warrior and it is shameful for his killer to wear his looted armour like this.
Tarr steadies his breath, lines up a shot and gently squeezes the trigger of his sniper rifle. Moving at the speed of light, the blaster bolt flies and it misses. Or rather, at the last movement, Ben Shan shifts so that the blaster bolt strikes his beskar breastplate.
Cursing at his misfortune, Tarr pulls the trigger again and again until the power pack runs empty. Each time, the damn jetii dodges Tarr's shot except the shabuir isn't actually dodging as he just moves to let the blaster bolts land on his beskar. His beskar armour has too much coverage to be made from a single set of beskar'gam. No, the chakaar must have pilfered more than multiple beskar'gams to make his insult of an armour.
Except for the last shot. For that one, Ben Shan just had to reach out with his hand and the blaster shot dissipated upon contact with his palm. Because the jetii is a damn show off.
And of course, the jetii is coming for him. There is no way that Ben Shan should have been able to spot him, but the jetii are well-known for doing the impossible and that helmet of his could contain something capable of picking him out.
Cursing his misfortune, Tarr decides that discretion is the better part of valour and fires up his jetpack. He doesn't care what sort of fancy powers the damn jetii has, there is enough distance between them that he can ditch the pursuit in the lower levels.
With his cover already blown, Tarr doesn't bother trying to sneak his way past the clone trooper patrol. Shifting his sniper rifle to one hand, Tarr uses the other one to draw his side-arm and start blasting. One of the clones goes down, but the other one ducks behind cover.
Tarr doesn't bother continuing the fight as he is here to get away from the jetii, not take out one of the millions of clones that the Republic has. He flies dowd deep into a wide-open hole, dodging starships and hovercraft as he does so. The lower levels will likely be rougher, but Tarr is a Mandalorian warrior. He can handle what the undercity of Coruscant has to throw at him.
He doesn't bother checking if Ben Shan is still pursuing him as Tarr instead finds a suitable hole in the wall to fly into. Cutting power to his jetpack so he'll have some fuel for later, Tarr runs into the crowd of low lifes. Pre Vizsla won't be pleased to hear that Tarr failed, but they both knew that Ben Shan was going to be a tough target. Besides Tarr is bringing valuable first-hand intel on their mark and being half a galaxy away does wonders for avoiding any immediate punishment for his failures.
Now we have the start of the Mandalorian arc. The Sith's latest attempt to rid themselves of Ben is revealed as they sic Death Watch on him. It is a pretty good plan because if the Mandos fail, the Sith lose nothing, but if the Mandos succeed, then they'll have proven themselves useful enough that the rewards are just further investment into a valuable asset.
This arc is going to be shown from multiple Mandalorian perspectives. Limiting myself to just one viewpoint would hurt the narrative so I'll be switching between relevant Mandalorians as needed.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Nov 29, 2023
14.2 (The Mandalorians) - Chapter Seventy-Five
Sergeant Jacpa Dasou of Clan Ordo and nobody's House watches the helmet footage taken from the clone shock troopers that encountered the latest assassin on his General. To Shan's relief and Jacpa's pride, the downed trooper survived the encounter as the new armour being rolled out allowed the clone to survive a blaster shot that would have killed him in his old armour.
Just goes to show that if you want quality armour, you go to a Mandalorian not a Kaminoan. Honestly, what was Fett thinking when he let the Kaminoans handle the equipment of the clones. There is a reason why nobody, but a handful of True Mandalorian holdouts still considered him to be the Mand'alor. Jango Fett should have died on Galidraan and in some ways, he did. The man who was the rightful Mand'alor never emerged from Galidraan and died with the True Mandalorian cause, leaving them with a burnt out husk of a man who was one step away from being dar'manda.
Of course, some folks in the Clans say the same about Jacpa and his willingness to loyally serve both a Jedi and the Galactic Republic. He doubts any of the Kyr'tsad respect him for working with the ancestral enemies of their people.
And speaking of the Kyr'tsad…
"Your suspicions are correct, General," says Jacpa to General Ben Shan, "This fellow was Death Watch. He didn't even try to hide his allegiance. Why they want you dead isn't so obvious. I would say it is the armour, but that doesn't explain why now and not before."
"Most likely the Separatists set them on me, either for credits or aid in conquering Mandalore," replies Ben, "Alternatively, he could have just been acting as a bounty hunter and trying to earn some war funds for Death Watch. Force knows that there is a high enough price on my head to be worth it."
"If we're lucky, it'll be the second option," says Jacpa, "If our would-be assassin was operating independently, there is a good chance that he'll call it quits after such a botched job. But if that shabuir Pre Vizsla sent him, then he'll keep coming. Or others will take his place. Depends on what the Separatists are offering them. Death Watch talks a good game, but they like to cut and run if the reward isn't worth the risk."
"Not an entirely unreasonable position to take," points out Ben.
"It isn't like when we do it," argues Jacpa, "We cut and run when there is no point to staying. If the battle is worth fighting, we'll stay and fight even if the chances of victory are slim. Death Watch ditch a battle because it has gone against their favour. They're glorified bandits who can't take a fair fight."
"I'll defer to your superior experience on the matter," says Ben, "I don't suppose you have any idea who Death Watch might be working for if it is just a lone bounty hunter?"
"Those Kyr'tsad di'kuts aren't picky about the scum that they work for," answers Jacpa, "They have an issue working with the Republic, the Jedi Order and any of their Mandalorian rivals, but lack principles outside of that. It might be the Separatists, but it could also be the Hutts, the Black Sun or Pykes or any of the many criminal syndicates that you have pissed off."
That last sentence is said with a grin beneath Jacpa's helmet. His willingness to make enemies is one of the reasons that Jacpa joined up with Ben Shan and has stayed so loyal to the man. Too many out there talk a good game, but lack the guts to do so or the strength to survive if they do. Jacpa can at least respect those who died fighting for their beliefs, but his General fights for his beliefs and he wins.
He will spit in the eye of the Hutt Cartel, go head to head with the Black Sun and back before the war, the 1st Republic Patriot Legion even directly struck Oba Diah during one of their operations against the Pyke Syndicate. Retaliation from slavers and pirates doesn't scare Ben Shan into backing down from doing what's right.
"We'll go with the assumption that Death Watch is working for the Separatists for now," says Ben, "I'll poke some of my sources, see if they've heard anything about Death Watch bragging about cutting a deal with Dooku or one of the other Seppie leaders. I'm sure that Death Watch has plenty of members with loose lips."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that," warns Jacpa because while he hates to bring up the virtues of Kyr'tsad, it would be a dereliction of duty to let his General go about with misassumptions, "For all their many flaws, the Death Watch does maintain the skill and discipline of true Mandalorian warriors. A normal member of Death Watch is a cut above your average soldier and they are professionals and fanatics.
"Plenty of us don't like the New Mandalorian regime, but that doesn't equal wanting to topple it. There is a reason that Death Watch is Death Watch and not the Old Mandalorians. The actual Old Mandalorians are willing to just go about their lives without frothing at the mouth at the thought of the New Mandalorians existing. Death Watch is formed from those who are willing to commit their life to the cause."
"So Death Watch is made up of disciplined Mandalorian warriors who are fanatics in addition to being professionals," summarises Ben.
"That's about right, General," confirms Jacpa, "They might raid and pillage like bandits, but their organisation is that of soldiers. They are willing to die for the cause, even if it means taking their own life to avoid capture or talking to the enemy. Their honour might be hypocritical, but their skill is not."
"That does potentially open opportunities," muses Ben thoughtfully, "Do you happen to know how closely the Death Watch adheres to the old Mandalorian traditions?"
"They proclaim to, but honestly, it comes down to convenience," answers Jacpa, "I will admit that Pre Vizsla is better about it than his buir. Pre Vizsla does seem to genuinely believe in the old ways while Tor Vizsla just pretended to so he could use them as a means to draw in followers. Why do you ask, sir?"
"Because if the Death Watch does follow the old traditions and they are a professional and disciplined force, than I believe I have a good way to resolve this situation to our benefit," answers Ben, looking like he does whenever he gets an idea that means bad things for their foes, "I believe we are going to find out just how Mandalorian I am."
"Are you a Mandalorian, General?" asks Jacpa, genuinely curious.
It is something that is sometimes talked about by the troops and Jacpa amongst them. In fact, as the most experienced Mandalorian in the ranks, plenty of other troopers come to him with questions on the subject. Ben Shan was raised by the Jedi Order and is clearly a Jedi Knight, but he wears his beskar'gam like a true Mando'ad. And he received said beskar'gam as something willingly given by another Mandalorian though Jacpa never asked for the details on the subject.
As much as many of his fellow Mandalorian warriors would sneer at the thought of a mando'jetii, the concept is far from unprecedented. The Darksaber that House Vizsla used as proof of leadership after the Mask of Mandalore was lost was created by the Mandalorian Jedi Tarre Vizsla. And it is said that Mandalore the Ultimate had Jedi Knights in the Clans during the ancient Mandalorian Wars, when the Clans were at the height of their power.
So while he certainly wasn't born into one of the Clans, Ben Shan could have been adopted by one of them. Not one aligned with the New Mandalorians or Kyr'tsad, but perhaps a group that favours the Old Mandalorians. It could have been some of the True Mandalorian survivors, but Jacpa doubts that. They all hate the Jedi after Galidraan and Ben couldn't have been adopted into the Clans before that disaster.
It is even conceivable that Ben Shan follows the Resol'nare. Education and armour, self-defence and tribe, language and leader. He wears his armour and he knows the language. There hasn't been a real Mand'alor to follow since Galidraan and as for tribe and education, that could count either the Jedi Order, the Republic Patriot Legions or whatever Mandalorian Clan adopted him. If it is one of the former two, then Ben has certainly done more than his share of contributing and fought to defend both. When it comes to education, Ben Shan doesn't have any traditional family, but Vyssa Randanys is his padawan. She wears beskar'gam of her own and Jacpa has no doubts that Ben has taught her to the best of his ability.
"It depends on who you ask," answers Ben, switching from Galactic Basic to Mando'a, "But I do believe that we will have an answer for certain in the coming days."
Senator Tal Merrik, one of the two representatives for the Mandalore Sector in the Galactic Senate, is having a bad day. First Pre Vizsla has been on his arse for information on Ben Shan, the Guardian of the Republic and war hero extraordinaire, because of that deal that his true leader made with Count Dooku.
Not that Tal blames Pre for making said deal. Dooku made a very generous offer and Pre would have been a fool to turn it down. Unfortunately for Tal, Pre and his chosen assassin failed to kill General Shan and now the Mand'alor is pestering Tal for help in resolving the situation.
At least the lackey on Coruscant didn't get caught. That leaves options open for the Kyr'tsad. An assassin on Coruscant has its usages and while he failed in killing his target, the fact that the attempt was made so close to the Senate Dome has people concerned. Even Tal must admit he is a little concerned at how easily security was breached despite being one of the people behind the attempt.
And the fact that the would-be assassin was a Mandalorian warrior? That has a lot of accusations being made towards the Duchess of Mandalore and her government's official stance of pacifism. After all, Satine and her lackeys have been quite firm in their mistaken belief that all of Mandalore's warriors died out on the moon of Concord. Fools, but what is to be expected from a naive and ignorant New Mandalorian?
Perhaps best of all is equally ignorant senators accusing Duchess Satine of secretly raising an army of Mandalorian warriors. Hah! As if that self-righteous coward would even consider creating an army or a rightful return to the true traditions of their people. Yet while laughably wrong, Tal can make use of such claims. He'll have to speak with Pre, but if the Senate can be provoked into moving against Satine… well, the Republic marching into Mandalore would turn the Kyr'tsad from terrorists to liberators in the eyes of the Mandalorian people.
All of which means more work for Tal as he has to do his duty as a loyal member of Kyr'tsad whilst maintaining his cover as a simpering supporter of Duchess Satine and her New Mandalorian regime. Alas, the reward for his good work is more work acting upon the mistakes of others. Such is the life of Tal Merrik.
He settles in for an evening of work when he notices something wrong with his quarters. He can't quite put his finger on it until he goes to get a drink, when he notices that a number of his cups are missing. A quick inspection soon reveals that only some of his cups are missing, but so is a number of his dinner plates and most of his cutlery. Worst of all, all of the missing items are imports from Mandalore, all forged from beskar so he can use them to show off the wealth and heritage of his people.
Which incidentally explains why someone would want to steal them. Mandalorian iron is famous across the galaxy and valued greatly for its properties. Even if only Mandalorian armourers and metalsmiths know how to work its secrets, that doesn't stop plenty of thieves attempting to get their grubby mitts on beskar.
Truly security is getting lax if someone was able to steal all of the beskar from Tal's quarters.
This chapter covers the viewpoint of one of the few Mandalorians in the Republic Patriot Legions, showing another Mandalorian perspective on Ben. Also Tal Merrik gets robbed. I wonder who could have been behind that?
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Dec 1, 2023
14.3 (The Mandalorians) - Chapter Seventy-Six
For Tor Ordo, life goes on as it always has. The ancestral home of his Clan, its namesake Ordo, has had the fortune to be mostly overlooked by the New Mandalorians, the Kyr'tsad and the galactic community at large. Traders and visitors come by, but apart from its Mandalorian warriors, Ordo has little to offer and its people are happy to keep it that way. Let the New Mandalorians choke on their corruption and let the Kyr'tsad burn out on their fanaticism. Let the galaxy tear itself apart as the Republic wages a civil war with itself. Ordo, whether it be the planet or the Clan, and its people shall endure.
Ordo isn't a prosperous world as the planet is mostly barren desert with some vegetation around the equator. It is at the equator that Clan Ordo and the other Mandalorian inhabitants make their livelihoods with farms and villages scattered across, kept connected by tradition and HoloNet.
For those that hold to the old ways, Ordo is a good place to live out your life. The True Mandalorians used to have a presence before their extinction, while the New Mandalorians never gained a presence and the Kyr'tsad have been taught that Ordo has little patience for its banditry.
Tor is getting old. His hair is now more grey than black and despite his best efforts to keep in shape, his body is getting tired and worn out more easily. A run that he could have made with ease a decade ago would now leave him needing to catch his breath. Such is the fate of all warriors that manage to avoid dying in battle.
Still, the Mandalorian armourer lives by the Resol'nare and is respected by his Clan. The youngsters come to him when they need new armour though it is rare when they have the beskar for proper beskar'gam these days. The New Mandalorians and the Kyr'tsad hoard the beskar for their own usages and it is rare for an Old Mandalorian to get their hands on fresh beskar. Most of the time when Tor works with beskar these days, it is because he is refitting an ancestral suit of beskar'gam to fit the youngster who is inheriting it.
Not that Tor is close to running out of work by a long shot. The galactic war might be overlooking Ordo thanks to the neutrality of the New Mandalorians, but thanks to his old friend Ben Shan, the Republic is giving him plenty of business. With the war granting an influx of funding and recruits, his jetii burc'ya has reached out to him and many other Old Mandalorian armourers to commission new armour for his soldiers.
Many grumbled at working for a Jedi and the Republic, but Ben is a man of honour and his credits were good. Especially since a number of his fellow armourers approached Tor for his opinion and he happily vouched for his old friend. And so far, Ben hasn't let him down.
The kid is a good lad. Tor would have happily taken the boy as his own ad.
It is on one of those armours for the Republic Patriot Legions that Tor was working on when his daughter Orika comes running into his forge. Tor wants to be annoyed at the interruption, but he knows that Orika wouldn't interrupt him unless it is important. She knows better than that.
"Buir!" cries Orika, "We have a ship incoming. Its transponder is identifying it as the Knight I, but Tordral recognises it and is insisting that it is the Slave I."
Tor takes a moment to place the name as he is certain that he has heard it before, then it hits him. Slave I was the name of the ship that Jango Fett used after the old Mand'alor lost the Jaster's Legacy. Only Jango finally died on Geonosis, something which everybody knows and Ben personally confirmed it to him when he got Tor to refit Jango's armour for that ad of his.
Then if this is Jango's ship, but he is dead and his armour now belongs to Ben…
"Did the pilot give a name?" asks Tor as a sneaking suspicion comes over him.
"Yeah," replies Orika, "A smuggler called Carth Vao. You know them?"
"I certainly do!" exclaims Tor as he remembers the fake name that Ben used when they first met.
The kid was excited to learn about his history back then, so when he needed to avoid being recognised as a Jedi he pretended to be a smuggler using the names from two of his most ancient ancestor's companions. He completely failed at passing as a smuggler, but with a couple of daughters at home, Tor's paternal instincts kicked in and he helped the poor kid out.
A good decision on his part considering how Ben repaid him for kindness later in life.
"Should I tell Tordral to let him land?" asks Orika.
"Ad'ika, we couldn't stop him from landing even if we wanted to," Tor tells her as he puts his tools away, "He is made from the same moulds that Mand'alors are."
"Ah, okay," replies Orika and she runs off
Ben is coming to visit him in person. Tor wonders what has brought this on. The old armourer isn't worried about it as his old friend wouldn't bring trouble to him and knows not to drag him into the conflict. At least not without a damn good reason. But it does leave him curious about what is important enough for Ben to personally come out here.
As Tor exits his workshop, a starship comes soaring down towards the clearing that acts as a crude landing zone for visiting spacecraft. Tor's other daughter, Tordral, comes running up to him and Orika and Tor lets a little chuckle as he sees that Tordral is armed for a fight. Good thing he knows that Ben won't take offence.
As the Knight I's ramp extends, three figures in beskar'gam march down it. Tor easily recognises Ben in his non-Mandalorian style beskar'gam while the other two individuals are clad in more traditional armours. He recognises Vyssa in the pink and white beskar'gam that he refitted for her, but the other Mandalorian isn't someone that Tor knows even if he does identify the markings of Clan Cadera on his beskar'gam.
"Ben!" exclaims Tor cheerfully as he moves forward to embrace his Jedi pal.
"Tor!" replies Ben and he accepts the hug from Tor.
"It's good to see you again," replies Tor as the two men let each other go, "Orika, go fetch some refreshments for your guests. Speaking of which, Ben, I recognise Vyssa, but who is your vod over there? They're welcome of course, but I don't believe I've met them."
"I am Sergeant Jacpa Dasou of the 1st Republic Patriot Legion, Clan Cadera, House Shan," answers the unknown Mandalorian as Orika runs into their home.
"Jacpa is one of my old hands and the man behind the new clone trooper armour that is being rolled out," adds Ben, "I would trust him with my life."
"House Shan?" inquires Tordral challengingly as she gives Jacpa a good look up and down.
Tor barely refrains from sighing. It is to be expected given that they are both Mandalorians, but perhaps he should let Tordral get out more. An adventure or two should let her burn off some of that aggression she has.
"It is the most fitting way to describe my political allegiance," replies Jacpa, earning some respect from Tor for his refusal to break down.
"Ben Shan is a respectable and honourable friend of our family," Tor tells his elder daughter warningly, "And he and his companions are our guests. Friendly and mutually agreed upon sparring only, Tordral."
"Right," mutters Tordral and Tor chuckles at her clear embarrassment at the rebuke.
"By the way, I have a couple of crates of Corellian whisky aboard my ship," says Ben and Tor can't help, but perk up at the news, "I hope you still like it, old man."
"I'm not so old that I've lost my hankering for a good mug of booze every now and again," replies Tor, "Payment for whatever you came here for?"
"No, the whisky is just a gift," answers Ben as Orika returns with a stack of glasses, a tray of snacks and a jug of water, "We can discuss payment when I tell you the favour I'm here for. In the meantime, I'm a busy man, but I'm not so busy that we have to go straight to business. I can afford to spend some time catching up with an old friend."
"So what business brings you here, kid?" inquires Tor a couple of hours later once Ben and his companions have finished sharing their stories with Tor and his daughters.
"I'm not sure if you've heard, but Death Watch has decided to come after me," says Ben and at that, Tor gives the lad a sympathetic look, "And I've got a plan to deal with them."
"And this plan requires the aid of an old armourer like me, I presume," says Tor.
"Yes," says Ben as he places down the crate he retrieved from his ship before entering the forge.
Tor opens the crate and raises his eyebrows when he sees what is inside. That is a lot of beskar'gam even if it takes the form of assorted kitchen items. Not enough to forge an entire set of beskar'gam out of what's here, but if you wanted to make a few pieces, you could get close to half of a full set.
"That's a fair chunk of beskar here," notes Tor, "Where did you get your hands on all of this?"
"Raided Tal Merrik's quarters," answers Ben, "He's Mandalore's senator and nominally a New Mandalorian, but the kriffer secretly owes allegiance to Death Watch and is generally a corrupt sack of osik."
"We even managed to avoid getting caught," says Jacpa.
"You would be surprised at what you can do with a couple of mind tricks, some bribes and a stealth field generator," says Ben.
"Heh, didn't take your fancy Jedi General arse for a thief," says Tor, "Alright, you want me to melt this all down and make something out of this for you. I trust you know what you want?"
"I want you to make a replica of the Mask of Mandalore," states Ben after exchanging a look with Jacpa.
Tor starts to laugh before he realises that Ben is serious as he pulls out a holoprojector and places it down on the table, activating it. The hologram projected by it is a detailed image of the Mask of Mandalore, after it was reforged by Mandalore the Preserver between the Second and Third Sith Wars.
"The original is destroyed, but I have a holocron from Grandmaster Meetra Surik which contains detailed records of her enemy-turned-vod, Mandalore the Preserver," continues the manda'jetii as Tor's stare flickers between him and the hologram, "With the Mask of Mandalore in my claim, I can use it and my status as a Mandalorian to challenge Pre Vizsla for leadership of Death Watch and his claim of being the Mand'alor."
Tor wants to shake the lad and tell him he's insane, but crazy isn't always a bad thing. It isn't entirely honest. The Clans need a proper Mand'alor if they are to rise beyond what they have sunken to. Jaster Mereel could have been it, but his life was cut short before that could happen and his successor abandoned his duties over a decade before Jango finally died. Tor Vizsla was a short-sighted opportunist and his son Pre Vizsla is a short-sighted hypocrite.
Ben could hold the position. He is a Mandalorian if a manda'jetii, but that isn't forbidden. There is even a precedent in the form of Tarre Vizsla, who the Kyr'tsad draw legitimacy from. Ben has a proven track record as both a warrior and a leader and he is a man of honour.
"You agree with this," says Tor after a moment as he turns his attention to Jacpa, the only non-manda'jetii amongst his guests and the only one of them also raised within the Clans.
"I follow General Ben Shan regardless of whether or not he is the Mand'alor," declares Jacpa firmly and proudly, "And I think he is worthy of the position. More so than any of the other contenders for the title. The Mask just grants legitimacy. Legitimacy needed to bring the Kyr'tsad into the fold."
Looking between the crate of beskar, the floating holographic image and the manda'jetii who would be Mand'alor, Tor takes a breath and makes his decision.
"Mand'alor," says Tor as he acknowledges the new leader of his people.
Now we have Ben's big play for dealing with the Death Watch. Is he being entirely honest about it? No, but he is at war and Death Watch as much bandits and pirates as they are soldiers and honourable warriors at this point if not more so. Will it work? I mean, Maul was able to pull it off without the Mask or even being a Mandalorian and Ben knows that.
Personally, I don't think I've seen a Jedi become the Mand'alor by forging a fake Mask of Mandalore to pass off as the real thing and pretending to be a real Mandalorian warrior. I mean Ben does fit the criteria for being a Mandalorian, which is why he is getting away with it, but he is only claiming to be so to achieve a goal rather than because he considers himself Mandalorian. So yeah.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Dec 1, 2023
14.4 (The Mandalorians) - Chapter Seventy-Seven
Pre Vizsla was frustrated and struggled to keep a lid on his shimmering rage, which he needs to do if he is to maintain his cover as the Governor of Concordia. That weakling fool Satine doesn't even realise that one of her loyal subordinates is actually plotting her downfall and Pre intends to keep it that way. This position of authority and the influence it brings has been most beneficial to the cause and Pre has no desire to let it slip through his fingers until it has outlived its usefulness.
Unfortunately for the rightful Mand'alor, the golden opportunity of his dreams is slipping through his fingers. The deal that Dooku offered him was perfect except now his useless subordinates are failing to kill one measly Jedi!
First his chosen assassin failed to kill Ben Shan despite successfully sneaking into the Senate District and getting off multiple shots on the damn Jedi. If Pre could get his hands on Tarr Bralor, he would execute the failure for his incompetence. Alas, the failed assassin is out of Pre's reach for now as he is still on Coruscant, planning another attempt on Ben Shan's life.
An attempt that would be going much better if they could find the kriffing jetii. Ben Shan disappeared two days ago, almost three now, and none of Pre's agents or spies have been able to find him. His legions are running about the galaxy, but Death Watch can't find any sign of Ben Shan amongst them.
