บท 183: No Help

"Here they come, boys!!!"

Rozal only had time to say that before the enemy's Vulture droids met them. The 303rd had about two thousand and five hundred starfighters, but they were outnumbered four to one. The cloud of Vulture droids flying at high speed to meet them was almost a compact mass, and when he looked at them, Rozal had no idea of how they were going to get through.

He was in a V-Wing, a faster model than his old ARC-170. Taking advantage of the fighter's nimbler movements, he found a spot, and dove towards it.

Lasers flew all around them as Steel Battalion cut through the droids. Without even letting his finger leave the trigger, Rozal fired all the missiles he had, without sparing one. A group of Vulture droids in front of him blew to pieces, and he passed through the cloud of debris, his fighter shaking when the bigger ones hit it.

Looking to the sides, he saw his battalion behind him, although he saw many gaps in their formation. On his communicator he could hear screams and his brothers yelling, reporting problems and casualties, or just celebrating a nice shot.

"Revert, now!"

Rozal pulled a lever, and his body went forward with the sudden stop. Luckily he was well strapped, or he would have gone through the windshield.

Turning around, Steel Battalion was presented with the defenseless backs of the Vulture droids, now with some noticeable gaps. Pushing the lever forward again, Rozal flew after the enemies, blasting as many as he could. At the first sight that the droids were turning around, he ordered Steel Battalion to scatter.

"The first part is over, boys. Now, let's fly."

--------------------------

Admiral Dao was once more looking through the window, watching the battle unfold. Even with the statistics that the bustling command bridge was giving him, he knew they were facing problems. Up till now, only the starfighters had engaged the enemy, but soon they would clash with the bigger ships.

"Admiral! We established a connection with the Jedi Council!"

Admiral Dao rushed to the hologram table, and was faced with three holograms. The first one was General Kenobi, whom he had met not too long ago. The second one was a black, bald man with a serious face. He was General Mace Windu, a member of the Jedi Council. And the last one was a small, green, and old Jedi, Master Yoda. The Jedi refused to be called by 'general'.

"Master Yoda! We are under attack by the Separatist fleet on Ryloth! We need reinforcements immediately!"

General Windu answered for Master Yoda while General Kenobi caressed his beard thoughtfully.

"That is impossible, admiral. All our fleets are occupied in other sectors."

"General, with all due respect, but if we don't get those reinforcements, Ryloth will be lost!"

"Hold on you will have to, admiral. As soon as we can, reinforcements sent will be."

Admiral Dao sighed, but before he could say anything, a crewman ran towards him, and whispered something.

"Put it on."

An image of a clone captain appeared near the three Jedi masters. They also could see it from their end.

"Admiral! We are starting to take fire from their frigates!"

"Hold on, Captain Weet. Rozal! Can you hear me?!"

"Loud and clear, admiral! Just... give me a moment...Ihuuu!!! I'm here, admiral!"

The voice of Rozal came through the communicator, and so did the sound of explosions. Rozal grunted for a moment, clearly focusing on something else, before letting out a victorious yell.

"Take Steel Battalion and help Captain Weet. But split up. The Resolute is just the first to face heavy fire."

"Yes, admiral. I'm out!"

Admiral Dao turned back to the hologram. Captain Weet had already disconnected to deal with the attack. In moments like those, all cordiality was thrown away.

"I will also leave, generals. I have to focus here, otherwise we will all die. Or, at least, we will die faster."

Admiral Dao disconnected right away. In Coruscant, thousands of parsecs away, General Kenobi looked at the other two.

"I sense a lot of rage in the admiral. Is there really nothing we can do?"

"If we move troops to Ryloth, we lose other systems. No. Master Di will have to hold on his on, at least for now. I believe Master Skywalker and you might be free soon, if the battles progress as they are."

"That is true. For now, let's hope Master Di can manage. What are your thoughts on this, Master Yoda?"

"Uhmm... very clouded the future of Master Di is. But Master Windu is right. All we can do is our hopes in the Force put."

------------------------

Rozal zoomed by a Separatist frigate, narrowly missing it. When a starfighter met a bigger ship, it had two options. It could either fly very far, or fly very close. By flying far, it was easier to dodge. By flying very close, the turrets would have difficulty aiming. As a veteran and skilled pilot, Rozal preferred flying close.

He dodged the lasers fired by the turrets easily, and continued his flight towards The Resolute. His men followed him closely, but one of them wasn't lucky, and the turrets got him. Steel 6 blew up immediately, leaving almost nothing behind. However, their tactic worked, as the dozen or so Vulture droids chasing them found ut almost impossible to have their dexterity, and hit their own frigate. Some big holes appeared in the armor of the ship, and two of the turrets were destroyed when the Vulture droids hit them.

Rozal and his ten remaining pilots flew towards The Resolute. The rest of Steel Battalion was scattered all over space.

Now, they could see The Resolute, and the flames that flickered into existence, only to be immediately extinguished by the vacuum. By now, all the ships had joined the fray, but as the first one attacked, The Resolute was in bad shape.

Rozal led his men around it, chasing away Vultures and Tri-fighters, but it was clear that the enemy was merciless, and didn't care for how many ships it lost.

"Ahhhh!!!"

Rozal saw one of his men blew up beside him. Seeing the brothers with which he trained together for years die one after another, Rozal had the feeling that everything they were doing was futile. Since things were already like this, he might as well try one last time.

"Steel Battalion nearby, follow me! Since those clanckers want to destroy us so much, let's show them what Steel Battalion is made off!"

"Ihuuu!!!"

"Oh yeah!!!"

"We are with you, sir. Always."

"Rozal! What are you doing?! Get back here!"

The voice of Captain Weet cut off the cheers of his brothers. Deadly serious, Rozal calmly answered the captain while at the same time spinning his V-Wing and firing two volleys of lasers at a turret.

"We are making no difference back there, captain. If we are going to die, I want one of them to go with me. With us."

Rozal dove between two frigates, dodging their turrets expertly. Steel Battalion followed him, and the two frigates aimed at the large group of starfighters. Two V-Wings were hit, and crashed down on the Munificent-class Frigates, one of them even hitting near the command bridge.

The rest of Steel Battalion passed through almost unharmed, and in their hurry to take down the threat, the frigates forgot they were on each other's line of fire.