Chapter 8
The durasteel door to the bridge slides open, revealing the High Admiral now dressed in her armored robes. Behind her is Athin, doing his best to put on a face of calm despite the upcoming battle. Both guards by the door snap to attention, simultaneously calling out, “Admiral on deck!” The remainder of the personnel on the bridge jump to attention as Anhiel waves a hand, signaling every to return to as they were. The older Commander approaches her, “Admiral, the Enemy fleet is only a few hundred kilometers out now. It appears to be a scout group. Mostly light frigates and support vessels, save for a dreadnought class vessel at the center. We are scrambling fighters now and are positioning in a defensive formation.” Anhiel nods, responding with a measured voice, “We still do not know much about their tactics except that they push forward relentlessly. Let them press the attack and give some ground on the line. We shall pull them in and close in the flanks. I leave General Rend in command of the fleet with you advising as I will be in the meditation chamber. I trust that won’t be an issue?” The Admiral’s question stung the Commander, bringing back the memories of the meeting held after Eriadu. Straightening, resolve etched on his war torn features he responds, “No Ma’am. We will not let you down. Victory will be ours.” With that, he saluted before crisply turning and moving to the large console in the center of the bridge. Turning her head, Anhiel addresses Athin, “Come with me, Athin. I am sure you would rather be somewhere without a window.” With that, the Admiral strides from the bridge, heading a short way down the hallway, followed by Athin. The pair stops at a door, which slides open revealing the smooth circular wall of Anhiel’s meditation room.
Back on the bridge, the door slides open once more this time revealing an anxious Jedi General and his Padawan. Rend steps inside and quickly scans the area for Anhiel but does not see her. The older Commander turns and faces Rend as he approaches, saluting briskly before addressing the younger man, “General, the Admiral is in her meditation chamber and has left command of the fleet to you. We are scrambling all available fighters now and the fleet is forming a defensive line. Might I suggest we hold these two attack corvettes in reserve?” The Commander points to a map on the console, particularly at two friendly vessels as he continues, “We do not have much in the way of data on the enemy’s tactics. The corvettes can move quickly to shore up a gap in our line or punch through a gap in theirs.”
In the emptiness of space, the fleet silently moves into position with the Shadow Redeemer at the center of their defensive formation. Rend remains silent as he grapples with the rising anxiety within him while trying to ponder the Commander's tactical suggestion. Meanwhile, Anhiel moves to the center of the circular room, dropping neatly to her knees. Athin moves just inside the room, choosing to stand quietly by the door as the woman exhales deeply and closes her eyes. Her presence begins to extend outward. It envelops Athin as it begins to move out past the boundary of the room over the remainder of the ship and continues onto the rest of the fleet. Rend’s anxiety began to dissipate as he felt a familiar warmth wash over him. It brought with it clarity on what the young man thought of the suggestion he had been pondering. The young man took a deep breath as he opened himself to the Force. He could feel Anhiel’s presence melding with his own, the boost in confidence it gave, the increase in focus and precision. The link could be felt on all those on the bridge and the Knight sensed it continued out past the single ship. “I understand now. This is why Master Anhiel is here.” The revelation happened quietly within his mind as he now focused on the woman, calling upon a lesson learned in what now felt like a distant memory. While he did not know the name of what the Jedi Master was currently employing, he sensed its purpose and understood it. “And this is why she has me here.”
A confident expression formed on his face, a look so foreign to him it took both Sun and the Commander aback. The confidence carried into the General’s tone where it mixed with an equally foreign tone of authority as he finally responded to the Commander's suggestion. “Yes Commander. Let’s proceed with your suggestion. Meanwhile, prepare a company of your most seasoned commandos and have the necessary number of shuttles prepared for take off on my command.” Despite the shock he felt and the questions rising in his mind, the Commander nodded, electing to ask only one clarifying question “What will their objective be, General?” Rend turns to look out the large windows of the bridge where the enemy fleet was now coming close enough to be seen with the unaided eye. He lifts his right hand, pointing at the largest ship in the enemy fleet, a silver ship near in size to the Shadow Redeemer but smaller than the capital ship that attacked Eriadu. With a calm voice Rend stated matter-of-factly, “We will be taking that vessel.” Everyone on the bridge paused in their tasks, turning to look at the General as he stood motionless, eyes set on the ship he had just been pointing at. After several long moments of stunned silence across the bridge, the older Commander nods briskly salutes before barking loudly to the other personnel, “You heard the General. Get to your tasks. Ensign, contact Captain Jov’aine and have him prepare his troops to go in heavy. We don’t know what will be aboard the enemy vessel.”
