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May The Invisible Hand Be With You - (Star Wars CK2-Style Quest)

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Fortune's End - Shattered Legacy
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    • Kyrimorut, Mandalore

    Jango closed his eyes in contemplation, going over the options in his mind. Though as he did a pattern began to emerge, a realization that the concepts presented to him were not mutually exclusive...

    It could work. He had the resources, he had the people, putting them all together made sense...

    His eyes snapped open, drawing the attention of everyone in the room.

    "We'd be limiting ourselves if we just chose one of the suggested plans," Jango began to explain. "The fact of the matter is that no matter what we do we're going to draw a lot of ire from Palpatine. So...we can't afford half measures."

    "A multi-layered assault," Seti commented, nodding in agreement as he realized what Jango was suggesting. "A plan that involves many moving parts though-"

    "Not necessarily. This is the kind of plan that can be run in relatively self-contained stages; not only will it help pace things out, but it'll make things more plausible to the general public."

    "That...makes sense," Bail said, glancing at Seti before focusing back on Jango. "If there's anything we can do-"

    "I've already got the resources I need. Kal and I will handle this ourselves, and it's best if you know less about this."

    "Agreed," Seti flatly replied. "Best of luck, Mand'alor."

    With that Bail and Seti's holoimages faded out and Kal let out a breath he was unconsciously holding. "We're...we're really doing this, aren't we Jango?" he said quietly. "That look in your eyes..."

    Jango nodded silently.

    "I'm going to help keep my boys safe. I'm going to protect the ones trying to desert. I'm going to make sure that a gun isn't going to be pointed at their heads," he said rapidly, clenching his fists. "So...why do I feel like I'm walking into a trap!?"

    "Because after this there's no turning back."

    Kal looked at Jango, who suddenly looked as though he was incredibly exhausted, his eyes distant.

    "Up until now you've had the luxury of working against Palpatine without actually crossing him. Sure there's been some light espionage and sabotage, but nothing that would put you on his radar. But now, while it's indirectly you're going to be putting a target on your back." Jango closed his eyes and sighed resignedly, knowing full well that Kal wouldn't back down from this no matter what he said. "Now you understand how I've felt ever since I learned about the real burden of becoming the Mand'alor."

    "You're not saying you'd prefer never having the title?" Kal asked, visibly worried.

    "No I'm not. When I see the look in Boba's eyes, that's enough to remind me that it's worth it no matter what burdens I have to bear." Jango's eyes refocused squarely on Kal. "And it's enough to remind me that given the choice, I'd rather work with Ciaran than be ground into the dirt under Palpatine."

    "We're not that different from the Mandos in the days of the Ultimate, are we?" Kal said resignedly. "Pawns dancing on the strings of others..."

    "At least this time around we have the luxury of seeing the rest of the game board," Jango flatly replied. "There's no Sith Lord hiding in some distant star system pulling our strings."

    Only the one right in front of us...

    But at the same time if a future for the Mandalorians...a future for     Boba is what I get for playing along, then I think I'm content with being a pawn for now.

    "We're getting off track," Jango declared, placing his hands on the table in front of him. "Now then, the plan's going to work in three phases..."

    Day 1
    Agomar

    "Both of you in position?" Jango asked over the comms.

    "Roger." "Confirmed."

    "The less takes we go through the less likely we are to get picked up by any unwanted visitors. Remember, it needs to be choppy enough to look real but coherent enough that it can't be denied."

    "You know, when I joined the Cuy'val Dar I didn't imagine I'd be getting into show business," Wad'e Tay'haai quipped as Jango saw him check over his Covert Ops armor and sniper rifle one last time. "Nor did I expect to be ordered to open fire on the Mand'alor himself."

    "Hey, at least he's wearing armor,"     Cort Davin shot back, brushing a layer of dirt onto his clothes to make him look "authentically ragged" for his role as a civilian who stumbled onto the scene and saw a little too much. "I have to trust that you're not going to shoot out one of my eyes."

    "Alright, enough complaining," Jango ordered, checking over his fake Phase II armor. "On my mark. Three. Two. One. Mark!"

    "Action!" Wad'e commented as Jango began to slowly move forward through the surrounding area, smoke hovering in the distance over a blasted field covered in craters. He glanced around him almost constantly - while he was hardly nervous he had plenty of visual references for someone trying to lie low and make their way out of a hot zone.

    After a moment and as Jango started to wonder whether Wad'e was actually paying attention he heard the sound of a sniper rifle firing and felt the bolt graze the side of his helmet, as though Wad'e had just barely missed his shot. Without hesitating Jango began to run for cover, dodging the increasingly rapid and only barely inaccurate shots from Wad'e.

    As he managed to get into cover, he turned to see Cort slowly making his way out from Wad'e's firing zone. He had been very clear that if Cort was seen, the "take" would have to be scrapped since there was no way a CO trooper would let him live and he had no armor to protect himself. To his credit Cort managed to get away "undetected," and as Jango started to break away himself Wad'e fired a few more shots at him for effect and to make sure that Cort's audio was properly authentic.

    "And cut," Wad'e said over the comms. "Cort's gotten far enough away from what I can tell."

    "Confirmed. Audio had gone quiet."

    With that the trio reunited and looked over Cort's fake video, looking properly amateur as Cort threw in some stumbles and shook his camera around to give off the effect that he was properly frightened by Wad'e. More importantly there were plenty of shots of Wad'e opening fire on Jango, looking for all the world as though a clone trooper was trying to assassinate one of their own.

    "Alright, looks like we nailed it on the first try," Cort said after looking it over. "Any objections, Mand'alor?"

    "None that I can see," Jango said after playing it over a couple of times to be sure. "Let's set the holonet on fire."

    ----------

    Day 2
    Armand Isard's Apartment, Courscant

    Armand sighed in resignation as he looked over the report that he'd taken home over the CI trooper scandal that had suddenly erupted on the holonet. While he was fairly certain that the video had been faked and that it had spread just a bit too quickly across the holonet, all he knew was that people were starting to ask uncomfortable questions about the CI troopers in general as well as the concept of clones deserting from the GAR.

    Still, it was nothing he couldn't solve. As he started up his personal computer he was already beginning to form a plan of how to best discredit and suppress the news...

    That was when he heard the door to his apartment open. Without hesitating he opened a drawer in his desk and took out a holdout pistol, beginning to quietly make his way towards the entrance. This was hardly the first time an assassin was sent to try and kill him, though even so it was odd that-

    Armand's thought process was cut off as he saw a blur of motion out of the corner of his eye, and before he could turn and raise his pistol in time to kill the intruder it was blasted out of his hands, followed by a bolt hitting him in his flank and knocking him to the floor. As he groaned in pain he looked up to see a figure in CI armor looming above him, a pistol pointed straight at his head.

    "...Palpatine or Ciaran?" Armand spat out, his breathing increasingly ragged. "You have to be working for one of them. You wouldn't have managed to get this far without either of their help or had the nerve to pull the trigger on me without one of them backing you, and I'm too well-shielded from Dooku."

    "Irrelevant," the armored figure replied, their voice heavily modulated.

    "Haaah...well, what are you waiting-"

    Armand's eyes widened before he started to chuckle bitterly. "Ahhh, so that's what you're doing," he said, realizing that there was probably one camera in his apartment that would "conveniently" capture the image of a CI trooper firing the killing shot. "Clever. A shame I have to be the victim, but I can't help but admire what you're about to do."

    "You are remarkably calm, given that you are about to die."

    "The Isards make their own luck. It may take a generation, but Ysa-"

    The sound of a blaster bolt impacting flesh echoed through the apartment. The armored figure quickly checked over it to make sure his task was complete before exiting, leaving behind Armand's body.

    Unbeknownst to him, a young girl made her way out of the closet and looked at the body of her father.

    And in that moment a seed of vengeance was planted in Ysanne Isard's icy heart...

    ------------

    Day 3
    Cryptanalysis Department, Senate Bureau of Intelligence Central

    Jorda Veir had never been a more terrified Bothan than in the moment she walked into the Cryptanalysis Department building for the final time.

    She'd enjoyed a cozy job up until that point, riding high off of both the salary that Republic Intelligence was paying her as well as the generous pay from the Abyss Watchers for ensuring that her work within RI would make its way into their hands in due time.

    That ended once she'd gotten a package with a datastick and a message:

    "Bring this to work with you. Insert it into the computer you use, and a program installed on it will do the hard work. From there, you will return home where our people will be waiting to escort you off-planet. Failure is unacceptable, and we will know if you have failed."

    That was stressful enough, but SIB Central had erupted into pandemonium after news had hit that Armand Isard - the Director himself - had been assassinated in his own home. She knew that the chaos was meant to be a distraction for her, and if anything it was better than she expected as she found that the room her workstation was completely empty. Sighing in slight relief she glanced around and made sure no cameras were on her before she booted up her computer and inserted her datastick, seeing a progress bar pop up on her screen...

    While she wasn't interrupted, Jorda was constantly hearing sounds of enraged shouting echo around her - while she wasn't able to make out what anyone was saying in particular she was certain that people were starting to try and redirect blame for Armand's assassination or make power plays in the wake of his death.

    If she wasn't preoccupied as it were she would probably have been doing the same.

    Once the program finished its work, Jorda recovered the datastick and started to make her way out of the building only to be confronted by a coworker whose name she hadn't bothered to remember, but the look of near insanity in the Weequay's eyes was hard to miss.

    "Jorda! Why are you leaving!? We have a chance to become kings among the rest of these-"

    She shoved him out of the way and tried to make her way towards the door, only to be blocked by the stern visage of her supervisor. Though he hid it well, he had a similar look of madness in his eyes.

    "Jorda...I just wanted to let you know that I've always valued your work greatly, and that I have faith in you during these troubling times. If you're willing to support me, I'll make sure that you're duly rewarded once I'm able to-"

    "I-I have to go!" Jorda shouted, now starting to actively panic and bolt for the exit as she felt an indescribable pressure beginning to push down on her. Everything started to blur around her as she ran as fast as she could-

    The next thing she knew she was back in her apartment facing down another Bothan dressed in a stylish suit and wearing dark shades, looking incredibly self-assured even as Jorda started to panic.

    "Well well well, you managed to get out of the madhouse in one piece. So you still have the stick?"

    Jorda nodded rapidly, quickly grabbing it and shoving it into her counterpart's hands as though it were explosive.

    "Very nice. I wasn't sure about this whole thing at first, but I can't exactly argue with results," he said as a holoscreen behind him broadcasted news about Armand's assassination and described how he was apparently killed by one of his own men. "So, today's officially your lucky day since you'll be leaving this rock for the next ever."

    "W-who are you?"

    "Before I tell you, why don't we move this conversation to someplace more comfortable?" he said as he threw an arm around the visibly shaking Jorda, guiding her outside and into the passenger seats of an airspeeder. Once they entered it started to move without a word from anyone, hurtling through the skyline of Coruscant towards an unknown destination.

    "So, the name's Gulan Terrek," he said to Jorda as he passed her a credstick, her eyes widening slightly. "And for starters, you're now a very wealthy young woman. But that's just the start of the generous 'retirement package' we're giving you..."

    -----------

    Day 4
    Kyrimorut, Mandalore

    "...And back to our top story, protests have continued over the actions of the Covert Operations branch of Republic Intelligence after an anonymous whistleblower revealed their standing orders to, quote, 'terminate any deserters with extreme prejudice...'"

    The news report continued in the background as holoimages of Seti and Bail looked at Jango with barely hidden expressions of disbelief.

    "I must admit that I underestimated you, Mand'alor," Seti said to Jango as Bail shook his head slightly.

    "I've got to agree with Seti here. RI is in shambles at this point after what you've pulled. The military intelligence branch should recover in due time, but their political power has been completely destroyed."

    "You do realize what this means though. There will be repercussions for what you've done,"     Seti coldly pointed out.

