[FIC] Lessons of War

[Grey Master]

A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away………..

 

 

STAR WARS

 

LESSONS OF WAR

 

Its 3,964 years before the Battle of Yavin and the galaxy is in turmoil.

The Mandalorians, a warrior race under the leadership of Mandalore

the Ultimate, have attacked an unsuspecting Republic, and now the

two factions battle in distant worlds for control of the known galaxy,

but is clear that the mandalorians will win eventually.

 

The Republic, in a desperate attempt to get support,

turn to the Jedi Council for aid against the Mandalorian threat,

but the Jedi sense that the real threat is yet to show itself and

refuse to rush to meet the mandalorians in battle.

 

Two young Jedi Knights, Revan and Malak, decide to act and rallied the Jedi

to aid the Republic war effort, challenging the Council and the Jedi Masters.

Jedi Padawan Keshin Vero, one of the many hundreds of Jedi who volunteered

to follow Revan, finds himself fighting on the jungle moon of Dxun, where the

mandalorians have made their stronghold and base for their conquest, leading a

platoon of republic troopers against the mandalorian soldiers, and during the

course of the war, he will experience its horrors and will learn

what truly means to be a Jedi……………..

 

___________________________________________________________________________

 

 

 

 

Chapter 01

 

 

It was quiet.

The air felt hot and humid on Dxun, the jungle had remained silent after the sounds of blaster fire had died down, as if waiting to see which group will make the next move, the Republic or the Mandalorians, and it made the Jedi Commander Keshin Vero restless and fearful. But why he shouldn’t feel afraid, he thought to himself, if he had never been this desperate in his entire life, which was a short one because he was 21 years old, feeling that the mandalorians were watching and planning the best way to kill him and what was left of his platoon, and not being able to do a thing about it.

 

“Are you feeling well Commander?” asked sergeant Neresi, one of the few remaining soldiers that were under Vero’s command, and the most loyal.

 

“Yes, I’m fine” said Keshin, with a little feeling of uneasiness that his soldiers had to see their superior officer at the brink of his endurance “I’m just thinking about what we should do next without getting us all killed.”

 

“With all due respect, sir” said corporal Yuthen, with a fearful voice and a look of panic in his face “I think we should just make a run from it, until we reach the retrieval point and leave this dreadful place!!”

 

“Keep it together soldier” replied Neresi “don’t you remember that we did that last time and we lost fifteen troopers because we didn’t notice the path was mined??”

 

“Have some faith in me” replied Keshin, looking at his exhausted troops, who just wanted to return to base “I dragged you into this and I will see that you get out alive.”

 

“We do have faith in you, sir, don’t we troop....” Neresi was about to say when a blaster shot hit her squarely in the forehead and fell to the grass.

 

“Sniper!!!” yelled a trooper as everybody dropped to the jungle floor, were Keshin stared at the motionless body of the sergeant.

 

“There” pointed a private to a shinning object at the top of a hill.

 

“Take him out, Guilan” ordered Keshin to the platoon’s sniper.

 

“Gladly” replied as the trooper aimed at the mandalorian and took the sniper out “treat eliminated.”

 

Keshin moved over to Neresi’s dead body in the ground and closed her eyes “Ohh, Neresi” said the Commander with sadness in his voice and felt tears running down his cheeks.

 

“Sergeant Neresi was right about one thing sir, we do have faith in you” said Yuthen with some sadness in his voice “but we really need to get out of this dammed jungle if we want to survive.”

 

“You’re right” said Keshin rising from the ground “we can’t let Neresi’s sacrifice be in vain, she would have wanted to see her men live, and we shall honor her memory. Rhusik, get a hold of command and tell them to have a dropship ready at the retrieval point and to bomb this dammed jungle to hell”

 

All the troopers agreed with their Commander and started walking carefully through the jungle to the pickup site.

 

 

 

“Sir” said Rhusik, the communications expert “command says that the dropship is en route and that the bombers should reach their targets in about ten minutes.”

