Master Tiwok'ka and Plo Koon appeared in orbit around Iego a couple of hours after my conversation with Lora. The Mandalorian turned out to be an interesting character; she was raised according to the canons of Mandalorian honor. Roughly speaking, she was a rather honest warrior and all that. She combined a strange, almost childlike naivety with, at the same time, amazing, adult skills of a Mandalorian, who, in her armor and with good weapons, was worth many. Her naivety made her a loyal supporter of the organization with the concise name "Luna." According to Jedi databases, it's a private military corporation, a PMC, to put it simply, that appeared in the Outer Regions. And a very surprising organization, because its members "helped poor worlds," of which there are plenty in the Outer Regions.
If you think about it, I myself was a rather naive sentient being. Until the moment I discovered that my naivety and actions in its context could lead to terrible consequences. At least for me. So I didn't believe in the good intentions of the Luna organization at all. There must be some secret… Maybe its leader, Gawain Hornly, didn't reveal this secret to the naive Lora… However, investigating her is not within my jurisdiction yet. I'll just have to add data about Lora to the Jedi database, that there is such a Mandalorian, of Chiss origin. She commands several Dreadnoughts.
It's good that such firms are not capable of obtaining these ships in their complete configuration. Most likely, they are resellers, or even boarding parties from other forces. Otherwise, we would have problems. I was generally in a state of mild shock; Dreadnoughts, with competent management, could even take down a Venator. Although not one-on-one, most likely. After all, I haven't seen the Venator's TTX yet, and I considered memorizing numbers from an elf who prefers tanks to be too much of a nerd. We'll figure out on the spot what a Venator is and what it's eaten with. Now our problem is the massive strike on Pakuuni, where D'jarko has holed up.
What's surprising is that after my raid on T'ungla, where I "had fun" with D'jarko's forces, Gravz himself went quiet and didn't show himself much. I knew he had informed D'jarko thanks to a spy program. He also handed over his subordinate, Ralph, who was not clean-handed, to counter-intelligence. But only after Plo Koon and Tiwok'ka were about to arrive at Iego and he knew about it – he wasn't in a hurry to inform the "Black Sun." This made me wonder what game he was playing. However, we'll figure it out a little later; the priority now is D'jarko. The ships dropped out of hyperspace. Ten Dreadnoughts immediately conducted a scan. I directed my ship towards the lead one, where Master Tiwok'ka was.
Admiral Gravz's shuttle was flying alongside my ship. It was quite spacious inside the Dreadnought. The lead Dreadnought had been modified and had a spacious hangar. There were a number of fighters inside.
"Admiral Gravz," I smiled, looking at the man. "It's a pleasure to see you again."
"Jedi Knight," he nodded at me. "I'm glad to see that despite Ralph's transgressions, you are in good health."
"Yes, I see your subordinate's betrayal shocked you, Admiral."
"Not particularly," the man placed his hands behind his back. "Ralph was never honest or clean. I would have fired him long ago, but apparently, his connections in the Black Sun were too significant. People from Iego's administration asked for him. And I couldn't refuse them."
I looked at Gravz with suspicion.
"The Judicial Corps, Admiral, belongs to the Republic, not Iego. So you must follow the directives of Coruscant, or rather, the Senate commission responsible for the Corps. However, I'm sure my Order will be interested in these circumstances. So, a new investigation awaits us. Alas, it will likely be outside my duties, although… Who knows?"
Using a network of corridors and turbo-lifts, we reached the command post, where all the operation commanders were located. Master Tiwok'ka was in charge of the ships. He was a tall Wookiee in a Jedi robe and a belt with a lightsaber, the hilt of which, judging by the color, was made of wood. A rather rare material, but there are a couple of species whose wood is as strong as metal. Next to him was a Kel Dor, tall, almost two heads taller than me. He was dressed in dark-colored clothing. Plo Koon, a 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 place in this structure from Master Tiwok'ka during the conflict known as the "Stark Hyperspace War." Tiwok'ka had effectively bequeathed his place to Plo Koon then. And he was indeed appointed as an advisor. However, he truly proved his skills. He proved more than once afterward that he wasn't made a Master just on someone's whim.
