So we come to it at last... the great clash of heroes and villains, or at least the beginning of such a climax... are you prepared? Who lives, who dies? Will evil triumph, or will good prevail? Let us see... ~F
Chapter Fifty Eight
The Great Battle of Brentaal
Leon could feel the tightening of the Force around the entire fleet of the Emperor as they drew nearer and nearer to their glorious destiny. Brentaal was an active hive of Force energy, even as all thoughts throughout the Galaxy turned toward it. Veneficus had already set aside his personal vanguard, sending forth Zhar in the Basilisk to lead the initial attack from their side.
Leon wasn't sure what to think regarding that decision, although his foresight was limited compared to that of the Emperor, but he saw that Zhar could potentially become very dangerous to Veneficus. Of course he had brought these worries to the Emperor in private, but the man had set it aside, stating that of all his servants, Zhar was the most loyal, and would only betray him if he felt that he was about to be cast aside.
Still, that assurance did little to calm the nerves in Leon's heart as he watched the fleet streaming through the wormhole of Hyperspace, speeding toward the deciding battle of the fate of the Galaxy, and the inevitable ascendance of their Emperor over the Republic.
Forcefully turning from the viewport and the looming battle without the ship, Leon focused himself inward, drawing on the power of the Dark Side, preparing himself for the battle that would take place within the Apex. Both he and the Emperor had separately foreseen that the battle would spill onto the royal flagship itself, spearheaded by his old master, Luna Lovegood.
The very thought of the woman that used to teach him boiled the blood in Leon's veins. True, she herself had done little in the short time they were together to engender his wrath, but she was a powerful symbol of the strength of the Jedi, who would have kept Leon back and restricted his growth and progress, such abilities as his foresight would have been squandered or ignored as foolishness and inevitably, he would have fallen far short of his potential.
Veneficus had taught him that, showing him all that he could become through the liberating power of the Dark Side, and it was to that power that Leon now turned, strengthening himself for the inevitable confrontation that he would have with the supposed 'light of the Jedi,' who would come and tarnish herself by attempting to assassinate the Emperor.
But she would not find him, not before Leon found her, and killed her.
The Emperor must have felt Leon's preparation, as he appeared from the direction of the bridge, soldiers and officers stepping aside and averting their eyes in respect of their supreme leader as he approached the young ex-Jedi.
"Soon, young Leon, she will come to you, and you will need to be completely centered in the Dark Side if you are to be victorious in defeating her." Veneficus said, withdrawing an object from the folds of his robes. Leon spotted the hilt of his old lightsaber, carefully cleaned and maintained after all this time.
"I took the liberty of updating the crystal within," Veneficus said as Leon grasped the familiar hilt, fighting back the storm of memories of using the weapon in the defense of the innocent and the future that had at one point seemed to clear to him.
The blade activated, bathing the room in his new crimson glow, dashing any thoughts of it being the old tool that he had once wielded. It was now the weapon of a Darksider, with a clear and defined purpose and victim in store.
"I will do as you command, my Master." Leon replied, yielding his will so easily to the one that had given him so much.
"I know you will…" Veneficus said, before pausing as both he and Leon sensed a tremor through the Force. "It has begun at last…" the Emperor said idly, seeing afar off toward the battle that Leon could only imagine at this time.
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Yoda sensed the moment that an Imperial ship entered the space around the Brentaal system. Glazing at the tactical holographic map before him, seated in one of the secure buildings of the capital city on the planet, Yoda immediately sent out orders for their fleet to reorganize and respond even before the electronic sensors had picked up the tremors of Hyperspace travel.
Without question, the captains and admirals of the various ships in the ever increasing defense fleet responded, shaping into one of the many formations that Luna had prepared well in advance for when the fleets of the Dauntless arrived.
Larger capital ships formed a protective picket, charging all their energy to shields and prismatic barriers at the ready, while smaller frigates and swarms of fighters waited for their chance to dart out and intercept any possible bombing runs from the enemy. Meanwhile, gunships and other cruisers formed up just behind the defensive lines, charging arc lances and preparing all manner of long ranged projectiles.
The very moment that a ship came into range, the gunships unleashed their destructive power, pummeling the shields and hull of the Imperial cruiser until it was totally devastated. The next handful were subsequently destroyed as well, until the Imperial forces grew wise to their strategy, and exited Hyperspace further away, out of range and able to raise their shields to maximum and form knots of covering ships before closing in.
