6 Through Passion I gain Strength

Part 1

Republic cruiser Tranquility

Rodia

Outer Rim

I fell on my hands and knees panting. My sight was covered by black spots which were slowly dissipating. I took a deep breath as the darkness that enveloped me when the Consular frigate slammed in the Munificent bled away. I could see a distorted image of the deck plating which was few centimeters from my forehead. I groaned. While pulling off such a stunt wasn't exactly trivial, yet it had never left me so exhausted before. Controlling a ship through the Force and guiding it to kamikaze an enemy frigate was an unexpectedly draining experience. Yeah, doing the same tricks as in this era took much more power than back in the day. For a moment I wondered what was wrong with the Force, but shrugged those thoughts away. Perhaps I would have the time to ponder that question once the war was over.

I willed my trembling body to move and stood up with a gasp. All my muscles ached as if I had tried to physically move the kriffing frigate!

I was stumbling as I made my way to the only remaining fighter on the deck. The way the Tranquility was shuddering as it was bombarded or boarding ships slammed into its hull did not make my life any easier.

=RK=

The Torrent's power-plant roared to life while I was busy strapping myself in its seat. My mind was using the Force to manipulate its controls while I made myself ready for more combat. I checked the seals of my armor and its oxygen supply before plugging in the line to the fighter's air-tank. The familiar sound of the star-fighter's engines coming to life was reassuring.

The borrowed machine rose up and glided over the deck as I guided it to the hangar exit. I forced the engines to full military trust and the Torrent darted into the void. I emerged into a storm of turbo-laser fire as the two operational CIS frigates pounded the failing shields of the Tranquility. The secondary fusion reactors could do only so much with the primary power source out.

My fighter banked over the superstructure of the Venator and I got my first good look of the battle. If you could call it that. There were only seven Republic star-fighters trying to hold a full wings of vultures. The only good news was that the first group of reinforcements were couple of minutes away. A full wing of twelve bombers with their escorts.

I plunged straight into the chaos. My Torrent swung in a reckless maneuver as I pushed it to the limits of its maneuverability. I flew left pulling a turn that would have squashed me if it was not for the inertial dampeners and flew behind a pair of vultures which were strafing the armored bulk of the cruiser. The droid fighters flew closer to the hull of the Republic capital ship in an effort to escape destruction.

The laser cannons of my Torrent came to life and discharged lines of green death. Pulses of coherent light racked over the engines of the right vulture and it went up in a short conflagration of vaporizing metal and burning fuel. Its buddy headed for the command towers of the cruiser in attempt to either ram the bridge or evade my fire by flying around the pylons supporting the command deck. The vulture did not get far because its right wing pod was shaved off by a long stream of fire. I released the trigger and watched in satisfaction as the enemy exploded.

=RK=

Ranger Three, the ranking surviving Clone pilot was cursing quietly. He did not know whose idea was to send Tranquility for this mission. Not with understrength and green crew. The first boarding attempt was bad enough with two force users cutting a swath through Green Company who had come aboard as additional security. He and his mates had cheered when one of those kriffing hut spawn were shot and cut to pieces by that mysterious Jedi and few of his clone brethren.

That however had been a short lived joy. Soon three Munificents and a whole bunch of fighters and boarding ships rained all over the cruiser that was home for Ranger squadron.

On the bright side, thanks to the crazy idea of Veil, the Jedi, one of the Sep frigates was mission killed and it looked like that the Tranquility might last until the backup arrived. However that would have been academic for him and his men. Or so he thought. Another Torrent had flew from the bow hangar and was tearing apart the clankers.

A minute ago Ranger Two thought that he was a goner. He had four of the vultures on his tail and despite his best efforts the droids were coming closer and closer to rendering him in squishy space debris. He could not do much. Not when the remains of his squadron were fighting for their own lives.

However it was not his time to die. Two of the pursuing vultures were blown out of his space by a pair of concussion missiles. Then a third was shredded by a short burst of devilishly accurate laser fire. The last machine tried to nail Ranger Two before it was destroyed but the droid fighter was shattered before being able to kill the clone pilot.

"This is Delkatar Veil. We need to keep distracting them for few more minutes and then the bombers will be all over them. Don't get yourselves killed boys! "

With those words the Jedi had darted away in pursuit of another clanker.

=RK=

Engineering

Republic Cruiser Tranquility

Near Rodia

Outer Rim

The reactor chambers of the cruiser were on fire. The lightning was off and Jedi Master Ti could see only thanks to the orange illumination hurled by the dancing flames. She had a gas mask on her face which helped her deal with the toxic fumes filling the engineering room without her having to expend Force energy to deal with whatever poison was in the air. She was holding a defensive position over the prone form of Padawan Tano who had the misfortune to pass too close to a mine placed by Ventress. The warning through the Force came too late for the young woman to escape unscratched. Ahsoka was stunned by the detonation and then hurled at nearby wall by a powerful telekinetic push. To make it even worse, the assassin had cut the huge coolant pipes passing under the ceiling and hurled them at the younger Togruta. Tano was stunned and pinned down with a broken leg.

Ventress was stalking towards the Jedi Master with a mocking smile on her black lips.

"You won't be able to save her, Jedi. She'll die as she should."

Shaak Ti huffed. What's with Sith and monologues, anyway?!

"I recognize your style, assassin. It's Dooku's. But you use it in an unrefined and crude way. I'll demonstrate."

The Jedi Master surged forward without a warning. It was a little known fact but Shaak Ti was possible the best blade-mistress the Jedi Order had. She, not unlike Dooku, was a master of Makashi.

