{"id":88,"date":"2012-03-22T12:00:44","date_gmt":"2012-03-22T18:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.writingunderduress.com\/?p=88"},"modified":"2012-03-18T20:06:17","modified_gmt":"2012-03-19T02:06:17","slug":"the-new-jedi-order-siege-reprieve","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.writingunderduress.com\/?p=88","title":{"rendered":"The New Jedi Order: Siege – Reprieve"},"content":{"rendered":"

The bridge of the\u00a0Cathleen<\/em>\u00a0wasn’t really a bridge anymore.<\/p>\n

Most of the flat panel displays had been shattered by the crash. Chairs, built into the floor plating, had been similarly damaged and now were scattered around the area. Whole panels of the wall had fallen away to reveal naked wiring and circuitry underneath. The smoke had mostly been dissipated by the\u00a0Cathleen<\/em>\u2019s still-functioning life support systems, but the stink of burned wiring and plastics remained.<\/p>\n

Halyn Sanshir was grateful that there were no bodies on his bridge.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnother report from the lower decks,\u201d Kryi Rinnet said. She looked as exhausted as Halyn felt. Her normally bright blonde hair was dirty with soot, and though she had no tattoos, her face was striped with streaks of ash that made her look more Iridonian than Halyn could ever recall. \u201cCasualty totals\u2026we\u2019re at one thousand and seventeen,\u201d she finished wearily.<\/p>\n

Halyn closed his eyes.\u00a0It could have been worse<\/em>, he repeated to himself.\u00a0If we\u2019d hit Rak\u2019Edalin in free fall\u2026well, we wouldn\u2019t be having this conversation, that\u2019s for sure. And there wouldn\u2019t be a city left.<\/p>\n

Not that the city\u2019s in that good of shape after this, anyways.<\/em>\u00a0\u201cAny report from the scout team?\u201d<\/p>\n

Kryi nodded, and Halyn was appreciative of what she was doing. The regular comm officer was now in an intact medical bay with a concussion. \u201cBetween the impact of theCathleen<\/em>\u00a0and the activation of the gravity well generator, well, there\u2019s no intact building for a half kilometer in any direction. What we didn\u2019t land on was generally knocked over or at least damaged. There\u2019s a lot of damage within a klick of us, but beyond that the damage seems to be fairly isolated. No worse than what a lot of those buildings would weather in an earthquake.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s something,\u201d Halyn said wearily. \u201cWhat about the Vong?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey didn\u2019t immediately follow up with a full-scale landing force,\u201d Kryi said after a moment of checking her datapad. \u201cLast report from our recon fighters was that they were taking up full blockade positions to make sure the fleet couldn\u2019t help us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMake sure we\u2019re ready to go when they do start the invasion,\u201d Halyn said slowly. \u201cThe less of those transports that hit the ground, the better.\u201d He looked around the wreck of the bridge. \u201cAny word on the hangar?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot much left of it,\u201d Kryi said. \u201cStructure around the hangar is never as tough because of the open space it requires. It was pretty much crushed like a tin can when we hit the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n

Halyn winced.\u00a0Abi\u2019s Y-wing was still in there. She\u2019s never going to let me forget it, either.<\/em>\u00a0\u201cEngineering crews reported lately?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLast report was twenty minutes ago. The reactor is stable and contained,\u201d Kryi said. \u201cThey were preparing to shut it down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Halyn shook his head. \u201cInform them immediately that I want at least twenty percent power from the power system at all times. If we\u2019re going to finish the recovery efforts and get every living crew member off the\u00a0Cathleen<\/em>, we can\u2019t have the lights going out. Once they\u2019ve confirmed that, I want them to head aft and check what\u2019s left of the engines. Last thing we need is hyperdrive coolant leaking all over the place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kryi didn\u2019t even bother questioning it, just throwing a salute before starting to tap on her comm board.<\/p>\n

Halyn leaned down wearily and rested his forehead on the back of his own broken command chair.\u00a0This is what I get for thinking I had the Yuuzhan Vong figured out. There\u2019s always another trick, another creature, something I hadn\u2019t thought of or planned for.<\/em><\/p>\n

A knock sounded from the bridge door. The few Zabraks left on the bridge all turned to look. Halyn waved them back to their tasks and stepped over to it himself. Getting his fingertips into a depression, he heaved hard and forced the door to slide open. With all the damage the\u00a0Cathleen<\/em>\u00a0had taken, many of the simple systems like automated doors were offline.<\/p>\n

