Chapter 29
“What do you see, Master Athin?” Captain Jov’aine queried the Miraluka who sat in a cross legged meditation position on the floor in the command room on Zonama. The fleet had jumped to Hyperspace several hours prior, leaving the ground forces behind as it moved to counterstrike at Cerea. Despite the Captain’s attempts to relax the Jedi, Athin remained seated from the moment the fleet departed. Even without eyes, his expression was one of someone that was looking far off into the distance at everything and nothing, simultaneously. The question piqued the interest of a couple of young female communication technicians that sat at monitors along the wall, waiting for any updates from the fleet. They both glanced back over their shoulders to look at the quiet Jedi and were surprised by the eerie calmness of his voice.
“They are still in Hyperspace but are nearing the battle. I see fluctuations in both Master Joash’s and the Admiral’s auras. They must be starting the Force techniques to mask their arrival.” Bewildered, the Captain states “I do not understand how you can see anything nor can I fathom what that would even look like.” Ever so slightly Athin beckons with his left hand and the Captain moves to his side with a puzzled expression. In the same eerie tone, Athin advises the Captain “I will show you. But first, sit. As you are not Force sensitive, it is likely this will cause some discomfort at best.”
Captain Jov’aine slowly lowered himself to the ground to Athin’s left, slight apprehension showing on his features, “And at worst?” Indicative of Miraluka’s split focus, he offers only a mild shrug in response, causing the other man to swallow nervously. Athin exhales deeply and the Captain follows suit, closing his eyes while the Jedi begins to expand his presence to envelop him. Nearly a minute passes without any noticeable difference to Jov’aine and he goes to speak, eyes still closed. Before he could form the first word, he inhales sharply as vibrant colors whip past him causing him to open his eyes. Despite their opening, his vision remains the same. No longer can he see the room around him, only an array of colors he had never seen nor could he describe to another. They continue to hurtle past him as Athin continues to push his focus to the fleet now many lightyears away until the movement begins to slow. It comes to a stop, allowing the Captain to see outlines of the various vessels shown by a pale grey color. The more he examined the image, the more he could see the fluctuations in the pale color. The durasteel hull, decks, and other components of the ship were represented by a more solid color. Less dense materials such as liquids, plastics and similar were represented by a less solid color.
Aboard each ship are many auras of various colors similar to colors he knew, yet still different, and each assortment is unique to the lifeform it represented. Greens both dark and bright simultaneously. Purples so deep that the darkness of space seemed bright. Crimson reds, bold pinks, soft burgundies, intermingled with vibrant blues, cool teal, and an unfathomable number of others. Unlike the inanimate objects, these fluctuations are more prominent, indicative of the living nature of the beings. Near the fore of the ship are two auras that shine brighter than any others. One is primarily gold, a very deep gold, as if time had worn away its shine but it did not diminish its presence. Tendrils of icy white are present within, mixed in amongst the main color. From without are tendrils of a similar color but an even greater intensity. Their source is the brightest aura present, one of nearly pure white that shone with greater intensity than the brightest star. While the Captain attempted to process what he was seeing, Athin’s voice cuts into his thoughts gently, “Those two are Master Joash and the Admiral. They will be exiting hyperspace any moment now.”
Light years away aboard the Shadow Redeemer’s bridge stands a lone figure clad in a fresh, deep brown robe. The hood is lowered, showing the man’s usually disheveled brown hair, though it is a few centimeters longer than usual. He stands straight, hands folded behind his back as he had so often seen his Master do while he gazed out of the viewport upon the swirl of hyperspace. Underneath the robes is not the usual Jedi tunic. Instead, there is a golden material that appears to be wrapped around his torso in a similar fashion to a typical undertunic. However, upon closer inspection, one would see it is metal and not fabric. Made of Cortosis, the threads of the metal start thin and are tightly woven, resulting in a smooth surface that is still somewhat supple unlike the thick durasteel plates of the Admiral’s battle armor. The air of command exuded by the man does not match the swirling emotions within him as Rend desperately resists the urge to fidget with his hair as he often does when nervous.
