Lucky Strike (A Star Wars SI)

Chapter 40

The Chiss made sure that we couldn't record the coordinates, journey, or destination of any of the hyperspace jumps we made while slaved to their systems. By the end of the weeklong trip, I was certain that we'd dropped out of hyperspace once or twice just to throw us off of any possible leads we had.

After one last jump, we seemingly arrived at our destination, because the Chiss Heavy Cruisers released their hold on our computer systems and our sensors began to fill in the details we'd been blinded to.

This was obviously not their primary homeworld. I'd even put money on the fact that it was probably a military owned repair and refit outpost. Still, it was a good location. There may only be one habitable world orbiting the lone brown gas giant, but there were plenty of other rocks the Chiss could extract resources from.

A decent-sized latticwork of shipyards surrounded the gas giant. It wasn't the size of Rendili or Kuat, any of the core worlds with shipyards really. But it was clear from the sheer amount of traffic that if we decided to act stupidly here that they'd be able to take us out.

"Captain Hull, you will soon be sent a transmission from the system controller. Please follow the directions to the letter. Any deviations will be met with the destruction of your vessels," Captain Khosia briefed us. "We will see to it that your ships are repaired and that you possess ample supplies to continue on your way."

I didn't respond for a few moments, instead looking out at the ships that moved through and around the system. For the most part, they looked like a mixture between the organic and bulbous ships the Mon Calamari made mixed with the circular heavy cruisers that Rendili had manufactured for hundreds of years. The major difference was that we were fairly sure they didn't use shields.

"Understood, Captain," I finally replied to Khosia. "We'll await further instructions."

The Chiss that we'd taken onboard were… Interesting to say the least. They were generally intelligent and had folded into our existing command structure and operations fairly well over the short trip. They adapted to our systems with ease, only seemingly shocked by the shields and armor combination that we used.

Strangely, they hadn't attempted to broach the gap between our cultures at all. Instead preferring silence to any questions about their society as a whole. They'd answer personal questions or talk about their immediate families, but they wouldn't divest anything that might hint at locations or politics.

While I was still contemplating the last week or so, the instructions for our berth came in, and the helmsman began to take us ever closer to one of the shipyard bays.

We weren't going to be able to disembark the Horizon or Triumphant (At least not en masse), but we were going to be able to rest a bit while the Chiss repaired the damage we couldn't after the dragon and fight with the Vong.

After a few hours of navigating the crowded system, we were guided into two different berths that were just big enough to fit our two triangular vessels.

The Horizon shuddered beneath us as docking clamps came to arrest the last of our momentum. The main engines powered off for the first time since we'd left Lianna and I was finally able to breath a sigh of relief.

"Sir, Captain Khosia is waiting for you in the port Hangar bay," the comms officer reported. "She has a shuttle waiting."

I figured that it was probably for me to meet and discuss what the specifics of our agreement was going to be with her leaders. The problem was, while I knew of the Chiss, I didn't have a detailed memory of the outside of the one or two scenes on their icy homeworld that Jacen Solo had been involved in.

Knowing a little bit about something, and now being immersed in it are two very different things after all. Hell, I knew more about the Vong than I did about the Chiss. For all I knew, after they fixed our ships up, they were going to show us out the door and send us plodding out towards their nearest enemy in the hopes that we killed each other off.

Swallowing, I steeled my nerves and turned to Lieutenant Vane.
"Vane, you have the ship," I said. "I'll see what I can do to talk them into hopefully upgrading some of our systems."

"Good luck, sir," he patted me on the shoulder.

With that, I turned smartly on my heel and headed for the hangar bay. I was going to have to trust that Captain Khosia wouldn't do anything to put my crew in danger. For all that I liked the Horizon, she was just a ship. If necessary, I could replace her. It would hurt, but I'd find a way to do it. The crew on the other hand, they couldn't be replaced.

Regardless, I only had a few minutes of silence before the turbolift spat me out into the brightly colored hangar. The Chiss that we'd taken aboard were lined up and slowly shuttling out. Among them, there was the one uniform that stood out.

Khosia was a darker shade of blue than the others around her, even if her uniform were the same outside of the markers that signaled her rank.

"You're here," her face was as blank and seemingly unemotional as ever. "Good, we mave much to discuss before you meet with Admiral Mitt'tri'omi."

–
–

"It is not often that outsiders are invited into our borders," Admiral Ttrio said, gesturing for me to take a seat. "That said, you have done us a service by assisting Captain Khosia with eliminating the Far Outsiders and she has promised the repair of your vessels in return. However, we are faced with a problem."

"And what might that be, sir?" I asked.

"The majority of the crew that was on the Aggressor were a part of the Xodlak family," Ttrio said as a means of explanation as if that meant something to me before continuing. "While we as a people are intermixed and only belong to one family or another out of generalized organization. The Xodlak family holds a few customs from our time before. Among them is the repayment of a life saved."

"All I ask is that our ships are repaired," I replied.

