Chapter 4: Sons of Mandalore
March 12, 2228.
Ezra waved at the last transport of the Order that was leaving the spaceport and heading for Eriadu, then he turned back toward his unusual companion.
"Thanks again for accompanying me, Tristan." he said.
The Duke smiled and joked "It's not like I'm here for your sake. I came to the city to wait for my nephews."
The two chuckled and then started walking toward the exit, followed closely by Tristan's two bodyguards. And just as they were about to reach the speeder and reach the hospital where Sabine had been transported for her labor, the two men were suddenly drawn, like all the citizens around them, by an explosion that happened two blocks away from there.
"I don't like this." Tristan said.
"Well, I need to check it out." Ezra replied. "You coming with?"
Tristan replied by putting his helmet on. "Right behind you."
Ezra nodded and materialized his armor and jetpack, so he and the mandalorians immediately headed on the roofs of the city to find a quick route toward the smoke column.
To Ezra's astonishment, when they reached the small backstreet where the smoke was coming from, they found Luke holding his lightsaber into a defensive posture against an opponent on the opposite side.
"Luke!" the Master yelled as he landed behind him.
"Ezra!" Luke replied, briefly turning his gaze before focusing back on the one trying to shoot him.
As Tristan and his guards also landed in the street, they all pointed their weapons, only to be left speechless when they realized that Luke's aggressor was wearing a mandalorian armor. It was green and quite spoiled, as if it had suffered extensive damage from some type of corrosion.
"You. State your name." Tristan demanded.
"I only have business with Skywalker. Walk away." the other replied.
"Hold on...green armor...you are the guy who took Han on Bespin. Boba Fett." Ezra realized.
The mandalorian grunted and clicked his tongue annoyed. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised."
"Fett." Luke instead intervened. "Why coming after me? Jabba is dead. Surely he isn't paying you for taking revenge."
"No. But his relatives did." the bounty hunter replied coldly. "And I was keen on taking it since you and your friends threw me into the Sarlacc."
Luke suddenly seemed to remind something shocking. "Right...how did you get out of that thing anyway?"
"I'm not that easy to kill, kid. But I had to endure a month of hell down on that forsaken planet. Taking you out is actually more pleasure than business."
"You're not going to kill anyone." Ezra intervened. "Lower your weapon and you can just walk away."
As soon as he said that, they heard the sound of police sirens converging on them and the small smoke column, which had been caused by one of Fett's bolts hitting the small power cell of a house.
Immediately, Fett ignited his jetpack and flew upward. Ezra was about to use the Force to immobilize him, but he was anticipated by Tristan's actions, as the Duke also ignited his jetpack at full speed and darted toward the bounty hunter, slamming against him as they landed on the rooftop.
The guards reacted after a first moment of surprise and flew over as well. Ezra and Luke simply jumped with the Force for that building was only two floor high and reached the top easily. There they fought Tristan and Fett grappling on the ground before Fett managed to shake the Duke off and the two assumed a ready stance for hand-to-hand, however Tristan spoke up.
"Listen. I know you feel lost, right now."
"No, you don't know a thing!" Fett snarled back.
"Oh really? I lost my planet and my mother. I'm pretty damn sure I have an idea of what you're going through. I know your story, Fett: you are the first clone. You were raised by Jango Fett and also lost him when you were a child. Since then, you stuck to the only thing that your father taught you: bounty hunting."
They were interrupted as two police speeders landed right next to them. From them came out three cops and, to Ezra's further surprise, Moreena.
"Police! Stop right there!" the Inspector yelled to everyone as she and her agents pointed their Predator pistols.
"Moreena, wait." Ezra asked, raising his hands to calm the situation.
"Ezra?! What are you doing here? You should be at the hospital already!" she reprimanded.
"I got derailed. Please, just wait a second before anyone gets hurt." he pleaded firmly.
Meanwhile, Tristan was still talking with Fett.
"You see it. You can't run right now."
"I will go down fighting, then."
"Spoken like a true warrior. But what would you be dying for, then?"
Fett made a confused huff.
Tristan relaxed his stance and removed his helmet, showing a calm yet commanding face, one worthy of a leader. "Are you just going to die for a few credits and a misplaced need for a vendetta? For what I heard, you already tried to kill Luke and his friends. Is it really their fault for defending themselves, even if you ended up inside a Sarlacc?"
