Dilemmas and Loyalties Part XIII

Alef Ulo's heart beat accelerated as he pulled out of the docking bay. He could not think of what to do so he allowed the force to guide him. He understood that the V Wing had no hyperdrive capabilities. The V Wing was not the fastest ship in the Republic fleet. If he was pursued, he could get caught. Yet getting to Coruscant was the key to all this. He looked at his scanners to find that Coruscant Dawn was in hot pursuit. He was already being targeted. The gunship will take him out quickly. He was still unfamiliar with the controls of the V Wing. He rarely flew his Jedi starfighter.

He decided to circle back towards the Venator class Star Destroyer. He zipped past the Coruscant Dawn. It continued to track him but did not fire. Obviously taking a shot at Ulo's V Wing could hit something else. He continued to head towards the star destroyer. He has never been this close to one. It was bigger than most capital ships he has seen.

He headed straight forward and noticed something a few kilometers away. It was a fleet of lifeless Confederate starships. That was where the Force was leading him. He continued on his trajectory and waited on his chance.

On the Dawn, Commander Len knew he was in trouble. Ulo has him in a predicament. He decided to contact the Majestic for assistance. He had to capture this Jedi. He knew that anyone else would try to kill him.

Dilemmas and Loyalties Part XII

All hands were called to form a perimeter around the LAAT/i. Some of the clone pilots and general staff hid behind parts, boxes, and other aircraft. Commander Len positioned himself behind the phalanx of clone troopers. He removed his side arm from its holster. He never realized he would be using it on a Jedi. He did not need any voice enhancements to allow his voice to travel through the small bay. He hoped that Alef Ulo would just surrender to avoid any further bloodshed.

“This is Commander Len, Jedi Alef Ulo. You are to surrender your lightsaber to be escorted to your quarters. You will be returned to Coruscant for detention. These are direct orders from the Emperor himself. If you refuse, we will shoot to kill.”

He waited. There was no answer. The clone troopers who were sent to retrieve the commandos and the Jedi slowly walked out with no weapons. Then the LAAT/i began powering up. The phalanx of clone troopers instinctively headed towards the aircraft with their weapons drawn. Two clone pilots approached the unarmed clone troopers gesturing them to remove their helmets.

Commander Len heard another noise in the hangar bay. It was another ship. He looked around to find some of the staff firing their rifles in the direction of where the V Wing was stationed. He yelled out to the other clone troopers but realized that he could not be heard through the noise. Yet they realized that the Jedi was not in the LAAT/i. Immediately they ran in the direction of the V Wing. Len followed and noticed that some of the blasters were “yanked” from the hands of his staff and troopers. He arrived in the vicinity to find Alef Ulo sitting in the cockpit of the V Wing. He also noticed a clone trooper slumped on the ground. He shook his head. The vehicle was being prepped by the now unconscious trooper. The Jedi would be getting away.

Commander Len reached for his comlink.

“Make sure that the bay doors are locked!” He repeated over and over.

He watched in horror as they opened and the V Wing shot out of the bay. As quickly as the bay became loud, it was just as quickly quiet.

“Battle stations!” Commander Len barked. He reached for his comlink again. “Follow that V Wing and train all batteries on it. Shoot him out of space!”

Commander Len realized he would regret that order later on.