Disclaimer: Don't own Star Wars, it belongs to Disney! Also, the fanfilm that I based this idea from belongs to those who made it! I own nothing!
If space was not a vacuum, then the sounds of rockets and lasers could be heard pounding against the transparisteel hulls of warships and starfighters. The cries of pain and fear would have left the countless men and woman before the flames took their bodies. But the Force gave Jedi Knight Ren Incerto a good idea of the battle around him.
From inside his star fighter, Ren could sense everything going on around him as he flew past a destroyed Sith fighter. His Jedi robes felt a little uncomfortable in the pilot seat though there was little he could do about it. Beads of sweat tricked from his head of black hair and down his dark complexions as his thumbed pressed on the trigger. Rapids shots of red fire emerged from his fighter's guns and struck against another enemy fighter, destroying it along with its pilot in a blazing smoke.
A sense of relief washed over the Jedi Knight as he passed by the remains of the Sith fighter and he shot out into the black void of space. Out of the corner of his blue eyes, Ren could see the world of Iridonia with ships of both the Republic and the New Sith Empire hovering over its red and black atmosphere. Both fleets threw everything they had at each other; missiles, turbolasers, and manned starfighters.
The Force gave a sudden jolt in the young Jedi's mind, and he recognized it as a warning. Ren had been right for the alarms rang loudly, and he saw the familiar red bursts of energy pass over the nose of his fighter. The Force was not needed to know that behind Ren was an enemy starfighter tailing and trying to take him out. Immediately, Ren's fighter shot forward towards the large battle before him, hoping to lose his attacker in the heat of Republic and Sith ships.
Ren could feel his pilot chair swerving side to side with every chance he took to avoid the laser fire from his attacker. It had been difficult dodging fire from almost every angle just to avoid the one person chasing him, especially with the surrounding star ships fire away at each other. The shields managed to protect him, but they could only do so much.
Fortunately, the young Jedi could sense the life of the enemy pilot fade away and the laser fire ceased. He managed to spare a small glance to see the Sith fighter that had chased him was now a flaming ball of fire with pieces of metal floating around it. Ren wondered what could have caused the destruction of the enemy fighter, but he soon found his answer when he looked to his side.
Next to Ren was a Republic Aurek fighter, the same kind that Ren had been piloting for the past hour. Inside of it was another Jedi; Master Yulana, a member of the Jedi Council and head of the Republic forces sent to repel the New Sith Empire's fleet. "Knight Incerto, are you alright?" her ancient voice came through the receiver.
Ren had mustered enough courage to break through his surprise and answer. "Yes, Master Yulana. I'm fine."
"Yeah, right!" a much younger voice laughed. "That fighter had you on the ropes! You were practically a sitting bantha!"
Ren turned his head and he saw another Aurek fighter flanking his other side. It did not take long for the young Jedi to recognize its pilot as Gash, Yulana's student. The young boy was known to poke fun at Ren, having Yulana often come to the young Jedi's rescue and now was no different. "That's enough, my young Padawan," Ren overheard Yulana chastising Gash. "We need to focus on the battle. We can't waste any more time."
Before Ren had a chance to let a word in, another warning from the Force rang through Ren's mind and it coincided with the alarms ringing through the cockpit of his starfighter. Ren glanced down at the display screen to see red shapes approaching the three green circles that represented himself and his fellow Jedi. "More fighters, coming in!" Ren announced as he quickly grabbed the controls.
Immediately, Yulana's voice rang out, "Evasive maneuvers!"
The distant stars in the background of the battle started to leave Ren's vision as his starfighter broke formation from the other two Jedi. The red bolts whizzed past the wings of the fighter. Ren did not need the Force to know that a Sith fighter was tailing him and the young Jedi Knight knew how to throw off his pursuer.
Pulling on the controls, Ren could feel his starfighter coming to a complete stop while his pursuer flew passed him. Catching the Sith fighter in his view, Ren sped up, this time as the hunter. The red lasers left the turrets and Ren saw them strike the Sith fighter in its thrusters before it exploded in a blaze of smoke. A sense of victory rose inside of Ren, but it was gone. Through the Force, he sensed fear and he soon learned its source: "Master Yulana!" he overheard Gash shout.
