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.

58. Chapter 58

Chapter 58

(General POV)

The thunderous and galaxy impacting call for battle ran through the entire navy with an adrenaline pounding surge. From his place upon the surface of Anaxes, lord Vader, surrounded by leading admirals and commanders who would join their fleets soon, he sounded the call to proceed with the attack. Ordering that the command for all fleets to head forth to their given targets lining the border with the Inner-Rim was a quiet thing but no less potent.

The Thand, Baroli, Noori, and Ehosiq sectors were the first reached by the invading Imperial fleets. At least three million ground troopers of the Stormtroopers Corps in each of the sectors under command of Ground Marshals and then sector command admirals who in turn came under command of a grand admiral. Ultimately leading to Vader and then the Emperor himself. The sector offensive armadas numerically matched a Sector Group, and thus each consisted of two-thousand-four-hundred ships, with an additional fleet of reserves for each of another four-hundred naval vessels and ground forces and armament within.

The 'Expansion-Region Theater,' as it was thus called became broken up into three notable sectors of battle. The Norther Quadrant, eastern Quadrant, and Southern Quadrant of the theater, with multiple campaigns happening in each one. Battles were quickly begun within each of the three initially hit sectors. Imperial loyalist forces, with a new vigor and anger within them and fury attacked defensively placed Moff Alliance forces.

The Moffs lacked a great many ships. Too many had been repositioned to guard their rear from the advancing droid forces, and thus each sector contained just over a thousand ships. Supreme Moff commander and newly minted Grand Moff of War, Ardus Kaine routed reserves from the galactic north where there was little activity down into the Expansion-Region to reinforce all sectors under his and the Moffs' command. Adding another thinly spread twenty-thousand vessels and their crews as well as forces to this new front.

Several dozen Moff ranking admirals and military trained and veteran war Moffs were sent to the Expansion-Region to keep the Empire at bay as Kaine continued to route his forces into the Chommell sector in the Mid-Rim with a seeming relentless drive toward Naboo. The Grand Moffs on the council obliged Kaine with continued affirmations from Ardus that his new weapons being developed and readied for use soon would tip the balance of power for the Moffs against both the Empire and United Rebellion Movement. As it was, however, the Moff troopers, and their forcibly drafted fighting forces and some volunteers as well began to fight and die across the battlefields as did those of the Empire.

Massive naval battles broke out across the Expansion-Region as the Imperials began their mass reconquest of taken territory by the Moffs after weeks, and months upon letting the slight go unanswered save for the incursion into Tapani. In both the north and eastern quadrants the Imperials hit hard and fast. Striking immediate blows to the Moffs and landing tens of thousands of troops and armor onto worlds where ferocious and mass fighting also broke out as assets seized by the Moffs were seized to be once more used by the Empire. Many citizens on these planets welcomed the Empire once more after hearing of how the Moffs subjugated the people of Mrlsst as the Empire blockaded them from above over a period of weeks. However, in the southern quadrant Moff resistance hit back against the Imperials with a vengeance. A quarter of the advancing armada attacking the Bes-Ber-Bikade Sector, was lost in an opening battle above the world of Roona.

Because of this, lord Vader ordered a flush of reserved naval forces above Epica and closer to the Inner-Rim along the Corellian Trade Spine hyperlane trade route, to reinforce the attack still underway above Roona down the trade route. As it was a matter of necessity and direct command of the Emperor that the major trade lanes be re-secured to branch out from and to assure the economic security of the Empire.

However, this seemed to be a planned event as a counterattacking Moff armada quickly descended onto Epica and cut off the force over Roona and those Imperials fighting down on Epica's surface. The surface of Epica was forested with plains and hills. Prime real estate was marked on the planet for some mega rich of the galaxy who had long since abandoned these homes because of the war. Commanding the Imperial forces, now trapped on Epica was none other than commander Viathan. Under him was an army of thirty thousand stormtroopers and their armored units with three hundred auxiliary Massassi warriors.

To relieve Epica before all units planet side were annihilated, lord Vader ordered half of the reserve fleet in the Inner-Rim to assault the Moff navy orbiting above. Nonetheless, even as the Imperials attempted to break through the Moff navy, the ground became a mess of violence and death. Ten-thousand of Viathan's troopers were lost with no air or orbital cover within two days of their being stranded. Where the commander, with advisement by his Massassi allies retreated into one of the dense forests of the planet. Leading to a campaign to clear the forest of all imperials forces hiding within by Moff units before the Empire could send aid. As the advance into the Expansion-Region entered into its fourth month and another half since the battle of Coruscant.

(Expansions region, Bes-Ber-Bikade Sector, Epica System, Epica Surface)

Twigs crunched and creaked beneath them as they moved through and between the trees of the dense forest they now entered into. The light of the far away star glittering and piercing through and glaring upon their helmets and blasters. There were at least a hundred men. All wearing the white armor of the Stormtrooper, but also painted onto them was the symbols of the Moff Alliance. An adopted symbol pushed through by Ardus Kaine that e called a Pentastar.

Two men surrounded a third, and this was repeated several times,. This third man carried with him a flamethrower. Ready to unleash its deadly roar of flame upon both tree bark and enemy flesh. The two men on either side acting as guards and escort. Heavy troopers wielding heavy repeaters and blaster cannons guarded the rear and checked their flanks on either side of the advancing company.

"Why are we going into the forest again?" One trooper asked the commander. The man took another tentative step deeper into the forest and moved his boot covered foot covered in dirt, to search for any hidden enemy mines or charges, before turning his head back on his inquisitive trooper.

"Because command said we have to clear the forest of all loyalists within."
"Then why not burn the karker to the ground?" The trooper shot back as the front line of the company continued to advance. Every crunch and creak making the men more jumpy by the moment.

"Because we can't burn the whole thing to the ground without the go ahead from command! Unless you want to be shot by a firing squad of your peers."
"I'm not saying forget their orders sir. I just wanna know why they don't give the command to burn the it to the ground. It's just a forest! There's thousands more like them across the galaxy." The commander once more pushed some fallen leaves on the soil aside with his boot while keeping his blaster rifle close to his chest before answering. Sweat and fear mounting as he felt more constricted by his armor than usual.

"If we go around ruining everything attractive about any given planet in the galaxy and try to come off as the good guys it may not seem right. You know?"

"I suppose."
"You suppose what?" The commander snapped back.

"I suppose, sir!" His trooper quickly self corrected and the major shook his head. A little laughter escaping him as he pressed forward.

"I wouldn't worry if I were you trooper. I'm sure something will pop out of nowhere and give you cause to burn down the forest in no time."

"Why do you think that?"
"Because!" He began in a matter-of-fact tone. "This is the forest their commander ran into." The trooper nodded to himself but clutched his blaster a little closer to himself as the notion that lightsaber wielding crazy was in here somewhere. Not him or a one of them knowing just how close that crazy really was.

---

'The trees of this forest are strong indeed. Strong branches, healthy wood. Excellent for my needs.' Viathan thought as he clutched the tree trunk to his right from where he crouched on a branch. Hovering above the Moff troopers as they whispered to one another through their masks and jumped at the snapping of twigs, or the rustling of leaves beneath their feet. Masses of leaves and pines bristling from these majestic plants obscured him from those below, and allowed the Sith acolyte, with crimson eyes, to glare down. Watch and wait for the perfect moment to strike on these invaders entering his forest as it now stood.

"Aras j'us guvus kia vulti?" Viathan glanced left and directly into the eyes of an eager Zar'kai. His Massassi companion; a loyal and obedient warrior if ever there was to be one, spoke to him at times in his native Massassi-Sith tongue. Having just asked Viathan if he was 'ready to attack,' the apprentice to Exar Kun shook his head.

"Not yet my friend. We follow, and we do as we agreed on with absolute precision. None of your kin die today." Zar'kai bowed his head. His fleshy tentacles coming down from his head falling around him like hair as he did. Taking spear in hand he swiveled himself around where he too crouched on the tree and motioned toward a seemingly empty expanse of further tree lines. His lanvarok staff in hand as he did so. Viathan watched with a sudden smirk as dozens of hidden crimson and broad Massassi warriors wearing their little armor bits and pieces rose from their hidden positions and began to crawl and move from tree branch to branch. Climb or crawl along the bark of the trunks and follow Zar'kai and Viathan as they also began to move from their current tree to an adjoining one with ease.

All of them wielded their great lanvarok spears. Cleaned and readied to be bloodied once more. It was here among these trees that these warriors felt incredibly within their element. The jungles of Yavin IV were their home, and they knew it well. Climbed its trees and used the forests, the shrubs and trees to their benefit. They fought on any battlefield, and effectively so, but within the forest they were unmatched.

Viathan had been fighting with them for days, and before then weeks. His boots fell swiftly upon the tree branch he maneuvered upon as he kept his eyes trained on the troopers. The Massassi had come to feel like true comrades in this battle. The hulking red warriors, barbarous and monstrous in their outward appearances had become much more than mere soldiers in this battle, and the conflict as a whole.

'Nothing less than true comrades. True warriors who understand what war is, and what it entails. A distinct lack of fear or understanding of the notion much, and almost suicidal tenacity to fight. I like them more and more as I go.' Viathan thought with humor as the Massassi continued their shockingly silent move from tree to tree. Almost all of them crawling along branches with utter silence about them. A few doing as he did and carefully walking in crouched manners with the same silence as their prone kin.

Viathan and Zar'kai reached a set of trees ahead of the troopers. Despite their paranoia they lacked any ability to see them, and it almost made Viathan want to laugh with victory as it were. As ever he controlled himself. He looked at where the troopers were heading, and found the majority of what appeared to be a company sized unit to be heading into a somewhat open field. An open bit of grass where the leaves had fallen and the sunlight beamed down through cracks among the treetops. Only one tree stood in this open field surrounded by the sea of other in a crooked oval.

'Almost looks like a place you'd go for a picnic. Now it will be the resting place of dead traitors.' His eyes narrowed as he hardened himself and pulled the dark side around him like a cloak atop the actual one he wore hanging from his shoulders. Glancing behind toward Zar'kai; a notable sharp-toothed grin on his face, Viathan nudged down to the field.

"Good for an ambush..." The Massassi switched to basic, as Viathan learned Zar and Grash would do from time to time, like their leader Mattizz. Though he wasn't sure if all could yet do that.

"Yes my friend." Viathan nodded and pat the Massassi's massive left shoulder with his cold and lifeless mechanical hand. "Order the others to follow along the field. Get them on the outline of the field, and on my order we'll get them while they're surrounded and in the open." Zar'kai bowed his head, once more the tendril fell along his shoulders as he signaled to his kin. His arms and hands moving in subtle ways, with his lanvarok spear pointing here and there in silence.

'This must be how they order one another among trees I suppose.' He shrugged and returned to watching the troopers move from the trees and into the field. Taking his left hand, and its artificial claws, Viathan clutched the branch he stood somewhat uneasily upon and dug in ever so slightly.

Closing his eyes and entering fully into the Force. Viathan was able to sense every Massassi and even 'see' them. Figures that were broken and misshapen but nonetheless, Massassi to him, as they clawed their way with silent conviction toward a tree from a tree. Until one by one several took up positions on one tree as others moved beyond to the next.

Then he sensed the movement of the troopers. Once more he saw them as broken visions of movement. Their thoughts and emotions striking him like a wave hitting a wall. A sudden and pounding sensation. Overwhelmed by their fear and adrenaline produced paranoia Viathan found the commander of the unit. A major of the new Moff military command structure.

Despite whatever the man thought of himself, Viathan easily passed through into his mind, and sensed the underlying intent. To kill of course, but he sensed a notion, a desire, and suddenly he felt like he was on fire!

"Fire..." Viathan intoned, but Zar caught him and cocked his massive red head. "They plan to burn the forest down should they find sound enough reason." Viathan nudged down to a one trooper in particular, and the Massassi followed his line of sight. In his hands was a massive weapon but from where they were it had been hard to see it if had been a heavy canon or repeater. Now it became clear it carried the fires of war themselves.

"Tevas..." Zar repeated the word for fire in his tongue. "What would you have of us, lord?" Despite his objections Viathan hadn't gotten either Zar or Grash to quit referring to him as a lord. It was their mode of respect for him as a Sith and practitioner of the dark side.

"I shall persuade the men to take a rest. They set down for a moment, and your warriors get into the best positions they can. When the time is right we do as planned. Fall upon them and, 'mirtis sekleti darytis savimi,' my friend." Viathan intoned with a subtle smirk. One of contempt and disdain for these worthless men. The Massassi grinned broadly in his monstrous manner and nodded approvingly, as his Sith ally spoke the words "death shall become them," and filled him with a dark vigor his kind embraced!

Zar spoke the command to the nearest Massassi near him in a tree over and they passed it on with exactness to each and every Massassi. Viathan once more closed his eyes and entered into the Force, and called upon the dark side to fill and empower him. Extending out form himself he found the major once more, as the company and spread out platoons moved into and through the field. Entering into his mind a suggestion that his men deserved a rest...as did he, Viathan quickly retreated.

Opening his eyes he watched the major through his fist upwards and ordered the troops to cease moving. He looked around the treeline as if knowing he had been mentally intruded upon, and Viathan gripped his lightsaber in his right hand now, and made ready to pounce.

Only then for the major to call out a ten minute break to be received by sighs and grateful other assorted releases of breath and air from his men. Some just decided to plop down where they stood, and kept their blasters or other weapons nearby on the grass beside them. The nearest platoon in the company to the singular tree in the field all gathered and took up residence around it and sat themselves against it. Leaving only the major to look at the treeline and seem paranoid among all of them.

'Sense something wrong major? A good intuition. Sadly it will not serve you here, and you chose the wrong side.' Viathan darkly mused and kept on silently stalking over the men like a avril of Yavin VIII. Just waiting for the prey to make it more convenient for himself.

So they waited as minutes came and went. Until Viathan sensed the coming of an entity on his right around the tree stump. He moved himself to glance around to the other side where he found one of the many Massassi warriors. The warrior had crossed around the entire misshapen oval and reported to Viathan that all warriors, over a hundred in fact, were now in position to fall upon these pitiful men, and win yet another, albeit small, victory for the Galactic Empire. For their lord, master, and god even, Exar Kun.

"Make ready your blades Zar. We spill their blood now." Viathan intoned and the Massassi warrior gutturally made a low roar, more a sound of deep and foreboding clicks erupting from his massive throat. As excitement filled Zar and the dark side of the Force wrapped itself around the warrior and his allied kin.

Grasping his saber hilt enveloped in his right fist tightly, Viathan came to a steady but full stand upon the branch, and following his example so too did the Massassi around him. The tall and broad warriors clutched their spears and the Force hummed with their deep vibrant need to kill and bring down their enemies. Viathan sucked in one last peaceful gulp of air. Then he made the call.

