Many thanks to the reviews as of late, they keep me going through some of the rough spots in where I am writing or living... Another good story, for those who enjoy more of the HP aspect of things, would be called Aileen O'Heidin and the Sword of Godric Gryffindor, by XxNightAngelusxX, here on Fanfiction net, as well as its sequel that can be found from their profile page. While I normally do not recommend much in the way of stories, I was most surprised by how well it compliments the canon of the Harry Potter universe, as it is a next gen fic, but one that I feel actually does justice rather than some botched pipedream of how the story would go. I would recommending giving it a read, maybe a review or two, as their are other authors out there desperate for feedback of some sort, not unlike myself. Anyone, one with the next Chapter! ~F

Chapter Thirty Three

The Front Lines

Kelrek wasn't sure what they had expected to find in the Shadowlands of Kashyyyk, but this was not among them. Hundreds of Wookiees had been forced out of the treetops by the Sith forces, and there had been something hunting them down among the darkened based of their massive tree villages, turning the creatures rabid and feral.

Finding the Dark Acolytes was simple enough for the experienced team, or at least finding what was left of them. All but one of the Acolytes that had abandoned their troopers had perished, torn apart by these maddened creatures that rampaged nightly on the ground of the world, devouring all in their path and causing untold havoc among the exiled natives.

Normally, the trio would have simply pulled back and let nature run its insane course here, but Kelrek had sensed something in the Force about the forest floor, so they had remained, if only to catch a glimpse of one of these creatures, possible capture just one and take it back to the Imperial Core.

Now however, with the insane cries and shrieking howls of the mad Wookiee-beasts all around them, the Sorcerer was wondering if they ought to have reconsidered. The first one that had attacked on its own was truly monstrous. Somehow these creatures had grown even larger than normal, their fur turning shaggier and darker in color, while their claws and fangs extended to downright terrifying proportions. They scrambled about on all fours and savagely attacked without rhyme or reason, so drastically different than their smaller relatives up in the trees.

It had taken the combined efforts of all three Darksiders to bring just the one down, capture had been out of the question, and even as they were dragging the body back, they could hear the cried of many more following their scent.

"I don't think we have more time to devote to you little project Kel…" Jenah commended, her twin sabers out and activated, spinning casually to keep up momentum if something broke through the undergrowth at them.

"Just a bit more, only about another few yards till we find the elevator," Kelrek responded. The Imperial encampment had captured one of the many elevators that lowered all the way to the Shadowlands, and it was this that they were hurrying back to so that they could take their prize to the waiting shuttles.

"We're out of time!" Srilis shouted, appearing out of the shadows with a flying from behind her. Another massive creature had leapt from the darkness, and only Kelrek's reaction of a devastating blast of lightning stopped it from removing the Assassin's head. Growing frustrated his let the anger of the Dark Side rush through him, throwing the corpse back toward the elevator, and hoping that it had landed at least close by, while he and Jenah turned their mutual attention to the new aggressor.

The monstrous Wookiee roared its challenge, and rushed at Jenah, who swung one of her sabers toward its midsection, the heavy swipe missing as the creature leaped over the beam of plasma, dodging it completely. If not for the heavy danger of the situation, Kelrek would have desired to study the creature, and learn how much of the intelligence of its old form it retained when whatever happened to these beasts did.

Instead, he rained a blast of lightning down on the beast, stunning it momentarily so that it could not rake deep gouges into the back of Jeneh. They had already seen that these creatures could tear through armor and other dense metal like it was dirt. The pair of Darksiders continued to edge back toward the elevator and escape as they battle the hulking monster, knowing that they'd have to break and run for their lives if more arrived.

The beast however seemed to be some sort of lone hunter, as it continued its wild attack, alternating between the Sorcerer and the Marauder depending on who grew closer to it, spittle and foam frothing around its fang-lined mouth.

Its speed was magnificent, but at the same time utterly frustrating, and the strain was starting to grow on Jenah's face as she swung and stabbed with little effectiveness. Soon enough they were within sight of the elevator, and Srilis darted in from the shadows, stabbing her saberstaff into the beast's side, making it howl in rage and flail, tossing her aside like nothing.

