Chapter 18 - Battle of Takodana - First Part (2/2)
- ”Yes, Sir!”
- ”Takodana has been reached!”- said the voice in the speakers.
- ”Commence attack!”- ordered Kylo Ren and all the TIE fighters under his command roared while being launched at the space.
Two massive Star Destroyers appeared over Takodana and immediately released dozens of TIE fighters which flew directly to Kanata Castle.
(...)
- ”Enemy fighters entering atmosphere”- announced the voice in the intercomm.
- ”Fire at will”- ordered Maz while watching the screen she had in the office.
Immediately the cannons and ground batteries started to let lasers, proton bombs, and blasters to the invaders and the attacks covered the sky. Many of the many TIE fighters were shot down immediately but many more appeared and they dispersed making them a more difficult objective.
- ”And this is how it begins”- said Maz and Finn started to analyze the battlefield as he had been trained for. He was no pilot but every Stormtrooper received training in aerial attacks- ”let's see if they can break our defenses.”
- ”Transmission from the enemy”
- ”Allow it”- ordered Maz with a confident smile and the screen showed a tall and burky man which seemed to be a veteran- I didn't imagine that the hunger of the First Order had grown so much to even dare to attack my castle... I hope you are ready to face the consequences.”
- ”Commander Sylus from the First Order”- said the uniformed man introducing himself in a very martial way but his voice did not show the slightest trace of fear- ”we have come to retrieve a droid which was stolen from us by the Rebel Organization called the Resistance and we know that it is in your possession. Give it to us and we will go immediately. This does not have to end badly.”
- ”It will end terribly I ȧssure you, but not for me”- said Maz showing a very cold and sharp expression- ”I did have the droid but it has been given to a client who had paid a great sum. If you knew I had it, you should have contacted me and negotiate using the conventional networks. It's not as if we had never done bussiness.”
- ”You knew the bounty we offered”- said Sylus also using a threatening tone- ”your silence in the matter is a show of disrespect to our organization and it is evidence of your relation with the rebel group.”
- ”So what if I have relationship with them?”- asked Maz with a smug smile- ”what will you do?”
- ”It means you have chosen sides and you have become our enemy”- said Sylus looking at Maz as if he was seeing a dead person- ”hand the droid and you will be spared. Otherwise, prepare to face the full power of the First Order.”
- ”I don't negotiate with unprofessional grunts”- said Maz laughing mockingly at Sylus- ”you come to my territory and attack me... and then you have the gal to threaten me? Prepare to suffer destruction in my hands, kid... the full power of the First Order? Your power means nothing in my eyes. I'll make an example of you so the galaxy remembers what the consequences are in messing with the Queen of Pirates!”
Maz cut the transmission and then she accomodated in her throne. She pressed a buŧŧon and then a holographic map appear in the center of the room and showed her all the battlefield. Immediately, ffteen people entered and sat in the seats around Maz and put on headphones with microphones. She took the intercom again and cleared her throat.
- ”All those who have accepted the mission in the category of pilots, prepare to engage the enemy”- said Maz- ”Kanata starfighters will go on the vanguard. Show those milk smelling babies how to fly.”
Immediately, many hangars opened in different locations and countless Star Fighters of every model imaginable flew out like locusts and engaged the First Order immediately.
- ”Orange Team, route as many as you can to the sector H67. Green Team prepare an ambush in coordination with them in 43 seconds.”- said Maz looking at the map in front of her- ”Batteries 145 to 190 fire at coordinates 456, 098 in 25 seconds and then switch objective to 567, 132.”
Immediately, two of the people in the room repeated the instructions through their microphones. Finn looked at the map and saw how the instructions given by Maz were executed to the milimeter. Many TIE fighters were routed by Kanata Fighters using numbers and then they were shot down by another team which was waiting in the opposite direction. Some batteries changed their aim and shot blindly to where Maz had ordered and Finn was shocked to see that both attacks had produced heavy casualties in the enemy forces.
- ”How did she do that?”- asked Finn who would have attributed the previous attack as luck if not for so many to consider them coincidences- ”can she see the future?”
- ”You could say that”- said Han who was also analyzing the map- ”remember when I said the Force was real?”
- ”The Force?”- said Finn trying to remember and then he recalled their conversation about Luke Skywalker- ”you mean the thing you thought it was mumbo jumbo?”
- ”Precisely”- said Han- ”Jedi can use it to see things normal people cannot. Sometimes they can even see the future or so I was told by Luke.”
