Star Killer Planet OrbitThe ma.s.sive fleets of both the First Order and the Resistance had started a ferocious battle and even though it had begun just some minutes before, the casualties and losses had already become exorbitant for both forces.
- "Enemy approaching in Fan formation for sector 78B!"- informed a pirate officer.
- "TIE fighters approaching as escorts from point 54H at maximum speed!"
- "Hah! Lets show these greenhorns how pirates fight!"- said FlameBeard- "Spearhead formation! Unleash the Preybird starfighters!"
Both forces approached each others and started the skirmish but when the Pirate Battlecruisers started their ramming attack to destroy the Star Destroyers, these moved aside and ignored their enemies positioning on the flanks of the spearhead formation while shooting their lateral cannons.
- "Most Star Destroyers are flanking our forces"- informed the officer- "but they have left the main ship alone and at shooting range from our cannons"
- "He"s abandoning the flagship?"- said FlameBeard with a scowl but he would not deny a free dish when served to him- "have all battlecruisers shoot main weapons to that flagship! Then have teams C65 to C80 focus on the Star Destroyers flanking us. The rest will keep shooting at the front!"
The main cannons shot directly at the flagship of this team of Star Destroyers and they impact was direct but for some reason the damage was not what FlameBeard had expected.
- "Enemy Shields at 20%!"- FlameBeard received the report
- "They placed all the energy on the shields and use them as bait"- said FlameBeard and then he saw the Star Destroyers flanking them!
- "Have the PreyBirds be alert of bombers!"
- "Bombers deployed by all enemy Star Destroyers from all sides!"
- "Ignore the Star Destroyers and focus all weapons to the bombers!"
The bombers moved exptremely fast and came from under the Battlecruisers in an ascending arc movement. The defensive cannons focused on them but the maneuvering of the bombers was just a little inferior of that of the TIE fighters and their momentum gave them an advantage that the pilots did not waste. They unleashed all their proton torpedoes on the Pirate Battlecruisers reducing their shields ma.s.sively.
- "Tche! Not bad kid!"- said FlameBeard feeling anger but also excitement for having such a great opponent after a long time- "Advance and break the enrciclement and destroy those f****rs in front of us!"
- "Incoming trasnmission from headquarters!"- said the officer
FlameBeard looked nervously at the offcier but he had no choice but respond. Maz" face appeared and she furiously started to scold him for having made such pathetic blunder. She then gave new instructions and cut off the communications.
- "Well that was not so bad..."- said FlameBeard who thought that it was better to just fall in battle with his ship than received the wrath of the Queen of Pirates.
Meanwhile in the headquarters, the officers and communication operators were in full action and the voices were just like a deafening buzz from a furious beehive.
- "Such stupid mistake!"- said Maz after lashing ot FlameBeard- "He"d better not die before I can personally discipline him!"
Leia only smiled while watching the battle unfold in the screens in front of her. She was no expert but by what she could see, the battle was not going very well for them. The First Order had managed to divide and scatter their forces makingthe battle extremely complex due tot he wide range of skirmishes all over the place. Hux had been extremely well prepared and he was now commanding his forces with such finesse that Leia doubted it could be real.
- "Incoming communication from Millennium Falcon"- said an officer next to Lei "they are ready!"
- "Open the communications!"- said Leia placing her hand on the headphones she had on her ear- "The battle started here, are you ready on your side?"
- "Yep... we"re about to enter"- said Han"s voice and Leia could see his smug face in her mind- "just wait for the good news... We"ll be in radio silence until we blow up the shields."
- "Han!"- said Leia having a terrible premonition- "be careful..."
- "Heh... just be ready with another medal when we return"- said Han before he cut off the transmission and then Leia put her hands together and she prayed for their safety and good luck.
(...)
In the moment Luke pulled the lever, the Millennium Falcon got out of the blinding light tunnel of hypers.p.a.ce and all the people in the c.o.c.kpit saw themselves in front of a white and snowy setting which made them know that they had succesfully infiltrate the planet. However, their happiness instantly turned into horror when they saw that they were dashing towards the ground at maximum speed.
- "Chewee! Take control now!"- ordered Han seeing the Falcon approaching the land. They had managed to evade the shields but if they could not retake the control they would just crash and all would be for nothing.
- "Greeeaaaaaaaaaerr!"- replied Chewee trying to stabilize the ship to avoid the impact.