Even as this started, more objects were emerging from Hyperspace, and Yoda felt a blasting warning through the Force, "All Ships, the Prismatic Barriers activate!" he commanded.
The defensive operation flared to life, just as a volley of torpedoes blasted out of Hyperspace, striking the shields at extremely high speeds, which if not for the warning would have torn the frontline ships to pieces.
"Fighters incoming!" one of the commanders signaled, and Yoda watched as the fleets of snub fighters flared out from behind the defensive line to counter.
The Prismatic Barrier's dropped momentarily, allowing the gunships to unleash another volley of deadly energy and explosives onto the encroaching groups of Sith ships, wreaking havoc among their ranks, even as the massive dogfight engulfed the area just before the Republic lines.
Another wave of ships arrived, accompanied by more high speed missiles, and several of their ships were too slow to raise the barrier once more. The missiles collided at near light speed, tearing through shield, armor, and hull with ease, exploding deep within the ships and rupturing them wide open.
Yoda could feel the explosion in the Force as so many lost their lives for the Republic that they loved. More ships moved forward to take their places, reestablishing the line valiantly against the Empire.
Yet another, far darker tremor was rumbling in the Force, drawing Yoda's mind to their other front, where ships were beginning to appear on long range radar, and similar picket of ships was forming. They were caught between a hammer and the anvil, and the precious planet was hung in the balance between them.
"This is Meteor," came the crackle of Havoc Squadron's leader as he spoke to the general channel of Republic leaders, "The Dauntless has appeared, repeat, the Dauntless has entered the field."
"To counter, send out Hope's Radiance, you must," Yoda commanded, and the primary ship, carefully waiting in the midst of the fleet, turned to face the oncoming massive Imperial ship, speeding forward to the front lines like a battering ram, the same tactics that Luna would have employed. Yoda suspected that something would be done to hinder the massive Magi-tech ship, but that was the point that no living Republic soldier was on board.
Missiles, plasma and arc lances firing in a frenzy as it approached the Imperial advance, Hope's Radiance struck like a charging bull, forcing the myriad of fighters to scatter or impact the heavily fortified and shielded hull of the gargantuan ship, and even smaller picket ships had to veer sharply out of its path as the ship made its way toward the Dauntless.
Unfortunately, a barrage of projectiles, careful placement of tractor beams from the now surrounding smaller Imperial ships, and even a pair of insane Imperial captains that boldly placed their vessels in the path of the large Republic ship halted its advance, even if the pair of ships that took the brunt of its impact were all but destroyed in the process.
"Master Yoda," a Jedi Knight stated from the comm channel, "We can sense the Emperor, he will arrive very soon."
And Yoda could sense the sheer blackness as well. "May the Force be with you, Luna," he whispered, continuing to focus on the other front as their defensive line dropped into a stampeding charge to support the attack of the Hope's Radiance, and attempted to push that front back away from the planet altogether.
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Diábolis has expected Lovegood's ship to attempt the same tactic as it had many times before. True, it was very effective, as what was there to stop the massive ship barreling straight for a target, but through careful planning, and two daring and bold Captains that had abandoned their ships and rushed the charging vessel, had halted the massive beast right in the midst of their fleet.
Like a rampaging animal, the ship opened fire in all directions, unleashing a literal storm of projectiles and torpedoes that threatened to devastate anything that had not prepared shields and other defenses in the direction of the hulking Republic ship.
This planet would be the gravesite of the Republic's proud flagship, and Diábolis would claim the glory of its destruction, even amid all their victories that would come to pass in subsequent battles.
Even as his fleet closed in for the kill, and deadly weapons prepared to cut through the powerful shields of the Hope's Radiance, the front-most ships reported a surge of activity from the Republic lines, as the fools charged in to rescue their spearheading ship.
"Open fire, I want this ship disabled before they can reach us," Diábolis commanded, and the orders were sent out to all those ships around their prey. The thrice blasted Prismatic Barrier leapt to life as the highly powered beam launched out from the Dauntless, creating a fantastic light show as the golden shield battled with the emerald green beam of death and destruction.
Meanwhile, on all side the other ships pounded away at the standard shields that guarded the hulking monster of a ship, trying desperately to pierce through and inflict some measure of damage upon it before the rest of the Republic fleet arrived to stop them.
