Chap. 58 - Assault on Ryloth

This would undoubtedly be the most dangerous maneuver Icarus had ever calculated. The presence of a ship as large as a Munifecent would not go unnoticed for long near the core planets. The simple fact of not running into an enemy fleet inside the Corellian Corridor was already quite a miracle. They did not know how many enemy ships they would face. The chancellor said it was just an Arquitent cruiser, but it's been a long time since they've seen the Twi'lek. It is possible that there was now a whole fleet waiting for him. Was it... a trap? Impossible. Her presence had gone unnoticed all this time. There is no one in the empire who could foresee this assault. Only Grand Admiral Tarkin would be able to do it, but he was on the other side of the galaxy, and according to his data, there is no one capable of equaling him. But worst of all was the uncertainty. They were risking so much to save so little. How many rebels could they rescue? A dozen? Hundreds? Thousands? Did they even know if there were any survivors? All these unknowns really worried the super tactical droid.

So... why was he doing it? Icarus always take plans with great caution. It was not like the organic, impulsive and erratic. So... why did he plunge into the unknown when there were so many variables at play? There was so much to lose, so little to gain. The only answer to himself that gave him comfort was: "Hope."

A somewhat strange concept for a droid, since his cold calculations gave no room for hope. Still he had her. How influential had the organics been to affect his own functioning? Or perhaps... was it a feeling of his own? Either of the two answers was highly enigmatic and disconcerting, and above all, worrying.

Mirana: General. We're just minutes away from exiting hyperspace. -

Icarus: - Understood. Once we get out I want all shields reinforced to the front. Bow and starboard batteries ready. Warn unit TR-1 to prepare for landing. Doom unit, you will lead the frigate to sector 13. -

Doom:-Roger. Roger. -

Mirana: - Understood, general. -

Icarus: - Boil, Bly. He left operations on the ground in his charge. -

Boil: - Yes, general. -

Bly:-He can count on us. -

Icarus: - Very good. Everyone to your posts. -

The clones hurried out of the command cabin to head to their battalions. Mirana did the same towards the hangars, his Trident ship would be the leader of the Vulture fighters. And just like that, the ship came out of hyperspace. Directly ahead was Ryloth, his target, and Icarus' worst fear had been realized.

Dom: - Oh no. -

His superstitions were true. He was no longer a single Arquitens, there were three. Much more than they expected. While a Munificent could take them on and perhaps be victorious, that was not in the plans. Sacrificing the integrity of the only available ship to take down three small cruisers was far from a victory. The Empire had hundreds, if not thousands of larger and more powerful ships. Escape without major damage was the only victory Icarus could hope for. Time began to play against him.

Icarus's calculations as always were ridiculously accurate. The frigate got so close to Rylot's atmosphere upon exiting hyperspace that they were able to dispatch the troop carriers without even giving the enemies time to notice their presence. At least they took the lead in this framework of war.

Meanwhile, inside the Imperial flagship:

Officer: - Admiral. An unidentified ship has come out of hyper3space and... or by the Emperor... it can't be! -

Cress: - What the hell is happening!? -

Officer:-She's a Munificent Sir! She's a Separatist ship! -

Cress: - It can't be... -

He looked at the admiral in astonishment through the window. He couldn't believe it. All those things were supposed to be in the junkyard. How is it possible that she was still an operative? Who the hell were those?

Cress: - What's happening?! -

Officer: - The unidentified ship seems to be launching transport vehicles over land! -

Cress: - Declare maximum fin! Alert ground units! Code Red! Launch all fighters! -

Officer: Enemy fighters are coming!

Officer 2: Impossible! It's too soon!

Cress: We have a traitor. To all ships! Activate the listeners! -

A sudden jolt left everything inside the Arquitens on the ground. The cruiser right next to her took a turbolaser shot straight into the cockpit and a series of head-on explosions ripped through the entire ship, rocking the rest of the cruisers hard.

Cress: ‐ ACTIVATE THOSE DAMN SHIELDS! -

The Munificent kept firing with everything she had. The surprise attack managed to give them some advantage, but it was still two against one. Now with the shields of the activated Arquitens the battle would reach a stalemate in which it would be seen which of the shields would overheat first.

Doom: - BOOM. Take that, imperial dogs. -

Icarus: - Where did you learn that? -

Doom: - Commander Mirana says it all the time. -

Icarus:-No, she doesn't. -

Mirana: - "Take that, imperial dogs." - Her voice was suddenly heard on the communicator.

Icarus: - I'm struck by lightning. - He faked a sigh. - Units. Status report.

At that moment several communication lines were opened inside the control cabin.

Mirana: - This is code red. Multiple enemy fighters approaching. Ready to intercept. -

Alpha: - White code in position. Reconnaissance unit deployed. The Kestrel Nova returns to home position. -

Boil: - Yellow code in position. Battalion two in waiting position. -

TR-1: - Silver code in progress. The last armored units are being deployed. -

Icarus: - Very good. To all units, you know what to do. Good luck. -

All: - Yes, sir. -

The call for Mirana ended abruptly. The two swarms of fighters met at the midpoint of the space battle. Mirana led the central front along with several organic pilots and a handful of droid starfighters. Typhon and Lance were on the flanks, where the largest number of Vulture fighters were concentrated. The strategy was simple: air domination.

