Magister Tivokka and Plo Koon showed up a mere couple of hours later in orbit around Iego, after my conversation with Lora. The Mandalorian turned out to be an interesting character — she'd been raised according to the Mandalorian code of honor. Roughly speaking — she was a fairly honest warrior and all that. She combined a strange, almost childlike naivety with incredible, adult-level Mandalorian skills — standing in her armor with good weaponry, she was a match for many. That naivety made her a devoted supporter of an organization with the laconic name "Luna." According to the Jedi databases, it was a private military corporation — a PMC, simply put — that appeared in the Outer Regions. And a very surprising organization, since its members "helped poor worlds," of which the Outer Regions had plenty.
If you think about it — I myself was a fairly naive sentient. Roughly until the moment I discovered that my naivety and actions in that context could lead to terrible consequences. For me, at least. So I absolutely didn't believe in the good intentions of the Luna organization. There's definitely some secret... Maybe its leader, Gaven Hornly, didn't tell naive Lora about it. Well, investigating her isn't really in my jurisdiction yet. I'll just have to add data about Lora to the Jedi database — a Mandalorian of Chiss origin, commanding several Dreadnoughts.
At least such companies can't get these ships in full combat configuration. They're probably bought secondhand or even captured from other forces. Otherwise, we'd have problems. I was honestly a bit dumbfounded — properly commanded Dreadnoughts could even give a Venator a run for its money. Though probably not one-on-one. I haven't seen the Venator's specs yet anyway, and memorizing numbers from articles by some elf who prefers tanks seemed like too much of a nerdy thing to do. We'll figure out what a Venator is and what it can do on the spot. Right now, our problem was the massive strike on Pakuuni, where Jarko was holed up.
Strangely enough, after my raid on T'ungl, where I'd "had fun" with Jarko's forces, Graves himself had gone quiet and kept a low profile. I knew he'd notified Jarko thanks to my spy program. He also turned in his subordinate Ralph — who was crooked — to counterintelligence. But after that, when Plo Koon and Tivokka were about to arrive at Iego and he knew it — he wasn't in a hurry to inform the Black Sun. That made me wonder what game he was playing. I'd figure it out a little later; right now, Jarko was the priority. The ships dropped out of hyperspace. Ten Dreadnoughts immediately began scanning. I directed my ship toward the lead vessel, where Magister Tivokka was stationed.
Admiral Graves' shuttle was flying alongside my ship. Inside the Dreadnought, it was fairly spacious. The lead Dreadnought had been modified with a roomy hangar. There were some fighters inside.
"Admiral Graves," I smiled, looking at the man. "Good to see you again."
"Jedi Knight," he nodded to me. "Glad to see you're in good health, despite Ralph's transgressions."
"Yes, I see your subordinate's betrayal shocked you, Admiral."
"Not particularly," the man said, placing his hands behind his back. "Ralph was never honest or clean. I would've fired him long ago, but apparently his connections in the Black Sun were too significant. People from Iego's ruling council spoke up for him. I couldn't refuse them."
I looked at Graves suspiciously.
"The Judicial Forces, Admiral, belong to the Republic, not Iego. So you should be following orders from Coruscant — specifically, the Senate commission overseeing the Corps. However, I'm sure my Order will be interested in these circumstances. So there's a new investigation ahead. Unfortunately, it'll probably be outside my duties, although... who knows?"
Through a network of corridors and turbolifts, we reached the command center where all the operation commanders were gathered. The ships were being directed by Magister Tivokka. He was a tall Wookiee in Jedi robes, with a belt holding a lightsaber whose hilt — judging by the color — was made of wood. A fairly rare material, but there are a couple of tree species whose wood rivals metal in strength. Next to him stood a Kel Dor — tall, almost two heads taller than me. He was dressed in dark-toned clothing. Plo Koon, future Jedi Master, one of the best Jedi of his time and a member of the High Council. If I remember correctly — he inherited his position on that council from Magister Tivokka during the conflict known as the Stark Hyperspace War. Tivokka essentially bequeathed his seat to Plo Koon. And he was indeed appointed advisor. Though — he'd truly proven his skills. Proven many times afterward that he wasn't made a master on some whim.
