Chapter 47: Chapter 47 – Malastare Narrows
Harry Potter, The Jedi That Would Not Die
Chapter 47 – Malastare Narrows
37 BBY
In the following two years the jedi padawans put their new found magical skill to good use, the ability to apparate became immensely useful when it came to getting out of trouble, the only restrictions being that they did not dare attempt to jump more than a few thousand miles. Anywhere on a planet was fine and even onto ships in low or medium orbit if they were geostationary but never further than that for risk of them ending up apparating into space.
Harry passed his probation with ease, Master Plo signed off that other than his use of Electric Judgement and Sith Lightning he showed no signs of walking the line between light and dark and that his skills with said technique had developed to the point where he could easily maintain the attack for several minutes against resistance from either a lightsaber or another casting of Electric Judgement, courtesy of Master Plo.
Dobby had also settled in well, the High Council and many other jedi had been quite unnerved by just how fast he could clean massive areas so his duties had been correspondingly expanded to cover larger areas of the Temple, especially including those that others found very difficult to clean such as the high stone ceilings.
The rest of the jedi who had been left on Earth had returned, they reported that they had managed to help many of those who were injured in the war including managing to help Tonks. Apparently one of them had come up with the great idea of putting Victoire Weasley, the baby daughter of Bill and the late Fleur Weasley in the room with her (though under the watchful eye of her widower father of course). She had barely reacted at first but when Victoire had started crying a few minutes later she had stood up, gone over to the baby and had started comforting her, it was the first time in months that she has really reacted to anything. It had been the first step of her recovery, since then with the help of Victoire and the jedi healers she had almost reverted to being relatively normal (though apparently she was much less expressive and jokey than her former self), she was not up to conversing fully but she did talk enough for them to know that she knew that Victoire was not her child though that did not seem to matter to her and if it helped her recover Bill was all for it, especially as he had been rather lost after Fleur's death and having another carer only helped him.
Hogwarts and the Ministry had also been restored and classes had once again resumed as they had when the padawan's had been students, though without the yearly life threatening situations…they hoped.
The padawans were progressing wonderfully within the Order and receiving glowing praise from many. Master Depa Billaba had taken over her former masters training regime of Harry's as regards lightsaber Form VII and was just as impressed as the other jedi at his progress and had been quoted as saying that he would be a master of it within just a few years.
The padawan's had also rebuilt the Raven, or the Raven II as it was now officially known through everyone still called it the Raven. The pair along with the benefactors on the High Council had got the new ship upgraded to the same level as the old one had been, including the broom like manoeuvrability, the upgraded pilot protection systems (though modified at Coleman's subtle suggestion to allow for taller species), improved hyperdrive and sublight engines, cooling spells on the new guns (to prevent them overheating and to allow for a faster fire rate), spell enhanced reflective hull plating (stronger than before thanks to the new skills of Harry and Hermione at channelling of jedi's energy) and finally they had managed to add a limited (and they stressed the limited) regenerative ability to the hull plating as a second layer of defence if the reflective spells were breached. All in all it made the Raven one of the toughest ships going.
The padawan's and their masters spent the majority of the next couple of years on or around Coruscant but it was not until after both had turned 22 that they got their next assignment away from the capitol.
"Keep up Hermione," called Harry as he rounded the last obstacle.
#Unlike you Harry,# she replied over the comms. #I'm not suicidal.#
Her fighter was less than two seconds behind his but that made all the difference on the obstacle course, especially when competing against Harry.
Through the chicane, under the marker, clockwise spin to avoid the moving obstacles, shoot the three targets, through the finish line.
Harry heard the tone sound a couple of seconds later to signify the end of the race as he spun his fighter around to wait for Hermione who pulled up beside him.
"I'm not suicidal," he replied. "I just fly fast."
#Suicidally fast you mean,# she replied. #I'd be surprised if there was any paint left on any of those obstacles after that run.#
"I could have gone faster; I was still half a second off the course record."
