Chapter 30: Sullustian Gamble
September 4, 2227.
Bacta never ceased to amaze him. Even though his Legionnaire body already had a quicker regeneration than regular humans, even Jordan should have needed a few days before his strength completely came back, and yet, a couple of hours inside that tank had made him anew.
After all, he was badly needed for the upcoming mission, as commander of the strike team. His Spectre codes had been recreated from scratch and now Edrix wanted him leading the squad of Legionnaires that was to escort Luke and Leia to meet with the resistance movement and sabotage any imperial defense they could find.
That was the objective he reported to the squad of 20 Legionnaires that was standing firmly in front of him inside the shuttle hangar of the Palaven.
"That's it, gentlemen. Remember, the imperials do no expect us so soon, but their fleet is most likely on our tail, already. We need to hit fast and hard, is that clear?"
"SIR, YES, SIR!" the armored super-humans yelled in chorus.
"Good to see you're so eager to fight again, Spectre Bridger."
The voice was that of Leia, who walked toward them while accompanied by Luke.
"There are good men and women bleeding on Ringo Vinda to give us this opportunity. I can't just sit around at this moment." Jordan replied sternly. A statement that reminded everyone just how pivotal the battle in front of them could turn out to be.
The alarm then suddenly blared. The PA announced that they were coming out of hyperspace and all hands had to prepare for battle.
"All right, everyone to the shuttles." Jordan ordered.
The fleet left hyperspace, and found only a small imperial naval squadron to defend the orbit. Obviously, most of their fleet was back on Eriadu, either reorganizing or already en route to chase the Coalition force. Edrix quickly sent a skirmish force to engage those scattered vessels, and they were quickly decimated and forced to retreat.
"Captain Bridger, you're clear to depart. We will start the orbital bombardment, momentarily." the Admiral reported into the comlink.
Jordan quickly relayed the order to the pilots. The two Kodiaks fired up the engines and levitated out of the hangar before heading at full speed toward the planet as the dreadnoughts opened fire with their light cannons toward a few isolated military installation they had already detected. The barrage, however, was more intended to mask the approach of the shuttles, rather than actually cripple the defenses of the Empire.
Overall, the tactic seemed to work. Perhaps because the garrison on Sullust had had no heads-up from Eriadu, given the fact that the fleet's AIs were blocking all communications with efficiency.
And speaking of AIs, Jordan remembered something important. He reached hist belt and took out a small chip with his right hand.
For a moment, his mind lingered on Jinx. Taking up a new AI so soon after he had destroyed his lifelong one felt somehow wrong, but there was no place for sentiments, in a war where they needed every possible advantage.
After indulging his nostalgia for a moment, Jordan put it aside, lit up his omni-tool and allowed it to absorb the chip.
Soon enough, six new processors appeared on the omni-tool, integrating with the device until the AI connected completely, at which point a blue figure came out of his forearm. A figure in the shape of a young woman with a bob hair and a navy uniform.
"Hello, Captain Bridger. I'm ARMA." she said in quite a merry tone.
"Hello. What does your designation stand for?" Jordan asked a little curious. Overall, he found the tone of that AI pleasant: it reminded him of his daughter when she was younger.
"Advanced Reconnaissance and Management Advisor. I'm specialized in assisting Legionnaires in fights against overwhelming numbers, both in keeping your armor fully operational and even using your technological powers to defend you in case of emergency."
"That sounds quite useful. I'm looking forward to work with you." he said honestly.
"Thank you, Captain. And...before we start, I am aware of what you did to your latest AI." ARMA said with a hint of empathy. "Jinx was your personal companion for decades. Did it hurt to terminate it?"
Jordan was struck deeply by the comprehension of this new AI. After taking a moment to process all that, and to realize once again that he had basically killed one of his oldest friends, he replied spontaneously. "It was terrible. I feel like I killed a part of me."
"I'm sorry. But I have access to your reports. It seems like he had quite the eventful operating cycle."
That must have been her way to say that Jinx lived a full life. Jordan made a smirk as he remembered that fact that was, indeed, very true. "You could say that. But, hey...don't feel left out, or think that I don't want you, ok? Now you're part of my team, and I am willing to trust you entirely."
The AI made a wide smile, which prompted Jordan to pose a question. "Are you...capable of emotion?"
"Well, yes." she replied candidly, which actually made other Legionnaires around them to turn around with curiosity. "I thought you knew that the Federation was trying to create us with the ability to feel emotions, for a while."
Jordan shook his head. "I wasn't aware. I mean, Cortana made way more jokes than Jinx…"
"That's because she's the first of my series. However, I think we will have to have this conversation at a later date: we are about to touch ground."
Indeed, a few seconds later, the pilot announced just that, so Jordan materialized his helmet and grabbed his rifle. He turned toward Luke, who was the only non-Legionnaire aboard, since Leia was with the second team, and the Jedi nodded, taking place next to him at the front. Thabo and Michalina were also with the first team.
As the pilot announced that they were landing, Jordan could hear the sound of the engines lowering the power output, then the door opened and he rushed out, instigating the others to do the same.
Not far from their landing point, the team escorting Leia was jumping out of their shuttle, as well. They had landed on a slope behind a hill that covered them from the nearest imperial radars, at least according to the calculations of the fleet's computers. In any case, they needed to hurry toward the nearest settlement: the capital city of Pinyumb.
Reaching the city wasn't that difficult, since the Legionnaires were used in circling around enemy positions and go straight for their objective
As they reached the outskirts of Pinyumb, the strike team luckily noticed that the imperials had no outpost in that part of the city, not even a police station, a sign that they either thought the population wouldn't rebel, or that the garrison was just enough to keep down the populace, not to withstand a true planetary invasion.
"Okay, Leia. Where is our contact?" Luke asked.