Her attack surprised Ventress. Asajj was put on the defensive under its ferocity. Shaak Ti used a short, economic motion to deflect the left handed lightsaber of her opponent and then she parried the right one before kicking Ventress in the stomach with a Force empowered strike. The assassin was thrown back and struck the armor covered the crippled reactor with a dull "thud". The Jedi master did not let the Sith recover and was upon her enemy. She pulled Ventress with the Force and sidestepped the flying force user. Shaak Ti's blazing blade flashed in azure ark and slashed through the saber hilt of Asajj's left hand weapon. It coughed few sparks and died.

Before the assassin could land she was pulled from the back. This time she could twist mid-flight and parried a deadly strike with a desperate sweep of her remaining weapon. But that did not prevent her from hitting the reactor housing for a second time. Hard. She stumbled to her feet with a groan and used a desperation fueled surge of Force to jump towards the ceiling. No matter how she loathed the thought, Ventress knew that she should retreat. The short but intense combat against the two Jedi had taken its toll upon her. She was unscratched if you discount her bruised ribs but she had to use too much of the Force in order to keep up with the two Togruta females. Her muscles were screaming with exhaustion. With a vile curse, Asajj bounced from the ceiling and darted towards and open air-vent.

She threw her remaining mines back in the engine room as a parting gift for the kriffing Jedi and made good her escape.

Shaak Ti used a sheet of torn out plating to cover herself. It wasn't a moment too soon. Dual explosions rocked the compartment, raining flame and shrapnel over her makeshift shelter. Sensing that Ventress was no longer and immediate treat she ran towards the Padawan and raised the pipe pinning down the girl with a wave of her hand. The Force produced telekinesis was quite handy tool for any Jedi.

=RK

A Torrent was torn apart after it was bracketed by six vultures and the flack cannons of the pair of operational CIS frigates. Another destroyed a droid fighter before being unfortunate enough to pass in front of a turbo-laser bolt, ceasing to exist. I sent a pair of missiles at two enemy machines converging on my position and then flew straight at another duo. I used the superior agility of my fighter and the limited premonition granted me by the Force to spin my Torrent in a mad ballet that avoided all fire sent my way. My cannons smashed the incoming vultures in piles of floating scrap and I banked right in the last moment to avoid the pieces of enemy ships which were still holding the same vector.

I snarled when two full squadrons of enemy fighters decided to pay me attention. The engines of my machine vibrated and whined in protest as I pushed them beyond their design parameters. I headed straight at the crippled CIS frigate and led my pursuers in a deadly game as I flew through its superstructures as the vultures unleashed everything they got at me. Light blossomed all around me as laser bolts were hurled near my cockpit. Too near for comfort. And many more were blasting at the armor belt of the stricken Munificent.

I could feel how one and then another of my pursuers were not maneuverable enough (despite their machine reflexes) to avoid protrusions and weapon emplacements sticking out of he frigate's hull.

Then the clock shown on my HUD blinked green and I smiled and pulled the control stick towards me. My Torrent climbed "up" and the vultures followed... Straight in the sights of the escorts and bombers coming to our aid. My pursuers died smashed by missiles and a storm of laser bolts.

The command Munificent was closing to a point blank range of the Tranquility while the other frigate was maneuvering to present its broadside to the coming bomber strike.

I formed with the escort fighters and we moved on to screen the Y-Wings. All remaining vultures were converging against us. We flew down their throats with flack and fighters throwing hell at us. Second later the bombers followed us in the hurricane of steel and death.

=RK=

Part 2

Cruiser Tranquility

Near Rodia

Outer Rim

Shaak Ti used two pieces of metal torn out by the assassin's mines to brace the broken leg of the younger woman. She was helping Ahsoka to reach the med bay when their way was blocked by a group of Super Battle droids. The Jedi activated their lightsabers and Master Ti jumped at the attacking machines. Behind her, the wounded Padawan could not do much besides holding her ground and deflecting the multiple shots heading her way.

The Jedi Master soared over the blaster bolts, turned in the air in such a way that she was able to use the ceiling as a spring board to launch herself at the droids and jumped at the center of their formation. She sent wave of unseen force in front of her, which hit the unfortunate machines like a heavy freighter. The droid which was in the center of her attack crumbled like a tin can on which a giant had stepped on. The four robots closest to it were slammed in the ground with such a force that their legs snapped by the impact and multiple internal systems were damaged by the concussion. Then she was upon the surprised droids and her blade was a blur of color that left glowing pieces behind.

Ahsoka was doing her best to stay un-shot while the older Togruta woman was slicing and dicing the SB droids into piles of glowing scarp. She wondered how long, if ever, would take her to reach a similar level. The Jedi Master was amazing! Skywalker's apprentice dealt with three droids by sending back their blaster bolts while Master Ti had demolished the rest of the enemy force.

=RK=

One of these days I should stop getting myself in such sticky situations. I was on point, leading twenty eight fighters and twelve bombers against about a hundred vultures which had arrayed themselves in a defensive screen between us and the closest Separatist's frigate.

Missiles raced in front of our charging Torrent's and quarter of the enemies were smitten down by concussion explosions. Then they were upon us and there was no more time for thinking. Only the endless hours of training and steel discipline held the clones together as we mixed with the droid fighters. A vulture was splintered by my cannons. A Torrent disintegrated under the relentless fire of no less than eight clankers. The bombers blasted away a whole wing of droid fighters which tried to meet them head on. None of the Y-Wings suffered something more than a mildly depleted shields in that exchange.

While I was chasing a vulture, I saw three Clone fighters mixing with nine of their CIS counterparts. They wiped each outer in an orgy of laser blasts and concussion missiles. My cannons carved up the enemy I was pursuing and I went after a droid fighter that was giving hell to one of the few surviving star-fighters of the Tranquility's compliment. I nailed the machine with a lucky strike that immolated its fuel reserves but it was a moment too late. Three crimson laser bolts slammed in the engine of the clone Torrent and the Republic fighter fell apart as its power-plant exploded.

