Gray Jedi Ch. 10

Gray Jedi Ch. 10

“Serra, what’s our status?” Malik asked.

“Just broke through the atmosphere, but Imperial fighters are hot on our tail.”

“Rex, let’s man the guns,” Malik said.

“Better idea: Rex and Laranth. I need you here, Malik,” Serra replied.

“Good call, that girl’s a sure-shot.”

“I’ll fetch her,” Rex said, jogging out of the cockpit. Down the hallway, he saw Jax consoling a very distraught Laranth Tarak.

“It’ll be ok, Laranth…”

“NO!!! I want to kill those bastards for what they did to Dex!” the Twi’lek replied.

“Here’s your chance,” Rex said to them. “We’ve got fighters on our tail, and you and I are gonna man the guns. You up for it?”

Drying her tears, Laranth stood with a determined look in her eyes. “Just show me where they are, and I will end them.”

“Your station’s down the hallway to the right, I’m down the left. Jax, they’ll probably need your help in the cockpit.”

“On it!”

The trio broke up to their respective destinations. By the time Jax had arrived in the cockpit, Rex and Laranth were already powering up the main guns.

“Jax, keep an eye on the scope, give regular callouts to anything you see,” Serra said.

“Understood.”

“I’ll get the hyperspace coordinates calculated. Just hold ‘em off for a few minutes,” Malik said. “Activating cloaking systems.”

“That may not help us,” Serra replied. “Sensors are picking up a new signal. Looks like the lead fighter chasing us is using a powerful, concentrated scanning system. They’re able to track our location, even while cloaked.”

“Got that, Rex? Take these guys out, or we’re sitting ducks.”

“Copy that.”

By this time, a squadron of five ARC-170 fighters had caught up from the surface, beginning to pepper their shields with blaster fire. The Middle Way held up, and Rex and Laranth soon began to return fire with gusto. Rex was aided by his familiarity with the tactics of the clone pilots they faced, and Laranth’s incredible sense of prediction and timing proved invaluable. Within seconds, they had whittled the squadron down to two, though the lead fighter remained in hot pursuit.

“Nice shooting!” Malik said into the comlink.

“Don’t get cocky, Malik. Look,” Serra replied.

“Huh? Oh crap, that’s bad…”

Turning to look forward, Malik now saw a Star Destroyer moving to intercept them. As the battleship approached, another group of twenty fighters launched from the hangar and barreled towards the Middle Way.

“Rex, Laranth, heads up! Got more fighters coming in ahead!” Malik said.

As Serra adjusted course to keep some distance between them and the incoming hostiles, the gunners began to fire on the group from a distance. This time, their goal was not necessarily to hit them, but to fire into their expected trajectory and delay their ability to get in range. Thanks to a couple of well-timed callouts from Jax, they managed to accomplish this with some success. Still, their time was running short.

“Uh oh,” Jax said from the radarscope. “Got more hostiles coming in from behind. Just launched from Coruscant.”

“I’ve got ‘em. Laranth, keep on those bogeys from the Star Destroyer.”

“Will do,” Laranth replied.

“Almost ready for the jump to hyperspace, just a few more seconds,” Malik said.

“Copy… wait, scratch that! Do not go to hyperspace! Repeat: do NOT go to hyperspace!” Rex shouted.

“What? Why not?!” Serra asked. “I can only outfly them for so long!”

“The new hostiles chasing us are improved versions of the standard ARC-170 fighters; they’re new prototypes equipped with some of the most powerful tracking equipment available. As long as they maintain a target-lock on us as we go to hyperspace, they’ll be able to track and follow us anywhere in the galaxy, cloaked or not!”

“Only one choice now, Serra: we’ve gotta lose ‘em,” Malik sighed.

“On it! Just keep those fighters off us!”

Rex and Laranth continued to attack the fighters chasing them. They managed to down a few of them, but their numbers were soon bolstered by the arrival of the squadron that had launched from the Star Destroyer. A few moments later, the Middle Way was rocked by a powerful hit from behind.

“Shield generator’s hit! Power is at eighty-five percent, but dropping steadily,” Jax reported.

“Cloaking systems were disrupted, too,” Malik said.

“Ok, here we go. Malik, get the hyperdrive ready to activate, ‘cause this is our shot.”

“Wait, what are you doing, Serra?”

“That’s Centax-1 up ahead, Coruscant’s largest moon. I’m gonna use it to give us a lunar slingshot assist,” Serra replied.

“You’re nuts!” Jax laughed.

“You got a better idea?” Serra fired back. “It’ll get the fighters off our backs for just long enough to escape undetected.”