 

“Alright, you heard the man, we have to move faster if we want to live to tell the tale, and Rhusik, keep track of the time, I don’t want anybody in the jungle when the bombs come down” said Vero as he and his men started running towards the objective, it was risky, but they still had one kilometer to go.

___________________________________________________________________________

 

“We have four minutes left sir!!” said Rhusik a little alarmed to the Commander.

 

“Relax, we’ll make” said Keshin, pouring reassurance to his words using the Force, but in fact, he too was realizing that they were running out of time, and they still had five hundred meters to go.

 

“I see the dropship!!” said one soldier, and, instantly, his chest was filled with eight blaster holes and he felled to the ground, smoke pouring from his wounds that gave an odor of burned flesh.

 

“Ambush!!” yelled Vero as he snapped his lightsaber to life and deflected three blaster bolts with the green blade “run to the dropship, I will keep them busy.”

 

“We copy sir” said Yuthen, and he and the troops started running to the dropship with two hundred meters to go when a tank’s main cannon shot was heard in the distance.

 

“Damn, this just keeps getting better and better, doesn’t it” murmured Vero to himself, and use the Force to push the remaining mandalorians to the ground an then stunned them “this should keep them busy for a while” and then he ran and used the Force to make him move faster to the dropship.

 

“Hurry up sir!!” said the dropship’s pilot into his communicator “that tank will be in firing position in a few seconds”

 

“Just... hold on... a little longer...” said the Jedi, pushing his Force abilities to the limit and used what was left of his strength to Force jump into the ship’s boarding ramp, but at the same time, the tank’s gunner fired the main cannon and the explosion caught Vero at the moment he jumped, adding more speed and force to Keshin’s jump that made him land hard inside the cold durasteel floor of the ship, and felt his entire body burning as if he had been set on fire alive.

 

“Oh no” said a soldier “he’s dead!!”

 

“Not yet” said Yuthen, checking the Jedi’s neck for a pulse “where’s the damn medic, we need him now!!” he ordered. Keshin heard his men sobbing at the sight of their dying officer, who had help them live at the cost of his own life.

 

Suddenly, Vero felt the ship lift off, and was glad that he had got his men to safety; at least he could die knowing that he had done his duty. “Hold on, sir” said Guilan, with some tears in his face “the medics will fix you in no………”

 

The commander didn’t get to hear the rest of Guilan’s words, as he closed his eyes and fell into unconsciousness.

[Anakin Skywalker]

Just a suggestion DR, but why not put a Prologue in it, so we can understand when and where this is taking place...

 

it's a good fic

[JediAthos]

I agree with the prolouge suggestion. It's something that I should have done with mine when I started it, and something it may get once I finish. Back to your work though, some things I noticed were just technical things that a little editing will fix, due respect instead of do respect, on Dxun instead of in Dxun. The only other thing I would do is change the title of your Jedi from commander to General, simply because General is more of an army rank where commander is typically used in naval forces.

 

But it's your fic and I am merely an outside observer. I like the start and I look forward to reading more.

[RC-1162]

or even just an out of content briefing, letting us know the timing and the characters in the story. but pretty well done for a first attempt.

[Diego Varen]

Even if this is your first attempt, it was very good. Better than my first anyway. Prologues aren't always necessary, even though my Fics have them. Some books don't have Prologues, so don't worry about not having a Prologue. I'm looking foward to more.

[CSI]

It's a very good fic, Darth Reader. I agree with Pottsie, but I still recommend you to write a brief prologue, like the one crawling out in the vast galaxy in the begin of all Star Wars movies.

[Diego Varen]

Sorry to sound annoying, but you can always edit your first post to put the Prologue in. I suggest you delete your post with the Prologue/Chapter 1 and copy and paste the Prologue into your first post. I hope I don't sound rude.

[Grey Master]

Well, here is the second chapter:

 

 

Chapter Two

 

“Focus Padawan, block all distractions and concentrate on the cube” said a voice. Vero recognized it immediately, it was the voice of Master Zez-Kai Ell, one of his many teachers, and one whom he highly regarded.

