Chapter 6: Challenge

Cyprixxia
Dantooine System Dantooine

Dressed in a tight black leather singlesuit, the front open to her navel, Iliyana stood beside Tremar. Her lightsaber hung from her slim belt, and her blaster was holstered under her arm. They had come here, to Dantooine, to begin Tremar’s plan. Below them, the planet looked sleepy, peaceful, spinning in space. Relics of the old Jedi Order were buried there, along with the long forgotten star map. On the navigation deck behind them, Larian stood, dressed not in his usual mechanics outfit, but a military combat suit, well protected but with good mobility, and a heavy repeating blaster rifle was slung at his side. Beside him, Reanne was dressed much the same as Iliyana, but a black collar encircled her neck. Her eyes were clearer now, not hazed with lust and sexual aggressiveness.

“Remember,” Tremar said, “the Jedi have a base here. It is not large, I doubt there are more than twenty Jedi, but it must fall. We need some of them alive as well. The Terenateks will listen to your commands Iliyana. Use them well.”

Iliyana bowed her head slightly. “Yes Master.”

“Larian, our armada?”

Larian smiled. “Four hundred light bombers are ready for launch, with two hundred fighters programmed for escort. When Iliyana gives the signal, the first wave will start in. By the time the Jedi can react, at least the first two waves will have struck the defences, and by then they’ll be more concerned about the Terenatek rampaging through the streets. The third and fourth wave will come in from behind the settlement, bombing the hangars and communications. I’ve timed them so that if everything works close to how we want, they’ll hammer the hangars as the second wing strikes.”

Tremar nodded, and then turned to look at Reanne. “Reanne, your sole task is to keep Larian alive. Do you understand?”

Reanne nodded, her dark face flushed with excitement, and Iliyana noticed she was rubbing her legs together, working the leather against herself. “Yes Master Tremar.”

Tremar nodded. “Good. You may proceed.”

Iliyana, Reanne and Larian trooped to the now full main hangar. Every ship that could be spared had been scrapped and used as raw material for their armada. The small droid ships were humming to life as the group boarded their re-inforced shuttle. Two Terenatek were aboard, sitting docilely in the cargo area. Larian slipped into the pilots seat, and Iliyana into the co-pilots. Reanne sealed the hatch and rushed to the cockpit, where she stood behind Larian, one hand under her leather singlesuit, kneading her breast.

Larian flew the shuttle out of [i]Cyprixxia[/i], and angled steeply down to the planet below. As they entered the atmosphere, Iliyana activated the droid armada.

The small bomber wings flashed past them, traveling faster than a human body could bear, and descended upon Khoonda spaceport with no warning. The first wave of explosions rippled across the tarmac, tearing holes in the ground and blasting walls apart. Bodies flew through the air as Larian sped down, seeking a safe area to land as the second wave descended. As it struck the port, more explosions drowned out the wailing alarms as hangars went up in smoke. The shuttle crunched onto the edge of a crater, and Reanne opened the back hatch. Iliyana stepped up to the Terenatek, and cast her thought as she had been taught.

“Hunt.”

The two Terenatek barrelled out of the ship, and the screams from outside suddenly lifted higher. The three followed, ready for whatever may come.

The battle on Dantooine was not what any soldier would call pleasant. Despite its past troubles, Dantooine was still a world of farmers, not soldiers. The sudden appearance of a Sith fleet and two Terenatek sent people screaming in fear, scattering to the winds. Those that fought back soon discovered the energy resistance of the Terenatek’s hides as their blaster bolts simply bounced off, and then it was too late.

As the beasts rampaged through Khoonda, the Jedi appeared on scene, spinning into sight with their lightsabers ignited, blades humming as they beelined straight for the Terenatek. The two mighty beasts roar3ed their bestial challenges, and plowed towards the Jedi. Now the settlers were rallying, giving the beasts and Jedi room, aiming their blasts at the bombers, unaware of Iliyana, Reanne and Larian until it was too late. Iliyana scythed into a group of farmers, her lightsaber whirling through the air, slicing through the barrels of rifles and limbs of farmers with equal ease.

Larian hunkered down behind a slab of concrete that had toppled from a wall in the initial waves of bombing, and laid the barrel of his rifle on top. Although it was a heavy repeating rifle, he had attached a powerful scope to it, and right now, it was on its single shot setting, to both save energy and make it more accurate. He settled the stock against his shoulder, laid his cheek on the stock and peered through the scope. With practiced ease, he squeezed the trigger, felt the hammering recoil or the rifle thud into his shoulder and saw the bolt tear through the shoulder of a militiaman. He aimed again on another, and fired. And fired. And fired.

Reanne knelt beside him, her mind off of her sexual desires, at least as much as was possible. Since she had been broken, sex was always on her mind, but the battle had pushed it far into the back of her mind. Her lightsaber rested in her hand, inactive but ready. She smiled happily as Larian’s rifle made its steady, dedicated pulse each time it was fired. She relaxed into the Force, drawing on it as she had not had the time to do lately. She was unaware of how long she knelt like that, listening absently to the pulsing thump of the rifle, the screams of the battle and the detonations of the continuing over flights of the bombers. Without knowing why, without even questioning it, Reanne spun to her feet, igniting her lightsaber, its green blade leaping into existence. She stretched it out, and deflecting one of the incoming blades, slapping it aside and whirling up to block a second lightsaber. She swung that one up over her head, and down to slam into the first blade. She lashed out with her foot, leaping into one of the Jedi, and drove the toes of her foot into his throat, then spun away from the crumpling body. She lifted her left hand, and thrust it at the second Jedi, launching the concrete slab she had gripped with the Force into his chest. He crumpled to the ground with a moan. Reanne marvelled at what she had done. Somehow, being broken had stripped away the usual limitations to the Force.

She turned to face two more Jedi, and lifted her blade, calm, ready, waiting.

On Cyprixxia, Tremar’s fingers danced over his controls, directing the droid bombers, using a squadron as surveillance, staying focused on Larian, Reanne and Iliyana. Reanne was moving fluidly, in full touch with the Force, and Iliyana was scything through militia and farmers with ease. Larian was dropping nearly as many, each bolt of his rifle cutting through three or four bodies at a time. Tremar flicked over to one of his other surveillance units, and saw the Jedi rallying at the academy. He flipped a switch, and two squadrons of bombers swept towards it. The Terenatek were almost there, slamming aside kath hounds that attacked. The Jedi noticed them, and leaped into action. They swarmed towards the Terenatek, lightsabers active. The battle began, fierce and powerful.