Asteroid HKX-4489.
Gargon System.
Mandalorian Sector.
In the corridors of the asteroid base, well hidden from prying eyes and abandoned even before the Great Purge, life was present once again. Not that it was bustling, and warriors were constantly rushing back and forth across the base, no. However, the Mandalorians had reclaimed the outpost they had been forced to leave. Yes, on a galactic scale and even by Mandalorian standards, the base was tiny, like the asteroid itself, which didn't even have its own name, only a dry numerical identifier, but a long time ago, this base had saved many lives.
However, the soldiers on guard duty on the asteroid didn't care. Having joined Death Watch even before Galidraan, the Mandalorians were unconditionally loyal to Vizsla and his ideas. It was precisely because of their faith in their leader and their hope for the return of their homeworld to its glorious, albeit bloody, past, the time of the High Mandalorian, that the inhabitants of asteroid base HKX-4489 became the obvious choice when selecting guards for the prisoners, who were a guarantee of the Clans' Council's passivity during Kryze's overthrow.
This base was just one of a whole network of shelters where the relatives and close ones of representatives of the opposing Mandalorian clans, who refused to swear allegiance to Vizsla, were hidden until the opportune moment. The guards sincerely considered such people traitors to their people, and therefore had nothing against capturing the old, women, and children. Moreover, they were ready to execute them at the first command. All for the sake of executing the plan.
And the plan had already begun to move.
Reinforcements from their leader's secret patron had arrived for Death Watch, allowing them to finally take decisive action. The inexperienced guards of the law enforcement agencies could not offer worthy resistance to the Death Watch Mandalorians, allowing them to fortify themselves in many cities of Mandalore. Skirmishes between factions and supporters of Kryze and Vizsla occurred on all planets of the Mandalorian sector, but the main conflict, which all Mando'ade were watching, was to unfold on Mandalore, in the capital. The Duchess's palace was to be captured, and Satine Kryze herself killed.
The fanatically loyal Death Watch fighters didn't even think about the consequences of such actions. In fact, the leader of Death Watch, blinded by his thirst for power, didn't fully realize what awaited his people if their coup succeeded.
Be that as it may, the base guards were ready to resist anyone, carrying out their leader's will. Or, at least, that's what they thought.
The alarm signal, announcing the invasion, sounded suddenly, forcing the base defenders to stir and take up defensive positions. However, as it turned out, by the time mobilization began, it was all over. Unknown enemies had somehow penetrated the base and managed to kill most of the Death Watch. The guards on the lower levels were not responding, nor were the security droids.
The surviving defenders of the Death Watch outpost rushed to the cells where the hostages were held, hoping to carry out the order given for such an event and execute the prisoners.
They were too late.
A bronze-colored droid armed with a pair of blasters was already waiting for them at the doors of the prison block.
"Mocking request: Die," the mechanical soldier stated and opened fire...
Sixteen hours earlier.
Royal Palace.
Mandalore.
As soon as the battle for the palace hangars ended, a military council was convened to coordinate the further actions of the Duchess's supporters, the Mandalorian militia, and the Council of Clans.
"So, the time has come?" Sevras Nomad asked the most important question at the moment.
"Yes," Revan nodded in agreement.
"Finally, our own will return home," the representative of the Clan Council exhaled with relief.
"Our informant in the enemy camp has reported the coordinates of the last group of hostages. So we have all the necessary information to carry out an operation to free them," Revan declared to the approving nods of everyone present.
Even Satine Kryze, who had not taken her stern gaze off Jango Fett, who had joined the meeting, was distracted from her undoubtedly fascinating activity and joined the conversation.
"It will be difficult to attack four shelters simultaneously, and in such a way that they don't have time to inform anyone about the attack," Satine concluded, noticing how far apart the places of detention of the hostages were.
"For an experienced group of saboteurs, nothing is impossible," Fett replied to the Duchess's statement, making her grit her teeth.