“The new armor suits you, master.” The statement made Rend jump slightly as he had not noticed Sun’s arrival. To himself he remarks, “She has progressed further and more quickly than I could ever imagine. Even now, I cannot sense her presence.” While gathering himself, Sun continues voicing her current train of thought, “Although, I wonder how the Grandmaster is able to acquire such precious materials as often as she does.” Rend turns his head slightly towards the woman “My understanding is that she has been in the process of creating this particular piece for some time before current events.” He looks forward once more, exhaling deeply in an attempt to dissipate some of the persistent nerves. A few moments pass before Sun adds, “We are preparing to exit Hyperspace, General.” “Thank you, Commander. Please inform the Admiral and Master Joash.” Sun salutes briskly before turning sharply and striding silently from the bridge. Rend looks back out to the swirl of Hyperspace around the fleet and exhales deeply once more. A minute or two later, a familiar sensation began to wrap around him, bringing with it focus, clarity, and motivation. The young General closes his eyes and opens himself fully to the Force and the presence that enveloped him. As had occurred in the first battle Rend led, he felt tactical knowledge flowing between himself and the source of the allied presence, Anhiel. With a confident and calm voice Rend turns his head to the left in the direction of the older Commander and speaks, “Commander, have a priority message prepared to send to all vessels immediately upon our exit from Hyperspace stating the fleet is to form a diamond formation with the Shadow Redeemer at the center. All vessels are to remain as close to each other as is feasible until the order to engage is given. The hyperdrive upgrades should ensure the fleet is more closely grouped but we must travel as close as possible to ensure Master Joash is able to mask our approach.”
The Commander acknowledges the order with a short, “Right away, General.” before walking over to one of the communications officers nearby. Sun re-enters and moves to stand just behind Rend’s right shoulder, her silhouette pitch black against the bright lights of Hyperspace. In a soft voice she speaks only to the General, “Master Anhiel has started the Battle Meditation. She asked that I tell you she will hold it as long as she can once we arrive but supporting Master Joash will be taxing and she is not sure how long she will last.” Rend nods slightly, “Thank you, Padawan. The advanced task force should have arrived almost an hour ago. I hope the diversion has worked but I worry about the casualties they will have sustained before we arrive.” The armored hand that came to rest on his shoulder was small and light despite the overlapping scalelike metal. Sun offers a light smile to her master, “We await your command, General. Ad Bellum.” Rend chuckles slightly and returns the smile, “Ad Victoriam, Commander.”
As the pair looks back out the viewport the helmsman calls out, “Exiting Hyperspace in 5…4…3…2…1…” Light begins to stretch briefly before the moon of Cerea snaps into place. Beyond it, hidden from sight of the newly arrived fleet, rages an intense battle. Within no more than a moment, the remainder of the fleet snaps into place in a tight formation and the vessels immediately begin to tighten the formation even more. Aft of the bridge Joash’s features strain as he begins to apply his technique, manipulating gravity in a section of space in front of the fleet. The Force flows uninhibited through the old Jedi in a way he had never experienced before. Beside him, Anhiel supports his efforts with her own presence in the Force, easing the burden of wielding such power for the first time while she continues to maintain Battle Meditation over the fleet. At the moment, her face is serene, seemingly unaffected by her efforts thus far.
On the bridge, Rend’s voice sounds out loud enough to be captured by the bridge's communicator “Mirr, do you read me? We have arrived. What is your current status?” Several seconds pass before static comes through the speakers, followed by Mirr’s voice which is somewhat broken due to interference, “I read you, General. The diversion was successful but Republic forces are now losing ground very rapidly. They won’t last much longer. One of our frigates has been destroyed and a little more than half of the fighters and bombers remain. We have pulled tight to the main group of remaining Republic vessels and are attempting to hold a defensive line.” Rend moves to the large console at the center of the bridge after the Commander beckons him over. As he looks at the screen, the layout of the battle becomes clear. A dozen various corvette and frigate class vessels are arranged in a defensive line that is beginning to cave in on the ends. Outside of the line are friendly vessels that have been cut off. Two frigates are singled out in separate areas and a small cluster of three corvettes and a single frigate is being slowly surrounded by several enemy vessels. Their position is just on the far side of the moon between the newly arrived force and the main battle.