And unfortunately, that was only the start of their problems. Kelrek could hear the howls in the night growing closer, and see trees and shrubs being knocked aside as more of the massive creatures started being drawn to the sounds of their battle.

"We need to go!" he called, throwing more lightning to keep the current beast distracted. It seemed the more that he attacked the creature with the Force, the more accustomed and resistant to the lightning.

Finally, the beast howled in pain as Jenah finally connected a powerful uppercut to its outstretched claw, severing the limb at the shoulder, buying them time to disengage and run for the elevator.

They only reached it in time, as then three more of the grotesque monsters leapt from the undergrowth, and only by combining their telekinesis were the three Darksiders able to throw them back as the modified cart started getting hoisted into the air, back toward the safety of the trees high above.

For at few precious moments, Kelrek thought that they had gotten away, and with the carcass of the first one they managed to bring down as well, when the entire lift shuddered, and the one-armed creature came up over the side, howling with bestial fury and spraying the three Darksiders with spittle.

Jenah charged, desperately trying to hack away at the creature in the enclosed space, while Srilis moved to try and flank it. Kelrek called every skill and technique with the Force that he knew to bear, and the three worked in perfect tandem, limiting the monster Wookiee from moving about and forcing it onto the defensive rather quickly. Soon enough, a mistake was make, opening the way for Srilis to plant her saberstaff into the beast's torso, skewering through the heart and killing the creature, causing the corpse to fall over the side and back into the blackness from whence it came.

All went silent, even as the howls and rages of the beasts now far below was growing distant.

"Never again…" Jenah said to Kelrek, glowering despite her small smirk of relief. "We are never going down there again for any reason."

"Agreed," Srilis and Kelrek both stated, slumping to the ground in exhaustion.

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Fury was sure that those in charge of the war effort had been thoroughly punished by now, but he had received no new orders regarding his change of position in the front lines, so he proceeded with the command as required, sending forth his fleet toward the war ravaged front nearest the Republic controlled sections of the Galaxy.

En route, they had heard reports that the Republic had finally scrapped together a fleet that could withstand them, and had defended a few worlds successfully with these newly upgraded ships. It sounded like a fantastic challenge, but knowing where in the line of systems that the new fleet was patrolling would be difficult at any given moment, so Fury had decided to just spearhead attacks on a few worlds to try and draw out these ships from hiding.

Telti was the first world that Fury decided upon attacking. Somewhat off of the main hyperspace route, it was a major droid construction operation located on a moon of the system, and would hinder the Techno Union that was currently supplying the Republic with many war droids across the Galaxy.

It was no surprise therefore that, when they dropped out of Hyperspace in orbit of the system, swarms of automated fighters launched from the several orbiting defense satellites to engage them, their pitiful lasers doing nothing to the powerful shields of the Empire's ships.

Nevertheless, numbers were clearly on the side of the Techno Union, as there were so many ships that launching any ship smaller than a frigate wouldn't be able to survive long under the heavy rain of projectiles.

"Clever," Fury said as he watched the droid ships swarm like gnats over them, "but what if we started bombarding their control satellites instead of trying to fight their ships…"

He gave Admiral Odjek the word, and their massive ships started to turn about toward the floating hive minds for the many ships attacking them. In a brilliant flash, they unleashed the powerful cannons on the Manticore, which quickly ruptured the shields on the first satellite, and moments later made the entire complex detonate as the fuel and power supplies were hit with powerful armor piercing weapons.

"Continue with the others," Fury declared, "Let us see if the Republic will come to defend their droid world."

He watched the long range sensors from that point of, even as his fleet separated to target and destroy the remaining droid satellites, rendering their immense fleet of fighter inoperable, and about as harmless as floating wreckage in space, bouncing off their shields and hulls with little more than dents to show for it.

Once that was completed, Odjek commanded the fleet to enter orbit, keeping each ship aimed over a densely populated area of the moon, threatening the populace with destruction if they did not surrender to the Neo-Sith Empire.