Tension between these two had appeared from the first second they were in the same room. Satine saw Fett as the embodiment of her worst fears about returning to "roots." Jango was popular among supporters of the old regime, but at the same time, he was an undesirable figure for the position of head of Mandalore in the eyes of the Republic. However, it's unlikely anyone in the Senate will remember why now. The massacre on Galidraan was not widely covered in the media. But the Jedi remember this unpleasant page in their recent history. Few know the truth about the conspiracy of the Galidraan government with the Death Watch, which could put the entire people at risk.
Fett understood this, which is why he hadn't appeared on his homeworld for so many years. He was quite satisfied with Kryze's candidacy as ruler of Mandalore, although he was negative about the policy of pacifism. In his opinion, this was another extreme, opposite to Vizsla's desire for mindless aggression, but still, it was an extreme. But what caused more irritation in the once-chosen Mandalore was Satine's very presence at this council. In Fett's opinion, a girl who knew nothing about war had no place at a meeting where military matters were being decided.
"Not all Mandalorians are trained saboteurs," Kryze noted, meeting Fett's gaze.
"That's just your opinion, Duchess," the last word came from Jango, as if in mockery.
Satine, who had already taken a deep breath for an angry retort, was interrupted by Sevras Nomad.
"We have enough trained fighters to carry out the operation," the representative of the Clan Council assured.
"I didn't doubt it," Fett grinned.
"Then we will have to not only prepare groups to attack four targets but also provide them with transport. And fast transport," Ala Daruk concluded.
"Five targets," Revan interjected.
"Excuse me, what?" Daruk turned to him.
"We have to attack five targets," the former Jedi repeated.
"But the list of coordinates only has four shelters where there are hostages," Kryze reminded.
"Obviously, dar'jetii is suggesting attacking a target not listed," Fett explained and, with interest, turned his gaze to Revan, awaiting clarification.
"That's right," the former Jedi nodded.
"And what do you propose?" asked Targon, the head of the almost crushed law enforcement forces present at the meeting.
"To capture this," Revan brought up a holographic projection above the table with coordinates and images of a fortified bunker on Concord Dawn.
"The communication center?" Tyra recognized the building, the purpose of which Bo-Katan Kryze had conveyed in one of her reports.
"What do we need a communication center for? Capturing it will yield nothing. At most, intercepting a few messages until the enemy changes encryption codes and isolates the captured object from their network, simply by using one of the backups," Daruk clarified.
"To make a statement that every supporter of the Death Watch will see," Revan said.
"What?" Daruk, as well as half of those present, did not understand.
But Satine, thanks to her experience in political intrigue, immediately grasped the essence.
"Because of him, right?" she pointed at Fett.
Revan nodded.
"Jango Fett's speech on the Death Watch HoloNet, calling for support for him and the Duchess in uniting Mandalore, will sow discord in the enemy ranks and provide us with new forces," Tyra Nomad surmised, having managed to understand a little of the thought process of the strangest Jedi she had ever met.
"We've tried this approach before. The Duchess's change of course did not lead to the expected reaction," Sevras objected.
"It's all because we chose the wrong method of spreading propaganda," Tyra stated confidently.
"Wrong?"
"Yes, wrong. All information about Duchess Satine's actions went through Mandalore's internal HoloNet, barely touching the Death Watch supporters. The enemy, on the other hand, fully utilized their own underground network, as well as open sections of the HoloNet, to spread their version of events," Revan explained.
"And now we will not only be able to inject our propaganda into their network but also show that it is not only pacifists and the militia with us now," Daruk mused thoughtfully.
"Not to mention that we will finally be able to refute rumors about the Duchess's conspiracy with the Senate and the Jedi. Isn't that right, Daruk?" Revan noted.
The head of the militia exhaled loudly and nodded.
"Even among the militia, there are whispers about the Duchess's true intentions," she stated.
"What intentions?" Kryze asked maliciously.
"The fighters doubt the Duchess's sincerity regarding the change in her policy. Many believe that the ostentatious militancy and departure from pacifism are just a trick to attract supporters, who will then face new betrayal," Daruk explained.
"Nonsense! I will never betray my people."
