Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. It belongs to Disney. I make no money from this story.

Chapter 3: Of Force Adepts and Crime Lords

=KoF=

Part 2

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Republic Cruiser "Valiant"

Task Force "Dagger" flagship

High Orbit over Christophsis

In a blink of an eye, the vortex of hyperspace vanished. A tarnished jewel replaced it, shining emerald into the void. Six Venator cruisers flashed into existence above Christophsis, surrounded by escorts. Behind them emerged four Acclamator Assault ships, which kept a safe distance from the battlefield to be. As soon as they reverted to normal space, the Venators began launching their fighters at a breakneck pace.

Before them stood three Confederate battleships. Eight Munificent frigates acted as their escorts. It was only a matter of time before a swarm of Vulture druids rose to meet the challenge.

Vader watched the world ahead wishfully. He met Snips there for the first time, the energetic little spitfire. That was one of the few truly good things that happened to him during the original Clone Wars. Vader could still clearly recall the shock he felt when Ahsoka dropped the bombshell at his feet. He could never forget how Snips announced that she was Skywalker's sparkling new Padawan, instead of Obi-Wan's.

This time around, the young troublemaker in question stood a step behind Vader, fidgeting in her custom-built armor. Ahsoka's irritation at him over what she had to wear was clear to see even without the Force. Through it, Snips was a bubbling cauldron of emotions. Vader paid it no heed. It was a small price to pay in order to increase the odds of Ahsoka making it through the fighting intact. He wasn't about to assume that everything would turn all right, just because it did in a future past.

This was a bloody war after all, and people got messed up by it all the time. You could say that Vader was an expert on the subject. No matter how much he loathed that never sufficiently damned suit that served as his prison for decades, even he couldn't deny that the layers of armor were very useful on multiple occasions. Then again, many of those times he would have gotten out just fine if he had been whole.

"So what's the plan, Master?" Snips grumbled and impatience colored her signature.

Vader pointed at the primary tactical display showing the enemy capital ships and their escorts. "We're acting as bait. When they focus their attention on us, we call in the bombers. They'll make a precision hyperspace jump right on top of the enemy using our signals."

That was a tactic that the Rebel Alliance had often used with devastating success. Vader was almost giddy that he and his forces wouldn't be on the receiving end this time. His only regret was that he wasn't strapped in the cockpit of a Y-Wing, but that wasn't his job. With a few notable exceptions, going out to have fun on the front hadn't been a part of his job description ever since he had become a General during the advent of the Clone Wars the first time around. Not that such a triviality had stopped him from pulling various idiotic stunts the last time. Vader smirked. It wouldn't stop him from getting back in the cockpit this time around either. However, only after he had given clear orders, objectives to achieve and had a cadre of subordinates in a place he could trust not to kriff up like the Senate on a bad day.

"This is a bold tactic, General Skywalker." General Yularen frowned. The flag officer was notably in charge of the task force. However, the byzantine rank structure of the GAR complicated things. In a sane galaxy, an inexperienced Jedi like Skywalker, no matter his supposed rank, would be at best be an advisor for the Admiral. Instead, it was the other way around.

There were many explanations for the current state of affairs. Amusingly enough, one of them was that everyone trusted the Jedi, so who else but they could be given the power to command the GAR? Back in the real world, the reason was simple. The Jedi had the unique opportunity to poison the well as far as the GAR was concerned. Their blunders would make the Clones that much more eager to go along with Order 66 when the time came. As a bonus, any early defeats, mistakes, and displays of inevitable gross incompetence would be very useful propaganda tools to tarnish the Order as a whole.

"I'm sure our pilots can handle it. While this battle group has enough firepower to fight its way through anyway, we'll lose most of it slugging it out with the enemy." Vader pointed out

"I hope your confidence isn't misplaced." Yularen sounded less than thrilled, yet he didn't raise any more objections.

"Me too." Vader quipped, wondering where did that come from. Pointlessly antagonizing and needling one of the competent officers within the GAR was a foolish thing to do at the best of times. He wanted Yularen on his side after all.

"We'll be ineffective range in twenty seconds, sir!" the sensor operator announced.

"All Venators concentrate fire on the leading enemy battleship. Our escorts will handle the Munificents." Yularen ordered while glancing at Vader, obviously waiting to be countermanded.