#Other than a couple of knights the only people you are ranked behind are Masters Adi, Koon and Tiin. For a padawan that's more than good, that's exemplary.#
"Doesn't mean I shouldn't push myself to be better," he replied.
#Of course not, just don't push too hard Harry.#
They were interrupted by the comm systems of their fighters beeping. Accepting the communications a hologram of Coleman appeared in front of both.
#Harry, Hermione, now you have completed your run we need you back down here, we have a mission.#
Turning their fighters around the pair pointed them away from the orbital course and headed back towards the Temple Hangers.
After quickly changing out of their flight suits the pair met up with their masters at the High Council Chamber.
"Ready?" asked Aayla as they came to a stop.
"Yes Masters," Hermione replied.
"Shall we?" gestured Coleman as he led the others into the chamber.
"Master Coleman, Knight Secura, good," greeted Dooku.
"You have a mission for us Masters?" asked Aayla.
"Indeed," replied Dooku. "A situation had developed on the planet Malastare between the Dug Fuel Companies and the Corporate Alliance. The Corporate Alliance are wanting cheaper trade rates, the Dugs aren't willing to go as low as they want but realise that they need the contract with the Alliance because of its dominance."
"To reach a settlement unable they have been," explained Yoda. "Malastare Narrows blockaded the Alliance have."
"The Narrows are the richest source of Malastare fuel on the planet," elaborated Plo. "While that area is blockades the fuel companies are losing millions of credits and the Alliance are claiming all the fuel for themselves. Before long this problem will start having wide reaching consequences, although the Republic Judicial Starfleet does not use the fuel there are hundreds of Republic companies that do and it won't be long before reserves start to run dry."
"Is the Sector Defence Fleet not able to deal with the problem?" asked Aayla.
"The forces for the Dustig Sector have been neglected and are extremely corrupt;" replied Dooku. "As a result the Chancellor sent a force of judicial ships to end the blockade. They along with privateers hired by the Dugs attempted to lift the siege but the Alliance Fleet including hired pirates under the command of Admiral Trench devastated the fleet. Those that remain are holding out until relief can be sent."
"I will be leading a task force made up of jedi and judicial forces to end the blockade and relieve the remaining forces," explained Oppo. "I will command from the flagship while Masters Plo and Saesee lead the fighters in."
"If you don't mind me asking Masters," asked Coleman. "Why are we personally being selected for this mission?"
"The Raven," answered Plo. "The enhancements Padawans Harry and Hermione have made to that ship mean it has a considerably higher survivability than any other ship available to us. Admiral Trench is a formidable opponent and in order to prevent the fuel companies going bankrupt and starving thousands of ships of fuel we need to make our move soon, unfortunately this prevents us from having time to assemble a larger force so we estimate we will be outnumbered by around two to one in numbers of ships."
"The key is force ratio," continued Oppo. "They have good leadership but the pirates are undisciplined and although the crews of the destroyers are trained they cannot match the skill of jedi pilots."
"Prep your ship; you leave before the end of the day."
It was less than four hours later that the padawans, and the squads of the Republic Guard that they had been instructed to transport, settled themselves in on-board the Raven.
As the ship passed through the entrance to the hanger bay and rocketed up into the sky to join the rest of the assembling fleet in orbit a small skiff darted out from amongst the metropolis and followed them at a distance.
"I'm worried Harry," stated Hermione as they rocketed through hyperspace with the rest of the fleet on route to Malastare. Their Masters were aboard their flagship with the other jedi masters discussing strategy.
"About what?" he asked from half way underneath a control console, as he made final checks to the Raven.
"This battle," she replied from her position in the co-pilots chair. "I've got a very bad feeling that something is going to go wrong."
"I know the numbers aren't on our side Hermione but we do have superior skill and training."
"It's not that," she replied, "It's like it's about the battle…but not the battle itself."