From Hyperspace, Diábolis sensed Fury and his fleet arrive, along with another volley of long range Hyperspace torpedoes that they had developed specifically for this sort of encounter.
The Republic fleet, obviously led and counseled by a Jedi of some measure of power, halted and threw up their own barriers to block the volley of destruction, but it bought them time to continue their work on the grand flagship, and even more for Fury and his fleet to move into a guarding position to block the way of the Republic from rescuing their precious ship.
Soon, the prismatic barrier of the Hope's Radiance turned from its shimmering gold to a crimson as the shield started to overload from the supercharged weapon. At the same time however, Diábolis could sense that the power usage of the same weapon was taking its toll on the Dauntless. It was infuriating that the two ships were such a match for each other, and he demanded that more ordinance be fired at the shield to relieve pressure and buy them some time to actually use the weapon on the ship itself.
Explosions blossomed all along the weakening barrier, which flickered for a moment or two before fading altogether, and the beam shot toward the ship itself, striking the shields with a concussive blast. The shields failed, but so did the weapon, all indicators stating that it had overheated and needed to cool and recharge, but it had done its job.
Indeed, even as the Republic forces shifted to defend their flagship, Diábolis could sense the arrival of his master from the other major Hyperlane. These fools had no chance between them, but at the least the Apprentice wanted to destroy the massive ship before Veneficus had the chance to fight across the space battle to join him.
"I want that ship boarded, and charges placed at critical locations," he instructed, "let their hope burn away with the ship here in space before our Emperor destroys their entire precious system of government…"
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Luna could sense him as his ship arrived. Out of the shadows of space leapt the other ship, like a knife set poised to impale the heart of the Galaxy, and a core as black as the heart of the man who commanded it. The Apex was a truly terrifying ship compared to the small assault shuttle that was all that Luna allowed herself to command, along with the twenty or so volunteers of both soldier and Jedi that refused to leave her to face this threat alone.
They had come, knowing fully that they would likely die in the attempt to get Luna to the Emperor, but they like her believed that she stood the greatest chance of defeating the madman and ending this chaotic war before the Core worlds were threatened any further.
Watching as the storm of ships swept past, facing off against the defenses that Luna had left to Yoda's more than capable hands, she directed them to take a more elaborate route through a pair of close set moons, which would mask their approach to the hulking ship and allow them to slip on board unnoticed.
Although, if she was fair with herself, it was unlikely that the Emperor would not notice them coming, but there was always hope that his focus would be totally directed toward the planet and its defenders to by chance overlook them.
"I want the shuttle kept ready to launch at a moment notice once we land," she instructed the pilot, "we may need a quick escape, if…" she trailed off, not knowing if any of they would make it back.
"As you wish, Commander," the pilot replied, sharing a knowing glance with his copilot regarding the brief loss of focus that Luna had just suffered.
They brought he shuttle in smoothly, skimming in just after a trio of fighters departed from the smallest hangar on the Apex, gliding to a soft landing and lowering the ramp quickly.
"We cause what damage we can, and get out, understood?" Luna told the others, knowing that they would do no such thing even if she ordered it, and they nodded, strapping on the last of the gear and following her down to the deck of the hangar.
The shuttle briefly lifted off to shift back to facing the outer field and freedom, while Luna reached out with the Force, struggling through the wafting Darkness of the ship to locate the core of its evil.
There as something, but she was confused at how the Emperor could manage to project his presence out of the ship so well, yet conceal it from within. Then she sensed it, and the familiar twang of pain and regret caused her to misstep and stagger slightly.
Leon… her Padawan was here, shielding the location of the Emperor from all who'd look for him, displaying clearly where he was.
"Continue with the operation, disable the ship and do as much damage as you can," she instructed, gesturing for her forces to go on, "I sense something shielding the Emperor, and will catch up when I take care of it."
The Jedi in particular seemed to want to disobey even then, but she insisted and, eventually, they nodded their assent, bidding that the Force be with her as they rushed to find the critical systems of the ship and disable them.
Meanwhile, Luna turned toward the source of her Padawan's aura, some sort of personal area at the topmost deck of the ship, somewhere nearby to the command bridge, yet secluded enough that she would not be terribly disturbed once she arrived there.