Tal Merrik isn't being much help. As useful as the Senator is for Death Watch's cause, the snivelling man is only half-focused on finding where Ben Shan has disappeared to. Too much of Tal's attention is being devoted to who stole his cutlery. Damn the man's cutlery! The death of Ben Shan is the greatest opportunity for Death Watch to restore Mandalore to its rightful glory. Mere cutlery, even if it was made out of beskar, is irrelevant in the face of that.
He can't even blame Tal Merrik for wasting precious beskar on cutler of all things as he needs to maintain his cover as a faithful New Mandalorian. Even the New Mandalorians only popularised the practice rather than create it as the tradition was formed back when the Clans still embraced their warrior heritage and they had a surplus of beskar beyond what was needed for their beskar'gams.
Just as Pre settles into a morning of paperwork, pondering whether or not to make another attempt on Satine's life when his comlink begins to go off. Pre scrowls before remembering to check which comlink is bleeping. A quick look reveals it is the Death Watch communicator that is going off, not his New Mandalorian one.
"What?" snaps Pre as he answers the annoying little bleeping thing.
"We have a situation," answers his faithful second-in-command, Bo-Katan Kryze, "We're found Ben Shan."
"Excellent!" replies Pre, perking up at the first bit of good news in a couple of days, "Where is the shabuir jetii?"
"That's… he sort of landed in the middle of the camp?" offers Bo-Katan, clearly not sure how to deal with the situation, "With Jango's old ship. He has his padawan and a trio of Old Mandalorians with him."
"So he's dead?" says Pre and then scowling at the lack of a swift answer, "He better be dead or dying."
"He has the Mask of Mandalore," says another voice that Pre recognises as belonging to Gar Saxon, another of his lieutenants, "And he is challenging you by name to duel in a Battle Circle. As per the most ancient laws of Mandalore."
"Only the strongest may rule Mandalore," says Pre.
"Only the strongest can rule Mandalore," agrees Saxon.
"Keep an eye on the Jedi and make sure he doesn't leave," orders Pre, "Kill him if he does try to flee. I'll be coming in person to answer his challenge."
As unexpected as development is, Pre can't find it in himself to consider it an unwelcome one. Ben Shan has saved him the trouble of hunting him halfway across the galaxy and if he wins, no, when he wins, Pre will claim his rightful position as the true ruler of Mandalore. With Separatist aid admittedly, but considering he'll have a seat on the Separatist Council, that is hardly a bad thing.
There is tension in the air as Pre finally arrives at their main camp with two of his personal guards flanking him. He isn't sure how Ben Shan found the Mask of Mandalore, discovered his camp and identifies him as the leader of Death Watch, but it bodes ill for the future. Perhaps Pre and his vode have just gotten too used to the incompetence of that snivelling duchess and her corrupt and inept regime and allowed their security to grow soft against a real opponent.
In the end, it matters little. Once Ben Shan is dead by his hand, Pre will not only have the Mask of Mandalore, but both the camp and the secrecy around his identity will be redundant. With Separatist backing, they'll be able to operate in the open, casting down the New Mandalorians and restoring Mandalore to its rightful glory.
Bo-Katan swiftly makes her way to him, forcing her way through the crowd with some of her Nite Owls at her back. The fact she looks this unhappy is another poor omen.
"Too many of our vode believe this aruetii has the right to rule Mandalore," hisses Bo-Katan once she gets close enough, "He comes in with the Mask, some beskar'gam and a couple of armourers vouching for him and they are suddenly ready to overlook the fact that he is not one of us. That he was not raised in the Clans and that he is a jetii lackey of the Republic."
"It won't matter soon," replies Pre, "I'll kill him and it will be moot because he'll be dead and I'll have proven myself as the true Mand'alor."
"We may still need to purge the ranks once this is all done and over with," mutters Bo-Katan in his ear, "I've noticed a few who are a little too eager to serve this jetii simply because he found the Mask."
"If it is truly the Mask of Mandalore, then they can hardly be fault for it," says Pre, "It is to be wielded by those who have proven themselves worthy of being the Mand'alor."
"This jetii has not proven himself worthy and never will," complains Bo-Katan.
"Of course, I shall beat him at his own challenge and prove myself the strongest," says Pre, "With my strength, the Darksaber, the Mask of Mandalore and the backing of the Confederacy, I shall unite the Clans and rule over Mandalore."
And with that, there is little else to be said as they reach the centre of the camp where two jetii in beskar'gam and three Mandalorians stand at the ramp of Jango Fett's old ship, surrounded by a crowd of tense, eager and calculating Death Watch soldiers. One of the Jedi, the taller male, is wearing a helmet with the Mask of Mandalore forged into it.
"So you are the infamous Ben Shan," says Pre as the leader of the Death Watch looks the Jedi up and down.
There isn't much of the man to be seen behind his beskar'gam, but while his armour is made of beskar, it is done in the style of a trooper from the Old Republic rather than a traditional Mandalorian warrior. A clear sign of where this Jedi's true loyalties lie.
"I am more famous than infamous, but seeing as you move in criminal circles, I can see how the mistake could be made," replies the jetii, speaking in Mando'a rather than Galactic Basic, "I am Ben Shan of Clan Ordo, House Shan. This is my ad'ika, Vyssa Randanys. And my followers, Armourer Jacpa Dasou of Clan Cadera, House Shan, and Armourer Tor Ordo of Clan Ordo, House Shan. Tordral Ordo of Clan Ordo, House Shan. Tor was the one who adopted me into his Clan and forged my beskar'gam."
"Did it about five years ago when the kid proved himself to me," says one of the Mandalorians with Ben Shan casually, "I also refitted Jango's old beskar'gam a month or so ago to fit his ad because she needed a proper set of beskar'gam, you know."
That sets off ripples across the crowd. Dooku had claimed that Ben Shan had gotten his beskar'gam from looting the corpse of Jango Fett, but here is Tor Ordo, telling a very different story. And if any true son or daughter of Mandalore has to choose between believing the words of a Mandalorian armourer or those of a dar'jetii, then the choice is clear. Even Pre finds himself believing Tor Ordo's version of events over Dooku's claims.
"Let's get to the point," says Ben Shan before the shock can finish wearing off, "We are both Mandalorian warriors and claim the title of Mand'alor. You via your leadership of the Death Watch and your ownership of the Darksaber and I via my ownership of the Mask of Mandalore. So I challenge you to duel so that the victor may prove themselves worthy of being the Mand'alor."
"I accept," answers Pre, not that he can afford to turn down the challenge in front of all his followers, "Your terms, Jedi?"
"As the challenged, it is your right to choose the terms of the fight according to ancient Mandalorian tradition," replies Ben Shan and Pre takes a moment to be grateful that the jetii is willing to hold to tradition.
"No using the Force and no vehicles," declares Pre as he decides upon the terms that he believes will advantage him best, "Everything else goes."
"Agreed," says Ben Shan and in a flash, he moves with a white lightsaber in one hand and a green one in the other.
Pre swings and slashes at the Jedi, but Ben Shan blocks every one of attacks, moving to meet them as soon as Pre begins each one. The Jedi even gets a few of his own attacks in, which are enough to force the Death Watch leader back a couple of steps. Growling in frustration, Pre realises he won't be beating Shan in a straight up lightsaber duel.
Rolling back, Pre fires up his jet pack and takes to the sky as he draws his WESTAR-35 blaster pistols. He attempts to fire at the Jedi, but Shan has already closed the distance. His opponent grabs his ankle with one hand as Pre flies up into the air, his white lightsaber held in his other hand.
Pre fires away with his blaster pistols, but Shan just takes each shot on his beskar'gam or he deflects it with his lightsaber. He continues his assault until the Jedi dangling from his leg manages to slash his jet pack. As the device begins to go out of control, Pre releases it, but it is still enough to send him and the Jedi flying into his foe's starship.
He gets to his feet as quickly as possible, but Shan is faster and by the time that Pre has recovered his wits, the Jedi has slammed a fist into his gut. Pre fires his wrist-mounted flamethrower, but Shan just takes the flames without flinching, ignoring the fire entirely as he grabs Pre by the shoulder and tosses him into his starship again.
Pre slams into the hull of the vessel with a grunt of pain. The Jedi punches him in the head and despite his helmet softening the blow, it still hurts. Snarling Pre rolls away, tossing a grenade at the feet of his foe as he does so. Recovered somewhat, Pre snatches one of his WESTARs from where it had fallen and begins blasting away at Shan as the explosion managed to knock his foe off his feet.
Shan backflips back onto his feet and charges Pre, just taking the blaster shots without flinching. The leader of the Death Watch draws the Darksaber and swings at the Jedi. Shan just catches the black blade in one hand using his beskar gauntlet before beginning to punch Pre in the head repeatedly.
Each blow worsens the growing headache that Pre has and it isn't long before the pain is enough that his grip on the Darksaber slackens. Then it is wrenched from his grip as one last punch sends Pre flying backwards.
Landing in a heap, Pre staggers to his feet. As he does so, he looks around at the audience to his fight, which is looking to be his last. Shan's companions look on solemnly while faithful Bo-Katan looks horrified at how the fight has progressed. As for the rest of Death Watch, the majority of the warriors look at him with either contempt or sympathy, but none dare move to intervene. Swaying on his feet and coughing blood, Pre glares at opponent as Ben Shan just looks at him.
"It's over, Pre Vizsla," declares Ben Shan as he holds his white-bladed lightsaber in one hand and the Darksaber in the other, "I've won. Surrender now and I'll spare you."
"O-only the strongest can rule Mandalore," coughs Pre as he glares at the Jedi, "And I will die before yielding."
"I won't kill a defenceless man," replies Ben Shan despite the patheticness of his Jedi beliefs, Pre respects his opponent for sticking to them "And you cannot make me."
"Then there is only one thing to be done," says Pre as he and Shan lock eyes despite both of them wearing helmets.
Shan tosses the Darksaber at Pre, who grabs it out of the air and charges at Ben Shan. He swings twice and is blocked by a white blade both times. Then the rightful Mand'alor makes a swing of his own and it is over for Pre Vizsla.
Getting the duel between Pre and Ben right was a bit of a tricky situation. Pre is good enough to hold his own against the likes of Obi-Wan and Maul, but also not good enough to actually defeat them. Ben is a combat monster and if he had gone all out, Pre would have been utterly crushed. As things were, not using the Force was able to drag things out.
Ironically, Pre had a better chance of defeating Ben in a lightsaber duel than a fist fight. Ben isn't the greatest when it comes to lightsaber combat, but he is incredibly strong and tough and dominates most hand to hand combat as a result.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Saturday at 11:59 AM
14.5 (The Mandalorians) - Chapter Seventy-Eight
Bo-Katan Kryze, the second-in-command of the Death Watch and commander of the Nite Owls watches in horror as the rightful Mand'alor dies at the hands of the outsider pretender. The aruetyc jetii is not one of them, no matter what the traitorous Clan Ordo claims. He was not raised Mandalorian and his loyalties don't lie with Mandalore. Ben Shan is an outsider and he shall never rule over Mandalore.
Yet to her dismay and growing fury, her fellow members of Death Watch begin to kneel before the murderer of their leader. Acknowledging the usurpation of their leadership by some Republic lackey and throwing their support behind him as he lifts the stolen Darksaber above his hand, the black blade ignited.
"Never!" cries Bo-Katan as she glares at Ben Shan with hatred, "No outsider shall ever rule Mandalore!"
Yet even as she stakes her defiance, Bo-Katan can see that few will follow her. Most of her Nite Owls are coming to stand with her, but a few aren't moving or even kneeling. And of the rest of Death Watch, only a scant handful of them are joining her.
That shabuir Gar Saxon has risen back to his feet after being one of the first to kneel. For a brief moment, Bo-Katan has hope that he has come back to his senses only for that optimism to be crushed as Gar Sazon raises his GALAAR-90 Blaster Rifle and aims at her. He isn't the only one as a number of her fellow Mandalorian warriors begin to aim their weapons at those loyal to Death Watch's cause.
"No, there shall be no killing," declares Ben Shan, his voice ringing out across the camp, "Not yet. If there is anyone here who doesn't wish to accept me as your Mand'alor, I shall give you one chance to part ways peacefully. I am not a conventional Mand'alor and I am a Jedi Knight and a Republic patriot, but the path I walk is not unprecedented. Both Mandalore the Preserver and Mandalore the Jedi walked the similar paths to my own and under them, the Clans rose from a place of darkness to prosperity. It is unconventional, but not unprecedented and frankly, none of my recent predecessors have seen much success following a conventional path."
Bo-Katan restrains herself from letting out a cry of fury. Ben Shan is openly admitting that he is a Jedi outsider and a Republic lackey and how he won't be following the traditional ways of their people. Yet instead of being disgusted like she is, most of Death Watch seems to be considerate of his words or even reassured by them.
"You're all traitors!" shouts Bo-Katan as she angrily puts her helmet back on and runs to one of the Kom'rk-class Fighter/Transports.
It hurts to see Death Watch fall like this. To be on the cusp of reclaiming Mandalore only for their leader to be murdered and replaced by an usurper. Perhaps worst of all, she is only surviving because Jedi is a weakling who is unfit to be the Mand'alor. Instead of crushing them like he could and should, he is showing them jetii mercy and allowing them to live to be a threat to them.
Just before she enters the starship, Bo-Katan pauses to make one last threat to the false pretender of a Mand'alor.
"You'll regret this, Jedi!" shouts Bo-Katan, "I'll kill you and you'll regret sparing me this day."
And with that final parting word, Bo-Katan flees Concordia.
The next several hours are intense as both Bo-Katan and the usurper compete to claim Death Watch's resources. To the chagrin of the faithful Mandlaorian warrior, the jetii pretender seems to have won. Despite her best efforts, of the thousands in Death Watch, Bo-Katan is only able to sway a couple hundred to her banner as the rest of them prove to be no true Mandalorians as they accept Ben Shan as their new leader and as their Mand'alor.
And with all of those traitors flocking to the pretender, Bo-Katan loses access to most of Death Watch's resources. In addition to her hundred warriors, the leader of a much reduced Death Watch only has a dozen Kom'rks, a few squadrons of Fang Fighters and a single Sphyrna-class Corvette that now acts as their mobile supply depot. Bo-Katan was able to snag a couple of bank accounts, but Gar Saxon and the other traitors were able to secure the rest before she could get her hands on them. At least they aren't lacking in supplies as Ursa Wren was able to loot one of their logistic camps before she met up with Bo-Katan.
Tal Merrik and most of their contacts across the Mandalorian sector are also siding with Ben Shan and so Bo-Katan took smug satisfaction in providing her sister with information proving the depths of Senator Merrik's corruption and his true loyalties. Almost all of their contacts in the black market and galactic underworld also recognised Bo-Katan's legitimacy thanks to the jetii pretender making countless enemies amongst the galaxy's criminal syndicates.
And of course, Count Dooku isn't going to side with Ben Shan as the Sith and Jedi are even worse enemies than the Jedi and the Mandalorians. Though the leader of the Separatists is still rather displeased with how things have played out. His initial shock and confusion swiftly gave way to a cold rage that has yet to abate.
"Explain to me why I should continue to work with you," demands the Sith Lord and Bo-Katan almost flinches under the weight of his furious gaze.
"Because we can still kill the Jedi," offers Bo-Katan desperately.
"Can you?" demands Dooku tauntingly, "I offered a great deal to Pre Vizsla to do that a few days ago. Now I find that not only did his attempt to kill Ben Shan fail miserably, but Vizsla himself is dead at the hands of his target and the Jedi has usurped his leadership over Death Watch. Why should I spend precious Confederate resources on this endeavour when so far, Death Watch has only proven itself to be a byword for failure!"
"Because all the traitors who would hold us back are gone," replies Bo-Katan, "Only those truly devoted to Death Watch's cause and the death of Ben Shan remain. We will kill the pretender."
"I suppose you may still yet serve a purpose," concedes Dooku grudgingly, "I will no longer promise a seat on the Separatist Council after this abysmal failure, but you may yet still rule Mandalore if you are successful in killing Ben Shan. And until you are successful, you will not have the open support of the Confederacy. That will only come once you have something to show for your efforts. Something that isn't failure.
"I shall send one of my Dark Acolytes with some forces under her command, including the successful IG-110 prototypes, to aid you in liberating Mandalore from Duchess Satine. Ben Shan won't be able to overlook that and will respond to it. Officially, my Dark Acolyte will have gone rogue and will be working with you on the behalf of the Hutt Cartel. As far as anyone else is concerned, the two of you will be using Trade Federation surplus to frame the Confederacy for your actions. That is a strict condition of my aid, that until Ben Shan is dead, you are working with the support of the Hutts not the Separatists. Is that understood, Mandalorian?"
With that last sentence, Bo-Katan feels a strong, almost overwhelming pressure on her and it is all that she can do not to flinch or drop to her knees.
"Y-yes, I understand, Count Dooku," says Bo-Katan and the pressure lets up.
"Ensure that you do," warns Dooku, "Else the next time I deal with you, it will be to make certain that you do not cause any further trouble for me. Do not make me regret trusting your people again."
And with that, the hologram disappears and the atmosphere aboard the Kom'rk becomes much lighter.
"Are you sure this is wise?" inquires Ursa Wren, "It doesn't feel right working for the dar'jetii."
"No, but we have no choice," replies Bo-Katan, resisting the urge to snap at her loyal subordinate and instead settling for slamming her fist against the bulkhead, "If we are going to have any chance of surviving, we need to kill Ben Shan. Once that outsider is dead, I know I can take any of the others in a duel. It will take some compromises, but we can do this. Mandalore will be restored to its warrior traditions and it won't be ruled by outsiders, pacifists or traitors."
"If you believe so, I will follow you," says Ursa, "I just hope you know what you are doing, Bo."
"So do I," answers Bo-Katan, "So do I."
"What do you mean he hasn't been arrested yet?" demands Duchess Satine Kryze, the ruler of Mandalore, "The evidence is clear. Tal Merrik is working with Death Watch. He is a traitor and criminal."
"Sorry, ma'am, but the origin of the evidence is unclear," replies the clone commander, who is currently doing a good job of why Satine dislikes armies and soldiers so much, "Until we have finished our investigation, we cannot just arrest a senator. Even our authority doesn't extend that far, not without stronger evidence than what you have provided me with."
"We provided you with overwhelming evidence that Tal Merrik is working with the Death Watch terrorists," says Prime Minister Almec, "What stronger evidence could you possibly need?"
"Reasonable suspicion that Senator Merrik is working with the Separatists," answers the clone, "I don't like Death Watch anymore than you do, especially after one of them tried to kill my brothers, but the laws protecting the Senators are strong. While working with a criminal organisation or being part of one is an arrestable offence, Republic law requires the evidence needs to be verified prior to the arrest being made. At least in regard to senators and other VIPs. We can arrest people of less importance with much less difficulty."
"So it is the corruption of the Republic at play," says Satine in disgust, "Do you have anything to stop the man from going into hiding before you finish your investigation?"
"Senator Merrik hasn't been informed of our investigation or the evidence weighed against him yet," answers the clone, "So long as his associates don't tip him off or your government doesn't let the information leak, he should remain unaware of the investigation until we are ready to make an arrest. Assuming that your evidence checks out, ma'am."
"I'm sure that it will, commander," says Satine, hissing the last word like it is a curse word before ending the call.
"This is something of a mess," says Almec politely, "I thought that the Republic would be better about dealing with one of their own consorting with known terrorists."
"It is the price of war and corruption," says Satine, letting the disgust and anger she feels enter her voice, "The Senate protects their own, even from criminal deeds, unless they've been consorting with their wartime enemies."
"On the bright side, this is a blow against Death Watch," says Almec positive, "Even if Merrik does evade arrest and go into hiding, that will still be a step up from someone we believed to be loyal actually being a traitor in secret. Especially someone with Tal Merrik's influential position. Speaking of which, we should look into candidates to replace him in the Senate."
"Between our neutrality in the war and the corruption in the Senate, that may be harder than you expect," complains Satine, "The Senate is already accusing me, me of all people, of raising a secret army of Mandalorian warriors. I doubt they will be any more cooperative when it comes to Merrik's replacement."
"Ah yes, the Senate's investigation," says Almec, "The idea is completely preposterous. I'm surprised they have the resources to launch it given how thin they are claiming to be stretched by the war. Speaking of the investigation, when is Master Kenobi due to arrive?"
"According to his last message, we should expect him shortly," Satine informs him, "His ship should be coming out of hyperspace within the next hour."
I was originally tempted to have Bo-Katan stay loyal on the grounds that Ben was Mandalorian, but in the end, I felt it was more interesting to have some of Death Watch refuse to follow Ben and Bo-Katan was the obvious choice. I also felt it would be a nice twist to flip the canon sides of Death Watch with the bad guys siding with the good guys this time around and vice versa for the same reasons that they chose their canon sides.
That said, Ben is posing as a Mandalorian and the Mask of Mandalore grants him more legitimacy than merely winning a duel so Bo-Katan's followers are much smaller this time around.
Also Dooku is rather upset. He thought himself clever by sticking the Mandalorians on Ben only for Ben to take them over in a couple of days.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
14.6 (The Mandalorians) - Chapter Seventy-Nine
Prime Minister Almec watches as the Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi enters the throne room. He idly notes that the Jed is wearing pieces of armour over the traditional robes of the Jedi Order, just another reminder of the war that has engulfed the galaxy and how even the fabled peacekeepers of the galaxy are being sucked into it. Not that the Jedi Order tried very hard to stay out of it if it made an effort at all.
"General Kenobi," greets Almec, "I welcome you as a servant of the people, but I am troubled by what has brought you here. The Duchess values peace more than her own life, she would never abandon her ideals to turn on the Republic in the way that is being suggested."
"Oh, I am aware of the Duchess' views," replies Kenobi, "We have something of a history together."
"Master Kenobi, whatever the Senate may claim, Mandalore's violent past is behind us," says Almec firmly, "All of our warriors were exiled to our moon, Concordia, and they have long since died out as confirmed by the local governor."
"Hmm," says the Jedi Master sceptically, "How are certain are you? I recently encountered a bounty hunter wearing Mandalorian armour by the name of Jango Fett."
"Jango Fett was a common bounty hunter," Almec almost snaps as that annoying rumour always gets his temper up, "I don't know how he got his hands on that armour, but he was no Mandalorian warrior. He was from Concord Dawn and I don't believe he ever stepped foot on Mandalore."
"Republic records indicate otherwise," says Kenobi neutrally and Almec resists the urge to huff at the Jedi Master.
"I can assure you that those Republic records are wrong," states Almec firmly, "Mandalore is a peaceful world now. We've had our ups and downs, but that has not included a return to the violent ways of our ancestors."
"Master Kenobi, my shining Jedi Knight, once again to my rescue," says Satine as the Duchess' voice cuts across the throne room while she enters it.
"After all these years, you're even more beautiful than ever," Kenobi compliments the Duchess once Satine has taken her seat on the throne.
"Kind words from a man accusing me of treachery," says Satine and Almec internally winces at her rhetoric.
Almec respects that his sovereign is a passionate woman and a firebrand for her beliefs, but a Senate investigation is not the time for Satine to be herself. He doesn't know what history Master Kenobi and Duchess Satine have together, but borderline insulting the man is hardly going to portray Mandalore in a favourable light.
"I would never personally accuse you of wrongdoing, but there was an attempt on the life of my fellow Jedi, Ben Shan," replies Kenobi, "And an attempt made by a Mandalorian warrior."
And with that, Kenobi pulls out a handheld holoprojector, where a thug in Mandalorian armour runs by, gunning down a clone trooper as he does so. Almec curses internally as if this is what the Senate saw, no wonder they are worried about Mandalore returning to violence.
"You must be mistaken," cuts in Almec before the Duchess can say anything foolish, "No Mandalorian would engage in such violence, not anymore. Where is this assassin now? He must be another common thug with stolen armour."
"I'm afraid that the assassin escaped into the Coruscant underbelly before he could be caught," answers Kenobi as he puts his holoprojector away, "I do know that these commandos fought in many wars, often against the Jedi."
"Every one of my people is as trustworthy as I am," snaps Satine and Almec winces at her impatient declaration and its wording, "Clearly your investigation was ordered because the Senate is eager for an excuse to intervene in Mandalore's affairs.
"My investigation was ordered by the Jedi Council," Kenobi gently corrects Satine, which seems to take the wind out of her sails.
"I stand corrected," says Satine apologetically and before she can say anymore, Almec takes the opportunity to step into the conversation.
"And if I may, Duchess, there is the issue of Senator Tal Merrik," say Almec gently to the ruler of Mandalore before turning to Kenobi, "Master Kenobi, as of yesterday, we found out that Mandalore's representative in the Galactic Senate, Tal Merrik is a deeply corrupt man and a traitor who is working with Death Watch, a terrorist organisation that seeks a return to Mandalore's violent past."
"Death Watch is a small group of hooligans, nothing more," says Satine, "They choose to vandalise public places and harass public officials, nothing more. The main concern about them is how they idolise our violent past and seek a return to our warrior wars. There is an ongoing investigation and we will soon have them in custody. We have already tracked them to Concordia."
