Star Wars: Tears of Fire (Book II)

Chapter 26 - Hammerfall

For the better part of an hour, the various squads moved into position within the valley of the enemy. Moving carefully about, they did their best to move quickly but efficiently as to not draw the attention of the enemy prematurely. Right now, the element of surprise was in the hands of the survivors.

Although everyone knew their plans and each squad leader made sure their next in command knew it as well, the lack of verbal communication once the groups separated left all to rely on certain actions to trigger the various phases of the battle.

The first phase relied of the stealth, sure-footedness and speed of a certain Maligi.

When the idea for the initial attack was proposed, all of the Maligi volunteered but it was Ahza who did so first with Chen not far behind. After the two nearly came to blows in front of the holomap, it was decided by Zekiel that Ahza would perform the act with Chen providing overwatch.

Both parties agreed.

Now, Chen laid in the prone position next to Zekiel as the former had eyes on his fellow Maligi through the sights of his sniper scope as she entered the enemy's camp.

Using a number of small explosive devices which were originally located within the supply ship known as the Retaliator, Ahza moved quickly but silently about the camp as she placed the devices in hidden locations on as many of the larger artillery vehicles as possible.

The goal from the initial attack was two-fold: First and most obvious was to damage a number of the ground vehicles which were capable of inflicting heavy casualties. Second was the explosions themselves. With the ship hovering above the camp, the hope was that the explosions would reach high enough to damage the ship, possibly worse. This was made possible by Vess who modified each of the explosives to pack a bit more punch.

From his vantage point, Chen continued to watch as Ahza quietly moved through the camp.

"She's like a shadow in the night," whispered Chen, a smile slipping into his face. "I guess it's best that she got the role."

"Eyes up, Chen," reminded Zekiel, a short means of informing the sniper to stay more focused and less impressed.

"Copy," replied Chen. "She's just placed the seventh explosive. Five more to...wait."

Through his scope, Chen observed Ahza taking cover underneath one of the vehicles as a patrol of four Trandoshans approached. Slowly, she crawled backwards and—after peering to see that the coast was clear—escaped from the other side and continued onward.

"She's clear," replied Chen, exhaling sharply. "On the move."

Ahza picked up the pace, moving to the next vehicle and placing the explosive underneath it before moving on. Just a few more to go.

"She's nearly complete," uttered Chen.

"Detonator, ready," replied Zekiel, holding the triggering device in his hand.

Chen watched on as Ahza continued to move deeper into the camp and placed the next several explosives. Just one more remained.

Turning a corner towards her final target, a small protruding metal piece caught Ahza's foot causing her to stumble. The sound causes several nearby Trandoshans to turn towards her direction.

"She's in trouble," said Chen.

Doubling down on his scope, Chen assessed the situation.

"The Trandoshans are suspicious. There's...about a dozen or so gathering around her now."

Through the scope, Chen could see Ahza's face as she took cover behind a large piece of machinery—a mixed look of fear and anticipation on her.

The Trandoshans were slowly advancing, now looking for a possible intruder after locating smaller footprints in the dirt.