    "Well, now Palpatine has one less vector to get at us," Jango retorted. "Granted, he probably has plenty of other spies and moles and the like, but getting actual actionable intel for the rest of his co-conspirators is going to be much harder for him from now on. And besides, from what I understand you should be happy to see him gone."

    "That I am - he was one of the two people responsible for trying to destroy my future," Seti replied, his voice icy. "I will not deny that there is considerable satisfaction in knowing that he is dead and that everything he built has come to ruin. But we cannot afford to ignore the consequences of what has been accomplished in the past few days. Ashgad out."

    With that Seti's holoimage faded away, and after a deep sigh from him Bail's faded away as well. With that resolved Jango went looking for Kal, who had conspicuously not been attending the meeting...

    Only to find him just outside Kyrimorut's main dwelling, staring into the distance.

    "Kal." "Mand'alor."

    "Some mess we made, eh?" Kal said quietly. "Still, after seeing what he's been doing to our boys Armand deserved every bit of it. And now I know that they aren't going to be shot in the back for wanting to get away from a war they have no stake in."

    "Are you still worried about what's going to happen next?"

    Kal shrugged. "If this is the reward I get for being a pawn-"

    "I'm content to play along," Jango finished, perfectly understanding Kal's sentiment. In response the grizzled warrior sighed before tossing a datastick over to Jango.

    "The back door to the Treasury. ...I've got no good reason to keep the damn thing from her anymore, and honestly I don't care about what she does with it at this point. As far as I'm concerned the Republic can go to hell."

    "Haven't you heard? By the time we're done there's probably not going to be a Republic anymore, or at least nothing that resembles the Republic of now," Jango flatly replied. "They've been talking about it more openly the past few months, and given that we've openly crippled a part of the government that hides corruption and the like, it's pretty clear that there's not going to be much left standing afterwards."

    "Heh, if you ask me the di'kutse have had it coming for a while now."

    "I can't say I disagree."

    Rewards: Armand Isard assassinated and major chaos created within Republic Intelligence along with considerable public outrage towards the organization. Other effects to be determined as time passes. Kal Skirata surrenders his back door to the Republic Treasury. Also Ysanne has sworn to avenge the Isard name by any means necessary, but that probably won't be a problem for another 10-ish years. It's fine.

    AN: It's here! Been busier lately and that delayed things but it's here now.

    Not much to say. Want to have a much better second anniversary message written up later this evening.

    That's all. Enjoy and stuff.
     
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    • Interlude - Prison and Prisoner
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    • La'Sombra

    "Attention all personnel. Lab Block 47 has been sealed off for your safety. Under no circumstances are you to enter Lab Block 47 until instructed otherwise."
    "This station is currently at Yellow Alert. Make sure your work is recorded and that you are prepared to evacuate in the event of an emergency."
    "A reminder to all Force-sensitive personnel that there will be an abnormally high amount of ysalamiri on the station at this time. Please do not be alarmed."

    As various canned announcements continued to blast over La'Sombra's speakers, Cheriss was staring nervously at the casket in front of her - the infamous Dreypa's Oubliette, rumored to contain one of the most dangerous Sith artifacts in recorded history - the Muur Talisman. Beside her Abysswalker Brik fidgeted nervously, the Jawa clearly unnerved by the ysalamir riding on Cheriss' shoulder as well as the fact that the room they were in was prepped to be vented into space should something go wrong. Granted, he had a space suit on but the atmosphere inside the sealed lab was unbelievably tense. Though beside them both Ciaran seemed particularly unfazed, simply starting at the casket with conspicuously uncovered eyes beneath a sealed helmet, her face not betraying any emotions.

    While tracking down the Oubliette was relatively easy due to its reputation and getting it to La'Sombra easier still since the Watchers had the money to buy it, Ciaran had made it absolutely clear that once it reached the clandestine station it would not leave until she was able to personally confirm the destruction of the Muur Talisman, and that the only people allowed to even touch the Oubliette would be her, Cheriss (due to her presumed immunity to the Talisman), and Brik (who had the expertise needed to determine how to open the Oubliette).

    After a moment of silence between the trio Ciaran turned and nodded at Brik, and without a word moved up to the Oubliette's side and began inputting the sequence that would open it. After a few tense seconds a beep of confirmation was heard and the sound of machinery began to rise in volume. As Brik nervously darted backwards Ciaran coolly reached under her robes and tightly gripped the hilt of the Dagger of Mortis, the blade already manifested...

    With a loud "click" the Oubliette finally opened up, revealing...

    "That...you're both seeing that too, right!?" Cheriss said in shock.
    Brik muttered incoherently, unable to form a full sentence.
    "...How is this even possible!?" Ciaran muttered quietly, staring down at the body of a young-looking woman with black hair. She wore armor that none of the three recognized, and most shockingly of all the Muur Talisman was clasped around her neck.

    "Is...is she even alive?" Cheriss said quietly. "I-I mean it's been-"

    She was cut off as the woman's eyes snapped open and she started to bolt upright, screaming out "ZAYNE!" and causing the trio present to reflexively pull back in shock. As the woman gasped for breath, she slowly turned to face Ciaran, Brik, and Cheriss, fear and confusion clearly visible in her eyes. "Wha...who are you!? Where am I!? Why..." Her eyes widened. "Why can't I feel the Force!?"

    "Y-you're on board the station La'Sombra, close to Bonadan," Ciaran replied, trying to regain her cool at this incredibly unexpected turn of events. "My name is Ciaran. This is Cheriss and Brik, my subordinates. I'll tell you why you can't feel the Force if you're willing to explain who you are and why you have the Muur Talisman around your neck."

    Upon hearing the words "Muur Talisman" the woman launched herself out of the Oubliette, shocking Ciaran, Cheriss, and Brik with the fact that she was still in such good condition, and pressed herself against the far wall. "I won't let you take it! It's too dangerous!"

    "We know," Ciaran said in a placating manner, holding up a hand. "We were planning on destroying it given the chance - none of us want to see more rakghoul unleashed on the galaxy. It's why we made sure to have this ysalamir around-" she gestured to the one in question riding on Cheriss shoulder for confirmation - "specifically to make sure it couldn't activate."

    The woman's breathing began to slow, though she was still visibly distrustful of the trio in front of her.

    "Uh...what is your name, anyway?" Cheriss asked nervously. "We heard about the Talisman, but nothing about it being attached to anyone."

    "...Celeste Morne."

    Cheriss glanced at Brik and Ciaran, only for Brik to shrug helplessly and Ciaran to tilt her head in slight confusion.

    "How long were we...was I-" Celeste started to say-

    "We!?" Ciaran hissed out, her eyes widening as she realized the implications of that word. "Don't tell me...is someone in that talisman!?"

    Celeste nodded, gripping her head with a hand. "...It's why its so dangerous. I can't afford to-"

    Her eyes widened as she saw Ciaran slowly start to move towards her, and noticed that she had gestured towards Cheriss to stay back. "I-I told you, you need to stay back! I can feel the Force again and I don't know-"

    Before she could react Ciaran suddenly charged forward, bringing out the Dagger from under her robes. While Celeste tried to dodge away she found herself pinned against the wall by Ciaran after she rammed into her with her shoulder and knocking the wind out of her. Ciaran focused on the Talisman and saw the fractures running through it-

    "Fool! I could grant you power wi-"

    The voice in Ciaran's mind was cut off as she stabbed the Dagger into the Talisman's center. Celeste looked down at it wide-eyed as the Talisman cracked before shattering into pieces that clanged against the floor of the lab.

    With that, Ciaran sheathed the Dagger and held out a hand towards Celeste. "Sorry about being so rough - I wasn't sure how much control that person in the Talisman had over you."

    Celeste didn't respond or grab Ciaran's hand, instead sinking to the floor and grasping at her neck. "I-it...it can't be...h-he's gone...he's really gone...h-how!?" Her eyes snapped up toward Ciaran. "Who are you!?"

    "I told you, my name is Ciaran," she said flatly, continuing to hold out her had towards Celeste. "And I'm not the kind of woman who would let something like the rakghoul plague spread in my galaxy."

    Celeste hesitated briefly before tentatively grabbing Ciaran's hand, letting herself get hauled up to her feet.

    "Now then, if you'd be so kind we need to get you looked over in our medbay," Ciaran said flatly.

    "Why? How long was I asleep?"

    "...I need you to relax," Ciaran said with forced calmness. "Please listen, and try not to panic. You were in that box for...quite some time. I'm afraid it's been...four thousand years."

    Upon hearing those words Celeste's eyes widened before they rolled back and she fell to the ground, having passed out from the shock.

    -----------

    "...So, it really has been four thousand years?" Celeste said quietly as Cheriss fretted around her, looking over various screens and making sure she was in decent shape after she had woken up. Ciaran had pulled up a chair and sat down next to her, her eyes never straying from Celeste.

    "That's the best we could tell from the hologram recording that pointed us to you," Ciaran replied. "Was this 'Zayne' you mentioned a young human man, average height, brown hair and eyes?"

    Celeste nodded glumly.

    "If it makes you feel better, he became something of a hero. Apparently they named a station after him at one point."

    "That's...good to hear. What about the Mandalorians? Or at least the Mandalorians under Mandalore the Ultimate?"

    Cheriss' head whipped towards Ciaran as the woman in question shut her eyes and breathed in slightly. "...His crusade was stopped by Revan - you know who he is, right?" After Celeste shook her head, Ciaran sighed in slight frustration. "...Much as I'd like to go into more details, it would take me hours to explain who he was and what he did. The short version is that once the Mandalorians attacked the Republic in earnest, he went against the Jedi Council of the time and led an army that stopped him at...at Malachor V."

    Ciaran noticed that Celeste had subtly winced when she mentioned the detail about Revan going against the Order. "Before I go on...I take it you were or still are a Jedi?"

    "...Of sorts."

    Ciaran shrugged. "Anyway. While he did win, he and his followers ended up turning to the dark side and began a civil war against the Republic that only ended after he turned back to the light and helped win the war that he started. But that's ancient history for Cheriss and..." Ciaran shook her head. "Anyway, that's what happened in the immediate aftermath of you being sealed away."

    "The Republic and Jedi still exist though, right?"

    Cheriss made a squawking noise and stumbled slightly as Ciaran pinched her brow. "...For now. Believe me when I say that I really don't think you're ready to handle what's going on in the present quite yet."

    Celeste's eyes narrowed slightly, but she seemed to accept the answer given to her. "If that's the case...why did you hesitate when you mentioned Malachor?"

    "...Have you ever heard of the planet of Katarr?" Ciaran said quietly, and Celeste shook her head in response. "Of course not. It wasn't important until...I'm getting ahead of myself. Revan was able to win at Malachor by using a device called the 'Mass Shadow Generator' to decimate the Mandalorian fleet at Malachor V, though when it was activated it ended up creating a Wound in the Force unlike any the galaxy had ever seen before. That Wound created...a Sith called Darth Nihilus. He would later go to the Miralukan colony world of Katarr and consume it."

    "What do you mean?"

    "Katarr is gone. It was a lush and verdant planet, but now it's completely lifeless after Nihilus consumed the Force that sustained it." Ciaran stared intensely at Celeste. "Ever since then, Miraluka like me learned to fear him and what the Dark Side is capable of."

    "As you should," Celeste flatly replied, earning a raised eyebrow from Ciaran. "Even so...I thought Miraluka didn't have eyes."

    "I'm one quarter human on my grandfather's side," Ciaran replied.

    With that the conversation dried up and Cheriss nervously spoke up. "T-the reports are all positive. Nothing seems to be wrong with her and the doctors I managed to contact say she's in good shape...s-somehow..."

    "Good to hear," Ciaran offhandedly replied as she stood up. "Cheriss can guide you to the dorms, where there's a nice, warm meal waiting for you. I'm sure you'd appreciate having food, some privacy and being able to lie down in an actual bed. Once you get some rest...you'll get the crash course on what's happening in the galaxy right now."

