The Republic fleets arrived to silence on the edge of the Both System, engines at full power as they rocketed toward Bothawui. Aboard the bridge of the Titan, Cody drew close to his Jedi counterparts.

"The Bothans have been alerted of the potential threat," he reported, his back stiff as a board. "They're rallying garrisons on the surface as we speak."

Obi-Wan nodded his head at the general before turning back to the viewport. Scanners began to ping, and the deck quickly filled with voices as officers started relaying information. They had been right. The Yuuzhan Vong were on the horizon.

Anakin leaned over the walkway above the lower pits housing the logistical terminals, and looked to the officers reporting in. "How many ships are out there?"

"At least a hundred and fifty," one of the officers reported, his expression calm, as if this was a drill he had gone through a thousand times over.

Anakin almost grinned as he turned to Obi-Wan. "We nearly double them."

Another officer was quick to raise his voice above the rest. "We have an anomaly among the enemy fleet," he called out, and drew the attention of the Jedi. He then pointed to his terminal. "Something out there is bigger than anything I've ever seen before."

Anakin had a look out the bridge's viewport, and after squinting his eyes, saw it. A massive, swirling disk made of flesh and bone was ever-spinning as it followed the rest of the Vong fleet. Tentacles jutted out from its edges, and the creature appeared like a storm of living tissue as it drew closer to Bothawui. A koros-strohna.

Cody was back by the holotable when he called out to the Jedi. "The enemy fleet's moving fast for Bothawui. They're hoping to make planetfall before we can cut them off."

Obi-Wan looked over his shoulder at Cody, eyes sharp with intensity as he worked to calm his own nerves. "This is your operation, General. We'll do what you feel is best."

Cody was silent for a moment, then brought Admiral Coburn up on the holotable. "Keep the cruisers back until we're in range. They'll slingshot forward and disperse the enemy fleet when our lasers become more accurate."

Coburn never said a word. He simply bobbed his head up and down before their channel cut out.

Cody turned to the rest of the bridge. "Launch torpedoes."

A hundred Venators sent forth a thousand torpedoes, bright light from the plasma-infused warheads painting the space between fleets in colorful hues of blue before making contact. They pierced frigates and corvettes, even dismantled a larger warship before the last torpedo finally fell silent. Then came the starfighters. Thousands of ARC-180s and Z-97 Headhunters launched from the Venators toward the Yuuzhan Vong. The fighters unfolded their wings, formed up their squadrons, and hit the throttle.

At the helm of the charge was Odd Ball, who flipped through his ship's readouts as he and his crew prepared for the chaos that was to follow in mere seconds. He made sure his squadron was all checked in, his engines functioning properly, and guns at full power, then looked to the ocean of coralskippers launching from enemy warships. The Republic fighters were met with tens of thousands of enemy vessels, many launching from the enemy's massive worldship in the distance. Odd Ball barely had time to issue orders before the enemy collided with them. He swerved to the side of a coralskipper, pulling back on his trigger as he fired lasers in the space ahead of him.

Odd Ball heard the voices of his brothers fill his helmet, but tried to drown most of them out. There was nothing he or anyone else could do in that moment but shoot and hope for the best. His brain was nearly knocked from his skull when a coralskipper scraped the edge of his right wing, and barely had time to right the starfighter before another came at him from his left. He arced his guns and fired, turning the ship to shards of mangled flesh as he continued onward. He could see lasers flying free out the corners of his eyes, and knew many of his squadron were still flying close by his side. He felt his ship rock as his rear gunner tracked coralskippers passing overhead, and felt explosions ripple nearby as enemy ships went up in spoke.

There was no clear objective when so many clashed in the open space between fleets. Odd Ball's only goal was to thin the herd, but after another minute of conflict, that task appeared futile. He swerved between coralskippers, blasting through half a dozen as he raced ahead, shards of their shattered hulls pinging off his own as he and his squadron circled back to aid other teams that were struggling. He heard the voice of another squadron leader ring in his ears.

