Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars
21
The world of Muunilust was the economic powerhouse for the surrounding systems. From its beautiful, aesthetic green buildings, the accounts of the millions of people in the nearby systems were run. And it was here that the Sith fleet, under the command of Darth Silens, Lady of Intelligence, was approaching.
The lead ship was a Torture class Command ship by the name of Soulless. Flanking it were two Reaper Destroyers, and five Interdictors, along with a half dozen smaller support ships.
"My lady Silens, we are approaching Muunilust."
Silens smiled.
"Excellent. Are we in blockade position?"
"Yes my lady. However, it appears as if many cities have been evacuated, for the most part. There's a lot less people on the planet than there should be."
Silens nodded acceptingly.
"A minor inconvenience that's all. A small group of police will have gone away with the vast majority of the refugees to keep the peace. The rest will be here, with the intent of making themselves as irritating as possible during our conquest of the galaxy." She said musingly.
"We could destroy them all."
She shook her head.
"No. It's more fun this way. And look on the bright side. This policy will not last much longer. The Republic is running out of ships to keep it up. After this sector falls, most people will need to be left behind, which means more conscription for our forces." She said.
"Should I give the invasion order then my lady?"
"Yes Captain. I shall lead the assault on the capital of Harnaidan personally." She vowed, and left for her fighter.
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Atris frowned. The evacuation has been hap-hazard and badly managed. When it became apparent that one of the many fleets streaming from the Sith Empire was heading to Muunilust, Atris and Nomi had travelled to the planet to help. They had arrived to find that the higher class Muuns were evacuating, leaving many of the commoners to their fate. Atris and Nomi had fought that, and many commoners had now also got off planet. Those that remained were praying that the Sith would be lenient. Also, the military forces and police forces had left behind several thousand members to form a resistance against the Sith occupation. However, it was definitely the last world that could undergo a mass evacuation. The planets in the sector had no more ships to spare for refugees.
"You realise there must be over a thousand refugee ships at Agamar by now." Nomi said, standing beside her.
"Yep. And there will just be more. Even without mass evacuations like we needed to do with Preadra and Saquesqa."
Nomi nodded in sad agreement.
"Indeed. This war will shake us to our foundations." she said.
As she finished, the attack alarm went off.
"They're here." Atris moaned, and lit her lightsaber.
"Then may the Force protect us." Nomi whispered.
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The invasion began, with Strategic class Transports and Bat class Assault Shuttles descending from the fleet in orbit, which was now surrounding the planet in a massive blockade. Thousands of Sith troops descended from the transports, the standard infantry that made up the bulk of the army, dressed in red or silver armour, and also thousands of Massassi slaves that were armed to the teeth with various weapons. Tanks and speeders were dropped and the massive army started it's steady advance towards the various cities of Muunilust. Towns and villages surrendered as the armies proceeded onwards, on their indomitable march towards Hardinian. People who resisted were killed mercilessly, either by the troops inc charge of squads, or the Dark Jedi in charge of the various sub sects of the army. Magicians used their powers to rob those who did fight of their will to carry on, resulting in surrenders from many possible dissidents. Those people who eschewed the company of the masses and lived in the outskirts or in the middle of the plains, were killed and their houses destroyed to make way for the mighty Sith war machine.
Legions of troops thundered through Munn City, with various people being rounded up and escorted off to camps. It was here that the first battle occurred. Two dozen policemen and army members had gotten a tank on one of the bridges between the two flanking towers into the city, and they were using it to fire down at the oncoming Sith. Not one trooper faltered as they calmly marched over the moat and into the city, despite large holes in their ranks. A large turbolaser blast came own from above and the bridge was vaporised. After that, a purge was executed, with all of the relatives of those who had dared take up arms against the Sith were rounded up and slaughtered. As this happened, more and more troops descended from above, and the various cities of Muunilust started to surrender without question.
The city of Mariunhus, way out to sea, was next to fall. Hundreds of battleships shot across the calm, beautiful waters of Muunilust, armed to the gills with lasers and missiles, and filled with troopers. Missile boats flanked these frigates, and in the centre of the formation was a massive battleship, which carried several fighter squadrons and also deployed submarines. These vehicles shot out first, and hit the balance gyros that prevented the city from moving with the ocean. Then the missile frigates blew open the port gates, allowing the frigates in, which entered, firing their lasers and disgorging troops. Then the fighter squadrons were launched, and they performed surgical strikes, neutralising possible locations of resistance. The leader was then taken hostage, and he was forced to surrender the city by the Dark Jedi leader.
