Chapter 3

Admiral Lavorun wasn't from a legacy family like so many others in the Republic. He had been nothing more than a deck officer just a few years earlier. But during the Battle of Dantooine-considered by many to be a turning point in the war-a Sith bomber struck the ship, killing most of the crew. Lavorun had risen to the occasion and saved the fleet.

Now he was working alongside the brash General Eagen. Lavorun didn't like how those Jedi who reached the rank of master were given the rank of general. Sure, some were well trained in the art of war. Others were incompetent leaders. Eagen was neither. If the Republic were smart, Eagen would be a captain or colonel of a special forces division. That's the way he acted anyway.

The Excel Class Star Destroyer named The Crucible was their base of operations. At over a kilometer in length the Excel Class was among the largest ships in wide circulation in the war, and the pride of Kuat Drives.

The Crucible was part of the second stage of the assault on Hypori. The orbital ring around the planet made it difficult to invade. This campaign would drain the Republic fleet of resources. They had been preparing for this mission for almost five years, hiding ships in the Unknown Region around planets like the sacred world of Ilum. It would be a long arduous campaign to cripple the sith navy. And this campaign was only made possible thanks to Eagen's latest mission to find the secret hyperspace route to the sith shipyard.

There was call for concern though. Lavorun was unsure of what role Sia Rayne would play in the assault. She was a complete novice whose only experience in true battle was the recent sacking of Yavin IV.

"Padawan Rayne will be by my side during the duration of this mission." Eagen insisted.

"So, you're babysitting then?" Lavorun asked.

"Master Sitrus seems to think that given time she can end the war."

"Time is one thing she might not have."

"When we arrive in the battle, I'll be piloting the Equinox III. I'll find a way for her to be useful."

"I do hope so. So many men have already lost their lives in this campaign."

"I know all too well." Eagen nodded.

"Admiral, we'll be arriving shortly." An officer said.

"Alright, may the Force be with you." Admiral Lavorun said.

"I leave the ship in your hands." Eagen said as he left the bridge.

Sia had never been away from her brothers like this. She had also never been in such shrewd company. BB was a pleasant droid, but Calagar and Lana weren't much for conversation. Master Eagen didn't seem like much of a talker either.

"Sia, you'll be on the bottom turret." Eagen said.

"We're taking this ship?" Sia asked, pointing to the Equinox III. "Shouldn't we take the Jedi Starfighters?"

"Our mission is to help clear a path to their orbital ring. After that we'll be slipping through the planetary shields and land. From there we'll slowly make our way to one of the primary shield generators. This mission could take several days."

"Days?" Sia stood up. "We expect our forces to hold out for days?"

"This is a very important battle with several stages, counter measures and back ups. We have been working on this plan for five years." Eagen said. "Ours is the most important mission, paving the way for a ground invasion."

"Hypori is a large planet." Lana said as she polished her pistol. "Any invasion of it was destined to take weeks, if not months."

"Are you ready to fight for that long?" Eagen asked.

Sia nodded. Her master's calmness put her at ease. If this was a typical battle for him, then she was going to get used to it or be left in the dust. She knew she was strong. She was confident in her abilities. And the fact she would first act as a gunner and not a pilot put her more at ease.

In the meantime Sia got acquainted with the Equinox III. She wasn't much of a pilot or an engineer, but she was still fascinated with ship design. The Equinox III was a gunboat armed to the teeth with some of the latest in naval weaponry and stealth technology. And unlike the personal vessels used by most other Jedi, it had above average defenses as well. Its thirty-five meter wingspan ended in a pair of turbolasers. The top and bottom supported dual laser cannons. There were also a couple payloads of missiles: emp bombs for droid fighters, ion torpedoes for shields and proton torpedoes for ships.

"Best get ready." Caligar said as he entered the ship.

"Attention all passengers, prepare for assault." Admiral Lavorun called over the comms. "Dropping out of hyperspace in five…" Sia ran into the ship. "Four…" She sat in the gunner seat. "Three." The controls were surprisingly typical given the atypical ship they were attached to. "Two." Eagen fired up the engines. "One."

"We're only going to have one shot at this. Hit 'em hard, hit 'em fast." Eagen gave his last words before the battle truly began.

As soon as they pulled out of hyperspace, the flagship opened all its hangar bay doors. The Equinox III dropped from the hull and Eagen fired its thrusters. It was a fast ship for its size and cleared the length of The Crucible in a matter of seconds. Several squadrons of fighters got in formation behind the gunboat. Ahead of them, dozens of cruisers, destroyers, corvettes and capital ships blew each other to smithereens while hundreds of fighters chased each other down in swarms.

"Focus on the fighters in front of us." Eagen said. "Let the fleet cover our back."

A nearby republic cruiser was blasted apart by turbolasers and missiles, spraying debris and chemical clouds from its ruptured engines. Eagen flew the ship into the cloud, using it as cover to further his advance.

The planet was nearly impregnable. A shield surrounded the entire sphere. It had duel layers of protection. The first was the planetary ring that served as the sith's shipyard. Taking it was the ultimate goal of this battle. But it was a part Eagen would not play. His job was to take down the ground-level shield generator. Now, there were a couple ways to do that. Slow moving siege ships could bypass shields but would never hope to survive against the sith fleet. It was also possible to overwhelm a shield and cause a temporary shut down. Once again though the naval defences were far too great.