Harry slid out from under the console and looked at his best friend. She did indeed look uneasy, it reminded him of what she was like during the Triwizard Tournament; they knew there was something wrong, they knew they were in danger but they did not know which way to duck.
"Everything will be fine Hermione," he replied, getting up and going to sit opposite her in the captain's chair.
"I don't know Harry; I've got a very bad feeling."
"We'll be careful; you know we can handle ourselves?
"I just wish we had had more time to prepare, that way we could summon Alema to help."
"Time isn't on our side here Hermione, we need to get to Malastare or more people will die."
"I know…I just don't think everything is going to go according to plan."
The fleet that the Republic has assembled consisted of less than forty ships with fighter escort, Trench's fleet consisted of over seventy ships and although some were only pirates and some were damaged from the previous engagement those were still steep odds.
The journey took a few days, it would have taken less if the Raven had been flying at full speed but the faster more up-to-date ships of the judicial fleet were sent as part of the first task force, the only ones immediately available were older slower vessels, not by any means out-of-date relics but definitely not brand new. The closer they got to the target the more Harry and Hermione worried about the odds and about Hermione's niggling sense of worry.
On the very edge of the Malastare system the small skiff came out of hyperspace and seemed to fade from sight.
Less than thirty seconds later the Republic fleet arrived, close enough to Malastare to be in sensor range but well out of range of ship guns or non-hyperspace capable fighters.
On-board the Republic Flagship the jedi masters were gathered around a chart table with a hologram of the enemy fleet displayed above it.
A few seconds after they arrived there was a pop was Harry and Hermione apparated in with the Captain of the Guards from the Raven.
"That was extremely disconcerting," the Captain remarked, steadying himself against the chart table.
"You get used to it," remarked Aayla, who could remember the first time she was apparated by her padawan; she had almost thrown up when they landed.
"Masters," the padawans greeted as they and the Captain joined the others around the table.
"It seems the majority of the Alliance fleet was gathered in orbit directly above the Narrows," described Oppo. "Only a few ships, mostly the few pirates if I had to guess, were in and around the narrows themselves, but as soon as they detected our arrival the fleet started descending into the atmosphere to reinforce the blockade and in preparation to defend the area. The few remaining forces of the original judiciary fleet are currently grounded underneath said blockade."
"Our battle plan is this," began Saesee, "The judicial forces under Master Oppo are going to engage Trench's Fleet. I will command the fighters screening our ships in order to prevent any bombers getting in close; we will also attempt to punch a hole in their lines that the rest of the fleet can exploit. While that is happening Master Plo, you Master Coleman and you Knight Secura will provide fighter cover for the bomber squadrons and the Raven which will be flown by your padawans."
"The Raven's first job will be to punch an initial hole to allow the bomber squadrons you are escorting to break through enemy lines," continued Oppo. "Making a hole large enough for the bigger ships to fly through will be difficult but with you two flying the Raven and with its advanced manoeuvrability you should be able to exploit any small gap. Then with you flying point ahead of the bomber squadron the enemy ships are likely to target you rather than the smaller less defended bombers."
"Your objective will be to take out the engines, weapons systems and communications of Trench's command ship," continued Plo.
"Why not simply destroy the ship?" asked Harry.
"That is an option but the Dugs and the Chancellor would prefer to prosecute," explained Plo. "So after you have taken out those primary systems the Raven and our fighters will break off from the bomber squadrons who will then move to attack the rest of the fleet from behind while you dock with the Flagship. You have several units of the Republic Security Forces on-board and your and their instructions are to capture Trench and the ship if possible, if not then get Trench and retreat or if that's not possible destroy the flagship."
"Where are our fighters going to dock Master," asked Aayla. "The Raven can use a standard docking port but I doubt Trench's flagship will open its hangers for us?"
"Our fighters won't be docking. Although the Raven has greatly increased protections it will be as an orbiting dock in the middle of an enemy fleet while the boarding action is underway. We are to protect it from fighter and bomber attack while they are docked. If necessary the on-board astromechs will undock the ship and retreat before returning and re-docking if the boarding party need an evacuation."