"'Ardyti savimi visa!'" He shouted, or 'annihilate them all,' in the Sith tongue. His right arm had risen above and over his head and body where bursting forth came the red and beaming light of his saber. The Massassi let loose their roars and growls. Grunting and howling as the warriors jumped from their branches and from high in the trees down into the field below. Viathan followed them in silence.

The troopers scrambled and fumbled in their armor to jump up and hit back against the horrid sounds that surrounded them. The red aliens fell around and beside them as they did. Falling from the tree, a Massassi struck the pointed end of his lanvarok through one trooper who had been standing. He gurgled and groaned from behind his mask as the spear impaled through him and kept him limply held. The red alien growled, its fleshy facial tentacles shivering as it did so, before it placed its clawed foot against the trooper and shoved the limp and dying man off.

"Blast them, blast them all now!" The major yelled as he pointed his blaster pistol down at three red aliens who landed from the trees above. He fired three shots. Two missed and one hit an alien in the lower abdomen. It recoiled, and looked down before growling and roaring. It whipped its spear behind itself as it ran at him in a fury. The major fired again and again at the barreling creature, but he kept missing his his arms shook. The screams of men and their feeble blaster firing all around him muddling his already broken concentration.

The alien rammed itself into the major and they both fell. It however rolled back into a crouch and spun around and kicked the major. He flipped over in time to see the heavy ax connected to the lanvarok fall down, and then he saw nothing again.

More Massassi fell. Many onto their targets. Impaling dozens in seconds. With other Massassi running for their enemies, and a very select few with their lanvaroks launching their great discs into enemy troopers. The weight and power of them splintering and cleaving armor and flesh and throwing troopers to the ground as they shrieked in tremendous pain.

A Massassi roared an armor rattling roar as it slammed a wild punch into a troopers helmet, and shattered it. Sending little fragments of armor into the mans face flesh and eyes. He screamed and bled profusely. Falling backward and writhing as the warrior slammed its spear down and stabbed through the man. Again and again as blood pooled and gushed before he finally went limp and quiet. Coating the Massassi in his life giving liquid, hot and smelling of metal, before the Massassi ferociously roared and swung left and into the flesh of another trooper. This one breaking into a run. As more of the same images befell the gathered Moff traitors.

A trooper carrying a blaster cannon fumbled up and fell back against a tree. His head whipping back and forth as the red things swarmed over and began tearing his comrades apart. His heart pounded into his ears and sweat pooled behind his armor. He slammed his shaking hands onto his cannon and readied to shoot the grotesque alien creatures into a thousand charred bits.

Not knowing that above him, and crawling down the tree he used for support was one of those grotesque things.

"Eat it!" He screamed and aimed the heavy weapon down at the nearest red thing and slammed down onto the trigger. The cannon whirred before it spun and opened up a stream of fire. The aliens and troopers alike turned at the howling mans voice, and as he unleashed upon them both sides broke into a run. Perhaps even seeing his impending doom but unable to speak as he fired and friend and foe alike as he was gripped by terror.

As he shot endless bolt after bolt, the trooper failed to hear what was right behind him. The Massassi limply let his right half fall from the tree trunk he descended down from and then allowed the rest of his body to fall to the grass beneath his clawed and none covered feet. Taking his spear in both hands and angling his massive looming body to the right and shadowing the man. The trooper finally noticed the eclipse of himself and stopped firing to turn around. The crimson colored descendant of the Sith themselves, grunted as it, with both hands, ran the spear clear through the man. Ramming the whole half circled ax portion in and through bone and muscle as well. The trooper howled and dropped his cannon, attempting feebly to force the spear out. The Massassi merely yanked the lanvarok back out and the trooper fell in a heap of blood, tissue, and his ruined carved armor.

Man by man fell. Even if a shot was made the brutes continued to move and go. They hacked and slashed and tore to bits every trooper they came across. Pain only serving to fuel their rage and lust for battle. The dark side filling every one of them on the field of battle in this open grove obscured by the trees of this once peaceful forest. Now its green leaves and grass, its very soil stained and fertilized with the crimson blood of the troopers who were being slaughtered here as not one Massassi yet fell.

The crimson beam protruded through the chest of the trooper and he fell over. Viathan shoved him off, as he threw his saber over his shoulder, blocking an incoming bolt. He spun around and took that troopers head with him. The Force invigorating his every movement, his very being, he ducked from another bolt and sent a savage blast of energy from where it came. That trooper flew back and slammed his body against a massive tree. His armor and bones cracking and snapping in sick and loud display. Flipping his body left and spinning through the air before landing. Viathan swung his saber with him and cut through the shoulder of another trooper as it fell to the ground he landed and chained the dismemberment with another vast wave of telekinetic power that sent that trooper and two others hurdling through the air and against the trees surrounding them all. A sudden crack erupted through the air. A puff of blackened smoke and a roar of flame as one trooper he sent flying was a flamethrower wielding unit.

Snatching his second saber up, the one of his clone, Viathan swung himself left and the saber suddenly burst to life and spun through the air. It whipped and whirred before it finally slammed through the chest of one trooper. Ripped through his side, and beheaded another trooper beside him, and then bisected a third trooper. Before it flew back to him, and Viathan grasped it easily. Switching it back off and clasping it to his belt, he quickly spun hi saber before himself and sent four bolts flying in all directions away as they came for him, and he dashed forward. Slashing one trooper down, spinning right and through another. Then turning his saber and stabbing a third trooper behind himself, and finally slamming his left metal hand left into the helmet of a trooper with a his blaster aimed to Viathan's head.

With his new beastly hand, Viathan turned and slammed it into the stomach of the troopers armor, and felt his metallic claws rip through the flesh of the man as he gutturally gasped and groaned from the shock of feeling his flesh being torn through and he lurched forward. Viathan felt the hot blood fall around his hand, and ripped it free. His claws dripping with his enemy's blood, he finished the trooper off by running his saber through his chest and kicking him off.

He felt his rage building within, and his chest constricted with pure and raw emotion. Viathan clutched his eyes shut and forced the anger and hatred within back down where it came and funneled what he needed into himself. Feeding the dark side. Opening his eyes, it became quite potently clear, especially by the smell. That all the troopers ad been slain. Cut down and slaughtered.

The Massassi, all panting and in one way or another stained with blood or their weapons were at the least, all turned and looked about themselves here in the field with corpses surrounding them on the ground. Viathan stood motionless for a moment and extended himself in the Force once more. He felt for anything alive that was not of his bristling Massassi comrades. When he felt nothing, he deactivated his one activate saber, and clasped it onto his belt.

Zar'kai from across the field noticed this, and threw his right arm with lanvarok in hand up. A mighty and guttural roar of pure joy and victory released from deep within his massive chest. Then followed by a chorus of his fellow Massassi warriors as they joined in the savage and barbaric show of victory. It became clear to them soon enough that none of their kin had fallen. Many were bruised and burned but all of them alive.

Viathan smirked and shook his head as he came down off the high of battle, and jogged over to the fallen trooper major. Two Massassi loomed over the dead man. One still roaring in glee and the second leaning on his lanvarok as he seemed to take a standing rest.

Ignoring them, Viathan bent down into a squatting position beside the fallen trooper and tore his helmet from atop his limp head. It was easy enough, the head wasn't even connected to the body anymore, and Viathan morbidly brought it up into the air, and glanced around it to the nearest Massassi.

"You behead him?" The Massassi who was lazily leaning on his blood covered lanvarok dug into the ground and supporting his stand, looked to Viathan. The warrior glanced down to the bloodied ax portion, and then back to Viathan. The boy could see the mirth in its large yellow glowing eyes, before it even grinned its toothy and sharp grin.

"Thought so." Viathan morbidly laughed and lifted his shirt collar over his nose and proceeded to reach his left and metallic hand up into the helmet and he, with a sickening yank and sound of slush, pulled the decapitated head from within the helmet and tossed it away. It rolled across the open area. Viathan momentarily caught the Massassi going from fallen trooper to fallen trooper, and running them through with a mighty stab of their lanvaroks and growls of enjoyment, before he returned his full attention to the now head-free helmet.

Reaching his left hand inside once more he violently yanked the internal comm unit from inside the helmet and brought it up to his face to inspect.

"What purpose does this have, lord?" Viathan glanced up and to the left. Zar'kai stood before him and blotted the sunlight as it fell through the open leaves and breaks in the branches upon them all.

The Massassi warlord in training nudged his chin toward the comm, and Viathan spun the small device between his fingers.

"This is their comm unit Zar. On their channel. One among millions. As far as I can tell, and frankly hope, they weren't able to send out a distress call." Zar cocked his massive head to the right in continued confusion.

"Why should we care? The battle is won! Blood was spilled, and not a one Massassi drop, or your own, lord." Viathan smirked and sighed a small chuckle as he began wiping the comm of the blood that soaked it upon his slacks. He didn't care about his clothing when there were many more pairs awaiting him back on the Domitor.

"We should care, because now we're gonna get the enemy to take care of themselves for us. At least a little bit." Viathan intoned rather dark and coolly. He nudged toward the other Massassi. "Tell them to return to the camp. You and me are gonna go watch a show." Zar'kai grumbled, but it was more just a sound he made than a reaction to any order. He growled out his orders for the Massassi to return to the camp where Viathan's troopers were digging in. Hidden in the forest as were they all. Then the Massassi brute joined his side and Viathan nodded as they made for the forests edge.

---

An hour and a half had passed and both Viathan and Zar hid in the bushes and shrubs that bordered the edge of the forest. In front of them was a mass open grassy plain with many hills beyond. Every so often the screeching shrieks of TIE fighters and bombers flew overhead. Whether they were fighting cut off Imperial units elsewhere or patrolling as the battle in orbit waged, Viathan couldn't tell. Then again, he didn't care much either.

They were both kneeling, with Zar's lanvarok held in his right hand and panted in the ground thus sticking upwards toward the sky. Viathan had produced a pair of binoculars and inspected the open plains from left to right and had been doing so for half an hour. The entire time just waiting for a call.

"Why do we wait?" His ever inquisitive Massassi asked him while he scanned back from the right to the left.

"We wait for the right prey. This is a hunt my friend. We just need to...wait." Viathan trailed as he caught movement to the right of his vision entering the plains.

"About a mile out. I think a thousand or two troopers." He nudged toward their columns, and Zar hiked himself over the patches of greenery in front of them to peer out at what his Sith ally saw.

"I see. Far too many warriors to meet in the field on our own."

"I am aware Zar." Viathan flatly retorted. "Remember me saying we were gonna watch them take care of themselves? Well, now's our shot." The Massassi grumbled in confusion. Eliciting a smirk from Viathan as he placed the binoculars down and attached the comm from the major to his ear and activated it. He held a finger to his lips to silence Zar who watched on.

"Command? Do you copy?! I repeat, command can you read me? I've been...uh separated from my company! We came under attack by enemy forces! Can anyone read me?!" Viathan, a feigned tone of desperation and breathlessness as he spoke into the comm and released the trigger button.

"This is central command. Please repeat situation trooper." A pompous and common proper accented voice responded, and Viathan smirked slightly.

"Uh...this is trooper TZ-456 of company forty! My whole company...ugh...was slaughtered in the forest! The loyalists ambushed us with a whole army. I managed to get away and swipe the majors comm from off his...oh force I took it off his corpse!" Viathan removed his hand from the trigger once more, and glanced at the Moff column again.

"Confirming ident' please standby trooper." The man responded, and Viathan rolled his eyes.

"Please hurry sir! I have urgent Intel that needs to reach command ASAP!"

"What Intel?" The man immediately asked. Viathan could have jumped for joy at the sudden intrigue laced in the officers voice.

"Command I have a lead on the enemy force that ambushed me and my company. They have begun wearing our Pentastar identifiers and are masquerading as a troop column moving through an open range due west of the forest." Viathan hurriedly reported. Zar grinning a toothy grin as the brute caught on to his game.

"Right...can you confirm ident' codes being used by enemy force trooper?"
"I haven't the time sir!" Viathan shot back. "I got a lead on one, possibly two thousand troopers wearing our gear and attempting to move with impunity toward allied forces due south of the forest where enemy troops infiltrated!" The column continued on through the valley and were close to halfway through at this point.

"If you wont do anything about it then I guess I'll do it on my own and get my backside karking killed! At east then they wont kill anymore of our own guys!" Viathan all but hollered into the comm.

"Zar," he whispered, without real reason, to his Massassi comrade who snapped to full attention. "I need a roar. Make it a really big one." The warrior cocked his head but bowed his head. Viathan held up his hand for a moment.

"Trooper we need to confirm that-

"Confirm what?! That I just ran through this karking forest with those red things on my tail with blasters trying to shave my head off, and prove to you that I am who I am?!"

Viathan threw the comm toward Zar and motioned for him to roar. The Massassi unleashed a deep and guttural roar that sent nearby creatures of flight flying away in fear and other critters fleeing from the sound. Viathan was almost worried the column would hear him and report him, as he felt his own body vibrate with the terrifying sound.

"Oh Force! I got one on me still! Command! There's one on me!"

"Calm down trooper...we uh...we have a column in the area. How danger close would a strike on the enemy position be?"

"Very! I think some of them are our guys but we're picking up stragglers right? Then they're picking up the enemy! They could all be dead and lying to you for all I know...oh Force there it is!" Viathan convincingly screamed and once more held the comm to Zar who made an array of roars and growls into the comm, as Viathan added his own pants as if he was running from Zar.

"You gotta take em' all out sir! Or They're not just gonna kill me they'll kill the whole ca...ARGH!" Viathan threw the comm down and let it hear what he hoped sounded to be a struggle, before he cut it out and let the officer think what he would.

"Trooper? Trooper TZ-456 report!" No response and Viathan awaited their decision. Both he and Zar peered out toward the column as they passed the halfway mark. Then, they stopped. Viathan picked up the binoculars and looked out toward them.

Finding their commanding officer, he watched the armored officer begin to yell and wave his arms about into a comm.

"They're calling them... If I'm halfway right about Moff paranoia whoever they put in charge would rather see a whole column of loyal soldiers die. Rather than be disgraced with allowing infiltrators to kill a whole base camp." The Massassi chortled beside him and inched closer to watch.

Viathan watched on as a minute or so passed. Until finally the officer frantically yelled into the comm, but then waved his arms about and the troopers began to run in all directions. Their fear was potent as was their sudden hatred through the Force.

"Case and point." Viathan coolly and emotionless intoned.