"We are repairing and rearmoring your ship as we speak," the admiral interrupted me before I could conitnue further. "This is a debt that cannot be paid in monetary means. While it pains me to say this, tradition dictates they pay the debt with service. As such, I am entrusting Captain Khosia with the responsibility of folding them into your crews and ensuring that all proper security measures are followed. She was adopted out of the family, but still holds to many of their ways. She'll also ensure that you are escorted out of our borders before transfering to your ship."

"Admiral, we're not just a random pair of ships wandering around this region of space. We were in the middle of a war when we left. I doubt it'll be concluded before we return. Your people are going to be fighting on the battlefield with us," I sighed. "We're not peaceful explorers. We're sailors, marines, and soldiers who are trying to get back to a war that we found ourselves far from. I can't guarantee that if your people come with us that they'll return."

"Such is always the potential price for following our traditions," Khosia said, for once showing something other than stoicism. "But if we do not follow them when they are hard, then they are not worth keeping or following."

"It should take a week or two to rehull your ships," Trio offered. "My dockworkers have informed me that they found your armor an offense to ships everywhere and will be rectifying that issue. That will also provide us with ample time to ensure that those traveling with you are prepared and have said their goodbyes."

"If possible, can I get a breakdown of how many people that is going to be," I sighed internally, knowing that this was going to lead to a host of paperwork and now the trouble of figuring out where the Chiss crew should be distributed between the Triumphant and Horizon. "As well as where their skillsets are?"

"I believe we can provide something like that without compromising our security," Admiral Ttrio nodded. "Now, I have many questions, and I hope you are able to answer them…"

Chapter 41

Location: Eriadu

It was the blaring of alarms that forced Teskit to rise from the bedroll that he'd been sleeping in. The battle had been going on for weeks now, the Separatists managing to rally behind what Commander Durald said was a Dark Side Acolyte.

Pulling himself up, he tapped the control on the holotable, bringing it back to life and displaying the blue triangles pushing in towards the planetary shields once again. Like clockwork, every eighteen hours another massive wave of starfighters moving through the planetary shields to try and strike at the ships taking cover behind them. It would be an hour before the fighters arrived, but that just made it worse.

Soon enough, they would be low on Tibanna and other resources, just like they already were low on energy. It was only a matter of time…

The initial attack had been blunted and forced away by Teskit's Battlegroup, the ORSF, and the other Republic forces that had been willing to listen to his orders. The rest had been scattered into small fleet sections or had fled, leaving the defenders of Eriadu outnumbered three to one.

If he wanted to, Teskit was certain that his Battlegroup could move in and eliminate the enemy. He had better ships, better crews, and better men and women under his command. It was the fighters and bombers that had made the difference.

At first, they had ignored the C-9979 craft that had lingered in the back of the system. Foolishly thinking that it was the infantry and tank troops that were going to be making landfall after the Separatists thought they had won the battle in the void.

Instead, the Confederacy had jumped hundreds, if not close to a thousand of what they thought were landing craft. The amount of starfighters and bombers had been staggering. The Defender's advanced sensor suite and Comand and Control center hadn't been able to keep up, and had nearly given up entirely. His own fighter wings and those of the ORSF had only survived because they'd been kept back, safely under the umbrella of the point defenses of the larger vessels.

The rest of the smaller craft had been wiped out by the hordes. The corpses of large Venators, Acclamators, and other ships littered the system. Glittering debris from destroyed droid fighters occasionally crossed the path of the local stars light and gleamed like frost when the first wave of snow covered the ground on many worlds.

Teskit's own battlegroup had not been without its losses, either. The Shards of Elysium had been one of the first casualties, it had moved in front of a mass of fighers and used its bulk to intercept them when they had managed to eliminate one of the droid control ships that had been managing the Separatists fighters.

They might still be able to repair her, but the destroyer was crippled, massive holes had been ripped in her armor, and she only had half of her thrusters in any condition to move.

But some of her point defenses still worked, so her captain had limped her into a position to cover some of the weaker ships and had parked her there. Shutting off the reactor except for that which was needed to fire the guns.

"We ceded the initiative," Teskit mutterd to himself, frowning at the bitter taste of a days old half-empty cup of caff before swallowing the rest of the swill down and continuing to consider their situation. "If we do not take it back, then we will all die here."

On the edge of his exhausted brain, a half-formed plan began to take shape. It was something desperate, and not something he'd usually consider, but there was little to no chance of there being reinforcements sent to Eriadu.

Tapping a few controls, Teskit opened a comms line between the Jedi-Commander, Maarisa Zsinj, and Commodore Jabari. The latter two were the last surviving officers who would need to weigh in on any plans.

"Commander Durald, here," the Jedi was the first to respond. Her hologram looked more exhausted than the other two did when they appeared. Durald had been one of the main reasons they'd been able to hold out for as long as they had. Whatever mystical force powers the enemy 'dark side' acolytes posessed, she'd been able to counteract it by managing to outmaneuver and eliminate the force that had possessed several of the so-called 'dark-siders' that had been present in the initial strike force.

