Chapter 22 - Storm of Blood and Steel [Continued 3] (1/2)
Part 4
Republic Cruiser Requiem, Task Force ”Retribution” Flagship, 1 light second from Ryloth
Disabling the hyperdrives and engines of the six freighters, turned out to be the first damn thing that went right today. After that, Admiral Yularen used the ships under his command to systematically dismantle the light weapons on those transports.
Despite that the calls for surrender remained unheeded. That was one of the reasons for the conference call I was attending.
Skywalker, a banged up, but otherwise fine Ahsoka, Lieutenant Veers, Cat and me. Those were the people physically present on Requiem. The rest, amongst who were General Kenobi, Commander Cody, Captain Rex and myriad other ground commanders, were here in the form of ghostly holograms.
”This smells like a trap, sir.” grunted Cody.
There were nods and whispers of agreement.
”That much is obvious. However, we can't just leave those people, if they are in facts locals, in the hands of the CIS and the Hutts. We have to at least scout the freighters.” I shrugged.
”Every moment we are wait, is one more for the Seps on the ground to dig in, sir.” said Rex.
”That's right. We afford to waste too much time, sir.” Cody backed up his friend.
”We have at least few hours.” I countered. ”No one is setting a foot on Ryloth until orbital reconnaissance is completed. As we speak, our remaining bombers are being refitted with sensor pods. In an hour or so they will overfly the planet and scout for concentration of enemy forces and suitable landing zones. I'm not sending you down there before we are reasonably sure that there aren't any anti-orbital emplacements.”
The ground commanders winced at that. I didn't have to tell them what would happen if we attempted landing against an un-suppressed AA defense net, especially if the Confeds had deployed weapons which could maul the Assault ships.
”We can use our recon elements to check the freighters. Unfortunately, there are no special forces teams attached to our army.” proposed Kenobi.
”We should lead the reconnaissance of the freighters.” said Anakin. ”With the force, we would have a better chance to sense and avoid any traps. ”
”It's tempting.” I nodded.
Granted, the whole set up could be a trap for Jedi, but that didn't make Skywalkers idea any less viable. While we were all high ranking officers, thanks to the Force, often the best effect we could have during a battle was on the frontlines, taking out critical objectives, or plugging the gaps when our subordinates simply didn't possess the best skills for a given job.
Just like now. Clearing out the freighters was a task tailor made for the Republic commandos. Too bad that none of those fellas was under my command.
”Admiral Yularen will take command of the fleet, and you General Kenobi, will plan the initial landings when the scouts reports come in. The rest of us, Force Adepts will lead a reconnaissance in force on the freighters. Lets see what we have to work with...”
=RK=
LAAT gunship en route to Phantom 1 (Luckrehulk-class Freighter), high orbit over Ryloth
The other notable people riding with us were Captain Cat, who I had promoted when he recovered from the injuries received on Naboo, and members of his Sword company.
All of them were wearing the new color scheme on their armors – black and dark gray. I was the sole exception, with my apparel covered by the Chameleon paint, which made me almost melt into the background.
A company strength force was being deployed to each freighter. The first four ships were going to be hit by units under the command of Skywalker, Ahsoka, Rex and me, with the remaining being visited by recon elements of 93rd Legion.
We breached the freighter's exterior through the tears in its hull made by the fleet, while my ships were taking out its weapons.
The LAAT's pilots parked the transport so it almost touched the hull and we piled out of it. Our magnetized boots slapped into the metal skin of the freighter and we made our way to the hole in it.
After a moment of tense waiting, while I checked the compartment we were about to enter and those surrounding it, with the Force, I was the first to vault in. I braced myself for the moment the artificial gravity was about to ”catch” me. My stomach protested when the apparent lack of up and down was no more and I felt like being on solid ground once again.
I hurried to move out so the next person could came in. That was Aria who was spoiling for a fight. Being sealed in her room during the battle had made her on edge, and she needed something to bleed off her nervous energy. I was ready to bet that we would soon meet some droids which fit that bill.
Soon enough, Cat and two squads had jumped in. The rest of the platoon had chosen other points of ingress.
I nodded at the sealed armored door at the left side of the corridor where we were. Cat pointed at it and one of his men hurried up to a panel next to it. He pulled out a cable from the over sized computer mounted on his left arm, connected it with the door's control and started typing. Thirty seconds later, the armored barrier blocking our way divided in four and slid into the walls. If we were lucky, his brief hack had gone unnoticed and we were under the radar. That is if no one saw our gunships approaching the Luckrehulk.
The ȧssault made by Yularen had slagged the all the sensors possessed by the six freighters so we didn't have to worry that they would detect our approach that way.
We went into the next section of the corridor, and the tech sealed the door behind us. We could hear the hissing sound of air being pumped into the compartment. Soon a green light blinked on the door in front of us and it slid open.
That would hasten our mission, at least until someone on the other side smartened up and put the ship on lock-down. Something that I expected to be done by now.
The strangest thing was that I didn't feel any more danger than any other time I was entering a potential combat zone. I would have expected a stronger warning through the Force if the freighter was about to blew up or something...
”This is unit Delta! We have contact!” came over the comms. ”Only light clankers so far. We are proceeding to the target coordinates.”
Their destination were the starboard cargo holds, with Gama going after the port ones. Beta was heading straight to the reactor, to secure.
My own team was making its way to the bridge, and hopefully some answers.
The next clue, besides the very light resistance, and radio silence from the ship, that something was wrong, were the destroyed droids and few Trandosian bodies we started encountering. It gave me a clue about what might have happened on the freighters...
”This is Gama, we are under attack by what appears to be mercenaries, sir!” reported an incredulous clone.
We were nearing the bridge when Beta reported.
”Sir, we stumbled on a firefight between clankers and a squad strong Trandosians. Please advice on how to proceed.”
”Try finding an alternative route. If that's not practical wait for them tow weaken each other, eliminate all resistance and secure that reactor.” I ordered.
”Wilco, sir!” answered the clone, before cutting the transmission.
=RK=
Phantom 2, high orbit over Ryloth
”Kriffing huttspawn!” cursed Anakin, after he ducked his head back behind the corner, around which he was glancing.
A damn big, heavily armed and armored Trandosian was sweeping the corridor leading to the engineering, with an oversized automatic weapon. The gun was shooting huge slugs at a prodigious rate of fire. Skywalker doubted that most pieces of the armor he and his men were wearing could stop those bullets.
The standard Phase 1 Republic armor was optimized for stopping blaster fire and shrapnel. That heavy gun was something else entirely.