His twin lit up her omni-tool and checked the map of the city while the rest of the group made sure no one was coming around.
"This way." she replied after confirming it.
She eventually brought them to a house at the edge of the suburb, where she knocked on the door and, when someone replied in Sullustian at the intercom, she said something in that language, most likely a password. Right after that, the door hissed open and the group walked inside.
The inside of the building was pretty much similar to a normal house, except that there were twelve Sullustians who had brought out crates of weapons and protective gear.
One of them moved forward and spoke in his language, since the biology of the Sullustians made almost impossible for them to replicate Basic. Good thing all the Humans had their translators integrated into their omni-tools.
"Greetings, friends. I am Tun Beji, leader of this...group of escapees."
"Thank you, mister Beji." Leia said. "I am Senator Leia Organa of the New Republic. These are Captain Jordan Bridger of the Systems Alliance, and Luke Skywalker, of the Jedi Order."
Luke immediately felt the gaze of the Sullustians on him. Clearly, they were also looking up to the Jedi, like many souls in the galaxy who sought to better their conditions. He didn't react, showing composure and firmness, as he preferred to show that he could actually help them, rather than boast.
After the greetings, Jordan took the stage to discuss the strategic situation. The resistance quickly pointed out that their movement was basically all there: in the last year, Prelate Verge and his staff had cracked down heavily on the Sullustians and many had decided to lay down their weapons. Still, Beji seemed confident that, if they were to storm the main headquarters and capture the local Governor, the populace would immediately rise up and join the liberation force.
As for other tactical insight, one of the partisans pointed out that right outside the city stood the Inyusu Tor mineral processing facility, the largest mine of the planet.
"I bet whatever you want that it's the main supplier for the Death Star." Luke commented after hearing that information.
"My thoughts, precisely." Jordan agreed, then he asked one more thing. "Are there any anti-air defenses?"
"Only a couple turbolaser towers covering the main access. Taking them out would take too much time, but there are plenty of places to land where they won't reach your transports." one of the rebels explained.
"All right, then." Jordan said before turning toward the leader of the Legionnaire's platoon. "Lieutenant, you and your team head for the mine and signal a landing zone for the invasion force. Do what you can to weaken the imperial defenses."
"Yes, sir." the man replied with a deep voice, then he turned toward his large squad. "All right, Helldivers, we go to the mine. Blast everyone wearing a white armor."
The soldiers replied with a short but heartfelt war cry and then left.
"As for us, we will storm the Governor's palace." Bridger decreed.
"Right for the head, uh?" Leia asked.
"It's worth a shot. But as for the rest of you, I think you should go and make sure the civilians are safe." the Spectre replied.
Luke and Leia looked at each other, then at the rebels. For sure, each of them was aware of just how senselessly brutal the stormtroopers could become whenever they felt cornered, and Leia particularly remembered the massacre of civilians on Mon Calamari as the imperials were gradually pushed back.
"My first duty as a Jedi is to protect the innocents. I will go." Luke eventually replied.
"Well said, mate." Jordan said with satisfaction.
"Then let's get to work: we're running on the clock." Leia exhorted and asked the resistance to point them in the right direction.
The rebels led the way inside the city, avoiding a few checkpoints and providing the twins with a map with all the imperial bases. Now, with the planet in full alert, the troops were probably spread out, so the first thing they needed to do was to create a safe corridor.
"Doesn't this planet have several underground cities?" Luke asked, remembering a thing he had found in the notes about the planet.
Beji nodded. "Yes, the Empire threw us out of them so they could watch us better, but there's an access just to the southern side of this city."
"We could also have the population take refuge in there, so they won't be taken in the crossfire when our troops will land." the Jedi added. "It's decided."
Thus, the two squads separated. In the span of an hour, while the three Legionnaires launched a surprise attack on the imperial HQ and threw the garrison into completely disarray, the 580th 'Helldivers' Platoon stormed the mining facility, opening a path for the first Pelicans and Kilware gunships to drop both Republic and mostly Turian marines.
All the while, Luke led his party to first find the access to the underground city, clear the few guards and then immediately reach out for the population, who was already alerted by the gun fire.
Luke heard Beji loudly telling the civilians that the time for the liberation of Sullust had come and invited everyone who couldn't fight to reach the underground city.
"Master Skywalker, show them the light." he then said.
Luke assumed he was talking about his lightsaber, to make them realize that there actually was a Jedi among them, and in order to quickly convince the civilians to take shelter, Luke took his saber and ignited it high in the sky. He went and stood on top of a higher point of the trail to the shelter so that more and more people saw him and the news of his presence could spread more quickly.
Of course, that also meant that a detachment of stormtroopers rushed toward them.
As soon as he sensed the imperials about to turn around the corner, Luke made a huge leap with the Force and landed on top of a small house. Then he started running on top of the roofs until he could jump down on the first stormtrooper, who was already aiming his blaster.
Caught by surprise, the other troopers rose their weapons, but Luke was quicker in extending his hand and pushing them all back hard enough to make them flip and roll a few times, but he didn't finish them, instead hoping that they would be knocked down.
Unfortunately, the white armored soldiers only became angrier. They stood up again and fired against him. At least, Luke thought, they weren't aiming at the civilians. He stood there and deflected back several bolts, putting two stormtroopers out of commission and, most importantly, giving the Sullustians all the time they needed to escape into the tunnel. At that point, Luke also fell back, reaching Leia and some of the rebels behind a set of rocks that they were using to create a line of defense inside the narrow gorge.
As soon as the rest of the stormtroopers reached him, the resistance opened fire. Caught into a corridor and in the open, the imperials eventually pulled back after losing five of their comrades.
"Cease fire, looks like they had enough." Leia eventually said.
Now that he was free to feel the world around him, Luke noticed only now a hint of cold in the Force. That unmistakable feeling that his father emanated.