"Quadrant Five has lost half its squadrons. Enemy fighters have almost breached our skirmish wall." The man's voice was calm despite their situation.

"Acknowledged," Odd Ball replied. "Bacta Squadron's moving to engage." He finished speaking seconds before his vehicle was nearly stopped midflight. His body shot forward, and if it hadn't been for his seatbelts, he likely would have crashed through the canopy. He tried to compose himself as he grabbed hold of the fighter's steering, and looked up to find a massive, insect-like creature attached to his ship's hull. Its body was like that of a locus, and its massive pincers dug into the ship's armor. Odd Ball whipped the ship about, trying to barrel roll and remove the pest, but the creature refused to let go. Systems began to fail, and Odd Ball began sending out a distress beacon. He hoped his squadron would be able to help, but as he glanced about, he saw many of them were coming under attack from the bugs.

Odd Ball switched channels, trying to reach the fleet while the creature chewed through the side of his ship. "Enemy's got massive bugs that are chewing through our hulls. We need immediate support," he said on a broad channel, when his canopy was suddenly torn in two. His sealed suit kept oxygen from escaping his lungs, and he looked up to see the creature mere inches from his face, its pincer-like jaws snapping open and shut just ahead of him. Odd Ball ripped his sidearm from his hip and took aim, blowing open one of the creature's eyes before firing into its mouth. He watched the creature loosen from his hull, and blasted through its skull. Only then did the vermin drift away from his ship, its body no more than a lifeless husk.

Odd Ball breathed a sigh of relief, but as he attempted to power up his starfighter's engines, he found they were offline. With his distress beacon active, he was hoping a shuttle from the fleet would be able to tow his crew in for repairs. His hopes were dashed when he saw plasma out the corner of his eye. A moment later his ship was scrap, with a coralskipper racing past it to shred through more Republic starfighters.

#

The Domain Hul, second largest worldship in the Vong Armada, and one of only two capable of warfare. Warmaster Velun Daraxus sat atop his command throne within the mile-long bridge, waving his fingers for various maneuvers to be performed. One of his subalterns approached with a pleased look on her face.

"The grutchins are chewing through our enemy as easily as an amphistaff pierces flesh," she reported while bowing at his feet.

"Excellent," Velun grinned, his teeth jagged and misaligned. He then ordered contact to be made with his supreme commander, and turned to his left where a disfigured ball of flesh sat atop a table of flora. He watched as the pile of flesh slowly began to take shape, morphing into the figure from which its radio frequency demanded. Velun was soon looking upon the figure of Rendis Carr. "Supreme Commander," he said, his voice deep. "Begin the invasion. I want you to oversee the conquest personally."

Rendis seemed taken aback by Velun's words. "I thought my glory would be earned at the helm of the fleet?"

"You were mistaken," Velun replied, almost smiling as he waved a hand in front of his face. "Burn their cities to ash, as you have done before. I trust you will not disappoint."

Rendis almost acknowledged his superior, when a curious look suddenly came over his face. "What about their sorcerers? Do you believe the Republic brought any with them?"

"If they did, they'll be on the ground," Velun replied. "Now go, and glorify the Supreme Overlord with your deeds." He watched as the molded pile of flesh began to deteriorate, collapsing against the table of flora once again. Velun the turned his attention to the Republic fleets. The Domain Hul was in position, and he ordered every weapon aboard to open fire.

#

The Republic fleets trembled as the Domain Hul unloaded its salvos of plasma. A dozen cruisers were struck through their cores, and a Venator erupted as the monstrous vessel pressed its attack, with Vong warships moving out ahead of it to provide support.

Cody had been trying to formulate a strategy to deal with such a behemoth when he was informed by vanguard squadrons that the enemy was sending troops to Bothawui's surface, and immediately got on comms with Captain Aang. "Get the 117th on the ground!" he barked. "The Sky Corps will follow." He then switched channels to one of his own who was loading up infantry in the hangar. "Commander Blast, you know the drill."

