Star Wars: Rise of the Battlemage - Chapter 98 (Patreon)

The trip between the old CIS base and the newly inhabited Alpha Base was nothing new. Pola and Vaz continued to work on our armor, spending most of the two-day trip in their workshop according to the morning updates Vakim liked to make. They were both clearly excited about how their project was going, and the rest of the crew was excited to see the results. I was busy finishing up the last enchanted item required to meet my own goal, happily handing Miru her third item, an amulet that increased her strength.

The younger crew member had insisted that increasing her strength would make working and making things much easier despite the loss in efficiency due to her lack of natural strength.

When we arrived at the planet, we were immediately cornered by several large ships. What looked like a significant portion of the Rebel fleet was waiting in orbit around the unnamed planet on which Alpha Base was built. Among them were quite a few smaller ships, mostly small freighters, and a few transport ships, probably leftovers from the rescue mission. When we were finally given permission and instructions on where to land, I idly wondered if they planned on keeping the fleet around for a while or if it would spread out now that the rescue mission was complete. In the movies, Hoth has no defense fleet whatsoever, instead depending on the planetary shield and ground-based ion cannon.

Since it seemed like I had inadvertently butterflied the base on Hoth away, I wondered what else would change.

We slowly descended through the atmosphere, heading directly for the base. Rather than land in one of the hangars, we were directed to a newly flattened landing space outside the base. As we lowered down to the flattened stone pad, the Chariot slowly rotated around. As I was standing on the bridge, I got a good look at some of the work going on around the exterior of the massive mountain.

The turbolaser turrets, which our starfighter escort had destroyed when we first assaulted this base, were covered in Rebel engineers, sparks of welding or cutting lighting up frequently as they were worked. Along one side of the mountain, dozens of crews were cutting into the mountain, using what I assumed was the same tools they used to carve into the old base on Thila. I wasn't quite sure what the larger crews were working on, but some of the smaller crews were close enough that I could see they were making pill boxes.

When we finally landed, Julus, Tatnia, Nal, and I all stepped out onto the newly made platforms. Part of me had been expecting Nevue or his crew to be waiting for us, but instead, it was two random soldiers, both of them dressed in noncombat fatigues. They were waiting for us in two transport carts, which I definitely recognized from the movies.

Once we confirmed our identities, we climbed into the troop carts, Julus and Tatnia riding in one while Nal and I climbed into the other. Not long after that, we were cruising along the ground, zipping past a few more filled landing pads before reaching the entrance into the facility, which was a series of massive, hidden bunker doors with three separate barriers, all of them currently open. There were nearly a dozen guards standing by, standing or sitting in temporary support structures, barricades, and even a security checkpoint.

"You wouldn't happen to know who was leading this meeting?" I asked as the Rebel drove us deeper into the bunker. "Assuming we are going to have one."

"Sorry, sir, I do not. I was just told to come down here and ferry you inside," He responded.

I nodded in understanding, and after a moment, I leaned back in the transport seat, watching as we passed various people and rooms. The hallways were familiar, styled just like the halls we had walked through higher up, only much larger. Eventually, we stopped and climbed out of the vehicles, heading for an elevator that took us up for a considerable distance. The two soldiers led us through the facility before eventually opening a door and gesturing for us to enter. It was a large conference room, something that wouldn't have looked out of place in the office of a particular high-class lawyer. There were already three people inside, including two familiar faces.

"Luke, Ahsoka, it's good to see you," I said, reaching out to shake their hands. "I take it this means you're joining us?"

"Yes, Hera wanted me on board since I have experience with the Clone Wars military," She explained. "Luke, of course, volunteered immediately after."

"You said yourself, I need more experience working as a Jedi," Luke responded, Ahsoka nodding in agreement. "It's good to see you guys too."

All four of us sat down along one side of the table, with Luke, Ahsoka, and the still-unknown woman on the other. After we were settled in, I leaned forward.

"Is Nevue not joining us?" I asked, looking at Ashoka.

"No. He has been assigned a new mission," The unnamed woman said. "They have already left for the Mid-Rim."

"Really?" I asked, slightly surprised. "Huh… I had kind of figured that he was kind of my handler at this point."

After a few minutes of waiting, another familiar face entered. Lieutenant Soran stepped into the room, dressed in noncombat fatigues. He shook our hands before dropping down in a seemingly random chair, separate from everyone. He nodded, pulled out a data pad, and placed it on the table. Once he was settled, the woman, who was a purple-skinned species I didn't recognize, stood up.

"Thank you all for coming; I'm Doralik from Research and Intelligence," She explained, getting a few nods from around the room. "I was the one who originally compiled all of the data concerning Station Omega-17-G during our original attempt to find the station.

