"This is dropship X-ray Kartefour-Pantafive-Terrathree, preparing to hot-drop the package." the dropship's pilot said.

"This is Kazimir, everything is green. Punch it!"

The pilot pressed the red 'jettison' button. Two thumps were heard as the locks slid into the open position. Then a whirring sound filled the pilot's ears, the dropship lurched upwards as its ninety ton burden plummeted to the ground below. Its descent thrusters activated and slowed the cargo container down before the explosive bolts holding them in place detonated. The container accelerated again, and after a thirty-second free fall. It slammed into the ferrocrete paved road right in front of a battalion of clone troopers. The sides of the rectangular container were blown off by explosives, two of the four panels slammed into the abandoned buildings on either side of the street. Another smashed into a security walker, crushing its cockpit. The troopers ducked, waiting for the smoke to clear. It began to dissipate into the atmosphere, some of the troopers squinted, trying to see through the smoke. Then the sonic boom from the dropship rang into their ears, the shockwave blowing all the smoke away. The troopers gasped at the huge, awe-inspiring sight before them. A sleek black machine, with purple and yellow orchre markings loomed over them. The security walkers opened fire, red blaster bolts streaming through the air, only dissipating harmlessly against its shields. Then the machine opened fire, red, green and blue beams lanced out at the walkers, cutting holes or leaving deep gashes in the walkers. Then a couple of shots rang out. Two of the walkers fell. Large, numerous holes in their armor. Another cannon opened fire, clone troopers merely disintegrating into fine clouds of blood.

Kazimir ordered his on board AI "Run a scan for any life signs bar the hostiles."

A sultry female voice said "Scanning." three seconds passed "No other life signs detected."

"Good, activate the sonic cannon." Kazimir said.

Several armor panels slid back, then a piercing tone filled the air.

"Matching resonant frequencies."

Several tags appeared on Kazimir's HUD. Some turned green, some stayed red.

"Done." the AI exclaimed.

A pulsing sound filled the air, followed by an oscillating tone. The firing stopped, troopers looked at each other in confusion. The sound increased in volume, everything began vibrating madly, armor, weapons, ferrocrete and transparisteel, and even flesh and bone.

Trooper Six-Seventeen saw what was happening, he thought it was an earthquake. He saw his HUD go off-line, a crack began running from a corner. He saw his armor flexing and cracking off. He looked around, his fellow troopers were in the same predicament. A faceplate shattered inwards, the trooper behind it brought his hand up in instinct. His chest plate exploded outwards. Six-Seventeen lost balance, he looked to his left and saw the facade of a building beginning to shatter and crack.

This is an experimental sonic weapon. It switches frequencies with a target until the frequencies match. And when that happens, you have found the target's resonant frequency. It is when the phase and amplitude match, thus destroying the target.

Six-Seventeen remembered, that weapon was never finished. His legs shattered like glass, micro fractures in his bones expanded, the ferrocrete pavement shattered. One of the buildings fell, Six-Seventeen's skull broke open just as he turned around.

Taiidan Empire Staging Point

Tallon II

0500 Hours

"The time has come. On this day, we will destroy the most valuable asset in Hiigarian space. Tanis base." the Emperor announced "The space surrounding the station is sparsely defended, with only fifteen Destroyer class vessels and two Heavy Cruisers. We will crush them like the insects that they are!"

The transmission ended. With that, several thousand rectangular waveforms washed over the Taiidan ships, making it one of the largest jumps in history.

Confederate Destroyer, DD 2408 "Gerson", Tanis System

Hiigarian Space

1100 Hours

"Sir, we're picking up thousands of jump signatures. They use the same jump drives as the Hiigarians, but hysdar scans show that their silhouettes are of Taiidan make, with Turanic Raider reinforcements. The best course of action is to engage upon sighting." Captain Gerald McMaseritzky's ship board AI suggested.