The same scene was repeated in every hamlet, village, town and city across the planet. Except Harnaidan. Darth Silens stood before the mammoth arch that marked the entrance to the city, and turned to her Dark Jedi commander.
"Prepare my army for the assault. Also, take ninety percent of all the resources on this planet and send them back to Dromund Kaas to fund the war effort. And take a third of all the men in each location and take them to Dromund Kaas. We shall break then, and then they shall be obedient soldiers in our army as we continue with our massive expansion." she purred.
"As you wish my lady."
Silens gestured to her army, and they advanced, a rocket blowing apart the massive gate barring the way. It was time for her to enter the war.
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Nomi was in the command centre, a former department store, ready to do her battle meditation.
"Are you ready Master Atris?" she asked.
"Yes."
"Then good luck."
Nomi took a deep breath, and centred herself. Then she began.
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Xamar, far away in his quarters on the Fastflow, was deep in meditation. He was stretching out with the Force, seeing things.
He saw the Dantooine Reconstruction Fleet leave Dantooine as an escort to the refugee convoy. He also saw a great darkness descending on the once peaceful world, accompanied by a new maliciousness. Moving on, he saw the world of Lyseera, where Kavar and Dorak were under attack by the forces of Darth Legacy. He saw that victory did not look likely.
He then saw the world of Doovistal, where Q'Anilia, Zez-Kai Ell and Selene were being forced back by the forces of Darth Trappera. After that, he saw the planet of Kyrtinia, where Vima, Galon and Mamaw were defending themselves against the ferocity of Darth Enviro. They too were losing.
Xamar despaired in his thoughts, seeing losses on so many fronts. He then saw the world of Muunilust, and saw that he had to get there to avoid the death of the leader of the Jedi Order.
"Commander Darkvenge, take the task force out of lightspeed!" he ordered.
The three Hammerhead class Cruisers fell out of lightspeed, their run to Kalee postponed.
"Yes Master Xamar?" came the voice over the comm.
"New priorities. Kalee can wait. Take us to Muunilust. And we may avoid a disaster." he said.
The three cruisers then shot off for their new destination.
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Atris gave an encouraging smile to her Muun companion as the door was blown open.
"Here we go. Get ready." she said, lighting her blue lightsaber.
Several missiles then appeared from nowhere, flying across the entry courtyard and crashing into ranks of Massassi, blowing them high into the air as they surged into the city.
"This is it! Let's take it to them!" the leader of the Muun Home Guard yelled.
Atris sprang from her rooftop as the Sith pushed into the city. Her robes fluttered around her as she descended, deflecting shots back at the Sith troops as she fell towards their level. She slammed down, dislodging several rocks, and then dashed into the throng, her lightsaber cutting apart troops as they reacted with shock. As she cut down another three Massassi warriors, there was a cry from behind, and the Muuns popped up or out from their hiding places, and the battle was on. With Atris leading them, the Muuns surged forward, their blaster fire keeping the Sith at bay as the invaders attempted to enter the city. More rockets streaked from the various locations behind her, crashing into the oncoming Sith battalions.
"That's the way! Stand firm, and we will yet live out this battle!" Atris called as she sliced up another few troops.
It was then that combat speeders entered the city, driving over the already high pile of dead and opening fire. Atris leapt to one, and brought her blade around in an arc that took the heads off both the drivers, and destroyed the cannon. She set a grenade as she went past, and the thing blew up, adding more bodies to the pile. Tanks then arrived, their heavy cannons blasting at the elegant and beautiful buildings behind her.
"Jedi! We cant hold against those things!" one Muun yelled.
"Rubbish! Tell the rocketmen to fire missiles at those tanks! One good whack should do the trick!" she called.
They did as she instructed, and the first tank blew apart, scattering more Sith bodies. The bodies were piled high, however, as soon as the Sith got the wreckage of the tank out of the way, they would be in. They couldn't keep up the strategy forever.