The enemy fleet continued creeping towards the defensively arrayed ships. Bolts of green and red lasers began to flash across the darkness of space as the opposing fleets entered range. The unknown fleet had less ships than the opposition and for the most part lighter ships, but they continued to press forward relentlessly. Fighters broke off into their assigned squads, darting in the void as they began engaging enemy starfighters. Aboard the Shadow Redeemer, Athin stood apprehensively as he sensed the battle being waged around him. In an effort to focus on something else he turned his gaze to the woman meditating before him. He had observed her aura countless times by now but what he saw was different than anything he had previously seen. The Master shone brightly as waves regularly pulsed out through the force, originating from the slender woman. He could feel her presence continually holding his own in its palm as though she was lifting him up, supporting him. “Beautiful…” the word had slipped from his mouth and the Miraluka bit his tongue quickly, reprimanding himself for the slipup and possibly breaking Anhiel’s focus. She appeared to not be bothered as she remained still whilst the battle continued.
After nearly an hour of fierce combat, the fleets remained in a near deadlock despite the difference in number of combat vessels. Debris from various destroyed fighters and a destroyed Republic frigate drift through the area. Rend stares intently at the console before him, watching the movement of ships, looking desperately for an opening. “There…” The thought was his own but at the same time was not, that much was clear as he observed a friendly cruiser moving forward in the formation. The response by the enemy was swift, moving 3 lighter vessels to surround the now lone cruiser and concentrated their fire upon it. Solemnly, the young General spoke internally to himself as he inclined his head in deep felt thanks to the soldiers aboard the cruiser. “There is purpose in death.” Rend calls out loudly to the Commander, “There, an opening. Move the Shadow Redeemer and remaining cruiser into position to engage the capital ship. Pull the reserve corvettes and have them focus fire on the engines and hyperdive. All remaining vessels move to protect our flank and surround the enemy forces here.” He points to the cluster of vessels surrounding the lone cruiser, which despite being in an unwinnable situation was returning fire. Damage was apparent all about the hull but the large vessel moved into close range with two of the nearest enemy vessels. The nearly point-blank turbolaser fire ripped all three vessels but the focused fire on the lone ship was too great. A white light suddenly illuminated all the nearby vessels as the cruiser exploded, followed shortly by the two closest enemy frigates it had engaged. The remaining vessels of the task force swarmed the third frigate before the lighter support vessels could move into position to assist.
The enemy ships were formidable. Even the smaller vessels were able to absorb a massive amount of punishment. Combined with the coordination they showed, the cost of the advantage the Admiral’s forces now had was high. They kept up the pressure, pushing the remaining support vessels back as the Shadow Redeemer and remaining cruiser bombarded the enemy capital ship. It was brute force tactics at this stage as the ships absorbed and dealt damage in an effort to allow the attack corvettes and the fighter wings supporting them to get positioned for a strike on the engines and hyperdive. In the meditation room, Athin noticed a falter in the regular pulses that had been radiating from Anhiel. Concern colored his facial features as he thought, “She is faltering. How much longer can she continue this?” The Miraluka quietly exited the room and rushed to the bridge, searching for Rend. He found the young man at the same time a large explosion lit up the area outside of the bridge. An ensign glances back towards the General and Commander, shouting excitedly “The enemy’s engines have been damaged significantly. They should not be able to jump to hyperspace. Power fluctuations have been noted as well. Weapon systems are offline for the time being.” With that, Rend looked towards the Commander, “Have the shuttles prepared to lift off once we arrive.” He turns, seeing Athin as he feels Anhiel’s presence receding from him and the surrounding area “Athin, is something wrong?”
The Miraluka shakes his head gently, “I came to see how the battle was fairing. I sensed Master Anhiel was tiring. She seems to have exerted herself greatly during her meditation.” A mildly irritated voice spoke behind the pair, alarming them both as well as Sun and the Commander “I am fine, Athin. Besides, if you are so concerned you are welcome to join us in boarding the enemy’s capital ship.” With that, Anhiel strode from the bridge before anyone could object and was followed quickly by Rend, Sun and Athin. In the hangar, four large transports sat with engines idling. Two transports begin to lift off as the small party arrives and quickly boards the fourth transport. As the ships leave the hangar and make their way towards the hangar of the enemy vessel, Anhiel speaks to those on the transport, as well as the other transports through her com “There is something different about these ships. I did not sense nearly as many lifeforms on board as I would expect for a vessel this size. So keep your guard up and expect heavy resistance. Athin informed me the small team he clashed with on Eriadu was formidable; carrying heavy shields and wearing full armor. With no data on the internal layout of the ship we will decide on a plan of attack once we have a decent foothold and more information.”