Plo Koon looked at me with undisguised curiosity. He is still just a Padawan now, not the one who became a Master. He is still far from his peak, but even now, he was impressive. Smiling, I pulled down my hood.
"Master Tiwok'ka," I said, "it's a pleasure to see you in person. Padawan Plo Koon," I nodded at him.
"Knight Light," the Wookiee growled in his language. Plo Koon greeted me with a slight bow. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Grand Master Yoda spoke highly of you. In addition, I know about your reputation," Tiwok'ka extended his hand to me as I approached him. And I shook it. "Admiral Gravz. I'm glad to see you, I've heard a lot about you," Tiwok'ka also turned his attention to the Admiral. "The Order and the Republic have appointed me and Knight Light as commanders of the current operation. To begin with, Light, brief the others. The Judicial Corps officers who arrived with us are eager to know," Tiwok'ka looked pointedly at the Commodore standing nearby, "why they have been reassigned to us."
"Ahem," I chuckled, approaching 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 'Iego Miracle.' You all know about the miraculous properties of this plant. Its healing properties, if they can't pull a sentient back from the brink of death, can at least make severe wounds less severe. Where 'Iego Miracle' grew this plant has, until recently, remained a secret to the entire galaxy. Countless investigators of various kinds, journalists, detectives, mercenaries, and even a couple of Jedi – have perished trying to find the location of the bota farms."
"And it's not surprising," Tiwok'ka said. "Considering who was hiding the traders. And who these traders actually were. Although, the circumstances turned out to be a little different than I imagined."
I looked at Tiwok'ka with curiosity. D'jarko was covered not only by her agent from the Judicial Corps – Admiral Gravz – but also by Senator Nelson Kitar, who had a reputation as an uncompromising fighter against crime. At first, I thought it was just a facade… But in the end, it turned out that Nelson Kitar's daughter, Nella, had fallen under D'jarko's control. And he hired Lora to help rescue her.
"And who is the trader?" asked the Commodore who arrived with Tiwok'ka. It seemed to be Chetwick.
"A very dangerous trader, or rather, a trader," I switched the image. "Meet," I displayed an image of D'jarko. Given her appearance and clothing, every holophoto of her was erotic. She clearly enjoyed the reaction she was accustomed to eliciting from those around her, regardless of gender. "This lady's name is D'jarko Itari. And if you think you've seen galactic-scale beauty, I hasten to disappoint you. She is a dangerous predator, a monster hiding behind the guise of a beautiful maiden." Some of the officers present looked at me with doubt. Gravz, interestingly, closed his eyes. "This is how she looks in the world. And this…" I displayed a holovideo on the screen, "is how she can look in battle." The holovideo showed an outwardly beautiful Anzati who, using her tendrils, fed on the victim's brain through the nose. "Yes, our honorable client in the 'taking beatings' business is not just a Vigo, one of the bosses of the infamous 'Black Sun' organization, but also a Force-sensitive Anzati. Anzati, for a brief lecture, are a race that can feed on the brains of their victims. Their tendrils, hidden in their cheeks, penetrate through the nose to the victim's brain and suck it out… It's clear that the victim, after such a thing, is not going to live. And D'jarko Itari is also dangerous because she has learned to control the speed of absorption, stretching the process over many years. During this process, her victims… Experience something akin to sexual orgasm."
"Sex… Sexual orgasm?" Plo Koon asked. Some sentient beings looked at him with sympathy. I included.