Atris looked about as the last few Sith troops from the first few waves were killed, their reinforcements delayed due to the destruction of the tank which was now blocking their path.
"We better start to fall back. Get your men down from the buildings." she ordered.
"Jedi, look!" a young Muun cried in terror.
Three squadrons of Hammer fighters, the Sith bombers, were bearing down on the city.
"Brace yourselves!"
The fighters came in low, a payload of bombs falling from the ships as they passed. Glass flew everywhere and fires erupted as the bombs crashed into the buildings, and rubble fell from on high, destroying the entry gates and crushing several of Atris' troops.
She shook her white hair, then looked around. Many Muuns had been crushed by the falling debris, and some had even been hit by the bombs.
"Those ships are coming back round Master Jedi. We can only raise a few of our rocket launchers." one trooper said.
"Get everyone back. The entryway's gone, so they're going to be coming at us soon. Fall back. Head towards the store where Master Sunrider is. And send half your force underground to continue the fight afterward."
The Muun snorted derisively.
"Not much hope in a victory then Master?"
"No."
"Didn't think so. Fall back!"
Atris deflected shots as the Sith climbed over the wreckage and started to push into the city. Her blade kept knocking bolts back as she steadily retreated, her Muun companions running for it as she held off the masses of enemy troops. Cannon shells started to pound apart the buildings, and debris fell around her as she slowly fell back, with the few remaining civilians being grabbed and dragged off. Fires were erupting everywhere, glass littered the streets. Then, one blast sent one building toppling to the ground, giving her the chance she needed to escape.
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"Lady Silens, we have taken high losses in the first few waves." a trooper reported.
She turned to the man.
"Indeed?"
"Yes my lady. Our troops are piled up, blocking the entrance. We're putting some civilians to work cleaning them out of the way."
Silens tapped her skull in thought. Then, she had it.
"Got it. There is Battle Meditation being used against us. Time to fix that oversight."
She got into her pointy little starfighter, and engaged the s-foils. The four slithers of metal came up from the body of her ship, and with her s-foils extended, she sped towards the source of the unpleasantness.
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Nomi Sunrider was deep in her battle meditation, making sure as many people as possible survived to die another day after the Jedi left. If they left. She could feel the Sith commanding them, and her hatred for the Jedi. Nomi focused her meditation on allowing the fighters to escape, so they could continue to take the fight to the Sith. Then, as she found a place where a fair few troops could be spared, a blast rocked the building and she lost all concentration. The Sith cruisers in orbit were bombarding the building.
"Blast them." Nomi said, shaking her red hair from her eyes as she got to her feet.
"Blast you more like it." a silky voice hissed as a red lightsaber came around to take off her head.
Nomi barely avoided the blade in time, quickly leaping out of harms way and calling her own green lightsaber into her hand. Nomi landed and faced her opponent.
Darth Silens certainly looked like a Sith. Her skin was a dull grey, and she was a tall, skeletally thin woman, with green eyes, surrounded by the yellow irises that signified the Sith. Her raven black hair was high atop her head, and a lethal lightsaber was held in long, brittle fingers.
"Darth Silens I assume." Nomi said, narrowing her own green eyes.
"The famous Nomi Sunrider. Your interference has led to the death of many of my troopers. I don't like that. Now, you shall pay for your actions Jedi scum!"
Silens sprang, her red saber lancing straight at Nomi. Nomi hissed, and brought her won green blade to meet the attack. Silens whirled out of the block and came at Nomi in a massive offensive, her red blade flying in all directions as she beat at the Grand Masters defence. Nomi blocked her multitude of attacks, then blasted the Sith with a Force push that sent her reeling. Nomi then charged at the Sith, who was thrown on the defensive. Silens cackled insanely as Nomi beat away at her defences. Her own personal dislike for the weapons didn't stop her being a master at wielding the damn things.
Nomi then twirled, kicking her leg into Silens' throat. The Sith gave a throttled gasp and staggered backwards, and Nomi went in fro the kill, her blade singing down at the Lady of Intelligence. Silens sent a jet of Force lightning at Nomi, who had to stop her attack to deflect the attack. That respite was all Silens needed, and the Sith came at Nomi again. Nomi immersed herself in the Force, sacrificing ground in order to bring Darth Silens in close enough for the killing blow to be struck. She felt she didn't have long to wait.
