Standing on the bridge of the largest Dreadnaught in the fleet, Feral observed Endor through the forward viewports with a look of pure hatred.
By all accounts the planet was beautiful, even from space it was quite a sight. Its lakes, rivers, one ocean, and forests shined, but Feral only seen a crimson gem.
He only seen an infinite source of food and weaklings to butcher.
A droid commander approached him.
Leaving the bridge, Feral entered his personal chambers.
Holo-images of Tactical Droids and MagnaGuards were revolving above a ring of several holo-projectors.
The droid commander flanked him and stood at his side.
Endor will bleed. Feral thought. The Ewok are my prey.
I am to be feared, even if I have one arm.
"Commanders. Target all major areas of population and all focus points on the planet where everything is dense or clustered. Target any significant landmarks and points of interest as well. Specifically target where the Ewoks are."
A holo-map blurred from a holo-projector outside the ring, detailing Endor and the tree-city of Bright Tree Village, Happy Grove, Sorrow Mountain, Vacant Valley, Molten Mountains, Lake Marudi, Mount Krana, Campalan Mountain Range, Lake Sui, Lightning Forest, Hanging Moss Village, Red Bush Grove, and Terak's Keep.
Another one hundred and forty one locations, spots, areas of significance, and monuments appeared on the holo-map. The rest of the planet's landscape was primarily forest. Mountains were dotted throughout, but like Kashyyk, this world was primarily a forest.
Lakes, rivers, and one ocean balanced things out on the otherwise mostly land-ridden world.
"I want fighters, assault crafts, tanks, and cruisers to destroy the canopy of the forest. Smaller vehicles are to pinpoint the canopy as well in addition to the forest itself. Focus planet wide fire on the forests and not just on one location, in addition troop transports should flank them and go level by level with flame throwers, grenade launchers, shotguns, and rocket launchers."
"The Ewoks have no advanced technology and nothing close to ranged weapons or planetary defense shields, orbital bombardment is the simplest means to obliterate them. We could wipe out the forests from space in a short time."
Feral nodded at the Advanced Tactical Droid.
"True, but that would obliterate them. They wouldn't even know what happened. Their deaths would happen too quickly. I want them out of their cities and clustered together so they can watch their forests burn and their kin being blasted to pieces. I want their will, their will to live, their spirit, and their very being to be broken."
"I know a little about the Ewoks thanks to my advanced programming regarding biological life forms. They call them little Wookiees. They are primitive, contemptible, and insignificant creatures that haven't gone beyond the stone age in terms of anything. They believe in abstract things like gods and deities. They woship trees as well. The fact remains that they won't be taken into captivity without a fight. They have great strength for their size."
Feral grinned, red eyes glowing.
"I am fully expecting a fight with the Ewoks. I want them to fight as hard as they can, I want them to run as fast as they can, because when they fail, when they lose, when they face death...It will crush them completely. They will beg and plead, and they will feel true horror. I want as many as alive as possible. Males, females, and the young. Tell the Droids to drive them from their tree-cities, tree-villages, homes, and wherever else they want to hide into the open spaces. Then use whatever means are at our disposal to break, batter, and decimate them."
"Endor has no sway or power in the Republic. They have no representative in the Senate. They have never been a part of it."
"Precisely. We are free to do we please. The Republic and the Jedi will not bother wasting time, funds, or the resources in launching an attack." Feral smirked.
"Shall we occupy the planet with overwhelming force and begin the process of extermination in that case?"
"Occupy the entire planet...Hold off on extermination, and look into using them as a food source possibly and also look into what their fur could be used for. The Ewoks have a purpose they have to see through."
"What are we supposed to do with millions of Ewok captives if we do not exterminate them? A village contains at least two hundred and there are many villages concentrated around a central one. The entire planet is covered with them. Ewoks are not the only sentient beings here either. However, there are over seven hundred and eighty million in total, and they could prove to be problematic if we give them the chance. If they go into the deeper pockets of forests we could spend years trying to route them out completely."
