A.N.

May the fourth be with you everyone and I hope you all enjoy this next chapter!

Chapter 11: The War Continues

The Eternal Empire had joined the war nearly a month ago and Kayden had recently realized something about the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire.

They weren't as much of a challenge as he thought they would be.

So far, despite going after both the Republic and the Empire, they hadn't suffered even a single defeat in the war. The only type of 'defeats' they'd suffered had been when a few ships from fleets they'd attacked had successfully escaped. The Eternal Fleet was easily overwhelming anything that either of the two factions would throw at it. 'Arcann deserves the credit for how well he's been using the fleet. He's making excellent use of the GEMINIs and the throne.'

Kayden and Vaylin had also been busy. After spending a week on Darvannis setting up a factory for their forces, the twin siblings had left the planet and been ordered to a new battleground.

Belsavis.

Arcann had ordered the two to capture the planet so they could take over its prison facility. Kayden thought it was a smart decision on his older brother's part. They didn't want to take so many prisoners back to Zakuul and they didn't want to waste resources by holding the prisoners on their warships or building their own prison during the war, so they'd just take a prison until they could find a good location and a better time to build their own.

Vaylin was especially excited. She'd been dying to finally start doing some fighting and Belsavis was definitely a planet they wouldn't be able to capture without a fight, and this was looking to be a big one.

The planet had been secretly used as the Republic's dumping ground for scum for years and it had been a prison for much longer with some of the prisoners being even older than their Immortal Emperor due to being in stasis for so long.

Worst of all, the Sith Empire had attacked the planet causing a massive breakout that still hasn't been contained. 'Not for lack of trying on the Republic's part. They did manage to force the Sith and their forces to retreat, but they still hadn't been able to recapture many of the prisoners nor repair all the damage done by the Sith.'

Kayden knew this would likely prove to be more trouble than it was worth but, for now, they did need the planet for their prisoners. 'At least until the war's finished. After that I'll do some research and see if I can't find a better option to house our prisoners.'

A tapping on his shoulder breaks Kayden out of his thoughts and he turns to see Vaylin giving him an annoyed look. "Stop thinking so hard brother. It's a bad look for you." Vaylin joked with a smirk appearing after she finished speaking.

Kayden sighed. "Trust me sister, I'd much rather be back at the library on Zakuul, but we're at war now. So I need to think hard so I can figure out a way to end this war as quickly as possible." Kayden explained, hoping his words would be enough for Vaylin.

They weren't. "Brother, I don't know if you've seen the latest reports, but we're not exactly losing the war." She said in a matter of fact tone.

"We're doing very well so far." Kayden admitted. "But-"

"No buts Kayden." Vaylin said, cutting him off. "I know how badly you want this war to be over but, even with the Eternal Fleet, a war involving the entire galaxy takes time. So, take a little of that time to relax a little. I don't like seeing you in a bad mood." She said the last part quietly so the rest of the crew on the bridge couldn't hear.

Kayden couldn't help but smile. Normally he was the one trying to make Vaylin feel better but now it was the other way around. "When we reach Belsavis, will dealing with the Republic forces and a bunch of armed prisoners count as relaxing?" He asked jokingly.

The smile that appeared on Vaylin's face was one that promised pain and suffering. "Maybe for you. Certainly for me." She said in that sweet tone that would terrify just about anyone else.

Kayden rolled his eyes. "Well, when we arrive I'll be sending a message down to whoever's leading the Republic forces on the planet and give them a chance to surrender. If they're smart, they'll take the offer to avoid any unnecessary bloodshed."

Belsavis, Some Time Later…

They weren't smart.

Vaylin had watched with more than a little amusement as the Republic's leader on Belsavis not only refused the extremely generous offer of surrender but the leader, some woman named Bartaph, had actually threatened to have them and all their forces locked up if they dared attack Belsavis.

Naturally, Vaylin had taken this as a challenge and was on the first shuttle down to the surface with her brother after Kayden had several dozen skytrooper pods launched down to the surface. And after they'd destroyed all the Republic ships around the planet of course.

Skytroopers had already cleared a decent sized landing zone by the time their shuttle touched down and had even captured a few of the Republic guards that had been defending the area from the rampaging prisoners.

As always, Kayden took the lead and politely asked the guards for information about the prison facility.

The guard closest to Kayden had responded by spitting on his boots.