 

“I’m trying, Master, but it’s so difficult with the background noises in the Force” Vero heard another voice, but this one belonged to a child, and recognized it as his own voice when he was five years old “I don’t know how you and the other Master do it, you make it look so easy.”

 

“It’s because we practice and keep concentrated” said the Master “now try to focus instead of talking and use the Force to levitate the cube”

 

“I’ll never be able to do it” said Keshin, giving into despair and frustration “and I will never

become a Jedi.”

 

Master Ell looked at his head strong apprentice and sighted “If you say that, then you already have failed, the path of the Jedi is a difficult journey, and your mind and spirit will be challenged to its fullest, so you must keep your hopes up in any situation, no matter how desperate or impossible things look.”

 

Vero looked up to his master at the end of the statement “Do you think that I will ever be as wise as you, Master?”

 

Zez-Kai Ell smiled at that comment, “We shall seeyoung one, but for now let’s try to focus and levitate the cube so we may continue your training.”

 

_________________________________________________________________

 

Keshin opened his eyes and was welcomed with the sight of moving images, as if he was underwater and breathing through a mask, and realized that he was submerged in a kolto tank.

 

“I’m glad to see that you have awaken, sir” said a droid voice “I was afraid that will stay in a coma for a long time, but I think that I underestimated you Jedi, you heal quickly.”

 

Vero searched for the source of the greeting and saw a medical droid in a nearby terminal, monitoring his life signs “I’m happy to report that all internal organs have fully healed and the skin tissue has regenerated itself with minor scarring, and the left arm surgery has worked out as planned.”

 

The Jedi looked at his left arm at the mention of the surgery and found that his lower arm had been amputated at the elbow. The sight of his missing limb made him desperate, and he tried to get out of the tank.

 

“Please, remain still and I will get you out of the tank.”

 

Vero did as he was told and stayed still, the medical droid punched some commands in a nearby terminal and the top of the tank rose above his head and into the room’s ceiling.Then two mechanical arms with padded ends came down into the tank and grabbed the Jedi by the shoulders tightly and raised him out, then the machine delivered him to a nearby bed.

 

The medical droid approached him with a towel and some clothes.

“I believe you are well enough to clothe yourself. Please use the refresher and return here until you are cleared to go back to duty.”

 

“Why did you cut off my hand?’ asked Keshin.

 

“I’m sorry sir, but it was necessary. When you arrived to the ship, you already had some decaying tissue and infection in your left hand, we tried several treatments but none worked, so the best course of action was to amputate or you would have lost more than that. We have some prosthetic hands if you wish for one to be installed. Do you wish to see the models?” asked the droid to his patient.

 

“Yes, after I get some food and rest. But first I will like to ask, how much time have I been in the coma and where am I?”

 

“Well, my records show that you have been in kolto treatment for six days and as for your location, you are aboard the Republic medical ship Hope. If you’ll excuse me, I have other patients to attend to; you should go to the refreshers to clean yourself sir.”

 

“What, do I smell that bad?” said the Jedi jokingly to the droid.

 

“I wouldn’t know sir, I can’t smell, I was merely suggesting it because the Jedi General in charge of this ship wanted to talk to you as soon as you woke from the coma about your actions in the jungles of Dxun.”

 

At the mention of the meeting, Keshin hurried off to the refreshers to clean himself up, because he didn’t want to keep a superior officer waiting. When he came out, he was wearing the brown robes, boots and gloves traditional to a padawan, and found the Jedi General sitting down on the couch near his bed.

 

“So you are the young hero everybody in my ship keep talking about” said the General, who was the most beautiful woman Vero had ever seen. She was wearing the robes of a Master and had blue eyes and short white hair and she wore it loose, her skin was silk white with spots of pink on her cheeks, clearly embarrassed that Vero had his mouth open and was staring at her “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

 

Keshin snapped out of his little bubble and returned to reality “The pleasure is mine, General….?”

