The Galactic Exodus Chronicles Part 2 :The Galactic Civil War

by Lord Exar Kun

Now with the rebels dealt a mighty blow, and the renegade Moffs about to strike, the galaxy finds itself moving closer and closer to full blown war! The Galactic Civil War is about to be unleashed upon an unsuspecting galaxy, and this is not the war you remember in the least. Follow Exar Kun, Darth Vader, Leia, the Emperor, and everyone else through this next chapter of the GEC.

51. Chapter 51

Chapter 51

(Neona, Tapani Sector, Day eight of Battle)

Anti-aircraft fire flew up into the skies filled with explosions and more AA fire from afar, and from which camp it came; Imperial loyalist, or Moff separatist, no one knew and no one dared to guess as war ravaged the crumbling and hollowed capitol city of Neona, now free of civilian. For should a civilian remain, be it a male he would be forced into conscript service for either army. Be they a woman, they would be forcibly removed from the city willingly or unwillingly, or to make it simple either side may shoot a single bolt in between her eyes into the head and silence any grievances this single civilian may have with war. For war is unfair, and for any blasted civilian to question you on that front is either a moron or naïve, and either way you ended up dead.

However most civilians were agreeable to fall into the hands of the loyalists who; even if they angrily did so, ordered you to vacate the city and get out of their firing zones. Fall into the hands of the Moffs and their desperate commanders, and a slew of annoyances and hells awaited you in service to these hack officers who were once mercenaries, as the Moff officer corps was gutted of men of prestige and some class by the wisdom of Grand Moff Vellam.

This was all besides the point, as the city, once a simple capitol for people to thrive and live, was now torn asunder. The loyalists the night prior had launched a major offensive from both east and west proper from the city center and cut the Moff lines in two. The central quarter was under loyalist command at last, but four separate and desperate pockets of Moff troopers were now holding out till the last man, as orders came from command and General Morlin himself to hold the lines at all costs until such a time when relief could reach their positions. Supposedly signaling a continued Moff presence in the Space above Neona to both Moff and Imperial alike.

An estimated two-hundred-thousand and some Moff troopers remained, and at least a quarter was civilian, and the Imperial had less, around a hundred thousand when last guessed, but according to ground commander Viathan it was to be enough. For by his own command to all troops; no quarter shall be given and no track of pavement ceded to the Moff.

"Troopers! Raise arms!" The commanding officer, so prim and proper yelled as he threw his right arm into the air, and a line of fifteen white clad troopers raised their blaster rifles up and pointed to a wall of rubble where stood unmasked, and helmets removed men. Moff troopers. Some of them seeming no older than eighteen, and likely forced conscripts but none would give the officer a simple few lines of speech to allow him to let them go. All they needed to do was denounce the Moffs and their cause, but it would seem these conscripts and their hatred of the Emperor outdid their hatred for the Moffs, and as such they should be...removed from the overall equation on Neona proper.

The troopers held their blasters raised and pointed down range at the lined up and captured Moff troopers who stared at their loyalist counterparts with a mixture of hatred and self pity for the coming loss of their own lives, and from the side watched a younger man then even they, as Viathan watched the scene in morbid yet col apathetic interest with eyes glowing red as he delved into his own darkness and pain to give him the strength to stand on shaky legs and shaking soil alike.

The officer stood their, stiff and motionless with cold eyes, and with a fall of his arm and a guttural call to; "fire!" the troopers all sprayed the wall and each of the fifteen men went rigid and fell back and to the side and forward alike, but all of them dead, and the Force wheezed and to those who felt it, it felt weak and sorrowful even.

Viathan watched the bodies fall and Zeetee, the little camera droid companion of his, wet over the site and took video that was no doubt mandated by the Propaganda ministry. He smelt the burning decay of death and building alike, and the smell had by this point become so pungent and normal, a common occurrence here on Neona, that Viathan felt no compulsion to gag or cover his mouth and nose as some poor and foolish officers from the outer and less disgustingly death filled sectors of the city did.

The officer relieved the troopers who ran back to their posts, which as far as Viathan was aware was simple patrol duties to the rear of his advancing armies to ensure supplies from the secured zones beyond the city limits were maintained. TIE's, both fighter and bomber screamed over the city and committed to shooting one another and dropping bombers across the city, once more allowing both sides to deduce continued Moff and Imperial presence in the space above.

Where Viathan stood at this moment, clothes still ragged and ripped, cloak hanging from his back and hood down, with his left arm still clutched tightly to his chest in visceral shooting pain that came in waves, he could see over the main square to the city, once filled with the average man, woman, and child, human or otherwise, was now devoid of life, save for the armor wearing man, and his blaster held ready to kill anyone that they were told to. The Imperial forces in the center were under command jointly by general Veers, and Commander Hoy under special task by Viathan who was taking, for the moment a background command of the forward operations, as he calculated the manpower disparity and the issues he must face with that fact.

He would need more manpower, and soon, but he was not so willing to trust any conscripts forced into service, for their loyalties were shaky at best to either side, and Viathan needn't the issues that would come with choosing that route on top of everything else. To the forward position of the main square where Moff still had lines of sight to fire on Imperial in the square, Viathan took in the sight of mobile artillery walkers moving forward and taking positions, and watched their main blaster barrels extend forward and move up to fire on targets made ready for them, as loyalist troopers in 2M-saber tanks came up beside these artillery pieces and fired at enemy frontal positions opposite themselves.

Viathan let out a slow breath as pain once more shot down his arm and reverberated into his chest.

"Kriffing...pain." Was all he muttered in low growling annoyance and moved forward some from where he stood, and before he could once more mull over the issues of this hellish campaign his comm buzzed for his attention as the mid day star rose into its full height and the explosions and smoke stacks of war filled the blue skies.

"Commander Viathan here, go ahead."

"Commander sir, this is Hoy." The voice came through and sounded hoarse, as Viathan knew the commander had less sleep than he or most of the other officers, and Viathan felt a small sliver of empathy for the tiredness the man and likely every trooper felt in this moment.

"I read you clearly Hoy, you may speak."
"Thank you sir. The forward positions have artillery emplacements ready, I was not sure if you were made aware."
"I was, and have a decent vantage point commander." Viathan assured and once more looked over to the square where the loyalist tanks were firing blindly into a street where Moff troops were refusing to come out of their rubble made rat holes and surrender.

"AH, well then, very good sir. We, and by we I mean general Veers and myself were wondering if we were to commence the main assault on these Moff vermin hiding in their self made coffins?" Viathan allowed such improper speech to pass as the sleep deprivation forced some propriety and sanity to fade from the minds of the men, and Viathan had to admit; being stuck on any planet, and in any battlefield for long enough mad any man a little crazy by its end.

"Line your artillery pieces to fire approximately fifty meters from your forward lines, and I want EVO troopers with flamethrowers at the ready to move on my orders into the street. They are to have platoon sized escorts, and are ordered to burn out these rats from their holes by days end. Am I understood commander Hoy?"

"Perfectly sir. We shall await your go ahead on EVO trooper deployment, but shall commence firing momentarily."

"As you will commander." Viathan answered and clasped his comlink back onto his belt. He once more looked out to the positions his artillery pieces had taken up and watched and hear the first great crack of the artillery as the barrels all snapped back and massive bolts of green energy flew out and arched over the heads of Moff and Imperial alike and slammed into the street filled with Moff resistance and rocked the city with successive, loud, and billowing, booming explosions. A morbid smile crossed Viathan's face and he felt the deaths of men flow through the Force as they cried in fear and anger in their last moments.

Shaken from his momentary morbid appreciation Viathan flung around and looked to the skies as TIE bombers shrieked over and then beyond him but low enough for his cloak to swing in the wind, and he turned to watch them bomb in a successive run a line of his men and their own fortified positions running along one of their secured streets and into the square and one artillery piece exploded and he watched pieces go flying into the air, as ruined, and hollow buildings nearby collapsed from pressure. AA fire blasted from other positions and sprayed the skies where the bombers flew and were flying towards and some were hit and exploded into fiery balls, and crashed into random positions inside and outside the city, but a sudden and all consuming tingle of hatred crawled along his spine, as Viathan watched his enemies continue to resist he and his armies, and kill his men. The men of the Empire.

Not unexpectedly, his comlink buzzed for his attention and he snapped it up.

"Viathan here."
"Commander! Enemy air power is still active, and just kno..."
"Knocked out an artillery piece, I am well aware commander Hoy. I am on the way now. All anti-air emplacements are to concentrate on defending land units inside the main city square! Anyone who is seen not tending to this order is to be shot and replaced! AM I clear?!"
"Perfectly sir." Hoy responded sounding not quite shocked but a bit uncertain to say the least. Surely if Hoy wanted to smoke out some rats, living breathing, human sized rats, then Viathan was entitled to make some orders that were not so clean and prim and proper, was he not?

"Furthermore I want communications with the karking fleet reestablished and get us some air cover, or I will personally behead the admiral and his staff when I get off this dreary karking rock!" Viathan did not, in his emotionally charged state, await Hoy's reply, for Hoy knew to follow his orders, and Viathan had faith in the man, but now was the time for battle, and to continue this war. This most uncivil of civil wars.

Moving from his position and noting that little Zeetee followed him like an obedient, but task oriented droid, Viathan made through the streets filled with rubble and death and moved along the road Veers had been in command of conquering in his move toward the city center. Destroyed and broken AT-ST's lined the streets, with burnt shells of armored units and their occupants lined it similarly, and the smell of death and metal filled the streets as troopers lined it and moved supply filled walkers to the front, and haphazard fire from enemy hod out positions was heard as troopers blew them out of their hideaways and holes. The dreaded EVO trooper was now a common sight from the Imperial ranks and the heat of his flamethrower was the last sensation of many dead Moff troopers now.

He ran through this street and noted before the front where he was needed, and where he itched to snatch up his saber to make for battle that his troopers were hauling bodies into troop transports now vacant of their original load of loyalist troops, and taking them off to be burned and not a body was to be left for a grave, and not for a person to give remembrance to the dead of the enemy. Be them a native conscript or a Moff trooper from beyond their worlds' atmosphere. The Moffs were to be purged from this world, in matter and in mind alike. For that is what awaits every Moff troop in this galaxy in this Galactic Empire.

Nonetheless in a matter of but ten to fifteen minutes a barely sweating teenager reached the central square where men ran about amongst fire, and raining bombs of energy and among the dead and dying. Among the cries of anguish that sounded worse through masks, and the falling of bodies as their skin melted away under plasma burns and whatever else the enemy used, men still moved and shot their rifles in desperate need, and desire to survive, and fight another day. Kark to fight another day, they wanted to live, be them a clone, a mindless being created for war they still felt a compulsion to live, even if they were bad at doing so.

Viathan snatched his saber form his belt and ran past and by men shooting and dying and made for the command platform where a slew of officers were stationed with fear filled troopers acting as guards for these officers, and where a few Massassi huddled by awaiting an order. For these red skinned beasts alone felt no fear, only the thrill for killing and battle.

Passing by the lead Massassi, that being Zar, Viathan sent him a respectful nod, and received one in return. Viathan then jumped up the platform and made himself known among the officers who were hurriedly manning consoles as a central one was surrounded by Hoy, and Veers, and a few field officers Viathan did not recognize personally but all snapped and saluted and Viathan with a slight feeling of awkwardness saluted back and put them at ease. It made him feel very much out of his field of expertise, but Viathan figured he best get used to it.

"Alright now I'm here, let's get this karking situation over and done with. Where is my air cover?" Hoy ran a shaking and tired hand over his hat-less head and neck and sighed.

"I raised the fleet but they are reporting Moff raider attacks are forcing them to refocus all fighters and interceptors towards hunting their faster ships down. Such as Tartan cruisers, or whatever else the Moffs are using. I relayed your orders, but the connection was...shaky at best."

"Very well, we will have to rely on anti-aircraft fire to give the Moffs a second thought before bombing again...for now at least. General Veers! I want those artillery pieces ringing in my ear to continue firing and I want the bombardment position moved up five meters every five minutes, to cause their further back lines to either bunker down or pull back. Plus I'll be moving in, to clear these rat holes and don't fancy getting blown to the Corellian hells by my own men."
"Understood entirely, sir." Veers responded coolly, and seeming far more together than the other officers. Though he looked no better than they. The dark circles under his eyes being dead giveaways that the man lacked as much sleep as his comrades. It almost made Viathan...actually it did make Viathan feel like a lazy slob for being passed out from his injuries and getting more sleep than they had.

"Alright now..." Viathan was silenced as the scream of TIE's flew overhead again and bombs fell near the platform and every officer and trooper fell low on instinct and Viathan merely looked up and shook when the bombs leveled a nearby building and fell on a nearby saber tank and sent the husk flinging onto its topside in a fireball of death.

A growl escaped him as his eyes seemed to deepen into their crimson color and with a moments instinctive move with the Force guiding him he threw his right arm out and balled his fist and above them all a TIE bomber came to a hard stop and with fury in his shaking hand, Viathan threw his arm down and the bomber came careening down and exploded in the Moff lines beyond their sight. To Viathan's approval and slight relief a squadron of TIE interceptors flew overhead next and were firing on the retreating bombers, and signaled the fleet gave a damn. Despite the looks of mixed awe and terror from some of the officers Viathan rolled his shoulders and cleared his throat.