Feral did not think of or entertain the idea of an Ewok being sentient, he just seen them as little balls of fur, like a Bantha-food.
They were not sentient.
He turned to the MagnaGuard.
"There's that much Ewoks? Are you serious?"
"Left to breed like they have, their numbers are beyond expectation according to our estimates from scans of the world. There could be one billion, five billion, or even more...This is a system and world that has never seen much attention. No one or anything has been able to decimate the population even once-they've been free and safe to reproduce."
"Are there any other species?"
"There are the Duloks, Gorphs, Yuzzum, and Skandits as well. Ninety seven percent of the inhabitants are Ewok. Two percent of the population are Yuzzum. One percent is the other three species, and a mix of native and immigrated species."
Feral nodded.
"Herd the little filthy Ewoks into containment and keep them contained until they accept their defeat. Beat them. Shock them. Separate the young from their families and the families from each other. Torture their healers, shamans, and seniors. Beat their village elders. Take off their arms and legs, their fingers, their toes, but do not kill them. Snap and break their limbs. I have something special planned for them, something that will break their spirits forever until they are butchered out of existence."
"And, what of our Dreadnaughts?"
Feral smiled.
"Begin to descend. Prime the turbolasers. Ready the hyper focused beams. Begin to target all one hundred and fifty three areas of interest on this world. Move all transports to these locations as well and begin surgical attacks from the ground and air. Equip all of the droids with jet packs or repulsors depending on their model. Ready the first generation Platoon Attack Craft and our most recent, the seventh generation...Deploy all of them. We will maintain our high position and allow our forces to swarm over this world."
"Overwhelming odds will be secured through this course of action. But, may I suggest one thing before we begin our attack?"
Feral nodded.
The commanders looked at each other for a moment and then looked at Feral.
"Pinching and flanking them once they begin to retreat into the forest will prevent them from drawing the battle out."
"Circle the entire planet in that case. Ready all Speeder Bikes and vehicles like them. Prep surgical aerial bombardments and prime every weapon for maximum destruction. We will force them into a retreat and then blast them right out of the forest."
The Dreadnaughts roared like thunder looming over the forests of Endor, their gigantic forms blotted out the all of the sun's light, and covered the skies.
Lines of STAPs, PATs, Multi Troop Transports, and Armored Assault Tanks formed the first wave, spread out over a distance of more than two million kilometers, armor plating and weapons blocking the sun's gleaming rays.
Behind them the gigantic transports of the CIS loomed ominously, gigantic bodies of armor plated steel hovering with roaring engines, long fronts circled off with ion cannons, and sides splitting off into heavy laser turrets, all pointed at the forests, and all taking aim at something alive.
Battle droids controlled tanks and STAPs.
An Ewok stared at the sight in terror.
They blotted out the sun's light.
They blotted out the sky.
They blotted out the light.
There was not a living thing in sight, not one that would react to the terrible toll of battle like the Ewoks would. Not one that would lose stamina, will, endurance, and drive like a flesh being would when massive death tolls began to climb.
It made the Ewok's skin crawl to know what the shadow meant.
They had no shields and no outside contact with anyone.
There was no shield generator that could be activated to surround the village, nothing to repel blaster fire from tearing into the forests, nothing at all to stop the carnage that was about to be unleashed on the peaceful world.
The Ewok's blood ran cold.
The coloring of the sky turned to pitch black, crackling and clicking as it morphed into one massive mechanical hive.
On a signal from a Tactical Droid, tanks open fired, laser turrets streaked, and ion cannons burst and erupted, sending more than a trillion rounds into the canopy and forest in the first three seconds like a torrential thunderstorm.
Beams hammered into the trees and earth, effectively shattering and obliterating everything that got in their way, splitting through wood, carving through clay, and blasting mountains so great waves of rubble rampaged down their base and across the terrain.
Now under assault, the spying Ewoks ran in fear, struggling to waddle away.