For better or for worse, Fett didn't reply, but he didn't even seem eager to fire.
"Are you just going to die like another displaced? It's not too late to change and find a real cause worth fighting for?"
"What? Your little crusade? I'm not interested, thanks." Boba replied disillusioned.
"You sure about it?" Tristan replied unfazed. "You're still a son of Mandalore. I'm pretty sure your father passed you that feeling. You have always wandered the galaxy alone, never taking the chance to leave the world of bounty hunters because you didn't know better. But let me tell you, there are alternatives. Just allow me to show you. You can still find a home among us. We can give you a place where you belong."
Everyone froze. For a few seconds, Neither Fett nor Tristan moved an inch and the rest of the group remained there, spectating and hoping that there had been enough shooting for the day.
Eventually, Fett lowered his head slightly and then calmly rose his hands in a more relaxed pose.
"All right. I yield."
The Jedi drew a silent sigh of relief and Moreena ordered the cops to restrain the mandalorian, but then Luke intervened.
"Wait, please. Is it possible to just...let him go?"
Moreena looked at him with wide, angry eyes. "Are you kidding?! He carried a weapon with no authorization and even attempted a murder. I can't let him go!"
"What if I don't denounce the attempt?" Luke replied calmly.
Moreena was left speechless for a second, then squeezed her nose and eyes and sighed.
"I guess we'll just have to fine him for illegal possession, then." then she turned toward Fett. "Do you have the money?"
"I think I can manage." the original clone replied.
"Good." said Tristan. "Ezra, go to the hospital. We'll take care of this."
"Oh, yeah. Sabine has gone into labor half-an-hour ago." Moreena intervened.
Hearing that, Ezra quickly used the beacon in his wrist to call his skycar and jumped aboard, then rushed to the hospital where Sabine was. He hurried and reached the maternity bloc and once a nurse told him where to go, he wore a mask and went in.
Sabine was on the delivery bed, with a blanket covering her lower body with the team of nurses and the medic doing their business around her body, among which looking into the blanket to be ready for the moment the first of the kids came out.
"Ezra!" Sabine said loudly. She was covered in sweat and had a tired face, but she was clearly happy to see him. "I heard there was an explosion. I was so worried!"
Ezra rushed to hold her hand. "I'm fine, and I'm here. Relax, it's gonna be okay."
Only at that moment he realized that, on the other side of the chair, there was also Jaral holding a hand of the birthing woman. She quickly smiled at him before turning back to Sabine. "You're doing great, Sabine. Just focus on breathing."
The woman followed the instructions of her sister-in-law and made loud breaths, then she probably felt another contraption and her expression became one of extreme effort as she pushed.
"I see the head. Keep pushing." the doctor encouraged.
Sabine yelled basically a battle cry and made a large push again. A moment later, the crying of a baby filled the air. Ezra looked at the medic and quickly spotted the little human that had just come out of seemingly nowhere and froze for the emotion.
The baby kept crying as expected, the medic declared "One boy coming through." and passed it to the nurse who quickly put him into a blanket, then she went to give it to Ezra.
With trembling arms, Ezra extended them and grabbed the baby. Then his grip became firm as he couldn't stop his mouth from smiling widely.
"Look, cyar'ika." he simply said as he presented the boy to her mother.
Sabine's expression went from tired to overjoyed in the blink of an eye. Tired but unwilling to give in to exhaustion she reached the face of the baby with her left hand.
"Hi, Caleb." she murmured. "Welcome."
The two new parents chuckled, before Sabine felt another contraption and she went back to work. It took only another minute for her to push out the second one, who was then delivered to Jaral, who was arguably more enthusiast than the parents.
"Here comes another one." she quipped as she handed her to Sabine.
The new mother held her daughter and all the fatigue and pain were simply dispelled.
"Welcome, Ursa." she said.
March 14, 2228.
Jordan would have simply loved to go back to Lothal for one day and meet his new grandchildren, yet it seemed quite ironic to him that his current assignment would help secure their future as sons of the mandalorian culture.
"Entering the Mandalore system." Rut announced on the Intercom, though Jordan was already walking up from behind him.
"Prepare to engage cloaking and coordinate with the Normandy." the Major ordered.
As always, ARMA contacted EDI and the two AIs made sure that the frigates came out pretty much at the same time and engaged their cloaking devices while maintaining connection.