 

“General Kae, I was surprised when the medic told me of your miraculous recovery. I expected you to be in that kolto tank for more than two weeks after the injuries you received.”

 

“Well, I guess that I have to thank the Force for my recovery and also for the quick response of the surgeons” said Vero, referring to his left arm.

 

“I’m sorry that the surgeons had to remove your hand, but it was the only way to save you” said Master Kae “but I shouldn’t be talking to you about this. The reason for my visit is to inform you that because of your selfless actions on the field of battle, you are being promoted to the rank of Jedi Knight and given the military rank of Republic General.”

 

Vero was speechless, “Me? a Knight? but Master Kae I was only……”

 

“No, don’t talk to me about your promotion, I had nothing to do with it, the order came from the top, from our recruiter.”

 

“Do you mean….” said Keshin with his eyes wide open.

 

“Yes, it came directly from Revan himself, now come; he is waiting for us in the bridge.”Then the two Jedi left the room, en route to the bridge.

[Diego Varen]

Another good Chapter, Darth Reader/Tormentor. I like that Master Zez Kai Ell is in this Fic. Looking foward to more.

[CSI]

Another good chapter, DR/DT. I like it, and keep it coming up!

[CSI]

Eh, Revan is not my favorite character...Mine is Darth Nihilus. But however looking forward to it.

[Diego Varen]

Revan will be a great addition to your Fic. I look foward to seeing him (or her).

[Grey Master]

Chapter Three

 

“So that’s why I joined Revan and the war, because he will need all the Jedi or ex-Jedi he could get” explained Master Kae to Vero, who had asked her why she had joined the war.

 

“I don’t mean to pry, but is your husband alright with this?” asked Keshin

 

“Who, Yusanis?” exclaimed Kae “He approves of my decision, but not fully, he says that I should be home, with our daughter, Brianna”

 

“I didn’t know you had a daughter, Master?!” said Keshin in disbelief “how old is she?”

 

“Brianna is about eleven years old, and she is the reason I abandoned the Jedi” said Kae, with a sad tone in her voice “but I never regretted having her, or leaving the Jedi for that matter, but enough of my speech, I must be boring you, why don’t you tell me why did you joined the war? You are very young to be here.”

 

“Me?” said Vero, taken by surprised by the question “Well, Revan summoned a group of Jedi to meet him at the gardens in the temple on Dantooine, and he explained to us that by watching and not doing nothing to aid the Republic, we were helping the Mandalorians to win, saying that because we are Jedi, we should use our power to help the Republic and all it’s people against the Mandalorian invasion, and most of us found accepting the offer difficult, because it contradicted the counsel the Jedi Masters had given, which was to wait and see, that the real threat hadn’t showed itself, but Revan said that we should make our own choice, not let the Council make it for us, so here I am.”

 

Master Kae took a moment to reflect on what Vero had said to her, “so, did you have any problems when you leaved the Academy to come here?”

 

Vero remember exactly what happened that dreadful day “Yes, some of the Masters told us that we were following Revan to the Dark Side, that it was not the way of the Jedi to meet violence with violence, and Master Zez-Kai Ell told me that I had failed him, and that I was a Jedi no longer….” he felt a bit of anguish when he remembered those words, they still hurt him.

 

“Sorry to make you remember that, it was not my intention to…”

 

“No, it’s alright” said Vero, a little relieved to tell it to somebody “I have to deal with my past and learn that what is done is done”

 

“Now I’m really sure that you deserve your promotion” said Kae, with a smile on her face “you are wise beyond your age, Vero.”

 

“Thank you, Master” said Vero, and then he sensed a strong Force presence, and thought that it must be Revan, which meant that they should be near the ship’s bridge.

 

“Ah…, you feel his presence, don’t you, Revan has become very powerful and more brilliant with each passing moment in this war, and his appearance has changed too…so don’t be too shocked when you see him….”