"Always," the commander replied. Inaudible shouts emitted from his person as he barked at a pack of rookies, and his channel cut out soon after.

Cody then turned to the viewport, where the Jedi stood watching the chaos outside. Starfighters on both sides were chewed up, but with their fleets now in range, thousands of coralskippers were being shredded. Even the parasites Odd Ball had reported were having trouble reaching the fleets because of the Wolfpack's efforts atop the hulls of their ships.

"The troops are deploying," Cody said to the Jedi. "If you're joining the ground war, now's the time."

Anakin nodded to him, and was about to pull Obi-Wan along with him, when Obi-Wan abruptly pointed out the viewport. "Look what's happening," he said, his voice off by an octave. He wasn't fearful, merely curious at the scene unfolding before them.

Anakin turned to see what had Obi-Wan's attention, and realized the enemy fleet was splitting up. Several large warships were plowing through the screen of starfighters to reach them.

#

Rendis Carr ordered his subaltern to the bridge of his flagship, the Blood Baron, as several of his warships broke from the rest of the fleet. When the doorway behind him slithered open, he turned with a look of pride on his face to see Pheeriz Zulatar kneeling before him. "Pheeriz, you are my most trusted warrior," he said, "which is why you will be leading the invasion in my stead."

The woman raised an eyebrow at him. "I thought the invasion was your honor?"

"It was," Rendis admitted, when his gaze locked with the enemy fleet. He had fought a dozen wars before, and could already tell which ship was leading the Republic fleets. "But our dear Warmaster is too reserved, seeing fit to keep our fleet at a distance while the enemy's numbers play to their advantage. I will change the fate of this day, and when their flagship is nothing more than rubble, the rest will either run or be turned to ash."

Pheeriz lowered her head. "I shall do as you ask, and bring our foes to a bitter end." She rose from her place a moment later, and turned toward the exit as Rendis continued to gaze out at the thousands of explosions dotting the space between the fleets. "Today, glory is all mine."

#

Shattered gunships littered the open plains of Bothawui, hundreds dropped from the sky by enemy coralskippers while attempting to land at key cities across the planet's two continents. Captain Aang felt bodies press against his own in the darkness of his ship's interior, and tried to wrench his arms free from the others encompassing him. He managed to push the corpse of a trooper off his right arm, and shoved away another to free the left half of his body. Aside from a throbbing sensation in the back of his skull, he was mostly intact. His gunship had dug itself deep into the dirt, and the only escape route for him was the fractured side hatch above his head. Aang was forced to stand atop the remains of his brothers in order to reach it, and on doing so, shoved aside what remained of the hatch in order to grasp freedom.

Aang lifted himself onto solid ground, and felt grass beneath his boots as he looked up at the sky. It was a clear day out, with nothing but shades of light blue trailing as far as the eye could see. A perfect summer day, only for the clear air to be filled with explosions as starfighters swarmed about in the atmosphere. High above, Aang could see bright beams of light beyond the planet, and knew the fleets were holding nothing back in orbit. Torpedoes, lasers, and ion cannons were firing at a constant rate. Yet, despite the bright lights, Aang could only see one vessel from his position. The Domain Hul, its massive frame half the size of a planet. A single barrage from the monster vessel was enough to shred Venators.

"Hope Cody's faring better than us," Aang remarked. He had lost his rifle in the crash, and reached for the pistols at his hips while taking in his surroundings. To the west he could see Kolme'starn, the greatest industrial city of the western continent. Fires were already sparking from within the city walls, and Aang could only guess the Vong had made it inside.

The captain was about to start the long trek to the city when he heard a speeder racing up from behind him, and turned to see several of his men on BARCs. The nearest clone to him wore armor with similar green and gray markings, along with a small, black triangle on the left side of his helmet. His sidecar was empty.

"Climb aboard, Captain," the trooper said. "Don't want to miss the party."