Plo Koon looked at me with undisguised curiosity. Right now, he was just a Padawan, not yet a master. He was still far from his peak, though even now he was impressive. Smiling, I pulled back my hood.
"Magister Tivokka," I said, "it's a pleasure to meet you in person. Padawan Plo Koon," I nodded to him.
"Knight Light," the Wookiee growled in his own language. Plo Koon greeted me with a slight bow. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Grand Master Yoda praised you highly. Also, I'm aware of your reputation." Tivokka extended his hand to me as I approached, and I shook it. "Admiral Graves. Glad to see you; I've heard of you," Tivokka also addressed the Admiral. "The Order and the Republic have appointed Knight Light and myself as commanders of this operation. First, Light, bring everyone up to speed. The Judicial Forces officers who arrived with us are eager to know," Tivokka gave a meaningful look to the commodore standing nearby, "why they've been reassigned to us."
"Ahem," I chuckled, stepping up to the holoprojector. "If you don't mind," I inserted an infochip into the slot. "Allow me to introduce you to botany. What you see now," a plant appeared on the holoprojector, "is the legendary bota — the very one traded by the firm 'Miracle of Iego.' You all know about the miraculous properties of this plant. Its healing qualities; if they can't drag a sentient back from the brink of death, they can certainly make severe injuries seem not so severe. Where 'Miracle of Iego' grew this plant remained a secret to the entire Galaxy until recently. Countless investigators of all stripes, journalists, detectives, mercenaries, and even a couple of Jedi have vanished trying to locate the bota farms."
"And no wonder," said Tivokka. "Given who was shielding the traders. And who those traders actually are. Though the circumstances turned out a bit different from what I'd imagined."
I looked at Tivokka with curiosity. Jarko was protected not only by her agent from the Judicial Forces — Admiral Graves — but also by Senator Nelson Kitar, who had a reputation as an uncompromising crime fighter. At first, I thought it was just a front... But it turned out that Nelson Kitar's daughter, Nella, had fallen under Jarko's control. And he'd hired Lora to help rescue her.
"And who is the trader?" asked the commodore who had arrived with Tivokka. Chetwick, I think.
"A very dangerous trader — traderess, to be precise," I switched the image. "Allow me to introduce you," I brought up a picture of Jarko. Given her appearance and her clothing, every holo-photo of her was erotic. She clearly reveled in the reaction she was used to eliciting from people of any gender. "This lady's name is Jarko Itari. And if you think you've seen beauty on a galactic scale, I hasten to disappoint you. This is a dangerous predator, a monster hiding behind the guise of a beautiful maiden." Some of the officers present looked at me doubtfully. Graves, interestingly, closed his eyes. "This is how she looks in the world. And this..." I put a holo-video on the screen, "is how she can look in battle." The holo-video showed a seemingly beautiful Anzat who, using her tentacles, was feeding on a victim's brain through the nose. "Yes, our most honorable client in the business of 'getting her ass kicked' is not just a Vigo, one of the bosses of the infamous organization 'Black Sun,' but also a Force-sensitive Anzat. An Anzat — let me explain — is a race that can feed on the brains of its victims. Their tentacles, hidden in their cheeks, penetrate through the nose to the victim's brain and suck it out... Needless to say, the victim doesn't survive after that. And Jarko Itari is dangerous also because she has learned to control the absorption rate, stretching the process over many years. During the process, her victims... experience something akin to sexual orgasm."
"Sex... Sexual orgasm?" asked Plo Koon. Some sentients looked at him sympathetically. I was among them.