"Go ahead Athena, relay those orders to the defense fleet, and send word to the First Fleet." Gerald said

"Okay sir!" the AI saluted, before her holographic form disappeared.

Gerald rubbed his forehead, although he was a veteran from the Battle of Burghammer, in which the combined MRA/CUS forces were outnumbered twenty five to one. Gerald knew that that even without the Shadow of the Day or anything above a Battleship class vessel, they would still win, although at a high cost. The defense station was not even half-completed and the Hiigarian ships were still being built and rebuilt with better weapons, propulsion and even on ship shield systems. The first Hiigarian Heavy Cruiser class vessel would be completed in a matter of minutes, the first Assault Frigate batch had already been completed and the second batch was underway, the other ships were being built at the Confederate Fleetyard, which was spewing Hiigarian Destroyers, Missile Destroyers, Frigates of all types and wings of strike-craft at an incredible rate.

The first Taiidan warship dropped out of hyperspace.

Jedi Council, Coruscant

1530 Hours

"The Confederates have, or rather had no hostile intentions until the defense batteries opened fire!" Luke said to the council.

"Then why did they vaporize a Nebulon-B class Medical Frigate when it opened fire?" a council member asked

"That fleet was under the command of another leader. Not the one that is currently on the surface, fighting among his men." Luke explained

"And why are they destroying our medical frigates?" asked another

"Though I am not an expert in naval tactics." Luke said "They presume that the Nebulon-B class ships are combat ships, not medical ships because the Nebulon-Bs are equipped with turbolaser batteries, and adequate shielding. And because of the singular strut holding the front and back halves together, they must have been deemed 'dangerous but easily destroyed' threats."

"I presume Master Skywalker is right." a wizened old man stood up "This meeting is adjourned."

The members stood up, muttering among themselves.

The old man tapped Luke on the shoulder.

"How did you know that these 'Confederates' have no hostile intentions?" he asked

"I have scanned their minds, and they have no intentions of injuring or killing civilians, conquering the planet or even of warfare. It seems that they only want to defend themselves and take down the batteries so that a proper meeting could take place." Luke said "I read their President's mind, he seems good enough."

"Appearances could be deceiving my boy." the man said "Yes, their leader may be benevolent, but his soldiers might have their own agendas."

And with that, the old man left, leaving Luke to contemplate on the old man's words.

Denny's Diner, Coruscant

Coruscant

1532 Hours

The Republic soldiers were swarming the diner, some had already gotten inside. Tables were overturned, various objects used as cover; droids, chairs, vending machines and even pieces of rubble. Gunfire was streaming here and there, drowned out by the occasional explosion. Men fell, blood pooling on the floor and splashing on everything, medics on each side hurrying to save the wounded. An ARC Trooper charged, ducking behind cover, he almost made it to the Confederate line before his guts were sprayed out on the floor behind him by a trio of 10.05 mm rounds, the rounds sleeting through the air at Mach-18. another bullet nearly entered his skull, passing just centimeters from the side of his head, sonic overpressure tearing the side of his helmet off. He fell to the floor, breathing heavily. Above him, three Confederate marines jumped neatly over the barricade, sailing through the air to land just outside the Republic line, the floor shook, three sets of boot prints imprinted on the floor. One grabbed the heavy topped table and flipped it over, pinning those behind it to the floor. Another delivered a punch to a Trooper's chest plate, shattering it like glass and allowing the gauntleted fist to crush the ribcage inwards, puncturing the heart. The unlucky Trooper flew into the thermal detonator stock and set them off. The third kicked a trooper in the chin, tearing his head straight off the neck, the severed head smashed into the ceiling with a wet splat. A squad of troopers charged, weapons blazing with fury, attempting to take down the armored behemoths. Blaster bolts were absorbed by the shields, rifle fire pinned the troopers down and taking the lives of those who did not react fast enough.