Ren's head whirl around and he caught a glimpse of Gash's star fighter zooming past the remains of another destroyed fighter. The direction that Gash was heading towards was another Sith fighter. While the Sith fighters chasing him and Gash were destroyed, there was still one after Yulana and it stubbornly stuck onto her trail. Gash's fear only increased as Yulana cried out, "I can't shake him!"
It was not more than a few moments later when the Sith fighter fired a volley of laser fire upon Yulana. The red barrage first struck the wing of Yulana's fighter before hitting the back of the cockpit. At that moment, the fighter exploded and the flames took the life of the Jedi Master inside of it.
Gash's voice reached its through Ren's earpiece, "Master Yulana!" Gash cried out.
From the young Padawan, Ren could sense the grief and sorrow of the loss of Gash's master as the emotions hit him. Ren, himself, felt shocked at the sudden demise of Yulana, but the battle around them caught the young Jedi Knight's attention. "Focus on the battle, Gash!" Ren shouted into his earpiece. "We can't afford to be distracted!"
Objection rose in Gash's voice. "But, master Yulana…"
Ren cut the Padawan cut him off. "Her death won't mean anything if we don't survive! Now head back to the flagship, at once." He sternly added, "And that's an order, Padawan!"
Thankfully, Gash resigned to Ren as the young Jedi could see Yulana's Padawan return to the Republic flagship that remained a safe distance. A sense of guilt rose inside of Ren for shouting at the mournful Gash, but he knew that neither Gash nor he could afford their emotions to get the better of them.
There is no emotion, there is peace.The first line of the Jedi Code echoed in Ren's mind.
Suddenly, another voice spoke arose in Ren's earpiece. "General Incerto! General Incerto, do you copy?" The voice belonged to a man who carried much experience of war in his life.
Ren was quick to respond. "I'm here, Commander Dodonna. What is it?"
"We saw what happened to General Yulana," a hint of sorrow in the commander's as he explained. "With her gone, you are in command of the Republic forces. We're awaiting your orders."
The young Jedi bit back a curse at the commander's words, wishing that Yulana was still alive. The chain of command was on his shoulder and Ren was not sure what to do. Ignorance was something that could not be afforded on the field of battle as it often leads one to their death.
"Commander Incerto, what are your orders?" Dodonna's voice once again rung through the earpiece.
The question brought Ren back into reality. "What's the status of the battle?" he inquired.
Dodonna reported, "We're losing more fighters with every second. I fear we won't last much longer."
There is no ignorance, there is knowledge, Ren reminded himself.
Immediately, the young Jedi began flipping switching on his fighter's control panel. "We can't afford to lose any more ships," Ren stated. "Order for all Republic forces to jump into hyperspace. Iridonia is lost!"
The last three words brought a dead silence from the other side, followed by a sense of regret and frustration. It had only been a few moments later when Dodonna finally answered, "Understood, general."
The young Jedi noticed Dodonna's reluctance, but he dismissed it, knowing well that Dodonna would carry out his orders. As for himself, Ren grabbed onto the controls and he felt his starfighter carry him off once more. The view of Iridonia's atmosphere was gone and was replaced with the battle over the planet.
What Ren saw was something far worse than what Dodonna had told him. Republic forces were being dwindled away as starfighter after starfighter were destroyed by the Sith. The Republic ships had not been faring well against the Sith battle cruisers as a few of them joined the many casualties.
A warning from the Force echoed in Ren's mind and he yanked on the controls, making his starfighter serve to the side. The action saved his life, for Ren was fortunate enough to narrowly avoid the burning husk of another Aurek fighter from crashing into him. He returned his starfighter into position and he fired a volley of lasers on a passing Sith fighter.