"Nature of almost all sentient races in the Galaxy ensured, Padawan Plo Koon, that making offspring is pleasurable. So to speak — 'additional stimulation.' During physical ejaculation, endorphins of all types are released in many sentient races, adrenaline might spike, and much more. Roughly speaking — she not only absorbs part of the victim's brain but also sends them... into a state of 'orgasm,' so to speak. I think there are those here who know what that is," I swept my gaze over the listeners. "Plus — she's a powerful telepath who can also implant 'the thoughts she needs into the victim's mind.' In short — those not Force-sensitive better keep their distance. Based on what I saw on Drongar, she definitely has an army fanatically devoted only to her, devoted not only as a Vigo, but also as, possibly, a Goddess."
"Hoh, and I understand them," said the commodore who had arrived with Tivokka.
"You'd better understand them only in theory, Commodore Chetwick," remarked Tivokka.
"I agree with that statement. No matter how the situation turns, Jarko Itari is my target. Master Tivokka and Padawan Plo will engage her in battle only as a last resort. The Judicial Forces should stay well away from her," I looked seriously at those present. "It would be no trouble for her to use Force Persuasion on our units and make the weak-willed obey her." After all, we don't have an army of droids, or clones... Though even the latter can malfunction. "And that could play a nasty trick on us. But for me to get to Jarko, I also need to destroy the ships she has stationed at the planet Pakuuni."
"Don't you own an invisible ship?" asked Commodore Chetwick.
"I do," I nodded. "But the problem is that my own invisibility isn't at the level of some deity, Commodore. I can hide from tens of eyes, but hundreds or thousands will spot me. If I try to sneak in just like that, I'll be discovered before I reach her. But if the fleet, and then the Judicial Forces army, distracts her formations, it'll be much easier for me to get close and finish her off."
"Agreed," said Tivokka. "That sounds realistic."
"Now, let's move on to the planet Pakuuni itself. The main strategic resource Jarko trades in — bota — grows on the planet Drongar, which isn't suitable as a main base, far too dangerous. But Pakuuni... A haven for bandits and smugglers of all kinds, an ideal outpost for a Black Sun Vigo. The planet nominally belongs to the Republic, but its representative has been bought by practically everyone who could buy him. Jarko currently has about six to eight Dreadnoughts left. Not long ago, I was conducting a bit of a hunt for traitors," I looked at Graves, "to uncover a high-placed information source for Jarko from the local Judicial Forces Headquarters. I dealt somewhat harshly with Admiral Graves, feeding him false information that a fleet from the Core Worlds would emerge at T'ungl. Naturally, that didn't happen, but Jarko, hoping to destroy or at least damage part of the fleet, brought some of her ships there, which I attacked. I managed to destroy one Dreadnought. Another suffered serious engine damage."
"Now I want an invisible ship too," Commodore Chetwick said with a sigh. A russet-haired man, about forty years old, dressed in Judicial Forces uniform, even sighed somewhat sadly.
"Don't bother, that ship is incredibly difficult to control. In stealth mode, all sensor systems are non-functional; you can only fire blindly or rely on your feeling of the Force. You're not Force-sensitive; your usefulness on such a ship would be reduced to zero. Although, getting into a tactically advantageous position while the enemy can't see you is an interesting idea. But... such a ship costs absurdly much. My 'Star Courier' was valued at about sixty million credits. It's easier to build a fleet of ordinary ships."
"Well, that's debatable," said Chetwick.
"To business," Graves reminded.
"Uh-huh, let's get back," I confirmed with a nod. "About six to eight Dreadnoughts on the enemy side. Also, a certain Lora from the PMC 'Luna' has expressed a desire to join us," I looked at Tivokka.
"Nelson Kitar warned me about her," the Wookiee agreed.
"Good," I nodded. "Lora and I have formed an Alliance. Her participation in the battle is entirely on my conscience."
"And how do you intend to use her strength?" asked Graves.
