Episode VI: Planetfall

“THREE-AND-A-HALF standard hours till we’re there,” Zeb said casually from behind me, before rising to leave the cockpit, heading back off to probably the engineering and maintenance station near the back of the ship.

“Okay guys,” I said over the onboard speakers, “we’ve got three-and-a-half standard hours till we arrive at Kashyyyk. Stay strapped in and be ready for anything in case something goes wrong.”

“Copy,” came Aegeon’s voice.

“10-4,” said Hector, sounding a bit more enthusiastic than the former.

The time rolled slowly by, but my senses never seemed more acute, more ready for something to go awry. I played scenarios in my head; the last being a mechanical failure throwing us out of hyperspace, Zeb’s face being knocked by the sheer force into the console in front of him, and me checking systems and attempting to wake him from unconsciousness as we were mere moments away from being torn apart inside an asteroid field, the Scarlet spinning out of control as rocks began ripping her apart..

I tried to calm my mind. Everything is going to be fine.

I’d never been in this situation before. I realized that in all my time pickpocketing, working bounties, being shipped from planet to planet as a slave, I had never been involved in something so imminently life threatening as this: a battle between some of the largest factions in the galaxy? I laughed and almost shed a tear at the thought simultaneously.. then looked around the cockpit.. seeing my golden chance dice swaying gently as they dangled from the switch to the cargo elevator lights. I thought of Han Solo, flying his Millennium Falcon into the famed battle of Yavin, and I wondered if fear ever crept in for him as well..

“Beep! Beep!” The alert signal shook me out of the thought and brought me back to the present.

“This is it!” was all I could form, speaking into the comm speaker, and a moment later, the ship lurched back into realspace. Before us, the enemy fleet stood, floating ominously in space just over the green-and-blue planet below… Kashyyyk. I plunged the Scarlet into full-throttle as allied starships: the Keldabe, multiple Corvettes, the red Star Destroyer, and others simultaneously appeared out of hyperspace.

“Scarlet! You have your orders. Assist the transport ships in making planetfall!” came the Advisor over comms inside the cockpit.

“Copy, I see them!” I replied as I maneuvered toward the three large transport ships making a beeline for Kashyyk’s atmosphere. Turbolaser blasts came dangerously close as we flew at top speed past ships of all sizes. Our allied star destroyer sent volleys back at the enemy with its multiple batteries, but there was no time to enjoy scenery. As I raced the Scarlet across the battlefield, I threw evasive maneuvers to the wind as I put all power toward speed and cut straight through to our allies in need of assistance as they dove toward the planet. The fleets were closing in on each other, and the laser blasts seemed to get closer by the second.

“This is Vector Force, we’ve taken a direct hit!” came a Calamarian’s voice from over comms. “We’re going down!”

“Shields are badly damaged! I repeat, shields are badly damaged! This is The Beckoning, we’re pulling back!”

Losses were being reported from allied forces.. The enemy fleet’s size was unmatched at the moment. Our allies were only a diversion. We needed to make planetfall.

“This is the Scarlet Estoc. We’re with you, transports. Let’s go!” I yelled over comms at our allies as we caught up and matched their formation and vector.

“Killik. Scanner. Enemies approaching from port,” Zeb said from behind and to my right at his station.

I checked the scanner. Three enemy fighters were approaching, moving quickly toward us.

“Zeb. Shields forward.”

“Copy.”

“Guys we’re going in, we’ve got three fighters coming up, I’m moving to attack position.”

“Got it,” said Hector.

“Ready,” said Aegeon.

I had already split off from the transport party, directing myself at the fighter closest to the Scarlet, and readying a Concussion Missile, excited to see just what the payload would deliver..

I fired the moment the fighter was dead in my sights, the missile streaking off straight ahead. A moment later the fighter was rocked by the explosion.

“Critical hit!!” I yelled as the enemy’s cockpit began smoking and sparking, the pilot breaking off pursuit and charting course for his nearest docking bay. Two more fighters remained, closing in quickly upon us.

Hector began firing the Quad-Laser Turret at the next enemy as they came overhead, hitting their underside and scoring several hits.

