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Phase 4: Welcome back to the war

=RK=

Part 3

GAR FOB Kilo

Malastare

Cold rain splashed over Ki-Adi-Mundi while he sneaked towards one of the Republic bases housing hyperspace capable craft. It took him weeks to sneak through the front-lines while avoiding patrols of his own 21st Nova Corps. Jet and Bacara were determined to get him after their initial ambush failed. The Jedi Master had the Separatists to thank for the opportunity to slip away from the city where he hid after his men betrayed him. While the Clones were too busy hunting him down, the enemy commander launched an offensive that nicely got their attention. Almost getting their forward HQ overran with them in it was just the opening Mundi needed.

Managing to avoid all the patrols, aerial and orbital surveillance on the other hand was hard. He was a distinctive individual who couldn't simply blend in with a group of refugees. That left the Jedi Master relying heavily on the Force to conceal his presence from everything he could think off. Most of the time he had to substitute raw power for knowledge and experience, however finally Ki was beginning to get the hang of it.

Stealth was simple – in theory. Wrap the Force around yourself like a cloak and you might be able to convince people looking at you that you weren't there. However that worked best when in crowd and couldn't fool electronic surveillance. What Mundi ended up doing was much harder, though the basic building block was the same. He did cover himself with the Force, then had to figure out how to bend light around himself to become literally invisible. Then there was thermal and more exotic sensors he needed to fool.

It was hard, tiring and the main reason why it took him so long to get to FOB Kilo. However he was finally in place, there was a nasty storm in place which significantly cut down the visibility and Mundi decided to use its cover to his advantage.

Getting to the outer fence was easy. Jumping over it too.

Doing all that without landing on a mine or tripping either motion or seismic sensors – not so much. Master Mundi had to use everything he knew in order to ensure he had less presence than a ghost. By the time he was through the perimeter and inside the base, the Jedi had to find a nice dark space in a corner and rest for a bit. The amount of energy he used so far was staggering and let him exhausted yet he did it. He was in.

Mundi stood in his corner for half an hour before he felt confident enough to continue sneaking. He scampered out of the way of patrols and security droids, avoided loaded vehicles preparing to head for the front and finally made his way to the spaceport, where his job become harder. There were fighters being serviced nearby, freighters and transport shuttles coming in and leaving all the time, thus the whole area was naturally deemed a security risk and thus heavily guarded. Fortunately most of the measures in place were meant to stop things coming in not leaving.

In the end, the Jedi Master ended up hitching a ride under an old fashioned wheeled truck while keeping himself invisible. His endurance was nearly gone by the time his transport actually got into the spaceport and parked near a freighter unloading MRE crates. With his last strength, Mundi sneaked into a ship preparing to leave just before its ramp sealed shut behind him. It didn't really matter where the freighter was headed to. All Mundi really needed was a safe place to get his breath and then he would either continue hiding if the destination was useful or have a polite word with the crew. However his first point of business was to find a convenient hiding hole and recover…

=RK=

Flag bridge

Republic cruiser Freedom

High orbit above Eriadu

"Other concerns? Last minute intelligence?" I asked my staff.

There were a few revisions and alternatives of the basic plan we made when Piett pointed out that our target was a way-point to the Core. While we were going to reduce the system because of that fact, we forgot to take into account the possibility of enemy reinforcements going for the front dropping unannounced. We knew it would take at least a few hours for ships from Sullust or Triton to reinforce Darkknell, however Sanrafsik could get there within an hour. One and half top.

We spent the rest of the morning tweaking the plan of attack until it was almost time to leave.

"A contact of my wife in Separatist space heard few interesting rumors but nothing that directly affects us." Tarkin answered.

"There's still a bit of time so give. What are our friends in the Confederacy cooking up now?" I asked, while Joanna pointedly ignored us and get back to checking the status of the fleet.

"It looks like a couple of our own might have defected. The Zinji, mother and son from Fondor. They were stationed near the Corporate sector when the enemy offensive began rolling in. Instead of fighting or avoiding action they appear to have cut a deal and began building a small empire of their own out there."

"The Corporate sector? Didn't it fall while we were just getting out of the Unknown Regions?" I frowned.

"So we heard. It seems to have fallen, just not to the Separatists as we assumed." Wilhuff shrugged. "It's just a rumor so far."

"That's going to be a problem in the long run. It's not like we could get a fleet there before dismantling most of the Confederacy first. I just hope no one else gets the bright idea to emulate those fools. If that happens we'll need to step on them hard."

"Yes." Tarkin grumbled. "Letting warlords run unchecked will have unpleasant consequences. We'll have to clean up their mess when the Separatists are done for."

"Anything else of interest?"

"The captain isn't exactly thrilled you turned one of his hangars into a war-zone." Joanna chipped in.

"Its convenient place to train anti-Jedi tactics." I told her.

"This I need to see." Tarkin perked up.