He was nearly barreled over by a smaller Zabrak, who wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. \u201cHalyn,\u201d Kativie hissed in his ear, \u201cdon\u2019t you ever do something stupid like this again!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I was planning on a repeat performance, but if you say no\u2026\u201d Halyn smiled a little in spite of the disaster.<\/p>\n

His little sister pulled back and smiled up at him, her emerald eyes gleaming even in the dim light of the wrecked bridge. \u201cAnd here I thought you were smarter than that.\u201d She shook her head. \u201cWhatever will Iridonia do with\u00a0you<\/em>\u00a0in charge of the defense?\u201d<\/p>\n

Halyn reached down and unsnapped something from Kativie\u2019s belt. \u201cThat\u2019s what you Jedi are for,\u201d he deadpanned. \u201cCleaning up the messes people like me make.\u201d He ignited the lightsaber, and green-white light flooded the bridge.<\/p>\n

Flooded the bridge, and the hallway Kativie had just come through. Halyn saw the second figure standing there and nearly dropped the lightsaber in spite of himself. It had been years\u2014Kativie\u2019s wedding, in fact\u2014but Halyn could no more forget the individual standing there than he could his own face, or his older brother Argus, or his longtime friend Anishor.<\/p>\n

They had been friends, allies, lovers. She had been one of the few people he had trusted completely in the galaxy. She had been utterly reliable, completely committed, and had saved his life on several occasions. He had joked about her lack of skill as a starfighter pilot, but he\u2019d far more valued her skill in deception, her ability to read emotions and thoughts, and her loyalty.\u00a0And her love.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cKelta Rose,\u201d he breathed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Kelta stared at the Zabrak. Years had passed since the last time she had seen him outside a spaceport on some dingy little world, and even more years since she had last spoken to him, shortly after the battle of Endor. She knew him, though, even after all the intervening years, after her marriage, after the birth of her child, after turning her back on the Force and then eventually training as a Jedi Knight. After everything, two decades fell away and she knew him.<\/p>\n

His face was still strong-jawed. His dark tattoos were as familiar to her as her own hands, even half-masked by trickles of blood still dripping from some small wound atop his head. His brilliant green eyes she sometimes saw in her dreams, or even when she closed her own eyes.<\/p>\n

He was more muscular than she remembered\u2014the definition of his chest, his arms, was visible even under the general\u2019s uniform he wore. Scars she didn\u2019t remember nicked his face, his neck, his hands\u2014anywhere his flesh was visible. Vaguely she wondered what he had been doing in the intervening years, what conflicts he\u2019d seen and what battles he\u2019d fought.<\/p>\n

And in the Force\u2026<\/p>\n

She opened herself to its flow, and she could sense him\u2014so very familiar. If she didn\u2019t know better, she would\u2019ve sworn he was a Force-user. His presence glowed, filled with life and vibrancy and strength. Weariness tugged at his spirit, a dark shadow, but still he brimmed with the sort of energy she only felt from children, like her daughter Adreia in her younger years.<\/p>\n

\u201cHalyn Lance,\u201d she murmured.<\/p>\n

\u201cGreat,\u201d the Zabrak general muttered. \u201cNow my life can take on\u00a0all<\/em>\u00a0the aspects of a personal hell.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even Jedi discipline cannot match the fury of a woman scorned.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere the\u00a0hell<\/em>\u00a0did you run off to?\u201d Kelta half-shouted, stepping forward towards Halyn.<\/p>\n

Halyn released the hilt of Kativie\u2019s lightsaber; the emerald blade vanished, plunging them both into darkness. Kelta continued to stalk forward, not waiting for her eyes to adjust to the dim emergency lighting. \u201cI did what I needed to do, for both of us,\u201d the Zabrak said coolly. \u201cJust like I knew you couldn\u2019t face that truth.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTruth?\u00a0Truth?<\/em>\u00a0What, that you\u00a0abandoned<\/em>\u00a0me after Endor, that you decided to just gallivant off into the galaxy?\u201d Kelta didn\u2019t bother trying to restrain the anger welling up; it was an old, familiar hurt. \u201cTell me, how was it\u00a0better<\/em>\u00a0for you to leave all of us behind? Not just me, but all your friends and officers and pilots who were looking to you for leadership and direction! And Kativie, too!\u201d She reached through the darkness with her hands, trying to reach the Zabrak who was backpedalling. \u201cYou left all of us when we needed you the most!\u201d<\/p>\n

