Chapter 23: Vanguards
August 1, 2227.
The scanning of Tuìnia was complete. Thanks to Davsha, the joint fleet was aware that most of the Prothean population had been herded inside the largest city: Melshum. There were other minor villages that served as concentration camps for the enslaved aliens who were forced to work in the mines and in the crop fields that fed Balak's army. And it was clear that most of it was made of Batarian nationalists, many of which had a long experience as slavers.
It was a good thing that Councilor Vaz had insisted that an entire battalion of the Batarian Protectorate participated in the liberation of the planet, in order to remove the stain on their image that Balak was burning in the minds of the Prothean.
However, the scanning also revealed that the slavers had placed a large AA defense grid around the capital, meaning that a direct assault would have been too costly. Before attempting anything, the Normandy needed to make contact with the Resistance.
To that end, Jane found herself aboard a Kodiak with Wilhelm, their kids, Javik, Davsha, Garrus and Chief, heading toward a more isolated landing zone outside the capital.
"Davsha, are you sure we can get inside the city without being detected?" Jane asked.
"The slums where my people is forced to stay are a maze, and hardly patrolled by the slavers." she replied confidently. "You will be safe until we manage to meet the Resistance."
"Assuming there is still a Resistance." Wilhelm warned. "You've been away for more than a year. Many things might have happened."
"We Prothean are more resilient than we seem." Javik reassured. "The very existence of this place confirms it."
"Point taken." Garrus conceded. "Though I hope this Resistance is something more than a ragtag group."
"If it's not, we will raise hell on those motherfuckers anyway." Sara said vehemently.
"Language, miss." Wilhelm quipped.
"Approaching the landing zone." the pilot announced.
The Kodiak touched ground, the team disembarked and spread out. After making sure nobody saw them, Jane signaled the shuttle to head back for the Normandy, leaving the squad alone on the planet. They had been dropped on a short hill that still gave them a decent view over Melshum.
Immediately, it was clear how the slavers had redesigned the settlement: what was probably the historical center, which was quite pleasant to the eye, given the unique design of a rural prothean architecture, had now been seized by the occupiers. Some of the nice houses had been burned down and nobody even bothered to remove the ruins. The slavers had likely taken the bigger ones for themselves, while a large slum had spurred on the eastern side of the city, delimited by electric fences and towers with armed guards.
"No matter how many times we destroy places like this, they never cease to be disgusting." Scott commented.
"Turn that rage against the ones responsible." Javik invited.
"Stay focused. Getting inside could be tricky. Davsha, I suppose even that camp must get rid of the waste, so where are the sewers?"
Wilhelm sighed. "Here we go again."
"Hey, if it works, why stop?" Garrus quipped, though he certainly wasn't looking forward to that.
The young prothean directed them to the large puddle outside the city where the waste were discharged, and where the larger sewer tube could be found and easily used as a way to approach the city without being spotted.
Davsha had spent some time forced to clean those sewers, so she knew her way around it. She also knew that, right beneath the edge of the slum, the sewage system had been sealed with doors that let the waste flow away, but would immediately alert the slavers if anyone tried to ran through it.
For Jane, hacking the system was a piece of cake. Not only they got a way in, they had also created a possible escape route for the civilians when the fight would begin.
They finally reached a point deep enough into the slums where Davsha was sure they would end up inside a dried canal where the non-prothean could hide while she and Javik, deprived of his weapons and armor, could go take a look around.
The squad had to wait nearly a couple hours. Besides noticing how crowded that concentration camp and how decrepit the shacks were, Jane and the others also confirmed that the slavers seemed to leave that area without much supervision. Not even a drone passed above their heads in that time frame. Clearly, they were confident that the Prothean were broken enough not to attempt any rebellion.
"Weird." Garrus commented about this latest aspect. "You'd think Balak would have warned these guys that we know about the Prothean."
"We haven't been able to track him because he's also keeping radio silence. He may simply not have had the chance to do so." Scott noted.
"True, son." Wilhelm replied calmly. "But Garrus has a point. Balak always got away from John because he always managed to have hostages to use as a bargaining tool."
"That's why we're here: to make sure he doesn't, this time." Jane replied with a cold certainty.
Just a few minutes later, the two Prothean finally came back, with another one of their kind.
"Captain Shepard, this is Yeshek, my cousin." Davsha presented.
The new alien looked at the newly arrived. He didn't see any Batarian, so that might have been the reason why he had decided to give them a chance.
"Greetings." he said in English. Clearly, the other two had already passed him the knowledge of Shepard's mother tongue. "Davsha says you're looking for the Resistance."
