While we eventually reached our target, our trek across the desert was not without its trails. On top of one detour around an impassable stone mesa, we had to circumnavigate two different canyons of exceptional depth and width. Technically, we could have flown over the obstacles with our repulsor packs, but I wanted to conserve every erg of energy we could for them since I knew they would give us a considerable advantage when at the Palace. Racer would especially be screwed if he ran out during the mission, as he needed it to keep up with us as we ran up and down stairs. It added about three hours to our hike and forced us to push ourselves harder, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
On top of struggles with the and, we also struggled against its inhabitants. During the only night we spent in the dunes, while Julus and one of the Mandalorians were on watch, a trio of attempted to ambush us. They were large, almost canine-like lizards, walking on four long legs with rows of spines along their back, covered in thick protective hides.
They must have been desperate and starving to attack a group as large as ours, but it didn't matter either way because while they were dangerous to normal people, our armor was way tough for them to get through. They attempted to drag Julus and two Mandalorians off, but that woke the rest of us up, and we quickly dispatched the quadrupeds with overwhelming firepower, a few well-placed Paralyze spells from me, and Ahsoka's lightsaber.
Unfortunately, Ahsoka took the ambush personally, as she had taken the first shift sleeping, which left us unaware of the approaching threat. She stayed awake through the rest of the night, using a meditation technique to at least get some sort of rest. I knew she could handle it, hell she had handled much worse than running a mission on low sleep, but that didn't mean I wasn't going to worry about it.
Our march through the desert continued for the rest of our second day, finally ending not long after the two suns set over the horizon. We took partial cover by a rocky crag, peering over the edge at our. Jabba's Palace stood tall on the rocky mountain, sitting on the corner edge of a massive mesa shelf that extended as far as we could see in both directions. It was still at least another several miles away, and it still looked imposing sitting there.
Tatnia reached over and put her hand on my shoulder, establishing a direct link with me as we both looked up at the large structure. She then gestured to Corvak, who promptly put his hand on Tatnia's shoulder.
"According to the readings Racer is picking up, there is a communication hub of impressive size at the peak of that tall tower," she said. "He is also picking up some big power readings far below the second-tallest tower. We think that is where the main power generator is, deep under the spire."
"Okay… so we infiltrate, one team goes to the top, the other goes to the bottom. Cutting them both at the same time will soften up the resistance and prevent any comms from reaching the nearby population."
"We should hold off cutting the power until we are ready to sweep through and start pacifying any resistance," Corvak warned, shaking his head. "If we can't keep people from leaving on swoops, then word will still get out pretty quick."
"So, then it sounds like one team goes up to disable the comms in secret, before jumping over to the second tower and descending, eventually setting up explosives in the power room," I said, modifying my plan. "The other team goes to the hangar bays so they can start there once things kick off. Does that work?"
"It seems like a solid plan," Corvak agreed, Tatnia nodding in agreement.
"Good. In that case, your team can cover the hangar, while we take on the tower," I said, Corvak nodding in agreement. "Once we get into position to start clearing the palace, we can open comms and signal the mission is going. Otherwise, go if you hear explosions and laser fire."
"Got it," Corvak said, nodding once. "Good luck."
Carefully, the once Mandalorian leader spread through his people, passing on the plan to each one of them before leading them across the crag, remaining in cover as he headed around the cliff face, looking for the entrance of the hangar. We knew there was one, even without my foreknowledge, as Jabba's barge was a well-known part of his entourage. They just needed to find it.
Once they had disappeared out of sight, we waited for a half hour before slowly climbing over the ridge, heading directly for the cliff face, all of us moving slowly across the rocky, broken desert. We stayed low, following long sand dunes, canyons, and cracks, using them to keep out of sight. We knew there would be guards looking out from the tower, but we were banking on the environment, our camouflage, and our armor to keep us from being spotted.
Soon we reached the base of the cliff, pausing for a moment to locate the safest path upwards. After a minute of debating, I activated my repulsor pack and rose up off the ground, slowly ascending along the cliff face. I stopped at several different spots to rest and plan out my next "jump," before I eventually reached flat, solid ground. I quickly found cover behind a swell of sand, waiting for the rest of my team to join me, with Vaz and Racer making it up last, the Shistavanen helping the droid with his trip.
Once we were all gathered, we made slow, steady progress closer and closer to the second tallest tower, crawling and shuffling most of the way, relying on our camouflage to keep us from being spotted. We did pass a pathway that appeared to cut into the mountain, specifically a set of stairs that seemed to lead around into the cliff face, but we ignored it. There was zero chance that there weren't guards and security doors at the end of it, even if it did somehow go where we wanted.
Instead, we moved right up to the base of the second tallest tower, slowly walking around until we were covered by the shadow of the main structure, the darkness enough to cover us completely. Then, once we were ready, we split off one by one and crossed from the base of one tower to the other, gathering under the actual tallest tower.
Once we were there, we moved along the base until we found some good cover. While everyone else was settling in, staying out of sight from anyone looking out, I activated my repulsor back and started flying up along the exterior. I quickly cast invisibility on myself, rising higher and higher, making sure not to look down until I reached the first window. It was an open-air cut into the side of the tower, leading to a small observation room, which in turn led further inside.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
I landed softly inside the cutout opening, right next to the only conscious lookout, another two sitting nearby at a table, both passed out. Their armor was old and simple, and the conscious one was armed with some sort of sniper rifle. He was looking out into the darkness with a confused face, most likely trying to figure out why he heard the sound of a small repulsorlift. I conjured a dagger and slammed the blade into a gap between his helmet, the blade punching through the material easily, killing him instantly. I caught him before he could fall, laying him down and listening carefully, watching the two other guards while listening for any incoming footsteps.