"Jedi in the retinue do not benefit the reputation, Duchess," the head of the militia noted.
"Speaking of the latter. Where are our 'friends' from the Order?" Sevras inquired.
"In the infirmary. Djinn is looking after Anakin at my request. Obi-Wan is still undergoing treatment after the defense of the Palace. They don't need to know all the details of the plan," the former Sith replied.
"They weren't that strong after all," snorted Nimra Zol, head of the palace guard.
Fett grinned, earning a disapproving shake of Revan's head.
"Returning to our plan," Sevras Nomad drew everyone's attention back.
After waiting for everyone to be ready to listen, he continued.
"The assault on such an object will require greater effort than the others, due to a larger garrison and better defense. However, in the end, we will not only get our loved ones back, which will free the Clan Council's hands, but we will also have the opportunity to attract some of the enemy's forces to our side. In my opinion, it's worth the risk."
"Since the appeal should be in my name, then I should go," Fett declared.
"I'll keep you company, if you don't mind," Revan added.
Jango cast an appraising glance at his potential partner and nodded.
"I don't mind."
"How many men will you need?" Ala Daruk asked, estimating how many dozens of fighters she could sacrifice without compromising the combat effectiveness of the militia detachments.
"Not a single one," Fett and Revan said simultaneously, glancing briefly at each other.
"What? That's foolish!" Sevras objected, also ready to provide his clansmen's forces, as well as persuade the Council to allocate fighters to free their relatives and help Fett.
"It would be foolish to risk detection even before approaching the enemy base," Djanggo countered.
"Agreed. A large detachment will only attract attention. Especially in enemy territory," the former Sith nodded.
The fact that both were used to acting alone or in a small group was not said, but implied.
To the surprise of those present, the strange Jedi-not-Jedi quickly found common ground with the Mandalorian mercenary. But only at first glance. It was a forced truce, shaky, but giving the two a chance to cooperate.
"Then, we only have to select the groups for the attack on the remaining targets," Satine summarized, striving to take at least some part in the discussion.
"I can also provide my men. You have seen their effectiveness many times yourself," Revan offered.
"Well, they won't be superfluous," Sevras replied, ahead of everyone.
Long hours of discussion and preparation for a swift assault on five Death Watch bases simultaneously followed.
Less than a day passed before the command to attack was finally given.
In addition to the attack on HKX-4489 and Concord Dawn, the Duchess's supporters were to invade fortified bases throughout the Mandalorian sector. But no one expressed any concern about this. It was not fitting for Mandalorians... even those who had changed under the pressure of the era.
It was decided to send a small detachment to each of the targets on several captured mercenary transports, under the guise of resupply. Bo-Katan provided the access codes, so everything should have gone smoothly.
Thus, HKX-4489 was stormed by HK in tandem with Tyra. The droid and the Mandalorian refused the five Nomads assigned to help them. All objections disappeared after mentioning the events captured on the palace security camera recordings. The droid's effectiveness then amazed everyone. Someone again recalled the ancient tale of aden ani'la beskar'kyr'am.
Simultaneously, a detachment of Mandalorians, supported by Maul, was to attack a small Death Watch shelter hidden in the mountains on Vorpa'ya. Two more groups were sent to the Jakelia and Concord Dawn systems.
Revan himself, along with Jango Fett, headed for one of Mandalore's moons, Concord Dawn.
Unfortunately, it was impossible to infiltrate the Communication Center in the same way as the other groups, namely by mercenary and Death Watch transports. No supplies were planned for the target area during the operation. So they had to improvise. The Dawn Eagle did not have any cloaking system and would have been easily detected even on approach. Fett's ship, Slave I, could not boast of invisibility either, but at least it was much more compact than the freighter, and moreover, it was registered to the mercenary.
"An interesting ship," Revan assessed, examining the cockpit while Fett confidently piloted the "Slave" close to Concord Dawn's surface through a gorge leading near the target.
"Uh-huh," grumbled the ship's owner.
"What model is it?" the former Jedi inquired, trying to establish mutual understanding with the one with whom he was about to storm a well-fortified complex.