He'd gained a broken neck very shortly after giving his response. Vaylin just whistled to herself as her twin sent a look her way.

Kayden, despite having been spit on, actually gave the guards another chance after seeing the guard's neck suddenly break, only this time he'd demanded answers rather than just ask for them.

The guards, proving to be just as stupid as their leader, all stayed silent. Vaylin would admit she'd nearly giggled when Kayden asked her to take over.

A few minutes and several broken bones later and the guards had finally gotten smart enough to start answering their questions, even revealing their commander, Warden Bartaph they called their stupid leader, was currently at the Maximum Security Ops Center, using it as her base of operations while she tried to regain control of the facility.

"She'll fail." Vaylin had told them. "We'll be the ones taking control here."

Unfortunately, that's when Kayden decided to end her fun and throw the prisoners in a nearby cell block their forces had captured. However, her disappointment had ended quickly since Kayden decided to use the skytroopers to clear out the guards and prisoners between them and the Republic Marshal and he'd even asked if she'd wanted to join them.

In return, she'd asked if the sky was blue.

Which brought the only daughter of Valkorion where she was now, in an area of the prison called the high security section with republic guards and prisoners everywhere around her with every single one of them trying to kill her.

Vaylin couldn't help but laugh at their pathetic attempts as she cut down one after another for what felt like hours. Kayden had even given her permission to cut down any prisoner that was armed rather than try to recapture them and, so far, she hadn't come across even a single prisoner that wasn't armed, nor one that didn't try to kill her on sight.

In other words, she was having the time of her life.

One prisoner tried to sneak up behind her with a knife, but one of the many skytroopers took him out before Vaylin could. She was slightly annoyed having so many of them with her, but she knew Kayden was just trying to end things as quickly as possible and, while she respected her brother's intentions, she really did wish he would take some time to relax.

Focusing back on the killing, Vaylin saw a group of four prisoners charging at her. She cut down two the moment they got in range of her lightsaber and used her powerful force lightning to disintegrate the other two.

As much fun as she was having, a part of Vaylin had been hoping that at least one of the prisoners would give her some sort of challenge but so far, she'd been disappointed in that area. 'I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised. The only good scum is dead scum… or stuffed and mounted on the wall.'

After cutting down another dozen prisoners, Vaylin noticed the area had gone quiet around her. Looking around, she saw that there were, sadly, no prisoners left in the area that were still breathing. 'That was over far too soon.' She thought bitterly as she spotted their target in the distance.

Despite her rather…intense interrogation, the guards that she and Kayden captured hadn't been able to give them any details about the Maximum Security Ops Center except its location and that it was definitely where they would find Warden Bartaph. Seeing it now, Vaylin felt a smile come to her face.

The Ops Center was in a rather good defensive position with two sides of the base protected by giant walls of ice and another wall of what looked to be very thick durasteel that even a lightsaber wouldn't be able to cut through.

However, it was the last wall which had made Vaylin smile. It was also durasteel but, unlike the other wall, this one looked like it had been blown open and was still in the process of being repaired since the only thing there to stop anyone or anything getting in was a simple metal gate, a gate which looked like it had just been placed there to cover up the hole as much as possible. 'Maybe I'll ask nicely and the Warden will open that poor attempt at a barrier for us…nah, I'll just cut down her troops and drag her to Kayden.'

Her twin had decided to stay and defend the landing zone against any prisoners that got it in their heads to try and steal one of their shuttles to escape. The skytroopers were excellent disposable soldiers but they weren't the best when it came to guard duty and both she and her brother knew it, so Kayden and their knights decided to keep watch themselves while he tasked Vaylin with capturing Warden Bartaph. 'I'm glad I was able to talk him out of sending the knights with me. It's so much more fun to cut a few fools down without a knight interrupting and asking for orders or giving updates every five minutes.'

Not that she was attacking the base alone. Looking back, she saw that, despite the heavy fighting against the prisoners on their way, she guessed there were still about five hundred skytroopers with her. She knew, thanks to the force, that her force far outnumbered the guards the Warden had defending the base.

Deciding to put on a show, Vaylin pressed a button on her wrist comlink, sending a signal to the skytroopers to stay back while she approached the base on her own. It didn't take long for the guards on the wall to notice her.

