[EP IX CAT C] [Q4 - Telos IV - CFS] Once More Into The Breach

RocketBoy · July 30, 2021

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WAR IN THE OUTER RIM
The Triumvirate has besieged a number of remote worlds, their most brazen attack yet. The New Republic must respond, but lacks the military strength to oppose the Remnant alone: the call for aid goes out across the galaxy, and the Freedom Fighters answer.
Warriors from the Confederacy of Free Systems, Freedom Fighters, and New Republic commandos battle alongside each other on the wind-blown farmlands of Telos IV. Jun Kanda--former-Jedi Knight, former-bounty hunter, and current hero--leads them all bravely into the fray.

STORY
The Reflections of Admiral Yima

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"Admiral, a personal communication just came through for you, it's...on a secure channel, from Chandrila."

Admiral Yima sat in his chair on the command deck of the FFS Peace and Quiet, the same chair he had always sat in, the same deck he had always overseen, filled with many of the same people that had manned the stations for years. Except for the seat to his back-left; which, after the events on Ilum, was empty.

The personal message was from an old commander. Noora's eyes were wide when she told him about it--it made him smile to see her so impressed. He told her he would take the message in his quarters, and left the bridge.
The Admiral had been subdued since the fleet escaped Ilum. He worked to hide it from the others, to keep from discouraging them, but the crew knew him far too well to believe the cheerful attitude was as effortless as he tried to make it look. But a smile broke under his beard when he saw the image on his holoprojector, the first real smile on his face in weeks.
A small holographic figure flickered to life--a woman; energetic, graceful, with a voice as strong as an ocean.

"Admiral Yima, I hope you're well. I've continued to hold you and the crew of the Peace and Quiet in great respect over the years. I've heard about the systems you've defended, especially your efforts on Ankus. On behalf of the New Republic, thank you for all you do. I've come to you with a request. Years ago you served the Rebellion during the war against the Empire..."

She told him about the threat: the New Republic was not in a position to respond effectively against Imperial Remnants, but Yima and the Freedom Fighters had kept the good fight going faithfully for nearly 10 years. Now the Outer Rim was under siege from a bold remnant--peaceful worlds, populated by peaceful people. There was war, and yet they had no army. She asked for his help, for the Freedom Fighters to come to their aid, to help them resist.

Who was Admiral Yima to say no to a Princess?

The projector shut off. The Princess disappeared, leaving Yima alone with his thoughts. He sighed, pressed down by his age and all his years of warfare.
It was silent in his quarters. The old admiral sat thoughtfully in the quiet for a long time, taking a moment to reflect on the road that had brought him here.
Perhaps there was time for a little sentimentality, he thought. Normally, he didn't indulge himself (except on caravvian tea and the odd pastry) but it was important to remember where you had been when you consider where you might be going next.
He wandered over to the container by his bed, where he kept a few keepsakes from his adventures. He lifted the latch and swung open the storage locker's door to reveal a trove of...well, he would call them treasures.
His eye caught on a scrap of red cloth, which he recognized instantly as torn from the flag of the People's Army of Hijo. A reminder of that darkest time; the Clone Wars. How foolish he had been.

"Duty is an honorable thing," he recalled, reciting it as if it was a mantra. "But it is not the *most* honorable thing."

He was grateful he'd survived to learn that lesson.

He set down the scrap of flag and his aged fingers found a small toy, given to him by one of the children on Lothal, received during the first war against the Empire. And next to it, a relic given to him by the Ewoks. Oh, after the Death Star was destroyed, how they had partied into the night! He could picture in his head the little furry creatures banging on Stormtrooper helmets to make music, how impressed he'd been that they were on tune. His dancing frightened them at first, as it did most sapient lifeforms, but soon they joined in. Wonderfully inventive beings. So special, and far more clever than himself. Remembering it made him laugh. He wiped his eyes. He remembered also how he had lost the respect of one of his squad, Dernthal, how they had fought the day after about the Ewoks, about dancing, about what pride and dignity mean. And then Dernthal had died in the aftermath of the fighting. Whatever his feelings about dancing, he had been a good man.
Yima's gaze caught on something further back. He swept aside a few things, reached in and felt the smooth, faceted surface of a small crystal.
He took it out.

A gift, from someone who deserved to have it more than he. His face low, Yima whispered another mantra, one that now guided the course of his life, "I am one with the Force. And the Force is with me."

He returned the precious stone to its place in the jumble, looked at a few more things, and closed the container. Finally, he stood and walked to his window, where he faced the darkness of space.

"One last battle," he murmured to his reflection. "Bey'wan, h-how I..." His fallen friend floated in the haze of his mind's eye. His voice caught and his mouth contorted. He took a moment to steady his emotions, and finally finished saying, "...How I wish you were here to fight at my side."

He imagined what the Bothan might have said in reply.

"There are many important components to a functional crew. The best can operate smoothly even with one of them missing."

Almost a machine himself. And yet, Yima remembered the fire in his eyes when he had returned from Ankus and learned of its people's suffering.

"We fight for the oppressed, Admiral. I will give my life for the people of Ankus, even if I am the only one."

'Even if I am the only one.'

A rare illogical break for the Data Master. And yet, it was that attitude, multiplied by thousands, that made the Freedom Fighters what they were.

Even if I am the only one.

But you never are. There is always someone willing to do the right thing. And when they work together, entire planets can be free.

The Admiral emerged onto the deck, busy with personnel and crew members crossing to and fro, tapping at screens, relaying information. Noora caught his eye, and he gave her a comforting, dismissive nod. Everything was okay.
Yima assumed his position in the command seat. Forty sets of eyes turned to him for orders. He smiled, and then got to work.

"An Imperial Remnant has besieged the Outer Rim. We are going to fight."

Determination lit up in so many faces at once that he nearly teared up again. He loved these people, he loved their genuine desire to help others. He trusted them with his life.

"Captain, set a course for the Outer Rim: the Telos System, in the Kwymar Sector. Major Neene, have the commanders ready their platoons for battle. And Lieutenant--"

He turned to see the face of young Noora, bright, spirited, ready to act, standing where Bey'wan once stood. Her attentiveness reminded the Admiral of the fallen Data Master. How far she'd come from her days as a sanitation worker, in trouble for stealing trinkets! How important she had become to him in so short a time. Life was a mysterious thing: people pass in and out of each other's worlds like the streak of a comet: bright, glorious, and gone. This is the way of things. All is as the Force wills it.

"Yes, Admiral?" she prompted, seeing him stuck on a thought.

Yima smiled, shaking away his ruminations. "Please send a communication to my friend, Jun Kanda. I think it is time for him to finally wield that lightsaber of his. He might grumble--he will almost certainly grumble. Just tell him it's a favor for me."

"Right away, Admiral!"

The Admiral sat back and replied to a dozen questions, gave a dozen more instructions, spoke to a dozen more people.
Into the fight, one last time.

BATTLE PHOTOS

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