Ch17 - The Reunification
Headquarters of the Alliance to Restore the Republic, Yavin 4, 1 BBY
"You've been promoted," Percy noted, saluting the Twi'lek. "Congratulations General Syndulla."
"And welcome back, Admiral Jackson," Hera smiled back, returning the salute and then taking the offered handshake.
"I still don't like it," Percy griped. "They could have just used my real name, you know?"
"The galaxy doesn't remember you that way," Hera said, the good-natured smile not dropping from her face. "Unfortunately we all have to make sacrifices to see our worlds restored to us."
"And don't we just know it," Percy nodded solemnly.
"Hera!" Sabine greeted, not bothering with formality and instead hugging her mentor. Percy couldn't help but smile at the familiarity of it all.
"You got a promotion too," Hera noted with a grin. "Congratulations, Commander."
The standout topic went unmentioned. That was too fresh, too recent. That conversation would be saved for later, perhaps over something strong, after all the fighting was done.
Though Sabine smiled, both the older Rebels knew just what she was hiding. They'd felt it all too many times themselves.
"Lothal, then," Percy broached. "What's the play?"
"I'll show you," Hera offered. "The strike team are in the barracks now, best let them stay there."
They walked across to a smaller control room, joined by Rex, Kallus and Nico di Angelo. The Jedi gave his long-time comrade-in-arms a smile; one which widened when he saw the Republic-era Rank Tabs over the khaki combat dress that Rebel Officers favoured.
"Whoever made this stuff knows how to make good combat gear," Percy shrugged. "If I'm meant to be this PR victory, then I might as well enjoy it."
"Is Reyna joining us?" the Umbaran asked. Percy nodded, a small smirk on his face as he imagined his wife's reaction to the scene playing out in front of him.
"Good," another voice interrupted, the familiarity of it making Percy double take. "The old gang are all going to be back together, then."
"Don't pretend that you're going back into combat roles, Grace," Clarisse la Rue scoffed, Piper McLean laughing behind her.
"Just Zhang, Levesque, Chase and Pace to go before 38's back together, then?"
"Well, we're missing Kenobi too, aren't we?" Jason asked. "Last I heard, he was running from the Imps to save Leia Organa."
"He's doing his own thing," Nico said, the tone of his voice warning them not to discuss the famed Jedi any further. Nobody knew who was listening, and the walls practically had ears.
"Shall we begin?" Hera Syndulla asked, cutting across the reminiscing group of former Republic Officers. They gathered around the holotable, Syndulla presenting her plan, others pitching in as they went along.
"Thrawn's your protege, Perseus; is there anything that you'd add? Any advice you give could be the key to our mission succeeding or failing."
"Thrawn is the best of the Imperial Admiralty," Percy said. "Because he's the most Imperial of them all."
"Go on," Jason encouraged, raising an eyebrow.
"If he controls all the variables, then he wins," Percy smirked. "Remove the control from his grasp, and he's forced to rethink. The Imperial Academies don't teach their cadets how to change their play on the spin - if it isn't one of the plans that we came up with over the Clone War, then it's one that someone else did; Thrawn, Tarkin, Rax, Piett, Yularen. They rehearse their strategies over and over again, and somewhere along the way, they forget how to think for themselves. Throw something new at them, Hera."
"Say, how's that Blade-Wing project going?" Piper asked. "Kallus here was pulling his hair out trying to figure out who made those."
"You jumped into my blockade with five sets of experimental weapons," Kallus protested. "I don't think my heart could've survived much more, with all the unthinkable technology Quarrie was working with."
"Hey, that blockade buster cannon was some of my best work," Sabine grinned. "It took a while to get that Mon Cala guy to let me mess with it, but Manda above know it was pretty."
"Suppose you break a flank, instead of pushing the centre," Jason suggested "Even if ground-based air defence is up, you could bet on there being Interceptors either up already, or ready to scramble. Pushing the centre would imply losses that would hinder you from beating that potential second line."
"Does he have enough fighters for that?" Hera frowned.
"They always have enough fighters, Hera," Kallus stated grimly. "If Thrawn's arranged this blockade, then he's likely brought back older TIEs to form that second line, if it does exist. Not too scary one-to-one, but a cluster of them?"