It was a tense journey, as they arrival had gone more or less unnoticed, and stealth was still a powerful factor to use. Sliding around corners and ducking out of sight whenever a platoon of troopers appeared, Luna made her slow progress toward the location, detouring a few times to avoid detection.
At last, after what felt like forever, and after several powerful shudders that rocked through the ship as powerful weapons systems fired, she arrived at what appeared to be a personal wing of the ship, protected by heavy durasteel doors and guarded by a cadre of troopers, bearing the personal seal of the Emperor.
Taking a brief moment to center herself in the Force, and knowing that her enemy may lay just beyond the door for all she could sense, Luna darted out, her saber activating and lashing out with the Force to knock the troopers aside.
Caught thusly off guard, the first set of soldiers were thrown haphazardly to the side, helmets colliding heavily with the wall and floor, even as Luna plunged her saber into the control mechanism, overloading it and causing the doors to slide open.
The other troopers started to react, but not before she slipped into the chamber beyond, using the Force to bar and jam the doors behind her. There was no need for added distraction when she had an apprentice to rescue, which in and of itself could prove to be quite the challenge.
Taking stock of the chamber she had entered, Luna found herself in a private residence, complete with Sith Meditation Chamber, and the reek of the Dark Side wafting from all directions.
There was a presence hidden somewhere in the gloom of the low lighting, just outside the glow of her blade, the purple hue scattering shadows in all directions. Slipping into the Force, and allowing the Light to flow freely, Luna stretched out to locate her Padawan.
"You cannot seek that which lies in the Darkness, my old Master…" the boy's voice echoed out of the shadows of the room.
"Leon…" Luna said, pain ripped from the depths of her soul. She had known that the boy was now tainted, but she had not known the magnitude of his corruption.
"You never told me the truth of the Emperor, or the path that had led him to seek such power from the Dark Side…" the boy accused from the shadows.
"Is that what he told you, that somehow I held the key of his identity, or was the reason of his fall?" Luna countered, trying to pinpoint the location of the voice, but Leon was using the Force to mask his presence, and kept his voice coming from different sides, confusing her ability to find him.
"He told me the truth…" the boy said, and Luna scoffed.
"The truth…" she said, "What use is the truth to a Sith? He was corrupted by the Dark Side long before I ever knew him…"
"It is all as the Emperor foretold, you have come to seek him, and I found you first." Leon continued, not listening to a thing she had to say.
"Show yourself!" Luna demanded, desperate to know that the Dark Side corruption wasn't as far as she feared.
The Force screamed out a warning, and she turned, raising her blade to block the crimson beam that came for her head. The sparks and crackles of two lightsabers colliding broke the near silence, even as she gaze in horror at the face of her Padawan, twisted by anger and eyes glowing with the yellow of the Dark Side.
"Harry knows everything there is to come, and has taught me such… marvelous things…" Leon hissed, eyes narrowing in hatred, "Did you know that I am a seer, even by the standards of your old world? I can see what is to come, just as the Emperor can…"
"Anything foreseen by the power of the Dark Side is in and of itself twisted by that same power." Luna said, unwilling to believe anything that the malice in her Padawan's voice implied.
"And now I must fulfill my task, and earn my place at the side of the Emperor forever, by killing you, and crushing the last hope of the Jedi and the Republic." Leon said, pulling back and raising his saber once more.
Luna dodged back, unwilling to fight her Padawan in open combat, which would only fuel his rage and seduce him further into the Dark. "I will not fight you, my Padawan," she said, hoping that whatever light left in the boy would yearn to listen to her words.
"Then lay down and die for me, Luna, die for the Padawan you should have striven harder to protect!" the boy roared in reply, charging at her and swinging high, then dropping low to stab upward at her chest.
Luna had no choice, dodging was out of the question, and her violet blade slapped the crimson aside as she dropped into the form of Soresu, hoping that she could out duel her Padawan and force him to relent.
But the boy was totally immersed in the power of the Dark Side, drawing it in from the vile chamber around them, rushing at her again and again, heedless of the danger that he placed himself in. It was only her love for him that prevented Luna from striking a fatal blow at times, although she knew that she may eventually have to fight back.
But then a voice sounded from the gloom, even as the Meditation Chamber started to open, which froze Luna to the core.
"You form grows sloppy, young one…" said the voice of the Emperor, and Luna turned just enough to see the Sith Master sitting causally within the throne-like chair within the chamber, watching them with lamp-yellow eyes filled with scorn and an age-old hatred.