"If they are being supported by Senator Merrik, it would explain why they have evaded arrest for so long and how they have had the impact that they have," adds Almec.
Then before any of them can speak another word, they hear the booms of distant explosions, quickly followed by distant screaming.
"That doesn't sound very peaceful," says Kenobi sarcastically to glares from both Satine and Almec himself, "Satine, any idea of what it could be?"
"Mandalore must be under attack!" exclaims Satine as the three of them and both of Satine's guards make their way out of the throne and to its front steps, "But who would dare violate Mandalore's neutrality?"
"I'm sure we will find out shortly," replies Kenobi.
Reaching the front of the palace and gaining four more Royal Guardsmen along the way, their party is greeted by the view of a borderline warzone. Distant trails of smoke can be seen and starfighters fly through the skies of the domed city, a mixture of vulture droids and assorted pre-war starfighters.
"Are the Separatists invading?" demands Kenobi as he draws his lightsaber.
"There are multiple warships in orbit, but none of them bear any Confederate marking," answers one of the guards.
Then a woman bursts out laughing as a group of men and women in Mandalorian armour fly up to them on jetpacks. Almec stares at them in horror? Just how many foreigners are getting their hands on traditional Mandalorian armour these days?
"No, this is Death Watch with support from our friends in the Hutt Cartel," says the hovering woman in Mandalorian armour, "Hello, dear sister of mine, remember me?"
"Bo-Katan?" exclaims Satine and Almec vaguely remembers Satine's younger sister, one of the warriors that were exiled to Concordia after the civil war was won, "You're still alive? And you're with Death Watch?"
Almec supposes that this means he was wrong about the Mandalorian warriors dying out on Concordia. On the bright side, he at least knows that Jango Fett wasn't one of them and he was too old to be part of a younger post-exile generation. And the survivors must not be that great in number if they are relying upon Hutt support to conquer Mandalore.
"I am the leader of Death Watch," retorts Bo-Katan and Almec carefully takes a few steps back from Kenobi and Satine, "Now how are we going to do this, sister? Are you going to surrender like a coward or you will give up your weak-minded pacifism?"
"I will not be provoked to violence by terrorists," replies Satine, "I will surrender without further bloodshed."
"How noble of you?" sneers the Mandalorian warrior before she turns her attention to Kenobi, "Do the same apply to you, Jedi?"
"Well, about that…" starts Kenobi as he looks around, "You do seem to have me awfully outnumbered? I don't suppose you would mind letting me go?"
"Not a chance, Jedi," snaps Bo-Katan.
"It was worth a shot," replies Kenobi as he turns off his lightsaber and attaches it back to his belt, "I suppose I'll be joining the Duchess in captivity then."
"And you, Prime Minister?" asks Bo-Katan as she finally turns her attention to Almec, "What do you have to say for yourself?"
Almec has a choice to make. He believes in the pacifism of the New Mandalorians, he really does, but that won't help him here. He has a duty to his people and he cannot aid the citizens of Mandalore if he is rotting in a prison cell.
"I think that the people of Mandalore are in danger of starving," says Almec carefully, hoping to throw off Satine's sister with the apparent non-sequitur.
"What?" replies Bo-Katan as she exchanges a look with another one of her warriors.
"Trade has been difficult with the war going on," continues Almec, "Mandalore is still not yet self-sufficient for foodstuff and we had to institute food rationing about a week after the war began due to price hikes and shipments not arriving. We have a similar situation when it comes to medical supplies though it isn't quite that severe yet. I've been trying to get help, but Mandalore's neutrality hasn't been doing us any favours with the rest of the Republic."
"So you just want to see your people fed?" exclaims Bo-Katan disbelievingly.
"Almec, you cannot seriously be considering working with this violent monster?" Satine also exclaims.
"I am the Prime Minister of Mandalore," says Almec carefully as a Sheathipede-class Shuttle flies up to them, "And since you have chosen to surrender peacefully and without bloodshed, Duchess, that means I now answer to your sister. And Bo-Katan, was it, well, Bo-Katan should be brought up to date on Mandalore's most pressing issues if she is to rule Mandalore in your stead."
After all, Bo-Katan and her Death Watch can hardly be a worse evil than Almec's other plans. He had already been reaching out to various black market contracts about the possibility of importing humanitarian supplies under the table. Compared to that, is working with the new ruler of Mandalore really that bad?
"Almec, I cannot believe this," shouts Satine as she glares at him.
"I shall remind you, Duchess that the oaths of my office are to the Mandalorian people, not you personally," Almec defends himself as a woman in black and several droids with cloaks exit the now landed shuttle, "Whatever I may personally feel about the situation, the moment you peacefully conceded power to Bo-Katan was the moment that my duty shifted from you to her. Now if you wish to resort to violence, I shall happily go down as a martyr alongside you."
Almec knows that she won't because as he told Kenobi earlier, Satine values her pacifism more than her own life. But making that claim will hopefully endear him to his new ruler and make him look like less of a traitor or coward.
"Fine, but I will remember this," says Satine warningly while Bo-Katan just watches the exchange with what Almec thinks is amusement.
He doesn't know for sure. It has been over a decade since he had to regularly judge the moods and emotions of people in full Mandalorian armour.
"You know what, I think I'll keep you around, Prime Minister," says Bo-Katan, "For now. Ursa, take my sister and her guards to their new prison cells. Skoria, act as an escort to keep the Jedi from doing anything stupid. He's no Ben Shan, but I'm sure that Dooku will be happy to take him off our hands."
"Of course," says the woman in black as she and her droids begin to round up their prisoner with aid from two of the Mandalorian warriors.
Almec notes that like Obi-Wan Kenobi, the woman in black has a lightsaber in her belt. Clearly a dangerous woman who likely holds some influence. And a potential ally since it is improbable that she is part of Death Watch, meaning that she must be part of the Hutt backing. That would mean she isn't a zealot of Death Watch's cause and perhaps Almec might be able to arrange something with her behind Bo-Katan's back.
"Prime Minister, walk with me," commands Bo-Katan as she lands next to him and begins to march up to the palace, "Bring me up to speed on how badly my sister has mismanaged Mandalore. How severe is the rationing and what needs to be done to make it go away?"
And with that, Almec has a new sovereign to serve and turns his back on his old one as Satine is led away in a different direction..
Originally, I was going to do this chapter from the perspective of Satine or Obi-Wan, but those proved too difficult to get into the mindset of. Especially since they have a past history together that I don't know the details of. So we get Almec instead and speaking of him, this is still relatively early in the Clone Wars so he is just dipping his toes into corruption and setting up the black market instead of being a deeply corrupt man.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Monday at 4:51 AM
14.7 (The Mandalorians) - Chapter Eighty
Ursa Wren had her misgivings about the path that Bo-Katan was following, but now she just had regrets. She didn't personally have a reason to dislike Ben Shan, but she owed loyalty to Bo-Katan as one of her Nite Owls and she did believe that Mandalore needed to stand strong on its own.
And whatever Bo-Katan is doing, it isn't that. Ursa considers Bo-Katan to be her vod and loves her like a sister, but she is also the Clan Chieftain of Clan Wren and a loyal Mandalorian. In the choice between the jetii that the rest of Death Watch sided with and these dar'jetii that Bo-Katan had thrown her lot in with, Ursa found herself increasingly preferring the former.
That Dark Acolyte that Dooku sent them gave Ursa the creeps. She didn't know what, but there was something seriously wrong with Skoria Zinnex and Ursa does know that her presence is not a good thing for Mandalore.
Mandalore. She was on Mandalore again and Bo-Katan ruled as its Mand'alor, but it was wrong. They weren't being welcomed as liberators and honourable warriors by its people, but as conquerors and criminal thugs. And the worst part was that Ursa couldn't blame them as with only little over two hundred Mandalorian warriors, Bo-Katan had to rely upon B1 Battle Droids and mercenaries to maintain her grip on the planet.
It wasn't good for Mandalore. The B1s were too stupid to care about the people and the mercenaries were thugs and low life. They maintained order, but they weren't soldiers or police. Instead of discipline and laws, they use brutal force and corruption to maintain Bo-Katan's rule over the planet.
It was not the Mandalore she fought for. Jumped up thugs roaming the streets in their name, warships piloted by mindless droids in orbit and their own people hating them and their presence.
No, Ursa couldn't follow Bo-Katan down this path any further. It pains her to do so, but with Bo-Katan insisting that what they are doing is necessary whenever Ursa raises her doubts with her. Checking that she has privacy, the Countess of Krownest pulls out her private communicator and makes a call to her husband back on their homeworld.
"Hello Ursa, how are things faring for you?" asks her dear Alrich and Usra doesn't hide her sigh or weariness from him.
"We've overthrown the New Mandalorian regime and now rule over Mandalore," says Ursa, "Or we claim to rule it. There are too few of us to actually do that and we have to rely on our hired help to enforce our decrees and laws. How is Krownest doing? I hope that Ben Shan and the rest of Death Watch haven't been causing problems for you because of me."
"Mandalore the Guardian has left us alone beyond a few diplomatic messages," answers Alrich, "He has decided to let Bo-Katan claim the name of Death Watch and its past. He has reorganised his followers into the Mandalorian Guardians with recruits from both Death Watch and the Old Mandalorians. According to a couple of my old friends, he has even got a few of the remaining True Mandalorians to throw their lot in with him."
"So he doesn't just have the rest of Death Watch then," says Ursa.
"Ursa, my dear, Mandalore the Guardian doesn't have Death Watch, he has his Mandalorian Guardians and they are larger than Death Watch ever was," Alrich informs her gently, "Ben Shan is a charismatic man and he is trying to appeal to all of the Clans, regardless of faction. Even the New Mandalorians. It doesn't hurt that he has the Mask of Mandalore. The Mask of Mandalore, Ursa!"
"I know, I was there when he showed up in the middle of camp with it," replies Ursa sourly, "How does he think he is going to appease the New Mandalorians? They're a bunch of pacifists."
"A liberal interpretation of the Resol'nare," explains Alrich, "Bracers, greaves and boots can count as wearing armour, Classes in schools for Mando'a, self-defence, our history and our culture will fulfil education, self-defence and language. Tribe is obvious and he intends to be reasonable with his commands as Mand'alor. I don't know if it will last when we get a new Mand'alor, but it should last for as long as we have Mandalore the Guardian leading us."
"And with the way that Bo-Katan is running things, he'll have a good chance of drawing the New Mandalorians in," mutters Ursa, half to her husband and half to herself, "Duchess Satine might have talked about peaceful surrender and avoiding bloodshed, but it feels like half the planet is ready to revolt after a day of Bo-Katan's heavy handed rule."
"What is she thinking?" wonders Alrich
"I don't think she is thinking at all," answers Ursa, "After Pre died and Ben Shan took over, Bo-Katan was desperate to avoid him being in charge of Mandalore that she was willing to let Dooku deal her a bad hand. Now she is trying to rule over the planet with an army of droids and thugs."
"And you?" inquires Alrich and Ursa lets out a sigh, double-checking that she still has her privacy before answering.
"Right now, I think Bo-Katan is a di'kut and ori'buyce, kih'kovid" answers Ursa, "Kaysh mirsh solus."
"You must be upset with her," notes Alrich.
"You have no idea, cyar'ika," says Ursa, "I've got to go. I have my shift guarding the Duchess and the jetii. Bo-Katan wants a Nite Owl guarding them at all times. I'll see you soon."
"Ah, I understand, cyar'ika," replies Alrich, "I'll see you soon."
With that, Ursa ends the call, her gaze lingering slightly on where the hologram of her husband was before. Shaking off her mood, Ursa begins her journey to the Sundari Royal Prison where the Duchess, the Jedi and all of the other prisoners are being kept.
Where the Mandalorian police once patrolled, the prison is now guarded by B1s that are under strict orders not to let any of the prisoners out. At least Bo-Katan had the sense to not put any of their mercenaries into the prison. The exception is one of those prototype Separatist lightsaber droids. Ursa isn't sure how well it will fare in a real fight, but it has a pair of lightsabers and looks nasty. Her instincts as a Mandalorian warrior tell her not to underestimate the machine.
Ursa exchanges some banter with the Nite Owl she is replacing on guard duty before watching her fellow Mandalorian warrior leave. She waits the better part of an hour to make sure that she is all alone before Ursua begins to put her plan into action. Using her authority as the prison warden on duty, the Chieftain of Clan Wren shuts down the automated defences, the alarms and makes sure that any communications from within the prison to outside of it have to be routed via her comlink.
While the Duchess and her supporters are being held in the regular cells, the Jedi that was captured is being held separately in an extra-secure cell. Here, in a retractable tower of a multi-layered prison cell, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi is held captive and specifically guarded by the lightsaber droid and half a dozen B1 Battle Droids.
Marching up to the lightsaber droid, Ursa draws one of her WESTAR-35 Blaster Pistol and unloads into the lightsaber droid. The machine's response is swift and despite the damage that Ursa does to it, it rapidly draws and ignites both of its lightsabers. It's movements are somewhat jerky and halting thanks to the damage that she did to it, but the droid is very much still operational.
"Wait!" exclaims one of the B1s, "What are-gah!"
The di'kut of a droid doesn't get to finish as Ursa swiftly takes down each of the B1s in the room with a well-placed blaster shot. Switching her full attention back to the lightsaber droids, she ducks and dodges under the swings of its red blades. Ursa aims her blaster pistol only for the droid to slice it in two.
Scowling at the loss of her weapon, Ursa blocks one lightsaber blade with her beskar'gam before punching it in the head. Her armoured fist barely dent its head and Ursa changes tactics. Using her beskar'gam to block the lightsaber blades when needed, Ursa draws her vibroknife to hack one of its arms off at the elbow. Even as the twitching mechanical limb drops to the ground, the lightsaber droid uses its remaining arm to slash at Ursa, forcing the Mandalorian warrior to duck.
Catching the red blade on her bracer, Ursa stabs her vibroknife into the head of the lightsaber droid twice before leaving it. She takes a step back, drawing her second WESTAR-35 Blaster Pistol and unloading into the lightsaber droid until it stops moving. Taking a moment to retrieve her vibroknife, Ursa makes her way over to controls for the Jedi's cell.
"We heard shooting-" starts a B1 as it and one of its fellows come running into the room, but Ursa just guns them down.
She pushes the release button on the controls and the tower retracts, the cells coming down until there are four layers of walls around the Jedi. All four cell doors go down into the ground, allowing Kenobi to stagger out.
"Master Kenobi," says Ursa as she snatches up one of the fallen lightsabers and holds it out to the Jedi, "Here's a lightsaber. Now we've got to go."
"Wait, what about Satine?" asks the Jedi as he takes the lightsaber and Ursa curses his loyalty to the Duchess.
"No time, she is being held in a different part of the prison and unlike you, she isn't about to be handed over to Count Dooku," snaps Ursa as she disables the cuffs around the Jedi's wrists, "We need to get you out of here so you can call for help from either your fellow Jedi or the Republic."
"It doesn't feel right, just leaving Satine here," says the Jedi as he rubs at his newly freed wrists.
"Get it over, jetii," replies Ursa gruffly, "You can come back for her when you have an army at your back."
"You have a point," concedes the Jedi as he ignites his lightsaber blade, "Red. That is not a colour that suits me."
"The colour doesn't matter so long as it works, mir'osik," snaps Ursa as she begins to set off, "Watch my back."
"Of course," replies the Jedi as he follows her.
Ursa blasts any B1 that they come across until they reach the landing pads, thankfully without incident.
"No speeders or ships here," comments the Jedi as he looks around, "I hope you have a plan now we're out here."
"I'll going to carry you," Ursa tells him, rolling her eyes beneath her helmet.
To her relief, the jetii doesn't complain or resist as Ursa scoops him up in her arms before igniting her jetpack. She doesn't go straight for one of the docks as she would be spotted too easily by one of the other Mandalorian warriors in Sundari. Instead, she takes her companion down so they can find disguises.
Bo-Katan's reach is limited and she lacks the force projection to control all of Sundari let alone the planet. They just need to find some cloaks to conceal their identities and then it will be a piece of cake to reach a space port. Once there, they can go loud and steal a ship.
Hopefully. No battle plan survives contact with the enemy after all.
And here we have dissent in the ranks for Bo-Katan as her tenuous grip on Mandalore begins to slip. We get some insight into how Bo-Katan is ruling, what Ben is up to and a cool prison break.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Tuesday at 3:00 PM
14.8 (The Mandalorians) - Chapter Eighty-One
Some might look down upon Tordral Ordo for preferring the Liberator-class Starfighter to a Fang Fighter or Gauntlet Fighter, both of which are Mandalorian designs. But unlike the designs of her people, the Liberator has a deflector shield and while not getting hit is good and all, Tordral likes the insurance of having a bit of shielding between her and death.
It is also Mandalore the Guardian's preferred choice of starfighter as far as Tordral can tell. According to what Jacpa Dasou told her, the Corellians only started building it at the Mand'alor's urging and he has purchased a lot of them. Apparently, he purchased enough to outfit all four of his clone legions and one of his early acts as Mandalore the Guardian was to purchase Liberators to replace the outdated pre-war starfighters of Kyr'tsad.
He also spoke with Kyr'tsad's engineers about installing shield generators aboard their Fang Fighters and Gauntlet Fighters to give them deflector shielding. While she had her doubts about him when they first met, Tordral can now see that the Mand'alor has his priorities right when it comes to starfighters.
"We have a lot of vultures inbound plus a bunch of mercs," calls someone over the comms as the combined fleets of the 1st Republic Patriot Legion and the Mandalorian Guardians exits hyperspace over Mandalore.
"Those are old Lupus Missile Frigates," says someone else, "I thought the Trade Federation didn't use those anymore?"
"There's a bunch of Corellian Corvettes and Gunships out there," says a third Mandalorian, "None of them belonged to Kyr'tsad. Merc ships?"
"That Captor must have a whole load of supplies on it," a fourth voice joins the others, "We should capture it for ourselves so we can loot it."
"I'm seeing a bunch of Fangs and Kom'rks with the enemy," says a fifth voice, "Must be Bo-Katan's traitors."
" Kaloth Battlecruisers," says a sixth Mandalorian, "You think she cut a deal with the Thalassians?"
Tordral ignores the chatter as their officers begin to reinforce discipline over the comms. Bo-Katan and whoever she is working with have amassed quite the fleet. Four Kaloth-style Battlecruisers have disproportionate firepower for the size and she has enough Corellian Gunships and Corvettes to match Kyr'tsad's own number of them despite all of Kyr'tsad's crews siding with Mand'alor.
A Captor-class Heavy Munitions Cruiser hangs back, somewhat guarded by eight Lupus-class Missile Frigates, a design that isn't really used or produced anymore due to its lack of firepower and durability. Hundreds of starfighters can be seen amongst the enemy fleet from vulture droids to the Fang Fighters and Gauntlet Fighters that sided with Bo-Katan to a whole assembly of various pre-war starfighters with assorted mercenary transponders.
And yet while such a force would be a large amount of concentrated firepower even just a week ago, there is no longer the case. Beyond Kyr'tsad's small fleet of assorted corvettes and starfighters, the Mandalorian Guardians have true warships on their side thanks to the 1st Republic Patriot Legion.
Two hulking star cruisers have jumped out of hyperspace alongside them, escorted by a dozen Corellian Gunships. There are frigates in the form of Hammerheads and Thrantas and between them and the star cruisers, the Republic forces can field hundreds of modern starfighters. Like the Liberator that Tordral is borrowing from the Mand'alor.
The defending fleet has no chance and not only does Tordral know it, but so do some of her enemies. More than one enemy starfighter turns and jumps to hyperspace rather than face such overwhelming odds. Yet to Tordral's surprise, the fleeing is limited to just the starfighter as none of the warships make any more to retreat. Their crews must be made of sterner stuff than most mercs.
And yet, it will do nothing to save them as the battle is engaged.
"That's the signal," says Rook Kast to her team as they receive word that their fleet has arrived in orbit.
Rook likes being a Mandalorian Guardian. It beats being a member of Death Watch by a long shot. Sure, the new Mand'alor is changing things, but he is a real Mand'alor. He has the Mask of Mandalore, the Darksaber and it was at his hand that the other two contenders were slain as both Jango Fett and Pre Vizsla died to Ben Shan.
So Mandalore the Guardian wants to make the Clans into professional soldiers. So what? Fett and Vizsla did the same thing with the True Mandalorians and Death Watch. Mandalore the Ultimate did the same thing as did many other past Mand'alors.
Mandalore the Guardian is a jetii? So was Mandalore the Jedi. He wants to align them with the Republic? Well, so did Mandalore the Jedi, Mandalore the Preserver and a few others throughout history. And Mandalore the Guardian is no lapdog of the Senate. She hasn't had much time to socialise with the Rep soldiers, but one was clear that their new Mand'alor did what he deemed to be the right thing, even if it meant pissing off a bunch of Senators.
He might be a jetii, but he is an old-school Jedi like those who made the jetiise famous and respected, not one of the Senate kath hounds who just carry out the whims of their masters.
Mandalore the Guardian and his Mandalorian Guardians are the future. True Mandalorians? Death Watch? Old Mandalorians? New Mandalorians? All of them are going to be left in the past as the Clans will rise to new heights under its new leadership.
Though they weren't always going to be called that, Rook muses in her head as she and three other Mandalorian Guardians begin their attack on the Sundari Royal Prison. One suggestion was that the new Mand'alor be called Mandalore the Reforger and his followers the Reforged Mandalorians on the account of how he was reforging the Clans into something new, something better. Another alternative was Mandalore the Liberator and his Mandalorian Liberators because he believed in freedom and made it his life's mission to free as many slaves as possible.
In the end, Ben Shan became Mandalore the Guardian because he was a Jedi Guardian and his actions had led him to become known as the Guardian of the Republic. To be Mandalorian Guardians was the future of the Clans and Rook was going to be at the forefront of that. Anyone who opposes this like Bo-Katan and her Nite Owls are fools that their Mand'alor is going to crush underfoot.
"Is it normal to have this many guards at the prison?" asks Orika Ordo as they finish off the B1s defending the landing pads and entrance to the prison.
"I don't think so," replies Rook as they approach the elevator that leads up into the structure, "Either Bo-Katan is paranoid or something happened to rile things up. Remember, we're here to rescue the Duchess before the Nite Owls and their allies can execute her."
Rook hadn't understood at first why Mandalore the Guardian wanted to rescue Duchess Satine Kryze, leader of the New Mandalorian movement, but she would have obeyed anyway. Still, the Mand'alor was generous enough to explain it. He didn't like the Duchess personally, but she was basically the girlfriend to a vod of his and that was why he cared about her. That and some political stuff to make the Mandalorian Guardians look better, but Rook didn't care about that. Looking after a vod's girl was good enough for her and earn the Mand'alor some more respect in her books.
Getting inside the prison is easy enough as it only appears to be guarded by battle droids. Her squad makes their way through the long hallways with prison cells along each side of it, using their jetpacks to easily traverse the different levels in each prison block. The B1s are helpless against them, usually going down before they have a chance to defend themselves.
"Ka'ra, there are a lot of prisoners here," says Orika and Rook agrees with her.
Almost every prison cell that they have passed contains a prisoner. Some of them are in prison uniforms, but most are still wearing the outfits from when they were arrested. There are a lot more of the latter than the former.
"Bo-Katan must have been on an arresting spree," says a third member of their group, "I wonder if she has been sticking them all in here or if there are so many that she has to use other prisons."
"Doesn't matter," replies Rook, "We know that this is the prison with our target and that's all that matters to us. Dealing with the other prisoners us something for the Mand'alor to sort out once he has liberated Mandalore."
Of course, things can't be completely without difficulty as their squad soon finds themselves facing a Nite Owl, one of the few true Mandalorian warriors that Bo-Katan has. He comes flying at them with a GALAAR-15 Blaster Carbine blazing. Rook barely throws herself to the side in time, blaster bolts glancing off of her beskar'gam. She returns fire, but the other Mandalorian is swift and unyielding. The man guns down one of her squad before darting away.
"After him!" shouts Rook as she activates her jetpack and flies off after him.
Orika and the other surviving member of her squad join her shortly and the chase is joined. Rook activates the energy buckler in her vambrace, holding it out in front of her to block any incoming fire. There are still some B1s in the prison, but the rest of her squad easily deal with them from behind Rook.
Then as she turns a corner, Rook finds herself facing an incoming missile, clearly launched from the jetpack of the Nite Owl she is chasing. She rolls to the side midair, allowing the missile to fly past her. She hears an explosion and a cry of pain from behind her, but Rook fires her own missile at her foe. It strikes the bridge that the Nite Owl is standing on, taking it out and knocking the Mandalorian warrior off his feet.
The other Mandalorian gets back to their feet quickly only to be pelted with blaster fire from Orika. Rook throws a grenade at the Nite Owl's feet, which proves to be enough to finally defeat him as Orika puts another couple of blaster bolts into his body for good measure.