Aang obliged him, and returned his pistols to their holsters while hopping into the sidecar. He felt the speeder rumble back to life as the trooper fired up its engines and propelled them forward, with a small band of others following close behind. "Lieutenant Seven," Aang addressed the trooper. "What's the situation? I saw smoke rising from Kolme'starn."

"Half the legion made it inside," Seven replied. "The rest are pinned down on the plains, about a klick from the city walls."

Aang gripped the controls of the turret in his sidecar, but his gaze was to the floorboard. "How did we get so scattered?"

"Vong were as fast as us. I don't understand it all myself, but all we can do is push forward with what we have," Seven said. He hit full throttle, and their speeder shot over the next hill to see a battle being waged outside Kolme'starn. AT-TEs were circled up, defending the smaller Saber-class tanks and BARC speeders. A thousand troopers were gathered around the position, firing out on Vong forces that were trying to encircle them.

Aang directed his turret to the nearest Vong formation and fired, shredding half a dozen who were out of cover. He continued to fire as his group of speeders raced past, and others opened fire on the enemy positions. Aang felt his speeder shudder, and noticed a slug had snagged one of the engines. He spotted Vong on the lowest lying hill nearby and pulled back on his trigger, sending a volley of rounds that ripped the enemy apart in seconds. Aang then felt another buckle from the speeder, and heard one of its engines give out. The speeder tipped sideways, and Aang leaped from the sidecar just as Seven jumped out the driver's seat. The speeder was sent end over end until finally crashing into a supply of munitions that was being gathered at the center of the Republic formation. Aang was helped to his feet by several troopers, and he glanced over to find Seven picking himself off the ground. They had made it.

"You alright, sir?" one of the clones asked Aang.

"Fine," Aang replied. "The others on my gunship weren't so fortunate."

Another clone was quick to chime in. "That's the story of the day, sir. Seems a quarter of our men died before even seeing the battlefield."

"Do we have word from Kolme'starn?" Aang asked the men.

They shook their heads. "Sergeant Kline was the highest ranking officer to make it inside. He's reported nothing aside from close quarters combat."

"Kolme'starn is a war machine unto itself. The city can churn out tanks and cannons like no other, and if we lose it, the battle might as well be over," Aang said, when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Seven by his side.

"Kline will be happy to see us then," he remarked, and pointed to the city walls. Before they could make a move, however, gunfire struck near their position.

"Vong are having a second go of it!" one of the troopers said as they moved to defensive positions around crates that had been placed beneath the AT-TEs. The clones returned fire with rifles and rotary cannons, but the enemy had the advantage of the surrounding hills, and despite protection from both the crates and walkers, many troopers succumbed to fire from carbines.

Aang felt heat swell near his head, and turned to see a trooper beside him lose his head. Aang slid behind a Saber tank and grabbed hold of his pistols. Seven was by his side a moment later.

Seven went to his comm channel before looking out on the enemy positions. "I need artillery fire one klick northeast! Three salvos!"

Three AT-TEs turned their main guns to the marked position and fired. Screams of dying Vong resonated for miles. The walkers fired again, and the enemy position was eradicated. The single victory was enough to embolden the legion, and clones began pushing out past the cover of their supply crates. The best of the 117th's snipers got to work, and one-by-one, Vong heads began to roll. The Saber tanks were even about to be turned on the offensive when plasma engulfed an AT-TE at the rear of their formation. Vong troops were beginning to advance on all sides, with large behemoth creatures that walked on four legs and had peeling, pink flesh. The creatures, known as horkthrowers, appeared to have large pores on their backs that were capable of spewing plasma, and they used them. Another volley from the plasma cannons shredded the hull of a second walker, and suddenly the rear of the Republic line was in disarray. Clones fired on the enemy from the cover of the downed walkers, but they lacked the firepower to push back the Vong.