The woman activated the holo-projector at the end of the conference room, and a projection popped up immediately. It showed a recording of deep space filled with debris and chunks of scrap. It took me a second to realize this was probably where the station was supposed to be.

"At the time, we spent a week searching for the station but ultimately failed to locate it. It was declared a lost cause since we had no way to track it and no real idea of how much it had moved," She continued. "However, with the… Unique skills of Deacon Roy and his crew-"

"Skyforged Vanguard," I said, cutting the serious-looking woman off with a smile as I leaned back in my chair. "That's our name. We voted on it a few days ago."

"...Very well, the Skyforged Vanguard. Do you believe you can truly track down the station?" She asked, completely unphased by my interruption.

"As long as you can get me an image of the actual station, I can track it," I assured her. "We will have to triangulate it, and then chase it down the rest of the way because the triangulation process isn't the most precise."

"Are you sure?" She asked. "It has been adrift for over twenty years."

"Well…The only issue that could come up is if collision and its time adrift has done so much damage to it that it's unrecognizable," I explained, holding back a snippy remark. "If that has happened, then there isn't a point of hunting it down anyway."

"Could you demonstrate your ability? At least on a small scale?" She asked, her face blank save a touch of idle curiosity. "Your strange abilities have been documented, but this particular technique has yet to be proven."

"If it makes you feel better. Do you have something in mind?"

She nodded and produced a small datapad, showing an image of someone, seemingly a random person. I nodded and cast Clairvoyance before turning to point at the door.

"They are either in that direction or standing right on the other side of the door," I said, then frowning as my arrow started to move. "And now they are walking that way…. now they've stopped. Is that good enough?"

"It will do for now," Doralik said with a nod, putting down her datapad, which I assumed she was using to communicate with the man outside.

"So, will you be joining us on the mission?" I asked, looking curious. "Speaking of which, just how many people will be joining us?"

"I will not be joining you. I am merely here to present the data I uncovered and assist in the planning session," The stoic woman explained. "As for the team that will be accompanying you, the current plan is to include fifteen people," She explained. "Five engineers, Commander Ahsoka, and Luke Skywalker, as well as a small squad of eight soldiers lead by Lieutenant Soran."

"This is just the initial assessment team," Nal stated, looking for confirmation. "Too small to be a full repair team."

"That is correct. Our current plan is for the engineers to assess the damage," She confirmed. "Once they either declare it a lost cause or worth salvaging, we will decide our next step. If it's worth the effort, they will work on getting the station's life support systems online, making assessing and working on the station considerably easier. I will point out that we will not be footing the bill for repair materials, simply providing tools and manpower."

"I remember," I nodded. "Would the Rebellion be open to lending transport ships and contacts to purchase those materials?"

"I will have to ask. I was not given permission to allow mission alterations," She responded. "Shall I begin running down the information we have on Station Omega-17-G?"

After we agreed, the woman began running down everything they knew about the station, including things like its armaments, its personnel spread, what its starfighter complement looked like, and what sort of ships usually served as its defense escorts. Some of this info was compiled from the general statistics of other similar outposts, while some of it was specific to this station. This included the station's primary purpose in deep space.

"Station Omega-17-G functioned primarily as a refueling and resupplying station," Doralik explained. "Before the front lines engulfed it in enemy territory, it was responsible for spreading a significant amount of foodstuffs, weapons, and ammunition. According to the records, it spread so much tibanna gas that it had its own transportation system set in the inner floors. We-"

"Hold up," I said, cutting the woman off. "Just how much food supplies are you expecting to find on this station?"

Something about my question, or perhaps the tone I asked it, made everyone freeze. I could see Ahsoka frown, and Luke looked guilty of all things. Doralik seemed annoyed, though it was hardly noticeable through her facade.

"... it is hard to say exactly," The intelligence agent responded. "But the lowest estimate for shelf-stable foodstuffs is around two hundred and fifty tons for supply purposes and another forty tons for station inhabitants."

I looked hard at the woman, before looking back over at Ahsoka.

"You know, every step of the way so far, I have been honest and forthright with the Rebellion," I said, catching her eyes and not shying away from her look. "I have been more than generous with everything that I've sold to you, with everything we have done together. So why is it that every time I come to you with a new offer, or to move on a new deal, I'm being pushed to be even more lenient and generous?"

"I assure you-" Doralik started to say, but I raised my hand and cut her off.

"I don't particularly care if you assure me because it does change what is actually happening. This deal was painted as a gift, as the Rebellion paying back my crews… The Skyforged Vangaurd's generosity with an asset that was out of your reach but could still serve a purpose for me."

I stopped, leveling a glare at each of the Rebels. Ahsoka looked resigned, while Luke looked even more guilty. Doralik continued to seem unfazed.