"Now, as I was saying. Where are my EVO troopers, and their escorts?" Hoy brushed what was likely a mix of imaginary and actual dust from his uniform and pointed off to the right of the platform by a set of buildings guarded by two AT-ST's. One seemed near ready to fall apart, but Viathan couldn't be picky in these types of situations.

"I raised seven EVO troopers who weren't already busy behind our own lines clearing out the Moff scum. However, the platoon sized escorts was another issue entirely." Hoy sounded more worried, and Viathan sensed for himself than anything, and Viathan found it odd, that the fear was because of himself, but allowed it to go for now, and decided to calm Hoy of his fears at a later and less stress filled moment.

"I take it you couldn't get platoon sized escorts for each EVO trooper?"
"I couldn't get much of a platoon raised at all from the units active in our rear positions. I can give each trooper fifteen men for escort, one will have to manage with only thirteen troops at that."
"Leave the EVO's and their escorts to me. I will handle these rats personally. I will be taking the Massassi with me. That in mind give each a heavy repeated, and I want them fully loaded and ready in five minutes tops."

"As you will commander." Veers added before Hoy did, who was receiving whispered information from a fellow officer, and Viathan didn't feel the desire nor the need to ask what was being said. After all it was an entire battlefield this damnable city was. Not everything needed to be micromanaged by he and he alone after all.

"Alright. That said, and hopefully these karking skies will be cleared for our advance. Once the rat holes are cleared by me and the EVO troops, I want snipers placed on either side of the street and furthermore, some heavy repeater emplacements and pillboxes set up inside these husks that were once...office buildings by the look of them along the street. We will breach this street and wipe this pocket out before days end tomorrow, or we will have a whole other problem on our hands."
"That being?" Veers asked with a furrowed and worried brow. A rare sight for the general.

"The massive waste of manpower on breaching and wiping out this pocket of four we have to deal with general will put us no doubt on a defensive position. Once we fall onto the defensive general we are looking at a Moff line being reformed and all pockets forming a single block from which to counterattack us. I will not have the Moffs, and their greater manpower pool be the reason for my, your, and all our downfalls on this world. Morlin...he is waiting for his moment to strike, and I won't allow my old mentor a one quarter from which to make his move." Viathan assured the group, but more importantly himself as he balled his unseen left hand into a fist, and sent a sharp shooting pain through that arm and chest and fueled his own power in the dark side.

"Arm my Massassi and send them my way. We take the forward area of that street or I'll die trying. Get these damn artillery pieces firing on the next five meters up like ordered general Veers, and everyone else, get to your tasks. We secure this square by tonight." Viathan turned on a heel and made off the platform, and the officers with no delay went about their own work and objectives, whatever they may be. Viathan passed by the Massassi, at least ten of them were there along with Zar and Grash, they all stood to attention and watched Viathan pass them by with mixed looks of confusion, as Hoy came up to them followed by troopers carrying their heavy repeaters, and they soon made to follow Viathan who came before the gathered EVO troops and regular troopers who stood at full, and rigid attention with weapons at the ready and held close to their bodies.

"I would hope you men are aware of our objective." Viathan greeted as three saber tanks rushed behind him into the fray of battle, and opened loud and cracking fire into the enemy street positions, but Viathan ignored it. The troopers, however, found themselves turning their helmeted heads to look at the firepower display as the artillery pieces moved their main weapons into their new firing positions.

"Listen up, as I don't want to repeat myself when we're halfway into a killing field with enemy fire raining around us." The Massassi came up behind Viathan and stood ready and waiting, as the troopers returned to full attention. Once more Viathan felt odd for being younger than all the troopers, and giving them the orders, but nonetheless, it was a reality, and they needed to accept it, as he did.

"The enemy has this street to our north of the main square. As you ll know we have secured...for the most part our advance points into the square via the eastern and western roads. The southern road is also a problem but the enemy is less of a nuisance there at this time. However, let's not get sidetracked." Viathan said more to himself than anyone else. Even as some troopers nodded along to his words.

"The forward units of the Moff resistance are giving us a hell of a time, and are right there where that northern street begins, right on our backsides. We're going to clear this mess up, and rid ourselves on these rats, hiding in their damnable little vermin holes. That is why you EVO troopers are so instrumental in this fight." Viathan declared even as the sudden and body shaking boom of the artillery pieces went off and the massive green bolts flew up and over into the Moff positions along the street and threw rubble, and bodies into the air, or incinerated them, either way worked for Viathan.

"As soon as these artillery pieces move up in the next...four minutes we are moving in and are acting as forward advancing units. You EVO troopers, you regular troops, and my Massassi, along with myself as acting commanding officer. It's simple, we move up, clear the enemy from their dug in positions, and allow regular troops to move in and set up defensive positions of our own, and let the Moffs bleed themselves white on our repeaters and our blasters. Be it bravery or stupidity, or likely both, the Moffs refuse to surrender. So we shall show them the price of treason and the folly of their bravery." Viathan assured and the men all nodded once in an odd unison, and held their blasters and flame projectors at the ready, and with a satisfied nod of his own Viathan motioned for the men to get ready to assault the street.

"Zar, you and your kin will take up the main defensive task. When I and these troopers advance we will need someone to cover our advance from the entrenched Moff forces along the street rubble, and from any forces advancing from further down the street beyond our initial objectives. Some heavy repeater fire and scary red aliens might make the enemy think twice before rushing in." Viathan watched Zar grin in agreement and he nodded while hoisting up his own heavy repeater followed by a guttural growl to his fellow Massassi, with Grash reiterating the growl the Massassi followed up behind the troopers, and Viathan followed them as the artillery pieces stopped firing on their last position, and TIE's screamed overhead, but this time TIE interceptors fired on the bombers and forced them from dropping their payloads, along with a good bout of AA fire.

"Alright on my order, we move forward. Troopers to the front, and shield the EVO troops. Massassi, follow Zar, and you know your orders!" Viathan commanded and activated his crimson saber for the first time since his injuries and held the red beam of light above his head in anticipation as a mix of adrenaline and fear shot through his body, and in particular his chest as it constricted as he let loose his final breath of trepidation.

"Forward!" Viathan called and the troopers ran forward into the street followed by the EVO troopers and the Massassi along the sides as Viathan followed behind before blitzing forward and ahead of them all.

The enemy fire was immediate an it was vast. A flood of red bolts came flying from the hollowed out and destroyed buildings, as heavy repeater fire came spraying from the dug in 'rat-holes' as the imperial called them, but were actually the nest positions on the streets themselves. Viathan allowed the Force to guide guide him along with his instincts and his saber flew into a bout of twirls and spins and sent incoming blaster bolts flying away and back from whence they came, as his troopers opened fire and some fell into crouched positions to get better lines of sight on the enemy in the nest positions and up toward the windows of broken and destroyed buildings where enemy fire rained on them from.

The Massassi were the fastest of the troopers to react. They ran forward and with repeaters in their massive hands, supported by massive arms of pure muscle, hoisted their repeaters up and fired into the buildings and the Moff troops fell away quickly from their positions, and a few unlucky fools were slammed by a few bolts raging from the Massassi repeaters.

Viathan spun his saber and brought it before his face and blocked a bolt aimed dead for his forehead, and growled as he found the sniper to his left along the top floor of a building missing its roof. Gathering all his energy into the Force he slammed his left arm forward and the building was rocked by a Force blast that had the entire block shaking. The men inside went falling back or forward, some out of the window they were using if they were unlucky and foolish enough.

Viathan gave himself a satisfied smirk, but dropped low as a stream of enemy fire came at him once more. Looking forward he noted that an entire line, a platoons worth of enemy troopers were running opposite him and his men from the street and firing with wild abandon. Three or four of his troopers were wildly gunned down and fell lip to the ground, some still firing their blasters. Three Massassi fired back with a rapid spray of bolts of their own, and several enemy troopers fell dead, but more kept coming with foolish bravery that Viathan found annoying, but mildly commendable.

Pulling lord Ruin's saber from his belt, Viathan activated it and sent it flying through the air toward the men, and directed it to the side and then flung it into the line of men and one by one men were beheaded, or bisected from the shoulder line, and thus arms and heads came off bodies that all fell to the ground beneath in disgusting heaps. Grabbing the saber as it came back around Viathan spun both sabers in his hands as even more fire came his way. The surrounding buildings and their windows were full of Moff troops firing on he and his troopers, and looking back to his troopers they were becoming more pinned down in their current positions in the middle of the street. Dodging fire from their front, their sides, and from the nests along the street, as the EVO troops failed to get close enough o smoke them out, and were also taking cover. Usually behind another trooper as a meat shield.

Viathan growled and dodged more fire, and sent a massive push in its shooters' direction and sent three men falling back fro inside a building nearby. He snatched up his comlink after clasping Ruin's saber once more, and keyed in for Veers.

"Where is that next round of artillery fire general!?"

"Commencing fire now sir." the general coolly replied as if he had been awaiting this call from Viathan. Cursing under his breath Viathan clasped the comlink again and watched the street fill once more with Moff troopers from beyond their objective lines, and they fired mostly on his Massassi who fired back, and even took a few shots to their bodies, but the brutes did not fall even through the burning, stinging pain of it all. Something Viathan greatly appreciated.

Rolling to his right and into the streets center with saber in hand, Viathan blocked and sent many oncoming bolts flying back and away, before using his still pain riddled left hand to allow a surge of wild blue lightning to erupt from his fingertips and fly into five, or more men, and they went flying back in screams of pain. Even still the other came to a stop and fired on he and his men, and Viathan flew to his right in pain as a bolt slammed into his upper right bicep, and sent a shock of pain through his right arm, and a growl once more erupted, as he blocked more bolts even as the pain radiated on.

Then with a loud burst from behind the artillery barrage commenced and in a matter of seconds successive blasts rocked into the street where the enemy troopers had been positioned, and smoke, and debris filled the air, as the death screams of men filled the air, and the shooting for a moment stopped, and a deathly silent lull filled the air.

"Alright now's our chance! EVO troopers on me!" Viathan called and three EVO troopers came near to him followed by and protected by their trooper escorts who huddled around them.

"First nests over here. You troopers, and Massassi give us some covering fire on these buildings, while that artillery fires its next volley!" The troopers and Massassi, who growled for good measure, ran past he and the EVO troops closer to the buildings on their collective left and readied their blasters to fire on the first set of Moff troops brave enough to return to firing at them from the successive artillery founds still coming into the street in intervals.

The first nest was a deep one, likely filled with a few men and supplies, and was covered by debris fashioned into a triangle opening that allowed for the end tip of a heavy repeater to poke through and fire on the Imperial side of the street. Viathan stepped onto the top of the nest where the blasters or repeaters could not hit. Lowering down into a crouch he motioned for an EVO trooper to follow up behind him with flame-projector ready.

"Enemy Moff troopers still alive in your little rat hole! I am the commanding officer of Imperial forces on this world! You have to the count of three to surrender and be processed as prisoners of war." He called down to the nest, and nothing was responded to him, and he motioned with a jerk of his head toward the nest for the EVO trooper to get ready.

"Very well then. To the count of three then. One...two...thr..." Viathan suddenly stopped as a stream of fire came erupting from the nest up through the rubble roof and passed hi person, much to his annoyance and out of the nest opening, causing all nearby troopers to fling their bodies away from the fire.

"Bun the rats!" Viathan demanded and the EVO trooper ran down and around to the side of the nest and positioned his flamethrower into the hole and fired the projectile fire into the hole and Viathan and everyone else was met with the cries of men being set alight with fire. The hiss of the flame projector followed by the explosive release of the fire was morbidly interesting to watch and listen to as the crackle of the flame burned into the rat-hole and burned these Moff vermin to death. Armor melted to their bodies, and their skin to their armor, as the intense heat fused man with armor, before they died, in horrible fits of futile waving and shaking with screams made even more horrid by their masks before they went silent and some ammo dumps inside exploded from the heat and robbed the Moffs of any hope of reusing the nesting position.

The Massassi had morbidly please smirks on their faces and their yellow eyes seemed brighter and happier than usual. While Viathan sensed disgust from the troopers. Not at he, but at their one time allies and fellow troopers now burning in these holes for the pathetic Moffs.

"Next nest!" Viathan commanded just as a bolt landed at his foot, and just missed him, and when he looked up he jumped away quickly thereafter as a renewed flood of enemy blaster fire came down from the ruined buildings. The EVO troopers, either on reflex, or annoyance turned and sprayed their flames into the lower leveled windows of the buildings and had some men inside the building flailing as flames engulfed their bodies, and sent some men falling from the windows, to their deaths below.

Stench filled smoke and ash filled the air, as another artillery volley came slamming into the street beyond Viathan. Viathan coughed as the smoke filled his lungs, and rapidly took up his already ripped cloak and ripped off a long stretch of it, and wrapped it around his face, from the middle of his nose bridge down over his mouth to give him some minor measure of protection against the smoke inhalation.

"Next nest, move up troopers, let's go!" Viathan ordered with a muffled voice, and the EVO troopers moved back from the buildings still firing their flames up at the building as the troopers rained covering fire into the building and into the windows, some throwing thermal detonator and frag grenades into these windows, and a grand show of imploding rooms was followed thereafter. The Massassi continued to fire into the smoke billowing from the artillery fire to cause any living Moff trooper in the street confusion and hopefully kill a couple. While at least two or three of the Massassi aided in firing at the buildings and forced Moff forces to keep their heads down, and only meet their blaster assault with random fire pot-shots taken by Moff forces.

Viathan made it to the next nest position opposite the one smoldering with death and flames, with two EVO troopers following him closely behind.