- "Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwww!"- Artoo screamed as they descended
The ship"s nose got higher but the momentum continued sending them down. The inferior trusters were at maximum potence but Han did not know if they were going to be enough. To make things worse, they saw a forest appearing in front of them.
- "Ahhh! you got to be kidding me!"- said Han veering the Millennium Falcon to point it to the least dense part of the forest- "Grab something and prepare for impact!"
- "Go higher"- said Finn not understanding why they were not vading the forest.
- "If I get any higher... they"ll detect us!"- replied Han with a annoyed tone.
They hit the trees which were uprooted and broken into pieces. The ship received multiple impacts and Han did not want to even imagine the price they would have to pay later for repairs but Chewee"s ability was top-notch and he managed to avoid any permanent and serious damage while mantaining the out-of-radar alt.i.tude. Finn and Luke managed to keep standing even though the ship made very violents shaking. They finally saw the end of the forest and they thought that they could finally have a break when they saw the edge of a hill which would send them to a fall of some hundred meters.
- "Of course!"- shouted Han with rage swearing internally to their luck- "Chewee, prepare an emergency landing..."
- "rrrrrrraaggreeeeeeee"- said Chewee and Han could only move his head as an apology knowing his friend was right.
The ship broke throught the edge of the hill destroying it completely and then they fell to the emptiness which made Finn"s stomach go up to his throat. He looked at Luke but he only saw him focus and totally unfazed by the present situation which made Finn wonder how many times he had been in a situation like this.
- "There!"- said Luke pointing at a clearing to the right- "400 meters at 2 o"clock!"
- "Chewee..."
- "Grraaa graaaar"- replied Chewee veering to the place and prepared to land.
- "Beep boop beep beeep boo booo!"- Artoo helping with the calculations now that everything was better.
Having slowed down since the moment they had infiltrate the planet, Chewee was able to land very skillfully and once the ship touched land, all the crew could finally breathe and relax for some minutes.
- "Where are we now?"- asked Luke showing Finn a map of the planet.
- "Sector K461..."- answered Finn a.n.a.lyzing the map and pointing the base from their position in the hologram- "we are approximately five kilometers East from the base..."
- "Good"- said Han standing up and walking to the storage are "let"s continue with the next phase of the plan."
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They took the back packs and other pouches filled with the thermal detonators they would use later to destroy the external shield of the planet and they mounted the speeders they had prepared to approach the base. In the way, Han looked at Finn and could not help to smile while remembering the estartegy meeting they had had before the mission started the previous day. After finishing the details for the infiltration into the planet now they had to think about how to infiltrate the headquarters of the First Order.
(...)
Takodana Planet - Maz Kanata Castle - Previous day
- "The flooding tunnel is over that ridge"- had said Finn pointing at the location in the holographic map- "We"ll get in that way."
- "What was your job when you were based there?"- had asked Han wondering how he knew about that tunnel
- "The first time was Sanitation."- had replied Finn blushing and not mentioning it had been a punishment for having disrepected a superior officer- "that"s how I know about it."
- "Sanitation?"- said Han in shock- "Then how do you know how to disable the shields?"
- "I don"t."- said Finn honestly and Han looked at him lividly.
-"People are counting on us. The galaxy is counting on us."- had said Han about to lose his patience but Luke placed a hand on his shoulders.
- "I imagine you have a plan"- said Luke looking at Finn with patience.
- "That"s right"- said Finn nodding his head with decisiveness- "I don"t know how to disable the shields but I know where the shield power generator and the control room in charge of the locking and safety systems are."
He marked the places in the estructural hologram of the headquarters and Han, Luke and Chewee studied them.
- "So the idea is basically"- said Luke pointing at the hologram- "access to the control room and force the officers there to nullify the locks and safety systems of the shield generators room."
- "We access the room and blow up the generators and turbines."
- "Don"t forget we have to rescue Rey while doing so"- reminded Finn
- "Can"t we use the Force to just destroy the base completely after we rescue Rey?"
- "That"s not how the Force works!"- had said both Luke and Han at unison.
- "Greeehaaaareeea"- said Chewee pointing out the distance between the two points
- "Chewee is right"- said Han with a worried expression- "I don"t like the idea of separating."
- "We will cover a wider area that way"- said Luke with a hand placed on his chin and a.n.a.lyzing the map- "I"ll go to the control room while you go for Rey... Once I deactive the security systems, I"ll join you in the Generator Room to blow up the place and escape."