    -----------

    "Now then, I think I should explain in more detail who I am and what's going on in the galaxy," Ciaran said to Celeste as she sat across from her, a holoprojector activated and displaying a map of the galaxy.
    "I'm in charge of an organization called the Abyss Watchers that specializes in discovering, analyzing, and acting upon information no matter how clandestine, though that is a very gross oversimplification."

    "So you're an intelligence broker group," Celeste said coolly.

    "At first, but suffice it to say our goals have changed dramatically in recent times," Ciaran replied. "Right now the Republic is embroiled in a civil war with a group called the Confederacy of Independent Systems," and as she explained it the map lit up with territories held by both sides. "Right now, we're in Corporate Space, which is part of a neutral group called the Council of Neutral Systems that the Watchers are supporting. The current Jedi Order has split into two groups - one on Courscant that is fighting alongside the Republic, and one on Tython that has chosen to stay out of the war."

    "Why aren't you working with the Republic and the Jedi then?" Celeste asked, confused. "Isn't this Confederacy the one prosecuting the war?"

    "It's nowhere near that simple I'm afraid. While the Separatists do have legitimate grievances, they and the Republic have been manipulated by a Sith Lord known as Darth Sidious, who is currently publicly leading the Republic as Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine." As Ciaran declared the name, the map's displays of Republic and Separatist spaces turned red while Council space turned blue. "Making matters worse is that the Coruscant Order has been badly compromised due to a Wound in the Force forming within the Jedi Temple which has begun to corrupt any Jedi still there."

    Celeste's face had gone white at this point as she processed everything Ciaran had just told her.

    "Right now I'm working with an incredibly rag-tag coalition of Senators, Jedi outside of the Order, subverted military personnel, and basically anyone I can find willing to fight against Palpatine in the hopes of bringing him down. At this point many of us don't have positive prognoses for the future of the Republic or the Jedi Order as we know it."

    "That's..." Celeste breathed in and visibly centered herself before her eyes locked on Ciaran's. "In my past life I was a deep cover operative, trained to blend into normal society, and when activated how to move and kill quietly. My Force abilities are specialized in distracting or subverting enemies and making sure I remain undetected. I am prepared to do whatever it takes to compete any mission that would help stop this Sidious."

    Ciaran smirked. "Oh my, I seem to have underestimated you if that description of your skills is even close to accurate. From the sounds of things you may not have been born in this era but you are unquestionably perfectly suited to thrive in it. That being the case, all of those talents mean nothing given that you're currently four thousand years behind on galactic history. I can't give you much time to adapt, but I can give you access to all the information you'd need to get yourself up to speed. In fact..." She brought a hand up to her chin as something came to her. "There's a pair of people that come to mind who would certainly appreciate being able to work with you given the chance. Besides...I get the feeling that you would prefer having the chance to confirm everything I've said with fellow Jedi."

    "I would. I won't deny how grateful I am to you for destroying the Muur Talisman, but you've raised many questions and have said many things that I need a second opinion on."

    "Fair, and to be honest I'd consider you to be a terrible operative if you immediately believed everything I said. Most of the information I've described can be corroborated by recordings and our databanks, but they can help bring you up to speed on the current Order better than I ever could."

    Celeste's expression was pensive before she spoke again. "...Before all of that, I still don't think you answered my question. Who are you? Why does it seem like this coalition you mentioned is willing to place their hopes in you?"

    "Quite frankly no matter what I say you probably wouldn't understand - no offense, but let's just say for now that understanding who I am requires a lot of that context you're going to be learning about soon. That being said..." Ciaran leaned back slightly and folded her arms. "I can say that I'm a firm believer in the idea that the events of the past have a far greater influence on the present than one might expect. I just wasn't expecting it to be quite so...literal in your case.

    Though I suspect it will be a temporary arrangement, welcome to the Abyss Watchers, Celeste Morne. It is an honor to have someone from a time of legends walking among us."

    Rewards: Celeste Morne unsealed and Muur Talisman destroyed. Celeste will require one turn to readjust to the new state of the galaxy before becoming available as a Hero Unit.

    AN: Been busy the last couple of weeks. Here's update. Will have the start of The Big One very soon.
     
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    • The Battle of Kalee Pt. 1 - Analysis
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    • Objective: Determine target of attack by Admiral Trench and prepare countermeasures as needed.

    Begin analysis.

    Subject: Trench
    Species: Harch (Potential connections to Ualaq subspecies of Aqualish perceived as "obscene," indicative of species' pride?)
    Gender: Male
    Age: 200 (approximate) (experienced but potentially inflexible, note for later)
    Homeword: Secundus Ando
    Rank: Admiral (Confederacy of Independent Systems Navy), Admiral (Corporate Alliance Nay), Admiral (Andoan Navy)
    Relevant History:
    -Service under "Spiverelda" regime of Ando, noted for efficiency and extreme ruthlessness towards opponents, credited as major force for Spivereldan victories over Andoan Free Worlds during Andoan Wars, main strategist for Battle of Raquish, battle known for mass civilian casualties forcing Republic to intervene and demilitarize Spivereldan regime
    -Transferred to Corporate Alliance upon war's conclusion, primarily masterminded anti-piracy measures, most notable for leading blockade of Malastare Narrows where he first encountered Wullf Yularen and decimated Republic taskforce, became notable for using magnetic signatures to track cloaked vessels, used civilian targets as leverage to force conflicts favoring him, ship destroyed by Republic reinforcements (underestimated level of Republic commitment to breaking blockade?).
    -Resurfaced during blockade of Christophsis, noticed due to distinctive emblem on ship (analyze after history), tasked with preventing supply vessels from reaching surface, only committed own ship to his part of grid (clear sign of arrogance, possible connection to Harch traditions of arrogance), detected stealth vessel piloted by Anakin Skywalker, tricked into torpedoing own ship by exploiting anti-cloaking tactics (trend of inflexibility confirmed), again presumed dead.
    -Confirmed alive later during war after sightings of personal emblem reported, participated in other battles not of note.
    Art: Marks clothing and ships commanded with personal emblem that is a stylized representation of Harch face, designed to invoke fear and dread. Confirms arrogant disposition as emblem was placed on ship used during blockade of Christophsis, announcing survival to potential enemies (Yularen). Indicative of pride, refusal to back down from any opposition, dislike of subtlety, preference for actions that send messages to enemies.

    Trench analysis suspended. Commencing next analysis.

    Subject: Sheev Palpatine
    Alias: Darth Sidious
    Species: Human
    Gender: Male
    Age: 63
    Homeworld: Naboo
    Held Positions: Supreme Chancellor, Senator of Naboo, Dark Lord of the Sith (self-proclaimed)
    Relevant History: Due to lack of knowledge of personal history and confirmed manipulation of public history, section will be bypassed in favor of moving to personality assessment.
    Personality (Relevant traits only): Distaste for personal involvement in operations due to public persona of Supreme Chancellor, confirmed arrogant disposition to point where he believes he is in control of all situations presented to him, multi-layered strategist, runs plans that have multiple layers to ensure some level of success.

    Palpatine analysis suspended. Commencing analysis of hostile objectives.

    Primary Hostile Objective (Presumed): Target and destroy Council world with Separatist fleet, forcing Council to either return to Republic sphere of influence or act in manner that can be publicized as treasonous to justify invasion.
    Secondary Hostile Objective (Presumed): Destroy Abyss Watcher infrastructure and demoralize organization.
    Tertiary Hostile Objective (Presumed): Demoralize Council worlds and force them away to Separatists or Republic.

    Objective analysis suspended.

    Commencing comprehensive analysis, first iteration.

    Potential target must be Council world public enough to attract galactic attention as per presumed primary hostile objective. Includes:
    -Mandalore (Political/spiritual capital, home to Mandalorian Guardians)
    -Taris (Economic capital, central hub of Council activity)
    -Kalee (Major military center, known for Huk-Kaleesh War, brought back into public consciousness due to statement from General Grievous in aftermath of Temple Bombing)
    -Muunilinst (High-profile member, signaled complete withdrawal of IGBC from Separatists)
    -Naboo (High-profile member, actively moving against Palpatine and is clear insult to leadership, close proximity to Secundus Ando)
    -Corellia (High-profile member, Core World most openly critical of Palpatine)

    All potential targets have significant Watcher assets present, ensuring potential success of presumed secondary hostile objective.

    Determining significance of potential targets to Council as per presumed tertiary hostile objective.
    -Mandalore (Political capital, confirmed)
    -Taris (Economic capital, symbol of reconstruction during wartime, confirmed)
    -Kalee (In public consciousness due to Huk-Kal-)

    Potential issue located. Shifting analysis.

    Yam'rii Regime Alignment: Unknown (Government has become isolated after aftermath of war)
    Known hatred of Kaleesh and Ciaran, attempted to reignite Huk-Kaleesh war, dissuaded due to Kalee joining Council.

    Commencing comprehensive analysis, second iteration.

    Kalee is deemed relevant enough to galactic consciousness as per presumed primary hostile objective.
    Kalee is home to considerable Watcher military and research assets as per presumed secondary hostile objective. Additionally due to considerable amounts of Kaleesh personnel within Watchers and past history with Kaleesh, defeat would be extremely demoralizing to organization as a whole.
    Devastation of Kalee combined with resurgence of Huk-Kaleesh War deemed to be considerably damaging to Council morale as per presumed tertiary hostile objective.

    Hypothesized Operational Directives: Reinforce Huk forces with fleet led by Admiral Trench and launch full-scale attack on Kalee, targeting spiritual and civilian centers as first priority followed by Watcher facilities as second priority. Ensure that Huk are seen participating in assault. Grievous considered to be high value target during operation and is guaranteed to participate in battle, use whatever tactics necessary to ensure his demise to cripple Kaleesh morale. Should assault fail, attack by Huk forces will force the hand of the Kaleesh government, dragging them into a new war.

    Directives in line with confirmed personality traits of Palpatine and Trench.

    Presumed hostile target: Kalee.

    Commencing comprehensive analysis, third iteration (confirmation)...

    ------------

    Oracle, Ciaran's Office

    "You're sure - who am I kidding, of course you're sure otherwise you wouldn't have come to me with this," Ciaran said to an impassive Thrawn, visibly fretting as she began calling up information on the military forces stationed around Kalee. "At least we managed to get a few defense platforms set up but they're only going to be able to do so much against the fleet Trench has."

    "That-"

    "I know, I know that's only part of the problem," Ciaran hissed. "I'm already getting whatever I assets I can to Huk itself to confirm what you're saying, but I don't disagree with your conclusions at all." She pounded her desk with a fist. "Dammit! I can't stop the Kaleesh from wanting revenge - hell, if it wasn't playing into Palpatine's hands I'd let them destroy Huk for all I care! What am I supposed to tell Grievous!? That he shouldn't try and get revenge again after the species that enslaved his entire race came back for a second try at it!? Let alone every single Kaleesh veteran who lost friends and family to them!?"

    "They revere you," Thrawn calmly replied. "You may not be able to fully suppress their feelings of vengeance, but I have faith you can convince them to temper it...at least, in the event it ever gets that far."

    Ciaran's eyes locked onto Thrawn's. "I am not going to leave one of my best military commanders in the dark about this if that's what you're implying. That will backfire on me somehow. I don't know how specifically, but I know it would."

    "Hardly. Grievous himself should unquestionably know about this. But the average Kaleesh on the other hand..."

    "Sabotage the Huk forces, and make sure they never show up? Is that what you're getting at?" Ciaran shifted back to her computer. "It could work, but that would rely on us figuring out where the Huk forces are going to be and I doubt we'd be able to get all of them in one fell swoop. If it's on their own ships then that's doable, but if they decided to hitch a ride on a Lucrehulk..." Her eyes narrowed before she glanced at Thrawn again. "What are the odds of the Malevolence showing up?"

    "High enough that we will need to plan for its appearance."

    "Agreed, but I wanted a second opinion," Ciaran muttered before going back to sending out orders. "So for the sake of argument, let's say we decided to spook Trench and prevent the attack to begin with. What then?"