"I will do better, my Master," Leon replied, raising his weapon again. Veneficus laughed as Luna defended again, blocking the attacking weapon and spinning out of the way of the counter, dodging back to keep both Leon and the Emperor in view at all times.
But Veneficus made no move to rise from his seat, but rather watched them as a spectator in an arena fight, critiquing Leon's stance and form as though training him as an apprentice himself. The very thought boiled the blood in Luna's veins. Leon had been her Padawan, and the Emperor had no right to even treat him like something akin to a student.
"Yes, Jedi, feel the anger flowing through you…" Veneficus said to her, taunting her slip in composure. "Leon is mine, and your Republic will fall just as easily as he did, removing the mask of their fears and embracing my rule with open arms."
Righteous anger, burning white hot erupted with Luna, and she started forward to attack Veneficus directly, but Leon darted in the way, keeping up a wild and varied offensive to hedge her way, forcing Luna to withdraw and return to the defense, or else risk harming her student.
"Your petty justice is no match to the power of the Dark Side," Veneficus taunted, still laughing, "I will sit here and watch you die, Luna, before going to on crush your precious Republic for all time…"
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Zhar sped into the midst of the battle, silently enjoying actually being an instrumental part as he piloted his personal Sith Interceptor, the upgraded Imperial fighter that was designed with a Force Sensitive in mind. Around him formed up Gaze Squadron, as well as Euka, who was quite adept as a pilot herself, and they sped toward the waiting line of Republic vessels, which sent out a storm of fighters to try and counter their advance.
This was where he belonged, Zhar figured, even as he pulled his ship into a roll to dodge a speeding torpedo that had been launched at them by the defending line of larger ships. He had always disliked leading from the rear of a fight, but had done so quietly, knowing that his survival was needed, but now was the time of them to all fulfill their most effective roles, to hit the Republic forces here as hard and lightning fast as they could to eliminate all resistance remaining in the Core.
"Ignore the fighters, they can't pierce out shields as effectively, go straight for those defensive cruiser and their blasted barriers." Zhar commanded, steering their squadron to lead a powerful rush that circumvented the oncoming dogfight that ensnared many of their other squadrons, and went full throttle toward the opposing line.
From the back, he sensed Jedi Starfighters speeding toward them, "Now the fun begins," he muttered, watching the sleek ships that were clearly another Magi-tech invention speeding toward them. "Put them through their paces, do as much damage to the cruisers as you can before focusing on the Jedi, for the Emperor!"
"For the Emperor!" the other pilots replied, even as they split into teams of two and three, spreading out to cause havoc and damage to the picket line of shielding craft. Zhar, with Euka at his side, took to the nearest cruiser, darting around the massive barrier easily as another wave of energy from the Sith Fleet collided with it, and started unleashing his payload of powerful missiles and bombs onto the standard shielding that covered the ship completely.
It was far stronger than the previous time he took to the field, but the shimmering field did grow fainter as he bombarded it, Euka doing the same at his side. A pair of Jedi Starfighters took up pursuit, but both the High Prophet and his apprentice gunned their ships to full speed, soaring away from the cruiser and toward another target, dodging and weaving around each other in near perfect sync as they avoided the missiles and plasma bolts of their competition among the Jedi.
Spinning in a tight corkscrew, Zhar unleashed a volley of torpedoes at a passing frigate, pummeling the shields and piercing through to take out an sensor station, as well as several weapon emplacements as he passed, before pulling up to rejoin his apprentice.
Euka on the other hand had released a bomb behind her, forcing the Jedi to veer off course to avoid it, and buying them more time to circle back and attack the first cruiser they had engaged once more.
Soon enough, the shield of the ship finally broke down from the vicious assault the two fighters produced, and disappeared. "Target their life support, I'll go for the bridge," Zhar commanded, and Euka spun off to circle beneath the ship, one of the Jedi in hot pursuit. The other kept on Zhar's tail, trying in vain to halt him from his deadly aim at the Bridge of the Republic ship, even as the High Prophet flipped a previously unused switch on his ship, activating the small but incredibly powerful cannon that functioned as a miniature version of the devastator beam from the Apex and the Dauntless. It had been experimental only when he last piloted this ship, and withheld for such a time that they could make deadly use of it, but now Zhar thought it was past time that they reveal to the Republic that their technology through Magi-tech was still inferior to the Empire's.