After a minute, when no one came running, I quickly made my way to the other two guards and finished them off as well. After listening for reinforcements again, and no one came running, I pulled out a simple bit of reflective material from my belt. While it would be almost impossible to see with the naked eye, the night vision in our helmets would pick it up immediately. I held it out over the window, waving it around downwards to signal to the rest. After making sure they definitely saw it, I slowly made my way to the interior side of the long hallway, which really showed just how thick the walls of the tower were.
When I got to the connected room, I froze, my eyes going wide behind my helmet. There, made up in rows, were at least fifteen guards, all asleep in simple beds. Various snores and sounds of sleeping echoed through the room, the occupants utterly oblivious to what was going on. I carefully stepped back into the hall, stopping Tatnia about halfway to join me.
It took a minute to explain what was happening while everyone was making their way up, one after the other. When everyone was finally there and knew what was happening, I put my hand on Ahsoka's shoulder.
"Ahsoka, I want you and Julus to go outside the door and keep watch," I instructed, linked to her directly. "Just warn us if a patrol is coming."
"Deacon…"
"I know," I responded. "It's better this way."
After a moment, she nodded, leading Julus outside the room slowly, the door sealing itself behind them. When they were gone, I slowly conjured my sword, which prompted Nal, Vaz, and Tatnia to pull out various blades weapons. Together, we slowly slaughtered the mercenaries and criminals. It wasn't pretty and I wasn't particularly happy about it, but everyone we killed was one less we would have to kill later.
After a minute or so, the quarters were clear. We quickly left it behind after Racer locked the door, buying us time in case anyone tried to take a nap. Slowly but surely, we made our way up through the tower, level after level after level. Generally, I was in front of the group, invisible and ready, killing and stashing anyone who got in our way and was armed. The hope was that Jabba wouldn't arm his slaves, meaning that we wouldn't be killing any genuinely innocent people.
It took an unfortunately long time to get to the room at the top of the tower. By the time we did, I had killed another twenty people, and every second that passed was another second that someone could stumble on their stashed bodies. This wasn't a video game, after all, there were only so many crates and closets we could conveniently stuff them into.
As I crested the stairs to the top floor, I paused and, my team waiting behind me. The room was huge, with multiple levels and dozens of consoles. It looked like a central command for a military group, which spoke a disturbing amount to the size and scale of Jabba's criminal enterprise. Nearly two dozen of the technicians manned various consoles, while at least seven guards walked around, watching over people's shoulders, each one armed. The setup was impressive and made me consider looking into getting something similar for Vercopa. Having a central command would be key once our operations reached a certain size, as coordinating so many groups would be impossible without it. Not to mention that having to rely on our starships for long-distance communications was not going to work in the long term…
I shook my head and focused on the current task, trying to find the right order or spot to attack from. I may be invisible now, but the second I attacked, that would stop, and I would need time to cast the spell again. I listened to a nearby technician as they talked to someone on the other side of the console, and realized that if they showed too much panic, the other would know something was up. Unfortunately, I had no idea how I would be able to kill all the guards and technicians at once without alerting anyone on the other side.
Realizing that doing nothing would be just as bad as fucking up, I pulled back slightly, recast invisibility before pushing into the room. Slowly but surely, I made my way around the room, up two flights of stairs to the highest platform. Once I was out of sight again, I cycled my invisibility and started stalking the guards at the top walkway. This was the least populated part of the room, with only two guards and no technicians, so I soon had the opportunity to pounce. I waited for them to lean against a wall, just out of sight from the rest of the room, before hitting them with a Paralyze spell and a quick stab to the chest. I caught them as they fell, quickly finishing them off with another few cuts, before freezing their wounds with frostbite. It was whisper quiet, and their blood wouldn't pool and drip anywhere that would give them away.
I quickly conjured my bow and arrows, before recasting invisibility, once again walking around the walkway. This time I simply used an arrow to take out the second and only remaining guard on this level, punching a frost arrow directly through one of his eyes. He collapsed back, and I quickly made my way around to confirm he was dead and drag him back, completely out of view.
Slowly but surely, I continued to whittle down the guards, adding technicians to the kill list as well. I managed to get half of them before someone finally spotted me, and I was forced to go loud. Focusing on the remaining technicians, I stood and ignored the shouts, rapidly firing my arrows, neatly taking down one worker after another. Seeing that my cover was blown, my team rushed in from the stairwell, managing to flank the majority of remaining criminals and mercs. Between me and my team, we managed to clear the room of all but one guy without firing a single blaster bolt. Unfortunately, the last guy was too far away to reach, and I was focused on the last technician. He raised his blaster rifle, firing a half dozen bolts at me before I could punch an arrow through his chest.
For a moment, we all stood there, frozen, listening carefully, wondering just how much of the gig was up. Racer, who already knew his role, repulsor lifted up the remaining stairs and made a beeline for the comms control systems, plugging himself immediately with a soft whistle.
Seconds passed, then minutes, with no sound of stomping feet, shouting guards, or blaring alarms. After five minutes, we all collectively unclenched, standing straighter, holstering weapons as we did. Not long after that, Racer whistled again, wiggling a bit as, one by one, the consoles turned off. It seemed that he was able to shut everything down and clear its controls so that without a full software reboot, it would never turn on again. Not only did that mean nobody could call for help, but as the Palace's comms tower, any personal comms for a good few mile radius would be completely incapable of reaching anyone that wasn't already within that radius.
We had officially cut the Palace off from the rest of the world. Now, we just had to knock out the power before clearing our way through the entire structure, locate Jabba, his vault, and loot the place to the fittings.
