Chapter Ten

Invasion and Surrender?

Turbolaser fire exploded around the Mandalorian invasion forces as they descended on Korriban. Manda'lor had ordered his troops into a blockade formation around the ancient sith planet. The Basilisk Wardroids deployed first. As soon as they left the bays of each ship, the fleet opened fire on the surface. Once the war droids were a decent distance from the fleet, the rest of the Mandalorian forces descended. Rezin looked out of his walker's viewport underneath its transport. The sight before him was breathing taking. Massive green and red bolts of energy shot toward the surface. By all accounts, sending in his own people amid the bombardment was a horrible idea. He also knew that his friend aboard the Coyote was connected with each gunner and pilot to make sure no friendly fire happened. Battle Meditation really is a necessary skill Rezin thought to himself. He was proud of his Mando'ade Votyc. They were a force to be reckoned with. A voice from right behind him snapped him back to the present.

"What is the plan when we land?" Lyd asked. He had almost forgotten she was there. His new apprentice and guardian was a welcome presence but also foreign to him.

"We break off from the battle group and move through the mountains toward the academy. We need to try to go unnoticed." Rezin told her. "If we can sneak in and take down the leadership from the inside, our forces will have a much easier time taking the planet." Rezin felt her withdraw briefly at his words. He realized that his voice must have sounded weird since it was coming through his helmet. He was about to say something when he felt her open back up fully to him through the Force. Lyd's withdrawal and then reemergence worried him more than it should have. He knew how crucial a connection between him and his partner was. Due to his fighting style, this connection was the matter of life and death for whoever fought at his side.

"Lyd, you ok?" Rezin asked.

"Yeah. I just wasn't expecting to hear you in person and through the Force." She responds sheepishly. "I was freaky. That's all. I'm good. I promise." The promise threw Rezin off guard further. She never promised anything. She had always avoided it.

Rezin called her out on it. "OK. What's wrong? You never promise anything."

She smiled behind her half-mask. "Nothing. I really am fine. I just…..I don't know. I wanted you to believe me."

"I do believe you. I just wasn't expecting…" Rezin was cut off.

The voice of their transport's pilot came over the comms. "We're entering the atmosphere. Prepare for deployment."

Immediately, the canopy of the Liger went dark, then green lights on the panels lit up. About thirty seconds later, the mag locks around the Liger disengaged and they dropped. It was a quick free fall. The Liger struck the ground on all fours, hard. It left a crater. Rezin quickly engaged the manual controls and moved to a dead sprint toward the mountains in front of them. As he guided his machine of death and destruction forward, he heard the rest of his squad begin to report in. He heard Alli take each report. He had placed her in command of the Liger Squad (yes yes. Not very creative but I mean….come on. Massive metal tank-like things that are basically massive cats).

"Well. Shall we keep moving?" Rezin rhetorically asked. He moved his Liger forward. Lyd put her hand on his shoulder in silent agreement. He smiled and quickly connected to his wife aboard the Skyline. She sent him a quick, calm, loving feeling, and then they both distanced so that they could each focus on their individual tasks for the invasion.

"Block those ships from coming in!" Valkyria ordered to her officers. After the initial assault, the Sith of Korriban launched their counter-attack. It was massive. So far, no Mandalorian casualties had been reported. Injuries we mounting but none were dead. Just as this came across her mind, a massive explosion erupted to the left of the Skyline. One of the cruisers had a proton torpedo rip through its aft engine section. This caused a chain reaction destroying most of the rear end of the cruiser. Valkyria looked on as she felt her people pass out of her senses. She quickly redirected her efforts to protect the rest of the fleet.

Valkyria felt her people could use a pick-me-up after that. M kept the forces working in unison. Her job was to keep them focused on the positive. "Manda'lor has made the surface. He is on his way to the academy now. He will undoubtedly bring great honor to us all." She said. Valkyria made sure to broadcast this across the entire fleet. She was not surprised to hear a resounding chorus of cheers erupt from her own bridge as well as the comms. "Now. Target the nearest enemy capital ship and rip it apart!" She ordered. As soon as this was out of her lips, the Skyline's main cannon opened up it's green breath of death. The Sith battle cruiser's shields caught the fire at first. Then they broke and the beam tore through the ship. Seconds later, the ship blew apart. Fragments of the cruiser plummeted down to the surface as other sections blasted apart all enemy vessels near enough to be hit.

"Ma'am. We have an incoming transmission." Her comms officer reported.

"Thanks. Put them on. Hello Darth Nox." She said as his image came up. "We are a little busy right now. Plus, Manda'lor isn't here."

"You think this changes anything? You may take Korriban, but you cannot hope to win this war. Even with your pitiful alliance with those traitors." Nox replied. "Yes. They have revealed themselves. They are few in number. We will deal with them soon enough." Nox continued with a smile that was hidden behind his mask. Valkyria knew who he meant. Darth Zealous, brother to Rezin and dark lord of the Sith, had been found out. She knew most of the deal her husband had made with his own brother. Zealous would lead a group of Sith in a power play to take the Empire from the inside while the Mandalorian people hit them relentlessly from the outside. Both had said it was foolproof. Now, Nox had found out. That means that the entire Empire knows. Or they soon would.

"That fool actually thought he could turn the Dark Council on the Emperor. He revealed his hand. Now we take action." Nox taunted.

So. He revealed his intentions to the council. That means this war could end sooner than we thought Valkyria thought. She smiled. "You know Nox, you have brought more hope to the Manda'ade than anyone here ever could have. Are you sure you're not a Mandalorian?" Valkyria asked. She made sure to load it with sarcasm. The only response was the end of the communication. Valkyria smile. She knew she got under his skin. Now to let Manda'lor know the final stages of the war had begun.