"What? I don't have the habit of countermanding orders when they make sense!" Vader didn't quite splutter. It was just that, usually it was very hard to get his hands on competent subordinates and retain them. For some odd reason, many of them took the first opportunity to transfer away from Death Squadron…

That unfortunate turn of events usually left him dealing with a multitude of incompetents, who were also often entitled scions from old Core families with an inflated sense of their own importance. Dealing with such sore excuses for military officers usually had a predictable outcome.

Yularen simply shrugged and went on to observe the unfolding battle.

Vader focused on the tactical plot as well. In the short time since he became a General, he had been causing a lot of waves and stepping on a lot of egos. Now it was time to prove that he knew what he was talking about, that he wasn't yet another amateur trying to tell the few professionals in the GAR how to do their jobs.

He needed a string of successful operations backing his suggestion. That way, Vader could then push for more changes in the future. He also needed to put himself as a very visible alternative and contrast to the other Jedi as far as the military was concerned. That at least would be easier thanks to the Jedi themselves. Their only saving grace this time around was the decision to keep many Padawans out of the conflict. Even then, the Council did it for all the wrong reasons. Yet, both Yoda and the Council were still content to watch their charges devoured by the war without preparing them for it first.

The Jedi were trained as diplomats, peacekeepers, and law enforcement. While there was nothing wrong with such training, it ill-suited people for a sham of war, like the Clone Wars. If the conflict turned into a full-scale war, the Jedi's failures as commanders would become even more visible and punishing.

The Valiant finally opened fire, focusing Vader's thoughts on the task at hand. In theory, the average turbo laser on a proper capital ship could touch targets as far as a light second away. If they were stationary anyway. However, modern armor, to say nothing about shields, were formidable forms of defense. Even full-powered shots striking anything beyond a thousand kilometers would be a waste of energy and Tibana gas. Realistically, combat between peer opponents happened within hundreds or even dozens of kilometers. At that range, sustained bombardment could overwhelm a ship's defenses relatively quickly, while the distance still allowed some room for maneuvering. Getting even closer made energy weapons orders of magnitude more effective. Between ever-present ECM, jamming, and the energy released by weapon discharged, targeting sensors could be easily degraded, allowing for the use of a few interesting tactics…

For a moment, the Valiant's decidedly underwhelming volume of fire took Vader off guard. Then he remembered when he was. Compared to many later Imperial designs, the Venators were decidedly under-gunned, especially their early war variants. Despite that, this particular class of Star Destroyers was rather effective, especially when the designs matured and all Kuat managed to solve all the teething trouble it had. Further, they were more useful as carrier-battleship hybrids when facing Separatist forces compared to pure battleship types. Something had to counter the CIS Vulture swarms, and the Republic of the era simply didn't have anything approaching enough carriers for the task at hand.

Despite that knowledge, Vader didn't feel much better at the thought of being on the bridge of what should have been an obsolete and under-gunned vessel. Then again, the Executor might have spoiled him in that regard.

=KoF=

Red One
Red Squadron
1st Bomber Wing

LO 091 watched his instruments with near-religious fervor. If the plan worked, they were about to make history today. Either that or die like fools for trusting a Jedi general without a shred of combat experience. While the plan was sound in theory and also worked in the simulator, this was the real world. One of the first lessons Commander Skirata taught all Clones, not just his favorite commandos, was that while simulations and training were all vital, they never precisely reflected the real thing. Thus, taking success in them as a guarantee for success in the field, was optimistic at best, damn foolish at worst.

That was particularly true when trying something new and untested in real combat conditions.

Finally, a signal came from the flag, lighting up the bomber's communications suite.

"Red Actual to all Red elements. We've got a clear signal, and we're going in. Concentrate fire on weapon emplacements, and leave the kill for the rest of the wing."

A chorus of affirmatives answered the Lieutenant. He glanced at his gunner, took one last look at the hyperspace void surrounding his bomber, and

focused his attention on the instruments in front of him.

Five seconds to go. The signal was still loud and clear enough, despite obvious hints of enemy jamming. A jolt of sudden deceleration pushed Leo back into his seat, despite the dampeners doing their best to protect him. The gray void of hyperspace vanished, replaced by a colorful pyrotechnic display. A large gray form was in front of him. A burning shield surrounded the enemy battleship. Dozens of turbo laser bolts struck it every second, keeping it visible. The armored behemoth responded in kind, firing at unseen targets for all it was worth.