 

Vero felt nervous at that comment, he sensed Revan’s presence alright, but it had a dark aura about it, a taint that wasn’t there when he recruited Vero. They entered to the Bridge, immediately the officers saluted Kae, and she returned their gesture, but Vero couldn’t keep his eyes off the hooded figure that stood in the command deck ahead, looking at the stars.

 

“Revan” called out Kae “I’m glad you waited for us, I thought that you had departed”

 

The figure turned, and Vero saw that it was wearing a mask that covered all of its face, it was wearing some kind of dark robes, and the mask had a single line across its faceplate, along the eyes, like a visor, and was mandalorian like.

 

“Ah, Master Kae, I was waiting for you” said the figure in an deep encoded voice, almost machine like, “and Jedi Vero, a pleasure to see you again, you have proven yourself quite a hero, all the troops are talking about you, it has increased their morale”

 

“Thank you” said Vero “but I was just doing my duty”

 

“Please, allow me to say that your humility is admirable, as are your recovery skills, but I’m sorry for your hand” said Revan, motioning to Vero’s amputated left hand “Sorry there was nothing else that could have been done.”

 

“I’m grateful to be alive, that is all” said Vero “Master Kae told me you wanted to say something to me”

 

“Yes, but first, excuse me for one moment” said Revan, and he took his helmet off, and when he popped its seal, it a hiss escaped from it, like if Revan was wearing an space suit “much better” he said when he took it off, and he placed it under his arm. Keshin could see small creases on Revan’s face, he was pale and looked like he had not rested in days.

 

“First, I will like to personally appoint you as Jedi Knight and a General of the Republic Army. Second, to commend you for your bravery and selfishness in the field of battle, because it took a great deal to return to base, I have read the report of the operation on Dxun, you and your unit were amongst the few to escape out of that planet, and if more Jedi will act like you, we will definitely win this war” finished saying Revan, and he extended his hand to Vero, who gladly shook it with his right hand.

 

“Also, I will like you to get to the front right away, if you are ready to return of course”

 

“Yes sir, I’m ready” replied Keshin “but first, I will need to get a new hand”

 

“Of course, after you are done, I will like you to take command of a legion and go to Eres III, my scouts tell me that the Mandalorians plan to attack that world, and may the Force be with you, dismissed!”

[Diego Varen]

Another good Chapter Grey Master. The discussion between both Arren Kae and Vero was good. It was nice to see the mention of Brianna and Revan's first apperance. I'm looking foward to more.

[Grey Master]

Thank you, Pottsie, any more comments? Any spelling errors?

I hope you will like my next chapter, is about how the forests of Eres III were burned, with the appearance of one TSL character.

[Diego Varen]

Are we allowed to guess the character? If so, is it:

 

 

Atton Rand or Kreia?

 

[Grey Master]

Well, I won't spoil nothing, but I decided to make it more fun with 3 characters instead of one, and Pottsie, no more guesses.

[KotO[REvan]]

I enjoy reading fics about the Mandalorian and Jedi Civil Wars, and it makes it even better that you're fan fictions are quite long. I'm more interested in reading long fics than short ones. Keep the chapters coming, good job so far.

 

 

Or it could be Mandalore/Canderous. But Atton or Kreia sounds more likely.

 

[Grey Master]

Sorry for the delay, but I had tons of school work to do, and this chapter may take time to finish, so enjoy!

I give to you Chapter 4: PART ONE (of two or three)

[Grey Master]

Chapter 4

PART ONE

 

“How does it feel sir?’ asked the medical droid to Vero “is it like your organic arm or would you me to make some adjustments?”

 

“Uh?” replied Keshin to the droid, snapping out of his thoughts about Revan, how he had felt the small taint of darkness surrounding him, and how he looked….. “Sorry, yes, it feels like a natural part of me”

 

He opened and closed the palm of his prosthetic hand, marveled at how natural it felt, the nerve endings in his left arm had been fused with those of the metal arm, and as a result he could now do his lightsaber techniques with some adjustments to his moves and grasp any object with his new hand.

 

“Then my job is done sir, I’m glad I was able to help” replied the medical droid.