Then it happened, and Fury almost laughed aloud as their sensors picked up a Hyperspace resonance heading toward them. "They have taken the bait," he declared, "All ships prepare to engage the Republic fleet as they enter real space, take no chances; hold nothing back. Launch all fighters and have shuttles prepped and waiting."

Quickly, almost frighteningly so, his soldiers hurried to obey, looking and feeling almost as hungry for battle as Fury himself did. He recalled somewhere that those with strong presences in the Force were able to alter the mindsets of those they were close to, even passively, making those of a weaker will more like the stronger Force user in temperament. It would need to be something he took note of and was careful not to overdo, if that was indeed what was happening.

The Marauder turned to the viewport just as all his ships aligned in a covering 'V' formation, his ship at the point aimed right where the Republic ought to appear. Multitudes of fighters were already heading in the direction that their sensors approximated that the Republic would appear, weaving through the flying debris of the droid ships.

And then they appeared, around a half dozen ships that looked quite unlike anything that Fury had witnessed before. But the coloring and codes that were flying off the ships was clearly Republic in origin, so he ordered the attack to commence. New ships or not, they were clearly not expecting an attack force to be waiting for them, and there was some slight disarray in the Republic fleet as swarms of Sith Fighters washed over them, pelting their shields with bombs and other ordinance specifically designed to wear down and break the defenses of a capital ship.

Fury could tell that these ships were stronger already, as the initial wave did next to nothing to their shields, and they had more than enough time to launch their own fighters into the fray, looking completely foreign to the mind of the Marauder. More wings than actual body, the new Republic fighters were sleet and dagger-like, darting through space at high speeds, with massive increases to agility to dodge and outmaneuver. A match for the equally agile Sith fighters, but Fury would let the battle tell the results rather than predict what would occur.

"Open fire with all batteries, target the lead ship," he ordered, watching the 'V' formation of cruisers under his command lurch forward, all manner of lasers and other projectiles firing continuously, even as the Republic vessels returned the barrage, and Fury was surprised that their shields were actually taking damage, still not much overall but significantly more than in battles past, which marked a great achievement by the Republic. "So this is the might of New Terra?" he questioned, watching a small squadron of bombers approaching from the Republic cruisers.

Point defense guns started picking off the bombers one by one, the smaller ships not able to withstand a capital ship's firepower, but a slim few got through to deliver their payloads, scoring direct hits and to Fury amazement, phasing their shields for a moment before rupturing a pair of their heavy cannons.

"Surprising…" he assessed, "I wonder what other toys that they have brought to use against us…"

He turned to Odjek, "Launch the shuttles and their escorts; I want those ships taken…"

For once, Fury would not be accompanying his soldiers in a direct attack, he felt very comfortable just watching the chaos from here for the time being, and he wanted to learn how to lead from the rear of a battle, despite the constant itch to charge in himself digging deeply into his being. There was a time for a warrior leader, and this he felt was not one of those times. Fury would wait, and strike when it was needful for him.

It turned out to be a wise choice, as the fleet of shuttles were intercepted by a small group of Republic fighters, firing strange devises that exploded into massive nets, ensnaring the shuttles and dragging them behind the fighters, only to be smashed purposefully into other Sith ships, annihilating all the shuttles and most of its escort.

"Well played…" Fury stated, surprised at his personal control. This was quite unlike anything he had experienced as of yet in the war, an enemy that was actually cunning and could fight back with supreme effectiveness.

"My Lord, we're receiving a transmission from the lead Republic vessel…" an officer called over to him, "shall I put it through?"

Fury nodded, turning his attention to the holographic screen as it shimmered into life, revealing a rather small and toned looking Hutt of all creatures…

"I had thought it was going to be you, Septin Aranis, or should I call you Lord Fury now?" the creature said in perfect basic. Fury raised an eyebrow, as he recognized this being. Out of the many gang lords and scum that the Hutts tended to produce, there was the occasional honest and good being that came from that race. Jedi Knight Iradainn Kunn was probably one of these few, along with being one of the only Force sensitive Hutts in many generations.