Halyn\u2019s hands met hers in the darkness, fending off her attempts to grab him. \u201cYou knew it wouldn\u2019t work! You wanted a life of peace, and\u00a0that\u2019s not me. It\u2019s never been me<\/em>.\u201d She tried to grab him again, but he deflected her again, and she was too incensed to use the Force to her advantage, even as he kept talking. \u201cEverything I\u2019ve heard says you\u2019ve had a damned good life without me, so I don\u2019t know what\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Kelta finally got a good grip on his uniform and jerked him forward. \u201cYou could\u2019ve at least\u00a0talked<\/em>\u00a0to me,\u201d she snarled. Then she slapped him, hard, and reveled in how good it felt.<\/p>\n

<Am I interrupting?> a very familiar Wookiee rumbled.<\/p>\n

Kelta released Halyn then, let him pull back from her. The Force flooded into her then, the sensations rushing over her, through her, as she turned to the luminous presence she\u2019d felt. \u201cAnishor!\u201d In a heartbeat, she launched herself at the Wookiee, squeezing him in a tight hug. \u201cWhat are you doing here?\u201d<\/p>\n

<I came here to help the coatracks,> the berserker said, embracing Kelta tightly so her feet dangled a half-meter above the dark decking of the\u00a0Cathleen<\/em>\u2019s bridge.<\/p>\n

For a moment, Kelta pondered that hugging a Wookiee while being suspended a half a meter off the ground was probably not a very Jedi-esque thing to do, but decided she didn\u2019t care and buried her face in his fur for long moments. \u201cIt\u2019s been way too long, Anishor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anishor rumbled an assent and then returned her to the deck. <How are you? How is Adreia?><\/p>\n

The elation Kelta had felt collapsed in on itself. \u201cAdreia went missing after Coruscant,\u201d she said softly. \u201cShe was acting as an advisor during the battle, and disappeared. I\u2019m sure she\u2019s not dead, but beyond that\u2026\u201d Her shrug was helpless.<\/p>\n

<The Great Tree will take care of her,> the Wookiee said with bedrock confidence.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnishor,\u201d Halyn said from behind her, \u201cwhat\u2019s the status on your berserkers?\u201d<\/p>\n

<They stand ready now,> the Wookiee said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBerserkers?\u201d Kelta asked.<\/p>\n

<Forty of my warriors,> Anishor said. <They have trained and prepared for battle against the Yuuzhan Vong; this will be their proving ground.><\/p>\n

\u201cWhy are you here, Kelta?\u201d Halyn asked after a long, silent pause.<\/p>\n

Words fell from her lips automatically. \u201cI came here to find out why the Zabraks have disappeared from all over the New Republic. When Kativie vanished as well, Master Skywalker wanted to know if something was happening here.\u201d She hesitated. \u201cHe also wanted to know if Iridonia was still Jedi-friendly space.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, you have your answer, then.\u201d Halyn\u2019s voice wasn\u2019t precisely cold, but it was detached. \u201cIf there\u2019s nothing else, than the Jedi probably have use of you somewhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kelta\u2019s conversation with Luke Skywalker flooded back to her, and with utter certainty borne of conviction and the guidance of the Force, she replied. \u201cNo. I\u2019m staying here to fight.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ret Kraal found the Commander of Domain Kraal in a private chamber, with only the hum of blaze bugs to keep him company.<\/p>\n

\u201cHonored One,\u201d he greeted the other, arms snapping in a salute across his chest.<\/p>\n

Triak Kraal did not look up; his eyes were intent on the blaze bugs. \u201cTell me, tactician, what you have learned of the enemy\u2019s commander.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is honored among his kind,\u201d Ret spoke slowly. \u201cHe is a native of this world, Iridonia. He rose to become a general among the armed forces of the Rebel Alliance, and it was the efforts of both him and his brother, Argus Sanshir, which overthrew the Empire\u2019s hold on this world. He vanished for many years after the downfall of the Empire, only returning after our invasion of this galaxy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere is this brother?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ret frowned. \u201cHe was among the forces at the place called Reecee which were crushed during the warmaster\u2019s drive toward Coruscant, and is believed dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Triak\u2019s eyes never left the blaze bugs. \u201cTell me, tactician: how skilled is this Halyn Sanshir?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ret considered his words carefully. \u201cPerhaps as much so as those in higher authority in the New Republic. Studies of what information I could find of his previous commands indicated he prefers tricks and traps, finding ways to outmaneuver an enemy to defeat him. He shows little taste for the combat of warriors, of strength against strength. He fears to be blooded, and strikes hard against those he opposes in efforts to shorten conflicts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe seers told me as much,\u201d Triak said dismissively. \u201cAnd yet it does not match what we see before us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCommander?\u201d<\/p>\n