    "He would vanish again, and then the probability of us successfully determining where he would strike next would drop dramatically. Kalee is the one world where there are enough factors in play to ensure that Trench's fleet will be attacking there. If it is taken off the list of targets it will be considerably more difficult to locate him. Much as you may wish otherwise I am hardly omniscient."

    "I wasn't able to sense anything coming so...dammit..." Ciaran trailed off before looking over Thrawn, searching for something. "...Hm. Did those Voss genemods do anything? Any unusual visions or something? I don't think they worked from what I can tell, but you'd know better than I would."

    "So far nothing of that sort has occurred," Thrawn reported.

    "Damn. Well it was a long shot anyway...back to the planning then. Can we get enough forces to Kalee in time to stop Trench?"

    "Most likely."

    "I'll take it. Can we ensure Trench's death and the destruction of the majority of his fleet?"

    "Yes. The Tarkin's Folly will be crucial to that end as you might expect."

    "Right...while all that's happening, can we keep casualties and damage to Kalee itself at a minimum?"

    "I can say with near certainty that I know where Trench will strike. He will not be allowed to get far."

    "Good enough. Now then...while my mind's on it, we can agree that tipping off Yularen would risk blowing his cover, right?"

    "Agreed."

    "Alright, so before we do anything we need hard evidence from Huk otherwise we'll cause panic for nothing." Ciaran tilted her head slightly as a thought occurred to her. "That being said...if it turns out that we can confirm the attack we could have our infiltration team do some preemptive sabotage...but they'd risk getting detected...hm...maybe they could put trackers on Trench's ships...but no, he'd expect something like that and probably would figure it out...dammit all, why now...right, so the plan is..."

    [] "Recon only, I don't want to run the risk of Trench getting spooked. The circumstances may be less than ideal but who knows where he'd try to hit next if he realized his cover was blown?"
    [] "Light sabotage of Huk forces is authorized if and when Trench's involvement is confirmed. Nothing too severe, but it can't hurt to cause a ship or two to malfunction at the last second or something along those lines."
    [] "...Dammit, we can't take these kinds of risks. Whoever goes to Huk will be ordered to make sure not a single bug gets off the planet's surface if and when they can confirm Trench has been in contact with them."

    AN: And so it begins! Title of the mini-arc TBD since, well...there's a lot of different ways things could play out. Have Fun.
     
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    • The Battle of Kalee Pt. 2 - Confirmation
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    • Oracle, Ciaran's Office

    After a moment of thought, Ciaran's eyes snapped open and locked onto Thrawn's. "Set up the Silencer with a recon team ASAP. Their orders are to confirm your analysis and ensure that they are not detected by any means necessary. If he deems it possible he can attempt some sabotage, however his highest priority is remaining unknown."

    "Understood."

    "Furthermore, HK will start acting as a bodyguard for Grievous effective immediately given what you've been telling me. And then...what are the odds of us infiltrating some of our own B1s into Trench's forces to act as our eyes and ears?"

    "Right now, very low. However if the Silencer's team discovers an angle..."

    "I'll have some of our people prep a few infiltrators just in case."

    ------------

    Huk

    The Silencer held up a fist as the quartet of men behind him dropped to the ground, scanning the thick forests around them for any Huk that had stumbled across their position. After a moment of searching the team heard a rustling sound, and as they all pointed their rifles towards the source a small bird fluttered out of the brush and sailed through the night sky. With a nod of affirmation, the Silencer started moving forwards again, quickly followed by the rest of the team as they made their way towards one of the only comms bases the Huk were known to have.

    As they arrived at the edge of the forest closest to the base in question, the men following the Silencer couldn't help but be relieved at the fact that the enemy forces they were infiltrating were relatively primitive. While the base was walled on all sides and had spotlights shining out into the darkness, it was clear that they didn't have more advanced security systems. However in lieu of that the Huk opted to have more patrols around the base, and the infiltration team could see Huk skittering around the perimeter and lining the walls. On paper it seemed to be quite impregnable.

    That didn't stop the infiltration team, who slowly began to spread out to provide effective oversight for the Silencer as he made his move. Once they were ready, a brief burst of static over the team's comms signaled the start of the infiltration, and the Silencer immediately began sprinting towards the nearest wall, timing his advance so that the Huk on the walls would be looking in any other direction but his own.

    As he reached the wall, he brought out a small device from his belt and activated it, and a few seconds later the spotlight above him began shorting out. Using the sounds of the cursing Huk and the malfunctioning equipment as cover he brought out a grappling out and tossed it up the wall, latching it onto the edge. In seconds the Silencer had made his way to the top, and after taking a fraction of a second to process the base layout in front of him he dropped to the ground and hid behind what he presumed to be a small armory as a pair of Huk passed by him, the loud clicks of their conversation echoing through the courtyard. Once they passed by him, the Silencer darted across the courtyard and reached a locked door - though it was quickly opened thanks to a customized multitool he had on hand.

    Quietly opening the door, the Silencer looked inside to see no signs of guards or cameras, and having confirmed that he went in after shutting and re-locking the door behind him. As he cautiously made his way through the halls he heard voices coming from a room close by to him - while most of the speakers seemed to be Huk, he could tell that one of them was speaking Basic.

    As he reached the room in question, he brought out his multitool again, this time bringing out a camera wand that he fed under the door. As the feed came into focus on a screen in his helmet, he saw for himself the unmistakable holographic figure of Trench speaking to a trio of Huk.

    "Rest assured, you will have plenty of opportunities to exact your revenge upon the Kaleesh and Abyss Watchers alike," Trench said to the Huk. "Your allegiance will be key to ensuring both of their downfalls."

    One of the Huk clicked at Trench, visibly irate.

    "I am aware of the Republic sanctions, and I can assure you that I will provide transports for your forces," Trench replied. "Once they are prepared I will send you the coordinates for the rendezvous point. Do not let yourselves be followed, am I clear!?"

    The Huk began chittering among themselves.

    "It is a necessary security measure. My fleet is most assuredly powerful, but if we are detected the Council will send every ship they have at us until we are destroyed. We must maintain the element of surprise."

    Each of the Huk let out a chirp of affirmation in response, and having gotten enough information and clearly seeing that the conversation was about to end the Silencer retracted his camera wand and began to make his way back outside-

    "We've got a problem. One of the guards is moving into the woods," one of the team members reported over the comms.

    "Eliminate. Make it messy - resemble predator attack."

    "Understood."

    As the Silencer made his way back out he heard the distinct sounds of cracking chitin over the comms.

    "Sithspit, man, I know Silencer said to make it look messy, but yeesh."

    "Enemy eliminated?"

    "Roger. Everything should be fine...probably. We're falling back to the rendezvous point just in case though."

    "Copy."

    -------------

    "Trench involvement confirmed," the Silencer reported to Ciaran and Thrawn. "Video evidence captured."

    Ciaran sighed. "Truth be told a large part of me was hoping you wouldn't find anything...thank you for the report, Silencer. Wait for the transports to arrive and get into a position where you can keep an eye on them."

    "Understood." With that, the hologram faded, and Ciaran sunk into her chair.

    "...This is not going to be a fun conversation..." she muttered as Thrawn looked at her impassively, knowing full well what she was talking about. Bracing herself, she punched in a different frequency, and after a few seconds a holographic image of Grievous crackled to life.

    "Lady Ciaran. What do you need?"

    "I need to tell you some news that you're really not going to want to hear," Ciaran said grimly. "...We've confirmed that Trench has set his sights on Kalee, and he intends to bring a Huk contingent with him to aid in the attack and restart the war between your people and them."

    Grievous had gone dead silent, and even through the haze of the hologram Ciaran could easily tell that he was seething with raw fury.

    "Thrawn and I plan on making sure that few if any Huk are going to make it to Kalee but-"

    "You have chosen to gamble my home on the chance that you can eliminate Trench. Or rather, you and Thrawn both," Grievous replied.

    "It is hardly-" Thrawn started to say.

    "No. I want no excuses from either of you." His eyes visibly intensified as he continued to speak. "I am no fool, nor have I or the rest of my people been so naive as to think that the Huk would never return even after we joined the Council. And I am not so callous as to think that you," he said as he faced Ciaran, "would go so far as to take these kinds of risks on a whim after everything you have done for us and how central Kalee is to the Watchers as a whole. Kalee does not fear war."

    "That's not what I'm worried about," Ciaran replied. "I'm much more concerned about what happens after."

    Grievous went silent.

    "You realize that trying to counterattack the Huk would play right into Palpatine's hands, right? Hell, it's probably his back-up plan in case Trench's attack fails. What's going to stop you from taking the Karabbac and trying to reduce Huk to ash once this is all over?"

    "...I will not."

    "Grievous, you are an invaluable member of this organization and I dearly wish I didn't have to ask this, but how do I know you'll live up to that vow? I know you, and quite frankly I understand exactly why you would want payback. Just saying 'I won't' isn't good enough."

    Grievous went silent for a long moment before he spoke again.

    "...If I gave into that desire for vengeance it would endanger everything that the Kaleesh have been working towards for the past years. I refuse to let Palpatine's deceptions and trickery take away the future we've been moving towards."

    For the first time since Ciaran had met Grievous, she saw his shoulders sag and his head dip slightly, as though he was willingly letting her see the weight he had been carrying ever since they had first met.

    "...I...I swear on the name of Ronderu Iij Kummar that I will not allow that to happen."

    Thrawn tilted his head slightly in confusion, though Ciaran simply nodded deferentially. "I understand. I'll contact you as soon as I can about our plans."

    As the hologram faded away Thrawn turned to face Ciaran. "You recognized that name?"

    "...Yes. It's a name I heard about while I was going through survival training on Kalee. Knowing you you'll want to hear the full story, but to be honest I only heard about it second-hand, so I can only tell you about what I've heard and some conjectures of my own.

    During the Huk-Kaleesh War Grievous - then Qymaen or so I am told - had a dream of him slaying a mumuu with a pair of Lig blades in the jungles of Kunbal. Seeing it as a good omen he went out to fulfill the dream only to meet another warrior who had already slain the mumuu - Ronderu. Apparently his dream and her appearance there fulfilled a legend or parable of the "Sheelal," which means "the Dreamer" or "the Dreamt One" depending on the translation. I think it actually translates to both at the same time somehow, but I was never quite clear on that and the Kaleesh have noted that the legend was fairly cryptic in its own right.

    Anyway, the two immediately became close comrades and fought alongside each other during the war, and combined they were apparently a force to be reckoned with. Qymaen taught her how to use his Outland Rifle and Ronderu taught him how to properly use Lig blades in a fight. I've heard conflicting reports about their relationship - some told me that they were lovers, others that they were half-siblings, others still that they were just close comrades, but the point being is that the two of them were incredibly close.

    ...A lot like Asajj and I are these days, honestly...

    The two of them more or less single-handedly fought off a massive Huk attack on the temple of Shrupak, which also served as the gateway to Ausez where the majority of Kalee's new infrastructure exists today. But apparently they were later separated on the beaches of the Jenuwaa Sea and Ronderu was slain by Huk warriors, and her body was tossed into the ocean.

    ...From what I heard, once he learned about Ronderu's death Qymaen was...inconsolable. He made an incredibly dangerous journey to the island temple of Abesmi where he begged his gods to let him at least see her body one last time.

    His prayers went unanswered.

    After that...well...that was when he became Grievous. I think it was barely a couple of years later when I first met him."

    "The tale you've told and the fact that he still goes by Grievous seems to imply that he has never recovered," Thrawn commented after Ciaran finished. "But it has seemed to me that he is far more concerned with the future of his people than that old wound."

    "All things considered...I think it's because-"

    Before Ciaran could finish her thought, her console lit up with an incoming call alarm. Pressing the button, Ciaran was surprised to see an image of Priam appear instead of the Silencer.

    "Sorry if I interrupted something Lady Ciaran, but I heard that you were considering trying to infiltrate some droids into Trench's forces?"

    "Yes...?"