Astride his fellows, one Ewok shrieked as a branch snapped, crushing his body. The other flinched and squirmed fearfully, muttering various prayers to ward off the destruction he found himself in. With another cry, he too was crushed, body splitting in half under the weight of a branch.
The last one screamed as a thick branch fell on its back, crushing its spine and ribs, leaving it to choke on its blood.
Another branch smashed it to a pulp seconds later.
The tank's cannons continued their attack, bursts of destruction spearing across the length of the sky, pounding at the canopy, sending flames and ash high into the atmosphere until it was covered in a smog and there was a black, suffocating haze.
The flash and burn of the blasts was enough to burn them severely, but the explosions and impacts were agonizing. Each one pulverized the air, pulverized the Ewoks into nothing but ash, ripped tree bark, sent Ewoks' charred corpses and remains across the forest floor, and sent more cartwheeling to their demise.
More were blasted to pieces by the tank fire.
Finally, the hail storm stopped.
As successive and well timed the firing was, not every blast could break through the expansive canopy and even less into the trees. The canopy was burning, withering, but it was still remaining strong for the most part.
The trunks and boles remained strong.
Even if branches were snapping, crashing, and smashing through everything-it was their foundations that were remaining strong.
Within their protective canopy, the surviving Ewoks huddled together and brandished their weapons towards the sky.
"Ehda." One Ewok muttered, eyes glazed over with fear. "Ehda."
"Treek weewa. Chaa seefo na-chin. Chaa seefo yeh." One Ewok with black fur pointed at the few.
"Acha."
"Acha."
"Den. Ta ehda. Seefo weewa." One with light brown fur shook its head.
"Chak. Sta-"
Their dispute was cut short.
The air roared like thunder once more, and the massive transports and troop transports moved forward, engines blasting.
The rectangular, long doors opened, widening to reveal trillions and more trillions of racks mounted within.
The racks rolled forward on kilometer long rails, revealing row after row of B1 and B2 battle droids, B2 super battle droids, BT-16 perimeter droids, B3 ultra battle droids, commando droids, rocket battle droids, C-B3 cortosis battle droids, Droideka, Spider Droids, DSD1 dwarf spider droids, heavy dwarf spider droids, sniper droideka, advanced dwarf spider droids, OOM-series battle droids, B2-HA series super battle droids, and even MagnaGuards.
The racks slowly, carefully, and methodically began to extend from their stationary positions. They moved lower and lower, spreading outwards, backwards, and forwards in grid formations, filling the open space in front of the horizon with raining droids.
Suspended in the sky, the racks turned to black streaks that blotted out the horizon and every end.
The Ewoks exchanged glances.
The racks began to release the droids, their repulsors and jet packs keeping them afloat as they unfolded into standing positions, arms and legs extending, bodies straightening. They reached over their shoulders and pulled their blaster rifles forward.
The Droideka variants unfolded themselves, the MagnaGuards electrified their staffs, and the Super Battle Droid variants primed their blasters.
Spider Droids whirled about, big red eyes zoning on everything they possibly could.
Rocket droids loaded and prepped their shotguns.
"Commence attack." Feral gave the order through his comlink.
The entire array of destructive droids began to disperse, spread, and zoom, all flying in opposite directions, taking to the canopy, cutting through it completely, spearing to the forest floor, and they even began to push across the forest floor itself blasters firing maelstroms of death.
Bright metal glimmers filled the sky from end to end and horizon to horizon.
Those same glimmers were raining onto the forest floor.
The battle droids and vehicles that had been the first to descend were already destroyed, from rocks, tree trunks, branches, clubs, spears, and the occasional palm from the Ewoks.
More and more CIS attack craft and transports were dropping from the darkening sky, crashing, bashing, and spearing through the trees in smoking heaps to create an opening in the plexus.
Class Droid Enforcers, Spider Droids, two-person infantry support platforms, and Dwarf Spider Droids swarmed down like rainfall and began to wither away at the trunks and branches, making landfall and tearing across the terrain before they met their end.
The attack wasn't confined to one area, it was being repeated in tree-cites and villages worldwide. The entire canopy was going up in flames across the planet.