"I have no time for games, you hear me down there?! You have five seconds to surrender or be burned alive and cooked like your friends in the last nest!" Viathan yelled in a muffled voice down the nest hole just beyond their line of sight. The EVO troopers waited off to the opposite side for the order to fire, literally, into the nest, and burn out the Moff rats.

"One...two...three...four...five! Flush em'!" Viathan commanded and the EVO troopers ran to the nest entrance and fired the projectors down the nest hole and the screams of very much alive, but burning men was met. The hiss of the gun, and roar of the flames, died but not the screams.

"Back away, next nest, five meters up, and stay out of line of sight from those buildings! Zar, cover the EVO troops!" Viathan commanded and the Massassi along with a few troopers back toward the EVO troopers and covered their advance up the road toward the next set of nests on either side of the road, as Viathan unhooked a thermal detonator from his belt and threw it into the net just burned by the EVO troopers, and backed away as the nest imploded and all screams stopped, but the burning and stench, thankfully dulled by his mask, did not stop.

"Commander!" Called a trooper to the forward of the assault, and Viathan snapped as the trooper pointed toward the enemy section of the road.

"What trooper!?"

"Enemy walkers! Three of them!"

"What!?" Viathan retorted in disbelief, but sure enough from the billowing smoke and debris from artillery fire came the unmistakeable sound of AT-ST walkers, and they opened fire on his men immediately and three of his regular troopers screamed and were blown into the air dead.

"Kriff! All EVO troopers pull back now, behind the first nest line!" Viathan called and the EVO troopers all fell into a total uncoordinated running retreat behind his position and the still alive troopers fired their little blaster rifles up at the walkers to absolutely no effect, and were met with the rapid cannon fire of the walkers, and once more blasted to bits dead. The Massassi used their repeaters to better effect if only to draw the ire of the walkers better than the troopers.

Viathan activated both sabers and ran at the first of the three walkers, and jumped up and onto the walker. Bringing the sabers down into the topside of its 'head' he managed to hang on, and come to a stand and move the saber into a circular hole and rip the detached metal away. Inside the men fired up at him but he dodged, and sent lightning coursing into the walker, and killed the two men inside, and jumping off Viathan was met with the other two walkers advancing without their third walker ally. Flinging both sabers at the two ankle joints of another walker, Viathan was pleased when the walker immediately collapsed on itself, and the head portion fell to the ground but maintained fire while on the ground in an awkward sideways position. Viathan snatched his two sabers back and leapt onto the now sideways facing head of the walker, and pulled another thermal detonator he had on him, jumped off the head came into the sight of the command viewport and threw it inside. The cries of terror reached his ears but he jumped back and away in time as the head blew apart and debris went hurdling into all manner of directions.

The third and final walker advanced on his retreating troops and stepped on at least one trooper whose body was disgustingly crushed under foot of the metal beast. The rapid fire of the walker slammed into at least another ten troopers and sent them running back, as Viathan turned at a sudden rush from the Force to see advancing Moff troopers following the walker advance.

"Counterattack me will you!" Viathan growled under his breath and once more ran at the walker with a Force aided sprint. Just as he arrived at the walker the beast fired at an EVO trooper and hit his fuel backpack and the EVO trooper along with five troopers and a Massassi nearby all blew to bits in horrendous and grotesque display of carnage. Spinning his whole body around Viathan slashed through one leg and had the walker tumbling, but in a flash he jumped up and dug his sabers up and through the main head portion of the walker from behind as it fell, and with speed only possible with the Force sent the most destructive Force blast he had yet in his life into the hole and sent the two men slamming into the metal interior and felt their bodies rupture through the dark side and fed off their pain before he jumped off and watched the walker collapse into a heap, and turned to face the advancing enemy troopers.

Both sabers at his sides, Viathan felt unnatural rage flow through his body and pulsate. At both his sides were suddenly the Massassi. The quickest to return to their leader and support him, but to their credit the troopers soon came running back behind him, as the enemy Moff troopers opened fire on he and his men. An odd standoff occurred where both factions fired on one another in stationary positions. The Massassi reveled in firing the heavy repeaters, and spraying the enemy with bolts, even if the blaster was an inferior weapon to a blade or spear.

Viathan waited to attack but dd send bolts flying back, but his waiting was for a reason as the next volley of artillery fire came flying overhead, and the enemy lines quickly ceased firing and looked up, and hurriedly began a retreat. Some too foolish to comprehend that they ran into the volley itself, and were obliterated by the massive bolts from the artillery pieces.

"Now we move in. Our mission is the same! Clear the Moff nest positions!" Viathan commanded and ran forward into the fray with Massassi and regular troopers covering his advance. Firing on building and forward into the Moff fray. Allied artillery fire continued to move up and attack every five meters ahead, and EVO troopers continued to burn one time brothers in the Stormtroopers Corps to cinders, and more allied Imperial infantrymen filled the northern street and secured up until the center. The Moffs and Imperials then fell into a stalemate through the night, but the northern sector of the city square was secured. They would last the night, and await what the morning brought.

(The Hollow-Soul, Orbiting Nelvaan, seven hours after Nelvaanian Liquidation)

"Needless to say, with the losses we have encountered on Gambolla, I will need at the very least another four-hundred-thousand battle droids fit and ready for battle. That's if you actually want me to take the Spadja Sector in a good amount of time. This blitz of yours towards Mandalore is eating up resources ya'know? I hear Ackbar is having a hard time in the Mon-Cal Sector, and you barely secured Arkanis."

"Leave prioritization and management of war resources to those, who's job it is to manage, Kast." Kellia admonished with a low voice as she played with a cloth in her hands, and the holo-image of Kast; his helmet removed, sent her a very visible glare, but he bit his tongue.

"I am putting you on hold."
"Oh come on! We just started the damn call!" Jodo cried in a voice unbecoming of a war officer and Kellia sighed deeply.

"Not that kind of hold you fool! Your so called 'blitz' is indeed costing all offensives in our other major theaters valuable resources, and we will have to pull back our date for attack on the Mandalore sector. Sadly, but it is a necessity." Kellia responded still paying odd attention to a cloth in her hands, and Kast sent her a bewildered stare before shaking himself.

"That's all fine and dandy, but what are me and the team; not to mention your armies and navies supposed to do when we're this knee deep in the backside of the Moff and Imperial zones in the Outer-Rim?"

"A simple solution is for all worlds not yet consolidated under URM liberation, to be liberated at once. You are, what? About halfway through the Spadja sector? Our blitz through the sectors preceding Spadja I would assume are not yet fully under our control, yes?"

"Well...yeah, I mean you did order me to..."
"That's fine." Kellia snapped and cut Jodo off and he growled under his breath. Though Kellia heard and gave it no care.

"You will halt all offensive operations deeper into Moff or Imperial space, and all sectors, and their systems behind your current galactic position will be secured by your remaining droid armies. I care nothing for losses incurred that is why we are using droids Commander. You will lose a million droids, then you shall receive three-million. Lose ten-million and I shall give to you back another twenty-million."

"We don't have those numbers... Do we?" Kellia huffed.

"Commander we are using several billion droids across several fronts. That many droids only goes so far, but not to worry your little head over it though. For I have a solution. However, I am saddened to say you won't be involved in this operation." Jodo sneered and huffed himself, though it was laced in a sigh of deep annoyance. Kellia chalked it all up to lack of sleep for the poor alpha male, glory seeking field commander.

"Now, I do believe you have your orders. Secure for the URM all systems preceding your current position, and liberate future comrades in arms, and their foundries, and factories. Also, any and all criminal in every system are hereby ordered shot on sight for impeding our war of liberation."
"Sure thing. Killing people without any process is a good thing eh?"
"Your sarcasm is not appreciated, but Kast, sometimes some measures are necessary to win a war. Not to worry I will reward you and your team for your exemplary work as of this point." Kellia promised, and much to her own gratification Kast looked intrigued, and a bit more calmed.

"What kind of reward?"
"You'll see commander, in due time. Now please. I have more calls to make and conferences to attend. Safe liberation commander." Kellia quickly disconnected with a flick of her wrist and sent a prod from the Force into the console, and Kast faded away, but not before Kellia caught an eye-roll from the man, and she allowed a small smirk to escape her, here now in her lone conference room aboard her current Providence class ship.

Sighing once more as images of carnage racked her mind, Kellia threw the cloth she had been idly playing with in her hands onto the table. It was a piece of clothing cloth taken off a Nelvaanian child. Killed on the world below, before her very eyes, as a droideka swept through the village and blasted at all organics not herself or Bers. The droideka had not had its shield activated as the Nelvaanians were in no position to threaten the metal soldiers, the droids, and before her eyes, that very droideka had fired no less than ten bolts into the small child. She thought it was a male, but wasn't sure. It had cried, like a pup. Perhaps for its mother? She didn't know, nor gave herself time to care, for if she cared she feared she may lose the resolve one must have when waging total war.

She had more important things to attend to. Yet still, images of a young male child, a Nelvaanian dying before her eyes and crying for its mother...or father haunted her, even when visions of all her other atrocities atrophied in time. Nonetheless she slammed the idea down and away from her mind.

Keying into the holocom for Geonosis, she awaited and was greeted by the holo-image of Vorum, and his no good Corellian upbeat smile of the day.

"Well hey there Nelrain! I thought you'd never call. You never call... Well save for the times you actually NEED me. I see how it is..."
"Dase...shut up. Did you get my orders?" Dase rolled his eyes but nodded.

"Yes madam Jedi. I got the memo. Everyone is on standby. Just give me the word and conference call number eight-hundred-twenty-five will begin."

"Stop being melodramatic, you will join in the call too. Now get them into this call at once." Kellia straightened herself and brushed her blue Jedi garb free of wrinkles and brushed a few stray strands of her wild ebony hair from her face, and let out a long breath. Dase mumbled under his breath and keyed in on his own console, and soon along the conference table the holo-images of Vikkal, Ackbar, and sadly for Kellia Bail Organa all came into being along with Casto Migs, the official Head of the political body of the URM, and mediator from the initial meeting of the URM council, and Madam Planetary Governor, Medina Lomell, the only other person on the URM council she trusted. Even if Kellia had awkward feelings whenever Lomell inquired about her fleet at the battle of Kamino. The other council members, while not an issue as of thus far, Kellia did not yet fully trust them enough to be involved on this conversation.

"Now that we have all been allowed an audience with you madam Supreme Commander. There is much in need of discussing." Migs opened with with another kindly smile, but Kellia raised a hand to silence him. A motion she found all too common among politicians, of the Republic, and something she grew to exploit as it oddly enough worked.

"Forgive me Chairman Migs, but there is more important matters I must discuss with the council members I have invited here, as a majority vote can be gained from those gathered here and now. I'd rather not risk bringing those who will not support me into the conversation on such a matter as important as this one."

"Is that not part of a democratic political process though?" Came the annoyingly calm voice of Bail Organa, not seen since the little battle on Tatooine some weeks back now. He and the Lars family had been relocated to a URM refugee world, a decent one, and a secret one for their safety, but Force Kellia would never forgive Ackbar for making her bring him onto the council, and into this conversation. The admiral obviously wanted her to forgive the man.

"Yes senator Organa, however, this is war, and sometimes whether you like it or not some political processes must be subdued for the betterment of the galaxy, and before you hit m with how similar I sound to the old man on the throne. I can assure you I was there, and whether I am proud of what I must do for the galaxy and us, is irrelevant." Bail sighed and nodded his head, and returned to silence and fell back into his seat wherever he was.

"Then what exactly is this whole cloak and dagger business about madam Nelrain?" Lomell asked as she looked over what seemed to be official datapads with no doubt some documents pertaining to Taris on them. Kellia appreciated how the woman was able to multitask.

"It concerns our lessening faster than expected pool of battle droids. Geonosis, much to my gratification is pumping them out by the thousands Archduke Vikkal, but I'm afraid we'll need more, and more armor, and heavy units. CIS numbers at that."
"That seems like a problem. The CIS was already constructing those droids before the war began."
"Droid are cheap dear Admiral." Kellia responded to Ackbar.

"However you're right. We need vast quantities of droid and we need them now. There is a solution to this and I will relay what I and some of my 'staff' have devised to help us in this matter." Kellia produced the mass droid controller from her belt and placed it onto the table, and Vikkal nodded. No doubt leased with himself and his engineers, and perhaps even knowing where she was going with this.

"Care to explain what that is?" Migs asked in a calm voice.

"Simple enough Chairman Migs. This is a mass controller for all battle droids created by us and the CIS before us. All battle droids received the command to shutdown no matter their situation following the deaths of the Separatist council of the CIS in the last war. I needed something to wake them up without much hassle, and this little device is all the pick me up they need." Kellia watched most of them nod in understanding Save for Organa who looked contemplative. Not that she gave a damn.

"Now where exactly I'm going with this, is that we are all aware, or at least I hope we are, that there are droids deactivated across the entire galaxy. All of them formally active CIS and we are speaking on quintillions. More than the combined strength of the Moffs and Imperials by a healthy margin. Not to mention deactivated and free floating warships all across the known galaxy, and some battle droids are now in service to criminal elements across the galaxy. As much as I hate droids for what they did in the Clone wars, I am afraid they are necessary if the galaxy is to be free of Imperialism and dictatorship once again."
"So by all that, what you're getting at is the need to reactivate all the old CIS war resources and assimilate them into the URM fold?" Organa pointed out without looking at her and made little movement in his seat and Kellia suppressed a sigh. Everything the man did made her blood boil, as did every syllable fro his mouth.