As soon as the transition to real space was complete, Leo hit the afterburners and flew straight at the battleship. A glance at the distorted sensor display revealed that his Wing was following suit.

Surprisingly enough, it appeared that the Jedi actually knew what he was talking about. It was relatively easy to avoid the last-ditch defensive fire of their target, and what they couldn't avoid, the deflectors took. There were only a handful of Vultures left in the area to try and intercept them. Stragglers, Leo decided. The enemy fighters were too busy fighting for survival against the interceptor squadron attached to Red Wing as escorts. Nothing stood between the bombers and their targets.

Leo allowed himself a small smile. He unleashed a barrage of torpedoes against a quadruple turbo laser emplacement, immolating it. Then he leveled his bomber a few meters above the battleship's hull – too close for AA fire to be effective. He banked left and went for the next juicy target. Within moments, another turbo laser emplacement blasting at the fleet came into his sights. Leo pressed the trigger. A pair of proton torpedoes erased the emplacement. However, the explosion was too close, catching the passing fighter on the edges of the quickly dissipating blast wave.

If they were in the atmosphere, it would have been suicidal to use torpedoes at such a close range. Fortunately, explosions tended no to propagate well in space, unless you were fighting within one of a handful of super-dense nebula or the odd gas cloud.

Leo's new flight path carried him straight at the central sphere of the battleship. Weapons, sensors, and communications arrays covered most of it, making for a target-rich environment. The Lieutenant grinned again. He activated the afterburner and held the trigger, unleashing laser bolts and proton torpedoes at targets as quickly as he could.

Four torpedoes obliterated heavy weapon emplacements. Six more slammed into the primary communications array of the battleship, turning it into so much space dust. That explosion was potent enough to confuse the remaining torpedoes, which missed their intended target and struck the heavy armor of the ship, causing no noticeable damage.

A single torpedo struck a gun nest, disabling one of the weapons, but leaving the rest intact to spit defiance at the bombers. A few seconds later, Red Three put two more torpedoes on target, silencing the emplacement.

Red One pulled up while dividing his attention between the degraded sensor screen and looking around. With both sides putting up heavy jamming, there was no guarantee that a lucky Vulture wouldn't be able to sneak up on him before the sensor suite could recognize its approach.

The good news was that no droid got lucky and attacked Leo. The bad – he could see the IFF of only four of his squadron mates. He hoped that the rest were simply drowned out by the enemy ECM.

"All Red elements, go for another run," Leo ordered.

Leo's bomber banked under a wild barrage, and made a turn that would have torn in two a craft without an inertial compensator, not to mention turned him to sludge. He flew back towards the wounded battleship. Their target was still somewhat operational despite the initial strike. It was time to correct that.

=KoF=

Republic Cruiser "Valiant"
Task Force "Dagger" flagship
High Orbit over Christophsis

Vader smiled at the tactical display. The initial bomber strike crippled the enemy battleships. Even better, their panicking commanders recalled the Vultures, making the swarm extremely vulnerable to the Torrent fighters engaging it. By the time the droid fighters could get back, two-thirds of them were simply gone and two of the battleship's mission killed.

The fur-ball that followed was quite expensive, however, at that point the outcome was obvious. A single crippled Luckrehulk had to contend with five still mostly intact Venators, and that engagement could have only one outcome.

"Weapons, concentrate fire on target Delta." Valiant's captain ordered as soon as a combination of capital ship bombardment and a ragged bomber strike disabled the last Luckrehulk. Now there were only four operational Munificents to worry about, and they couldn't last long.

"Re-task all bomber wings. Send them after those Munificents." Admiral Yularen indicated a pair of enemy ships that were so far unscratched.

While the battle winded down, Vader calmly observed the mop-up phase, as well as the reaction of the cruiser's crew. The Admiral remained calm and collected while he directed the action, just as the Force Adept remembered him to be. The Clones were a model of professionalism too. That was a far cry from the later years of the Imperial Age when the bar for entry in the military had been lowered more than Vader liked. However, Ahsoka's reactions were most interesting.

