Chapter 6 - Through Passion I gain Strength (1/2)

Part 1

Republic cruiser Tranquility

Rodia

Outer Rim

I fell on my hands and knees panting. My sight was covered by black spots which were slowly dissipating. I took a deep breath as the darkness that enveloped me when the Consular frigate slammed in the Munificent bled away. I could see a distorted image of the deck plating which was few centimeters from my forehead. I ġrȯȧnėd. While pulling off such a stunt wasn't exactly trivial, yet it had never left me so exhausted before. Controlling a ship through the Force and guiding it to kamikaze an enemy frigate was an unexpectedly draining experience. Yeah, doing the same tricks as in this era took much more power than back in the day. For a moment I wondered what was wrong with the Force, but shrugged those thoughts away. Perhaps I would have the time to ponder that question once the war was over.

I willed my trembling body to move and stood up with a gasp. All my muscles ached as if I had tried to physically move the kriffing frigate!

I was stumbling as I made my way to the only remaining fighter on the deck. The way the Tranquility was shuddering as it was bombarded or boarding ships slammed into its hull did not make my life any easier.

=RK=

The Torrent's power-plant roared to life while I was busy strapping myself in its seat. My mind was using the Force to manipulate its controls while I made myself ready for more combat. I checked the seals of my armor and its oxygen supply before plugging in the line to the fighter's air-tank. The familiar sound of the star-fighter's engines coming to life was reassuring.

The borrowed machine rose up and glided over the deck as I guided it to the hangar exit. I forced the engines to full military trust and the Torrent darted into the void. I emerged into a storm of turbo-laser fire as the two operational CIS frigates pounded the failing shields of the Tranquility. The secondary fusion reactors could do only so much with the primary power source out.

My fighter banked over the superstructure of the Venator and I got my first good look of the battle. If you could call it that. There were only seven Republic star-fighters trying to hold a full wings of vultures. The only good news was that the first group of reinforcements were couple of minutes away. A full wing of twelve bombers with their escorts.

I plunged straight into the chaos. My Torrent swung in a reckless maneuver as I pushed it to the limits of its maneuverability. I flew left pulling a turn that would have squashed me if it was not for the inertial dampeners and flew behind a pair of vultures which were strafing the armored bulk of the cruiser. The droid fighters flew closer to the hull of the Republic capital ship in an effort to escape destruction.

The laser cannons of my Torrent came to life and discharged lines of green death. Pulses of coherent light racked over the engines of the right vulture and it went up in a short conflagration of vaporizing metal and burning fuel. Its buddy headed for the command towers of the cruiser in attempt to either ram the bridge or evade my fire by flying around the pylons supporting the command deck. The vulture did not get far because its right wing pod was shaved off by a long stream of fire. I released the trigger and watched in satisfaction as the enemy exploded.

=RK=

That however had been a short lived joy. Soon three Munificents and a whole bunch of fighters and boarding ships rained all over the cruiser that was home for Ranger squadron.

On the bright side, thanks to the crazy idea of Veil, the Jedi, one of the Sep frigates was mission killed and it looked like that the Tranquility might last until the backup arrived. However that would have been academic for him and his men. Or so he thought. Another Torrent had flew from the bow hangar and was tearing apart the clankers.

A minute ago Ranger Two thought that he was a goner. He had four of the vultures on his tail and despite his best efforts the droids were coming closer and closer to rendering him in squishy space debris. He could not do much. Not when the remains of his squadron were fighting for their own lives.

However it was not his time to die. Two of the pursuing vultures were blown out of his space by a pair of concussion missiles. Then a third was shredded by a short burst of devilishly accurate laser fire. The last machine tried to nail Ranger Two before it was destroyed but the droid fighter was shattered before being able to kill the clone pilot.

”This is Delkatar Veil. We need to keep distracting them for few more minutes and then the bombers will be all over them. Don't get yourselves killed boys! ”

With those words the Jedi had darted away in pursuit of another clanker.

