-9:15 PM, July 6th, 2054-
Well, it couldn't be smooth sailing forever. We ran into a problem. Nothing had gone wrong… yet.
About a half an hour ago, ANV Alpha Team reported that they had completed their objective but couldn't proceed any further. Their objective was basically the same as ours; take the enemy positions.
At that moment, we had officially taken 8 of the 9 enemy FOBs. This left one more. However, this last one would pose a much larger problem than the others.
ANV Alpha team had taken 3 of the 8 FOBS we now had. On top of that, they had also stolen the enemy's logistics vehicles. This has allowed us to keep moving our lines forward without compromising the integrity of our rear patrols.
Their actions had proven that they live up to their title as ANV special forces. Guild special forces was something that I had come up with shortly before we moved out. They were the best of the best in our guild.
These elite teams were to be named with phonetic callouts, hence Alpha team. Each team would have 14 operators and 2 officers or elders. This means that these 26 teams would be the best strike groups in the entire guild.
Currently, we only had one special forces team with Tomas leading it. Paula and Olga from the hunting quest were also a part of the team. Paula was second in command. Sirius was with them as well but only temporarily.
Even worse, they only had 9 members so far of the 16-person cap. They'd be full in no time after we take into account the various accomplishments our guild members had during this operation. I was confident that there'd be many standouts.
This was all well and good, but our problem remained to be the last enemy position. They had set up a main base with heavy fortifications and an airstrip. On top of that, they had several freighters. While they wouldn't help much in a ground battle, they still had light weapons.
There were tall walls, heavy weapons, AA emplacements, and an undetermined number of enemies. On top of that, it was about a mile across. Built in several compartmentalized layers, it was a bona fide death trap.
I was standing in the cockpit of a tank with a bunch of holograms projected from the dashboard in front of me. Everyone in our command structure was on this call and we were all examining a map of the enemy base.
Rachel shook her head. "A frontal assault is out of the question. Our three-pronged approach won't work either. We just don't have the resources to apply the sustained pressure that is needed for this. It will be hard enough already to get the tanks across the river with there only being one bridge. I have no doubt they did that on purpose."
Violet nodded. "Agreed. They definitely laid mines on it. We can't afford to take that gamble. Our only option is to disable their emplacements facing the bridge. Once that is done, we can safely sweep for mines and then cross the bridge."
Rachel nodded slowly in response. "Yes, that could work. We need to cripple the base from the inside. Otherwise, we have no hand to play."
A smirk slowly crept onto my face. "Why even use the bridge? Let's just steal their freighters!"
Violet shook her head. "What about the AA emplacements? I have no doubt that they'll destroy their own ships before letting us have them."
I shrugged. "They didn't feel that way about their logistics vehicles. Why would it be any different for a bunch of barely armed freighters?"
Violet rolled her eyes. "Soryn, they are ships with hyperdrives."
I shook my head. "Whatever. Same difference. Anyways, don't worry about the AA emplacements. Just get me 2 speeders and send my droid."
-9:32 PM-
*WHOOSH*
The river was parted in two places at once as we crossed it on our speeders. We were easily going 100 MPH.
Fortunately, I had goggles on. Otherwise, I would have probably been blinded by the raindrops that were hitting like bullets.
The wet grass and puddle covered ground sprayed a mist in our trail, completely obscuring the terrain.
*BOOOM*
With the storm being on top of us, the thunder and lightning had almost no separation. With a crash, the forest just ahead was illuminated for a brief moment. All it did was reveal that the forest was there. The tree cover was so dense that the interior of the forest was pitch black.
As we were about to enter the forest, I flipped a switch on the handle of my speeder, turning the headlights on. We were now weaving between trees, so it wasn't an option to be flying blind.
I tapped a button on my wrist and spoke through local comms. "Eyes up. We're almost there."
Just 20 seconds later, we came to a stop. I turned off the headlights and got off the speeder. Something was here. I wasn't sure what, but I felt its presence through the force. I could only hope that it was what I was here for.
Within just a few seconds of disembarking from the speeder, several flashlights flicked on, shining right into our eyes. I was briefly blinded.
However, I didn't panic since I could feel that these were my allies.
A familiar voice sounded out from the darkness. "Stand down, commander on deck."
Several voices then called out in unison. They were neither too loud nor too quiet. "General."
Then, a voice suddenly came from right behind me. "Master."
I spun around in an instant, nearly shitting myself from being startled. "Jesus fucking Christ, how did you get there?!?"