"Why...yes senator Organa. That is exactly what I am inferring."

"Then what do you expect from us, madam commander? Send ships across the whole galaxy and scour around, using this controller of yours to reactivate all CIS forces across the galaxy?" In a rather snapping manner Lomell asked, but Kellia knew the woman to merely be a but rough around the edges and let it slide for now. After all as far as the Moff in her sector knew, she was still a loyal subject to they.

"No, no, madam Governor. I am not in that quick a rush to waste URM resources. No. Rather I have formulated an operation by which, if successful, no matter our losses our gains will be all former CIS resources." There was a momentary silence following that and Kellia displayed a smile across her face awaiting either a retort or her cue to go on.

"Then please go on, madam Supreme Commander." Ackbar finally broke the silence and Kellia smirked more widely.

"Of course admiral Ackbar. There is one thing in the galaxy that reaches from the core out into the Outer-Rim of known space. The HoloNet."

"Yes, but the HoloNet is controlled from Coruscant, and under the nose of the emperor himself!" Organa, the defeatist that he was replied and Kellia again repressed a snarl.

"I assure you madam any covert operation you have planned to get to the HoloNet there on the capital will fail. I feel I must speak my mind and object to our continued use of battle droids. Especially the models of the CIS." Bail finally straightened himself, and grew a backbone and leaned forward to speak, whilst folding his hands onto the desk where he was located.

"Then please, feel free to speak your mind senator." Migs declared and Kellia leaned back into her chair but found herself sneering very subtly, but growing anger at the senator from Alderaan...the murderer before her made her want to puke and gouge his eyes out all at once.

"Thank you chairman Migs. I know that I am not welcome here on this council for my part in the atrocity that befell Dubrava and the show the Empire made out of the deaths of friends and comrades."
"It's fine senator. The death of thousands is justified in the safety and security of your daughter, but one child. Then again we know that she is now in the care of the enemy hmm?" Kellia sarcastically pointed out with ice in her voice, and the council grew collectively uneasy and Bail didn't dare look her in the eyes.

"Madam Supreme Commander I know you are...upset, but would you mind allowing the senator from Alderaan to.."
"It's fine Chairman Migs, let him speak his mind. I shall not interrupt again." She cut him off and he nodded.

"Thank you. You may continue senator."

Clearing his throat Bail began again. "Yes, thank you. What I merely seek to point out is that these droids, and specifically the B1, and B2 models, along with what are called droideka's were seen as no better, maybe even worse than the Empire back during the waning days of the Republic. These droids inspire fear and anger in many ways too similar to the Stormtroopers. And the continued use of them will either embolden, and strengthen Imperial and Moff propaganda against us, and once more drive people towards the strongmen and brutes of the galaxy for safety, such as the Emperor and such as the Moffs, and completely become counterproductive to our cause."

"What then do you propose? Other than your contempt for the one thing keeping this rebellion alive?" Kellia intoned from her seat and held back what seething anger she could.

"I support the idea of using some of the CIS resources as we cannot hope to fight without a navy, and the navy would come into great use. However, that being said I support the idea that we recruit men, and women, and not worry so much about liberating worlds on a system by system basis, like a full scale war. The rebellion I had in mind would be fluid. Moving from system to system as need be. Looking for allies, and covertly destroying Imperial control on systems, leading to full scale revolts, where militias of self determination would rise up across the galaxy and bring the fight to the Empire or now the Moffs who are weaker than ever before."

"Hope for the best and hope that everyone just begins a full scale uprising across the galaxy. Is that what you're asking for senator?" Luckily enough it was Lomell who asked as she placed her datapads down, and folded her own hands on the table.

"Perhaps what I am asking for is inherently naïve, and hopeful of the common good in everyday men and women, but before madam Nelrain here made the deal with the Geonosians, and forgive me if I sound ungrateful Archduke Vikkal, but I must say the rebellions across the galaxy were full of living and breathing men and women who were willing and ready to fight the Empire. Whatever happened to believing in the living man and woman to fight for the common good?"

"The belief did not die, good senator." Kellia intoned from her seat, and had since returned to idly playing with her cloth.

"The belief did not die at all. The people, now they did die. They died on Dubrava, when they were made a spectacle for all to see, and for the Empire to mock! There were bloody parties across the Empire after the massacre. They only ended when the Moff declaration of war came over the HoloNet." Her dark eyes fell upon him, and once more felt piercing to the man and sent shame through him once again. However, Bail shoved the feelings aside, and cleared his throat and nodded once.

"I understand that, and have since taken the shame upon myself and have offered myself up for any trials this body may wish to issue against me..."
"That won't be necessary senator. However, madam Nelrain is right," Migs spoke with a calm and collected voice.

"The men and women who died on Dubrava sent a chilling message to all potential rebels across the galaxy, that the leadership of any and all rebel causes cannot be trusted. It is regrettable that you had a hand to play in this but we cannot dwell in the past if we are to move forward. We will await and hope for volunteers of the living sort to come to us, but until then we must wage war in the manner common to history. One world at a time, one system, and one sector. Fronts, theaters, and fields of battle once more filled with armies fighting one another to destruction, and honestly, can we ask so much of the common man and woman? When droids are so readily made, and are so easily made disposable?" Everyone save for Bail, and Kellia who did not care much for this conversation, nodded along with Chairman in agreement. It was easier to let droids fall and be destroyed and win a war for you, and not need to sacrifice actual manpower. A great propaganda tool indeed.

"I see the point of the Chairman, and of the rest of the present council. I however wish to reserve the right to bring my argument up again once the whole council is convened?" The senator asked and Migs looked at Ackbar and Kellia, both of whom either nodded, or shrugged their agreement, and allowance to the senator.

"Of course senator Organa, but for now; perhaps it is best madam Nelrain finish speaking?"
"Of course." Bail intoned in a soft, and near feeble voice as he once more leaned back into his seat and eyes fell onto Kellia, who put the cloth down, and looked them all over before speaking again.

"Now that, that is settled. I would like to say that the senator is mistaken. I never said I would commit our resources to a small covert operation to reach the HoloNet on Coruscant, now did I?"
"Then surely you're not suggesting..."
"Oh but I am dear admiral Ackbar." Kellia cut the Mon-Calamari admiral off, whose eyes went even wider than she thought possible for a Calamari.

"Suggesting what?" Madam Lomell asked, as Migs looked equally intrigued, whilst Vikkal, and Dase seemed oddly enough already in the know, on what was being hinted at.

"Why, I intend on leading an attack on Coruscant itself with the bulk of my fleet of course."
"Are you insane?!" Organa questioned rather boldly, and Kellia smirked at him but said nothing, whilst Migs sat back in his seat seeming floored, and Lomell now produced a deeply furrowed brow.

"Before I have to defend my sanity anymore, let me explain. The CIS committed such a raid on the galactic capital once, did it not?"
"It did." Vikkal answered in the usual whistles and clicks of the Geonosian language.

"See? Then why should we be afraid of committing such an attack of our own?"
"Because madam, the capital is now under the care and protection of the Imperial First Home Defense Fleet. The fleet that guards the Emperor himself!" The senator continued to speak his mind, and annoy Kellia.

"Are you always, and have always been this big a defeatist, senator, or is it just me?" Kellia asked but waved off any potential remark sent back at her.

"Look, this is the deal. The HoloNet command hub is situated on Coruscant, and as far as I can remember it is not that close to the kriffing palace itself, and lord Vader and lord Kun along with the bulk of the Imperial loyal navy is off preparing for what is likely to be a general attack on the Moffs along the Inner-Rim and Expansion-Region border. We attack now while we have the opportunity and lots of droid power to waste, and we send out the droid controller command for all units across the galaxy to reactivate, rearm, and report to us at Geonosis, and we will have the navy and army needed to once and for all free the galaxy!" Kellia activated her console once again and a holo-image of a fleet appeared, and caught everyone's attention.

"I will need a fleet of this size to reinforce my own for this assault. I hope the images and numbers are being received by you all."

She awaited as everyone save for Vikkal, and Dase went over the report in their individual locations, and Lomell chuckled nervously before speaking again.

"Are you serious madam Nelrain? You need two-thousand Munificent class, five-hundred Providence class, eight-hundred Recusant class, two-hundred Sabaoth destroyers, another two-hundred MC80-Liberty type Mon-Calamari cruisers, and twenty Lucrehulks?!" The disbelief was obvious in her voice, and the others shared her wide eyed disbelief. Kellia however, maintained her content, and assured smile along her face and nodded in simple reply to the governor from Taris.

"Then you would have us got ships in use across all our current fronts?"
"No I would not dear Chairman." Kellia replied easily. "In fact I would have the Northern front left untouched and allow Commander Kast to keep all current vessels under his command. I will be using the bulk of my fleet, save for the necessary ships left behind for defense of our liberated territory. I will however require our reserves to be fully put under my command, and all left over reserves will be equally divided among the front I am maintaining, and the Mon-Calamari front, and perhaps reinforcements for Kast if he needs them. With any necessary pools being sent to Sluis Van, or Sullust, so on and so forth."

"You are asking for quite a lot Kellia." Ackbar spoke for them all, and Kellia tilted her head to the side in agreement.

"I know, but think of all the fleets and armies out there being untapped! There are endless pools that are just begging to be put back into use. We need them, and if this rebellion as we are maintaining it is to survive, then we not only need these resources but are relying on this missions success. We cannot hope to outproduce the Moffs and Imperials at this juncture." Kellia reasoned and folded her hands together on the table.

"I will of course take full responsibility of this operation, and see to I personally that this mission is a success and that the command is broadcast across the HoloNet. I would recommend we attempt to hack into the HoloNet from a separate hub, however, after that stunt pulled by grand Moff Vellam to broadcast his declaration of war, the Empire has taken measures to ensure they have total control of the Net from Coruscant and the capitol alone." Kellia motioned to Vorum, and he entered into his own console several keystrokes and up in the center came the holo-image of several droid units uncommon of the regular infantry forces.

"What are we looking at here?" Asked Ackbar in an honestly confused voice, and Kellia stood from her seat but made no motion to move away from her position.

"These, my friend, are several of the reactivated droid units I will be taking with me to Coruscant and will, I guarantee you, assure us of mission success as they will be covering me, while the main armies give the Imperials hell. Some of you may or may not recognize the BX-series droid commandos. These droids will be coming with me in two platoon sizes, and trust me when I say these little droids pack more of a punch alone than a hundred of their B1 counterparts combined." The BX series droid was displayed larger than the other models by Dase, and they were shown to be attacking other droids in obvious exercise clips meant to display their prowess were shown and Lomell seemed impressed. Organa seemed disturbed. Perhaps because he had seen these things before, but Kellia did not care much for his opinion of course.

"Next we have these nasty lot. I am more than sure you all will recognize the IG-100 MagnaGuards. Acting mostly as personal guards for figures such as Count Dooku, or General Grievous," that name made several of the council members uneasy alone.

"These droids can pack quite a punch when facing lightsaber proficient enemies, and if I come across any moronic cronies of the Emperor, save for perhaps Lord Vader himself, these droids will aid me in bringing them down like the vermin they are." Similar to the BX commandos the MagnaGuards were shown training and fighting, and once more left a decent enough impression on the council.

"These behemoths are the B3-Ultra Battle droids. One of which I have made the first droid general of our growing armies. B3-4Z is his designation, and he will accompany me with two more of his model to the surface, and let me just say some of the top Jedi in the Clone wars found fighting these droids a horrid suggestion, and I have no doubt they will relentlessly destroy all that Empire throws my way, save for, once again lord Vader himself, but let's not allow ourselves to be held back by the possibility he is present. However, the proverbial icing on the cake would be this droid model." Kellia motioned to Dase, who once more keyed his console and from the holo-projector came a droid model unusual to many present. It had big photoreceptors, a helmeted head, or at least it looked as such, and was similar to an ancient warrior, and within its hands were two lightsabers. It also had a skeletal frame, and seemed to have a coating of black and possibly red along its body, and even a cloak flowing from its back like the MagnaGuards, but in the clips of it in action its form with the saber was flawless and precise.

"These are known as EG-class droids. They are similar in design to the MagnaGuards and general grievous himself, and were rarely used by the CIS in the Clone wars, due in part to operations by...Anakin Skywalker." Kellia announced and Bail looked at her suddenly and she ignored him.

"These droids were made to duel Force users, such as Jedi, but will do just as well against any Dark Jedi or Sith we may come across on the capitol, and I'm sure they along with their MagnaGuard and B3 brethren will find the saber enthusiasts of the Empire no match to their combined skills and programming. Of course foolish Jedi from the Clone wars would tell you a clone is superior to a droid because a droid is programmed. However, a droid can be made to be loyal, a clone is born a slave and dies one willingly. At least a droid has no say in the matter." Kellia sent a jab towards her fallen Jedi brothers and sisters, and found the stare from Organa to be one of disbelief, whilst the other members of the council just seemed a tad confused by the Supreme Commanders' outburst against the Jedi and Clones.