I watched helplessly as a bomber was torn to pieces by four vultures before it was their turn to die as missiles consigned them to the endless void. I blasted a target of opportunity and flew behind the attacking bombers in order to provide them with some small amount of cover.

The immediate space was filled with dying fighters and blast of flack cannons. None of that phased the bomber pilots and they released their payloads at point blank range of the Munificent. The light purple, almost pink proton torpedoes blazed for few moments before slamming in the armored underside of the frigate. The star ship visibly shook as a long row of explosions blossomed all over its flank.

I had the impression that the Frigate stood frozen in place for a long moment before something inside it gave away and a massive internal explosion broke its back. Its forward section was sent spinning downwards relative to its previous course, while its aft continued moving on its old vector thanks to the engines which were active for the next five or six seconds. Then they flicked off and on few times before detonating and shattering the aft part of the Munificent.

I could hear the clones cheering on the comm. I chuckled at their enthusiasm.

"Great work men! Only one more to go. Bombers form up for another attack run. I want half the fighters with me on as escorts. The rest of you clean up this space from clankers!"

"Yes, sir!" came the thunderous response.

Those fellas were much livelier than the average clones I've met so far. I kind of liked their attitude.

For a short while it looked like that we had the upper hand. Vulture droids were being destroyed left and right and the bomber run at the last enemy frigate was well on its way. There were not enough droid fighters left to blunt the attack, much less stop it. Then as you might guess everything went wrong.

Two more Munificents jumped out of hyperspace and started disgorging waves of vultures.

"All escorting fighters, form on me. We are going to intercept our new friends. Bomber wing take out that ship!" I ordered and banked left towards the forming waves of enemy fighters.

Behind us the Y-Starfighters continued forward and ran a gauntlet of flack fire and the vultures from the initial Task Force who were enterprising enough to jump at them despite the remaining Republic fighters with which they were dog-fighting. Four of the bombers were smashed by enemy fire but the remaining strike craft blew away the aft section of the frigate leaving it dead in space. The crippled ship drifted out of control.

At the same time I was leading fourteen Torrents against the first wave of fresh droid fighters. There were more than two hundred of the buggers. The shadow of Vael that was lurking in my subconsciousness was whispering that the smart thing would be to cut my losses and jump to hyperspace. That however meant leaving Ahsoka and Shaak Ti to certain death. After the losses they suffered it was a sure thing that the CIS forces would blast apart the Venator and get away before more Republic ships came to the party.

The cannons of the fresh frigates rotated, paused for a second and unloaded everything they got at the crippled Tranquility. The shields of the Republic cruiser somehow held up to that moment but after the first barrage they were no more. Turbo-laser fire struck the helpless Venator and small suns were born over its upper hull as the energy bolts discharged their fury on the armor belt. Turrets were blown clear away. Spikes of light and fire shattered armor plates. Few heavy shots impacted at boarding ships still embedded in the hull and their immolation tore out huge chunks from the metal skin of the cruiser. Its command towers received sic direct hits and disappeared in the hearts of crimson tinted explosions.

For me that was a side note. I was too busy fighting for my life to pay proper attention to Tranquility's final hour. The missiles we shot at the approaching armada found their marks but the thirty vultures they blew away were a drop in the ocean compared to the number of enemies hurling themselves at us. My Torrent shook by near misses. Its engines screamed in protest as I overloaded them in an attempt to get every bit of speed they could grant me. My finger was firmly pressed on the cannon's trigger and I did not let go. A vulture was turned into a flaming wreck, then another. Clone fighters ceased to exist under the guns of dozens vultures.

I shot two more missiles without waiting for a positive lock. One slammed into a droid fighter flying straight at me. The other missed but forced a vulture to get out of its way.

There were only four more killing machines between me and the end of the swarm. The first was immolated by laser light like a moth. The next died speared by my last missile. My Torrent weaved around the blasts of the third when we both scored hits. The vulture was sliced into three flaming parts by my cannons but not before blasting my right wing into oblivion. My fighter spun madly while I fought with its heavy controls. I snarled when red laser bolts flew my way. The first wave of droids fighters were dispersing and sweeping around in broad turns. Then it disappeared in a fireball when a missile struck it next to its robot brain.

I could see on my scanners that only two other Republic fighters had survived our insane charge. Granted, we took out more than a quarter of the enemies and broke their attack run on our bombers but that was all to heavy price to pay. The remaining five Torrents and the Y-Wings were forming up and flying at the dissipating vulture formation but that would be all to late for us. The second wave of droid fighters was almost upon us.

=RK=

Shaak Ti managed to get Ahsoka to the med bay, where one of the clones was now busy with patching the Padawan's leg. There she found the remnants of Green Company which was smashed by a Dark Jedi and waves of battle droids and commandos. Only seven men were combat effective and just three of them weren't wounded. She grimaced. The mission had gone to hell and if what she sensed through the Force was correct, their situation was going to become even worse.

A minute and eleven SB droids later she was proven right. The captain ordered them to abandon ship before the comm-link was cut and the cruiser started shaking under heavy bombardment.

Shaak Ti and Ahsoka managed to levitate ten of the wounded to the nearest escape pods while thirteen more were brought by the remaining troopers and the medics. That's when the corridor through which they came was smashed by enemy fire and they were cut off from the med bay by sealing armored doors. Master Ti stumbled when she felt the wounded still in the med bay winking out as the ship was shaken by another hit.

"To the escape pods! Now!" she shouted and hurried with moving in the wounded they managed to rescue.

When they launched from Tranquility, the Jedi Master was appalled by the damage that the cruiser suffered. Seconds after they left a creeping barrage of turbo-laser fire smashed the part of the ship they were moments ago.

She looked out through the small window and saw the remains of crippled or destroyed CIS ships and hundreds of enemy fighters chasing after the few Republic fighters and bombers that were still active.

