Star Wars_ Darth Bane 01_ Path of Destruction - Drew Karpyshyn [26]
The Gloom Walkers were part of the second wave of reinforcements. During their first battle they were separated from the main lines, cut off from the rest of the army. Alone and surrounded by enemies, Lieutenant Ulabore panicked. Without direct orders, he had no idea what to do to keep his unit alive. Fortunately, Des was there to step in and save their hides.
For starters, he could sense the enemy even when he couldn’t see them. Somehow he just knew where they were. He couldn’t explain it, but he’d stopped trying to explain his unique talents long ago. Now he just tried to use them to his best advantage. With Des as their guide, the Gloom Walkers were able to avoid the traps and ambushes as they slowly worked their way back to rejoin the main force. It took three days and nights, countless brief but deadly battles, and a seemingly endless march through enemy territory, but they made it. Through all the fighting, the unit lost only a handful of soldiers, and the troops who made it back knew they owed their lives to Des.
The story of the Gloom Walkers became a rallying point for the rest of the Sith army, raising morale that had become dangerously low. If a single unit could survive for three days on its own, they reasoned, then surely a thousand units could win the war. In the end it took almost two thousand units, but Kashyyyk finally fell.
As leader of the heroic Gloom Walkers, Lieutenant Ulabore was given a special commendation. He never bothered to mention that Des was really the one responsible. Still, he’d been smart enough to promote Des to sergeant. And he knew enough to stay out of the way when things got hot.
“So?” Adanar repeated. “What’s the word, Des? When they finally give us the go, is this mission going to be a spicerun?”
“The lieutenant’s just saying what he thinks we all want to hear.”
“I know that, Des. That’s why I’m talking to you. I want to know what we’re really in for.”
Des thought about it for a few moments. They were holed up in the jungle on the edge of a narrow valley—the only route into Phaseera’s capital city, where the Republic army had set up its base camp. On a nearby hill overlooking the valley was a Republic outpost. If the Sith tried to move troops through the valley, even at night, the outpost was sure to spot them. They’d signal ahead to the base camp so their defenses would be up and fully operational long before the enemy ever reached them.
The Gloom Walkers’ mission was simple: eliminate the outpost so the rest of the army could launch a surprise attack on the Republic base camp. They had interference boxes—short-range jamming equipment they could use to keep the outpost from transmitting a signal to warn the main camp—but they’d have to hit them fast. The outpost reported each day at dawn, and if the Gloom Walkers struck too soon, the Republic would realize something was wrong when the daily report didn’t come in.
The timing was critical. They’d have to take them out just before the main force entered the area. That would leave a few hours to cross the valley and catch the base camp unprepared. It was doable, but only if everything was coordinated perfectly. The Gloom Walkers were in place, but the main force wasn’t ready to make its move yet … and so they waited.
“I’m worried,” Des finally conceded. “Taking that outpost won’t be easy. Once we get the go-ahead there’s no margin for error. We have to be perfect. If they’ve got any surprises waiting for us, we could be in trouble.”
Adanar spit on the ground. “I knew it! You’ve got a bad feeling, don’t you? This is Hsskhor all over again!”
Hsskhor had been a disaster. After Kashyyyk fell, the surviving Republic soldiers fled to the neighboring world of Trandosha. Twenty units of Sith troopers, including the