"Yes. There is a fleet waiting outside this planet ready to chase away the slavers, but we would like to coordinate with whoever of you is still fighting, before doing anything."
Yeshek then grabbed Jane's forearm and quickly read her mind. Sensing that she was telling the truth, he seemed to relax a little more.
"Follow me. And step only where I tell you." he said.
Yeshek thus led them through the tunnels even more. All the way until they reached what looked like an underground cave, though it had been undergoing some excavation. Then the young Prothean stopped them with a gesture of the hand.
"Raise your arms." he told them as he already put his hands behind his neck in a sign of surrender.
It didn't take long for Jane and the others to notice some new lifeforms on their scanners. The members of the Resistance were likely pointing their weapons from some blind spot. Shepard nodded to her companions, who all rose their hands in a gesture of surrender. Only when they were perfectly still did a handful of Prothean, armed with weapons stolen from the slavers, show up.
At first, they were clearly suspicious, but then their attention shifted on Javik. Seeing one of their kin with such a dashing armor that made him look like some kind of mythical hero compared to their scrapped-together armors, definitely piqued their curiosity.
The one who seemed the leader stepped forward in front of Javik. He asked something in a language that the translator didn't recognize. It might have been a local dialect of the completely alien language that this solitary colony had developed in several millennia, but Javik replied calmly. Most likely, he and Davsha had already exchanged the knowledge of the respective languages.
The leader finally extended a hand and Javik made contact. Jane felt appalled, curious and bamboozled in actually seeing how quick the Protheans were capable of passing up knowledge. It was no surprise that they had grown to dominate the galaxy in their cycle. The leader then looked toward his men and signaled them to lower their weapons. Despite a moment of mistrust, the rebels obeyed.
Then the new Prothean then stepped in front of Jane and presented himself in a calm tone. "Welcome to Tuìnia. I am Zannek Vas, leader of this group."
"Captain Jane Shepard, Systems Alliance. I suppose Javik already brought you up to speed?"
"He did. I'm not sure if I want to trust you, but if you are here to fight the Kezzet who are destroying our world and our people, then I will give you the benefit of the doubt."
"You won't regret it." Jane replied firmly.
"We'll see." Vas hummed before inviting them to get inside their shelter.
August 2, 2227.
Finding the rebel listening post was easy. The problem was that Octis had decided the place was so poorly guarded, that there was a chance of getting in and find the rebel battle plans...and he intended to be part of the commando.
"I can't believe I just didn't lock you up." Yagler grunted as they crawled up the hill upon which the rebel facility was built.
"You would've missed me." Octis quipped as he kept moving at the head of the small team made up by Yagler and three Scout troopers from the Revenant.
With enough prudence, the team managed to get close enough to have a good look on the facility without being easily spotted by the four sentinels patrolling the perimeter.
"Perton, what can you tell us?" Vinicio asked to the Sergeant of the scouts.
The scout whipped out an electro-binocular and used it to get a closer look. After humming a bit, he started speaking. "A blast door. Five signals inside. It shouldn't be difficult to find the mainframe, but I think that door is our only way in."
Octis hummed in thought. It seemed like there was no way around or to slip in unnoticed. And they couldn't stay in that system too long: if by chance a rebel fleet passed there, the MTC would stand no chance against it. They could even be left stranded.
"We need to make this quick. In and out. Corporal Stryx, stay here and keep an eye on the situation. If things go south, just gun them down." Octis said to the sniper.
"With pleasure." the man whispered before repositioning.
The rest of the team managed to sneak even closer to the facility. The guards looked pretty bored and even when a pebble was accidentally made to roll and made a sound, they assumed it was just some animal roaming around the place.
"Set your weapons to stun. They make less of a noise." Octis instructed before they started the attack.
The squad did just that, then waited until the first patrol came closer to their cover.
Octis rose with a jolt and fired. The stun bolt flew quickly toward one of the rebel troopers and paralyzed him without him even noticing. A blink of eye later, Yagler did the same with the second soldier, who had barely the time to hear the gurgles of the blasters.
The Captain and the Sergeant then proceeded to hide the bodies behind the last rock before the station, then waited until the second patrol came close and stunned them, too.
"How many people did you say were inside?" Octis asked to Perton.
"I counted five, but there could be more in the central room that the binocular couldn't detect."
"All right, then. We need to be quick. Get the door."
The group of four reached the sides of the door and Yagler immediately got to slicing the panel. The safe was not that hard to crack, since the rebels assumed that nobody would ever find that place and didn't invest too much in security.
"I'm in." she reported.
"On my mark." said Octis. "Three...two...one...mark!"
The door slid open and the scouts jumped inside. They found nobody at the entrance, instead hearing voices from the room on the right, perhaps a recreational one.