"Kelborn didn't make it," says Orika as she and Rook both land on one of the hallways, "The missile hit him dead on. Never stood a chance."
"Then we'll just have to make do with just us," says Rook, "Come on, vod. We can handle it with just the two of us."
"Only if there isn't anyone else like him waiting for us," adds Orika.
"Yeah, that," agrees Rook.
It doesn't take them long to find the Duchess, where the woman is locked away in an ordinary jail cell, surrounded by a mixture of her bodyguards and advisors.
"More of my sisters' lackeys, I presume," sneers the Duchess as Rook unlocks her door.
"No, we are Mandalorian Guardians on the behalf of Mandalore the Guardian," replies Rook, remembering her discipline and resolving not to do anything undue to this annoying New Mandalorian, "He is a friend of your boyfriend."
"Obi-Wan is not my boyfriend," snaps the Duchess and Rook shares an amused grin with Orika.
"You knew exactly who we were talking about," points out Orika and the Duchess turns her glare on her.
"That's irrelevant," says the Duchess imperiously, "Now what do you violent savages want with me?"
"We're keeping that traitor Bo-Katan from executing you," says Rook, "Orika, guard her. I'm going to see about releasing the other prisoners. Hopefully some of them will be willing to take up arms. It should help us from being overrun if Death Watch attempts to retake the prison."
"I do not support any bloodshed or violence even if you are rescuing me," declares the Duchess.
"Luckily for you, I'm not doing this for you, I'm doing it for my Mand'alor," Rook tells her before flying off, leaving the annoying New Mandalorian leader to be Orika's problem.
A couple of different perspectives in this chapter. First is Tondrol showing how the naval battle is going and some insight into how things are going for Ben as the Mand'alor. The second is Rook Kast as instead of being a Darth Maul fanatic, she is going to be a Ben Shan fanatic and she provides some more insight into how Ben is handling being Mand'alor.
Anyway, we are coming to the end of the Mandalorian arc. It should be just another two or three more chapters before we can move onto the next plotline of the fic.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Tuesday at 6:13 PM
14.9 (The Mandalorians) - Chapter Eighty-Two
This week has not been what Vyssa expected it to be. Sure, she had gotten used to her new beskar armour by now, but she had not expected to find out that she was actually a Mandalorian or for her master to become the new Mandalorian king. Which was an accurate way to describe what the Mand'alor was as an outsider.
Ben's solution to the Death Watch problem was oddly diplomatic for him. A relatively peaceful solution to what could have been a lot of bloodshed. In some ways, it was what a Jedi aspired to, but in other ways, it was very much not.
It also had the benefit of rallying the Mandalorian Clans away from the Separatist cause and to the aid of the Republic. Whatever her master had originally planned, he is now ushering in a new era for the Mandalorians and the liberation of Mandalore will just cement him as the new Mand'alor.
Vyssa can already see how the politics will play out. As Mandalore the Guardian, Ben is turning the Death Watch, the Old Mandalorians and the True Mandalorians into the Mandalorian Guardians. The conquest of Mandalore by this Bo-Katan is a death blow to the New Mandalorian movement on the planet and Ben's liberation of the world will likely bring the dispirited New Mandalorians into his faction. Especially since he is being accommodating to their beliefs, something that no other Mand'alor in recent memory has done.
Duchess Satine Kryze won't have the support to make a bid for reclaiming Mandalore after her failure to prevent her sister from conquering the place. She will also likely lose her status as the head of the Council of Neutral Systems if she is no longer Mandalore's ruler. It might generate some pushback against her master, but the Militarist Coalition will rally around him and the Council of Neutral Systems has few allies in the Galactic Senate.
Chancellor Palpatine might try to do something since he is a secret Sith Lord, but Vyssa doesn't know enough to tell which way he will go. He might try to use this affair against Ben or he might take advantage of it to weaken the Council of Neutral Systems and gather more power to his office.
Ben's plan for a referendum on the future of Mandalore is the best option politically speaking even if her master is only doing it out of belief in democracy. There is no chance that the majority of the planet will want to remain New Mandalorian after this and with Ben as the only real alternative, they'll vote to have Mandalore the Guardian as their new ruler.
Satine will complain, but the referendum will undercut any arguments she makes and since she has about as many enemies in the Senate as Ben and fewer allies. The only angle of danger there that Vyssa can see is Sidious throwing his support behind Satine.
The High Council might prove a problem. On the one hand, they're done every properly and by the book as you can get under the circumstances. On the other hand, the circumstances are a resurgent Mandalore and Ben becoming a Jedi Lord for all intents and purposes. There is a good chance that they won't take kindly to that though what they can do is limited. Ben is a famous war hero in the first major war since the Ruusan Reformation and he is legitimately the Mand'alor. They can expel him from the Order, but they have no grounds to remove him as Mand'alor and the Mandalorians will take very poorly to any attempt to force the issue by the High Council.
Running Mandalore might be a problem though less so than for other cultures. Mandalore has a long tradition of being ruled by the strongest and falling in line with their Mand'alor. Ben will have firmly secured his position as Mandalore the Guardian and that will buy him a lot of support, especially if he doesn't disturb the existing lifestyles too much. He'll have to delegate a bunch since he can't run the Mandalore sector whilst also leading his own not so small private military in a galactic war. Fortunately for her master, the Mandalorian Clans have a long tradition of being led by someone who lives on the frontlines of a war.
This will also give the Sith, the Separatists and all of their other enemies a target to strike. They'll have to protect Mandalore and the rest of the sector, but it should be doable. New Mandalorians aside, the sector has plenty of defenders amongst its populace and the Mandalorians aren't the sort to cower under a foreign invasion. If the Seppies or anyone else invades the Mandalore sector to get at Ben, it should strengthen his support amongst the population not weaken it.
"Hey, General," calls Major Vora, shaking Vyssa out of her thoughts as the 1st Republic Patriot Legion officer approaches their position as they prepare for the assault on the Sundari Royal Palace, "We've found General Kenobi. He was with a-eh, are the Nite Owls who turn on Bo-Katan renegade or loyalist? Because they are turning on her, but they are also siding with us."
"It doesn't really matter," replies Ben, "Obi-Wan is with a Nite Owl who defected from Bo-Katan, Oveya?"
"That's right," confirms Major Vora, "An Ursa Wren who broke him out of his cell a few hours before we began our attack."
"I know Ursa Wren," says Gar Saxon from alongside Vyssa's master, "I wasn't surprised to hear she sided with Bo-Katan. And I am also not surprised to hear that what Bo-Katan was doing was too much for her to stomach. Bo-Katan is her vod, but even that wouldn't be enough for any true Mando'ad to overlook how she has been mismanaging Mandalore."
And isn't that the truth. Bo-Katan might have dethroned Duchess Satine, but she was doing a kriffing poor job of running Mandalore in her place. She lacked sufficient personal followers to maintain her grip on the planet so she had to rely upon her army of mercenaries and battle droids. They had been heavy-handed enough in their presence to point that half of the planet was on the verge of rebelling when her master had shown up to liberate the place.
Duchess Satine might have surrendered peacefully, but Bo-Katan had come dangerously close to undoing that. As things were, the fledgling rebellions had swiftly turned their support to aiding the Mandalorian Guardians as the locals did their best to bring down the criminals who had conquered their world.
Not that there had been too much fighting. While the defending fleet had fought firmly and to the last, the garrison had far less zeal when it came to their defence. The B1s had fought until scrapped as per their programing, but it felt like half of the mercenaries were surrendering with no fight or a token one rather than face angry Mandalorian warriors. And Vyssa couldn't blame them since the mercenaries were fighting for credits not a cause.
Unfortunately, the Sundari Royal Palace won't fall so easily. Bo-Katan is holed up in there with half of her Nite Owls plus a bunch of B1s. On top of all there, there are rumours of several IG-line droids inside the palace and a lightsaber-wielding Force user. The last of which can be confirmed by the Dark Side presence that both Vyssa and her master can sense within the palace.
"Any chance of getting Obi-Wan over here in a timely manner?" inquires Ben, "We have a Dark Sider in there and a third Jedi would be a welcome addition to dealing with that."
"Both General Kenobi and Ursa Wren are already aboard a Kom'rk," reports Major Vora, "They were going to the Royal Sundari Prison so General Kenobi could see Duchess Satine, but I'll have them redirected to here."
"Thank you, Oveya," says Ben, "Gar, are your troops ready to storm the palace?"
"We are waiting on your word, Mand'alor," reports Gar Saxon proudly.
"Then we are waiting for Obi-Wan's arrival," says her master and Vyssa goes back to her political scheming.
The best way to defend Mandalore is pre-emptively. If they can get early warnings of any incoming attacks, they can get forces in position to defend against them or launch a spoiling strike. And planetary deflector shields would be good. With the war going on, they are really in demand right so purchasing them will be trickery. The best way to get them would be to steal them from the Separatists. Not only will it strengthen the Mandalore sector and the Republic, but it will hurt the Separatist war effort in the process.
It doesn't take long for Master Kenobi to arrive, shaking Vyssa from her thoughts on the best way to acquire a BRT supercomputer to help with running Mandalore. The Jedi Master looks a little worn out, but no worse than usual for an extended mission that has been on the rough side of things.
"General Shan," says Kenobi as he hops out of a hovering Kom'rk, "I hear you are the new Mand'alor."
"It was the way things worked out," replies Vyssa's master, "Will of the Force and all that."
"As you said," replies Kenobi, but Vyssa can tell he is sceptical, "Do you have a plan for what you are going to do after this is all over?"
"Democractic referendum," answers Ben without hesitation, "I will let the people of Mandalore choose their fate."
"That isn't much of a choice," says Kenobi, "You have to know that they will choose you over Satine after all this."
"Then that is what the people will choose and I shall respect that," replies her master, "I believe in democracy and I will respect their desires so long as it doesn't involve trampling on the rights of others. If they no longer wish to be pacifists after being invaded and conquered, I shall respect that decision on your part."
"And you have no involvement in this invasion?" inquires Kenobi sceptically.
"Only in the sense that he didn't crush Bo-Katan when she refused to bend knee to him as the new Mand'alor," interrupts Gar Saxon sharply, glaring at General Kenobi, "Had he had her and her supporters purged instead of letting them go peacefully, they wouldn't have been around to go on to do this."
"It is as I told you, Kenobi," adds a female Mandalorian warrior who is marked as Ursa Wren in Vyssa's HUD, "Dooku is the one behind this. He supported Bo-Katan's plan in exchange for drawing Ben Shan out into a trap."
"Do you have any proof?" inquires Vyssa, perking up at this new bit of information, "It would be very helpful in turning his back on Dooku and the Separatists."
"I have a helmet recording of the entire conservation between Bo-Katan and Count Dooku," answers Ursa Wren, "I have the original with me and I have sent a copy to my husband on Krownest. All of these mercenaries and Trade Federation surplus? Paid for and donated by the Separatists and Bo-Katan is framing the Hutts on Dooku's orders. As for the trap, Dooku sent a Dark Acolyte and several new lightsaber droids."
"I'm not surprised," says Kenobi, "Who else could it be, but the Separatists? It isn't the Hutts have any motive to spend their credits on an endeavour like this."
"Actually, they do hate me that much," says Ben.
"Ben's right," adds Vyssa, "The reason we all believed that Bo-Katan had support from the Hutts is because the sleemos really would spend this many resources to cause trouble for us."
"Right, I had forgotten about that," admits Kenobi, "I assume we will be walking into this trap? As usual."
"Of course," answers Ben.
And here is a Vyssa perspective chapter because I wanted someone thinking about the wider galactic politics and how Mandalore will have to be run once the dust is settled.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Dec 7, 2023
14.10 (The Mandalorians) - Chapter Eighty-Three
If you had told Gar Saxon how much things would change in just a few days, he wouldn't have believed you. Yet here he is, standing on Mandalore not as a member of Death Watch, but as a Mandalorian Guardian and serving under Mandalore the Guardian, a jetii Mand'alor. No, Mandalore the Guardian is a mando'jetii not a mere jetii. Even if he wasn't the new Mand'alor, Gar has seen enough to respect that claim.
Gar is an old veteran. He was a child when Jaster Mereel became the Mand'alor, forming the True Mandalorians and introducing the Supercommando Codex. He was barely an adult when he signed up with Death Watch when it was first formed by Tor Vizsla when he declared himself Mand'alor in opposition of Jaster Mereel. He remembers when fighting in the Mandalorian Civil War, when the Mand'alors fighting over the Clans were Tor Vizsla and Jaster Mereel.
He remembers when Jango Fett took up his father's place as Mand'alor of the True Mandalorians. He remembers how the True Mandalorians were shattered and broken by the trickery of the Death Watch and the arrogance of the Jetiise. He remembers how the Mandalorian Civil War gave way to the Great Clan Wars. He remembers how Tor Vizsla was hunted down by Jango Fett and Pre Vizsla ascended to Mand'alor.
He remembers how they lost the Great Clan Wars, how the New Mandalorians once again returned to prominence under the Anti-Mand'alor Satine Kryze. He remembers how they were exiled to Concordia for refusing to give up their warrior ways. He remembers how they survived in secret and grew in the shadows until they were strong enough to reclaim Mandalore.
He remembers what Jaster Mereel, Tor Vizsla, Jango Fett and Pre Vizsla promised and offered the Clans. How each one claimed to be Mand'alor yet only ruled over a portion of the Clans, none of them able to count a majority of their people under their command. How they scurried in the shadows, consorting with crime lords, bounty hunters and smugglers as they made do with second-hand and second-rate equipment outside of a few exceptions.
Mandalore the Guardian is greater than all of them. He is a mando'jetii and a Republic patriot, but he will also do what his predecessors couldn't. He will be the Mand'alor who reunites the Clans once more and restores the Mandalore sector to prominence and greatness. More flock to his banner than what either the True Mandalorians or Kyr'tsad could ever muster. They will be receiving proper warships and state of the art starfighters. Their beskar'gam will be forged from actual beskar rather than be durasteel substitutes.
And best of all, there won't be another Mandalorian Excision. Gar knows that some of his fellow Mandalorian warriors still resent the Republic and Jetiise for the destruction of their homeworld and the scattering of their people centuries ago, but Gar is more farsighted than that. Yes, they'll be fighting for the Republic, but that means the Republic won't attempt to exterminate them again. And if the Separatists try, then the Mand'alor will stop them and if the Republic does intervene, it will to aid the Clans not crush them.
So regardless of how unexpected events have been, Gar Saxon doesn't regret them even as he storms the Sundari Royal Palace alongside three jetiise. Mandalore's future is brighter than it has ever been.
As one of the more experienced Mandalorian warriors alive, Gar Saxon ignores the assortment of B1 Battle Droids to focus on the surviving Death Watch. Bo-Katan's Death Watch was always weak and pathetic, but it has only dwindled since the liberation of Mandalore began. Now only she has a hundred warriors at most with her in the palace and they shall die here alongside her. The Mand'alor gave them one chance to walk away without violence and they squandered it.
Or perhaps they didn't when he considers how they took that chance to topple the New Mandalorians and conquer Mandalore. A shame that Bo-Katan was incapable of ruling the place after conquering it. Under her leadership, the planet full of weak-minded pacifistic New Mandalorians was halfway to revolt when the Mandalorian Guardians showed up.
He opens fire on one of Bo-Katan's warriors, pinning her down with his GALAAR-90 Blaster Rifle as she ducks behind one of the palace's pillars. He switches targets for a moment, striking the jetpack of a flying Kyr'tsad warrior and sending them careening with an out of control jetpack. He repositions with his jetpack, supporting his Mand'alor as Mandalore the Guardian and his fellow jetiise push the offensive.
He guns down one of the opposing Mandalorian warriors and then it is all over. At least the fighting in the main hallway is over as the B1s have been scrapped while the Death Watch forces have either been downed or pushed back further into the palace.
Despite the momentary lull in the fighting, the attack doesn't stop there as the Mand'alor charges deeper into the palace. The Mandalorian Guardians and the Republic troopers both follow him with equal fervour for both groups hold Mandalore the Guardian as their leader. Resistance is sporadic as the remaining Death Watch defenders attempt to fight a running defence, but the liberating force just keeps overwhelming each point of resistance.
Within mere minutes, only the throne room remains, where Bo-Katan and the last of Death Watch will make their final stand. The dar'jetii and the lightsaber droids will also be there if their trap is to be sprung as none of them have made an appearance so far.
"So we're all aware that this is where the trap is," says the Mand'alor's kih'vod.
Or is she the ad'ika of the Mand'alor? It isn't a clear cut relationship given the closeness of their ages even if Mandalore the Guardian has made it clear that he is raising to be mando'ad. Or mando'jetii in this case.
"Oh yes," replies the jetii Kenobi, "I take we're still walking into it."
"Of course," says the Mand'alor, "It isn't much of a trap. The three of us could take it without the not so small army we have at our backs."
"I'm starting to see why you and Anakin get along so well," says Kenobi and the Mand'alor just gives him an amused look before marching into the throne room.
"Bo-Katan! Death Watch!" cries Mandalore the Guardian as he confidently strides into the room, "You have one last chance to surrender! Peacefully lay down your arms and you will be spared."
Apparently the bold offer of surrender is enough to shock the Death Watch into staying their hands from opening fire. There aren't many of them left, perhaps a couple dozen tops and all of them, including Bo-Katan, look in bad shape. In fact, Bo-Katan looks worse than Gar has ever seen the woman. He remembers when the young girl, full of spite and fire, signed up with Death Watch following the death of her father, joining shortly after Pre Vizsla took up the reigns of Mand'alor from his late father.
A pale woman in black stands next to where Bo-Katan is seated on the trone and Gar narrows his eyes at the lightsaber attached to her belt. It seems that the dar'jetii is here after all, but if that is the case, where are the lightsaber droids?
"You really think that the True Mandalorian warriors are going to surrender to you, Jedi?" taunts the dar'jetii.
"We are the Death Watch not the True Mandalorians!" snaps Bo-Katan, "And you do not get to tell me what to do. None of you do! I am the rightful ruler of Mandalore."
"You never had the backing needed to rule Mandalore in the first place," says the Mand'alor, "You had to rely on hired thugs and in doing so, you manage to drive the New Mandalorians to being on the verge of taking up arms against you."
"I am a real Mandalorian!" shouts Bo-Katan as she rises to her feet in anger, "My blood was bred true. You are an outsider. A Jedi outsider at that."
"And yet I have rallied the Clans to my banner," replies the Mand'alor, "Mandalore is embracing me as a liberator from your tyranny, as short-lived as it was."
"Not all of the Clans support you," sneers Bo-Katan, "Clan Kryze doesn't recognise you as Mand'alor and you'll find that neither my sister or I will ever follow you, jetii."
"This irrelevant, Mandalorian," says the dar'jetii, sounding annoyed, "Are you going to kill him or not?"
"Stay out of this!" snaps Bo-Katan as she rounds on her ally, jabbing an accursing hand out, "You-agh!"
Apparently that was too much for the dar'jetii as she casually draws her lightsaber, igniting it so the red blade cuts off Bo-Katan's outstretched arm at the elbow. Before Bo-Katan can react, the dar'jetii rams the blade into the gut of Gar's former vod.
"Kill the droids not other Mandalorians!" orders the Mand'alor as he rushes the dar'jetii.
Gar was in the midst of living up a shot on one of the Death Watch warriors when Mandalore the Guardian gives his command and he hastens to obey. He looks for the droids in question only to barely avoid being cut in two by one as it drops down from the ceiling, a crimson-red lightsaber in each hand. His blaster rifle isn't so lucky and it is sliced in two by the red blade.
Gar backs up, scowling beneath his helmet. He has beskar'gam that is made of actual beskar and he isn't afraid of any droid, but he knows better than to try and fight someone with a lightsaber in hand to hand combat. The droid swings and slashes at him, but each time, Gar blocks it with his vambraces, the beskar standing up to each momentary touch of a lightsaber blade.
Dodging the latest strike, Gar activates his crushgaunts and grabs the wrist of the lightsaber droid and squeezes. Metal squeaks and cracks as the wrist is destroyed by Gar, causing the lightsaber droid to drop one of its lightsabers.
"That will not save you, Mandalorian," warbles the droid in a deep masculine voice and Gar headbutts it in response as he yanks the arm in his grip out of its socket.
It doesn't really do much except leave both Gar and his opponent stumbling backwards. Gar prepares for another bout of melee combat only for the lightsaber droid to be shot in the back by blaster fire. It attempts to deflect the blaster bolts with its remaining lightsaber, but there is just too much blaster fire coming from too many directions to keep up.
Gar refrains from getting involved because you don't get into hand-to-hand combat with an enemy that is being shot to pieces. Instead, the veteran Mandalorian warrior assesses the situation. The dar'jetii is down and the last of the lightsaber droids are being finished off by the combined forces of the Mandalorian Guardians, the Republic troopers and the Death Watch. The Mand'alor himself is tending to Bo-Katan, who is apparently still alive.
After all, a single dar'jetii can't stand up to two mando'jetiise and a regular jetii and a few fancy battle droids won't last long against dozens of Mandalorian warriors. This trap was never going to succeed though Gar can see why Dooku thought it might. He just didn't count on Bo-Katan being so incapable compare to the Mand'alor. The same way that he didn't count on Ben Shan becoming Mandalore the Guardian when the dar'jetii hired Death Watch to kill him.
But honestly? Gar Saxon can't find it in himself to care as the situation begins to fully sink in for him. He is on Mandalore, a Mandalore that he just liberated and is ruled by the Mand'alor. A Mand'alor who has united the Clans and toppled the New Mandalorians. A Mand'alor who is going to restore the Mando'ade to greatness and glory.
By the Manda, this is everything that Gar had ever dreamt of or fought for.
The Mandalorian arc is finally coming to an end. The next update will basically be covering the immediate aftermath of this arc, which has taken far longer than I originally expected by the way. After that, I'm probably going to do a bunch of interludes to check up on some other plot lines I've got going before moving onto the next main arc.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Dec 9, 2023
14.11 (The Mandalorians) - Chapter Eighty-Four
"You became the Mand'alor and you conquered Mandalore!" exclaims Nelaria Telis, Jedi Knight and the General of the 2nd Republic Patriot Legion and the 333rd Sky Legion, feels a headache as she receives the latest report from Ben.
For all his flaws, Nelaria does find herself liking her fellow Jedi Knight and long-time partner. The only problem is Ben Shan is… unconventional to say the least. As for what he has been up to in the Mandalore sector over the last few days, she isn't sure if it is perfectly in line with his past behaviour or an escalation of it.
There is no emotion, there is peace.
"I liberated Mandalore," replies Ben defensively, "I only went there because Death Watch conquered the place."
"You just told me that you took over Death Watch," Nelaria points out accusingly.
"I took over most of Death Watch and turned them into Mandalorian Guardians," says Ben, "Those who didn't join me decided to keep calling themselves Death Watch and went on to conquer Mandalore with support from Count Dooku."
"Is that the truth or just the official story?" demands Nelaria.
"The truth, Aria," answers Ben without hesitation and so Nelaria accepts his answer, "The official story is that old Death Watch died out in the Great Clan Wars and this new Death Watch is just a bunch of hooligans who wanted a return to the warrior ways of the past. That's what Duchess Satine and her New Mandalorian government had been claiming. Only these hooligans who turned out to be terrorists who invaded and conquered Mandalore with covert aid from Count Dooku."
Of course, he has a perfectly reasonable explanation that will hold up in the Senate. Despite the act he portrays as a military-minded brute of an idealist who can't play politics, Ben can very much play politics. He just pretends to be bad at it so he can get away with not playing the game.
Nelaria doesn't know if Ben knowing better and choosing to do it anyway is preferable to him doing it because he doesn't know better. Given he is now effectively the ruler of an entire sector, she supposes that it is preferable since it means Ben won't inadvertently cause trouble for the people of the Mandalore sector simply because he doesn't know what he is doing.
No, he'll cause trouble for them on purpose. And given the temperament of the Mandalorians, they'll probably praise him for it.
Wait, a moment, Mandalore is supposed to be under the rule of Duchess Satine and the New Mandalorians. How is Ben going to spin that?
"Which brings me to my next point," says Nelaria in a stern voice, "You are aware that Duchess Satine and the New Mandalorians are the rightfully rulers of Mandalore?"
"Duchess Satine surrendered to Death Watch peacefully and without a fight," answers Ben and Nelaria refrains from scowling like she wants to, merely taking on a look of displeasure, "In any case, I'll be holding a referendum on Mandalore's future. I will be giving them a range of options though I do acknowledge that the primary choices will be between myself and Satine."
There is no emotion, there is peace.
"You have become a Jedi Lord, you know that right?" says Nelaria, hoping that Ben isn't really that ignorant, "That's what you are now in practice even if you officially deny the title."