"Not good," Hera surmised. "Kriff, how do you break an unbreakable blockade?"
"Don't break it at all," Nico muttered.
"Explain," Jason demanded, "Percy was the only one of us able to understand the Kark that Kenobi used to say back in the day, and even he looks confused."
"Guilty as charged," Percy admitted. "Nico, you want to hit the Lothal site without breaking the blockade?"
"Precisely," the Jedi smirked. "X-Wings would be clever for breaking a single layered blockade, and you can't break a second layer without heavy support. The more layers you prepare for later stages of any potential defence, the less a chance you stand of breaking the first."
"Makes sense, but you still haven't explained anything," Jason chuckled.
"He has," Hera observed. "It's clever, too. If they don't see anything going past, then they don't have anything to defend against. Not until the heavy support kicks in."
"So we need to hit the Imps at range, and hit them hard," Jason surmised. "Keep them occupied, so that the real attack looks like a secondary objective."
"Not quite, though it's clever enough," Percy nodded. "The heavy troops keep hitting them at range, keeping heavier Imperial assets occupied, while the fighters loiter back. If further Imperial assets are committed to the defence from the surface, then all the better when we make our push for the surface. The sacrifice that we make, however, is that we can't disable the ground-based guns on the surface. Not until the last moment."
"It's far simpler, the way I have it planned out," Nico said. "We'll run through it when Reyna gets here."
Headquarters of the Alliance to Restore the Republic, Yavin 4, 1 BBY
The Kom'rk touched down in front of a waiting group of Rebel Officers. The thirty or so Mandalorians who disembarked were greeted to rapturous applause.
While Reyna knew that the Rebellion as a whole was sorely in need of victories to celebrate, she also knew that it only added to the shame that the warriors behind her felt.
To a man, they had all been Jet Troopers for the Empire at one point or another.
Some, such as Tristan Wren, had left as early as possible, even ferrying intelligence to the Resistance before it had taken root. Others had remained loyal until Tiber Saxon had turned his back on Alabaster Torrington.
Now, though, they were all a part of their Mandalore; Mandalore for Mandalorians. Further to that, they were willing volunteers to redeem themselves as a part of the wider Rebel Alliance.
In order to blend in with their new Rebel counterparts, they had foregone the traditional Beskar armour which was stored in personal lockers inside the Kom'rk, opting instead to wear the Khaki gear that was so much more suited to the jungles of Yavin.
What could not be left behind, though, were their weapons. WESTAR-built blasters and pistols continued to make up their primary firepower, and many had repainted their old Imperial-issue vambraces, granting them the standard grappling rope, flamethrower, darts and shielding.
"Thirty volunteers, cyara," Reyna told her husband as she walked into his waiting arms, sighing at the familiarity of it even in this new setting. "And I must say, that jacket suits you down to the ground."
Percy smiled back. "If I started talking along those lines, my love, the entirety of this base would get a show that I'd rather they don't get, if it's all the same to you. I believe that you have a little something for me, too?"
She passed him the box containing the Imperial-spec vambraces, swatting him gently on the shoulder in response to his shameless flirting.
"So the whole gang really is back together again, then," a smug voice said, interrupting the moment.
"Shut it, Grace," Clarisse huffed. "They're clearly having a moment, you classless nerf herder."
"Hey, I resent that," the Kuati Senator groused. "I was just saying hello to an old friend. Not my fault you want to stalk them while they have a moment."
"How is it that I'm still the youngest, and yet I'm the only one who's done any growing up in the past seventeen years?"
"Kid's got a point," Reyna nodded sagely. "Children, the lot of you."
The group chuckled at the look the Umbaran Jedi gave her,
"Reyna, I've got my own Jedi order, and a beard," he deadpanned. "I don't think I qualify as a kid anymore."
"The all-important beard," Rex chuckled, running a hand through his own. "It's okay, General. The Admirals are trying to pretend like they aren't forty-something cycles old and stepping back into the roles they left behind the day the Republic fell."
"In other news," Tristan Wren interjected, "Wasn't there meant to be an assault on Lothal to organise?"
"There's one last thing left to organise before we can manage that," Rex told him. "We might have resurrected the Republic Fleet, but we haven't resurrected its flagship just yet.