Mountains, rivers, the desert, the ocean-every single place was being attacked.
Droids fell from their perches high above, repulsors shorting, and rockets exploding as they met their end.
Nothing or no creature was spared.
Not even the droids.
The surrounding trees made it difficult for the larger vessels to hover outside the perimeter of the landing platforms that had been carved out from tree villages.
The mammoth trees were natural fortresses and as ancient as time itself. They not only smothered blaster bolts and other more powerful projectiles, but also provided thousands of defensive and offensive platforms for the Ewoks.
They provided the Ewoks with vines and branches to control massive trunks like pendulums. More importantly, these trees had endured for thousands and thousands of years and were not easily burned, chipped, let alone uprooted or obliterated from simple blaster fire.
Even tank fire would do little damage in the long run.
The way Feral deployed his aerial and ground force meant that he was taking advantage of the fact that the Ewoks had no ranged weapons, shields, no defenses against air vehicles, and have never gone past the stone age.
But, there was one thing Feral failed to take into account.
The Ewoks lived off the land, and they used the environment for warfare. They had a network of vines, huge branches tied by thick vines to smash into assault craft, hang gliders, clubs, axes, rocks, and their brute strength.
The Ewoks were putting it all to good use.
The larger war ships were unable to descend below the level of the canopy without the risk of being contorted by one of the many branches or obliterating a tree trunk completely.
The Ewoks used vines and tied trunks to mangle them on their descents.
Closer to the ground, spider droids, B2 super battle droids and their variants, and STAPs succeeded in evading the rocks and debris being thrown by the Ewoks, but were being devastated by the collapsing branches and friendly fire.
Smaller MTTs hovered level by level in the forest all the droids mounted with rocket launchers, grenade launchers, shotguns, flamethrowers, and repeating blasters. They blasted every level, not even cowering when a branch destroyed them along with the MTT.
Droids and Ewoks alike that attempted to rappel or swing were picked off by the hails of blaster bolts and rocks, sometimes entire bands of Ewoks swung out from the tree tops on braided vines to take down thousands of droids or be flung from their vines, to a plummeting death.
The droids that survived the first airborne assault focused their fire high in the trees, throwing grenades, expelling trails from their flame throwers, and sending showers of flaming debris crashing down hard to the forest floor.
Millions of Ewok warriors charged with wooden shields, spears, and clubs. Ewok females fought as fiercely as the males to protect their villages.
Spider droids and battle droids equipped with flame throwers targeted anything the aerial attack missed, and many Ewoks were running away, intent on going deeper into the forest, and sequestering themselves.
The droids followed them, flame throwers unleashing a steady stream until it grew out of control and began to burn the droids themselves leading the assault.
In areas where the fighting had finally lessened, many Ewok females and younglings were falling back toward the tree-city, or evacuating the lower levels for the refuge of the high forest where it wasn't being burned.
Others raced deeper into the forests, falling over on themselves in their quick retreats.
Feral was more than aware that if the Ewoks were faced with captivity, they would flee their tree cities and villages, and then become a little army the CIS hadn't yet faced, but that was the whole point.
They were to be crushed on every level.
If they mounted an army, it would be utterly wiped out.
But, they wouldn't get the chance-they wouldn't have the courage.
Not when he was through with them.
There was an exodus of females and younglings racing from Happy Grove's lowest levels. One Ewok thought about his friend in Red Bush Grove, which was also under attack. Red Bush was several days away to the south.
It was in flames according to many, and many Ewoks had been crushed and burned alive.
Even more were taken into containment or beat to death.
Off to his left, three of the Ewok who had been fighting alongside him for the better part of two straight hours were racing back toward a tree in Happy Grove that was about to fall. With a roar the whole top part of tree smashed them into pulp.
Lifting his eyes the from the bloody sight, he spotted a shuttle that was taking fire from his fellow Ewoks and droids as it attempted to settle on one of the tree-city balconies.
