It took several days for Fornost to be routed of all resistance. During this time, Rezin and Ali met up with the rest of the Mano'ade Votyc leadership and discussed their next move. Rezin secretly wanted this meeting to end quickly. The minute M spoke up first, he knew that was not a possibility.
Two days in M spoke up again. "Rezin, something is off. Do you sense it?" She questioned. Rezin stood silent for a few minutes. He reached out through the Force. At first, he sensed nothing. He widened his perception. As he scanned with the Force, he began to feel a pull. Something like a weight was tugging him farther out into space. He kept going, letting this invisible rope keep dragging him farther. Then there it was. A massive slave fleet.
"I sense it. There is a massive fleet of some kind moving away from us. Not very fast either." He commented while not meeting anyone's eyes. He rarely took his mask off, but these were his friends and family. He trusted them more than anyone else in the galaxy.
"What are their intentions?" Valkyria asked. "Can either of you sense them?"
"I cannot." Rezin said as he shook his head. He knew Ali and Revan could not either. If they couldn't, then he doubted anyone else in the group could. Well, except for M. Everyone looked to M. Her eyes were closed and her head tilted towards the sky.
"They are not an invasion force or reinforcements. They seem to be moving away from here very fast." M told the group. She remained silent for a few more minutes. By now, everyone knew to let her focus. This was how they had avoided so many unnecessary battles over the last few years. "Slavers." she said. "And something familiar about some of their slaves. I think they may be from our homeworld."
"We must help them!" Ali almost screamed.
"We will. We will. Remain calm." Rezin told his friend. "Revan, Bastila. Head back to the 4th fleet. Send orders to your forces to prepare for the jump. Valkyria and M. I need you both to ready our fleet as well. Recall all fighters and ground forces. I will see to our preparations down here." Rezin gave his orders. Whether or not Rezin was willing to admit it, he knew that leadership came naturally to him and he was not going to ever be without it now that he had it.
Over the next several hours, the Mandalorians prepared their forces to leave Fornost and head towards the distress the leadership was feeling. The Mando'ade did not question this choice. They knew that their leader would not lead them astray. They also relished in the thought of another fight so close.
We are ready, Manda'lor thought to himself. This was one of the few times he was cautious about moving forward. M could not sense what they were going into. He stood on the bridge of the Skyline looking out the viewport at his fleet, splayed out before him and ready for his command to jump. With a wave of his hand, the Skyline jumped into hyperspace and the Mandalorian 1st and 2nd fleets followed. Shortly before Rezin and his forces made their jump, Revan and his fleet were to make several jumps to cut off this convoy's escape route. Everything was moving perfectly as Manda'lor planned.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Valkyria asked her husband. She could tell he was in a mental turmoil even though he had his mask on. She didn't need the Force to be able to see it in his body language either.
"Everything is going too perfectly. Something doesn't feel right." Rezin answered. "And no, it is not this convoy of slaves. It is something else." Rezin was worried. He was talking with his wife, but his thoughts were off in the distance.
"Rez, you are very strong with the Force. If something feels off, listen to it." She responded.
"I can't pinpoint it though. M felt the convoy. I feel it, but something else is out there too. It feels like it is waiting for us. I can't shake it either." Rezin added. He continued to reach out with the Force for the next several hours as the fleet traveled closer to their next engagement. Valkyria sat with him lending him her strength as well. Together, they reached farther than ever before. Rezin led the search. He did not know what he was looking for, but he did know that with his wife's help, they would find it.
Suddenly, Rezin's eyes shot wide open. He found it. Something was out there. This force was waiting for them to come to the convoy. The trap had been set, the bait in place, and now they had sprung it.
Rezin felt the Skyline drop out of hyperspace. He stood and rushed to the bridge of his massive warship. "Ready the shields." He ordered as he entered the bridge. No questions asked no questioning looks or subtle questioning. His people knew to trust him as he trusted them. The Skyline's shields quickly activated. Rezin's command went out through the Force to the commander on every ship in their fleet.
Just then, Rezin saw a singularity on the other side of the convoy. A massive sith armada dropped out of hyperspace. He immediately recognized the coloring and symbols on the lead ship. "Nox." Rezin uttered quietly. "Battle stations!" He ordered. Battle sirens sounded throughout the ship. Mandalorians sprinted to their stations. Pilots went to their fighters and prepared for launch.
"Darth Nox is not a fool, Rezin. He will use the convoy to protect his ships from our cannon." Valkyria said.
"I know. We will have to be very careful when firing. All we need to do right now is keep their attention on us." Rezin smirked. He knew Revan was on his way. He also knew that Darth Nox would not be ready for this. Nox is a brilliant warrior and strategist, but he became too focused on Rezin when he thought he had the leader of the Mandalorians trapped. This was something Rezin used to do, but he had had people helping him to think clearly when Nox was involved. Rezin promised himself he would not become obsessed with Darth Nox this time.
"Sound the alert. I want all pilots ready for launch at a moment's notice. Make sure the boarding parties are ready as well." He ordered his bridge crew. "Someone feels off, almost like we need to hurry." Rezin quietly said, more to himself than the others. The Mandalorian 1st and 2nd fleets continued to wait in silence.
"Is anyone out there!" came a cry over the intercoms. "We need help!" Rezin froze when he heard the voice. I recognize that voice, he thought.
"Manda'lor. We cannot wait to help them." an officer spoke.
"We also cannot move to help as long as Nox and his fleet is out there." another replied.
"The choice belongs to Manda'lor." Valkyria cut them off with a quick glance. "Sweety?" she asked her husband. That one word snapped Rezin out of his stupor.
"Begin launching fighters. As soon as they make it past the convoy, move the fleet into position to shield it from enemy fire." Rezin ordered. "M, I need you to get the Coyote into position in the middle of the convoy and deploy the fleet shield. We must not lose those who we are here to help."
The space around the Mandalorian fleet became a massive blur of movement. Fighters and bombers launched from all ships and screamed towards the Sith fleet. As soon as they made it past the convoy, the Mandalorian ships roared to life and moved into position. They quickly placed themselves around the ships in the slave convoy. Many of the small ships within the Mando fleet used their tractor beams to hold the convoy vessels in place. Rezin watched out the bridge viewport as his brothers and sisters fought like madmen to keep the sith fleet away from the convoy. He longed to be out there with his people flying with them and leading them in battle.
Just as he made up his mind to take his own squadron into battle, Revan's voice cut across the coms. "I thought you were going to let us have the fun this time?" Revan sarcastically asked.
"Naw. My men were anxious to get out there." Rezin retorted while smiling.
"Well then. I guess we will need to move faster next time. Go rescue those people." Revan responded. "Leave Darth Nox to us."
Manda'lor knew what he had to do now. He sprinted from the bridge to Hanger Bay 1. His commando squad was waiting for him. They already had his boarding vessel ready to launch. This was going to be a real fight. They had to move fast. Hold on Lyd. We are on our way.