"No sign of enemy ships near the exit point. We can proceed safely toward the main planet." the AI reported after a few seconds.
"Then let's do this."
The frigates proceeded. After a couple hours of sub-light speed, they were in sight of Mandalore...or what was left of it.
The planet was completely enveloped by a curtain of dark clouds and magnetic storms, for the Base Delta Zero had basically melted the surface, thus releasing untold amounts of gases that had created a huge greenhouse effect in just a day. After three years, the situation was still apocalyptic and the planet should have been considered basically in a dead stadium.
However, there was clearly something down there, otherwise Jordan could not explain why there was quite a large fleet of the Consortium orbiting the planet, including replicas of several mandalorian ships.
"That's...the Keldabe." Jordan commented quite alarmed.
"What?" Jane asked.
"The old mandalorian flagship. It was destroyed at the battle of Taris, three years ago. But it seems like the Consortium made its own version."
"Looks like it's armed well enough to take on one of our dreadnoughts."
"Believe me, if they ever came too close, even the Everest could not survive long." Jordan noted. "That ship might be a huge problem for the Crusade."
"I suppose they acquired the blueprint, somehow. But why would they place it over a dead planet?"
"ARMA, EDI, any hint?"
"We're tracking their transmissions, but so far it's just normal traffic." his AI replied.
"I guess we'll have to wait here until they reveal something." Jane said on the other end of the communication.
Jordan hummed thoughtfully. "Understood."
"Something's wrong?"
"It's just...couldn't anybody else do this recon? Why did your father send us here?"
"Because you're still heavily stressed by the recent events on Eriadu." Jane replied firmly. "Your bio-readings are very clear about it."
The Major was taken by surprise. "What? I'm not that stressed…"
"With respect, Jordan, you clearly are." ARMA intervened. "You sleep less than your recommended amount of time, and those few times you do, your brain waves clearly indicate that you have recurring nightmares."
Jordan internally mocked himself for forgetting that ARMA constantly monitored his vitals as part of her programming, especially if his superiors believed that he might have been affected psychologically.
"I just...I think I should be back there and find a way to finish that battle as quickly as possible."
"Now we have the entire Spectre Department helping us." Jane reassured. "All you need to do right now is to get your head off for a while, then we will return to Eriadu. I promise."
Jordan decided to come to terms with the decision of his superior. After all, UACT intelligence still had no clue where Governor Setumb was hiding, so he could afford to stay away for a while. Maybe he should have taken up the opportunity and go visit his family while he could.
Meanwhile, the ships spent nearly two hours before EDI managed to find something useful.
"I'm detecting a reinforced cargo ship coming from the surface."
Jordan, who had started playing cards with a group of his officers to kill time, rushed back to the bridge.
"Any update?" he asked.
"Sir...we are detecting beskar inside that cargo." ARMA said with a bit of surprise herself.
Jordan was surprised, but not that much: that certainly was one of the reasons he suspected. "Can you determine its origin?"
"If you mean which part of the planet it comes from, it's quite hard to tell. I can calculate where it took off from, so we will at least know where the spaceport is."
"The surface is completely blocked by the layer of storms. Our scanners simply can't get through." Jane reported. "Unless we get on the surface, and I doubt that's a good idea, we can hardly tell their exact numbers."
"She's right, Major." said Rut. "The orbital defenses are all we can assess."
"Well, I guess knowing that they are extracting beskar is quite important. But that means they won't give up the planet so easily."
"I'm don't feel safe knowing that these criminals are using one of the toughest alloys in the known universe. Let's finish our recon of this sector and the inform the UACT as soon as possible."
"First of all, we need to tell the mandalorians. They will be the one who will come here in a few weeks." Jordan replied.
Jane hummed in thought. "You're right about that. Then how about you go to Lothal while I return to the fleet once we're done?"
It seemed like Jane could simply read his desires. He smirked and replied "If you insist."
March 23, 2228.
Finally having Jordan back was a welcome gift for the Bridgers, but the news he brought were a bitter addition. As he finished his report to the Masters and the most important mandalorian chiefs, a sense of sudden bitterness and pessimism took over the assembly.
"They rebuilt the Keldabe?" Count Eldar said alarmed.
"And they're mining beskar on our own planet. The nerve!" Countess Awaud said as she smashed a fist into the other hand.