The Jedi looked up and he quickly recognized the silhouette of the Executor far in the distance, while the Palaven and the Monte Bianco jumped to hyperspace in the opposite direction.
September 5, 2227.
"Grand Admiral. Sensors confirmed there's a fleet of the Zann Consortium coming out of hyperspace." Nash reported.
Iulius nodded while he calmly stood at the viewport. "All hands ready for battle."
Nash nodded and relayed the order. Iulius kept staring outside the glass, on the left corner of which he could see the planet Filordis, just another ball of dust in the galaxy, but one with a strong chemical industry on the surface and hosting a space station that was usually a meeting place for pirates and scum of any way, and the Empire generally allowed them to use it as such, so it could easily place its informants.
But right now, Iulius was there thanks to an accord with Jabba regarding Zann, the man who came out of hyperspace with a small flotilla of his ships, a mixture of old Republic ships and more modern models designed by his Consortium.
"Grand Admiral, they're hailing us." Echiris notified.
"Put them up." Iulius calmly replied.
Soon enough, the hologram of Zann appeared in front of him.
"Ah, Lord-Protector. I wasn't expecting to meet you." Zann said in a sarcastically jovial tone.
Iulius decided to play along and replied in a feigned cordiality "I truly believe you, Mister Zann."
"I suppose you don't know what happened to Prince Xizor, you know, the one who asked me to meet him right in the place where your fleet is standing?"
"More or less. Xizor is dead. Lord Vader believed your false flag on Bespin, and from what I heard he is quite busy at the time, so he solved the matter in his own way. I, on the other hand, recognized your trickery right away, and once I learned about your meeting, I decided to come in Xizor's stead."
"So it's a trap, uh? But if you think you've got me in the bag, you're very much mistaken."
"Do you really think I came here unprepared?" Iulius replied sternly, then turned to Nash. "Signal the Vezan."
Nash smirked and quickly spoke into his comlink. "Vezan, activate the gravity well."
Just behind the imperial formation, an Immobilizer-class cruiser activated its massive gravity generators, much more powerful than an Interdictor, they were effectively preventing Zann's ship from leaving the system altogether.
The crime lord quickly turned around, a clear surprise in his movements, and one of his officers reported the new situation. Then he turned again to face Iulius with a furious face.
"Grand Admiral, Task Forces 89 and 72 are coming out of hyperspace." Nash announced.
The battle groups of Octis and Bessmann thus entered the battle on the sides of Zann's fleet, closing it on three sides of their space.
"I think you can see for yourself that you're hopelessly outgunned. I will give you one chance to surrender, because trust me: I have been waiting to get rid of you for a while."
"I admit it, kid: you truly surprised me. However, you are not the only one who took precautions…" Zann replied calmly before closing the transmission.
Iulius was left pondering for a second. He looked around, but he couldn't see any kind of special weapon.
"Sir, a large ship is coming out of hyperspace. Star Destroyer class." an operator urgently reported to Echiris, but Iulius heard it clearly.
"Get me a visual." Iulius promptly instructed.
As the vessels fought outside, the monitors of the viewport focused on the hyperspace lane. Only a few seconds after, right outside the field of the Vezan, a new ship came out of nowhere. A long vessel that resembled a true cannon with two guns set vertically, and only a set of wings at the end, next to the engines.
"What is that ship?" he asked.
"Unknown, sir. The pattern suggests a mandalorian design, though." STEVE replied.
"It's moving in, very fast." Echiris noticed.
Indeed, that destroyer was sprinting toward the pirate formation, but then, rapidly in succession, a large ion sphere followed by one made of plasma, were shot in order from the two guns, with a timing that suggested a fire-link between them.
Iulius quickly realized that the shots were heading for Bessmann's Star Destroyer, the Redeemer.
The 72nd Task Force applied evasive maneuvers, but the ISD was simply too slow, and all the helmsman could do was to offer the belly so the plasma shot hit a relatively empty part of the ship after the ion pulse had disabled the shields.
"Tanis to Redeemer, what's your status?"
"No major breach, Grand Admiral, but we're running on emergency power." the officer replied.
"Stay on the defensive, we'll get them off your shoulders."
Iulius quickly ordered his escort and Task Force 89 to press the attack, since they still had the numerical superiority. But as the battle went on, he was more worried about his trump card not doing its part correctly.
And while the imperial formation tightened the grip on the Consortium one, the cannon-shaped destroyer suddenly fired toward the direction of the Admonitor, but even Iulius could see that it wasn't going to them.
Then he took a look at his formation and realized where it was going.
"Vezan, get out of there!" he immediately ordered.
The alert arrived just in time for the Immobilizer to disable the gravity wells and thrust upward, evading the plasma shot but not the ion pulse, which deactivated the ship for the time being.
"The gravity wells are offline, Grand Admiral. The pirates are turning around." Nash reported.
"Press the attack. I want that Destroyer gone." he replied.
"Grand Admiral, something's wrong." Echiris notified. "A freighter just left Zann's cruiser, it's evading their fire."
Iulius suddenly drew a sigh of relief. "Send the fighters to give it some cover. That ship is with us." he replied firmly.
After a moment of surprise, Nash replied affirmatively and relayed the order. It was Kyrell's 1st Wing that moved in to intercept the freighter: a Trandoshan model, that hailed the Admonitor as soon as it was out of danger and under protection.
A hissing voice came through the intercom. "This is Bossssk. I have the artifact."
"Excellent work, bounty hunter." Iulius responded. "Head for my ship, we will have your payment ready as soon as the battle is over."
The Consortium's fleet, which was turning around to retreat, suddenly had to focus back on Bossk, and in doing so, its formation was basically undone. Right at that moment, Iulius saw an opportunity.
"Full speed ahead. Take us close to that ship and prepare to focus all power on weapons."