Triak finally turned to look at his subordinate. \u201cTell me, tactician: when the infidels lose the position of strength, what do they do?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey retreat,\u201d Ret answered without need for thought. \u201cThey do not stand and fight; they chose instead to preserve their forces, as we have seen at countless battles from Ithor to Coruscant.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd yet,\u201d Triak said, \u201cthe infidels do not retreat from here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ret frowned. \u201cHonored One, when the infidel defenders lost their largest capital ship, their fleet scattered to the darkspace paths and vanished. Even now, we hold their world in a taloned grip because they chose to leave instead of fighting us to the death, as is the custom of warriors.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir defensive fleet, yes,\u201d Triak said. \u201cBut the civilian population does not. We created a weapon of attrition against the enemy; our advances generated fleets of refugees stumbling from world to world, weakening the infidels as they attempt to protect their noncombatants. But here, and only here, do they refuse to leave.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ret\u2019s frown deepened. \u201cPerhaps they await rescue; perhaps they believe they cannot escape the fleet now orbiting them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Yuuzhan Vong commander shook his head. \u201cIf they believed that, their ships would be prepared for departure. Even now, our spies indicate there are no preparations to leave, only to stand and fight.\u201d He met the tactician\u2019s eyes. \u201cDoes this Sanshir know something we do not?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is why you have not ordered the attack,\u201d Ret stated in understanding. \u201cWhy our warriors wait, rather than descend in yorik-trema to crush the defenders.\u201d<\/p>\n

Triak nodded once. \u201cAt all stages in this invasion, when the ships in orbit have failed, the infidels retreat. Their fleets scatter, their civilians flee, and the remainder are crushed beneath our heels. Here, their fleet has scattered, but they prepare to fight instead of flee.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey act as warriors should,\u201d Ret risked.<\/p>\n

\u201cIndeed.\u201d Triak turned back to study the blaze bugs. \u201cFor the first time since we entered this galaxy, an enemy opposes us without faltering.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they intended to fight us to the death, why would their fleet retreat?\u201d Ret asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou tell me, tactician.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ret hesitated as he spent a moment ensuring his reasoning was sound. \u201cTo bring more forces, perhaps,\u201d he said slowly, \u201cor to prepare another ambush.\u201d His head came up. \u201cWith this Halyn Sanshir as their commander, an ambush seems likely. They are the foe who waits for us to be fully committed to the battle here, stretched out to envelop the world, and then stage a treacherous attack.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do we defend against such an enemy, then?\u201d Triak asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy attacking swiftly and subduing this world, ensuring their reinforcements do not have time to arrive. We obtain victory before their ambush is prepared.\u201d Ret thought for a moment about the battle. \u201cWith the damage their fleet received in our engagements here, it will take time\u2014weeks, most likely\u2014before they would be ready for such a venture.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhich leaves,\u201d Triak stated, \u201cthe only question of target.\u201d He gestured at the world represented by blaze bugs. \u201cOur shapers tell me that worldshaping will not be effective; the planet is too rugged, too varied, for their techniques to work swiftly. Their methods would take months to see any difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen it is up to our warriors,\u201d Ret said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere, then, do we make our amphistaff\u2019s venom first felt?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe head and the heart, Honored One,\u201d Ret said with a small smile stretching his flayed lips over his teeth. \u201cTheir capital.\u201d He pointed at the blaze bug representation of the world. \u201cJust as their fleets lost courage and fled with the destruction of its head, so too shall the world capitulate with the fall of its capital. Rak\u2019Edalin should be our target, Commander.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The bridge of the\u00a0Cathleen<\/em>\u00a0was brighter now. Power had been restored in some sections of the ship, as per Halyn\u2019s orders. Shattered displays had been either removed or replaced now, and continual status updates on the defenses of Rak\u2019Edalin and on the disposition of the Yuuzhan Vong fleet continued to stream over the monitors.<\/p>\n