Revan would have felt more confident in the company of HK, but freeing the hostages was a more priority task at the moment. So the attacking groups would need the help of the best assassin droid in the galaxy.
The former Jedi managed to overcome his dislike for Fett... almost. Only faint echoes of hatred for the entire Fett clan still resonated in the soul of the former Republican army general. However, coordinated action required trust, at least a little. Otherwise, it would be difficult to turn your back on someone who, it seemed, should be your comrade.
"Kuat-class Firespray-31," Jango replied, making another maneuver.
"Where did you get it?" Revan continued the idle conversation.
"Many questions, dar'jetii."
"Just making conversation."
Fett grunted in response.
"I don't particularly like Jedi and their ilk. However, the situation has developed in such a way that we will have to work together. Neither you nor I are happy about it, but I'm not going to shoot you in the back," the mercenary added.
It was Revan's turn to grunt, accepting Fett's position, which coincided entirely with his own.
"Glad we understand each other," the former Sith replied.
The ship continued its rapid flight. Silence reigned in the cockpit, broken only by the signals of the instruments. Until Jango broke it.
"I don't understand a lot. For example, who are you and what is your interest in all this? Why are you helping Mandalore?"
"A lot connects me to your people," Revan replied evasively.
"You're not a Mandalorian, that's for sure. You resemble them in many ways, but no. You're a Jedi, possibly a former one, but the habits of those... ahem..."
Fett did not finish the phrase, as only insults would follow, which should be avoided before a joint battle.
"You're right. I was once in the Order, but our paths diverged long ago."
"But the habit of not saying everything remained, didn't it?" Fett grumbled.
"That's more a consequence of frequent communication with politicians than the aftermath of training at the Temple," Revan chuckled.
Another grunt in response.
"You're too young to have participated in the massacre on Galidraan, and I don't remember you among those who were led by the Death Watch then," Fett continued.
"Were you there?" Revan asked, more to keep the conversation going than out of genuine interest.
He had managed to learn some details about those events from the Nomads and Qui-Gon, whose teacher had led the capture of the Mandalorians.
"Yes. I was there."
"I'm sorry..."
"Shove your pity where the sun don't shine, along with your sorrow," Fett snapped back.
"I understand your feelings."
"Really?" Djanggo waved away skeptically, interrupting his interlocutor once again.
"Lies, prejudice, and betrayal are not only familiar to you," Revan said coldly.
Something in his interlocutor's tone made Fett momentarily take his eyes off the controls and look at the former Jedi's unmasked face. It was enough for the mercenary to admit his mistake. Despite his youthful appearance, the man sitting in the next seat had experienced no fewer dark days than Djanggo himself. And the Mandalorian understood this perfectly.
"So who are you, dar'jetii?" Fett asked in a much more welcoming tone, breaking the silence again.
"If I tell you, you won't believe me anyway," Revan replied calmly.
"Try me," the mercenary shrugged.
Revan clearly felt the change in his attitude. It was not trust, but rather respect, reinforced by their certain similarity. However, there were more differences. Djanggo fled from the burden of power, while Revan accepted it and used it to the fullest. Different characters, different approaches, different ways of accepting the consequences, both of their actions and of fate's blows. However, history has repeatedly proven that sometimes the strongest bonds arise between opposites. Thus, at one time, Canderous called Revan his brother, even though shortly before that, they had fought on opposite sides of the barricades.
"It's a long story," Revan remarked.
"Then you'll tell me later. We're approaching," Fett replied.
Revan nodded and put on his mask.
These two did not become friends, but the seeds of trust had already appeared. At least, he wouldn't have to worry about his back.
"Slave-1" had to be left at the edge of the gorge to avoid detection. The observation post on the crest of one of the slopes, which almost noticed the ship, was neutralized by Revan, who had sensed the attention directed at them in time. The Force helped distract the guards for the few seconds it took the former Jedi to leave the "Slave-1" and descend upon the Mandalorians.
The reluctant partners reunited after the ship landed. Revan used a speeder left by the guards.