"My friends, calm down." Tristan solemnly invited and everyone complied. "Clearly, retaking our home planet is not going to be easy, but I wouldn't have called for a Crusade if I thought otherwise." then he turned back toward Jordan. "Major Bridger, what can you tell us about the other worlds?"
Jordan pointed at the holo-map being projected in front of the assembly. "They have a base pretty much everywhere, but it looks like the outer worlds are much less defended, maybe because those are in range of the UACT scanners and they are still trying to hide their real strength."
Tristan calmly stood and assessed the situation. All his kin looked up to him and nervously waited for whatever decision he was coming up with.
Finally, he pointed a finger on one of the planets at the edge of the Mandalore Sector.
"We will start our reconquest from here." he declared.
The other clan leaders looked better and the chief of clan Ordo seemed a little surprised. "Zanbar? Not exactly a good place for such a massive army."
"Which is likely what the mercenaries think." Tristan replied. "We will start our attack here. They will then think that we will head for Mandalore right away, but in reality, the force on Zanbar will have to be a diversion. In reality, our main fleet will proceed to liberate Concord Dawn. Then they will proceed to Krownest. Once their forces are split and defeated, we will converge on Kalevala, establish a foothold there, and then launch the final offensive toward Ordo first and, finally, Mandalore."
The assembly was quite impressed by the rapidity with which Tristan had come up with such an ambitious plan, however, doubt was still present.
"Dividing their forces could work, but do we have enough strength to do this?" another Count asked.
"What are you talking about?" Sabine intervened with her usual fiery attitude. She stood up and went next to her brother. "We have already assembled the largest army of mandalorians in centuries, and every day there are dozens if not hundreds who join our ranks. By the time we start the Crusade, we will surely outnumber those bastards."
A murmur of approval crossed the assembly.
"Sabine's right." Tristan added. "Besides, we already have the final objective: if they are mining beskar, it means that the Great Forge is still working and they are exploiting it. That's the only way they could restart mining operations with the planet in the condition most of us saw that tragic day."
Ezra and Jaral could feel the spectators being touched by a note of frustration and sadness at the remembrance of the Night of a Thousand Tears, as they had nicknamed the moment the 101st Imperial Fleet had turned the planet into a tomb world.
"But look at us!" Tristan added with composed emphasis, regaining the attention of everyone immediately. "Even in front of the greatest catastrophe in our history, we haven't lost ourselves. We have survived; we have endured; we have become stronger as we found our new place in the galaxy."
The other nobles started to shout in approval, but never overwhelmed Tristan's voice as kept his speech up.
"As the galaxy tears itself apart, we have learned that we can use our strength to pull it back together. The Criminal Underworld has festered and spread like a disease thanks to this war, and only we can stand between them and the innocents. Who will stand with me?"
From the back row, the Armorer stood up. "I will."
"And us, of course." Asha spoke up for her father before standing up and walking next to her husband. "Hold your heads high, like true sons of Mandalore. We will reclaim our worlds. For the blood of our ancestors, but most importantly for our children. And if that batch of murderers, thieves and wretches will be so stupid to stand in our way, then we will remind them where our reputation comes from!"
"Raahh!" a yell made Ezra's eardrums shake.
"All right. Let's get back to preparations. The time is closer than we think." Tristan declared in the end and the assembly started to disperse.
"Quite the speech." Jaral complimented once only the Duke and his family were left around.
"I only expressed what all of us, deep down, feel." Tristan said modestly.
"I wish you would let us come. You helped us so many times, recently." Ezra said.
But Tristan shook his head with a smile. "No, Ezra. It is our people that owes a lot to the Jedi."
"Uh?"
"After Mandalore was destroyed, you could say that we were lost. Our planet suffered greatly before, sure, but it never occurred that we would all be forced to leave it, perhaps forever. But with your help, and your petition to the UACT, we have founded this colony. You welcomed us and helped us gather more of our lost brethren. You gave me a chance to recover the Darksaber...but most importantly, you gave us a new purpose."
Those words hit the Jedi quite deeply.
"A new purpose?" Jaral asked.
"Indeed, Master Bridger." Asha intervened kindly. "You have shown us that we have always used our strength in a self-destructive way. Had we not been with you for these last years, we would still be divided and fighting over petty revenges of ages ago."
"You showed us that we can use our warrior skills in another way. A way that has a place in the universe not as senseless destruction, but that can be used as a shield."
"Guys, I honestly don't know…" Ezra said hesitantly.
