Planetfall

The Nimble Dragon darted out of hyperdrive directly above Cerea's atmosphere, they had made it to the planet far quicker than either Aegon or Niner anticipated. In the distance they could see a huge fleet of Imperial star destroyers gathered together, too many in fact. The Empire was clearly prepared after what had happened on Denon. "Nimble Dragon, reading your ship. You made it?"

"We've made it. Please identify," Aegon asked calmly into his headset.

"Valerius Noer," the voice replied.

"Good to hear from you Angel Leader, we'll meet you down there. Nimble Dragon out!" The ship descended into the lush Cerean jungles, it was nice to be away from a world that hadn't been eaten up by the sprawl of urbanization. The Cereans were one with their world. "Alright everyone, we're here. All droids stay on board for now," Aegon announced through the ship's intercom system. Niko and Inna jolted from their seats and gathered their items, Baron followed. Outside the ship was a small Alliance outpost, the fleet of Z-95 Headhunters and bombers carefully positioned around a camp. Noer ran over with his helmet tightly perched at his hip.

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen to Cerea. It's good to see you again Agent Aegon!"

"It's good to see you too Valerius. What's the situation?"

"Well, I assume you saw the kind of thing we are up against up there!" Valerius said raising his finger to the sky. "It's not good, but fortunately we're expecting more soon. This temple we've heard about is the area of our focus but it's also the area with the most Imperial activity. I'm talking a crazy amount of stormtrooper corps, security, officers, droids- the lot!"

"This isn't going to be easy!" Inna complained.

"Where's Ristt?" Aegon asked.

"He's up there staying away from the surface, monitoring everything and keeping tabs on the Imperial communications."

"It's good for some," Aegon quipped.

"When you are ready we are going to dispatch some bombers and fighters to make an attack run on the temple perimeter. Try and clear out any ground artillery, anti-aircraft guns, and the like."

"We're ready!" Baron nodded.

"Don't rush, we'll go when it's a little quieter. Wait until nightfall understood?"

"Loud and clear Angel Leader," Baron saluted before turning to Niko and Inna, he was worried how the two would feel being dragged along on another operation for a group they weren't even aligned with. "You okay?"

"We're fine!" Niko nodded.

"That's what I like to hear. Get something to eat, we're going to need the sustenance before we get into this Bantha fodder. I'm going to catch up with some of the others!" Aegon explained and went on his way.

To Be Continued...