It's a pity we can't blockade the planet. Well, not with my three Acclamators and a couple of corvettes, especially since Jabiim sits far behind the front line, deep in territory controlled by the Separatists. They'll just crush us, despite our numbers. And the Sector won't be able to allocate large forces. We already have more than twomillion clones and a thousand warships here, and they're all busy—but that's not enough, and that number isn't the limit—we need at least another million troopers and the same number ofwarships.
Okay, think, Jedi, how are we going to get out of this? Remembering Ahsoka, I glanced at the girl. She was… a little downcast and silent, which was extremely strange. Her Force emanation… doubt?.. Let it be so. All right. When the time is right, she'll say whatever she thinks is necessary.
All right—first let's deal with my own pieces. Finding the person I needed with my eyes, I headed straight for him.
"Colonel." I nodded. "I need to discuss a few things with you."
Lyonen Tamauskas, a man of about forty-five, was in charge of supplies, and although he was only a deputy, I preferred to deal with him—he handled operational issues, often on the spot and very quickly. Although we'd hardly met more than a couple of times.
"I suppose this is about Jabiim?"
"Yes." I demonstrated my 'authority' to him.
"Well, General, let's go to my office. I think we'll also need Colonel Dirckhem and Major Ferrero—the repair service and medical service, respectively."
"If their presence is necessary, then I rely on you, colonel."
"Master?" A Togruta's voice rang out.
"Yes, Snips?"
"Do you have time to talk?"
"And your conversation… can it wait?"
"Actually, yes…"
"Then we'll talk when I'm free. Time is pressing right now. Can you wait a couple of hours?"
"Okay, Master." The Togruta agreed. "Then I'll wait for you on the Marat."
"Better on the Isaribi. The Marat will soon be leaving for the repair dock."
I switched on the comlink and called Blam and Ragnos, giving them instructions on the fly.
"Captain, start unloading all the equipment."
"All of it, sir?" the Zabrak asked.
"Yes, including the SPHAs. We won't need them."
"Sir, it looks like we have a new assignment?"
"Oh yes, Captain. Jabiim."
Ragnos suddenly swore.
"General, it seems there's a civil war going on there?"
"Oh, so you're aware of it?"
"Yes, in our circles, before the war started, we discussed this topic. I suppose the situation is dire?"
"You bet. Rare ores have been found there. A lot of them."
"Poodoo. And the Separatists are eyeing these resources?"
"Of course. And we've been ordered to stop them."
"We need to prepare. What are our options?"
"Landing on the surface. 'Provide support to forces loyal to the Republic.'"
"That's bad."
"Sir?" Blam interjected.
"Blam, call Sumeragi. I need a full report on the status of our troops in twenty minutes: number of troopers, equipment, resources, and so on."
"Will do, sir."
"Excellent."
At that moment we reached the supply office. Entering, the colonel invited me to sit.
"The other officers will be here shortly."
We waited a few minutes, after which a Duros with a colonel's insignia entered the room, followed by a woman in uniform with a major's insignia—though even to my eye she looked like a civilian.
"General," they both saluted.
"Sit down, ladies and gentlemen. This is no time for pleasantries."
When everyone was seated and had taken out their datapads, I began.
"So, let's get to the point. I need your full cooperation. First, we need to start repairing my three ships as soon as possible."
"Sir, it will take some time—repairs on the ships currently in the docks will take a minimum of five hours."
"You have three hours. Next: a Pelt-class frigate. Do you have the necessary components to convert the ship into a medical base?"
Major Ferrero raised her hand like a schoolgirl.
"Sir, will the hospital be orbital, or do you plan to deploy it on the surface? And you'll probably need specialists?"
"The second option, Major. And yes, we could use a few qualified medics. Plus," I turned to Tamauskas, "a medical battalion. I need it."
"Hmm." The colonel scratched his forehead. "It pains me to do so, General."
"We won't be able to evacuate the wounded from the planet," I said.
"I think we can spare two teams," the woman nodded. "Ah… General, how much medicine do you need?"
"Three—no, four standards," I said.
"Sir, isn't that too much?"
"It won't even be enough."
At that moment the datapad beeped. Opening the incoming file, I read the list.
"First of all, I need to replenish the ranks—specifically, 2,832 line infantry soldiers. Then two battalions of engineering and repair services. A sapper battalion. I'll leave some of the infantry LAATs, but in exchange I need cargo versions—another fifteen units. Now about the other equipment: how many Sabers do you have?"
"Just a minute… forty units, General."
"Excellent. I'll take them all."
"You're ripping us off, General, like a gangster in a dark alley," Lyonen chuckled.
"That's okay, but I'll leave you all my SPHAs. Oh, by the way—do you have any Juggernauts?"
"Which ones would you like, sir?"
"Are there different models?"
"Yes. We have the A5 model—about ninety units. But we don't have the A6 yet—they should all arrive with the new equipment convoy. How many are there… ah, sixty units."
"I'll take them all."
If it's what I think it is, then I definitely need it.
"But, General—"
"This is not up for discussion. I desperately need these vehicles, and wheeled vehicles are the best solution for Jabiim. I'm not going to take AT-ATs, am I?.. Let's move on. Three hundred speeders, no less."
"That's possible. We have plenty of BARC speeders."
"Next, what do you have in terms of fire support?"
"I think that since SPHAs aren't suitable for you, AV-7 Artillery Cannon are what you need."
"What is this beast?"
"A proton cannon. The chassis is a walking machine with four legs. The firing range is ten kilometers with a heavy charge. The damage radius is up to ten meters."
"That'll do. Do you have two dozen?"
"Only ten units. Are you taking all of them?"
"Yes. And triple ammunition." I slammed my hand on the tabletop. "Now about the defensiveequipment. I need stationary firing points that can be included in a defense system—not too massive, but with decent protection. In addition, equipment and supplies for building a ground base and strongholds."
"For that, I can recommend three modifications of the DF.9 anti-infantry batteries. The first, the T-1, carries one medium laser cannon with a firing range of sixteen kilometers. The T-2 modification has twin rapid-fire blaster cannons, with a shorter firing range of six kilometers, and the T-3 is equipped with a missile launcher with an ammunition capacity of forty units per launcher. The first two modifications have a crew of three; the T-3 has four operators. All modifications have a 180-degree firing arc, decent armor, and a deflector shield. The only drawback is the inability to fire anti-aircraft weapons."
"If anything, an air attack is the last thing we should expect. How many are available?"
"Let me check." The supply officer buried himself in the reports, running his finger across the datapad screen. "So—122 units of the first model, 206 of the second, but only fifty of the third. Plus, there's only one BC for them."
"Got it. What about materials for the base?"
"The warehouses are empty right now," the supply officer said, spreading his arms. The Duros nodded in agreement. "A few hundred tons of standard panels and a minimal set of equipment, reactors, and panel structures—that's all we have at the moment."
"Bad. Very bad. However, we managed to get some of it out of Donovia, so… we'll be able to provide a minimal line of defense. Colonel, I hope I don't need to tell you that we'll need a lot of ammunition and fuel for the equipment, spare parts, and food?"
"Not at all, sir," Tamauskas sighed. "Also… three times the norm?"
"Better make it five." I replied to his lamentations, remembering that no one would bring us anything and we would have to rely only on ourselves.