"Are you sure that's a good idea Masters?" asked Aayla. "I know Harry and Hermione are well trained but are they and a few dozen Republic Guards going to be enough to take the command ship. I know the command ship is only a few hundred meters long but it must have a crew compliment of over a hundred plus if they are carrying ground forces which I'm assuming they are there are probably at least one hundred if not two hundred troops aboard."
"I know the odds are against them Aayla," replied Plo. "And ideally we would prefer to put one of you on-board the Raven in their place but Harry and Hermione are the only ones who know her inside and out and are able to troubleshoot any issues that arise and only jedi pilots will have any chance that deep into the enemy fleet. Being as outnumbered as we are our best bet is to take or destroy the command ship. Without Trench the rest of the fleet becomes a lot less effective and we will have a greater chance of breaking through."
"That is the reason why there are several fall back options for the incursion team," interjected Saesee.
"Trench has a great strategic mind but he will not know what the Raven is capable of," continued Oppo, "So until the first ships engage you are to hold formation within the fleet as if you are just another modified Consular-Class Cruiser. Our first move will be to send the frigates in to harass the enemy ships covered by the fighter and bomber squadrons, we are going to try to make it look like we are trying to get them to break position so we can punch through, the Raven is to move forward at the same time but instead of staying ahead of their lines and harassing them you are to punch through. The Bomber squadrons, Plo, Coleman and Aayla will follow you immediately before the enemy know what is going on. The rest of the fleet will continue to attack as normal regardless of your success or failure. In the event that something goes wrong we are to rendezvous on the edge of the system where we jumped in. If that is no longer free of enemy ships head for the Tyus sector. Another thing we must be aware of, Trench is very clever he will likely have a counterattack of his own planned so we must be on alert for a trap."
The eve of battle.
The two fleets were only a few thousand meters away from each other, right on the edge of weapons range. The opposing fleet were hovering in mid atmosphere directly between them and their task Force was slowly descending towards them at a diagonal angle to make it safer in case one of the ships at the back of the fleet got hit it would not plummet to the ground taking half the fleet with it, being stretched out diagonally and falling ships could only take out one or two.
On-board the Raven II Harry was in the pilot's seat controlling the helm, the nose mounted main turbolaser canons, another upgrade on the Raven I which had only had standard turbolasers, and the high yield torpedoes that had been retrofitted into what has been the saloon pod, which were so heavily laden with explosives for this mission that Harry was genuinely worried about the force of launching them might rip the modified saloon pod off. Hermione was in the co-pilot's seat controlling the ships systems, the automated anti-personnel guns as well as the top double laser turret above the bridge. Between them was a holographic representation of the battle. Also on the bridge where two of the Republic Guard who were controlling the stern ventral and stern dorsal gun turrets, these along with the turret that Hermione was controlling were the only turrets that could not be controlled from their actual location because of lack of space in those parts of the ship. In order to add manual controls they would have to have stripped out major parts of the ships interior that they were not prepared to do. They had made slight changes to the ships overall profile though by raising the top of the ship to be entirely flat rather than having the top of the cockpit be slightly above the rest of the ship, this allowed them the space to add four more double laser turrets (this time with manual controls) to the mid wings of the ship both on port and starboard and dorsal and ventral. All of which were currently manned by the Republic Guard. All this meant that the ship was now brisling with seven turrets, one pair of fixed canons and an arsenal of heavy torpedoes; it was effectively a flying fortress.
#All wings report ready, all ships prepare for combat,# announced Master Oppo. #We're about to enter weapons range. May the Force be with us.#
"All passengers prepare for evasive manoeuvres," Harry announced over the intercom, "All gunners prepare to start firing." Deactivating the intercom he turned to his friend. "Here we go Hermione."
"Good luck Harry," she smiled, though he could tell her early sense of foreboding had not left her.