While she wasn't a total stranger to war, after all the little Togruta was present on Geonosis, she was refreshingly innocent. That was something Vader had forgotten how it felt even second hand. Her huge eyes darted this way and that, and her expression was an open book. Even without the Force, Vader would have felt her elation when an enemy ship went down and the anguish when she sensed the death of Clones as Republic escorts died. Ahsoka proved the sentiment true when she gasped just as the Onderon, the only Venator lost in the battle, got shattered under the concentrated firepower of all enemy battleships. There wouldn't be many survivors from that disaster.

Still, it was more than a fair price to pay for this victory. In a conventional slugging match, the Republic forces would have had to either retreat or accept up to seventy percent losses if they wanted to carry the day.

Vader returned his attention to Ahsoka. He had to do something about Snips. She got shaken too easily, easier than he remembered. That was a good way for someone to get themselves killed, especially when they were following the Jedi Creed and trying to suppress their emotions. Vader would have his hands full with Snips, yet he was torn, wondering how exactly he was going to train her.

The Jedi way was out, for obvious reasons. The Sith way, that didn't end well for him. Besides, there was no real point in training Snips as a backstabbing unstable crazy bitch like Ventress, so that was out as well. There had to be a saner, more reasonable way in between the two fanatical sides that ruined his life. With a bit of luck, both Vader and Ahsoka would have enough time for him to figure it out.

"Good work, Admiral. Once the remaining enemy forces are neutralized, take us into low orbit above the capital. You have free reign to take out all enemy ground units outside Chaleydonia." Vader turned towards his Padawan. "Snips, walk with me. We are going on a little field trip. It should be educational."

=KoF=

Chaleydonia City
Christophsis

Facing a competent enemy commander wasn't a pleasant experience. It might not be an experience Obi-Wan would live to repeat either. After stalling the enemy advance yesterday, the Confederate Commander found a powerful shield generator from somewhere, along with enough energy to power it. For hours now, the enemy forces advanced in safety from artillery and long-range heavy weaponry under a shield's slowly expanding umbrella.

Only improvised mines and groups of volunteers left behind the shield managed to slow down the droids' advance, but never stop it.

"They are breaking through!" Cody shouted, hoping that he would be heard over the deafening sounds of war. The enemy had no troubleshooting through their side of the shield, so the GAR had to contend with a constant rain of explosives and blaster bolts.

"Hold the line! We can't let them reach the cannons!" Kenobi shouted back. While mobile, the artillery wasn't particularly fast. The same was true about the logistics train of the GAR forces deployed planetside. They had to slow down the enemy for long enough that the rear elements could outpace them.

In theory, that should have been easy. In practice, with enemy air superiority firmly established, any attempt to move a large group of troops or vehicles gained the undivided attention of droid fighters and bombers.

"That's easy to say..." The Cody muttered. He crouched behind a demolished section of the road, which made for a nice makeshift cover. It already saved his life too, more than once.

That state of affairs wasn't going to persist for much longer. The enemy shield almost touched their last defensive positions. Behind them was more or less open ground surrounded by low buildings. When the enemy pushed them beyond the last line of skyscrapers, their position would become untenable.

The cannons were in a depression a few hundred meters back, trying to make their way further back from the front. However, any attempt to get away from the makeshift AA net established in the immediate area meant nearly suicidal exposure to enemy air assets. As if that wasn't bad enough, without the cannons, even if the enemy shield ran out of juice, the GAR simply wouldn't have the firepower to break the droid's momentum.

In a couple of minutes, the Droids were going to overrun their position. At that point, it all would be over barring the screaming and the killing.

"Any word on our reinforcements?" Cody shouted at a nearby trooper while reloading his Carbine.

"No, sir! We are still jammed." The Soldier managed to answer before a stray bolt struck the side of his helmet, spinning him around. The Commander snarled and leaned out of his cover.

"Hold the line to the last man!" he shouted.

The shield was about to overtake his position. The only reason why he wasn't neck-deep in tin-cans was the General, who was engaging the enemy in close-quarters combat.

"It's a good day to die. I guess..." Cody muttered.

The shield overtook his cover and he opened fire.

There was no sight from their promised reinforcements.