Kazuael McFoster swung his gun in a wide arc. It smashed into the side of a trooper's helmet, denting it and cracking the faceplate, allowing blood to leak out from in between the cracks. A clone trooper equipped with a vibroblade jumped on his back, aiming to drive the blade into the base of his neck. Kazuael threw him over his head and grabbed him by the legs, he spun the trooper around for several seconds and let go. Another hit him in the back with his blaster, he spun around and wrapped an armored gauntlet around the weapon, the trooper smashed a fist into the side of his helmet, only to be deflected by his shields. Three blaster bolts Kazuael's back, making him stumble before regaining his balance. Kazuael snapped the trooper's neck with a flick of his wrist before turning around to face the threats.

Trooper Four-Nineteen reared back in shock, he had just fired three anti-armor bolts at the enemy, yet he was still standing. The soldier sped to a blur then stopped right in front of him. He stared up at the purple reflective faceplate. He felt a searing pain in his chest and he looked down to see a blade in his chest. It glowed with energy, but not as much as a lightsaber. His vision faded, he felt tired, then he closed his eyes for the last time.

Residential District, Coruscant

1451 Hours

Kazimir set the throttle to one-hundred percent, he was darting into streets making sure to open fire at targets of opportunity whilst passing by them. He had forgotten about the heat meter, which had been steadily rising until an alarm sounded

"'mech overheating, commencing automatic shutdown." the AI's sultry voice chimed in Kazimir's ears

"Shit!" he cursed

He pulled a lever, causing several armor panels to swing open to reveal several coolant pipes. Air rushed over the pipes, bringing the temperature down, air seemed to distort around the pipes. Then on the back, two vents opened and superheated plumes of plasma streamed out for a few seconds. The 'mech froze then began moving again.

"Power levels dropping, heat returning to normal. Re-stabilizing reactor core." the AI said

Kazimir massaged his forehead. He looked behind the 'mech using a camera, and he saw two large streaks of glass. He throttled forward again, and he reached the breached compound. Marines were pouring through the collapsed portion of the wall. 'mechs were holding hostile forces back to buy time. Then the giant guns fell limp, lights flickered off and turrets froze. Republic soldiers looked around in shock, then they began to retreat.

"The target is neutralized, reprogramming surface weapons, returning power to base!" an AI said over the comm.

The Republic soldiers looked around again, and cheered then they charged. But the war cries changed into screams of horror and surprise as their turrets began firing upon them. Many fell, smoking holes in their armor or with entire limbs vaporized. Sangheili Scarabs and Wraiths lobbed plasma, turning whatever they hit into partially melted mounds. The scaly soldiers charged, ripping through the Republican line with vigor. UNSC Marines and ODSTs opened fire with their weapons, shredding armor and flesh alike, blood and gore streaked and splashed on the floor. The horrid smell of burning flesh permeated the air and fires ran throughout the compound, left behind by Scarab walkers and plasma weapons. Shell casings and discarded weapons were scattered haphazardly on the ground.

Overhead, Republic warships were blasted apart, ripped to shreds, mangled and vaporized and in other words, rendered inoperable. A hundred Star Destroyers decelerated from hyperspace. Filling the void between the three warring forces with green streaks. Shields flared and flickered as turbolasers slammed into them, a Confederate Frigate went down, her engines blown apart. The Shadow of the Day opened fire with her antimatter beam cannons, vaporizing a cluster of the triangular ships. Missiles sped from their tubes, MAC rounds tore through the Imperials with apathy. A UNSC Destroyer listed, atmosphere leaking from the various holes and scars dotting her hull. She accelerated into the Star Destroyer that was about to deal the killing blow. If she was going down, her killer would go down with her. She rammed bow first into the tower structure, armor plating cracked and buckled. Her spine broke, their superstructures interlocked and a momentary sun blossomed then faded to reveal a small debris field in its wake.

