Chapter 27
As dusk begins to settle in on Zonama, Mirr’s X-70B snaps out of hyperspace near the beautiful planet that now houses the base camp for the enclave’s fleet. Slowly the ship descends through the atmosphere and makes its usual pattern to land on the surface pad within the perimeter of the base. Meditating near the cliff that borders one side of the base is Joash. As the ship nears the ground it enters into the envelope of his expanded presence allowing him to sense the familiar presences of those onboard. To his surprise, he only senses two life forms, Rend and Mirr. After the mission had departed, Anhiel informed the older Jedi that Sun had accompanied them on the mission. Fearing the worst, Joash jumps to his feet and races towards the now landed ship. The ramp opens and comes to a stop after lightly contacting the landing pad.
Mirr and Rend exit the craft as Joash almost slides into place in front of them. With a worried and somewhat labored tone due to rapid exertion, Joash queries the young General “Rend, where is your Padawan?” In response, Rend lowered his head and gently shook it without responding. Joash replies quickly with more questions, “What does that mean? Is she dead? What happened? Answer me damn it!” Rend slowly lifts his head and signals behind the elder Jedi with a vague wave of his hand. Joash whips around to find nothing behind him except for various personnel going about their normal duties. Now irritated at Rend’s nonchalant attitude regarding his Padawan’s perceived death, Joash gruffs at the younger Jedi, “There is nothing there boy, what happened to Sun?” As the final sound exits his lips the old Jedi feels a tap on his left shoulder. Joash turns again to the sight of a young female Jedi clad in black armored robes, who is now becoming visible as she unsuppresses her presence in the Force and disables the cloaking device. Joash steps back in astonishment before he frowns deeply. “Y’all planned this, didn’t you?” Sun’s sheepish grin gives her position away plainly. Joash throws his hands up and lets out mumblings and curses as he storms off. Rend and Sun look at each other before letting out lively laughs, followed by a set of reserved chuckles from Mirr before the group begins moving towards the main structure.
The trio steps into the center room of the complex where the High Admiral stands awaiting their arrival. In unison, Sun and Rend bow low while Mirr provides a crisp salute in his usual fashion to greet her. Anhiel responds in her normal tone, “At ease. Now brief me on the outcome of your mission.” Rend responds, as he is the highest ranking officer of the three, “The mission was successful, Master. We deployed several different devices in the most promising locations with minimal contact.” The Grandmaster queries the group again, “Did you gain any information that will be useful?” Mirr steps forward and addresses Anhiel, “Ma’am, I have been receiving data from my network which is scattered throughout the galaxy. I will have to spend some time mining the data but if there are any clues about our current foe, I will have them.” The Grandmaster turns towards Rend and Sun before addressing them with a mild tone of approval, “I believe this mission has enhanced both your skills and your confidence. I sense much less uneasiness in both of you.” The two Jedi reply in chorus, “Thank you Grandmaster.”
The next morning aboard Mirr’s ship, Sun is working on HK-40 with the usual enthusiasm she exhibits when working. Her tools are neatly placed to her right and the parts she scavenged are to her left. She crouches over the damaged skull with her data pad secured to the droid so that his schematics are at eye level while she works. Sun has removed the damaged image processor along with one of his motor control centers. The young Jedi’s brow has small beads of sweat beginning to run as she continues to remove all the damaged parts. She reaches for the wiring harness she previously gathered when Mirr startles her. “I see you really get into your work, young one.” Sun replies with a slight smile after wiping her forehead, “Yes sir, it’s something about this type of work. I don’t know why but I am drawn to it.” Mirr smiles and quizzes her, “When do you think he will be ready for action?” Sun returns the smile and replies, “The Force willing, this afternoon.” Excited by her words Mirr exclaims, “That is great news! If you should need anything from me, I will be in the cockpit mulling over the data for anything unusual.” Sun nods and turns back to her work. She continues to replace parts and run diagnostic tests for several more hours before finding the reason for HK-40’s reluctance to operate. The motor control center from the other droid, although made by the same manufacturer, ran on a different operating system version. This issue is giving a fault code and not allowing HK-40 to boot up. After realizing this Sun grabs her data pad and begins cycling through the droid's operating system code. As she finds issues with the compatibility, she makes the necessary corrections and retests each sub routine.
Mirr is slumped in his chair at the front of his ship, defeated by the mountain of data he has been combing through for several hours. “It’s just too much data.” He thinks to himself. “I guess I need to knock off for the afternoon and start again tomorrow.” He stands up from his position and walks to the cockpit door. With a single keystroke, Mirr opens the door and there standing eye to eye with him is his old comrade, HK-40. With a sizzling electronic voice HK addresses Mirr, “It is good to see you, Captain Rust Bucket.”
