Chapter 99: 99. Chapter

Soon after Nizzal’s arrival at the Jedi temple, she changed clothes, and only after she was in a presentable state did she leave her room while being escorted by the elders. She didn’t miss the never disappearing smirk which covered the face of Elder Noorna. Who doesn’t even seem to try hiding it? She joined Grandmaster Yoda in the Master’s meditation chamber from where they later spotted the massive droid invasion.

-Present time-

Sirens were screaming throughout the entire surface of Courscant. The disturbing noises were constantly ranging through the air, traveling far and wide between the tall skyscrapers.

On the surface, billions of people were evacuating, moving down into the underground levels and tunnels of the city planet which held hundreds of levels below ground just as it held above it.

The police forces were struggling to control the growing panic and fear among the escaping civilians. Nobody could stand in the endless flood of desperate people. Beyond the shouts of panicked civilians and the angry roars of struggling authority figures who were trying to direct the crowd... The screeching pulsations of firing stationary turbo laser cannons began to rumble.

Thousands of ground artillery units were sending elongated plasma beams towards the sky. The almost simultaneous shots of such powerful weapons were causing the ground to constantly shake, resulting in the already disturbed crowd becoming further panicked.

Wails of terrified children belonging to various races carried by their parents could be heard appearing for mere seconds between the thundering of heavy artillery shots. Beams of hot plasma were flying over the cacophony of noises which had eventually blurred into a mix of fear and uncertainty.

The army, since the betrayal of the clones, was always on high alert. Thanks to that, ground forces were able to start attacking the incoming enemy forces minutes after their appearance. 

Over the planet, thousands of ships were locked in deadly combat. Shots of blue and red laser beams traveling in every direction, some finding their target while others missing, silently dispersing in space after they lost most of their carried energy.

The second army of the Republic, which was made from newly recruited volunteers, reserve troops and standard military personals were the only direct line of defense standing between the ground invasion of Coruscant and the invading forces. 

Seeing the still continuously appearing battleships of the droid forces has already started to make a dent in the soldiers’ overall morale. 

On the bridge of a Star Dreadnought one of the largest and most massive Super Battleship class ship, wearing the flags of the Galactic Republic. General Anakin Skywalker was hastily giving out orders to the army.

-Release all the fighter ships, right now! We can’t let them overwhelm us with sheer numbers. Open the docking bays right now!

A series of deep murmuring could be heard, and the entire ship started to quake.

-Oh, for the love of the force! What is this shaking?! Lieutenant?

-General, we are under heavy bombardment from six providence class dreadnoughts flying in formation. What are your orders?

Anakin rolled his eyes, feeling flabbergasted.

-Well, what do you think? Shouldn’t we give them free tickets for the upcoming premier of: Blast them already! 

-Understood. All heavy cannons on the lower side of the ship concentrate and return fire at the given coordinates.

Soon the obscene amount of weaponry, of which the giant battleship was armed, began to send a blanket of blue energy beams towards the incoming warships, overwhelming their shields in seconds and turning them into floating stardust by the end of the next minute.

-Well done, soldiers. Show these droids that not only the clones are capable of sending them to the junkyard.

A small series of cheers and some hesitant clapping was what followed Anakin’s words. He raised his eyebrows in surprise. While looking around.

He noted to himself with a bit of amusement. 

I am starting to like these boys ever more. Clones are still more efficient, but these guys are a lot more human. They actually appreciate my jokes. 

Then he shook himself out of the momentary stupor and shouted. 

-Send an emergency signal to all nearby patrolling forces if you haven’t done it yet! Coruscant is under attack. Don’t let the bucket heads be the only ones who have incoming reinforcements!

-Understood sir! Right away, sir.

-Good!

There was a moment of pause between the orders and Anakin could only stare out of the windows from the bridge. Watching the endless slaughter and destruction occur as far as his eyes could see on a scale that was never seen before, not even by a war veteran like him. Not even talking about that, this battle was happening on the outskirts of Coruscant, in the heart of the Galactic Republic, and the Senate. If this planet falls, the war will surely end, and in a way that none would even dare to imagine.

-Battle on soldiers, we cannot let this system fall. Defend it to the last. 

-Yes sir!

The soldiers shouted in unity while everybody was doing their own, interacting with different monitors and control panels while also giving orders to other units, directing the general flow of the battle, trying to create some measure of control over the unleashed chaos which seemed to expand even further.

This will be a long battle. Let’s hope it is not the last.

Thought Anakin, while looking at a blown up republic starship, breaking into two large parts and slowly descending towards the planet’s surface as gravity began to take hold of the heavy ship, whose propulsion system could no longer counter its pull.

 The broken body of the falling ship soon reached the atmosphere and started to burn with blazing intensity, which began to erode the damaged ship's body even further. 

-Lets hope it falls into water...

Whispered Anakin as he pulled his gaze from the lost ship, directing his thoughts on culling the enemy fleet. Where they were starting to overwhelm the allied forces. The Star Dreadnought of which was under his command, was one of the deadliest ships ever created, especially when used in defense scenarios. Its only weakness was its slow maneuverability outside of hyperspace. 

-General, an unidentified type of battleship is heading towards us from the surface. It’s predictively planning to take up positions under our dreadnought. 

-I see, place an image of the incoming ship on the main holo communicator. 

-Yes, sir.