Ahsoka, who was piloting the pod had to maneuver it around floating and smoldering debris from space ships and vultures shooting at anything moving that did not have CIS IFF.

=RK=

I regained some semblance of control over my damaged fighter. The pair of clone piloted fighters and me had precious few seconds until the two armadas of vultures would be upon us. I desperately looked for a way out of this deathtrap. My sight fell on the two frigates behind the second wave of enemy fighters. It was insane. With no real chance to reach them. The only other alternative I had left was to do a blind hyperspace jump.

A glance at the panel showing me the status of the hyperdrive told me that there was no way out. My Hyperdrive engine was down. Whether it was busted even before I flew out of the Tranquility or the hit that blew of my wing was to blame was irrelevant.

"Boys, follow me in. We are heading straight for the hangar of the nearest Munificent. Our current position is untenable."

"Affirmative, sir. Who wants to live forever?" joked one of the clones.

"I do. Preferably." chuckled the other.

We flew against the swarm of vultures between us and the enemy frigates. Behind us dozens more droid fighters were rushing to dispose of us. The Force literally screamed a deafening warning that almost stunned me.

=RK=

Part 3

Short time ago

Rodia

Outer Rim

A nineteen years old, wet behind the ears ensign was surveying the bridge of the Acclamator Dauntless. To be fair, he should not even be there – the young man had graduated from the Naval Academy on his home world of Axxila only five short weeks ago. He found himself assigned to the GAR when the Senator of his world decided to show his support for the war by arranging most of the graduating class to "volunteer" for duty with the fleet. The green officer was called Firmus Piett. He was a short, brown haired man with piercing black eyes.

The ensign had the pleasure to be one of only three officers assigned to the Dauntless who were not clones. Those were the Captain, one Gram Tager, an experienced Corellian spacer with decades of service in that systems defense fleet. The other, was one of the lieutenants – Lars Robat. The rest of the crew, without exception were wearing the same brown faces. That of a mandalorian bounty hunter if the rumors were true. At least the clones usually knew their jobs though most of them, at least on his ship, lacked creativity and tended to do things by the book.

Piett was left to tend the shop, while the rest of the command crew were on a briefing in the capital, which was mostly used as an opportunity to chill off after the boring patrol they were conducting. Even now, when reinforcing Rodia and hunting down the few stray clankers left, and providing humanitarian aid to the starving population it was not a major change of pace for the starship officers. Most if not all ground operations were conducted by the clone commanders and their subordinates.

As the new man, so to speak, Firmus got to draw the short stick and remained as the ranking officer on board. However he was not particularly disappointed by that. Rodia was a hot, wet planet which was covered by swamps. Not his favorite climate. So he was content to remain on the bridge of the Acclamator where he was enjoying the blessings of the environmental controls which kept the inside of the ship pleasantly cool.

The Ensign was checking one of the endless reports which go hand in hand with running a major spaceship, this one dealing with the supply state of the cruiser. The Dauntless was an experimental Acclamator, a hybrid between carrier and assault ship which was able to deploy both ground forces and V-19 Torrent starfighters. Which, while useful depending on the situation, was hell on the logistics front.

Firmus was finishing a report showing the supply state of the fighter wings stationed on his ship when a message came in. The Venator that was transporting Nute Gunray, one of the leaders of the Separatists to Coruscant was under attack. For some reason the cruiser had not jumped to hyperspace shortly after getting the prisoner aboard and now its captain and crew were paying the price.

The young man was gripped by indecision for a few handful of seconds. At least a third of the ground troops were still on board as well as a lot of equipment and two squadrons of starfighters. The enemy attack was occurring over the side of the planet where the Dauntless and few other assault ships were landed. So he was on board one of the few Republic cruisers that could respond to the distress call in short amount of time. The only force that could do so faster was the cap flying in low orbit of the planet but that was only two squadrons of Torrents and a single wing of bombers. It might be enough to help the Tranquility deal with the three reported enemy frigates. A Venator with such support was a Match for so few Munificents. But the cruiser was reported to be boarded so it was all academic.

"Raise the ramps! Prepare for emergency launch! I want all fighters ready for combat yesterday!" Piett started snapping orders.

One of these days it may be his ship in distress and he hoped that whoever Republic captain was around would choose to assist.

=RK=

The Dauntless was breaking orbit carried by its powerful engines. The navcomputer was already busy with calculating vectors for a combat micro-jump. To Piett's unpleasant surprise it appeared that he and his ship were the fastest to respond if you do not count the CAP which was already on the way. The next ship, another Acclamator, that would be able to launch won't arrive for fifteen more minutes. It was a bloody eternity considering that the Tranquility was crippled and her captain was shouting frantically for support. Apparently one of the boarding parties was able to damage the reactor which had scrammed. With boarders running rampart and the main power out of the equation, the Venator did not have a chance.

Piett was watching on the holographic displays framing the bridge a representation of the vicious battle. The fighter compliment of the besieged cruiser had managed to knock out one of the enemy frigates and now, assisted by the cap and the bombers were attacking a second. For few short seconds it looked like that the Dauntless would arrive in time to assist with mopping up the enemy fighters. The second Munificent was shattered by a massed torpedo strike when two more CIS frigates jumped into the fray. They immediately launched their vulture compliments and suddenly the tide of the battle had changed.

"They did not stand a chance." muttered the Clone manning the sensors control station.

"Navigation, I want a hyperspace jump plotted for right there." Piett pointed to a specific place on the holographic display. "Weapons, I want you to open fire at this formation of droid fighters the moment we complete transition. "

RK=

Battlefield near Rodia

Outer Rim

I pulled up the control stick of my fighter with all my might and in a fit of desperation used the Force to help steer my sluggish Torrent. It pointed its nose upward and headed onto new a vector under the thrust of its over-stressing engines. It was not a moment too soon. A white and red colored mountain of armor and weapons appeared in front of me. I felt the belly of my fighter scrapping on its hull and I was nearly thrown out of my seat to bounce around the cockpit despite the shock webbing keeping me in place. The lost wing turned out to be an unexpected boon when I nearly struck a turret mount as it flashed by me on the right. If the wing was still intact that collision would have been the end of me.