Realizing what he intended to do, the entire crew went to work with its usual synergy. The Admonitor sprinted forward, showing an agility that no other ISD of the fleet was capable of replicating. She quickly exploited a gap in the Consortium's line to enter in range for her cannons to hit the cannon-shaped Destroyer.
"Fire all weapons! Focus on the ion gun!" he ordered, deciding that it was better to deny the pirated the ability to leave the major vessels as sitting ducks. And indeed, the weapons of the Admonitor came out with a blaze, overwhelming the Destroyer with a cascade of green turbolasers and ion bolts. Within a minute of constant firing, the upper cannon was finally destroyed.
However, Zann had reacted quite fast, and had ordered his ships to abandon the chase and retreat while they all started firing on the Admonitor. Eventually, Iulius ordered to cease fire and focus all power on the shields to withstand the bombardment, knowing that the pirate ships were rushing away and fired upon by Octis' Task Force.
"You played your cards well, Grand Admiral. You'll be luckier next time." Zann said as a last message before what was left of his fleet jumped away, including the Destroyer.
Iulius looked with a certain frustration: while Zann had lost all the other cruisers and major vessels, it was only a matter of time before he rebuilt his forces while the Empire kept bleeding its resources on Ringo Vinda and other theaters.
If anything, Iulius could now finally find out what was the artifact that Zann had been keeping for so long. He ordered Bossk be allowed to land on the ship as he and Qathora headed there. Under the watchful eye of a group of stormtroopers, Bossk was waiting at the cargo door of his ship, leaning on the wall with his rifle on his back.
"May I see it?" Iulius politely asked.
Bossk simply reached the back of his belt and took out a device shaped like a pyramid.
"Here." he hissed.
Iulius extended his hand and took it, looking at it closely.
"That looks strangely familiar…" Qathora said, uncertain about what they had in front of them.
"You probably saw it in the files...this is a holocron." Iulius assessed. "Though, the one of the Jedi had a different shape. Still, I suppose it's believable that it was stolen from the Emperor." he then turned to the bounty hunter. "You did a great service to the Empire, Bossk. This is the agreed payment on our part." he said, and stepped aside to allow Qathora to show the case full of credit bars that she was holding.
"Jabba will provide the other part of the payment: your own, personal holding on a Hutt world."
The Trandoshan hissed satisfied. "It's been a pleasure, Lord-Protector." then he took the credits and left.
"So, what do you want to do? The only one of us who could open it is Galen, and he is still on Vinda." Qathora commented.
Iulius kept inspecting the holocron, both curious and quite frustrated that he couldn't do anything to open it. "It's personal property of the Emperor. Better return it as soon as possible: take a shuttle and bring it to Coruscant, I have to return to the fleet."
The Togruta made a small bow and took the holocron, then went to prepare a shuttle and an escort.
The joint fleet had been forced to fall behind one of the moons, leaving the ground force to dig in and prepare for a siege at the mining complex, the only real objective that interested the imperials.
The mining complex was so big that it actually hosted a large factory, where several TIEs and walkers were still lying in pieces among the various departments, and the deployment of the imperial forces suggested that that would be their first target.
In the meantime, exploiting the few hours of relative calm, Luke and Leia had transferred all the civilians in the deep tunnels of the mines, where all the available men and women had either taken up arms or were using the tools of the factory to produce new weapon batteries and sturdier fortifications, that way, they would also be safer than they would be in the underground city, isolated from the allied army.
Now, though, several imperial landing craft had been deploying stormtroopers from all over the planet and from Death Squadron in orbit. Jordan was standing around the holo-table of the improvised HQ set up by Generals Rieekan and Madine in the first level of the mine.
"We have set up enough AA guns to keep their fighters at bay, but if they start firing turbolasers at us, we will be in trouble." General Fjornsson, commander of the Alliance ground forces, pointed out.
"Don't worry, sir, they won't." Jordan reassured. "They can't risk destroying this mine, and Vader certainly knows that Luke is here, and he wants him alive."
"I've been wondering," Madine asked suspicious. "why is Vader so interested in Skywalker?"
Jordan knew that he couldn't tell the whole truth, so he settled for one part of it that he believed the officers would find compelling enough. "The Sith live by a philosophy where the apprentice must always strive to kill and take his master's place. Since Luke is incredibly strong in the Force, Vader wants to sway him to his side."
The generals pondered about it, then Rieekan sighed in resignation. "You clearly have more experience with the Force-users and their power dynamics, Captain. If you say so, I'll believe it."
Relieved that he didn't have to suddenly spew out the truth about Vader, Luke and Leia, Jordan felt his mind ease up and focused back on the briefing.
"Anyway, we may not have a shield, but we know that the imperials will not use their big guns in this assault. Nonetheless, they have far more vehicles." he said.
"Indeed." said Madine. "We only have a tank platoon, and keeping it in the open will only invite their bombers to hit them."
"Once they come inside the mine, their air power will be limited. Our first line will have to do with what they have." Rieekan replied. "Needless to say, though, we can't ask them to hold back more than their first wave."
A comlink beeped on the table and an officer spoke through.
"Outpost 1 to Command. We are under enemy mortar fire."
"Sounds like the attack has started. I better go." Jordan declared.
"May the Force be with us." Rieekan hoped.
Jordan sprinted outside and reached his Mako, where Thabo and Michalina were waiting for him. Vetra was instead setting up the marines of the Constantinople around the mine entrance, in case the imperials arrived there. In the distance, he could already hear the explosions and see the cinder soil being lifted for several meters by the proton grenades.
As the Mako approached, the barrage halted, signaling that the imperials were ready to strike. Jordan dismounted and reached the first squad of Republic troopers manning the improvised outpost.