- "You"ll go alone?"- asked Finn- "the place is swarmed by stormtroopers and the security is not low."
- "I"ll be fine"- said Luke with a tone full of confidence- "it"s not the first time I infiltrate an enemy base"
- "Don"t boast"- said Han smiling- "just don"t go Obi-Wan on me"
The two old friends looked at each other and their looks seemed to transmit a message that only them knew.
- "It won"t happen"- said Luke
- "I hope so"- replied Han and thn he returned to the map- "Ok, now let"s talk about the contingency plans."
(....)
They dismounted the speeder once they were at a close but safe distance of the Flooding tuneel which they would use to infiltrate the base. Surprisingly, they did not find any enemy presence and their infiltration went smoother than they had planned. They finally were under the base and they only needed to open the access door to be in the middle of the First Order lair.
- "Ok"- said Han preparing the stormtrooper armor they had prepare before hand- "you know what to do"
- "Greeerrrraaaaargerrrr"- said Chewee in a complaining tone
- "Come on, Chewee no other way..."- said Han with an exasperating tone- "there are no stormtroopers your size, so you"ll have to be the prisoner!"
Chewee kept complaining about him always being the prisoner and meanwhile Luke approached Finn.
- "How are you holding?"- asked Luke while Finn finished putting on the armor. He looked at Luke and he nodded.
- "I"m fine, Sir"- said Finn who was more worried for Rey than himself. He stood up and Luke smiled while placing a hand on his shoulder.
- "Remember"- said Luke using a very deep voice which made Finn focus on him- "focus in the moment... Dont let other thoughts distract you from your present objective. Feel all around you and trust your instincts... Let the Force guide your actions and you will be succesful."
- "I will"- said Finn feeling more relaxed and Luke smiled warmly at him.
- "Good"- said Luke patting his shoulder- "May the Force be with you"
He then called Artoo and looked at Han who was also ready and they looked at each other with decisiveness.
- "Take care out there, Bro"- said Han smiling at Luke- "don"t get lost since I won"t be there to save you."
- "Take care as well, Bro"- said Luke with a smug expression- "and last time I counted, I have saved you more times."
- "Lies!"- said Han and they all laughed before hugging each other and Chewee.
- "See you in the generator room"- said Luke and as the access door opened, he dissapeared in midair in front of their eyes along with Artoo.
- "What?"- Finn looked around trying to find Luke- "How did he do that"
- "Dont waste time trying to understand..."- said Han putting on the helmet- "believe me... it"s easier that way."
Finn was still in shock but after hearing what Han had said he understood by his tone that he was being serious. Finn was about to interject but then he remembered Luke"s words... he had to focus in the moment and put aside the useless thoughts. He had come for Rey and to destroy the shield generators, nothing else mattered.
- "Let"s go, Big Deal"- said Han with the machine like voice of the stormtrooper helmet- "we"ve got work to do."
(...)
In other part of the base Kylo Ren was watching the battle in the screens of the Main quarters when he felt something. He immediately turned around and started to concentrate to amplify the connection he was feeling.
- "Skywalker and Solo are inside the base"- said Kylo Ren informing his knights of Ren and the FN Corps- "go to your posts and follow the plan."
- "It will be done, Milord"- said the voice of the leader of the Knights of Ren. He then changed to private intercom with Phasma.
- "I also feel FN-2187 with them"- said Kylo Ren and he could imagine the fiery grin she must be having at the moment- "they must be looking for the girl."
- "On my way to the block 8232A"- said Phasma with a delighted tone and showing a wide s.a.d.i.s.tic smile which she always had subconsciously when a battle approached.
- "Bring me Solo alive."- reminded Kyo Ren knowing that once the battle started it was very difficult for Phasma to show restraint and transformed into a bloodthirsty beast.
- "Roger that!"- said Phasma placing her spear in her back and grabbing her personal blaster to go in the direction Kylo told her.
Kylo Ren felt Han and FN-2187 moving through the base but from time to time he lost the connection with Skywalker. This confused him but he still started to walk in direction of the last place he had sensed his fomer mentor. He would just let the Force guide him since he knew that his fated encounter had to be today.
(...)
StarKiller Planet Orbit - Finalizer Star Destroyer.
Hux saw in delight how the battle progressed and he could not help but grin noticing that it was tilting on his favor. His strategy of divide and conquer was going better than he had expected.
