“Tam, assure me our forces are incoming.” Nohk said with only a hint of skepticism.
“They are minutes away Cap.” Freebo responded, his bulging eyes glued to his sensor suite.
“Open hail to Executor.” Nohk commanded his Togrutan comms technician, who only extended a finger toward the bristling man.
The comm channel opened with a verbal salvo from the Executors Admiral, “This is Admiral Ozzel of the Imperial Navy, you are both unregistered and in violation of committed action in Imperial space. Identify yourself.”
“This is Captain Nohk Cellukt of the...well...nothing really if I am going to be honest, but it is you that is in violation. Violation of the freedom and independence of Ambrian Space. I understand that it takes a few minutes to realign those massive junk heaps so you can peacefully leave the system, I will give you approximately thirty-seven seconds to do so or you will be fired upon.” Nohk looked toward the comms tech with an almost casual nonchalance, “cut the feed.” He said with a deep throated harumph as the initial response from the Admiral was severed at the critical moment of what Nohk had assumed was a brilliantly rehearsed monologue no one had time for.
“Battle stations! Tam get us up to battle speed and get our pilots in their ships.”
Freebo Tam swallowed his nervousness as he adopted his captain’s stoicism, then pulled the comm’s mic device toward his slavering mouth, “Sound general quarters, general quarters.” He all but shouted into it as he brought himself out of his seat and onto his feet, adrenaline pumping freely through his veins. A blaring repetitive klaxon sounded from one end of the massive dream liner to the other, each deck of its hotel room suites gutted and retrofitted painstakingly for war. “Helm, flank speed, no holds barred.” He turned to Nohk whom only nodded in acquiescence, “course tried and true.” He all but yelled into the device.
“I’m right here Tam. Settle down will ya.” Helms technician Lytte said plainly. The human male almost clocked the Sullustan aside his egg-shaped head for the voracity of his statement.
“Just trying to build confidence in the crew Lytte, apologies.” Tam replied with a sweaty hand over the mic. Their stations hovering just above a domed, clear view of passing stars, they could all see Ambria looming large before them, slivers of black snaking into view as they sped closer, their forms wavering against the elusive visage of reds and oranges behind them.
“Increase speed thirty percent and prepare to deploy drones, skip starboard.” Nohk commanded.
“That’s assuming they take evasive action Cap.” Lytte called over his shoulder as he pushed the throttle yoke forward another fifteen degrees.
“They will, this is a planetary operation Lytte not an occupation.” Nohk said with his calming voice, the deep resonance finding purchase within everyone around him. ‘Timing will be crucial however.’ He thought to himself.
“Tam, ETA on incoming.”
“Thirteen seconds for Shallah, Twenty for Reece. Vomend is another minute behind.” Tam responded quickly, almost swallowing his tongue in the process.
“Open outer doors, prepare turbo laser batteries and load tubes one through eight. Let’s make a dent in our initial pass.” Nohk said, leaning forward slightly in his chair to absorb the looming view before him.
“Locked and loaded Sir.” A shout from behind him confirmed.
The Executor had almost finished its full turnabout swivel as its prow grew in definition, it’s design purposeful in both elegance and menace Nohk thought but just as quickly dismissed the notion as his tactics wouldn’t bother worrying about the capabilities of the ship or it’s unsparing demeanor. ‘three, two, one.’ He finished the countdown in his head, “increase speed another twenty percent and bring us starboard ten degrees. Recalibrate target locks on torpedoes and fire when ready. We give them no quarter at all gents.” He leaned to his right depressing a comm button on his mobile captain’s seat, “Gentry, prepare drone launch. Give us a few second delay between waves.” He returned to his upright position as he toggled his seat forward, closer to the spanning view of the Executor before him. An opening salvo of turbo laser fire erupted from the Imperial flagship, lost to space as his maneuvers delivered their intended result, green hyphens either skipping harmlessly off the reinforced forward shielding or missing the massive vessel altogether. The ship yielded with a subtle lurch as the torpedoes let loose from their cocoons in an explosive fury. “Unleash hell gents, all batteries open fire, Gentry you have your mark.