=RK=

Engineering

Republic Cruiser Tranquility

Outer Rim

The reactor chambers of the cruiser were on fire. The lightning was off and Jedi Master Ti could see only thanks to the orange illumination hurled by the dancing flames. She had a gas mask on her face which helped her deal with the toxic fumes filling the engineering room without her having to expend Force energy to deal with whatever poison was in the air. She was holding a defensive position over the prone form of Padawan Tano who had the misfortune to pass too close to a mine placed by Ventress. The warning through the Force came too late for the young woman to escape unscratched. Ahsoka was stunned by the detonation and then hurled at nearby wall by a powerful telekinetic push. To make it even worse, the ȧssassin had cut the huge coolant pipes passing under the ceiling and hurled them at the younger Togruta. Tano was stunned and pinned down with a broken leg.

Ventress was stalking towards the Jedi Master with a mocking smile on her black lips.

”You won't be able to save her, Jedi. She'll die as she should.”

Shaak Ti huffed. What's with Sith and monologues, anyway?!

”I recognize your style, ȧssassin. It's Dooku's. But you use it in an unrefined and crude way. I'll demonstrate.”

The Jedi Master surged forward without a warning. It was a little known fact but Shaak Ti was possible the best blade-mistress the Jedi Order had. She, not unlike Dooku, was a master of Makashi.

Her attack surprised Ventress. Asajj was put on the defensive under its ferocity. Shaak Ti used a short, economic motion to deflect the left handed lightsaber of her opponent and then she parried the right one before kicking Ventress in the stomach with a Force empowered strike. The ȧssassin was thrown back and struck the armor covered the crippled reactor with a dull ”thud”. The Jedi master did not let the Sith recover and was upon her enemy. She pulled Ventress with the Force and sidestepped the flying force user. Shaak Ti's blazing blade flashed in azure ark and slashed through the saber hilt of Asajj's left hand weapon. It coughed few sparks and died.

Before the ȧssassin could land she was pulled from the back. This time she could twist mid-flight and parried a deadly strike with a desperate sweep of her remaining weapon. But that did not prevent her from hitting the reactor housing for a second time. Hard. She stumbled to her feet with a groan and used a desperation fueled surge of Force to jump towards the ceiling. No matter how she loathed the thought, Ventress knew that she should retreat. The short but intense combat against the two Jedi had taken its toll upon her. She was unscratched if you discount her bruised ribs but she had to use too much of the Force in order to keep up with the two Togruta females. Her muscles were screaming with exhaustion. With a vile curse, Asajj bounced from the ceiling and darted towards and open air-vent.

Shaak Ti used a sheet of torn out plating to cover herself. It wasn't a moment too soon. Dual explosions rocked the compartment, raining flame and shrapnel over her makeshift shelter. Sensing that Ventress was no longer and immediate treat she ran towards the Padawan and raised the pipe pinning down the girl with a wave of her hand. The Force produced telekinesis was quite handy tool for any Jedi.

=RK

A Torrent was torn apart after it was bracketed by six vultures and the flack cannons of the pair of operational CIS frigates. Another destroyed a droid fighter before being unfortunate enough to pass in front of a turbo-laser bolt, ceasing to exist. I sent a pair of missiles at two enemy machines converging on my position and then flew straight at another duo. I used the superior agility of my fighter and the limited premonition granted me by the Force to spin my Torrent in a mad ballet that avoided all fire sent my way. My cannons smashed the incoming vultures in piles of floating scrap and I banked right in the last moment to avoid the pieces of enemy ships which were still holding the same vector.

I snarled when two full squadrons of enemy fighters decided to pay me attention. The engines of my machine vibrated and whɨnėd in protest as I pushed them beyond their design parameters. I headed straight at the crippled CIS frigate and led my pursuers in a deadly game as I flew through its superstructures as the vultures unleashed everything they got at me. Light blossomed all around me as laser bolts were hurled near my ċȯċkpit. Too near for comfort. And many more were blasting at the armor belt of the stricken Munificent.

I could feel how one and then another of my pursuers were not maneuverable enough (despite their machine reflexes) to avoid protrusions and weapon emplacements sticking out of he frigate's hull.