I recognized the fighter as it passed, its ally heading straight for me as I began evasive maneuvers, ducking into a roll and diving away further from the transports I was protecting. These were Bes’Uliiks: Mandalorian-made, sleek, cutting-edge starfighters who individually were at least as capable if not moreso than the aging HWK-1000 I was flying, meaning my concussion missile leaving one disabled had been pure luck..

“Scarlet, we’re on our way!” came a voice over comms from one of my allied starfighters, and I glanced at my scanner system, three allied fighters were on their way to help. But it may not be soon enough.

The Scarlet shook violently as shots made their way through its shields and scored on the hull. Sensors immediately went haywire and lights began flashing inside the interior.

“Zeb!” I yelled.

The dug was already out of his safety straps and moving at a rushed pace towards the engineering/maintenance station. I attempted to maneuver out of the sights of the pilot who’d just hit the Scarlet, but just as soon was blasted again by the other Bes’Uliik, and the Scarlet shuddered once more, taking more direct fire. The smell of smoke and burnt circuitry made its way quickly through the ship to the cockpit.

As the last fighter to score hits jetted by, flying just underneath us, Aegeon pulled the trigger on the Light-Ion cannon, firing shot after shot at the speeding fighter, missing only by what seemed like inches as the fighter pulled its nose upwards and whooshed past the bow of the Scarlet. I yanked the controls into a climbing vector and chased the enemy fighter, right on its tail. Concussion Launcher now reloaded, I readied another missile, and the moment struck, the enemy now perfectly in line for a hit.

“Firing!” I said as the trigger was pulled, and I watched it run straight into the stern of the Bes’Uliik, the explosion’s blast rattling the Scarlet as I pulled back the controls, looping back toward our other enemy. As I did, I saw the pilot of the just-hit craft gaining back control of the starship and begin circling back to make another pass.

Hector began firing once more on the upcoming enemy that the Scarlet was now heading straight for, but as he did, the pilot seeming to sense the danger, the craft made a snap-roll, barely avoiding the four-shot burst of the Quad-Turret and sending back a volley of its own. Just as I maneuvered to avoid the incoming shots, the enemy vehicle was struck. A blast, then another, as the Bes’Uliik was hit by impact after impact, exploding into a smoldering ball of flames, ceasing forward motion almost instantly as it began drifting backwards toward the nearby planet, under the influence of its gravity.

“Whooo!” Aegeon screamed from his gunnery seat as three XJ-3 Stealth X Fighters screamed by, firing another volley of what looked like proton torpedoes at the remaining enemy fighter, the pilot immediately climbing into a loop and speeding away toward a small field of asteroids nearby as he attempted to lose the lock the three missiles had on his craft.

“About time you guys show up!” I said, a smile across my face.

“Yeah, well, next time let us know what you’re doing first. We have to ask for orders.”

“That’s too bad.” I replied sarcastically, interior damage-warning lights still flashing as I began joining up in formation again with the fighters and making way to the transports that were now halfway between the fleet battle behind and the green-blue world ahead.

“Scarlet, this is Advisor Tribunis. I understand your ship has been damaged. We are changing your mission on-planet in accordance with this information.”

“Thank you, Advisor.”

“Once the transport ships have made planetfall, you are now to follow the beach spinward, around the battle. Do not engage the ground emplacements. We are sending you coordinates for where you are to land. There, you will meet with a group of allies on-planet and go on foot to make an assault on a central bunker, which lies inside a network of caves. The assets on the ground will help guide you. Tribunis, out.”

“Guys, looks like a change of plans,” I said over comlink to the group. “Looks like we’re now flanking the battle, we’ll be landing and going in on foot. Do not engage before we’ve landed. Orders from the Advisor.”

“Much better,” said Aegeon over comms.

“Copy,” said Hector, possibly disappointed over hardly getting to really get the hang of the Quad-Turret yet.

The emergency lights quit flashing, and a standard-minute later, Zeb walked back into the cockpit from the back of the ship. “I’ve done all I can for now. There’s a few spots that are gonna need more attention before we get into another fight with this thing.”

I nodded, hoping that wouldn’t be the case.