"Halt! Identify yourself!" One of the guards shouted while pointing his blaster at her from the top of the wall while Vaylin just continued approaching the gate.

"Stop! If you come any closer, we will use force!" The guard shouted a little louder this time. His words only caused Vaylin to smile as she was now only a few steps away from the gate.

"You were warned. All forces, blast-" The guard didn't have a chance to finish before an invisible force yanked him off the wall and his neck was dragged into Vaylin's waiting hand.

Smiling, she looked up at the struggling guard. "Please be quiet." she said sweetly before using her free hand to bring her lightsaber up to the guard's chest where the heart was located and activated it, the yellow blade going through the guard's body and ending his life instantly.

Dropping the now lifeless corpse, Vaylin sensed the fear from the remaining guards on the top of the wall before one of them shook themselves out of it. "Blast her!" He shouted.

Moving faster than most could follow, Vaylin raised her hand and, focusing on the rest of the guards on top of the wall, used the force to pull them all off like she'd done with the first guard.

However, unlike the first one, she didn't catch these guards.

Sensing no other guards appearing above her, Vaylin stepped up to the gate and, using her still activated lightsaber, proceeded to cut a large hole in the gate and gave it a push with the force to open it and blow away a few of the guards she felt assembling on the other side of it.

Stepping into the base, she stepped into a large open area in the center of the base. She saw several training dummies off to one side of the yard, indicating that the area was likely being used by the guards for training.

Oh, and she had about forty guards pointing blasters at her.

Deactivating and clipping her lightsaber back onto her belt, Vaylin put her hands behind her back to discreetly enter a few commands on her wrist communicator before speaking and using the force to ensure her voice carried across the whole base. "Knock knock, sorry if I'm interrupting anything but I'm afraid I have to ask you all to surrender now."

The guards' emotions were easy enough for Vaylin to read. At first there was a mix of surprise and anger, but then one guard started laughing and the rest soon followed. "Yeah, we're going to surrender to the person we've got outnumbered and surrounded." One of the guards said. Vaylin didn't even need the force to sense the guard's arrogance.

She just barely kept herself from bursting out laughing. 'Poor little guard. He doesn't even know his life and the lives of his friends are all in my hands now. Oh, but I think he'll realize his mistake shortly.' "Actually, you'll be surrendering to the person who has you outnumbered and surrounded." She replied simply, waiting for the big reveal and their reactions to it.

The same guard scoffed. "Look around, do you-"

The guards' words were cut off by dozens of skytroopers dropping into the base and immediately surrounding the guards and filling more and more of the base until there were hundreds of the droids surrounding the now stunned guards.

Vaylin takes a moment to look back and forth at the skytroopers before looking at the guard again. "Okay I'm done looking." She said with a smile before finally getting serious. "Drop your weapons, now." She said with a voice so cold, more than a few of the guards shivered before they did the smartest thing Vaylin had seen since arriving.

They all threw down their weapons and put their hands up. 'Huh, it seems they actually can think when they want to.'

"Splendid!" Vaylin said with a clap of her hands before using the force to drag the now terrified guard who'd spoken before in front of her.

"Now, please tell me where I can find Warden Bartaph."

Coruscant, the Senate Building…

Elin Garza was considered a genius when it came to military tactics and strategy and had used her intelligence to lead the Republic to many victories over the years. 'Victories they were so quick to forget whenever I ordered something without their approval.'

Despite having a near flawless record, Garza's actions weren't always viewed kindly by the Senate, thanks in no small part to her ordering actions that many would consider questionable and even ruthless at times. But Garza herself cared little for the opinions of the Senate. 'Even after all this time, they still don't understand that sometimes hard decisions must be made for the good of the Republic.'

Regardless of her standing with the Senate, her many successes against the Empire had earned her a high position in the Republic military as a General. She'd even proved capable enough to be given command of Havoc Squad, one of the best and most decorated special forces squads in the Republic.

Unfortunately, her time as Havoc Squad's CO didn't go well to say the least. Shortly before the Treaty of Coruscant was inevitably broken, nearly all of Havoc Squad had defected to the Empire. The only one who didn't defect was the squad's newest member at the time, callsign Meteor.