Then the clock shown on my HUD blinked green and I smiled and pulled the control stick towards me. My Torrent climbed ”up” and the vultures followed... Straight in the sights of the escorts and bombers coming to our aid. My pursuers died smashed by missiles and a storm of laser bolts.

The command Munificent was closing to a point blank range of the Tranquility while the other frigate was maneuvering to present its broadside to the coming bomber strike.

I formed with the escort fighters and we moved on to screen the Y-Wings. All remaining vultures were converging against us. We flew down their throats with flack and fighters throwing hell at us. Second later the bombers followed us in the hurricane of steel and death.

=RK=

Cruiser Tranquility

Near Rodia

Outer Rim

Shaak Ti used two pieces of metal torn out by the ȧssassin's mines to brace the broken leg of the younger woman. She was helping Ahsoka to reach the med bay when their way was blocked by a group of Super Battle droids. The Jedi activated their lightsabers and Master Ti jumped at the attacking machines. Behind her, the wounded Padawan could not do much besides holding her ground and deflecting the multiple shots heading her way.

The Jedi Master soared over the blaster bolts, turned in the air in such a way that she was able to use the ceiling as a spring board to launch herself at the droids and jumped at the center of their formation. She sent wave of unseen force in front of her, which hit the unfortunate machines like a heavy freighter. The droid which was in the center of her attack crumbled like a tin can on which a giant had stepped on. The four robots closest to it were slammed in the ground with such a force that their legs snapped by the impact and multiple internal systems were damaged by the concussion. Then she was upon the surprised droids and her blade was a blur of color that left glowing pieces behind.

Ahsoka was doing her best to stay un-shot while the older Togruta woman was slicing and dicing the SB droids into piles of glowing scarp. She wondered how long, if ever, would take her to reach a similar level. The Jedi Master was amazing! Skywalker's apprentice dealt with three droids by sending back their blaster bolts while Master Ti had demolished the rest of the enemy force.

=RK=

One of these days I should stop getting myself in such sticky situations. I was on point, leading twenty eight fighters and twelve bombers against about a hundred vultures which had arrayed themselves in a defensive screen between us and the closest Separatist's frigate.

Missiles raced in front of our charging Torrent's and quarter of the enemies were smitten down by concussion explosions. Then they were upon us and there was no more time for thinking. Only the endless hours of training and steel discipline held the clones together as we mixed with the droid fighters. A vulture was splintered by my cannons. A Torrent disintegrated under the relentless fire of no less than eight clankers. The bombers blasted away a whole wing of droid fighters which tried to meet them head on. None of the Y-Wings suffered something more than a mildly depleted shields in that exchange.

While I was chasing a vulture, I saw three Clone fighters mixing with nine of their CIS counterparts. They wiped each outer in an orgy of laser blasts and concussion missiles. My cannons carved up the enemy I was pursuing and I went after a droid fighter that was giving hell to one of the few surviving star-fighters of the Tranquility's compliment. I nailed the machine with a lucky strike that immolated its fuel reserves but it was a moment too late. Three crimson laser bolts slammed in the engine of the clone Torrent and the Republic fighter fell apart as its power-plant exploded.

I watched helplessly as a bomber was torn to pieces by four vultures before it was their turn to die as missiles consigned them to the endless void. I blasted a target of opportunity and flew behind the attacking bombers in order to provide them with some small amount of cover.

The immediate space was filled with dying fighters and blast of flack cannons. None of that phased the bomber pilots and they released their payloads at point blank range of the Munificent. The light purple, almost pink proton torpedoes blazed for few moments before slamming in the armored underside of the frigate. The star ship visibly shook as a long row of explosions blossomed all over its flank.

I had the impression that the Frigate stood frozen in place for a long moment before something inside it gave away and a massive internal explosion broke its back. Its forward section was sent spinning downwards relative to its previous course, while its aft continued moving on its old vector thanks to the engines which were active for the next five or six seconds. Then they flicked off and on few times before detonating and shattering the aft part of the Munificent.

I could hear the clones cheering on the comm. I chuckled at their enthusiasm.

”Great work men! Only one more to go. Bombers form up for another attack run. I want half the fighters with me on as escorts. The rest of you clean up this space from clankers!”

