We were all gathered in the empty cargo bay, as Sarah Honor crossed her arms and looked up at me. "Well, Skipper, we did it. Had to overcharge their power cores, so when unplugged they only last five hours instead of the normal week. And the refire speed is a third of normal, but the droids are now armed. Whatever you did to their programming worked too, as far as I can tell."
Clear Skies dropped out of Hyperspace by the Mon Calamari mining outpost to drop the passengers; a tiny thing, the population was only a few thousand. As soon as we were back in N-space, I dropped a message to the Jedi Council.
The passengers complained and bitched like expected, calling us pirates among other less nice things but off the ship they went. Clear Skies is still on the ground though.
My chief engineer shrugged. "So what's the plan?" and I frowned down at her.
"The plan is that you all get off here as well. I would appreciate if some of you would stay, it would make things easier, but considering the danger...well, you didn't sign up for this" and then I look out over my small crew. "I had Commander Swan prepare severance pay and letters of recommendation for all of you. Anyone that doesn't wish to risk their lives doing something completely silly is free to leave."
The bay is silent for a few seconds, before Icri sighs. "I think I speak for all of us captain, when I say that we are with you. Personally I'm not sure how I will sleep at night with if I just leave" and she gets nods all around.
I look at each of them before I snort and shake my head. "Fools...all of you. But...thanks" before pulling out a pocket holo-projector(well, pocket for me) and display an image in the air above it, of the compound taken from the sensor readings. "The plan is this. We go back to the planet and do an orbit to see if we can hail the Jedi on the com. If that fails, I will try to use the force to locate them...I have never done that before, but I know how the mind of the girl feels, so I might pick her up....if she is alive. Thoughts?"
My XO slowly nods. "Sounds decent so far."
"If they are alive, it's likely they are being held at the compound. The plan is this if they are...the ship flies in under the sensors and drops off the infiltration team two hours of walk west of the wall, where I might have taken out some turrets. While they make their way to the base, the ship circles around and drops the droids off on the other side of the compound. Both groups get into position to be ready to move at the signal."
"Once both groups are ready, the ship will head in and do an attack run with the goal to take out as many turrets as possible, focused on the east wall, as well as break a hole in the western wall for the infiltrators to enter through. As the fighters arrive to drive the ship away, the droids keep the defenders distracted while the team extracts the Jedi. The ship either heads to the hyperlimit and does a two-minute hyperjump or tries to lose the fighters...either way, pickup is at the same place as the dropoff point. Thoughts?"
Samantha Swan frown slightly "Maybe...might work. Who would be on the assault team?" she asks and I nod.
"I was thinking me and you" and she snorts.
"Stupid idea. You stay on the ship, I'm leading the assault team and I want Jack, Mac and Sarah." as I blink down at her.
"Commander, my Glamor..." and she shakes her head.
"Won't do shit against automated defenses and you do not have any combat training. Besides, you are not exactly stealthy."
I sigh and shake my head "Commander, The ability to feel the position of the Jedi would greatly increase the speed of the search."
Swan nods. "Yes and you can radio the position to us from the ship as you do the attack run."
I give her a long look and then nod with a sigh. "Very well, I yield to your wisdom, Khan. I understand Mr. Melton on your team, he is ex-navy, but why Mr. Nevor and Miss Honor?"
Nevor shrugs. "I'm decent with a blaster, Captain. Worked as a bounty hunter for a couple of years" and Samantha nods in confirmation.
"Mainly that. As for Sarah..." and glances at her "If you are willing to join the team, your technical expertise would greatly speed things up in opening doors and similar. Melton can handle the computer side of things."
Sarah swallows and glances at her sister and Tel'te before nodding.
"I'll do it."
While I was less than happy to remain on the ship while sending people into danger, Commander Swan is the expert...and she is also right. I might be many things, but a giant dragon bird is hardly stealthy.
Six hours later, and some adjusting the plan by Commander Swan, we exit hyperspace close to the planet. "Mr. Cormac, standard orbit. Mr. Melton, see if you can hail them."
