On The Ropes

While the others were loading weapons and supplies onto the transport, Lon limped to the front of the vehicle. He sat in the pilot's chair and took the paneling off the console.

While he was a decent slicer before, he wasn't a mechanic. Now, all he had to do was look at it with his right eye and instructions would appear.

He shifted a few parts and rearranged a few wires. "This is Private Lon Alder, can anyone read me?"

He repeated himself three more times before he got an answer. "We read you loud and clear, this is the landing team. We're under heavy fire over here and could use some backup."

Lon frowned when he heard this. Wondering if the eight of them could really help.

"We're too far from you. We'll try and make our way to you, hold on for as long as you can."

The communications cut out before he could finish speaking. He could hear blaster fire in the background as the other man spoke.

Lon knew the mission Khan gave him, to become a Republic hero. He had to do everything to make sure the Republic wins this war, which includes letting them know he's alive. Now that they requested help, he's almost forced to go.

He had two options before him now. Meet up with the republic troops, or use guerrilla warfare and strike the other bases. "Attacking other bases is a suicide mission, I got lucky with this one. There's no telling if they're prepared for me now."

His head turned towards the location where the Republic transports landed.

Jido came in and patted his shoulder. "We couldn't load everything, but we took all the heavy assault weapons we could."

Lon looked back and saw everyone was on board and the space was filled with guns and boxes. "Hold on tight and man that cannon. We're going to save everyone else."

Lon pushed the controls forward and the transport took off. He pushed it well beyond the limits and rose even higher.

"Are you crazy?!?" Koobis yelled. "These transports aren't supposed to be this far off the ground!! Wait, why are you flying towards the battle!!"

Lon flew the ship above the trees to make it to their destination faster. The controls constantly shook in his hands to prevent the ship from tilting to the side. It didn't have any stabilizers for flying this high, at this moment every gust of wind was his enemy.

"Calm down, this is why people think Rodian's are cowardly." Cadan shook his head.

"The more people we have the greater our chance of survival." Vikes looked at the Rodian. "We have to get there and provide support, our munitions can even the playing field."

Koobis thought about his words and nodded. He grabbed a blaster and moved to one of the bunkers on the side. "Then let's make sure we get there in one piece."

The others stopped making fun of him and moved to the bunkers. Cadan had the best aim so he climbed a small ladder and manned the laser cannon atop the transport.

It didn't take long for them to pass over a few Sith troopers in the forest below. Because they saw a friendly vehicle they didn't shoot.

Lon's eye spun slightly and he could see the last five A-wings being chased by fifteen Sith fighters. "If those A-wings are destroyed its game over for the ground troops."

Getting closer he could see other troop transports moving between the trees from other outposts.

He could already see the blaster fire at the base of the mountains. The Republic soldiers were holding up inside a small gorge between two mountains; Created by a small stream running in between.

They were protected above by overhanging cliffs, but the Sith Fighters can shoot the mountains and cause rock slides. The front had been blocked by the remaining ten transports creating a barrier.

The ships had impeded the water flow and created a small marsh, further limiting the Sith troops from marching forward.

Lon's eyes flashed and he knew what he had to do. He watched the fighters in the sky and collected their flight pattern data; Using his mind to analyze their every movement.

The closer he got the more he realized he lacked the computing power for something like that.

Another A-wing was shot down while he watched, but he remained calm. "Habitat, I need your help. I know you can hear me, please, give me strength."

Lon closed his left eye and prayed slightly. He knew he couldn't do this alone.

He got no response and continued to draw closer. Just when he was about to think of another plan, Habitat responded.

"We are Legion." Thousands of voices echoed in his head all at once, at its center was a calm female voice.

At that moment, the vision in his right eye changed drastically. Using Habitat's full computing power and the data he's collected, his vision became that of a god.

Everything had an afterimage as it moved. He could see every action and its infinite possibilities all at once. Only for everything to merge and depict the future before his eyes based on collected data.

