Sitting "on the armor" of the speeder in its rear part, I looked into the distance. The witch took the driver's seat, Aala beside her. Even before I had caught up with them, Mom had already felt the change in me, but had remained silent then. Now I heard a question over the internal comms:
"Shade, what happened?"
"I realized how they use the Force."
"I see you didn't like that discovery," she sneered.
"These bitches are using the works of the Rakatan Empire in their worst achievements," I informed my mother, turning to her.
With those words, I changed her mood too. If I was still holding back, a sense of threat emanated from my mother, making our little witch cringe fearfully.
"Perhaps a Rakatan temple is buried here?" Mom turned to me. "And that's what determines the state of affairs on the planet?"
"If so, we'll bury it back. Along with all the witches. But to be honest, I don't think so."
On that, the conversation died down, but before we could reach the goal, a rumble resounded in the sky, and soon we saw debris of spaceships flying out from the clouds.
"What is happening?!" the witch exclaimed, slowing down.
"Our friends have arrived," Mom explained, tilting her head back and peering at the ship debris. I also used the built-in binoculars, assessing the fireworks. "Those are dismantled Munificents falling," and already over the internal comms: "Apparently, our people have already engaged and space is under our control."
"That means we wait for the landing. Ziro, can you contact the KIM?"
"Tick-tick," the droid jerked its sensor.
"Then dash off yourself and tell them to turn off the microwave; I need communication with the fleet."
"Accepted," the droid chirped and shot into the sky like a bullet. There's a scout for you...
"Hey, watch the road!" Mom jerked the witch. "How much longer to the excavation zone?"
"Another half hour."
"Good."
The little fellow reached the ship very quickly. Within five minutes, the interference on the air disappeared, and a stable signal was established with me.
"Mandalore speaking! ID—TS-1103, calling the Death Throe, come in," I addressed the fleet, using the KIM as a relay.
"Death Throe here, we hear you Mandalore," the ship's captain responded almost immediately.
"Captain, report the situation."
"When we entered the system, several Munificents were hanging in the planet's orbit. Apparently, you attracted their attention. The ships have already been destroyed. We also destroyed the mercenary base located on Dathomir's moon. No assault was undertaken; we limited ourselves to bombardment. At the moment, we are taking up positions and blockading the planet."
"Excellent. Where is Warren?"
"He is leading the ground groups. At the moment, the landing force is preparing for drop."
"Captain, triangulate my position and use it as a reference point. In approximately half an hour we will be at the excavations, where Damask's appearance is expected, as well as serious resistance from mercenaries. The task for you has become more complicated—it is necessary to carefully capture the site without the use of heavy artillery. Also—close off the airspace in our region."
"Accepted, Mandalore."
"And forward me Warren's frequency."
"Yes, sir."
"Out."
When the connection was cut, the communicator came to life for a second, notifying of the receipt of a new information packet. Sending a request manually, I contacted the Mandalorian and briefly described his task.
We covered the rest of the way in silence. Mom looked ahead, I indulged in reflections under the steady hum of the speeder's engine. And somewhere ahead, enemy fighters were taking off into the sky one after another.
Tilting my head back, I watched as our fighters broke through the gloomy clouds and engaged the enemy ships. The numerical superiority was in our favor; for every enemy ship, there were three of ours. The battle in the sky turned out to be extremely short-lived, and a one-sided one at that, and so—the airspace was already under our control.
Taking advantage of this, I gave the order to the fighters to deliver precision strikes on the ground, but I was too late. The enemy deployed a shield generator, under which they took cover.
"Mandalore! The landing force has already been sent, but we won't be able to land in the zone. What are the orders?" Warren's voice immediately resounded in the headphones.
"Follow the plan. We'll deal with the shield."
"Accepted."
"Mom, did you hear?"
"Yes."
"Let's work."
Following the order, she, without ceremony, punched the witch's head with a point-blank pyrotechnic Force strike, threw her out of the vehicle, and took the driver's seat. I moved from the rear to the nose—to repel a possible frontal strike.
And extremely fortunately! Because when we steered toward the goal, we saw a wall ahead, and on it, no less than several mounted heavy blaster cannons.
