CHAPTER SEVEN
To tell the truth, the only value a gas giant like Bespin had to the galaxy was its vast resources of tibanna, a rare form of matter which comprised the planet's atmosphere. The establishment of the floating Cloud City attracted tourists as well.
During the Galactic Civil War, Cloud City had been governed by Anakin's father's friend, Lando Calrissian. When Lando went off to assist the Rebellion, an Imperial governor was left in charge until the New Republic retook Bespin. Afterwards, Lando's assistant Lobot ran the city until after the Imperial-Sith War, during which Lando returned as Baron Administrator for a short time before retiring. From what Anakin had heard, the current Baron Administrator was actually a Baroness; a female Vuviran named Mystolea.
The Forge Seeker broke through the initial thick clouds of Bespin and soon came into contact with the Bespin Wing Guard, a pair of Twin-Pod cloud cars flying up beside them.
"Stand by, Forge Seeker," one of the pilots said. "We shall escort you to Cloud City. Once there, you may land on Platform Nine-oh-three."
"Understood," Captain Jaon said, following the two cloud cars.
They soon arrived at the silver-colored station and flew into the upper city level, which consisted of several luxury hotels and casinos. Jaon found the designated platform, which was luckily big enough to accom- modate the large CR90 corvette. Once the engines had powered down, Jaon turned to speak with those on the bridge.
"All right, here's my plan, if you want to call it that. Captain Paun, Master Katarn, Master Voran, and Zerev will go down there with me and speak with the Baroness Administrator, along with anyone who wished to accompany us. We'll tell here about our situation and see if she knows anything that can help us."
"And?" prompted the Chagrian Dark Jedi Mar Voran.
Jaon shrugged. "And that's it. To tell you guys the truth, I'm not sure we can go anywhere without running into trouble."
"That's kind of the point of missions and such," Kyle Katarn said. "It isn't really an adventure if there's no trouble to run into."
Jaon sighed. "Have any better ideas?"
When no one responded, the captain got up from his seat. "Then let's go greet our welcoming party."
* * *
General Creno could not help but pity the enemy. Not only was defeat obviously inevitable for them, the Imperial Remnant's forces were also losing focus and coordination, no doubt because of an arrogant admiral throwing out blind orders.
He let out a sigh. It was so pathetic, it wasn't even funny. And it was becoming quite boring.
"Patch me through to their flagship," he ordered the bridge's communications chief.
The officer did so and the holographic figure of an Imperial admiral appeared before the general.
"What do you want, Glorian slime?" he spat.
"My, aren't we rude?" Creno said. "You may call me General Creno, thank you very much. I wish to request a cease-fire from you."
The admiral glared at him. "We'll surrender when Chaos freezes over."
"Ah, so you're perfectly comfortable with letting your men die for a lost cause? No wonder they accept you as their commander."
The Imperial was clearly shaking with fury. "My men fight for the glory of the Empire," he said through gritted teeth.
"So do mine," Creno said. "Except mine are stronger and follow better strategies. Thus, your argument is invalid."
The hologram briefly fizzled out, no doubt due to interference from the battle. When it returned, the Imperial admiral's expression had changed into a more calm one.
"Invalid, you say? We'll have to see about that."
Creno narrowed his eyes. "You have already lost, admiral. You fight for a lost cause. Give up now and you may live to fight another day."
"Who says I have any intention of living?"
Before Creno could reply, one of the bridge officers said, "Sir, an enemy cruiser is advancing towards us!"
Creno shifted his gaze from the admiral to the viewport. His heart skipped a beat when he saw a Victory-class Star Destroyer advancing towards his flagship, aimed right for the bridge.
"You wouldn't dare!" Creno snapped at the Imperial. "Are you that bold to sacrifice your men like that?"
"Clearly I am."
Seething with anger, Creno turned off the holoprojector and barked out to his men. "Direct all firepower to that Star Destroyer!"
"But, sir," an officer replied. "Most of our power is on the shields!"
"Then divert all power from the shields! I want that ship destroyed!"
However, no matter what they threw at it, nothing could stop the still-advancing Star Destroyer. Creno then ordered for his flagship to be turned around, though he already knew it would prove no use. In mere minutes, the Imperial cruiser would be plunging into the Glorian ship like a blade piercing flesh.
Ignoring the frantic cries of his men, the general simply stared at the ship as it filled the viewport.
No wonder it's called a Victory-class Star Destroyer, he lamented, seconds before impact.
* * *
The enemy was in disarray.
Commander Ivan had to slap himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming. One minute, he and his troopers were being cornered by the Glorian soldiers. The next, the Glorians had suddenly lost coordination in their attacks and were now scrambling.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Ivan ordered his men to continue firing. Remaining TIE Crawlers and Saber-class tanks rolled after them, unleashing their full artillery. In a short amount of time, the tide of the battle had turned in their favor and the Glorians were soon retreating.
Once the last of the enemy's forces had left the surface of Denon, no doubt retreating into hyperspace, Ivan smiled as his men broke out cheering.
"Well done, gentlemen," he said. "The day is ours."
As the troopers continued to celebrate, Ivan brought out his comlink, intending to contact Admiral Nave Noradan.
"Admiral, Denon is ours. The Glorians are retreating; repeat, the Glorians are retreating."
No response.
Ivan felt his elation leave his face. "Admiral, do you read me? The Glorians have been defeated. Admiral, come in!"
All around him, the cheering had begun to die down.
"Admiral?"
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