    "Well ma'am, I was speaking with Chief Engineer Sair and I believe there's a way that we can do that without having to even move in one of our own droids. If you're willing and able to get me to Huk that is."

    "Keep talking."

    -------------

    As the Silencer's infiltration team reached the location of the Lander arriving on Huk, a couple of squad members glanced concernedly at Priam as he crouched in the back, a Pod hovering over his shoulder. While word had disseminated through the grapevine about his redesign no one had actually seen him perform in a combat or infiltration operation before-

    "Four droids coming out," the Silencer reported, interrupting the train of thought the squad had. "All B1s."

    "Is one of them moving off to the side?" Priam transmitted over the comms. "Somewhere where I can sneak up on them?"

    "...One moving off to the far left. Close to tree line."

    "Got it. Keep an eye on them and let me know if someone moves his way," Priam requested as he started to dart through the tree line, making his way closer to his target of opportunity. As he reached the edge of the forest closest to the droid in question he could tell that it was fairly distant from him and relatively in the open...but he was close enough for what he wanted to do anyway. Leaning against a tree to ensure he was out of sight he set up a connection to the droid, and after only a few seconds it briefly jolted in place slightly.

    "I think I heard something in the woods," it said out loud as it started to move towards Priam's position. "Moving to investigate."

    "Roger roger," another B1 intoned.

    After the subverted B1 made its way to Priam he quickly got to work, bringing out a multitool and quickly opening up the droid, stuffing a small device into its circuitry before sealing it back up and having it march back into place.

    "False alarm," the subverted B1 said. "Must have been a bird or something..."

    "And there you have it," Priam said over the comms. "That droid is now carrying a cloaked tracker, and it doesn't even realize it."

    "Roger," the Silencer replied. "Falling back."

    -------------

    "The tracker's signal just came back, looks like whatever ship the Huk forces are on just came out of hyperspace," Priam reported to Thrawn and Ciaran. "It's coming from an empty region of space, which is both expected and bad news for any sabotage teams."

    "Noted, and excellent work," Ciaran responded. "That being the case...Thrawn, what can we do to sabotage that fleet? I know Trench is noted to have perfected anti-cloaking tricks, so we can't just use the Scimitar..."

    "Indeed. That being the case while I am sure Trench will be keeping an eye out for cloaked ships - no doubt under Palpatine's orders - I suspect he will not be expecting any saboteurs at this point. He is no doubt currently assuming that his plan is going forward without issue."

    "Meaning?"

    "A vessel of any kind would be detected, without question. But a squad in space suits..."

    "...That sounds crazy enough to work," Ciaran said as she mulled over the idea.

    "From the information I have on ships like the Lucrehulks and Providences, I think something that small would be able to slip through their security net," Priam noted.

    "The thing is that it's incredibly risky and odds are good that whoever leads that mission won't be able to make it in time for the main battle," Ciaran said. "That, and I can't afford to have anything short of the best going on that operation. So...it's leader is going to be:"

    [] Ciaran. With her Shatterpoint abilities she might be able to pick up on any last-minute issues with the plan, but at the same time she would be an incredible morale booster for the Watchers and Kaleesh.
    [] The Silencer. He's an expert at sabotage, but that would also deprive the Watchers of an individual capable of terrifying any Huk forces into submission.
    [] Priam. On the one hand, he's technically the least skilled of the potential candidates, but at the same time that would allow the other candidates to fully participate in the battle.
    [] Asajj. There aren't any better pilots in the Watchers, but that also means she wouldn't be able to participate in the opening stages of the battle.
    [] Jango. Much like Asajj he's a good pilot and has experience with subterfuge, but if any Mandalorian Guardian reinforcements show up he would be critical in rallying them as a fighting force.

    ------------

    RNS Resolute, Meeting Room

    "Commander Tano, while I respect your input I cannot-"

    "Admiral, I know that Trench is going to hit Kalee," Ahsoka protested, bringing up a holomap of the system in question. "The idea behind this whole attack is to hurt Lady Ciaran just as much as the Council, right? That makes Kalee a high priority target since we both know how close she and the Kaleesh are, and Trench could pick up Huk reinforcements to help him in the attack. And even if it failed the sight of Huk on Kalee would reignite the Huk-Kaleesh War, which the whole galaxy got a reminder of thanks to the protests before the Temple Massacre. There just aren't any better candidates."

    "...I apologize, Ahsoka," Yularen responded after hearing her explanation. "Evidently you've given this more thought than I anticipated."

    "There's one other thing that makes me certain that Trench will hit Kalee. I know this sounds crazy, but it's based on his personal emblem," Ahsoka explained, bringing up an image of it. "Think about it. Trench was willing to announce his survival at Christophsis when he put it on his ship. It shows us that he's the kind of being who wants to send a message even if it gives him a disadvantage, and what better way would there be for him to do that-"

    "Than burning Kalee and reigniting a war that could drag the rest of the Council into the conflict," Yularen finished. "I will not lie...your analysis is thorough and more than concrete enough to be actionable."

    "So we should-"

    "Respond to the inevitable distress call and do nothing else before then," Yularen interrupted. "The only reason you were able to figure this out in the first place was because you had access to information that would confirm without a shadow of a doubt that we are moving against Palpatine should it come to light."

    "We can't just stay here! People are going to die!"

    "The Kaleesh are no strangers to war, Commander Tano, and we cannot risk the operational security of our mission."

    "But-"

    "I want to make this perfectly clear: If we enter that system before any distress signal is sent out it will blow our cover. I trust you understand?"

    "I...yes, yes I do sir!"

    AN: So this is happening. Choose wisely~

    Vote copied for convenience:

    [] Ciaran. With her Shatterpoint abilities she might be able to pick up on any last-minute issues with the plan, but at the same time she would be an incredible morale booster for the Watchers and Kaleesh.
    [] The Silencer. He's an expert at sabotage, but that would also deprive the Watchers of an individual capable of terrifying any Huk forces into submission.
    [] Priam. On the one hand, he's technically the least skilled of the potential candidates, but at the same time that would allow the other candidates to fully participate in the battle.
    [] Asajj. There aren't any better pilots in the Watchers, but that also means she wouldn't be able to participate in the opening stages of the battle.
    [] Jango. Much like Asajj he's a good pilot and has experience with subterfuge, but if any Mandalorian Guardian reinforcements show up he would be critical in rallying them as a fighting force.
     
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    • The Battle of Kalee Pt. 3 - Opening Act
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    • The Oracle, Ciaran's Office

    "Asajj. Much as I'd like to have her around for the opening of the battle she's probably the best candidate for the sabotage mission."

    "I concur," Thrawn said. "If there is nothing else...?"

    "Nothing that would keep you here," Ciaran replied as she began typing out orders on her computer. "Besides, I'm going to be down on Kalee's surface soon enough anyway..." she said, trailing off as something came to her before she began typing out a new set of orders.

    "Something the matter?"

    "Not at all. I just realized something - it's not that important, don't worry," she said as she idly waved her hand towards Thrawn. "Go. I'm paying you to be a strategic genius, not stare at me working at my computer all day."

    "Duly noted," Thrawn said with a faint hint of amusement as he turned on his heel and left the room.

    Ausez, Kalee

    Ciaran idly looked out the window of her shuttle as it made its way towards one of Ausez's military landing ports, taking in the sight of the newly built city nestled among the steppes, a mixture of prefabricated buildings and Kaleesh-designed dwellings scattered throughout with more being constructed on its outskirts. As the shuttle lowered she noticed a large building towering over the rest of the city, and while it seemed to be made of metal it was designed to resemble the Shrupak temple not to far away from where she was landing.

    Once the shuttle touched down she opened the door to see Grievous and a large contingent of Kaleesh standing at attention, ceremonial spears in hand. As she hopped out Greivous began to bark orders.

    <"Warriors! At attention!"> he shouted in Kaleesh.

    <"We obey!"> the rest of the Kaleesh around him shouted in reply, slamming the ends of their spears to the ground in unison.

    <"Speak!">

    <"We honor your arrival, savior!"> and as they finished shouting the Kaleesh dropped to a knee bowed their heads in respect towards Ciaran.

    <"Stand, and ready yourselves for the coming battle!"> Grievous ordered, and as the Kaleesh stood up and turned to leave Ciaran looked at him with curiosity.

    <"A reminder, I take it?"> she replied in Kaleesh.

    <"To them. They will rally around you when the time comes,"> Grievous responded as he turned and started to walk in to Ausez, Ciaran matching pace with him. "We have done what we can to prepare aerial defenses, have set up a number of shield generators throughout the city, and have been fortifying Shrupak itself for the inevitable assault," he explained, switching back to Basic.

    "Are you going to be on the Karrabac?"

    "No. I have left it in the command of one of my Izvoshra, Bentilais san Sk'ar. He fully respects Thrawn and I trust my ship to his care for this battle; I on the other hand am needed here."

    "I suppose-"

    Ciaran stopped in place as she felt the wind start to noticeably pick up. "General, I think-"

    Before she could finish her sentence sirens started going off around the city, though as far as Ciaran could tell there weren't any enemy forces here yet. "What's happening!?"

    Grievous activated his comlink and spoke over it in hushed tones before deactivating it and turning back to Ciaran, his eyes lighting up slightly. "It would seem that the gods have decided to aid us in our darkest hour. A storm has been detected off of the coast and is moving into the city, and should arrive within the next few hours. If we are fortunate it will provide us cover."

    "That would be nice," Ciaran muttered as she activated her own comlink. "Xruk, are the defenses ready?"

    "Yes ma'am. Shield generators are primed, all turrets are ready to open fire, and the base itself is on high alert."

    "Good. Don't disappoint me and try not to get too many of our own men killed because they were more afraid of you than the enemy."

    "I make no promises on the latter point," Xruk flatly replied before signing off.

    "Right then...now Grievous, if you don't mind I need a favor or more accurately a reminder," Ciaran said to him as he looked at her with curiosity. As she explained what she was talking about his eyes visibly lit up in excitement...

    -----------

    Deep Space (Near Kalee)

    As a Separatist fleet hovered menacingly in the distance a small ship jumped into the system well away from them, watching over it as its crew began preparing for what could only be described as a suicide mission.

    On board the Scimitar, Asajj's sabotage team nervously readied themselves, starting to hook up the engines that would blast them towards the Separatist fleet to their spacesuits, making sure that the explosives on them were both disarmed and tightly strapped to their suits, and going through final checks to make sure they would have enough oxygen to hopefully survive the trip there and back. As everyone went through their final preparations Asajj came down from the ship's bridge and looked over her team.

    "This is as close as we can get without alerting Trench to our position, so prepare yourselves. Remember that our first priority is to sabotage the Lucrehulk carrying the majority of the Huk troops, followed by any targets of opportunity you can get to before the fleet jumps. Afterwards activate your beacons and you'll be picked up. Above all else do not risk detection no matter what happens, understood!?"

    "Yes ma'am!"

    "We launch in five minutes."

    The time passed for what seemed like an eternity for Asajj's team and an instant for Asajj, and once it was time Asajj called up her pilot on the comms. "We're ready."

    "Understood, Sister," Saato replied. "Good hunting and come back alive."

    With that the Scimitar's landing ramp began to open up, and alarms began to blare loudly before the air rushed out, cutting the sound entirely. With a slight jump Asajj pushed herself away, then after a few seconds once she cleared the ship Asajj activated her boosters and felt herself get slammed back into her suit as the rockets flared to life, rapidly propelling her towards her target. Once she reached the highest speed she dared risk she cut them off, and only heard the sound of her breathing as she hurtled towards one of the fleet's three Lucrehulks. Checking the rudimentary sensor she had on hand she saw that the rest of the team had followed suit, though they were moving noticeably slower than she was.