Even higher, the sky was covered by streaking blasts and the flares of engines, flames spewed through the whole expanse, and still swarming with tanks and droids, eerily reminiscent of an eclipse in the shadow it cast over everything.
Now there were so many enemies that there was no light to get through.
They were covering it completely.
Ewok warriors fought against the ground forces and did what they could do against the aerial forces, but the outcome was inevitable.
The Ewoks were successful in repelling the first waves of droids and assault craft, but it was only a matter of time before the Dreadnaughts began their attack.
And, then Endor would fall without reprieve.
Packs bulging with survival food, Ewoks streamed down vines and swung down to lower levels, racing across their suspended bridges, and disappearing into the thick vegetation that surrounded them.
The Ewoks had natural enemies and predators on the world. They had thousands upon thousands of evacuation routes and hideouts. Each one was filled with weapons, food, and supplies that wove through the forest all the way to the ocean on the other side.
Even young Ewok knew of legends, how to construct shelters, how to fashion the vines, how to build a spear, how to climb, how to swing, and how to make rope. They knew which plants and insects were edible, the location of freshwater springs, and the areas where their predators lurked.
They looked up at the shuttle starting to whimper in fear.
Whoever was in that shuttle radiated such evil and hatred that it made their fur shrivel up.
"Ehda graks thek..."
Targeted by rocks, blaster fire from his own droids, and stones, Feral's shuttle veered for the largest of Happy Grove's platforms. Its powerful defensive shields deflected everything and its lasers spewed fire at the Ewoks that had been gliding towards him.
He focused the aim and unleashed another storm of fire.
The trees splintered and shattered, falling towards the ground, sagging in heaps, and thousands of Ewoks shrieked as they plummeted with them into the belly of flames.
The impacts ripped into the balcony's wooden columns and beams, filling the air with debris and the cries of Ewoks falling to their demise, being burned alive, or being burned and ripped apart by the powerful weapons thrusting the world itself.
The explosions sent the Ewoks flying far and wide.
Hurled clear off the trees and the ground, some were sent flying high into the canopy to catch fire, and finally fall into a mess of blood as their bodies splattered from the impact.
In the the shuttle, Feral looked at a holo-image of one of the Tactical Droids.
"Our attacks are being met with resistance planet-wide, and there are complications in many areas. The Ewoks do not like the idea of captivity. They're abandoning the villages and cities and going for the high and deep forests. If they penetrate deeply enough, we will need years to route them out."
Feral addressed another commander.
"Do you agree?"
"Too many of our ranks are being jammed up in the forests, even with our flame throwers and other weapons. The Ewoks have vines, ropes, bridges, and hideouts. They are digging themselves in and trying to get higher in the trees. Our droids and ships are starting to take each other out. Grant permission to initiate aerial bombardment from orbit."
Feral thought about it.
This was what he was going to do in the long run anyways.
Herd them up in the forest and then blast them out.
"You may commence aerial bombardment, Do not target where I am right now. I have some Ewoks to slaughter and maim. Be precise in your application of the bombardment."
The holo-images faded.
Feral leapt out the shuttle's window, igniting his light-saber with his right hand, and used the force to throw himself down even faster until the wind cut into his cheeks. His blade weaved and twirled, deflecting blaster fire, splitting rocks from all sides, cutting through Ewoks, and brushing away flames.
Droids were falling before they could even push into the deep pockets of forest. The Ewoks were digging themselves in, using high vantage points to launch rocks and other projectiles, using their vines to send trunks flying every which way.
The pilot droid focused the power to the engines on the shuttle, swung it around hard enough that the engines whined and spewed out enough force to set fire to nearby trees, and drenched the entire area with a barrage of blasts.
At the same time, two thousand Ewoks with survival bags rushed from cover and managed to get a few inches. A deafening explosion blew the entire tree and suspended bridge to shrapnel, sending the Ewoks plummeting into a fiery pit.
Feral marched through the flames and destruction searching out every Ewok.
His crimson blade whacked left to right, up and down, diagonal and even at odder angles. He cut through spears and swinging branches, bisected vines to send Ewoks flying to their deaths, and flourished his blade so he amputated one arm or one leg.
