The shuttle shook violently as it entered Jabim's atmosphere.
Ventress glanced sideways at her companion across from her, Durge. Even seated, his massive frame exuded an overwhelming presence.
In the cargo bay far below, thirty IG-series assassin droids rested—this madman's personal guard.
Before leaving, she had deliberately gathered information about this bounty hunter.
Durge belonged to the Gen'Dai, a race about which very little was recorded.
The Gen'Dai were a nearly immortal race with a unique anatomical structure. Their bodies were composed almost entirely of blood vessels and nerve cells, lacking bones.
Due to the absence of fragile organs such as brains, hearts, and lungs, Gen'Dai could survive even the most severe injuries and could even recover from being shredded into pieces.
If subjected to fatal damage, they would enter a temporary hibernation state during which they slowly recovered their health.
Killing a Gen'Dai was extremely difficult.
"What a serious and dangerous opponent," she thought.
Durge was an anomaly among his Gen'Dai race. While other members of his species preferred peace and lacked aggressiveness, he was the polar opposite.
"What are you staring at, Sith?" Durge asked, noticing her gaze. Yellow eyes glinted through the slits of his helmet.
"What do these marks on your armor mean? Those squiggly symbols? And why is there a Mandalorian emblem on your chest? Are you a Mandalorian?"
"They're marks of the people I've killed."
Ventress examined his armor in shock, its surface densely covered with thousands of symbols.
"How many people have you killed?"
"Many."
"We're heading somewhere with Jedi. Aren't you afraid of encountering them?"
Durge burst into laughter, his cackle sending shivers down Ventress's spine, despite her Dathomirian heritage.
"You know, Sith, I've lived for two thousand years, and I've been killing for nearly as long. I've slaughtered every kind of creature—Humans, Zabrak, Duros, Neimoidians, Hutts... I've clashed with Jedi in battle, and I've fought alongside them."
"I've killed Jedi, and I've killed Sith."
"Once, I was buried alive for sixty years, but even that couldn't kill me."
"I always defeat my opponents."
"See this mark?" Durge tapped his chestplate. "This is the Mandalorian mark. I killed him 132 years ago. I hate Mandalorians so much I'll kill them for free."
"Attention, we are about to land."
The bounty hunter's words were barely out of his mouth when the robot pilot's announcement chimed.
Soon, the shuttle's landing gear touched down on the rocky surface of the landing field.
Ventress stepped down the ramp, the slanting rain lashing her face.
"We're finally here. I'm going to find you, you bastard."
Zul cautiously walked forward, trying to avoid the deep puddles, but it was futile.
The moment he left the tent, he was already soaked through.
His cape barely managed to fend off the falling raindrops, but his boots were already soaked through, clearly ill-suited for this environment.
Her Master, Jeb Graff, was walking shoulder-to-shoulder with Warrior Victor, clearly discussing the combat mission assigned to them by Master Kenobi. They gestured animatedly, completely oblivious to the foul weather.
Zul turned his head and saw Ahsoka, Warrior Victor's Apprentice, walking beside him.
"Hey, you're Ahsoka, right? I'm Zul Xiss, Master Jeb Graff's Apprentice."
"Nice to meet you," Ahsoka nodded.
"Have you been an Apprentice for long? Sorry, but you really look—" Zul gestured with his hand at about waist height. "So small."
"I am not small!" the girl retorted heatedly, but quickly calmed down. "I'm already fourteen, which is about the right age to be a proper Apprentice. Besides, I only became my Master's Apprentice—just a couple of days after the war started. How long have you been an Apprentice?"
"Four years now, studying under Master Glaive."
"So you're already...?"
"Seventeen. Almost seventeen and a half," Zul said with a smile. "Hey, tell me, what exactly did you go through on this planet?"
"Uh—nothing particularly special. We flew here, landed, and fought battle after battle. It was tough, but we managed to pull through."
Zul leaned closer to the girl, sensing her condition through the Force. "You're injured?"
"Yeah—when those tin cans stormed our base earlier, the saboteurs from the Cloud Rain Assault Team, you know, the ones who can jump—"
"The ones who can jump?" Zul's surprise mingled with confusion.
"Yeah, they were wearing hover boots, highly trained, and carrying tons of explosives. Anyway, these guys blew up our medical station. My squad and I were nearby, so I got hit by a shrapnel fragment."
"Does it hurt?"
"It did at first, but then Master arrived. He carried me to the medical station, and the doctor removed the fragment. I'm fine now."
"Spike, stop dawdling back there!" Solo's voice rang out from ahead.
"Coming, Master!" the Togruta replied immediately.
"Your Master... he... doesn't he seem a bit odd? And what's up with 'Spike'?"
"Mm-hmm," Ahsoka chuckled. "He is a bit unusual, but he's also an incredible teacher. He knows so much, and he explains things far more engagingly than the Masters at the Temple. As for 'Spike'—that's a nickname he gave me."
Zul asked curiously, "Uh, why does he call you that?"
They approached a Dominator Heavy Armored Tank, where two Jedi had already climbed inside.
Zul tilted his head back, carefully assessing the vehicle's size, particularly its astonishing height.
"Oh, that? My Master has a penchant for jokes," the Togruta replied, hurrying up the boarding ramp.
"Just as the rumors suggest," Zul nodded to himself. "A non-conventional Jedi!"
After two weeks of grueling combat, even a couple of hours of relaxation felt like celebrating a holiday.
Even this so-called rest merely meant being able to sleep soundly.
The things people need to feel happy are truly so few...
But soon, everything returned to busyness.