"On top of these elite droid units that will be accompanying me to the surface of Coruscant, with a few droideka's for added protection. I will be landing approximately five-million regular droid army unit onto the capitol. Two-million B1 units, at least a million B2's and the sparse other units such as droideka's, crab-droids, spider droids of both sizes, combat tri-droids, persuader-class tanks, and AAT's. We will also deploy many further thousands of the so called 'buzz droids,' across the Imperial capitols surface to disrupt and destroy much infrastructure, and cause severe damage to ministry buildings and overall, damage much of the key buildings on the surface. It will give the Empire a major headache for moths to come to repair and once more become a fully operations command base. As one can summarize, this will cause not only a mental blow to the Empire and its ideals of Coreward security, but we will attain a propaganda and moral victory. Coruscant may not fall to us this battle, and it may only be damaged and bloodied, but for the second time in less than a century that world will know to fear the coming droid invasion for this will be but a taste of our firepower, and once the galaxy wide HoloNet is used to awaken all deactivated CIS war resources, we will be unstoppable. Neither Moff nor Imperial will stand in my way." Kellia declared as her stare seemed distant, her voice assured, and an oddly wide smirk across her dazed face. This was certainly not someone who seemed completely...sane, and well enough to be committed to such a bold and brazen assault, but there was no one to replace and call the woman out. Especially one who had brought about so much victory and security for a once non-existent rebel movement. The URM was born from Kellia Nelrain, or at least that was how many saw it, and it was what she banked on when convening this meeting.

She shook the dazed look and ideas on the great battle that would ensue from her mind and looked to the council members. She could see that Ackbar was contemplative, but she felt good about his support. After all military minds must stick together, and he knew that she would aid him, so he would do best to aid her, here and now. Vikkal as ever was supportive. Anything regarding the use of his glorious Geonosian ingenuity and arms would see his support immediately thrown in. Lomell, more or less was a woman who Kellia sensed saw the necessity of bold maneuvers, and thus did not doubt her support either. Migs, though the official leader of the URM political body, more or less deferred all military matters where they belonged, in the hands of the military, into Kellia's hands.

"Now you are all aware of what lay before us and have heard my plan. If and when I am successful in this aid upon the heart of the Empire. I will deliver to the URM the largest military in the galaxy. We will have but to use it against the Moffs and Imperials, who know ravage one another for us, and we will have an easy and less bloody war in our favor. Now...all I need is your votes, and I will have my go ahead, and your leave to gather all our resources and make them available to myself for this most daring raid." Kellia stood back from the table and folded her arms across her chest and awaited as the council members all remained thoughtfully silent.

Catching Dase in her peripheral vision, Kellia saw the Corellian going over her plan of action and he seemed rather impressed.

'He should be. Then again, Corellians aren't that hard to impress.' Kellia thought and smiled at the small and random bout of humor that came to her mind regarding the Corellians and her personal Corellian...secretary? Yeah, that's what he was a secretary. Kellia did not give Vorum enough credit, but then again he didn't garner much from anyone, and always did as told like a good soldier. Once the Corellian proved his worth she would pay him more mind, but for now, there were far more pressing matters at hand.

"I would be remiss if I did not support this plan of action. We Geonosians know our production limits, and will need time to produce armies on the scale of the CIS production levels. I approve and support this course." Vikkal announced and was translated for all to understand and the members nodded, and Kellia bowed her head thankfully to the archduke.

"If that is the case I am in little position to oppose such a plan. I would hope for us all that you are as successful as you seem to predict you will be madam Nelrain, but that being said I fully support your course of action." Lomell agreed, and Kellia smiled to the fellow female in the room.

"While skeptical, and admittedly worried of such a total mobilization of what resources we have for one daring strike, I must concede that we will and do this moment need the resources of the CIS, and need them converted to the URM cause if we are to even win on the fronts we are involved with here and now. Let alone for the future liberation of the Core worlds and the galaxy proper. On the grounds of necessity I agree to this course of action." Ackbar added, and leaned into his chair.

"I am not in any position to stop you and what appears to be the majority of the council in this matter, madam Nelrain." Migs added. "I would hope, along with my colleagues that you commit this task to the est of your ability and not allow anger to let you lose sight of the objective which is gaining these war assets and getting off the capitol, but that said, you have my support."

"Than I would thank this council for ts support in this ma..."
"I would just like to say one last thing." Organa spoke up and Kellia snapped her jaw shut and felt her teeth grind against one another in contemptuous rage but held her tongue...it wasn't easy.

"I cannot stop this from occurring, but I will just say that the last attack on Coruscant committed by general Grievous did not end so well for that maniac. Not that you are crazed as that...thing was, but I would caution you against thinking your fleet and yourself so capable of defeating the Empire in the heart of their territory. Arrogance will help no one in this war I feel. That said I'll keep my peace, and abstain from any vote. You have enough for a majority without me meddling nonetheless." Bail spoke rather despondently and apathetic seeming. Kellia nodded in his direction with a cold stare but returned to looking the rest of the council over, and when they seemed to approve of Organa's statement, she bowed her head in seeming humility.

"Very well. The attack will be a simple diversion for the true objective of gaining for the United Rebellion Movement a grand fleet and army. The HoloNet command station will be seized by myself, and the main armies shall keep the Imperials non the wiser as to the real meaning of the attack. Once I am done, all ships capable of hyperspace travel will come with me back to Geonosis, where I fully expect massive fleets of ready and reactivated CIS war assets to also be returning home to. I shall begin preparations at once."

"It's settled then." Migs added at the end. "Despite our coming to this meeting fully intending to ask about other efforts in the war, following this turn of events I think it best to find this meeting adjourned, and allow the Supreme Commander to return to her duties. How do the other council members agree?" The table fell into a haphazard array of agreements and Migs nodded.

"Very well. This meeting is concluded. May the Force be with you, madam Nelrain."
"And with you all, honorable members of the URM." Kellia replied and soon they all faded away save for two. Vikkal and Vorum.

"Now that the politicking portion is over. Tell me Vikkal, will my plan work?" Vikkal oddly enough chuckled in an oddly Geonosian manner.

"It will succeed. Simply enter the reactivation sequence into the HoloNet main terminal on Coruscant and it will be broadcast via Hypercomm across the galaxy in a matter of seconds and the recall order will be give from Geonosis at that point. We will have by my estimate, and from what I have gathered from Imperial records no less than perhaps ten-quintillion droids? Give or take a few trillion. Not to mention the vast naval resources sure to be stuck in interplanetary space just awaiting reactivation."
"Excellent." She smiled as she said. "I am relying on you, Vorum, to get all reinforcements sent out immediately to where they need to go following the return of our pretty little droids from their long sleep. No doubt Kast will need some, and he's been moaning about lack of them too, so take care of him first. Follow that up with the good admiral Ackbar, and send in another task force sized fleet to aid him in crushing all Moff forces in the Mon-Calamari sector. I want it secured by the end of the month."
"Gotcha." Dase replied a full smile on his face. Seemingly loving being seen as 'important.'

"Furthermore, with the bulk of my fleet gone on the operation, maintain contact with my temporary replacement here, a Weequay by the name of Bers. All necessary reinforcements he may need will be your next priority. After that I want a full two more task forces readied and sent to Sullust for our coming campaign there, and a third sent to the Allied-Tion cluster. Let's not give that admiral, what was his name? Oh yes Thrawn, let's not let him off too easy."
"Aye-aye boss lady." Kellia cocked a brow to that and Dase raised his hands in surrender.

"I mean, you got it." he self-corrected and Kellia nodded.

"Good. Then I think it's time I get ready to take the fight to the old mans' doorstep. If you'll both excuse me." They both bowed their heads in goodbye and Kellia cut the transmission, and found herself stretching and allowing a groan to escape her lips. It was only now that her body and mind both began to tire on her.

Nonetheless she had no time to rest. Once more grabbing her Nelvaanian cloth and staring at it one more time, she pocketed it, and made for the bridge of the Hollow-Soul to ready her fleet.

Coruscant awaited her.

(Bogden System, Bogden)

Another day of battle, and the midday star beat down on them all, Moff and Imperial alike, however, it bothered Vader non. For the Supreme and feared commander of all Imperial forces stood next to a might AT-AT as it stood tall and proud and fired into the enemy Moff lines beyond. Sure Vader helped make this war, but he would be sure to be one to end it as well. Transmissions up to the fleet were becoming harder to send and receive due to transmitters continuously being knocked out, but they were making due with portable transmitters, brought down by the invading forces of the Empire to 're-liberate' the world from Moff aggression.

Vader was with a regiment of the 501st legion which was facing off against a Moff forward line directly in front of them by a mile of no-mans-land. Swamps filled with rotting and vomit inducing bodies riddled with blot shots and decay filled this so called no-mans-land, and have forced both armies into a standoff, and with the planetary shield still active and far too many allied troops spread about, any hope of orbital bombardment was gone.

Vader along with young Starkiller were in command of this front, and the dark lord was like a bastion of darkness and fear as he stood front and center of his army and they await his orders, even as AT-AT's, AT-ST's and SPMA artillery pieces fired endlessly at the enemy fortified position which acted as a command camp as well for the Moff forces.

"Lord Vader." An officer, with a very heavy proper accent customary of Coruscanti born officers came up behind him and saluted stiffly and awaited recognition. Vader turned very slowly around. A common tactic of his to instill what he saw as 'necessary superior fear,' in his men.

"Report officer." The dark lord commanded with arms at his belt in a usual pose of the dark lord as the young Starkiller maintained watching the Moff lines with a cloak over his head to guard his face from any officers, and possible spies, for the Emperor did not yet need to know of the boy...for now, and spies were everywhere.

"Thank you my lord. The Moffs are setting up a trench line and digging in about ten meters behind what we can see as their forward lines. They are attempting to dig in and wait us out over this no-mans-land."
"Your point officer?" Vader asked coolly even through his vocabulator and the officer swallowed his fear down hard and visibly.

"Um...yes, well I was told to report to you from the findings of our fleet and what they are witnessing the Moffs do. However, a one captain Piett asked me to ask you for any orders if any." Vader smirked behind his mask, and figured Piett would ask for something to do. He would make a good admiral out of that man yet.

"The Moffs are making a fundamental error officer..."
"Wollin milord."
"Officer Wollin. They are planning on fighting a fluid war through static tactics. We shall show them the folly of their strategy. Order the fleet to commence a series of bombing runs along their trench line and not to focus any power onto their main defenses to the front. That shall be our issue. I want all artillery fire concentrated on their center. Cease all bombardment activities from the AT-AT's now, and begin loading them with shock troops. Order captain Piett to end down several AT-OT troop transports at once. We will use our heavy armor to smash this little trench of theirs, and put a final end to this charade of a battle."
"As you will milord. I will relay your orders at once!" Wollin saluted stiffly again, and turned on a heel, but all but ran away from the lord, either out of a hurried feeling to relay orders, or just to get away from Vader, the dark lord didn't know, nor care, and as such turned back toward the Moff lines beyond.

"Why do we make our assault now master? I would think we had the ability to carry out this attack some time ago." Starkiller asked in a low and calmer voice than days prior, and looked up to his masked master, who stood and did not look back but crossed his arms as he continued o observe the Moffs.

"We attack now, because I feel that now is the time that we end this battle on Bogden. Like it or not my apprentice, but this battle was necessarily prolonged by myself for a reason."
"You prolonged the battle master?"
"Prolonged, perhaps, is not the best word, but I did not hasten its end. After all you needed some front line experience. As I needed some refreshing of my war tactics. I now see errors made by my command staff, and even my own tactics. I also see now that the Moffs believe in human wave tactics, and defensive fortification tactics meant to bleed us of our own resources, but we are not so foolish my apprentice." Starkiller nodded understandingly now of his masters motives, and found no reason to complain. Indeed he found his masters motives quaint but, at least to the young teens mind, intelligent sounding.

"Nonetheless, in a matter of hours we will advance on that Moff position," Vader pointed a gloved and mighty seeming hand toward the center of the Moff line, "..and we will have destroyed the Moff hopes of opening a new front into the Inner-Rim and stop them from disrupting lord Kun's front in Tapani."
"Tapani I hear is getting worse." Starkiller said aloud. As the war progressed, the young Sith found speaking openly with his master easier, and easier, as did Vader in return. This was but one example of idle conversation on galactic matters easily spoken between the two Sith now.

"Indeed. Reports from Neona are not pleasant. Kun had better take command of the situation soon, and defy my orders for all Imperial forces to stay away from the world or face losing a battle that is more, and more rapidly turning into barbaric displays of frantic attempts to live."
"Why did you blacklist the world, and force Kun to defy you master?"
"Simply put I want to see his resolve. It is a question of 'Sith politics' my apprentice. We shall see if he has the will and resolve to openly defy and stand against me. If he does not, it shows weakness to me and to the Emperor, and all other fools who think themselves the next dark lord. If he does defy me, which I know he has, then he shows strength. It will build his power and prestige among the servicemen, and strike a chord with some who see weakness in him. He will be a lord who defied Darth Vader. Only a madman or brave fool does such, and he will be that man."

"I think I understand." Starkiller intoned, and Vader nodded idly.

"In time you will learn of the politics involved in the Sith, especially if Kun has his way and rebuilds the Sith order to contain as many Sith as he can find. Until then we must maintain this idea of Sith houses that the Emperor seems to favor. However, we have spoken on the matte long enough. I think it is time to prepare for or coming offensive." Vader declared and pointed to the skies, and Starkiller looked up to see a wave of TIE bombers fly in low and he smirked as they fell into dives and dropped massive and explosive payloads behind the main Moff line, and the artillery lines of the loyalists opened in spine tingling cracks and slammed into the center of the Moff line.