I pulled out of my climb and smiled in relief. As I passed near the single bridge pylon of the Acclamator that had just saved my life (and nearly smeared me all over its hull) I glanced a relieved looking young officer on the bridge. Surprisingly he was not a clone.

But I had no time to ponder his identity. The second wave of CIS fighters were too close to pull out. They ran headlong into the onslaught of the close in weapons of the assault ship which was modified to carry twice the normal quantity of flack cannons. As the formation of vultures approached they were swallowed by the firepower arrayed against them. A wall of explosions, which was spiting flaming broken hulks was flying towards the cruiser. A third of the vultures were smashed to rubble when they found themselves without any room to maneuver. Close to another third were unable to evade the armored bulk of the Acclamator and slammed into it. They wrecked some of the gun emplacement but beyond that all they did was to dent the armor. The droid fighter simply had not attained enough velocity to seriously damage the cruiser. I along with my two companions who managed to evade running headlong into the Acclamator pounced gleefully on the disorganized remains of the second vulture wave.

My grin became wider when I saw the assault ship lowering its forward facing ramp and launching fighter squadrons while exchanging broadside fire with the remaining two frigates.

I turned left and shot up a vulture unlucky enough to fly right in front of my fighter.

That's when Mr. Murphy decided to rear his ugly head and end my dog-fighting days in that particular Torrent. My fighter's frame had sustained too much abuse in the short battle and it started falling apart around me. First, the left engine gave up, followed by the cockpit lightning up like a Christmas tree with warning lights. The close encounter with the Acclamator had done much more damage to the underside of my ride that I first thought. I concentrated on the Force and used its energies to stabilize my fighter for few more seconds as I flew along the starboard of the assault ship and headed for its open landing ramp. Around me the Acclamator's shields blazed blue as they struggled to disperse the titanic energies bombarding them. My heart threatened to jump out of my chest – it was beating that fast while I was struggling to pilot the barely responsive Torrent and to maintain its remaining structural integrity by using my will alone.

I was keenly aware of how close my fighter was to shattering under its own momentum. If it had suffered the same damage in atmosphere, I'd be a goner by now. The Torrent was shaking as if I was flying through a hurricane. There were a lot of vital pieces that were still in place and working only thanks to the Force energies keeping them together.

I banked under the nose of the cruiser and my wounded craft managed somehow to remain in one piece (more or less) as I guided it towards the closing ramp. The two still working engines whined piteously for one last time and went quiet forever while I was struggling not to smash into the fast approaching deck.

The canopy covering the cockpit blew away after I struck the plastic covered ejection button. The micro repulsor placed under my seat activated and I was catapulted away from the fighter. By sheer dumb luck the Torrent managed to survive long enough to carry me through the air retaining force field. It hit the hangar deck and rolled around spilling pieces of its fuselage in all direction. The few clones who were near the crash jumped away in search of cover.

My seat tumbled through the air and I was doing my best to gently bring it down (and myself, of course). In the end I telekinetically unlocked the straps keeping me in place and jumped to the floor. It proved far easier than halting the momentum of the spinning chair and floating it down.

Once I was securely on my feet I watched with amusement how my seat bounced off the armored nose of an artillery walker. Then I raised my hands in a non-threatening manner when about a platoon of clones pointed their blasters at me. They did not appreciate my entrance and messing up their orderly ship.

"I am Delkatar Veil. I'm with the Jedi who were escorting Nute Gunray to Coruscant. I want to thank your captain for his timely intervention."

"The captain is not on board. Ensign Piett has command." said a clone lieutenant.

Interesting. Was that Firmus Piett, the fella who would have become a captain and later Admiral under Vader's command, in that future that would no longer happen?

"Lieutenant, please patch me to your commander."

=RK

"This is Ensign Piett, acting commander of the Dauntless. Who am I speaking with?" asked the young officer without moving his eyes from the tactical display. "Target their starboard hangar with the next couple of salvos. I don't want that frigate launching any more small craft."

"This is Delkatar Veil. I am with the Jedi escorting Gunray. "

"And? I hope that this is not a social call. I am a bit busy right now." Firmus nearly snapped at the stranger.

This was his first real space battle, one in which he was in charge of the whole ship, no less. It was no surprise that he was on edge.

"The Viceroy is dead. I want to borrow a few of you LAAT's and visit one of the remaining frigates."

The first thought of the ensign was that this Veil character was insane. Or Jedi. Perhaps both. Then he considered the idea. If the battle continued as it was, soon the Republic would have space superiority and leave only the Munificents as threats. However the bomber wing was decimated and the Dauntless had a third of its heavy guns replaced with additional flack cannons. It was great for dealing with that damn vulture swarm but it also meant that he did not have the firepower to batter the shields of the second Munificent before the frigate escaping if it chose to do so. The other one, with which his ship was trading broadsides was another matter. At this short range the CIS craft did not stand a chance. It was a good thing that the Acclamator class had a novel shield design consisting of multiple redundant generators. That Dauntless a huge advantage versus its enemy in the point blank slugging match they were engaged in.

"Get few gunships out to gather the Tranquility's escape pods before the clankers blow them up out of spite." Piett ordered and then turned his attention on the unexpected guest on his ship. "What are you planning to do with my men, Veil?"

The ensign raised an eyebrow when he heard the idea of the man. It was audacious and explained why he wanted to risk his life for taking a single enemy frigate when the battle was all but won. It was only a matter of time before the Separatist space forces were reduced. Unless heavy enemy reinforcements came in the next six or seven minutes before additional ships from Rodia arrived.