Scrapper Guild Shipyard, Grappa, 1 BBY
"Whoa," Sabine breathed. "Uncle P, Aunt Rey, you folks commanded these?"
"They were a bit more intact than this one," Percy mused. "I'm impressed that it hasn't fallen apart yet."
"Early Imperial-Era," Jason noted, running a hand along the fighter command console of what had once been ISD Revenant. "The grey really doesn't do much for these things. It felt dirty, sending these off to the Imps from the Drive Yards instead of the old paint scheme."
"Man," Percy muttered. "I don't think Rothana could ever build anything as good as this again."
"We've had droids patching this thing up for years by now," Hera told them. Senators Grace and La Rue have been instrumental since they joined the Rebel Cause in earnest. It'll fly, and most of the systems are online. The moment we get its hull in proper working order, it's clear to become our flagship."
"Does she have a name?" Reyna asked, peering through what appeared to be a brand new viewport. The new Durasteel hull was still being fused together, gargantuan panels of the stuff covering up the Reactor Core which would eventually power ten Ion Thrust Engines.
"The Republic Star Destroyer Liberation," Jason muttered under his breath. "It just makes sense, doesn't it? It could have been a battle, but to call our flagship the Liberation just seems to make sense."
"Liberation it is, then," Percy nodded in approval. "Now all we need to do is secure some escorts. I'll see if Bo-Katan is able to help us out a little in that regard."
"We'll be able to draft in Mon Calamari ships if it's a battlegroup you're looking for, Admiral," Mon Mothma said. "There is an entire fleet of them, armed and ready."
"The Alliance to Restore the Republic indeed," Rex mused.
ISD Chimaera, Lothal System, 1 BBY
"Incoming shuttle," the Deck Officer informed Thrawn. "Sent by Castellan's fleet, for the Revenant. Codes check out."
"This is of no concern to me," Thrawn dismissed. "Allow them through, and conduct scans of their cargo."
Sure enough, a Lambda-Class shuttle dropped out of hyperspace, slowing to allow itself to be scanned. Sure enough, it bore the insignia of Castellan's 'Bloody' Fifth. It was not immediately obvious which Admiral it had been assigned to, but it bore insignia that had been associated with Mandalore.
Survivors of Torrington's defeat there, perhaps.
It acted in accordance with all Imperial protocol. Thrawn nodded; a rare competent pilot. He noted to himself that he ought to seek them out, potentially offer them a place in his own command if they hadn't been given a station already.
ISD Revenant, Lothal System, 1 BBY
"Leave nobody alive," Percy instructed the Mandalorians around him. "Keep it steady, leave no witnesses. We're here to capture the Bridge and sabotage, then we get the Kark out of here. Longer we take, the more lives the main fleet lose. You're here to make amends? Make your amends to the Manda."
"Tristan and Sabine take point," Reyna picked up. Percy's going to go behind the first squad, I'll be behind the second."
They readied their weapons, making final checks. It felt odd, Percy noted, for them not to be wearing their Beskar armour, in this instant clad in stolen Imperial Officer's garb, with their Rebel combat gear in their packs. Where they were free to do so, the Rebels needed faces to look up to, not helmets and armour.
It was of little consequence, though; the superiority of Mandalorian arms would prevail.
Just as the clans of Kyr'tsad had done months ago in Sundari, the Mandalorians worked their way through the Imperial Star Destroyer.
Those who encountered them were put down with brutal efficiency, rooms cleared out with precision and armouries ransacked to constantly replenish their store of grenades as they worked their way through.
"Phoenix Strike Team, sitrep," the voice of Hera Syndulla demanded.
"Reactor core rigged to go," Percy informed her. "Intelligence suggests significant second wave of older-generation TIEs within the atmosphere. My intention is to reach the surface and link up with ground forces. Set your jump coordinates for 2-1-5-C. That should drop you just behind the first wave. Manda willing, you'll be able to get the jump on the second too."
"Roger that, Strike Team," the Twi'lek replied. "We'll see you on the surface."
Just as quickly as they came, the Mandalorians withdrew.
