FORSAKEN - Target: Zero

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Taking advantage of the distraction, the Force-adepts jumped down the side of the slope and headed toward the skimmer.

"Hey, you, stop!" A stormtrooper spotted them from above.

"Stop them!" The officer pointed at them.

"Caraya's soul," mumbled the skimmer pilot, watching the uproar and the three humanoids running in his direction. "I didn't agree to this."

"You're right." Gorin used his staff to jump onto the skimmer, kicking the human off it. Manning the tiller rod, he swooped over his friends. "Hop on!"

With the party onboard, Gorin sped away into the open cold desert with two Imperial Troop Transports and six speeder bikes giving chase.

"Let me drive." Elynn took over the tiller.

Blaster fire flew past them as their pursuers closed in. The shots from the ITTs dual, dorsal turrets blew up holes on the ground around them. Syrran, Gorin, and Theleema returned fire, but hitting the agile scouts proved hard, and the armor of the ITTs rendered their pistols and energy bow useless.

"Can you lose them?" Syrran shouted over the wind and the noise.

"Not on this." Elynn swerved to avoid being hit by their enemies' guns.

"Then we'll have to take the fight to them," Theleema said. "Get us as close as you can to one of the ITTs."

"Maclunkey," Elynn said. "Hold on to something. Let's see what this piece of junk can do."

"It's a good day to become one with the Force," said a calm Gorin.

Elynn pulled back on the throttle, almost bringing the skimmer to a halt. The speeder bikes zoom by them, veering away from the incoming craft. The leading ITT bumped the aft of the skimmer, pushing it along between its forward guns, now too close to be effective. Syrran and Gorin jumped over the transport's roof. The Kyuzo used his staff to shield them from the dorsal guns. Syrran jumped over him and chopped off the cannon with one of his shotos.

"I'll take care of the other one." Gorin took a running start and using his staff to leap onto the other armored vehicle. He rolled over the roof, thrusting his weapon in one of the canon's barrels. The obstruction caused it to blow up, killing the gunner.

Theleema never got to follow the others. Two scouts de-throttled and flanked the skimmer. The Dathomirian's lightwhip—glowing white, rather than crimson—severed the outrigger of one, sending the rider spinning to his death. The Nightsister lashed the second scout before he could fire with his pistol, making him crash. Elynn drew her pistol and fired at the third biker, backing toward them. Theleema whipped him off the bike, then jumped on it. Enjoying going into battle with a sister-in-arms once again, she gave Elynn a confident smile and sped up.

Elynn threw her veil on the window of the cab, blinding the pilots and preventing them from aiming their front cannons at her. Then, she throttled up, pulling away from the transport.

Four scout troopers, patrolling the desert, spotted the chase from a distance and rode to join the pursuit.

Syrran began to shoot the stormtroopers pouring out of the roof hatch, sides, and back of the vehicle with his pistols, while redirecting blaster bolts with his lightsaber back to the shooters. Holstering the pistol, he dropped down the roof access to avoid being overwhelmed by his enemies. Inside close quarters, Syrran used his martial arts and blades of his lightsaber to dispatch the stormtroopers. The soldiers' blasters proved ineffective in the crowded space, often hitting one another, when not provoked by Syrran himself.

On the craft behind him, Gorin's lightsaber lance allowed him to dispatch his enemies in the open with ease. Plasma blade, beskar staff, and powerful limbs eliminated the opposition and kept him safe, aided by his war helmet. The speed in which he did this made it impossible for the stormtroopers to coordinate their actions. Gorin pierced the last foe with his lightsaber lance and used the Force to seize his thermal detonator, before letting him drop inside the vehicle. He dropped the detonator down the hatch and jumped to the other ITT as it exploded, killing the drivers.