Octis tapped Perton's shoulder. "Capture them and get them outside. Me and the Agent will find the mainframe."
The Sergeant nodded, let the two officers pass, then got the door. As they went by, Vinicio and Cordelia heard a little commotion, but the rebels had clearly been captured. They reached the mainframe, which was just a few meters down the hallway, inside the communication room that managed the satellite dish outside.
The two barged in, finding only an operator with the headset on, entirely focused on his work at the console.
Octis just approached him and decided to get a moment of entertainment. "Eavesdropping much?"
The operator literally jumped on the chair and gasped for the scare. He then realized that he had two imperials pointing their guns at him he paled and started sweating as his legs buckled and he fell on the ground. Octis noticed that he was very young. Probably a teenager who had been enlisted as a technician.
"Agent Yagler, the stage is yours." Octis said while he grabbed the operator and led him outside of the facility, where the scouts had already gathered the captured rebel soldiers. Even the sniper had regrouped with them.
Octis stood in front of the rebels and started talking in a conciliatory attitude. "Now, then. According to imperial law, you all are to be considered traitors and executed on the spot, but I find it distasteful to kill unarmed people. So, how about we strike a deal? Tell me what's the plan of your fleet, and I'll leave your shelter and provisions intact. They should be enough for you to last until your superiors send someone to see what happened to you."
Some of the rebels looked at each other, others just looked defiant. Most likely, they were all convinced that they would be killed anyway.
"You have our data. Why do you need our word for it?" one of the guards asked sarcastically.
"Because you're not Admirals. You are a listening post. Your job is listen to imperial transmissions and report them to your superiors. But I guess even you would have heard something about the plans of your forces."
The rebels didn't reply, though Vinicio caught enough in their gazes to understand that the answer would actually be positive.
That forced him to resort to more distasteful methods. He nodded to one of the scouts and he immediately went to grab the operator, who seemed the most afraid out of anyone.
Immediately, the soldiers objected.
"Hey, hey!"
"Let him go!"
"He's just a kid!"
The young technician was gasping for air as he was put on his knees and a pistol pointed at the back of his neck.
"As I said, I don't like doing this, but I have my orders. Answer my question, and you all go free."
Some seconds passed, with only the young man sobbing and praying for his life.
Finally, one of the troopers grunted and yelled "They're preparing a counterattack!"
Octis raised a hand toward the scout, ordering him to put away the gun. Meanwhile, the Captain knelt in front of the soldier.
"Keep going." he invited.
Realizing that it was already too late, the soldier confessed everything he knew. "I don't know the details, but there is a rumor that the Grand Marshall is preparing a series of attacks to alleviate the pressure on Ringo Vinda. That's all I can tell you, I swear."
"I believe you." Octis said calmly and partially satisfied. After all, those words confirmed something that he was already suspecting.
He turned around and saw Yagler finally walking toward them.
"All set?" he asked her.
"On your mark, Captain." she replied.
"Then light it up."
The ISB agent took our a remote detonator and pressed the button. A moment later, the satellite dish was hit by a large explosive package at the base and crumbled on itself. The rebels were staggered for a moment, then realized that their bunker was still, in fact, still standing.
"Perton, call the shuttle." he said. After the Sergeant acknowledged the order, Octis turned again toward the rebels. "Thank you for your cooperation. As promised, you will retain your lives, your shelter and your provisions until your people comes back to find you."
The rebels were certainly surprised by that show of honor from an imperial officer, but they certainly didn't dare to make questions or to make anything to jeopardize the situation. They stood up only when the shuttle came and picked up Octis' team.
"We should've just killed them." the sniper scout commented a little resented as the ship brought them back to the MTC.
"We need to show the galaxy that we're not barbarians, Gunny." Octis replied. "They need to know that we can do prisoners without killing them and maintain our part of a bargain."
Gunny grunted but didn't object.
"Anything interesting in that data?" asked Octis to Yagler.
The woman didn't raise her eyes from the datapad as she kept scrolling it. "They were listening to most of the communications of the Mid Rim forces. We will have to switch our codes."
Octis hummed in thought. "Maybe not."
She looked at him baffled. "What?"
"We should consult with the Lord-Protector, first. You remember the battle of Atollon? Him and Grand Admiral Thrawn used the rebels' knowledge of our codes against them."
"You think he might want to do the same thing?" she asked.
"Maybe. That's why I want to talk with him."
The Amerigo was on her way. Now it was imperative to destroy any heavy defense of the slavers and secure the prisoners from any reprisal. With Javik's mediation, the Resistance ensured their full cooperation with the joint forces as the Normandy kept sending the Marines through stealth insertions with the Kodiaks.