ISD Chimaera, Lothal System, 1 BBY
Thrawn watched as the last of his Destroyers slipped into its station, completing the ten-ship blockade. His own flagship, the Chimaera, sat at the centre of the line, the capstone of one of the most comprehensive planetary lockdowns ever imposed in the history of the Galactic Empire.
His logistical chain had been laid out impeccably, with defences at every stage, from the ground to the lower atmosphere and his own heavy vessels in orbit.
By every theory conceivable, his blockade was impregnable.
And yet, something felt out of place.
"Grand Admiral, we're tracking a massive power surge off our Port side," one of the Deck Officers informed Thrawn. "First spike was six minutes ago, the second two minutes later, this is the third now."
Thrawn peered down to observe the screen. He was no expert himself in matters of engineering, but he knew the workings of Naval Vessels intimately.
"Tell Arbitrator to fall back to the surface, and close ranks. He has suffered a Reactor Core issue. It can be remedied within the next day or so, and as such should prove inconsequential. My intelligence operatives suggest that the Rebel cell on the surface is in no position to coordinate a large-scale attack, and without Hera Syndulla's genius, there is no scheme for them to employ against us."
"Roger that, Grand Admiral,"
Capital City, Lothal, 1 BBY
The Saboteur team of Mandalorians disembarked at the TIE Defender factory on Lothal, this time using Thrawn's own fleet's access codes, stolen during their sabotage of ISD Revenant. Percy stood at their head, marching them in their twos as would be expected of a detachment of Officers fresh into a new station. The only people to remain inside their shuttle would be Jason and Reyna, both to coordinate the raid from on the ground, and to provide a means of smooth exfiltration as they finished their mission.
"Percy, we've got an ISD breaking off the blockade, heading for the surface," Jason told his comrade over the comm.
"They've noticed the sabotage, then," Percy nodded. "Even better; it'll just look like the standard reliability issue that's sprung up in this latest tranche of II-Class Destroyers."
"It's Arbitrator," Jason told him with a smirk. "It's a real malfunction. They've let go of the manufacturing standards on Kuat since I left, eh?"
"Don't pretend that you didn't add the defect into the plans before you left," Reyna scoffed. "It's a genius bit of sabotage, I'll admit."
The team continued their march, making the short distance from the Factories to the Fuel Depot in short order.
"Sabine, you're up," Percy told his niece. "Reyna, any update on our friends?"
"Which ones?" She asked. "The Imperials haven't discovered anything yet; the Rebels are still laying low, though if they're working to Rebel Command's schedule, they'll be with you in a few minutes."
"Roger that, to both," Percy nodded. The Mandalorians had fanned out, pretending to inspect the fuel gauges and pressure monitors, heading off any incoming Stormtroopers.
At the centre of their little cordon, Sabine Wren was hard at work, picking her spots with precision and moving to the next cell.
"Tristan, Darius, Galen, on me," Percy ordered, breathing in sharply as a realisation hit him.
The trio followed him without question, drawing their weapons when they noticed that he had done the same.
Holding up a hand to halt their progress, Percy called Darius Saxon forwards to check the corner. At his confirmation that it was clear, they proceeded.
"The Guardhouse," Percy told them. "We're going to have to raid it, then leave a little calling card. If not, then the Empire will pin this on the locals. We're here to remove Lothal's strategic importance, yes, but it is no use if all this leads to is the further oppression of the locals.
Tristan nodded, understanding immediately. "Galen, come with me. If you're taking out the Guard Commander, uncle, then it would also make sense to disrupt their defenses in some way, to make it obvious that it was an insurgent force. I will lay detonation charges to collapse the outer courtyard, which will blow five minutes before Sabine's charges go off."
"Good thinking," Percy nodded. The group of four broke off into pairs, sprinting off towards their objectives. If they took their time, they risked discovery and failure.
Failure was intolerable.
Headquarters of the Alliance to Restore the Republic, Yavin 4, 1 BBY
For the second time in what seemed like an unusually short period of time, Aleksandr Kallus found himself in a command centre.
This time, however, he was monitoring a rapidly changing battlespace.
Of course, Thrawn and his Imperial troops didn't know it by now, but for all intents and purposes, Lothal was a warzone.
One of the Imperial Destroyers had gone to ground, and a traced communication planted by Admiral Grace told him that this was a result of a failure in its reactor core. A second had been sabotaged, and could be put out of action at a moment's notice, and at incredible range.