The General ponders the data before speaking to Mirr, “There is a small cluster of friendly vessels between us and the main force. We will launch our surprise there. If we can free up those vessels, it will increase our numbers for collapsing on the main enemy line.” Static is heard once more through the comm, followed by Mirr’s voice barking to someone aboard his ship, “I see them. Just keep shooting.” His voice grows more clear as he turns back towards the panel, “Understood, General. We will hold the line until you arrive.” The link is terminated and Rend points to the small cluster of Republic vessels and commands, “All vessels, move to engage at this point. Remain in formation and prepare to surround enemy vessels quickly on my command. We will remain cloaked as long as possible.” The order is relayed to the rest of the fleet and all ships begin to move silently through space around the moon. Joash and Anhiel continue their efforts in the meditation chamber as the task force moves to position for a strike. The older Jedi is showing more signs of strain and fatigue and the Admiral is also beginning to show fatigue from her dual efforts.
Nearly a half hour passes in silence aboard the bridge of the Shadow Redeemer as the fleet crept towards the small group of friendly vessels. To Rend’s surprise and joy, the four vessels still survived and continued to exchange fire with the sleek silver enemy ships as their unknown allies arrived. A pair of enemy ships were en route to the main line to respond to a brazen push on the closest flank by a group of bombers, led by Mirr. Rend looks over the monitor before him to see the ships in the fleet lining up above the friendly corvettes. He turns back to the older commander with hands folded behind his back and states, “Give the order to open fire. Do not stop until those ships are destroyed. Then we move to this flank to break the line.” As the order is acknowledged and acted upon, Joash grimaces greatly, reaching the end of his stamina. Moments later, the Shadow Redeemer vibrates as its many turbolasers open fire. In that moment, Joash releases his technique and immediately collapses unconscious. Anhiel remains unmoving, greatly fatigued despite her burden now being lessened by Joash’s collapse. Through her Battle Meditation connection, she sends a thought towards Commander Veruna, “Joash has collapsed and needs medical attention. I may not last much longer either.”
Without a word, Sun turned sharply and strode from the bridge. Only after the door closed behind her did she key on her communicator, not wanting to break Rend’s focus on the battle. Simply she stated, “Get a medical team to the Admiral’s meditation chamber immediately.” She keyed the door open, revealing the empty room save for the still meditating Grandmaster and collapsed older Jedi. Quietly, Sun moves to Joash’s side and does a cursory check of his vital signs. After a quick glance behind her at the Admiral she begins to lift the unconscious master. Unable to fully lift him from the ground, she supports as much weight as she can and drags him from the room and closes the door behind her. A minute later, the medical response team arrives just outside the door. An explosion rocks the capital ship, coming from a nearby enemy vessel that had drifted close just before the fuel aboard ignited.
On the bridge, the explosion lit the room with light bright enough to cause those looking out the viewport to shield their eyes. Once the light recedes, Rend calls out “Contact those corvettes and have them form up with us and move to this flank immediately. Send the High Admiral’s codes. They should not question the directions if they come from her.” The communications officer acknowledges the order curtly and immediately begins making keystrokes on the console before them. A minute later, the older woman calls back to Rend, “General, they have acknowledged the message and are moving into formation.” Without turning back, Rend nods slightly and speaks with a somewhat forced calm “Very good. All vessels move forward. The Shadow Redeemer and Destiny’s Revenge will form the front line. All remaining vessels will secure the flanks and focus fire. The enemy vessels are more durable than they appear. Spreading fire will be ineffective.” He paused before continuing, “Prepare coordinates to return to Zonama. We will do what we can here but our orders are to hit hard and retreat.” Despite Rend’s age and limited combat experience, those on the bridge of the Shadow Redeemer and all other vessels in the fleet had expressions of faith and determination. Without hesitation, everyone sets to their respective tasks and the fleet quickly moves forward to collapse on the left flank that despite the initial push back was beginning to collapse.