Meteor had been tasked with hunting down the traitors and either capturing or eliminating them and, despite a few moments of insubordination, had completely succeeded. Most of Havoc's previous members had been eliminated, but Meteor had managed to capture Jek Kardan, Fuse, and even Havoc's former commander, Harron Tavus. 'At least Harron and the others have been making a decent effort to undo some of the damage they caused. I'll never trust any of them again, but as long as their actions are for the Republic rather than against it, that's for the best.'

After that, Meteor had rebuilt Havoc with new loyal members and they had successfully carried out several key operations throughout the war, including destroying the Gauntlet superweapon and even capturing the empire's best general, Arkos Rakton. 'What a waste.' She thought bitterly, remembering just how much effort it had taken to finally capture the man, only for it to mean nothing when the man was traded for Republic POWs.

Still, her greatest failure without question was the fate of Eclipse Squad, Havoc's replacements, or they were supposed to be. She'd known there would be risks using the Rakatan cybernetics, but even she never imagined how bad the results would turn out to be.

Six brave volunteers reduced to madness who destroyed a Republic base and killed over two hundred Republic soldiers before being themselves killed on Rishi by Havoc Squad. 'Though at that point, it was more of a mercy killing than an execution.'

Garza had known early on that Meteor, despite being loyal to the Republic, hadn't always approved of her methods, but the incident with Eclipse Squad proved to be the last straw and the newly promoted Major had all but demanded she come clean about everything that she'd done and had even admitted he'd testify against her if necessary.

She'd wanted to feel betrayed but she didn't. Not after seeing the Major's anger at having to end the lives of what had once been good Republic soldiers. 'I may not have fully agreed with the Major at the time, but I do see now that using Rakata technology to enhance our soldiers could never have gone well.'

So, she'd done as she said she would and had come clean to the Senate, knowing it would not only be the end of her career, but also cause her to spend the rest of her life in a Republic cell.

That was exactly what happened.

Only, it hadn't lasted nearly as long as she'd been expecting.

Now, she found herself seated somewhere she thought she'd never be again in front of someone she thought she'd never see again.

The office of the Supreme Chancellor with Chancellor Saresh herself seated across from her with her arms crossed.

Each lady was staring at the other with no words being said. Hearing some slight shuffling, Garza glanced behind her and was once again reminded of the two guards watching her. 'Not surprising since I'm still wearing an orange prison uniform, but something tells me that'll change after this meeting.'

Turning her attention back to the Chancellor, Garza decided it was time to break the silence. "Why did you bring me here Chancellor?" She asked simply.

The Chancellor didn't answer right away and Garza could tell she was thinking exactly what she was going to say.

Finally, she answered. "About three days ago, my office received this message." She said before activating the holo on her desk.

The figure who appeared was someone Garza wasn't familiar with. He was a young man, probably mid twenties, she guessed, with a shaved head and some type of fancy gray armor that she didn't recognize.

"Chancellor Saresh of the Galactic Republic, my name is Kayden, Prince of Zakuul and younger brother to Emperor Arcann. I'm contacting you to inform you that, as of one hour ago, the Eternal Empire has gained complete control of the planet Belsavis and its prison facilities. All remaining Republic forces on the surface have been captured or eliminated. I send you this message only to deliver a warning, the longer this war lasts the longer your people will suffer. If you truly care about your people Chancellor, then your best course of action would be to surrender to the Eternal Empire and swear loyalty to the Eternal Throne. If you do not, if you choose to continue this foolish war, then you better be prepared for the consequences."

The message ended and the room was once again silent. Chancellor Saresh's expression was one of rage and fury and Garza sat there in disbelief. She'd heard about this new 'Eternal Empire' and its Emperor from the guards in her prison facility, but she never would've imagined that they would have succeeded in taking a planet that the Sith Empire had failed to.

Leaning forward, Chancellor Saresh took a moment to compose herself before speaking again. "As I said, we received this message three days ago. Immediately after receiving it, we attempted to contact Belsavis without success. I ordered a nearby Republic fleet to investigate and see if this…Prince Kayden's claims were true. Unfortunately, they were." She grumbled.

"I take it the fleet you sent was also destroyed." Garza said. It was a statement, not a question.

The Chancellor nodded. "Only a single ship survived. A lone corvette that was heavily damaged and just barely managed to escape. According to the crew, the enemy fleet at Belsavis numbered over a hundred ships and the ship's logs confirmed those numbers. It's a miracle they managed to escape at all." Now, a smile appeared on the Chancellor's face. "But they didn't return empty handed." She said before typing something on her console that Garza couldn't see.