Vader turned to make for the command platform where his less than great staff was located in this battle. Starkiller soon followed in tow, but the dark lord couldn't shake a felling. A feeling as if something was happening on this world that he couldn't quite figure out. The Force felt odd on the world and not as it did when he first landed.

'Interesting...' Was all he could think. Nonetheless he shook it off and told himself it must be his children and young Shira in space above he was picking up on.

The time for such thoughts o his children however were allowed to fall by the wayside. Now was the time for war.

(Bogden, Elsewhere)

"This looks intense." Luke spoke aloud as he lay propped on a hill overlooking the field of battle between the Moff and Imperial forces as a wave of bombers dropped a massive bout of bombs across the very inner region of the Moff fortifications.

"Of course it's intense prince, it's war!" Shira shot back, and used her knew nickname for Luke of the past hour and had the boy rolling his blue eyes.

"I thought we came to an understanding on nicknames?"
"No we came to an understanding farm-boy isn't the best one for you. Prince will work...till' I figure out a better one." She smiled back at him as she too laid on the wet grass of this hill and watched the display of war beyond.

"You two are the worst. We're watching people literally get blown to bits, and we're discussing nicknames...unbelievable." Leia sighed and shook her head as she kneeled down nearby, but refused to lay herself on the wet ground beneath as the other two had. Her Noghri guards were behind her and slightly paranoid of their surroundings with boggy swamps on all sides save for their front, and explosions going off everywhere.

It had taken them about two hours to find one another after smuggling themselves down to Bogden's surface, and Leia had what Luke termed a 'hissy-fit,' when she found he and Shira running from another AT-ST, about how she though they were dead or worse. Then they all promptly cut the walker down to size. Luke then laughed the whole thing off, and figured his sister truly was an Imperial Princess, to which she huffed, crossed her arms and remained quiet until now as they watched the battle of Bogden enter into its intense final stages.

"Well we could talk about how body parts are flying and people are dying, or we could not be so morbid and try to make the best of being down here in the middle of a war zone. Against lord Vader's will and all, oh and he happens to be our dad, Leia." Luke retorted.

"I'm not advocating being a morbid and...you know what, just shut up Luke." Leia shot back with her cheeks turning a slight shade of red from annoyance, and Luke merely smiled to his twin.

"How about this guys, we figure out a way o actually do something useful! Like the whole point of us coming down here." Shira asked, and Luke nodded, and Leia huffed, but it was an agreeable huff.

"Well based on what I know from the academy days," Shira piped in. "I think lord Vader is softening the Moffs up. All them bombs have to be getting the Moffs a little weaker in the places he wants to launch an attack. I would put credits on it!" Leia looked to the redhead and positioned herself closer to the edge of the hill and looked over to the Moffs. The TIE bombers screamed in the skies and committed another bombing run and blasts and shock waves from said blasts rocked the Moff lines again, as did a loud and sudden artillery barrage from the imperial line.

"Not saying I'm any expert but I agree with Shira, so what can we do? If...father," Leia self-corrected from nearly saying 'Vader.' "If he's gonna hit the Moffs and hit them hard, and he's got all the cards he needs in his hands I don't see anything else we can do here but watch and hope to catch a ride back up to the fleet before he finds out we came down and nearly got out limbs blown off a few times now."

"Nice image." Luke retorted but nodded along with what his twin said.

"Got heavy transports coming in." Shira noted and pointed to the skies above the Imperial positions, as large transports made for walkers like the AT-AT came in and began dropping off other walkers...which looked to be troop transports.

"Okay, so he's gonna load up his troops, and march them across this muddy poodoo laden land and get them right in the faces of the Moffs. Looks like that's game set and match to me." Luke once more spoke, and Leia nodded.

Shira looked on and then back to the Moffs and looked far more interested in something than before.

"Hey...what's that?" Shira asked finally speaking her mind and pointed to the Moffs as from their position they could see the Moff movements behind their lines. Further back than the front or even center of the Moff camp there was more movement, and in reply to her question both twins moved over some and looked to their relative right and toward the Moffs.

"What?"
"That...over there back behind their secondary artillery pieces, they're moving something." Shira pointed, or attempted to point more clearly at what she meant and Leia squinted her eyes and brushed her hair aside as she looked. Then, she finally found it and she tilted her head confusedly.

"That looks like a...satellite dish?"
"Not a satellite dish, that is definitely a deflector shield generator." Shira spoke and she frowned.

"I didn't think those were portable?" Luke added.

"They're not...most of them, but if they can get that thing operational while the Imperial transports are on the way toward the Moff lines, and move their artillery, and heavy guns into a position where they can fire outside the shield-"
"Then they will blow the walkers sky high!" Leia added and Luke went wide eyed, as the idea the Moffs had came to light for the teens.

"Shouldn't they be able to see the big moving generator from space?"

"I guess so, but if they had why are they moving transports and walkers into position? I think lord Vader would blow that thing into little bits if he knew it was there and about to make his walkers a non-threat." Luke winced at the thought of walkers moving toward a shielded base, and realizing they were open targets for annihilation. His father included. That made the boy feel a sudden rush of anger and he balled his hands into fists.

"Than we gotta warn father!"
"How? We don't got a comlink between the three of us! I don't even think he would listen to us. He may be too karking angry to listen." Leia shot back, seeming half annoyed and admittedly worried.

"Well then we go down there and do something about it ourselves!" Luke demanded and came to a stand looking ready to run down the hill, and Leia stood in reply.

"Calm down Luke! Rushing headlong into a Moff base isn't going to get anything accomplished except maybe your death! I'm not about to let you do that!" The two stared one another down for a moment, before they both relaxed at the same time. Both twins were sending, and unknowingly so, calming waves through the Force, and both allowed a breath to escape, as Shira joined them in standing.

"Okay before we kill each other, lets kill some Moffs. But uh...yeah a plan would work too." Shira added, a nervous chuckle following.

"I agree." Leia looked down to the camp.

"Got any ideas you two?" Leia turned and the Noghri, who were silent the entire time came walking over to where the teens were, and looked over the Moff camp.

"We're not war strategists mistress." Kohr spoke.

"But you two are supposed to be masters at speed, protection, and you gotta plan, and look at all escape routes, entry routes, and so on for my and my brothers protection right?"
"Yes mistress." Cahrir nodded.

"Then you both have an idea on how to get into places you're not supposed to be, and how to get out?"
"Yes." Kohr nodded.

"Good. Then you can look at that base, and tell me if you see anyway in from where we are right now." Kohr and Cahrir once more looked to one another in awkwardness, but then kneeled down and both looked towards the camp again with more critical eyes. Finally Kohr pointed something out to Cahrir and the two Noghri nodded.

"Well?"

"Mistress, the soldiers are surrounded by marches except for their front. We can move through the marsh, but from looks of it, it is about waist high for us all."
"Great..." Shira intoned.

"...If we move through the marsh and enter their base from a rear section where their patrols should be light, hide any bodies in the bog, and make our way to your target, but once we get into the camp things will likely get messy."
"Very unsafe for you and master Luke, mistress." Kohr added after Cahrir explained and both Noghri nodded, but Leia smiled.

"Sorry you two, but if you want me to stay safe you're coming along for a little infiltration." Once more the Noghri looked to one another and their beady eyes looked almost sad, but they bowed and accepted their mistress' command...even if they really had a bad feeling about her plan.

"So, we going or what?" Luke, a little jumpy asked, and Leia nodded.

"Okay, here's the plan. We get into the marsh, get a little wet and muddy, get into the base, and somehow, I don't know how yet, but we blow that generator, and get out before father and his main force arrive and destroy the Moffs. Then we try to get back onto the Exactor before father kills us along with the Moffs." Leia added with a thin smile and Luke reciprocated.

"Great, now let's go!" Shira bounded down the hill and had Luke groaning after the redhead, but he followed and Leia motioned for the Noghri to follow as she joined the other teens in the run down the hill, as more TIE's bombed the forward Moff lines, and apparently did not see the generator.

---

The run down the hill was short and soon the Noghri directed the three teens to follow them as they made right through some rotting boggy tree marshes, and Force knows what creatures swam in them. Nonetheless when they reached the actual deep marsh the Noghri jumped in and did not seem at all worried, and Kohr motioned for the teens to follow. Shira, unlike her complaining got in first, and began slowly meandering her way through the water, which quickly encompassed half her body.

Luke had groaned.

"Well here's for the Empire...or something." With that he made his way in, and sucked in his breath.

"What?"

"It's cold!"
"Oh shut up you big baby and follow Kohr and your girlfriend." Leia retorted and Luke groaned, and didn't bother berating his sister on calling Shira his girlfriend. Though when she got in the water a small squeak forced its way from her as it was indeed colder than expected.

"Places like this...m...m...make me miss Tatooine and the twin suns!" Luke said through chattering teeth.

"Luke it is not that cold you big Kath pup!" Shira scorned from ahead, and Kohr turned and harshly shushed the teens as Cahrir lead them all forward and also made sure there wasn't any nasty surprises for their charges in the swamp.

"Just keep moving Luke. We wont be in this lovely marshy water for long." Leia whispered and Luke nodded.

"Just think Luke, it could be worse, it could be ra-" Before she could finish a sudden thunderclap sounded, and Leia looked up to a sudden bout of clouds coming overhead.

"Oh Force...you gotta be joking!" Leia demanded in a hushed tone, but nonetheless and despite her protest, rain, soft rain, but rain no less fell onto the teens, the Noghri and the marsh, and likely the entire battlefield beyond.

"You were saying dear s...sss...sister?"

"Don't be a Nerf herder Luke, and move faster!"

"Going as f...fff...fast as possible here." Luke cried and Leia gave him a bit of a shove forward as they followed Shira, and the water rose to their necks.

'Apparently the marsh was deeper than thought.' Leia thought as she positioned her head up and above the water as she kept her boots firmly in the bottom of the mash, as the Noghri did the same, for their short stature.

At least fifteen minutes of marshy walking, and the sound of artillery fire, and men calling out, and shooting and orders were given, all these sounds grew as they came close to the Moff front, as the rain grew a little harder in its fall. However as planned the Noghri moved passed the main Moff front and the teens remained silent with a mix of fear and anxiety as they heard the distinct sound of men running nearby, but the large grass, and trees within the marsh hid them. The Noghri made sure to stop the teens in their tracks if they heard movement too nearby their position.

Cahrir would throw his right hand up in a fist and everyone froze, and the Noghri stared silently ahead as men ran nearby, but only their booted footfalls could be heard beyond the explosions and artillery fire now behind them. The twins sent calming waves to one another to stay sane and under control. Shira looked back at them, feeling what they were doing and could only nod Luke's way to try and assure him things were okay, and soon enough the Noghri had them all on the move again, and as the star of Bogden moved closer to night and the rain did not cease they finally reached the entry point chosen by the Noghri.

"You three remain silent. We shall make the appropriate entry." Kohr whispered and both Noghri very slowly crawled out of the marsh and onto the wetland next to the Moff camp. The back of the Moff camp was indeed lightly defended. Only about five patrol troopers would march around from time to time, and as the Noghri got out of the marsh only three were standing around with their backs to the marsh. As the Noghri had predicted they were assured of themselves nothing would be coming from the water.

Cahrir pulled his two blades, as did Kohr from their belts and as they crawled nearer to the men, they jumped up and with silent footfalls and speed unaided by the Force they both fell upon the three men. Kohr slammed his blades into the backs of two, and into threw them to the ground, removed the blades and slammed them into their necks to silence any cries, as Cahrir shoved both blades into the sides of the third troopers neck.

The teens stared in morbid awe, and watched as the Noghri then dragged the limp bodies back to the bog, and with their armor acting as weights shoved the bodies into the water and let them go down to the bottom, out of sight. For now.

"Come you three we haven't much time before the other two make their rounds." Kohr extended a hand and Leia took it, as Cahrir grabbed both Luke and Shira and pulled them out as the rain continued to fall as did bombs further ahead of them now.

"Wont they look for those three?"

"They will hopefully assume they are making their rounds. They will soon realize that they are nowhere in sight. We should be far enough away before any alarm is raised. We may be in bigger danger nonetheless by then."

Leia nodded and idly pulled at her clothes as they clung to her skin and Luke did the same, but was visibly shaking and cold, while Shira merely tossed her matted red hair to her back, and followed the Noghri.

Th ground shook with artillery fire from both sides, and bombs from TIE's above. The five member team made their way into the camp. It was lined with portable lamps lighting the camp as the rain clouds made the day seem darker, and thus the camp was alight with these bright lamps. Portable buildings were already placed about for the camp. Most of these buildings seemed to be barracks and ammo dumps for later use. There were some men walking about but they were always running back and forth delivering ammo to the front. Making the back section of the camp blissfully very sparsely defended.

"Okay...now we're in. We make for the generator and blow it up. Then we run and get as far away as possible from here before father destroys every living thing here." Luke finally spoke, and everyone agreed.

The Noghri once more led them, and silently so back up the camp. They slowly walked along the sides of buildings and the Noghri peeked around corners always looking for incoming troopers, or officers, or even some droids.

They reached the halfway point, and that was where the Noghri began to expect the worst. Troopers were becoming more common and the cries of war and explosions grew loud once more, as did the dive bombing TIE's who relentlessly pounded the camps forward position, but still paid no mind to the generator being moved into position. It began to bother Leia that the pilots of the bombers had not reported the massive thing that was now stationary and likely being primed to power up. It also bothered her that no one in orbit saw the thing either.