"You too Hermione."
#Weapons range achieved,# announced Oppo. "Fighters begin your screening, Raven, frigates and bombers move in for your attack. Cruisers and destroyers provide covering fire.#
As soon as the words appeared over the com Harry immediately punched the speed controls and the Raven visibly jerked forward as he and the rest of the ships pointed themselves down into the atmosphere of the planet. They had been deliberately put further back in the fleet formation so as to give the other frigates time to engage first but the jedi masters had not taken into account the greater increase in speed that Harry and Hermione had managed to achieve post rebuild so by the time they exited the front of the formation they had already caught up with the other frigates and were rapidly overtaking them in their descent. Only the three jedi fighter escorts managed to keep pace.
#Damn it Harry,# complained his Master over the com, #What have you done to those engines now, you're almost faster than our fighters are.#
"Just some minor tweaks Master," he replied smirking. "I'm going to do a couple of passes along the top of their lines to try to identify the best break point."
#Agreed Black One,# replied Plo, #Do you see that gap between the three destroyers at point two nine?#
"Yes Black Two," he replied as he swung the Raven around the end of the enemy line, allowing their gunners a chance to aim at the flanks of one of the destroyers. "Bringing us around to those coordinates now."
#Bomber Wings,# Plo announced to the fleet. #Form up on the Black One at point two nine, we're about to punch through.#
#This is Grey Leader, heading for those coordinates now.#
#Green Leader, doing the same."
#Blue Leader, affirmative."
"Incoming fighters," announced Hermione.
"I see them," replied Harry, "Gunners prepare for fighters."
Harry side skidded the Raven through the atmosphere and pointed his fixed guns into the oncoming squadron as Hermione and the other gunners with the correct firing arcs did the same, aiming between the three cruisers in the confined 'corridor' that the enemies fighters were about to emerge out of the top off they let loose with all barrels.
The blasters and canons fired and many of the fighters got strafed; some exploded, others ended up spiralling into others and destroying them too. Those that managed to avoid that barrage and that swerved to dodge either flew straight into the hulls of the cruisers, the arcs of the other guns or the fiery wreckage that began falling back towards them of their former colleagues.
#Nicely done Black One,# Plo remarked as the Raven and its trio of jedi fighters dived through where the squadron had just been.
"Thank you Master," Harry replied before swinging the Raven around wide to approach the coordinates, the side gunners firing constantly both at the enemy fighters, more of which were arriving by the second, and at the larger ships. Glancing at the holomap Harry saw the bomber squadrons forming up behind him. He had never led this many ships before, time to lead.
"Blue, Green and Grey Squadrons, this the Black One, keep tight behind us, this could be a tight squeeze, our target is the flagship, unless I advise otherwise Green Squadron target the ships hyperdrive then sublight engines. Just remember that we are fighting in an atmosphere, do not destroy all the engines or the ship will crash, if we are going to board it still needs to remain airborne. Grey Squadron target their weapons and turrets and Blue Squadron target their communications systems, if they are destroyed quickly then target the hangers, we don't want Trench escaping."
#Roger Black One.#
#Roger Black One.#
#Roger Black One.#
Punching the engines to full power the ship jerked forward and rocketed towards the gap. Spinning the ship on its horizontal axis he just avoid tearing one of the engines off against the hull of one of the destroyers. Quickly checking the battle holo-image he saw the jedi fighters and the bombers file through the gap behind him.
Seeing a gap in the destroyer 'tunnel' open up below him he flipped the ship over and rolled out of the space between the three destroyers into more open space, they were not behind the lines.
Opening up the engines he rocketed the ship through the fleet, the fighters and bombers trailing behind them as the fleets blasters opened up against them in a hail of fire.
"Gunners, try to focus your attacks on their communications arrays, the less they can communicate the less they can coordinate," Hermione ordered over the intercom as she blasted away a ships communications array.