Thrawn's blockade had effectively been reduced from nine to seven ships, and any TIE Fighters present in the upper atmosphere would be rendered useless when the Fuel Depot and Factory blew; without the facilities to refuel them, the fighters would have to land, or regroup on the already crammed Destroyers.
Or, at least, that was what Hera Syndulla was arguing at this moment in time.
Senator Mon Mothma seemed to be in agreement with her, though Master di Angelo seemed to be less convinced.
"We've beaten better odds," Hera argued passionately. "There isn't even a need for us to get back off the planet; if we can take get to the surface, then we have troops, weapons and air cover in theatre, while the Empire have to deal with a growing resistance to their rule. I've seen how Lothal is; the people aren't far from rising up."
"And you would bet the lives of three squadrons on this, General?" Mon Mothma questioned.
"My entire crew is on the surface," Hera pointed out. "Sabine has decided to link up with them after the raid is complete; if we are able to get thirty more trained Rebels onto the surface, then we could free Lothal without further outside help."
"You…"
Mothma paused, considering her words carefully. Hera merely waited, as did Kallus from his position at the table.
"I will grant you the designated strike force," Mon Mothma relented. "From the point that you breach the initial blockade, however, I cannot dedicate any further forces to your assault."
"I understand, Senator," Hera nodded. "We will make the preparations, and I will give my orders."
Capital City, Lothal, 1 BBY
"Thank you for all your help," Kanan Jarrus told Percy, bowing his head slightly in a gesture of respect. "The factory is rigged to go up in flames, as are the main comms tower and the air defences. Lothal will be defenceless, and useless to the Empire."
"Then they will have little choice but to leave when the war intensifies in other parts of the galaxy," Percy nodded. "You live up to your reputation, Master Jedi."
Kanan smiled.
"For the second time, Kanan Jarrus, I entrust my niece into your care. May the Manda be with you and your crew of Rebels."
"And may the Force be with you, Admiral," Kanan smiled.
The pair shook hands.
"Transmission from Rebel Command," Jason informed the pair, striding out of the shuttle.
"Do tell," Percy said cautiously, folding his arms. "One vessel down shouldn't have been enough to get a message through."
"They used one of the few remaining Imperial channels we still had access to," Jason explained. "It was discovered shortly after they transmitted from deep space, and we will subsequently lose access to it. A little system that Clarisse and I developed in the time we've spent on Yavin."
"The message?" Ezra Bridger urged, joining the discussion.
"General Syndulla plans on capitalising on the Empire's loss of vessels. Thirty X-Wings in bomber configuration will attempt to break the blockade. The pilots will complete the Rebel Detachment to Lothal."
"Against seven Star Destroyers?" Percy frowned. "Even if the TIEs are forced to ground, that's little more than suicide."
"Your cover hasn't been broken yet," Kanan pointed out. "Care to even out the odds?"
"Master Jedi, it would be my distinct pleasure."
Headquarters of the Alliance to Restore the Republic, Yavin 4, 1 BBY
It wasn't often that Nico found himself called to the Control Rooms on Yavin 4.
By some incredible chain of events, every General Officer permanently stationed on Yavin was on the same mission. Every General Officer, that was, barring him.
By now, as Kallus and Rex had briefed him, Percy, Reyna and Jason were out of the Lothal System, hurtling at lightspeed towards the Rendezvous point, somewhere in Deep Space in the Garel System.
"It's bold," Percy commented. "Thrawn's about to be three ships short of his regular blockade, and we're about to add a whole lot of chaos to the mix. The detonations will commence the moment you leave Hyperspace. You happy with that?"
"I was happy with less than that," Syndulla commented. "Thank you, Admiral."
"Good luck, General."
The X-Wing detachment jumped to hyperspace.
"I sense a great upheaval in the Force," Nico muttered.
Percy frowned, pondering the swirling blue mass that was the stars hurtling past him as his shuttle moved at the speed of light. "Something big is going to happen, then?"
"Indeed."
"Then let the Manda look fondly upon our allies. They have worked hard for this chance."
"And may the Force be with them."