Confederate Destroyer, DD 2408 "Gerson", Tanis System

Hiigarian Space

1500 Hours

The Gerson fired her primary particle cannons at an Assault Frigate, some of the particle bolts went wide, some hit asteroids, fragmenting them others slammed into other vessels. Those that hit their marks dealt tremendous damage, the Frigate's spine ceased to exist after a particle lance speared through the center of the ship. She fired her cannons for the last time before detonating. Sparrowhawk Class Interceptors dueled with their Taiidani counterparts, particle bolts and autocannon rounds streaking this way and that. One of the Taiidan Interceptors spun into his wingman, destroying both. A Confederacy modified UNSC Longsword fired several anti-ship missiles into the flank of a Taiidan Carrier, fireballs blossomed as fuel and ammunition detonated. Ion Beam Frigates proved useless on the Confederacy's warships, so did Missile Destroyers and Drone Frigates. Confederate particle lances sliced away at armor, leaving gashes with partially melted edges.

Jason Ferguson swung his Interceptor around, lining up the cross hair with one of the unknown strike-craft, which was currently dodging cannon fire. He pulled the trigger on his flight stick. Cannon rounds flew from the barrels, time seemed to slow and he saw the tracer rounds sail towards the target, they ricocheted off some invisible barrier. The strike-craft turned around and fired a blue-white beam at his Interceptor, the beam sliced off part of his wing and dug into his fuselage. Jason reached for the red ejection lever, he wrapped a hand around it and he twisted then pulled. The entire front section of the Interceptor pulled away, Jason was thrown around in his seat as the pod shook violently. The pod was spinning slowly to reveal explosions and flashes of light. The Taiidan fleet was being decimated, those seventeen ships, being outnumbered almost five hundred to three. One of their 'destroyers' exploded in a flash of light after being rammed by almost two hundred ships. Their 'cruiser' was taking on three Heavy Cruisers, and was winning. One of the Assault Frigates broke in half as it was struck by a blue colored projectile. Crewmen and equipment were sucked out into the void as air rushed out of the two halves of the ships. Another was speared by a yellow colored beam. The beam faded to reveal a smooth hole in her centerline, plasma rushed out as the magnetic containment failed. Two white-hot plumes of plasma leapt from the opposite ends of the ship, then her life finally ended in a flash of light. Frantic screams and shouts, with orders managing to come through all the chaos blasted Jason's ears as he flipped through the communications channels, with hisses of static often timed with explosions. One missile launched from the unknown 'cruiser' streaked into the largest formation, a three hundred-ship sphere, covering one of the most powerful warships in Taiidan history. The missile slammed into the Dreadnought's hull. Doing almost no damage to it, then a sphere of white hot fire blossomed out from the missile. It engulfed the formation, then faded to reveal a three hundred-strong graveyard, the once majestic vessels, carrying the Taiidan Empire's might now melted and twisted hulks, scarred beyond recognition, they silently moaned for their former glory.

Taiidan Imperial Navy Assault Frigate "Reckoning", Tanis System

Hiigarian Space

1530 Hours

Commander Fredrick Rowen stared at the horrifying sight unfolding before him. He stood immobile as his crew grew out of control. Some of the crew were crying, in fear, in shock and in sadness. Their ships seemed almost invincible, weapons fire did almost no harm, and ion beams were slightly better, but their shields still held. It seemed that the only way to bring the shields down was to ram into them at full speed, which had serious consequences; transmissions were riddled with static to the point that they were incomprehensible, strike-craft and even frigates momentarily lost power, and sometimes, an occasional ion beam weapon's capacitors would overload and melt. And even then, their armor never seemed to yield. The ship listed as she was struck by some of the unknowns' weapons. Fredrick's eyes grew even wider as he saw the Dreadnought be engulfed by a ball of white flame. Tears flowed unheeded from his eyes as the three hundred-strong formation was utterly destroyed, leaving only melted wrecks behind.

For a second, the Taiidan Fleet stopped firing. And that was just what the Confederates needed, massed alpha and beta strikes annihilated Taiidan ships, soon after. Only fifteen ships remained, quantum waveforms washed over their hulls and collapsed. They never came back.