The more he saw the further he could predict into the future. The quantum computers' probability analyzing capabilities were fully displayed. The world held no secret before his eyes.

He flew towards the gorge and drifted the transport, sliding through the air and stopping right above the entrance of the gorge.

The republic immediately started firing on the ship, thinking it was Sith reinforcements.

"Hand me the rocket launchers." He rose from his seat and walked towards the door. Every step shredded his muscles but he had no time to waste; There were only three A-wings left.

He grabbed two launchers as he passed by. The doors opened and he pointed them both in random directions and fired. The blue missiles flew through the air and he dropped the launchers, grabbing two more held out behind him and fired.

The recoil of the rocket launchers would normally be nothing to him; But now they're sending vibrations through his body that rocked his very core.

Blood pooled from his mouth as his organs were shocked, but he didn't care. He grabbed more launchers and kept firing.

The four missiles seemed to be flying aimlessly, but for some reason, the Sith fighters were drawn to them. They passed right in front of the missiles and were hit.

When the four ships exploded, seven more rockets were already shot. By the time they realized it wasn't a Sith transport, seven more fighters were destroyed.

The last four Sith fighters were spooked and tried to pull back, but Lon pulled out his blaster pistol and fired four times at the retreating ship.

The bolts looked tiny compared to the starfighters, but each hit a fuel line precisely and the ships exploded.

Silence filled the battlefield for a moment. The Republic burst into cheers when they saw the last three A-wings open fire on the Sith troops below.

Habitat's mind receded and Lon's vision returned to normal, stunning him for a moment as he fell from god to man.

"Fuck, Lon! You animal!!" Kom'seca grabbed Lon and pulled him backward.

The Sith blasters rained upon the transport, hitting where Lon once stood. Cadan and the gang opened fire while Jido set them down behind the other transport ships.

The other Republic troops moved forward for the first time since landing and ran to the transport ships for cover. The Sith troopers were pushed back quickly as they were mostly in the open.

"Distribute the weapons, go, we need to seize this chance!" Lon pushed Kom'seca away and collapsed onto a box.

Kom'seca looked into his eyes before grabbing a launcher and running outside.

Lon looked at his legs. The damage to them was too much, he can't even limp around anymore; Unless he disregarded his future, and fully used his cybernetics to move. That would leave his legs permanently disabled.

"Doesn't this just move me one step closer towards becoming a machine? That doesn't seem so bad." The corners of his lips rose and he cut off the nerve indicators to his legs, fully giving control over to the cybernetics.

They squeezed his muscles even tighter and pressed them against the bones. Under his uniform, his legs have shrunk a size. He grabbed his blaster and stood up.

He moved out of the transport at a slow walking speed and fired his blaster next to the gang, while his aim was no longer prophetic, it was still accurate.

They pushed the Sith troopers back into the forest where they took cover behind the trees.

Just when they thought they'd get a break, the Sith reinforcements and armored tanks had arrived. "There's no way we can win this!" 

"We're doomed!!"

The soldiers started complaining when they saw this.

"Got any more ideas in your head, Lon?! This isn't going to end well." Jido turned towards Lon.

Lon's eyes darted around, his mind running fast as ideas passed through his head.

Just when he was about to shake his head with regret, one of the A-wings landed. A woman with green skin, short black hair, and a ceremonial-looking robe jumped out of the ship.

Blaster fire whizzed past her as she flipped through the air. She landed in the marsh in a crouched position and the water and mud erupted around her, concealing her from view.

Before the veil could fall, the situation changed. The forest floor shattered and roots erupted from the ground. The very trees and plants seemed to come alive and started attacking the Sith troopers.

The entire forest swayed and a wall of vines encircled the whole area.

The other two A-wings landed and another green-skinned woman and a blue-skinned Nautolan jumped out.

Lon saw the lightsaber at their waist and sighed. "Jedi."