Aang squeezed the triggers of his DC-17s, but the enemy was far off, and his aim inaccurate. "We can't reach Kolme'starn with all these vermin around," he uttered. Seven and a contingent of others were firing alongside him, several of their stray lasers managing to drop a few Vong warriors on the distant hills, but it mattered little. With the horkthrowers still breathing, the legion was condemned to death. "We need air support!" Aang shouted to Seven.

"All squadrons are unavailable!" Seven replied, trying to raise his voice above the blaster fire. "But there's still someone who hasn't checked in yet."

"Who?" Aang asked.

"Lieutenant Brass. He was in the second wave of dropships, aboard our Juggernaut," Seven said.

"Thought he'd be at Kolme'starn by now," Aang replied, when plasma engulfed the position to his left, killing three in a heartbeat. Aang ducked behind cover as enemy troops drew closer.

"I'll radio in, see where he's at," Seven said. He fell silent for a moment, plasma fire not seeming to faze him in the least, when he suddenly ducked down beside Aang. "He's several klicks north of us, rallying stragglers who didn't reach the city."

"Well get him down here to help us clear out the enemy!" Aang snapped.

"Already did," Seven replied. "He'll be a few minutes."

Another walker erupted in fire, and the Saber tanks moved to the edge of their perimeter to supplement firepower. Clones used up what few rockets they had, and managed to kill two of the horkthrowers. The groans of agony from the beasts could be heard from their positions, but many more of the creatures were still on the horizon.

Aang shook his head. "We may not have a few minutes." He then popped up from behind cover and pulled back his triggers. Lasers flew free of his pistols, and he was joined by what remained of his forces. The clones unloaded everything they had left on the enemy, but with thousands approaching from all directions, little hope seemed to remain for surviving the battle.

"We should use the speeders," Seven said.

Aang looked at him as if he were a mad man. "Our troops would die before they even reached the enemy."

Seven shrugged. "We're dead anyway. It's worth a try."

Aang mulled the idea over for a moment, but when plasma tore through one of their Sabers, his mind was made up. He pointed to the dozen BARCs they had inside the formation, and ordered his men onto them. Clones around him reacted without hesitation, ready to do whatever they could to save the rest. Just as they were warming up the engines, plasma struck the center of their formation, toasting half the bikes in an instant.

Seven was hunkered down beside Aang when he put a hand to his helmet. "Their artillery is something else."

Aang's hands were shaking. He could hear the ravenous voices of Vong all around them, almost feel their fiery breath despite the great distance between them. He had heard what they did to conquered worlds, had seen the footage himself, and knew this would not be a pretty end. "We won't go quietly," he said, his voice hushed. His grip on his blasters tightened, and he rose from cover alongside his lieutenant. "Hold the line!" he shouted to his men, and they tightened formation. Rotary guns traced up to enemy positions, cutting down a hundred Vong within seconds. The enemy drew closer all the same, but the reinvigorated clones held firm. Many died, but none cowered. Aang could see the horkthrowers lowering their stances, ready to fire another salvo and destroy the legion, when the air was suddenly split in two.

A hundred missiles flew in all directions, chewing up the horkthrowers in fiery explosions that shook the battlefield. On the edge of the northernmost hill came the Juggernaut, lasers spewing from its turrets as it unloaded more missiles from its launchers. Plasma torpedoes followed suit, and hundreds of Vong were turned to ash. The ten rolling treads of the Juggernaut grinded many more under its heel, and soon it was nearing the legion's position.

Aang ordered his troops again to the speeders. "Help clear out the enemy!" he barked. Aang then returned to the battle at hand, climbing over the top of a fallen walker to get a better angle on the enemy. By the time he squeezed his triggers, the fight was nearly over. Seven and the others leaped over munitions crates, racing out alongside the Saber tanks to finish off the routed Vong. Another barrage of ordnance, and the last horkthrowers were slayed. Aang stood looking out on the bloodied plains, watching as missiles from the Juggernaut flew into the last columns of Vong resistance. Minutes later he could hear some of his men cheering, and was about to order them back into formation when someone pinged his comm. Aang put a finger to his helmet and listened in.

