Star Wars: 30 Years Later The Real Story - Chapter 46

Many battles had been fought all these years since the opening of hostilities between the Republic and the First Order. Plenty of planets and even systems had fallen to the First Order with no little quantity of blood and suffering. Most of them were located on the Outrim sectors where the presence of the Republic was low and weak. The First Order had moved in the shadows for decades and they had sowed plenty of connections and allies with criminal groups and rebel organizations which saw the Republic as an obstacle for their plans and now that they had seen the opportunity, they had welcomed the First Order with open arms realizing it was the best option for them to get rid of the annoying Republic. While many had blatantly declared allies with the First Order, the vast majority had only declared their neutrality while still having ties to both enemies.

– “We don’t want to be dragged into this conflict”- was the typical answer that these systems and planets replied to the Republic diplomats that came to negotiate an alliance with them- “we have no means of resisting in case the First Order attack us and in all honesty. Can you ȧssure that you will be able to defend us in case that scenario happens?”

This point was one of the more troublesome to counter for the diplomats of the New Republic. While it was true that the New Republic was powerful and had the advantage against the First Order in terms of numbers and resources, these two factors was definitely not bigger than the galaxy which was vast and impossile to cover. This size made it that there were always limitations in personal, vehicles, weapons and supplies to ȧssure the control of every corner of the galaxy. It was simpy impossible in every angle and the First Order which knew of this perfectly, took advantage of this.

– “Can the Republic protect its citizens?”- had said the press which like in every time of history and in any dimension would always look ways to create drama and scandals- “Many wonder if war is really the solution… Supreme Chancellor rejects interview: Is it fear or desperation? Another Palpatine in power? Daughter of Darth Vader: Is she really what we need in these times?”

Poe closed the news in his tablet regretting having even read them. He knew he would get angry, but even knowing that he decided to give them a chance. As usual the yellow press was as trashy as usual.

– “Fake news will always be fake news, I suppose”- said Poe slowing down his breathing and placing his fingers on his part of his nose that is between the eyes and starting to massage them to get rid of the stress.

– “Beep boop beep beep bap!”- said BB8 as he rolled to him and pushed his legs gently.

– “I’m fine BB”- said Poe but then he could not contain a big yawn which added to his red eyes showed his level of tiredness- “is it time to go to the briefing?”

– “Woooo bap bee bak beeee!”- said BB8 as he trembled a little.

– “It’s not necessary”- said Poe standing up and making sure he had all his items- “I’ll sleep after the mission.”

– “Wooooooo!”- said BB-8 with a tone that showed total disbelief.

– “I promise”- said Poe with an annoyed tone- “What are you? my mother?”

He got out the room along with BB-8 and they went to the place where the briefing before the battle was going to take place. Maybe for many people this moment before a battle would be extremely nerve-wracking but for him was just a typical day. These three years had been a nonstop chain of battles, missions and negotiations that had left no time to take a breather whatsoever. His promotion had brought just more responsibilities which had taken a toll on him, but he had little time to complain or feel sorry for himself.

– “I wish the battle starts soon”- said Poe whose eagerness for battle was only at its top

– “Boop wooooo beap woo woo!”- said BB-8 who believed most humans would find his words strange.

– “I’d rather be out there shooting down enemies than being buried in paperwork”- replied Poe with a natural air- I really need an ȧssistant.

His little friend beeped with a tone that suggested that he did not understand. However, Poe knew that he would probably had write thousands of reports after Phindar was liberated which made him wonder if it was really worth the effort. He had always been a man of action who loved to be in the battlefield. There was nothing he hated more than writing those extensive and endless reports that had to conatin every single detail. A little more and they would ask him to write down how many steps he had taken to board his fighter.

– “One would believe a promotion broguth more free time”- said Poe feeling he had to do much more than when he was just a Lieutenient.

– “They never had tried to attack so close to the core planets like now”- Poe heard a soldier that passed next to them. He ad his partner looked at Poe and they immediately rectified their posture and saluted him.

Poe returned the salute and kept walking. He could understand the shoc of those soldiers since even the higher ups were confused by the attack on Phindar. From a strategical point of view, this move was absolutely dumb. The First Order should know very well that they wuld not be able to hold the planet since it was inside the territory of the New Republic. So why would they waste so much time and resources in a meaningless plan? The most accepted theory was that they were trying to undermine the reputation of the New Republic.

– “Something like… they can’t protect the systems in their own yard, how will they do so in the Outer rims!”- Poe remembered the words of their strategists when they got the news of the attack on Phindar- “well the truth is we moved too slowly and only knew of the attack after a week.”

In that aspect, if that was their plan, they definitely had succeded. He could already imagine the headlines in the news after the details on the attack on Phindar were exposed. Another headache was its way, which meant more paperwork for him, no doubt.

SWISH!

– “It’s good to see you, Poe”- greeted Luke with a warm smile- “did you contact Rey and Finn?”

– “Generals”- saluted Poe who still now had difficulties being on the presence of such figures- “they are on their way to their mission.”

– “That’s good to hear”- said Luke nodding in appreciation- “thank you, Poe.”