"Transport? Good," Fett nodded approvingly when the former Jedi flew up to him.
"I managed to interrogate one. The guard change will be in less than two hours. So we should hurry," Revan informed.
The Mandalorian nodded and took the passenger seat of the speeder.
"If your informant's information is correct, this bunker has a hidden exit in case of a siege. The guard shouldn't be too strong, otherwise, it would only attract attention," Djanggo said, consulting the map.
"The information is accurate," Revan nodded, calling upon the Force to try to find the hidden passage.
"Somewhere to the north of here," Fett concluded, putting away the map sent by Bo-Katan.
Revan nodded. The Force was leading him in the same direction.
The search did not take long.
The door was hidden in the shadow of a small rock and almost blended with the landscape. No guards were visible. Revan sensed the presence of living beings, but only inside the base.
"Turrets are to the right and left of the rocks," Fett pointed to the inconspicuous boulders on either side of the door.
Revan, to his surprise, did not notice them immediately, which could have cost them dearly.
"I can disable them. Guaranteed," Revan offered, noticing Djanggo pull a pair of ion grenades from his pouch.
Overloading the turrets' systems would surely be noticed by the guards. But disabling them with the Force would most likely be mistaken for a malfunction, as the former Sith warned his partner.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Then, let's go."
Reaching through the Force to the mechanisms, Revan disabled the control relays, which led to a failure in the targeting systems and the deactivation of the turrets, followed by their transition to self-diagnostic mode.
"We have a couple of minutes before they suspect something is wrong," Revan surmised.
"They already suspect, if they haven't become completely stupid," Fett grumbled, approaching the door.
"I don't see an external lock. I can try to open it the same way I disabled the turrets," the former Jedi suggested.
"Step aside," the mercenary ordered grimly and quickly walked to the right side of the doorway.
A butt strike knocked out an inconspicuous hatch at knee level, where Fett inserted a tiny universal digital lockpick. After just a few seconds, the lockpick chirped melodically, and the door swung open.
"Learn, dar'jetii," the mercenary grinned.
Instead of answering, Revan pulled the guard standing behind the door, whom he had sensed upon approaching the entrance, towards him with the Force. The stunned guard was slammed into the ground right at Fett's feet, losing consciousness.
"Hmm," Fett reacted neutrally and without emotion, then adjusted his grip on his carbine and stepped through the open doorway.
The advance through the base was quiet and swift. The Mandalorian demonstrated excellent training and extensive combat experience, silently dealing with patrols, sometimes consisting of three or four fighters.
Revan tried to keep up, actively using mind tricks and acceleration, lightning-fast approaching the enemy to a distance from which he could defeat him in hand-to-hand combat. There was no time to use ranged Force techniques. Every second spent concentrating threatened to lose the element of surprise.
But not everything could go quietly and without consequences. One of the patrols turned out to be larger than the others, and its fighters were already ready for battle. Apparently, someone had decided to send them to find out why the posts were silent.
The first patrolman managed to say something into his activated commlink before Fett's thrown vibro-knife plunged under his helmet. A swift battle ensued. Djanggo skillfully dodged enemy fire while mercilessly shooting down his kin with accurate shots. Revan did not lag behind. No longer hiding, he activated his lightsaber, surprising the opponents and making them hesitate for just a fraction of a second. That was enough for the silver blade to end the life of the fighter closest to the former Jedi, and Fett leaped to another opponent. The mercenary deflected the guard's hand holding the blaster aside, shot at point-blank range into a vulnerable part of the armor at the joint directly under the arm, and then used the wounded Mandalorian as cover to shoot two more with impunity.
Revan, meanwhile, shoved a couple of guards into each other with the Force and, not allowing them to get up, decapitated one, finishing off the last with a thrust to the chest. The Death Watch armor could not even slow down the lightsaber blade.
All seven members of the patrol squad met their deaths in an instant.
Unfortunately, the noise attracted attention. Nearby, by a strange coincidence, were barracks where ten more Mandalorians were already preparing for battle.
