Chapter 25: Nice to Meet You
August 9, 22227.
A message from the Constantinople reported that Luke had been wounded and Han had been captured, frozen in carbonite and given to a mandalorian bounty hunter whose identity the Jedi Order was still trying to recollect.
Bad news, yet Ezra had a feeling that Luke had emerged stronger from his fight against Vader. His signature in the Force had suffered, but it had become bigger and more stable. Whatever had happened, Luke had clearly gone through a catharsis.
But for how much he wanted to know about his Padawan's progress, the Jedi Master now had to focus on his own survival, as the Silver Bullet sped through hyperspace, heading for Ringo Vinda with Rogue Squadron around them.
"Wedge, do we have any news from the fleet?" he asked in the comlink.
"The Marshall's fleet has engaged the imperials on three different systems. It does seem like several warships have been sent away from Ringo Vinda."
"Good. That increases our chances." Din commented.
"It's still us against an entire naval squadron. And we're up against the Lord-Protector." Tristan said moderately, then after a brief silence, he added "The man who crushed the mandalorian fleet with half our forces."
The other mandalorian warriors of House Wren clenched their fists and Ezra could clearly feel the looming sense of vengeance in their mind.
"I understand your feelings, guys." he said. "But be careful: revenge is a terrible advisor."
"Don't worry, we are not crazy. But if I happen to stumble upon him on that ring, rest assured that I have a shot ready for him." the Duke sternly replied.
Ezra exchanged a quick, worried glimpse with his sister, then returned to focus in front of him, as the navicomputer signaled that they were about to leave hyperspace. The attack squadron was following them at a short distance. In theory, Jinx was scrambling their signal, and the imperials should at least not be able to tell the exact strength of the Republic fleet incoming, but making assumptions was a dangerous game, against Iulius' personal fleet.
"All right, boys." said Jaral. "One of you man the rear cannons."
"I'll do it." said Din promptly and he disappeared in the back of the ship.
"We'll go gear up." Tristan added, leading the other mandos outside and leaving the deck to the siblings.
They finally left hyperspace, finding Ringo Vinda with its famous ring, and the imperial fleet waiting for them.
Just as Rogue and the Bullet moved forward, around three squadrons of TIEs moved to intercept, only to turn back once the rest of the Republic fleet arrived. The squadron was made up of several blockade runners for anti-fighter duties, two heavy frigates, three light frigates and finally a Dauntless-class heavy cruiser that was certainly the main punch of this first wave.
The imperial fleet didn't react much: it simply reshuffled into another formation that put the weaker ships in front. Clearly, Iulius didn't want to risk his major ships against a recon party.
"You want the controls?" Ezra asked to his sister in a lighthearted tone.
"Eh, I'm too rusty with the flight controls. You do the honors." she replied in kind.
Ezra thus strengthened his grip on the controls and focused, meanwhile, his sister closed her eyes and entered into a deep connection with the Force in order to apply her Battle Meditation, since they were going to need it if they wanted to break through the imperial line.
"Wedge, we're ready to sprint. Just give us the smallest opening."
"You'll have it, Ezra. This is RogueLeader to all fighters: engage!"
A large formation of X-Wings, A-Wings and E-Wings surged forward, heading against the imperial fighters, forcing them to come back and fight in order to protect their own ships. The Bullet waited just behind the republican force, with Jaral reaching deep into the Force to coordinate their allies. Her Meditation was clearly still working to a great effect, as the republican fighters managed to inflict heavy casualties to the imperials and to secure a corridor for the Gauntlet.
"Here we go." Ezra pronounced before punching the main engine and speeding through the battle.
While Jaral kept her focus, coordinating the allied forces, Ezra had to dodge a few bolts coming their way or ships that a couple times got in front of them and needed to avoid a collision.
Among the chaos, three TIE Interceptors and a TIE Avenger managed to spot the freighter and chased it as it headed toward the ring. The first line of imperial ships were being engaged by the republican task force, but the Star Destroyers seemed to be waiting for them.
The TIEs opened fire, and Ezra dodged, but while the Bullet was quite agile, it was still a large target and the imperial pilots were not rookies. A few bolts hit the shields, so Jaral shifted part of her focus from bolstering the allies to confuse the minds of the pilots behind them.
For sure, their flying and their shooting became almost erratic, as if they thought the ship was in a completely different place from where it actually was. Ezra then performed a sudden brake and ended up behind the formation. He fired a few shots, making sure he didn't hit them, only prompted them to break up and evade, thinking they were in danger. Instead, he sprinted forward and managed to lose them.