The transports enter the empty hangar and set down gently while the ramps descend simultaneously. A hundred commandos spill out of the transports, scanning the area and taking up defensive positions. Anhiel, Athin, Rend, and Sun follow and meet Captain Jov’aine just past the ramp. “Ma’am, it appears the Hangar is farther aft of the ship than we thought. It will be a trek to get to the bridge. There appears to be two routes out of the hangar.” The Admiral nods, “Thank you, Captain. Split the company into two. General Rend and Athin will lead one team with you. Commander Sun and I will lead the other.” The Captain salutes, “Yes Ma’am.” Anhiel sensed apprehension from Rend at the thought of being separated from his Padawan. But more surprisingly to her a similar apprehension radiated from Sun. The recently appointed Padawan/Commander had never been in frontline combat. Yet she volunteered to accompany her Master and the High Admiral, Grandmaster of the woman’s new found enclave, without a second thought. In her normal fashion, Anhiel begins moving as she addresses Sun without addressing the apprehension from any party, “Commander Veruna, with me. The rest of you, move out before we get pinned down here.” The company splits up as instructed, each group departing through the respective doors from the hangar.
Anhiel walks quietly behind the forward squad of her unit. The commandos carefully peer around each corner, checking every angle before moving to the next junction. One stops, raising a hand quickly and closing it into a fist, signaling the group to halt. Around the corner stood a group of soldiers, clad in full golden armor, carrying tall shields and staffs with blue blades extending from the ends. The corridor is wide enough to allow the enemy to arrange themselves three wide, extending ten deep. Anhiel turns to the nearest commando, signaling him to hand her the grenades he had. She also signaled to another commando who held a grenade launcher, pulling him towards the front of the group. Quietly she instructed him to repeatedly fire down the hallway immediately following the detonation of the grenades she held. The soldier nodded, prepping himself just behind cover as the grenades floated in the air. The pins popped out and they hurtled towards the enemy formation propelled by the force and landed in the third row. A deafening sound echoed through the hallway as the grenades detonated, annihilating the first 4 rows of the formation. As ordered, the commando with the grenade launcher stepped out into the hallway and began showering the formation with more grenades. The enemy braced behind their tall shields, absorbing the explosions better than was expected. However, the light of the detonations illuminated side passages near the formation and the commando called out to the Admiral. “Flanking positions identified.” She nodded, moving to the front of the group and into the hallway as her sabers floated from their place at her hips to the palm of her hands. Purple blades snapped to life and illuminated the hallway. On the edge of the smoke from the blast, Anhiel could see the alternate hallways splitting off from the main hallway she occupied. As the remaining enemies recovered from the explosions, she launched forward towards them. The frontline braced, expecting a slash from her sabers but were surprised and she kicked the soldier square in the center of his shield. Her movements aided by the force resulted in the soldier slamming into the ranks behind him, opening a gap in the line. Her left saber, held in a reverse grip whipped upwards, decapitating the soldier on her right before he could react. She spun with the blade, bringing the right saber around in a powerful blow against the left soldier’s shield, putting him off balance and achieving her goal of pushing the formation back far enough for her forces to move to the offshoot hallways. The Master’s left hand raises, pointed towards the formation as green electricity shoots from her extremity. It collides with the next rank of enemy soldiers, causing those not quick enough to shelter fully behind their shields to begin writhing on the ground.
The lightning storm continued as the Admiral’s forces moved quickly, splitting between the two pathways. Many moments later blaster fire can be heard as they open fire on the back ranks of the formation, pulling their attention. With the distraction Anhiel pressed forward, her sabers whipped through the air in an elegant fashion as they cut down the next rank of enemies. Their defense was clumsy in the face of her onslaught, stabs were wildly placed and easily parried before the sister saber relieved the individuals of life. After a few more minutes of combat the hallway fell silent, smoke filling the space from the grenades and armor burning from contact with lightsabers and blasters. The Admiral surveyed the area, noting the handful of allied commandos that had fallen. She inclined her head to her fallen comrades in thanks for their sacrifice before beginning to stride down the hallway. Her commlink beeped and she keyed it on quickly. The voice of Captain Jov’aine came through clearly, “Ma’am, we are making good progress. It does not appear that there is much resistance on this route. However, it does not look like this is a direct route to the bridge.” Anhiel responded briefly, “Understood. Continue as planned. See if you can link up with the main hallway we are in. We have met significant resistance thus far.” The Captain acknowledges the orders before cutting the link.
Disturbingly, the remainder of the trek was uneventful and the doors to the bridge slid open without any issue. Cautiously, a few commandos entered the bridge, clearing the corners as they did before signaling the bridge was clear. Anhiel waved towards the door, barking out a command “Set up a defensive position. Half of you meet up with the others and ensure our route back to the shuttles is clear. I do not like the feeling of this.” The commandos set to their tasks, a pair erecting a tripod that they placed a large repeating lazer on top of. Anhiel turned to Sun, gesturing towards the large console before them, “You are up, Commander. See what you can learn from that console. But be quick.”