Comlinks were in use again. Dozens of Zabraks moved in and out of the bridge, sometimes checking displays, sometimes reporting, and nearly always with a comlink to ears or lips.<\/p>\n

In the center of it all was the Ul\u2019Akhoi: Halyn Sanshir, the defender of Iridonia, and the man on whom all the defenses of Zabrak space depended. It was a heavy burden, but he refused to bend beneath the pressure of it all.<\/p>\n

Kelta watched it all, somewhere between amused and irritated and frightened.\u00a0In many ways, he\u2019s not the Halyn I knew,<\/em>\u00a0she concluded.\u00a0Halyn hated command, hated war itself in some ways\u2026even though he was so good at it. All those years that have passed. Now he\u2019s comfortable with it, at least.<\/em><\/p>\n

Halyn had summoned a meeting of high-ranked advisors and commanding officers. Kelta wasn\u2019t sure yet whether she was actually supposed to be here\u2014Halyn had never invited her, but he hadn\u2019t protested her entry, either. Through the Force, Kelta could sense the moods of the gathering officers: determined, tired, some edging on despair with the loss of the orbital battle. Those who had been fighting in space, Kelta could sense, were all nearing exhaustion after days of constant fighting. Of those, only Halyn himself seemed energetic and rested. She could sense no pain or physical weariness from him at all.<\/p>\n

\u201cFinal tally of the\u00a0Cathleen<\/em>\u2019s crew?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

One of the bridge crew swallowed hard before answering. \u201cTwelve hundred and ninety-seven dead,\u201d he said grimly. \u201cAnother fourteen hundred and thirty-three wounded or injured. Most of them have been treated and released.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kelta could feel Halyn\u2019s emotional pain through the Force.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver half the crew,\u201d the General said grimly. \u201cAnd what about the ship itself? How did she fare in the impact?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe won\u2019t ever fly again,\u201d another crewman answered. \u201cA quarter of the hull is completely crushed. There\u2019s more structural problems than we can count running through the hull from bow to stern. The armor and outer hull has been shattered in places\u2014at last count, there was something like seventy different places where someone can walk from inside the ship to the dirt outside.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ship systems?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cReactor\u2019s holding steady at eighteen percent output. Chief Dalek doesn\u2019t want to push any more power out of it yet\u2014the crew\u2019s still ensuring the whole damn thing is stable. No one\u2019s bothered with the engines. Eighteen of the turbolasers have been brought back online. Life support systems are restored for light and ventilation through forty percent of the hull.\u201d<\/p>\n

Halyn nodded, but his thoughts were spinning too fast for Kelta to get more than a distant impression of his planning. \u201cThe Rak\u2019Edalin squadrons?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTwenty-two squadrons are combat ready,\u201d Kryi Rinnet spoke up. \u201cThe other six will be combat operational within two days.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe rest of the Iridonia squadrons?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEighty percent combat ready,\u201d Kryi reported dutifully. \u201cWe also have several wings of extra fighters we weren\u2019t prepared for\u2014the Fleet left us a number of fighters behind. Maintenance crews are a bit swamped trying to service them, and there\u2019s hangars all over Iridonia that are overfull.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRak\u2019Edalin\u2019s defenses?\u201d was the General\u2019s next question.<\/p>\n

\u201cShield generators are operational. The ground units are at full readiness and are ready to attack.\u201d The officer making the report winced. \u201cThe\u00a0Cathleen<\/em>\u00a0destroyed most of the power grid and targeting systems for the city-based turbolasers when she came down. There\u2019s no realistic estimate on repairs available, because the crews will have to basically build a whole new network for power and data.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Zabrak turned to face one of the few non-Zabraks in the meetings. \u201cThe berserkers?\u201d<\/p>\n

Anishor rumbled in a low throaty growl, a sharp contrast to Kelta\u2019s sense of him in the Force as a brilliant beacon of light. <We will be ready to fight when we are needed,> he said. <While our fleet has returned to Kashyyyk, those Wookiees remaining here are eager to do battle on behalf of Iridonia against the Yuuzhan Vong.><\/p>\n