“Reece is on approach Sir, full complement and prepped for sweep and port skip. Shallah will follow our current course, altering her angle and speed accordingly.”
“Very good Tam, let’s get Vomend the opening he needs, and hell, take a few of these heaps out of action in the process.” Nohk breathed a vigor into the entirety of the operation as he watched several of the torpedoes find their mark followed by the scream of twin Ion engines as his drones sped from their hangar bays and past the expansive nose cone of the ‘Temple Garden.’
✦
Rex forced his glare into the quadnocs before lowering them to check the outer lens for insects, then, just as quickly, returned them to his unbelieving eyes. “Kowani?”
“Uh, yup, that’s really happening.” She responded before he could phrase his question, her own fingers fidgeting with the adjustments on her targeting reticle. “It’s Mon Cal but I don’t know the design. I’ve never seen a cruiser or even battleship, for that matter, so large.” She said questioning her own tactical knowledge.
“Because it isn’t military Ani.” Rex lowered the nocs again as he turned toward her, “It’s a resort vessel.”
“A hotel?” She responded, a shrill tone that spoke of severed sanity.
“Well, a hotel with a hell of a lot of fire power.”
“Captain!” Rex’s comm chimed at his side.
“Commander?” Rex almost yelled into the device. “I would think the ensuing battle would create more interference, not less.”
“I am sure it has increased Captain, but that is irrelevant, we’ve inserted in close follow to….” Aturg wasn’t quite sure what he was following, only that his native vessels were decanting into Ambrian space faster than he could count them. And not only Mon Cal, older KDY and CEC designs, freighters, cruisers, and support vessels that ran the spectrum of current and old galactic manufacture. “Well, I don’t know what we’re following in all honesty but they’re firing on the Imperial fleet…” He trailed off in desperate need of a gulp of both water and air in unison.
“So, the enemy of my enemy is now my friend.” Rex stated.
“Something like that Captain.” Aturg returned with a renewed gargle of excitement.
“Liberator?” Ahsoka asked, joining in the conversation.
“Your droid decided to latch on to us considering the turn of events, wise one that.” Aturg said with a slight chuckle.
“A little too wise at times.” Kowani added her sarcasm to the mix as she expanded her view through the reticle, “That hotel is launching TIE fighters?”
Rex couldn’t stop staring through the nocs as he fought the urge to shake his head, “quite resourceful this group, I will give them that….and bolder than I’ve ever seen.”
Ahsoka couldn’t help looking upon her old friend, knowing the compliment meant more coming from him than anyone else she could imagine, herself included.
“Captain...we have a new group of signals.” Aturg said with a sense of foreboding, “heading directly for your position.”
They all looked at one another, then at their brightening surroundings as the distant sun threatened to bake away the cover of darkness they currently enjoyed. There was no place to run.
