Chapter 83
Bandomeer Approach, Bandomeer System
Meerian Sector
The Jedi Expeditionary Fleet swept through Bandomeer’s orbit, a great mass of thrust plumes and durasteel that cut through the beleaguered planet’s magnetic field. Venator-class Star Destroyers took the vanguard, their hulls glinting in the pale light of Bandomeer’s distant sun, flanked by a lattice of escort frigates and corvettes, their sensors vigilant for Separatist remnants or incoming reinforcements. Acclamator-class assault ships and Dreadnaught-class heavy cruisers carved through the planetary plane, their thrusters flaring against the planet’s dusty surface.
At the bridge of battlecruiser Hyperion, High Jedi General Plo Koon observed the assault transports and gunships breaking through the atmosphere, squadrons of ARC-170 starfighters and Y-wing bombers descending alongside them, their formation razor-sharp as they ran the Separatist gauntlet.
Plumes of smoke and fire rose from the mining complexes below, where the last remnants of Separatist forces clung desperately to their fortified positions. From his vantage point, the planet’s surface sprawled below–a scarred and desolate expanse dotted with deep mining pits, massive refineries, and skeletal conveyor systems stretching for leagues. Bandomeer had once been a verdant agri-world, but the prospect of vast mineral deposits had transformed the world to such a deplorable state.
Nevertheless, Bandomeer was still a Republic world, fallen into the hands of the enemy.
“General,” Clone Commander Wolffe reported crisply, “General Windu and General Kenobi have secured two of the primary mining hubs. Resistance is strong around the third, but armoured reinforcements are en route.”
“Ensure they advance with caution,” Plo Koon replied, his deep voice filtered through the mask that encased his face, “The Separatists may have left traps near the mines.”
“Very good, General.”