    For a few long moments Asajj was in near silence as the Lucrehulk grew larger and larger in her vision, and as she closed the distance she could tell that she would hopefully be landing on its port wing, close to the engine block as she intended. She waited a few seconds before briefly kicking on her corrective thrusters and slowing herself down - even so she hit the surface of the massive battleship hard and skidded across its surface before she was able to right herself and magnetize her boots to the exterior. Once she centered herself she turned back to face the rest of her team, and reached out with the Force to telekinetically guide them to her position. After a few seconds they landed, and with a nod and a few gestures Asajj began leading the team on a slow and precarious walk towards the Lucrehulk's engines while a pair split off to plant charges on the ship's communications masts.

    As they reached the engines the team could feel their hum reverberate through their suits and feel the charges stored in them rattling slightly. With another few gestures they scattered among the engine block, placing and arming charges at marked locations and signaling their success with waves of their hand. As Asajj armed the final charge she felt the rumbling intensify as the Lucrehulk started to move - not quickly, but it was readjusting its position and moving closer to Trench's flagship.

    Looking around Asajj nodded to herself, the directed her team to split apart, some being sent to target the spans of Recusants or supply ships within range while the rest went with her to hit the other Lucrehulk within range. After taking off and landing much more comfortably this time around the smaller team split apart and placed charges on on it like before, only this time placing fewer on the engines and targeting the shield generator instead of the comms array. While Asajj still had one charge on hand after she finished placing her set, she looked around and used a few gestures to confirm that everyone else had indeed used up all of their charges. With that Asajj signaled for them to leave the area and they began jumping off and boosting into deep space one by one-

    As Asajj prepared to jump herself she felt the Lucrehulk beneath her lurch forwards as it began to move, and as she looked around she could see the rest of the fleet come to life and begin to accelerate. She quickly debated jumping off anyway but came to a different conclusion after an instant of thought, and she moved as fast as she could to one of the ship's exterior hatches, prying it open with the Force and closing it behind her just as the ship launched into hyperspace with the rest of the fleet...

    ------------

    Kalee Orbit

    As his fleet came out of hyperspace and initial scans of the Kalee system came in, Trench smirked at the sight. All that was in orbit was a handful of Golan 1 platforms, scattered corvettes, and most prominently the Kaleesh "flagship" Karrabac. Reducing it to smithereens would be a great blow to the Kaleesh before he moved in to burn the rest of their world.

    "Incoming transmission," his tactical droid reported as the holoimage of a massive Kaleesh appeared in front of him.

    "I am Bentilais san Sk'ar, acting captain of the Karrabac. You have five minutes to leave our space - I suggest you leave before I tear you apart."

    Trench laughed at Sk'ar's declaration. "You seem to have no grasp of reality, Sk'ar. My fleet massively outnumbers your pathetic forces, and it will only take me five minutes to destroy you all before I turn your homeworld to ash."

    Sk'ar gave off a feral grin. "Is that so?"

    Before Trench could retort he saw explosions beginning to blossom across his fleet, destroying many of his Recusants and supply ships and causing one of his Lucrehulks to begin to list as its engines burned. Growling with rage he whirled on his tactical droid.

    "Alert. Lucrehulk carrying most of our Huk auxiliaries is not present on battlefield. Presumed sabotage has occurred in transit."

    Trench clenched his fists. "Send out the order to-"

    "Incoming vessel from the rear," his tactical droid reported as Sk'ar's holoimage faded and was replaced with a ship that Trench didn't recognize; while it resembled a Star Destroyer he hadn't seen the four globes at its prow before. His thoughts were cut off as the holoimage faded to accommodate another incoming transmission...

    "This is Steela Gerrera, acting captain of the Tarkin's Folly. I am giving you a chance to leave this space without any further violence."

    Trench snarled at her. "Even with your sabotage, I will never relent! Kalee will burn!"

    "Figured you would say that...but I had to at least give you the option of walking away. Now this is self-defense."

    "Alert," Trench's tactical droid reported. "Enemy vessel has activated gravity well generators."

    "It is of no-"

    "Alert. Multiple vessels coming out of hyperspace."

    Trench's eyes widened as an entire fleet jumped in at an almost perfect formation around the Tarkin's Folly, and he didn't have to wait for long before he saw the unmistakable sight of the Oracle jump into view and take up the front of the fleet. As he focused back on the forces around Kalee he realized that they had formed up far more rapidly than they should have given that this was supposed to be a surprise attack...

    "This changes nothing!" Trench declared before opening a channel to his forces. "Form a screen at the rear to keep their reinforcements at bay, the rest of you are to full burn towards Kalee!"

    As Trench's fleet began to shift into combat formation the Oracle's fleet began to press forward, and within seconds fighters on both sides had launched. Dozens upon dozens of Headhunters and Y-Wings faced off against what seemed like an equally massive force of Vulture droids and Hyena Bombers.

    Another few seconds passed and ships began exchanging fire, with the Oracle firing at any small vessel unfortunate enough to get too close to its turbolaser batteries and receiving the brunt of the fire from Trench's forces. However the Oracle shrugged off the attacks and continued to relentlessly charge forwards as dogfighting erupted around it and the rest of the ships following closely behind it.

    Meanwhile on the damaged Lucrehulk, Asajj had been making her way through the ship's ventilation systems, using the chaos of the sabotage and the battle around the ship to get closer to its bridge. As she reached the end of the shaft closest to it she pulled back as she saw a group of B1s rush by before she ignited one of her lightsabers and quickly cut through the grate in front of her. Looking into the distance she could see that the bridge's door remained shut - but that was what her final charge was now for. She rushed over to it, planted the charge, set it for a ten-second timer, darted behind a wall-

    She didn't even wait for the smoke to clear as she ignited her lightsabers, charged into the bridge and began slicing apart anything that moved, panicked blaster fire ringing out around her as she tore through the surprised organic crew and the relatively light droid presence. Within a few seconds she had cleared out the bridge, and quickly used one of the ship's consoles to call up Thrawn.

    "Ventress, I'm surprised-"

    "No time. I'm setting up a connection to the Oracle and slaving as many systems as I can to it, then I'm going to set a self-destruct sequence that will go off in five minutes before I escape in a pod. Use that time well."

    "Understood."

    As Asajj finished her work she sliced apart the console in front of her, then let loose a shockwave of Force energy to damage the electronics in the rest of the room. With that accomplished she looked out to see the ship's guns firing on its allies, destroying some that clearly weren't expecting fire to come from the subverted Lucrehulk. Her work done, Asajj began to sprint towards the nearest escape pod, and it wasn't long before she found herself under fire from droid security forces trying to stop her. She continued to run while occasionally blocking more accurate shots with her lightsabers, eventually managing to reach her destination and slamming into the back of the pod. Quickly punching out a course that would hopefully keep her away from enemy fire, she launched her pod into the chaos of the battle over Kalee, only for a pair of Vulture droids to home in on her pod - though before they could get shots off they were quickly blasted away, and as Asajj looked out she saw the Slave I rocket by, opening fire on more targets in range.

    Inside the Firespray's cockpit a part of Jango couldn't help but wonder how things had gotten so messy in recent days as he blasted a pair of Hyena bombers trying to target an advancing corvette. This type of battle wasn't exactly his usual scene, but here he was in a full-scale brawl over Kalee. Shaking off the thoughts he looked at his ships sensors and noticed that a Providence had broken away from Trench's advancing forces and was beginning to turn towards a group of corvettes that would get ripped to shreds by the massive ship. Thinking fast, he opened up a channel to anyone he could reach within range.

    "Slave I requesting support to help deal with the Providence coming about, anyone alive who can give me a hand?"

    The comms went dead for a few seconds before he got a reply.

    "Nym here. I've got a pack of Revenants that wanna blow something up," and as Jango looked around he saw a flight of irregular fighters and converted personal ships forming up around him led by what could only be the Havoc - a fighter Jango recognized from one of his past contracts.

    "Alright, listen up. I need you to split your men into two groups; one that's going to come in with me on its port side, and one on its aft. Both teams are going to make sure that the hangar shields are down while I make my run to kill that ship."

    "You think you can kill a Providence in one run? Now this I gotta see. Form up and get ready to help kill that ship, Revenants!"

    With that the group surged forwards into an incoming fighter screen, though before any shots could be exchanged the Havoc fired off a volley of missiles that blasted away the majority of them, and the rest of the flight wasted no time in blasting their way through before making their way to Jango's position. As planned the Revenant forces broke off from Jango and charged at the Providence, which began firing at the incoming fighter squadron. While a couple of ships were hit by the turbolaser fire the rest broke through and destroyed the field emitters for the hangar.

    As Jango diverted as much of his power to his engines as he could and boosted towards the hangar bay he could see the blast doors beginning to shut - but Jango could tell they wouldn't shut fast enough, and as he got closer he pressed a button on his console, arming one of the seismic charges stored on the Slave I. His timing would have to be precise enough for this to work, and Jango held his finger on the release switch as he made it into the hangar bay-

    Just before he exited he pushed the switch, and the charge ejected itself and slammed to the ground as the Slave I managed to make it out of the hangar. It beeped for a few seconds before it triggered-

    And for a brief instant everything went silent as energy gathered at the charge's center. Then-

    BWOOOOOOOOOOOM

    The shockwave let off by the charge tore through the interior of the Providence, ripping through bulkheads and annihilating anything it touched. As it hit turbolaser batteries and generators it would cause them to go up in a chain reaction, adding to the destruction. From the outside the shockwave ripped apart the hangar's blast doors and launched out from it in a wave before explosions rippled across the ship, its lights flickering before dying out entirely, and a few seconds later the now hulked ship began to list without any power to keep it flying.

    "Hahaha! Now that's what I like to see!" Nym crowed over the comms as Jango threw himself back into the battle.

    "Glad you liked it, because I don't think Trench is going to let that trick work again," Jango replied as he noticed the Havoc boost ahead of him towards a nearby supply ship.

    "Well unlike you I don't need any tricks to tear these ships apart!" Nym shouted over the comms as Jango saw the Havoc launched visibly unstable plasma bombs towards its prey, and as they impacted the supply ship's central span it went up in a massive explosion that nearly tore the ship in half - and a pair of cruise missiles from the Havoc finished the job, sending the two sections sailing apart.

    "Impressive," Jango coolly replied as he threw himself back into the fight, chasing down a pair of Vultures that were hounding a friendly Y-Wing. As he shot down the twp droid fighters he felt the shockwaves of a massive explosion buffet his ship, and his sensors confirmed that the Lucrehulk Asajj had infiltrated had finally self-destructed. The battle seemed to be going well - though as he checked his sensors again two worrying details made themselves apparent:

    First, Trench's forces had arrived at the Karrabac and Golan platform's position, and while they were doing their best to hold out it was clear that they were going to get overwhelmed unless the Oracle could break through and provide fire support.

    Second, a large wing of Hyena bombers had managed to break through and were on course to hit the Folly, and it didn't seem like there was anything that could stop them before they could get at least one volley off.

    On the bridge of the Folly, Steela took notice of the incoming bombers and glanced at one of her officers. "Can we invert our gravity well projectors somehow? Have them push the missiles as they come towards us?"

    He looked over his console. "I think that could work, but it'd still leave us pinned in place."

    "Acceptable, do it!"

    Getting a nod Steela looked out to see that the Hyenas had fired a torpedo volley at her ship, and she clenched her teeth as they came closer, closer...

    "Brace for-" Steela started to say before she saw the missiles suddenly divert their course and fly off into empty space before detonating harmlessly. As she looked over the space in front of her she saw the Hyenas zoom past her ship before a flight of Headhunters quickly followed them and began shooting them down.

    "Reset the projectors," Steela ordered as she looked over the rest of the battlefield and saw that the Oracle had managed to push deep into Trench's lines, though it was currently being held up in an engagement with a rival Lucrehulk.

    On board the Oracle's bridge Thrawn calmly gave out orders as he looked over the defensive lines. As he predicted, Trench had already managed to push some ships through and was beginning to deploy forces to the ground, though he was more concerned about the Karrabac facing off with Trench's flagship - an engagement that did not favor the cruiser in the slightest. Looking over his tactical map, Thrawn sent out an order: "Any fighters capable of responding, we require assistance in eliminating the enemy Lucrehulk pinning us down."