The shield passed flush with the wall, and so the mercenaries easily extended their barrels beyond the shield and opened a literal barrage on us. I had to dissipate my attention and strain myself to repel everything that was flying at us. In those few seconds, a literal hail of fire hit Tutaminis, and the launched missiles were pushed aside with the help of the Force, where they exploded.
Driving right up to the wall, we jumped upward while still in motion, slowing the flight with the Force. The speeder zoomed past like a rocket and, hitting the shield, exploded, forcing the mercenaries to take cover for a moment. Reflexes are like that; you can't escape them.
Diving under the shield, we land on the wall. Without coordinating, both I and Mom each let out a chain lightning in our own direction, clearing the wall, and then I took a quick look at the view of the base that opened up.
Several dozen fortified buildings, mostly two-story, but there were a couple of three-story ones among them. All were built with additional stiffening ribs on each side, and glazed embrasures instead of windows. The streets consisted of paths trodden in the mud, and in some places even poured with concrete. To our left was the entrance to an underground hangar; I could see the huge doors sticking out of the ground even from here. To the right was a warehouse and, concurrently, a vehicle hangar, from which a Sun Guard tank painted in gold and white was just exiting. A circular platform with a built-in repulsor, and on top a turret with a pair of laser cannons.
In the center of the camp, a spire could be seen, apparently the command post, and next to it the shield generator itself was operating.
Nodding to Mom, we jumped simultaneously, each onto our own house. Running across the roof, I waved my sword like at a fly at a plasma bolt flying into my side. Pushing off the edge, I run along the wall of a three-story house, push off again, and jump to the next house. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice severed mercenaries flying down from the neighboring roof, having been in Aala's way.
When we reached the center of the camp, I saw that the spire was coming not just from the command center, but from a huge drilling rig, and what we saw was only the tip of the structure. I had seen enough of such structures and already imagined what awaited us below.
Breaking through to the shield, I broke the guide antenna with the Force; the system wailed from overload and a series of explosions rolled over the area. The generator was destroyed, the shield fell, and just in time! A rumble resounded in the sky.
Tilting my head back, I saw a rain of fire falling from the sky. The landing force I had requested rained down from the sky just in time. Dozens of fireballs crashed through the dark clouds with a roar. They were racing relentlessly toward the ground when suddenly several of them began to brake sharply and then explode. These were the braking struts being fired off, and with them the doors sealing the capsules. While still in flight, the Mandalorians began leaving the capsules and descending with the help of jetpacks.
Basilisks erupted from other capsules, while others continued to fall downward with frantic speed. Crashing down, their landing alone caused serious damage to the base, destroying part of the buildings and throwing up clods of mud and dust from the ground. One of the capsules, meanwhile, managed to fall through and disappear completely underground. Qs immediately spilled out in different directions from the fallen capsules. Coordinating, the droids accurately cleared the territory of the enemy. The modified B1 platforms showed themselves from the best side, at the very least not yielding to a human in mobility.
Along with the droids, the Immortals emerged from the capsules. Unlike the droids, the Terrans were in no hurry. Activating their sabers, they split into several groups and systematically advanced through the base, clearing the area.
With a slight delay, the Mandalorians followed the first wave. Falling from the sky like rain, they braked with the help of their packs and picked off everyone who hadn't managed to take cover.
The Basilisks helped the Mandalorians in this matter. The mechanical beasts didn't fire unnecessarily, as their weapons were too destructive in nature. But that didn't stop them from using their claws and light blasters.
Right before my eyes, one of the Basilisks crashed onto a tank, dug its claws into it, and immediately tore it into two parts. Another droid crashed into a two-story house at full speed, breaking through the reinforced concrete wall, and flew out through the opposite wall. On the other side, I noticed a pair of Basilisks breaking open hangar doors, preparing to climb inside. Judging by the sensations in the Force, there is a whole network of tunnels underground, but there is nothing surprising in that. Instead of growing upward, the mercenaries had hidden the base under the tree canopies as best they could and burrowed downward.
Despite our successes, the Sun Guard did not surrender. Yes, the first level was ours, but they wouldn't give us the second so easily and would certainly try to take revenge.
With the hiss of a jetpack, Warren landed beside me. From the other side, Radiy jumped onto the roof.