The sudden screams of the TIE's above met their ears. Two whole wings came into sight piercing the clear skies above the open field. The first wing dived in low and with a sudden whirr through the sky a piercing succession of concussive and powerful soil shaking explosions rocked the area. Both Viathan and Zar ducked down to escape the bright light and sudden heat that flushed their way and sent all trees and assorted plants waving back toward the forest as the heated and charged gust of explosive power struck them from afar.

Both looked back up as large mushroom clouds rose from the dropping of the TIE proton bobs across the field. The second wave of bombers were flying in low versus dive-bombing and unleashed large quantities of small objects that littered the plains.

"Thermal detonators." Viathan correctly observed as a new succession of many hundreds of smaller but potent explosions blew across the entirety of the plains and added their smaller stacks of smoke to the larger.

Using the Force as his guide, Viathan stretched his senses to look for any stragglers...and found none. A cold smirk crossed his face as his crimson eyes lit with a proud light at the death of what he felt to be over a thousand and then some.

"A mighty show of deception, lord. I am in awe of your skill."

"Please Zar," Viathan stood and brushed himself of the dirt that had blown onto him from the proton blasts.

"The real honor of this travesty of information and cohesion belongs to the Moffs. Without them I wouldn't have been able to stick the subtle notion of treachery into their already highly string and paranoid minds." Zar deeply chortled again, and Viathan nudged back into the forest. Where both Sith acolyte and Massassi returned to their hidden and intrenched camp. Where they greeted the night with no fear.

(Yavin IV, Yavin System, Gordian-Reach, Outer-Rim Territories)

Above the gas giant of Yavin and her many moons now roamed a mighty fleet. Where once the moons and the gas giant itself was considered worthless and unimportant to the Empire now a fleet of might Imperial warships of all and every size and manner loomed over and patrolled the Yavin system. A dot of Imperial loyalty and territory within a great sea of Moff forces that was the Gordian-Reach sector.

The fleet of defenders and loyalists had been sent under orders by first, Darth Vader, but were now a necessity commanded to remain over the planet and in system by the Emperor's own executive commandment. Exar received the distinct impression it also acted as a subtle insurance policy against him.

"Turbolaser batteries pointing downward can do that I suppose." The dark lord numbly mused as he disembarked his shuttle. Behind him were two of his honor guard of the Massassi. One was Mattizz, the warlord, ordained as such by Kun, had joined his lord and master back to the adopted home of the Massassi. To ready his kin to make additional warriors ready for war.

A procession of Massassi warriors stood before the clearing they had made for shuttles and all wielded their spears and lanvaroks. Many of them had banners wrapped around their weapons. At the sight of their lord they all fell into kneels and bowed their heads low. Exar approached and crossed his arms. A dark and thin smile forming along his features. He motioned to Mattizz, and the warrior loosed from his chest a guttural command, and the many Massassi rose from their prostrated position.

"My faithful servants!" Exar greeted throwing his arms back out in a welcoming and friendly manner. "It has been far too many weeks without being among you. Your brothers and kin have fought on many battlefields across the galaxy in my and your honor in kind. Yet now, I must ask even more of you all." The Massassi glanced to one another as their lord spoke. Exar carried on forward with Mattizz near and watched the Massassi hordes part as he walked among them, and toward their temple dwellings.

They walked on down a path made where the Massassi had torn down trees and other rooted plants to make a path for those who came from beyond the veil of their skies. As Kun approached he looked in wonder and pride as the many spanning temples of the Massassi were covered in scaffolding and moving across them all to the steady and echoing beats of hammers and chisels were the Massassi themselves.

"We have begun repairing and building new temples in your honor and to the desires you imparted upon us all, lord." A Massassi just slightly shorter than Mattizz intoned from the Sith lords left. Exar sensed the deep need to hear his lord approve of the undertaking, and Kun smilingly obliged.

"Very good work my loyal servant. These temples are looking better than ever." He felt all of them beam and swell in their lords praise. Exar stepped forward and paused as he looked right and toward the ancient temple of Naga Sadow. The place where the Massassi worshiped their long dead lord of the Sith.

To the front of the entrance was being erect a large statue of the Sith lord. His features superbly replicated by old texts and ancient descriptions. The dark lord standing with his cloak waving in a long forgotten wind and forever captured in this stone pose as he held his helmet under his arm.

"Your show of respect for Sadow is admirable. Be sure to continue showing such respect for your lords of old. It serves us all well for you to do so." The gathered Massassi murmured to one another and nodded as they took in and agreed wholeheartedly with what Exar said. The dark lord moved on and passed by another clearing.

Upon this patch where the trees had been cleared with stumps spread about, Exar paused once more to watch young male Massassi fight and brawl with one another under an elders supervision. They threw punches and savage kicks, as the other blocked or took the hits and returned their own hard if not harder attacks. Some running and tackling another of their Massassi kin to the ground and began tolling in the dirt with the other in a tightly knit brawl with one another.

"Young blood. They must learn to fight and serve you lord. They shall make loyal, obedient and effective warriors in times to come." Mattizz informed. A hint of pride for his kin in his deeply guttural and slithering almost like voice. Exar nodded and returned to moving down the pathway the Massassi had made. A few patrol TIE's flying overhead and far above as he did.

Massive and monolithic temples lined the landscape of Yavin IV. The trees and vines covering and obscuring their bodies. Only their tips and pinnacle points being clear most of the time. Hordes of the Massassi workers worked tirelessly to return them to their former glory under Kun's commands. Much to the Sith lord's pleasure, almost all of them had been done as such. The great temple still underway for repairs, but the smaller ones, and even his grand and black temple had been finished and was now patrolled by elder Massassi warriors. Capable beasts and servants of war, who had recently matured, and thus became patrol guards, but were no less deadly.

The dark lord came to a stop in an open plot of soil that was surrounded by several temples. The great temple but a few meters beyond. Exar took in a deep breath and appreciated the work his loyal Massassi warriors put into pleasing their lord. Into pleasing him.

"The new warriors wish to prepare in full for your arrival and scrutiny lord. They are ready and well trained, but desire to be examined by you before joining your glorious war." Mattizz whispered into Kun's ear. The Sith shrugged as he appreciated a far off temple with its top being repaired by several Massassi wielding their tools.

"Very well. Gather the new force and I shall partake in these pleasantries. I do feel...eager to inspect the new warrior force. Young are they?"

"As young as can be accepted lord. Lest they be too headstrong and unreasonable." Mattizz mused. "They are obedient and shall serve well milord. They only seek to please and impress. Let us thus impress thee lord. Whilst you have other business in need of tending to." Kun furrowed his brow, but then nodded and smirked. Remembering that he did indeed have another task in need of tending to.

"Ah yes. I had almost forgotten Mattizz. Thank you. Do point me to which temple is being used as our local prison." Mattizz bowed his head and pointed his spear to the left where Kun saw a temple with several circular layers. Symmetrical smooth slopes riding down its sides, with a large open break used for entering and exiting the temple.

"Very well. You prepare your kin for their own display. I'll tend to our guest alone."
"As you command my most mighty lord." Mattizz bowed and made off to do as told, and Exar smirked, lightly chuckling as he did, and made for the temple along another dirt path.

Along the path patrolled several of the very young Massassi runts. Young and younger who were in need of tasks to do in order to stay busy and take simple tasks to prepare for future service to their lords. They would stop and fall to their knees. Then into low prostrations at sighting their lord and master. His darkness spreading out and easily felt by them, and all but demanding of them respect. They no less showed it. Exar would smile and nod to them. Only for them to rise after he left their presence. As the young became even more zealously loyal to him above even their elder kin.

He approached the temple and its large stone entrance where no massive door was built. Two Massassi guards stood far apart from one another on either side and guard the door. They nonetheless bowed low toward him and he continued on in. through the Force he acknowledged them and continued on into the lit stone halls. Barbarians though he found them, Kun took note of the built in light fixtures with glass protections on them. Relics held over for when they had arrived on the forest moon and their master Naga Sadow a thousand years before he had himself arrived.

Moving on. The temples was mostly still and silent. His boot falls making large echos. Glancing upward Kun could see the roof extended far up and was accessed by a massive set of rounding stairs. The top probably used for worship by the Massassi kind when he was not around. To stare upwards at the massive Yavin and pray. Be it the place of gender specific worship or combined worship, he couldn't say.

Still he moved on. The only other souls within were two further guards. Both of them young, but perhaps only a year or two below the fighting age for war. They were speaking in the Sith dialect to one another, and chortling about a hunt one of them had been on. When they noticed Exar's approach. They too fell to their knees and begged his forgiveness for speaking around him, and Kun eased their fears, and made sure to inform them he didn't care on their speaking at all.

They rose at his demand that they do, and calmed. He informed them of his desire to see the one and only prisoner held within the prison confines, and they nodded and led him on down the hall. Its walls were still covered with moss and vines that leaked from the outside. Light from the day spilled in from cracks and collapsed stone, but also too did lights illuminate the hall.

The hall was lone and built in an oddly triangular manner. The end of the hall baring an ebony black door. Smooth and seeming foreboding. As they approached one of the youth ran up to the wall and pressed his four digit hand against the wall. A stone built like a square scratched against further stone and fell inward into the wall. The door began to fall down into the floor with similar slow and scratching noises following.

Kun entered with only one youth following. As the rules dictated by himself that one remain outside. The door to only open it once given the clear fro within. As the door slid back up and sealed those within behind it with no way of escaping. This new hall was also illuminated but showed no holes along the walls. But merely a row of jutting stone segments along his left. With mighty and purple hued ray shields broken in intervals by the jutting stones in as well. Within only one was a living soul, and it was this one he wished to speak with. A Jedi no less.

"Remain at the door." He instructed and the warrior bowed and took up position by the door. The Sith lord approached the ray shield cell down three from the door. He came before the cell and crossed his arms as he peered in. The cell was mostly empty, the same stones lined its walls, and the same stones lined the ground on which the prisoner had to sleep on. There was nothing in the room save for a growing pile of wood made plates in the corner where he assumed his Massassi had been feeding the prisoner, who seemed to be eating as well. Especially since he's been inside since the awakening of the Golden Globe and release of his Massassi warriors.

"The lord of the Massassi has finally graced me with his presence. It has taken you a many long months to do so. Exar Kun." The diminutive Jedi spoke aloud and Exar snorted.

"I have been busy. The galaxy is alight in war and I'm using it to my full advantage." The little Jedi looked up to him and cocked his head to the side. Two floppy white ears fell where he cocked his head to the right and large blue-green eyes stared.

"War? There is always war in this galaxy. All it takes is a little looking around." Exar nodded to himself. It was an apt statement of the galaxy everyone called home.

"Tell me Jedi, what is your name, and what exactly are you? You obviously know my name and have knowledge of the Massassi. Plus you seem quite keen on speaking before being asked."

"It I suppose is only fair." The Jedi responded in a monotone, but pleasant voice. Which was odd to Kun, but he shrugged it aside. The voice was admittedly raspy though. Scratchy but calm, almost a purr even.

"My name is Ikrit. I am a Kushiban. Not many of my kind travel the galaxy I know."

"Indeed." Kun agreed. "I have not heard of your people. Nor have I heard of you. Tell me Jedi, what were you doing sleeping within my temples? Near my Globe of power?" The little Kushiban's ears propped upward as he too seeming interest in the question. Kun, however, sensed surprise.

"Why? Because I sensed the suffering, though silent it was within your globe. I read the markings and pleas of the Massassi written along the cave walls of Yavin VIII. Telling the tale of your entrapment of their children, and their kin, before you undoubtedly committed your genocide of their people and they as well." Exar raised a brow, and smirked as a subtle and breathy laugh escaped him.

"So there were a one or two heretical of the Massassi kind? Some who would dare oppose my actions as their lord and master? Well then, I find it quite fitting that their 'entrapped,' young now serve me with such vigor and resolve that they dare not oppose me. They would cast aside, and denounce their progenitors should they know of their blasphemy." Ikrit, as he called himself simply, lowered his ears. A sign of sadness, Kun believed.

"It is a sad fact you speak, Exar Kun. Sadder still that they would do as you say, and disavow their parents. Would you be so heartless than Sith lord? Will you tell them of their blasphemous parentage, and allow them to spit and cleave away at their memories?" Exar rolled his gray eyes and made a clicking noise with his tongue.

"Can't see how it would serve me any sort of purpose. The galaxy and I are at war. To make my Massassi question themselves and their ancestors could prove counterproductive." Ikrit cocked his head to the side. His ears rising once more. Perked at the mentioning of war.

"War? Yes war. I sensed great darkness abound beyond theses walls. Past the veil of this world and deep into the heart of the galaxy. Long have I been sleeping. A war you unleashed, is it Kun?" He questioned, his voice still raspy but pleasant, as if these two could hold humble conversation with one another. Exar for his part snorted, but shook his head.

"Sadly no. You have been asleep for long then? That is interesting. Your pitiful Jedi order is gone. All the Jedi, save a few stragglers of your lost order remain in all the galaxy. A Sith lord now commands the galaxy and rules an Empire. The aptly named, Galactic Empire." Kun informed. Pacing as he did and breathing in the very earthy scents of the hall. Idly noting through the Force the fluctuating emotions from the Jedi before him. Though they were difficult to read. His defenses in the Force were oddly...strong.

"A Sith galaxy? How very saddening." Ikrit's ears fell again. "To know the galaxy is ruled by your kind is disheartening. Though it is questionable. Why you, lord Exar Kun, with such as you are and your power you are not in command. You say another lord? That does not speak to yourself. Are you subservient Exar Kun?" The dark lord paused pacing and his features grew dark. His lips contorted into a deep frown and his brow furrowed in indignation as he fell his gaze onto the small Jedi once more.

"I serve nobody but myself little Jedi. The matter is simple." Exar retorted with much venom in his voice. "I awoke from within my temples. A spirit with no body of my own. I fixed that and came into a galaxy much as you are. One ruled by Sith, and where the Jedi are broken memories and little else."

"Returned with legions of your Massassi. Slaves to your will and echoes of their long forgotten Sith empire." Ikrit responded. Exar beginning to bristle as the Jedi tested him and his temper as it became shorter by the moment.

"Was that your attempt at mockery, or do you have a penchant for speaking facts out aloud?"

"Facts spoken aloud are usually the ones most desired to not be spoken at all." Ikrit replied in a wizened and mild manner as he sat back on his hind legs and stared up at the dark lord from where he sat in the middle of the cell.

"No what are you babbling about?" Almost to the point of exasperation the dark lord asked.

"I am babbling, Exar Kun, about facts I can see, but you either do not, or choose to ignore." The little creature pointed out. "You say the galaxy is ruled by Sith, but not by you. You say you serve no one but yourself but by your own volition you do not rule this galaxy. There is a trend forming with you to rationalize why you do or do not do something. Why you are not what you aspire and claim to be." The Jedi master on all fours like the animal his species appeared to be walked closer to the shielded door.