The thin beam of deadly green energy lanced out, swinging in a wide arc as Zhar flew over the bridge, cutting a swath through the Durasteel like it was nothing, and rupturing the pressurized chamber within. Those in charge of the ship were sent running to escape the vicious pull of the vacuum of space, but they would not escape before the bridge exploded completely, fuel lines hit in Zhar's pass.
Another explosion from below marked that the main life support of the ship had also been crippled, leaving the human crew more or less dead in space until their backup energy gave out and they perished.
But Zhar lacked the time to stick around and shoot down any ship attempting to rescue the soldiers, they had another half dozen ships to eliminate so that they could advance with their cruisers, and there was still the Jedi Starfighters to deal with.
Wheeling about, Zhar gunned his fighter head on toward the Jedi, firing his plasma cannons full auto as he slowly rotated in a tight roll, dodging around what the Jedi returned at him. The pair of ships passed by each other with the barest of margins between their hulls, and Zhar flipped about quickly to attempt another pass, even as Euka and her assailant sped around their path, exchanging fire as they played an elongated game of cat and mouse.
"How about you enjoy this instead," Zhar muttered to himself, activating several homing torpedoes and launching them at the Jedi's ship, watching as the craft pulled out of its daring charge and sped off to find a way to shake the deadly missiles from tracking his ship.
Zhar followed, taking almost casual potshots at the Jedi to guide him away from anything that might actually save him from the missiles, which were slowly gaining on the Republic craft. He grunted once in annoyance as the other Jedi cut across his path, knocking out one of the torpedoes with some wild shots, Euka hot on his tail right afterward, but the Jedi Zhar chased was still dogged by one of his missiles.
Swerving dangerously toward the Jedi's star fighter, Zhar forced him to veer off course, and directly into the missile's path at last. The explosions flared into life just as the Force reeled back at the death of a wielder of its power.
Able at last to focus on the same fighter as his Apprentice now, Zhar knew that the other Jedi didn't stand a chance against them.
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Severus watched over Hermione's shoulder as the director of Magi-tech activated their final spare ships and sent them automatically to the front lines. On all consoles in the compound the battle was being displayed, every device that she had created feeding it back to them as motivation for what they were fighting for.
All the stops had been pulled out, prototypes were fitted for battle and loaded up for shipping, and many of the Mage-born workers were overtaxing their magical cores in the effort to duplicate and send out every ship they could muster for the defense of the Core worlds.
"Granger, you need to rest," Severus protested as the madwoman moved on to yet another piece of technology, her magic flaring to life as she etched runes with lightning speed onto the device.
"There's no time Professor!" she said angrily, treating him still with respect even though he was technically her employee, "every moment we dither is another life that could be saved if we send out more supplies and ships. Our droids are over half of that force, and we need to make sure that they are well maintained and ready for battle."
"But if you fall over from exhaustion, we will surely lose, as who then will make anything?" Severus countered, "at least a few minutes of rest, and something to eat to recharge yourself, that is all anyone can ask of you."
She paused, seemingly considering what he was saying, before setting aside the item. "You're right, I cannot overburden myself with the waging of this war, it will kill me before the enemy manages to reach us." She said at last, calling forth a protocol droid, which had been waiting with food and drinks for them both for nearly twenty minutes.
The food was still warm, but Severus had long given up the concept of having things exactly as he wanted, and ate it all the same. Hermione seemed to be fighting herself to do the same, and Severus flinched when she irritable turned on the display nearest to them, which had a grand overview of the tactical layout of the battle over Brentaal. "Whomever is in charge is doing a magnificent job in defending the world," she commented, pointing at the formations, "but there are just too many to stop them all."
"Numbers do not win a battle," Severus said, quoting some famous muggle from their old world.
"That may be true, but, look here, the Imperials have started using something I haven't seen before." Hermione said, gesturing at one of the quickly falling lines, "and my precious Hope's Radiance is still trapped within their ranks, taking all sorts of damage from their ships."
And indeed, the massive super ship was still there, flashing red with all manner of warning signals that meant it was taking heavy damage. "Director," Severus said, looking at her sternly, "would it not make sense to sacrifice such a ship if it meant diverting the attention of one of the entire flanks of the enemy?"