"Did you manage to get some rest, Commander?" Teskit asked.

"A little," Durald replied. "I was hoping to grab a few extra moments before the next wave arrives."

"Teskit, you better have a damned good reason for this," Jabari growled. The other man might have been a political officer in the old Judicial Forces, but he'd actually been competent at his job. Unlike other officers Teskit didn't want to name.

"Let him speak, Commodore," Maarisa chastised. "Anything is better than sitting here and letting the Separatists piecemeal us to death."

"Thank you," Teskit nodded at the ORSF Officer. So far, they'd been able to keep the less professional side of their relationship hidden away.

"As we know modern droids used by the Confederacy no longer rely completely on a central brain for functionality," Teskit began, bringing up one of the massive controle spheres that formed the center of a Trade Federation Lucrehulk on the holographic table. "However, we also know that said brains improve and enhance their droids ability to work together. We've recorded multiple instances over the last few years in which removing a Battleship's core disrupted the fighter formations. Their base programming is simple, as we've established through many battles. If we can remove the advanced thinking and signal from these three ships," Teskit highlighted the Lucrehulks that were in the back of what was left of the Separatist Capital ships that had enterd the system. "Then we have a chance to slow down and cripple their capability."

"That's a gamble," Jabari sighed. "But it's better than anything I have."

"If I may," Commander Durald rubbed at the deep bags under her eyes. "If we can identify the flagship. I would be willing to take a party of Commandos and Arc Troopers to board and locate the Command codes. If we can shut down even a fraction of the droids, it would be worth the risk."

"I don't like it," Maarisa glanced at the other officers. "Yet I see no other choice. We should work on contingencies and ensure that this isn't going to end in the complete destruction of our fleets and Eriadu."

---

"We're only taking volunteers on this one," Is what had been said to Theta Squad when this mission briefing had begun. So, of course. All of the Commandos had volunteered. This is what they were bred for. Missions like this? Inserting into an enemy ship and grabbing command codes? That's exactly the kind of mission they'd originally been intended to go on.

"This is it," Bruiser looked around at the rest of his team. Crack was bouncing his leg up and down, anyone else might take it as nerves, but bruiser knew the sniper was probably excited. Hulk, the CQB expert was simply waiting silently, while Trick fiddled with a datapad he'd grabbed a few planets ago. B, the last member of their squad lurked menacingly, his photoreceptors were currently green, but they'd shift color depending on whether they were in combat or not. "Jedi-Commander Durald has lead on this one. Follow her instructions, get what we came for, and get off the ship. We're here for the command codes. Sabotage is a secondary objective."

"Understood," the trio of clones chorused in tune with B's deeper. "Affirmitive."

"You guys are clear to jump in thirty seconds!" The pilot of their LAAT/I said, and the Jedi in the troop bay finally seemed to shift from her meditative stance to one of readiness.

Theta squad had only served with the Commander once before, but she'd handled herself fairly well with regards to that derelict. While Bruiser still wasn't certain that the Jedi were actually good at their job (He'd heard too many rumors to believe that all of them were competent). He figured Durald might be one of the good ones.

The thirty seconds flew by and the pilot depressurized the bay and opened it to the elements. Their jetpacks had already been secured, and the Defender was hammering the Lucrehulk. The shields flickering and then failing right in front of the hanger bay.

"Go, go, go!" The pilot shouted, shifting his momentum to launch the Commandos and Jedi out of his bay before peeling off and attracting the attention of the handful of droid fighters in the area.

Bruiser ignited his jetpack and used his HUD to keep an eye on the rest of his squad. Once they'd built up speed, he and the others shut their packs off. There was no need to waste fuel when they were going to need it for slowing down and the eventual landing inside of the hangar.

Minutes flashed by and the mission timer on Bruiser's HUD ticked down. In the distance, the lances of green, blue, and red turbolaser fire speared through the void between the Defender and the Lucrehulk. A handful of Venators and Acclamators held off the other ships in the area, the wedges forming a defensive perimeter around the large battleship.

Eventually though, Bruiser had to turn his attention away from the massive brawl so far away in the void in favor of paying attention to his trajectory. All of the other Commandos and Arc Troopers who had volunteered had preferred to stay in the 'safety' of the gunships. Bruiser and Theta, well. They didn't believe in safety. So, they'd opted for the riskier option.

That the Jedi had been so willing to join in had been a surprise, but it had been a welcome one for sure.

Finally, the hangar bay was close. So, Bruiser and the rest of Theta Squad plus one angled themselves facing 'away' from the deck and boosted, counteracting their inertia enough to prevent them from landing with broken bones.

Most of their fuel was spent when they arrived, but one last jet allowed them to climb into the hangar and enjoy the artificial gravity that lay within.

Unfortunately, there was no time to rest, and it seemed Theta and the Jedi had been the first to make it onto the ship. Better, they'd done it quietly enough that the droids didn't know they were there…

Bruiser grinned. This was going to be fun!