– “We just have to wait a little more and then we’ll start”- said Wedge checking his watch- “the approximated time of arrival is three hours.”

After some minutes more, the rest of the people necessary for the meeting arrived and General Antilles started.

– “The strategy has already been sent to you, so everybody should know their objectives and duties- said Wedge with a face that showed he would accept any carelessness- “the briefing now is just to answer any doubts you may have and clarify some points all of you sent so let’s start…”

The next 30 minutes was a very compact and on point meeting where no unnecesary chatter was allowed and at the end, every leader of group knew what to do and what was expected from them.

– “This is the first time the enemy has attacked a planet so close to the heart the Republic, so its our responsibility to make them pay the price so they think again if they want to do so again….”- said the general with a decisive voice- “Do your job and let’s kick them out of our home. Thats all may the force be with you.”

They all went out and each went to their posts while checking each of their subordinates and clear any of their doubts about the mission and any last minute. The hangars inside the massive ships were full of activity since the moment they had been briefed and Poe went to his fighter which was already ready to set off. He saw General Skywalker’s X-wing starfighter Variant AA-589 with his eternal warbuddy R2-D2 who had a battle record that went even before Luke and was considered a hero among the droids including BB-8 who was such a “fangirl” if he was not careful how to talk about his “hero and model.” Luke gave him a look and they both nodded to each other with a smile before boarding to their respective star fighters.

– “Entering hyperspace in approximately 35 minutes…”- said the voice through the intercom which made the already chaotic environment in the hangar even more in intensity- “all personel must be in their positions.”

BB-8 was accomodated in its position behind the ċȯċkpit and started to link the systems to his own and started to run the systems looking for any errors or bugs.

– “Here Rogue Leader”- said the voice of General Antilles who had once again given the mantle of Rogue Leader after Luke decided it was better to be the commander of the Squadron since he still had to take missions that were not exclusive of the Republic and he had many times to go under the radar with no communication for even months or like the last time, years.

– “It’s better that someone permanent in the position is leader”- said Luke and his words were welcomed by most of high officers since all won with it. The Republic gained a solid column to look after, while Luke was free to move undisturbed around all the galaxy.

– “All group leaders check on your teams.”- said General Antilles in the intercom- “Then report to me in frequency 307-900-10C.

– “Here Alpha leader”- said the voice of Luke Skywalker- “all Alpha squadron report to me on frequency 307-900-20A.”

– “Here Bravo leader”- said Poe while calibrating his communication systems- “all my squadron take frequency 307-900-30B.”

– “Here Charlie leader…”- Poe heard but he immediately changed the frequency to the one exclusively for his team and started to call his teammates to report any problem.

– “Here Bravo 2”- said the voice of his second in command who sounded very calm and collected as usual- “all is clear and ready for action. Let’s roll!”

– “Checked Bravo 2”- said Poe checking the tag B-2 in his systems.

– “Here Bravo 8”- said another voice which sounded a little more nervous than the previous one- “all systems calibrated and ready for set off. Good luck to everyone!”

– “Checked Bravo 8”- said Poe and marked the next tag. The process continued until all the members of his team had confirmed their readiness and then he changed the frequency to the one of team leaders- “Here Bravo leader… all team is ready and willing, Rogue leader.”

– “Confirmed, Bravo leader. Stand by…”- said General Antilles who was definitely checking his own systems before the battle and after a few more minutes the signal was activated again- “All team leaders finished their reporting. Prepare for take off at signal!”

– “Getting out of Hyperspace in 1 minute”- said the voice of an officer to all units and they immediately prepared

– “Let’s do this!”- said Poe who had a grin on his face.

(…)

Phindar Orbit – Star Destroyer Finalizer

Armitage Hux was sitting down on his captain chair while massaging his temples with his fingers as he breathed heavily. All the officers around him tried to do their jobs as quietly as possible knowing that their general was in a terrible mood and would lash out at anyone that got his attention.

– “It’s already a week since he was suposed to get out and still no news…”- he whispered with great anger mixed with hateful tones- “Since when have I become the nanny of that idiot?”

Two months ago, he was informed that Kylo Ren had sent into a very important mission in this system. Since he was not involved in the said mission. He acknowledged the information but he gave it no more importance since he had more pressing matters to take care of. He was a general in the First Order and they were waging a total war against the New Republic so one could imagine how busy he was and all the exciting plans and startegies he had in mind to annihilate his enemies. . For the typical mortal, war was synonim of pain and suffering, but for Armitage Hux, war was an exciting and highly addictive game where the stakes were thousands of lives and complete annhiliation. There was nothing more exciting for him than a contest of strategy and wits against strong and highy trained opponents with much more experience than him. Outsmart them and having their lives as prizes were one of the reasons for him to choose the First order side.

– “Sigh* I hope they hurry up…”- said for himself feeling extremely bored and regreting the fact that he could be doing better things in other places than wasting his time in this meaningless move- “I’m sure this is another test from the Supreme Leader.”

