Hey, everybody. Back with another chapter. Sorry it took a month to get this up. I've been dealing with a lot in my life after graduating and my life is kinda chaos right now, and its made it harder to write. I'll try and post more often from now on, as things have started calming down a bit.
Let's get to it.
GREAT CELESTIAL-DRAGON: I will have some elements of Dark Empire, but with some recent decisions I've made, less than I originally planned. As for the guy on the wiki, rules of creating a wiki don't allow me a lot of control over who posts to the wiki, sadly. I can only ask people to please not post to the wiki unless it's to correct a mistake I made or to add something clearly started in the stories.
Rico: Yes, although there's not really much need for it, given how the political situation worked.
MatbeK01: I'll try and get a few cultural pages up, but there are some already. As for Ben and Rey having connections with Kylo Ren, remember that in the films, that connection between Rey and Kylo was because of a dyad between them, and in this series, the dyad is between Ben and Rey.
Chapter 73- Operation Overlord
(April 24, 2052)
As the sun rises over Naboo, the planet is in chaos. Ships are landed all around the planet, allowing divisions of soldiers to board them for transport. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers are boarding the transports, ready to begin their journey. The rest of the fleet is positioned above the planet, providing cover in case of a First Order attack, but ready to move at a moment's notice once the transports are ready.
In Theed, it is no less busy. Supplies are being loaded at the various landing pads around the city, and troops are marching through the city to one of the marshalling points just outside the city. Naboo hasn't seen such action in decades, and it's a very unusual sight for the citizens of the planet.
At the Starfleet headquarters in Theed, Jonathan is gathered with his admirals and generals, going over the final plans to ensure everyone is on the same page with all the details. Today is the day that the great offensive, Operation Overlord II, begins. The fleets will spend three days traveling and getting into position before the attacks begin on the 27th. The Alliance has been building up forces for months, and the espionage and sabotage missions led by Galen Andor have caused serious damage to the First Order's supply and communications networks. The time to strike is now.
"I need to remind all of you that constant contact is crucial once the operation begins. Once the attacks begin, the First Order will be scrambling to respond, and everyone, including me, needs a constant situational awareness if we are going to be able to properly respond to any counterattacks," Jonathan orders.
The men and women around the table all nod in response. Jonathan takes a moment to look around at everyone's faces before he says, "Friends, this is the biggest moment of all our careers, and it will define the future of this war. This must go well." He pauses again, then says, "You are dismissed. Prepare for departure in 4 hours."
Everyone nods and begins to file out of the room. Finally, Jonathan is alone with Admiral Jacobsen. The two men look at each other for a moment before Jonathan says, "Alright. It's going down."
"God be with our boys," Jacobsen says in a soft voice, both men consumed with the gravity of the situation. This is the key point in the course of the war.
Outside, the final preparations begin. The last troops begin boarding the assault ships, sailors still on land board shuttles to their ships, and patrolling fighters begin returning to their ships in readiness for departure.
At the same time, in the Terran Jedi outpost in Theed, several individuals are all standing in a circle: Jared Hansen, Simone Biles, Anakin Hall, Alex Bridger, Ben, Rey, and Jaina. All of them except Simone will be accompanying the fleet when it departs Naboo. Simone will be remaining on Naboo. Not only to coordinate Jedi activities in Andromeda, but also to watch Vestara. Given how close Simone was with Ben's mother, Ben and Rey trusted her to watch over their daughter while they were deployed.
Jared, being the senior Jedi Master in this group, has been conducting this brief meeting to prepare them to leave for the campaign. Now, he looks around at the group. "Alright. It's time. We've been preparing for this for a long time. The Alliance and the Resistance are counting on us. Be ready for anything, as there's no telling what we might face. And may the Force be with you."
"We'll get through this just fine, and we are going to finish the influence of the Dark Side for good," Anakin says with a confident smirk.
Jared gives Anakin an amused look before looking around at everyone before he says, "Alright, everyone. Dismissed."
The group breaks up and heads out of the room. However, Jared quickly notices Ben and Rey lingering, whispering to each other. Sensing a bit of worry from Rey, Jared walks over to the two. "Are you alright, Rey?" he asks the young woman.
Both Ben and Rey turn to face Jared. "Yes…mostly," Rey admits before she continues, "I'm a little nervous being away from Vestara. I've never been away from her for more than a few minutes since she was born. Now I could be away for weeks or even months."