"The nature of almost all sentient races in the galaxy has taken care to make procreation pleasant. So to speak, 'additional stimulation.' During physical ejaculation, endorphins of all types are released in many sentient races, adrenaline can spike, and much more. Roughly speaking, she not only absorbs part of the victim's brain but also sends them… So to speak, 'into a state of orgasm.' I think there will be those here who know what that is," I swept my gaze over the listeners, "plus, she is a strong telepath who can also instill 'thoughts that are right for her' in the victim. In short, it's better for the non-gifted not to approach her. Based on what I saw on Drongar, she will definitely have an army fanatically devoted only to her, devoted to her not only as a Vigo but also as, possibly, a Goddess."
"Hah, and I understand them," the Commodore who arrived with Tiwok'ka said.
"It would be better if you understood them only in theory, Commodore Chetwick," Tiwok'ka noted.
"I agree with that statement. No matter how the situation turns out, D'jarko Itari is my target. Master Tiwok'ka and Padawan Plo will engage her in battle as a last resort. The Judicial Corps forces should stay away from her entirely," I looked seriously at those present. "It won't be difficult for her to use Force Suggestion on our squads and make the weakest-willed ones obey her." After all, we don't have a Droid Army, or Clones… Although the latter can also fail. "And this could play a nasty trick on us. But for me to get to D'jarko, I also need to destroy the ships she has stationed near the planet Pakuuni."
"Don't you have an invisible ship?" Commodore Chetwick asked.
"I do," I nodded. "But the problem is that I myself don't possess invisibility at the level of some deity, Commodore. I can hide from dozens of eyes, but hundreds or thousands will detect me. If I try to sneak in just like that, I'll be detected before I reach her. But if the fleet, and then the Judicial Corps army, distracts her forces, it will be much easier for me to get close and finish her."
"Agreed," Tiwok'ka said. "That sounds realistic."
"Now let's move on directly to the planet Pakuuni. The main strategic resource that D'jarko trades, bota, grows on the planet Drongar, which is not suitable as a main base, it's too dangerous. But Pakuuni. A paradise 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 is bought by almost everyone who can buy him. D'jarko currently has about six to eight Dreadnoughts left. Not long ago, I staged a kind of hunt for traitors," I looked at Gravz, "to discover a high-ranking source of information for D'jarko from the local Judicial Corps Headquarters, I treated Admiral Gravz somewhat cruelly, telling him false information that the fleet from the Core Worlds would emerge near T'ungla. Naturally, this did not happen, but D'jarko, expecting to destroy at least part of the fleet, or damage it, brought some of her ships there, which I attacked. I managed to destroy one Dreadnought. Another received serious engine damage."
"Now I want an invisible ship too," Commodore Chetwick said with a sigh. A blond man, about forty years old, dressed in a Judicial Corps uniform, even sighed sadly.
"It's a shame, this ship is incredibly difficult to control. In stealth mode, all ship sensor systems do not work, you can either shoot blindly or rely on the feeling of the Force. You are not Gifted, your usefulness on such a ship would be reduced to zero. Although, entering a tactically advantageous zone while the enemy cannot see is an interesting idea. But… Such a ship is absurdly expensive. My 'Star Courier' was valued at about sixty million credits. It's easier to build a fleet of ordinary ships."
"Well, we can argue about that for a long time," Chetwick said.
"To business," Gravz reminded.
"Uh-huh, let's get back to it," I confirmed with a nod. "The enemy has about six to eight Dreadnoughts. Also, a certain Lora from PMC 'Luna' has expressed a desire to join us," I looked at Tiwok'ka.
"Nelson Kitar warned me about her," the Wookiee agreed.
"That's 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?" Gravz asked.