"Why of course it… oh!" she said, recognizing the tactic immediately, "so they're using it as bait to focus on the other end where, He… is."
Severus knew exactly who Hermione spoke of. Even those who were not Force sensitive could see the massive aura of blackness that surrounded the Apex as it entered the battlefield, signaling to all that the Emperor was on board and leading this attack personally.
"Lovegood will do all she can to stop him, but in case it fails, we need to look to our escape," Severus acknowleged.
Hermione frowned, but it was an argument that Severus had won before, along with every one of the Green Jedi that were part of her guard. Her survival meant that the Republic had a fighting chance, and if it meant losing all their facilities all over again, she needed to survive to keep the fight going.
So they had made special ships and kept them in reserve, enough to carry all the staff and workers of Magi-Tech that would flee with them, and plotted the course to some as of yet undetermined distant world on the far side of the galaxy from the Sith Empire, where they could hopefully set up once more in secret and supply ships to come for any resistance that might form against the Sith, in case they lost.
To Severus, it seemed more of a certainty now that they could actually see the forces they were up against. The sheer scope of all those Imperial vessels was enormous. Even if Hermione hadn't rightly guessed that the Empire was withholding much of its technology from their battles, they could easily win on numbers alone, and while he held true to his adage about what won battles, there was still the overwhelming fact that there were easily four Imperial ships to every one of the Republic's.
"Alright, I need to get back to work," Hermione said, standing quickly and snatching up her devices, and Severus allowed it. He had won a small thing to get her to rest, and now she wouldn't accidentally make mistakes for several hours yet. Their contribution now may be small, but it was still more than the useless politicians that sat around their Rotunda and worried about the ramifications of this battle.
Severus knew what would befall the Republic if they lost, and with that event seeming more certain, he was eager to be far away from that aftermath when it descended upon the Republic.
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Anguis watched the deadlocked masses of the Senate with a mask of indifference, while inwardly he was swarming with mixed feelings. Through the efforts of himself, he had permitted a 'leak,' in Granger's company, which resulted in the Senate having unfiltered access to her own footage of the battle of Brentaal, in all its horror and destruction. To be fair it had been for his own private viewing, but due to a technical mishap with the fool that he had bribed to supply it, it had been spread about to the Senate floor itself, and the madness that ensued had all but crippled any acting power of the Republic's government as they watched in horror as the battle unfolded.
Still, his mind was elsewhere, debating how he would initiate his grand plan to evacuate those loyal to him once the battle turned sour and the fleets of Veneficus started to close in on Coruscant, while continuing to portray a stern face of defiance against the Empire. Turning silently in the stiff, uncomfortable chair of the Chancellor, he muttered a few choice orders to his Vice-Chancellor, requesting a meeting of those parties that were extremely loyal to fighting the Empire even to the gates of the Rotunda, so that he could make his grand presentation once the Senate decided to disperse and prepare for whatever end was to come.
The noise of the Senators almost drowned out the volume of the space battle over the planet, even as another Republic capital ship was destroyed, in exchange for a pair of Imperial ones to be sure, but with a seemingly endless tide flowing from Hyperspace in two directions, the loss of a single ship suddenly became a very great deal.
If Anguis was less in control of himself than he was, he might have given into to the urge to quell the irritating noise that they were making with the Force right then and there, but he biding his time. Sensing the mood of the assembled leaders, he knew that it was all Veneficus' work to stir them up with fear and doubt, even as both the Apex and the Dauntless turned toward the planet.
That was, at least the Apex had, while the other monster of a ship was still surrounding the Republic's finest ship, the Hope's Radiance, in a tangled web that would eventually destroy the prized ship for good.
Or at least that was what many thought would happen, but they gasped in shock, and even Anguis looked surprised, as the ship suddenly turned a bright crimson hue, overcharging all its systems and preparing to self destruct in the midst of its enemies.
That struck Anguis hard, as he knew that it was Lovegood's personal flagship, and highly likely that she was on board. Would the great Jedi Master go down in a blaze of glory to devastate half of the battlefield?
And indeed, the ship exploded outward, sending hailstorms of scrap and plasma in all directions, obliterating any ship near to it, and heavily damaging those behind, including the Dauntless. Despite the fact that it was a clear tactic to shatter that front of the battlefield, the Senators still took it as a omen of their doom, starting the storm of argument all the more.