In a few seconds, live video footage of the incoming ship appeared in front of Anakin.

Seeing the indeed unfamiliar type of ship, he couldn’t help but blink with surprise.

-I have never seen this type of battleship, not to brag about it, but I am usually up to date about this particular topic... Do any of you see something like this before? 

There was silence on the bridge, then a young soldier in the back stood up and reported. 

-General, asking permission to talk.

-Granted. 

The soldier relaxed a bit, then stated clearly.

-Two days ago, I was on a family visit at one of the traffic control orbital stations around the planet. I have accidentally seen this exact ship passing by without staying in line. It had been given special access permission by the Jedi High Council, sir.

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Anakin frowned after hearing the unexpected answer. He was far from getting over the fact that the Jedi actually kicked his ass out. It was a reasonable thing to do, even he had to accept that, and he was trying to, but that was simply more difficult than he expected, especially after so many years of living as a Jedi. How he missed the familiar weight of his lightsaber hanging on his side. 

He knew that he would miss being a Jedi, but at least he has a family now, and by the force, he won’t allow this separatist invasion to endanger that of which he gave up so much. He was going to be a father, however hard that was to actually believe. 

-General, do you wish to start communication with the projected ship?

Came the voice of a female soldier responsible for direct communication, her voice startling him out of his thoughts.

-Ah, oh yes, yes, please. 

-Right away. 

A few seconds went by, then the same soldier reported. 

-Communication link opens in three, two one. 

Across the main hologram device, the form of a thin but sinewy man appeared. He was wearing a robe familiar to those of jedi robes, but it was also equipped with various straps and pieces of armor covering every place possible to not reduce the wearer’s movement range more than absolutely necessary. It was a type of light armor, reminiscent of ancient times, while also giving off the sense of a high level and sophistication and modern technology armor.

The man belonged to the tholothian race, the back of his head covered in shoulder length pale blue tendrils, the unique signature of the race. He had unhealthy pale bronze skin with two disturbing golden eyes set in a permanent frown. The man had a slightly sunken face, his left cheek heavily disfigured by a scar that was likely received from a wild beast with huge and sharp claws, or maybe from some claw type weapon? On a second look, Anakin also saw that a few of the man’s tendrils were bitten off and he realized that the man also missed his left arm below the elbow.

Anakin’s eyes widened slightly, seeing the series of severe injuries which were showcased proudly by the mysterious tholothian. His body stature, the muscle distribution, the way he stood, the strict expression all were unmistakable signs of a veteran warrior. 

A deep voice spoke with short, precise wording. Another sign of a stereotypical battle hardened warrior, thought Anakin silently.

-What do you seek? 

Anakin, taken off guard by the sudden question, tried to take the conversation in a less rigorous direction. So he decided to answer with a humorous twist.

-You know, that was supposed to be my line... 

He only received silence as an answer. Which was annoying.

-I meant it seriously. Why are you heading towards our position? We are in the middle of a battle if you hadn’t noticed! So you would be wise to give a proper answer. Before you decide to question my authority, let me remind you about something... my ship is bigger.

Mysterious tholothian: -...

People around the bridge: -...

After a few awkward seconds, the man sighed, and started to speak.

-I am the commander of the Dark Seeker. A flagship bearing the banner of Unity, the eternal city which you have been allowed to see. I have been ordered to partake in the glory of this battle. 

-Don’t tell me you are one of the loonies? You have yet to bring back my padawan... I mean ex-padawan, damn it...

-One who sees the glory of Unity, could rarely leave it without sorrow...

Anakin waved with a spark of frustration.

-Yeah, yeah... it was nice and all, but don’t even try to tell me that Ahsoka rejected to leave it. Is she alright at least?

-Those who are allowed into the Golden City shall never fear, as no harm can reach them.

-Sigh... I can take that as a yes, I guess. So what is your plan? How do you intend to partake in this glory? Or whatever...

The warrior for the first time showed an expression which was a half crooked smile that only reached half of his face. That was an extremely creepy smirk, if anything, since the injured part of his face was still as expressionless as ever, while the other side gave off a manic grin.

-I shall crush those who seek to harm the archive.

Anakin shook his shoulders, then parted his interweaved arms to the sides in an uncaring gesture of giving up trying to understand this guy.

-Well, suit yourself, there is enough for all of us. Just don’t blame me if you end up plummeting to the surface again. I have no time for babysitting.

The warrior seemed to smirk in amusement, but it was a bit hard to read his expressions... 

-Thou shall not fear such, may the Seekers guide our hand in this battle.

With that, the communication was cut unceremoniously...

The earlier female soldier who was controlling the communication reported.

-General, the communication channel was cut by the other party.

-Whatever, oh... come to think of it, I hadn’t even asked for his name. Ah... well...

Another soldier reported this time.

-General, the ship has positioned itself under our dreadnought. 

-What the hell... is this guy planning to use us as some sort of shield? I should have known... 

The uncertain voice of the same soldier asked. 

-...Orders sir? 

Did I say that out load? Fuck it...

-Damn this whole thing… just ignore them and focus on the battle.

-Understood.

I will rip off the earlobe of that little squirt if I survive this damn chaos of a battle. Wait... she is a twi’lek, she doesn’t even have a normal earlobe... Oh for fuck’s sake, I can’t even do this much! All of these lunatics are starting to weigh on my mind.

 

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