"Mandalore! The first tier is under our control; the enemy has retreated to the second. Damask has not been found. What are the further instructions?"
"Cordon off the perimeter, send reconnaissance groups to scour the area, and prepare for the assault on the second level."
Warren nodded and began giving instructions to his people, while I addressed the second assistant:
"Radiy, how many Terrans do we have?"
"Twenty-one. Eleven immortals, ten living."
"Form four groups of five fighters. You and Aala will come with me as part of the fifth group. The first group enters through the hangars, the second through the warehouse. The third and fourth remain here to control the other exits. No heavy explosives; fragmentation at most. But just in case, take a 'Breach' with you, in case we have to make new passages."
While I assessed the battlefield and gave instructions, the people regrouped and prepared for the assault on the second tier. Jumping down, I approach a welded double door. Without slowing my pace and without using any gestures, I calmly and carefully broke the doors inward.
"No need," I stop a Mandalorian about to throw a grenade into the opening. "There are no organics in the upper half of the base."
"There are also no droids; all combat droids are concentrated below," Radiy immediately supplemented me.
Penetrating inside, we passed through a huge empty cargo hall, from where soil is taken out during work. A chain of conveyors ran under the ceiling and went to external and internal small cargo elevators for ore. Here, too, were enrichment stations for filtering ore from slag, but they were not in use.
Breaking through the next doors, we enter a residential module for workers. I went first, followed by Aala and Radiy. Gray but well-lit corridors met our group. There was a lot of mud on the floor, as if it hadn't been washed for a month.
The next hall was the work block, where the actual work took place. Also a very large room, six meters to the ceiling and about thirty meters between the walls. Stepping onto the grate covering the shaft, I look down. A perfectly smooth tunnel of ten-meter diameter went deep down, losing itself in the darkness. Somewhere down there was a deactivated drilling laser, and the cargo elevator was also located there. Though it's possible the laser had already been removed as unnecessary, leaving only the complex.
"Are we going in there?" asked Warren, who had stood beside me, while on the other side Kaut was already taking out the "Breach."
"Not yet. Tron, take control of the shaft, in case someone tries to get out. Aala, stay with them. The rest follow me. There will be a staircase and an elevator to the second tier on that side."
"Accepted."
Breaking through the next doors and entering the stairwell, we began to descend when suddenly the building was de-energized. Stepping onto the next tier, I activate my saber. A turret "suddenly" slides out from the ceiling. Before it could deploy its weapons, I yanked it from its socket with the Force and sent it into the corridor. The droids that jumped out were swept away, but what I didn't expect was a missile launched from that side.
Yanking a panel from the wall, I position it under the missile. An explosion roared, a flash illuminated the corridor's gloom for a moment, and hundreds of fragments peppered the walls. In response, from my side, Warren launched his own missile from his pack. A new flash lit up the corridor, fragments whistled again, and somewhere there a shield generator shone.
The enemy had managed to fortify well, and the corridor was filled with plasma flashes. So as not to hinder my people from firing back, I activated my sabers instead of Tutaminis and, reflecting the shots with them, went forward, pushing through the defense.
"Ambush in the side doors!" I warn my people.
Just as I passed a door, a pair of Mandalorians were right there. One blew the doors, the second threw in a grenade, clearing the room. Stopping before a fork, I felt that if we stepped forward, we would be squeezed from three sides. Moreover, if I'm not mistaken, heavy mounted blasters, covered by a shield, await us on the left and right.
"They're luring us to the intersection. Warren, find a way around!"
"Coming right up!" the Mandalorian snapped, and disappeared along with Kaut and Zerronis into one of the doors. An explosion roared, and I saw in the Force how a small group, having broken through the wall, went around. Then another explosion, and now they were already trading fire with the right flank.
Along with their strike, I send several Force pushes forward. The shield couldn't take it and collapsed, leaving the defenders without cover. The next wave swept away the defenders.
"Frag!" I give the command, and the fighter standing to my left immediately leaned over, launching a rocket forward. A new flash, more fragments. I don't know who survived after my strike, but the frag corrected that oversight.
Veering left, we suppressed the last firing point in the same way; Warren pulled up from the right corridor. "Radiy, take half the fighters and help the second squad; they seem stuck."