Weaving in and out of the fire is Mirr’s XB-70, followed by what remains of the fighter squadrons from the forward task force. The bolt from an enemy fighter glances off the right wing, scarring the metal and rocking the ship. In the cockpit, Mirr grunts and slaps the communicator on. The general’s voice fills the cockpit, “Mirr, are you still with us?” Another shot ricochets off the ship, echoing across the connection. After cursing under his breath, Mirr responds, “We are still here, General. The remaining bombers are out of munitions and have pulled back to the remaining frigate. The last third of the fighters are currently formed up on me.” Mirr hears voices in the background but words are not clear. Several seconds later Rend speaks again, “Well done, Captain. Rendezvous with the Shadow Redeemer. We are preparing to bombard the back line of the left flank.” Mirr acknowledges the order, “Yes, General.” before contacting the remaining fighters.
Now in position, the fleet opens fire at the left flank. Debris of many Republic vessels floats aimlessly through the area while red and green bolts of light flash through space. Shields shimmer as contact is made and bolts are absorbed. The initial volley from the Shadow Redeemer and supporting vessels is precise as though all weapons are being controlled by one individual. The efficient fire is enough to overwhelm three enemy ships and repetitive turbolaser bolts burn through the tough silver metal. Before Rend could feel a sense of relief at the success of the attack, the Commander nearby calls out while looking at a tactical screen, “General, this flank is nearly secured. However, the enemy has overwhelmed the center line and cut off a bulk of the Republic fleet. They are repositioning on our right flank as we speak.” Rend moves to look over the screen while doing his best to keep his features neutral.
He falters though as Anhiel’s voice echoes quietly in his mind, clearly exhausted “Rend, I cannot maintain…much longer.” Her voice fades away, leaving Rend’s thoughts in turmoil now as he grasps for how to continue without her Battle Meditation.After a few moments, he turns to the communications officer initially “Get me Lieutenant-Commander Barnes, immediately.” He then turns his gaze to the Commander, “Commander, reposition the Shadow Redeemer to intercept and leave as many vessels as is necessary to hold this position. The rest will join us.” The Commander nods an affirmative and looks back to the screen to determine how to allocate vessels. The communications officer calls out half a minute later, “General, I have the Lieutenant-Commander.”
Rend strides over to her console and speaks quickly, “Lieutenant-Commander, are you able to divert power to specific portions of the shield?” The young woman’s nerves are clear in her voice. She was in the previous battle, which had been her first experience with combat, but this was her first battle in a leadership position. “Ye…yes, General. I can, bu…but to gain considerable output I will have to lessen or even lower the shields in other places.” The young General’s response catches everyone by surprise, sounding more like the Admiral than the young Jedi they had known thus far, “Do what you must. The portside shields must hold for as long as possible.” Without waiting for a response, he turns from the console and returns to the center of the room, looking out of the viewport once more. Despite all of the commotion on the bridge, all he could hear was the thundering of his heartbeat as he thought, “If this does not work, I have doomed us all.”
The Shadow Redeemer pulls away from the broken left flank, leaving three frigates with the saved republic corvettes to hold the line with the rest of the Republic forces. At the head of the remaining vessels, the angular form of the Capital ship charges forward to intercept the enemy advance. In engineering, the recently appointed Chief Engineer worked frantically at a console, taking a moment to wipe the sweat from her brow. From her right, a male technician calls out, “Ma’am, the junction safety has triggered.” Exasperated, she responds, “Then bypass it.” The man hesitates and she looks towards him and barks, ”Now!” Quickly, he runs away, weaving his way through the equipment until he comes to a panel and flings it open.
Outside, the Shadow Redeemer slows only a handful of kilometers from the approaching force. Destiny’s Revenge, a cruiser, moves into position in line with the lead vessel and the few remaining frigates and support vessels positioned above and below but set back from the larger ships. Within moments, the opposing lines open fire. As Rend had intended, the brunt of the enemy fire collided with the Shadow Redeemer and the shields flared brightly as they absorbed the beams of light. Back on Zonama, Athin continues to watch the battle, refusing to move from the spot he occupied earlier. Anhiel’s bright aura was beginning to waver repeatedly and diminish in color, indicative of the fatigue she felt. Concerned, the Miraluka pulls back his focus, looking over the whole scene and sees the two new lines clash. Rend’s aura is present and strong, bringing a small amount of relief to Athin until he notes a presence on the outskirts of the system. Quickly, he shifts his focus which rockets through space to the unknown presence. His features fall quickly as a small task force, similar to the scout group they encountered before, reveals itself in hyperspace heading towards the ongoing battle. Shocked, Athin calls out to the pair of communication specialists nearby who jumped up in surprise, “Send a message to the Shadow Redeemer immediately. There is another enemy force en route, now. They will be soon.” The pair look at the Miraluka somewhat stunned until he raises his voice, “Quickly!”