"Don't think too much about it, Ezra." Alrich Wren intervened from behind them. The former Count seemed to have become quite older all of a sudden in the past three years, but he still was very much involved in politics. "You have reshaped our identity in a good way. For that, we can never thank you enough, and that's why we can't ask you to assist us. This is our battle, while you have to prepare for your own."
"That's right." Tristan added, using his father's point. "Retaking Mandalore might prove useless if the Empire wins this war. If you want to help us, make sure that the Sith pay for everything they have done."
The two Masters found their own determination and nodded a positive, then the group finally dissolved. Ezra and Sabine walked together toward their speeder as they spoke up.
"Honestly, the moment the kids don't need your body, you're already leaving." he joked.
Sabine chuckled. "I have to be a strong mama for them. Can't sit around all day. Besides, once they won't need me to drink, I'm positive even you can manage."
Ezra sighed. "Sabine, are you really sure you want to go? Even Tristan went back and said that he would understand if you…"
Sabine simply took his hand as they kept walking. "Ezra, it's not just for me and my family that I'm doing this. The kids are born on Lothal and I think they will spend their infancy here, but they are still half mandalorians. I owe to them too that they can have the bedrock of their culture back."
Ezra sighed again and smiled. "All right, case closed. Just win this war quickly, so you come back to them."
"You can count on that." Sabine said confidently.
Then they made a sudden encounter.
"Mo?" Sabine asked surprised and merrily. "What brings you here?"
Moreena seemed to hesitate, though she was smiling, so she was probably planning some sort of surprise. "Well, I guess I can tell you now: I handed my resignation notice to the police."
Ezra was confused, Sabine was at first surprised, then chuckled and went to pat her shoulder. "So you decided?"
Moreena nodded firmly.
"Decided what?" Ezra asked.
The women turned toward him.
"I'm joining the Crusade as a volunteer."
Ezra now was simply stunned. "What?! Wait...so all those speeches about you joining Clan Wren…"
"What? Did you think I was joking?" Sabine quipped.
"I know it might sound weird to you, Ezra, but I have pondered long and hard about it. I know that my place is with these people, and if I can help them, I'll do my best."
Ezra was a bit worried about her life, now, but there was nothing he could do. "I see." he simply said.
April 2, 2228.
Out there, in the Mid Rim, the war was raging and claiming thousands of lives every minute that passed, but on Coruscant all of that sounded like something extremely remote.
Had Namedra never seen a battle with her own two eyes, she might have grown accustomed to the illusion that the Core planet tended to put on everybody. Also, the reports she received about the dismal state that the Mid Rim Forces found themselves in, reminded her constantly just how badly she needed to do her work there.
And that task was: to gather any support she could for her husband, especially any material support she could muster.
That was the reason why she was now walking three levels below Capital Square, where she had been invited by the representative of a corporate syndicate.
"I don't like this." Qathora commented as both of them walked around with a black cloak to confuse themselves.
"Moff Gideon confirmed their reliability. That's enough for me." Namedra replied with determination.
Thus, they reached a pretty rundown warehouse and she knocked three time. A bulb droid activated and asked with its 8-bit voice "Isn't it crazy to walk around at this hour?"
"No." Namedra replied calmly. "Not if your dignity requires it."
The droid elaborated, then its eye became a green light and retracted, letting the door open.
The two women went inside, finding a room that was barely illuminated, but with a fair number of people inside, almost hiding in the shadows. But when everyone saw Namedra removing her hood, they started gathering around her with calm movements. Then one of them, who seemed slightly better groomed and clothed than the others, stepped forward and offered his hand.
"Lady Heike. It's an honor to meet you." he began with a humble tone.
Namedra shook his hand and made a nod, waiting for him to present himself.
"My name is Quilly Vort, I am the chief of the seventh block of Station B4." he said, referring to one of the many huge space stations around Coruscant from which trade ships from all over the Empire came and departed for the whole galaxy.
"A pleasure, Mister Vort. I understand you wanted to talk with me."
"Indeed. We called you here because we require your help. Help to do something that will benefit the Lord-Protector." Vort declared with a hushed tone.
"I'm listening." Namedra replied immovable.
"Well, to put it bluntly: all of us think that the government is making a huge mistake. All the supplies passing through our block have been diverted to...I don't even know where. It's certainly not going to the front, where it is most needed."