"Hutt," Djanggo cursed, jumping back from the doorway, which had begun to open.
The thrown grenade flew into the barely opened leaf, but was kicked back out by one of the fighters who had reacted in time.
Fett had already prepared for a close explosion, but Revan covered them both with a Force barrier. Nodding to each other, the Mandalorian and the Jedi burst into the barracks, taking the initiative. Revan went first, deflecting blaster fire, while Fett, following him, shot down the Death Watch fighters, accurately targeting weak spots. One of the opponents turned out to be better prepared to confront a Jedi and tried to use grenades and a flamethrower, but the explosives were sent flying into the corridor, repelled by the Force. Fett prevented the flamethrower from being used by pushing one of the wounded guards directly into the stream of fire. The "veteran" who dodged the cabinet thrown at him by the Force exposed himself directly to the lightning with which Revan finished off the remaining Mandalorians.
Examining the scorched bodies of his kin, Djanggo distantly remarked that next time, it would be better to start with lightning.
"Everyone just likes to criticize," Revan replied with a grin.
"Let's go. It's only a couple of turns to the control room."
Revan nodded, and the small army of two sentient beings continued the now open assault.
Meanwhile, in the control room, the guards were trying to figure out what the hell was happening with the turrets.
"Post 17, respond," the security system operator tried to get an answer from one of the guards, unaware that the unconscious body of the latter had been lying outside for several minutes.
"No response," one of the technicians subordinate to the operator stated the obvious.
"I see," the operator grumbled in response.
"Send a patrol to the emergency exit," a commanding female voice rang out from the red-haired Mandalorian who had entered the control room.
"Yes, Commander," the operator perked up and contacted the barracks.
"Declare an alert?" the technician clarified.
"No reason," the woman objected.
"As you command."
Satisfied with the answer, the Mandalorian occupied one of the officer terminals and began checking the broadcast network.
"Commander, are there any news from Mandalore?" the operator asked after a few minutes of silence.
It was evident that he was eager to hear the details of the coup. When the Death Watch leader announced to everyone that their time had come, the operator couldn't believe for a long time that it was all happening. When he joined the Death Watch, the dream of restoring Mandalore as a world of skilled warriors seemed distant and unattainable. Now, being one step away from fulfilling this dream, he was in turmoil.
Battle reports are coming through this comms node. And don't tell me you haven't read them," the red-haired woman waved dismissively.
The operator nervously shrugged and buried himself in his terminal screen again. He did periodically make copies of the files and break the cipher in his spare time, just to get the news from the battlefields faster.
Suddenly, an alarmed cry came from the communicator on the terminal console. One of the guards let out an inarticulate gasp before the connection cut off.
Attempts to re-establish contact with the source of the garbled message were unsuccessful. The transmitter had been disabled.
The Commander rose from her seat and approached the operator.
The next moment, the holo-projector in the center of the hall activated, displaying a sector map with the marker for the Watch base, from which the invasion signal had come, highlighted.
"Invasion at Base 'Echo' in the Concord Dawn system! Transmitting signal..."
The operator was cut off mid-sentence by a powerful blow from an armored boot straight to the face. The Mandalorian, delivering it in the blink of an eye, drew her blasters and fired a couple of bolts directly into the startled technicians, of whom there were three in the room, to their misfortune.
"C-Commander Kryze..." the operator, trying to regain his senses, voiced from the floor.
"Nothing personal, Ason," Bo-Katan said before finishing off the last witness to her betrayal.
However, she doubted she could spy on Vizsla now. Things had gone too far. Once the hostage rescue operation was complete, the head of the Watch would surely guess who had leaked the coordinates to the Duchess's supporters. Too many coincidences. After all, the younger Kryze lacked the skills to play the role of an informant without arousing suspicion.
The door to the control room burst open, and at the same moment, a stun grenade flew into the opening. Bo-Katan barely managed to dive behind the terminal rack, but the blast still disoriented her.
Fett, who burst into the hall, almost shot his ally but was stopped in time by Revan, who recognized the Duchess's sister.
