Four days had passed since they departed Kamino for Malastare, and in that short time, Corvus had done everything in his power to prepare for the fateful confrontation.
Foremost amongst his preparations was the study of the data slate he had recovered from the Jedi Temple. The ancient knowledge detailed ship formations, and standard naval doctrine that was valuable to Corvus's novice skills. Yeah, he had some 'experience' from the Empire at War RTS, but it was nice to combine real world skills with game knowledge. What was really special about this document, however, was how it encouraged the use of the Force whilst commanding a vessel, or flying a fighter. Within this data slate, a new meditation technique detailed how to sense the next move of an opponent hundreds of miles away. It also demonstrated how to spot weak points in 'anti-air' to slip past defenses, and identify weak points through the Force. This was but a taste of the dozens-possibly hundreds-of techniques listed in the textbooks worth of words that were within this precious data slate.
In theory, it should have been too much information, and overwhelmed him like a student waiting till the last second before a big exam. However, Corvus was special, he had the cheat known as Pause! That's right, his unique ability wasn't only good for analyzing a fight or coming up with ways to drive a conversation. He could Pause on a page, and go over it as many times as it took before it was driven into his thick skull.
As such, Corvus had stretched four days of real time into almost an entire month of static-Pause as he went over the study material, and ruminated on various strategies/tactics. This long session also had the added benefit of giving him a zen-like quality. Going into this fight, Corvus was kind of worried. He had never fought a space battle before, and anything could go wrong. Yeah, sure they had the element of surprise, but the chaos of 56 vs 56+ capital ships was frightening, and would be an absolute cluster fuck. In such a large fight, 6 ships could focus on his flagship, and there was nothing in his toolkit that could save himself in such a situation. In such an event, he would practically be a sitting duck waiting for destruction.
At least, that might have been the case. See, the Force could be applied to inanimate objects as demonstrated by Force Blades and Armor. Corvus had wracked his brains during his study time on how he could improve the odds of his survival. It turned out, [Energy Resistance] was the answer he was looking for. He discovered that he could temporarily cloak an object in the energy shield. Now, he wasn't good enough to cover a Venator, nor was it strong enough to block more than a couple shots from a turbolaser. But it worked. By using the Force Bonded kyber crystal, he could cover the Falcon!
As a bonafide ace pilot in videogames, Corvus' 3rd Person piloting POV of the Falcon would make him a beast on the battlefield! Slap on an extra shield, and now he had the confidence to alter the battlefield as a bonafide Hero unit. Of course, Corvus hadn't stopped there. Asking Tech to do his best, Corvus saddled the genius Bad Batch member with improving the Falcon the best he could within 5 days.
This was the list of improvements he had made using the materials on hand:
Droid Brain Co-Pilot:
Installing a modified R3-series astromech AI integrated into the Falcon's systems for multitasking, navigation, rerouting power, and aiming the turrets on the top/bottom of the ship. Using his enhanced Computer skills, Corvus further enhanced the droid brain, especially when it came to targeting systems, cooling, and managing energy.
Defensive Upgrades:
Reinforced Durasteel Hull (Selective Plating)
Instead of covering the entire ship with Venator-class durasteel, he focused on key vulnerable areas like the cockpit, reactor core, and engine compartments. This way, the Falcon retained its agility but significantly increased its durability in critical sections.
Advanced Shield Generators (Hybrid Venator-Class):
Tech installed a dual-layered deflector shield using smaller, more efficient Venator technology. The Falcon's power core would supply the energy, but it will need an auxiliary power relay to handle the higher energy draw from these shields. (More on that later)
An additional feature Integrated a focused ion shield to reduce the likelihood of being disabled by ion weapons.
Weaponry Upgrades:
Compact Venator-Style Ion Cannons.
Corvus didn't know how the genius did it, but he fiddled with some spare parts, and made smaller Venator-class ion cannon turrets on the top and bottom sections of the Falcon, replacing the quad cannons that Han/Luke used in Episode IV. These cannons were medium-strength to avoid overloading the ship's power systems. Instead of having regular turbolasers, Tech had opted for ion weaponry that can disable enemy systems without adding too much bulk or weight to the ship, as space was a premium. They were more compact, allowing for better accuracy and target-locking without affecting the Falcon's speed or agility.
The ion cannons would also complement the Falcon's ability to disable enemy capital ships or larger starfighters without causing fatal damage, perfect for hit-and-run tactics. If Corvus wanted to try and rehabilitate more clones, or capture capital ships for his army, this was the way.