 

“Thank you for everything” said Keshin to the droid, who had helped him stay alive.

 

“You are welcome, and before you leave, I was told by General Kae that you should report to Hangar Bay D3, to meet your troops for the deploy to Eres III, good luck sir” replied the droid .

 

Vero make his way out of the medical room and walked to the turbolift, pressed a few buttons and was en route to the ship’s hangars. On his way, he concentrated on the Force and searched the Hope for Revan’s presence, but found nothing, he had already left. The meeting had stunned him, to feel the darkness inside Revan was confusing; could he be falling to the dark side? he thought, and then the turbolift’s door opened, to reveal the numbers of soldiers that were boarding their dropships for deploy.

 

“General Vero” said a familiar voice “glad you could make sir”

 

Keshin searched for the source and found that it belonged to Yuthen, one of the soldiers who he commanded in the Dxun mission, “good to see you too, Yuthen” he said, and looked around to and saw the company’ sniper, Guilan, along with some of his old troops were there too, but mostly there were new faces.

 

“Its Sergeant Yuthen now sir, High General Revan came down here and personally promoted me along with other troopers for our actions, it was a great honor” replied Yuthen “But we should get to business, General. General Kae, Teyo and Admiral Mon Halan are in the mission room, and request your presence there.”

 

“Good, please lead the way, and it’s good to have you along again, Yuthen” said Keshin to the sergeant, and patted him in the shoulder.

 

The two friends started walking towards a far off room, and as they walked, Vero saw some of the dropships, which were bigger and heavier than normal; some techs were making some final modifications to the exterior of the ships, others were talking to the pilots about the new alterations, everywhere he looked people were doing something.

 

“This is the mission room” said Yuthen, and Keshin saw a big room filled with holomaps and personnel, and a big circular holo-displayer table at the center of the room, where Admiral Mon Halan and the Generals Kae and Teyo were going over the battle plans.

 

Vero entered the room and went to the table “General Keshin reporting as ordered, ma’am” he said to Kae, and saluted.

 

“Ah, you finally arrive, how does your new hand feel?” asked the General, looking at his left arm, when the other two officers looked at them, “Oh, were are my manners, General Vero, allow me to introduce to you General Rid Teyo, one of the many experienced combatants in our forces and Admiral John Mon Halan, in charge of the Republic fleet in this sector.”

 

“A pleasure to finally meet the ‘hero’ everybody on board is talking about” said Admiral Halan, who was a man in his late forties, and extended his hand to Vero, which he shook.

General Teyo just nodded at him and said “Nice to meet you”, and returned his attention to the holomap.

 

“Do not worry” said Kae under her breath, “Teyo is a man that lets his actions speak for him, so take no offence if he doesn’t talk to you much.”

 

Then Admiral Halan continued talking about the mission, “Ok, we need to land some reinforcements to the garrison on Eres III, which is getting blasted by the mandalorian invaders and their fleet, any comments generals?”

 

“Yes” said Keshin “why is Eres III so important?”

 

“Well, there are many colonies in that planet, along with the vast areas of plains and fields, used for agriculture, it’s a fertile world and the Republic cannot afford to lose it, because the planet provides much of the food for the troops” replied Kae

 

“How are we going to get in the planet if the mandalorian fleet is surrounding it?” asked Vero again.

 

“Well, the Hope is in hyperspace, along with some of my ships and when we get out , we will be directly ahead of the enemy’s fleet, then we will launch fighters and dropships, our fleet and fighters will engage the enemy and buy time for the dropships to get to orbit, then we will get out of the system, and I bet the enemy will follow us, the ground troops then will repel the enemy until our other fleet arrives and gives support and retrieves the troops in the planet, our main objective is to eliminate the mandalorian presence on the planet at all costs” said Admiral Halan.

 

“Sounds like a good plan, who is going be in charge of the ground operation?” asked Keshin

 

“You and general Teyo will be in command of the ground forces, while me and general Kae will command the space operations, I trust you can handle it?” said Halan.