The troopers were a little surprised, but relieved to see some Legionnaires coming to help them. Jordan then switched on his integrated binocular and looked in the distance. He quickly spotted a whole company of stormtroopers supported by five AT-ST. They had set up a fortified beachhead with a battery of mortars and a few E-web turrets to defend it in case of a counterattack.
"Lieutenant, do you have any anti-tank?" Jordan asked to the young officer.
"Only two, sir." the man replied with a slightly nervous tone.
"Give it to us and prepare to fall back." the Legionnaire ordered firmly.
The soldiers, all of them quite inexperienced, were more than happy to leave the disposable rocket launchers they had to the super-soldiers. Thabo and Michalina grabbed one each and leaned them on the rocks in front of them, ready to grab them when the first walkers would close in too much.
The walkers then started moving and the stormtroopers started marching forward. The earth trembled as the metal creatures stomped their way toward the outpost, but while the Legionnaires were used to it, the troopers were clearly more nervous. Jordan just figured that they would do their task of just firing a little and then run back to the first line.
Then the AT-ST halted in their tracks and a single squad of stormtroopers was sent forward to investigate the fortifications. Jordan had hoped that they would send the walkers in first, as they usually did, but it seemed like even the forces of the Core were becoming more careful.
Jordan motioned his two Legionnaires to sneak around the rocky formation, so that they could approach the first two walkers without being noticed while he…
"Fire!"
Jordan immediately shot an imperial corporal in the helmet. While the others snapped into action, the republicans opened fire, cutting down a few more stormtroopers.
However, it took only a couple seconds before bolts started coming from the attackers, as well. Jordan saw a trooper bring his finger to the side of his head and immediately shot him dead. Then the first AT-ST opened fire. Its heavy blasters crashed just before the barricade, but the sheer pressure they caused stunned the republicans.
Luckily, Thabo shot the first missile and hit the walker on the long side of its head, making it explode. Half of the stormtroopers thus focused fire on the position of the psionic, who extended his hand and created a temporary barrier.
That distraction allowed Michalina to slip a little more further and shoot the second walker, leaving the stormtroopers without support and thus making them fall back as they requested reinforcements.
"Fall back, while we got them off." Jordan quickly instructed to the troopers, who rushed out of their positions just as a mortar barrage started raining down. They all jumped aboard the Mako, either inside or on the top, and Jordan ordered ARMA to take control of the vehicle and take them all away.
The group thus retreated to the first line of defense, which actually made use of a series of fortifications that the Empire had set up before. The allies were now using them to their advantage.
"Request an artillery barrage!" Jordan ordered to the local NCO, who promptly obeyed.
Before the fleet had left, the allies had managed to unload an artillery company, made up of mortars and even a few heavy howitzers, which now provided a precious fire support from a mountain indicated by the Resistance which also happened to have a rocky roof, protecting it from air retaliations.
The howitzers fired a couple of salvos that rocked the terrain in front of the line and prevented another major attack while the Legionnaires stopped to provide help to the new line: a platoon of Alliance soldiers of various species, including two more Legionnaires, while he instructed ARMA to bring the republicans to the second line, and the Mako back to the mine.
It didn't take too long, however, before another wave arrived. Accompanied by another AT-ST, as the imperials were attacking two other points. Their artillery started pounding the trenches again, and a few TIE Fighters made strafing run that caused death and destruction. Still, when the stormtroopers attacked again, the marines hardly missed a shot, decimating the wave in a minute. The AT-ST thus stepped forward and opened fire with all its weapons.
A Batarian rocket trooper peeked out and fired a missile, but he took the frontal side of the walker's head. While it was damaged, it quickly resumed firing, and in the meantime the stormtroopers spotted him and fired an entire volley at the trooper, who fell dead.
Luckily, one of the other Legionnaires readily dived onto his fallen comrade, grabbed his ML-77 and quickly fired another missile at the walker, this time separating the head from the legs.
Still, the imperials did not relent. Increased fire support and another wave of stormtroopers proved to be too much and the allies suffered too many casualties, so Jordan called in a major artillery barrage to cover the retreat of the survivors.
Now they were basically in front of the factory, and thus the access to the mining complex. At least, a few TIEs were shot down by the AA batteries, basically forcing the imperial air support to stay back. The allies had now formed up a shorter, sturdier line that withheld the imperials for three full assaults, in a way that reminded Jordan of a World War I movie he saw as a child during History lessons.
But still, once the imperials brought in even two AT-AT, these started to demolish the allied defenses, and they even opened a breach in the walls of the factory. In the infernal fight that followed, the allies suffered so many casualties, that all the field officers were killed, leaving Jordan to be the highest in rank all of a sudden.
"Fall back into the compound!" he ordered, seeing how hopeless the situation out there was. As he retreated, he called command for reinforcements while Thabo and Michalina stood even closer to him in order to protect him and keep him in the back of the fight.
The TIE section of the factory suddenly became a battlefield, but at least the allies had an easy time repelling the imperials as long as there was only one breach.
It didn't last, of course, because the imperials decided to demolish that entire section of the wall. Even if the walkers avoided firing inside, to prevent further damage, the stormtroopers had now much more freedom of movement.
Jordan spotted a Turian soldier with the armor colors of a communication specialist and went to grab him.
"What's your name, Private?" he asked, talking a little more loudly to overcome the absolutely deafening concerto of blasters, plasma rifles and metallic rumbles.
"Private Grisus Chorax, sir! Forward observer."
"Perfect! Contact the artillery and direct a danger close fire!"
The young Turian was terrified, but he didn't hesitate to nod. Jordan quickly passed him the frequency and the codes that gave him maximum priority for the artillery, then gestured Thabo to stay there and form a psionic barrier to protect Chorax from stray bullets. Jordan and Michalina instead stepped outside again to throw themselves against the advancing stormtroopers and slow them down.
