Jedi Insurgency 299

Leaving medical, Corvus made it to the bridge. Flanked by Yon & CF-99, he came across Clip staring intently at a holotable full of fleet coordinates, ship configurations, and loads of data. It appeared he was running several simulations regarding the upcoming conflict. 

There was an enduring weariness around Clip's eyes, and a certain stiffness to his shoulders. The accumulated weight of war & loss had worn away at this once shiny clone, and bred a man determined to end this conflict. No matter the cost. 

“The old saying is true. Hard times breed hard men, and do I need men like you.” Corvus said, stepping forward to salute the Admiral.

“General. You've come at the right time.” Clip said, his eyes drawn back to the holotable where a cluster of Republic aligned ships suddenly-and seemingly for no reason-suddenly combusted. 

“How many of ours are ‘sea’ worthy?” Corvus asked. 

“Forty-three combat-capable. Eleven more can fly, but I wouldn’t trust them in a sustained engagement. We lost nine during the withdrawal. The Iron Comet may still be adrift near the fourth moon, but her transponder went silent before we cleared the Imperial cordon. We searched as long as we could, but the second Imperial Fleet was closing fast. If we remained another three minutes, we would have lost the carriers.”

“You made the correct decision, soldier. With any luck they took a few bastards with them.” Corvus heavily sighed, feeling an invisible loss briefly strangle his heartstrings. 

“How badly were you outnumbered? What are we dealing with here?” Corvus asked, trying to understand the situation. 

“Two to one in capital ships, worse in fighters. We bloodied both fleets, but not badly enough to break either. Given the Starcrusher Corp's record, they had postured themselves for an all or nothing decisive battle. Fortunately, they never suspected our retreat.” Clip gave a thin smile, then gestured towards the holograms on the table. 

Crimson light spilled across the deck as a holographic image of Kuat rose between them. The blue-white world rotated beneath its enormous orbital ring, the famous shipyards encircling the planet were marked in excruciating detail. Thousands of smaller structures hung around it: factories, depots, repair docks, barracks, control stations, and defense platforms.

Then the Imperial formations appeared, showing so much red-the color of the enemy-that it would make a lesser commander quail in his boots. For Corvus's part, he wouldn't like to take this force on in a head on clash, but thought he could win a pyrrhic victory if he did. Rather, sabotage and assasination were his preferred methods to achieve victory. What he could do if given a few hours, or days would result in a catastrophe. 

However, he had sensed a surprise other than this obvious threat, and time was not on Pots’ side. To rescue the ground troopers of the Starcrusher Corp, they must move as swiftly as possible. 

“The first Imperial Fleet is holding above the principal shipyard approaches. Twenty-seven destroyers, six battlecruisers, three carriers, and countless supporting vessels. The second Fleet has divided into four groups covering the southern yards and the primary hyperspace lanes.” Clip explained, pointing to each location on the table as he spoke. 

“Do we have any intel on their commanders, or their style of leadership?” Corvus asked, stroking his chin to see if he could find anything to exploit. 

“Admiral Vorru commands the first fleet, whilst Delvardus has operational control of the second. Vorru is known for his caution, and Delvardus has a pension to chase after merits.” Clip said, pulling up a file on both of them. 

“I've worked with Delvardus before, General. He may be over eager at times, but he's competent enough. We might be able to bait him into an ambush.” Hunter spoke up from the side, adding his two-cents. 

“Hm. Yes, I can imagine with the new reforms in the Empire that someone would be chasing merits. Vader has recently revealed a merit system in the military, promising things like palaces, and even governorships in exchange for successful operations. Those who had previously purchased commissions are in an uproar, whilst the base-born have clamored to sign up. How troublesome…however, we can turn this lust for achievements into our advantage. Hunter, drudge up your memories of this Delvarus, if you can think of anything pertinent, please speak up. Clip, what other defenses are we dealing with?” Corvus thoughtfully said to Hunter, then asked. 

A tap of Clip's finger added hundreds of smaller crimson points around Kuat.

“Defense platforms. Many are fixed emplacements built into the orbital ring, but the Empire brought in mobile stations as well once it became clear the Starcrusher Corp was here to stay. Long-range turbolasers, ion cannons, missile batteries, they have it all. Creating interlocking fields of fire, every platform is protected by at least two others.” Clip said in a solemn tone. 

Corvus moved around the display, examining the overlapping cones of fire. There were no clear attack vectors or isolated positions that could be overwhelmed before support arrived. Although none of these platforms was significant on their own-being about as strong in offense as the Tantive IV, a Correllian Corvette-when gathered in the hundreds, they were particularly annoying. 

Clip magnified the nearest approach corridor from their current position. Once tiny dots revealed a brutal nightmare. A vast cloud appeared before them on the screen looking like a static-like thunderstorm. However, this wasn't the Kessel Run, and the galactic atmosphere out near Kuat was stable as can be. 

“By the Force. Pathing our way through so many mines…I doubt even you could sneak your way through that, General.” Echo muttered in minor horror from the side. 

Clip changed the display’s scale again, and the cloud became a wall. “They mined every viable capital-ship approach. Only a very small sliver where the hyperspace lane egress point is, is clear.” 

“How dense is it?” Corvus asked, wondering to himself if his plan could be achieved. 

“At the thinnest point, there is less than 10 meters between devices.”

“Those are the ones the Empire wants us to see. Often times, stealth mines are also deployed. Just what is their game? To be so blatant like this…it's as if they're inviting us to test our luck. To challenge me.” Corvus muttered. 