Mirr has an uncharacteristic quivering voice as he speaks, “K-40, I never thought I would see you upright again!” The droid looks down at himself and back at his old friend again before responding, “How long have I been inactive?” Mirr clears his throat, “That does not matter at the moment. We will catch up later. I could really use your assistance at the moment.” HK-40 responds with a slight attitude, “I have been back for 2 minutes and 14 seconds and already I am being put to work? So much for the pleasantries. What is it you require, Captain?” Mirr, not used to his comrade’s tone, looks past HK at the young Padawan and asks, “Why is he responding this way? He has never had a problem before.” Sun shrugs her shoulders as she replies, “Could have something to do with taking a blaster bolt to the head…. Or could be the slight difference in the components I used to repair him. I don’t think his response was unwarranted considering his situation.” Mirr leans back into position and addresses the droid, “I need help going through our network and locating unsolicited attacks on planetary systems. Can you speed that up for us as I fill you in on current events?” HK-40 reaches down and opens a compartment on his left thigh plate. He reaches in and pulls out his terminal adapter, then responds, “Sure thing, Captain.” Where Mirr was unable to accomplish much during the several hours he spent sifting through data, HK-40 began generating a report only after an hour. Mirr, who had dozed off in the pilot’s chair, sat up at the sound of the electronic notification on his datapad and quickly reached for the device. His eyes flit over the details on the screen for over a minute before he leans forward and initiates the ships comm. After a moment, Anhiel’s voice fills the cockpit with its usual even tone, “You have something for me, Captain Styn?” The Mandalorian responds while typing on the datapad to transfer the data to the Admiral, “Yes Ma’am. I am forwarding the report to you now. There are many items of note. However, there is a strong likelihood one particular opportunity will present itself very soon.” On the other end, the Admiral remains quiet as she reviews the report Mirr had sent. Nearly a minute passes before she speaks in an authoritative tone, “Well done, Captain. I shall review this in detail, immediately. The War Council will assemble this evening. I expect to see you there.” Without hesitation, Mirr stands quickly and salutes in his usual fashion despite the Admiral not being present, “As you command, Admiral.”
In the mid afternoon’s warmth, Sun is testing her physical capabilities by climbing up a small cliff face near the main structure. Sweat is pouring down her face as she grips the next rock and pulls herself to a sturdy position.The chirp of her communicator breaks her concentration causing her to slip down a few meters before she grips a large root to stop the fall. Her master's voice calls out, “Padawan, we are being summoned by the Grandmaster. I need you here as soon as possible.” Struggling to reply, Sun manages to affirm Rend’s orders with labored breaths, “Yes Master. I will return immediately.”
In the war room, officers and support personnel slowly begin to filter in and arrange themselves around the table or along the perimeter of the room. The High Admiral stood motionless in her pristine white uniform with hands folded behind her back, facing away from the room. A familiar presence approached her from behind, coming to a stop just over a meter away, but the individual radiated an emotion she had not associated with the older Jedi. Anhiel turns to address Joash with a flat tone, the cape of her uniform flaring outward as she does “I was not expecting you. You have not attended the last couple meetings, Ca’ JoasichuBana’kaeda.”
The old Master clears his throat gently, clearly attempting to gather his thoughts on what he wished to say. After a moment he continues, “I assumed this meeting was called to determine the next course of action and I…” The sentence trails off and Anhiel merely continues to stare at Joash with cold eyes, only occasionally blinking as she waits for him to continue. Slightly frustrated, he grimaces and continues in an almost exasperated tone, “I wished to apologize to you, Grandmaster. It has become clear to me that I did not understand you as well as I thought I did and have failed to give you the credit you deserve. Despite my reluctance, Sekot has shown me the true nature of the Force and while I am still struggling to believe it, I must admit my philosophy until now has some flaws.” Unexpectedly, Joash bows low and after a few more moments he continues in a somber tone while remaining bowed, “Please accept my apologies, Grandmaster. And if you will have me, I believe I can help in this fight.”
Confused eyes begin to turn towards the pair from around the room. The conversation is not heard by any others but the sudden and prolonged bow by the mostly unknown Jedi captured the room’s attention. A slender hand comes to rest gently on Joash’s left shoulder and is accompanied by a voice he nearly didn’t recognize due to its softness, “Rise, my friend. You have nothing to apologize for and I thank you for always speaking true over the years. But I am happy you now see what I do. Now tell me, how do you wish to assist?” Joash straightens, silently grateful her response did not prolong the uncomfortable topic. As Anhiel comes into view once more, he is nearly stunned by the softness he sees in the woman’s features before they harden once more as she glances over his shoulder to the room behind them, causing those that had been looking on the scene to quickly look back to their datapads or conversations. The pair conversed quietly for several more minutes until General Vega, Commander Sun and Athin entered the room.