"I did what was necessary," Ben justifies himself, "I didn't have much of a choice and I didn't choose for Death Watch to outright invade and conquer Mandalore. It isn't like I can just hand off the title to someone else. The Clans would fall apart and the Mandalore sector would be ravaged by yet another civil war. Countless innocents die and even more would suffer. I can't make them suffer like that. That is not the Jedi way."
The most absolutely annoying thing about Ben is his tendency to be right, even when he is defying the High Council and the Jedi Code. Especially when he is defying the High Council and the Jedi Code. Nelaria herself can't think of a good way for Ben to give up the title of Mand'alor or an alternative that is better than Ben's current path.
"How are you going to explain this to the High Council?" Nelaria asks instead, changing the subject rather than admit that Ben has a point once again.
"They already know?" says Ben with a shrug.
"How?" demands Nelaria, "Did you call them before contacting me?"
That would be highly out of character and to her shame, Nelaria feels disgruntled at the idea. She knows it should be acceptable or even desirable for Ben to contact the High Council and report back to them, but the Jedi Knight has grown used to Ben coming to her first. Telling her what happened and then letting her come up with what gets told to the High Council. There shouldn't be anything wrong with Ben cutting her out of the loop and yet…
"Master Kenobi was visiting when Death Watch was invaded and he fought alongside me during the liberation," explains Ben, "He is on the High Council so technically the High Council knows. I'm not particularly worried. They can't remove me as Mand'alor and the worst they can do is expel me. Something I haven't feared since the start of the war."
"Because they won't expel the great Republic war hero?" inquires Nelaria sardonically.
"Because I am a Jedi and I know my path, even if it means parting ways with the Order," corrects Ben serenely and Nelaria wants to yell at him.
He can't be serene about talking about abandoning the Jedi Order. The Order is their life and the idea of just walking away from it… it should be unthinkable. And Ben just casually talks about it as if it meant nothing and perhaps worst of all is that it really doesn't mean much to Ben.
No, that isn't true. The worst part is that Nelaria finds agreeing with Ben at times against her will, reluctantly finding herself acknowledging he has a point and doubting the wisdom of the High Council. She tries to ignore such things, but ever since the war started, things have been bad and growing steadily worse.
She has always trusted in the wisdom of the High Council, trusted that the greatest masters in the Jedi Order knew better than her. She would follow the Jedi Code and be a good Jedi who is serene and knowledgeable and doesn't let her emotions show or get in the way.
And she did it too. That was why she was partnered with Ben, so she could even out his unorthodox ways and keep him from falling to the Dark Side as a result of him being so unconventional. Especially since her Battle Meditation made her too useful for him to ignore and her diplomatic manner made her an excellent counterpart to his warlike demeanour.
It worked. Ben stayed on the path of the Light and he truly did good work with his private paramilitary. Countless slaves were freed and many more innocents were saved as a result of all the pirates, slavers and other criminals that they stopped. Yes, Ben didn't get better, but he didn't get worse and Nelaria considers that a victory.
No, it is the actions of the High Council that are driving Nelaria to doubt herself. What does it say that Ben becoming the new Mand'alor and rallying the Mandalorian Clans to side as an effective Jedi Lord doesn't trouble her nearly as much as the High Council's blind acceptance of the clone army or dogged obedience to the commands of the Chancellor and the Senate.
She might not have Ben's deep dislike and distrust of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine and certainly doesn't agree with his borderline paranoia towards the man, but even Nelaria can see how the man can be… improper by Jedi standards. His more disagreeable actions go beyond even beyond what is required for galactic politics. She would keep him at an arm's length and take his information and missions with a touch of scepticism, but the High Council just does whatever he wants.
"So how is Mon Cala faring?" inquires Ben and Nelaria realises that she went too long with speaking.
"Things have been going well in the sector," answers Nelaria, pushing all of her internal doubts and discontent to one side, "I am increasingly looking at targets of opportunity in the neighbouring sectors. I will be limiting myself as I can't help, but feel this is the calm before the storm."
"Trust your instincts," says Ben, "I wouldn't be surprised if the Separatists had a go at Mon Cala. They already showed themselves willing to strike at my allies when they devastated Bothawui. Between its shipyards and isolated position in the Outer Rim, I'm more surprised that Mon Cala hasn't been attacked already than the idea of a future attack happening."
"You have kept my forces stationed here," points out Nelaria, "Mon Cala is far from an easy target."
"Then that just means they'll attack in force," says Ben grimly, "Be careful when pushing the neighbouring sectors. Your position is awfully close to Raxus Prime and I don't see anything good coming from spooking the Separatist Parliament bringing the war too close to home for them."
"I can do politics, Ben," says Nelaria as she gives him a pointed look,
"Yes, I know, I just worry," says Ben as he begins to look something up, "Hang on, Iego is close to your position, isn't it."
"Yes, I believe that is a system in the Ash Worlds," answers Nelaria as she racks her memories, having reviewed the information on the surrounding sectors many times recently, "Uncharted, but it appeared a few times in intercepted CIS data."
"Make that a priority, Aria," orders Ben in a firm, commanding voice that makes Nelaria-no, there is no emotion, there is peace, "I can't say what off the top of my head, but something there feels… significant."
"Trust your instincts," Nelaria repeats Ben's words back to him, "I'll look into sending a scouting force once we are done here."
"Thank you," replies Ben, "I'll be staying here on Mandalore for a bit. I need to sort out the referendum and even if Mandalore does decide to keep Duchess Satine and their neutrality, I still need to organise the rest of the sector. Leaving this many Mandalorians without instruction is a very bad idea. I've got them following my lead for now, but I want something in place for when the honeymoon period wears off."
Uh! Why is he bringing up honeymoons of all things? Sithspit, stay focused. There is no emotion, there is peace.
"Just don't spend too long on Mandalore," says Nelaria as she makes sure to stay focused on the matter and not anything else, "We still have a war to fight and you are one of the best generals that the Republic has."
"I'm fairly average as far as tacticians and strategists go," replies Ben and Nelaria fixes with him with a look.
"Your records speaks otherwise," Nelaria points out.
"I'm good at delegating and trusting in the Force," answers Ben and Nelaria shakes her head at him.
She can't tell if Ben is just being excessively humble or if he genuinely believes that he isn't one of the greatest military minds alive. Honestly, the man is borderline perfect. He is noble and heroic and always willing to do what's right, no matter the cost to himself. He manages to stay in the Light despite bordering on the edge of heresy and often rejecting the wisdom of the High Council.
There are far worse individuals for the galaxy to depend upon and few who are better.
And now we finally reach the end of the Mandalorian arc, which was something of a relief for me because I've spent close to half of NaNoWriMo writing it. Hopefully the next arcs will go a bit quicker. Sorry about how long it took to post this update. I spent the last week down with a bad cold.
Anyway, this is just wrapping up what's going on with Mandalore as I move onto the next arc and hinting at what is to come in the future.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Interlude - Yavin Academy
"Life on Yavin IV is very different compared to what life on Ryloth is like," says Boc as Cara listens in to the first of Master Ikrit's students despite one of the youngest of their group, "Not only are the moist and wet jungles of Yavin a significant change to the arid deserts and mesas that I grew up around on my homeworld. I do prefer it here. I miss seeing my family, but I still get to contact them and I am fulfilling my dream of being a Jedi."
Cara can understand the sentiment. She misses her family and old life, but unlike Boc, she doesn't have a home to return to. The slavers that took her also took the rest of her family at the same time. Even if the buildings of her homestead remain, Cara would be the only one there.
She feels a surge of anger at the thought, but Cara pushes it down before it can rise too far. The anger is normal, especially given her circumstances, but the Jedi-in-training can't afford to let it get the better of her. Allowing her anger to control her and dictate her actions is the path to the Dark Side.
She might be able to save her family as a Jedi, but she can't do that if she falls to the Dark Side. Not just because Master Ikrit won't teach her anymore, but she'll be too busy trying to get power to save her family from the slavers. She remembers the story of Yuthura Ban and has taken it to heart, especially since Cara's own situation is similar to that of the ancient Jedi Master.
The former slave escaped from her captors, she joined the Jedi Order. She never rose beyond the rank of padawan as she struggled with the Jedi ways, believing that the Order was holding her back from stopping the slavers of the galaxy. Yuthura Ban believed her anger and hatred to be justified and so she embraced them, falling to the Dark Side and leaving the Jedi Order to join the Sith.
From there, she fell further to the Dark Side as she became cruel and heartless as she sought more power so she could be strong enough to defeat the slavers. In the end, she was going to sacrifice her compassion to gain more power until a Jedi friend of hers asked her why she would still care about the slaves if she gave up her compassion.
Ultimately, Yuthura Ban tries to kill the Jedi for reminding her of who she used to be. The Jedi won their fight and spared her before offering Yuthura Ban a chance at redemption. He helped her realise that she hadn't righted any of the wrongs she raged against, that she had forsaken the things she cared about in the name of getting more power.
Cara isn't going to end up like that. She is going to stay in the Light and be like Master Rahm and Master Shan. She is going to be a Jedi who goes around freeing slaves just like how she was saved.
"I have never been to Ryloth," says one of the other Twi'leks in their class, "I don't think anyone in my family has."
"Perhaps you can be the first?" suggests Cara.
"Yeah!" agrees Boc, "My parents have been telling me that things are a lot safer these days. The militia has proper training and equipment. It even has warships and starfighters too. Master Shan paid for Ryloth to receive some Hammerhead cruisers so any pirates are going to have a real bad time if they attack."
And that is another reason why Cara wants to be like Master Shan. He goes around helping people and if the other Jedi don't like that, then they can go and stuff it. It rankles on Cara that the Jedi Order wouldn't allow their training group to exist, but she understands why things are the way they are.
"I wonder if we'll get any warships to protect us," says Mikks, the Rodian always being a downer.
"As Master Ikrit likes to tell us, secrecy is our primary defence," says Boc, "But we do have some other stuff. That big machine at the top of the temple is a shield generator, rated to withstand orbital bombardments! And you might not have noticed, but there are a bunch of automated defence turrets about, both here in the temple and about the perimeter!"
"There is also an assortment of deactivated battle droids ready for use," says Master Ikrit as their teacher strides into the room, "I am assured that they are all high quality ones unlike the ones that are used by the Confederacy. We may not have warships over our heads, but we do have plenty of protection beyond mere secrecy. Even if secrecy is our primary defence.
"Master Ikrit, what is today's lesson?" asks one Cara' fellow Jedi trainees eagerly.
After all, Master Ikrit being here means they are going to get a Jedi lesson today. While their main teacher is Master Ikrit, the Jedi Master is far from their only teacher. The temple has two members of staff beyond Master Ikrit while they have their primary duties, the small and isolated nature of the temple means that they take on other roles.
Corporal Ulana is responsible for logistics by ensuring that they don't run out of supplies, but she also cooks most of their meals and gives classes on practical skills such as cooking or handling finances. Trooper Hakon as the engineer responsible for keeping all of the machines in the temple running and on top of that, he teaches Cara and the others how to do his job in addition to running the starfighter sims.
The other lessons they are expected to learn like galactic history and galactic languages are taught by droid teachers. Personally, Cara likes her lessons. Some of the others might complain about having to learn mundane and boring stuff, but for Cara, it is an opportunity she has never had before.
Life wasn't bad on her family's homestead, but Cara never had a life beyond it. There weren't any schools for her to learn at and what she was taught came from her family. Being able to learn like a Coreworlder kid, it isn't worth what happened to her, but Cara is going to make the most of it.
She is going to be a Jedi and even better, she is going to be a well-educated Jedi.
Okay, this Interlude was originally meant to be the start of a new arc showing the secret Jedi academy that Ben and Ikrit have set up on Yavin 4, but I couldn't make it flow. Coming up with compelling characters and a plotline just wasn't working out for me at the time and what I did write turned out to be too exposition in my tastes.
So I decided to cut this arc and turn what I had written so far into an interlude.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Dec 18, 2023
15.1 (Bounty Hunting) - Eighty-Five
"You aren't my usual employer, but I can see why you would come to me for this sort of job," says Cad Bane as the infamous Duros bounty hunter stares down Faresk Nir'wey of the Bothan Spynet.
Cad Bane has a point about the Bothan Spynet not being his usual sort of employer, but desperate times call for desperate measures. The Devastation of Bothawui cannot go unanswered and with Jango Fett dead at Geonosis, Cad Bane is the best man for the job of killing General Grievous.
Actually, no, Faresk can think of a few Jedi who would be better suited for the job, but they have enough burdens of their own. They won't appreciate the methods of Faresk and his people, but the Bothan spymaster knows that the Order will benefit from his actions. Though Ben Shan might be willing to overlook the illegality of Faresk's actions.
His old friend is pragmatic like that, more concerned about protecting the innocent above all else. To a degree anyway as like all upstanding individuals, Ben has his limits where he refuses to compromise what he believes in further. They just happen to be different from conventional thinking, more concerned with matters of morality than matters of illegality.
"I can think of no better bounty hunter in the galaxy," answers Faresk.
"You're not wrong," agrees Cad Bane with a smirk on his face before getting serious again, "But what you are requesting is deadly. I want a Rogue-class Starfighter with elite weapons, cloaking device, the works. I'm sure the famed Bothan Spynet is capable of getting their hands on one for me. Oh, and I want triple my usual rate and for the hiring costs of my team to be covered as well."
"Those terms are acceptable though acquiring the Starfighter might take some time," says Faresk, "Purely a matter of the fact we don't have one on hand. Credits can be provided up front if desired given your reputation. The Bothan Spynet will also provide information on Grevious' movements and security to make your job easier."
"You must really want Grievous dead," notes Cad Bane.
"Oh, we do," Faresk assures the bounty hunter.
"Then you come to the right sentient for the job," says Cad Bane, "Give me a few days to put together my team. I'll be in touch with the hiring costs."
"I will take those days as an opportunity to acquire your starfighter for you," replies Faresk and the bounty hunter nods his agreement before ending the call.
Faresk lets out a sigh. He doesn't like dealing with bounty hunters, but it is a necessity of his job unfortunately. At least the big names like Cad Bane are usually competent and reliable. You don't make it big time in the business without both.
No, it is newbies and small fry that you have to be careful about. Novices are unproven and inexperienced while those who fail to make it big do so due to a lack of either competent or trustworthiness if not both. That isn't to say there aren't a few diamonds in the rough, but that isn't something that a professional spymaster relies upon and something they only resort to if they are desperate.
And Faresk and the Bothan Council are not desperate, not yet. And if they were, Faresk would see about aiding Ben Shan and his followers in killing Grievous before tossing middling bounty hunters at the cyborg.
He still had trust in the Jedi Knight and the recent events in the Mandalore sector had only proven it. He wasn't sure where Ben found the Mask of Mandalore, but he had suspicions. In anycase, it didn't matter. Ben Shan was now Mandalore the Guardian and he had united the Mandalorian people behind him with greater success than any other Mand'alor in recent memory.
All because Count Dooku had the bright idea to hire Death Watch to eliminate the Jedi who wore beskar despite not being a Mandalorian. Within a matter of days, the entire scheme had been turned around on the Sith Lord by the Jedi Knight. And Faresk wouldn't be surprised if Ben wouldn't have cared about Death Watch or the Mandalorians if Dooku hadn't set them upon him.
So while a few of the Clans and even some of his colleagues in the Bothan Spynet might advocate cutting ties with Ben Shan after the Devastation, Faresk knows them to be wrong. Even disregarding his friendship with the Jedi or Faresk's own personal belief in the Republic, there is something to be said for backing the winning side.
Fortunately for all, more sensible heads prevailed in the Bothan Council. No one was willing to work with the Confederacy after their blatant violation of Bothawui's neutrality and the Council of Neutral Systems would do little good now that Bothawui's neutrality had been broken. Which left the choice between the various factions of the Republic, Chancellor Palpatine and his Loyalists, the Pacifists who weren't to be confused with the Neutral Systems, the Militarists led by Candarine Bu and Ben Shan and the Corporate senators who had their seats owned by the galaxy's megacorps.
The Corporates were out because they were too willing to play both sides of the war to bring more profit for their megacorp masters. The Pacifists were an option, but while they would be willing to help Bothawui rebuild, they wouldn't support the vengeance that the Bothan Clans deserved.
Between the last two factions, Chancellor Palpatine with his followers was the more powerful friend, but Ben Shan and his Militarist backers had proven to be more reliable and trustworthy. In a vacuum, it would be a difficult decision, but the Bothan Spynet wasn't renowned across the galaxy for no reason.
First is that the Bothan Spynet hasn't failed to notice that the Supreme Chancellor is discretely courting the humanocentrism of the rich and wealthy Core Worlds. Faresk believes that the man himself doesn't hold such beliefs given his many nonhuman aliens and subordinates, but things like the creating and sponsoring of COMPOR? Chancellor Palpatine has been promoting humanocentrism since the war began and only an idiot can't tell that bodes ill for the future of the Bothan Clans.
The second thing is that General Grievous knew that Ben would be baiting him out around Golm and planned his attack on Bothawui accordingly. On its own, that doesn't implicate the Chancellor as it could have just been regular Separatist spies. But with sources within the Confederacy providing the Bothan Spynet with a recording of Count Dooku personally assuring General Grievous that information on General Shan's plans came from the Chancellor's office? It isn't quite a smoking gun, but combined with everything else, it was enough for the Bothan Council to be leery of aligning with the Chancellor and his Loyalists.
Which left the Militarist coalition as their allies within the Senate. While nominally led by Candarine Bu as the pro-war, but anti-Palpatine faction within the Senate, the Militarists are hardly a unified bunch and are held together by mutual self-interest. Some want a more traditionalist military for the Republic than a Jedi-led clone army while others have interests for their worlds that are better fulfilled by the Militarists than any of the other three major Senate factions. The rest are part of the Militarists to support Ben Shan, either out of gratitude for helping their people or because he has convinced them it is in their best interests.
For a man who disdains politics, Ben is pretty good at playing the game in Faresk's opinion. He has gone from being a pet project of the Miliarists into co-opting them for his own power base, enhancing their political pull in the process. At the start of the war, the Bothan Spynet had originally expected Palpatine to sweep up the Militarists for his Loyalists only for Ben to come and remake them into his own personal anti-Palpatine faction.
Even Bothawui isn't immune, reflects Faresk. While they aren't throwing their support behind the Militarists purely out of their relationship with Ben Shan, it is a major reason why. The Devastation of Bothawui was an attempt by Ben's enemies to punish the Bothans for being his friends. A flawed attempt, for it was done as a punishment for prior actions and to intimidate them from taking such actions again in the future.
Over a hundred million dead, countless more injured or displaced and many billions of credits in damages. No honeyed words or even beneficial deals, just a crude and brutal attempt to scare them into line. For some, that might have even worked, but for the Bothan Clans? They aren't so easily cowed and they certainly will be seeking revenge on those responsible for harming them.
For now, that means General Grievous for leading the attack and the Confederacy that he worked for and launched his attack in the name of. In the future, it may extend to whoever provided Dooku with Ben's plans to defend Bothawui even if it means going after the Supreme Chancellor himself.
But for the time being? Faresk has a Rogue-class Starfighter to get his hands on plus other assorted items. A Rogue-class Starfighter isn't easily acquired, but it shouldn't be too difficult for an agent to steal one on short notice. The weaponry and other stuff won't be an issue, just expensive, but compared to what else Faresk and the Bothan Spynet are spending on this endeavour? It is pocket change.
The real difficulty is when it comes to the cloaking device that Bane wants. Those things generally cost two hundred million credits and are rare in peacetime. During the middle of a galactic war where both the Republic and the Separatists both want to get their hands on as many as possible? Faresk isn't going to try buying one when stealing is both significantly cheaper and easier.
Ideally from the Separatists. They do need to pay for the Devastation of Bothawui and Faresk doesn't have any regrets about stealing from them.
I wasn't really planning for this to be an arc, but I wanted to do something that radically diverges from canon. I mean, I already have done that a fair bit now, but I want to do it again and I wanted to have the bounty hunters go after the Separatists for once. So we have the Bothans hiring Cad Bane and co to go after Grevious for what he did to Bothawui.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Dec 20, 2023
15.2 (Bounty Hunting) - Eighty-Six
Killing General Grievous isn't going to be an easy job, but it isn't an impossible job like going after the Jedi Temple or trying to kill Ben Shan or Count Dooku. Just extremely difficult like infiltrating the Senate Dome or targeting the Supreme Chancellor. A lesser man would have no chance, but Cad Bane is the best for a reason and he is getting well-paid for the job.
If he didn't have enough to retire on already, the payment of this job would be more than enough. Not that Cad Bane has any desire to retire. Bounty hunting isn't the safest of careers, but it isn't boring either. Just sitting around all day, doing nothing, that holds no appeal to the Duros.
He would rather risk his life than sit around doing nothing all day, provided he was paid for it of course. Bane likes getting paid more than anything else and this job is going to be a major payday.
"Alright, Bane, I hear you have a job to share?" inquires Aurra Sing as her hologram gives Bane a look.
"The Bothans want Grievous dead for what he did to their planet," says Bane with deliberate idleness as he inspects his fingers, "So they decided to hire the best man for the job."
"And you took the job," says Aurra, knowing Bane better than most.
"You know me, Aurra," replies Bane, "I'll take on any job for the right price and my Bothan contact accepted generous terms. Besides, it isn't like I'm accepting a job to kill Shan or Dooku. Grievous is tough, but he isn't any worse than your average Jedi Master."
"We both know how tough a Jedi Master can be," scoffs Aurra, but she doesn't disagree.
"And that is why we are being paid a lot of credits," says Bane, "Are you in?"
"How many credits are we talking here?" asks Aurra and her eyes widen as Bane names what the Bothans offering, "Force, that's a lot of credits."
"I know," says Bane, "So, are you in?"
"Yes, I am in," replies Aurra, "Who else have you got?"
"A shapeshifter and a hacker, both expendable," answers Bane, "You know anyone else you might be useful?"
"Bossk was looking for a job last time I checked," says Aurra, "And he is the sort of person who can hold their own against a Jedi. Even kill one."
"Bossk…" says Bane, dragging the name out as he tries to remember where he heard it before, "That Trandoshan who failed to kill Ben Shan?"
"And survived the attempt, which is more than could be said for most others," says Aurra, "Specifically, Bossk is the only one who has survived while getting up close and personal. Hardeen, Death Watch, they only got away because they went with snipers. Bossk got close enough to be within reach of a lightsaber and made it out in one piece."
"I heard he engaged Shan in melee," concedes Bane as he mulls it over in his head, "Alright, he sounds like the sort of guy who could be useful on a job like this. See if he is available."
"Will do, Bane," says Aurra and she ends the call, leaving Bane to continue planning this job.
General Grievous is a well-protected man, spending most of his time aboard a Separatist warship or a battlefield on a planet's surface. The rest of it has the cyborg in a secret location, perhaps some kind of hidden lair, but unless Bane can discover its location, it is irrelevant to his planning.
Boarding a Separatist warship isn't impossible, but Bane favours ambushing Grievous on a planetary surface. The army of droids surrounding him will be a problem, but if he and his team can slip in between the fighting, then the Duros feels they have a good shot of taking a shot at the cyborg.
The Bothan Spynet should be able to provide him with accurate data on Grievous' movements and after that, Bane just needs to pick his battlefield. Maybe if he catches Grievous when he is fighting a Jedi. He could use the Jedi as a distraction and Bane is sure that the Jedi in question won't mind some back up against an opponent like General Grievous. The Separatist Supreme Commander has killed many Jedi already, more than anyone else in the war so far.
Grievous makes extensive use of looted lightsabers and while he isn't a Force-sensitive to Bane's knowledge, anti-Jedi tactics could work on Grievous. Maybe he'll poke some of his Mandalorian contacts. Even if they are hoo-hahing about that new king of theirs, some of them might be willing to take the job.
What about Hardeen? No, he would take the job, but the man isn't the sort of Mandalorian that Bane is interested in. Hardeen uses a sniper to fight at range and has none of the anti-lightsaber Mandalorian iron that Bane wants to make use of.
Ion grenades will be a must regardless of if they go after Grievous on a warship or battlefield. Even if they don't work on Grievous himself, they'll be necessary to take out any battle droids with him and there will be battle droids around the Separatist general.
Robonino will be useful for bypassing any security system, especially if they target the cyborg while he is aboard one of his ships. Parasitti will be of limited value on a warship, but not useless. She can't pass as a droid, but the Clawdite has fighting skills that make her helpful beyond her shapeshifting.
In hindsight, Bane should have asked for something with a little more transportation ability than a Rogue-class starfighter. Being able to bring his team aboard Grievous' flagship with a cloaked transport would be real useful, but oh well. He didn't ask and the Rogue-class will be very useful after this mission.
So battlefield or warship? After mulling it over, Bane decides to see what the intel the Bothans provide him says. He didn't become the best bounty hunter in the galaxy by not being flexible. Sithspit, nobody makes it big in the business whilst getting tunnel vision on the job.