”Yes, sir!” came the thunderous response.

Those fellas were much livelier than the average clones I've met so far. I kind of liked their attitude.

For a short while it looked like that we had the upper hand. Vulture droids were being destroyed left and right and the bomber run at the last enemy frigate was well on its way. There were not enough droid fighters left to blunt the attack, much less stop it. Then as you might guess everything went wrong.

Two more Munificents jumped out of hyperspace and started disgorging waves of vultures.

”All escorting fighters, form on me. We are going to intercept our new friends. Bomber wing take out that ship!” I ordered and banked left towards the forming waves of enemy fighters.

Behind us the Y-Starfighters continued forward and ran a gauntlet of flack fire and the vultures from the initial Task Force who were enterprising enough to jump at them despite the remaining Republic fighters with which they were dog-fighting. Four of the bombers were smashed by enemy fire but the remaining strike craft blew away the aft section of the frigate leaving it dead in space. The crippled ship drifted out of control.

At the same time I was leading fourteen Torrents against the first wave of fresh droid fighters. There were more than two hundred of the buggers. The shadow of Vael that was lurking in my subconsciousness was whispering that the smart thing would be to cut my losses and jump to hyperspace. That however meant leaving Ahsoka and Shaak Ti to certain death. After the losses they suffered it was a sure thing that the CIS forces would blast apart the Venator and get away before more Republic ships came to the party.

The cannons of the fresh frigates rotated, paused for a second and unloaded everything they got at the crippled Tranquility. The shields of the Republic cruiser somehow held up to that moment but after the first barrage they were no more. Turbo-laser fire struck the helpless Venator and small suns were born over its upper hull as the energy bolts discharged their fury on the armor belt. Turrets were blown clear away. Spikes of light and fire shattered armor plates. Few heavy shots impacted at boarding ships still embedded in the hull and their immolation tore out huge chunks from the metal skin of the cruiser. Its command towers received sic direct hits and disappeared in the hearts of crimson tinted explosions.

For me that was a side note. I was too busy fighting for my life to pay proper attention to Tranquility's final hour. The missiles we shot at the approaching armada found their marks but the thirty vultures they blew away were a drop in the ocean compared to the number of enemies hurling themselves at us. My Torrent shook by near misses. Its engines screamed in protest as I overloaded them in an attempt to get every bit of speed they could grant me. My finger was firmly pressed on the cannon's trigger and I did not let go. A vulture was turned into a flaming wreck, then another. Clone fighters ceased to exist under the guns of dozens vultures.

I shot two more missiles without waiting for a positive lock. One slammed into a droid fighter flying straight at me. The other missed but forced a vulture to get out of its way.

There were only four more killing machines between me and the end of the swarm. The first was immolated by laser light like a moth. The next died speared by my last missile. My Torrent weaved around the blasts of the third when we both scored hits. The vulture was sliced into three flaming parts by my cannons but not before blasting my right wing into oblivion. My fighter spun madly while I fought with its heavy controls. I snarled when red laser bolts flew my way. The first wave of droids fighters were dispersing and sweeping around in broad turns. Then it disappeared in a fireball when a missile struck it next to its robot brain.

I could see on my scanners that only two other Republic fighters had survived our insane charge. Granted, we took out more than a quarter of the enemies and broke their attack run on our bombers but that was all to heavy price to pay. The remaining five Torrents and the Y-Wings were forming up and flying at the dissipating vulture formation but that would be all to late for us. The second wave of droid fighters was almost upon us.

=RK=

Shaak Ti managed to get Ahsoka to the med bay, where one of the clones was now busy with patching the Padawan's leg. There she found the remnants of Green Company which was smashed by a Dark Jedi and waves of battle droids and commandos. Only seven men were combat effective and just three of them weren't wounded. She grimaced. The mission had gone to hell and if what she sensed through the Force was correct, their situation was going to become even worse.

A minute and eleven SB droids later she was proven right. The captain ordered them to abandon ship before the comm-link was cut and the cruiser started shaking under heavy bombardment.