In that tight environment, with much cover, after rallying the surviving Legionnaires, it wasn't difficult for Jordan to create a small group of super-soldiers that could use the surroundings to their advantage and wiping out two platoons in the span of a minute. The imperial assault lost some cohesion, until one of the Legionnaires was suddenly shot dead by a precise shot of a very powerful rifle.
Jordan saw it and turned toward that direction. He quickly spotted a group of stormtroopers that he had wondered for a while where they had gone.
"Get to cover." he ordered.
In front of them, there was SCAR Squadron, evidently sent by Vader to dispose of the Legionnaires.
Luckily for them, the artillery strike bore down exactly at that moment, crashing onto the insane wave of white-armored imperials and forcing them to pull back once again as the projectiles hit with insane precision, barely avoiding the allied troopers.
It seemed like the confrontation with SCAR had been delayed again.
As he saw the artillery strikes right on top of where Jordan and the others were supposed to be, Luke decided he had waited enough.
"That's it. I'm going to help them." he declared to his sister.
"Luke, we have been ordered to wait here." she objected.
"They will all die, if we don't help them now!" he replied instinctively.
He jumped on a speeder-bike and started driving, passing past the fortifications and the troopers who looked at him with stupor.
He could feel a terrible feeling of death, rage and fear on a scale he had not felt even on Hoth, and for a moment he felt hesitation in his heart. But then he also felt immense suffering, and any idea of turning around immediately disappeared. He stopped the bike at the bridge over the magma river that fueled the geothermal implant of the factory, as he spotted the local soldiers retreating in order to reorganize on the other side as the artillery barrage kept pounding the ground and slowly demolished the first building.
Luke moved to at least help some of the wounded that were being carried away, dragging two of them on his own before bumping into Jordan and his Legionnaires with a Turian that was continually sending coordinates to the artillery.
"Luke, what are you doing here?" Jordan asked.
"Figured you could use some help." Luke yelled, trying to overcome the shells.
"Well then, grab your lightsaber and keep them on the other side." the Captain responded before taking position behind a makeshift barricade that was being set up by a group of Asari huntresses and psionics.
Luke compelled and ignited his lightsaber, taking position in front of the bridge as if to dare the imperials to come at him.
Bolts quickly started flying toward his direction, as well, and Luke calmly parried all of them, which had the effect to make the imperials hesitate and the allies to regroup into a more cohesive line of defense.
With the defense rallied, the imperial attack hit the wall and couldn't break in.
That was, until a series of missiles hit the line with extreme precision, blowing away eight soldiers and sending the ones next to them in disarray. Luke sensed a strong warning from the Force and he quickly spotted the source: a massive stormtrooper with an armor of a different alloy than plasteel and mounting a rocket-launcher on his left shoulder.
The Jedi immediately recognized that it was Zuke, the living tank of SCAR Squadron. And barely he had noticed him, that the other members of the Squadron jumped into action, using the distraction provided by their comrade to dash forward, firing precise shots that took down more defenders with stunning rapidity.
As the defenders wavered, Luke jumped forward, focused on the Force and gathered his own mental strength into one large push.
Letting out a grunt of strain, Luke then released the massive energy he was storing. As if a sudden hurricane had appeared out of nowhere, the imperials on the bridge were lifted in the air and catapulted back on the other side of the bridge, along with crated and other wrecks that were lying on the structure.
Faced with such power, even the SCAR troopers hesitated to launch another attack. Instead, the various companies amassed on their side and opened fire, trying to weaken the defenders a little more before attempting another assault.
"Report! They're attacking us on our left flank!" the Turian observer suddenly said.
"Luke! Go check it out!" Jordan promptly instructed.
The Jedi quickly complied, jumping away from the battle at the bridge and instead heading south-east, toward the small passage that connected the industrial area to the city. As he had been told, that area was also under heavy attack. A large wave of stormtroopers with heavy weapons and portable covers were steadily advancing toward the allied positions, even if they were several white-armored guys laying lifeless or agonizing on the terrain.
Everyone's attention, however, was suddenly recalled by a rumble that clearly came from orbit, but that was still loud enough to overcome the firefight.
Luke looked up, like everyone else, and it was at that point that he saw the Executor spewing flames from its left engines. Behind the ship there were the Monte Bianco and the Palaven.
The Jedi smirked: the plan had worked, and the imperials were now in a critical position. All that was left was to break the siege. He jumped in front of the allied troopers and started deflecting bolts, but the imperials kept pressing on, as if the sudden sight of their flagship had changed nothing.
Luke dived behind some cover with a soldier with the patch of the Raxus Conglomerate, a Human of perhaps 24 years old.
"Quite the mess, uh, Master?" the soldier joked, trying to ease the tension.
Luke nodded and tried to play along. "What's your name?"
"Rennen Bermin. Father since yesterday!" he replied happily.
Luke couldn't hold back a sincere explosion of happiness. "Woah, congratulations!" and he gave him a strong handshake.
Then a blaster bolts went scratched the rock right above them and they ducked some more.
"We can't stay here too long. Just fall back, I'll cover you!" Luke said, and the rest of the troops, whether for his input or not, took the suggestion at heart.
While the battle in orbit turned awfully for the Empire, the ground troops were still pushing on. Eventually, the left flank was forced to retreat and it didn't take long before the allies were forced to withdraw and make a last stand at the mine. Luke returned thus with Jordan and the others. The Captain called in every reserve, including the vehicles now that the skies were no longer in full control of the imperials, but even if the stormtroopers were continually gunned down, there seemed to be no end to them.
What Luke noticed, however, was that SCAR Squadron never reappeared, and it couldn't be a coincidence that it happened when the Executor started to turn around, as she had to immediately head for repairs lest the gravity of the planet pulled her in.