- "Yes this is how it should be"- he thought feeling his blood boil every time there was an exchange or an skirmish in the screens. He had to admit that controlling so many fronts was extremely difficult and heavy on his mind, but it also gave him a sense of excitement that he could find nowhere else.
- "Front E suffering ma.s.sive casualties"- said an officer reporting immediately and waited for orders.
- "Have the forces retreat to point 132, 564 and resist until reinforcements arrive"- said Hux immediately- "Tell team JayHax to support!"
- "Front J has taken the upper hand but the commander thinks it is a trap"- reported another and Hux immediately changed his attention to that specific front.
- "Tell the commander it"s not!"- ordered Hux without a speck of doubt- "double the attack and crush the enemy with no hesitation!"
- "Front B, the enemy has been encircled and now trying to breakthrough our forces"- reported another officer- "enemy has deployed Preybird Starfighters"
Hux immediately looked at the last front the screen a.s.signed to it. This front was the one in which the pirates from Maz Kanata. His strategy had worked and due to the perfect coordination of his forces, he had surrounded the pirate forces and were now being under a barrage of fire from 360° and Hux could see their poor attempt to breakthrough the encirclement by sheer force.
- "Not bad!"- said Hux and he grinned at their effort since it would not be fun if they just die like that.
- "Let teams K1, G2, G7 and I8 to let them pa.s.s"- ordered Hux- Once they do, concentrate fire on the rear of their battle cruisers. Let see how much their shields last!"
- "Yes, Sir!"
Even though the pirates were correct in trying to escape the encirclement, their attempt would only expose their rear which was the weakness in most ships of that size since the models would give priority to the front shields. If they were the Mon Calamari Battle cruisers, Hux would not try to do this attack since their battle cruisers had a perfect balance of shield defense all around, but the pirate Battle Cruisers did not share this feature which meant they would suffer a huge damage.
- "Front C, enemy retreating in zone 904, 555"- reported another officer- "the commander request permission to chase"
- "It"s a ruse"- said Hux after a.n.a.lyzing the map- "Cease the chase and join team FlameKirin in the front D to crush the enemy. The retreating forces will return in haste which will give him an opportunity to finish them off!"
- "Yes, General!"
- "Front A! Star Destroyer MghtySpear has fallen!"- reported another officer with a worried expression- "Star Destroyers RedLinux and TrascendingDragon are in critical conditions!"
- "Keep fighting until the end!"- said Hux with a cold and deatched expression which indicated he did not care for the lives of those ships at all- "as i thought, Ackbar is the only one who can really give me the pressure and make this bout interesting!"
- "Front A, Sir, ma.s.sive losses detected"- reported the same officer- "They are about to overwhelm us."
- "Patience, officer"- said Hux with no worry at all- "They are exactly where I want them. Call for the bombers and launch a direct attack on the Battle Cruisers."
The officer hesitated but he still complied. The bombers were deployed and they did damage but they also suffered greatly. The Star Destroyers suffered ma.s.sive damage and the officers saw Hux with fear. They could only imagine the terrible sight of having the crew of those ships being obliterated but Hux only stood there with a wide grin in his face.
- "Message incoming from headquarters"- reported an officer- "the prey has entered the trap!"
- "Finally!"- said Hux with a fiery glint in his eyes- "it"s time then! Call the reinforcements!"
- "Yes, Sir!"- said the officer with a sighing with relief and transmitting the message to the teams.
Just when the teams were about to be overwhelmed in many fronts, the Republic and Kanata Forces received multiple transmissions and they were surprised to see a new fleet appearing from behind their lines from hypers.p.a.ce.
- "Attack at discretion!"- said Hux and his grin was full of sadism and antic.i.p.ation- "destroy the enemy!"
The attack was so fast and merciless that the Republic forces could not react and received extreme damage. The First Order forces which were in front of them also attack and now the Republic forces were in the middle of a pincer attack that had the potential to annihilate them. To make things worse, a new wave of Bombers escorted by TIE fighters appeared in ma.s.sive numbers and were now going to provoke even more damage.
- "Ma.s.sive damage to the enemy in all fronts"
- "Enemy shields at critical level"
- "Keep fire at will!"- ordered Hux grinning at this victory- "and ordered the TIE bombers to turn and prepare another round."