Halyn stroked his chin. \u201cAny word from the Council?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve demanded to speak to you,\u201d Kativie spoke up. \u201cPretty sure they wanted to speak to you immediately after the\u00a0Cathleen<\/em>\u00a0came down, but we\u2019ve been busy and comm was disrupted by, well, everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey can wait,\u201d Halyn grunted. \u201cThe Vong?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStill holding their orbital positions,\u201d Lenn Kaman said. \u201cWe\u2019ve done some recon on them, and they appear to have landing craft all prepped and ready to go, but they\u2019ve made no effort to launch. We\u2019re not sure what they\u2019re waiting for.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow tight is the blockade?\u201d<\/p>\n

Lenn considered for a moment before answering. \u201cWe can slip light freighters and a few fighters here and there through it\u2014they don\u2019t have the number of ships they\u2019d need to really lock us down. Anything bigger, though, like troop reinforcements or major supplies would get shot to pieces, even with a good fighter escort.\u201d<\/p>\n

Halyn turned to a quarter-sized hologram that was laced with static. \u201cStatus of the fleet?\u201d<\/p>\n

Allanna Saret\u2019s image was broken with static, and her voice was a bit hard to hear. \u201cSuccessfully withdrawn and disengaged from Iridonia. We\u2019re going to attempt to make contact with Bel Iblis and bring part of the New Republic fleet back here to break the blockade. We\u2019ve left a relay satellite on the very edge of the system, so we should be able to get HoloNet transmissions to and from Iridonia, at least until the Vong find it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cVery good.\u201d Halyn\u2019s voice held a note of approval. \u201cEveryone with a combat role, ensure your troops are ready to fly or fight within the hour. The Vong will be coming very shortly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do you know that?\u201d Kelta spoke up, fingering both lightsabers she wore at her belt. Her sense of Halyn in the Force was of utter confidence and certainty. In a way, his attitude scared her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a way with people.\u201d Halyn\u2019s smile was pure pirate. \u201cDismissed!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Halyn Sanshir strode down the hangar, taking in the seemingly endless rows of starfighters. The time was short before the Yuuzhan Vong would strike, and he wanted to review the state of at least one of Rak\u2019Edalin\u2019s hangars before the fighting broke out.<\/p>\n

This<\/em>\u00a0was his legacy\u2014the consequences of the liberation of Iridonia. Alliance forces, coupled with the Iridonian resistance, had smashed the Imperial blockade using starfighter forces. After driving away the Star Destroyers overhead, the squadrons of Rebel starfighters had provided aerial support for the Resistance\u2019s operations. It was only after the orbital tracks were clear that friendly capital ships\u2014stolen, Clone Wars-era\u00a0Venator<\/em>-class Star Destroyers, had made an appearance.<\/p>\n

Iridonia had learned its lessons from its liberation. Instead of investing in a defenses balanced across capital ships and starfighters, it had invested in a minimal number of warships while buying and maintaining one of the largest starfighter forces in the galaxy. Only four major capital ships, plus a handful of smaller ones, protected all of Zabrak space. Tens of thousands of starfighters littered the same area.<\/p>\n

The ever-reliable X-wing starfighter comprised the first squadron Halyn walked past. Personally, it was one of Halyn\u2019s favorite craft he had ever flown; it was a dogfighter and a killer in purest form. There was a reason it comprised the backbone of New Republic starfighter operations all across the galaxy.<\/p>\n

The next squadron in line was filled with B-wing assault starfighters. The heaviest-armed fighter in any military in the galaxy, B-wings gave Zabrak fighter wings the punch necessary to knock out capital ships without a mighty fleet of their own. Halyn\u2019s wing during the Galactic Civil War had received some of the first of the deployed B-wings, and had put them to good use. They were still surprisingly agile for their size and firepower.<\/p>\n

A dozen T-wing interceptors rested easily on the permacrete next. The fighters had not been popular when they were designed and developed. Hoerch-Kessel had sold the craft to the Alliance as the successor to the A-wing, and the resource-strapped Rebellion had hoped to retired the maintenance-intensive A-wings. Performance of the early models had been lackluster, so the finished units were shunted off to \u201cunimportant\u201d starfighter wings. During the Galactic Civil War, in the months leading up to Endor, Halyn\u2019s wing had made good use of them. When Iridonia began acquiring starfighters, he had personally negotiated a contract with Hoersch-Kessel on the Zabraks\u2019 behalf.<\/p>\n

Xg-1 assault gunboats hung from racks overhead. Halyn shook his head at those. Developed by Cygnus for the Empire, the single-pilot, heavily-armed starfighters had been underutilized in the Imperial Navy. Hyperspace-capable and equipped with shields, they were outside normal Imperial starfighter doctrine. As a result, many of the Imperial starfighter commanders didn\u2019t know how to utilize them and effectively chose to leave them in the racks. They were cheap to acquire on the secondhand and black markets because of an undeserved poor reputation.<\/p>\n