Not just the Alliance Marines, though: two Commune agents were also among the last batch of troops.
"Glad to work again with you two, guys." Jane greeted.
"We figured you could use more hands." Xhanya quipped.
"Also, it's always funny to crack some slaver's skull." Tr'eluk added.
"Same page. Come on, let me explain you the plan."
He brought them in the main room of the Resistance's underground complex, where the Marines had brought a holo-table with a detailed model of the city, which was provided by the Normandy and her recon drones.
After introducing the Kinayet and the Urshin to Zannek Vas, Jane proceeded with the briefing.
"The Resistance has suffered greatly, but they have provided us with accurate intel on the enemy forces. We know that the head of the slavers is nothing less than a Yagh, which I suppose was taken and trained by Balak."
"Goddess, why can't anyone keep them on their planet?" Liara said quite upset.
"Don't worry, Liara, we'll keep you away from him." Tali quipped.
"That's right." Jane reassured. "Chief will take care of him. Johnson, take four men and cover his back."
"We'll get you that trophy, ma'am." the Sergeant replied confidently.
"Great, however, you will wait here until we start the main attack: first and foremost, we need to free the prisoners currently working in the mine and the factory. I will take a team and head to the former. Wilhelm, Gozo, you will take the former. Vas, I know there is few of you, but we could use at least one of your men to reassure your people."
"Don't worry, Captain. We're not that few." the Prothean reassured.
"Good. While we do this, you, Javik, Tr'eluk and Xhanya will storm the armory of the slavers and distribute the weapons to your agents in the slums. This series of attacks should be enough to keep them off-balance, but you try to secure a landing zone for our forces. Once you meet them, lead them to the nearby villages to free the others."
"And the AA guns?" Garrus asked.
"Scott and Sara can take care of them. Right, guys?" Jane asked rhetorically.
"Damn right, we can." Scott said with a smirk shared by his sister, with whom he proceeded to do a fist bump.
The group went on to make up the teams: Jane was going with Garrus, Liara and Yeshek, while Tali was eventually assigned to disabling or sabotaging the AA guns with the twins.
As the assembly dispersed, Jane saw Javik and Vas speaking in a more secluded place. It was hard to tell what they could actually been saying, since their body language was quite stiff, but Jane wasn't certainly a child who needed everything explained to her. She waited until the two were done, then Javik himself noticed her gaze and spontaneously came to speak.
"I guess it's useless to ask you if you want to stay with these people." she started.
"They are my people. Even if all they share with me is the biology, that's enough. I spent the last 40 years mourning over the loss of my civilization, and now…"
It seemed incredible that even Javik could be so filled with emotion that he couldn't put it into words.
"I understand completely. Besides, I guess they're going to need somebody who knows the galaxy they are part of, now."
Javik nodded a positive. "Yes. That's what Vas said to me, as well."
"You deserve it, my friend. And I know they will be in good hands, with you."
"I wouldn't be here without you or your father, Jane Shepard. Thank you."
Jane nodded. "How about we set them free, first?"
Javik huffed amused. "You read my mind."
The squads made the last adjustments to the plan, synced their transmitters and finally went. Outside, it was dark. Most of the salves were already in their shacks, taking their short time before being put back to work.
That also meant that most of the slavers were also sleeping. If the squad moved quickly enough, they could cripple their foes and save the hostages before they realized what was going on.
As planned, Jane and her companions slipped past the work camps and reached the entrance of the eezo mine where the slaves were forced to work in. Already at the beginning, the state of the gangplanks and the near absence of any heavy machinery was a prelude to what they were going to find inside.
"Centuries pass, and the 'civilized' species still can't get rid of something so barbaric." Liara commented.
"It's an easy way to gain wealth. A lot of people are always going to take the short route." Garrus replied grimly.
"Not if we have something to do with it." Jane said instead. "Let's move."
The group of four proceeded. They quickly spotted a guard sitting on a stool and dozing in and out. Jane just sneaked behind the Batarian and slit his throat. Not only that: they quickly noticed that they got access to a security station from which they could glimpse at where the slaves and the guards were.
"Look. All the guards are on the upper railway." Yeshek explained. "That means my people are in this tunnel. If you can get them off me, I can go grab the prisoners."
"You got it." Jane reassured.
They followed a series of rails. Since the technology on that planet was still quite primitive, the slavers had decided to employ a good old-fashioned railway system to load and transport all the eezo and other minerals that their forced workers found inside the mine. The good thing was that the various wagons provided a good cover.
In doing so, they reached a bridge overlooking the lower tunnels, and there were three guards.