“I believe so too, sir. During the ride here, I've been studying data transmitted by your HK spy network, and have learned much. The mines deployed on the Kuat campaign are of a new design, one commissioned by the new Imperial Supreme Commander.” Tech explained. The genius closed his eyes as he recalled literal terabytes worth of data all at once. 

“Thrawn.” Corvus said the alien's name in both ire & admiration. 

“Master, send me to Coruscant. I can handle him.” Yon declared. 

“No, boy, you can't. We learned much during our assault on Coruscant last time.” Crosshair darkly said, gesturing to his solemn brothers. 

Yon hotly opened his mouth, only for Hunter to gesture for calm. The youth huffed, but his newfound respect & comradery had him cross his arms impatiently, waiting for the explanation. 

“We've been working on an exfiltration plan. The General greenlit it weeks ago whilst we were bored out of our wits on Tython. Trust us, we'll make the bastard pay.” Hunter slowly said. 

Yon looked at Corvus, disappointed that he didn't get to participate in ‘upholding his honor.’

“Relax, Yon. Perhaps there will be time for you to help CF-99. There are missions for you aplenty, but right now, I need you by my side.” Corvus smiled. ‘All so that I can better keep watch of you.’ Went unsaid. 

The teen flashed an embarrassed smile, and inclined his head at Hunter. “Sorry for interrupting the planning, ahem, please, proceed.” 

Clip raised an eyebrow in mild surprise. Humility? From Yon? They'd only been apart for three or four months!

“Yes, as I was saying. Coated in sensor-dampened casings, with low-emission power cells, and optical camouflage, they are extremely difficult to identify.” Clip said, flicking the screen several times, and showed an area of ‘empty space.’ However, a micro-gleam of reflective light revealed the sinister explosive device hidden in plain sight. 

“What triggers them?” Wrecker asked, somewhat excited now that explosives were involved. 

“Mass detection, magnetic fields, active sensors, engine exhaust, and…well, there are these curious runes on them that I can't make heads or tails of.” Clip said, zooming in on a detailed model that had been captured for study. 

As soon as the glyph was revealed, all of CF-99 staggered back as if they had just been hit by a cold pale of water after a night out in the town. 

“What. What is that?” Hunter gasped in pain. 

“Ugh, feels like an ice pick in my brain, Cap.” Echo complained, rubbing his temples. 

Corvus also felt a small dash of pain, but he had bathed in the Darkside, and was not a novice when it came to bearing its weight. Yon, likewise, did not appear particularly ruffled…but instead, he was even a little excited? 

“A Sith rune. I've studied these in the archives on Tython when researching how to kill Jedi Artisans that have gone rogue. There was a detail of mass manufacturing mentioned in the text. That it can gather the collective suffering of a planet, and if funneled through a Darkside Nexus, can be willed into an industrial scale.” Yon said in a solemn tone. 

Corvus was at first joyful that Yon could in fact find the patience for reading, as Force Adepts rarely displayed the intelligence necessary to understand the wisdom of ancient tomes. However, his reasoning was quite, ah, peculiar. 

“Mn, very good, Yon. It appears that these mines indeed are meant to counter my stealth abilities. As evidenced by the intense reaction of the Bad Batch, it is particularly drawn to those who are Force Sensitive. How very troublesome.” 

“So even if we cut a path, they can close it behind the first ships or detonate the corridor while we’re inside. A direct advance would become a slaughter.” Clip said, nodding along. 

Corvus walked around the table in silence. The crimson wall curled around Kuat, interrupted only by corridors directly beneath the guns of the defense platforms. Beyond it waited the two Imperial fleets. And beneath all of that, somewhere within the endless furnace of Kuat’s industrial war, tens of millions of Eriaduan's, some Ongree cultists, HK's, Commander Pots and  nearly a million clone troopers continued to fight.

“How long can Pots hold out?” Corvus asked in concern. 

“His last report was thirty-seven hours ago. At that time, he controlled seventeen percent of the western yards and portions of three habitation sectors. He’d lost contact with a pair of companies, and two armored divisions. Ammunition was at forty percent, whilst his medical supplies were lower.”

“Casualties?” Corvus pressed. 

“Two hundred and nineteen thousand confirmed.” Clip stated as if it were another number, keeping professional despite the small amount of guilt coloring his aura. 

Corvus closed his eyes.

219,000.

Behind that number came faces, hopes, and dreams. Men drawn from the same origins yet shaped into individuals by years of war. Hell, some of them had ‘only’ fought on two campaigns before this, and had yet to receive a name of their own. 

“And Imperial losses?” He asked.

“Not enough.” Clip tiredly sighed. “But if I had to give a figure, the logisticians estimate close to 427,442.” 

“Nearly a mil dead just like that. What a pity. Too bad we can't glass Kuat and be done with it.” Crosshair cynically shared his thoughts. 

A heavy air of defeat shrouded everyone present. And they looked to Corvus for a solution. 

As the subject of their attention, Corvus stood away from the table, and then looked out a window into the vast emptiness of space. Outside, the fleet slept, hidden amongst the asteroids.

Beyond it waited Kuat: surrounded by countless mines, guarded by armadas, and covered in weapons platforms as far as the eye could see. Commander Pots and the Starcrusher Corps bled beneath that sky, surrounded on all sides. 

Corvus turned toward those waiting on him, and nodded in reassurance. “I've heard all I needed to hear. We are going to rescue our brothers, and destroy as much infrastructure as possible on our way out. Clip, I want you to signal Pots, tell him to hold his current position, and await evac.” 

“For how long?” Clip asked. 

Corvus’s cloak swept behind him as he strode towards the fleet intercom to address the men. 

“Until we tear down the sky.”