=KoF=

Part 3

=KoF=

10 KM above
Chaleydonia City
Christophsis

Reformed bomber squadrons and a few hundred Torrent fighters streaked through the upper atmosphere at leisure speed. Meanwhile, the Republic fleet spread above the planet, with capital ships and escort seeking enemy formations in the open. Precision turbo laser strikes and less precise ion cannon bombardment began to neutralize the Confederate presence where practical.

At the same time, a single assault shuttle headed straight at the capital, not bothering to decelerate after deorbiting.

"Master, you are insane!" Ahsoka's voice rang in Vader's helmet. The former Sith Lord chortled in amusement.

"Sir, are you sure about this?" Rex added his two credits.

"Absolutely." The Sith Lord grinned. It was too bad they couldn't see his smile because of his helmet. He slammed his armored fist on a conveniently placed large button and the ramp at the back of the shuttle slid open.

"Now, jump or I'll throw you out," Vader promised.

"Yep. You are insane." Snips grumbled. Vader looked pointedly at her and gently shoved his Padawan out of the shuttle.

Rex shoots his head and jumped, followed by the rest of the Clones. Vader jumped out last, spinning away from the doomed craft. Above them more units from the 501st descended, heading towards Kenobi's lines. They would reinforce the GAR positions, and their fighter escort would at least keep the skies neutral until more friendly small craft could arrive on station. That would be a holding action, buying time for Vader and his handpicked soldiers to take out the shield generator. Once the shield was down, massed airstrikes would eliminate any major droid concentrations in the region.

That was the plan anyway. The fact that it called for a jump from nearly ten kilometers, then passing through the edge of a multiple-kiloton level explosion, before landing in a city swarming with killer robots wasn't something that Snips approved of. On the other hand, Vader hadn't had such fun in ages. That was clear to everyone in his strike team because he was laughing like a maniac during their free-fall.

"Sir, I have to agree with the kid," Rex muttered while gliding through the air.

"I've never been saner. Besides this is just pure fun!" Vader chuckled.

He could feel the unease and disbelief radiating from the Clones and Ahsoka and had to remind himself that they were still green. They still lacked in appreciation of how fun a proper battle could be!

Below them, the shuttle slammed into the shield covering a respectable part of the capital. Everything vanished from sight, replaced by a blinding explosion. Only thanks to their visors polarizing, the sky-divers retained their sight. Even at this distance, the thermal pulse from the kinetic strike was enough to raise the temperature within their armor, covering them all in sweat. Moments later, the shock wave hit. While it wasn't strong enough to injure them, it was still potent enough to disrupt their formation and shove the jumpers in all directions.

Vader used the Force to first stabilize his descent, then pull his unit back together before they reached the shield. Now, this was what proper fun felt like!

He looked down at the smoke rising from the rippling shield. As expected, the kinetic strike wasn't strong enough to pierce the shield and damage the city itself. However, the sheer energy discharge, and few last-minute additions to the shuttle, ensured that any AA sensor in the vicinity would be briefly blinded, allowing the skydivers a reasonable safe descent.

Shortly before they hit the shield, Vader used the Force to activate everyone's rocket packs. It felt like an angry bantha kicking you in the back, however, it worked. The packs slowed their descent enough to allow them to pass through the shield. Vader guided his unit to a nearby skyscraper and they vanished inside as soon as they could.

"Master, I hate you!" Snips groused after getting rid of her now useless rocket pack.

"Don't be like that! This was awesome! We are doing it again!" Vader grinned. He hadn't had such fun since forever!

"Sir, we are ready to move," Rex reported, interrupting their banter.

"Fine. Follow me. We have a shield generator to disable." With those words, Anakin led his strike team through the skyscraper. They needed to be lower to the ground to use the grappling hooks and metal wire attached to their weapons as an express way to the city proper below.

=KoF=

Chaleydonia City
Christophsis

This wasn't how Obi-Wan imagined his end. He ended up alone, surrounded by enemies, and it was all his fault. He should have been able to do more, to command better. Instead, most of his soldiers were now dead, or dying, including many of the locals who had come to help the GAR. In the end, all he could do was charge the enemy in a desperate bid to buy his troopers a few precious minutes. Their only hope was that reinforcements would reach them in time, and for that to matter, he had to slow down the CIS onslaught. In hindsight, he should have either abandoned the artillery and ordered his forces to scatter so some of them could survive until reinforcements arrived, or surrender. Instead, he got them all killed.