"Tell me Exar Kun, was your fall worth it?" Exar reeled back and paused pacing once again and turned to glance down hard upon the little Jedi before him. A distinct and renewed frown across his features.

"What does that mean?"

"It's a simple question with a simple answer if you so choose it to be." Ikrit replied calmly and sat down here it was now before the shield. "What you were all those many centuries ago. A young Jedi o his way to becoming a knight. A knight that could have done so much good. You had the greatest master of the saber arts in those days. You commanded and still do retain a presence so mighty in the Force. Yet you sacrificed it all to be a dark lord of the Sith. One who you yourself claim to be the greatest and mightiest of them all. And yet...you rule over a small moon in the jungle. All the Jedi but gone you say and before you but a few, if even that, Sith standing between you and a throne." Ikrit, sounding too chipper for Kun who growled lowly as he went on, summarized. "So, as I asked, was it all worth it Exar Kun? Was falling worth it all?"

Exar felt his nostrils flare. The earthy smell only entering int him with double the potency as he felt his body shiver with rage at being asked such an audacious question! Yet, what was even worse still was how his mind suddenly snapped back and forth from thought to thought, and he himself felt the question wrack his mind for an answer. One he failed to find.

"I think to answer your question adequately, little Jedi, requires me to ask one in reply." The Sith replied and took a knee coming closer to level with the small creature who cocked its small head as the man neared. "Was it worth it to remain a Jedi as you did? Seek to help and save my Massassi only to be awoken to a galaxy where your kind was deceived and all but eradicated in a purge? Where the Massassi you thought needed saving only desired to remain in servitude. To then become my prisoner and remain hidden away, locked inside, unable to escape from these three walls of stone and a shielded wall. Was that all worth it Jedi? Was your accomplishments worth it all?"Ikrit smiled. A small and animal like smile, and even seeming innocent as well. His big eyes turning gray to mimic and mirror Exar's. An act the Sith assumed the Jedi's race could do.

"An apt question in reply to my own dark lord. I would ask you to think on and attempt to answer my question. If not to me than do it for yourself. As for me I shall do the same. I have little else to do trapped inside your cage indeed."

"I assume you have little else to say to me?" The Jedi purred out a set of chuckles, and shook his head.

"What can be told by me? I have been asleep for many centuries. As you say guarding and awaiting someone to come and release your servants. Only to now be a prisoner. I can tell you little else. When I went to sleep, dark lord, the galaxy was alight with Jedi and the Republic was strong. To attempt to speak now as to what state the galaxy is in and what Jedi thee may be would be nothing but a litany of lies, and vague references to the past for my own part." Again he chuckled. "It would be like asking you, as you first returned into the galaxy what the state of the galaxy was the second you returned." The Jedi finished and before the Sith laid his front paws down and began to rest his head like some kath pup preparing for sleep.

"I suppose you have a point. Ikrit your name is, right? Well I suppose you'll be remaining here indeed. Should you decide you tire of this. Being a prisoner I mean. I am always looking for fresh blood to add to the mix that is my growing base." Ikrit indeed laid his head down, and shook it while it lay upon his front paws, and snorted a small laugh.

"There shall be a blizzard of snow upon the surface of Tatooine before that day shall come Sith lord. Should you desire to speak with, 'little Jedi Ikrit,' again, I think you'll know where to find me." With that the Jedi fell into a sleep. Exar watched and sensed the Jedi enter into a Force trance, but one less powerful than the one Ikrit had obviously used to sleep for hundreds of years beside the golden globe.

He sighed and rose from his kneeled position and brushed unseen dust from his cloak. Exar turned and made back toward the door and signaled to the Massassi on the other side to lower it. Where he and the two guards quickly made back down the hall they had come from and he bid them goodbye as they retook their guarding position outside the hall entrance in the main and large entry hall of the temple.

'Well, that was odd.' He thought exiting the temple itself. He paused outside its massive open entrance, and took in the sound of the wind and far off creatures within the woods of Yavin IV. Many beasts howling, hunting and prowling beyond his sight. Ikrit's question bothering the Sith lord, and forcing him to think harder and ask himself more questions than he wanted.

'Karking Jedi. Always playing mind games! I should just have him executed! But, what fun would that really be? I suppose.' Exar growled a throaty growl and sneered as he glanced back at the temple with harsh gray eyes. He forcefully shook his head and threw his gaze away from the temple that held the contemptible little Jedi!

Stalking back up the path and passing the young Massassi one more he soon reached the end that broke into the main path that broke off toward all the temple paths. To the end of the path leading to the prison temple and waiting on the main one was Mattizz. The Massassi leader seeming quite pleased and standing rigid and broad. A toothy grin also was broken out across his bestial features. The fleshy growths hanging down on either side of his lips bristling with anticipation as his lord approached. In fact the Massassi grinned so broadly and through the Force, beamed with such exhilaration and pride it force a smirk onto Kun's face.

"Care to explain the mood my friend?"

"They have gathered lord!" Mattizz nearly jumped with glee. Kun suddenly slapping himself inwardly at only then remembering the fresh batch of warriors had gathered to be presented to their lord and master.

"Ah yes. The new brood of warriors. They must be more than you hoped for. Your signature speaks more volumes than even your stance Mattizz." The Massassi motioned in a wide sweep of his right arm toward the path in the same direction as he bowed his head.

"Forgive me, lord. The young have gathered and bristle in anticipation and readiness for war and battle. We have gathered treats as well! Surprises for thee lord. All things upon this moon equipped and ready for the war ahead." Kun and Mattizz made up the path as they made for a wider open plot Kun recognized. It was a central region the Massassi had been ordered to clear as it acted as the main junction for all the paths of the Massassi civilization on planet.

"Oh?" Exar intoned and glanced to his crimson hued servant. "I do like certain types of surprises. Those of the kind you speak being high on the approval list."
"We only seek to please you lord." Mattizz grinned and bowed his head again as they continued on forward at the same pace.

They continued and soon enough they came into the main central plot Kun knew to be awaiting them both. They paused as they came into sight of the legion of Massassi youth awaiting. They stood tall, broad and stiff in several rows and columns. All their heads snapped right to look upon their dark lord.

Within their hands was their lanvarok spears. Both massive hands gripping them as it was embedded into the soil beneath them and before them all. Several of the lanvaroks in an ordered pattern barring tattered but similar banners of the ancient Sith upon them. Their all consuming yellow eyes glowing and looking with utter but hidden joy upon Kun, who only could sense this joy through the Force. The dark side seeping forth from the collected forces and pulsating all around them.

Kun's head snapped around to the side of this gathered Massassi legion and fell upon several dozen black masses. His eyes widened some and he turned to whisper to Mattizz.

"Tuk'ata, I had thought all of them dead on this world?" Kun intoned as the beastly creatures, black and ribbed with spikes along their blackened bodies sat upon the ground before the Massassi. Their glowing red eyes looked his way and their teeth were barred in a natural manner of their own. Their presence collectively in the dark side rippled and mingled with that of the collected Massassi. Exar able to hear their thoughts, as the Tuk'ata, long since hounds of the dark side and Sith, could be heard through the Force whispering. Communicating with one another and their masters. These hounds of Korriban and the other ancient tombs of the fallen dark lords were now silently laying and sitting before these Massassi warriors. Not leashed and not strapped, but waiting, seemingly so at least, for Exar right along with the Massassi.

"We did as well lord. Found them hidden deep in the caverns of the temples spread about. They whisper and they obey." Mattizz replied with a toothy grin, and Exar smirked as he nodded happily at the thought

Moving forward again, Exar came before the gathering of Massassi and the tuk'ata beasts as they all remained silent. A broken platform of ancient stone was taken up by the Sith lord as he stood upon it and looked out over what was a far more vast legion of warriors than he had thought. Mattizz stood beneath his lord before the stone and stared forward at the new legion.

"'Krusas,' Massassi!" Kun hailed them all in the Sith tongue. The word 'krusas' itself being hail in the Sith language. The mass of warriors straightened even further and stared forward toward their dark lord and master. The tuk'ata all looked forward. The beasts with their reddened eyes whispering to one another in the force.

"It has come time now that you join your elder kin as we march on through the galaxy. A war has erupted, and like the generations that came before you, it is time you serve your lord in this conflict and destroy our enemies wherever they may lie!" The Massassi grumbled and growled where they stood, rising anticipation in them all at their lords words. Exar himself feeling a swell of pride and vigor.

"Your lord has called for all able warriors t join in this conflict that now wages throughout the galaxy! You, my able bodied and unbloodied youth shall go forth and return to the galaxy the memory and fear that the Massassi can bring and have brought before! A war, unlike anything that we have seen before has been unleashed. One of machines and clones one of lax discipline and weak leadership. Pitiful warriors and weak excuses for soldiers! It is time that you bring back into the galaxy the memory and the might of the Sith race to the galaxy. You my Massassi warriors, my Massassi youth shall bleed forth and destroy our enemies! For each one of you that fall I need not fear for you would have taken with you a hundred of our enemy!" The legion finally erupted and a combined roar as they raised their lanvaroks high and cried out in a cheer at their lords words. The promise of spilling blood and glorious death filling each one with an unspeakable need to kill and destroy in the name of their dark lord, and for the glory of their kind.

"So join me now, my Massassi youth! Join now in with your elder kin, leave your jungle home and thrust forth not only yourselves into the fray and greater sea of stars that is the galaxy, but also thrust forward your pears into and through our enemies! Let us make off this moon among uncountable more and make for glorious war!" he raised both hands into the air and a final mighty roaring cheer erupted forth from the gathered legions. The mounting vigor and spiking adrenaline rushing through them all. Their spears sparkling in the light of Yavin and the stars beyond. Their bodies made and fit for battle, and the tuk'ata with them. The hounds of Sith ready to become the hounds of war in service to Exar Kun.

The speech was done, and the new legion observed by the Sith lord. The shuttles would fall and the Massassi would load up and return to the ships above. Their cargo being of the Massassi warriors. The tuk'ata as well.

Kun and Mattizz would stand by and watch the legion break into smaller units and board their shuttles. Making for the Magnificence in orbit above. Exar with his arms crossed, a smirk plastered onto his face and nodding away to himself in silence utterly pleased with himself, and his Massassi hordes.

"Where do we make for now lord?" Mattizz broke through the silence and asked. Kun glancing to him before shrugging.

"Besides returning to Tapani I have been tasked with overseeing several other fronts near our position. Young Offee and Jade should be doing well under madam Lyn's watch. However, there is one stop we should make before returning to Tapani." Mattizz looked to his master quizzically.

"Where to lord?" Exar smirked and snorted.

"Well it has come to my attention that the escalation of this war has brought about needed strengthening of bases. Lord Vader has a strong base, and I'm sure he's on his way to expanding it. As for myself, and our aspirations, we must follow suit. Therefore it's high time I find my in with the navy of the Empire. Someone with a little more clout and experience. Not to mention respect among the upper echelons." Exar looked to Mattizz with a knowing grin. "With that in mind, my loyal servant, we shall make a little stop over in the Roche sector. I believe it's high time I meet with grand admiral Zaarin. I've for long now take interest in him and his exploits, and wish to treat with him personally." the Massassi bowed his head, and to a degree understood what his lord said.

Exar for his own part smirked inwardly. Knowing full well that Vader's position within the Empire's military gave him an unfair position. Should and when the time came for when they would place base against base, Kun knew full well a horde, no matter how mighty, of Massassi would be no match against a victorious Empire.

'It's time now that I begin to make a name for myself within the navy and army of the Empire. Without it, Vader will be beyond my ability to contend with. Zaarin...hopefully he'll see reason at playing ball.' Exar inwardly mused and watched further as the Massassi legion was loaded onto their shuttles. As he and Mattizz boarded their own shuttle, he looked back once more upon his sanctuary moon to watch and catch the rare sight of the younger Massassi and the females. They watched the legion take off for war. Likely never to return to their people, and Kun felt them silently mourn them already.

The Sith lord remained hard, and shook himself before turning and climbing onto the shuttle in full. Taking off and making back aboard his stardestroyer. The Magnificence quickly jumping into hyperspace and making for the Roche sector, and the Roche asteroids. To meet with Zaarin, and from there to make for war once more.

(Rorak IV, Rorak System, Hutt Space)

A single sheathipede shuttle lifted off the surface of the metallic docking bay below it and slowly made its way out of the nearby ray shield. Beside it had stood two Vulture droids, in their standing positions, who quickly made up and into flying mode. They followed and remained at the sides of the shuttle as all three ships disembarked the Weeping-Void, Providence-class destroyer.

In the space surrounding that ship were many dozens of URM warships. All of them maned and filled with droids of all make and model now in service to the URM. Surrounding the fleet was a vast debris field. Many hundreds of thousands of tons of metal and corpses mingled among them all as well. Tens of thousands were dead in orbit and perhaps even more below as well.

A mighty, or rather a once mighty Moff fleet was decimated, mingled with ships in league with moronic pirates and Hutts as well. The devastation wrought by the URM and was now leaking down to the planet. It was all part of the echoes caused by the Coruscant attack.

Following the assault and Kellia Nelrain's return to Geonosis and an endlessly vast fleet that orbited it. Vorum and archduke Vikkal went to work reinforcing the positions of all allied worlds and admiral Ackbar's position in the Mon-Calamari sector. When that was done there was still so many ships and droids available for deployment Kellia almost didn't know what to do with them.

That was until she flooded thousands of ships into and blitzed through the entire Arkanis sector. Leaving several tens of millions dead. Before Nelrain ordered the first of many to come Outer-Rim campaigns. The Grohl and Abrion sectors fell easily with several millions more dead in each. The Yminis sector followed and fell in a months time with raids by the URM made into both the Klina and Galov sectors.

It was from there, bordering Hutt space, that Nelrain made the first of many to follow addresses on the HoloNet feed the URM created and broadcast across the galaxy. Despite Imperial and Moff efforts to stop it, the HoloNet system had been compromised with the attack at Coruscant and left the URM easily able to access the system. Kellia ordered that the Hutts officially denounce all criminal activities and actions, and also relinquish economic control over the many thousands of system inside Hutt space. Needless to say they refused and allied themselves quite openly with the Moff Alliance. Not only that, but it became quite apparent to the Empire that the Hutts had broken with them as well to form a stronger relationship with the Moffs and Ardus Kaine.