✦
“Evasive action!” Ozzel cried out behind the rooted form of Vader, his arms still locked before him, pulled tight across his chest as he bore his gaze through the forward viewport, watching the incoming destruction with a rage inducing disdain. He turned slightly toward the Admiral, silently wondering if he should just kill the man now and save himself the trouble of having to navigate the inevitable embarrassment of his underestimations in the future but knew that was the last thing this command deck needed. With a building fervor lighting his veins on fire he turned his gaze back to the viewport as several of the incoming torpedoes found their mark, wiping a few of the turbo laser emplacements clear off the top side deck of the vessel, leaving cratered holes in their aftermath as the vacuum of space quickly swallowed the ensuing explosions in an eerie blend of blue and purple. He braced his massive boots on the deck plating as the ship shook with tremendous spasms of vibrational shifting, several of the consoles breaking a locking bolt, screens shattering and deck plating loosening with cascading report. His view did not waver however, even when the streams of pilot less TIE fighters began beating the remainder of the top side turbo laser batteries into submission, by either constant pulse laser emissions or outright suicide. The rise and fall of the ships Klaxon began to seer its lament into his conscience, an all too familiar ode to the failures that continued to plague him. His rage took root not in the foe before them, but in the chaos behind him. Not one officer had taken it upon themselves to signal more than evasive actions, the constant shouts, reprimands, and threats taking the place of order were only singing in tune to the Klaxon reporting their own failures. He turned his gaze to the mass of activity behind him, spying Piett. Vader braced himself with an outstretched hand as one of the TIE’s sped across the viewport in his peripheral, peppering the heavily shielded bridge with useless but morale shattering laser fire. As Ozzel was waving fingers in admonishment, Piett was ushering others to return to their posts, removing damaged components from areas of operation and ordering the remaining turbo laser batteries to compensate, not for the passing Mon Cal star liner but the approaching fleet of smaller vessels the Admiral hadn’t even bothered to pay attention to. Ozzel’s time was coming he thought to himself as he addressed the comm device built into his helmet.
“My Lord?”
“General Veers, deploy your ground forces immediately.” Vader said, leaving no doubt over his intentions. “And tell Corman to prepare my fighter.”
“Will you require escort?” Veers responded.
“No.”
“At once My Lord.” Veers acknowledged and ended transmission.
Vader stole a final glance out of the viewport before turning fully for the exit of the command deck, nodding only in passing to the active Piett as he swept debris from the fire control console.
✦
“What the hell is Ozzel doing over there?” Grand Admiral Haisava Tethys brushed the cap from her head and threw it across the command deck of the Ravager in unfiltered anger. “This should not be happening!” She shouted for all on her bridge to hear.
“Ma’am, the liner is canting starboard and increasing speed.” A tech informed her.
“What of the second wave Ensign, we are not in a position to intercept as I am sure the liner’s Captain is executing a skip.” “They appear to be following course.” The ensign responded in kind.
“Defiant.” She addressed her own TacNet.
“Go for Defiant.” A voice wavered precariously in response.
“Circle around the backside of the planet and prepare forward emplacements for full forward payload. Take Amalthea and Discovery with you, wedge formation and watch your flanks, GO!” She shouted her orders.
“What of your own flanks Ma’am?” the voice crackled again. Although she appreciated the thought she had her own ideas in mind.
“Ravager is joining the fray before us; I am taking command of...this...fiasco.”
“Very good Ma’am.” The crackling ended with a sharp warble then silence.
“Helm bring us about to two two seven three, I want Dissonance and Antrim on our flanks post haste.”
“Ma’am they are attached to Ozzel’s flotilla.” “Not anymore.” She seethed as a braid fell across her forehead. “Do it, NOW!”
“Ma’am.”
“Comm, get me Ozzel.” She fired off her order, the comm bristling to life in her ear bead.
“Grand Admiral…” She could hear the wavering voice, a telltale sign the man had either lost his composure or was in the process of losing it.
