MATTEO: Life and Death

Chapter 56

The hangars and bridges of the cruisers were bustling with activity unlike anything seen since the beginning of the war. Soldiers donned their armor, technicians finished their final repairs, and droids carried crates of ammunition. Despite the commotion, there was a heavy feeling in the air—the awareness that every breath could be their last.

Matteo Shepard walked through the main corridor of the Resolute. Noble followed behind him, silent as a shadow. Officers stopped along the way and saluted—their eyes no longer held faith in victory, only loyalty to their commander.

Jane was waiting on the bridge.

"Everything is ready," she reported. "But they know. The Empire doesn't throw so many ships at us for no reason. Palpatine is expecting something."

"He always expects something," Shepard replied. "But we have to show that we're not dead yet."

Later, when they were alone, Ellie approached him. She was pale, but her eyes burned with fire.

"Dad... if anything happens to you..."

Matteo interrupted her, placing his hand on her shoulder. "If anything happens to me, remember one thing. Never fight for revenge. Fight for those who still have a right to tomorrow."

The words stuck in her heart like a blade.

On the lower decks, Arla Jareni and Damian Reese meditated in silence. The young Padawan couldn't focus his thoughts.

"I'm afraid, Master," he whispered. "They are too strong."

"Fear is natural," she replied calmly. "What you do with it will determine whether we become shadows or flames today."

At the same time, Maul and Sera Madreth were preparing for their own battle. He sharpened his anger, she looked at him with something between love and fear.

As the clocks on the bridge ticked down the final minutes, Noble spoke coldly:

"The fleet is on full alert. Civilian transports are still leaving. One more hour and it will be over."

Matteo looked into the space in front of him.

"No. In an hour, it will only begin."

An uneasy silence hung over the orbit of the planet Navia. Hundreds of ships belonging to the Alliance and allied races hung in the void like a star city, flashing signal lights and blue shields. Civilian transporters flew deep into the system, escorted by frigates. Fear was in the hearts of many, and resignation was in their eyes.

Matteo Shepard stood on the bridge of the Resolute, his hands clasped behind his back. He stared into the abyss, where an army none of them could fully comprehend was about to appear. Behind him stood Noble, motionless as a statue. The pulsing lights of the panels reflected off her helmet.

"Fleet status?" he asked coldly.

Jane Shepard leaned over the hologram. "Sixty-two line cruisers, nine dreadnoughts, four aircraft carriers. The rest are frigates and fighter squadrons. Everything we have left."

"And the Empire?" asked Garrus Vakarian, standing to the side. "Has reconnaissance found anything?"

Joker, sitting at the console, snorted nervously. "Reconnaissance is dead, Garrus. The last probes disappeared like a stone thrown into a well. If Palpatine is coming, he's coming in such a way that we won't see him until we feel him tearing our hulls apart.

Silence fell on the bridge. Matteo ran his hand over his face, feeling the weight of everything that rested on him.

"It doesn't matter how many there are. We'll show them this isn't their galaxy."

The first signal appeared suddenly. Red dots flashed on the radar. Ten. Then fifty. Then hundreds.

"Hyperspace is opening!" Joker shouted. "Fuck... they're coming in legions!"

Dark silhouettes of Star Destroyers appeared in space. Powerful, wedge-shaped hulls emerged one after another, as if the entire night had materialized in Navia's orbit. Their numbers grew with every second—dozens, then hundreds of units.

"By the Gods..." whispered Tali. "This armada is larger than the one in the Battle of Earth."

In the background, Noble spoke, her voice cool, almost mechanical. "The Empire has thrown everything it has at us. They don't want victory. They want annihilation."

Matteo raised his head. "Then let them try."

"All units," Shepard commanded. "Maintain alpha formation. Fighters, intercept the bombers. Heavy ships, cover the civilian transports."

Squadrons of fighters – X-wings, Arwings, Quarian combat drones – burst out of the hangars of the Resolute and other carriers. They collided with a wave of TIE Fighters that the Empire had released like a swarm of hornets.

The Resolute's bridge shook. One of the Star Destroyer's turbolasers cut through the shields of a nearby Turian cruiser. The ship exploded in a bright flash, scattering debris into space.

"We've lost Veyron Prime!" shouted an officer. "Six thousand people on board!"

Matteo slammed his fist on the console. "Don't give up your positions! Every ship fights to the end!"

Monstrous Executor-class destroyers approached from the left flank. Their shadows obscured the stars. One of them directed its fire at the Resolute.

"Watch out!" Joker shouted. The ship shook so violently that several officers fell. The lights dimmed, and the shields dropped by 40%.

"Shields critical!" reported EDI. "One more hit like that and..."

"There won't be another," Matteo interrupted. "Noble, prepare the boarding party. If this is going to be the end, we're taking some of them with us."

Noble nodded and left the bridge without a word.

Meanwhile, chaos was mounting aboard the other ships. Maul and Sera Madreth stormed the bridge of one of the frigates, personally leading their troops into battle. Their red blades sliced through TIE boarding troopers, followed by Alliance soldiers screaming in battle fury.

Arla Jareni meditated on the bridge of the Dawnfire, trying to focus on the Force. But what she felt made her open her eyes in horror.

"He's here," she whispered. "Darkness itself."

Damian Reese looked at her fearfully. "Palpatine?"

"Yes," confirmed the master. "And he didn't come for the planet. He came for us."

The battle raged on. Every ship was a target, every breath could be the last. Matteo stood at the center of the chaos, commanding, mobilizing, fighting not only against the Empire, but against despair itself.

"This isn't over," he repeated as more ships exploded. "We still have strength. We still have life."

But deep down, he knew this was only the first blow. The Empire was just getting started.