"Down!" Kohr cried in a heightened whisper, and everyone dropped into a crouch as a patrol of troopers ran from left to right, before their very eyes, and they became still and stiff. The men, at least ten of them, ran by and seemed far too obsessed in getting to wherever they needed to be to see to their right and see a bunch of infiltrators, and when they ran out of sight Luke let out a long breath.

"That was intense."

"Keep moving." Cahrir ordered and everyone followed. Luck, fate, or the Force was on their side as the reached another building. A shooting platform, built in a rush, but with a twin antipersonnel heavy cannon placed on the top aimed out toward the Imperials and firing random bursts. However beyond this building was the generator. Cahrir peeked around the corner, and held his left arm out to stop everyone from moving as he did so.

"I see over a hundred men surrounding the tower."
"A hundred?!"

"SHUSH!" Leia slapped Luke on the shoulder and he winced but nodded, and Cahrir nodded.

"Yes young master. Twenty on the roofs surrounding the building, another fifty ground level with repeater emplacements, and the final thirty are inside the building itself."
"How do you know?"
"They just went in. I may be off on the number of troops, because we may be looking at more than a hundred." Luke frowned but Leia nodded.

"Okay, so next move?" The Noghri frowned themselves, but Cahrir looked once more.

"I would say we should-" But then a loud sound rung through the air, and the Moff artillery cracked as well, and the five looked up.

"Kriff!" Was all Shira said as the two dishes on the generator spun, and from both came the ray shield and it encompassed the whole base. The sound of blasts hitting the shield could be heard, and the Moffs were now fully protected, and the Imperials likely on their way, and now stuck in a killing field.

"Great...now what?"

"Kriff this!" Shira responded to Luke and in a flash saber was activated in hand and she dived around the corner.

"Shira!" Luke followed and had saber in hand too, and Leia with wide eyes had to shake herself and follow her two allies, while the Noghri made no move yet, and soon the three teens found themselves being shot at in all directions and the base soon boomed with an alarm, for intruders.

---

"Lord Vader! The Moffs have activated a ray shield around the base!" Vader came to the front of the AT-AT command port and behind his mask went wide eyed as the ray shield indeed descended around the base, and the Moffs moved their artillery barrels outside the shield and opened fire on he and his walkers. The walkers, ten of them in total came to a full stop even with Vader's orders.

"Order all troopers in the transports and the AT-AT's to disembark at once!" The AT-AT shook as an artillery strike hit and sent the men falling and shaking.

"Starkiller!" Vader turned and the boy jumped to a stand form his seat I the back of the walker.

"Enter the enemy base, and destroy that generator at once! Or our entire force will be destroyed by artillery and heavy weapons emplacements. Do not fail me." Vader intoned darkly and Starkiller threw his hood off and nodded, before opening the hatch for troopers and jumped down to the muddy landscape below.

He still had a long ways to go, but the boy ran, as another lucky artillery bombardment hit a transport walker and the explosion rocked the battlefield and sent men flying in all directions to their deaths. The rain only added to the deathly mood, but Starkiller raced toward the base, but as he got closer he swore he heard what sounded like an alarm.

---

"Shira, are you crazy?!" Luke cried as he allowed the Force to aid him in deflecting every bolt that flew his way, as troopers across the whole region poured in and fired on him, and the heavy repeaters had him running away...a lot.

"No, I'm very simple in my methods, and this tower will fall!"

"Kriffing nuts, as I said!" Luke yelled back and dodged another bolt aimed for his abdomen, and he spotted the trooper on a rooftop in a kneel aiming down sights at him.

Pulling a blaster to him, Luke aimed and fired with his free left hand and the trooper fell, and for a second Luke marveled at how he made such a shot, but the Force screaming in his head ad him jumping over a bolt, and landing next to a trooper, whom he beheaded, in a split moment.

Leia ran in after the two and with her curved saber ran at the first repeater nest she found and used the Force to jump into the air and bring her saber down and went through the man down into his shoulder and out his back. He went limp, and she kicked him off, before turning hard to her left and slashed into a trooper who fell screaming and soon dead.

"Shoot at me and my brother will you!" She snarled in rage and sent another of her powerful waves of Force energy into a group of troopers running in from the side and from another building who fired at Shira and Luke, both of whom fell into intricate deflection swings of their crimson sabers. The men all flew back and slammed into the shabbily built buildings and Leia swore she saw it dent a little.

Swinging around in an elegant over the head swing she cut down a trooper dumb enough to come at her from behind, and she then spun back to her left and blocked a bolt back into a troopers head.

Leia jumped away when she heard a thump and found a dead body next to her feet. Looking up she found Kohr and Cahrir running like madmen along the roofs, and tearing the troopers on said roofs to shreds. Blades entered their throats, then their friends stomachs, as Kohr would pull the blades out and swing around into another trooper, fling his body to cover himself from fire from other troopers, and allow Cahrir time to jump onto that roof and snap a troopers neck and kick another out from under himself before slamming a blade into the troopers chest.

Leia shook herself and ducked low from blaster bolts aimed at her head, and rolled to her side from more fire, before sending her left hand up and sent three more troopers flying back in a manner that surely broke their backs, in power displays she could not fully control.

Jumping up she slammed a kick into a trooper rounding corner near to her, and brought saber down into his chest. It never crossed her mind how naturally this killing came, or how with every death inflicted she felt more...powerful, but for now the princess of Alderaan cut down man after man in manners and ways she never imagined as the Force aided her every move.

Luke found himself jumping into the air and throwing his saber into a man who was cut clear in half, and he caught his saber once more while in air, and fell into another trooper saber first and impaled him. The boy from Tatooine felt more powerful than ever before as every sense was heightened by a hundred fold, and every bolt sent his way went flinging away in elaborate displays of saber swings, and at least five men went falling from their own bolts.

Shira was having an equally...'good' time as she smirked with every man dropped by this young teen. She jumped onto their chests and brought saber through their throats, rolled forward and slashed men down by the knees and then swung her saber through the downed men. Sending a blast to her left five men fell, swing to her right and another blast, another three down. Swing full around and cut a man down in a diagonal.

However Shira made one fatal flaw, and that was not checking the roofs. Where the twins had the Force come clear and naturally to them, Shira was honing her skills to become powerful in her own right through extreme training, but she was still not as powerful in her senses as Luke and Leia, and Kohr and Cahrir were too far away, and thus the trooper along the roof aiming his rifle down sights at her went unseen, and the Force only warned Shira long enough for her smirk to turn to a frown and she turned to see the bolt. Right as it struck her chest and she fell to the ground.

Luke felt it at once and turned to see the redheaded and often times annoying girl he knew fall to the floor with a bolt to her chest, and her saber rolled away from her limp body, and the Force suddenly howled as rage unknown to him exploded in Luke.

"NO!" he screamed and in an instant found the first trooper he could, and sent a blast into him that all but obliterated the man as he flew back into a broken mess. Luke screamed in a bloody manner that had his sister stop cold in her tracks and look on as her brother unleashed a torrent of lightning that found any and every man near to him and sent them flying into the air as their bodies burned to cinders under the bolts of extreme lightning that lit the area, and the men. The dark side screamed as raw power split through the air, and a young boy, born of the Chosen One himself unleashed the full rage and power of the dark side within on these men. These Moff men, and soon very one of them was dead and limp, and with red in his vision Luke gripped the generator. The object of his mission, what he had come here for, and with his father, his sister, and Shira in his mind, and how these men wished to take them from him, he crushed his hand and in a second the whole mobile generator moaned as metal cracked and twisted, and the building and all within are crushed in the hateful and unseen hand of Luke Skywalker.

Then the boy fell, spent, to his knees and huffed out every breath and hands went over his eyes as bitter tears streamed down, and his sister came to his side and laid her hand upon his head.

---

Starkiller stopped dead in his running tracks as the Force pierced through him, and his master the lord Vader also went rigid where he stood as the Force screamed around Bogden like never before, but now it was clear to.

"Luke..." Was all the Sith said, much to the confusion of his men. Then from the Moff base an explosion rocked the inside, and the ray shield fell away into nothingness. Vader shook himself as age came over him, and a one track thought of his children.

"All forces advance into the base at once! Kill anything wearing the uniform of a Moff, but nothing else, am I explicitly clear?!"

"Ye...yes lord Vader I shall relay your exact command." The frightened officer inside the AT-AT beside him reported and did as told, to the exact word, and relayed how lord Vader would not be pleased if these orders were not followed to the letter.

"Advance this walker upon that base at once, and blow their weapons into nothingness at once!" The walkers now free to attack once more did just that and the forward lines of the Moff base were blown into craters, from renewed bombers, artillery, and walker fire.

Starkiller entered the base and went about cutting down man after man, in easy display of skill and power as he made for where the generators heap still remained. When he came to the sight and found only dead troopers, a destroyed building, but also the twins, and young Shira he stopped dead in his tracks.

Luke was sobbing into his hands, and Leia was beside him now holding her twin, as the Noghri stayed nearby, as Shira lay with a bolt shot to her chest.

Running to her side Starkiller kneeled down and using the Force probed her presence in the Force, he sighed more deeply and loudly than even he expected as she lived, but was faint.

"You two! She's alive, but we have to get her to the base at once! Your father will not be pleased at all!" Starkiller yelled.

"Now you can either help me move her, or wait for him to get here and explode, which choice?!" Luke all but jumped up and wiped his tears aside harshly as he Leia and the Noghri came to his side, and the teens all grabbed her body, and help hoist her over Starkiller's back as he had transported Luke back on Tatooine.

"You two, Noghri," he commanded and they looked at him. "Cover us, and Leia, Luke you help out, there's still Moff troops everywhere, as will be artillery and explosions." They nodded and Luke's eyes, a sickly shade of yellow squinted in hatred as he snatched up saber and blaster and rushed ahead of Starkiller into the forward of the Moff camp.

They would make their way out of the Moff camp, Luke and Leia, along with the Noghri cutting down man, after man who got even close to in their way, and soon the group was in the no-mans-land as Imperial troopers and walkers crossed into the Moff camp and shot down every man they came across.

Starkiller placed Shira down and commed his master. With a seethe barely contained the dark lord ordered a transport for Shira to take her and Starkiller to the medical facility back at the base, but for the twins they were to await him there.

Lord Vader...was NOT pleased.

(Early Morning of Day Nine of the Battle of Neona)

The city rocked with artillery fire and AA fire as the night of Neona was slowly creeping back for morning, there was a blue hue in the skies as AA fire flew up into the sky beyond, but where Viathan now lay, upon a pile of rubble there was deathly silence. He was on his stomach on a pile of rubble jutting up and allowed him to look out into a residential square under Moff control. Beside him was a trooper, a sharpshooter, and had his rifle aimed down into the square.

Bringing his binoculars up Viathan scanned the residential buildings, that like the rest of this hellhole, were hollow and broken.

"See anything sir?"

"Nothing yet trooper. You?"
"No...it's too damn quiet and I don't see a one Moff trooper down there."

"Well keep your wits about you." Viathan turned to the trooper and found his helmeted head oddly facing down.

"Hey!" He hit the troopers shoulder and he jumped and looked at Viathan.

"And try to stay awake."
"Yes sir, sorry sir." Viathan nodded and assured the trooper he wasn't angry, and returned to scanning. The trooper removed his helmet and the man, at least ten years older than he rubbed his eyes and sighed deeply.

"I used to complain about boring guard duty on patrol frigates along the rim. This though? This war, it can go kark itself." Viathan laughed very slightly and nodded his agreement but shook himself and scanned once more as artillery fire landed in the distance and sent another smokey explosion rising into the air.

"Nothing..." Viathan intoned and scooted down and made his head less visible to the enemy, and rolled onto his back and let out a sigh as he grabbed his comlink.

"Teams A, B, and C, report."
"Team A, we have no enemy on scopes. Moving position to furthest window on building to your right.

"Team B, we have no sight of enemy units. Maintaining position." Viathan nodded and awaited team C...but no report came.

"Team C I ordered a report." He angrily growled into the comlink, and the trooper beside him frowned and immediately grabbed his rifled and scanned their surroundings. Viathan's eyes bounced around as he idly await a report, but nothing came and he hurriedly rolled onto his stomach and took up a scanning position again.

"Team A do you have visual on team C's location?!"

"Negative commander. Do you wish us to recon on foot?"
"Negative." Viathan ordered and he felt his spine tingle in anxiety.

"Team B, do you have visual on Team C's location?"

"We have a line of sight, but negative on any activity. How do we proceed?"

"Hold position, and await further orders." Viathan ordered as sweat began to build on his brow and he suppressed a yawn, and once more felt a sick feeling of anxiety and tiredness fall over his body.

The residential square was empty, and team C should have fired off shots if enemy forces made their position...so why were they not answering?

"Sir, how do we proceed?" The trooper asked, and Viathan looked to him, and said nothing, but looked once more into the distance.

"Alright." Viathan grabbed the comlink again. "Team A I want you to-" A explosion ripped into the buildings surrounding Viathan on both sides and both teams A and B were hit, and the buildings flew into bits in all directions as artillery fire slammed into both building blocks along the street.

"Get out of the street trooper! Counterattack!" Viathan and the trooper first crawled then jumped into sprints out and away from the crater where their rubble was and it was soon hit by a bout of artillery fire.

Viathan ran behind a wall of rubble.

"General Veers! The counterattack has begin!"

