"I hear you." Smacking my lips, I close my eyes for a moment, then return my gaze to the viewport. "Thanks for the warning..."
"Pff, it's my job—to protect your ass and the brainchild you created." Somnia snorted with the sarcasm of a satisfied cat. Turning after me, her small blue hologram also stared toward the viewport. "And where will you go then?"
"I'll tuck myself away nearby." Stretching my right hand to chest level, I press a couple of buttons on the PDA. "A distress signal came from a neighboring planet; I'll fly over and check it out, take a break at the same time... No. I won't say that anymore."
"Ha-ha, yeah, watch your words..."
For a moment, the hologram rippled, and a series of explosions erupted on the planet Taskid, visible even from space. Enormous fiery mushrooms spread outward, engulfing more and more—surely incinerating all that foul contagion discovered on the Sith ship from ages past.
Two large flashes almost touched each other, but at the last moment they froze, and the waves of fire began to recede, while the nuclear mushrooms themselves burned out, gradually fading away.
"Well, that's that..."
"Don't you regret destroying it? I think Collectors or all sorts of Force sects would have given a hefty sum for this find." Turning her eyes away, Somnia bit her lip. "And we have few charges left to be throwing them around on trifles like this..."
"Yeah, right, I'm tripping over myself to do it." It was unclear what the point of this test from my lovely deputy was, but judging by her warm and satisfied smile, she was pleased with my answer. "So those morons can churn out Brutes across the whole galaxy? We'll be busting our asses later trying to burn out this blight... No thanks. Let it all burn in nuclear fire. And this isn't a trifle, believe me."
Cutting the air with my hand, I decide to end the conversation, but at that exact moment, the ship's pilot hailed me.
"Boss. There's some kind of fighter here, fancy-looking. I'd even say expensive-rich." Forwarding me the image, the pilot zoomed in. "Prowling the system, looking for something."
"Well, let it look, and we'll go our own way." Nodding to the girl, who had suddenly turned serious, I forward her the data for our next stop, where Helldivers ships are supposed to arrive to pick up the corpses and Resupply our stocks. "Keep us on the other side of the local star; I don't want to be spotted by him."
"I'll send everything that's needed..." Thinking pointedly, Somnia twisted her lips into a wicked smile. "And more people. It's not right for the Commander of such a large gang to be walking around practically alone. Don't even argue. That's all, end of transmission... Good luck, Sam."
"And to you. I'll be in touch in a month; I think by then Dooku will be tired of looking for me in the Outer Colonies."
"Oh, yes. That pompous aristocrat doesn't look like someone famous for his patience."
Saying goodbye, I give the command to the pilot, and not two minutes pass before the Freedom Rider enters hyperspace, quickly disappearing from the search zone of the persistent fighter.
***
On the planet Jabiim, the rains never stop... Never. It is part of this planet, and changing it is impossible.
Water flows from the sky, justifying its connection to this world, piercing it with its texture like a fragile thread connecting tranquility with Chaos.
Alto Stratus, a six-year-old boy with a thin body and large eyes, gazes into the sky from his damp-smelling home, where walls of wood and logs, covered in thick mossy foliage, serve as shelter from the eternal downpour.
His blonde hair is tangled and looks like hanging icicles, and his thin, malnourished body shows fragile bones through pale skin.
Outside the window, the world of Jabiim looks like a metaphor for nature's supremacy over man—dense jungles mercilessly displacing small settlements, ruthless swamps where a river full of dangers winds in fury, and only a few steppes where people can light a fire and see the sky, but even they are not protected from the weather and predators.
"This is it, my home."
Alto thinks, wiping rain from his face with his palm as it persistently makes its way through the cracks in the roof. In the next room, his little sister is crying while his mother, weakened by illness, tries to prepare a meager breakfast.
His father has gone to the mines again, hoping to squeeze out a little more for his family with extra shifts.
A wretched life... But Alto had never seen any other, only hearing that in the big cities of Jabiim everything was different... But he didn't really believe it.
Every day his life is a struggle with nature; it craves his attention just as much as it wants to take him with it.
Always wet and slippery, the paths of the village trails are laid between the high canopies of ancient trees and clusters of poisonous plants. Every step is an attempt to make it to a safer corner of the world, and every rustle in the grass could mean an encounter with danger.
Staring into the gloomy gray sky, from which rain pours endlessly, the boy bit his lip until it hurt.
Alto remembers seeing the sun only a couple of times in his life, and that memory seems almost magical.
Its light broke through the clouds like golden threads, filling the child's soul with joy and hope.
