Star Wars: The Bane Of Hope (Varados trilogy book 2)

Chapter Sixteen: The Raid

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6004 ABY, Danaan

"How did those shuttles get here, Admiral?" Varados asked Grand Admiral Vial Dinaa.

"I don't know, sir. None of the probes picked up any movement, and none of the patrol ships caught anything." Vial answered.

"Strange. Contact our construction agent. Have them begin construction of a planetary shield. I will create specifics later. First, we must scour the planet for more ships. Those other shuttles must have been a distraction." Varados said.

"I will organize an attack force immediately. How many troops do you think that you will need?" Vial asked, pulling out their datapad.

"I would like one hundred thousand standard infantry soldiers, as well as eight thousand commandos and two thousand and five hundred JX-12-T tanks. Send them out in groups. Scour the planet. The groups closer to the base out in JX-7s and the groups farther out send them in JX-7-G gunships, with JX-7s mounted for faster approach. I would also like three hundred starfighters on standby for aerial assistance."

"Right away, my lord." Vial said, entering the commands into their datapad.

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Varados stood in a gunship and looked out over the Vraan desert. Millenia ago, a Sith fortress stood near here. The same fortress his master, Vraan, the namesake of this very desert, and thousands of soldiers had perished while trying to capture. The fortress had been reduced to nothingness millennia ago, although Varados did not know whether it was naturally or through combat. The gunship sped through the desert and eventually the desert turned into ocean, which eventually turned into forest. Varados was brought out of his thoughts by someone calling his name.

"Lord Varados, sir." A commando, who's insignia identified her as a commander, addressed him.

"Speak, Commander." Varados said without looking back.

"Our sensors have located a structure deep within the forest. I checked the Spectral Order construction records for this zone, and there weren't any requests to build." The commando reported.

"Very well. Order all troops to their respective transports." Varados ordered.

"Right away, my lord." The commando replied before walking away.

As he boarded his transport, Varados contacted Vial.

"Admiral, we have located what we think to be a Schism base. Have the other airborne groups on standby to land at these coordinates." Varados spoke into his comm.

"Roger that, my lord." Vial replied before switching off their comm.

The gunships landed in a wide open area. The transports detached from the gunships and drove in the direction of the base, with Varados' transport in the lead. As the attack force approached the base, Varados could make out cannons positioned all around the base.

"Slaughter group, requesting aerial cover at these coordinates." Varados said.

"Roger that." Everyone in Slaughter Group replied.

"E.t.a. five minutes, over." Kronos' voice came over the comm.

The transports stopped and waited for the fighters. After about five minutes, everyone looked to the skies as Slaughter Group soared overhead, taking out most of the cannons before flying off to wait nearby.

"Move in, now!" Varados yelled to the other transports.

They rumbled towards the base, and the tanks started firing at the base, causing the walls to start cracking. Varados raised his hand and all of the vehicles stopped moving. The ramps on the transports lowered. Troops started pouring out of the transports and then formed up into rows. Varados grabbed his announcer and walked to the front of the troops.

"This is Darth Varados, leader of the Spectral Order. All inhabitants of this structure must be in front of the base with their hands raised within five minutes. If you do not comply, we will kill every one of you." Varados said through the announcer.

After five minutes, no one had exited, so Varados put away the announcer and grabbed his lightsabers. He gestured 'move' to the troopers and then walked over to the door. He stabbed the door, causing it to open. Immediately after the door started to open, laserfire poured out from the base. Once the door was open, Varados walked in and started deflecting laserfire and hacking at people with his sabers. Bodies hit the floor as Varados and the troops under his command pushed forward, killing everyone in sight. After a while, they started encountering heavier and heavier resistance. After about fifteen minutes, the resistance was so heavy that they couldn't push forward anymore. Their losses started to mount and it became increasingly harder to maneuver through the bodies that littered the floor.

"Slaughter Group, this is Slaughter One, requesting ground support, over." Varados had to yell to be heard over the commotion in the room.

"Roger that. We're on our way." Kronos replied.

"Vial, send the reinforcements, now!" Varados said after switching his comm over.

"Right away, my lord." Vial replied.

The fight raged on as Slaughter Group charged in, weapons ready.

"My lord." Kronos addressed Varados, nodding.

"Kronos." Varados replied with a nod.

Together they took on the Schism soldiers with the help of the soldiers of the Spectral Order. After a few minutes, reinforcements poured in behind them. Moments later, they poured into the command center and stunned most of the people in the room, but killed the guards. They kept one person, who appeared to be the leader, alive and awake.

"What is your base doing on our planet, scum?" Varados asked the officer while holding a saber to their head.

"I won't tell you, you asshole!" The officer replied.

"Very well. Kronos, cuff 'em." Varados told Kronos.

"Yes, my lord." Kronos replied before grabbing his blaster and smacking the officer on the head with it. The officer fell to the ground, unconscious. He then proceeded to cuff them.