"BB, do your thing." Lana nodded. The droid was the key to their success. By jacking into the Equinox III's sensor relays, it could scan and calculate the weakest point in the shield based on energy readings from stray laser fire. The Crucible provided that stray fire, peppering the shield with its turbolasers.

In the meantime, the Equinox III carved a path through the sith fighters. He fired an emp bomb into a squad of droid fighters. Sia and Caligar spun around, blasting interceptors out of the way. As another swarm of fighters were cleared, Eagen took note of a particular capital ship looming near the orbital ring.

"He's here." Eagen whispered. The ship was none other than the personal flagship of Darth Taranus. "Of course he's here."

"Keep your mind on the mission Jedi." Lana said.

"If he's here for me, then it's something we'll have to address." Eagen said calmly. There was a temptation to charge right at the vessel and engage it directly.

"You did steal the pathfinder from a panet under his control." Lana said. "It's more likely the emperor sent him here to fix his mess."

"A mess I caused." Eagen sighed.

"Missiles incoming." Lana said.

"Engaging evasive maneuvers." Eagen started spinning the ship towards the planet.

"Master, I can shoot them." Sia said. "Just stop spinning the ship."

"No need, I have a better idea. BB, prepare a little light show for our helmeted friend."

He cut the engines and turned the ship towards the sith flagship. Then he diverted all power to the thrusters. BB tapped into the weapon systems and got ready to follow Eagen's lead. The missiles were closing in. The ship began to shake from strange turbulence. Eagen was the only one whose senses were tuned enough to know what it was. The Sith Grand General was standing on his bridge, attempting to crush the Equinox III. Eagen held his hand out, resisting Taranus' willpower. The ship was beginning to lose speed as it was dragged down by the telekinetic pull.

"Eagen, what is happening?" Lana asked.

"You….are still not strong enough." The voice echoed in Eagen's mind. When he closed his eyes he could see the sith lord, standing on the bridge. His arm was stretched out. His cape was flat, hanging from his shoulders. His durasteel armor was weary from constant battle. His helmet covered his face. Even in the mental projection, Eagen could not see his eyes beyond the red t-shaped visor.

"You Sith will never understand that strength isn't everything." Eagen responded. His eyes shot open and he grabbed the trigger on one of the special weapons. "BB, punch it!"

The droid fired a flare at the bridge of the sith ship. Everyone on board was blinded and Taranus was stunned. Within that second, Eagen fired an ion shot, lowering the shields around the bridge. Lana took the controls and jerked the ship around to keep them from crashing. The missiles weren't able to maneuver around the bridge and exploded against the glass.

"Blasted Jedi!" Lana said as she saved everyone on board. "All that for nothing. The bridge's integrity is holding."

"Yeah, but it rattled his cage." Eagen chuckled. "BB, what do you got for me?" A chirp and a beep preceded a marker on the scanner, showing a weak spot in the shield. "Alright, hang on tight!"

"What are you doing?" Lana shouted as he aimed the ship towards the sith's engines.

"Taranus will need to cycle the shields after that hit he just took and we need a distraction to slip through the shields."

"You're gonna get us killed!"

"Only if it doesn't work. All power to shields." Eagen flipped the switch to arm a payload of missiles. He then flipped the ship around. Letting the Force guide him, he timed it to where a volley of proton torpedoes were able to get through the fluctuating shields. They detonated inside the exposed engines of the sith flagship, creating a massive explosive wave that tore through the hull of the ship, its shields, and slammed into the Equinox III.

Eagen wrestled with the controls to stabilize the ship. It was spinning out of control and careening towards the planetary shield. Using his own force prowess he managed to stabilize the ship long enough to fire the ion shot at the shield and create a small opening. Lana fired the thrusters and managed to slip in before the hole closed.

As soon as they hit the atmosphere, the damage the ship had received multiplied and part of its wing was torn off. BB plugged into the ship's systems and cut the fuel line, extinguishing the flames engulfing the wing. With the fuel cut, Eagen was able to slow the ship down and guide it into a relatively smooth crash landing.

"Well played Master Eagen!" Caligar cheered.

"You got lucky." Lana huffed. The adrenaline started to subside. Eagen was the only one who seemed to be calm as Sia and Caligar joined them in the cockpit.

"Who was on that ship?" Sia asked. Eagen turned to face his apprentice. "Don't play stupd with me. You nearly got us killed. Whoever was on that bridge was strong in the Force."

"That man, is not your concern." Eagen said.

"It is if he's going to be coming after us." Sia said.

"Okay." Eagen weighed his options. He questioned himself on how much he should tell his eager young apprentice. "Darth Taranus, Grand General of the Sith Army. According to our sources, only Darth Mallow and the Emperor surpass him in power. And…." Eagen shook his head.

"All you need to know is that he and General Eagen have had clashes in the past." Lana said.

"Is it personal?" Sia asked.

"I know what it's like, to lose a family member to the dark side. In a sense, Darth Taranus did to me what Mallow did to you. I believe that's why the council decided to place you under my tutelage."

"I understand." Sia nodded.

"Good. We're a few days out from the nearest city. We'll hide the ship and set out." With that, their part in the space battle ended and the real mission began. They were deep in enemy territory with eyes already looking to locate them.