"Well, I won't tell you all the details, I can only say that 'as a floor'," the focus with Lora is on the correct exit from hyperspace. D'jarko's ships are outside Pakuuni's gravitational shadow. Near the space station, a little further away. I intend to bring Lora into battle when our troops are engaged with D'jarko's ships. As soon as we start the battle, our ships will scan the system, mine in particular, will calculate the most convenient exit point from hyperspace, which will be located UNDER D'jarko's formations. Thus, Lora's Dreadnought and ships will be directly under the target and will be able to bombard their lower hemispheres. A beautiful tactical maneuver. Firstly, they will be greatly surprised by such a thing. Secondly, we will be able to deal with D'jarko's fleet faster… With the usual Citadel tactics, there were various options for interaction between fleets and ships within them. There were even variations of the famous 'Crossing the T.' What I intend to use will be a similar variation. Only if in the tactics textbook this thing was listed as a maneuver, meaning right in the middle of battle, part of your ships, under enemy fire, shifts to the lower hemisphere, then I was going to pull off a dangerous trick. We plan to fight near the planet. A slight miscalculation and Lora's squadron will crash into Pakuuni. However, the planet might not survive such a blow. I heard a story about how a Republic Dreadnought jumped directly into a planet, plowed through it to the core, and literally destroyed it, itself, and a huge number of the planet's inhabitants… Even before it became mainstream, according to the chronology of this universe, to destroy entire planets with one blow. But I had no doubt in my skills, or rather, in the skills of the radar and explosives to calculate the correct coordinates. Only the small matter remained – to carry out the attack. First, the destruction of the space fleet, and then the ground assault on the residence."
"I don't even know what meaning you put into those words," Gravz remarked. Tiwok'ka looked at me with a demanding gaze. It's clear he'll have to explain. However, I trusted the Wookiee and Plo Koon one hundred percent. These are not sentient beings who would betray.
"Oh, don't worry, Admiral Gravz," I smiled broadly. "D'jarko Itari, the commander of the fleet, will also not understand the meaning of these words… Until it's too late."
The attack on Pakuuni began a couple of hours later. The ships needed to form a formation to exit hyperspace and maximize fire on their enemy as much as possible. We could have sent reconnaissance droids, but there was no time to delay. D'jarko is cautious; the situation at T'ungla could have made her retreat, or even disappear completely. Then search for her throughout the galaxy… I also briefed Lora on the plan and her role in it. I also considered possible scenarios. Gravz is working for D'jarko, but he hasn't made his move yet. His betrayal in the middle of the battle is almost impossible. But even if it is possible, I have uploaded a virus to the computers of Gravz's ships, so I have covered myself on that front. As for Lora and the "Luna" organization, about which little is known, even if she sides with the "Black Sun" in the middle of the battle, we will be able to turn the tide of the battle. There are simply too many of us.
The ships emerged not far from Pakuuni. I was on the bridge of the lead Dreadnought with Tiwok'ka and Plo Koon. A wave of scanning immediately spread from the ship.
"Aurek group – report readiness," I addressed the captains of the accompanying ships.
"This is Aurek-2, we have exited at the designated coordinates," said the captain of the ship to the right. "All systems are working normally."
"This is Aurek-3…" The standard check took no more than a minute.
"Red Wing, cover the main ships. Blue Wing, cover the bombers. Gold Squadron, be ready to attack enemy ships," I gave orders.
The Red Wing consisted of sixty Z-95 class fighters equipped with hyperdrives.
Our ships had different types of hyperdrives, so some had to jump into hyperspace earlier, some later, to arrive at the same time.
All this was calculated by my order.
Another sixty Z-95s were in the bomber escort wing.
There were only twenty-four of the latter.
In total, the Aurek group consisted of seventeen Dreadnoughts, twenty ships of the "Law" class, and one hundred and forty-four strike craft in the form of one hundred and twenty Z-95s and twenty-four A-24s.
The forces gathered were considerable, but they also fielded seven fully prepared Dreadnoughts against us, seventeen "Gozanti" type ships, clearly modified, and a whole heap of Z-95s, various bombers, and gunships.
If we surpassed Jarko's fleet, it wasn't by much.
The battle promised to be intense.
I clenched my fists.
How the hell did we launch this damn Galaxy!
Keepers of Peace.
Look, the local pirate Queen, with the manners of a high-class whore, has a fleet that can blow up an entire sector.