After passing the Sith fighter he destroyed, Ren wiped his sleeve against the sweat running down his forehead. The heat of battle was getting to him. It had been even before Yulana was killed and the chain of command fell upon him. Closing his eyes, the young Jedi allowed the Force to flow through him, shielding his mind from the passions running rampant around his fighter.
There is no passion, there is serenity.
Ren's eyes opened and they came across the sight of a squadron of Aurek fighters passing by the viewport of his own. The said squadron managed to avoid any enemy fighters and regrouped with a surviving Republic ship that was heading in the direction of the flagship. More Republic forces joined that small group with hopes of retreating from Iridonia intact. Even ships from within the heart of the battle turned tail, wishing to run and live another day. Yet, Ren wondered if anyone would live.
Whatever his thoughts had been, Ren discarded them when Commander Dodonna's voice reemerged. "General, all remaining Republic forces are ready to make the jump for hyperspace," Dodonna announced.
Ren flipped more switches on the control panel and he heard his fighter's hyperdrive engine slowly whirl to life. "Make the jump when I give the order, commander," the young Jedi ordered.
"Understood," the commander acknowledged.
Ren's hands went to the control stick and his fighter followed suit of the other retreating Republic forces. The Jedi glanced at the wreckage of Republic starfighters and ships before he found the flagship of the Republic fleet, the Empress Teta, joined with other Republic warships. A sense of hope rose inside of Ren at the sight and he sped his way towards the fleet.
The Jedi was fortunate enough to find himself among the Republic fleet, yet he felt his starfighter rocked a little. Ren spared a glance to the side to see oncoming squadrons of Sith fighters approaching the fleet with a large Sith battlecruiser behind them. The Sith forces unleashed a barrage of lasers from their turrets.
Ren's starfighter shot forward, narrowly avoiding a laser that struck another Aurek fighter. His fighter zoomed past the pilots and soldiers under his command, who tried to dodge the Sith fire as well. "Commander, give out the order!" Ren nearly shouted.
Within seconds of giving the order, Ren could hear Dodonna's voice echoing the comm channel. "All ships, launch!"
And so, a hand went for the lever next to Ren's thigh and pulled it down. Ren felt the cockpit of his starfighter shake a little and the stars around the young Jedi turned into white streaks that spread across his viewport. It was not long afterwards that the young Jedi's eyes were greeted with the blue plane of hyperspace.
Ren allowed his entire and mind to relax. In hyperspace, there were no lasers, no explosions, and no signs of the battle over Iridonia following behind the Republic warship and fighters. All there were the blue streaks of stars and soft vibration of the engine in Ren's fighter.
There is no chaos, there is harmony.
Raising a weary finger, Ren flipped a switch on his fighter's control panel to open up a comm channel to the Republic flagship. "Commander, how many made it?"
The commander answered, but his voice was filled with hesitation and restrained melancholy. "Nine ships and most of our starfighters… I'm afraid the rest were left behind during the Sith assault, general."
The news left a hollow feeling inside of the young Jedi, but he did not show it. Ren was simply silent for many moments before he answered. "Very well, commander. Order our forces to set a course for Onderon. Let me know when we drop out of hyperspace."
With that, Ren disconnected the comm channel, leaving a dead silence in the cockpit of his starfighter. After setting his fighter to autopilot, he rested his back against the back of his seat and placed a hand over his tired face. The Battle of Iridonia, as Ren knew it would be called in the holorecords, was one of the Republic's greatest defeats against the New Sith Empire. Ren was aware that not everyone would live through the battle, he just did not expect there to be so many casualties.
Throughout the entire battle, the young Jedi had seen many Republic pilots and Jedi lose their lives against the Sith. He had felt the life essences of the all those slain leave their physical forms, but that did not mean they were gone. To him, it meant they returned to the Force.
There is no death, there is the Force.
AN: Alright, that's my pitch for the story. I hope you like it. This is not up for adoption because I plan to put it up on this site soon. I don't when I will putting this on the site, but hopefully, soon.
Anyway, if you have any comments, please put it in the reviews, and please leave constructive criticism so I can know what to fix. Thank you.
Raika out!