"When the sun shines, everything around becomes alive," his father's words, spoken to him then, immediately surfaced in his head. Remembering those moments when the warmth heated his face and the wind whispered forgotten tales. But warm days here are almost never to be expected: rain has become the habitual background of his life, and rays of sunlight are rare and precious treasures.
Looking out the window, the younger Stratus ran a quick glance over the old, falling-apart houses, over the rare silhouettes wrapped in cloth that were disappearing from sight with quick steps.
It seems that everything is as usual... But today, something has changed.
Since his early years, Alto's village has lived in constant fear: fear of the wild nature, unfriendly neighbors, and, worst of all, space pirates.
Every time he heard his mother whispering with the neighbors about the dark clouds hanging over their lives, he felt that same eerie chill running down his spine. Every stranger appearing in their village could be not just a traveler, but an instigator of fear. The boy remembered how his mother urged him to stay in the house and not provoke strangers, for the unfamiliar world beyond their slushy area remained a mystery.
What could be expected from those who wandered here? Into this gray gloom, where the only thing of value was the people?
"Alto, come here. Help me..."
"Coming, Mom."
Today, a mood of change hung in the air. Screams and noise were coming from the neighboring village—something was clearly wrong.
Before Alto could slide off the windowsill, an explosion rang out in the distance. Clearing the gray sky of clouds—letting in timid rays of sun.
For almost an hour, the sun shone somewhere in the distance, and the young resident of Jabiim could not take his eyes off it. Together with his sister and mother, they watched the sky change, watched warm rays fall to the ground. And if the children felt delight, the only adult in the house was terrified to the core.
"Where are you, Josh?" Whispering her husband's name under her breath, the woman gripped the children tighter, despite the pain in her chest and the rising fever in her body.
And then, as if breaking the habitual rhythm of the rain, refugees entered. Their strange, haggard faces and worn clothes made Alto so wary that he felt his heart tighten with fear. Their story reached his ears like distant thunder, eclipsing the barely audible sound of the rain:
"We were attacked by pirates..."
The eyes of each refugee were filled with horror, as if they had survived something much worse than just the rain and slush of Jabiim.
"We can't do anything," they continued to undermine the morale of the few defenders who had already crowded in the square near their window. "The government isn't helping, we're alone..."
This feeling of complete defenselessness suddenly enveloped Alto. His world, consisting of soulful conversations about sunny days and familiar forest paths, could be overthrown in an instant.
Here on Jabiim, whispers of help and anxiety became frantic calls to which only the rains, from which there was no escape, responded.
Alto looked at the refugees with wide eyes, not fully realizing the weight of what these nightmares could bring. Gripping his mother's hand tighter, he swallowed thick saliva, feeling the general mood in the settlement.
And at that exact moment, an explosion rang out over their heads. And the usual gloomy clouds parted to the sides, letting in bundles of warm light... Beautiful reminders of the past filled the heads of the naive children, but were brutally cut short by terrified parents who began dragging them into the houses and away from the windows.
Sunlight poured in like a golden river, penetrating through the quickly shuttered windows and small cracks.
But along with them, a large, pot-bellied ship was descending. Decorated with images of skulls, black streaks, and many other frightening symbols and signs, it crashed into the central square under the roar of its own turbines and the screams of the villagers.
A huge ramp fell with a thud onto the wet ground, scattering mud all around. The humming engines reduced their thrust, making his ears ache. Alto put his palms to his head, carefully examining the eerie ship, the image of which would remain in his head for a long time.
But then, from its dark interior, resembling a passage into the very abyss of Hell, the first sentients emerged. Pleased with themselves, grinning dangerously, they gave the frightened townspeople and the handful of defenders unpleasant chuckles. Dirty, scary, in old clothes—never having known the care of a gentle woman's hand.
Armed with whatever they could find, ranging from simple clubs to the latest model blasters, the pirates froze for a couple of seconds, eyeing such defenseless prey.
"Kill the men, the rest to the ship." Stepping ahead of the others, a tall xenos with powerful brow ridges took the first shot, killing one of the militiamen.
A large blaster punched a hole in the makeshift barricades, igniting the clothes on the already dead man.
Obeying the order of their Chieftain, the rest of the scum rushed forward, filling the area with shots and laughter.
Firing in all directions, having fun and shouting, they overthrew the disorganized ranks of the defenders, killing anyone who dared to stand against them with zest and bravado.
Sparing no Tibanna charges, delivering cruel blows to those surrendering, the pirates flooded into the settlement, pouncing on their victims.
With sincere pleasure, like a pack of predators, they scattered across the area, hunting the living, dragging them by force toward the ship...
But, as it turned out, they were still lucky. Resisting women and children were tossed inside like sacks of radishes. No one cared about their comfort or survival; quite the opposite. The brigands simply liked seeing the fear and suffering of their victims. They hadn't come just to rob and gather slaves; they had come to quench their thirst for destruction and blood.