After the final arrivals found their seats and settled themselves, Joash bows once more to Anhiel before moving to stand on the edge of the room. The Admiral moves to the head of the table and takes her seat, quietly looking over those gathered. She offers an ever so slight nod of her head to Lieutenant Commander Barnes who is seated about mid way down the table. Authority reigned in the woman’s voice as she addressed the personnel gathered, “Thank you all for assembling on such short notice. The reconnaissance mission was a success and we have a promising opportunity that is about to present itself.” Anhiel pauses, looking down at the control panel built into the metal table and makes several keystrokes, bringing up a hologram of the planet Cerea. The Admiral continues speaking, “Mirr’s sources indicate that an attack will occur at the planet Cerea. The Republic has had little involvement with this planet, but its natural resources and farming economy are critical for the region. As a result, the Republic is mobilizing a force to hold the system and we will assist.”
She pauses for a long moment, taking a breath before continuing “The Republic is not aware of our intentions though. We do not understand our enemy yet and so we shall keep our plans internal to our forces. Furthermore, we shall be entering the fray stealthed. We won’t know the exact approach until we have intel on force distribution the day of.” Lieutenant Commander Barnes frowns slightly as the capabilities of the various ships in the fleet begin to scroll through her mind. The look does not go unnoticed by the Admiral who turns her sharp blue eyes towards the younger woman. Several long moments pass before the Lieutenant Commander notices and she sits rigidly upright upon noticing. “You have something to add, Lieutenant Commander?” After swallowing, she replies “Ma’am, to my knowledge, none of the ships in the fleet have stealth capabilities.” Anhiel smirks slightly before responding, “You are correct, they do not.” When the Admiral does not continue, the Lieutenant Commander features form into an expression that clearly shows her confusion as she looks down at the table. Many moments pass before she looks back up towards the Admiral’s seat, “Ma’am, how are w….” The sentence dies in her throat as her eyes fall on an empty seat at the head of the table. Those that had been watching were aware that the Admiral was still seated but her form is not visible. After a dozen seconds, Anhiel lets the swirl of the Force she had used to cloak her presence to fall away. In an even voice she addresses the room, “There are ways to cloak one's presence without stealth technology. Master Joash is skilled at a technique that if applied correctly, will allow the presence of the fleet to be masked long enough for us to position for a powerful and precise strike.”
The Admiral pauses again, allowing her words to set in with those present before she continues, “If there are no more questions, I will leave you all to handle preparations. I expect preparedness reports from all combat vessels by the end of the solar week. We mobilize the day after. Support vessels and ground forces will remain behind and await our return. I have no intention of taking the fight to the ground at this time. We strike as hard as we can, then we retreat.” The room is quiet after the statement, the only communication is the slow and solemn nodding of the various officers. Many moments pass before Anhiel ends the meeting, “Dismissed.” The sound of moving chairs and mild chatter fills the room as those gathered begin to disperse.
Anhiel leans back in her seat, exhaling a long breath as she rubs her face with both hands. A gentle hand comes to rest on her right shoulder as she leans forward and is accompanied by Athin’s voice, “What is troubling you, Admiral?” Leaning back in her chair, Anhiel brings her left arm across her chest to rest a hand on Athin’s. In a solemn voice she responds, “There are many things that weigh heavy on me at the moment. But the most prominent in this particular moment is the upcoming mission. I believe Joash’s plan to mask our arrival will work but I fear he will not be able to withstand the raw Force power necessary to pull it off.” Athin frowns lightly as he thinks on the scenario before offering a suggestion, “Are you not able to support him? Your experience with natural Force power should be able to alleviate the burden some.”
White bangs shift forward gently as the Grandmaster nods once, “I have not been able to think of a solution other than that. But it will be taxing for me. In order to jump as close as we need to, I will need to employ my battle meditation across the fleet through hyperspace. That alone will drain my energy significantly before factoring in what Joash may need.” Before Athin could respond, Anhiel continued, abruptly moving to a new subject, “Also, the enemy force is sure to be larger than the scout group we previously battled and we suffered a great number of casualties to secure that victory.” She sighs again, her features falling into a look that allows her extreme mental exhaustion to show. Somewhat taken aback by subject change, Athin does not reply immediately as he gathers his thoughts.
Gently, he queries, “Is that why you are leaving the ground forces and support vessels behind? To minimize casualties should things go poorly?” Again, Anhiel nods in confirmation but she does not offer more in response, her face now showing a somewhat pained expression as she removes her hand from Athin’s. The Miraluka continues, “And if you are concerned about Joash, I can lend my support as well. I know I do not have the same power as you but I should still be able to help.”