Within moments, we were making our way through the humid, dense atmosphere of the forested planet Kashyyyk, home of the Wookies. Laser fire and explosions could be seen below through the viewport’s transparisteel. The Scarlet shook from atmospheric currents, worse off than normal from its sustained damage, as it dove toward the battle.

Shots began pinging off shields as enemy Mandalorian troops on the ground, the Protectors, began taking their attention away from the Wookies they were in combat with, realizing things were about to get much worse.

“We can take it. Do not engage.” I repeated over comlink as I pulled out of the steep dive at the last moment, pulling into a hovering position above the water, transport ships now landing and releasing their armored crew out into the fight, blaster rifles streaking rounds of laser fire off into the distance, suppressing the enemy as they made their way toward cover. Jedi joined the fray as well, moving into position, sabers ignited, deflecting incoming blaster bolts, once or twice even directing them back to their origin, taking out the firing stormtrooper, or in the case of the Mandalorian Protectors, pinging harmlessly off the armor they wore.

The Imperial Remnant were using various AT units to repel our incoming assault, blast after blast erupting from their chin-mounted dual heavy-laser turrets. An allied transport ship turned, maneuvering into position so that the rear of the ship faced the mechanized threats, its landing bay exposed; a cannon of some sort pointing out of it. The cannon fired, its projectile scorching through the air, striking an AT-AT (or All-Terrain Armored Transport) directly in its side, the blow’s momentum forcing it off-balance and causing it to tip, the highly-trained pilots inside attempting to pull out last-millisecond maneuvers; the gigantic machine toppled - flames, sparks, and circuitry bursting from its exposed staging area. The source of the shot emerged from it’s transport’s bay: a bi-pedal walker, equipped with a cannon arm, the other an armored hand; the pilot jumped the walker from its aerial position hovering over the sea of Kachirho, plummeting with great speed and weight, and landing in the surf of the beach, the ocean water jetting upwards then scattering as it dispersed.

“Alright, we’re good. Scarlet out!” I shouted over inter-ship comms as I throttled the Scarlet back up toward atmosphere and around to the coordinates given. The battle passed by on our port side, and it looked as though the plan might work.. The allied troops along with the Wookies already in-combat were now giving the Protectors along the beach a run for their money. As we stayed on course, we carefully entered the forest of Kashyyyk, inching our way along.

It was an impressive sight: trees the size of mountains, their tallest branches seeming to reach out into space, yet suspended by roots that must have gone halfway to the planet’s core.. a jungle unlike anything I’d ever seen. I now understood why these allied assets on-ground would be essential; without a guide, this forest was beyond extraordinary, and could swallow you whole within its depths. I set down the Scarlet in a clearing between a number of the massive trees, and shut down its systems. With a look to Zeb, we began removing our safety harnesses and prepared to disembark, checking blaster pistols and rifles for charge. Our allied Wookies were already gathering near the Scarlet’s entrance ramp, though I had not seen a single one of them on our way in. They seemed to materialize from the lush surrounding forest. A tall Wookie with aging fur, a sign of an incredibly long lifespan, stood at the front of the group as they received us, a translating device hung at his waist, clipped to a utility belt of sorts.

“Greetings allies. I am Zil,” came a strangely young-sounding robotic voice from the translator as the leading Wookie began speaking in Shyriiwook, gesturing with his large arms as he spoke. “Thank you for coming. We must move quickly however, if we are to reach the destination in time. We must move on foot since you beings have no way of traversing the wroshyr.”

“You mean those?” I pointed upwards at one of the massive trees.

“Yes,” came the Wookie’s device as he spoke and nodded.

“We’re ready,” Hector said, disembarking, nodding to the Wookies. He held his BlasTech industries DLT-19 WR loosely by one hand, surveying the trees and growth beyond our position. The heavy blaster rifle originally made during the first galactic civil war had been one of many purchased by those on his home planet of Waldwelt, and seeing that some were broken or missing parts, they’d been refurbished by Waldweltian gunsmiths, explaining the wooden stock and grip making his somewhat of a custom-build.

We gathered around and just behind the furred beings as they led us quietly yet quickly through the dense underbrush; no paths were available in this realm of the forest. The Wookies had grown as part of this world, using the wroshyr trees as an extension of themselves to move with great ease through the expansive jungles which made up most of the planet. The Wookie now leading the group was a younger one, slashing and hacking with a metal blade through the variety of flora which stood in our way as we trudged, checking all sides for danger, toward the battle of Kachirho.