He destroyed their traps and sent their swinging tree trunks toppling to the ground to crush them under it or send the trees themselves crashing to the ground.
Shrieking and howling, showing their teeth and waving their spears about, the Ewoks tried to just not hold their positions, but they tried to push against Feral in a would be vicious attack.
But, they had never faced a sith, even their worst enemies couldn't compare to a sith.
Not a sith like Feral, either.
Taller than all of them, Feral roared with laughter as he marched forward to obliterate their foolish charge and chop them to little pieces. He cut swaths through their furry ranks, taking hundreds and soon thousands down with each swipe of his flaming blade.
He bit chunks off of their faces and skulls, he snapped their arms and legs, and he bit off their noses when he got the chance.
His crimson flame hacked and slashed hang gliders, splitting spears, setting fire to fur, separated hands from wrists, elbows from arms, and feet from ankles, leaving more than four thousand convulsing, amputated bodies in his wake.
Those on fire ran until their flesh finally burned through.
They tried to drag themselves across the ground, but their fingers melted.
Feral signaled an order to a Droid Commander with a half open hand.
It powered the shuttle, smashing right through the balconies nearby, sending Ewoks flying and screaming through the air, and unleashed another barrage of fire that blew out the rest of the balconies in quick succession.
Ewoks waddled and dragged themselves across the ground, whimpering in pain, grunting in agony, or moaning until they died. A massive tree city, with more than three hundred Ewoks smashed right on top of them, smearing the whole area in gore.
Daylight was nowhere close to fading and the air was filled with the smoke, blood, and grit of battle.
Ewoks ran every which way across their hanging bridges, only to be launched high overhead by an explosion.
Others tried to carry the wounded to shelter only to be engulfed by flames.
The most intense fighting was starting to encroach into the lakes and deeper into the forests. It was stretching more and more into the forest pockets where the vegetation was dense and began to turn into a swamp.
Several thousand warships were erupting into masses of flames, spreading outwards and decimating thousands of droids, even more Ewoks, and even more of the forest in the process of meeting their own destruction.
The ground was piled high with the bodies of dead, dying, maimed, or wounded Ewok.
The droids swarmed the tree villages and tree-cities from all sides, even from the far shore of the lakes, rivers, ocean, and even swept into the canopy itself. They began to chip away at the massive trunks and tear deep into their forms, sending them falling like thunder.
Nothing escaped the hail storm of blaster and tank fire.
They arrived on watercraft in areas that needed it.
They utilized speeder bikes and other swift vehicles to clear vast distances and push the Ewoks to where they wanted them to go.
Blitzing storms of blaster fire streamed high up into the trunks of the trees, splintering and fracturing branches, and gouging out parts of the foundation.
With STAPs and other smaller troop transports, the Ewoks were being pushed to the ground rapidly.
Out of billowing smoke came more Ewoks running for safety, some of them limping, some with blood-matted fur, some with fur half burned or burning, others screaming in pain, and others half dead. They all struggled to carry and support each other.
Feral walked in front of them, pointing his crimson blade in their eyes, forcing them to stop in their tracks lest they impaled themselves face first.
"Where do you think you're all going in such a hurry?"
He removed one's head without making a single movement, picking it up and facing it towards the rest of the group.
He smashed it with his fist.
The Ewoks trembled, staring up at him with their big black eyes, their little mouths moving in a plea for mercy, fear, both, or they were weeping in fear completely.
"Gyeesh!"
"Gyeesh!"
Their big eyes became even more glassy, as if they were shedding even more tears.
"Gyeesh den es'eesht!"
Feral laughed cruelly, focusing on their individual cells and setting fire to them, pulling them apart so their bodies convulsed, and made them shriek until they lost their voices.
"Gyeesh!
Feral grinned sadistically as he cornered them, feeding off of it, allowing their tears and their fear to fuel his power.
"Gyeesh den es'eesht! Gyeesh! Gyeesh!"