Thus the URM under Nelrain's direct supervision began a campaign to 'liberate,' Hutt space from the domination of the species. The initial attack comprised of no less than ten-thousand droid warships attacking Nar Kaaga on the border of Hutt space along the Kaaga Run trade route. The planet, lightly defended by a few Moff warships and pirates along with mercenaries hired by the Hutts was easily subdued. With all Hutts fund on the planet publicly executed by droid firing squads on the HoloNet. However, unlike what was expected from the Moffs and Hutts, this brought about no real outcry. Rather, a massive show of support for the actions against the Hutts broke out across worlds devastated by them and their criminal enterprises. Slave revolts and secret communications to the URM for liberation was flooded. Leading to the URM flooding in several more massive fleets. Attacking near Pando and the Pando Spur trade route up, with a third massive fleet arriving above Gamorr and blockading the world and its people of being taken off world to be recruited for the Hutts into battle.

Kellia herself lead the main fleet up the Kaaga run and took both Carnovia and Circumtore. Along the way breaking off smaller squadrons of her fleet to take systems along the way. Until she traveled up along the Shag Pabol trade route and assaulted the industrial world of Rorak. Here the Moff Alliance had placed three thousand warships and the Hutts had amassed an albeit outdated fleet of their own warships which brought the fleet up by another four hundred varying vessels.

Against the sheer innumerable swarms of droids, however, there was to be no competition. Nelrain led a fleet of still well above five-thousand ships with reserves from the Yminis sector numbering three thousand more on the way, and attacked Rorak. The droids swarmed and decimated the Moffs and Hutts in a matter of two days of orbital battle. Before twenty million droid units were deployed to the planet to utterly destroy all traces of the Moff Alliance and Hutts.

This is where Kellia now found herself. Aboard her cozy little sheathipede shuttle with a droid pilot to the front, and two Vultures escorting her down, she made for the surface of Rorak IV. Several billion people inhabited the world below numbering into the eight billion range. This world was also noted for being the largest Hutt slave trading marketplace. A fact Kellia couldn't wait to throw onto its head.

On the planet the local slave populations with droid assistance and with an auxiliary Geonosian warrior army, led a revolt and were battling the morale crippled Moff army and the gangster mercenaries hired by the Hutts as well. Mostly Niktos, Klatoonians and Vodrans. With the usual scum, like Weequay, Trandoshans and Gand as well mingled in the mix. Yet, none were truly capable of contending with Kellia and her droid armies.

Entering the planet's atmosphere the three ships dodged the few AA batteries spread about the planet's surface and made for the clearing where Bers was awaiting to greet Kellia. Being a Weequay himself, Kellia was proud he felt no issues when dealing with his own kind if they allied themselves with filth like the Hutts.

Following the battle of Coruscant where she had gone far beyond what the council had thought she was going to do. Landing far more droids than first explained, dropping whole ships onto the planet, and devastating sectors that needn't to be assaulted at all. Left many on the council suddenly wary of her tactics, though still generally supportive as she was the Supreme Commander and hr assault had of course yielded a massive army none could contend with.

It was for this reason that those like Vikkal, Dase and Bers were appreciated, though Dase lesser than the others. As these three among all the rabble did little to question her or grate her nerves. Organa had been grinding her nerves as of late as well. Constantly trying to moralize the council and herself. Nearly once did she choke the man with the Force but restrained herself out of courtesy.

Not only that though. When she had returned from having her left arm patched up from that boy's stabbing of it, Kellia had been met by Obi-Wan Kenobi, and none other than master Yoda. Needless to say, the meeting had been...awkward...

---

(Four-Months Ago, Geonosis)

"Masters. I had not expected either of you. You in particular maser Yoda." Kellia stated rather coolly as a medical droid finished wrapping her left arm up after stitching it and applying bacta. The wound was reported to her as being fully healed in 'no time at all,' and she had no reason to not believe the droid.

"Forgive us for barging in, but we felt we had to speak with you Kellia." Obi-Wan spoke. His voice, along with the man himself seeming far older than Kellia ever remembered. Of course that was a given and she sighed.

"What do you both want? Pardon me for being so bold, but there is no more Jedi order, and I'm no longer a Jedi, so I don't have to sit here and be scolded by either one of you. So if you could, just spit out what you have to say. I have a war to wage after all." Kellia still coolly so replied in a half mutter and half grumble. Yoda's ears fell some as if disappointed by her attitude, and Obi-Wan sighed as well.

"It's nothing like that, but I did seek out master Yoda, because of several concerns we have."
"Such as?" She questioned with a raised brow.

"Well, for instance, news about the battle on Coruscant is coming out and I must say I find your tactics rather...excessive. I don't think you dropping several dozen ships onto the planet was called for. Millions, tens of such are dead Kellia! You don't have to play by the code anymore. I accept that, but it doesn't mean you have to be so...so..-"
"Barbaric?" Kellia stated, more a question though as she stretched and curled her left hand fingers again and again. The numbness of the drugs kicking in and the pain from the gash making such movements hard. It also helped her keep her eyes on something other than the two old masters before her.

"The word, your own it is." Yoda spoke, and cut Obi-Wan off. He shakily stepped forward with his cane patting the ground beneath him. Kellia wondered for a moment of the old master felt out of place being on Geonosis with no need of fearing those around him.

"Told me much, master Kenobi has. Much devastation and death, brought to the galaxy, you have." He pointed the end of his gimer stick at her. She watched him, and kept her gaze cool and emotionally blank. As she did also hide her feelings through the Force.

"Has he now?" She looked toward Obi-Wan, and maintained her coolness. "Well, I'm sure master Kenobi only wished to convey his misguided sense of honor in war. Frankly I have come to see things quite differently master Yoda. The Clone wars, at least I would have hoped so, taught us all one thing, and that is war must be played by a different set of rules."
"Oh?" Yoda raised one his green quizzical brows and continued over to a small seat near the examination cot she had taken to sitting on, and he eyed her. "Tell me then, these rules you speak of." Kellia sighed and felt herself growing more tired and irritated. She hadn't slept since before the attack, and had been awake following it getting patched up until it could be taken care of in full back here on Geonosis.

"The tactics of such people. The Imperials, or Moffs calls for a new set of rules. Brutality must be met by greater brutality. Aggression must feed vengeance, and it will fuel the fires of war. I take advantage of the droid armies. They are cold and unfeeling soldiers. Unlike certain soldiers you two fought alongside they are incapable of turning against you willingly." She gave a pointed look toward Obi-Wan, before going on. The Jedi master furrowing his brow at the look.

"For over a decade Vader and Palpatine have played a long and brutal game across the galaxy. One of murder and multiple acts of genocide. Oh sure Organa would like to convey that many of people have fought against the Empire here or there. Well when he's not throwing them away to save one person, but the fact is the majority of the fools across the galaxy are content to just keep on walking and not do anything to make the galaxy a better place. So I show them the folly of their actions. I show them the price they pay for complacency and so a couple hundred, maybe million people die in the process. It will strike fear into the hearts of the trillions who yet live. It may wake a few of them up, that something is broken, and they are the ones who need to either help fix it, or remain part of the problem." The room remained silent for a moment after what Kellia said hit both Obi-Wan and Yoda.

"That is a very black and white manner of looking at things Kellia. An absolute view of anything usually leads to great...pain." Obi-Wan intoned. Thoughts turning to once where he had told another of choosing absolutes. How it was a Sith thing to do. Looking down at Kellia, Obi-Wan couldn't help but see similarities upon her that mirrored that man.

"Sometimes, Obi-Wan, it's the lack of choice for far too long that drives one to think as an absolutist. Or, maybe it's even having too many choices that turns one down the simpler, easier route. A, or B, yes or no, right or wrong." Yoda grumbled from where he sat.

"Grown cold, and angry, bitter even, you have, young Nelrain." She turned toward the small Jedi master, and she scoffed.

"Whatever gave you that impression master Yoda? Perhaps I have merely grown tired with letting those two men lord over quintillions of others."

"Old I am. Stupid, I am not." Yoda replied back with a bit of a snap. Even forcing Kellia to recoil some at the remark.

"Well...that you are master Yoda. That you are." She agreed, as her tone evened out even further into cool stiffness. "Perhaps then, it can be said the war before this one, changed all of us. For some of us it changed us for the better, though I have yet to find one such person, but for most, it changed us for the worst. While you two have been hiding away on your far off rocks, waiting for your moment to act which has yet to come, I have been trying to fins a place to operate from to fix what has become nearly irreparably broken!" She seethed, and her mask of coolness slipped and flashed the raw rage beneath. Causing both Jedi to slightly recoil. The Force whined within their minds as the hatred seeped forth but was quickly cut off by Kellia. The woman calmed herself and pulled herself back. Having in her momentary rage lurched forward. Her eyes closed and she took in calming breaths, and tried her hardest to release the anger and aggression into the Force before continuing.

"Some of us saw and went through things others cannot wish upon even their most hated enemies. At least I would not. Rather, I shall impart upon my enemies the fates they deserve, and shall fight this war not from the shadows, awaiting a moment to strike. When that time is here, and it is now." Kellia declared and eyed the medical droid as it came over and applied another shot of numbing agent to her arm, and then nodded her away. She nodded back gratefully, though the droid didn't exactly appreciate the sentiment.

"The proposition and question is simple masters." She spoke as she rose from the cot and rubbed her bandaged arm above the white wrappings. "You can both either be with me, or you can both stand aside. I will not fight you masters, but as I said before, I am no longer a Jedi. A Fallen Jedi? Indeed, but a Jedi no more." She was matter of fact as she idly turned to look down to her clothing. The entire left length of her robes had blood stains lining down the abdomen and leggings to her boots. Dirt and dust covered everything else.

"Kellia," Obi-Wan opened, raising a placating hand. "Try to see what we're trying to say." He glanced toward Yoda, and the elder master nodded. "Your fight against the Empire and Moffs is not the problem. What we are concerned about is your...willingness to brutally kill and destroy. Your tactics, while bringing in results, are at times excessive. And, while I have no right to ask you what happened after Jabiim, I and I think I am safe in assuming master Yoda agrees, whatever it was deeply bothers and consumes you deep inside. And it is clouding your judgment, and cooling your empathy. At the heart of it all Kellia, what you at least represent is a will to be free. You cannot win such a sentiment if the whole galaxy sees you as a murder using droids to get their way again." Yoda grumbled in agreement as he leaned in on his gimer stick, and Kellia glanced between the two, before she sighed, and felt her jaw tighten.

"What the theme here today seems to be, master Kenobi, is misunderstanding where we stand on the matter." Kellia flatly retorted. "I do not care if I am seen for what people wish to see me as. That is there prerogative. Dictator, savior, killer, liberator, whatever the case, I could care less." She slowly made toward the entrance door, and slightly shoved passed Obi-Wan who turned to watch her go by.

"As it stands, you both are welcome here and among the URM ranks. Even if neither or you do a thing. I'm used to Jedi doing that. Nothing I mean. But uh, should either of you ever decide to change things up a bit. You know, for variety," She made a sarcastic a sneering face. "Get in contact with me, and we'll work something out I'm sure. Otherwise, I have a war to win, with both Imps and Moffs to give a bitter taste of their own medicine." She bowed to Obi-Wan and nodded Yoda's way. The small master nodding toward her politely despite the biting sarcasm in her words and manner.

Obi-Wan watched her escape his sight and he turned back toward master Yoda after he was sure, and sensed her leave.

"That could have been better." Yoda grumbled and nodded as he seemed thoughtful.

"Far too bitter, she is. Very close to succumbing fully to the dark side, young Nelrain is." He rose with several weary grunts from his seat and leaned heavily on his stick as he waddled back toward Obi-Wan. "Haunted, she is. By memories. Suspect I do, related to Jabiim they are." Obi-Wan nodded, but folded his arms across his chest and looked back toward the door with a worried glance.

"Plus wherever she went following that horrid little campaign. Master Gallia, as I remember, was quite devastated at her loss."

"Distraught, at losing an apprentice she was." Yoda chimed back in. A notable sadness in his voice at the memories of the Clone Wars, Its echoes quite clearly being felt always, and especially now. "Concerned, the council was. Recovered, the body of apprentice Koloson, we did. Assumed the council had, lost to us apprentice Nelrain was as well."

"There was no way we could verify that she had lived master." Obi-Wan countered.

"Hmm, searched hard enough for her, believe you do?" Obi-Wan sighed.

"I don't know. All I do know is that she's bitter, angry and full of rage. Some of it at us, and what we represent master. The Jedi Order." Yoda sadly smiled and nodded.

"Dangerous it is. To have a war wage between Sith and a Fallen, one could say even, dark Jedi. Great care, we must take, master Obi-Wan. If to succeed, we are." Obi-Wan scoffed and shook his head.

"Succeed? How can we succeed master? When Kellia wont listen to reason, and is in command of these lovely blasts from the past, and about to unleash them in a way I'm sure would make Grievous proud!" Yoda nodded before once more slowly making toward the entrance.

"Rely in young Nelrain, said, I did not. Find allies elsewhere, we must. Serve under the banner of the URM, we shall. Work from within, to fix it, make it better, we shall. Dignity, we can bring to this alliance. For the future of the galaxy, we must." Obi-Wan furrowed his brow with incredulity.

"Who is left? The only allies we have are already a part of this madness. Senator Organa, has no more clout in the rebel circles than a bantha has a say among a committee of rancors!" Yoda chuckled very lightly, Obi-Wan finding himself somewhere deep inside, finding a small ounce of comfort in the sound.

"True, you are, Obi-Wan. Meet with Organa, we should. See if, missed he did, certain friends of ours, when calling the cells to Dubrava." Was all the master would say further on the matter, and once more Obi-Wan furrowed his brow. Making it scrunch more and deeper so.

"Very well." Was all he could follow up with. As he too followed after master Yoda, as both masters made their way through the halls of the Geonosian facility they found themselves.

They were quick to silently stumble upon a vast open plain of the Geonosian orange sand. Where upon it was gathering a seemingly endless sea of droids. Upon a one balcony surrounded by Vikkal, and dace, as well as several Geonosian warriors and council members, Kellia Nelrain looked out over upon her endless armies. As the galaxy would soon watch on as well.

---

The sheathipede shuttle came to a steady stop down onto the open plot made ready for it, as its two Vulture droid escorts broke back off into the air. Within the shuttle, Kellia rose from where she sat and pushed the memories of her tense reunion with the two Jedi masters aside. The sounds of war were booming and echoing inside the shuttle. As the Force whirred and called out with great echoes of the death being wrought about.

The door whirred and ramp extended outward before sliding down and clinging to the metal beneath the shuttle. Kellia wrapped her blue robe around her tightly as a stiff wind charged upwards into the shuttle interior. She pulled her hood back over her head and brushed her dark hair from her face before she made down the ramp and heard the clang of metal from her boots.

