User:Hk 47/WiP5

In 3627 BBY,^[1] during the third Galactic War between the Galactic Republic and the reconstituted Sith Empire, the Sith Lord Darth Malgus assembled one of the largest attack fleets in galactic history in order to strike the Meridian Complex, the most advanced Republic shipyard, on Corellia. General Ardinondu Dipolus Daeruun was tasked to take command of several Republic fleets in order to bring reinforcements to defend the Meridian Complex. However, Daeruun could not bring its fleets to Corellia without refueling, and predicted that the Republic forces would be attacked where they were refueling, before they could reach Corellia. The General therefore requested the help of the Eternal Alliance in order to defend these reinforcements and secure refueling operations.^[2]

On Onderon, the Commander of the Eternal Alliance and their allies successfully prevented the Empire to destroy the 11th Republic Fleet. In addition, they captured a member of the Dark Council, Darth Savik, who revealed that the 29th Republic Fleet was the next target. This fleet was intended to refuel at Mek-Sha before sailing to Corellia.^[3]

The mission

Upon arriving on the asteroid station Mek-Sha, the Alliance Commander headed to Junker's Junction to meet with the Jedi Tau Idair and Arn Peralun. Tau introduced the Commander to Vice-Admiral Dol Narlock, commander of the Republic's 29th Fleet, and to Junker Jott, the station's chief engineer and former Republic veteran. Jott explained that Mek-Sha was officially neutral and controlled by five powerful gangs. Any important decision, including decision of permitting the Republic to refuel, required a majority vote from the leaders of the five crews. Jott himself represented one of these groups and, being a Republic sympathizer, he would indeed vote for. In addition, there was Huttbreaker, who controlled the docks. She would vote in favor of the plan, as fuel sales would bring her money. However, one of the five gangs was the Brothers, a group of fanatical slavers known to do business with the Sith Empire. As the Empire was their most important client, they would certainly not vote for anything advantageous for the Republic. The only two parties left for the tiebreaking vote were the Dar'manda mercenaries and the Harido Wald smugglers. The Commander had to convince at least one of these two groups to win the vote.^[4]

Meanwhile, Darth Shaar, a member of the Dark Council, arrived on Mek-Sha to negotiate with the gangs in order to prevent the Republic to win the vote.^[4] Moreover, the Empire discovered a manner to completely destroy the Republic fleet.^[5] Huttbreaker tightly controlled the fuel sold by the station. She had build in a failsafe that, in case of emergency, would neutralize all fuel on the station and any ships attached with a pulse.^[4] The Empire saw the potential of amplifying the failsafe to destroy the Republic ships during refueling.^[5]

The Auction

The Alliance Commander and Darth Shaar traveled to the Huttbreaker's compound where Huttbreaker was holding an auction, which all crew leaders would attend. Both intended to use this opportunity to negotiate with the gang leaders. The Commander encountered there two members of their Alliance, Gault Rennow and Hylo Visz, who offered their assistance. Rennow explained that the two had made several agreements with the people of Mek-Sha over the years and thus possessed knowledge of how to manipulate them. The group then listened to Huttbreaker's welcoming speech, in which she explained how Mek-Sha was gaining influence and prosperity through the war between the Republic and the Empire. Huttbreaker then bought the Commander a drink and emphasized the importance of remaining peaceful on the station, just as Darth Shaar joined them. Huttbreaker officially introduced Darth Shaar. The Alliance Commander asked what brought her to Mek-Sha, to which she replied that she came to deal with minor, punishable violations of import and export regulations.^[4] The Commander later went to discuss with the two gang leaders who could potentially make them win the vote: Indigo of the Dar'manda and Veek of Harido Wald.

Veek the Creeper is the leader of the smuggler ring Harido Forest, which spans the galaxy. If he were to gain an advantage, he would assist the commander as a businessman. Last but not least was Indigo, leader of the Dar'manda, ex-Mandalorians now working as mercenaries and arms dealers. Indigo and Veek were rivals, which is why Hylo pointed out that only the vote of one of them would be needed. The Alliance Commander then thanked him for the information, and the auction began.

Conversation with the Dar'manda

Afterwards, the Jedi sought out Indigo, who greeted him rudely. Undeterred, the stranger explained that he was seeking help, which Indigo dismissed with the explanation that the Dar'manda on Mek-Sha were doing well and therefore had no interest in the war. The commander persisted, so Indigo offered to speak with him later in the Lead Rain Cantina and left.