=RK=

Part 4

Republic Assault Ship Dauntless

near Rodia

Outer Rim

To my pleasant surprise Piett agreed to loan me couple of platoons and transports for my idea to go after Grievous who I felt was able to somehow reach the second Munificent. I was able to perceive his location in the last seconds before crashing on this ship but my mind was too busy at the time to consciously comprehend what I felt. But now, when I was not under the great strain needed to suspend the failing apart of my fighter I could feel the cyborg. His was a ghostly presence, not so different by the hundreds of droids manning the enemy frigates. Yet I could feel his general location. If my guess was right, the General had been on the Munificent that lost its aft section while I and most of CAP that came to our help were busy blunting the first fighter wave of the enemy reinforcements. Then, like the kriffing bugger he was, Grievous managed to get away from the crippled ship and fly to the one of the newly arrived frigates.

I wanted his metal hide nailed to the nearest conveniently placed flat surface so I came up with a plan to assault his new ship. Piett had agreed but refused to sent the LAAT's and the clones under his command until the enemy fighter strength was further reduced. As a result I was waiting with the two platoons which the ensign decided to loan me for the head clanker hunt.

I was with lieutenants CT-316 "Cat" of 36th Platoon and SNP-159 "Snape" of the 71st along with their senor NCOs. We were looking at a holographic image of Munificent projected by an emitter placed on a stake of crates. My plan was to disable the reactor of the frigate and thus prevent the ship from running into hyperspace or enacting a self-destruct. The fact that it would also cripple its shields and weapons was the icing of the cake. It also would mean that Piett would send additional forces to help secure the frigate. The Ensign was reluctant to deploy more of the forces he was responsible for before he was reasonably sure that the ship won't be able to either run or be blown away as a final act of spite. When you take into account that at the moment I was just a mercenary with no formal standing with the Republic I was glad that Piett had agreed to back the operation in the first place. After all as far as he was concerned I was an unknown variable. We were discussing what forces would be needed to achieve the secondary objective – capturing the bridge and Grievous if he did not come after us.

"Sir, unless we have more men or Jedi support, we won't be able to go after both targets. Not unless the Munificent is low on ground troops. Both platoons should aim to secure the reactors and only deal with Chief Clanker after additional troops are available." said Cat.

"That's why I said that the bridge is a secondary objective. If Grievous comes after us I'll deal with him. If not, we'll take the reactor and I'll go after him while you hold the engineering section. "I nodded. "I want at least half of the men coming with us to be carrying heavy weapons..."

=RK=

I was relieved when I sensed the presence of Shaak Ti and Ahsoka coming from an escape pod which was brought on board by a pair of LAAT gunships. I ran to the escape pod before it had been placed on the deck, followed by a group of medics. The life boat was filled like a can of sardines. The only hale people were the Jedi Master, a single clone from Green company and couple of doctors. The rest were all wounded in one fashion or another, most of them critically.

Ahsoka, who had her leg splinted gave me a sad smile.

"Please tell me that the worm did not escape." she pleaded.

"Gunray is toast." I gave her reassuring nod. "Master Ti, I plan to go and board the frigate on which Grievous took refuge. The commander of this ship agreed and will provide me with two platoons of clones of this operation. Do you care to accompany me?"

The older Togruta woman gave me a surprised look.

"How do you know that he is present?" she asked, clearly not convinced.

"I felt his presence before landing here. Taking him out will turn this debacle into a disaster for the Separatists. They already lost a lot of hardware for nothing. With Grievous disposed of the Republic will have a strategic advantage in this sector. It may even be enough to slow down or even outright break the current CIS offensive."

"It's a bold plan." Shaak frowned. "But it has merit. You are correct in your assessment of the situation. You should know that the assassin Ventress was on the Tranquility but managed to escape. She might be able to make her way to Grievous."

"Even better." I grinned under my mask.

"Taking out both of them should be beneficial for the Republic." she said after a long moment of silence.

While we were talking, the medics were busy transporting the wounded to the med bay. Tano was arguing with them but shut up when I turned my masked head at her.

"Ahsoka, go get that leg fixed. Right now you are not up to a space borne assault. Go."

She grumbled quietly but complied, to Master Ti's amusement.

"She's a little handful, isn't she?" asked the older Togruta.

"Ahsoka is teenager. Nothing surprising there." I shrugged.

"This is Ensign Piett. The enemy fighter number are sufficiently reduced to allow for your plan, Veil. You are free to deploy at your discretion. Don't get my men killed."

"You heard the boss, boys. Let's go!" I shouted and ran to one of the waiting LAAT's.

"May the Force be with you, Delkatar." whispered Shaak Ti and headed to another of the transports.

=RK=

Six LAAT gunships slid out of the forward ramp of the Dauntless and headed for the only one still intact CIS ship. They flew under the burning hulk of a Munificent frigate which was being pounded to pieces by the turbo-laser cannons of the Acclamator. Five Torrents flew as escorts for the boarding party. Their pilots were dividing their attention between visually scanning the surrounding space and watching the readings of their sensors. The two surviving bombers with their own escort were feinting an attack run at the targeted enemy frigate in order to divert the remaining unengaged enemy fighters and some of the flack cannon fire.

When the troop transports showed themselves under the superstructure of the mission killed Munificent that was the first target of The Dauntless, the Republic assault ship moved over the hulk and unloaded its guns at the side of the last enemy frigate. The targets were the flak cannons which could shoot down the LAATs. The enemy shields held under the first barrage, but the colossal energy discharge scrambled their sensors giving better chances to the clone pilots.

A flight of vultures pounced at the transports but it was shredded by the escorting fighters and the turrets of the gunships. One of the LAAT's was unfortunate enough to run straight into a flack barrage and its passengers, a third of 71st Platoon perished in a short lived explosion.