"The Abregado system?" inquires Aurra Sing, "Are you sure that is where Grievous will be?"
Their little group is gathered in the cargo bay of Bossk's ship, the Hound's Tooth. They didn't have to take the Trandoshan's ship, but Cad Bane didn't feel like shelling out credits for a suitable transport when a member of their team already had one.
"The Bothans are certain and they want this to succeed as much as any of us given how many credits they have sunk into it," answers Bane.
"Bane's right, I wouldn't put past the Bothans to backstab you on a job, but not on this," says Parasitti, "They would be willing to hire a bounty hunter for a job just so they can lead them into a trap, but we all know why they want Grievous' head and why. They hired Bane because they want the best to kill him."
"And I hired all of you because I want competent people at my back, not a bunch of crybabies questioning me," says Bane irritably, "Here's the plan. We'll wait until the fighting is over to make our move. If Grievous dies in the battle, we'll confirm his death so we can go home and collect our payday. If he flees, we'll chase him and take him out before he can link up with another Separatist force. If the Separatists win in space, we'll board Grievous' flagship to do that."
"And how will we do that?" asks Bossk, earning him a glare from the Duros bounty hunter.
"I was about to tell you, lizard," drawls Bane.
"It is my ship we're risking, I deserve to ask some questions," snarls Bossk as the Trandoshan gets to his feet, prompting the Duros to do the same as everyone else in the room tenses up.
"As I was saying, we'll board his flagship," says Bane after a couple of moments of staring off with Bossk once it becomes clear that the Trandoshan isn't going to escalate to violence, "Grievous is both dangerous and a coward. We'll cut off his escape routes so he can't flee on us when we engage him. We'll destroy any shuttles or starfighters in the hangar before taking out the hyperdrive and escape pods. That's Robonino's job. Once aboard, he'll interface with the ship's systems to take out its hyperdrive and escape pods with a virus in addition to giving us control over the automated systems."
"And the plan for taking out Grievous?" prompts Aurra, causing Bane to give her an irritable look.
"Same as any Jedi with a dark side," answers Bane, "Grievous fights like a Jedi and while he is more dangerous than most, he lacks the Force. We're all fought Jedi before. Except for Robonino, but I brought Robonino along for dealing with the ship and droids, not the fighting."
"I prefer to take my Jedi at range," notes Aurra, "There won't be much of that aboard a warship."
"You'll make do, Aurra," retorts Bane.
"I suppose I will," concedes Aurra, "You got a plan for actually getting aboard Grievous' flagships? The Separatists won't just let a random freighter land on one of their warships."
"The Bothans get IFF codes to let us get through undetected," answers Bane, "They won't notice anything is wrong until we are already abroad."
"I have a question about the Separatist Jedi," says Parasitti, "Do we have any assurance that none of them will be showing up? Killing Grievous is one thing. Killing Grievous while Dooku is around is another."
"Dooku is confirmed to currently be on Raxus Prime, dealing with the Separatist Senate," answers Bane, privately acknowledging it is a legitimate question, "Ventress is halfway across the galaxy. The Dark Acolytes are a bunch of nobodies Dooku put together to let his droids have more of a chance against the Jedi. Ventress is the only one worth worrying about."
"Let's be fair, they might not be somebodies, but they aren't nobodies either," says Aurra, "Trust me, you don't underestimate a Force-sensitive target if you want to make it out in one piece, especially one that is trained."
"Alright, alright," says Bane, getting fed up with the questioning of his plan, "Are we going to do the job or are we going to keep yapping?"
Not entirely happy with this. It can be hard for me to get into the heads of existing characters at times and that is definitely the case with these bounty hunters. Anyway, a bounty hunter team is going after Grievous and they've got a plan.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
15.3 (Bounty Hunting) - Eighty-Seven
"These codes of yours better work or we're all space dust," snarls Bossk as they fly through the Abregado system.
"They'll work," replies Cad Bane, "Don't forget that I'm in here with the rest of you. Don't act like my life isn't on the line with everyone else."
"Save it for Grievous, boys," Aurra Sing chimes in, "We'll have enough problems putting him down without fighting amongst ourselves."
"You hear that?" asks Cad Bane, "You can stow, big boy."
"Not what I meant, Bane," says Aurra Sing as Bossk growls at the Duros man.
"The codes are working," says Robonino as the Hound's Tooth flies past the wreckage of the Venator-class Star Destroyer that was destroyed before the Republic fleet retreated, "I'm picking up no signs of the Separatists noticing us on their battlenet."
"See that, I told you they would work," Bane needles Bossk.
The Trandoshan just ignores him as he focuses on flying his ship. While the Separatist fleet was victorious and forced the surviving Republic warships to jump to hyperspace, it wasn't without cost. One of the Munificent-class Star Frigates was broken alongside the Jedi cruiser and many of the rest bear clear signs of recent battle damage.
It is the least damaged one that they are heading for, the one that the Bothan Spynet has identified as General Grievous' current flagship.
"Hopefully they don't shoot us down," says Bossk as he sets a landing course for the warship's hangar.
Bane ignores the Trandoshan as he looks over the hangar. A few shuttles, a few vulture droids hanging from the ceiling and a whole bunch of battle droids milling about, both the regular ones and the newer super ones. Calling the B2s super battle droids is classic marketing misnaming in Bane's books as the only thing super about them is how well they perform compared to the B1s.
"Show time," says Bane once they have successfully landed, adjusting his hat as he turns around.
Their reception is pitiful, a bunch of measly B1s coming to investigate who they are.
"Hey," calls the battle droid, "Who are-ah!"
Bane doesn't let the droid finish speaking before he draws both pistols and guns it down along with its fellows. A vulture droid drops down to face them only for Bossk to blow it away with the Hound's Tooth's missile launcher. Aurra begins to pick off the other battle droids in the hangar with her sniper while Bane makes his way over to the sole Belbullab-22 Starfighter with Todo 360.
"Parasitti, Robonino, plant the explosives on those shuttles," orders Bane as he marches up to General Grievous' personal starfighter.
It would be a shame to destroy such a prized and valuable starfighter which is why Bane has a better plan than that.
"Todo, you know what to do," says Bane as he slides open the cockpit.
"Yes, sir!" exclaims the excitable droid as he scrambles into the cockpit.
As the rest of his team finishes clearing the hangar, Bane watches Todo activate the controls of the Belbullab-22. The starfighter wobbles slightly as it rises off the ground, but within moments, it is soaring out of the hangar with Todo at the controls while the shuttles begin to explode.
"What was that, Bane?" asks Aurra Sing as she joins him.
"A custom fighter like that is both valuable and useful," says Bane, "It would have been a shame to just blow it up."
"And you didn't share that with the rest of us?" inquires Aurra Sing.
"I didn't trust the rest of you to not steal it before I could," answers Bane as he begins to walk towards the elevator, "Come on. Grievous is going to know something is up and Robonino hasn't done his job yet."
Aurra narrows her eyes at him, but lets the matter pass without further comment. After all, the value of the starfighter is insignificant compared to pulling off this job.
"Robonino!" calls Bane as Bossk exits the Hound's Tooth and their little group begins to reconverge on each other, "Do your thing. We don't have all day after that little lightshow."
The Patrolian grumbles under his breath, but he makes his way over to the hangar terminal, where he begins to unpack his equipment. It will take a few minutes, but once they are done, Grievous will have no escape route. Their own escape route will also be limited, but Bane has a fallback plan if it comes to that. Even if it means leaving the rest of his team to die alongside Grievous, he will get the job done and make it out alive to collect the payment.
A couple squads of battle droids charge into the hangar while Robonino is hacking the ship's systems. They fall quickly and easily to the team of renown bounty hunters, but Bane doesn't like how it bodes for the future. Even the best can be brought down by enough numbers and Bane isn't a fan of being trapped aboard a hostile warship while surrounded by other hostile warships.
"Hurry it up, bubble brain," Bane hisses at Robonino, "What's taking so long?"
"You want to do a lot of stuff," Robonino snaps back, "That doesn't make things quick. Just give me another couple of minutes, okay?"
Bane growls at the Patrolian, but doesn't say anything else because the Duros still needs Robonino and they both know it. Instead, Bane waits uncomfortably as Robonino finishes his work.
"Done," says Robonino after what feels like an eternity as he stands back from his equipment and dusts off his hand, "The hyperdrive is offline, the escape pods have all been sabotaged and I have remote control of all the doors. And in case any of you feel like leaving me behind now I've done my part, I've rigged the ship's power core to a deadman switch so you better keep me alive."
"Fine," snaps Bane even as he begins to figure out a couple of new plans involving this new complication, none of which require Robonino's continued survival.
Their group of five make their way through the ship, Robonino opening any locked doors while the rest of them eliminate any droid patrols or crewmembers that they encounter. That is until they encounter their target as General Grievous has not waited for them to come quietly.
Marching down the corridor with two MagnaGuards in front of him and a second pair behind him, the cyborg general stalks towards the team of bounty hunters. At the sight of them, all four droids whirl into combat positions while Grievous draws a lightsaber in each hand.
"Grenades!" cries Bane as he himself pulls an ion grenade from his pocket and tosses at the target and his bodyguards.
All five of them toss an ion grenade at their foes and for a brief moment, Bane can see the eyes of his target widen. As soon as the grenades go off, Bane and his crew open fire with Bossk using his blaster rifle while the rest of them unleash their blaster pistols. While Grievous isn't brought down by the ion grenades like his MagnaGuards were, the cyborg was still stunned by them and his body is sluggish to defend itself.
Blaster bolts slam into the body of General Grievous, but the head clanker is too tough to go down that easily. The cyborg hisses in pain before he finally recovers enough to start deflecting the blaster fire. Grievous begins to advance down the corridor, swinging his lightsabers in rapid arcs in front of him, cutting up the floor and blocking all blaster fire coming his way.
"Bubble brain!" calls Bane, "Shut that door behind him! I don't want him running the way he came."
Robonino mutters a few obscenities at him, but the hacker complies with Bane's order as a set of the blast doors slam shut behind the cyborg
"Fools, you're only trapping yourselves in here with me," sneers Grievous, letting out a choking laugh that quickly becomes a cough.
As they back up into a fourway cross section, Bane exchanges a look with Aurra, who nods her agreement. He backs down the way they came with Robonino, Bossk moves back into the right corridor while Aurra forces Parasitti back down the left corridor with her.
"Robonino," says Bane quietly as his target won't overhear, "Once Grievous gets into the cross section, close the doors behind him."
"Oh, I see," says the Patrolian with a grin as he grasps the shape of Bane's plan.
As he advances into the cross section, General Grievous seems to realise what is off, but it is too late as the doors slam shut behind him. The cyborg attempts to back up, but he finds himself pressing up against the closed doors as he also finds himself in a three-way crossfire.
Snarling in anger, Grievous splits his arms into half, giving him an extra pair that he promptly uses to draw and ignite a third and fourth lightsaber. Bane decides to consider that a good thing, that they have pushed Grievous hard enough to resort deeper into his bag of tricks.
Then Grievous rushes, charging down the corridor at Aurra and Parasitti. The Jedi-turned-bounty hunter successfully dodges the incoming cyborg, but the shapeshifter is less skilled. Parasitti does her best, but the Clawdite loses her hand to Grievous. She barely gets to let out a scream of pain before she gets impaled on one of Grievous' lightsabers.
That's unfortunate, not just because they are down a member, but also because Clawdite bounty hunters aren't exactly common. In Bane's opinion, it is a downright shame to lose Parasitti when she wasn't even making use of her shapeshifting. If he had known she would get herself killed like this, he could have hired someone else for the job.
For her part, Aurra Sing rolls underneath the blades of Grievous and runs down the corridor that Bossk is down. The Trandoshan unloads into Grievous, only pausing to load a replacement power pack into his blaster rifle. The Separatist general just deflects all of the blaster fire and lets out another choking laugh as a squad of battle droids enters the corridor from the other side of Bossk and Aurra.
For his past, Bane keeps firing his blaster pistols, but as he does so, he is running the odds on success. He doesn't like abandoning his partners, but he dislikes the idea of not being alive to get paid even more.
"Robonino, I need you to close the door between us and Grievous," orders Bane, which causes Aurra's head to snap up and turn on him.
"Cane, what the kriff do-" starts Aurra Sing only for the blast doors between her and Bane to slam shut as Robonino has no hesitation at putting another degree of protection between him and Grievous.
"Robonino," says Bane, "You still have your dead man switch hooked up to the ship's power core?"
"Yes, that's right," answers Robonino eagerly, "You'll have to keep me alive if you don't want the whole place to blow up on you."
"We have an understanding," says Bane, "Can you close the hangar doors? I don't want Grievous escaping on a transport from another warship."
"Just give me a moment," says Robonino as he fiddles with his datapad, "And done. So how do we get out if the hangar blast doors are closed?"
"We don't, I do," answers Bane before shooting him in the head before turning and running towards the closest airlock.
He activates his rocket boots, giving him some more speed as the ship begins to shudder and the Klaxon alarm begins to sound. He doesn't need to kill Grievous personally, just ensure that he doesn't make it off the frigate before it explodes.
"Todo," calls Bane into his comm, "Meet me outside the hull with the Xanadu Blood."
His faithful droid should have had enough time to swap over starfighters from the stolen Belbullab to Bane's new custom Rogue-class Starfighter. He'll get outside the hull, get inside his starfighter and then escape to hyperspace under the safety of the cloaking field. He just needs to get outside the Munificent in time and hope that his stupid droid doesn't screw things up.
And unlike his main plan, his backup plan goes off without a hitch. He flies through the fiery corridors to reach an airlock that he blasts open. He magnetises himself to the hull as Todo pulls up in the Xanadu Blood, where he tends climbs into the cockpit just in time to get away from the exploding warship.
Under the relatively safety of his cloaking field, Bane does a couple loops around the wreckage to spot any escape pods or lifesigns. He doesn't spot any before the Separatist rescue parties begin to swarm, but Bane is certain that Grievous is dead.
What are the odds of him still being alive in the wreckage?
Okay, a short arc because there wasn't much to do with this arc. Cad Bane went in and did his job, something I could only drag out for so long. Anyway, I'm leaving Grievous' survival as a cliffhanger. He might be dead or he might be alive, but you won't know until the future.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
16.1 (Battle of Mon Calamari) - Chapter Eighty-Eight
The staff meetings are getting rather crowded these days in Wol's opinion. Even limiting itself to senior officers, they have gone from having five people to having fourteen to having twenty two to now having close to thirty depending on how many Mandalorians are available to attend.
The days of just being a single small paramilitary group are long gone. Ben now commands more legions with organic warship support than can be counted on one hand before his Mandalorian Guardians are taken into account. Wol doesn't know what to think about how things went down with the Mandalorians, but he trusts Ben to know what he is doing.
From everything that Wol knows about the position, Ben is an excellent choice for Mand'alor. The Mandalore sector will prosper under him provided his enemies don't burn the place down, but fighting has never been a problem for Ben. And the Mandalorians have never shied away from a fight either, not unless they are New Mandalorians, but they are apparently a dying breed these days. The naked conquest of your world will do a number on any enthusiasm for pacifism it seems.
"The Separatists are going to launch an attack on Mon Cala," says Ben, "General Telis and her forces have been noticing the build up over the past week and frankly it makes sense. The bulk of the captured warships there are on the verge of completion, including the would-be Separatist flagship. If I was Separatist high command, I would consider now to be my best and last chance to reclaim those vessels before my enemies put them into their service."
"Do we have anything else?" asks Admiral Pellaeon, "Not that I am doubting you, sir, but it would be nice to know what sort of threat we will be facing."
"Unfortunately, the Seppies are playing this close to their chests," answers Ben, "We know it will be big and it will be targeted at Mon Cala and its sector, but we don't know any details beyond that. Part of that is due to the Confederacy's own lack of organisation as we have strong reason to believe that this invasion force will be formed out of whatever reserves they can spare."
"We have been bleeding them pretty hard, haven't we," says General Kota.
"Yes, the Separatists are hurting for heavier assets to spare, which is part of why they are launching this operation," says Ben, "I'll be reassigning some of our forces to reinforce Mon Cala's defences, at least until the warships being finished there are ready. After that, Mon Cala should be able to look after itself and we can launch spoiling attacks on the gathering Separatist invasion force."
"How will this affect our other operations?" inquires one of the brigadiers.
"We'll be pulling back from putting on pressure around Falleen," answers Ben, "It isn't ideal, but securing the Mandalore sector and Mon Cala sector until both can stand on their own feet our current priorities. We'll keep smashing pirates as long as we have a list of targets and protecting at-risk trade routes is also a priority. Separatists are the most obvious threat, but ignoring lesser threats to the Republic is not a mistake we'll be making."
"Ah, General Shan, I don't wish to sound insubordinate, but what happens if we receive conflicting orders?" asks one of the newer additions, Admiral Marl Solman, the Republic Navy admiral attached to the 333rd Sky Legion.
"You are under my command and subject to my orders," answers Ben with a certainty that tells Wol that he has already considered this before now, "For those of you seconded to me by Republic High Command, that means the chain of command goes through me and if High Command, the Jedi High Council or the Supreme Chancellor wish to give you orders without going through me, they'll have to have High Command formally remove your units from my command first.
"For the rest of you, I am your superior officer and there is no one above me in the chain of command. There is no one with the authority to give conflicting orders and if an outsider party wants you to do something, they are required to do so by me. That said, use your judgement. If I am unavailable to contact and there is a situation, use your best judgement. You can't be ordered to do something that conflicts with my orders, but if changing circumstances make my orders outdated and I am unavailable for new orders, I have entrusted you with senior officer positions for a reason."
"Thank you for the clarification," says Admiral Solman, "I apologise for reaching such a difficult topic."
"I understand that with the suddenness of the war, there are still a lot of kinks to be worked out in the Republic military," replies Ben, "You have nothing to apologise for. And since we are on the subjects that some would consider treasonous, don't be afraid to hide behind my orders if you need to. I'm not the sort of commander who hangs my own out to dry to protect my own skin."
"General Shan speaks the truth," says Loren, being the faithful old hound that he is, "He'll back you to the hilt if you have made a good faith attempt at following his orders."
"Sir, that's more than just arguably treasonous," protests Admiral Rowan of the 34th Elite Legion.
"I'm afraid it gets worse," says Ben, "While we are on the same side of the war, the political differences between myself and the Supreme Chancellor means it would be politically advantageous to Chancellor Palpatine if I was to suffer a major military defeat. Preferably a prominent one that has no chance of being traced back to his office."
"That's more than a little treasonous!" exclaims Admiral Solman.
"I presume that you have a good reason for making such a claim?" inquires Nelaria and Wol has worked with the Jedi long enough that he is fairly certain she is raising the question to get it out there rather than because she actually disagrees with Ben.
"We have an intercepted transmission of Count Dooku assuring General Grievous that the intelligence we would be defending the Bothawui system around Golm was accurate because it came from the Chancellor's office," says Ben.
"So what you're saying is that the Chancellor is a real aruetii?" asks one of the Mandalorians, Gar Saxon if Wol recognises his armour right, breaking the silence that followed Ben's statement.
"It isn't solid proof, but I wouldn't put it past him to dabble in it for political gain," replies Ben, "Let me make this clear. One of my political allies was deliberately targeted and severely harmed by the Separatists using intelligence that was acquired from the Chancellor's office. While my successes are beneficial to the Republic as a whole, they are also a threat to my internal political opposition. We all knew that the Republic was up to its neck in corruption before the war and that isn't going to suddenly change because we have found ourselves at war."
"You expect sabotage from our own side?" inquires one of the clones attending, Commander Rook of the 602nd.
"Yes, but only from parts of it and for it to have plausible deniability for those responsible," answers Ben, "I don't want to encourage paranoia, but the Devastation of Bothawui has proven that I cannot afford to deny political realities."
"Anyone who thinks politicians are going to stop their schemes just because the war is going on is a fool," says General Kota derisively, projecting his voice so it rings loudly, "They will continue to play their games so long as the horrors of war don't personally affect them."
"All of this brings me back to the impending invasion of the Mon Cala sector," says Ben before anyone else can react to the politically inappropriate words of his fellow Jedi, "The Mon Calamari are a known major ally of mine that are now under threat by the Confederacy. Some degree of deniable sabotage is likely, even if it is as little as simply letting information on our defence leak to the Separatists."
"While I won't deny that deniable sabotage as the result of internal politics and corruption is a legitimate concern for us, I do believe that regular leaks from actual spies are a concern," says Admiral Pellaeon, "I can't speak for anyone else's experiences, but the competence of Republic Intelligence has been… mixed in my career. Some parts of it are very good at their jobs, others have been… typical of the past. Combined with the Separatists having the initiative in preparing for the war, I strongly suspect that the Confederacy has the leg up on the Republic when it comes to spy games."
"Admiral Pellaeon makes a good point," agrees Ben, "While political sabotage is a concern, we shouldn't discard the possibility of Separatist spies. It is entirely possible that the leak from the Chancellor's office was just the Separatists getting on their agents inside or subverting someone working there."
As Wol looks around, that seems to satisfy most of the newcomers from the Republic military. The old guard is loyal to Ben and the cause and the Mandalorians are loyal to their Mand'alor, but the officers seconded from the Republic military? As much as Wol hates to think in such terms, they lack loyalty. They may hold to their oaths to the Republic, but at least Admiral Solman and Admiral Rowan take some issue with the idea of the Chancellor being a scheming and untrustworthy politician.
Admiral Pellaeon seems alright with the idea thanks to what are apparently past brushes with the unsavoury side of the political scene. As for Admiral Goran Kellarov of the 117th Mechanised Legion, Wol can't get a read on the quiet man in some ways, that worries him more than the outspoken disagreements of Solman and Rowan. Even if they are supporting the Chancellor over the General, Wol at least knows where they stand. As for Kellarov? Wol has no idea where he stands when it comes to politics.
Force, Wol hates this. Yet at the same time, it is necessary. Politics were always a fact of life and while they could be avoided or at least sidelined when they were a small paramilitary force in the Outer Rim smashing pirates, those days are long gone. The Republic Patriot Legion is too large and too prominent to be overlooked even if Ben wasn't actively involved himself in politics.
He can't even blame Ben for that. The soul of the Republic is a deeper fight than this galaxy wide war between the Republic and the Separatists. Wol likes to think that they are winning, but a part of him suspects that for all their successes so far, the rot in the Republic goes deep enough that they are still waging an uphill battle.
The clones seem alright at least. Some of them seem a bit upright, but none of the ones that Wol has spoken with feel like they are going to go blabbing to Republic High Command or the Supreme Chancellor. Maybe to the Jedi High Council, but for good or ill, the clones seem to view the Jedi they serve alongside as their leaders.
Hopefully Ben can keep the Mandalorians in line because they'll be an excellent force multiplier. The backing of the Mandalorian Clans plus an entire sector is nothing to scoff at, which means that Ben's enemies, both external and internal, will attempt to strike at it. The Separatists, the Hutts and the various criminal syndicates will likely attempt to undermine Mandalore to undermine Ben and Chancellor Palpatine and his followers will likely do the same.
But that's Ben's battle to fight. Wol knows how to play the great game, but he is ultimately just an admiral. He'll just trust that Ben knows how to run the sector he has found himself in charge of. Wol will do his part by ensuring that naval forces of the Republic Patriot Legions are as best as they can be.
And we are back to Mon Cala as once again, the Separatists are on the offensive while Ben and co are on the defence. Beyond that, not really too much to say.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Jan 23, 2024
16.2 (Battle of Mon Calamari) - Chapter Eighty-Nine
"You wanted to speak with me, Ben?" inquires Wol as he walks into the office of his friend and commanding officer.
"Yes," replies Ben from behind his desk, where the Jedi Knight is in the middle of his paperwork, "I wanted to informally get your opinion before I presented my naval plans to the rest of the senior leadership."
"We are able to have an influx of new warships," says Wol as he takes a seat, "So you want to sort out their purposes and the logistical feasibility of fielding them."
"Right in one," confirms Ben, "We have nine MC80 Liberty-type Star Cruisers, eighteen Hammerhead-class Cruisers, forty-five Recusant-class Light Destroyers, sixteen Providence-class Carrier/Destroyers, two Recusant-class Dreadnoughts, four Providence-class Dreadnoughts and that Subjugator-class Heavy Cruiser. That's close to a hundred warships and most of them are capital ships too."
"It is going to be a nightmare and a half to crew them all," agrees Wol as he winces at just the thought of finding that much crew.
The number of individuals needed to crew all of those warships easily reaches into the tens of thousands. That many warships, it is easily equal to any two legion fleets. Huh, that might be an idea.
"Ben, how about forming another legion or two?" suggests Wol, "We'll have to go recruiting for the ground pounders as well, but I've been keeping up with our finances and we have the credits for it thanks to that liberated Aurodium. It might take some more time, but we could easily get a 5th and 6th Republic Patriot Legions if we went down that path."