Conversation with the Harido Forest

Finally, the diplomat approached Veek, who was indignant that Hylo or Gault hadn't introduced him to the Alliance Commander. He immediately expressed his desire for a budding friendship, to which the stranger responded positively and openly. Veek then inquired about his stance on refueling the ships. He reiterated that the Huttbreaker was making a lot of money and was therefore happy for her. However, the sale didn't benefit him personally, so he proposed an agreement. For more details, the Alliance Commander should visit the Harido Forest area near the Market District. Veek, now wanting to enjoy the party, encouraged the stranger to look at the exhibits.

Conversation with Tau Idair

On their way back down, Tau Idair, accompanied by Jott the Junker, intercepted the stranger and told him she had heard about the assassin. She was glad the commander was unharmed. He conceded that he wasn't convinced the man was an assassin. Tau then had some good news: the docks were inherently defensible. Since the Huttbreaker didn't want an invasion, Narlock would only be allowed to station a limited number of people, Jott added. Idair intended to use her droid experience from Ossus to get Jott's droid ready for battle. Arn was currently on a spy mission in the Brothers' territory. The Jedi then inquired with Arn's master about his lessons. He was a quick learner and had no more problems once he began to believe in himself. Tau himself also helps with teaching, deepening the fundamentals – just as Gnost-Dural had foreseen.^[6]

Meeting with Veek

The commander decided to speak with Veek and visited him in a cantina. Veek reiterated that the Alliance needed to do something for him to secure the necessary majority of votes. He explained that his smugglers operated throughout the galaxy, except within the tolerable territory of Hutt space. Diplomats had been dispatched, but the matter would not end well if Mek-Sha discovered that Harido Wald was doing business with the former rulers of the Hutt Cartel. Therefore, no native could handle the situation, and the truly complicated aspect was that the delegates had been captured by the Exchange shortly after their arrival. The Exchange was new, but it had already claimed territory and was expanding daily. The stranger clarified that his goal wasn't to save Harido Wald, but he would save the MP.^[7]

Release of the Emissaries

While searching for the Exchange warehouse, which served as their base, the Alliance Commander scanned several kiosks. All three were located at Brzo's Fountain, one next to Rogue's Alley and one near Hideout Pass. After each scan, several Exchange members attacked.

In the warehouse, the Commander encountered the Rodian envoy Eesmu, who confirmed that he was not Veek. The Exchange boss, a Houk, remarked that the Commander had not been invited. The Commander observed that the Hutts and the Exchange appeared to be allied, a fact the Houk confirmed. Eesmu implied that Veek had let her brother die during a weapons smuggling operation shortly before the rebellion, and that was why she harbored a grudge against him. The Hutts wanted to eliminate Veek, the Exchange wanted more land, and she wanted revenge, so cooperation seemed advantageous. The gangs then planned to divide the remains of Harido Forest among themselves and attacked the stranger. Killing the attackers proved unavoidable, and afterward, the stranger returned to Veek, who was already expecting him. The situation was explained to the now bewildered Veek. He was saddened by the turn of events, as he stated that he had wanted to "heal" the anger between Mek-Sha and the Hutts. Veek wanted to ensure greater security—for his territory and his people. He then asked if the stranger would be willing to work as his bodyguard, which the stranger politely declined, portraying it as a joke to Veek, who now called himself a good friend of the commander. He then thanked him again for his help and, as promised, would vote for refueling the ships.

The Alliance Commander's holocommunicator then rang. Arn Peralun contacted him and requested assistance. He explained that the brothers were loading dozens of slaves onto Imperial shuttles and wanted to rescue them. The commander wanted to come immediately, but Arn's signal cut out. The commander then contacted Tau Idair, who also wanted to come.

Liberation of the Slaves

The stranger entered the Brothers' slave intake center through the scrap yard. Several brothers blocked his path there, whom he was forced to kill against the Huttbreaker's instructions.