Only four A-wings rested beneath the Xg-1s. Halyn suppressed a shudder as he walked by. He\u2019d always hated the things, and they seemed to return the favor. Still, the value of a high-speed interceptor and reconnaissance craft was undeniable. The old Rebel had grudgingly approved his older brother\u2019s proposal to purchase and equip the craft.<\/p>\n

An old Incom X4 gunship filled the entire berthing space for a squadron\u2019s hangar. Relics of the Galactic Civil War, the vessels were a rare sight in the spaceways. The gunship was still armed to the teeth, refitted in the last few months with weapons designed to combat the Yuuzhan Vong. Equally capable of both atmospheric and deep space operations, it was usually used to support a starfighter screen, acting as a mobile anti-starfighter flak platform.<\/p>\n

A trio of TIE Defenders hung in launching racks in the next hangar; nine TIE Hunters filled out the squadron. The TIE Defender was infamous for its prowess in combat\u2014fast, maneuverable, well-shielded, and armed to the teeth. Though, to Halyn\u2019s knowledge, no new Defender had been produced in decades, they were still ridiculously expensive\u2026and\u00a0still<\/em>\u00a0in demand.<\/p>\n

The TIE Hunters were a design Seinar had experimented with and deemed a failure; subsequently, Seinar claimed the craft were only testbed for new technology and never intended for full-scale production. Halyn was fairly certain the craft had been an early attempt to integrate technology from Incom\u2019s X-wing\u2014shield generators, class 1 hyperdrives, s-foils\u2014into a TIE Interceptor design. The resulting starfighter was more akin to an X-wing in speed and a TIE Interceptor in protection, though Iridonian ingenuity and refits had turned the craft into something more frontline-worthy.<\/p>\n

Halyn stopped and stared into the next hangar. \u201cNo\u2026it can\u2019t be\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

But it was. He\u2019d recognize the curves of the Gallofree light freighter anywhere. There hadn\u2019t been many of them produced\u2014Gallofree had gone bankrupt and out of business before more than a few thousand had been manufactured. But this particular YKL-37R Nova Courier had the slightly expanded, more blocky forward hull. No new coat of paint could hide that from the man who had flown the\u00a0Starwind<\/em>\u00a0for four years of bloody warfare.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s\u00a0my ship<\/em>,\u201d he said aloud, somewhere between confusion, surprise, and anger.<\/p>\n

Closer examination revealed the truth of the freighter\u2019s state. While she gleamed with fresh paint, wiring hung from open panels in clumps. The lower quad turret was missing a barrel, and the gunner\u2019s canopy was cracked. As Halyn continued to circle the vessel, he spotted creases in the armor, an out-of-alignment sublight engine, unrepaired damage to the sensor pod. Stepping up the boarding ramp revealed a shattered interior: almost all of the access panels were open, or the covers missing entirely; he could see outside light visible in several places in the forward hold; coolant lines were ruptured and completely drained; the navicomputer was missing circuit boards.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow in the hell did you get to Iridonia?\u201d Halyn muttered. \u201cDoesn\u2019t make any sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s a puzzle that\u2019s going to have to wait,<\/em>\u00a0he knew.\u00a0The Yuuzhan Vong will be coming, and it\u2019s time to do my part in making sure they dance to our tune.<\/em><\/p>\n

A small smile crossed his face.\u00a0Seems fitting to do the deed from here.<\/em>\u00a0He pulled his comlink from his pocket and held it up to his lips. \u201cCathleen<\/em>, this is General Sanshir. Patch me through to the widecast.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The bridge of the\u00a0Cathleen\u00a0wasn’t really a bridge anymore. Most of the flat panel displays had been shattered by the crash. Chairs, built into the floor plating, had been similarly damaged and now were scattered around the area. Whole panels of … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-88","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-njo-siege"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p52rlt-1q","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.writingunderduress.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.writingunderduress.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.writingunderduress.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.writingunderduress.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.writingunderduress.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=88"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.writingunderduress.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":104,"href":"https:\/\/www.writingunderduress.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88\/revisions\/104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.writingunderduress.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=88"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.writingunderduress.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=88"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.writingunderduress.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=88"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}