"It appears the Emperor deems them necessary somewhere else." Namedra replied, remaining vague.
"Whatever plan the Emperor has, it won't matter if the invaders and the rebels break through the Mid Rim." another voice came up.
A man with a Navy uniform and the rank plaque of Junior Commander stepped forward and saluted Namedra. "Greetings, Miss Heike. I am Junior Commander Xet. We never met, but I was in the same class as your husband at the Royal Academy."
That surprised Namedra, though she decided to take that info with the due caution.
"It's a pleasure, Commander. You know that those words might get you the wrong attention?"
"If I didn't know, I wouldn't accept to meet you here." he quipped. "But let's get to the point: we're here to offer some help."
"I think I'm starting to see what kind of help that would be, but please, do explain." Namedra replied confidently.
"The Lord-Protector is indeed a mind like no other, but even he won't be able to hold back our enemies if his ships run out of fuel and his men out of food. To that point, we're already in contact with the workers of several military industries who seemed to have reached an informal accord with their supervisors: if they are willing to prolong their shifts, all they produce in those extra hours will be 'donated' to the Mid Rim Forces. And that's when we get into the picture."
Vort retook word. "We will make sure that these extra supplies will be delivered to the Mid Rim as fast as possible."
"I'm honestly astounded, gentlemen. I'm sure my husband will be more grateful than I am." the woman replied with a certain optimism.
"Also, since there will be a new route, let's just hope some of the official cargos don't get...misdirected." Xet added, chuckling alongside Vort.
Now, though, Namedra became careful. "I know you are all doing this out of patriotism, gentlemen, and I deeply respect that. Just don't pull the rope too hard, please."
"Well...we heard you are friend with Moff Gideon. I'm sure you can persuade him to give us a little push?" Vort asked kindly.
Namedra pondered for a moment. True, Gideon had taken her under his protection and he was clearly on Iulius' side, but she had to be extremely careful on what she asked out of him. There was always the risk that a rival of Gideon (and there were plenty of them) could use any slip to have him removed. And Namedra was quite sure that another Director of the ISB wouldn't be her ally.
"Very well. I'll see what I can do. I'll contact you in a few rotations." she concluded.
The group of workers hummed a positive, then that secret meeting came to an end.
April 4, 2228.
"Sir, the evacuation of Ringo Vinda is completed. The last transports should pass through here by the end of the rotation." Nash reported.
"Understood." Iulius said on a grim note.
Abandoning Ringo Vinda, so shortly after the bloodbath needed to take it, had been certainly the most bitter decision in his life, but there was simply no way to defend the planet. Not with the government continuously cutting his supplies down, while the few the Mid Rim produced had to be used to help Bolo, Sloane and Krybos hold up against the unrelenting enemy offensive.
However, falling back at that moment was also the best chance that Iulius had to lure the incoming UACT fleet into a decisive battle inside the Roche Belt.
"STEVE. Show me the timer." he ordered.
The AI complied and showed a hologram with a countdown.
32 hours, 11 minutes, 59 seconds.
"Come on…" he murmured, looking outside the viewport and staring at the large asteroid field surrounding the fleet.
Right now, there were only the Admonitor and the Revenant with their escorts, plus three heavy cruisers and two Procursator loaded with ion cannons and 12 smaller ships.
Then Maurice suddenly declared. "Grand Admiral. The enemy fleet jumped into hyperspace from Abhean. They are descending the Perlimian."
"Time before they arrive here?" Iulius asked.
"Counting the stops they need to make…around 30 hours."
Iulius closed his eyes and made a silent sight, then gave his next command. "Alert the fleet, then."
"Yes, sir." Nash replied.
Meanwhile, Iulius took his comlink. "Tanis to Corvus, do you read me?"
"This is the Corvus. We read you, sir." the voice of Hask came through.
"Is Ensign Pauly there?"
Not long after the voice of the Ensign replied "Pauly."
"The enemy fleet is en route here. Is the gravity well ready?"
"I checked it two times already, sir. I swear it will be ready when you want to use it."
"Good...Rogue Shadow, do you copy?"
"This is the Shadow. We read you loud and clear." the voice of Juno replied.
"How is our player?" Iulius tried to quip to lighten the heavy mood.
"He's preparing for the golden opportunity." Eclipse replied in tone.
"I sure hope so. Because if there is a cosmic Force out there...then may it really be with us." Iulius concluded as he sent another gaze outside.