After maybe 20 standard minutes Zil raised a hairy paw and made a fist, the accepted signal for “hold position” across many worlds and systems. The group relayed the signal until all had stopped; some crouched to gain a bit of cover. With a few sounds, and a curving, sweeping motion of his arm, Zil ordered the other Wookies to split off from the group, forming two flanks arcing to the left and right, which would then converge ahead on the target location. He then turned to us, turning a knob slightly on his translator before cooing his shyriiwook softly, quietly, as the device emitted the Basic equivalent in recognition. “There are enemies ahead. Trandoshan slavers. We must move up quietly and attempt to subdue them.” The graying Wookie turned to each of us as it searched for a response. We nodded firmly in response. The allied Wookies had already disappeared into lush forest without a sound. The group, now totalling just five, rose and began moving more cautiously than ever before, toward the location indicated, though as I continued along I wondered just how good the Wookies sense of smell was to be able to detect such a threat in as humid and stench-covered a place as this; standing water, buzzing insectoids, and encroaching varieties of plant life caused me to wish I didn’t have olfactory senses at all. At least I could have plugged my nose, had I known.

A dripping began, which quickly turned to an immense downpour, eroding the reaches of our vision. Droplets made their way down, bouncing, falling, through layers upon layers of forest. Through gaps in green leaves, down riverways of cracks in bark, we were given the leftovers of precipitation coming from thousands of stories above.

Moving slowly, I began to feel a sense of dread. Ferns brushed my face as I continued following the group toward the rear. Boots sunk with varying degrees relative to weight of the wearer, squelching in thick wet mud. Sounds came from every direction. Ahead, closer and closer, was a cave’s entrance. Blackness emanated from its depths. Aegeon stopped momentarily beside me. Closing his eyes, he seemed to sink away from the group, to some far away place.. I tried to watch him for some sign but continued onward, toward the cave. It seemed to call me. I was so curious about what I would find inside; the deepest black wishing to fill my vision. A synchronization of the group was felt. We continued past Aegeon, leaving him just behind us, as we hunted for the slavers we were almost upon.

The moment came and went. Gone before it had even arrived.

A blaster bolt, red and furious with energy, flew from the cave’s mouth. Aegeon opened his eyes with a threatened look only a moment before the blast hit him. It pinged harmlessly off his armor, leaving only a scorch-mark on the cortosis weave before rebounding, exploding with a thousand splinters as a nearby wroshyr tree absorbed its impact, leaving a torso-sized hole where bark and thick wood stood a split-second earlier. The ambush began, as multiple Trandoshans came out of hiding, surrounding us without hesitation.

Aegeon immediately rose with a vengeance, holding up a hand and sweeping it across his view, over two of the approaching enemies. They turned to fire at him, focusing their attention, their blaster bolts pinging off his armor in every direction.

Hector dove for cover behind an especially large wroshyr as the remaining three Trandoshans sought targets, shooting everything they laid eyes on. Straightening, he then swung his DLT-19 around the tree, aiming down the sights as he laid down heavy fire, riddling one of the enemy Trandoshans with a barrage of blaster bolts.

I remained crouched near the rear of the group, looking for a vulnerable target through the pouring rain. Spotting an enemy working to reload a jammed blaster rifle, I leveled my energy pistol, lowering it slightly to the target’s midsection, glaring down the sights, and fired. The weapon came out from his reptilian, clawed hands as the shot slipped behind armor, into his chest, flooring him as he began heaving for air. Rain beat down around him, and he grasped for his weapon, unable to move his body.

Zeb fired upon another enemy, his heavy energy rifle tearing through flesh.

Aegeon was now in front of the cave, having moved into close range to fit his strengths. One of the Trandoshans was backing up, and opened up with his rifle on stun setting, apparently trying to subdue Aegeon. The blast was of no effect. Another of the beings began tearing with claws bared at Aegeon, his augmented armor once again neutralizing the effect. Several of the enemies had now surrounded him, looking for weaknesses.