"Jinx, scramble our signal." he ordered as he headed toward the blockade of Star Destroyers.
Using the imperial formation against them, Ezra put himself on a line of fire that would make the shots of the ISD hit their own ships, if they missed, so the major ships resorted to firing with their smaller cannons, and only short bursts that he dodged without much effort. And with another sprint, he finally went past them. Some escort TIEs tried to chase them, but then they entered in range of the defensive batteries of the ring and turned away after a few of them were shot down.
"This is Bridger, we're in." he quickly relayed to Wedge.
"Copy that. All fighters, disengage."
While the Republic fleet turned around and started to retreat, the Bullet headed straight to the nearest hangar. The control room lowered the shields and let it in, turning them back on immediately.
"Seems like they have taken a good look." Nash commented as they watched the rebel fleet retreat.
"So they think." Iulius calmly replied. "Is the Warlord in position?"
"They are waiting on Euceron for your signal, sir."
"Good. And the status of the other systems?"
"The rebels are hitting hard on Darlon and Bryx. Admiral Versio reports that they either receive some reinforcement, or they can't hold much longer."
"Tell them to retreat." the Lord-Protector instructed. "Let the rebel think they're winning."
"Yes, sir." Nash replied before turning around to deliver the orders.
"Grand Admiral." the communication officer called from the pit. Iulius turned around. "Lieutenant Idele and the ISD Gallant report that a mandalorian freighter just went past our lines."
Iulius' instinct tingled. "Do we have an image?"
"Yes, sir." the officer replied promptly.
Iulius walked into the pit and reached the monitor with the officer's personal operator working. The soldier brought up the images transmitted by Idele's TIE, and Iulius immediately understood how a simple freighter had managed to elude a pilot that had been deemed worthy to fly an Avenger.
"The Bridgers." he said in a pensive tone.
The other officers still heard him and looked his way with mixed emotions. They were all well aware of who the two Jedi were and how many damage they had done to the Empire.
"So the purpose of this attack wasn't just to study our defenses. Contact the Astartes and Starkiller, I'll take the transmission in the comm room." he ordered.
"And...should we inform Lord Vader?" the comm officer asked.
Iulius stopped in his tracks. The others went on with their duties, but everyone was clearly wondering what his answer would be.
The Lord-Protector pondered that. Truth be told, he really didn't want Vader around for this battle. But he certainly couldn't hide the fact that the two leaders of the Jedi Order were now confirmed to be on Ringo Vinda.
"Send him a report. Nothing too elaborate: he will decide whether he's interested or not." he ordered.
The officer nodded, clearly feeling the pressure of that task, then turned to write the report. Iulius instead entered the comm room and reached the holo-projector. Shortly after, the operator received an answer from the three agents that were being summoned, and their holograms appeared in the room.
And of the three of them, the only one who seemed to have any idea about that call was the Sith assassin.
"Lord Tanis. How can we help?" Aiolin asked, though clearly puzzled since they thought they would have nothing to do with that day's battle.
"My friends...it appears Ezra and Jaral Bridger just landed on the ring." he declared with just a hint of ceremony.
The twins twitched their necks. Meanwhile, Starkiller said something in return. "So it was them."
"I assume you already sensed them?"
"They are quite difficult to miss." Galen replied.
"Indeed. From now on, those two are your main target: if we spot them on the battlefield, you go after them, no matter what. But first, I want you to stand by near Section 23."
"Did you order an attack on the ground?" Morit asked a little confused.
"You will see. Just wait for me there. Tanis, out."
He closed the hologram, then turned toward the operator. "Link me to the PA of the ring. Open transmission."
"Uh, yes, sir." the operator replied promptly, if a little confused about the reason why.
In a few seconds, the operator obtained access to the broadcasting system of the ring. Since nobody used the public one for communications, it also meant that not even the one on the side controlled by the rebels was easy to use too. Iulius stepped inside the holo-projector, his hands behind his back and his expression as cold as possible. He needed to show absolute restraint for what he intended to do.
"You're live in 3...2...1…"
Iulius counted another second, then started his speech.
"Jedi. This is Grand Admiral Tanis. I know you just entered the ring. Before we start killing each other, I would like to speak with you. If you accept, meet me in three hours on no-mans-land of Section 23. It will only be us and some acquaintances of yours. Meanwhile, I suggest you take a tour of the field hospitals of your rebel friends."
He turned his head and nodded to the operator, who closed the transmission.
"Send in on loop two more times, just to be sure."