The gunships and Torrent fighters unloaded a barrage of missiles and laser fire at the shield generators mounted next to the open hangar bay in the middle of the enemy frigate. Small explosions blossomed as the defensive field struggled to disperse the energies assaulting it then failed with a bright flash of light. The generators were repeatedly struck by weapons fire and were annihilated in bluish explosions. The five remaining troopships flew in the hangar bay from which the atmosphere was being vented with a soundless scream. Moments after the last LAAT was inside, massive blast doors slammed shut behind it. On of the gunships strafed the distinct form of the personal fighter of General Grievous, which blew up spectacularly. The cyborg was not getting away that in it.

The first three gunships flew in a triangle formation and sliced to pieces every droid and vulture starfighter on the deck while the other two landed behind them and disgorged ten heavily armed clones apiece. The side doors of the still floating LAATs slid open and cables were thrown out. Two figures jumped out and landed lightly on their feet followed by more clone troopers who descended on the lines.

=RK=

CIS Frigate Midnight Solace

Near Rodia

Outer Rim

My armored boots hit the deck over a pillow made from pure Force. It felt like I was stepping down the stairs instead of jumping from over six meter height. Behind me Shaak Ti did the same and we were followed by rappelling clones.

"Lieutenant Cat, I want a squad of your men as well as the LAATs securing this hangar. It's our exfiltration point. I believe that neither of you wants to check if this ship is equipped with adequate escape pods in case we fuck up."

"Yes, sir!" the clone in overall command of the two platoons snapped a crisp salute.

"Master Ti. Bridge or reactor?" I asked the female Jedi who had came to my side.

"Bridge. I've seen enough of reactors to last me a lifetime." she muttered.

"Suit yourself. Take the 36th platoon with you. Grievous is bound to be on the bridge. I'll deal with the rest." I turned to a clone who had his white armor painted in color signifying his NCO rank. "Sergeant I want the rest of 71st platoon with me."

"Yes, Sir!"

=RK

I found myself leading ground forces natural, reassuring. It was like slipping into a well-practiced role which I knew almost better than myself. It felt like its been too long since the last time I properly stuck it on the ground so to speak.

The clones were moving in two columns along the corridor walls. In the vanguard and rearguard of the group were squads of four men armed with blaster carbines. They were acting as escorts for the heavy weapons teams which were carrying heavy blasters, rotatory cannons and a single missile launcher. That may have appeared as overkill, but I wanted my men to have the firepower to deal with groups of droidekas and Super Battle droids easily.

I was moving at the head of the column with a blazing lightsaber in my right hand. The few B-1s we faced so far fell easily to blaster fire while I deflected their shots back at them. I knew that the easy run would be ending soon. Grievous could not afford to let us take the reactor. Whether we wanted to blow up the frigate or capture it was irrelevant for him. He'd be kriffed anyway.

The first signs of heavier resistance were the ten SB droids which waited for in a nearby side corridor. Their attempt to ambush us failed miserably.

They shot two missiles at us. The projectiles appeared to be something like micro proton torpedoes – after being launched by a launchers mounted in their left arms, they took ellipsoid forms which blazed with light purple flames. My left hand shot forward and I channeled a wave of the Force through it which deflected the projectiles back towards their senders. I jumped back and raised a Force shield between my forces and the group of droids. The missiles detonated behind the leading pair of enemy machines and obliterated two thirds of their numbers. Three of the droids in the back survived somewhat intact but were thrown off their legs. The clone troopers made a short work out of them.

"Deploy mines in this corridor." I ordered and one of the clones who was a demolitions expert and was carrying various goodies that go boom in a huge backpack nodded and hurried to booby-trap the side passage. Unfortunately we had neither the time nor the ordinance to do so with every side corridor on our way. The only reason I wanted those mines laid down was that I was hearing metal legs moving over the deck from that direction. And from the corridor that was leading straight to the reactor I could sense a dark presence approaching...

=RK=

Part 5

CIS Frigate Midnight Solace

Near Rodia

Outer Rim

The direct way to our objective was blocked by a solid wall of Super Battle droids which had a group of four droidekas with deployed shields in front of them. Between the silver combat robots and the leading destroyers stood a lithe figure who was mostly hidden by a heavy black cloak. Her face was disguised with shadows cast by the hood of her mantle.

The clones following me took what little cover they could find and aimed their weapons at the enemies.

"Asajj Ventress. I wondered when I would run into you." I whispered barely restraining my irritation.

She was an obstacle that I did not need right now. Securing the reactors was paramount and the short platoon behind me would be unable to deal with that many droids fast. It was time for improvisation.

'I want a missile and combination of frag and Ion grenades all over them on my signal. I'll make sure that Ventress won't sent them our way.' I sent a mental message to the clones who turned their heads towards me in surprise. I gave them a small nod.

"So you are the man who has my master worried. I expected you to be taller."

I snorted. The idle banter could wait for later when we no longer had audience. I raised my left hand and smirked. Sparks of electricity appeared and started dancing around my palm. Ventress stiffened and took a step back.

The so called Force lightning, more commonly known as Sith Lightning. It was created by the ancestors of my kind a long time ago. Despite some misconceptions and the way it was often used, it was not strictly speaking an offensive power. It was crafted as a way to torture people. Using it as a weapon was inefficient – the lightning needed much more power than the various other offensive techniques Sith had at their disposal in order to make it practical. However if you had the power to burn it was a useful trick to have on your disposal.

I was never interested in senseless torture, the bastards who engineered my wife's death being notable exceptions. Vael's wife damn it!