At the foot of the shuttle ramp stood several figures. All of them waiting for her as artillery fire boomed in succession in the near distance. Two magnaguards pounded their deactivated electrostaffs into the ground and took up positions to begin guarding their mistress. To her right stood Bers. His mouth covered in a scarf as it hung low down his shoulder, and covered from his nose down across his mouth and only showed his eyes. She found it an odd fashion choice for a weequay but did not say anymore on the matter.

As she came to the ground and the magnaguards took their places behind her, she neared toward Bers who came forward as well, and saluted her in a military fashion. She followed with a bow, as she caught several AAT's moving to her left and firing off into the distance and ear cracking blasts.

"Good to see you fully recovered ma'am." Bers opened after ending his salute, and noted her left arm that now only bore a thin scar. Barely noticeable unless someone looked hard enough for it. Though it was covered in her robes, she knew what he meant nonetheless.

"Indeed Bers. How goes the war effort?" She asked in return. Her voice having more mirth in it than usual. The weequay shrugged and swept his right arm before himself and caused Kellia to turn to her left where he motioned.

"See for yourself. We have leveled an entire third of the main industrial park, and have forced the Moffs and their pitiful mercenary allies to fall back into residential positions." Kellia nodded, as she idly brushed her hood aside from her eyesight. A line of AAT's was before her and on the outskirts of her landing zone. Over two dozen of them at least, and all opening fire in rapid succession of the other. The yellowish mass blobs of energy they unleashed arching through the vast open regions between the URM armies and the Moffs. Until they fell and sent smoke and debris flying upwards.

"Are we advancing at all, or have we become static?" Kellia asked, turning some to look back at Bers.

"The artillery strikes are covering the main advance, but we have engaged a Moff tank column at least three dozen units strong, and I've reinforced our ground units with at lest double that amount with both persuader-class tanks and plenty of the OG-9 Homing Spider droids. Ya'know the bigger ones?"
"I know what a homing spider droid is Bers, but thank you." Kellia chuckled. "So we're slightly stifled in our advance on the city by tanks? But we do have the main industrial park under control?" Bers nodded. "That's good. Do your best to not hit the residential sectors too hard. They're mostly slave populations, and would make for easy radical recruits to add to our organic forces. Can't rely on Geonosians forever can we?" Bers laughed and nodded in agreement.

"I suppose ma'am, but they're quite tenacious." He pointed up, and Kellia angled to watch several of the warriors in question fly overhead with staffs and sonic weapons in hands as they moved toward the battlefield.

"I suppose it was a good thing I brought them then. Now," She looked toward Bers again. "tell me Bers. Why are these fine specimens just sitting here, doing nothing." She motioned to Bers and her right and the weequay glanced to see at least two dozen Hailfire class tank droids. The massive wheeled droids sitting idly with little to do, and not doing anything mush at all really. Not moving and not firing a shot.

"Oh yeah, those." The weequay remarked and shrugged rather lopsidedly. "I was about to begin the second phase of the counterattack to the Moff armor. These bad boys will form up and charge the enemy lines. With the accuracy expected of them they'll pelt and pound the armor to the rear and allow for the spider droids and persuaders to mop up the forward lines. Allowing for full forward offensive operations to fully resume by our ground units."

"Why haven't you launched the assault yet than?" Bers raised both hands in another shrug.

"Well besides cordially welcoming you to a scene of galactic calm planet-side, I also had to deal with a little pest problem. Care to help me with it?" Kellia raised a brow and Bers nudged back closer to the shuttle. She followed after him, and let the blasts and endless exchange of blaster fire to dull into the background white noise.

With her magnaguards ever following and guarding, Kellia followed Bers over and they rounded around the left side of the shuttle beyond her sight from when she had initially landed. Bound with their hands behind all their backs and on their knees with a few hanging their heads and others looking around from where they were, Kellia found at least a hundred bound mix of helmet removed stormtroopers, niktos, vodrans and klatoonians on the ground. Behind the mass gathering of prisoners were several dozen B1 and B2 battle droids aiming their blasters down at them all.

"These, were captured trying to set a mine in the reactor heart of the park. Big enough to blow at least three square miles into vaporized dust. Unluckily for them, we already have networks of slave spies spread throughout the Moff control zones and they reported the coming mission. We caught, stunned, and captured them. I would say kicking and screaming but they were as limp as a man in a Toydarian harem." The weequay laughed his harsh and guttural laugh and Kellia rolled her eyes but allowed a small smirk to plaster onto her face.

"I see. Well, when you said pests I thought you maybe meant womp rats or gizka, but these here, these insult such creatures." Kellia spat as she neared the gathered prisoners. They stared at her, in silent disdain, but she wasn't fooled by their machismo glares. Beneath the surface, however, she could sense the fear and utter terror that lay beneath their exteriors.

She glared back down at them. Her eyes conveying her own disgust for these pitiful men, while a smile grew across her pleasant features. She took a knee next to a niktos beside a klatoonian. Both looked at her, and she could see the niktos shake beneath her glare, while the klatoonian looked at her in a sideways stare as she faced the shaking niktos.

"You probably have friends? Family and people who generally care for you, and maybe even...'love' you." Kellia nodded and the niktos after a few seconds of her goading him to follow suit, he too nodded.

"Yeah, yeah I know. But you know who also have family? Friends and loved ones. Some of them likely wondering and wishing they knew what happened to them from some planet far away. Those people your masters, the Hutts made into slaves. For a few extra credits for their fat ugly bodies to bathe in." The niktos and those around them recoiled at the venom in her voice. The niktos shook ever more obviously as her eyes took on an undertone of tinted glowing yellow. Bers watched on from afar and crossed his arms. A hidden smile beneath his red scarf.

"Now you see, cosmically I see it like this." Kellia, still kneeled to a one knee before the niktos brought her hands up before herself with her palms opened and facing upwards. "The universe, the galaxy, the Force, whatever you wish to call it, I'm sure would feel cheated out of its dictated death quotas if I let not only those poor suffering people live, but you, their captors and killers as well. I can't allow that now. So either you, or they have to die. And, frankly you can tell who I'm leaning towards who has to die between the two."

Kellia smiled sweetly and began to rise back to her full height. Brushing dirt from her thighs she crossed her arms, and merely looked down at the sorry, and pathetic lot. She gave a snort at their pathetic, and dirt riddled faces. Then began to walk away toward Bers.

"Kill them." Bers huffed a single laugh and brought his hand up, the droids all fell into firing position as the gathered men began to squirm and plead. Bers slashed his arm down through the air and a resounding succession of cracks echoed through the air. The red bolts erupting from the B1's blasters and the B2's arms lit their faces as they flew forward in small furious rapid blasts one after the other. Both Bers and Kellia watched in silent appreciation as their bodies became riddled and marked with endless small burns. Their writhing forms quickly falling over and to their sides in heaps.

Finally Bers raised his hand and ceased the seemingly endless blistering assault on the hundred strong prisoners, now corpses. Bringing only a hushed silence over the immediate area, and smoke rising from the pile. A stink filling the air only for Kellia to cough mildly and wave idly at the smoke.

"Hmm, they smell worse than they looked." Kellia coughed lightly again before turning and leaving from the sight. Bers nodded, idly agreeing with the statement, and followed after her. Kellia stared back out toward the main engagement where the sounds of war boomed, and smoke rose as blaster fire endlessly flew between both camps.

Bers came to stand beside her in silence. Waiting for her to give a command. Though he could see by her far off look that her mind was still firmly set on what had just happened with the prisoners. Now dead and already beginning to stink behind them in a heap.

She shook herself from her thoughts and took in a large breath as she finally cast her eyes out over the fields of battle beyond, and once more folded her arms across her chest. A smirk growing across her features once more. She glanced toward Bers from beneath her hood and bowed her head.

"Begin the assault with your hailfire tanks commander. I shall monitor the battle from here. I may join later." She ordered with cool ease of her voice and with an assured manner in her tone. Bers nodded and made for the gathering of hailfires to give the command and even join the battle.

"Oh, and commander." Bers turned back toward her. She lopsidedly smirked to herself as she seemed to be looking far off again and beyond Bers. "Should you find any Hutts out there among the citizens, or you know, just out there. Take them alive." Bers furrowed his brow in confusion, but she quickly cut him off from any questions. "I think the people would like to give the fat slugs a taste of their own brand of vengeance. I intend to deliver." Bers nodded and smirked before bowing and returned toward the hailfire tanks awaiting him.

He would launch the attack and lead the droids on into battle. The fast moving wheeled vehicles firing masses of their smoking missiles into the enemy lines and softening the Moff defenses for the droid forces to march freely in and begin a great massacre of all troopers. Moff and Hutt allied. There were to be no reported prisoners taken. There were of course, but they were quickly taken care of. Some by the droids, others by the locals, freed from their slavery and made into radical and loyal agents and people of the URM.

All as Kellia watched from afar, and savored every enemy death that came. When the time did come for the Hutts to meet their ends, she was there. There when the mobs were given clubs and small knives. There when they surrounded the Hutts taken alive, and there when they fell upon them. As their gargled cries for mercy and help were drowned by their blood rising from their swelled throats before they soon died. Kellia smiling the entire way through.

(Ojoster Sector, Wayland System, Wayland)

Mount Tantiss, devoid now of any life and all movement. Stagnant and now growing more full of dust in the ever present darkness. The lights dimmed and many dead now as no one tended to them. The halls deathly silent save for the echoes of his boots falling again and again where he walked.

Raydonn glanced down two halls as he came to a corridor with three choices. Keep going straight, or go left, maybe even right? It didn't fully matter to him. The man allowed his senses to guide him to where he needed to go within this mountain of tainted darkness and silenced nothingness.

"This place...stinks." He intoned lowly as he grimly frowned. A small sigh escaped him as he almost instinctively turned left. His robes rustling as he moved on down the hall and looked for something, anything really, that would come to help him understand what had happened here. His superiors were on his back lately and he could only assume it was because their lord, the Emperor himself was on theirs.

No one had ever said to him being an inquisitor was fun, or glamorous work. And it sure as heck didn't endear itself to him as he moved through these dank halls. How they had become wet? He couldn't nor chose to guess. All Raydonn knew was that he was on some world he had never even heard of in the Outer-Rim, neck deep in Moff territory. With a bunch of savage locals wanting his hide from outside this mountain. Which itself came as a surprise to him. It was potent with the dark side and echoed with events and things held within. Or at least the echoes of what had rested here before.

He continued through the hall until he reached a door. It opened easily enough, but when it did he recoiled and grimaced. Raising his arm to his face he covered his nose as a repugnant smell made bile rise and his stomach lurch. His eyes studied the next hall. Why a door had been placed here he couldn't tell, but somewhere deep within this next section something foul awaited him. His blue eyes danced across the dark hall awaiting, but found nothing awaiting him. It was deeper in, where a void lay that he would obviously find the source of this smell. Though he wasn't a fool. Raydonn knew the smell of rank and decay death when it hit him.

"Well someone died in here. Karking should have known it would be me who comes across a rotting corpse deep in some dank mountain." He heaved slightly but forced it away and moved on in. His tunics lower cloth skidding the metallic floor. Reaching for and activating his saber, the brilliant purple beam extended forward and illuminated a good portion of the hall.

Raydonn searched but did not find any switch for the hall lights and could not fathom why they were off. Sure many were broken or used up throughout the mountain, but never was an entire hall dead. So he assumed they had been switched off. Why? Again, he couldn't say.

Nonetheless he pressed forward. His saber leading the way, it wasn't long until he found the source of the sense deafening smell of decay. Lying before him on the ground was the corpse of a man. His body rotting and skin sinking in. the corpse was months old, and he could see a saber wound in the corpse nonetheless. The Force echoing around him of a fight that had, quite obviously, gone poorly for this man.

The tattering clothing about his body was, however, telling. It was the kind the guardian of the mountain was described as wearing from his superiors.

"Well you didn't exactly hold up to the whole job description, now did ya?" Raydonn coughed as the smell continued to nip at his senses, and he feebly waved his hand before his face to dissipate the smell. It didn't work.

Mentally logging the dead guardian, and how he died, Raydonn moved down the hall. Sure, finding the guardian dead was an assumed outcome of the mission, but they manner he was killed now irked Raydonn. The inquisitors had assumed that the Moffs had stumbled onto the planet and taken care of the guardian. Thus an Imperial agent was dead to their benefit. However, Raydonn had come across a saber wound in the guardian. Now, who did the Moffs have on their side that killed with a lightsaber? No one as far as he, or his superiors knew about. So, that led him to one logical conclusion.

"The Moffs haven't been here. They probably don't even know this planet exists yet. If they do, it doesn't look like one kriff was given." He spoke aloud in muse to himself. The thought had not dared cross his mind before, but surely it had for his superiors...or at least he hoped it had. The Moffs hadn't killed the guardian and been in the mountain. So that left one of two choices. Either the craziest of all crazy schuttas herself, Nelrain had been here. Or, more disturbingly to him, an imperial had been here, and gutted the man. Could some strangers have found the planet? Sure, but killed the guardian? Probably not. He was skilled enough to handle random blaster swinging pirates. Plus they didn't shoot him, the killed him with a saber. Which left another question to be answered.

A question that he had answered as he turned and wound his way through several more halls. Until at last he found one of the rooms he had been tasked with finding. A vault containing some of the Emperors collection of holocrons, and other Force powerful or related objects.

"Empty." He intoned once more as he waved his saber about, and found nothing but pervasive silence and empty shelves. A deep sigh escaped passed his lips as he lowered his saber clutching arm and shook his head.

"Definitely a Force sensitive." He smacked his lips and turned away from the room in disappointment and annoyance. It wasn't long at all until he searched through the rest of his targets within the mountain. Several more rooms, and several more vaults. All of the vaults concerning Force artifacts, be them Jedi or Sith were utterly cleaned of their holdings within. The only vaults and holds gone untouched were those containing research materials and weapons development or otherwise military important material kept in storage. For whatever reasons, which Raydonn couldn't imagine why, but, once again, it wasn't his place to ask.

By then end of his inspection, there was no doubt in his mind that a Force sensitive had come through the mountain and taken all artifacts and material important to a Sith, or Jedi.

Made all the more eery was how silent and empty the whole karking mountain was. At the end of it all, Raydonn made his way to the hangar and took note how a ship was obviously missing from within the hold. It made him shake his head in annoyance further, and make for the small control room in the hangar bay. Raydonn accessed the transmission controls of the console and sent out a secured transmission call out, and eagerly so, awaited the other end to receive the transmission. As a figure materialized on the screen, Raydonn found himself recoil slightly in shock.

