The second wave hit the defensive line of Christopsis like a precision strike... with a hammer.
I felt it first, a sudden pressure in the Force, that surge... a clear wave when too many intentions point the same way, and this time they were all aggressive. The moment I felt it, the sirens of the station, of course, started up again, and all the corridor lights that we could see from inside the room turned red. I don't think we can get back to our ship this time around... tsk.
"This," Vila said, throwing the pad of the spy to HK while I called up a view from the wall-mounted console, using the backport to give me access to the station's sensors.
"I can't count them from here," I stated, but reaching out with the Force, I could tell there were thousands of people coming with the intention of destroying whatever was in their way. "But we must have either a big ship or a dozen or more medium-sized ones."
"Probably the latter." Vila grunted, "My old owners were always moving in packs, liking to have corvettes rather than anything bigger..."
In the meantime, HK didn't waste words at all. He'd already jacked a bundle of cables into the spy's equipment, running from its jaw, hidden before from view... I always wondered how he could do it, and it seems not only remotely... No wonder he could attach his head to other units.
[Workmanlike Statement: This is the control unit. It is remotely connected to the R7 on the Silverlight... Its wafer is active and speaking gibberish. Sarcasm: How chatty... But I can translate it. Addendum: I am not a protocol droid.] He added before I could make a joke about it, [Update: I have bridged the carrier into the station maintenance subnet. You can now access it. Clarification: They will use the backdoor soon... And I will be waiting.]
"Make sure you are ready," Vila said, looking over HK's side, watching the switching images on the computer he was jacked into, "I can see that they brought friends..."
I leaned over her shoulder, and as if knowing, HK zoomed the feed out, slicing multiple views into it while working. The space around the Golan stations looked crowded and busy, alright. Multiple ugly hulls rushed the outer cluster, looking like a typical pirate fleet... that was expected. But the ships coming behind them had a much tighter and cleaner look and formation. What I saw were the shapes of knives, purpose-built warships with angular, cheek‑plated corvettes and warbirds running in paired lines amongst them.
"Familiar?" Vila asked, because to her, they were just ships; she had no idea who the manufacturer might be. As for me... Yeah. They were.
"Mandalorian silhouettes. The spy wasn't lying."
"You still guessed he lied?" She chuckled, making me smile at her.
"If he believes he says the truth, then he doesn't lie... and I wouldn't be the wiser. Their tactics carry some of the probing's features, look, the pirates are soaking up the damages from the killbox," I said, mostly to keep my head straight. "The main fleet behind them is running the main lane."
"Yeah, directly at us..."
At first, it looked like a repeat of the first attack. The Golans' turbolasers fired in their usual rhythm, torpedo hatches launching rows of bright red lights... For a few seconds, the pirate line held, their point‑defense turret fire dealt with the torpedos, some of their jammers fuzzed the rest into wide spirals, but some did not have the shielding to take the turbolaser barrage. So, some of their hulls began to come apart, and we watched as a corvette got punched through the bow. Then, a converted freighter's port engine sheared free and tumbled end‑over‑end, shedding white plasma as the ship began spiraling off course, captured by the planet's gravity. Lastly... a gun barge took a centerline hit and turned into an expanding blossom of fire.
It should have stayed that way... But of course, it did not because suddenly, the first Golan was lit up like a miniature sun. If you didn't know what you were watching, you would have missed the clue... It was nothing much, a flicker, just a hiccup, but it was the sign of its shields going offline and the enemy's return fire making direct contact.
[Flat Report: Payload delivery into shield management layer. Consequence: Collapse.]
"I thought you were ready for them!" Vila grunted.
[Reaffirming Statement: I am. Right here.]
The three platforms' shields fell at the same time, as if someone had hit a master breaker... There was no saving them without their shields as they became sitting ducks of a reinvigorated pirate fleet who suddenly felt... very hopeful. They were forced to do this; I could feel it.
"Damn..." Vila swore under her breath. "The other Golans won't have time to adjust, they have a free shot at us next..."
"I know." I muttered, "HK?"
[Annoyed Explanation: I cannot fix the Golans from here. Statement: Wrong bus, wrong privilege depth, and it is a waste of resources. Recommendation: Focus, Meatbag. Their next packet targets the primary station. I can fight that.]
As he said that, another Golan went, turning into fireworks. A secondary detonation lit up the station's flank in an instant sunrise. Outside, the Mandalorian vessels left the shelter of their puppets and sped toward us, their arcs unobstructed. I could feel the intent... They would cut the station, blind it, and make the kill neat.
"They won't try to bring the station down; they are aiming at the leadership aboard it," I stated, reading their intentions.
[Dry Humor: Lucky Meatbags... To be saved by me. Addendum: Their slicer is competent. Proud Statement: But I am better.]
From the outside, you could see nothing as HK wasn't typing, wasn't moving his hands at all; the only indication that he was working was the constant flickers and brightness changes in his orange eyes.
[Status: I am a digital predator... Their backdoor is busy opening a door down the hall; I am closing the one behind it... A sure kill.]