That's why I modified that technique for my own use. Instead of a wave of 'electricity' which was aimed at creating superficial burns and lighting all your nerves on fire, my variant was more condensed. It was carefully crafted to disable or kill as fast as possible with no power lost to theatrics or unnecessary sadism. Unlike some Sith I knew and had to work with, I knew that war and combat were no games played for one's amusement.

Thin concentrated lighting arched from my outstretched palm. It struck the droideka's shields and staggered the droids. A light tap of my telekinesis was enough to activate my shield. I reversed the grip of my saber to a backhand one and thrust my right hand forward.

"Now!" I shouted.

The Clones were already acting. Grenades were thrown at the wall of robots followed by the distinct sound of missile engine igniting.

Despite its ferocity my lightning attack was little more than distraction. It scrambled the sensors of the destroyer droids and effected at least a bit the targeting capabilities of the SBs behind them. Their return fire was not accurate and my shields absorbed the blaster bolts that hit me. The four clones in the vanguard were not so lucky and fell after enemy shots carved up their armor and seared the flesh within. But it was too late for the droids. I accelerated the missile and grenades with a telekinetic push. What's more I was concentrating on enveloping the ordinance in spheres of Force energy which prevented Ventress attempt to throw the explosives back in our faces. I could feel her shock when she understood that her attempt had failed and death was sailing towards her.

=RK=

Shaak Ti growled quietly. She and the platoon accompanying her were in front of the armored doors leading to the bridge. There Grievous was waiting for them. He had four droids with gray cloaks and armed with staffs as bodyguards and a couple of dozen Super Battle droids as a backup. The general pointed at them.

"Kill them!"

The staff wielding droids jumped forward preceded by a hail of red blaster bolts. The clones wasted no time in returning fire. Master Ti sent a telekinetic wave at the approaching elite robots which halted them mid jump. One of their numbers was bisected by a line of blue energy shot from a blaster cannon wielded by a heavy weapons specialist. Another was staggered when a frag grenade hit it in the chest. It exploded in the next moment shredding the machine. But by then the remaining two elite droids were already in the air. The blast wave just gave the more speed as they flew at the Jedi and her clones.

Shaak Ti sidestepped on of the robots who used its momentum do deliver a powerful overhead strike with its staff. One of the electrified heads of its weapon struck the deck plating and purple energy arched from the place of the hit. Before it could recover from its unsuccessful attack, the droid was shot to pieces by three clones wielding heavy blasters. Those weapons could burn through droideka's shields in few hits. No matter how powerful its armor, the cyborg's guard did not have a chance when faced with such a firepower from point blank range.

The last of the elite droids faced with the Jedi. It waved its weapon in wide arks witch swept three clones off their feet. The Republic troopers were thrown back from the sheer force of the hits and remained laying where they fell.

Master Ti was holding standing her ground. Moving back even a step would leave the clones exposed. As it was the Super Battle droids had to be careful where they were shooting or risk hitting their comrade in the back. Shaak was dodging the sweeping strikes of the staff by hairbreadths. Her own attacks were parried by deft twists of the machine's arms which interposed parts of its weapon between her lightsaber and its body. To her surprise the staff was resistant to her blade.

She ducked under a strike which was aimed at shattering her skull. The sweeping enemy weapon instead hit the helmet of a clone trooper who went down without a sound. That was the fourth of her men that machine downed! For a split second she was gripped by frustration and rising anger. From her kneeling position after evading the last strike of the droid she raised her left hand.

The elite droid was lifted in the air and flailed wildly in surprise. She wasted no time and delivered a powerful upwards strike. She added more strength to her attack by jumping in the air. Her lightsaber hit the machine between the legs and sliced it as if it was made of butter, exiting from the top of its head after bisecting it in two.

Shaak Ti landed over the softly glowing parts of the scrapped droid and looked at the situation. Half of 36th platoon was down but they had decimated more than two thirds of the enemies.

Her satisfaction with the performance of the Clones was short lived. Grievous choose that moment to join the fray. He retrieved two blue lightsabers from the depths of his gray cloak and jumped forward activating them mid-flight. Master Ti smiled at him and charged the cyborg. She rolled under his bulk and used the Force to puck him from the air and smash him in the deck. Blaster bolts splashed over the armor plating covering the General leaving half melted craters.

For the next few seconds the clones had to deal with the cyborg by themselves as the Jedi was busy deflecting blaster bolts and the remaining Super Battle droids. Grievous used that brief respite to jump over the fire of the clones and land in the midst of their vanguard. His blades flashed in semicircles in front of him and the closest four Republic troopers were cut to pieces by a whirlwind of laser swords.

The CIS commander tried to advance towards the remaining clones but found himself unable to do so. He twisted his neck so he could glance backwards and saw that the Jedi was deflecting blaster fire with the lightsaber in her right hand. Her free left arm was pointed at him and its fingers were twisted like claws. She was holding him with the kriffing Force!

That distraction cost him dearly. Grievous roared when a near miss melted a piece of his face mask and burned out his right eye. He stumbled to the ground when his left leg was shot to pieces by a blaster cannon. He threw one of his sabers at the clones but the blade shut down before the faintly smoking hilt hit the chess plate of the armored man to no effect.

Five of the clones shot what at first glance looked like grappling hooks at the crippled cyborg. Each of them was tipped by four digit claws which clamped at the General. A press of a button later Grievous shrieked like a damned soul as electricity coursed through his metal body and the flesh encased within.

=RK=

The front ranks of the droids blocking my and my men's path were annihilated in a series of rumbling explosions and pulses of Ion radiation. In fit of desperation Ventress had jumped forward arching her body over the thin wave of lighting with which I was bombarding the robot's ranks. The combined blast waves picked her and threw her with enough force that she passed through my lightning as struck the ground in front of my feet with a groan. Her cloak was smoking and I knew that if it was not for my helmet I would be able to smell the stench of seared flesh.

I pointed my crimson blade at her throat and smiled.