"I'm surprised they found a war-time use for you as well, although I think being cooped up in a ship was probably the best they could manage…" Fury retorted, uncaring of the masterful tactician that he was facing. It just made this victory all the more important to him.

"I was indeed given the honor of piloting the Republic first new fleet into battle, and it is an honor I will uphold to the best of my ability," the Hutt replied, looking completely unaffected by Fury's taunts. The creature had thick hide in more than one way of speaking. "Still, I am most sorry for what happened to you so long ago. It was not fair for the Council to abandon you like they did when Master Ta-Ras-Minn perished. We ought to have looked harder…"

"Save me your piteous words," Fury snarled, realizing the tactic already. The Hutt wanted to enrage him, force Fury to do something rash and make a critical error in the battle, but he would not allow it. "Admiral, press the attack, I want these nuisances driven from this sector with their overlarge tails between their legs… if they had any…" he commanded instead.

"I do wish things had been different," Iradainn said, "but if you are committed to this path, then I must oppose you my old friend, in the name of the Republic and the Jedi Order, we will fight you to the end."

"So be it!" Fury said, ending the communication and seething slightly at the audacity of the Jedi to think themselves so much loftier or better than he. The Fleet bore down on the Republic vessels, unleashing a storm of energy, bombarding the shields of the smaller cruisers heavily. Somehow, the dramatic pounding of the guns firing was somewhat soothing to the Marauder, and he watched intently for the first ship's shields to finally flicker and die.

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The flames soared into the skies of Serrano, even as the upper part of the aristocratic city raged with blood and screams. The Sith forces had the element of surprise, backed only marginally and very subtly by the military guards of Count Dooku, who led Gor-lak and his personal squads to each of the noble houses directly by secret ways, through back alleys and sewers to avoid most of the open fighting as the combined efforts of the other noble families tried to stop the rampage of the main forces on the surface.

Their first attack was on the spacious manor of House Borgin, one of the supporters of the more heavily Republic aligned ruling houses, namely House Malvern and House Demici. The majority of the guards for the manor were already drawn away by the fighting in the streets as Sith troopers poured across the causeways, causing as much distraction as they could without actually killing any bystanders, as per Count Dooku's instruction.

Gor-lak almost laughed as they were led into a secret basement of the building, "Your aristocrats are far too trusting of each other," he said as his elite commandos started securing the area, "to have so much easy access to the homes and bases of your allies, betrayal should be far more common that it is…"

"There is a reason that my master had only just been elected to the ruling council of Lords, Sir." The servant that had escorted them replied, "Many argued against the bringing in of House Dooku, for that exact reason."

"And they were proven quite correct…" Gor-lak replied, smirking behind the mask he wore. Turning his attention to the commanding officer, Gor-lak nodded his assent to begin their attack. the secret door to the main house was blown open with high charge explosives, and the Sith commandos surged inside, gunning down servants and guards as they found them, leaving nothing to chance as they protected their leader.

For his part, Gor-lak actually had to do little as they sought out the Lord of the noble house, and brought him, still clad in his night clothing, before the ork-possessed human. "What is the meaning of this, unhand me this instant, or the great houses of Serrano will take repercussions!" the man was bellowing, completely ignored by the masked and silent troopers.

The nobleman however did finally cease his shouting when he caught sight of the tall and imposing figure of Gor-lak. "How…? You were barred permission to land on this world, why didn't the defenses…"

"Not terribly intelligent this one… is he?" Gor-lak asked the servant of House Dooku, who shrugged his apathetic response.

"You!" Lord Borgin shouted at the servant, "House Dooku will be destroyed because of your Master's actions, our entire world is in jeopardy now, can you realize… ARGH!"

Gor-lak had had enough of the man's blithering, and used a small spell of pain and torture to distract the man with his own nerves going berserk. "Much better…" he said, "I can think clearly now."

