The little Togruta lay on her bed. Yet her sleep was far from peaceful. She twitched and moved her lips soundlessly, the blanket tangled in a lump around her.
... Raindrops fell on her face, stinging her eyes. She tried to move, but her body wouldn't respond. Was she being carried? Yes — someone was holding her in their arms, but she couldn't see their face; the rain kept blurring her vision...
Ahsoka curled up into a ball, hugging herself tightly. Her eyelids trembled.
... Far ahead stood a figure in familiar armor. Battle raged around her — soldiers charging, military equipment roaring past — yet an uneasy feeling gnawed at her. Something was wrong. And then she realized: there wasn't a single sound. Everything was moving, but there was only silence... She looked again at the armored figure ahead — and felt a surge of danger... Trying to run forward, she found she couldn't take a step… Then, suddenly, everything ahead was swallowedby fire… She screamed — but the silence around remained just silence...
Ahsoka woke with a start, bolting upright in bed.
Phew... what a dream. Something that isextremely incomprehensible. I'll have to ask Master later what it might mean.
A minute later, the young Togruta was already sleeping soundly again, wrapped snugly in her blanket.
***
So this is what you look like, Jabiim. I gazed at the gray-brown sphere we'd arrived at a couple of minutes ago. I had spent the rest of the timebefore arrival meditating, trying to foresee what awaited us, but everything remained frustratingly vague. The orbit was empty—no Separatists, no neutrals, no one at all. A couple of specialistsimmediately began scanning the planet.
For a moment, I thought we'd have to linger in orbit for at least a day—if not longer—waiting for a landing window, but reality presented a pleasant surprise.
"Sir, it looks like we're in luck—there's a window over the northern hemisphere that'll last at least six hours," one of the operators reported.
"Will we make it, Captain?" I turned to Ragnos.
"I think so, sir. We'll need about three hours to unload, no more."
"Excellent. All ships, follow us. Blam, haveeveryone prepare for landing—we've got a maximum of four hours."
"Yes, General."
I turned back to the observation screen. Our ships were slowly descending into a gap between the clouds. It was roughly forty by thirty kilometers in size—a patch of clear sky, unlike the rest of the turbulent atmosphere. Fairly calm for now, though ion discharges were already raging at the edges.
"General, we've detected enemy ship signatures. They're on the far side of the orbit."
Damn, that's bad. But at least we didn't run into them. Hopefully, they won't notice us.
"Brace yourselves—there's going to be a little turbulence," Ragnos announced.
Despite the stabilizers, the ship shook noticeably.
"I don't like this," the Togruta muttered. "If this is a little, what's a lot going to be like?"
The Acclamators safely passed through the upper layers of the atmosphere and began their descent toward the surface. Gunboats poured out of the holds, deploying advance units of clones supported by sixty AT-TEs suspended from LAAT cargo variants. I had requested them specifically to unload these not-so-speedy machines asquickly as possible. At the same time, they would secure the initial perimeter, covering us from potential enemy attacks.
Ships in the atmosphere are generally vulnerable, but once landed—especially with their engines shut down—they become easy targets. A coupleof missiles into the engine nozzles, and that's it—game over. When the engines are running, the heat from the exhaust will simply vaporize the missiles before they even reach the edge of the thrusters, but on the ground, there's a real chance of disabling the ship.
I took one last look at the surveillance screens. Around us, in the distance, flashes of local ion discharges—replacing lightning—sparked against the backdrop of dark clouds. It would have been beautiful if it weren't so dangerous. A single hit, and an uncontrolled ship plummeting from the sky would be the best outcome we could hope for.
Then Ahsoka and I hurried to the hangar, where we boarded our headquarters' Juggernaut. The command center was already operational—a map of the area was projected across the tactical table.
"General, there's a plateau below us. Its exact size is unknown, but it's presumably one of the large 'continents' in the northern hemisphere. Here and here—groups of hills. This section appears to be a mud plain, but the sensors are malfunctioning, so its depth is uncertain," Sumeragi began her report. "Here and here—two more hills. On this one, there's an aboriginal settlement. It's small, only about six hundred buildings, with an estimated population of roughly ten thousand inhabitants. Current status: unknown."
A few minutes later, the ships' landing gear touched down on the rocky plain of Jabiim.
"Begin unloading!" I commanded. "H, take the hills in the northwest. Enok, you're responsible for the southern plain. Zilo, cover the western hills. Turn and I will handle the center and the hill to the east—we'll also take control of the settlement. Is everything clear?"
"Yes, sir!" The legion commanders nodded in unison.
"Well, here we go," I muttered to myself.
The ramps lowered in sync, and a flood of equipment and clone troopers poured out. The scouts were the first to rush forward, followed closely by the engineering units, ready to begin establishing the base. Our B-1 units marched alongside the clones in precise formation. Soon after, our Juggernaut rolled out of the ship's hold.
***
Pak Ganam was quite old, even by Neimoidian standards. Therefore, when the war began, he had been assigned to oversee the rear planets near Hutt Space. It was a small sector along a secondary trade route near the planets Jabiim, Taskeed, and Dennogra. Moreover, he came from a respected family and had concluded many successful deals—a mark of prestige among the Neimoidians—so he had been assured of a comfortable posting.
"Lord Governor, Republic ships have been spotted in our area of responsibility," reported one of the droids over the voice link. "They have landed on the far side of the planet."
"Unacceptable!" exclaimed the Neimoidian. "Completely unacceptable! Where exactly are they?"
"The northern hemisphere. The enemy consists of three large ships and three small combat units," the OOM-series droid quickly supplied.
"Fly there immediately and destroy them! We'll take all our forces—one Lucrehulk and sevenMunificent-class frigates. That should be enough! I don't want any Republic forces operating in territory under my control!"
"Roger Roger!" The droid nodded vigorously.
Meanwhile, Pak Ganam was deep in thought. The attack was completely untimely. And what was the Republic doing in such a remote place?
Something strange is happening with this planet.