Shaak Ti and Ahsoka managed to levitate ten of the wounded to the nearest escape pods while thirteen more were brought by the remaining troopers and the medics. That's when the corridor through which they came was smashed by enemy fire and they were cut off from the med bay by sealing armored doors. Master Ti stumbled when she felt the wounded still in the med bay winking out as the ship was shaken by another hit.

”To the escape pods! Now!” she shouted and hurried with moving in the wounded they managed to rescue.

When they launched from Tranquility, the Jedi Master was appalled by the damage that the cruiser suffered. Seconds after they left a creeping barrage of turbo-laser fire smashed the part of the ship they were moments ago.

She looked out through the small window and saw the remains of crippled or destroyed CIS ships and hundreds of enemy fighters chasing after the few Republic fighters and bombers that were still active.

Ahsoka, who was piloting the pod had to maneuver it around floating and smoldering debris from space ships and vultures shooting at anything moving that did not have CIS IFF.

=RK=

I regained some semblance of control over my damaged fighter. The pair of clone piloted fighters and me had precious few seconds until the two armadas of vultures would be upon us. I desperately looked for a way out of this deathtrap. My sight fell on the two frigates behind the second wave of enemy fighters. It was insane. With no real chance to reach them. The only other alternative I had left was to do a blind hyperspace jump.

A glance at the panel showing me the status of the hyperdrive told me that there was no way out. My Hyperdrive engine was down. Whether it was busted even before I flew out of the Tranquility or the hit that blew of my wing was to blame was irrelevant.

”Boys, follow me in. We are heading straight for the hangar of the nearest Munificent. Our current position is untenable.”

”Affirmative, sir. Who wants to live forever?” joked one of the clones.

”I do. Preferably.” chuckled the other.

We flew against the swarm of vultures between us and the enemy frigates. Behind us dozens more droid fighters were rushing to dispose of us. The Force literally screamed a deafening warning that almost stunned me.

=RK=

Part 3

Short time ago

Rodia

Outer Rim

A nineteen years old, wet behind the ears ensign was surveying the bridge of the Acclamator Dauntless. To be fair, he should not even be there – the young man had graduated from the Naval Academy on his home world of Axxila only five short weeks ago. He found himself ȧssigned to the GAR when the Senator of his world decided to show his support for the war by arranging most of the graduating class to ”volunteer” for duty with the fleet. The green officer was called Firmus Piett. He was a short, brown haired man with piercing black eyes.

The ensign had the pŀėȧsurė to be one of only three officers ȧssigned to the Dauntless who were not clones. Those were the Captain, one Gram Tager, an experienced Corellian spacer with decades of service in that systems defense fleet. The other, was one of the lieutenants – Lars Robat. The rest of the crew, without exception were wearing the same brown faces. That of a mandalorian bounty hunter if the rumors were true. At least the clones usually knew their jobs though most of them, at least on his ship, lacked creativity and tended to do things by the book.

Piett was left to tend the shop, while the rest of the command crew were on a briefing in the capital, which was mostly used as an opportunity to chill off after the boring patrol they were conducting. Even now, when reinforcing Rodia and hunting down the few stray clankers left, and providing humanitarian aid to the starving population it was not a major change of pace for the starship officers. Most if not all ground operations were conducted by the clone commanders and their subordinates.

As the new man, so to speak, Firmus got to draw the short stick and remained as the ranking officer on board. However he was not particularly disappointed by that. Rodia was a hot, wet planet which was covered by swamps. Not his favorite climate. So he was content to remain on the bridge of the Acclamator where he was enjoying the blessings of the environmental controls which kept the inside of the ship pleasantly cool.

The Ensign was checking one of the endless reports which go hand in hand with running a major spaceship, this one dealing with the supply state of the cruiser. The Dauntless was an experimental Acclamator, a hybrid between carrier and ȧssault ship which was able to deploy both ground forces and V-19 Torrent starfighters. Which, while useful depending on the situation, was hell on the logistics front.

Firmus was finishing a report showing the supply state of the fighter wings stationed on his ship when a message came in. The Venator that was transporting Nute Gunray, one of the leaders of the Separatists to Coruscant was under attack. For some reason the cruiser had not jumped to hyperspace shortly after getting the prisoner aboard and now its captain and crew were paying the price.