"Captain Aang," came a frantic voice. It was the sergeant.

"Sergeant Kline," Aang greeted. "We routed the enemy outside Kolme'starn. I'm bringing the rest of the legion to you."

"Negative!" Kline suddenly snapped. "The city's lost."

Aang turned to Kolme'starn, and saw fires spreading rapidly through its inner skyscrapers. "We're on our way. We'll get you out of there."

"No!" Kline shouted. "Get the legion and run. Head to the Bothan capital near the coast. It's one of the only strongholds left." The trooper sounded out of breath. "The Vong… they're using slaves to fight their battles, and their numbers far outweigh our own."

Aang saw the walls of Kolme'starn cracking from the inside, and watched as squadrons of coralskippers bombarded the city's infrastructure. "Get out of there, Sergeant."

"Too late," Kline replied.

Aang heard blaster fire on the other end, and took a step toward the city, as if moving at all would somehow help the situation.

"Run, sir. Run—"

Aang heard a spear pierce flesh, followed by groaning from Kline. Communications cut out shortly after, and Aang could see horkthrowers exiting the eastern side of the city, their plasma throwers pointed at him and the rest of the legion. Aang saw hundreds of Vong riding on the backs of fast-moving atrokins, and spotted coralskippers racing to meet him.

There was little time to think, and Aang ordered the evacuation of the remaining AT-TEs. The walkers were simply too slow, and they needed to reach safety fast. "We're moving to Drev'starn, the coastal capital of the planet," Aang announced on a legion-wide channel. "Load everyone into the Juggernaut and tanks. Take whatever speeders we have left. Speed is paramount."

The Juggernaut's side ramp unfurled, and clones of the 117th were quick to race inside. Aang was soon behind a hundred others, with Seven following close behind while others climbed aboard the Saber tanks, and a handful of stragglers took to the speeders.

Aang waited for the last of his men to get inside before having the ramp close up behind him. The last thing he saw was the city of Kolme'starn crumbling, with an army of Yuuzhan Vong headed toward them. Then the door shut, and the Juggernaut's interior lights clicked on. Hundreds of clones were huddled tight together inside the turbo tank, hoping it wouldn't become their tomb. Aang was about to stand in front of them when he felt a hand on his shoulder, and turned to see Lieutenant Brass by his side.

"Glad to see you're still kicking, Captain," Brass greeted as he outstretched a hand. The lieutenant wore a kama around his waist, and had five tally marks on either side of his gray helmet.

"Likewise, Lieutenant," Aang replied, and gripped the man's hand as they grabbed on another's shoulder. "You heard my orders?"

Brass nodded. "We're moving full-speed to Drev'starn, Captain," he said as he thumbed toward the rear command cabin. "212th's already hunkered down over there," he continued to say, when the tank violently shook. Plasma had struck against its thick armor.

"How far out are we?" Aang asked.

Brass gave a weak shrug of the shoulders. "Few dozen klicks."

Aang nodded before putting a finger to his helmet. "Then we need air support." He tried to reach General Cody, but no response came. He then switched channels and attempted to reach Admiral Coburn. Only static filled his helmet. "Nothing," he uttered, when the Juggernaut rumbled again. "Something must be blocking communication with the fleet, or they're too preoccupied to worry about us."

Brass crossed his arms. "The other tanks and speeders can't exactly fire back at the enemy. Not while we're racing away from the enemy."

Aang tilted his head past the lieutenant to a hatch leading to the Juggernaut's roof. "Then we'll need to be their shield," he remarked, and gestured for Brass to follow. "Get me a hundred men, and we'll make the enemy think there's thousands of us." He then sprinted to the hatch and climbed atop the tank, wind crashing against his body as the turbo tank thundered onward without slowing.

