Worth: A Star Wars Story (ON TEMP HIATUS)

20. Hard Contact, Part I

"No hostiles have breached the city, but the rumblings have knocked the power out," Vhetin spoke as we sped down the hallway, the sound of our boots on the polished stone being drowned out by the sounds of shouted commands as both Royal and Coruscant Guards ran to positions around us, gunning to secure the inner workings of the palace lest the Seppies manage to slip people inside.

"Hollis told us that so long as they have the outer shields, penetrating the city should be impossible," Ryder jumped in, and I caught Havur chuckle.

"These ray shields are beasts, but nothing is impossible," Demar paused at the hallways junction when Hollis approached us, now fully decked out in full armor. "Commander."

"Commander, Captain," he nodded at us as he walked forward, a smirk coming to his face as he did. "Got some good news for you. Sethuna Brigade just found your droid." One of the guard stepped forward and transmitted the coordinates to Vhetin, who I could see working it into his visor before sending it to the rest of us.

"Wait, who?" Red cocked his head to the side.

"Special Forces," Aran was the one who jumped in next. "Damned good Special Forces. We studied their covert insertion tactics on Kamino."

"I used to be their commander back in the day. Too old for that now," Hollis looked between us. "What's that saying the Mandos like to use? Ah, right. Make their eyes water." He slipped on his golden helmet and turned back to his men to continue issuing commands as we took back off down the hallway.

"Know anything about the sector where this droid is?" I asked as Demar motioned for everyone to halt just before the barricade that Stone and one of the Royal Guard captains had set up.

"Let's see..." Demar paused, clearly looking over the map on the inside of his helmet. I could see his head move as he looked across before he swore, "You're not gonna like this, Cap. Vhetin."

"It's deep in enemy territory. Deep. The closest we've got to friendly territory is an objective zone being held onto by a thread by the 82nd, but they're taking heavy casualties."

"Then let's go help them out," I nodded and turned to my squad. "Stay with me, stay close, stay together, and watch one another's backs.

"Just like Geonosis," Grek chuckled darkly as I saw him adjust the rotary cannon in his hands as he turned to Red, who was also almost bouncing as the adrenaline started to kick in.

"Squad, prep for akalenedat. The second we walk out those doors, we need to be ready. You and your boys ready?" Demar turned back to me, his visor glowing lightly even in the light from the windows nearby.

I glanced back over my shoulder and got thumbs-up from everyone, even Ryder, who was looking a little nervous judging from the way that he gripped his rifle. "Ready for hard contact, Commander."

"Then let's go bust some droids."

We walked forward and let the doors slide open for us, and when I looked up at the sky, I was greeted with the shields catching explosives and making them erupt like glowing clouds overhead. The shields themselves barely budged, a testament to the craftmanship of the Sarkhai engineers who created them. Marines were already setting up for a ground assault, barricading the streets and cordoning off homes as members of the Guard had started to herd as many people as possible into the safety of the palace perimeter. If the Seppies wanted to take the capital, we were going to make them fight for it.

"How many other major cities are we looking at?" Havur asked.

"Not many. Three major cities and a number of outlying towns, not including the capital," Ryder seemed to calm himself down as he focused in on his job. There's the second major city of Sethun, the old capital, the trade hub of Tobasa, and Grella. There's a bunch of smaller settlements for farmers and gatherers that harvest the planet's resources, but Sarkhai keeps most of its people in those central locations."