They both acknowledge the orders and I close my eyes, trying to feel them. It takes a couple of minutes but Jack shakes his head "Nothing, Captain. If anyone is listening on the frequency they are not answering."
I slowly nod as I try to relax. "Everyone, please avoid looking at me or you might turn into a drooling idiot" and they all quickly cover their eyes or in Cormac's case, focus intently forward as I access the force deeper.
The fine control needed to feel on that range is nothing I can possibly do while keeping the glamor under control. As I close my eyes my glamor goes up and I reach out...it's faint but I feel a small...presence.
Nicole is alive...but knocked out.
Opening my eyes I get my glamor under control "It is safe now" and I glance over at Commander Swan as she uncovers her eyes with a small shiver. "At least the Padawan is alive...I think they are in the compound."
She nods. "We are a go then. Melnar, bring us in. Jack, get ready" and they nod before she looks up at me "Captain...good luck." I snort.
"Good luck, Khan. You are the one that will need it."
She gives me a small smile, before turning to walk out from the bridge with Melton following her closely.
I tighten around the pillar and bring the weapons online. No time to install VI gunners, so I run the two bottom turrets, leaving the aft and rear top ones for Icri.
Clear skies goes down slower this time, skimming along the treetops well beneath the horizon from the base until we get in position. The landing was a different matter and we crushed quite a few small trees to do, it but soon the team was away.
Circling around to the other side of the base we drop off the drones(no longer droids), before we move to land to the north of the base to wait for the signals from the groups that they are in position. The wait was the worst thing ever, but at the very least I was able to use it to confirm the location of Nicole. She is still out, but definitely in the compound.
It takes slightly more than two hours before we get the signal from the drones, a few minutes after getting it from the assault team. I tighten slightly around the pillar and bring the weapons online "Mr. Cormac, bring us in."
He glances back at me before nodding. "Aye, Captain. Beginning attack run" and Clear skies lifts off the ground, heading towards the compound as low as possible.
As soon as we get in the range I open fire, raking the top of the walls to try and damage as many turrets as possible, while the pilot brings the ship into almost a slide to bleed off speed as we do a full circle of the compound. As I blast a hole through the west wall, Icri uses the tailgun to take out as many defenses as possible along with the east one just as the droids clear the treeline, their weapons opening up at the defenses as well.
Icri shifts her fire towards the north wall's turrets, as Cormac brings the ship around to escape.
"Got fighters incoming!" he reports, as I close my eyes for a second before nodding and opening a channel.
"Khan, the target is in the south block, west section" before closing it down and walking the fire of my turrets across the north wall. "Take us out of here, Mr. Cormac.��
As Clear Skies accelerates away, the fighters swoop in. They are much faster and this time we didn't run in time.
They pound our shields all the way through the atmosphere, and the only reason we survived is Cormac's crazy flying and the silly amount of fire we put back in their direction, so they wouldn't get any good attack runs lined up.
But this time they don't turn away as we reach the atmosphere, they keep coming. "Mr. Cormac, how far to hyperlimit?" I ask while trying to blast down one of the six fighters only for it wheel out of my arc of fire.
"At least ten minutes. Shields down to 30%"
Icri lets out a small yelp, as one of her turrets is nailed and the ship shudders. "Turret is out!" and switches her attention to her remaining source of the fire. "Captain, I don't think we will make it."
I sigh and send another flurry at a fighter, causing it to dive away instead of shooting at us before I shake my head. "I know. But unless we do, the group on the ground is boned. We must make it through this."
The ship shudders hard again. "Direct hit on the starboard engine, power loss! Drive cut by 70%!" Cormac reports while struggling with the controls. "We are dead."
I swallow and then trigger the comms system. "Ceasefire, we surrender!" I transmit to the fighters. When I reach the word 'We' something changes.
"Contact!" Cormac yells out, as something huge red and white flashes into view almost directly in our path.
It's a Carrack-class Republic Navy Light Cruiser.
The Cavalry has arrived.