"High Inquisitor, sir. Forgive me" Raydonn bowed, his clothing rustling and folding as he did. "I had not expected you to be the one to answer my transmission. May I ask where my handler, Barsho, is?" High Inquisitor Tremayne, with his one cybernetic eye and one human eyed stared back at him with cool connectedness, and seemed unfazed at all by anything Raydonn said. It almost made Raydonn repeat his sentence for fear of a garbled transmission.

"Your handler Barsho has been informed of my intersession on this mission. It came down directly through me, and I can assure you, an even higher office. Now, do tell me how is Tantiss mountain?" The cool attitude and snappiness of the mans voice brought a small chill to Raydonn, but he would never outwardly show it. Instead he placed his own cool and calm face across his features.

"The entire base has been stripped of all artifacts requested to be secured and retrieved. All vaults of holocrons, texts, tomes, books, lightsabers, and all of the like have been emptied. With all other vaults, weapons, designs, and so on have been left alone. Opened, but left alone all the same." Tremayne nodded slowly and subtly. His eyes...or eye rather, never leaving Raydonn to stare him down.

"It is as we have feared then." Tremayne intoned. "No signs of a military expedition seen then? No signs of Moff involvement? What of the guardian, is he still there?" Tremayne asked, even though Raydonn could tell his superior already knew the answer.

"No outward signs of any military type hardware being used. No blaster burns, and no detonation blast marks. It would appear, to me at least sir, that no Moff activity has been found on planet, and not in the mountain itself. As for the guardian," Raydonn cocked his head to the side. "He was found dead. He was stabbed by a saber and killed. He's currently stinking up the place where I suspect he fell." Tremayne, still outwardly calm nodded once more.

"A saber wound you say? That is interesting." Tremayne trailed off and finally looked away. Downward seemingly to another console, or so Raydonn believed. He moved his hands out of sight of Raydonn, though he did cock a brow as the high inquisitor sighed and shook his head. Seemingly ignoring or even forgetting Raydonn was still there as pregnant silence filled the air.

"Inquisitor Raydonn," He snapped at the voice breaking through once more, but kept himself still as Tremayne returned his sights onto him, and folded his hands out of sight.

"Return to the vaults containing all military schematics and goods. The Moffs and rebels may not have found the planet yet, or set foot down on it. However, we cannot allow for the military information and projects stored there to fall into the wrong hands. Gather all objects, everything inside the vaults, and bring them to the nearest weapons and research development facility to your position." Raydonn nodded, but quickly furrowed his brow, and without really thinking about it raised his finger in question.

"Uh, where might the closest one actually be, sir?" Tremayne coolly looked down to another console seemingly again and nodded to himself.

"That would happen to be within the Roche sector. Grand Admiral Zaarin has set up base in the Roche asteroids with those disgusting Verpine aiding him in developing new ships, both large and small, as well as maintaining his current fleet for operations within the sector against Moff forces." Raydonn nodded.

"Very well, High Inquisitor Tremayne sir. I shall report to The Roche asteroids with the contents of the remaining vaults as soon as possible. What of the ships here? There's a whole hanger of prime fighters, shuttles, and yachts just sitting here." The high inquisitor looked to barely hold a scoff within.

"Ships? Ships are of no importance, inquisitor Raydonn. Destroy them if you feel so inclined to do so. Otherwise gather the contents of the vaults and make for the Roche asteroids. Link up with Zaarin and deliver the contents to him. We shall send him a message beforehand informing him of your coming arrival so he may get to work on the schematics." Raydonn bit his tongue, a scathing retort on the tip of it as he felt his blood grow hot with annoyance with his superior. So he bowed his head.

"As you command, high inquisitor Tremayne." Tremayne nodded coolly as ever and quickly thereafter the transmission cut, and the screen shut off.

"'Ships are of no importance!'" Raydonn seethed in a mocking tone similar to Tremayne's and growled barring his teeth and rustling his own dark hair and rubbing the back of his neck. Forcing the annoyance away as he felt it crawl up along his spine.

"Kark my life and kark it now." Raydonn continued and ran his gloved hands over his face. His right hand coming to run over the small patch of facial hair upon his chin, before he shook himself from his momentary need for calm, and made back for the vaults.

Quickly gathering all contents into containers and shoving them onto his ship, a Ghtroc-720 freighter he christened the 'Lucky-Star,' that had seen better years, but she was his, and Raydonn kept the girl running. The years hadn't been kind. Not to her or him, but they had gotten through them together, and he felt they would get through even more together as well.

He finished loading the containers and all the materials necessary, before he dug into his stock of explosives aboard the Lucky-Star and went from ship to ship in the hanger hold of mount Tantiss. With further ease and a whistle escaping passed his lips, he then boarded his ship, having landed it within the hanger itself. Primed her engines and steered it out of the hanger. As the ship flew upwards, blasting into the sky of Wayland and then into space beyond. Raydonn made sure to press his finger down upon a one simple key on his console board and with an unheard, and unseen boom by him, the mountain seemingly fumed and breathed fire as explosions rocked out from within Tantiss. Scaring and shaking the natives scattered about the planet below the great mountain.

As Raydonn calmly, and coolly pinned in the coordinates for the Roche asteroid system, and quickly thereafter his ship primed and in a flash it exploded off into the stars. Raydonn, a 'simple,' inquisitor of the empire, not knowing who he was on a direct crash course with.

(Rhommamool, Osarian System, Merthian Sector, Expansion-Region)

Green blasts sounded and exploded through the air. A TIE fighter zipped down and rolled through the air down toward the pock marked ground below on the world of Rhommamool. It fired a vast stream of laser bolts, all of them aimed at another TIE before it. Several of the blasts missing and slamming into the ground and passed the fighter. The shooting TIE fighter zoomed right in a flip and opened fire once more. One, two, three and then four green blasts erupted form the TIE fighters cannons. Three missed, but the fourth slammed into the enemy TIE's left wing. It lurched left upon impact, as metal sheered off and smoke billowed and flew behind it as continued forward shakily, and growing ever more so as it went on. Until finally the wing cracked the TIE fighter spun wildly out of control and spun left as its screams grew louder as it reached the ground and soil below.

The chasing TIE broke off as the enemy TIE slammed into the ground. A massive explosion of heat mushroomed upwards into the sky and a roar escaped from the site.

Darth Vader turned left as a TIE fighter exploded on into the ground nearby and sent his men ducking and moving away in fear. He shook his head as he eyed the TIE fighter that had shot it down zoom away, but more felt who piloted it. Vader activated his glove communicator for audio.

"Next time you decide to chase down an enemy TIE fighter son, perhaps it would be best you don't blow it up directly over my positions." the Sith lord advised, no clear evidence of anger in his voice. Though it was always difficult to tell with his mask.

"Sorry father." Luke's voice came back through. "I'll be sure to try and blow up these Moffs a bit more out in the open so to speak." His son's voice carried a laugh on it. Vader shook his head. Following Coruscant his son had grown a little more...colder and less naïve as when he had found him. He still carried a boyish nature about him and was more than kind to those around him as he had found him. However, when it came to the Moffs they had encountered, enemy enemies, Luke showed a sudden relentlessness when taking them down.

"Just watch where you decide to 'blow up,' these Moffs son. Remember I and your sister are down here as well."

"Will do father!" He chirped back as Vader watched the TIE zoom off in the distance. Innate fear rising through Vader, was quickly subdued. His children needed to learn, and needed to be part of the war. There was...no helping it. Especially with his master breathing down his neck to thrust his apprentices into the hearts of these battlefields. Be it to weaken or even hurt him, or actually make them capable, and possible replacements for himself, Vader couldn't guess. Either way it made his blood both boil and freeze. Knowing his children, and yes, even their friends, his other apprentices were now embedded in these conflict zones had him worrying. It was a very...disconcerting sensation indeed.

"Lord Vader." Vader turned back right, his cape swaying as he did. "The Moffs have launched a counterattack on our right flank, and are committing no less than five AT-AT's." The officer informed him. The man wore the usual gray clothing of the Imperial officer corps. Blackened armor was over his chest and atop his head was the battlefield helm made for the officers as well. At his belt a simple blaster pistol and around his neck a pair of macrobinoculars.

"Very well general. Order the artillery positions to adjust and fire on the walkers. I shall be heading their shortly. Order all battalions along the front to begin the advance. We move on the enemy positions now." The general bowed his head.

"Of course lord Vader." The general, a man by the name of Malcor Brashin, a competent and well respected member of the Empire, and its officers. A fervent supporter of the New order, and of the Empire, Vader found the man as competent as his reputation preceded. His thoughts fell on Malcor's past. The man hadn't always been a radical supporter of the Empire. Indeed he had been an unassuming but impressive enough officer from a young age. Vader, like everyone else, knew it was what had happened to his wife and daughter that made him the man he was.

'Rodians. Scum of the galaxy. Kill a woman and her daughter after robbing them.' Vader felt slight anger boil in his blood. Empathy even, a strange sensation to feel for the dark lord, rose as he thought of his...no he couldn't go there. The memories of his wife, and images of Leia, being killed by scum like rodian thugs. Made him feel unbridled rage rise within. It was enough to make Vader...'feel' for Brashin. And for what it was worth Vader did indeed respect the man. His cold and unfeeling demeanor for enemy forces like the Moffs was becoming of him.

"I suggest we move soon milord." The high general broke through Vader's momentary muse.

"Then we shall. Leia!" Vader turned and called back. His daughter snapped her head toward him. She wore a black jacket with a white shirt beneath, the first time Vader saw anything truly dark on her. Matching black jeans, and a simple black cloak hung down from her back. Her hair pulled up with a braid going across the entirety of her head to the back.

"Yeah?!" She called back, Vader felt his lips curl into a lopsided frown at the improper reply to himself. He was a dark lord of the Sith for Force sake! She looked at him quizzically from where she stood surrounded on either side by her loyal Noghri guards. Seemingly unaware at his displeasure.

"Come. We go on the attack now, and you're to stay with me." Her eyes widened but she nodded and practically raced forward. The noghri were easily able to keep up. As she rounded nearer to him, her own cloak waving in the wind and motions of her body she cast him a small smile. One far more natural than those of the past. It gave Vader another odd sensation as he looked down toward his daughter, but he didn't bother pushing it away anymore. He had grown to learn he could not stop the feelings of pride...and other emotions from willing within. Even if he refused to admit to himself what they were or even their very titles.

"Are we moving in alongside the troops father? Or hanging back...as usual?"

"So quick to jump into the thick of danger, Leia? I see you've learned little in the time we've spent on this little campaign." She smirked back at him. Her eyes lit up and he found himself shaking his head. Far too often did she display the headstrong nature of himself, but luckily the wisdom of her mother. That was her saving grace.

"I'd rather face these Moffs head on, than sit back and watch from afar. I can't stand inaction. I thin you know that by now dad." Vader groaned. Especially as general Brashin glanced their way again and away from the distant battlefield. Though the man tried to, Vader caught a small smile form on his face before he ignored the interaction further.

It made Vader groan inaudibly because unlike his son, his daughter seemed to find it humorous to grate his nerves, and test his limits the more they were together. Father quickly ceased being the main title he was give by her. 'Dad,' now reigned supreme, and it was wholly improper.

"Leia..."
"So we going or what?" She cut him off, a twinkle in her brown eyes as her hand flinched to her curved saber. In the time since the battle at Coruscant, not only had both the twins had attitude changes. But they had grown exceptionally powerful in that small time alone. Both of them wells and deep pools of power within the Force. Luke, had taken a liking to many of the saber forms, but focused on djem so after his father. Not only that but Vader had relented after Coruscant, and given both Luke and Shira freedom to join with the pilots of the fleet, though it made his nerves shake to no end.

While Leia had taken an extreme focus to her preferred saber form. Makashi, which still baffled Vader why she chose this form. It reminded him too often, uncomfortably so, especially with her saber of Dooku. He could not, however, say anything ill of her form. Her grace and form was becoming more and more perfect by the day it seemed. Often times, though he held back, she could hold him back for hours in their intensive training sessions. Not only that, but her cool and calm demeanor, even when using the raw power of the dark side almost brought Vader to jealousy for her natural connectedness. Unlike Luke though, Leia had come to continuously request to join her father on the field of battle. Something about helping him to save as many of his own troopers as he could for the sake of the Empire, and himself. Though Vader found that trivial and beneath him, his trooper death tolls had dropped substantially. She had a curse upon Vader. One that made him feel as if he was being judged and scrutinized like a child by his own child! So what had he done? He had begun using troopers more reservedly, and less wastefully. Both she and Luke had also gone to work making modifications to their sabers. Both of them declaring that they wished to keep using the ones they had, so long as they could heavily modify them. So, Vader acquiesced and provided them with instructions and tools. After all, both of them informed him how their birthday had come and passed shortly following the battle of Coruscant. Leaving him with two fourteen year old teenagers. He figured he may as well give them free reign with their weapons if nothing else.

That, and Luke had received a late gift of a broken down TIE fighter all for himself to fix. Something he appreciated far more than Vader had even anticipated. Leia on the other hand was far more simple. All she wanted as a belated gift by him, and he was inclined to get one, and he didn't know why, was a collection of historical and political datapads for research and reading purposes for those interested in such topics. They were high class Imperial-eyes-only editions. No information scrubbed by the propaganda ministries yet. She could and had already spent whole days doing nothing but reading.

"Milord." Again Vader shook himself form his musings from general Brashin's voice. He turned to him again, Leia also shared some features of confusion as Vader felt himself grow a little hot with embarrassment from standing looking down to Leia without speaking for likely a few moments. "Forgive me, it is not my place, but the assault must commence any moment, and if you wish to be there we must make for it now." In his old days, Vader would have gripped his neck with the Force and hoked the man into subservience. Now though? He could only nod and agree. All old feelings of immediate rage and anger at being told what to do now refused to rise in him so quickly and easily.

"Very well general. Come Leia." He nodded to her, and she reciprocated. "We shall use that as transport." Vader pointed one of his darkened gloved fingers behind her. Leia turned and raised a brow at the sight of a simple MAAT with troopers lining its interior and seemingly waiting Vader and herself.

"Don't you think we're a bit of a target in that thing?"

"Your brother will be escorting us. Along with Shira and several more interceptors. I have ordered precision bombing runs to be made along the Moff artillery line. Probability being highest that any missed or hidden AA weapons would be there among them." Vader began to march on over toward the gunship with Leia and the noghri following in tow, leaving the general to stay and monitor the situation.

"Besides that, we will trust in ourselves and the power of the dark side." Leia shrugged and continued to follow as they boarded the MAAT from the open side entrance. Troopers broke away and gave all four of the new arrivals a wide berth on the gunship as it quickly powered up and smoothly flew forward and off the ground into the skies.