Lieutenant Soran's eyes were wide, confusion evident on his face. The man clearly had no idea what was happening.

"Then I find out that my Very Generous Agreement to allow the Rebellion to have whatever supplies the station had, an amount that was insinuated to be nothing special, was instead me handing over- Nal, how much are those foodstuffs worth?"

"Depends on quality," Nal responded, mentally working out the math. "Between two and three million credits."

"Probably more than three million credits then, considering those numbers are on the low end according to your information," I finished after Nal answered. "That doesn't even touch on the other supplies. Tell me, Doralik, what does your research say about the worth of all the supplies on a supply station?"

The woman's silence was all I needed to hear. I shook my head and leaned back, looking back at Ahsoka and Luke, prompting one of them to chime in.

"The truth is, Deacon… Private Loc was a bit overzealous in his attempts to use your goodwill to increase the cut the Rebellion received in your dealings," Ahsoka admitted, getting a harsh look from Doralik for her words. "During your time at Thila Command, healing the injured from the rescue mission, you inadvertently healed the sibling of one of Private Loc's now ex-crew members. When they learned you had saved the life of their brother, they immediately contacted General Syndulla and reported Loc for taking advantage of you. He was stripped of his rank for cheating an ally."

"And you were just going to let it play out?" I asked, doing my best to keep my temper down, leaning forward, both of my hands on the table. "See if I didn't pick up on it so you could keep the deal, get away with screwing me over?"

"It was… decided, against both my own and General Syndulla's recommendation, that we wouldn't mention the issue until you did," Ahsoka said, looking annoyed at what she had been told to do. "Between the amount of supplies we stood to gain and your own willingness to let things slide, we were ordered to let this play out and then strive to be more fair in future endeavors. Thankfully, we can now negotiate a more equal deal."

I studied her face for a moment, looking between her and Luke. Ahsoka had let down her mask quite a bit, showing her annoyance and guilt, while Luke looked downright miserable. I let out a long breath, closing my eyes to focus on calming down.

"Alright. Here is the new, non-negotiable deal. As before, the Skyforged Vanguard gets the first claim over all salvage, as well as an additional ten percent of all supplies. The remaining supplies will go to the Rebellion. Together, because we can't trust you not to lie about it, we will calculate the total worth of the remaining supplies. The Rebellion will pay the Skyforged forty percent of the total. The Rebellion will also supply the expertise and manpower to repair a significant portion of the station."

"How much is a 'significant portion'?" Doralik asked, her arms crossed.

"That depends on the status of the station. Before, I would have said enough space for us to live and at least one of the hangars. Now, I'm feeling much less charitable," I pointed out, crossing my own arms. "I will say that if I feel like the work the station needs starts to be unfair, we will compensate you somehow for the extra labor. Beyond that... Well, you will just have to trust me."

"And if we don't?"

"Then our business is done, and my team will go find the station on our own," I explained. "Expect to hear from us soon as we will have a lot of supplies to sell. At full price."

The meeting room was silent as everyone internalized what I had just demanded. In reality, the Rebellion now had little choice but to agree if they wanted access to the supplies on the station without paying full price. They could always go back on their word once we found the station, but even if my faith in them had been shaken slightly, I didn't think they would go that far.

"If we agree to this, can we put this whole thing behind us?" Luke asks, surprising both Ahsoka and Doralik. "I don't like having to deal like this, but I did enough business with Jawas back home to know you need to push back when someone tries to take advantage of you. If we agree to this new deal, to your push back, can we move past this and go back to amicable and friendly dealings?"

For the first time since I realized what was going on, I smiled and nodded.

"I would like that very much, Luke. I do really believe in the Rebellion cause, and in a different life, I would have handed these supplies over with a smile," I admitted with a shrug. "But my people are relying on me. I need to put them first. If the Rebellion agrees to these new terms, I will consider this water under the bridge as long as we are dealt with equally in the future."

For a long moment, Ahsoka considered what I had said. She looked over at her young student, meeting Luke's eyes for an even longer moment. I almost called them out for having a mental conversation when Ahsoka nodded.

"Very well. I was given the go-ahead to negotiate for the Rebellion, and I find these terms to be acceptable."

I nodded and held out my hand, the Togruta taking it and sealing the deal with a shake. When she tried to pull her hand back, however, I held on tightly.

"Make sure Nevue knows that if I ever see his face again, I will make sure he regrets trying to screw my crew over," I said, holding her hand firmly. "Remind him who pulled him off Nar Shaddaa in the first place, and how often talk of curses follow tales of magic."

I released her hand, her eyes wide at my words. The room was silent for a long moment before she nodded, and Doralik cleared her throat.

"With our agreement re-negotiated, shall I continue my briefing?" She asked, both Ahsoka and I nodding in confirmation a moment later.