Screams, shots, and explosions were heard everywhere. The Stratus house shook from an explosion, collapsing the ceiling in the dining room. Burying their family table under it, debris spilled into the corridor and even reached Alto's room, where the family was hiding, in the darkest and furthest place from the house entrance.
But the boy himself seemed not to see any of this. Through the curtains, through a tiny crack, he watched without turning away as the madness and horror unfolded, chilling him to the core.
Before Alto's eyes, a hulking Zabrak tackled the neighbor girl Anna into the mud. A sweet girl who sometimes shared pastries with him on holidays. With an eternal smile on her face and a short braid on one side. Memories flashed through the child's head of how he gave her the blue ribbon that now decorated her hair, and in return, she kissed him on the cheek before running away to the kind chuckles of his mother and father.
The pirate hit her with the butt of a blaster—snapping Alto out of his stupor. Having knocked Anna to the ground, the Zabrak began chaotically tearing her clothes while the crying child fought back, dissolving into tears.
The blue ribbon caught his eye. Watching it fixedly, feeling as if time itself had slowed its pace, Alto felt his teeth clench from rage and fury, and his own heart began to drum like a clarion in his ears.
Unable to endure what he saw, the younger Stratus broke free from his mother's grip and, throwing the window wide open, bravely jumped straight into the mud, then raced toward the pirate. Clenching his small fists, he was already thinking of the best way to strike the hulking invader when a bola hit his legs from the side.
Tripping, the boy fell face-first into the mud, having failed to reach the rapist by only a couple of meters. But by his fall, he distracted the filthy pirate from poor Anna, who, huddled in a ball, was gathering the remnants of her clothes.
"And who the hell are you? Come to save your girlfriend? Well, now you'll watch from the front row like a real man..."
A roar of flame hit their ears. A terrifying guttural howl-whistle forced everyone currently in the settlement to look toward the sky. And if the unfortunate residents could only wonder, the Lithian pirates swore aloud as a Corellian corvette with a clearly recognizable symbol hovered over them.
The failed rapist pulled up his pants. Stumbling, he fell on his side and crawled on all fours toward his ship, following the other slavers who were fleeing the village in haste, and was just about to pick up his discarded weapon when a metal capsule fell on him from the sky.
With a crash, a dozen such constructs slammed into the village. With a roar, breaking through the again-closing sky, they plummeted down, and one of them even punched through the roof of the ship, falling inside.
Alto's frightened, adrenaline-filled gaze was fixed on the capsule, under which blood was leaking from the crushed pirate. With a hiss, the door was kicked out from the inside. Streams of steam and smoke blasted in all directions, hiding the unexpected savior from curious eyes. A moment filled with pathos, and a powerful metal boot stepped into the mud with a thud, and the barrel of a blaster rifle poked out of the smoke to erupt in a burst into the backs of the fleeing pirates.
"In any corner of the galaxy..."
A slightly mechanical voice spread through the village.
Soldiers armed to the teeth were emerging from neighboring capsules. Clad in black-and-yellow armor, they struck down the pirates without fear or mercy, sometimes beating them with the severed limbs of the slavers. Showing full brutality toward these creatures, foolishly called sentients, the warriors drove them toward the ship.
"...Where the dregs of civilization threaten Democracy..."
Like an iron steamroller, they moved through the settlement, leaving behind piles of space brigand corpses. Finally, the savior of the two children fully emerged from the smoke. Slinging his rifle over his shoulder, he tilted his chin up, looking somewhere into the distance, then knelt on one knee, extending a hand to the child.
"...To protect our dearly beloved Republic and its citizens..."
A crazy thought crept into the younger Stratus's head—that it was terribly sad to get such magnificent armor dirty in the mud of Jabiim—but he submissively accepted the extended hand, soon finding himself on his feet.
The bola that had tangled him fell to the ground, and a moment later, a tearful Anna stood nearby, looking at the soldier with both eyes burning with delight. Two children, mouths agape, stared at the mighty figure towering over them. To the sounds of blaster shots, rocket explosions, and the frantic cries of the soldiers who had come to the rescue.
Several slaver speeders bolted into the sky, but the huge ship above their heads erupted in a series of flashes, after which the gloomy clouds were again dispersed by an explosion. Bright, merciless, but so attractive to the rescued. To the last man, the raiders were killed.
It was then that young Alto made a fateful decision for himself, gazing at the figure of the Helldiver against the backdrop of the explosion in the heavens.
"...The Helldivers will unleash the full fury of Holy Liberty upon them."
***
Read early on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Granulan