Stepping around the convulsing man as he wallow on the ground before them, Gor-lak thought aloud, "Six houses, and one on our side, fighting in the streets and this one as one of the greatest supporters of those that oppose my presence, what sort of example ought I to make…"

"There are still four other houses to attack and defeat before the alarm is completely raised across the planet, I don't know if there is time for anything you may be considering." The servant of House Dooku replied, almost looking as though relishing the prospect of a quick death for the rival Lord.

"Hmm, perhaps you are right…" Gor-lak agreed, conjuring his emerald blade of flames and turning to the lead commando, "burn the house and everyone inside it, use the Dragonfire bombs…"

"As you command my Lord," the squad leader replied, and part of the unit dashed off to secure a place to plant their explosives.

"A real pity, but perhaps I should save my victory and overwhelming sight for the last of those that we must kill on this world…" Gor-lak said, before planting the fiery blade firm into the nobleman's back, relishing the scream of pure agony as the fire scorched and blackened the man from the inside outward.

By the time Gor-lak was finished with the corpse, the commandos returned, one carefully carrying a detonator in his hand, and offering it to Gor-lak. "Let's move on, this will make quite a bit of noise once it goes off."

Instead of going back the way they had come, the servant led the Sith forces out via a back garden and onto a wide lane that currently was free of any combat. Once they had made it a safe distance, Gor-lak smirked as he pressed the detonator's switch, and they turned as the house behind them abruptly detonated in a roar of flames, that rose up like the mythical creature momentarily before dissipating completely, leaving the charred and smoking ruin of a house, as though it had burned days ago and not mere moments.

"That will drastic reduce the forces that Demici and Malvern can summon to keep fighting you…" the servant said, even as he indicated another small side street for them to take, skirting around a wide sloping park, "Lord Borgin had many favors owed to him, and without his ability to command loyalty through that, many of the mercenary and other combatives might reconsider joining the fight."

"All the better for us, so long as your Master follows through on his promise to help secure the political sway of the people for us." Gor-lak replied, noting as he passed a small area that overlooked the park they had bypassed. There were heavy turrets and a large number of guards marked with the emblems of House Demici there, presumably waiting for his armies to arrive. Thus far, the servant of Count Dooku had not steered them wrong at least.

"My Master will do what he feels is best for the interests of House Dooku," the servant replied with a shrug, leading them on through the arch of a spacious water feature, "for the moment, that includes assisting your takeover of the planet, and so I will obey."

They arrived at an intersection of a pair of main streets, and heavy fighting could be heard down one of the paths, while soldiers were seen heading toward their position from straight ahead, "That way is the direct route to House Demici," the servant explained, "It is unlikely that any victory can be easily won in that direction, as the Countess might not even have remained in her Manor house when the fighting started. It's more likely that she and Count Malvern withdrew to their personal fortresses."

Gor-lak nodded, it made sense for that to be the case. If he had been one of these defenders, he would have chosen to withdraw to a safer location than a spacious Manor immediately, probably surrounded by his best guards and calling for help from his allies. That was something however that was not in the Empire's favor. The last thing that Gor-lak wanted was a long, drawn-out battle over this planet, which would only serve to weaken its usefulness to the Empire.

"We need to find where she went, and I bet there will be someone of relative importance commanding the guards of the Manor, who will have the information we desire. We shall attack the Demici Manor and find out…" he decided, turning to face the heavily fortified street that the servant had indicated.

Conjuring more of his magical arsenal, Gor-lak spearheaded their way down the street, providing cover for his soldiers under a powerful shield, as they started fighting every pocket of resistance they met on the way to the house of Demici.

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Zhar was furious, to say the least, when the Emperor told him of Johell's betrayal and escape. However, unlike some apprentices of his that he could name, he held onto his anger, bridled and mastered it to use for himself when it was time to, instead of being led about like a crazed beast by the rage he felt at the boy he had been grooming departing the planet.

"It is of little concern, High Prophet," Veneficus had said, before departing, "He has only taken my Holocron, which I foresee will also be the means of his destruction… do not worry, all is well regarding your apprentice… but I'd still recommend starting to train a new one, perhaps one that is actually willing this time."