The last years had been a constant and exciting barrage of battles which had brought countless victories and defeats for each side. Until three years ago, Hux had been considered the best General and commander in all the First Order and nobody doubted he was going to be promoted to Grand admiral and get more power and sufficient authority to take his fancy game to the next level. He, of course had great confidence and had also thought he had the position in the pocket.

– “Stupid StarKiller base…”- he cursed in rage remembering the event that changed everything for him.

After the loss of Starkiller Base, three years ago which marked the opening of hostilities between the First Order and the New Republic, and marked the first real battle against each other as a defeat for their side. This had left an extremely bitter taste to all the people involved with the event and especially the Supreme Leader Snoke who saw this defeat as a personnal affront and was swift to show is displeasure by executing dozens of officers who had survived the incident. Hux still felt a shiver in his spine remembering the display of brutal wrath that befell those officers who did not die quickly.

– “Any news from Kylo Ren?”- asked Hux for the 999th time knwoing perfectly the answer but he needed something to distract himself from the unpleasant memories.

– “No news from him yet, General”- replied an officer nervously.

– “Hmm…”- grumbled Hux as he accomodated in his chair.

He had been lucky to be some of the officers that had not been executed but that did not mean that the Supreme leader had forgiven him since the officers that survived the capital punishment had been blamed for incompetence and were given the cold shoulrder by the Supreme leader Snoke. The fall had been even worse for Hux who saw his previous perfect score being tarnished by a huge defeat and he could feel the sneers and jeers from those who envied him. Even though he had wanted to prove his worth once again by taking big missions and regain his dignity, he was punished by being given meaningless and easy tasks way under the capabilities deserved for his rank. He gritted his teeth by the dishonor of being insulted by this but he could not retort since he knew it was a way for the Supreme Leader to show his distate for him.

– “You will have your chance soon, General”- had said Snoke once when he practically begged for the opportunity to have a more important participation in the war- “for now show me results in these tasks… if you can.”

Those words had nagged him greatly and had started a fire in his heart. Not only had completely his missions perfectly but he even decided to take extra steps which had created more problems for the Republic in a micro level and in his luck he had even crossed paths with veterans of the New Republic, like Skywalker, Antilles and even Syndulla who he had believed had died years prior the war. Even thought they were old, they were just a pain in the neck, but he still managed to survive and even create great losses for them. This had helped him regained the respect of the members of the First Order, and even Snoke started to ȧssign him bigger operations. He was once again on the race, but he had never anticipated the appearance of a competitor.

– “General…”- said an officer with a cautious tone- “General Pryde requests an update on the situation on Phindar.”

– “Humph! Talking of the devil!”- spit Hux thinking that Pryde must have called just to annoy him even more- “tell him there is no change and that we will inform them when it is otherwise…”

– “Yes, General”

Enryc Pryde was a veteran of the Imperial era with a vast deal of experience. For some reason, he had kept a low profile in the First Order, being fine with just a First Officer position under many generals and admirals but after the fall of the StarKiller base, Pryde had started to maneuver himself into a more powerful position and had managed to gain support from many big shots including Kylo Ren. He had started to take easy but key missions which brought recognition inside the ranks of the First Order. When Hux had been punished, he started to score very important victories taking advantage of his absence and now he was considered to be the best candidate to take the mantle of Grand Admiral over him. To add salt to injury, he had been chosen to play a super important role in this mission while he had been relegated to the side character role.

– “This is infuriating!”- spat Hux for himself wanting to break something- “me a great general being kicked aside as a mere pawn!”

It was true that he had enjoyed destroying Phindar’s defense system and ensuring the conquering of the planet. However, he knew this was just a small and short lived victory with no impor…

– “Hyperspace lectures in the sector, general”- reported an officer whose nervousness had vanished in a second- “we estimate various Battleships from different locations.”

– “So they finally appeared”- said Hux smirking and showing a great thirst for battle- “red alert! all units to prepare to combat and report to Pryde to be ready!”

– “Yes, Sir!”

After some minutes, dozens of Mon Calamari Star cruisers appeared from different points surrounding the First Order vessels and immediately started shooting at the Star Destroyers at the same time that they unleashed countless X-Wing starfighters and bombers which immediately engaged with the TIE fighters and bombers in a doodle of colors and explosions which adorned the dark space which had been peacefully just mere seconds ago. Once again, Hux was drowned in the endless and quick series of informs and requests from all the officers around him as different holographic screens appeared in front of him showing him all the battle data that he needed to take decision.

– “Multiple groups of enemies of starfighters, bombers and carriers descending to the surface of Phindar!”- informed the officer- “massive casualties in all sectors.”

– “Tell all teams not to follow the descending enemies”- ordered Hux already making calculations at the speed of light in his head- “regroup all forces and keep a defensive stance around the Star Destroyers.”

– “Ground forces request for permission to start the plan!”

– “Authorized!”- said Hux while having a smirk in his face feeling the excitement of having started a new game- “Report immediately if Kylo Ren appears.”

– “Yes, General!”

– “Now…”- said Hux opening his arms while grinning like a total madman- “let’s enjoy this battle until we are satisfied!”