The young man was gripped by indecision for a few handful of seconds. At least a third of the ground troops were still on board as well as a lot of equipment and two squadrons of starfighters. The enemy attack was occurring over the side of the planet where the Dauntless and few other ȧssault ships were landed. So he was on board one of the few Republic cruisers that could respond to the distress call in short amount of time. The only force that could do so faster was the cap flying in low orbit of the planet but that was only two squadrons of Torrents and a single wing of bombers. It might be enough to help the Tranquility deal with the three reported enemy frigates. A Venator with such support was a Match for so few Munificents. But the cruiser was reported to be boarded so it was all academic.

”Raise the ramps! Prepare for emergency launch! I want all fighters ready for combat yesterday!” Piett started snapping orders.

One of these days it may be his ship in distress and he hoped that whoever Republic captain was around would choose to ȧssist.

=RK=

The Dauntless was breaking orbit carried by its powerful engines. The navcomputer was already busy with calculating vectors for a combat micro-jump. To Piett's unpleasant surprise it appeared that he and his ship were the fastest to respond if you do not count the CAP which was already on the way. The next ship, another Acclamator, that would be able to launch won't arrive for fifteen more minutes. It was a bloody eternity considering that the Tranquility was crippled and her captain was shouting frantically for support. Apparently one of the boarding parties was able to damage the reactor which had scrammed. With boarders running rampart and the main power out of the equation, the Venator did not have a chance.

Piett was watching on the holographic displays framing the bridge a representation of the vicious battle. The fighter compliment of the besieged cruiser had managed to knock out one of the enemy frigates and now, ȧssisted by the cap and the bombers were attacking a second. For few short seconds it looked like that the Dauntless would arrive in time to ȧssist with mopping up the enemy fighters. The second Munificent was shattered by a massed torpedo strike when two more CIS frigates jumped into the fray. They immediately launched their vulture compliments and suddenly the tide of the battle had changed.

”They did not stand a chance.” muttered the Clone manning the sensors control station.

”Navigation, I want a hyperspace jump plotted for right there.” Piett pointed to a specific place on the holographic display. ”Weapons, I want you to open fire at this formation of droid fighters the moment we complete transition. ”

RK=

Battlefield near Rodia

Outer Rim

I pulled up the control stick of my fighter with all my might and in a fit of desperation used the Force to help steer my sluggish Torrent. It pointed its nose upward and headed onto new a vector under the thrust of its over-stressing engines. It was not a moment too soon. A white and red colored mountain of armor and weapons appeared in front of me. I felt the belly of my fighter scrapping on its hull and I was nearly thrown out of my seat to bounce around the ċȯċkpit despite the shock webbing keeping me in place. The lost wing turned out to be an unexpected boon when I nearly struck a turret mount as it flashed by me on the right. If the wing was still intact that collision would have been the end of me.

I pulled out of my climb and smiled in relief. As I passed near the single bridge pylon of the Acclamator that had just saved my life (and nearly smeared me all over its hull) I glanced a relieved looking young officer on the bridge. Surprisingly he was not a clone.

But I had no time to ponder his identity. The second wave of CIS fighters were too close to pull out. They ran headlong into the onslaught of the close in weapons of the ȧssault ship which was modified to carry twice the normal quantity of flack cannons. As the formation of vultures approached they were swallowed by the firepower arrayed against them. A wall of explosions, which was spiting flaming broken hulks was flying towards the cruiser. A third of the vultures were smashed to rubble when they found themselves without any room to maneuver. Close to another third were unable to evade the armored bulk of the Acclamator and slammed into it. They wrecked some of the gun emplacement but beyond that all they did was to dent the armor. The droid fighter simply had not attained enough velocity to seriously damage the cruiser. I along with my two companions who managed to evade running headlong into the Acclamator pounced gleefully on the disorganized remains of the second vulture wave.

My grin became wider when I saw the ȧssault ship lowering its forward facing ramp and launching fighter squadrons while exchanging broadside fire with the remaining two frigates.

I turned left and shot up a vulture unlucky enough to fly right in front of my fighter.