Silens then made the wrong move, and stabbed at Nomi from above. Nomi twirled away in a flying leap, using her blade to knock Silens away. Silens gasped as Nomi swung her blade, and the Sith had to leap backward to avoid decapitation.
"You are no match for me Sith. Accept that, and surrender to me. Call off the attack and you will be given a fair trial by the Republic."
Silens smiled and raised her hands in defeat. Nomi lowered her saber and walked towards the Sith, then realised she'd been duped as Force Lightning sprang forth from Silens fingers and sent her flying across the room.
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Atris felt Nomi's shock and pain as she neared the building.
"Master Sunrider is in danger! Come!" she said to the Muuns still following her.
The captain of them gave her a nod, as he was going away to form the underground resistance to fight the Sith later on.
"Good luck."
"May the Force be with you. I hope we meet again one day." Atris said, as the young Muun vanished.
"Ascension guns!" she called to the others as he vanished.
She could hear the Sith legions nearing the building, and if they didn't leave the planet soon, she and Nomi wouldn't leave at all.
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The Fastflow, the Swiftsong and the Quicksilver dropped out of lightspeed to see the dreadful sight of Muunilust surrounded by the fleet of Darth Silens.
"We need to punch a hole! When you have done so, I shall take the Insignia Transport in the hold and save Masters Sunrider and Atris." Xamar said.
"Alright boss." Darkvenge said, and nodded to his second.
Darkvenge was a slight man in his late twenties. Xamar had faced some opposition when he had nominated him for the leadership position of the fleet, but he had proved himself many a time before that, and ever since. He was thin and weedy looking, with an unruly mop of black hair, brown eyes and a small scar across his left eye. According to Q'Anilia, he was the envy of many a woman in the Jedi Rangers, herself included.
The three cruisers shot toward the planet, their weapons firing away at one of the Interdictor cruisers, the Binder. The ships, totally unsuspecting of an attack were caught by surprise, and both the Binder and the Constriction were caught totally unprepared, and fire emitted from holes as they dipped out of sight. Xamar, who was already in the three pronged Insignia class Transport in the hold, got the signal and shot towards Harnaidan, to avoid a disaster for the Jedi Order.
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Silens cursed as Nomi still held up the defence. However, she knew victory was near.
"Surrender Sith!" Nomi barked from behind her saber, and the aging woman was clearly beginning to struggle to hold off the relentless attack.
"To you? You need a reality check Jedi. It is you who are losing!" she cried in triumph.
"Really?" a voice said from behind her.
Thousands of shards of glass then pierced Silens skin as Atris blew the window in with a Force shove. Silens staggered away in pain, as Atris entered with a squad of twelve Muuns, the rest having left with the captain.
"Master Sunrider! Are you alright!?" Atris demanded in terror, noticing how tired Nomi looked.
"Yes, I'm fine Atris. Get her!" Nomi barked.
The Muuns opened fire, and the two Jedi leapt at her as she summoned her blade back to her hand. She created a Force shield to protect herself from the blaster fire and caught the attacks of the two Jedi on her saber.
"Blast you Jedi! You haven't won anything." she snarled.
"On the contrary. We have. You are finished Silens." Nomi said as she tried to cleave the Sith in two.
Silens growled and elbowed Atris in the mouth, and followed through with a kick to Nomi's gut. The two Jedi staggered backward, and Silens got out of their reach and headed for the Muuns. The leader obviously saw their peril, but reacted too late to save anyone. Her Force push blasted all of them form the building, out another broken window and sent them plummeting over a hundred metres to the hard street below.
Atris and Nomi then returned, going for her neck. Silens gave a cackle and unleashed a massive barrage of Force lightning, which started to destroy the ceiling as the two Jedi deflected the bolts with their sabers. Silens increased the power, and both Jedi were being pushed back towards the window ledge where she could finish them. And both Jedi were struggling.
"Victory is mine Jedi fools!" she crowed.
Then her comm started flashing red, indicating her fleet was under attack.
"What?" she snarled, and then looked up in rage, realising that the Jedi were about to escape.
Nomi winced as she held off the lightning, and turned to Atris.
"Jump over the window ledge." she ordered.