Lothal, Lothal Sector, 1 BBY
Sabine grinned at Ezra as they watched the explosions. As clear as the sky was, they could clearly see the flames that burned bright on the horizon.
Plumes of thick, black smoke curled into the moonlit night, hanging over Capital City like a shroud.
She had seen similar things before in two years of fighting a brutal civil war throughout the Mandalore Sector, but there was something satisfying about seeing the flames over Lothal's capital city.
As she had designed, a compound within the explosives reacted with the burning liquid fuel, giving the flames the purples and oranges that were so prominent in her art. Three peaks rose from the haze, curling and shifting into the image of the Firebird.
It was a calling card; a declaration that the Empire would never be here.
A declaration of war on this planet.
She checked the timekeeper on her vambrace, smirking as it ticked down to ten seconds. Placing her helmet on her head, she flicked the viewfinder down to get a visual on the Imperial Blockade.
ISD Chimaera, Lothal System, 1 BBY
The bridge of the Chimaera was in chaos. Officers rushed in and out, carrying dispatches and messages as the Grand Admiral and Governor fought to bring the situation back under their own control.
There was no indication of an incoming attack; no rats scurrying off a sinking ship, none of the telltale signs that the likes of Bridger, Jarrus and Orrelios left when they struck out at Imperial facilities. Without the calm guidance of Hera Syndulla and the weapons expertise of the Mandalorian Sabine Wren, the Rebel presence on Lothal had been reduced to their two Jedi and the clumsy but strong Lasat.
Then, the information began to trickle through.
Wren's calling card; somehow, unless Ezra Bridger had managed to master the art of high level explosives in the past two weeks, the Rebellion had found a means to insert Sabine Wren onto Lothal's surface.
Past his blockade, and undetected.
Furthermore, the fuel silos hadn't been the only site struck; the insurgents had also struck out at the TIE Defender factory, reducing it to rubble with precise demolition charges.
No sooner had he consolidated all of this information than two more of his Star Destroyers shook with the force of simultaneous, violent explosions.
"Revenant, Wrathful, report," he instructed. "What is your status?"
"Reactor core is overloading, Grand Admiral!" Captain Nituun replied, breathing hard. "Beginning general evacuation!"
Thrawn grimaced. "All remaining blockading vessels, prepare to repel assault. Conduct checks of your crews; any single trooper out of place should be assumed to be a Rebel mole and executed on the spot. We have been infiltrated and sabotaged without so much as a hint of an idea. All starfighters are to scramble immediately. Nothing should be allowed in or out of this blasted system."
If there was any time for the Rebels to make their move, it was now.
He needed to be ready, and he had very little time at his disposal with which to prepare his trap.
Lothal System, Lothal Sector, 1 BBY
Hera could have laughed when her strike force dropped out of hyperspace. Thrawn's fleet was in utter disarray; two of his Destroyers were aflame, flames and smoke pouring from their rear quadrants.
"All Rebel wings, form up on me and lock S-Foils in Attack Position; we're going to punch right the way through the gap the Admiral made for us. Keep it tight, and cover your wingmen. May the force be with you."
As the wings separated into attack position, Hera allowed herself the briefest of moments to close her eyes, appreciating the steady hum of the throttle as the X-Wing's engines roared to full capacity
ISD Chimaera, Lothal System, 1 BBY
"Engaging Plan Tempest Zero-Four, Grand Admiral," the Deck Officer told Thrawn, saluting and sprinting back off the main deck of the Bridge, reassuming his station on Fire Control.
There were thirty Rebel fighters in total, and scans indicated that they were in their standard loadout, bearing Proton Torpedoes to supplement the standard Cannons.
"All Defender Squadrons, vector Ten by Three. Only fire when a kill is certain. Let none survive."
A flight of the fighters he had personally designed howled past his bridge, barrelling towards the incoming Rebel fighters. One of the four was decorated in a red-rimmed livery, contrary to the typical black. The mark of an Ace.
In this case, it was Vult Skerris, a hero of the Empire and one of the pre-eminent fighter pilots across the galaxy. The only pilots of his calibre that Thrawn had encountered would be the Jedi Plo Koon, Anakin Skywalker and Niccolo di Angelo, as well as Hera Syndulla and Perseus Jackson.