    "This is Phantom Leader, I don't know about everyone else but my flight's going up against too many Vultures to give you assistance."

    "Understood, however-"

    "Admiral! Vessel incoming from hyperspace!"

    "Is it the Malevolence!?"

    "No sir, it's...a Venator!?"

    Suddenly the ship in question came out of hyperspace into the midst of the battle and Thrawn's tactical display lit up, displaying the IFF of the Resolute.

    "This is Admiral Yularen of the Republic Navy responding to your distress signals. While we are only one ship we will do what we can to support you and stop this brazen assault,"     the ship broadcasted over an open transmission before Thrawn was notified of an incoming transmission to the Oracle specifically.

    "Before you ask, you should thank Commander Tano for our arrival," Yularen explained to Thrawn. "She managed to predict that Trench would strike here specifically, and it's good to see that she was correct."

    "Indeed," Thrawn replied with a slight smirk before he refocused. "Send your fighters to help us deal with this Lucrehulk so that we can catch up to Trench."

    "Understood." With that the Resolute opened up and began launching swarms of ARC fighters lead by a pair of red-and-white Eta-2 interceptors, all of which began converging on their target.

    In the cockpit of her Eta Ahsoka tightly gripped the control sticks as she shot down any fighter that dared to get too close to her fighter squadron. As they closed to firing range on the Lucrehulk she targeted one of the ship's turbolaser batteries and set it in her sights.

    "Shadow Squadron, focus fire on their shield generators, then once those are down hit the core with everything you have!" Obi-Wan ordered over the comms, and with that Ahsoka opened fire and destroyed the battery pointed at her before boosting forwards, drawing the fire of the ship's turrets as the ARCs behind her began launching torpedoes at its shield generator, and it didn't take long before an explosion ruptured the hull, destroying the critical component. With its shields down the Oracle began to maul its opponent, blasting apart turrets and ripping holes in the hull as the rest of the ARCs sent volleys of torpedoes into the ship's core. After a few moments of pummeling the ship finally began to break apart, and with its path clear the Oracle began to move forwards, chasing after Trench's flagship.

    "Now that the immediate threat has been dealt with, Trench has managed to get forces down to ground," Thrawn explained over the comms of the Resolute's forces. "We were prepared for this eventuality, but any help you can give would certainly not go amiss."

    "I'll take some fighters with me and escort our forces to the surface,"     Obi-Wan replied, breaking off with a handful of ARCs as the Resolute turned towards Kalee. "Ahsoka, I'm leaving our fighters in your care."

    "Understood!" she replied. "Everyone else form up on me, we need to help the forces at the platforms!"

    "Roger that, Commander!"

    And as the battle over Kalee raged on, the battle on the surface was just beginning...

    AN: Stuff happened, this took a while, etc, but hopefully the wait was worth it with all of the action here. We finally have a proper Star Wars space battle! Yaaay!

    Of course this is also but a taste of what the ground battle is going to bring to the table...
     
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    • The Battle of Kalee Pt. 4 - Hold the Line
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    • Shrupak, Kalee

    Lightning split the blackened skies over the sacred temple of Shrupak as rain pounded on the army waiting there. While there were some Watcher troopers interspersed throughout, the vast majority of the forces covering the temple and its surroundings were Kaleesh, all of of whom were staring into the distance and awaiting the arrival of their enemies. On the cliffs surrounding the temple massive anti-air emplacements stood ready, their crews waiting for the inevitable assault.

    At the top of the temple stood six people: the Silencer, checking over his many weapons one last time, Ciaran, who was adjusting the bone mask on her face, Kygeetu, whose eyes hadn't strayed from her Lady, Riphath, who was looking towards the sky for any signs of movement, HK-47, whose hands hadn't strayed from the trigger of his rifle, and Grievous, who had knelt to the ground and had begun quietly praying, his words almost inaudible in the massive storm.

    <"Gods above, hear my prayers. I pray for the sake of every warrior standing on this battlefield, for every son and daughter they wish to protect...">

    ------------

    Abyss Watchers Military Compound

    Several miles away, the fortified military compound of the Abyss Walkers was abuzz with activity as people were rushing to either set up defenses or evacuate sensitive material before Trench's forces began their attack. The exterior was brightly lit up as people rushed around to set up last-minute emplacements while inside the buildings soldiers rushed through the halls, putting on armor and grabbing weapons as Xruk spoke over the comms.

    "I will not be repeating myself after my little speech is finished. Every moment of your suffering, every moment of agony at my hands has been to prepare you for this very moment. If you die today that only proves that you did not grasp the lessons I have been teaching you.

    Fear will not be tolerated. Retreat will not be accepted - and besides, the droids will have orders to kill anything that lives.

    But truthfully...I will be disappointed if those walking rust piles end up carrying the day. Your training has made you superior. Our versions of their own droids are superior.

    Let them send as many droids at us as they like - do your jobs properly and all they'll accomplish is leaving behind scrap heaps for us to clear up. That is all."

    Meanwhile in one of the ready rooms, a pair of technicians strained to haul what could only be described as a gigantic shock mace to its recipient. As they got close enough they suddenly felt the weight pressing down on them vanish as an armored hand casually picked it up as though it weighed nothing. The pair looked gobsmacked at its recipient - one Goraah the Hutt - casually swing the shock mace through the air as though it were nearly weightless, air whooshing around it as he tested it.

    "Good to see that the checks were finished in time," he said casually as he lowered the mace slightly. "Have they arrived yet?"

    "The attack is coming in a few minutes," one of the techs replied. "The other Walkers-"

    Before he finished, the door opened to admit Dani, who started to walk in before she did a double-take, processing the image of the fully-armored Goraah rolling his shoulders before adjusting a helm painted to resemble a Kaleesh skull mask.

    "...You know, when I first joined the Watchers...I did not expect to see something like this," Dani mumbled to herself. Before she could say anything she felt herself get shoved aside as Piebald eagerly rushed up to Goraah, visibly excited.

    "Heeeey, buddy! Got some good news - turns out they managed to get that harness set up, so you should be able to carry some big guns into the fight like one of those rocket launchers the Wookies sent in! Isn't that great!?"

    "Excellent! I would hardly turn down more firepower at a time like this!" Goraah declared before he burst into laughter, quickly followed by Piebald. In the background Dani quietly retrieved her equipment, desperately hoping she wouldn't attract the attention of one or both of the clearly insane beings in front of her.

    Outside, Koliya looked through a rangefinder to see if he could detect any signs of movement, but the storm made it difficult to see anything. Grumbling to himself he patched into the comm network. "Wyn. Any signs of movement?"

    "Er...I see rain, rain, more rain, sometimes lightning, but mostly rain. Have I mentioned that I hate the fact that my sniper nest doesn't even block out the rain? Because I do. A lo-"

    "Have you seen any signs of droid movement?"

    "Oh that! No. Not yet. Wait, maybe-"

    Koliya tensed up.

    "False alarm, that was a bird! My mistake. It just looked metal to me for a second there. Kind of like those landers...uh oh."

    Without hesitating Koliya sent out an alert signal, and within seconds everyone rushed to the fortifications and the turrets came online for the coming battle...

    -------------

    <"General! Incoming fighters!">

    <"So the time has come..."> Grievous muttered as he stood up, his face briefly illuminated by a bolt of lightning. <"Warriors of Kalee! My comrades in arms! We have known that this day was coming ever since we cast out the accursed Huk!"> Vulture droids rushed overhead in a strafing run, but Grievous was unfazed as he continued his speech. <"Stand tall! Do not fear our enemies today, for they fear us! They fear our strength, our loyalty, our determination! They fear that we are willing to rise against them where others would falter! They are afraid, for they know that we shall never submit!">

    <"NEVER!">

    <"Let them bring their armies of droids! Every warrior standing here today is worth a thousand of their own! Take heart in how our enemies cower behind machine and metal while we stand strong and fight together!">

    <"AS ONE!">

    <"The gods watch over us on this sacred temple! They have brought the their wrath against our foes!">

    Lightning arced through the sky, illuminating massive Separatist landers and swarms of smaller droid carriers around them descending towards Shrupak.

    <"Let our battle today prove their favor worthy! Let our battle today echo in eternity!">

    As Separatist forces began to come into range, Grievous thrust his rifle into the air.

    <"FOR THE FUTURE OF KALEE!">

    A deafening war cry roared out from the Kaleesh army as the Separatist forces finally came into range, the batteries around the area opening up on the incoming droid carriers. While some were shot down, others dove down to just above the surface of the water, and as they made it to shore they began disgorging droids. As they activated and began to open fire, they were met by a hail of fire coming from the steppes around them as the battle began in earnest.

    At the center a swarm of Hssiss droids began to charge towards the Kaleesh lines, screeching horrifically before the sound was drowned out by a boom of thunder. They were met by a counter-charge led by Grievous, and both sides slammed together to begin a brutal melee. The Kaleesh were just as relentless as the Hssiss droids, engaging them in brutal swordfights as blaster and slugthrower fire flew around them.

    Ciaran herself had waded into the midst of the melee, slicing apart anything that looked like it was made of metal without pause. She would cut through one Hssiss droid with her lightsaber before turning to block another, using her other hand to strike at its core and shatter it completely before spinning and slicing apart a pair that had tried to jump into the air and slam down on her. Her Force-boosted instincts had gone into overdrive, constantly feeding her information on what moves to make next -

    Slice left, block right, shatter, chop right, block left, shatter, shatter again, slice, block, slice, block, slice, slice, slice, shatter-

    The Kaleesh around her looked on in awe as they saw Ciaran fully cede control to her instincts and turn into a blur of motion, either slicing apart or outright shattering any Hssiss droid unfortunate enough to come close to her in a relentless chain of attacks. As Kygeetu finished destroying a droid that had challenged her, she saw her Lady tearing apart her foes - and while most of her face was hidden beneath her mask she could see her eyes shining. Suddenly she felt an arm clasp her shoulder, and she turned to see Riphath, also in a mask though much more clearly concerned.

    "I have no idea what the hell's gotten into her, but I from what I can sense you should not get close to her right now."

    Kygeetu nodded, briefly sparing a glance toward her Lady before charging back into the fray.

    As HK and the Silencer rained grenades, rockets, and anything explosive they could shoot at the increasing amount of droids on the coast the Kaleesh began to fall back towards Shrupak itself, leaving behind mounds of destroyed Hssiss droids and fallen Kaleesh. As Grievous looked out, he saw Ciaran continuing to carve her way through the droid army, either not noticing or not caring about the Kaleesh falling back to a more defensible position. And as he looked up lightning once again illuminated the landers, now about to touch down...

    ------------

    Hell had come to the Abyss Watchers' compound as legions of droids marched out of the landers and through the base's shield, opening fire on anything that moved and being cut down by return fire from entrenched soldiers and turrets.

    In the midst of this chaotic battle explosions rang out, quickly followed by bouts of maddened laughter as Abysswalker Piebald launched an apparently endless barrage of grenades into the droid lines, sending groups of them flying into the air. Closer to the trenches Dani and Koliya were hanging back; Dani was opening fire on anything that got too close while Koliya was focusing more on calling out potential targets of opportunity for Wyn to snipe.

    None of that seemed to matter to the droid army though, as they continued to advance relentlessly - some were even beginning to step over the destroyed waves that had come before them during their advance.

    Then suddenly, a deep roar echoed through the air, and before anyone realized it they saw Goraah charge headfirst into the enemy ranks, slamming his shock mace into the ground and sending droids flying if not obliterating them outright.

    "I AM GORAAH! FACE ME IF YOU DARE!" he screamed out as he began swinging his mace wildly, tossing droids aside as he waded into the oncoming enemy lines. The army began to focus more fire on the clear threat in their lines, but none of their shots could pierce through the armor Goraah was wearing.