"You are enjoying it a lot..."
[Confirmation: Of course.]
While sighing, I brought up the station's feed just when we shook once, something going offline somewhere in the superstructure. Probably a generator or something... I didn't need to search as the reports bled into public channels at once. The station's weapons were now offline on grid four. Fire control was cascading, as all emergency signals began firing, even if nothing was happening. They were causing chaos in the systems...
"HK?" Vila asked, getting a bit nervous.
[Warning: Packet injection to station shield control... Statement: Time to pounce.]
He did it perfectly, because when the Mandalorians arrived, making a micro-jump straight into view from a blind spot... it would have been a killing blow. Everything and everybody was focused on the incoming fleet, making their appearance a suckerpunch. Too bad that their weapons hit the active shields. I could even feel their sudden surprise that things weren't going as expected. Then, to my surprise, the outgoing comms, bleeding into the inner ones thanks to the chaos, cracked and boomed with a voice that tried very hard to sound steady. The same voice that welcomed us into the station.
"Attention, attacking fleet! Cease fire at once! Jedi ambassadors are aboard this station! Any further assault will be seen as a direct act of war against the Jedi Order! Stop your assault right now!"
"Huh?" Vila turned her head very slowly toward me and her lekku twitched a few times... Even she could feel it. "They used us," she said.
Of course they did... They hadn't called for help, more like, they'd called for a shield. They welcomed us in, but nobody came to visit us... probably because they knew an attack was coming... Realizing this, I could sense a sense of partial satisfaction coming from the owner of the voice. He even knew that if the Mandalorians thought he was bluffing and took down the station, with us going down with it, it would ensure the Jedi would take a stance against Mandalore.
"Kael..." Vila's voice had gone very soft, and the twitching of her lekku stopped. "Say the word," she continued, "and I'll go down there and have a talk with their leaders about honest invitations."
"I bet," I smiled as I closed my eyes and let her anger run its course.
Outside, one of the Mandalorian corvettes put a beautiful, deliberate string of bolts into a weapon cluster on the station's dorsal spine, signaling that they were going to call on their 'bluff.' Too bad it wasn't one, and I wasn't going to become space dust.
"HK," I asked, "how long can you hold the shields up?"
[Bragging Clarification: Indefinitely. Truthful Addendum: For a given value of "indefinitely" that includes an unknown adversary skill, possible changes in slicers, the limited meatbag patience, and substandard station firmware written by organics.]
"Whatever, just... Keep it up," I moaned, "If they get shields down, this becomes a count of bodies. Also, open up a direct connection with the Mandalorian ships via their access ports."
"Wait..." Vila's expression darkened. "You're going to speak? To them? Giving the bastard of Christopsis the satisfaction?"
"Yeah." I pecked her lips, "For a moment, that is!"
"Sure..." She blushed, pursing her lips, "I'm still angry, and if this goes wrong, I will go cut something in half..."
[Statement: Connection pushed through.]
"This is Jedi Kael Varo," I said, trying to sound older than I was and to put some authority into my voice. "I am here under the authority of Grandmaster Luke Skywalker and the Jedi Council of Yavin 4. We are on a diplomatic mission. Mandalorians... end your attack now. Whatever the issue is, I am sure we can work it out amicably. There was enough bloodshed for one day... It is time to end it."
Waiting... still waiting... Nothing. Well, if that's not enough, I can continue.
"Mandalorians," I kept my voice level and authoritative, "You have your reasons. We spoke with one of your men who would have died rather than tell us more. I don't doubt your cause... I also don't doubt what happens if you push it, and the shield goes down. But, as the representative of the Jedi Order, I ask you to cease your assault so we can talk."
Vila's hand found my forearm and stayed there while I was speaking, making me feel even calmer than before.
"You don't need to talk to Christopsis... " Talk to us," I added, "Whatever the reason for this war, we can settle it without making more orphans. I don't ask for peace immediately, but I want to hear both sides of the story."
[Observation: Enemy fire rate is decreasing, and the ships are breaking off course. Inference: Debate.]
Then, as we waited, the station commander cut in again, this time on a tighter band, keyed to us, but I was sure the Mandalorians could also listen in through the back door still being active.
"Jedi Varo," he said, "this is Commander Dhar of Christophsis Orbital. We request you to—"
"Stop talking," Vila snorted aloud, before he could continue. "Just zip it!"
With that, I signaled to HK, who killed the mic. Outside, the Mandalorian corvettes went quiet in the end, while the Kom'rk fighters slid into a holding pattern for now... We were coming to a standstill.
[Smug Briefing: The attackers attempted a re‑seed. I declined the invitation, of course. Status: Weapon relays remain blind, but the shields remain hearty. Additional Comment: I feel conflicted to be the savior of Meatbags.]
"Just enjoy it for what it is," Vila said, rolling her eyes, smiling. "What now?"
"We wait..." I murmured, but we didn't have to do it for long. Through the back door came a message that presented me a personal link... The Mandalorian commander was willing to speak. "Well... let us head back to our ship... I don't want to take this call through something Christopsis can listen to."