“Kendal, I am taking command of the fleet. I have no idea what the hell you are doing over there, and I don’t care to know. Do not, and I repeat DO NOT prevent us from achieving victory this day.” She finished with a hasty signal to her comm’s officer, her thumb carving a slicing motion through the air before her neck at the same time she fired over to her tactical table and quickly assembled the balance of the fleet vessels with coordinates and assignment vectors. Her mind was moving faster than her fingers could navigate the sum of the assets as she made sure each Destroyer Captain was both accounted for and moving toward their assigned designations. With a flurry of hand gestures and data entry she had accounted for each ship in orbit around Ambria and stepped back to assess the strategy she had laid out as the holoemitter chirped to life, aligning her designations with a scale representation of Ambria hovering less than a meter above the table. She continued staring into the holoimage as she pressed a finger to the device in her ear, “Tactical, I need enemy positions. Relay all scopes and scanners to my table.” She fired off, almost stammering over the words. Flashing orange and yellow squares began populating the represented space surrounding the planet, well out of effective range of the assembly she had just completed. She backed up several paces while crooking her brow, comparing what had happened with what was now present. She realized the timing of the insurgent attack could not have been better as the Executor could effectively do nothing while the Titans debarked fully laden. She understood why, then, Ozzel continued to draw breath but did not explain the idle Destroyers riding its flanks. She looked to the small triangular representations of the Y-85’s as they descended slowly toward the flickering orb spread over her holotable, solid blue circles denoting their escort ships and finally a newer entry to the data field as the TIE advanced quickly joined the retinue of blue circles and a clear picture of the Executor’s command deck formed in her mind. She began to chuckle to herself, imagining the lunacy and chaos only Ozzel could conjure, then felt a deep-rooted pride well within her as she understood fully why Vader had added her contingent to his sortie list for the mission.
✦
Conda braced himself against the bulkhead before him, panting, as his heart hammered in his chest. Inhaling and exhaling too rapidly to speak he could only watch as Kalla proceeded further down the corridor to the ship’s bridge. “Wait!” He tried feebly to get her attention but sounded to his own ears like a wailing Corse Hound pup. ‘Wait.’ he wanted to shout but realized words wouldn’t faze her ambition anyway. He pushed himself back to his feet fully and forgot about the pain as he tossed a foot out before him and took off down the corridor after her. He pumped his legs and drove his arms to his sides, like a machine that didn’t understand tired. Within minutes he reached the end of the corridor and almost fell to the floor out of shear exhaustion. Bracing his hands upon his knees he began to realize the bridge was a flurry of activity, his eyes darting from technician to technician, watching the earnest expression of the faces he could see, a seriousness in their eyes that made him forget his own immediate plight. Dancing his eyes about the large room, he saw Kalla, her robes flourishing around her as her hands shot out in all directions, clearly unhappy with something. He fought back the spasms in his calf muscles as he waddled gingerly in her direction, beginning to overhear some of the conversation, one sided conversation he thought to himself, with a male human.
“Kalla, all divisions have been assigned. We cannot pull back simply because you’ve seen something.” A short pasty man said, his face completely covered in tattoo work of a sort Conda had never seen before. Intricately woven lines that didn’t seem to have any real sense of direction created an impressive display of fundamentalism. He was sure there was a message within the artwork but that would have to wait, “What is going on?” Conda asked, his attention on Kalla fully.
“My vision Conda...We are here.” Kalla responded, answering nothing.
“We are where?” He asked, trying not to skew his newly found emotion into a complicated salvo.
“Ambria…”
Conda understood her maniacal behavior perfectly as reality hit him. She was of course concerned, he knew, although he himself wasn’t quite sure how truthful a ‘vision’ could be. Although she did say when working in concert, their shared ‘visions’ had a sense of reality to them. ‘No...she didn’t say that’ he thought to himself. He wasn’t sure if his fatigue as getting the better of him or the lack of sleep, only that she was insistent the man before her turn the ship around, which Conda could clearly see was not going to happen. He reached a hand for her shoulder, “Kalla.” He said gently, feeling the muscles in her neck, upper back and shoulder relax somewhat at his touch. “Kalla.” He repeated, raising his other hand to take her opposing shoulder and turned her to him as the tattooed man turned to face the others that were blaring out for his attention. “Look at me Kalla.” He said to her as she turned her body to face him, her eyes turned down toward his boots. She raised her head slightly to reveal the streams of tears cascading down both cheeks, her eyes swimming in their own pools of sorrow. “Kalla. I don’t know what is happening, but anger will not solve anything.”