"Copy commander, we are under attack via the south road into the main square."
"They're attacking from both sides! Get those AT-ST's operational and on the northern road to cover our front. Do not move any southern flanking assets!"

Viathan ordered and swung his arm toward the trooper to run down the street back towards the region they fought all night to take with the EVO troopers. As they ran artillery fire slammed into the road behind and ahead of them, as TIE's flew overhead, and began bombing his and Veer's position in the city square.

"Where's my karking air cover now?!" He screamed into the air as he dodged an artillery hit to his left and rolled away back to the left from another hit at his right. He looked quickly to his right and saw the trooper he had been in the crater with lying in a heap with his left arm gone, body burnt, and his back twisted in a grotesque mess. Breathing heavily and coughing from smoke, Viathan pulled his dirty and wet from sweat rag over his nose and mouth again and made down the street as artillery fire exchanged from both imperials and Moffs. As he neared the city square his men began taking up positions along their own nests and snipers got ready to fire on the Moff advance no doubt coming.

"All troopers take position along the buildings. I don't wanna see any idiots in the street playing hero! Where is that Anti-Armor?!" Viathan demanded and from the square came three 2M-saber tanks and two AT-ST's that gleamed in the rising star of Neona, as another hellish day truly began.

"Tanks, take your positions to the front of the square entrance. Not a single karking Moff rat gets passed you!"
"Copy commander." The tank lead replied and the repulsor tanks moved back into a wall along the city square entrance.

"Walkers, you line one up on each side of the street, fire on the center and any armor they move up. However, concentrate on troops, tanks your targets are the heavy toys of the Moffs, any tanks any walkers, anything they throw you shoot!"

"Copy all."

"Copy sir." Both the tank and walker leaders replied and Viathan turned back around and ran over to another crater filled with troopers who were manning a heavy repeater. The same thing was on the opposite side of the street.

"Alright get ready for the Moff advance, and keep your heads down when that artillery hits." The troopers all nodded and the one manning the repeater took up position while the other men lined their blasters up on the street for a steadier aim.

TIE's flew overhead and bombed the city square, and Viathan turned to see the one free AT-AT, commanded by Veers to be firing on the southern street, along with artillery fire from the square into the southern street as the Moff counterattack had already begun there.

"Movement!" A trooper cried and Viathan snapped back and activated his saber, and was ready to pounce from his crater hole, and kill every Moff that came his way. However from the street came a boy...no more than twelve maybe.

"Civilian commander!" The same trooper called and the men relaxed, but Viathan's eyes narrowed.

"Open fire!" He ordered and his men looked at him.

"Repeat commander it's a civilian. No armor, and I see nothing on him!"

"Don't grow a soft spot on me now trooper! You are a member of the Stormtroopers Corps in service to the Emperor, now I as your commanding officer gave you an order, you will fire on that civilian NOW!" A trooper followed through and when the boy was shot an explosion rocked the street.

"just because a civilian is not armed don't mean he isn't dangerous men. Now any civilian you see, I don't give a damn, you shoot!" the men all silently understood, and while some of the new recruits may have been sickened it was the fact of this battle, and Viathan wanted them to accept it as he had.

"Incoming!" Artillery fire renewed landed around and before them and near to the tanks who easily moved from side to side away from fire.

"Enemy infantry!" From the street from the distance came running white clad troopers firing like wild men.

"All open fire!" Viathan commanded and the blast of heavy repeaters, and regular blaster rifles filled the air and the men were cut down, as one or two of Viathan's were hit and fell back limp. The Walker on the left of the street opened fire and sprayed into the men as parts went flying and bodies flew aside dead and broken, the screams once more filled the air, as enemy TIE's flew low and overhead and bombed the center.

"Snipers, you hit their units in the back and you confuse them!" He yelled into his com and didn't wait for a reply as more enemy forces flooded into the streets with the superior numbers Viathan expected.

"Enemy armor moving in!" The forward trooper announced, and from the street came saber tanks and they fired their main guns into the street and hit his tanks who responded and tried moving from left to right to hopefully keep the bulk of fire of them. The manned secondary gun fired its medium laser cannon and the beam pierced into the upper floors of the surrounding buildings and cut through and killed his men in the upper levels and brought some floor down in collapsed heaps.

"Bring those things down now!" Viathan ordered and from the city center, his anti-armor personnel came running in and fired their rockets at the tanks and three hit one tank and blew apart and sent a squad of enemy troopers flying. An artillery barrage from the enemy few and hit the left side walker and it went falling back rocked by two explosions and collapsed the building nearest to it, and sent rubble flying to the main square.

"Veers! I need bombers on that enemy artillery now!" He yelled into his com as the second walker moved from its position and the saber tanks advanced to fire on more troops flooding in before they could hide behind rubble walls, and fire from cover. His nest positions in the buildings were firing endlessly at the advancing Moffs but were having little effect.

"Veers!"

"Fleet says too many Moff reinforcements have arrived, and are causing them to allocate all bombers to breaking their Stardestroyers!"

"Kriff!" Viathan angrily clasped his comlink back onto his belt and came out of his crater as his men continued to fire, and he deflected bolts back and sent a Force blast into the street and as a tank came into sight it was forced back with an unseen power and slammed into a rubble wall and crushed two of the Moff troopers against it.

Viathan ran forward and flung himself over a rubble wall and came down the other side and cut a man down, swung and impaled another and sent lightning into a group further ahead and sent them flying back, but more troopers came running in, and fired at him, three bolts hit him in the abdomen, and Viathan fell over and grabbed his center, before forcing his left arm up and ahead and sent these men also flying back as artillery fire form his men slammed into the street.

Picking himself up and using the pain to fuel himself, he flung back around the rubble wall for safety.

"Veers, I told you not to redirect southern flank assets my way!"
"It is necessary sir, we are being pushed back on both fronts it would seem." The general responded and for once sounded tired and full of anxiety.

"All frontal troops in nest positions along he northern road, fall back to secondary defensive line along the main square entrance!" Viathan ordered over his comm, and a flood of his men began moving back. Some still firing at the enemy, and some being mercilessly gunned down by massive floods of bolts from Moff blasters.

Viathan came around the corner and sent another massive blast of pure dark side energy into the street and a score of men, at least a platoon large went flying back, and two tanks were pushed back but their cannons opened fire on him, and he rolled away, and with his cloth still over his mouth Viathan broke and ran towards the square as the bulk of his men fell back into the square and took up forward defensive positions along where they were the prior afternoon.

The walker fired wild sprays at Moff troopers, and Viathan ran under and behind the walker, and turned just in time to watch five rockets from enemy Anti-armor personnel slam into the walker and sent it falling back. Viathan dived away just before it crushed him.

Standing back up he watched as the AT-AT commanded by Veers himself fired randomly and raise massive plumes of smoke into the southern street, and the artillery had to fire from south to north in desperate attempt to keep the enemy flood back. Viathan turned back to the southern road and activated both sabers at his sides as the Moff troops advanced, and his men in their secondary nests fired wildly, but soon the Moff tanks came rushing through and Viathan ran at them and jumped atop one. In an X formation he sliced the secondary gun off, jumped off unleashing a torrent of lightning into the vehicle and it soon enough exploded under the endless charge of his lightning. Landing on one knee he produced both sabers and flung them both vertically spinning into the next tank and they cut through the two missile launchers on the tank, and he ran and caught his sabers and jumped onto the main gun, and produced another detonator and flung it into one of the viewports, and jumped once again away as it blew apart.

His men fired and held back the torrent of enemy troops but the armor just walked passed them, and soon enough two AT-ST's came through and fired on all his men in rapid spray and sent his men falling back in death cries and screams. Running once more he threw a saber at one walkers ankle join and jumped and cut through the seconds leg at a mid point and both beasts fell over and he electrocuted them both for several moments but he fell forward with a cry as a bolt struck his back, and he turned and swung his saber before himself and blocked a torrent of bolts coming from heavily armed troopers carrying repeaters.

He soon found himself stepping back as more men came through from the street and began firing on all his men in the square and the artillery could not get a line of sight on them, as they got too close.

"Allow me commander!" The vice of Hoy came over the comlink and the final AT-ST came from his right and fired into the Moff troopers and they fell in droves and Viathan could stop blocking. He sent another blast into the group and they fell back, but then a rocket struck Hoy's AT-ST, but its remained standing and he fired at the trooper who was torn to burnt shreds by the walker.

Viathan ran into the Moff human wave, and found himself cutting left, then right, arms removed, head taken off. A kick into a trooper, both sabers spun around and through multiple men. A hard metallic punch with his metal left hand, a stab behind into another trooper. His claws from his left hand were extended, he slammed them into the neck of a trooper who clutched the profusely bleeding part of his body and gagged on his own blood.

Viathan slammed his saber full around and cut down, he didn't know how many men, and Ruin's saber was thrown into the fray and cut down man after man as it went and he called it back to him. Jumping up to grab it he slammed down both sabers and de-limbed a man, and swung into another, and stabbed another, and then was shot in the knee, but swung both sabers in then out across the chests of two men, and rolled away as Hoy fired on the horde and blew them away in burnt heaps.

Viathan ran back into the center and dodged immediately a TIE bombers payload as it dived in and slammed a streaking line of bombs across the square and two hit Veers' AT-AT, and the walker lurched and shook.

The AA guns in the square fired rapid and loud bolts into the sky and a bomber was hit and screamed as it came down and slammed into the southern square and crushed several dozen Moff troopers.

Hoy fired on the norther street but then before Viathan could stand he watched as from the northern street came rumbling and burst through the small street an enemy A6-Juggernaut heavy assault vehicle. The thing tore down several buildings as it burst through and fired missile after missile at Viathan's artillery lines, Hoy's AT-ST, and Veers in his AT-AT, and Hoy went down in a heap, as every artillery piece blew sky high. Veers' AT-AT went falling forward and crashed into a smoking heap as the missile ripped open the behemoth, and enemy troops flooded in from both streets as Viathan's men made their stand where they were, and he found the Massassi allies of his firing at all sides from the command platform where the officers were all but begging for help from other divisions.

Coming to a stand Viathan readied both sabers into his Niman form and allowed the death surrounding him to enter his senses. He cut down three troops running in, slashing across their chests, he blasted a team of men off the juggernaut. Flung his saber left and watched it fly up and around and slam into five men and come back to him. He came from the front of the Juggernaut as it fired into the square, and faced several dozen Moff troopers firing at his men and their last positions as TIE's screamed overhead.

"This world truly is a hellhole. Kark it." Viathan spat and readied his sabers as all the pain ran through him again, and he noted he as bleeding from his old wounds again, but he could care less even as his vision blurred into darkness.

Then a flood of bombers overhead and then the entirety of the norther and southern streets were leveled by allies. The explosions successively killed hundreds, and Viathan looked up as dozens of transports came flying in and bombers destroyed the entirety of the norther and southern streets, and Imperial gunships blasted the juggernaut until it exploded and sent him flying forward and he felt his ribs all but crack again and he wheezed out another breath that burned.

A shuttle landed near to him, and from it came walking two pairs of boot covered feet. One of them was the darkly cloaked, and regal looking Sith lord. Exar Kun, and beside him was a hooded girl with red hair who looked around the battlefield in awe.

"Now Mara don't tell me you've never seen a war zone before?"

"Not up close..."
"Well this is our war, and this was his battle. However," Exar leaned in as Viathan's eyes strained open and looked up to his master. "Your time in this battle is now over my apprentice. As always you shall live, but for now, rest." Kun ordered with a small smirk across his features and the masked boy, bloodied and scared by this hellish battle upon Neona fell limp, passed out but alive. As the Force was cruel enough not to let him die.

Troopers from Kun's ships landed and soon had the Moff counterattack running in full rout.

"Now Mara, tell me. Are you prepared to see this everyday?" Kun asked as medics loaded his apprentice into a capsule for transport to the fleet and into a medical bay aboard any ship really. The girl looked around. Bodies were missing parts, burnt, broken and crooked around metal in a manner only possible by an explosion. Tanks were smoking carcasses of their former selves and the troopers relieved of battle were shaking and looked like they had in a way died.

"Yeah...seems like a great time." She replied, sarcasm clear, and Kun huffed a laugh and crossed his arms as walkers raced toward the northern and southern roads passed him.

"No time like the present then to get you ready for more battles, and greater ones, and lesser ones. Come. Let us review the status of the Imperial forces left."

The hell that was Neona, while not over, would come under Imperial rule under the direction of lord Kun, but for many who would survive the 'Hell of Neona,' as it would be called galaxy wide, at a loss of four-million soldiers, and two-million civilians acting as troops, would define them, and especially Viathan.

However, the war would go on. And there is no end yet in sight.

---

Authors Note: Phew...holy god this was a mad dash to finish before bed, so expect the odd typo here and there guys. HOPEFULLY this makes up for my lack of chapters some, as I think this is may be the longest chapter once again. I do hope you guys like the effort I went through to TRY and give this war a descriptive feeling of its hellishness. Tell me if I did okay. :) Thank you all for your very enthusiastic replies to my return from the dead. :p Especially you guys as who came in as guests that was really cool to see. Oh but to the guest who said my exclamation marks gave them a headache, uh I know that was a totally legitimate annoyance to point out and I accept it, as it was not a flame, but I do hope I am doing better. Nonetheless I thank you for your critique and for reading the chapter. :p As always please either point out or excuse any and all typos that are likely to exist, and please review! It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy if and when I do good. ;D Yes I'm am begging for reviews! ^_^