"I can understand that. I was sent on my mission to take down the Dark Force when my oldest was just a few months old. The first time leaving your baby behind for a while is always the worst. It does get a little easier over time. But that's what this job entails. Sometimes you have to leave loved ones for a short time," Jared says reassuringly. He then smiles and says, "But don't let that stop you from loving your daughter all the more, and each other. Some of the words I live by are 'Never let a task to do become more important than a person to be loved'. Even though we have to leave our loved ones behind at times, make sure you're doing it for them and not just because you have to, and treasure the time you do spend with them all the more. Do that, and your family will be stronger than ever."
"Thank you, Master Hansen," Rey says, but Jared can see in her eyes that something is still wrong.
"Yet something is still bothering you. I may not be a gambler, but I've gotten real good at reading people's eyes and expressions. I can see something is still bothering you," Jared says. Ben also looks at his wife, a little concerned.
Rey hesitates for a second before she says, "I just…I just feel an unease. We've been training for years now, and are as ready as we've ever been. But are we truly ready for this? What if we're not? I've only been training for two years. The rest of you have been training for decades. Can I really make that much of a difference?"
Jared sighs a bit, understanding where she's coming from, then rests a hand on her shoulder as he looks her right in the eyes, and for a moment, his age starts to show a little bit more as he takes on an almost grandfatherly look. "Rey, I understand your feelings. But you cannot allow that worry to dominate your thoughts. If you do, you will only end up hurting yourself. And length of training is not always what is most important. I don't know what happened to you on your training journey you took, but I can see the changes it brought about in both of you. And you were already strong before that trip. I know the two of you are ready for this."
Jared pauses, then says, "One of the early leaders of my religion once said 'If you have a bad thought about yourself, tell it go to hell, because that is exactly where it came from'. And I have grown to live by those words, because when you don't, it becomes easy to feel overwhelmed by negativity. You may not believe the same things I do, but the principle remains the same. Recognize that negativity does not come a good place, and put it out of your mind. That can lead to the dark side, and even if it doesn't, it doesn't make life easier."
Rey looks at Jared, his words ringing true to her soul. She smiles, a hint of a tear in her eye, and she says, "Thank you, Master Hansen. I needed that."
Jared smiles and gives her a quick hug. He then claps Ben on the shoulder and says, "Alright. You two better get to your ship. The fleet will be leaving soon."
"Yes, Master," the two say in sync before they finally leave the room. Jared lingers for a moment, smiling after them, before he turns to leave for his own ship.
Over the next few hours, the fleet finishes preparations for departure and begins ascending to orbit. Once in orbit, the fleet organizes into several different task forces, each one intended for a different target planet. All the while, down on the planet, Jonathan is watching their progress.
Finally, the scheduled time for departure comes. Jonathan and Admiral Jacobsen do a quick run-through to ensure that every ship is in place. Once the check is complete, Jonathan activates his commlink, sending a simple message to all ships of the fleet, "All ships, this is Grand Admiral Page. All ships are cleared for departure. Operation Overlord II is now in effect."
The message is instantly transmitted to all ships of the fleet, and the admirals begin ordering their ships to begin preparations for hyperspace jumps. After several minutes, the ships are all ready, and almost simultaneously, every ship of the fleet makes the jump to hyperspace.
The operation is underway.
(April 27, 2052)
Above the planet of Bothawui, a number of First Order ships are in position. The Bothans have been proving a thorn in the side of the First Order for a long time, thanks to the supplies and weapons the Resistance had provided to Bothan insurgents a long time ago. The First Order has been trying to crack down a lot on the insurgencies on the planet.
On one of the ships above the planet, a Resurgent class vessel, technicians are monitoring the ship's sensors when, all of a sudden, their systems start to go wild, with multiple alarms suddenly blaring throughout the bridge.
The captain of the vessel is instantly on alert, his head whipping around as he shouts, "What is that? What's causing those alarms?"
"Captain, systems show dozens of ships coming out of hyperspace in Sector 2. No friendly ID codes," a technician calls out.
The captain looks out of the viewport in the designated direction. Within seconds, his eyes widen as dozens of ships drop out of hyperspace. All of them he recognizes as Terran designs, including three battlecruisers, a starfighter carrier, two dozen Star Destroyers, 15 cruisers, eight assault vessels, and 10 other transports.
The captain stares at the incoming fleet in shock for a moment before he calls out, "Sound the alarm! We are under attack by a massive Terran fleet. Alert forces planetside and send a warning to GHQ!"
On board the ships of the Terran fleet, fighters and bombers begin to scramble to engage the First Order's fleet as gunners warm up their weapons. On board the transports, troops of the Brazilian and Mexican armies begin preparations for the landing.
The battle for Bothawui is about to begin.