"Yes, sir."
"The rest with me."
The next delay was caused by droids. The machines held one of the two approaches to, apparently, the server room. Several electromagnetic grenades solved the problem, though not completely. The door at the end of the corridor was protected by an energy barrier, but there were no major problems with it either. Bending the walls, I also broke the circuit generating the barrier along with them. The hall was under our control.
"Shade, come in!" Mom came on the comms.
"Listening."
"The elevator has started moving. The enemy is retreating."
"Understood."
"I can take down the elevator."
"No need, let them leave. Radiy, come in!"
"Here."
"What's your status?"
"We are part of the second group clearing the corridors. You were right; the second level stretches across the entire base perimeter and likely goes beyond the walls."
"A new task for you. We found the servers. Hack them and look for anything valuable. First squad, second squad—continue the sweep. Fifth squad—head for the elevator. Aala, go there too."
While walking back, I paid attention to the walls and floor. In the light of the flashlights, one could see the floor covered in droid lubricant. Sometimes the lubricant mixed with blood, and the bodies of Sun Guards lay in this sludge. Blasters left neat holes, yes, but when frag grenades or rockets, or my Force pushes came into play, the fighters simply turned into mincemeat.
When we reached the elevator on our tier, the lights in the complex came on again. Apparently, Radiy had already entered their system and was actively scouring it. And exactly! A minute later, I received security camera footage of Damask descending into the shaft with mercenaries in the elevator. This meant our target was below us and there was no worry about him escaping. The shaft stretched for nearly two kilometers straight down. The most interesting thing was that some fellow in Jedi robes went down with Damask.
"Of course... where would we be without them," I grumble to myself, and say aloud: "Attention everyone. Take control of the perimeter and wait for further instructions. This applies to both Terrans and Mandalorians."
"We aren't going down?" Warren asked from behind.
"No. Those who go down will face a very warm welcome, and I have no doubt Damask will provide it personally. As I suspect, all this time they weren't trying to stop us, only to delay us. And if I'm right, Damask was fortifying the last line in order to escape."
"And how is he going to bolt?" Kaut huffed. "There's one way in—one way out."
"Not exactly," I shake my head. "I feel something very familiar. If I'm right, there is another exit below, but Damask likely won't be able to use it, though he's counting on it. For that, one must be able to handle both the Dark and the Light sides of the Force. Or better, both simultaneously."
"Technology from your time?" Kaut asked.
"No. Older. Much older."
"Incredible. How did they even survive to our days?"
"I told you once before, on Tython. Technologies based on the Force don't have a technical service life. They are capable of self-restoration."
Walking to the shaft, I peered down. Mom stood beside me and also looked into the void. The elevator was somewhere down there and wasn't responding to commands, and the only option was to descend on our own.
"Brother, wait!" Warren stopped me. "Are you serious? You're going to jump in there just the two of you?!" I turned silently to the Mandalorian. "I understand you don't want to take us, but what about the Terrans?!"
"For them, it will be a one-way trip, just like for you," I shake my head. "First, if I'm right and an ancient Kwa temple is indeed there, it's protected by a special field that can only be penetrated if you know the password. My mother and I know it. But even if we share it with the Terrans, the Force background isn't going anywhere. I have no confidence they can withstand that pressure, for I felt on myself what it's like when the Force itself tears your essence into two parts. My mother and I have dealt with this and know we won't break; I don't have that confidence in the Terrans."
"Shade..."
"Calm down, brother. You do your job, and we'll do ours. Damask is clearly counting on this protection, but," I grinned maliciously under my mask, and it reflected in my voice: "he doesn't know yet what surprise awaits him."
"Vode av'ik!" the Mandalorian struck my shoulder, wishing me victory. "We await your return."
"Heh. I'll tell you when it's possible to descend."
My brother nodded, and I turned to my mother.
"Let's work."
Immediately after the command, we simultaneously took a step into the abyss. During the flight through the tunnel, I experienced the already forgotten feeling of pressure on the mind, but the Bodhi temple symbol turned out to be correct. The pressure on the mind subsided, but the Dark Side, accumulated in this place for millennia, tried to tear my essence apart. Gritting my teeth, I bared them.