Luke kept deflecting bolts and cutting down any enemy that came too close to him, but the situation was growing ever more desperate, with the allied lines crumbling and being reduced to pockets of desperate fighting. At one point, even Jordan's group was basically on its own.
However, as soon as the battle in orbit claimed two Star Destroyers, giving control to the allies, Luke heard Jordan talk.
"Chorax...Broken Arrow!"
Luke didn't understand what that meant, all he knew was that Jordan's heart was very much darkened and the young observer for a moment hesitated to reply until the Captain gave him an encouraging pat on his shoulder.
"Broken Arrow! I repeat, Broken Arrow! Broken Arrow!" Chorax yelled in his headpiece. Some buzzing came in response, and he confirmed. "Broken Arrow confirmed!"
Luke was about to be engaged again by two stormtroopers, but they were quickly gunned down from a direction the Jedi didn't think they had allies. He turned and saw Vetra and Leia, leading the charge of the marines of the Constantinople to rescue their companions. They all took position behind another rocky formation, which was honestly a meager cover. At least they had brought the Mako back to provide some firepower.
"Captain, air strikes are en route. Two destroyers are also coming in for fire support!" Chorax announced.
Jordan nodded and then he issued a warning to all surviving units to make sure their transponders were lit up and, if possible, to signal their positions with yellow smoke.
The Jedi turned toward Karg, who just happened to take position next to him. "What's a Broken Arrow?" he asked.
"It means that unless the fleet sends all the firepower they have, we are all varren meat." the Krogan replied. Luke sensed some urgency even in him. And if your Krogan ally gets alarmed, it usually means that things are desperate.
Luke deflected back another bolt into the helmet of another stormtrooper and it looked like they had a moment of peace, but he quickly realized how wrong he was: from the mist in front of them came first a loud, continuous yelling, then emerged a wall of stormtroopers. It seemed like the entire legion of the planet was launching an all-out assault to secure the mine, now that they realized they might get trapped on the planet.
A rain of bolts started pouring out. So much that even Luke decided that he couldn't just rely on his lightsaber and set up a cover with his omni-tool while the others ducked behind the rocks and tried to return fire however they can.
"We got fighters every thousand meters from 7 to 20, we'll get them, sir!" Chorax announced.
"ARMA, give him the scanners!" Jordan ordered to his AI, his mind entirely focused on directing the battle and what was left of the allied forces.
"01. Enemies coming in from the second line of trenches. Vector 1-0-7." the Turian loudly said to the first wave of fighters.
It was a Turian squad that answered first. The fighters had loaded up a series of heavy missiles that were launched in a strafing run. The missiles slammed into the sea of white troopers, causing at first three and then six massive blasts.
When they weren't pulverized, stormtroopers were dismembered or just sent flying around. The rest of their companions kept attacking, but now that their numbers had been suddenly halved, their firepower lessened and that allowed the Marines to get out of their cover and show their far superior marksmanship.
"02. Fire on the three bunkers at 0-3-4."
Another trio of snub fighters, this time Human, passed over, first firing with their machine-guns and then dropping a cluster bomb each, decimating the imperial forces even more.
In the meantime, the artillery barrage resumed, too, firing just in front of the allied positions. The constant rain of shells not only caused more casualties to the imperials, but also secured the various allied companies, which allowed them to fight off the last of their aggressors without worrying of the latter being reinforced. And all the time, the aerial bombardments never ceased. Screams sometime managed to overcome the hellish concerto of explosions and weapons. The only voice that could be heard saying something was that of Chorax, who kept directing the fire support with the help of ARMA.
At one point, incendiary bombs started falling down, creating a wall of flames on the imperials. Flaming bodies started walking out, their white armors turning into charred coal and the screams became so acute and the sheer sense of suffering around Luke became unbearable.
The Jedi felt a sting right through his brain. He deactivated the lightsaber and ducked behind a rock, huddling himself as he held his head. He grunted as his mind and heart were overwhelmed with the massive holes opening in the Force.
"Luke!" Leia's voiced spoke as she dived next to him and she put a hand on his shoulder.
Remembering who was close to him, and that he was supposed to protect her and the others, Luke made a few deep breaths, with Leia's encouraging him, and managed to put the mental pressure aside.
It was at that point that he felt a grave danger in the Force. He turned his head to the left and saw two Alliance aircraft coming in on a vector that was almost in line with them.
"Jordan!" he yelled, pointing at the two of them, still unable to process more words.
The Legionnaire turned and immediately saw them. He stood up and ordered "Grisus. Call of those slags!"
"Abort! Abort! Pull up!" the Turian screamed.
The fighters veered off, but the first one had unfortunately just pressed the trigger and his incendiary bomb was already flying down.
It became apparent that it was going to land on the left side of the group.
Luke followed all of that with a perception that everything seemed to move on slow motion. The bomb landed on a group of allied troopers and unleashed a blaze on them, turning the men into flaming puppets.
Luke and Leia remained speechless, and so was Chorax, who was trembling.
Until Jordan knelt next to the observer. "Grisus, listen to me! You are keeping us alive, all right? Forget about that one and just keep them coming in. You're doing well, son!" Jordan said firmly and ended with another encouraging pat.
Grisus managed to regain enough lucidity to speak again and continue directing the fire. Meanwhile, Luke sprinted toward the hit allied position to join the rescue, with Leia following suit to coordinate the assistance.
The ground had turned completely black. Sullustian rebels and UACT troopers of various species were laying on the ground, some were still partially burning while the luckiest had managed to put off only a minor burning and immediately went to help their comrades.
Shuttles had been immediately dispatched from Jordan to get the worst injuries out. Luke wandered around, looking for whoever was seeking help and nobody else was available to assist.
Only that the first person he stumbled upon someone that made him jump into action.
"Bermin!"