"Yes, sir...but...are you really going to meet them?"
"Indeed. Perhaps there is a way to convince them not to interfere with the battle." was all he revealed.
Then he left and returned on the bridge. "Nash, bring the ship close to our lines and prepare my shuttle."
"Yes, sir, but just so you know, I think this is way too dangerous." Nash replied a little upset.
"The Jedi's ethical code will prevent them from laying an ambush, or to even allow the rebels to do so under their noses." Iulius replied calmly.
"But what could you possibly have to discuss with them?" Nash asked, now getting quite nervous. "They're the primordial enemies of the Empire!"
"All I want to do is prevent this carnage from getting even more savage, Commander."
Iulius didn't turn to reply, but Nash's silence was enough.
Jaral and Ezra were dumbfounded. The moment they and the mandalorians had stepped outside the Gauntlet, that message was divulged all along the ring.
"I must say, that's unexpected." Tristan conceded.
"Looks like even the enemy is willing to bid you welcome."
The other voice was the commanding officer of the New Republic on Ringo Vinda: General Desser Rotay.
The siblings looked at each other, and they immediately decided.
"We're going to that meeting." Ezra declared.
The mandalorians groaned. "For real?" Paz asked. "He's an imperial. This is clearly a trap."
"Not this time." Jaral said with absolute confidence. "Iulius has a rare sense of honor. I don't see why he would start to be a scumbag right now."
"I agree with that." Rotay said. "Even since the start of this battle, is out of doubt that the imperials have been much more...reasonable."
"But why did he ask us to take a look at the field hospitals?" Ezra asked, turning toward the officer.
The Republic commander pursed his lips in an expression of pity and frustration. "Follow me." he said.
Without adding anything else, he and his escort brought the Jedi to the nearest area that had been designated as hospital.
Immediately after the door opened, the siblings and the mandalorians were overwhelmed by a horrible smell. They instinctively brought their hands to cover their noses. The smell was that of infected wounds, aseptic, mixed with some environment deodorant that made little effect to cover all of that.
Just the first room was submerged with wounded soldiers. Some were maimed, others had just been brought in after another skirmish at the frontline and were groaning or screaming. The beds hosted at least two or three soldiers at a time, the others sat on the floor. The doctors seemed exhausted, yet they carried on their duties with a tenacity that was nothing short of heroic. Yet the siblings saw them giving bacta only to the lightly wounded, who required much less of the substance to go back to the fight.
"Karabast." Ezra muttered. "How bad is it?"
"As you can see, we can only give out bacta in dribs and drabs." Rotay explained, then quickly pointed at one of the doctors, a Ho'Din. "Doctor Su'lai cultivates some medical herbs in the remaining greenhouses, but it's way too little to cover our needs."
The siblings looked in shock. That situation was horrible beyond words. They tried to imagine how those soldiers must have felt: trapped on a space station, and with the almost certain chance that a well-placed blaster bolt meant a slow, agonizing death, because they had not many medicines left.
They looked at each other. "I think I know what the Grand Admiral wants to tell us." Ezra commented grimly.
"Me too. We'll have to thread carefully." his sister replied.
"Mind telling us, as well?" Din asked.
"We think Iulius will try to bargain our neutrality in exchange for letting our Order operate on this ring." Jaral explained.
"And do you want to accept?" Paz asked.
"We don't know. We shall see." was Ezra's simple and honest answer.
"For now, General, would you mind taking us near Section 23?" Jaral politely asked.
"As you wish." the man replied.
The ring had a large magnetic rail network that worked on parallel to the countless corridors and used to bring the workers from one side to the other relatively fast. Now, the armies had started using the coaches to move their troops as close to the frontline as possible before letting them march for the final part.
That was the system with which the Jedi and their allies were brought at the gates of Section 23, where apparently the imperial offensive had been stalled since the fall of the greenhouse.
It was the perfect occasion to see that the stories that arrived on Lothal only gave out a fraction of the hellish condition those people were living in: the air was stale, despite the constant resupply of oxygen; that area had been already devastated by the explosives and the blaster bolts frying the delicate circuits of most services. The soldiers had been forced to use an old dumpster both to throw away any trash and to fulfill their biological needs.
As they walked through the republican lines, the siblings noticed that the troopers were tired, yet there was the usual fire of rebellion in their eyes: they were not going to give up so easily, because that planet was vital for the end victory and the survival of their homes and families.
Instead, when they saw the Bridgers, it seemed like a spark of energy fizzled in their eyes. Even in their grim situation, the Jedi were enough to renew the combat spirit of the troopers.