Solo and his team settled all the wounded, arranged accommodations within the base for technicians, maintenance personnel, and all those who wouldn't be directly involved in the upcoming operation. Then, each unit began replenishing their equipment and ammunition in preparation for the impending urban battle.
This was undoubtedly a headache-inducing task.
Even with Solo's limited memory and newly acquired Jedi knowledge, he understood that this battle required their utmost effort.
Images flashed through his mind—clips from World War II films mixed with blurry scenes from other war-themed works—leaving him with an overall impression of... well, not something particularly inspiring.
Urban warfare is far more complex than conventional field battles, especially when civilians are present—and most of them don't favor the Republic.
And that's only the smallest of their troubles.
An enormous effort would be required to manage the situation properly and avoid massive casualties among their own troops and civilians.
At the very least, they must avoid unsustainable losses.
After the plenary meeting concluded, Solo, Master Glaive, his apprentice Zul, and Ahsoka headed to Solo's temporary command post to discuss the details of the upcoming operation.
The journey was filled with lively conversation, and they quickly found common ground.
To be honest, Solo rarely encountered such a talkative and amiable person. Zul's imposing physique, standing at over two meters tall with chiseled muscles that made even Arnold Schwarzenegger seem like a lightweight, made him look like a stereotypical Viking warrior, lacking only an axe in his hand.
Despite his rugged appearance, Zul proved to be utterly dependable.
Jeb broke the silence. "So, Solo, what's your take on how we should proceed?"
Solo zoomed in on Dalen City's terrain on the holographic tactical map, which was rather outdated and simplistic.
"What's there to think about? Look— the city is vast, but the buildings are generally low-rise, no more than three or four stories high.
This makes it difficult for the enemy to effectively deploy snipers, but it's a double-edged sword—the city's sheer size also limits the effectiveness of our own snipers."
Furthermore—ah, the streets are winding and narrow in some places, making it impossible for large vehicles to pass. Sending in lighter vehicles is too risky; maneuverability is difficult in such confined spaces, and tanks are particularly vulnerable to rocket launcher fire at close range.
So Phase One will have to rely solely on infantry advances.
Following that, the second wave will deploy AT-XT Walkers, followed by the Sabre Assault Tanks.
We'll enter from two directions simultaneously, sealing off the city's outskirts. We'll position vehicles on key high ground to provide fire support, then deploy large-scale cleanup squads to systematically clear each building.
If the Nationalists stubbornly resist, we'll cautiously isolate and eliminate them."
"I hope they only fight on the outskirts and don't bring the conflict into the residential areas," Jeb said.
"I don't expect that. They'll fight to the last man. Jeb, how many clone troopers do you have under your command?"
"A fully manned brigade, plus twelve of those four-legged monsters."
He was referring to the AT-XT Walkers.
"Excellent. With my forces, we'll have a formidable offensive power."
"General Viktor," Zul Xiss, Jeb's apprentice, asked Solo, "what do you mean by 'pacification squads'? What exactly are they pacifying?"
Solo shrugged instinctively. "Pacification squads consist of two to three platoons of clone troopers, equipped with flamethrowers.
During operations, all entrances and exits to a building are sealed off, and the occupants are ordered to evacuate. Ideally, civilians will voluntarily exit, and a few soldiers will enter to inspect the premises. Once safety is confirmed, the civilians are allowed to return.
If resistance is encountered, immediate pacification measures are taken. First, concussion grenades are used to suppress the resistance, followed by flamethrowers to eliminate any remaining enemies.
In cases of particularly fierce resistance, flamethrowers are used directly for a frontal assault.
The squads advance along both sides of the street, simultaneously securing the rooftops on both sides as strategic high ground.
Vehicles follow slowly in the center of the street, providing continuous fire support.
Additionally, at least one reserve unit must be kept on standby for each offensive direction to handle unexpected situations."
Zul Xiss couldn't help but interject, "Isn't this... too slow? The city is substantial, and following this procedure would take at least a day. Can't we speed things up? After all, our forces are clone troopers, while the enemy consists of only militia, with perhaps a few robots at most?"
"Truly... classic Jedi thinking," Solo said, shaking his head. "Underestimating the enemy inevitably leads to failure, young Apprentice."
He cracked his stiff neck as he explained, "Rapid advances can easily overlook traps and ambush points along the route.
In this situation, I recommend bypassing the defender's fortified strongholds that are difficult to capture head-on. These positions should be handled with caution, using specialized equipment for assaults.
The attack should prioritize directions where the enemy's defense is weakest, but rapid advances prevent us from accurately assessing the enemy's defensive deployment and evaluating the battlefield situation in real-time.
After isolating and encircling the most difficult defensive nodes, the attacking force can fully exploit its gained advantages.
To break the resistance of such defensive strongholds, we must identify their weak points."
"The most effective method is to deploy shield-equipped walkers. They can advance short distances while ignoring infantry fire. Additionally, we'll use anti-gravity tanks armed with both conventional blaster cannons and high-precision missiles capable of precisely destroying enemy firing positions."
Jeb chuckled in agreement. "The plan seems well-thought-out. Have you been working on this for long?"
"Indeed, for quite some time. A reckless move could result in clone trooper losses beyond our capacity to bear."
"How many losses can we sustain?"
"None."
"Alright, Solo, how much time do you need to prepare?"
"One day, perhaps a little more."
"Then I'll take my troops forward to establish an advanced position. You'll follow up after you're ready."
"That's a good idea. Two separate forces advancing independently will make the enemy believe we have two attack targets. In reality, we can concentrate our strength on a single point and catch them off guard."
"Let's work together effectively!"
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