The backhanded compliment was dissatisfactory to the High Prophet of Korriban, but in addition to Supreme Prophet Feyd, he now had a choice to make for a new apprentice to learn the role of managing the Tomb world, in case of the unforeseen death of Zhar himself.

He had not been pleased to learn of Dass'in's death, as Zhar and most of the Dark Council had well respected the Kel Dorian as a voice of reason and moderation in the council meetings. Feyd, while bearing similar traits that he had clearly learned from his master, still had the fires of youth, and that clouded his judgment somewhat, leading to more aggressive motions being passed in favor of more practical ones.

But Zhar did not have to agree with the younger man to respect that he rightfully wore the mantel of Supreme Prophet, and had the power to back it up, despite having nothing to do with Dass'in's death himself, as a true Darksider ought to have, but times had changed in the Empire, and the strict rule of the Sith was paramount. Betrayal and murder were key tenants of the Sith, but as Zhar had figured out very early on, the rest of them outside of Veneficus and his apprentice were not considered Sith, nor were they given a tenth of the knowledge that the Emperor held regarding the Dark Side of the Force.

In some cases, Zhar knew this to be wise, even as he personally rebelled against the idea of another forcing him to be weaker than his full potential, but he had willingly taken up this cause. Had he so chosen, he could have been dead in a forgotten tomb so long ago at the blade of Darth Millennial instead, and possible somewhere in the Force, unaware and extinct as all those before had gone.

Zhar did not agree with the concept that there were means to retain oneself within the Force after death, the notion being little more than legend anyways, with only a handful of Jedi tales that were told to younglings to add any insight to the matter, which were slim and flimsy to say the least.

Still, Zhar took a young Iridonian as his new apprentice, hardly bothering to even remember the female's name as he prepared a line of objectives to test her skills and connection with the Force, not that he didn't already know full well that she was the next best option after Johell. There were simply not enough powerful Force users in the Empire as of yet, ready to be sorted and trained by competent leaders.

The Emperor promised that there would be, in due course, but Zhar wasn't sure if he had decades to wait for the perfect apprentice to be found for him. Making do with what one had seemed to be a trait that both Jedi and Sith embraced out of necessity rather than desire.

Supreme Prophet Feyd on the other hand had selected one of the other imprisoned Jedi, a Mirilian male that had been taken from one of the worlds that the Jedi Argicorps had been stationed, and the young near-human was still very angry at the dismissal that the Jedi had given him to that desolate labor.

Zhar had rather not cared when the pair had left to return to Domund Kaas, so wrapped up in the things he needed to do now and the boiling anger that Veneficus had left with him. If he ever found Johell again, there would be serious repercussions. The only question still in the High Prophets mind was whether he would simply kill the wayward apprentice or take him back for reconditioning once again. He would simply have to wait and see, Zhar supposed, depending on his mood when he finally caught up with the boy.

Till then, there was important work yet to be done. While little changed in regards to the reclamation work that eternally went in the Valley of the Dark Lords, the Academy was hard at work, as the Emperor had called for another wave of Darksiders to take to the field, as he had foreseen a heightening of the conflict in the very near future, and more fleets would be needed to fight the Republic.

The problem was sorting between those who were worthy, and those who were being too hasty with their training to be considered combat ready. Sparring contests and full arena tournaments were being held nearly every day, with the victors being proudly presented with their orders to report to the military command station over Dromund Kaas, while the others who weren't killed were told to sharpen themselves up and work harder, or die trying.

It was surprisingly simple motivation, yet extremely effective. The vast majority of their students had their own personal reasons to hate the Republic, and while they weren't overwhelmingly powerful, their determination was something to appreciate at least. Eventually Zhar felt that he ought to start teaching the adepts a more refined approach to channeling the Dark Side, so that not every single one turned out to be rampaging juggernauts, forces of destruction until brought down in a bloody cascade. There was an even greater need for intelligent commanders with strong Force presences, someone who could lead and inspire as well as command and terrify.