While their trust certainly made the siblings glad, the Bridgers were actually worried that those hopes might be dashed quickly: they didn't know if they would end up fighting alongside those men or if they would just stand aside and help some of them not to die.
Rotay accompanied them until they reached the main barricade and pointed the direction. "The imperial lines are beyond that door. There is an abandoned shuttle bay, where I suppose the Grand Admiral wants to meet you. None of us has reclaimed that space, since it's too small."
"Don't worry, General. He's already there." Ezra said calmly. Both him and Jaral were sensing people inside that room, and also a strange aura: it seemed a mixture of Darkness and Light.
"Tristan, you and the others wait here." Jaral instructed.
"Good luck, Bridgers." the Duke assented.
The two climbed over the top and jumped down, then patiently moved toward the door. It was sealed shut, so Ezra knocked loudly on it, to signal whoever was on the other side that they were coming, while Jaral went to open it.
"Are you nervous?" she asked.
"Not much." Ezra said, actually making a quipping tone. "I'm mostly thinking that this is the first time we're going to talk with him."
Jaral froze for a moment. She quickly recapped all the times one of them had seen Iulius: first Ezra on Ryloth, then they both saw him at the TIE Defender factory on Lothal and at the battle of Atollon, then Ezra again when Iulius and Darvos made that temporary alliance for their mission in the Unknown Regions.
"Blimey Karabast! It really is!" she exclaimed, making a laugh that she couldn't explain.
Ezra smiled, too. It seemed incredible: even their father had spent some time in the Unknown Regions with the Lord-Protector, and despite him and the Jedi being long-term foes, they had never met.
The two shared another chuckle before composing themselves and finally open the door.
As they stepped in the bay, they could already spot the shining white uniform of the Grand Admiral, standing in the middle of the room illuminated only by the local star.
And surrounding him there were the Astarte twins and the Sith assassin Ezra had seen on Bettok.
With a silence broken only by their steps, the Jedi Masters approached the imperial delegation, who watched them with a neutral tone. Their senses were heightened, yet they felt no threat through the Force. They quickly noticed that none of the imperials had their weapons, not even the Lord-Protector.
Finally, they reached them and halted a couple meters away. The siblings were slightly taller than all of them, but it didn't seem to bother the Grand Admiral, who simply let his arms fall along his body and inclined the head the bare minimum to look them in the eyes.
The Grand Admiral then made a step forward, looked them again.
Then he surprised them by making a cordial smirk and extending a hand.
"Bridgers. It's an honor to finally meet you."
The siblings at first were a bit surprised by all tha friendliness, but thinking again, his aura was serene, a sign that, after all, even the Grand Admiral had a deep respect for them.
Ezra smirked and shook his hand. "Nice to meet you, too. Grand Admiral."
Iulius then turned toward Jaral and they shook hands as well.
"My sister-in-law. It's still difficult to believe." he joked.
Jaral chuckled. "The ways of the Force are mysterious."
They chuckled another time, then Iulius put some distance again and they recomposed themselves.
"I'm glad you accepted this meeting. You already know the Astartes, while this one…" he said, briefly moving his body away to show Starkiller.
The Sith assassin, despite retaining his cold attitude, made a little bow. "Greetings. I am the man who will take your heads. My masters call me Starkiller. My friends call me Galen Marek."
"Nice to meet you." Ezra smirked.
Iulius took the scene back. "So, have you seen the hospitals?"
"We did." Ezra replied calmly. "What is exactly your goal?"
"I want to win, sure, but after spending a month myself on this ring, I can't just watch countless men suffer the way I saw. Here's my proposal: you don't interfere in this battle, and in exchange I will guarantee a safe passage for your ships to carry medicines and take away those who cannot fight anymore."
Straight to the point, and exactly what the siblings expected.
"We offered a truce to the Empire, and your masters replied by attacking our Academy, taking children hostage and killing one of my Padawans." Jaral replied with a cold tone. "You can't expect the two of us to stay neutral."
"Yet, I heard that you are not giving up on your humanitarian activities." the Lord-Protector returned.
Ezra slightly rose a hand toward his sister. She had showed the fangs, he was going to give out the olive branch. "Indeed, but me and my sister are here to assist the New Republic, since we can't allow Palpatine's will to triumph. So allow me to make a counteroffer: the two of us will stay here, in exchange, you will be free to inspection every single cargo ship that our Order will send on this planet, and our volunteers will also help your wounded on the battlefield."
Iulius looked at them in a pensive silence.