The young soldier had burns all over his body. Everything from the chest downward had become pitch black and full of bubbles. He was screaming with every breath he took, his helmet was melted on the left side of his face.
Luke didn't know what to do. First aid certainly didn't cover such a case and he had never focused enough on Force healing, though he doubted even Dhara could do something about him.
Luckily a paramedic arrived right after.
"Do you know him?" he asked as he knelt next to the soldier's head.
"Yes."
"Grab him from the legs, and keep talking to him." the medic instructed.
"Hang on, Bermin, we're getting you out!" Luke said loudly and promptly went to grab the legs.
The sanitary counted to three and they tried to lift, but while he managed to do so, when Luke moved his hands upward, Bermin's legs literally peeled off to the bone.
While the soldier screamed, Luke looked at his hands, which still had blood and charred skin on them.
"It's useless. Come here, we'll have to drag him." the medic promptly said.
Luke snapped out of the shock and said "I can do this alone. Go help somewhere else!" and quickly put Bermin on his back. The doctor saw the situation and followed Luke's advice.
The Jedi jogged as fast as he could toward the landing zone, where a shuttle was already being loaded with many wounded. He kept encouraging the young trooper, but he could feel his vitality quickly slipping away.
As Luke laid Bermin on the edge of the cargo bay, with a medic pulling him in into the last spot available, the soldier grabbed Luke's hand. With a voice muffled and deformed by having half of his mouth melted, he made one last request.
"You must tell my wife I love her. And my son, too. Tell them!"
Then his hand slipped as the Kodiak lifted and headed at full speed toward the infirmary of one of the transports.
With the constant barrage and the determination of the defenders, the 97th Stormtrooper Legion was essentially wiped out. The soldiers acted like suicidal fanatics, with only a few hundred eventually surrendering.
As the guns finally stopped and the smoke cleared, Jordan walked through the scarred battlefield, disseminated of corpses, limbs or charred rests of soldiers on both sides. Wherever he looked, there were at least ten bodies.
"I thought I had seen the worst on Llanic...Damn I was wrong." he grimly commented to Thabo.
The other Legionnaire nodded, but he didn't say anything.
This had been a bleak day even for them: of the twenty Legionnaires of the Helldivers platoon, there were only eight still alive. The others had mostly sacrificed themselves to cover the various retreats, acting as rearguards only to be eventually hit one time too many by the imperials. At least two had died in the friendly fire accident, actually giving up their bubble shields, and their lives, to save some of their comrades.
The only consolation was that the battle had been a decisive victory for the Coalition: the Executor had been damaged and would be out of commission for a while, Prelate Verge had died in the destruction of his ISD and most importantly: Sullust was free from the grip of Coruscant, and with that, the major supplier of materials for the new Death Star was out of commission.
It would take a while before the Sullustians reorganized into a cohesive government and restarted the industrial production to supply their own army and fleet, but the Empire had been dealt a severe blow, even if the Executor was still around. Edrix's master plan had worked.
Still, in front of that desolation, all of that sounded so distant. Jordan just couldn't help but contemplate how many lives had been wasted.
Suddenly, ARMA appeared with her figure and looked toward the devastation.
"It's...awful." she said.
"Yeah. It is." was Jordan's simple reply.
"Why does all of this happen?"
"They are sent to die for the ambition of one man. We don't want to become slaves of that man. That's all there is."
The AI didn't say anything more, as Michalina appeared from behind and said "Boss, the Admiral and the Generals would like to speak with you."
"Roger that."
They headed back to the mine entry. Madine, Rieekan and Edrix had already gathered and were discussing the next move already. Jordan arrived in front of them with his face exposed and made a mechanical salute, but he was just too tired to show anything more than mere formality.
"Captain Bridger. I would like to congratulate you for standing up in the direst situation." Rieekan started.
"I just did my job, sir. Besides, I am not the only one who gave it everything."
"Of course. Everyone has gone beyond the call of duty, but it would have amounted to nothing had you not taken the reins." Edrix argued.
Jordan spotted something with the tail of his eye and turned around a little, drawing the attention of the officers, as well. Luke was walking toward them, accompanied by Leia.
"Master Skywalker. Senator Organa. I am glad to see you're well." the Admiral said.
"I wouldn't say that I am 'well', Admiral." Luke replied grimly. "I am alive, that's for sure."
"Yes, Master. We can agree that it's hard to feel positive after seeing all of this." said Madine.
"A massacre like this...it cannot be allowed to happen again." Luke replied now with a vigorous tone. "We need to stop this war as soon as possible."
"We will, Skywalker, have faith." Edrix reassured.
"If I may, Admiral." Jordan asked. "We might have taken the planet, but we're still quite isolated from the rest of the UACT. Are there reinforcements on our way?"
"True, Eriadu is still in imperial hands, but the balance of power is about to shift: I was just informed that, back in the Milky Way, the Terminus Commune of Free Systems has just signed the association treaty with the UACT. Peace in our galaxy has been secured."
Jordan felt a sudden ray of hope in his heart. "Does that mean…?"
"Yes. Even with the pirate Balak still at large, the Federation is redeploying several fleets. In a few weeks, the Coalition will have the strength to launch a major offensive in the Trailing Sectors, with the specific aim to reunite Sullust with the territory of the Commonwealth."
"And with their forces exhausted, even the forces of the Lord-Protector will have a hard time containing us." Leia added with much confidence.
"We sure hope so." Rieekan added. "Speaking of which, our forces are still fighting on Ringo Vinda. Now, we can finally tell them to pull out and stop that slaughter."
Now Jordan's thoughts rushed to his kids. In the midst of everything that was going on, he had forgotten that they were also on Ringo Vinda. He hadn't heard from anyone in weeks, and now he felt a hint of insecurity rush into his spine.
"Excuse me...I need to make a call." he simply said before rushing away toward the Constantinople.