- "Yes, Sir!"- said the officer who looked at Hux with great respect and admiration, something that share with the rest of the officers.
- "What will you do now, Ackbar?"- thought Hux with a sense of expectation for his enemy"s next move- "Don"t dissapoint me... I would hate a boring and tasteless victory like this one.
(...)
Han and Finn advanced in stormtrooper armor while having Chewee play the role of prisoner. The security was lacking, probably due to the battle that was ocurring in the s.p.a.ce.
- "What I told you"- said Han with a c.o.c.ky att.i.tude while advancing in direction to the prison are "it never fails."
- "Grrrraeeeer"- said Chewee
- "It only happened twice"- said Han in a very annoyed tone- "and stop complaining."
- "The prison area is around the corner"- said Finn but if we don"t have the codes, we won"t be able to enter"
- "Leave that to Luke"- said Han without stopping- "in case it doesn"t work we will just use Chewee to access the area."
- "Arrrrrgheeeerr!"
Finn only smiled and kept walking to the prison and once there they use the intercom to ask for access.
- "FN-4566 and FN-5543 escorting prisoner to cell"- said Finn using numbers of stormtroopers he knew that were alive and in duty.
- "What?! What happened?"- asked the guard of the prison looking at them with suspicion since the protocol stated that once a prisoner was captured, it had to be informed to all facilities immediately but he had not heard about this at all.
- "Do we need to repeat the same thing again?"- said Han using a tone that sounded as if he thought the guard was stupid or r.e.t.a.r.ded- "look, I don"t have time for this... we just want to deliver this prisoner that was captured sneaking around the base!"
- "A prisoner?"- the guard looked at Chewee with a confused expression- "why didn"t you inform about the capture before?"
- "We did but it looks like many people are not on alert due to the battle"- said Finn under the helmet- "it"s disgraceful... I"m sure Captain Phasma will love to hear about that. Also about you who seems to like wasting time instead of securing the prisoner who could potentially use this time to escape!"
- "Of course I"m not doing that!"- said the guard who panicked at the mentioned of Phasma"s name- "I"m just wondering why the protocol was not followed!"
- "We can debate that later!"- said Han who sounded very angry- "now let"s secure this prisoner! Wookie are extremely cunning and I don"t want to be crushed under his arms due to not putting him in a prison! Unless you want that..."
- "Of course not!"
- "Then open the door and tell us the number of the cell you want us to put him!"- said Han totally exasperated and a second later the door opened and they could see the guard who was looking at them with suspicion.
The guard was in a panel and he was protected by two stormtroopers next to him. There were other two stormtroopers guarding the access to the prison and they approched and checked that Chewee was safely handcuffed.
- "Good job!"- said the guard with a false smile- "we will take care from here... you can return to your posts!"
In that moment Han noticed that his intercom was blinking which meant that Luke was trying to communicate with him.
- "Excellent!"- said Han pretending to go- "just becareful with him... during the escort he tried to escape three times"
- "Oh..."- said the guard looking at Chewee with apprehension- "but he is handcuffed"
- "Not really..."- said Han and he rose his blaster- "Now!!"
Immediately Chewee freed his hands and grabbed the two stormtroopers his powerful arms. .h.i.tting his heads so strongly with each others that the helmets broke and bent by the might of the impact. At the same time Han and Finn pointed their blasters at the stormtroopers that were protecting the Officer and shot them down and Han shot the officer just to be sure he did not sent the alarm. All of this happened in mere seconds and the First Order forces had no chance to retaliate at all.
- "Hey Luke!"- said Han responding to the call- "what you"ve got?"
- "The safety locks of the prison area and the Shield Generator area are lifted"- said Luke- "I"ll head to the shield generator area so hurry and free Rey. She is in the block 8232A, Cell number 413."
- "On our way"- said Han with a wide smile- "see you there... what did I tell you? I"m sure it was a walk in the park for Luke!"
- "Let"s go for Rey!"- said Finn and he immediately dashed to the door that gave access to the prison and they quickly moved looking to the place where Rey was.
- "That should be the place"- said Han looking at the corridor that was mark as 8232 "let"s grab the girl and go to..."
He could not finish his words since they were received by blaster fire and they had to throw themselves behind some supplies boxes.
- "Cease fire!"- said a voice who was cold and familiar and Finn felt his hands tremble.
- "Phasma..."- said Finn who started sweating profusely- "this was a trap..."