"I suppose that's the best I will get out of you." he said in the end, then reached for one of his pouches and took out a small pad. "Take this. Use it to send us a list of the ships you are designating for your work. We will allow them to pass when there is no ongoing fight."
Jaral took the device. "Thank you." she said. "I still don't understand how a man like you can serve a monster like the Emperor, but thank you."
"Now, now, let's not throw politics into this." Iulius replied in an accommodating tone.
"Sure. But do you want to know why we refuse to stay neutral?" Ezra added in a tranquil voice. "Go ask about that new Death Star."
Iulius felt his blood freeze, his pupils dilate, even though he intended to retain absolute composure. As the Jedi walked away, he was unable to reply in any way.
He should've considered Ezra's statement as a provocation, nonsense. However, deep down he knew that the Jedi was not lying.
So many suspicious things that had happened recently made so much sense now: the disappearance of so many resources through the hands of the bureaucrats; the reassignment of several experienced officer who were particularly loyal to the Emperor; the general disinterest of said Emperor for the military operations.
And then...the missions that the Astartes were called to make from time to time from the ISB.
"Did you two know it?" he asked them in a suspicious tone.
The twins, however, as well as Galen, were completely caught by surprise by that revelation. But they clearly understood where his suspect stemmed from.
"Sir, we only thought we were tracking down deserters. We didn't know what kind of secret would make them so dangerous, we swear." Aiolin immediately justified.
Iulius looked at their faces, and saw that they were sincerely confused just like him. They clearly had been left in the dark. Even Galen seemed more puzzled than he would ever admit.
So the Emperor was building another Death Star. And he had left him in the dark.
Who else was on board? By now, it was clear the Gideon and the higher-ups of the ISB were probably on board. Was the Joint Chiefs Commission implied, as well?
But first and foremost, what was the best way to act from that point on?
Too many questions, and so many things to work out in the next time period. The four imperials agreed not to tell a soul what they just heard about, then left the bay to return to their lines.
August 10, 2227.
It had taken a while, but the Constantinople had finally tracked the main fleet and was en route to rejoin it. Though the atmosphere aboard was quite tense.
Everybody in the crew expected the Wookiee to tear Lando apart any moment. Jordan himself wasn't comfortable having around the man who had so casually tried to hand over his daughter to a slaver.
He wasn't even happy about the fact that he had given away Han to the Empire, but at least that time Lando was trying to prevent a violent takeover of the city he was responsible about. Even if that happened anyway because of Vader's backstabbing nature, it was at least an understandable reason.
Then there was also the matter of Luke. The loss of a hand wasn't much of a hindrance to the young, strong man, who had quickly recovered and would be provided with a synthetic hand as soon as they reached a medical frigate, but the Jedi had also cloistered himself into the most secluded corners of the ship to meditate.
Finally, Jordan and Leia found him meditating in the lower deck of the engine room, hiding in the shadow.
"You know, in moments like this, it wouldn't be bad for you to be more open about your problems." the Legionnaire started.
Luke opened his eyes. "I'm not even sure what the problem is, to begin with." he said calmly.
"Then let's discuss it." Leia encouraged. "It will emerge on its own."
Luke seemed to hesitate. Jordan noticed that his gaze didn't want to stay too long on Leia, as if he was afraid of her reaction.
"I think…" Luke started. "I think there's a conflict inside Vader."
The other two were confused. "What do you mean?" Leia asked.
Luke sighed. "I didn't notice it in the heat of the moment, but...when he tried to win me over...with that thing about father and son...he was actually sincere."
Jordan and Leia understood quickly where this was going.
"Oh, no! Don't even say it, Luke!" she said rigorously.
"What if there's a part of him, the old Anakin Skywalker, that's struggling to get back?" Luke finished nonetheless.
"Are you out of your mind?!" his sister snapped. "He tried to kill you! He froze Han in carbonite! He is responsible for countless atrocities all across the galaxy! How can you even think that there's good within him?!"
"I just...know it, Leia." was Luke's answer.
Leia, however, was not content with that. She turned around and stormed up the stairs, leaving the two men alone.
"That's one well of a daddy issue." Jordan quipped to lighten the oppressing mood.
Luckily, Luke found it funny and chuckled evidently. Then he added "I know it looks bad, Jordan. But I do believe that there's a conflict in Vader. I'm just wondering if we can use it to finally get the Emperor."
"Sure. But for now, I think you better go to clarify things with your sister. We have quite the job in front of us, and you two are one hell of a team."
Luke nodded. "You're right." and stood up.