(Hours later, Coruscant)
In a situation room in the main military command center, the general staff of the First Order's military are assembled for an urgent meeting with the Supreme Leader. Needless to say, Kylo Ren had not taken the news well and trashed the room, nearly killing one of his generals in his rage. The staff were now discussing the response to the invasion.
"Our commanders have confirmed the landing of at least 100,000 enemy troops on Bothawui, and that is not expected to be the end of it. Our fleet has been either destroyed or captured," one of the generals says.
"Prepare our armies to travel to Bothawui. We must stem this invasion," Kylo Ren says, his voice dangerous even from behind his mask.
Suddenly, the console of Allegiant General Pryde, one of the senior members of the general staff, begins to beep. Pryde turns his attention to his console, and his expression quickly darkens. Looking up, Pryde says, "Supreme Leader. Multiple reports are just arriving. The Terrans have also attacked Gamorr and are landing troops as we speak. We also have reports of fighter and bomber raids at six different worlds in the Outer Rim, all key hubs in our logistic network."
Kylo screams in anger, igniting his lightsaber and throwing it across the room. The saber carves along the wall across the length of the room before Kylo summons it back into his hand. The entire room can hear his heavy breathing as he says, "They are launching their great offensive. But we will beat it back. And I will not accept failure!"
(Bothawui)
As the sun is beginning to set over the region of Bothawui where the capitol lies, the capitol is being rocked by the sound of blaster and rifle fire and the explosions of artillery shells. Two divisions of the Mexican Army are assaulting the city, and already hold a quarter of the city.
On the ground, in the midst of a Mexican armored battalion, Jared Hansen spins his lightsaber in hand as he dashes ahead of a squad of infantry, trying to protect them from a squad of stormtroopers charging on their position, accompanied by a First Order AT-ST walker.
Jared deflects two blaster bolts at the troopers who fired them. He then deflects a bolt from the AT-ST with his saber. He then draws back his hand as he gathers the Force before unleashing it in one massive Force wave, sending a number of troopers flying and knocking the walker over, rendering it useless. Jared then resumes his charge against the remaining troopers. As he reaches them, he begins bounding through their ranks, his saber flashing wildly around him, cutting down a trooper with every stroke. In seconds, Jared is surrounded only by dozens of bodies.
Jared turns back to the Mexican infantry holed up along the street. Raising his saber, he shouts loud enough for them to hear, "¡Después de mí, mis hermanos de México! ¡Muéstrales por qué deberían temerte! ¡Muéstrales por qué somos más fuertes!" Spanish is one of 43 languages Jared is fluent in. He is answered by dozens of war cries as the soldiers get to their feet and charge after him.
As he leads the battalion after him down the street, tanks covering their advance, Jared glances around the street, and spots a house that hasn't been abandoned by its inhabitants. The Bothans inside look out as Jared and the troops are charging down the street, and although he can tell they're afraid, he can also see the hope on their faces. Hope for their freedom. Jared smiles reassuringly at the Bothans before returning his attention to the fight, determined to finish this battle and finally liberate the Bothans.
(Naboo)
In his command center on Naboo, Jonathan is watching the reports coming in from his forces at Bothawui and Gamorr, as well as reports from the airstrikes at other locations. So far, the reports coming in are all positive. Casualties have been relatively low, especially in space, and the invasions of Bothawui and Gamorr are moving ahead well.
Admiral Jacobsen speaks up as he says, "Still want to hold back Gensoul?", referring to Admiral Gensoul, who is commanding a third fleet scheduled to launch another invasion tomorrow.
"Yes. Better to wait and let more forces be drawn to Bothawui and Gamorr to clear the way," Jonathan says. He pauses for a moment before he says, "All good things come to those who wait."
And, I'll end the chapter there. I hope you liked this one. If you have any requests for things you'd like to see in the next few chapters as part of the campaign, let me know in a review, and I'll consider it.
So, I can promise that updates will not take a month like this one did. As I said, I've had a lot going on in my life the last month that has made it very difficult to write, and even now, my life is still chaotic, but I'm gonna try and resume writing at a faster pace.
However, I also took my time because I recently realized I wasn't entirely satisfied with my original plan for the rest of the story. So, I decided to rewrite my plotline for the rest of the story, including changing a number of things I had planned, and I think my new ideas are going to make the story much better. I also decided, since I won't have as much time to write once I start my career, to take an entirely separate and independent storyline for a different story I was planning and adapt parts of it for this story instead. I won't spoil anything more, but be excited, because I've got some good stuff in store.
Alright, next chapter will be up soon, and will continue the campaign. Please leave a review, and stay tuned!