Rezin and Lyd continued toward the Sith Academy. They had just exited a canyon with extremely tall cliff faces on either side. Now they were in a valley that allowed them to see the Academy steps. Rezin had stopped his Liger at the mouth of the canyon to survey the valley and their approach. What he saw had him worried. Littered throughout the valley were turbolaser batteries. There were troop transports scattered everywhere and walkers. To make matters worse, the valley was not simply just open. There were different boulders and pillars scattered all throughout the approach to the academy. It would not be easy to make it through the enemy forces and the natural features. They needed a plan.

"What do you think Lyd?" Rezin asked. Lyd was out of her seat and had her head resting on the back of his seat as she tried to view out the front of the Liger canopy. She was silent for several minutes, scanning the horizon.

"Airstrike?" She questioningly suggested. "Might get their attention elsewhere so we can enter and hit them unprepared."

"Hmm. Its an idea." Rezin pondered. In reality, he had already thought about that. He wanted to see what she came up with. He liked it. "Do the honors?" He offered her the comm. Lyd looked at Rezin, thought for a second, then she grabbed the comm and ordered the strike. Within minutes, Mandalorian bombers dove down on the valley. They unloaded their proton bombs. This run did two things. The first was that it drew the attention of the Sith forces. This allowed Rezin to quickly guide the Liger into the valley. The second thing was that the Sith troops dove for cover while the turbolasers and tanks pivoted and opened fire. Now, not only did Rezin have the element of surprise, but the enemy guns were out of position. This was not lost on Rezin.

As quickly as he could, he extended the energy blades that were stored on top of the liger when deactivated. The blade arms swung down and the blades extended out. The blades began to hum. Rezin charged the Liger forward. As he did so, Lyd was flung back in her seat. "Sorry." Rezin said, laughing a little. Lyd just hit his seat and smiled too.

As they raced through the first layers of rubble, Rezin caught sight of their first targets. A turbolaser battery that had two walkers and a squad of troops. He hit the speed boosters on the Liger and it shot forward. Before the Sith knew what hit them, the energy blades ripped through the cannon and the walkers. A second later, they exploded. Rezin and Lyd never looked back. They continued this attack run. Unfortunately, the first explosions altered the rest of their foes to their presence. Now, they had to dodge cannon fire while taking out their targets one by one. This proved to be a lot easier than they thought. Within 15 minutes, Rezin had the Liger sitting on the top steps of the academy. Lyd was up and in awe of the destruction that lay before them. Smoking pillars and destroyed walkers lay everywhere. Nothing in the valley moved.

"Well. I guess we go inside?" She offered. The canopy opened and both she and Manda'lor jumped out. Lyd did not know what to expect. Rezin did. He drew his double dual-blades. Lyd drew her single blades, following her leader's example. Neither ignited the blades though. They then slipped into the academy.

They wandered the halls for what felt like hours. "This place is huge," Lyd commented. Rezin only nodded. The sensors in his HUD were running overtime.

"It appears that there are some heat signatures up ahead. Be ready Lyd. If they are sith, are you ready?" He asked. He felt her response before she even commented.

"Yes." was all she said. As they made their way to the doors that would put them face-to-face with their enemy, an immediate sense of terror and freezing cold hit them both. Rezin quickly pushed it aside. Lyd was not so lucky. If not for their link through the Force, she would have dropped to the floor. As it was, she still struggled to move. Rezin immediately sensed this and sent calming thoughts and emotions her way. She looked up and nodded. He pushed forward and the doors slip open with a hiss. Before the duo stood 5 sith, 4 with sabers ignited.

It was the one that did not have her saber out that drew his attention. She was a togruta. Rezin recognized her immediately.

"Ashara Zavros. I did not expect to meet you any time soon." Rezin said. All Ashara did was stare at Rezin. Before anyone could blink, the 4 sith charged. The first thing Rezin noticed was Lyd ignite her sabers and drop into an offensive stance. He did not have time to ponder on this much as he too was forced to ignite his sabers.

Just as before with Alli, Rezin was a whirling blur of movement. Fending off four sith was no small feat. He swung his double dual blades in tight sweeping arcs while Lyd stabbed and poked with hers as openings appeared. This went on for no more than a minute before two sith fell. Lyd caught one on the neck while Rezin slashed the other in two.

At this point, Rezin and Lyd were pushed apart. By striking down two of the sith, they allowed an opening and the other two stepped between them. What Rezin found frightening was that the two sith faced Lyd. He was about to strike at them from behind when he felt the need to duck. As he did, a yellow blade flew right through where his head had just been. Ashara was on top of him in seconds, calling her blade back to her hand. Rezin and Ashara locked blades. They began a deadly dance. Rezin switched styles and began an all-out offensive against the togruta sith. Swing after swing, she deflected his blades aside, only to be met with the rear blade of one of his two sabers. He would intentionally leave himself open to draw her out and she wouldn't take it. No chance to do so. He continued his assault. As he backed Ashara up, he found his opening to disarm her. Her left hand slipped and her blade dropped lower than usual. Rezin struck with all his might. He brought his right dual blade up to draw her right-hand saber up to block. Then in a quick twist, he drove his left dual blade into her left-hand blade. As he did so, he twisted. Ashara's blade flew up and behind her. Rezin took full advantage of this and Force slammed her to the ground. He quickly glanced around and saw Lyd had both her opponents downed. She limped over to Rezin.

"I'm fine." She said, feeling his fear and worry through their connection.

Rezin nodded and turned toward Ashara. "Now. Call off your forces and surrender."