In no time Leia peeked her head out of the entrance as the winds whipper her face and caused her to continuously wince but she did catch the unmistakable sound of TIE's nearing them. With another wisp that nearly threw her back a TIE interceptor shot passed them and took up a position ahead of but leading the gunship through the air. A second doing the same on the opposite side followed by four TIE fighters forming a box around the gunship as well. Leia reached out and could feel Luke to be in one of the fighters, and smiled as she sent a small encouraging nudge his way. When she felt him reciprocate she felt herself calm some. Being in these battlefields was becoming..easier, but no less stressful if she were being honest with herself.

"Hold onto something milord! We're coming in over the battle lines now!" The pilot called back and Vader gripped his right hand onto a support pole lining the roof of the ship. His left hand instinctively clasped Leia's left shoulder and she glanced around toward her father. He looked out the side of the gunship as well, but made no show that he acknowledged grasping her protectively as he did. It still made Leia thinly smile as she returned to looking out the side of the ship as well.

The MAAT made bank right and swooped down as the echoing explosions and booms of the as of right now, still static battle raged below. Leia leaned ever more outside to glance downward. They were zooming over Imperial positions, and she could see a vast artillery line of several dozens of SPMA walkers. All of them set in their positions with trooper defensive nests around them and firing vast amounts of artillery rounds in large arches over the open field. She followed the green blasts as they flew into the Moff lines beyond. A line of the massive AT-AT walkers ahead fired cracking red bursts of power into the imperial lines and sent whole tanks to the front flying upwards as successions of blasts reverberated across the whole region. Endless streams of both Moff and Imperial turret emplacements and automated heavy repeaters fired endlessly. Streams flying back and forth and into the lines of both sides.

"Bombers coming in." A trooper hanging his legs off the side of the MAAT announced. His position alone making Leia sick, she cocked her head right and indeed saw a line of five bombers in a wedge leveling over the allied artillery lines. The furthest back two broke left and right respective to their positions. Then the second tier of two ships did the same, and the final bomber suddenly banked upwards back into the sky. Her brow furrowed, but she turned her head back to the Moff lines.

"What are-"
She was cut off as an explosion forced her to glance more to the right of the AT-AT line on the Moff side of the fields. Two bombers flew at break neck speeds above the Moff artillery lines just in front of the artillery pieces and a succession of explosions, one after the next went off wherever they flew over steadily following the bombers as they passed over the Moffs. Streams of fire rose up to meet them, but far too small to hurt the bombers, even as the AT-AT's opened fire, but were too slow to hit the ships.

Then from the opposite end to her relative left two further ships came in and did the same over the same positions as the last two and dozens of more explosions rocked the region in quaking succession all the same. Again the Moffs attempted to fire at and hit the ships but they did little to actually harm them if anything at all. The fifth and final bomber came from nowhere, though she could reason out it had dived in. As a massive explosion greater than the ones from the other four rocked the Moff side of the battlefield.

Leia turned to her father with a questioning look and he bowed his head.

"Softening up our targets. It shall make this an easier mission." She nodded, though she had been hoping he would have told her what exactly just blew up that caused her whole body to shake. Nonetheless a massive plume of smoke rose from the lines of the Moffs and obscured everyone's vision of their forces for the moment. Only the heads of the AT-AT's could be seen peeking through the fog of dirt and debris.

The MAAT landed near the front of the battle lines and the TIE escorts broke away. A final nudge from Luke made Leia feel better, as they blasted off to look for any Moff air power left. The gunship landed and all troopers, along with Leia, Vader and her noghri disembarked. The MAAT took back off quickly and rounded back toward the command center.

"Whom is field commander?" Vader asked the nearest trooper who seemed to be prepping to jump out of an artillery hole made in the dirt. Te trooper rose and shook, as his fear was palpable through the Force, causing Leia to roll her eyes, as the man pointed stiffly to his left and back some from the front.

Vader made no reply and headed to where the trooper pointed with Leia and the noghri in tow, as the troopers from the MAAT took up positions alongside the many hundreds of troopers that now lined the front and awaited their go ahead to begin the assault on the forward Moff lines.

Vader approached another heavily armored officer who saluted him stiffly, but showed less fear outwardly than the trooper, though it was clear through the Force that the man's pulse had no doubt quickened in anxiety and fear.

"Lord Vader. I've prepped for your arrival following the transmission from high general Brashin. My battalion and those of my colleagues down the entire front are prepared to move forward. Per your orders of course." The man stumbled slightly over his words, but for the most part Leia could only feel her father become more aggravated than angry.

'Just to be sure though...' Leia thought as she sent a calming wave his way, and felt her father glance her way for a moment before he returned to the officer.

"What armor are you moving?"

"Uh, yes. We have a division of IFT-T tanks covering our advance alongside the troops and-" the man was cut off as everyone save for her father jumped and flinched as a succession of massive explosions rocked from the back lines as allied artillery exploded toward the Moffs.

"And...uh artillery support will soften the enemy lines as well. Once we're under the AT-AT's, things should be a lot easier for us. Another two divisions of AT-ST's will be following alongside our advance. Our only contention point being the walkers themselves. We keep missing them and they hit us hard in reprisal and stifle any movement of artillery to possibly hit them."
"Leave that to me commander." The man stiffly nodded and Leia once more grimaced and hunched her head down as artillery pieces fired in vast succession from the back lines and several troopers mounting elevated repeater emplacements fired cracking and loud streams of fire to suppress what she was sure were enemy troopers in the open.

"You may order the attack to commence at once commander. Launch the covering assault from the artillery and from the gunships, and order the troops to charge."

"Ye...yes milord at once. All forces this is commander-" He trailed off speaking into the console as Vader turned back to the front and marched on forward. Leia followed and grasped up her saber, allowing the curved hilt to contour into her hand with a steady grip. Her father did not do so but instead continued on forward. Even her noghri guards clutched their knives as it became clear they would be entering the thick of battle in a moment.

Vader flung his arm out and stopped Leia from moving forward any further. He glanced down to her as they stood on the line with the troopers who all ducked in their holes and trenches and awaited the order. "Wait." Was all he said in his usual deep baritone, and Leia quizzically looked his way before a massive artillery succession sounded behind them. Greater, louder and more potent than any one before. The sky illuminated green as they successively fired off more and more rounds of artillery blasts. The enemy lines responded in kind with smaller amounts, as the bombers had wiped out the majority of their units. The AT-At's fired back into the artillery lines as well. Leia ducked low once more as the mass of sounds had her ears ringing and body shaking from the reverberating blasts and following hits of the artillery strikes.

"Now we move." Her father declared and began to stride on forward. His arms at his side, and saber not even yet grasped. Leia activated her own crimson blade and followed after him as she drew the Force around her. Then from all around her a sudden burst of noise, but not blasts. They were rather a line of repulsortanks moving forward against the Moff lines. Turning her head she felt her heart quicken as thousands of troopers began charging the line. Many firing some just running alongside the tanks. She recoiled her body nearer to her fathers without even realizing it as he appeared to be a pillar, untouchable, untouched and unfazed by what was happening around them.

The warbling noise of MAAT's flew overhead and three gunships flew low over her and the advancing imperial army's heads. Rockets fired form them and green beam weapons fired from their sides into the Moff forward defenses. The rockets trailed smoke as they flew and the MAAT's broke off. The rockets slammed into the AT-AT's marking and marring the metal but no serious damage was incurred. The behemoth walkers fired into the mass of imperial troopers about. She jumped and a small gasp escaped her. The red blasts of the walkers hit down and sent a tank exploding into he air as it landed a few feet in front of where it had been. Men screamed and flew into random directions, body parts being torn from them and armor being melted from the heat. Or whole troopers were incinerated by the blasts themselves. The Force stabbed at her senses at the sudden death of likely ten or more people, and she felt the dark side call to her, invigorate her, and propagate the very air it felt like.

The army of the Empire flooded forward with companies of men slowly moving and firing their bolts into the Moff defensive lines. The Moffs had their own line of troopers to meet them and they fired back with their repeated emplacements and from their dug out trenches deep in the soil where only the heads of trooper helmets could be seen from where they clutched and unleashed their own repeaters or blasters, with grenadiers acting as support.

From the back of the army dozens of At-St walkers began moving forward. Their main turrets firing deep into the Moffs lines and some firing into the dug out holes from afar and blowing them up with the Moff troopers still within. The tops of these walkers sported troopers who controlled topside turrets. They fired vast and extremely fast repeater cannons into the enemy elevated repeater nests and provided additional cover along with the tanks for the imperial advance. The only thing in their way being those AT-AT's. As one of the monsters of metal fired into and directly hit the head of the small AT-St and sent into flinging backward in a cracking explosion, sending men around it running.

An MAAT flew in from the left and the beam weapon discharged. Flying directly into the head and control compartments of two AT-AT's. Gashes were made but they remained standing. Though one began to hang low as the neck compartment had been hit. More explosions and endless blaster fire successively rocked the battlefield.

Leia felt her mind racing. The battle had just fully begun and she didn't know what to do. Her father just kept moving forward like some untouchable beast, and the men all around them yelled, called and died about! She had her saber active the Force by her side, but yet she couldn't for the life of her move herself to do something other than wait for her father to say or do something. Anything!

Finally though, her father stopped, his cape swirling about his monolithic body. Se stopped behind him and glanced around to his mask.

"This is the power of the dark side." Was all he intoned from behind that mask, his voice instilling in Leia a slight fear from the days when Vader was just a nightmare in her young mind. The dark side crackled and whirred about him and pulled around his body. The raw power so intense and great that she gasped once more and felt her body fluctuate even though she was sure she only imagined that.

Darth Vader raised his right gloved hand upwards and toward an AT-AT that ignored his small figured and fired to the back of the imperial army where the armor support was approaching from. A tremble through the air sounded out and his gloved hand curled more and more into a fist before her. She looked toward the AT-AT as the head began to jitter and shake unnaturally. The snap and pop of meta being strained sounded out even above the explosions, bolts and crying men dying in the fields on both sides.

It yanked to the left then right and finally Leia watched with her breath held, and widened eyes as the neck of that AT-AT snapped down and the whole head was forced to the right further than it was obviously meant to. Her father then flung his right arm straight out to the right. The head of the AT-AT snapped to its left and the metal sheered off and away from the body the whole head of the walker falling to the ground with a thud and leaving the inner body of the walker exposed.

Just in time as the MAAT came in again and once more fired its beam weapon into the walkers. The beam flew into the exposed neck of the AT-AT and the insides, the very belly of the beast, exploded and the beam exited out the back and cleaved through the walker. Smoke plumed out of it and in a few more seconds the creak of the walkers legs sounded as it fell to the left where the head had, and even onto it. Smoke and soil rose up in more plumes as the walker cracked and burned from the inside out.

Leia watched her father then use both hands and clutch outward to the left at another AT-AT. Both hands he began closing in a grasp. His hands shaking as he did so and the Force all but shrieked with his raw use of its power. He raised both hands, his arms seeming to shake with force, fighting against an unseen weight. Her eyes fell back upon the AT-AT as its massive legs were forced off the ground itself and into the air. The head moved from side to side as if it were a confused animal, as those within attempted to see what was happening to their walker.

Vader with growl raised both his arms and the walker was forced up and blotted out the light of the far off star shining down onto the approaching army. It rose further into the air on its hind legs before Vader forced both hands outward still raised above his head, and the beast fell back onto its legs and backside. A snap and crunch of metal weighing into the tons cracked through the air. Vader quickly through his left arm to the left and the walker followed suit falling left. Falling onto scores of men and even a tank that exploded beneath it as it did.

A third walker seemed to catch what was happening as it made to turn from the right of Vader onto him. Vader, however, caught sight of it. Reaching his right arm out again he clutched down hard and squeezed the neck of the walker once more refusing to move any further toward Vader. He once more growled lowly and shoved the arm back right. Once again forcing the neck to slam to its left and sheer off in a snap that sounded more like an explosion. A succession of rockets and cannon fire flew toward the walker. The imperials having caught on to their lords work.

Three MAAT's streamed down on in and all of them fired all their weapons onto the fourth AT-AT to the back of all its fellow walker units and the successive blasts rocked across its body as rocket fire and tank rockets slammed into its form afar as well. The usual artillery fire complimenting the attack, and Vader sending a shove with the Force and the walker exploded across several sectors of its body. Its head, exploded violently outward, its forward legs exploded and it collapsed in on one of them as it fell forward in a heap before slamming down and impacting itself against the ground and sending debris flying among the Moff troops.

The fifth and final of the might walkers unleashed a torrent of fire upon the imperial army at complete random. Seemingly knowing its fate. The MAAT's few in and circled around each firing its beam weapons into the sides of the AT-AT. Carving vast swathes of destruction along both its sides. All imperial AT-ST's turned and opened fire on the walkers head. Explosions rattled it endlessly as the head flew back forth from the impacts. Finally a pop and the head exploded back before hanging low. The walker remained unmoving but oddly stood standing. The odd sight was, however, left alone as the Moff army lost its final heavy support weapon.

"That was-"
"The power of the Force, the dark side." Vader cut Leia off as he finally grasped his saber hilt and activated his crimson beam. "Come, let us now show these traitors our skills in both the Force and the lightsaber, and the failure of their uncivilized weapons." Vader cocked his head, and Leia felt a smirk break out across her face and she nodded.

The imperial army flooded across and into the Moff lines. Tanks followed suit over their barriers and into this forward camp. It became a man to man engagement. Moff troopers were flung about and aside as both Darth Vader and his daughter flew through the camp and struck down man upon man. The girl being swift, precise, and far too fast for the men, while Vader proved to be monster. Unstoppable, relentless and terror walking on two legs.

Needless to say the battle was won, but Rhommamool would continue to see battle. Moff forces reorganized on the ground across the planet and pressed against early Imperial gains. Protracting the campaign for this one planet, in the one system, of a sector among many in a galaxy, even further. As the war raged on.

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Authors Note: You all catch that? Leia and Luke are now 14! :D...only me? Okay. No but seriously the four months since the battle have been quite intriguing eh? The war has gone bananas and I can assure you it will only continue to do so in the coming chapters. Also because I may not have mentioned it, Viathan has also aged a year older and is now 16 at long last. he just doesn't care to mention it even in first person ^_^ but yeah. Tell me what you guys thought! I really tried to pull some things from the extended awesome universe that is Star wars 'Legends,' in this one. OH and before I forget Raydonn is not my character, I didn't create him but his lovely creator would happen to be loyal reader and good fried of mine, fellow fanfiction writer time2read. He'll be show a lot more I assure you all. ;)

Otherwise yeah, please as usual either point out or excuse any and all grammatical errors I have likely made, and please leave a review and get my blood pumping for the next chapter, and I'll see y'all at the next chapter! Also thank everyone of you who leaves a review for my story, you guys really do make it all worth it. :3