- ”Wait...”- said Finn looking at Maz who did not stop giving orders at all- ”are you saying that she is a Jedi?”
- ”No... she is not Jedi but she can still use the Force to certain extent”- said Han smiling- ”this is the secret of her victories against vastly superior enemies... if her enemies knew, I'm sure they would coughed blood and call her a cheater.”
- ”I still can hear you, Han”- said Maz without stop looking at the map- ”let the enemy attack batteries 976 to 980 making it look as if they have an opening and then crush them with teams red, blue and Purple in exactly 2 minutes. They will not know what hit them, hehehehe!”
Finn gulped when he heard her laugh. Wasn't she enjoying this too much? After a moment, Finn saw how the enemies that had fallen in her trap were shot down without any chance to retaliate. He could not help feel bad for those poor pilots who maybe did not even realize they were dead. The people aropund not only sent the instructions of Maz, but they also reported the situation from the forces in the area. This exchange was uninterrupted and at simple sight chaotic since the voices did not stop reporting. However, Maz responded to each report one after another and it seemed as if she could hear, analyze and respond to the fifteen voices at the same time and without confusion and with perfect control. She did all of this while taking in consideration theterrain and the number of forces. Finn got dizzy and wonder if Maz was not an advanced super computer specialized in strategy.
- ”You understand now?”- said Han and Finn looked at the Queen of Pirates in a new light- ”imagine fighting someone who can predict all your movements even before you decide to do them. Maz is capable of analyze vast quantityies of information in seconds and take multiple decisions at the same time you need to breathe three times. All those poor bastards are already dancing in her hand and they did not even know.”
- ”I'm sure they have ground foces”- said Maz looking all around the map and Finn felt she was a predator looking for its next prey. It was as if she had already won the first wave of attacks- ”make sure to inform me once you find them. Cannons in the western district make a barrage attack in all sector J56 in 34 seconds.”
The attacks were simply brutal and Finn wondered: ”If she can do this with just a certain extent of the Force... then what can a full pledged Jedi do? If this is what one can do with the Force, then all the legends about Luke Skywalker 's feats would be absolutely credible. Finn started to consider the existance of the Jedi like something divine and unreachable. Now he understood the importance of General Skywalker in this war and why the Resistance was so desperate in finding him.
- ”It's possible to defeat the First Order...”- said Finn feeling hope for the first time since he had escaped- ”we can win...”
In that moment there was a huge explosion coming from the left of where they were and Finn could see it for the window.
- ”Cannons in Northern district destroyed”- informed one of the fifteen ȧssistant- ”they did noit have time to send information...”
Maz started to gasp and she touched her ċhėst in pain. She started to look at the map desperately. She did not have her usual grin and she was furrowing her brows with a nervous expression.
- ”What happened Maz?”- asked Han who knew Maz would not behave like this for no reason.
- ”Someone very powerful has come”- she said and Finn could see the sweat in her forehead.
- ”Powerful?”- repeated Han- ”what do you mean?”
Another explosion resounded in the distance and Maz seemed extremely confused and lost in thought. Without her orders and instructions the battlefield started to incline in favor of the First Order.
- ”Batteries 456 to 532 destroyed”- said another ȧssistant who seemed to start to panic- ”the enemy is too fast.”
- ”He's so strong!”- shouted Maz in frustration- ”he's clouding my vision...”
- ”Who?”- asked Han grabbing her arm- ”who's there?”
- ”You know who...”- said Maz and Han had a realization- ”the Force is intense in him... much more than the last time I saw him... he's coming directly here... ACTIVATE THE SHIELDS AT MAXIMUM!”
Just some seconds after this order the building where they were was shaken and all the people inside were thrown to the floor. The systems deactivated and the ȧssistants worked quickly to reestablish communications. In that moment Finn saw the enemy fighters flying around and he felt a terrible pressure in his stomach when he recognized the TIE silencer that was attacking them.
- ”Kylo Ren... and his Knights of Ren...”- he said in absolute terror.
Hope? Possibility of winning? Finn recognized he had been absolutely naive in thinking this. Maybe Luke Skywalker could lead them to victory but the problem was that he was not here. If the Resistance had a Luke Skywalker, the First Order had a Kylo Ren and even Maz was completely powerless against him. The little trace of hope he had gathered vanished and now only an idea took place in his head.
- ”We are doomed...”