"Well, I won't tell you all the details. I can only say 'as a floor.' The trick with Lora lies in the correct exit from hyperspace. Jarko's ships are outside Pakuuni's gravity shadow. Near a space station, a little further off. I intend to bring Lora into battle when our forces are engaged with Jarko's ships. Once the battle starts, our ships will scan the system; mine, in particular, will calculate the most convenient point for exiting hyperspace, which will be located BELOW Jarko's formations. This way, Lora's Dreadnought and ships will be directly beneath the target and can pound their lower hemispheres. A beautiful tactical maneuver. First — it'll shock the hell out of them. Second — it'll let us deal with Jarko's fleet faster... Under the usual Citadel tactics, there were various options for fleet and ship interaction. Variations of the famous 'Crossing the T' even existed. What I'm about to use will be a similar variation. Only, if in the tactical textbook this maneuver involved moving part of your ships under enemy fire into the lower hemisphere right in the middle of battle, I intend to pull off a dangerous trick. We plan to fight near the planet. A slight miscalculation, and Lora's squadron will slam into Pakuuni. The planet might not survive such an impact, either. I recall a story about a Republic Battleship that jumped straight into a planet, plowed it down to the core, and literally destroyed itself, the planet, and a huge number of its inhabitants... Even before destroying entire planets with a single strike became mainstream in this universe's chronology. But I have no doubts about my skills — or rather, the skills of the radar and Navigation Computer to calculate the correct coordinates. All that's left is the small matter of launching the attack. First — the destruction of the space fleet, then the ground assault on the residence."
"I don't even know what meaning you're putting into those words," remarked Graves. Tivokka gave me a demanding look. Understood. I'll have to explain it to him. But I trusted the Wookiee and Plo Koon one hundred percent. These aren't the kind of sentients who betray.
"Oh, don't worry, Admiral Graves," I broke into a smile. "Commander of Jarko Itari's fleet won't grasp the meaning of those words either... Until it's too late."
* * *
The attack on Pakuuni began a couple of hours later. The ships needed to form up to exit hyperspace and maximize fire on their enemy as much as possible. We could have sent reconnaissance droids, but we couldn't afford to delay. Jarko is cautious; the situation at T'ungl could have forced her to retreat or disappear for good. Then we'd have to search for her across the entire Galaxy... I also briefed Lora on the plan and her role in it. I also anticipated possible scenarios. Graves works for Jarko, but he hasn't made his move yet. His betrayal in the middle of the battle is almost impossible. But even if it's possible, I uploaded a virus into the ship computers of Graves' formation, so I've covered myself on that front. As for Lora and the 'Luna' organization, about which not much is known — even if she sides with 'Black Sun' mid-battle, we can turn the tide. There are too many of us.
The ships emerged near Pakuuni. I was on the bridge of the lead Dreadnought with Tivokka and Plo Koon. A scanning wave immediately radiated from the ship.
"Aurek Group — report readiness," I addressed the captains of the accompanying ships.
"This is Aurek-2, we've arrived at the designated coordinates," said the captain of the ship on the right. "All systems operating normally."
"This is Aurek-3..." The standard check took less than a minute.
"Red Wing — cover the main ships, Blue Wing — cover the bombers, Gold Squadron — be ready to attack enemy ships," I issued the orders. The red wing comprised sixty Z-95 fighters equipped with hyperdrives. Our ships were fitted with different types of hyperdrives, so some had to enter hyperspace earlier, some later, to emerge at the same time. All of this was calculated on my orders. Another sixty Z-95s were in the bomber cover wing. There were only twenty-four bombers in total. The entire Aurek Group consisted of seventeen Dreadnoughts, twenty 'Law'-class ships, and one hundred forty-four small craft — one hundred twenty Z-95s and twenty-four A-24s. A considerable force had been assembled, but we were facing seven fully ready Dreadnoughts, seventeen Gozanti-class ships — clearly modified — plus a whole swarm of Z-95s, various bombers, and gunships... If we outnumbered Jarko's fleet, it wasn't by much. The battle promised to be intense... I clenched my fists... How the fuck did we let this damn Galaxy get so out of hand! Keepers of Peace... Look, a local pirate Queen with the habits of a first-rate slut has a fleet that could devastate an entire sector. And we — until I started sending data about bota and rubbing their noses in the shit — no one even lifted a finger. "All ships, open fire. Distribute targets according to the assigned directives. Gold Squadron — do not engage the target yet." I want to first understand the dangers threatening us.