A few moments later, a holo appeared showing what Garza recognized as some type of heavily armed warship. "The crew attempted a scan of the enemy fleet looking for any potential weaknesses we could have exploited. The scan was incomplete but it did reveal that this ship's energy readings were much higher than any of their other ships and, despite having faced the Eternal Empire's ships for over a month, this is the first time we've seen a ship like the one scanned at Belsavis."

"A flagship." Garza concluded. "Or a control ship of some kind. You believe this is the Prince's personal ship." Once again, it was phrased as a statement instead of a question.

"I do." The Chancellor confirmed with a slight nod. "This new empire, while powerful, is only distracting us from our true enemy. Fortunately, the Eternal Empire is going after the Sith forces as well, but I refuse to back down from either so, since the Republic needs all the help it can get right now, I'm having you reinstated with your former rank and status as well as offering a full pardon for all your previous activities, General." The Chancellor said, catching Garza completely by surprise though she tried not to let it show on her face.

She knew there was something more to this. When she'd revealed what'd happened with Eclipse Squad as well as the rest of her covert activities, more than one senator had called for her head. For the Chancellor to have her reinstated and even be offering a full pardon…

"Is the Republic truly that desperate?" She asked, getting a slightly surprised look from the Chancellor. Garza knew it wasn't the best choice of words but she had to know. Because if the Chancellor was going this far by both ignoring the Senate's wishes as well as her own past activities, then desperate was the only word to describe the situation.

After the surprise faded, a flash of anger entered the Chancellor's eyes before it quickly faded as well and she sighed. "As I said, the Republic needs all the help it can get right now. Against both the Sith and this new enemy." She said, not denying or admitting the Republic's desperate status. 'But that's enough for me to know that the Republic really is in a desperate situation.'

"What are my orders Chancellor?" Garza asked, easily slipping back into her role as a General. Despite being imprisoned, she held no grudge towards the Republic. The politicians certainly, but not the Republic. Everything she'd done had been for the Republic even if it hadn't always worked out and now she was getting a second chance. She didn't plan to waste it.

Smiling, the Chancellor nodded to the two guards and one of them stepped forward and removed Garza's cuffs before stepping back. "Your orders will be sent to you after you've had some time to get used to your old position, but don't expect to wait for your orders for long, General." The Chancellor said, dropping her smile and adopting a serious expression. "I want this new Empire defeated quickly so we can focus our full attention back on the Sith. That's why I'm transferring command of Havoc Squad back to you. They performed exceptionally under your command before, now they need to do so again."

Garza was once again caught by surprise. "Chancellor, with all due respect, my specialty is conducting covert operations. While I'd be honored to lead Havoc again, they've simply become too recognizable to our enemies after the Rakton campaign." She reasoned, not voicing that she felt Havoc deserved better than to be put under her again.

"I agree." The Chancellor said. "Havoc squad's successes did make them too recognizable. To the Sith Empire. Not the Eternal Empire, which I'll have you and Havoc focusing on." The Chancellor informed her.

Garza simply nodded. "I'll need all the information we have on the Eternal Empire so I'll be able to formulate a proper response." She said, unconcerned that she was now facing an enemy she knew next to nothing about. She'd operated on minimum information in the past and had succeeded, so she knew she'd succeed now.

She had to. The Republic likely depended on it.

The Chancellor nodded. "You'll have all the information on them sent to you, along with the data collected by the survivors from Belsavis. You'll need it for planning."

"Planning for what exactly, Chancellor?" She asked, wondering what type of plan the Chancellor had in mind.

"I've got sources attempting to learn anything and everything they can about Prince Kayden and his flagship, any information gained will also be sent to you. Eventually, I want Havoc Squad to go after this ship…

…

…and capture Prince Kayden."

A.N.

This prison thing will turn into something much bigger down the line, but that's a ways away yet. For now, Belsavis has been captured by Kayden and Vaylin and General Garza has been released to help fight them. Of course, neither she nor Saresh have any true idea what they're up against but they'll find out eventually. I did consider including something else in this chapter but decided to leave it out so that I could get this out on May 4th. As always, please leave me any thoughts, ideas, or questions you may have and I'll get you guys the next chapter as soon as I can. Thanks to everyone and anyone who took the time to read this and I'll see you all next time!