And we, until I started sending data about the bot and shoving their noses in shit, nobody even bothered.
"Open fire, everyone. Distribute targets according to the given instructions. Gold Squadron, do not engage the target yet," I want to understand the dangers threatening us first.
And the battle began.
Without further ado or negotiations.
The enemy was not ready to conduct them.
And we clearly demonstrated our intentions.
Jarko's ships formed a crescent, with Gozanti ships between each of her Dreadnoughts.
Moreover, the Dreadnoughts were slightly behind the Gozanti, meaning her light cruisers had moved slightly forward.
"Her commander apparently wants us to concentrate fire on the Gozanti," said Plo Koon.
"Correct, Padawan Plo," I nodded.
"If we consider the Dreadnoughts as the local equivalent of "line forces," both ours and hers, then we clearly have more of them.
A Dreadnought possesses superior firepower.
But to realize it, it must survive longer, and for that, it needs to take less damage.
For this, her commander is moving the Gozanti forward, I suspect they also have energy on their shields.
They are not needed for attacking our ships, but for holding them back as much as possible.
Our "Law" class gunships are much weaker than the Gozanti, even modified.
So we won't be able to offer them an adequate response.
And we won't be able to ignore the advancing Gozanti either.
After all, no matter how much they concentrate energy on their shields, they are still fighting back, trying to deplete ours.
If we break into their ranks," I put my hand to my chin, "ignoring the Gozanti and heading to suppress their Dreadnoughts, then we risk taking unknown damage to our stern.
After all, who knows what they've put into these ships?"
"You are right," Graves said.
"Besides everything else, we are receiving conflicting data from the local control station."
I paid attention to the data sent from the sensor.
The station had the minimum number of weapons and shields for defense.
But it de jure belonged to the Republic.
At the same time.
They had deployed an ion cannon, according to the scanners.
"They deployed an ion cannon, why?" I asked aloud.
"Ah, they will shoot.
And according to the data.
Aurek-4, evasive maneuver, move your ship to the right as quickly as possible."
The shot will occur in thirty seconds.
The captain of the fourth Dreadnought began to maneuver.
But the gunner of the ion cannon did not manage to react to the change in course of the unwieldy Dreadnought.
Even a small change can play a cruel trick here.
The shot missed.
"The station is also our enemy!" Commodore Chetwick exclaimed loudly.
"Gold Squadron," Tivoqqa said.
"Attack the station."
Meanwhile, the battle between the strike craft was heating up.
Jarko's strike craft were trying to break through to our Dreadnoughts.
"Blue Squadron, cover Gold," I gave the order.
"We need to attack the station," I brought my hand with the datapad to my eyes.
Five more minutes until our special attack.
"Aurek Group, concentrate fire on the "Gozanti"," we must deprive the enemy Dreadnoughts of cover as much as possible before the arrival of the Besh group, to which Lora's squadron retreated.
The transmission of coordinates was supervised by VV, his AI accurately calculated the point, based on the current position of the planet Pakuuni and other ships.
The approach to the lower hemisphere by Lora's group will be a fatal surprise for our enemies.
I watched with fascination the flying flashes of blue and red colors.
The strike craft were playing around, including near our Dreadnought, crashing and dying.
Plo Koon seemed to even wince, feeling the death of sentient beings in the cruel cosmos.
Gold Squadron rushed into attack, and some enemy strike craft tried to intercept them.
In parallel, the "Gozanti" concentrated their fire on our bombers.
Some were even shot down, but about seventeen ships managed to enter the attack vector and fired at the station.
I looked at the timer.
Ten more seconds.
Nine, eight.
"This battle threatens to drag on," Chetwick said.
"Aurek-7 has sustained engine damage, according to them, it is quite likely that the fire may spread to their reactor."
Perhaps 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 would be fatal, but it would be hundreds of times more fatal if her group had three or four Dreadnoughts.
It's just a shame that I decided to learn too late.
My decisions may again bring us problems.