The next upgrade under the weapons category were Venator-Class Point-Defense Laser Turrets (Selective Placement)
Installing small, rapid-fire point-defense laser turrets around the wings, rear, and underside of the Falcon. These turrets were discreet, and hardly noticeable. Helping intercept incoming missiles, laser fire, or enemy starfighters in close quarters, they were a huge upgrade from before.
Lastly, in that big notch at the front of the ship, a quad group of composite-beam pinpoint lasers had been requisitioned from the LAAT. That's right, the laser-ball turrets from the sides of the LAAT, at least the guns-not the clear glass balls-were mounted facing forward in a fixed position. Corvus had learned that they weren't very effective at large distances, but if there was something directly in front of the Falcon, these four concentrated beams would act as a big 'fuck you' to anything that got in his way.
Engines & Propulsion
Refined Venator-Class Ion Engines (Miniaturized)
Tech took the Venators spare parts, and retrofitted the Falcon's engines with a scaled-down version of Venator-class ion engines, boosting its sub-light speed and maneuverability to a degree that theoretically placed it amongst the very fastest starfighters in the galaxy. The mad scientist even found a way to make the fuel consumption no more taxing than the base Falcon would be.
When it came to powering this baby, Tech used both a new power core, and auxiliary power core:
To supply the additional power needed for the upgraded shields, engines, and weapons, install a miniature Venator-class auxiliary reactor.
Going over the list one last time, Corvus felt as if Christmas had come early. Commanding the battle from the deck of the Herald might be useful, what with the info he had obtained from the manual, but Corvus was well aware of how OP Jedi Aces were in space battles. Anakin and Luke had practically won any fight that they joined once they took flight. Corvus would be a fool not to emulate them. Besides, who said he couldn't help direct the fleet whilst he was in the Falcon? With the help of Pause, he could formulate a strategy, and then speak it over the comms, or have his droid help implement it.
All in all, the Millennium Falcon had become an absolute beast. The nervousness he had initially felt, and that zen-like calm had now transformed into eagerness. The battle for Malastare was looking more and more like a certain win.
Among their victory conditions, defeating the fleet was just the beginning. If they were to secure the fuel depot, they had to take down the planetary shield, as well as the city capital's shield. As such, Jax, Yon, and the Bad Batch-minus Tech-had been drilling constantly at infiltrations.
At this very moment, Corvus was actually studying the naval manuscript in an ad hoc training room within the Venator, and was silently taking in the atmosphere from the top of the training course.
Dressed in new trimantium plated armor, Yon & the Bad Batch were training together as a squad. It was Corvus's hope that they could gel together through conflict, and help Yon get past his trauma with clones. Afterall, the Starcrusher Corp was composed of 10 million+ men, it would not be good for operations if Yon was cavalier with clone lives.
Up against them, Corvus stood as the final boss, and had Jax acting as his bodyguard whilst Omega & Triss watched on.
"Alright, let's take it from the top. We 'land,' you cut through the doors, we charge in blasting. Simple, ey?" Hunter cracked his neck, and addressed Yon.
"Tch. Let's just get this over with." Yon said in a dismissive tone.
"Right, forget I asked." Hunter muttered.
"Go get him, Hunta!" Omega cheered and waved from the side. "Do ya think they'll get him this time, Triss?" Omega then turned to whisper to the white-haired darksider girl.
"Revan is too strong." Triss morosely stated, and glanced at Corvus with a hint of fear in her eye.
"..." Jax silently sat next to Corvus, his lightsaber resting on his lap, and his eyes were closed as he meditated.
"This time, refrain from wielding your lightsaber." Corvus softly intoned.
"Master?" Jax tilted his head in confusion.
"Yon has bonded with his kyber crystal, and is a superior duelist, yet for all this, the Jedi are not beholden to the lightsaber. I had seen how you used the Force when your arms were but stumps. Call upon that feeling once again. It is not the lightsaber that is the weapon, you are the weapon." Corvus said without ever looking up from his dataslate.
Jax breathed deeply, and centered himself in the Force, a second later, a pale-yellow opalescent sheen no thicker than a pinky's width covered his form.
Corvus raised an eyebrow in pleasantly shocked surprise at the scene. That was an [Energy Resistance] shield. He hadn't gone out of his way to teach the lad this technique, but with [Mentor] acting as a passive-and Corvus spamming the ability during every fight, and even recently on the Falcon-Jax must've attained some insights!
He was rather proud. Jax was no slouch when it came to saber combat, but he clearly lagged behind both Yon & Linyin. However, where the white haired teen really excelled was connecting with, and wielding the Force!