 

“We can” said Teyo, saluting the Admiral as he left the room , along with Kae and Vero.

 

“Now don’t get yourself killed, do you hear me Vero? It will be a heavy blow to the Republic to have a good Jedi die in battle” said Kae, looking at Keshin.

 

“Don’t worry, ma’am, I won’t” he replied, extending his right hand to her, “I hope to see you again, general Kae”

 

“Me too” she replied as they shooked hands, and then an announcement was made, “All troops to their dropships, get ready for deployment, and good luck to all of you” the voice was from the Admiral. Vero said his final goodbyes to general Kae, then went to his dropship, which was already filled with troopers.

 

“Ready to kick some mandalorian butt, General?” asked sergeant Yuthen, from one of the seats in the ship. Vero sat down and strapped himself to the seat, ready to launch “I always am” he replied, and felt the Hope coming out of hyperspace, the dropships heavy doors closed, and the ship launched out from the bay, entering the void of space, with one objective: reaching Eres III in one piece….

[CSI]

Nice chapter, but however I think you should finish seperate parts in one chapter? That would be better, I think...

[Grey Master]

Well, this chapter is gonna be a long one, and I dont have the time to write it all at once and Im thinking how to best introduce some TSL characters into it , so I have decided to break it down into parts.

[Grey Master]

Ok, sorry for the delay, but I have been busy, here is the next chapter for my little Fic

[Grey Master]

PART TWO

 

The vessel shook like if it was possessed, sending some unsecured equipment tumbling to the floor. The ship’s alarm went out, along with the red hazard lights that indicated a breach on the vessel’s hull, a statement of the heavy fighter fire they were taking.

 

Luckily, all the troopers wore vacuum suits, which may come in useful in this situation.

The ship took more hits, making it shake again.

 

“Were are the fighter escorts?” asked Keshin to the pilot via comlink. “We are going to be space dust if we keep taking fire”

 

“They are delaying the enemy General” replied the pilot with a shaky voice, trying to evade the enemy’s fire as best as he could “but it seems that there is more enemy presence than anticipated”

 

The Jedi reflected on the pilot’s word for a moment, so the mandalorians are baiting us into a trap, or worse, we have a traitor among us, both of those ideas brought concern to Vero, the Republic is going to be crushed like a bug by a bunch of savages or sold out by one of its citizens...

He was interrupted by the sound of his comlink cracking to life, and he was addressed by a female voice, “This is Saber Squadron Leader Romina Duncan to the commanding officer of the dropship Blaze, do you copy? Over.”

 

Vero felt relieved at the arrival of the escort, “This is Jedi General Keshin Vero of the Blaze, we copy you loud and clear, nice timing by the way. Over”

 

“Sorry to keep you waiting General, but we just had to say hello to our little mando friends, we’re forming around the of transports along with other squadrons and providing covering fire. Over”

 

“Glad to hear it Saber One” said Vero, “we’re just going for a quick landing then the transports come right up, can you keep them back?”

 

“I think so, but your pilot better hurry up…”

 

A new voice cut into their conversation “enemy sighted at the left of the transports Saber One, moving to engage”

 

“Negative Saber Four, the mandos go in groups, you’ll be dusted before firing” replied the squadron leader “Saber Five, Eight and Three, go with Saber Four and delay the enemy as much as possible. Over”

 

The pilots replied and moved to intercept the enemy, and Vero sensed worry in Duncan, she had just send her wingmen to their possible deaths, that was enough to make him realized how much the success of this mission mattered, that their sacrifice wouldn’t be for nothing.

 

“My sensors indicate a large number of mandalorians Basilisks General, I hope our pilots are ready for a warm welcome” said the Blaze’s pilot.

 

“This is Saber Five to Saber One, the enemy is more numerous than we though, we need assistance……..” that was the last transmition of Saber Five.