"Once we're at Naboo. Everyone should be stowing their gear and getting a few hours of R&R before we hit our target. That includes us."

=RK=

Part 4

Darkknell

Knel'char system

When the war came to Darkknell, there was no warning anyone in the system took seriously. Long range sensors on couple of traffic control stations registered blips appearing and vanishing in interstellar space, yet no one paid them much attention. It was deemed as just another glitch for maintenance to deal with by overworked and overly stressed controllers who had to deal with whole fleets of military ships and their logistics train on top of all the usual commerce that passed through Darkknell. While the total amount of freight shipping through declined since the conflict began, the Knel'char system itself was getting overcrowded with Confederate shipping and depots for supplies being sent to the Core.

Darkknell was supposed to be safe. The only enemy who could have possibly posed any threat were those maniacs at Eriadu, however they were mauled a few weeks ago. Besides, not only the Darkknell's system defense fleet was ready to meet any troublemakers, there were powerful Confederate formations present at all times – either to guard the Separatist investments, passing through or replenishing their supplies.

Only lunatic would strike Knel'char – that's what the locals believed as they happily went on with their day to day affairs and enjoyed the bounty provided by the Confederate presence. That happy state of affairs continued for more than a year before the Republic came knocking on the front door.

It was early in the morning local time when without warning hundreds of Y-Wing bombers exited hyperspace on the edge of Darkknell's gravity well, hit their afterburners and screamed for the atmosphere. Before anyone could react, the planet's cluttered orbitals became home of thirty new large ships and over a hundred of escorts. It was a miracle that there were no collisions from the abrupt and surprising transition.

It was a small, short live mercy.

Darkknell's orbitals lit up in a storm of energy. Crystallized bolts of plasma, condensed thermonuclear fire rivaling the hearts of the stars themselves and gravity itself were all unleashed in a merciless onslaught upon the locals. Weapon satellites, freighters and couple of Munificents were ravaged before they knew what hit them. Before the planetary shields could begin to raise missiles and torpedoes rained in their thousands upon a single hemisphere. Fiery flowers blossomed upon the surface as compact proton and concussion munitions unleashed their fury. They soon raised towards the heavens in shinning fireballs resembling the forgotten horror of a nuclear bombardment.

Whole cities shook to rubble as seismic charges leveled industrial zones and transport infrastructure. Spaceports vanished behind the blinding glare of heavy assault munitions, which leveled whole neighborhoods as a mere afterthought.

For all its pyrotechnic glory, Darkknell's fiery fate was merely a sideshow; something the Y-Wings to get busy with away from the voracious appetite of the Separatist Umbrella.

The real hell was unleashed up in space. When the Freedom arrived, she and her consorts acted with uncanny precision and coordination. Each of them chose multiple unwitting targets and opened fire while the enemy was still busy comprehending the disaster that just dropped on their heads. Confederate warships, Darkknell's own defenders, mere merchantmen or civilian ships being in the wrong place at the wrong time – it didn't matter. Freedom and her brood roared as one and anything around them that wasn't a the Republic navy died. Only a pair of Lucrehulks which had their shields on for some arcane reason survived the first barrage only to be singled for the Corellian cruiser's particular attention. The second battleship even managed to shoot once before its shields overloaded under enough firepower to wipe out a small fleet. Then the hapless Lucrehulk had no option but to melt and vaporize before its reactor went critical and it ignited itself like a short lived star.

The Freedom and her consorts altered their course so their escorts would fly through the thickest concentration of merchant shipping nearby while the capital ships went for the nearest Gollan defense platform. Darkknell had only three of those and only one in this immediate area. The Freedom led the way, letting her colossal shields absorb everything the Gollan could throw at her and she replied in kind.

=RK=

Flag Bridge

Corellian cruiser Freedom

High orbit above Darkknell

Getting my own body back had unexpected consequences. While I was directing the Freedom and nearby Venators through Battle Meditation, I could perceive the world differently. I knew that I was slower, physically weaker and a bit easier to damage. It was easier to tire myself when not leaning on the Force to cheat. My connection with my power wasn't stronger because I got my original body back.

Yet, I could perceive the battle in a more clear, more… tangible way for lack of better words. The void of space crackled with energy. Fuel ignited in thermonuclear pyres immolating whole ships. Breached reactors shone like neutron stars sending lethal radiation everywhere before detonating and shredding everything in range. Torrents and Vultures dueled in the cross-hairs of Umbrella and Guardian alike.

Missile swarms consumed each other before their targets vanished behind what looked like solid walls of counter-fire.

Each time the Freedom unleashed her fury something died a fiery death. It was chaos; pure mind-blowing terrifying madness. It was beautiful, glorious. I could feel the durasteel determination of my people. Their resolve not to fail me. I could sense the bowel-loosening terror of my enemies who were still scrambling to form a coherent response to our attack.

War was our art and we were busy creating a masterpiece with the shredded hulls of our fallen foes.

It was magnificent!