The perfect line of Tie squads failed to foresee when the enemy's central flank veered off course and they let them push deep into their defenses. The Imperial pilots couldn't help but laugh at the stupidity of their enemies. Now they could get right at the enemy's flagship. They only had to protect the bombers to the attack zone and they had already won. But... where were the bombers?

In a space battle keeping track of all the factors and different ships was impossible, but not for a mechanical unit. The Vulture completely ignored the TIE fighters and pounced on the bombers to the rear. Almost none managed to survive the first blaster exchange, and the few that did survive were shot down later on.

The TIE pilots were faced with a choice. Go ahead and try to attack the enemy ship, or go back and engage the droids. To his dismay, the squad leaders could not agree. Only half of the starfighters continued towards the Munificent to try to shoot it down, the rest turned and faced the droids in space.

With the forces divided their chances were reduced to zero. And much more when the squadron of rebel pilots returned after their supposed "retirement." Mirana led his team as a shower of fire over the enemy formations. The TIEs couldn't even realize what was happening as more than half their forces went up in flames from enemy fire. The fighters that retreated could at least hold out and he was putting up a good fight with the drodies. A thought passed through the general's circuits.

"This time I'll take the upper hand, damn Cress."

Meanwhile, on land:

TR-1: - Commander Boil, battalion one is ready to advance. Waiting for orders. - He was speaking on the comm.

Boil: - Understood. The reconnaissance team reports a large number of targets en route to their position. Deploy your troops and prepare for battle. We will go north. Hopefully there's still someone to save. -

TR-1: - Roger. Roger.

Boil: -Bly? Do you receive me? -

Bly: - Loud and clear, Commander. -

Boil: - Any news? -

Bly: - Negative. Our team is waiting. -

Boil: - Very good. To all ground units. advance. -

Bly / TR-1: - Aware. -

The attack on the planet would be concentrated on the plains around the capital city of Ryloth. An area born where a large number of mines were concentrated where the population was forced to work until death.

The droid battalion would be the bulk of the army and the main distraction. Bly will lead half of the organic battalion to the south. His objective will be to take over or disable the communications networks long enough for the duration of the assault. Hopefully they might find something useful in the Empire's archives.

Finally Boil will attack from the north, the true objective of the attack. Alpha and the Punitive Guard commando droids would stand by and jointly take over the prison complex. According to the information provided by Senator Piest Winds, but thousands of citizens had been imprisoned, many of them simply on a whim.

TR-1: - Commander. The first battalion has just made contact with the enemy. We have managed to take two mines from Ryll and we are extracting everything possible.- They spoke through the communicator.

Boil: - Excellent. Bly. What is your status? -

Bly: - They are giving us everything! we will not be able to still...! The sound of a small explosion from his position shakes him. - Shit! We have the wall in front of our noses! But we can't do anything! -

Boil: - Resist captain. Help is on the way. -

Alpha: - Commander. We're done. Ready to execute new orders. -

Boil: - Just in time black leader. Head south and support the captain. Be careful not to harm civilians within the city. -

Alpha: - Roger. Roger. -

Bill: - Good. Everything is going according to the general's plan. -

By the time Boil and half of the 2nd Battalion reached the north wall of the city, they were met with no resistance. Running the entire stretch of rocky plain to reach the walls without a single shot being heard. The gates were open, and the interior of the city presented a chilling scene for some.

Less more than the civilians were confined to their homes, or they would have seen how terrifying the commando droids could be. Boil's group found hundreds of Stormtrooper corpses everywhere. That didn't even seem to have been a fair battle, but more of a slaughter.

Soldier: - By Force! Did they do all this? -

Soldier 2: - Those droids are terrifying. -

Boil: - They have no idea... Enough talk. They already know what to do. On going. -

The defenders of the prisons could do little before the great mass of militiamen commanded by the clone that attacked the facilities. A large group entered the underground complex and freed the thousands of prisoners who were leaving the compound and awaiting instructions.

Boil: - Once they are all there we will take them out through the same north door and we will take them to the extraction zone. I want everyone to be ready to go at any moment. -

The commander was giving instructions to his captains and lieutenants when a group of prisoners approached where he was. Boil looked in amazement and joy at the dozen unarmored but blaster-wielding clones approaching his position. One clone stepped forward, and I spoke for the rest.

Clone: - Captain! I hope I'm not being disrespectful, but we want to join the fight if necessary. -

Boil: - Don't be fooled by the insignia on this old armor from a war of the past. Still, any help is welcome. What's tour name? -

Clone: - Captain Howser. My boys and I are ready to serve. -

Boil: - Welcome aboard, captain. -

The two clones got on with quick explanations when a voice shook Boil. The clone turned astonished, incredulous and believing that what his eyes were showing him was impossible. A tear covered by the helmet slipped from his eyes when he saw who it was.

????: - Nera? -

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I apologize for the delay, but the holidays are over for me and my free time has been reduced considerably. I hope to get chapters out as soon as I can, but writing three stories at once will also be a problem. In any case, I can assure that these stories will never be incomplete; so it took me a couple of years to finish them.