#Incoming fighters, point two six,# Coleman announced.#
#Black Three and Four, move to intercept. I'll stay with the bombers# ordered Plo.
#Moving to intercept,# came the reply before two of their escorts moved off.
"We're lost twenty percent of the bombers," announced Hermione, "We need to move quicker."
Harry adjusted his course through the fleet, finding the paths between the ships that meant minimising the guns that the enemy ships could use against them. As they swung around their seventh ship the larger shape of the command ship came into view.
"Target ahead, Blue, Grey and Green Squadrons, pick your targets," Harry ordered. "Black One , Two and Three, I'm going to fire my torpedoes at the side of the ship to distract them and to give the bomber squadrons the best chance at getting through the shields."
#Affirmative Black Leader," confirmed Plo. "Then proceed directly to the nearest docking port and attack.#
"Affirmative Black Two," Harry acknowledged. "Attacking now, everybody hold on."
Lining up on the ship he slowly tilted his controls to the right then depressed the fire button for his torpedoes.
The enhanced torpedoes shook the ship as each one left the tubes which were then automatically reloaded. The slight curve in his flight path meant that the torpedoes landed in a line sequentially along the ships mid line. Harry kept firing until the torpedo tubes were empty as were their ammunition stores.
The first nine torpedoes had just impacted the shields but the last few impacted the hull where he had temporarily overwhelmed the shields.
"Shields are down, commence attack quickly before they recycle!" he called as he pulled the engines back; the massive barrage of torpedoes had slowed the ship greatly as they were launched. The engines would get him back up to speed quickly if left on full power but he now needed to be behind the bombers so he did not get hit as he attempted to dock.
He was vaguely aware of the three squadrons dividing up and heading for the various points of the ship as they moved forward towards their target. He watched as the squadrons swarmed around the flagship for a second before over a dozen separate explosions rocked the ship.
"Weapons away," Hermione narrated watching her status readouts. "Shields generators, communications, engines and several gun batteries hit. Bombers are coming around for their second pass."
"This is Black Leader, we're moving in."
"Affirmative Black Leader," acknowledged Plo. "Moving into defensive positions."
"Guardsman, prepare for boarding action," Harry announced over the intercom as he pulled them up beside the much larger ship just after the second wave bombs hit. "Lowering particle shields, activating docking clamps…We have a good seal, let's hope the ablative armour holds if they fire torpedoes at us."
"Setting all guns to automatic defence mode," continued Hermione before turning and running towards the ship's starboard docking port. "Let's go."
Unnoticed to the rest of the ships the lone skiff reappeared underneath Trench's flagship and attached itself to an emergency hatch underneath the ship.
The group of guards that were lined up ready for action parted to allow the two through to the front where the guard captain and a quartet of elite guards were lined up. All the guards were equipped with blasters or blaster rifles, full armour in the traditional blue hue and most were carrying large shields that were only just shorted than the human body.
Thinking ahead Harry had also thought to wear armour, for the first time in his life he was actually wearing most of the set of armour the Mandalorian Royal Guard had given him for helping to save Satine and the senators so many years ago, at last it actually fitted him. The only parts of it he was not carrying were the staff and helm that went with it. Right now he wished he had two sets so that Hermione could be protected too.
"Everybody ready?" he asked.
"We're ready," replied the Captain. "Five of my men are staying behind to secure the ship. I suggest some of my men push through first, their shields will protect them more."
"Agreed," nodded Hermione. "In that case, you'd better give the order Captain."
"Open the hatches."
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry for the wait guys. Mixed news on the reason for the hold up the good reason is that if this story ever gets as far as the TPM or ROS I have now written the bits for most of those arcs.
The bad news is that we are not there yet and I also made the fatal mistake of re-reading a story idea I tried to start writing a while ago (a HP/LOTR crossover) and got hooked into re-writing and continuing that so now I am writing two stories at once which will obviously slow this story even more.
Also I will try and get around to replying to all of those reviews you guys kindly post for me.
Enjoy.
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