“I am not ang…” She cut herself off as she brought a hand up to her face to wipe away the tears from her mouth. “I am not angry...I am” She paused a moment to blink away the obfuscating wetness, “I am afraid Conda.” She let forth, purging his aches and pains away with the truest form of sentiment he had ever seen in someone else’s eyes.
“What in the stars, Kalla, would cause such fear?” He looked around, recited the snippet of conversation he had overheard in his thoughts and knew. “Your vision? You said we would both die if I came to Ambria…” he understood why she would crater to fear, even if he didn’t believe in fate. Instead of placating or shooing away her feelings and emotions he did what his heart compelled him to do, wrapping both of his arms around her and drawing her as close to him as possible. He felt her hesitate with rigidity at first but within seconds she was holding him likewise, her horns pressing in against his abdomen in a comfortable way as her thick fingers pressed into his lower back, latching on to themselves.
They stood motionless for several long moments, the bustle of the action around them silent to their ears. Conda could only hear her breaths, raged but eventually even and deep. He could feel her heartbeat against his chest as it, too, settled into a euphoric calm. He looked down to her bald head, hoping to catch her eyes, but realized she wasn’t ready to let him go just yet, and he wasn’t in a hurry, even as several of the deck’s personnel bumped into them haphazardly. “Kalla…” he began, unsure of his timing, but sure of the message, pausing only to be heard by her, “we often meet our fate on the paths we take to avoid it.” He surprised himself as the words left him, striking a chord within him that he had intended for her.
He felt her turn her head toward his, “perhaps you are right Conda.” She said, a smile betraying the tear streaming down her cheek.
He took the opportunity to sweep his arm around his back and take her hand in his, gently leading her toward the wall nearest the tactical stations. “Kalla. I have never put much thought into fate, or destiny. I’ve always thought life to reflect nature in all its chaos.” He began, realizing that his intentions were indeed genuine, his feelings likewise, although he had no explanation for either. “I have only just met you. I have professed to having feelings for you I would never have thought possible even two days ago. I don’t understand it, but I don’t feel I am meant to. I can’t explain it, and I am not going to try.” He blew out his breath, a mild tension working its way into the core of his heart. “Kalla, if we are meant to die together then so be it, Ambria or not. Today or twenty years from now.” He knew it was sporadic, but he also knew she would hear them, not through her mind, but with her heart….and he couldn’t explain why.
✦
Kowani, swiveled her head to note the headings of the Y-85’s the Commander had mentioned, spying them as they flared against the friction of Ambrian gravity, “Twin Titans incoming. Two one point two eight.”
Rex snapped the quadnocs up to his eyes yet again, locking onto the coordinates and heaving a hearty sigh, “I don’t suppose you have a bigger cat somewhere Nara?”
Mushi only rustled his head from side to side, loosening his muscles then smacked his lips with an enormous tongue before yawning at the slight, bearing razor sharp teeth in his enormous mouth.
“No Captain.” Nara responded, “what we do have is infinitely stronger and more properly suited to the task at hand.”
Rex removed the nocs and swiveled his gaze toward her, “what does that mean?”
Nara didn’t respond immediately as she thought through her answer, aspects of which eluded even her comprehension as she looked toward the ground at her feet. “I cannot explain Captain.” She lost herself in thought as the sum of what she could will into being seemed almost limitless in comparison to what she knew before arriving here. She credited Zannah with much of the perspective she found herself considering but knew that was but a small portion of the truth she had always carried with her. ‘Or Barriss had’ Nara thought…
“No.” Zannah said, surprising everyone as they turned toward her spectral form. “No Nara, it was never Barriss.”