When the path to Arn Peralun was clear, the stranger discovered that he was Force-choking one of the brothers. He declared that the brothers, as slave traders, were the worst thing in the galaxy and then dropped his victim alive. Arn hadn't wanted to kill any of them, but he had no choice. He then began to despair and blame himself. He was no longer sure if there hadn't been another way to free the slaves in time. Finally, he begged the Jedi Knight to tell him. The Jedi Knight said he hadn't been there, but that Arn would have made the decision and saved the people. Peralun, however, saw it as a problem that he had to make the decision. He then told the stranger that he and his former master had been fighting slave traders when the latter died, and Arn sustained his injuries. He blamed himself for not having been able to stop the criminals back then. Now he doubted whether, after so many years of healing and pain, he saw no other way than to kill his brothers and exact revenge. He didn't want to be like that, yet a part of him was glad of their deaths.

Then the experienced Jedi explained to the Padawan that while the dark side was omnipresent, it could not take control unless allowed. Arn agreed, and though he was speechless, the stranger sensed his gratitude. Suddenly, Tau Idair joined them and inquired about her Padawan's well-being. Peralun immediately apologized to his master. She suggested they return to Schrotti before the Empire sent reinforcements and wanted to continue the discussion there.

Procedure Planning

Arriving back at Schrotti's Crossroads, the commander saw Arn leaving Tau, Schrotti, and Narlock, who was connected via hologram. Jott was outraged by what was happening in the brothers' territory, while Tau tried to protect her protégé and offered to act as his guardian. Schrotti quipped that he would award a medal, but the Huttbreaker would face consequences. Narlock assured them that she would still sell the fuel for an additional 40% payment. Tau wanted to support Arn. Narlock further informed them that the vote had been successful and the fleet was now en route. He suspected that an Imperial attack would occur immediately after refueling began, so everyone should take up their positions. After the meeting ended, Tau thanked them for informing her that Arn had contacted them.^[8]

Attack on the Docks

Planning

At the docks, Narlock gathered his best men, and Tau informed them that the attack could be launched via three primary access points: the main gangways, the maintenance tunnels, and by ferry directly across the docks. The commander was to secure the gangways, the most direct route. Arn, Tau, and Schrotti's droids took charge of the tunnels, while Narlock, despite limited anti-aircraft weapons, secured the docks. He explained that the weapons would be deactivated once refueling began. At that moment, Veek appeared, offering assistance. Under the pretext of test flights, he brought his men to the docks, who would then return fire on any "strange ferries" firing. The Alliance Commander thanked Veek, who was happy to oblige but hoped for discretion. The group then split up and took up their positions.

Battle

While Narlock reported that shuttles were arriving, the stranger encountered the first Imperials, including three Sith Executioners of Darth Shaar, whom he defeated. Meanwhile, Tau and Arn also reported encountering enemies. Then a second wave of shuttles arrived. After the last Executioner was defeated, Schrotti reported that the Imperials had somehow managed to get into the command center and intended to neutralize all the fuel there. The Alliance Commander wanted to intervene quickly but was stopped before he could by Lord Tarnux, another Sith Executioner, who stood before the elevator armed with a light lance. After a duel, he whispered his defeat to his master, Darth Shaar, as he lay dying. The victorious Jedi then took the elevator to the Mek-Sha Fleet Offices, or rather, the command deck of the tank docks. Through a few corridors he reached a main room where Narlock was currently facing the Imperial Major.^[9]

When the commander arrived and Anri identified him, she surrendered and laid down her weapon. Narlock switched his Blaser to stun and fired. Tau reported the troops' retreat to the maintenance tunnels. The docks were secure again, and the Republic planned to regroup outside.

Post-meeting discussion

General Daeruun explained that with the Onderon fleet, the chances of victory would increase. He looked forward to seeing Narlock at the rendezvous point. The Republic might now have numerical superiority, but this was no guarantee of victory, the Krex noted. He transmitted his coordinates and asked the Alliance Commander to come to him immediately. Tau pointed out that Darth Shaar could no longer be found on Mek-Sha. She then asked the commander's opinion of Anri. He explained that she played an important role for the Empire, and therefore they might be able to get something out of her. Tau also wanted to travel to the rendezvous point and remembered that this would be her first time there since the Battle of Corellia of 3641 BBY. The Alliance Commander encouraged her, saying that things would go better this time. Theron Shan and Lana Beniko then appeared and explained to the commander that Daeruun had issued an order that only the Alliance Commander should travel there in person. The two were not pleased about this, and the commander's attempts to appease them were largely unsuccessful. In any case, the ferry was ready.