Aboard the Shadow Redeemer, the communications console lights up as the message is received many minutes later. Eyes widen before the communications officer calls out, “General, urgent message from Zonama.” Perplexed, Rend moves to the console and reviews the message. As he finishes, his eyes widen as well, “When was this sent?”. The officer responds after short deliberation, “Sir, it would have taken approximately forty standard minutes to reach us here.” The door to the bridge slides open, revealing Anhiel who leans on the wall as she enters. A guard moves to her side quickly to assist, silently supporting her. Rend moves quickly to her, immediately protesting, “Master, you should be rest…” Before he could finish, Anhiel waves her hand dismissively and speaks with a labored tone, “It is time…to retreat, General.” Before he could respond, an alarm goes off and someone sounds off, “Multiple unidentified vessels have exited hyperspace just behind us.” Immediately, the ship rocks as laser fire rains down on the vessel from the edge of effective range. Quickly, the General calls out, “Signal all remaining ships to retreat and rendezvous at Zonama.” Moments later, the helmsman announces, “Jump vector established. Engaging hyperdrive.” A large bolt of light from the rapidly approaching vessels collides with the unshielded side of the Shadow Redeemer, penetrating through the durasteel plating near the stern. An explosion shakes the ship just before light begins to stretch and it disappears into hyperspace.
The wounded capital ship now hurtles through Hyperspace. Scorch marks cover the starboard side of the vessel, a result of the long range bombardment on the unshielded side of the vessel. A larger hole near the stern is surrounded by dark scorch marks, revealing components that lie beneath the armored hull. In Engineering, Lieutenant-Commander Barnes breathes a momentary sigh of relief as she resets the shields back to standard operating parameters. While the adrenaline from combat began to subside, the young woman closed her eyes briefly to steady herself. Several seconds passed before she became aware of the blaring alarm and flashing red lights in the room. Her eyes widen and she makes several rapid keystrokes on the console before her, swearing loudly as she quickly reads the screen, “Kriff!” She looks to her right and barks at the nearest engineer, “Disengage the Hyperdrive!” The man’s hesitation elicits a forcefulness the young woman had never expressed prior, “Immediately! Or everyone on this ship is dead.” Terrified, the engineer runs a dozen paces through the room and makes a few keystrokes on another console which causes the ship to drop from hyperspaces suddenly and roughly as the normal processes for exit were bypassed. Those not seated are jossled enough to cause many to fall forward onto the ground.
Smoke begins to fill the compartment but Barnes ignores it, looking over several pages of data on the console before her. As she does, her features tense more and more as adrenaline levels skyrocket and exceed what she experienced during the battle. Stress and anxiety bring a focus to the woman that causes her to miss the beeping of her communicator. It rings for over a minute before she keys it on and speaks nervously, “Eng…Engineering. Lieuten…Lieutenant-Commander…Barnes.” Alarms on the bridge can be heard through the communicator before Rend’s voice cuts through, “What happened? We suddenly dropped from hyperspace and the Helm reports no impulse from the engines.” Frantically, the Lieutenant-Commander manipulates the console before her, looking for the issue and a solution. The delayed response causes Rend to call out in a hard tone similar to the Admiral’s, “Y’ssane, get a hold of yourself. Contact me once you have identified the issue.” Without waiting for acknowledgement, Rend severs the connection and turns back to those gathered around him on the bridge, “Find out where we are and scan for any hostiles.”
Y’ssane Barne’s hands lift up slowly and she observes they are shaking from adrenaline and anxiety. After taking a moment to gain control, she looks towards the source of the smoke and barks an order, “Someone get that fire out!” She points to the nearest technician, “You, come with me. We need to reroute power to the engines. It looks like the main junction was hit by that last attack and the Hyperdrive is also shot. It requires repairs before we can move. We will assess the damage directly before I report to the General.”