Ahsoka turned a curious eye toward Nara upon hearing the name, a simple tilt of the head to catch the wild looking Mirialan in her periphery. As Ambria’s sun chased the remainder of night away, Ahsoka was presented a brilliant view of the woman. There were no similarities to the Barriss Ahsoka had known, this woman was irrevocably different in any way she tried framing her memory. “Nara.” She began as she casually turned toward her fully, “whatever struggle is consuming you, know that you’re not alone, fate, it seems, has delt a parallel hand to us all.” She finished with a gentle wink but knew there was more she wanted to say. Kowani’s abhorrent mumblings behind her forced her to turn, as the message implied meaning beyond Nara alone. “Even you Ani. All of us.” She waved a hand toward everyone in turn.
Kowani finished her mumblings but let them die on her tongue instead of embracing them fully as she turned away from the group to gaze at the sky once again.
“Nara, what did you mean. Infinitely stronger, suited to the task at hand? Ahsoka asked, in part curious, but also to remain the cooler head.
“I don’t know if this is the proper time, but I don’t know that we’ll get another. I have been…” She paused, only to correct herself, “had...been under the study of Sidious for quite some time. His only lessons were focused on alchemies and sorceries.”
Ahsoka felt her muscles tense involuntarily and actively calmed them, “Sith sorceries?”
“All sorceries.” Nara didn’t hesitate. “The man is truly powerful Ahsoka.” She pursed her lips, biting the bottom lip several times, wanting feverishly to divulge more information but not wanting to get them into a conversation that could sway the roles they had come to terms with. “I assure you I will keep nothing from you if you would just ask but let me answer your question by stating that even I do not know what I am capable of.”
“For the love of….” Kowani began, tossing a hand up.
“Ani...please.” Ahsoka again felt compelled to reign in the headstrong Mirialan.
“Ahsoka, you ask me to be patient. Or to have an open mind. You ask me to trust you, and I do, but what is coming doesn’t care about any of that.” Kowani stated, casting an open palm skyward. “Nara...I know I can come off as harsh, rude, and blunt. I don’t mean to offend but last time we faced each other, which really wasn’t that long ago, your attempts were feeble at best.” Kowani continued, not waiting for Ahsoka’s reply.
Nara blinked through the slight, refusing to let any of the words bite any deeper than the prelude to them, “Change can come quickly to those that are willing to embrace it fully Kowani Y’mmat. Eight months ago, you wielded but a blaster rifle, do not think your armament has escaped my notice.” She said, refusing to fill the words with anything but honesty as she pointed to the hilt at Kowani’s belt loops. “How proficiently will you wield it I ask?”
Kowani knew she hadn’t an answer, letting her shoulders slump as the truth of the inquiry found purchase. It took a matter of seconds for her to realize that Nara had supplied proof of her ability, delving into her own mind to retrieve her weaknesses at will.
“Kowani, let the past go.” Nara said to her, a humble look in her eye struck at a nerve Kowani hadn’t expected. Although the message seemed to be coming from everyone around her, she could only stare through her helmet and into the eyes that had once belonged to the woman she loathed most on Keno. She knew this wasn’t the time to fight this fight, if this was even a fight that was hers.
“It seems you were right Nara; those Titans look like they are heading right for your shuttle. You did say West of the lake yes?” Rex said, lowering the quadnocs as the dropships were visible, small black specs in the morning sky.
“I did.” Nara said looking away from Kowani, squinting her own eyes to see for herself.
“Then what is that?” Ahsoka asked. Everyone spun to see her pointing toward the Eastern horizon. Multiple black specs dotted the view, thick clouds, pink with the approaching sun, belied the fury they kept to themselves. Heavy bolts of lightning illuminated them from within, pink, orange, and purple clashing together in a statement of advancing fury as more of the black specs issued forth, as if birthed from the coming storm itself. It took minutes for the sound to reach them as the peel of thunder tore through the unnatural silence that had settled between them all, vibrating stone, and bone alike as it reverberated through everything around them.
“Captain?” Rex heard his comm chime again.
“Go ahead Commander.” He said, his focus on the Eastern horizon.
“It appears we have reinforcements.” Aturg said with a loose garble, deciding to turn the intended question into a statement, “heading your way.”