Yeshek pointed at a secondary hallway that, Jane imagined, could be used to go around them and reach the other slavers. Jane thus ordered the Prothean to go forward, while gesturing Liara and Garrus to prepare.
Once Yeshek had taken position to sprint into the hallway, the crew of the Normandy jumped out of cover and opened fire on the Batarians, gunning immediately one of them down.
The others returned fire and Jane's squad took cover behind a mining wagon. Garrus made a rush to the side of the tunnel and managed to hit a second one, who fell lifeless on the ground.
Finally, Liara used a singularity to make the third guard fly in the air, allowing Jane to easily place a bullet in his head.
Yeshek was finally clear to go as the yells of other guards started to fill the tunnel and head toward the strike team.
August 3, 2227.
Still no sign of the Executor, although intercepted imperial comms clearly stated that the entire Death Squadron was looking specifically for the Millennium Falcon. Problem was, Jordan couldn't find the Falcon in any way. And Luke was understandably concerned, since his sister and many of his close friends were on that ship.
So far, the Constantinople and Luke with his X-Wing had launched hit-and-run attacks against the supply lines of the imperial fleet that was consolidating in the Anoat sector after the battle of Hoth.
"Captain, we haven't received any transmission from them and we can't find their signal." Raniza said as the officers of the ship were gathered in the strategic room. "It's time we head back to the fleet."
"General Organa is still an important figure of the New Republic." Trebis remembered.
"True, but they would be crippled by her loss." Undir pragmatically stated. "And Admiral Edrix needs our help to retake Sullust."
"The fleet is still far from Sullust, or even Eriadu." Matsui noted. "I think we still have a few days if you want to look around, Captain."
All gazes posed on Jordan. They could debate as much as they wanted, but he was the Spectre and the commander of the ship. The final verdict was his.
The Legionnaire made a sigh of resignation. He also wanted to find Han, Leia and the others, but the sad truth was that, without the slightest clue, the few days mentioned by Matsui would be wasted.
"We shall…"
He had barely pronounced the final syllable, that the door to the conference room opened and Luke barged in while the two guards outside were holding him.
"Let him go!" Jordan firmly ordered.
The guards quickly obeyed, Luke also seemed to calm down.
"I'm sorry, sir." one of the guards apologized. "He just came running and didn't want to explain. Took us by surprise."
"It's fine, Corporal, thank you." he reassured.
The guards stepped outside again and let Luke stay.
"What's the rush, Luke?" Jordan asked in a conciliatory tone.
The Jedi walked down the stairs and took place next to Jordan at the holo-table. "I saw Han and Leia. They're in danger." he said clearly, though with a clear impatience in his voice and expression.
The officers looked at each other. Jordan didn't budge. Instead he asked him to elaborate.
"I saw a large platform. On a gas giant. I don't know the place, but I know they're in danger."
"Wait, an orbital construction on a gas giant." Undir repeated, then tapped something on the keyboard in front of him. Then the image of an orange gas giant appeared on the table. "Bespin. Yes, that sounded familiar. This planet is close to Hoth and it hosts a large tibanna extraction enterprise."
"Wasn't the Falcon's hyperdrive knocked out?" Trebis asked.
"Yes, but Bespin is close enough to reach it with FTL in a few days." Matsui noted. "If they managed to slip past the imperial fleet, it's not impossible that they arrived there."
"But if they're in trouble, it's also likely that the Empire found them." Raniza said.
"Yes, but we can get there in a few hours." Jordan sentenced. He opened the Intercom. "Rut, set a course for the Bespin system."
"At once, Captain."
He then turned again to the assembly. "What do we know about this enterprise?"
Rut quickly scoured through the dossier available to the UACT. "It's quite a large construction called Cloud City. A fitting name. Seems like it has been acquired and expanded in the last two years by a certain Lando Calrissian."
Jordan had a pinch of horrid surprise. "Wait. Lando Calrissian? The one who dabbled in illegal mining on Lothal, some time ago?"
Rut opened the file on that person and quickly found the answer. "Yes, Captain."
"Wait, why does that name sound familiar?" Raniza asked, trying to remember.
"Ezra used it as an alias sometimes." Jordan grunted. "But most importantly, that slimy asshole almost sold my daughter into slavery."
Everyone aboard had heard that story, but never gave it much importance, so they all wowed an understanding 'oh'.
True, Lando had almost done that as a ruse, and helped the Ghost crew on another occasion, but the simple idea that he made his daughter take that risk made Jordan seethe with very impious emotions every time he remembered that.
For his sake, Lando had better not have anything to do with Luke's vision on endangering the crew of the Falcon.