The Admiral’s eyes closed tightly as if a great pain had hit her. She was expecting those words but had held out hope they would not come so she would not have to address them. Continuing to look forward, she responds with a tone between sad and her usual authoritative tone, “That won’t be possible as you will be remaining here.” Having not fathomed he would be left behind, Athin reels at the statement. “We never discussed that, Anhiel. I wish to assist.”
Anxiety pounds through the woman’s chest as she searches for the words to convey what she was thinking, “I am already risking so many lives in a mission that will likely fail. Do not ask me to risk yours as well. I already lost Dulci in the same way. I will not lose you.” But expressing such emotions was still difficult for the Admiral and she shut the words from her mind, instead returning to her usual commanding demeanor. “Your Grandmaster has spoken, Athin. There is nothing to discuss.”
Slowly, Athin’s hand lifts from her shoulder, his expression is one of shock. He had seen this particular version of Anhiel many times before but never had he been the recipient of the cold authority she wielded so effectively. Many moments pass while he steps back, facial features changing from shock to frustration, bordering on anger. Through gritted teeth Athin speaks flatly, “As you command, Grandmaster.” Without waiting for any potential response, he turns sharply and strides towards the door. In an uncharacteristic display of emotion, Athin’s hand waves, causing the door to the war room to slide open quickly, resulting in a loud metallic slam followed by the snap and crackle of broken electronics. Lieutenant Commander Barnes yelps lightly as she jumps back, startled by the violent opening of the door and is bewildered as Athin stalks past. As she looked down the hall at the figure striding away, she nearly misses the Admiral’s voice from within, “I need a moment before I hear whatever it is you wish to speak with me about, Lieutenant Commander. Contact Maintenance to fix that door and come see me in my meditation chamber in an hour.” The young woman salutes briskly as the Admiral rises from her seat and straightens her uniform, “Yes Ma’am.” Without responding, Anhiel exits the room and heads in the opposite direction of Athin, towards the fore of the ship where the meditation chamber resides. Her emotions swirl beneath the outward mask she displays as she walks and the force swirls in a similar fashion around her. In the training room, gold and green sabers clash, the master and padawan duo having just started to spar before setting to prepare for the mission. Sun begins to move forward to strike, crouched low with her single saber in a reverse grip, but as she starts to move she stops abruptly and looks over her shoulder. “Master?” Rend extinguishes his dual bladed saber and looks in the same direction with a somber expression, “I sense it, Padawan. I think it best we give the Grandmaster space and ensure we do all we can to prepare for the upcoming mission. She has much on her mind.”
Nearly an hour after the war meeting, Lieutenant Commander Barnes arrives at the door to the Admiral’s meditation chamber. Nervously, she knocks on the metallic door several times before stepping back. Within the circular room is Anhiel, on her knees in meditation at the center of the room. A gentle wave of her hand opens the door, allowing the younger woman to enter. Once she does, she straightens to attention, “Admiral, I am here, as requested. The war room door is being fixed as we speak.” Anhiel nods before rising from her kneeled position, “Thank you, Lieutenant Commander. Now what did you wish to speak with me about?”
The young woman clears her throat and speaks with a hastened cadence, “Ma’am, I do not believe the fleet’s hyperdrive systems can support the precision needed for the upcoming mission.” Anhiel looks over the Lieutenant as she questions her, “In what way?” Continuing with the same cadence, the young woman adds, “The paralight systems of the fleet have an average drift of 2-4 seconds across the models from initiating a drop from hyperspace. That is not factoring in biological error either. While we do not know the exact deployment strategy yet, I got the impression that the fleet would need to exit hyperspace as near to the planet as is possible.” Anhiel tilts her head to the left slightly in interest at how the young woman came to this conclusion, but she does not voice it. Instead, she continues to look at the curly haired woman waiting for her to continue. With a bit of a stammer initially, Lieutenant Commander Barnes explains her rationale, “Approaching from a position close to the planet would be the least expected avenue for reinforcements to arrive from. But if ships of this size drop from hyperspace within the planet's atmosphere, they will likely be torn apart. And if they exit too soon, the efficacy gained from surprise will be reduced.”
A very slight smile creeps onto the Admiral’s face, brought on by the intelligence and intuition the young officer was displaying. “I wonder why you were placed in Engineering when you exited the Academy? Your tactical knowledge is superb. But that is beside the point. I expect you have a solution to this conundrum if you are bringing it to me?” Lieutenant Commander Barnes nods rapidly several times in confirmation before Anhiel continues, “I seem to recall that you questioned my decision to promote you and yet, here you are, proving you were indeed worthy. Let’s hear it then. I will make all resources available to you to accomplish what must be done.”