Unfortunately, it seemed that many of the Acolytes spent a great deal of time listening for news of the victorious Lord Fury and his fleet, as they spearheaded their way across the Sith Empire, and delighted in the thoughts of blood and battle that the man had seen and caused.

Perhaps Fury could be persuaded at some future time to actually visit the Adepts here and help dissuade some from this path that would ultimately lead to their untimely deaths of some field of battle where they'd be even less likely to be remembered or cared about. It was simply a waste of resources that Zhar didn't want to consider.

The troopers could be quickly replaced, their arms were being manufactured at a pace that overwhelmed their current pool of manpower, and ships were built on an equally impressive rate. The only part of their Empire that was slow was the training and releasing of Dark Adepts to counter the Jedi, and that could prove to be a deciding factor of the war for months yet to come. The Jedi were indeed their biggest threat, and even if Veneficus himself was insanely powerful, the entire Order rising up against him was still a daunting objective to crush.

Perhaps Zhar needed to take some time and research another avenue for them to get more Force users…or another raid on a Jedi training world, not that he expected that there'd be many more to go to after the first large attack.

But still, Zhar was determined to do something productive, and help further the war without stepping onto the field of battle himself, and there were many things that needed to be addressed by the Dark Council to aid their Emperor. Perhaps a long discussion with the other eleven would do some good as well.

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Fury laughed as the first Jedi cruiser finally buckled under the barrage of attacks that his fleet had been pelting it with for nearly fifteen minutes straight. The problem with celebrating that small victory was that their ships had taken an equal pounding across the board, and shields were starting to get strained even on the Manticore.

This was likely one of the longest space battles that had occurred since the beginning of the war, and Fury wasn't sure how much he liked being so far back from the action of the sight and almost unable to do anything to affect the outcome.

But all thoughts of that were dashed as he thought of the grinning slug, Iradainn Kunn. He had known that Hutt back in the Temple, and while it had been strange for many to accept a Hutt into the ranks of the Order, Kunn had fit in almost perfectly as a Jedi. While not as agile as most of the other younglings and Padawans in Zhar's age group, the Hutt had his own set of surprising skills, and could move with a grace not present on many legged creatures when he so desired to.

It was natural that the Order had chosen him to head this new fleet, as the Hutt's mind had been almost completely devoted to tactics and logic, allowing him to make critical judgments to break and defeat a foe without even needed to activate his lightsaber, which due to his race and size was significantly larger than one wielded by a human.

Fury could tell from the beginning that the Order was grooming Kunn to be their ambassador to the Cartel, so that the Hutt families could see what one of their own could do with full Republic backing and a lifetime of training in the Force. But that would all come crashing down now, Fury seethed, as he hoped to squish the vile slug underfoot once his ships destroyed his precious fleet.

Then all hope in the Republic would be lost, and the Empire would be that much closer to a final victory, and placing Emperor Veneficus on his rightful throne over the entire Galaxy.

But still, the small victory over one of their ships was not nearly enough for Fury, "move our ships to flank and tear them apart!" Fury commanded, feeling the surge within the force as their ships' thrusters all kicked into life, propelling the knife-life Sith cruisers across the small void of disabled droid ships and scrap metal toward the Republic fleet.

True, it was a likely move that the Hutt had expected, probably desired for him to do, as it would put their larger ships into threat of their fighters and bombers, but at the same time Fury had a few tricks that had never been used thus far in the growing conflict. "Send troops to the boarding pods, we are taking the nearest ship that we start to flank." He ordered, and the communications officer hastened to obey.

"Once we're in range, unleashed the pods, I myself am taking the fight to this irritant, and we will make sure that they are forced to retreat in shame," Fury stated moments later, feeling the urge from the Force to join the fray himself at last.

He turned, and departed from the bridge area, even as he felt the ship rock slightly as a new barrage assaulted the shields. The launch bay for these specially designed pods, similar in shape to standard escape pods, but with powerful drilling and wedging attachments on the front, designed to slip past shields and puncture the hull of another ship, allowing troops to be deployed in nearly random locations across a ship. Fury took a place in one of the vacant ones, alongside half a dozen armed troopers, making it a rather uncomfortable fit, but the other warriors seemed to relax slightly at the sight of their commander.