"I'm leery of that," admits Ben and for a moment, he looks awfully old for his age, "Call me paranoid, but I want to have the loyalty of my legions. Not to me specifically, but to the ideals and principles of the Republic. Not the corrupt and rotten thing that it has become, but the bastion of liberty and freedom that it should be."
"And you fear that new recruits will lack that belief in our ideals," concludes Wol.
"Yeah, that," says Ben, "It isn't so much the lack of commitment as it is… I could be certain that if I made a stand for what is right, the 1st Republic Patriot Legion would back me. Now, I can be confident that the Mandalorian Guardians and all four Republic Patriot Legions would stand by me. But if we recruit more newcomers? Would they be willing to make a stand against the galaxy for what is right?"
"We couldn't be certain," agrees Wol, having already realised that on his own, "Which leaves us in a dilemma of not being able to expand our forces."
"Hence why I am speaking to you before coming up with an official plan," says Ben.
"What have you got so far?" inquires Wol, "I've served alongside you long enough to know you have at least some ideas on how to proceed."
"We continue to lean into heavy automation to keep our crew requirements down," answers Ben as he pulls up something on a datapad and pushes the device towards Wol, "It should only take a two and half million credits and a few days of work to extensive automated our Star Cruisers like we have with our Hammerheads, Dreadnoughts, Recusants and Providences. That would free up enough crews for nine Star Cruisers instead of just three. From there, we can pull from the crews of the Dreadnoughts for the last three Star Cruisers along with the rest of our new warships."
"That is certainly doable," agrees Wol as he reads the datapad, "It wouldn't be without cost, but a few million credits, a few days and a dozen Dreadnought-class Cruisers would be a cheap price to pay for what we get in turn."
"I have also come up with an alternative plan in light of my new status as Mand'alor," continues Ben, "The Clans have a lot of starfighters and plenty of gunships, armed freighters and corvettes, but lack any proper warships. The heaviest warships in the Mandalore sector are DP20 Frigates."
"So you want to give some of our new warships to these Mandalorian Guardians of yours," concludes Wol as he figures out what his boss has in mind, "Clever. We solve our dilemma of manpower and loyalty while the Mandalorians get some real naval firepower. Do you have any particular warships in mind?"
"I was mainly thinking some of the Recusants and Providences," answers Ben, "Maybe the Hammerheads. Heavy firepower, low crew counts work well with the Mandalorian Clans and it would deter anybody from striking at the Mandalore sector. At least it should make them think twice about attacking the clans."
"It could work through I part of me hates the idea of losing those ships for the legions," replies Wol as he leans back in his chair and mulls it over, "It doesn't hurt as much when we are getting the Star Cruisers, but that those captured Seppies warships represent a lot of firepower with low crew requirements. At the same time, I also recognise why it would be a good idea to hand those warships over to Mandalore."
"Let's focus on the Mandalore sector right now," suggests Ben, "Once we work out what is going on there, we can sort out our naval situation."
"As long as it is limited to naval matters, politics and running a sector aren't my forte, Ben," says Wol, "No offence."
"None taken, you are an admiral after all," says Ben, "In terms of military power, the Clans have a lot of starfighters, most of them pre-war designs that we refused to touch. That said, there are a decent number of Fang Fighters and Gauntlet Fighters along with some gems like Z-95 Headhunters, but nothing we would want to keep."
"Which is why you have put in more orders for Aureks from Rendili and Liberators from Corellia," says Wol.
"That and to give us some more reserves," continues Ben, "Even with both Corellia and Rendili prioritising me as a valued customer, it is still going to take at least month for those starfighters to be built and that's with them bumping back other orders to make way for mine. Fortunately, it will likely take the Separatists at least that long to organise an invasion of the sector. I also have MandalMotors producing more Fang Fighters and Gauntlet Fighters now that they don't need to worry about New Mandalorian restrictions.
"As for other ships, there are plenty of Pursuer-class Enforcement Ships due to it being a Mandalorian designs and beyond that, we have CR90 Corvettes, DP20 Frigates, Marauder-class Corvettes. Sphyrna-class Corvettes, Gozanti-class Cruisers and assorted freighters, often modified for battle. Plus a couple of Dreadnoughts and even an old Thranta. They'll suffice for now, but I'm hoping to get a more organised and modernised navy for the Clans."
"We use Corellian Corvettes and Gunships ourselves so they'll fit in just fine," says Wol as he racks his brain for knowledge on the various designs, "The Pursuer-class is a gunship not a warship. Stick it in with the starfighters. The Marauder is another acceptable warship, but the Sphyrnas and Gozantis are better as transports. They and the other freighters are better off being used for their intended purposes and being replaced with purpose-built warships."
"I'm leaning towards purchasing from Rendili StarDrive for that," says Ben, "I have a good relationship with them and the Hammerhead is a solid warship, especially when supported by DP20 Frigates and starfighters. The only downside is that the Hammerhead Cruiser is heavily associated with the Republic Navy."
"That might be a good thing if you are trying to associate your Mandalorian Guardians with the Republic," suggests Wol, "You haven't been shy about where your allegiance lies."
"That's a fair point," concedes Ben, "What was I thinking when I became Mand'alor?"
"I expect it was either an ideal solution to many problems at a time or the least bad option available to you," says Wol with a smile on his face, "And for all the trouble it has brought us, I do think what you did was for the best. Things will be better for the galaxy if the Mandalorians are on our side rather than split between neutrality and the Separatists. And the Mandalore sector will prosper while united under a single leader, especially when that leader is you. Not to mention, the Mandalorian Clans have the potential to be a massive force multiplier. They once brought the galaxy to its knees and have turned the tide of more than one war."
"Yeah, I'll do right by the Mandalorians as Mandalore the Guardian," says Ben with a sigh, "It is the least that I can do after, ah, it doesn't matter. We were the discussing the future Mandalorian navy?"
"We agreed upon Liberators, Aureks and Fangs for the Starfighters along with Kom'rks and Pursuers for gunships," says Wol, " Hammerheads supported by DP20s for warships plus what other purpose-built warships the Mandalorians have. Though you might want to consider a page from what we're going with the legions and strip those Dreadnoughts to find crew for new warships."
"Given how both of those Dreadnoughts are default models and not the Katana-style that we are using, you have more of a point than you realise," replies Ben, "Alright, I'll spend more of Ziro's credits and purchase what I can for the Mandalorians in a timely manner. Whatever Hammerheads, CR90s and DP20s I can get from Rendili and Corellia. Thrantas too. They have been a solid warship that has served us well."
"Grab some more Marauders too if you can," suggests Wol, "The Corporate Sector owns their production rights and while they are sympathetic to the Separatist cause, they are also neutral and ultimately loyal to their bank accounts. If you offer them credits, they'll cut a deal. Not necessarily a fair or even good deal, but they will be open to selling to us."
"Haven't we pissed them off?" inquires Ben.
"We aren't exactly fond of them given some of their practices are borderline slavery, but no, they aren't one of your many enemies yet," answers Wol dryly, "Actually, I think I'll handle contacting the Corporate Sector. No offence, Ben, but…"
"I'm me," concludes Ben, "I get it. You handle the Corporate Sector and Corellia, I speak with Rendili and MandalMotors."
"Sounds good, but I think we should finish this meeting first," says Wol, "You wanted to discuss what to do with our newest batch of warships and we still have yet to come to a decision on that."
"Yes, we should stay on track," agrees Ben, "Kriff, I'm tempted to just say split them fifty-fifty. Keep half of them for the Republic Patriot Legions and give the other half to the Mandalorian Guardians."
"That is one way to do it and it has a certain simplistic appeal to it," Wol concurs, "And there isn't really a good reason to favour either the legions or the Mandalorians. Fifty-fifty, Ben?"
"Fifty-fifty, Wol," echoes Ben in agreement, "Thanks for the talk, Wol, I appreciate it, but I do have paperwork to get on with."
"So do I, especially since I need to talk with both CEC and the CSA," replies Wol as he gets up from his chair, "I'll speak with Arvass and see what CEC can offer us on short notice. I recommend that we decide on what we'll get from Rendili and Corellia before getting Marauders from the Corporate Sector."
"Sounds good, Wol," agrees Ben, "Who knows, we might get lucky and get this sorted before the Seppie attack on Mon Cala."
"I thought there was no luck and only the Force," jokes Wol, a grin on his face.
"Same difference," Ben jokes back.
And with that, Wol leaves as he ponders whether or not to let Arvass know the reason he wants to purchase a small navy of warships from her is so they can give the Mandalorians said small navy of warships.
The conversation was originally only going to be the first half of the chapter, but then it spiralled until it took up the whole thing. Anyway, the Pammant loot is being doled out and Ben is having to balance having two militaries now, especially since he is trying to turn the various Mandalorian militias into a proper military.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Jan 24, 2024
16.3 (Battle of Mon Calamari) - Chapter Ninety
"Admiral!" calls one of the watchstanders aboard the Freedom, "We have multiple warships jumping out of hyperspace, over fifty of them."
"About time the Seppies showed up," says Wol as the Corellian man makes his way over to the tactical display, "General Shan has been informed?"
"Yes, sir," someone reports, "I took the liberty of sending him an alert."
"Good work," Wol tells them as he studies the tactical scene.
As predicted, a large Separatist fleet has come to attack the Calamari system and the Seppies have committed a substantial amount of force to the invasion. One of their precious Lucrehulk-class Battleships and an almost as precious Providence-class are the largest enemy capital ships. Three Recusants are in formation around the Providence while a score of Munificent-class Star Frigates make up the usual suspects of the Confederate Navy.
Yet those warships make up less than half of this enemy fleet as the Freedom's scanners are picking about fifty small warships of three unknown designs. Wol frowns as while he doesn't know every ship design in the galaxy, he does recognise some of the design choices in some of these unknown warships. The second-most numerous design clearly has some SoroSuub influence in it.
"What do we have those unknown designs?" Wol barks the order.
"Their transponders are identifying them as Line-class Frigates, Nest-class Light Carriers and Shark-class Corvettes," reports a watchstander, "This is our first time encountering them. Sensor scans indicate that they are armed with a mixture of turbolasers and laser cannons with the Line-class Frigates and Nest-class Light Carriers."
"Understood," replies Wol, "I want an analysis run on all three designs. I want to know their strengths and weaknesses and if they have any tricks up their sleeves."
"They are a new Separatist warship design that was recently put into production," reports Commander Randanys as Admiral Jace Dallin pays close attention to the impromptu briefing, "We don't have any combat reports on them so far, but they have come up in some of our intelligence reports. In response to their heavy capital ship losses at Geonosis and Pammant, the Confederate Navy began an informal shift away from big capital ships that cost both a lot of credits and time to build to more affordable and quickly produced warships to fill the gaps in their fleets. From what intel we have been able to gather, these three designs were chosen for mass proliferation for production rate and shipyard size. A Munificent will provide you with more per credit spent, but the three new designs both take less time to finish construction and, unlike the Munificent, can be built at small shipyards."
"So relatively cheap designs that can be produced quickly and in mass numbers," summarises Wol.
"That is correct," says Commander Randanys as a holographic image appears in the middle of their meeting, "This is the Line-class Frigate by SoroSuub Corporation."
The warship in question is blocky, shaped like a curved brick and clearly built for utility purposes. A pair of twin engines stick out the back while the port and starboard sides both contain a hangar with a turbolaser on either side of it. A fifth turbolaser is built into the prow while there is a ventral battery of six laser cannons mirrored by a dorsal battery.
"The hull is weaker than one of our Hammerheads or DP20s, but the Line-class makes up for it in superior deflector shields with disproportionately strong generators for its size," continues Commander Randanys, "A heavy turbolaser in the prow with a pair of lighter turbolasers on either side provide it with anti-capital ship firepower while a dozen laser cannons act as point defence to deter starfighters. We also estimate that each hangar is capable of supporting a single squadron of starfighters, allowing each Line-class to field two dozen snub fighters. Next up is the Nest-class Light Carrier by the Techno Union."
The image changes to a new warship, this one shaped more like an egg than a brick. A trio of engines are built into the back of it while the smooth sides are covered by half a dozen laser cannon batteries, each one at a set interval from the others with a hangar bay between them.
"The Nest-class is designed purely for starfighter combat," says Commander Randanys, "About as tough as the Line-class in terms of hull strength despite its mildly larger size with subpar shielding and speed for a warship of its size, the Nest-class is capable of carrying up to sixty starfighters. Its point defence batteries leave it vulnerable when fighting other capital ships, but also make it capable of fighting off one or more starfighter squadrons. The last design is the Shark-class Corvette by Baktoid Fleet Ordinance."
The image changes once again, this time becoming a warship that looks rather reminiscent of a shark. Smooth and sleek, it has three fins jutting out near the prow while the twin engines are placed on top of each other with coverings that spread out to look like the tail of a predatory fish. Two turbolasers are underslung into the prow like a jaw while each fin has multiple laser cannons with a few more along the back of the warship.
"The Shark is weaker hull-wise than both the Line and the Nest through its toughness matches the Line-class pound for pound," reports Commander Randanys, "It has fairly standard shield strength and no hangars for starfighter squadrons. Its prow-mounted heavy turbolasers let it pack a punch while its high speed and manoeuvrability allow it to get into place to apply its bite. It also has a dozen laser cannons to either support its turbolasers or to deal with enemy starfighters."
As the others begin to debate what the implications of these new warships are, Jace just worries about the battle ahead. A capital ship will take apart one of these new warships with ease and even a Hammerhead or a Corellian Gunship will come out on top against one of these.
The biggest issue is the niche they will fulfil within the Confederate Navy. A few Nests will go a long way to dealing with the vulnerability to starfighters that most Separatists fleets have while the Sharks could overwhelm one of their frigates with numbers. The presence of these new Separatist warships will either provide a much needed boost to the vulture droids or it will keep their own escort ships from aiding their starfighters.
"The Nests will need to be priority targets," says Wol confidently as Jace refocuses on the ongoing discussion, "Even with their hangars empty, their laser cannons could be enough to nullify our starfighter advantage. The Lines and Sharks might be more threatening to our capital ships, but retaining our starfighter advantage will be key."
"That will be difficult with those Munificents present," notes Admiral Pellaeon, "They can bring enough firepower to bear that we will need to be wary with our own capital ships."
"And we can't take them out with our starfighters because of the enemy escorts," says Admiral Rowan with a slight groan, "And we can't take out the enemy escorts because of the Munificents."
"Yes, it is a bit of a catch twenty-two situation," says General Shan and Jace tries to place the phrase, "We need to find some way to bypass one of the problems."
"Surely we can just win with what we've got?" suggests Admiral Solman, "We have the might of five fleets here and we do have them outnumbered."
"I would rather keep our losses down," replies General Shan, "My legions don't come by replacements as easily as your official forces and I don't want to treat your legions as… expendable."
"Yes, I do appreciate that sentiment," agrees Admiral Pellaeon dryly, "I do think Solman has something of a point, mind you."
"Go on," urges Wol.
"Even with these new warships, our starfighters still have the edge in any dogfight, they'll just have to be more careful," says Admiral Pellaeon, "Whittling the enemy starfighter is still doable, it will just take more caution and time. And if the enemy rushes ahead, we can still beat them."
"The problem is if they don't let us engage them piecemeal," says Jace, throwing his thoughts into the conversation for the first time, "If they hold back their starfighters to screen their warships and come at us as whole fleet, we won't be able to engage their starfighters before it becomes an all out brawl."
"In that case, our starfighters will occupy their starfighters, our warships will target their escorts and while both of those are occupied, our bombers will take vital points on the enemy capital ships," says General Shan, "It isn't ideal, but we can pull this off."
"Do you have some secret trick up your sleeve?" asks Admiral Rowan, managing to sound both sceptical and hopeful at the same time.
"Actually, I do," answers General Shan and most of the room perks up at the news while Jace watches his fellow Republic Patriot Legion officers glance towards Nelaria, "Though it isn't exactly a secret, just not widely known."
"Sir, as one of those who aren't aware of it, I would like to know," says one of the clones, "Especially if it is going to be relevant for the upcoming battle."
"General Nelaria Telis is one of the Order's most talented individuals when it comes to battle meditation," says General Shan, "A talent she has spent the last couple of years honing with actual battlefield practice."
"Battle meditation?" repeats Admiral Pellaeon as he glances towards the Jedi Knight in question, "I'm not familiar with that technique."
"It is the ability to use the Force to bolster the connections between individuals, allowing for subconscious coordination for maximum efficiency," explains General Shan, "It boosts morale and keeps fright from entering the hearts of those affected by it. It can also demoralise enemy forces, sowing doubt and uncertainty into their minds, but that only applies to organic foes and won't be relevant."
"Wait, it messes with our mind?" exclaims Admiral Solman, throwing a distrusting look at Nelaria.
"It only messes with the minds of your enemies," says Wol, coming to the defence of his comrade as he glares at Admiral Solman, "As General Shan, General Telis has been using this technique since she joined the Republic Patriot Legion long before this war started. I'll admit I had some hesitation at first, but it doesn't change how you think."
"That's right," adds Loren dutifully, "It is like honing your instincts that every veteran gets. You just make the right choices and know what everyone else is doing. Rather than guessing what your comrades are doing or what the enemy is going to do or if you can make the shot, you just sort of instinctively know. It is one hell of a boost in a battle, let me tell you that."
"If you have a problem with it, you are welcome to request a transfer to another unit," says General Shan, firmly and his tone brooking no protests on the subject, "Aria's battle mediation is one of the biggest assets in my arsenal and I won't refrain from using it just because people feel squeamish about it. Is that clear?"
Everyone gives a bunch of affirmatives, including a reluctant Solman and the conversation moves on.
"Beyond the new Separatist warship designs, I believe we could be concerned about boarding attempts," says Wol, "Not against our warships, but those we are fighting to protect. We took them from the Seppies via our own boarding actions and I believe that the Separatists will attempt to do the same. The Force knows that they need the capital ships."
"What about assigning some of our ground forces to defend them and the shipyards?" suggests General Shan.
"That runs the risk of losing them if the enemy just goes for destruction rather than capture," points out Nelaria.
"We'll just have to determine if that is an acceptable risk and do so quickly," says General Shan, "We don't have that long before the enemy is in engagement range."
New Separatist ships as part of their adjustment to Ben taking out large quantities of their capital ships while he catches them with their trousers down. After all, the Confederacy isn't just going to stick to canon when things aren't playing out the same way. Going for big and expensive ships isn't working out for them so the Confederate Navy is making the switch to lots of smaller and cheaper warships.
Anyway, Ben and co need to come up with new tactics and battle plans because the enemy is adapting to them.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
16.4 (Battle of Mon Calamari) - Chapter Ninety-One
Siaran Vareta, Padawan and Commander, has found himself oddly enjoying the relative simplicity of battle, especially against the droid armies of the Confederacy. He doesn't have to worry about the corruption, politics and morality of the Republic and the war and just needs to worry about keeping his people alive and defeating the enemy.
Now as he flies his Delta-7B Aethersprite-class Light Interceptor into battle, he ponders how many of those flying alongside him are going to die today. The enemy has more starfighters, but that's nothing unusual. What is unusual is the presence of escort warships in the Separatist fleet.
Siaran has seen a few of them over the last couple of months, but only as part of local Separatist forces and never as part of a main fleet. And they have never been in such numbers either as there are over fifty of them, a far cry from the odd Dreadnought-class Heavy Cruiser or local design.
"This is Knight-Four," reports Siaran as he gets into formation, "All systems are one hundred percent."
Other pilots sound off and the comms quickly crowded with over two thousand starfighters on the Republic side of the battlefield. And yet they will be outnumbered as hundreds of droid starfighters launch from the Separatists warships, easily adding up into thousands of hostile starfighters.
It can be disconcerting for the Miralukan Jedi to look upon the droid ships, sense the warships and their motions yet little or no life aboard. The warships of the Republic are all teaming with life, especially the larger ones, but Siaran can feel almost nothing aboard the Separatist warships. Just a few lifeforms aboard the Lucrehulk in what Siaran thinks is the core ship and what feels like a dark presence aboard the Providence. Every other enemy warship is devoid of life and that sends a shiver down the spine of Siaran.
Unlike in Siaran's previous battles, the vultures and hyenas of the Separatist fleet aren't surging ahead. Instead they copy the Republic starfighters as they match the speed of their escort warships, with their capital ships not far behind.
The Republic forces open fire at extreme weapon range, volleys of turbolaser fire lashing out at the opposing fleet. The Separatists warships begin to return fire, but it is disorganised and inaccurate compared to what the defenders are dishing out. The attackers struggle to land their hits at such sheer distances with only the odd shot smashing against the deflector shields of the Republic warships.
Meanwhile the Republic warships are unusually precise despite the extreme distance. While at least half of their shots go wide into the spacious void, a good number find their targets amongst the escorts of the Separatist fleet. The foremost Shark-class Corvettes bear the brunt of the Republic firepower, but even the Line-class Frigates and Nest-class light Cruisers find themselves taking fire.
As the first two Sharks go down under the weight of the Republic turbolaser fire, the enemy starfighters leap into action and they are met in kind by their Republic counterparts. The moment that the droid starfighters begin to move, Siaran and his fellow Republic starfighters also make their move, just knowing it is the right moment to act.
Two swarms of starfighters clash as Liberator Starfighters and V-19 Torrent Starfighters trade blows with vulture droid starfighters. Aurek Starfighters target the hyena droid bombers and the Y-Wings pull back, waiting for the right moment to unleash their payloads against the Separatist warships.
Siaran flies in, blasting apart a vulture droid before moving onto second, catching it in a crossfire between himself and another starfighter. He soars through the starfighter furball, weaving past both vulture droids and Republic starfighters. He lines up behind a hyena bomber, blasting off one of its wings with his laser cannons.
A vulture droid attempts to get on his rear, but Siaran just fires up his sunlight engines and flies off before it can get a firing solution. He glances at the approaching enemy fleet as the Shark-class Corvettes throw themselves into the fray in support of the droid starfighters. The Jedi Padawan estimates that they won't last long. The defending capital ships are still bombarding them with turbolaser fire and more Sharks than not are bearing battle damage as a result of that.
Still as the Line Frigates, the Munificients and the other Separatist capital ships push forth, the Republic starfighters are going to be forced back to the protection of their own capital ships. Nonetheless, that is a problem for his master and Master Shan to take care of. Siaran's job is staying alive and picking off more enemy starfighters.
Siaran flies over a Corellian Gunship as it darts in to finish off a wounded Shark with its concussion missiles. Siaran adds a couple of proton torpedoes from his Aethersprite to the barrage as the missiles rip into the already damaged hull of the Separatist escort. Explosions rip apart the corvette as the DP20 Frigate swiftly pulls back to the defending fleet, its shields already beginning to fray under hostile turbolaser fire.
Siaran flies at a Liberator-class Starfighter, opening fire at the vulture droid pursuing it as the Republic starfighter rolls out of the way to give him a clear shot. The droid starfighter goes up in a fiery explosion that Siaran flies through as he begins his retreat back to the main fleet. The Munificients have finally arrived at the furball and begun to add the point defence guns to the fight.
As he and the other Republic starfighters pull back, Siaran notes that as predicted, the Lucrehulk has been left exposed at the rear of the Separatist fleet. He hopes that Master Shan's plan works out.
Vyssa Randandys, Padawan of the Jedi Order, Commander in the Republic Patriot Legions and Mandalorian warrior of the newly formed Clan Shan, stands tall and serene in the passenger bay of the Kom'rk-class Fighter/Transport. With her amongst them, two dozen Mandalorian Guardians eagerly wait in the passenger bay as their ship jumps out of hyperspace. Despite having no way to know what was going on in the Calamari system, Master Aria's battle meditation is proving to be worth its weight in aurodium as usual as they arrive at precisely the right moment.
Opening up its passenger bay, the Kom'rk swoops over the Lucrehulk-class Battleship, going low and close to the hull as it flies over the engines and towards the core ship. Before the battleship's turret emplacements can react to what is happening, Vyssa and the other Mandalorians jump from their seats, landing on the hull of the core ship with their magnetic boots.
After losing too many Lucrehulks to hostile small craft flying into their hangar bays, the Separatists have taken measures to prevent the trick from working again. It isn't cheap, but it is cheaper than replacing the Lucrehulk and even the megacorps are willing to shell the credits if it means not losing an even greater amount.
"Go for an airlock!" orders Vyssa as she runs towards the closest one in question.
Meaning on the hull like this should protect them from the turrets of the Lucrehulk. The warship can't fire on them without damaging itself thanks to their close proximity. Even if the Seppies were willing to harm their own warship to kill them, they would have to take out their own deflector shielding first as being so close to the hull means that it will cover the Mandalorians from external attacks.
Nonetheless, the Zeltron mando'jetii would rather not risk it. They have the chance to snag another Lucrehulk for her master and Vyssa would rather not kriff up the job by getting herself killed.