By the method of elimination, he could find himself confronted with as many as three of those names, though only Syndulla was truly likely to be present here.
"All heavy batteries, target the lead ship. General Syndulla is not so cowardly as to allow any other pilot to take the point position of an assault."
As the battlespace filled with the green of Imperial turbolaser fire, Thrawn watched with no small degree of admiration as the Rebel pilots twisted and rolled, engaging even his elite Defender pilots in brutal dogfights.
It was with some small level of pride, however, that he watched the ray shields around the Defender's cockpit foiled a particularly brilliant move by a pair of Rebel pilots.
Hera Syndulla and Mart Mattin, he realised as the next bursts of the pilot's guns sent two Defenders spiralling into the hull of his Destroyer.
"Send Skerris on attack vector Point Three by Nine point Four," Thrawn said into his comm. "If he can remove Hera Syndulla from the fight, then victory shall be ours."
The Flight Operations Controller relayed the message, and instantly the Ace and his wingman broke off their current engagement, their engines howling as they made their attack run.
Lothal System, Lothal Sector, 1 BBY
"Vult Skerris," Hera muttered as she noticed the Defender behind her. "Mart, form up on my wing. We're going to have to deal with this kriffer one way or another."
"Roger that, General," Jan Dodonna's nephew agreed, drifting from left to right across her opponent's axis of attack.
The moment Skerris' wingman made to commit, he was engaged and destroyed by the third pilot of Green Squadron, who then turned to engage another Defender.
"Break now," Hera instructed sharply. Four by Six, get on his tail."
Mart rolled right and backwards as Hera had instructed.
"Good, I've got you all to myself now," the Twi'lek muttered. The beeping of the tracking radar told her that the Imperial ace was hot on her tail, fighting to get a lock and a firing solution.
Hera, however, knew that the attention he was paying to his targeting computer was attention he wasn't paying to his surroundings.
ISD Chimaera, Lothal System, 1 BBY
"Masterful," Thrawn nodded as he watched Syndulla snare Skerris into a trap. "Inform Skerris that he must break off his attack vector, lest he get hit by our guns."
"Negative," the pilot replied. "I've got my lock."
Thrawn could only shake his head as he watched Syndulla pull up, hard, as she soared over his own flagship's bridge. What he then observed on his tactical display brought a wry grin to his face.
Stalling out her fighter's engines, Syndulla offered herself up as a target for the briefest moment.
Skerris, however, was too slow.
Forcing her nose down once more, the Twi'lek reengaged, finding a firing solution and condemning the Empire's premier starfighter pilot to a grisly death, her proton torpedo ripping through his shields and blowing the Defender to smithereens.
Thrawn nodded. Such losses were acceptable; all surviving Rebel pilots were now firmly within his trap, boxed in.
It was time to use one of his own mentor's strategies.
Three Arquitens Command Cruisers fanned out into attack position, emerging from behind the burning husk of ISD Revenant.
Lothal, Lothal Sector, 1 BBY
"They should have broken through by now," Sabine muttered, pacing back and forth.
"Up there!" Ezra exclaimed, pointing into the sky. She turned to see streaks falling from the sky. Debris from the destroyed Star Destroyers, perhaps?
Sabine flicked her viewfinder back over her right eye to look closer.
Her heard sank like a stone. "Manda be merciful."
"Sabine?" Kanan asked gently.
"That's the Rebel attack force," Sabine murmured. "All of it."
A/N
The show goes on, and Percy's finally on Yavin.
Is it just me or have I spent absolutely ages writing 2 BBY? Apparently a load of shit happened in that year, or at least stuff I thought was relevant enough to cover.
The rest of the Lothal invasion might easily have come in this chapter, but I found it dragging a little, and there's more that I can do with a new chapter than I could otherwise.
Not much else to say, really, beyond the introduction of RSD Liberation. I think we were all expecting that; they're not resurrecting the Republic's fleet, but having a Venator is a pretty cool message, and suddenly Jason and Clarisse have actually contributed to the Rebellion. Those folks are back too, even if they didn't really leave at any point. It's fun having that banter from Wings back.
Thanks to Dudududhehe and LooneyPeach for their help on this one. Give their work a read.
Until next time, then,
Sol
(I do not own PJO, Star Wars or any related media)