Fury's combat prowess must already be preceding him, as these soldiers were reinforcements that they had acquired back over Dromund Kaas, and thus far had not seen battle with their new regiment. "Once we're in," Fury said, keeping his voice calm despite the churning Darkness within him, "establish a perimeter, so that other pods can reinforce us without being deployed right into a firefight. I will support you as best I can, before seeking my prey. You have your orders after that."

"Yes, Sir!" the men responded, just as the hatched behind them sealed with a squelching sound of pressurized air. It was nearly time for the pods to be fired like torpedoes at their target ship.

Momentarily, Fury wondered what he would do if Kunn wasn't on this ship, but eventually he pushed the rogue thought aside. If that was the case, he would find something else productive to do, like ramming this ship into another of the Republic vessels, before taking a shuttle to a third, and beginning again.

The lights dimmed, before flashing red, "Hold on boys!" one of the solders up front said sharply, and all around him the troopers tensed. Fury dipped into the Force, stabilizing himself as the pod suddenly bucked, rocketed forward as it was propelled with great force.

"Impact in ten seconds," the same soldier declared, counting down for them. At one second, Fury himself tensed by instinct, before they all lurched forward as their pod impacted the metal hull, followed by a heavy grinding and screeching as metal started to bore into metal. Soon enough the pod stopped altogether, and the light flashed green, telling them that their pressure was sufficient that they wouldn't not be killed upon leaving the pod. "For the Empire!" the leader yelled, and with a rough slam on the release switch, the metal drilling appendages moved apart, opening a massive hole in the hull and letting them all leap one by one onto the deck of the ship.

Already there was fighting all around them, Sith troopers pouring by the half dozen or so from four or five other pods that struck this area, and Fury waited until he had space to move comfortably before igniting his sabers.

The Republic soldiers had no clue what hit them before Fury was in their midst, spinning sharply and cutting the first knot of five soldier to ribbons, limbs and heads flying in all directions. On the far side of the corridor, his troopers were laying a suppressive fire, pushing back the Republic forces from this corridor, even as another pair of pods slammed into the outer hull, and began wedging themselves in.

Through the Force, Fury could sense his rival, and was glad that this was indeed the right ship. The small Hutt wouldn't try to flee, despite his race's inherent cowardice. He would attempt to rebuff Fury's attack through cunning and tactics, and the greatest Marauder of the Empire welcomed the challenge with relish.

The next few troopers that set foot on the ship were carrying heavy repeating blasters, massive packs on them to carry all the ammo that their weapons used, and Fury beckoned them, "You two are with me, we shall have great use of your weapons."

"Yes Sir!" they responded, obeying without question, even as Fury started away from the others, seeking out his next Jedi kill.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~line break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione was distracted from the meeting she was attending, discussing the progress of expanding their shipyards and the rapid duplication of ships that had been forthcoming for weeks now, by a small pinging on her datapad. As she was not the current speaker, having actually already said her piece earlier on in the meeting, she didn't mind the distraction, and looked down to see what was so urgent.

What came onto the screen made her eyes widen. When they had rolled out the first set of ships in the new Republic fleets, part of the internal structure had been set with monitoring charms, to aid in finding and repairing any flaws within each ship. And while that was still their primary function, Hermione had added a small personal tracer to the mix, tying it to her personal datapad; so that she would at all times know the location and status of the ships she had built.

The original fleet, just out of the prototype stages, was in a heavy battle even as they sat here, and one of the cruisers had been destroyed. The command ship, which she wasn't aware of whatever name that the Republic had given it, was currently boarded and taking heavy damage as well. While there was nothing she could do to stop this as much as she'd like to, she swore to herself that the data provided by this battle would be used to make the next fleets even stronger, and eventually they would eclipse anything that the Sith Empire could generate.