 

“This is Lightning Squadron Leader Fern Gila to Saber Leader and dropship Blaze, we are engaging the enemy” said an old male voice “hurry up General, we can’t hold them for long”

 

The Jedi General though that one squadron will not be enough to delay the mandalorians fighters, so he decided that he no longer needed his escort, “Saber Leader, break up defensive formation and go help Lightning Squadron”

 

“You got it” replied Saber One “General, blast some of those mando bastards for me, will you?”

 

“Gladly” replied Vero, and felt the dropship shake as it entered the planet

 

“We are coming in hot!’ said the Blaze’s pilot “prepare for rapid deployment back there”

 

“Alright troopers” said Yuthen, who had been silent during the trip, “weapons check, we may come out into a hot zone; you don’t want to fight the mandos with useless blasters, do you?”

 

All the troopers made sure that their blasters were charged, made some final adjustments to their armor, and gave the sergeant the thumbs- up signal, all systems checked and clear.

 

“From now on, hand signals only, we don’t want to give the mandalorians our position” said Keshin to his the troops “do not engage the enemy if you see it, we are to go stealth until we reach and make contact with Peak Base, I don’t want the enemy to now make our little trip more troublesome”

 

As soon as he finished talking, the pilot reported on their status, “Sir, we have the landing site on view, five minutes until we hit ground”

 

Vero linked his helmet’s video feed with the pilot’s and saw a clear green meadow, surrounded by tall trees and vegetation, the memory of Dxun came back to him, and how he had verily made it out of that planet alive.

 

Once more, the pilot addressed the Jedi, “We have landed on the objective sir, everything looks clear, I’m opening the doors, good luck out there”

 

Sergeant Yuthen barked out orders to two troopers “When that doors open, the two of you go out there and do a little recon then report back, understood?”

 

The two troopers nodded, then, as soon as the ship’s heavy durasteel doors opened, got out swiftly to check the surrounding, while the troops on the ship readied their equipment for the long walk to Peak Base, some carried medical supplies, others extra weapons and heavy weapon parts.

 

Yuthen reported to the General, “Sir, I know you said not use comlinks” said the sergeant with an apologetic tone in his voice “but I have established a secure channel with the other team leaders, and they say that of the total twenty transports, only fifteen survived, but luckily, General Teyo and his troops survived the space trip and have touched down in their objective, and we agreed to meet at Peak Base”

 

Vero calculation the loss,” so we have lost 100 troopers, but Teyo doesn’t care about it?”

 

Yuthen was taken aback from the way the Jedi said those words, “Sir, with all due respect, the loss of those troopers will mean nothing if we don’t stop the mandalorians from destroying this world, which is very important for the war effort, due to the fact that….”

 

“I know why Eres III is important sergeant; I don’t need you to explain it to me” said Vero, with an anger in his voice that surprised him, “but the loss of their lives was unnecessary, the Hope could have just landed on the planet and those loses would have been minimized”

 

“No General, it would have compromised the mission and endangered the Hope greatly, due to the fact that the mandalorians ships would have just followed the Hope into orbit and blasted it to pieces”

 

Vero calmed himself down, realizing that his anger was getting the best of him, and apologized to the sergeant “Forgive me Yuthen, I let my emotions cloud my judgment, you are right about that my friend, I was not thinking of the larger picture”

 

“Forget about it General, we all are stressed with this war, I just want it to end”

 

After that, the two scouts came back, took out their helmets, and reported their findings, “Sergeant, there seems to be no enemy activity to be going on in the vicinity, but we can’t be sure of it, I advise we start for the base at this very moment and not stop until sundown”

 

Yuthen nodded, and addressed his troops, “Everybody out, we are going for a little walk outside, as the General said, do not engage the enemy, if you spot it, repot immediately to me or the general and wait for orders, but if fired upon, respond at will, also, no comlinks are to be used as of right now, move out!”

 

All the troops got out of the transport in two columns, with four sentries at the front and back, heavy weapons specialists and other personnel at the middle, the sergeant was at front with the General, and they marched to Peak Base.

[JoeDoe 2.0]

Nice Fic, sorry for not commenting sooner, jood job, keep it up!!

I'm looking forward to more!!! :D