A handful of vulture droids come flying at them, the droid starfighters switching to their walking mode as they land in front of the Mandalorian Guardians. The Mandalorians scatter as the vulture droids open fire with Vyssa deflecting with her lightsabers while two of the the Mandalorian Guardians stand by her, using their shield gauntlets.
"Missiles!" orders one of the Mandalorian warriors as Vyssa makes bounding leaps towards the vulture droids.
Missiles whizz past Vyssa, striking multiple vulture droids and blowing them into scrap. As for the survivors, Vyssa pounces upon them. She severs the head of one droid starfighter from its body before slashing off half a leg-wing of another, dropping it low enough that she is able to slice it in two with a wide swing of her blade.
The final vulture droid doesn't fall to Vyssa as one of the other Mandalorians tosses a thermal detonator onto it. The explosive sticks to its main body before exploding a moment later, causing the droid starfighter to slump as while its body remains mostly intact, its head and processor have been damaged to nonfunctionality.
"I have an airlock open over here," someone calls and Vyssa glances over to where one of her team has opened up an airlock.
"Move quickly!" calls Vyssa, "The sooner we get in, the less time they'll have to prepare."
"Yes, ma'am!" reply several Mandalorians as the team either runs to the airlock or jetpacks over depending on their distance.
As she watches them drop down into the airlock, Vyssa feels a twinge of guilt. For all that she is called a mando'jetii, Vyssa doesn't really consider herself to be Mandalorian. She and her master are just pretending to be real Mandalorians in order to use the Mandalorian Clans for their own ends
It is for the good of the galaxy, the Republic and even the Mandalorians themselves, but it irks Vyssa to be so deceitful. To wear stolen beskar'gam and wrongly call herself a mando'jetii, well, she just hopes that no one finds out.
"Everyone has the map uploaded to their buckets?" asks one of the leaders amongst the Mandalorians in Vyssa's team, the same one that ordered the usage of jetpack missiles earlier.
"If they deploy the blast doors, I have a key to open them here," says Vyssa as the other Mandalorians give their affirmatives, holding her lightsaber.
"I like your thinking, vod'ika," says the Mandalorian as Vyssa senses approval from the others, "Anything else we should be expecting?"
"Mostly B1s, but a lot of them," answers Vyssa as she gives it a moment's thought, "Super battle droids will be more challenging, but not by much. They just need a few blaster bolts to go down instead of just one or two. The real problem will be the droidekas or any of the new specialist droids that the Seppies are using. Destroyer droids are mobile with energy shields while lightsaber droids fight like a Jedi and commando droids are exactly that, commandos."
"They aren't real verd," says one of the Mandalorians dismissively, "They're all just tincans."
"Hey, one of my vode fought the lightsaber droids in Sundari!" protests another warrior, "Those ones at least are tough."
"Cheap battle droids are nothing more than pieces of osik, but a good quality one can be more deadly than a light tank or starfighter," adds a different warrior, "I fought a couple of different droids that made me fight for my life."
"Enough chatter, dikuts," says the leader, "The Mand'alor wants us to capture this ship and that's what we're going to do. Vyssa, you've done this before?"
"Yes," answers Vyssa, "We need to disable the hyperdrive so they can't escape, secure the power core so they can't blow it up and take the bridge before waiting for reinforcements. The first two are priorities. If they can't flee with the ship or destroy it to deny it to us, we can just bunker down and wait for backup."
"The Mand'alor will be able to reinforce us once the space battle is over," agrees the Mandalorian leader.
"Exactly," confirms Vyssa, "We just need to make sure that we are alive and in the same system for that. Not that he would abandon us if we weren't in the same system, but it makes it much easier for him."
"Alright, you heard the Mand'alor's ad'ika," says the Mandalorian leader as he turns on his fellow Mandalorian Guardians, "Let's get moving."
Split perspectives this chapter between the two padawans. Aria's padawan Siaran is amongst the Republic starfighters while Vyssa leads a Mandalorian boarding party in hopes of snagging another Lucrehulk for Ben. For the latter, I was inspired by the 501st boarding Cad Bane's frigate in the Cargo of Doom and the Mandalorians taking out the interdictor in Zero Hour: Part 2.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Feb 1, 2024
16.5 (Battle of Mon Calamari) - Chapter Ninety-Two
"What do you mean there are Mandalorians aboard the Revenue?" demands the Dark Acolyte Wulbin Skot as he glares at the useless battle droid, resisting the urge to crush it there and then.
"The captain of the Revenue reports that the Mandalorian fighter dropped multiple Mandalorian on the hull and they somehow got inside," says the B1 and Wulbin takes a deep breath rather than lash out.
This battle has not been going according to plan. The defending fleet was larger than expected, but nothing he couldn't handle. He would just have to sacrifice more of his lighter forces than expected. Wulbin would still come out on top with the Republic fleet broken and the stolen Separatist warships either reclaimed or destroyed.
The only problem is that the Republicans are just too damn good. Half of his starfighters are gone, most of the Sharks have been wrecked and now his precious Lucrehulk has been boarded by Mandalorians of all things.
No, the Mandalorians being here makes sense. Ben Shan recently became the new Mandalorian king, right? Wulbin remembers that from his briefing though his master doesn't like to speak about it. The matter is something of a sore spot for Lord Dooku and Wulbin has no desire to upset his master by unnecessarily bringing up the matter with him.
The only problem is that Wulbin can't let them take the Revenue. Lord Dooku made it clear how valuable the battleship is when he assigned it to the attack on the Calamari system. He can't let it be destroyed, let alone captured. The infamous Ben Shan has already captured too many of their Lucrehulks.
"Is that all?" snaps Wulbin, hoping that it is.
"There might also be a Jedi aboard the Revenue?" offers the droid helpfully.
"What?" demands Wulbin as this is worse than the Mandalorians.
"Errrr… one of the Mandalorians was using a lightsaber?" says the B1 nervously.
Wulbin thinks about smashing the battle droid for a moment before keeping himself in check as he whirls on the tactical droid accompanying him.
"Alright, you bucket of bolts," snarls Wulbin, "Tell me why the kriff is this battle going so differently to your calculations?"
"The Republic fleet is performing far above predicted calculations," reports the blue and white T-series Tactical Droid, "While both Republic Patriot Legions are performing at high end of recorded past performances, all three clone legions are operating with a similar degree of ability, far beyond anything we've seen in the past. This has allowed for them to inflict disproportionate losses on us and each asset lost only further weakens our ability to fight."
"And how do the Mandalorians work into this?" demands Wulbin.
"Unknown, sir," answers the tactical droid, "They should not be here. This is far outside their expected behaviour, especially the reported presence of a Jedi. Have the reports of the Mandalorians been confirmed?"
"Well, have they?" demands Wulbin as he turns back to the useless B1 from before.
"Errr… let me check, sir," replies B1 before turning back to the communication unit, "Uh-huh. Right. Really? Uh, sir, there are definitely Mandalorians aboard the Revenue. All reports from the squads sent to deal with them identify them as Mandalorians. There is also a Jedi there for sure."
"Are you certain?" asks the tactical droid.
"Yes, sir," confirms the battle droid, "One of the Mandalorians is using both a lightsaber and the Force."
"We cannot afford to lose this," says Wulbin, "You, tactical droid, how are the Republicans fighting so well?"
"Intelligence reports the Jed Knight in command of the 2nd Republic Patriot Legion and the 333rd Legion is reported to have the ability known as battle meditation with a notable degree of skill," answers the tactical droid, "While data on said ability is… unscientific, according to the most commonly accepted information on it, usage of battle meditation would allow the discrepancy between my pre-battle calculations and the current results."
"So we know why the Republicans are doing so well and how to stop it," says Wulbin, "Where is he?"
"General Nelaria Telis' flagship is the Mon Calamari Star Destroyer Liberty," reports the tactical droid as one of the Republic capital ships is highlighted on the tactical display, "She is most probably aboard this enemy warship."
"Good," says Wulbin, a smile coming across his face for the first time since the battle began, "I want that enemy star destroyer gone. Even if we are forced to withdraw, we'll at least deprive them of this Jedi and battle-winning ability."
"Yes, sir," replies the tactical droid, "Prioritising the Republic warship Liberty as number one target."
"Good, good," says Wulbin as he plots on how to salvage this battle, "Now what to do with the Revenue?"
"Count Dooku will be most displeased if you lose it," warns the tactical droid.
"Like I don't already know that you bucket of bolts!" snaps Wulbin, "Kriff it, we're not getting to those shipyards anyway. Order all forces aboard the Revenue to deal with the boarders. Pull the Munificents back and send out the chaff to eliminate the Liberty."
"The chaff, sir?" inquires the tactical droid questioningly and Wulbin scowls at its ineptitude.
"Whatever starfighters and escort ships we have left!" shouts Wulbin, "They're supposed to be cheap and replaceable compared to the rest of our fleet!"
"Understood, sir," answers the tactical droid, "Issuing new orders now, sir."
Wulbin frowns at the tactical display. He isn't the greatest commander, but even he can see that he has taken enough losses that victory is no longer an option. Things were bad enough at the start when the defending forces were far more equal than expected, but now? He lost half of his escort ships and most of the droid starfighters are gone, including almost every last one of his bombers.
He'll preserve the less replaceable ships in his fleet and take out General Telis. His master will have to accept that as a partial victory, especially in light of there being five Republic legions here instead of the predicted two.
"Prepare all of our capitals for a jump to hyperspace," orders Wulbin, "Let the chaff cover our escape."
"Count Dooku will not approve of this failure," warns the tactical droid.
"This battle is already lost!" roars Wulbin, grabbing the stupid tincan and yanking it closer, "We lost it when the defenders were twice as numerous, when they fought better than any of your calculations, when the kriffing Mandos showed up out of nowhere. Now we are going to accept that we lost and save the most important parts of this fleet rather than throw them away in vain hope of somehow winning this, you bucket of bolts!"
"Understood, sir," replies the useless pile of scrap, "Orders to retreat have been issued."
Wulbin lets it go and begins to plot about how he can salvage something out of this disaster. He doubts his master will kill him over this failure, but Wulbin is under no illusion that returning with his head hung in shame will be… painful for him.
"How bad is the damage?" asks General Shan, having made the journey to physically visit the Liberty.
"Fairly bad, sir," answers Admiral Jace Dallin as he guides the Jedi Knight to the infirmary, "The Liberty has been hit hard and while it could have been a lot worse, we're still looking at least a month of dockyard time."
"At least we are close to the said docks," says the General.
"That is one blessing," agrees Jace, "We'll also need to get replacement crewmembers. Most of the crew made it through in one piece, but we're still looking at a couple hundred dead and more than twice that injuries. The majority of the wounded will make a swift recovery, but a few will need long-term care if they recover at all."
"They'll be provided for," promises General Shan in a firm voice full of conviction that leaves Jace with no doubts about his sincerity, "Is there anything else that your crew needs?"
"Just medical attention and time," replies Jace, "My crew are good people, hardy and determined. We just need the chance to get back into fighting shape, General."
"I have no doubts about that, Jace," says the General, "I'll give you that chance. It does mean that the 2nd Legion will be spending more time here in the Calamari system for the foreseeable future."
"We and the locals are certainly used to each other by now," says Jace.
"Speaking of which, King Yos has generously agreed to cover the costs of medical treatment for wounded and the repair costs for the damaged warships," says General Shan, "Don't let it be said that the Mon Calamari and Quarren are ungrateful to those that aid them."
"No, they certainly aren't," agrees Jace, "Please pass on my thanks to King Yos."
"Will do," says General Shan, "Anything else before I get to healing?"
"Just a somewhat unrelated question, sir," says Jace, "I was wondering if we had any official confirmation on the rumoured demise of General Grievous yet?"
"Ah that," says General Shan, "There is still no body for confirmation of his death, but the clanker in chief hasn't shown up yet so that is a positive sign. The fact that the Confederacy has appointed Merai as a replacement Supreme Commander is another indication that Grievous is either dead or won't be coming back soon. Even if Grievous is still alive, him not showing up to cause trouble for us is a good sign."
"Merai is Mon Calamari, isn't he?" inquires Jace as he remembers some of his conversations with the locals.
"Yes," replies General Shan, "He is also a respected veteran and decorated war hero of the Quarren War from a couple decades ago. As you might have found out already, his defection to Separatist cause is something of a controversy here on Mon Cala."
"I've heard about it," says Jace, "According to both the Mon Calamari and the Quarrens, he is an excellent admiral."
"Merai is certainly a better strategist and tactician than Grievous from what I've seen of their respective records," agrees General Shan, "Not nearly as good as a personal combatant, but Merai is reported to be a respectable starfighter ace."
"If he is better than Grievous, why didn't he already have the position?" wonders Jace.
"Politics and timing," answers General Shan, "Merai only defected to the Confederacy after the war began while Grievous was already Supreme Commander at the start of it. And politically speaking, Merai is an idealist and true believer while Grievous was morally bankrupt and willing to do whatever Dooku wanted."
"Ah, I see," says Jace, "Perhaps there is a way to exploit that to our advantage?"
"It does seem like there will be less Separatist war crimes in the future," says General Shan, "It certainly says something about how the war is going that Dooku is choosing competence over reliability."
"Things certainly seem to be going badly for the Separatists," notes Jace, "We cost them thousands of starfighters, dozens of escorts and another Lucrehulk today."
"The Lucrehulk is still being secured," says General Shan, "I've sent reinforcements to back up Vyssa and her team, but the Separatists packed a small army aboard the Lucrehulk."
"At least we have time to clear them all out with the hyperdrive disabled," says Jace optimistically.
"That's true," agrees General Shan, "I'm concerned about the enemy ships that got away. What's left of the Separatist fleet is still substantially enough to cause some trouble."
"A problem for another day, sir," says Jace.
"I suppose it is, Jace," replies General Shan, "I'll head on into the infirmary now."
"I'll coordinate the Liberty's status with Wol," says Jace and then after a moment of hesitation, he adds, "Thank you for being here to heal the crew, sir. They don't deserve this suffering."
"Those who suffer rarely do deserve it," says General Shan before marching into the infirmary.
This is a sort of a wrap up to this arc, which turned out to be briefer than I planned. I got the Separatist counter-attack in the Calamari sector, but beyond the battle and the introduction of the new Separatist escort ships, there isn't too much to it beyond showing some details about the wider war.
Anyway, the next arc is going to be some political interludes. I'm not sure if that counts as an arc, but it is what you are getting. But it is going to be a while because I haven't really written much since Christmas and what I have written has been sporadic and rarely on the same story.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Feb 2, 2024
17.1 (Senate Politics) - Chapter Ninety-Three
Today is a busy day for Candabrine Bu, Senator of Lansono and the leader of the Militarist coalition within the Galactic Senate. That's nothing new as even before the war, she was a busy woman, but the war has only made things worse. She rises to the challenge with each passing day as if Candabrine Bu wanted a peaceful life, she wouldn't have become a Senator or the leader of one of the big three factions in the Senate.
She has a meeting with Senator Kathrose Tashi of Rendili first on today's agenda to discuss the Rendili StarDrive's business with the various members of the Militarist faction. While still the weakest of the traditional big three starship manufacturers, Rendili StarDrive is no longer struggling to get by.
Modernised Hammerhead-class Cruisers are in fashion these days and even with her limited military education, Candabrine Bu can understand why. There is a reason why the warship was the workhorse of the Republic Navy for thousands of years and that is because the Hammerhead is very much a jack of all trades for its size.
It isn't fast, but neither is it slow and it carries a mixture of anti-starship and anti-starfighter weapons at a good degree of firepower for its size. It can take a pounding in a warship brawl in addition to being able to carry a squadron of starfighters, a pair of shuttles or gunships and two and a half companies of infantry. All for a fairly affordable price at ten million credits.
And then there is the politics involved in the situation. Kuat Drive Yards is the top warship provider in the galaxy since the Ruusan Reformations crushed Rendili StarDrive with its reliance on Republic Navy contracts. It has provided the Core with warships for their system defence fleets for centuries and with the outbreak of war, Chancellor Palpatine has chosen them to supply the newly reformed Republic Navy with warships, the only exception between contacting the Corellians for refitted Consular-class Cruisers. Such an act has firmly cemented Kuat's position in the Loyalist camp.
Rendili StarDrive was hung out to dry with many of its shipyards in the Outer Rim considering defection to the Separatist cause due to the potential contracts from the Confederacy. Candabrine Bu shivers at the thought of what would have happened if Rendili hadn't been brought into the Militarist coalition.
As things had turned out, Rendili StarDrive found itself as the primary warship producer for the Militarists, starting with General Ben Shan purchasing a dozen Dreadnought-class Heavy Cruisers, several dozen Hammerheads and hundreds of Aurek-class Starfighters as part of the expansion of the Republic Patriot Legion from one legion to four legions. A drop in the bucket, but it set the tone for what was to come.
Things had truly turned around when Kuat Drive Yard unofficially deprioritized the orders of the worlds whose Senators politically opposed Chancellor Palpatine in favour of Republic Navy production and the orders of the Chancellor's supporters. Perhaps it had been a punishment, possibly an incentive to support the man leading the Republic, but Candabrine doesn't know and doubts she will. What she does know is that when Kuat proved unreliable, Rendili was more than eager to step up in their place.
Hammerheads are the primary commodity these days, having reclaimed their place as Rendili StarDrive's flagship product from the Dreadnought-class. Aureks are also popular if you can afford to spend your credits on such an expensive starfighter. The old Valour-class has been modernised and is being put back into production as Rendili's alternative to Venator-class Star Destroyer. It already has interested buyers with General Shan having purchased the first eighteen and other Core World defence fleets have expressed their desire in acquiring it upon learning about that.
Even Candabrine's own home world was looking to acquire a Valour-class to act as a flagship for their fleet, seeing it as a more affordable expense than refitting their ageing Procurator-class Star Battlecruiser for modern warfare. Not that was Candabrine's business as what deals Lansono's government makes with Rendili StarDrive aren't something she has a personal hand in.
No, she just needs to handle high level politics in the Senate and keeping the Militarists together and on track.
"Care for a glass of wine, my dear?" asks Count Yeger Basmirk, a Senator from Carida and a long-time Militarist dating back to the days of Ranulph Tarkin and his ORSF, "You look like you could do with some of my Alderaanian wine."
"It would be remiss of me to turn down such a generous offer, Yeger," replies Candabrine, "Today has been particularly difficult."
"Yes, you had a meeting with Mee Deechi, didn't you," muses Yeger, "The alien is quite exhausting to deal with from what I've heard."
Candabrine refrains from visually expressing her displeasure with her fellow senator's words, but the attitude of her fellow Militarist is something that Candadrine is still trying to purge from the coalition. The traditional membership of the Militarist faction by human-dominant Core Worlds has left some humanocentric beliefs amongst Candabrine's coalition, something not helped by the lingering legacy of Ranulph Tarkin.
Candabrine has done her best to purge such attitudes for reasons both moral and pragmatic, but it has been unfortunately slow and she doubts she will ever be fully rid of it. At least Yeger is fairly moderate when it comes to his dislike of nonhumans with his pragmatism overruling his prejudices.
"Senator Deechi is just rather patriotic about the Republic," says Candabrine, "And more importantly, his primary concern at the moment is defeating the Separatists and he is open to the idea that the Militarist cause might be better for the war effort than the Loyalist cause."
"It is always useful to get another vote, especially one motivated by proper ideals rather than rank opportunism," says Yeger as he pours a glass of wine, "Umbrara is in the Expansion Region if I recall correctly."
"Yes, the Ghost Nebula sector," answers Candabrine as she accepts the wine glass that Yeger is offering her, "Right on the frontlines."
"That would explain his desire to see the war waged right," says Yeger, "Something for us to work with."
"Indeed it is," says Candabrine, "Forgive me, Yeger, but I don't believe that you invited me here to share wine and discuss Senator Deechi. Not that I don't appreciate the glass. This is a fine vintage."
"Yes. it is a bit out of character for me to request a meeting over such trivial things," agrees Yeger, "Forgive me, Candabrine, but I wish to discuss the Mandalore situation."
"That Force-forsaken mess," mutters Candabrine, not bothering to hide her frustration for her long-time ally as she lets out a sigh, "With all honesty, it is a classic Ben Shan situation. He goes and makes a mess that is a pain for us in the Senate to deal with, but ultimately something beneficial for both the Republic and the galaxy. This one just happens to be the biggest one yet."
"Ah, that does sum our darling general," muses Yeger with a chuckle, "For all the trouble that he causes, Ben Shan has ultimately been beneficial for our cause."
"Thanks to his actions, the Militarists are stronger than ever," says Candabrine, deciding to press the point home, "Corellia, Mon Cala, Mandalore, Rodia and others have only aligned themselves with us thanks to the actions of Ben Shan. Not to mention that his victories have only bolstered our cause thanks to our pre-war support of him and Shan's open antagonism with the Chancellor."
"Hmm, have you figured out what happened between them?" inquires Yeger, "They didn't have this dislike for each other prior to Geonosis."
"All I can find is the slave status of the clones," answers Candabrine, "If there is anything beyond that, neither of them are sharing."
And there is certainly something beyond the slavery issue. Candabrine has seen how Ben has reacted to slavers before and while he has had his outrage and disgust, it has never gone as deep as Ben's borderline hatred of Chancellor Palpatine. Whatever it is, Candabrine doubts she will ever understand how the Jedi Knight thinks. Whenever as she does, Ben Shan just goes and upends her grasp of his character.
"A shame, it would be nice to know what makes them tick," says Yeger, "Still, I will support Ben Shan over Sheev Palpatine any day of the week. One is a reliable and trustworthy ally who has proven themselves time and time again while the other is a fair-weather friend at best."
"We are Militarists not Loyalists," agrees Candabrine.
Even with his change in opinion with the outbreak of war, Chancellor Palpatine is no Militarist. He made that clear with his desire for using clones from some unknown Outer Rim world instead of real soldiers from respected Republic Core Worlds with long and proven martial traditions. Not to mention that his actions then and since have only reinforced Candabrine's belief that Palpatine merely wished to hijack the Militarists for his Loyalists.
"Indeed, we are," says Yeger, "But back to the Mandalore situation, how is the new Mandalore handling things?"
"Mand'alor," corrects Candabrine, "And Shan is doing quite well. He has been organising his Mandalorian Guardians into a proper military. He has put in a large order for blasters from Concordian Crescent Technologies and he has been reaching out to get warships for the Mandalorian navy."
"What kind of ships are we talking about here?" asks Yeger.
"All escort sized," answers Candabrine, "Corellian Corvettes, Thranta-class Corvettes, Marauder-class Corvettes and the like. Just as he is reorganising the naval forces into Republic Patriot Legions into more standardised fleets, he is reforming the Mandalorian naval assets to pure military, all purpose-built warships and no more converted freighters and shuttles."
"I heard he has been making large orders from RSD and CEC," notes Yeger, "A few dozen warships, thousands of starfighters. Dare I ask how he is paying for it all?"
"When I asked him that myself, I was informed that the Hutts were paying for it all," says Candabrine with a sly grin on her face.
"He took money from the-ah, I get it," exclaims the Senator from Caridia, his shock changing into an amused smirk, "Yes, taking the credits by force seems far more in line for Ben Shan than cutting a deal with slavers. I trust it won't backfire on us?"
"If it was, we would have heard about it by now," Candabrine assures him, "It happened over a month ago."
"A month isn't that long," points out Yeger, "But I concede the point that we would have heard something by now. Speaking of shipyards, have you heard about the new deal between Rendili and Mon Cala?"
"No, I have not," answers Candabrine as she takes a moment to rack her memories, "I can't recall any recent meetings between Kathrose and either Meena or Tundra."
"You wouldn't because the agreement was not made here in the Senate," replies Yeger, "The terms were agreed upon directly between King Yos and the Arch-Provost."
"I take it that you know the terms of this agreement?" inquires Candabrine because she doubts Yeger would be bringing this up like this if he didn't.
"Collaboration between Rendili StarDrive and Mon Calamari Shipyards to create a Star Cruiser answer to the Star Destroyers of Kuat Drive Yards," answers Yeger, "Rendili was already looking at making their own Star Destroyer equivalent, but those Star Cruisers used by Ben Shan have been impressive enough that the Arch-Provost wishes to bring aboard the expertise of the Mon Calamari."
"Hmm, that could be useful," says Candabrine, "Compared to Kuat, Rendili is rather short on larger warships."
"That's what happens when you obey the law and don't violate the Ruusan Reformation with a secret warship program," says Yeger, "But we're getting off-topic. Back to the Mandalore situation, what are we going to do now that Ben Shan is the head of state for an entire sector? It has been two weeks and nobody knows what to do about it."
"That is the question of the month," says Candabrine with a sigh before downing what's left of her glass.
Politics ho! As a heads up, I haven't really done much story writing this year and this is about it. This chapter is showing what some of Ben's old allies are up to. Other chapters planned will show what his reliable allies, unreliable allies, his rivals and his enemies are up to.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Last edited: Mar 20, 2024