Sirius shrugged as he sheathed his sword. Just behind Sirius was HK, slowly removing an obnoxiously long hidden blade from next to my padawan's neck.
With my shock slowly subsiding, I heard footsteps approaching from behind me. This time, I turned around slowly. I was barely able to recognize my best friend through the darkness and… face paint? I couldn't even tell.
Regardless, I pulled him into a hug. "Man, it's good to see you."
Tomas patted my back and pulled out of the hug. "Can't disagree with that. We haven't done enough together. This should be fun!"
I chuckled and wiped some of the rain from my face. "I sure hope it will be. Been doing the same shit over and over again all day. Get in the tank, get out of the tank, kill some assholes, and then repeat."
Tomas chuckled and glanced at his team. I was able to feel the comfort and pride in his gaze. It would seem that he had taken a liking to this rag tag group. "Don't worry, dude. We'll spice up your day."
I smiled. "Well, Major, you're the team leader. What's the plan?"
He turned and gestured towards the speeders. "Dante, Reeves, park those speeders behind the camp." He then turned back to me. "Let's grab a seat, shall we?"
I nodded and held my arm out. "Lead the way."
We started walking together as everyone on his team formed a perimeter. Sirius broke from their formation and quietly followed behind me.
Tomas glanced back at Sirius who was following behind me like a timid puppy. "These three you sent me are the most impressive freaks I've ever seen."
I raised my brow in curiosity despite not being surprised in the least. "Tell me about it."
I guess that he took my words literally since he chuckled and began to explain. "Oh I will. Paula is an absolute demon with a sniper in her hands. Apparently, she was a specialist in the Army and did two tours in Russia. She claims to have 146 confirmed kills. Honestly, I believe her."
"Then there's Olga, who is an absolute fucking unit. In the most recent battle, she ripped an AB emplacement from the ground and started mowing them down."
"And don't even get me started on Sirius. The kid is a ghost. In that same battle, he assassinate the CO, the next CO, the next CO, and then the CO after them! Their command structure was in shambles."
I sighed. "I knew they were good, but not this good. We have unearthed some gems. The force must have will for me to meet them."
Tomas shook his head. "Sirius is going to make for a scary Jedi. Has there ever been a Jedi assassin? I've only heard of Sith assassins."
I shrugged. "What does it matter? The kid is too innocent and his will is too tempered for him to fall to the dark side. His heart is the purest I've ever seen."
He nodded in response. "I definitely agree. I do have to ask something of you that could greatly increase our chances of success on this mission, though."
I looked at my friend with a casual expression. "What's up?"
Tomas sighed and looked away. "I would like for Sirius to borrow one of your lightsabers."
This… I almost said no without even thinking. This was a hard decision to make. With careful thoughts, I started leaning towards denying his request.
I wanted to shake my head and say no without any hesitation. I was nervous about him using my lightsabers in particular. A lightsaber was a part of the one who built it. They hold some of the darkness that is buried within me.
That darkness could influence my padawan. If it was a lightsaber belonging to almost any other Jedi, I wouldn't have any qualms.
I remained silent as we continued to walk. I was still in deep thought. Slowly, I realized that Sirius wasn't as innocent as I was making him out to be. Throughout his life, he has suffered in ways that I could never comprehend. The fact that he wasn't a bitter and pessimistic person proved how fortified his mentality was. He was many times more steadfast than me.
On top of all that, he is a significantly better swordsman than me. With all of that together, the decision was basically being made for me. No matter how important my lightsabers were to me, they meant nothing if I couldn't get off of Kessel alive.
I held out my left hand and tugged on my lightsaber through the force. It smacked into my palm, sticking like glue.
I then stopped walking and turned around, looking into Sirius' eyes. "Padawan, I need you to listen carefully."
Stepping closer to Sirius, I grabbed his shoulder with my empty right hand. "Having your own blades, you undoubtedly understand the importance with which I hold my lightsabers. I won't waste my words on that."
I tightened my grip on his shoulder, resulting in him squirming slightly under my strength. "However, you must be careful. If you feel that you are losing control of your emotions… even just a little bit, you must inform me immediately. Coexisting with ones darkness is no simple matter."
Sirius took a deep breath and blinked. Resolution was beaming from his eyes. "Yes, master."
I sighed and held my lightsaber out. "Take good care of her."
Sirius nodded and gently grabbed it. With a moment of hesitation on my part, I let go and relinquished it to him. After some silence between us, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Then, I turned around and continued walking.