And the battle began... Without any preludes or negotiations. The enemy wasn't ready for them. And we had clearly demonstrated our intentions. Jarko's ships formed a crescent, with Gozantis positioned between each of her Dreadnoughts. Moreover, the Dreadnoughts lagged slightly behind the Gozantis, meaning her light cruisers were slightly forward.
"Her commander apparently wants us to concentrate fire on the Gozantis," said Plo Koon.
"Correct, Padawan Plo," I nodded. "If we consider Dreadnoughts the local analogue of 'line forces,' for both of us, then we clearly have more. A Dreadnought has superior firepower. But to realize it, it needs to survive longer, and to do that, it needs to take less damage. For this purpose, her commander is pushing the Gozantis forward; I suspect they also have power diverted to shields. They're needed not to attack our ships, but to hold them back as much as possible. Our 'Law'-class gunships are much weaker than the Gozantis, even surprisingly, given how and with what they're modified. So we can't offer them an adequate response. And we can't ignore the advancing Gozantis either. No matter how much they concentrate power on shields — they're still shooting back, trying to wear ours down. If we wedge into their ranks," I put my hand to my chin, "ignoring the Gozantis and heading straight for their Dreadnoughts, we risk getting hit in the stern with who-knows-what. After all — who knows what they've installed in those ships?"
"You're right," said Graves. "On top of everything else, we're getting conflicting data from the local control station."
I noticed the data relayed from the sensor. The station had the bare minimum of weapons and shields for defense. But it de jure belongs to the Republic. However... They had deployed an ion cannon, according to the scanners.
"They've deployed an ion cannon, why?" I asked aloud. "Ah, they're going to fire. And judging by the data... Aurek-4 — evasive maneuver, move your ship to the right as fast as possible."
The shot would occur in thirty seconds. The captain of the fourth Dreadnought began the maneuver. But the gunner of the ion cannon couldn't react in time to the course change of the lumbering Dreadnought. Even a small change can play a nasty trick. The shot missed...
"The station is also our enemy!" Commodore Chetwick said loudly.
"Gold Squadron," said Tivokka. "Attack the station." Meanwhile, the battle between the small craft was heating up. Jarko's small craft were trying to break through to our Dreadnoughts.
"Blue Squadron — cover Gold," I ordered. "We need to attack the station." I raised the datapad in my hand to my eyes. Five more minutes until our special attack. "Aurek Group — concentrate fire on the 'Gozantis'." We must deprive the enemy's Dreadnoughts of their cover as much as possible before the arrival of Besh Group, which Lora's squadron had joined. The coordinate transmission was handled by the Navigation Computer; its AI precisely calculated the point based on the current position of Pakuuni and the other ships. Lora's group entering the lower hemisphere would be a fatal surprise for our enemies. I watched, fascinated, as blue and red flashes flew around. The small craft were playing, including near our Dreadnought, getting shot down and dying. Plo Koon seemed to wince, sensing the deaths of sentients in the cruel void of space. Gold Squadron charged into the attack; some of the enemy's small craft tried to intercept them. Simultaneously, the Gozantis concentrated their fire on our bombers. Some were even shot down, but about seventeen machines managed to get on an attack vector and fired at the station.
I looked at the timer. Ten more seconds... Nine, eight...
"This battle threatens to drag on," said Chetwick. "Aurek-7 has suffered engine damage; according to them, it's quite possible the fire could spread to their reactor."