"Not today..." the thought flashed.
With every second we approached the source that had poisoned the planet for so many years. The pressure was felt more and more strongly, but the darkness couldn't even shake the balance within me.
The landing was quite loud. With a ringing strike of metal on metal, Mom crashed down, leaving marks in the floor. I landed nearby with the same elegance. Our appearance was not a surprise for the entrenched mercenaries, but the fact that we stood firmly on our feet and ignited our sabers brought confusion to their ranks.
Realizing that heavy Force use here could lead to unfortunate consequences, we wielded our sabers exclusively. Two whirlwinds swept between the plasma bolts and created utter chaos in the enemy's ranks.
Both I and Mom struck for sure, leaving the enemy no chance. Here a fighter with a blaster aimed at me, but immediately fell apart into two vertical halves. Another tried to activate a grenade but lost an arm and a head. A third was divided into two unequal halves, while his neighbor was slammed into a wall with a crushed chest.
When the last defender fell, we had the opportunity to look around properly. The elevator shaft led into a spacious inhabited cave where the mercenaries had entrenched themselves. There was working mining equipment here, as well as an additional generator for lighting.
A single corridor led out of the cave, dug into the soil and reinforced with supports. Entering it, I looked around. Familiar greenish walls, familiar drawings. Walking a bit deeper, I turn to the wall where a small panel with three buttons could be seen. Though if you don't know what it is, these buttons are easy to miss and, judging by the broken doors, they indeed hadn't been noticed.
Pressing the top and the right buttons, while using the Force on each, I activated a holographic panel.
"Thank you, Dalien... May your soul rest peacefully in the Force," I mentally remembered an old friend. My heart stung with longing, but my soul warmed. His tedious chatter about the Gates and the Kwa had helped me then. It echoed now as well.
"Well?" Mom asked impatiently, looking ahead.
"It really is an Infinity Gate. The complex is fully operational, except for some cave-ins," I reply, quickly clicking on the panels with both hands, changing one hologram for another. When it came to the internal systems, I frowned. "We have a problem. Looks like Damask figured out how to activate the system. The Force blocks are spooling up!"
"Ashrr thar!" Aala swore. "That smart bastard is about to escape!!!"
Leaving the panel, we dashed further down the corridor without another word.
But unfortunately, by the time we reached the main hall, it was too late. The Gate had already been activated, and the remnants of the mercenaries were disappearing into it. At the very edge of the transition, I saw Damask, and next to him some man in Jedi clothes. An invisible barrier separated us from the portal, not letting us forward. A Kwa defense system, set up in case someone from the other side of the transition tried to get out here.
"Shade. You are full of surprises," the Muun said loudly.
"And you haven't seen them all yet!"
"Perhaps," the Muun gestured. This time Damask looked like a living corpse. Cracked and darkened wrinkled skin, bright yellow eyes. "In any case, you have once again made a fatal mistake. You shouldn't have returned to life, much less interfered with me. But others will pay for it. Phobos and Deimos, I believe that is their names?" The Muun smiled. I said nothing, only clenched my fist to such a degree that I clearly heard the skin crack. The Muun was openly triumphant. "Until our next meeting, last Tythonian."
With those words, he waved his hand and, gloating, took a step back, disappearing into the transition.
***
Somewhere. Damask
Having made the transition to the other side, Damask took out a small info-chip from inside his robes with all the developments on the ancient temple. Decades of his master's research, and now his own, lay in his hand and represented simply colossal, unimaginable value. All that was missing for the creation of the first prototype was a Force generator. And Shade had provided it himself.
Though it was unknown how Aero had found out about these excavations. And it was unclear how he had overcome the defense so quickly, although it was possible he had already dealt with it. It had taken Tenebrous thirty years to solve this mystery and countless experiments, while Shade just up and... passed through? Apparently, he had already encountered something similar in his time.
Though the question "Where did he get so many Force-sensitives?" remained open. They weren't Jedi... but not Sith either. Who?
"Fine. I underestimated you again, but next time everything will be different," the Muun said, and looked toward the laboratory where a reactor on the Unifying Force awaited him.
***
Read the story months ahead of the public release — early chapters are available on my Patreon: patreon.com/Granulan