A heavily armored enemy attempted to sprint full speed across the soaking battleground, leaning forward as he made his way to Hector’s position. Zil rose from cover, hiding behind a fallen wroshyr, and fired his bowcaster. The incoming reptilian threat’s feet swung out from underneath him as the bolt caught his neck, like the tree branch catches the unaware rider; the Trandoshan’s back hit the ground, his blaster rifle still clutched tightly, his neck almost severed completely.

Aegeon dove, evading an attack, and the downed enemy caught his eye. He rolled, coming up at a run and springing upon the green reptile, his vibro-glaive piercing the air as it swung like an ax, downward into the Trandoshan’s neck, slicing clean through as his head departed from his body. With a flick, the oozing liquid which had covered a portion of the blade was flung across a variety of nearby vegetation, leaving the blade with only a glistening of blood and rain.

Another lizard-like being flung some sort of grenade toward Aegeon as he positioned himself to attack once more. A cracking sound. Light erupting. Momentarily blinding him, he raised a hand to cover his eyes which now only saw the brightest of whites, his vision ruptured. The reptilian-sentient was now fleeing into the deep forest of Kashyyyk, but as we began training rifles and pistols at him, something happened. With a thud, the creature went down in a terrible disarray of momentum. On the slicked muddy floor he’d slipped, causing his head to impact with a sizable jagged stone.. his arm must have been in the poorest of conditions; it now lay feet from him, blood seeping slowly out from veins protruding as unraveled threads do. He lay confusedly twitching, eyes glancing around with concern, before closing, rain pelting his now-still frame.

Hector let another storm of fire loose from his weapon, the impacts tearing apart another of the Trandoshan slavers, their gun shot from their hands as they attempted to back into cover. With one last aimed shot, a fiery bolt went screaming from Hector’s weapon, into the skull of the slaver, who dropped in an unusual sort of way: impulses had stopped firing from the brain’s receptors, and the being simply succumbed to the power of Kashyyyk’s gravity. In short, he fell like a stone.

Spotting another threat, Hector began firing charged rounds. Coming from out of the darkness of the cave was another Trandoshan, but unlike any of the others we’d seen. Easily twice the average size, the massive enemy raised a Heavy ACP Repeater (something like a chain gun in other systems) at Aegeon and began loosing round after round, the firing of laser bolts far outweighing sounds from the rain surrounding us. Striking him like a waterfall of ammunition, the blasts began tearing through Hssiss hide woven into bits of spider drone that made up my companion’s augmented armor. Aegeon was pummelled into a retreat, falling onto his back. The monstrous Trandoshan advanced, dwarfing boulders it passed.

Zeb struck again with rounds from the custom rifle he carried, taking the beast’s attention for the few seconds needed before it was faltering from an upwards swing to its jaw, the vibro-cleave Aegeon held cutting clean through and leaving a trail of blood as it sawed and cut through marrow and flesh in the blink of an eye, catching the creature off guard.

A laser bolt whizzed past my head, catching me by surprise in a splash of bright red, its heat unfelt due to the sheer speed at which it passed. I recoiled reflexively, then turned, aiming my pistol in the direction it’d come from, ready to return fire. A downed Trandoshan, the same one I’d blasted in the chest, had risen and was directing fire at us once more.

I weighed options and decided to keep focus on the larger enemy which threatened Aegeon. As I sighted in on it, however, another wave of flashing red tore into the massive reptile as Hector fired multiple rounds from out of his cover behind the wroshyr tree. I followed with a well placed energy bolt, scoring the being’s favored arm and leaving only a trail of hanging flesh behind. The beast was stunned by the cohesive attack, attempting to grab the now-falling repeater in his other, still-intact hand, but as Zeb fired another bolt of brilliant red energy into it, all motion ceased; the bolt leaving only a smoking, singed void where its eyes just were.

As if we’d called Planetary Emergency Services, our flanking Wookie allies showed up just as the battle was coming to a halt. Lasers flying from both sides, the remaining slavers were taken out in short order, leaving only sounds of dripping, splashing water droplets which continued to fall, slowly washing the blood-stained soil as they made their way downward still, toward decaying cells…deep springs…and the roots of trees stretching upward as far as the eye could see..