Maybe I should have sent some of our Dreadnoughts with Lora's group? After all, she has one Dreadnought and a few gunships. Yes, the surprise is fatal, but it would be hundreds of times more fatal if her group had three or four Dreadnoughts. It's a shame I decided to learn a bit too late. My decisions might cause us problems again...
"Aurek-10 has lost its deflectors!" exclaimed the comms officer.
"Do not retreat!" At that moment, two flashes bloomed. The station was destroyed; about a hundred sentients lost their lives instantly. One of the Gozantis couldn't withstand the cumulative damage and was also destroyed — more precisely, it seemed we overloaded their shield generator, and the reactor ran wild. Which wouldn't have happened if they hadn't disabled the reactor's safety systems.
"Ships emerging from hyperspace," reported the officer at the sensors. "Coordinates..."
"What?" asked Admiral Graves. "Enemy reinforcements? They're emerging in the lower hemisphere."
"Not exactly their reinforcements," I clarified. A Dreadnought materialized from hyperspace, then another. And with them, a motley, mismatched squadron. Lora's small craft began materializing, emerging from hyperspace. "Get me a connection to the emerging Dreadnought."
Lora appeared on the terminal before us.
"You're right on time, Lora," I said, addressing the Mandalorian woman.
"Just as you calculated," she noted. "I roughly understood your idea regarding my Besh squadron. Cunning... I'm beginning combat operations immediately."
"Good. Your subordinates' signatures are marked as friendly, so the Judicial Forces won't make a mistake," I nodded. "Continue the operation."
The connection ended.
"You intentionally placed her in the lower hemisphere," remarked Tivokka. "The enemy is already distracted by us, so an attack from an unusual angle..."
"It's a classic maneuver," noted the Admiral, "though you managed to figure out exiting hyperspace directly into position. Usually, during a battle near a planet, that's out of the question because the high chance of smearing ships against the planet due to the gravity shadow... Unless... You calculated Lora's exit point here and transmitted the coordinates to her during the battle."
"Correct," I agreed. "That's exactly what I did. When we exited hyperspace, a standard scanning procedure was carried out. Why do commanders try not to bring ships too close to a planet? Because it rotates on its axis and around its star. In other words, the planet shifts slightly. So there are no permanent coordinates for a safe hyperspace exit right next to it. However... Nothing prohibits scanning the planet's current position to calculate a point. All that remained was a small matter. We performed the scan, and then I transmitted the data via my datapad to my astromech droid. It has lots of interesting things built in. And it calculated how the planet's position would change by the time Lora arrived. Lora herself was in the Pakuuni system; I had sent her here earlier, not far from one of the planetoids. So the jump was over a short distance. And we didn't have to maneuver that way in the middle of the battle, exposing our ships." I watched as the Dreadnought's guns, elevated to their maximum, pummeled the lower hemispheres of Jarko's ships. "Since Jarko knew we were coming to visit, she pulled all her available fleet to Pakuuni, ceasing system patrols. Therefore, she couldn't detect Besh Group, Lora's group."
"Not without flaws, but the plan is good," said the Admiral.
"Thanks. Not for nothing did I graduate from the Anaxis Citadel's correspondence course."
"Correspondence course?" asked Graves. "In our circles, it's better to say you studied full-time. The Corps doesn't particularly like 'correspondence students.' Although, even among those sentients, there are decent commanders."
Jarko, or rather her commander, couldn't turn the battle around, which became a rout after Lora joined. But they fought with ferocity, with desperation. Ships literally shot back until the last gunner.
"None of them are surrendering," noted Chetwick. "Is that because they're from 'Black Sun'?"
"No," the Wookiee Master shook his head, "it's because of loyalty. They love their mistress more than their own lives."
Time and again, flashes bloomed on Jarko's ships. Overloaded shields failed and shut down, and then our cannons, missiles, and small craft strikes did their work. She had managed to assemble a decent fleet... I almost felt sorry for the ships. For its time, a Dreadnought is an excellent vessel. Nevertheless, we couldn't capture them; they fired too fanatically and desperately, and we couldn't afford to lose our soldiers, who still had a ground assault ahead. When the last Dreadnought was destroyed and all her ships were reduced to space debris, the second phase of the operation began. The ground landing.