The only reasons Kenobi was still alive were his reflexes and the will of the Force. And the only silver lining of his current situation was that he didn't have much time to ponder on his failures. The enemy made sure of that.

Obi-Wan landed on top of a Tri-Droid unleashing hell on his subordinates. He didn't have time to disable the machine. The Force screamed in warning, and Kenobi jumped down, barely avoiding a hail of crimson blaster fire. Hundreds of B1s shot at him with their cheap blasters. Every miss merely sparkled over the thick armor of the Tri-Droid, not even inconveniencing the tough machine.

If his suicidal diversion was to be successful, Obi-Wan had to take out three of those damn machines, and at least a division of B1s and Super Battle Droids. While not technically impossible, those were tall odds under the circumstances. If he could take his time and didn't have to keep them off his soldiers…

What ifs no longer mattered. The deaths of thousands of Clones and even more locals… were for naught as well. All those lives pointlessly washed because of him. Because the Republic was stretched too thin.

Kenobi fought guided by the Force. He deflected blaster bolts, rolled away from heavy firepower, and jumped over rockets. It wasn't enough. He was merely surviving for a few more precious seconds when he needed to take out as many of the enemy as possible!

It was only a matter of time before his skills failed him. While dying to uphold justice or protect others was all right with Obi-Wan, doing so achieving nothing sat ill with him. That was especially true now when his mistakes doomed thousands upon thousands whose only mistake was to follow him.

All those people dying for him made him angry. All the people suffering, and dying all over the planet, ensured that Obi-Wan's emotions were compromised, and that much harder to control.

The Jedi knew how dangerous that anger was. He was painfully aware of where he led. Obi-Wan could easily imagine how Dooku fell – angry and frustrated with the Republic.

At this point, he could understand the former Jedi, or so he thought.

Kenobi snarled when he felt the closest thing to a friend he had among the Clones fall. Cody's signature vanished among a spike of pain and anger. His azure lightsaber slashed through an offending droid, his blade moving faster and easier than ever before. He felt power washing over him, strengthening his tired limbs, making each strike stronger. And faster.

Another Clone died, then a few familiar signatures flickered out in quick succession – the leaders of the local resistance falling under the enemy onslaught. Obi-Wan screamed, putting all the pain, resentment, and anger he felt at what was happening in that single action. And the Force itself responded. He could feel it warping around him, his lungs straining, and then a wave of the Force passed through him. Kenobi's scream became one with the Force, the sound waves enhanced to an impossible degree. The B1s in front of him simply shattered, their mangled parts flying as shrapnel in a semi-circle. Even the closest Tri-Droid staggered under the sonic blow.

For a moment Obi-Wan froze, gasping for breath. He felt cold as if he was in the middle of a blizzard. Then he was moving, pushing himself to the limit as the Force screamed warnings. He was a blur, deflecting and dodging blaster bolts from all directions, still, alive only thanks to the endless hours spent practicing Soresu. And because of the dark, tainted power, he dared touch in a moment of anger and desperation.

At that moment, Obi-Wan hesitated. He was exhausted, his mind filled with doubts. While the touch of what could only be the Dark Side revitalized him briefly, he was justifiably afraid to drink from that tainted pool. He gave everything he had left, and it simply wasn't enough.

Kenobi found himself between two Tri-Droids, which promptly concentrated their attention on him. He deflected a laser bolt and avoided another, which detonated behind his back. The heat of the explosion scorched his scalp, and the blast wave threw him off balance. He acted on instinct then, trusting his free palm up, and channeling as much of the Force as he could. A telekinetic wave met a missile heading straight at him. The Force blast turned the projectile away, scrambled its sensors, and guided it back to the sender. The missile struck the Tri-Droid that launched it, blasting a gaping hole in its armored plating.

At the same time, a second missile detonated in front of Kenobi and he only had a dissipating telekinetic wave to shield him.

The explosion engulfed him with fire and shrapnel, burning his hand and petering his form with molten metal.

Obi-Wan screamed in pain and rolled forward, barely registering the danger he was sensing. Missiles sent by the second towering machine blew up farther behind him, but this time there wasn't a barrier made of the Force to protect him. The shock wave picked Kenobi up and threw him over the edge of the highway. All he could register was a wave of heat and pain, and then Obi-Wan knew no more.

=KoF=

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