"Master!?" Atris asked in shock.
"Do it!"
Atris leapt, and that left Silens and Nomi. Silens snarled and lit her saber, and stopped the lightning as she sprang at the Grand Master. Nomi grinned confidently, and grabbed a massive piece of stone with the Force. She threw it into Silens path, and the Sith crashed into it with a bone crunching impact.
"Ouch!" she shrieked.
"Face me again when you've grown up." Nomi said, and leapt over the ledge.
She fell and then landed in the hold of Xamar's transport.
"Well timed Xamar! Go!" Nomi yelled.
Xamar wasted no time, and the transport left the city far behind. Nomi sat down beside Xamar.
"Thanks." she said breathlessly.
"Perfectly alright Master Sunrider. We could hardly let anything happen to you. Master Atris is on the turret and is keeping the fighters at bay."
"Aren't you meant to be at Kalee?" Nomi asked as she hooked herself up to the sensors.
"Yes, but I felt protecting your life was more important than a battle we already know we're going to lose. However, after we are safely away, we shall send you on a ship to Citadel Station and we shall continue on."
"Very well."
Wreckage flew past the screen as Atris destroyed another fighter as the ship left the planet, and Xamar sent it into an elegant dance to avoid the blasterfire of the Sith fleet. His three cruisers were holding their own, but were starting to fail.
"Commander, prepare for the jump to lightspeed! We shall be onboard in a second!" Xamar called.
Darkvenge didn't need telling twice, and his three cruisers turned and prepared to head away.
"Xamar, we cant get in the back door as there is no back door!" Nomi cried in terror.
"I know that." Xamar said, mildly affronted, and he gunned the engines.
He brought the ship in front of the hangar on the port engine side, and cut all the power.
"Jump Commander!"
The three cruisers darted forward, and the transport slid in as the ship shot forward. It skidded to a stop, and Xamar sighed in victory.
"Another happy landing." he said proudly, and turned to Nomi.
She had fainted in her seat.
"Well, there's gratitude for you." he said grumpily.
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Silens snarled at her captain.
"Not only were you caught completely unprepared, but you allowed them to escape! I shall not tolerate such foolishness!" she raged, and ended the man's life by crushing his heart.
She turned to the second in command.
"You are in command now captain. Do not fail me!" she snapped, and switched off the holo.
Silens got to her feet gingerly, and frowned into space. The Binder and the Constriction had received only minimal damage, so that was of little trouble. Also, Muunilust had fallen. There were rumours of a resistance movement already from the populace, but they wouldn't get far even if there was one. All in all, it had been a relatively good day.
What bothered her was the escape of Nomi Sunrider and Atris. Silens reluctantly admitted that Nomi deserved her place as leader of the Jedi Order. Silens had nearly died in their battle.
"That will change next time we meet Master Sunrider." she vowed to the silence.
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Nomi patted Xamar's arm.
"Thank you Master Xamar. You saved us."
He smiled at them.
"Think nothing of it. Now, we must get underway to Kalee. Until we next see each other my friends." he said, and took his leave from their shuttle.
Atris then eased it out of the Fastflow as soon as he was gone.
"We lost Muunilust." Atris said glumly as Xamar's task force left.
Nomi sat down in the co pilots seat.
"Yes. We did. However, on the plus side, we beat Silens. She'll have to lick her wounds for a bit before she troubles us again." Nomi said happily.
"You were brilliant. You kicked her ass."
Nomi smiled graciously.
"Thank you Atris. Today, Darth Silens learnt a valuable lesson. And that was: I am not the leader of the Jedi Order for nothing." she said with a grin, and they shot away, bound for home.
Hello again!
Well, the Republic has lost naother world, this time to the evil Darth Silens. However, Master Nomi Sunrider certainly proved why she is the Grand Master of the Jdi Order. If Silens hadnt cheated, she certianly would have died. And if Nomi hadnt been more intent on escaping, she also would have been finished.
But thats that. Im hoping to do two or three more chapters of this before moving on to another story, as at current count this story may take up to 185 chapters to do! After the next few chapters, I intend to try to get a move on with my two Clone Wars stories, Harry and Spyro.
Until next time then, where we see another great Jedi Master: Thon!
Please read and review!