“It’s as good a plan as any. Jax, let me know the moment we’ve broken target lock,” Malik agreed.

As Serra approached the moon, Malik began running a variable calculation program on the hyperdrive systems. This would allow their lightspeed coordinates to keep up with the speed increase from the slingshot assist. But as Serra began her maneuvers, a call came in from Rex.

“Serra, I think they’ve figured out your strategy! Two of the prototype fighters are moving in for a slingshot assist as well! They’ll tear us to pieces before we can build up enough speed!”

“On it!” said Laranth.

Two ARC-170 fighters moved into position and unleashed a volley of blaster fire on the Middle Way. At that moment, Laranth activated her cannon’s rapid-fire mode and began predicting the trajectory of the incoming shots with the Force. It took immense concentration, but she managed to neutralize the blaster fire with her own before throwing the two pursuing fighters off with a pair of precision shots.

“You’ve got your opening, Serra!” she shouted.

“Ok, here we go. Hold on!”

Serra adjusted the throttle and began her tight orbit around Cintax-1. The fighters kept up as best they could and maintained target lock for a few seconds. Still, the furious return fire from Rex and Laranth made it difficult, and they soon began to fall behind. As Serra rounded the final curve of her flight path, Jax saw the computer light up.

“Malik, we’ve broken target lock!”

“Ok, here we go! NOW!”

The Middle Way lurched, the stars began to blur, and soon they had left Coruscant behind them.

*****

“AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!”

“This is now TWO failures for you, First Sister!”

“Please… my Emperor…”

“SILENCE!”

Again and again Palpatine shocked her with Force Lightning. The pain was excruciating, but death would not come; Palpatine made sure of that. He wanted to ensure that his message was well received. There would be no tolerance for such failures under his rule. At last relenting, he approached the smoking, crumpled form lying on the floor.

“Do not forget, First Sister… you are only of worth to the Empire when you accomplish our goals. You are strong, but you lack focus. Learn to fully embrace the Dark Side of the Force, or you will face certain oblivion. It is that simple. Do I make myself clear?”

“Y… yes, my Emperor…”

“Good. Meditate on these things, First Sister. You still have much to learn.”

Palpatine then strode from the room, leaving the whimpering girl behind. He returned to his chambers activated his communications array.

“Lord Vader, have you arrived?”

“We are entering the Mustafar system as we speak, Master.”

“Excellent. I have high hopes for our Grand Inquisitor. The First Sister has thus far been a disappointment.”

“I take it the fugitives have escaped?”

“Indeed. They even managed to evade our trackers.”

“They will run and hide, Master. They know their days are numbered, and now the cowardice of the Jedi has been exposed. Rest assured, I shall not rest until they are brought to justice. Have you any idea where they have gone?”

“None. Though the First Sister did make one intelligent move: she has placed a bounty on the fugitives’ heads. She managed to identify each of them, including the two interlopers that assisted in their escape yesterday. Each now has a price of one million credits, dead or alive.”

“Shall I begin a search for them?”

“Not at this time. Your primary focus must be on our new recruit. Ensure that he is prepared for the tasks that lie ahead. Once he has become a true force to be feared, we shall unleash him upon the Jedi.”

“Yes, Master.”

*****

“How do we look, Serra?” Malik asked.

“Could be worse,” she called from below deck. “Engine and hyperdrive systems are operating perfectly. Shields are a bit cooked, but should be an easy fix. And… there! The cloaking systems have been recalibrated. As long as we can find a safe port to repair the shields, we’re no worse for the wear.”

“Would’ve been bad without Jax and Laranth…”

“I’ll say. That’s twice they’ve saved our asses,” Serra agreed.

The pair returned to the cockpit, finding Jax hard at work on the computer, while Rex and Laranth chatted off to the side.

“Malik, why didn’t you tell me about this girl? She’s a hell of a shot!” Rex gushed.

“You are too kind, but you are the one with military training,” Laranth replied with a giggle.

“Yeah, she’s somethin’ else,” Malik agreed. “How does it look out there, Jax?”

“All’s quiet. Nobody tracking us. I think we’re in the clear.”

“Good. Ok, let’s go over a few things,” Serra said, taking a seat next to Malik.

“I can already see where this is going. We never intended to become stowaways on your ship. If you’ll just drop us off at the nearest inhabited system, we’ll find our own way back to Coruscant,” Jax said.

“Well… if that’s what you really want, we’re happy to help,” Malik replied. “Still, I don’t think going back to Coruscant is wise at this point. The Empire is going to be out for all of us. You’d be an easy target back there.”

“Fair enough.