We landed fifty kilometers from her residence. And we landed under fire from cannons and missiles. They were firing specifically from her residence, so we lost several 'Law'-class gunships, and one of our already damaged and battered Dreadnoughts even crashed onto the planet. We couldn't have landed further away than we chose; we would have had to go around a canyon. Dreadnoughts can enter the atmosphere and even land on a planet. The ground forces consisted mainly of infantry. It was very disheartening to learn that artillery and tank formations were virtually non-existent in the current Republic army. And the existing units hadn't received new vehicles in a long time. For this specific operation, we used Espo-101 walkers.
They were part of the Corporate Sector Security Forces and were exported, albeit in small quantities. The machine reminded me of the bipedal walkers I'd seen countless times from the GAR and the Empire. There was no artillery at all. Only three heavy vehicles acting as missile carriers. They were on repulsors and could launch anti-tank missiles, which, however, could also be aimed at things other than tanks.
We gathered again at the command post of the lead Dreadnought.
"Master Tivokka will command the army this time," I said, observing a projection of Jarko's residence. "Our target has erected a spherical shield. Storming it head-on would be utter stupidity... However — the shield can be breached one way or another."
"An attempt to attack the shield from space might, by the way, be stupid," noted Commodore Chetwick. "She has planetary defense cannons. She apparently didn't use them because her forces were too concentrated. But now that her small craft and formation were destroyed by the respected Jedi's tactics," he indicated a bow in my direction, "nothing prevents her from using her PD and missile defenses at full capacity. I think you all felt that."
"But our systems won't penetrate that shield," objected Commander Hendrick, who was responsible for the ground forces.
"That's not necessary," I said. "You just need to simulate attacks to keep her forces on edge and draw their attention. I'll take care of her myself."
"And how will you penetrate the shield?" asked Graves. "If you haven't noticed, it extends in a radius of five kilometers from her castle."
"In addition, there may be various firing points along the way to the castle. They could be outside the shield, hidden."
"And I don't intend to go straight there," I unfolded a map on the terminal. "What you're seeing now is called the 'Caves of the First Settler.' The elevation on which Jarko's castle is built is riddled with these catacombs and caves. She's a cunning woman and has surely sealed the entrance from the caves to the lower levels of her castle. However, I can get in there because I've done my research. Jarko bought some of the land, as well as the catacombs themselves. In other words — she uses them, probably, among other things, as an escape route. And she won't be able to extend the shield over them, or post guards there... Because the entrance is outside the shield's area of effect." I zoomed in on a cave, "on the opposite side of the elevation. So — if you attack, or simulate an attack from our side, I'll be operating from the opposite side."
"Just you?" asked Hendrick.
"One of me will be sufficient," I confirmed. "Jarko is sensitive to the Force. I have sufficient competence that, even if she senses me, it won't be immediately. And I know how to infiltrate protected facilities. Whereas Master Tivokka's and Padawan Plo's expertise might be useful on the front lines, in case she decides to confront us on the planet. I'll reach the opposite side using my ship. As you've understood, it has a very... unique design."
The plan isn't exactly ideal. The main issue is the caves. If the rock is too thick, I'll have to melt it with a lightsaber to find the caves she converted into corridors… But right now I'm worried about something else. What game is the Admiral playing? He could have at least told Jarko about my attack through the caves… But no signals came from his datapads. Did he realize I wouldn't take Ralph's accusation as the truth? Or does he have a different goal? Maybe his elimination… No… If before I was cautious about straining Jarko by arresting an agent, now — the troops Admiral Graves brought with him might start grumbling… Just not before a fight! No… I need to wait until the operation is over, deal with Jarko, and only then sort things out with Graves…