Aang could see coralskippers flying close by, taking shots at the Juggernaut as well as the smaller vehicles. A speeder was blown to pieces by a stray round, and the armor of a Saber tank was singed. Aang was about to reach for his pistols when he felt the Juggernaut shake again, only this time it was its main turrets coming online. The gun emplacements fired into the air, cracking apart several coralskippers foolish enough to fly in close. Aang looked out to his tanks again, and saw atrokins closing in with each stride they took.

"We need more firepower," Aang remarked, when lasers shot over his head, knocking another coralskipper from the sky. He turned to see Lieutenant Brass running toward him, with Seven and a contingent of troopers close behind.

Brass raised a fist to the sky as he pointed his blaster to the atrokins. "Shields!" he roared, and two dozen clones rushed past the rest to form a phalanx just as enemy fire streaked up along the Juggernaut to reach them.

Aang felt plasma from coralskippers strike against the tank, and saw several troopers topple as rounds tore through their chests. One of them had been carrying a rotary cannon, the weapon now inanimate alongside the body of its wielder. Aang raced to the weapon, sidestepping plasma fire before rolling forward to reach the cannon. He grabbed it with both hands, turning its heavy frame to the sky while chaos raged all around them. He pulled back on the trigger, and sprayed lasers into the open air. He traced over to a coralskipper that was making a run for the Juggernaut, and clipped its wings. The ship's fragments splattered against the hull of the Juggernaut, and Aang turned to fire on more fighters when the tank hit a bump in the road. The jerk was enough to send him airborne for a moment, only for his head to slam against the tank's roof seconds later. The tossing and turning of the Juggernaut was enough to knock several clones overboard.

Aang tried to look toward the enemy, but his vision was clouded, his mind dazed by the sudden force of impact. He tried to turn his rotary cannon on the enemy when he heard the sound of a tank igniting in fire. The Juggernaut rolled on past a smoking Saber, and Aang realized they were down yet another vital tank.

More coralskippers were arriving, having come from other conquests across the planet, and horkthrowers were firing on the 117th from overlooking hillsides. The atrokins had nearly reached the rear of their formation, with slugs from Vong carbines killing several clones on speeders.

Aang could hear the voices of his lieutenant blare in his ears.

"Keep firing!" Brass shouted, with Seven squeezing off lasers alongside him. The men were back to back, with others huddling up around them as enemy projectiles swarmed from all directions.

Aang heard something fly overhead, and watch a coralskipper become engulfed in smoke as it was ripped apart. A volley of projectiles suddenly shot overhead, and a dozen fighters were scrapped. Aang looked toward the coast, and there he saw it. The walls of Drev'starn. He watched as AV-9 cannons fired from atop the city's walls, blowing through a hundred atrokins in a single volley. As the legion drew closer to the city, laser fire began to spew from Drev'starn's walls as the 212th opened fire.

Aang would have continued firing his rotary cannon, but there was no point. The Juggernaut turned its missiles on the enemy, shredding through the atrokins with ease, and once the legion was to the city walls, they were out of range of the horkthrowers. The remaining coralskippers broke off their attack on the legion, and retreated back to Kolme'starn where the bulk of the Vong forces were still gathering.

Aang watched the main gates of Drev'starn open, and was greeted by shining buildings of steel and gold. The city's roads were spiraled, climbing up and down the city as if it were constructed upon hills and valleys. Closer to the center of the city was the notorious Combined Clans Center, where the Bothan clans were organizing their militias for the city's defense.

"Well," Seven remarked as he came to stand by the captain's side. "We made it."

"Yeah," Aang huffed, and looked over the edge of the Juggernaut to assess their numbers. Five of the Saber tanks had survived, along with a pair of speeders. Aside from that, the only other survivors were the hundreds aboard the Juggernaut. The 117th had come to Bothawui with ten thousand men, yet they were about to defend its capital with only a few hundred. "Don't know how much longer we'll last," Aang said, and watched the city's gates shut behind them.