As soon as Jax had revealed his new ability, the Bad Batch conducted a breach, tossed flash bangs, and 'took out' fixed turrets that fired low energy, non lethal rounds.
"Go, go!" Hunter shouted, and ran in twin handguns blazing.
Jax side stepped what blaster-fire he could, but the Bad Batch were the elite of the elite, and anticipated his movements, shooting where they thought he would be. Despite their skills, Jax had rather decent precognition-especially after training on videogames over the last week-and evaded most shots. Any that he failed to dodge were absorbed by his shield.
Advancing at a smooth pace, Jax moved behind cover several times, and was closing the distance.
"Hahaha, block this!" Wrecker maniacally laughed, and unleashed a large heavy machine gun.
Blue bolts rapidly blasted Jax's position, providing covering fire for the rest of the squad to move up on the left & right flanks.
Narrowing his eyes, Jax concentrated, and swiped his hand sideways. Wrecker, for a split second, jerked to the side, performing a 180 spin. The big man's gun barely missed Hunter as he rolled out of the way, Crosshair however, wasn't so lucky, and was marked 'out' when he was hit. At the same time, this minor adjustment had placed Wrecker directly in the sights of Crosshair, and through his precognition, Jax knew when the sniper would pull the trigger. The end result? A double elimination!
As soon as this occurred, Yon emerged from invisibility on Jax's right, lightsaber swinging. The hum of the blade set into training mode came down at Jax like a hurricane. Yon had taken to the Form VII that Corvus practiced like a duck to water. Wild, unpredictable slashes constantly forced Jax on the defensive, driving him back into Hunter's path.
Hunter, meanwhile, had been placing accurate shots into Jax's rear, causing the [Energy Resistance] barrier to shudder and shake.
Yon had likewise been wearing away at the energy shield. His signature in the Force was a combination of jealousy, subtle mockery, and respect for what Jax had accomplished.
"Use the vibroknife, Hunter, he can only hold out for so much longer." Yon said.
"Let's do this." Hunter threw a vibroknife with extreme force at Jax's back.
Jax twisted his body, and at that moment, held out his Cortosis-Weave mechanical arms, and short circuited Yon's lightsaber. Acting quickly, he grabbed Yon, and swapped places with him, twirling the short black haired teen into the dagger's path like a ballerina.
A clang sound effect came out, and sparks flew in the air as a deep gash dinged Yon's armor, marking him as out.
"Just you and me, pretty boy." Hunter happily growled like a beast going after its prey. Drawing his twin vibroknives, he lunged.
Jax took a deep breath, closed his eyes for a second to focus, and the second Hunter was about to pounce on him, he held out a hand.
Levitating Hunter in the air, Jax struggled to hold the clone in place, beads of sweat poired down his forehead. However, the fact remained, Hunter was immobile!
"Yeah, you get'em Jax!...I mean, Hunter will get you next time!" Omega cheered from the side. "Don't you think, Triss?" The blonde child then asked.
"Maybe?" Triss offered a one worded reply, more interested in staring unblinkingly at Jax than offering Omega engaging conversation.
"Excellent maneuvering everyone. Let's watch some footage, and see where we can improve. After we've rested for a bit, Yon & Jax swap places, Crosshair you'll team up with Yon. This time Omega and Triss, you two will act as hostages to be rescued." Corvus clapped his hands, and restored everyone with [Heal] & [Valor].
Corvus felt a few groans in the Force, and the fighting spirit of a few, whilst Jax had busied himself with meditation to focus on his gains.
Smiling at the scene, he wished that they'd never have to put such skills to the test, but as they said, war never changes.
They were one to two days out from the invasion, and this squad would be responsible for punching deep into Malastare's ground defenses. Corvus couldn't be prouder of their rapid advancement. Four days ago, Yon wouldn't even address any of the clones by their names. The kid may be surly, but he wasn't a bad person deep down. And Jax, he was quiet, thoughtful, and had practically had Omega & Triss glued to his side like some shounen harem anime protagonist.
Chuckling to himself, Corvus basked in the atmosphere.
Tomorrow would be the biggest battle of his life, where the fate of millions were potentially on the line. Centering himself in the Force, he reaffirmed his resolve, and reminded himself what he was fighting for.
To Malastare!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AN: Characters bonding together, in this economy?!
Read up to chapter 170 at: patreon.com/KarpQQ
I update there every Mon, Tues, Wed, Th (and literally only took 6 days off last year~)