"Aurek-10 has lost its deflectors!" exclaimed the communications officer.
"Do not retreat!"
At that moment, two flashes bloomed simultaneously.
The station was destroyed, about a hundred sentient beings lost their lives in an instant.
One of the Gozanti could not withstand the cumulative damage and was also destroyed, or rather, it seems we overloaded their shield generator, and the reactor went haywire.
Which would not have happened if they had not disabled the emergency reactor safety system.
"Ships are exiting hyperspace," reported the officer sitting at the sensors.
"Coordinates."
"What?" Admiral Graves asked.
"Enemy reinforcements?
They are exiting in the lower hemisphere."
"Not exactly their reinforcements," I clarified.
A Dreadnought materialized from hyperspace, then another.
And with it, a motley and diverse squadron.
Lora's strike craft began to materialize, exiting hyperspace.
"Establish communication with the exiting Dreadnought."
Lora appeared on the terminal before us.
"You're in time, Lora," I said, addressing the Mandalorian.
"As you calculated," she noted.
"I roughly understood your idea regarding my Besh squadron.
Clever.
I will begin carrying out the combat mission immediately."
"Good.
Your subordinates' signatures are marked as allied, so the Judicial Forces will not make a mistake," I nodded.
"We continue the operation."
Communication ceased.
"You deliberately drove her into the lower hemisphere," Tivoqqa remarked.
"The enemy is already distracted by us, which means an attack from an unusual angle."
"It's a classic maneuver," the Admiral noted.
"However, you managed to figure out how to bring ships out of hyperspace precisely into position.
Usually, when fighting near a planet, such a thing is not even considered, because there is a high chance of smashing the ships against the planet due to the gravitational shadow.
Unless.
You calculated Lora's exit point already here and transmitted the coordinates to her during the battle."
"Correct," I agreed.
"That's what I did.
When we exited hyperspace, a standard scanning procedure was performed.
Why do they try not to bring ships too close to the planet?
Because it rotates around its axis and celestial bodies.
In other words, the planet shifts slightly.
Therefore, there are no constant coordinates for exiting hyperspace precisely near it in a safe manner.
However.
It is not forbidden to scan the current position of the planet to calculate the point.
It was a small matter.
We performed the scan, then I transmitted the data via my datapad to my astromech droid.
It has many interesting things.
Well, and it calculated how the planet would change its position before Lora's arrival.
Lora herself was in the Pakuuni system, I sent her here in advance, near one of the planetoids.
Therefore, the jump was a short distance.
And we didn't have to maneuver like this in the middle of the battle, exposing our ships," I watched as Lora's Dreadnought's guns, tilted to the limit upwards, poured fire into the lower hemispheres of Jarko's ships.
"Since Jarko knew we were coming to visit her, she gathered all available fleet to the Pakuuni planet, ceasing patrols of the system.
Therefore, she could not detect the Besh group, Lora's group."
"Not without flaws, but the plan is good," the admiral said.
"Thank you.
It wasn't for nothing that I finished Citadel Anaxis with distance learning."
"Distance learning?" Graves asked.
"In our circles, it's better to say you studied full-time.
'Distance learners' are too disliked among the Corps.
However, there are some good commanders among these sentient beings."
Jarko, or rather her commander, could not turn the tide of the battle, which became a rout with Lora's entry into combat.
But they fought with ferocity and desperation.
The ships literally shot back to the last gunner.
"None of them are surrendering," Chetwick noted.
"Is it because they are from "Black Sun"?"
"No," the wookiee master shook his head.
"It's because of loyalty.
They love their mistress more than their lives."
Time and again, flashes bloomed on Jarko's ships.
Overloaded shields could not cope and shut down, and then our guns, missiles, and strike craft raids did their job.
She managed to assemble a decent fleet.
I even felt sorry for the ships, a Dreadnought for its time, an excellent ship.
Nevertheless, we could not take them, they fired too fanatically and desperately, and we could not lose our warriors, who still had a ground assault ahead of them.