"She's our agent," Revan explained his intervention, lowering the blade with which he had shielded Bo-Katan from Fett's shot.
"Who is she?"
"Satine's sister."
"Is that so," Jango chuckled.
It took Kryze only a few seconds to regain her senses. Her hearing returned slowly, but she understood what was happening perfectly well without words.
"Jango Fett?" Bo-Katan asked, louder than she intended, surprised by the identity of Revan's partner, whom she recognized by the clan markings on his armor.
She had, of course, heard that the Duchess had gained an influential ally, but her name had not been told to her for security reasons.
"Kryze," the mercenary greeted the Mandalorian with a nod, blocking the entrance to the control room at the same time.
Even if few soldiers remained at the base, if anyone had survived at all, it was not worth the risk of leaving the entrance unguarded.
"We need to get online before the Watch realizes the comms center has been captured," Revan stated.
"They already know. The signal about the invasion of Concord Dawn came to us, which means it was automatically relayed to Vizsla's personal terminal. They don't know about the vulnerability of the comms center yet, but it's only a matter of time. We have no more than half an hour, by my estimate," the girl replied.
"Bad, but not critical," Revan concluded.
"What's next? Do we wait for our teams to finish the capture?" Fett inquired.
"That's the plan," the former Jedi nodded.
The sector hologram reactivated, showing two bases already under attack.
The terminal beeped, signaling an incoming message.
Bo-Katan activated the channel.
"Comms Center K-3, on the line."
"Satisfied remark: Ah, it's you, you captive bag of meat. Mocking inquiry: Still alive?" HK-47's voice came from the speaker.
"Ah, you mechanical u..."
Revan interrupted Kryze's angry retort.
"HK, we've captured the comms center. What's your status?"
"Joyful report: Mission accomplished, Master. Base captured, hostages freed. Depressed: No losses."
"I can hear everything, tin can," Tyra's voice could be heard somewhere in the background.
"Displeased: I know, bag of meat."
"Evacuate. Meet at point 7."
"Acknowledged, Master."
The connection broke, only for the console to erupt with another series of incoming call signals.
All groups reported mission success in turn, except for the one that went to Concord Dawn.
"Well, that's pretty good already," Revan concluded.
"What about the last group?" Bo-Katan was concerned about a possible operation failure.
"The warriors of Clan Rau went to my homeland. It's their territory anyway, so they'll handle it," Fett stated confidently.
"You're from Concord Dawn?" Revan was surprised.
"Like all Fetts," Jango nodded.
A moment later, a signal of success from the last group interrupted their conversation.
"Excellent. It's time to begin the final phase," Revan nodded to his thoughts.
"I'm ready," Fett grumbled with displeasure.
The Mandalorian disliked public speaking. Yes, he had once encouraged his warriors before battle... and it was harder to take on the role of leader again. Too many memories... Too much pain...
"Go to the transmitter. The holo-projector is right in front of you. You know what to say," Revan instructed the Mandalorian.
Frowning and nodding, Fett removed his helmet and activated the transmission.
"My name is Jango Fett. I am the successor of Jaster Mereel and a true Mandalorian. Many of you know me or have heard of my deeds. In respect to them and the glorious memory of the fallen ancestors, listen to me! You have all been cruelly deceived! Death Watch has conspired with senatorial rats and merchants from Neimoidia to kill Duchess Kryze, who has sided with the True Mandalorians, and seize power to deceitfully turn our glorious people into the chained dogs of dar'manda!"
...
Fett's emotional speech, which had already switched to Mandalorian, continued for several minutes. Revan was impressed by Fett's oratorical talent, as the mercenary's words stirred something from the past even in Revan's soul.
But this was only the beginning. The counter-move had been made, but its consequences were still unknown.
It was time to go on the counter-attack.
As if obeying Revan's thoughts, the resistance in the worlds of the Mandalorian sector increased tenfold. On Mandalore, mercenaries and Death Watch forces were pushed back from the capital by a powerful counter-attack. The Council of Clans entered the fray.