When the last Dreadnought was destroyed and all her ships turned into space debris, the second phase of the operation began.
Ground landing.
We landed fifty kilometers from her residence.
And we landed under the fire of guns and missiles.
They were firing from her residence, so we lost several "Law" class gunships, and even one of our Dreadnoughts, already damaged and battered, crashed onto the planet.
We couldn't land any further than we chose, because we would have had to go around a canyon.
Dreadnoughts can enter the atmosphere and even land on the planet.
Ground troops were mainly infantry.
I was very sad to learn that artillery and tank units in the current Republic army are practically non-existent.
And the existing units have not received new vehicles for a long time.
Specifically for our operation, Espo-101 walkers were used.
They belonged to the Corporate Sector Security Service and were supplied for export, albeit in small quantities.
The machine reminded me of the bipedal walkers of the GAR and the Empire that I had seen countless times.
There was no artillery at all.
There were only three heavy vehicles that served as missile carriers.
They were on repulsors and could launch anti-tank missiles, which, however, could be aimed not only at tanks.
We gathered again at the command post of the lead Dreadnought.
"The army command this time will be carried out by Master Tivoqqa," I said, observing the projection of Jarko's residence.
"Our target has erected a spherical shield.
Storming it head-on is utter foolishness.
However, the shield can be broken through one way or another."
"Attempting to attack the shield from space might, by the way, be foolish," Commodore Chetwick noted.
"She has Planetary Defense Force (PDF) weapons.
She probably didn't use them due to the too high concentration of her forces.
But when her strike craft and detachment were destroyed by the respected Jedi's tactics," he indicated a bow in my direction, "then now nothing prevents her from using the PDF and missile defense to the fullest.
I think you all felt it."
"But our systems won't break through this shield," Commander Gendrick, who was responsible for ground forces, objected.
"That's not necessary," I said.
"You just need to simulate attacks to keep her troops on edge and distract them.
I will deal with her."
"And how will you penetrate the shield?" Graves asked.
"If you haven't noticed, it extends for five kilometers around her castle."
"In addition, there may be various firing points on the way to the castle.
They may be outside the shield, hidden."
"And I'm not going to go straight," I unfolded the map on the terminal.
"What you are observing now is called the 'Caves of the First Settler.'
The elevation on which Jarko's castle is built is teeming with these catacombs and caves.
She is a cunning woman and has surely blocked the entrance from the caves to the lower levels of her castle.
However, I can penetrate there because I conducted research.
Jarko bought several plots of land, and the catacombs themselves.
In other words, she uses them, perhaps, as an escape route.
And she cannot extend the shield to them, nor can she place guards there.
Because the entrance is outside the shield's range," I zoomed in on the cave, "on the opposite side of the elevation.
That is, if you attack, or simulate an attack from our side, I will act from the opposite side."
"Only you?" Gendrick asked.
"One of me is more than enough," I confirmed.
"Jarko is sensitive to the Force.
I have sufficient competencies so that if she senses me, it won't be immediately.
And I know how to infiltrate secure facilities.
But Master Tivoqqa's and Padawan Plo's knowledge may be useful on the front lines, in case she decides to confront us on the planet.
I will get to the opposite side using my ship.
It, as you understood, has a very.
unique design."
The plan is not exactly ideal.
The main snag is the caves.
If the rock is too thick, I will have to melt it with a lightsaber to find the caves that she has converted into corridors.
But something else was bothering me now.
What game is the Admiral playing?
He could have informed Jarko at least about my attack through the caves.
But there were no signals from his datapads.
Did he guess that I didn't consider Ralph's accusation in this context to be true?
Or is his goal something else?
Maybe his elimination.
No.
If before I was afraid to provoke Jarko by arresting an agent, then now - the troops that came with Admiral Graves might start grumbling.
But not before the battle!
No.
I need to wait for the operation to finish, deal with Jarko, and only then sort things out with Graves.