    At the back, Koliya saw an opportunity, and shouted out "Anyone close enough to me, we're pushing forward and providing Goraah support!" over the comms before igniting his lightsaber and charging forward, quickly followed by blaster fire that took out a few stray droids in his path before he could reach Goraah. Once he got close enough to the berserk Hutt to provide support but far enough away to stay out of mace range he began cutting down droids, prioritizing any B2s who were aiming wrist rockets at Goraah.

    It seemed like they were beginning to push back the droid army-

    "ENEMY ARMOR INCOMING!"

    As Koliya's head whipped up he saw AATs beginning to move through the shield and open fire, though his response was cut off by another roar of fury from Goraah as he reached to his side, ripped one of the rocket launchers he had on him out of its harness and fired a shot that hit an AAT dead center, destroying it. Even so, more were beginning to advance and were training their cannons on Goraah-

    Before they could fire Koliya saw a volley of rockets fly out from the side of his vision towards the AATs, either damaging or destroying them outright. As he whipped his head to the side he saw the unmistakable sight of clone troopers flanking the droid army, cutting down the wave advancing on them and destroying the AATs.

    "Hope you don't mind getting some reinforcements. Captain Rex moving in with the 501st to support you," came a call over the comms.

    "Appreciated," Koliya replied, quickly sparing a glance towards Goraah, who gave him a slight nod before moving back towards the trenches. "We're not going to turn down help at a time like this - head towards our trenches and link up with our forces."

    "Roger that. By the way..."

    "Karrosi."

    "What was with that...Hutt? We saw just now?"

    Koliya chuckled to himself. "Let's just say we are a very open-minded in the Watchers."

    -----------

    The battle at Shrupak continued to rage as the landers there began disgorging their own droid armies, which began their advance on the Kaleesh positions. In the middle of the advancing waves a hollowed-out circle emerged, lit up by brilliant arcs of light as Ciaran continued to tear apart anything that tried to get close to her. From the temple itself, Kygeetu stared at her Lady in what could only be described as "enraptured awe" while Grievous began debating whether to send a rescue effort after her since she couldn't hold out forever...

    Though his thoughts were cut off as he received a report over his comms and realized that the situation was about to be resolved without his help. From above the battlefield, an escape pod lit up like a meteor hurtled out of the cloud layer and drove into the ground, sending droids flying as it skidded to a halt close to Ciaran. As it started to slow to a halt it was blasted apart by a burst of Force energy as Asajj ignited one of her lightsabers, cut her way through to Ciaran, grabbed one of her free hands, and began dragging her back towards friendly lines, off-handedly blocking any fire coming in their direction as Ciaran squawked indignantly.

    "A-Asajj, let go of me right now! I can handle myself!"

    "Says the woman getting caught up in a battle frenzy and deep behind enemy lines!"

    "Well what else was I supposed to do when I was surrounded by Hssiss droids!?"

    "Don't play stupid, I can tell by the fact that you're wearing that mask that you would have stayed out there until the moment you died!"

    "That is not true-" Ciaran broke off her counterargument as she blocked a shot aimed at her. "-I would have been fine. I can literally fight for hours on end!"

    While the pair continued to bicker and make their way back to Shrupak, Grievous' thoughts were cut off by a metallic scream as a trio of Hssiss droids began to charge at him, briefly lit up by a nearby bolt of lightning. Annoyed at the thought of his enemies believing he would go down that easily, he readied his rifle as one was blasted away by HK hovering overhead, one was stopped as Riphath engaged it, and Grievous leveled his slugthrower at the final one...

    Only for it not to be even necessary as a blue lightsaber spun through the air, slicing it in two and sending its remains flying back down the temple's steps. Grievous stopped for a moment before he turned to see Obi-Wan Kenobi calling it back to his hand.

    "Hello there."

    Grievous' eyes narrowed. "General Kenobi. What do you think you are doing here?"

    "Providing support, along with the 212th."

    "This is a battle for the Kaleesh to fight!" Grievous shouted at him. "We do not need the help of a Jedi or any of your forces today!"

    "If you won't consider this generosity, then consider it reparation for the mistakes of the past," Obi-Wan smoothly replied, looking out over the battlefield as clone forces began to form up with the Kaleesh and open fire on the incoming droids before facing Grievous again. "I won't pretend that we were in the right before, nor will I be so arrogant as to assume that this one act will make up for the mistakes the Order made. But I can say with confidence that I am your ally today."

    Grievous stared down Obi-Wan, briefly considering HK's request to "terminate the Jedi with extreme prejudice" before scoffing. "You should be grateful that Lady Ciaran regards you so well," he grumbled before getting a message over his comlink. Confused, he activated it with a curt "Report."

    "General, our sensors have detected that a small contingent of Trench's forces have landed at the beaches of the Jenuwaa Sea. From what we can tell they are setting up artillery pieces...and it would seem that what is left of the Huk auxiliaries are with them."

    "Where are the batteries targeting!?" Grievous shouted.

    "...Abesmi. It's the only place in that area that matters to us, and the Huk know it."

    "You realize this is a blatant trap," Obi-Wan said to Grievous, causing the Kaleesh to turn towards him in clear fury.

    "You do not understand what Abesmi is to my people, Jedi. It is the holiest site to our people. For it to be destroyed-"

    "He's got a point Grievous, and you know it." He turned to see that Ciaran and Asajj had finally arrived, neither of them fazed even after their trek through enemy lines. "The only reason Trench hasn't bombed it out of existence from orbit is because we've got fighter cover over the island itself and the fleet's got orders to keep any of Trench's bigger ships from getting into range."

    "Much as I am loathe to say anything positive about Kenobi," Asajj started to say before glaring at Obi-Wan as he raised an eyebrow, "he should be capable of handling the defenses here."

    Grievous closed his eyes, deep in thought before they snapped open again. "Fine. Kenobi can lead the defenses here." He looked at Ciaran. "You and Asajj are staying here as well - between myself, HK-47, the Silencer, and Reaper...that will be more than enough to act as a command team."

    "General, I think you should at least take Ventress with you," Obi-Wan replied. "Much as I am loathe to admit it, she's a fierce warrior-"

    "...No," Ciaran quietly replied before looking at Grievous. "While I agree with the sentiment you're getting at that fight's not for her, and they're throwing more forces at us here anyway. Asajj will stay here..." She trailed off, looking at Grievous for an answer.

    "If you are so determined, then I would be honored to have you fight alongside us," Grievous replied without hesitation. "Prepare yourself. The Huk will show no mercy to you."

    "Fine by me. I never liked those bugs anyway," Ciaran coldly replied.

    ------------

    "I'm seeing a line of Hailfire Droids coming in!" Rex shouted over the comms as they wheeled into view, their missile racks arming-

    Only for them to start exploding one after the other before they could get their shots off - and from what Koliya could tell all that hit them was one sniper round each.

    "Wyn, how did you do that!?"

    "Oh, the Hailfires? Those things are soooo much fun to fight! Turns out if you aim your shots reaaaallllly carefully you can hit the rockets mounted on them before they're launched, and then - KABOOM! Fireworks!"

    "That sounds like my kind of party!"     Piebald replied eagerly. "Speaking of which-"

    "There aren't enough forces over the blast zone. Wait a little longer," Koliya ordered, ducking as a blaster bolt sailed over his head. "Speaking of which..." He switched over to the 501st's comm network. "Captain Rex, when I give you the order to duck, you will need to hit the dirt if you want your forces to survive."

    "Planning an explosive surprise?"

    "You don't know the half of it."

    -----------

    Jenuwaa Beaches

    The beaches of the Jenuwaa Sea felt the full wrath of the storm overhead as gigantic waves crashed against the shoreline, the wind bending the treeline in the distance with its ferocity.

    As Grievous' transport touched down and the small contingent of forces he brought with him disembarked on, he looked into the distance to see the disgustingly familiar sight of a Huk battle line formed around the Separatist artillery starting to deploy, with droids on both sides of their forces. To his delight he saw some of them visibly start to quake with fear as the Silencer casually strode up beside him, though they still managed to hold themselves together despite that.

    That would not do.

    Without a word, Grievous' forces formed up alongside him. As a bolt of lightning crashed down nearby he raised one of his swords.

    <"DEATH!">

    <"DEATH!">

    <"DEATH TO THE HUK!">

    <"DEATH TO THE HUK!">

    The Huk lines started to visibly waver.

    <"KNOW THIS, HUK - YOUR LIVES ARE ALREADY FORFEIT!">

    <"DEATH!">

    <"YOUR CARCASSES WILL MAKE FINE ADDITIONS TO OUR TROPHIES!">

    <"DEATH!">

    <"THOUGH BEFORE YOU DIE, EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU WILL KNOW THE DEPTHS OF OUR FURY!">

    <"DEATH!">

    On cue, some of the Huk started to charge in a clear panic, quickly followed by the rest of their forces and the droids supporting them. Grievous smirked viciously at the sight.

    <"Since they are so eager for death, it only seems fair that we grant it!">

    With a loud war cry, the Kaleesh forces began a charge of their own...

    AN: Aaaaand I'm cutting it here because cliffhanger, 3.6k words, and wanna get out content. Enjoy~
     
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    • (Omake) In The Heart of Battle, There is Serenity (Canon)
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    • In the Heart of Battle, There Is Serenity​

    Sahltag ael Sumis winced as a blast landed a bit too close to his squad. The Vulture droids seemed to be fairly bad at aiming, at least. Small consolation for the dead that they were killed by soulless machines that relied on volume of fire, rather than any particular skill. At least the rain seemed to be confusing their sensors, though he wondered why. Wouldn't droids have thermal or infrared sights that could see beyond the visual spectrum? He resolved to ask his brother about it after Kalee was safe once more, maybe when they went on that hunting trip they had been talking about for several years now.

    He distantly heard his General shouting something off to his right, but the sheer background sound drowned out what was undoubtedly an excellent speech, talking of Kalee martial valour and prowess. When the speech seemed to finish, he raised his slugthrower with a shout.

    Blessed Garthen dae Ai'ns, hear my prayer. Guide my aim, strengthen my spirit, and grant me victory over those who oppose me.

    "Acklay Platoon! Hold fire until you see the red of their photoreceptors!" The voice of Huntmaster Preskotta came from Rumis' right. He was a good officer, a kind, if tough, leader.

    The sound of a heavy AA shot passing directly over him caused his teeth to clamp down. He knew that the plasma was extremely unlikely to detonate directly over his head, but as the fairly impressive explosion blossomed in the distance, he couldn't help but feel relieved he wasn't on the receiving end of that. It was a roar of defiance against those invading sacred Kalee, backed with her steel.

    A transport exploded somewhere in front of Sumis, a flash of light and the shriek of ripping metal that was swallowed by the rush of water as another of its kind burst from beneath the waves.

    Sumis knelt as he had been taught as a boy, sighting down his scope as the first droid dared set its feet on the sacred ground, the metal B1 body instantly dripping with water in the heavy rain. As more like it began to surge out, he gently pulled the trigger, yellow eyes tracking his target's forward movement. An eternity of instants later, his first kill of the day dropped backwards, sparks shooting from a destroyed chest cavity. The cracks of slugthrowers around him told of his comrades' steady fire.

    He took a breath, then sighted another droid, this one seemingly slogging through the knee-deep mud near the shore, every step difficult for its servomotors. He put a shot through its chestpiece and moved on.

    Sight, shoot, pull trigger, confirm kill, retarget.

    Sight, shoot, pull trigger, confirm kill, retarget.

    Sight, shoot, pull trigger, confirm kill, retarget.

    A grunt came from his left, and he glanced over. Narook san R'kas bent over, arms clutched around her stomach where a blaster had struck. Already another was moving to assist her, so he raised his gaze back to the front.

    Sight, shoot, pull trigger, confirm kill, retarget.

    Sight, shoot, pull trigger, confirm kill, retarget.

    Sight, shoot, pull trigger, confirm kill, retarget.

    With a shudder, he felt, more than heard, the impact of a B2's wrist-fired rocket into a nearby tree. Surprisingly, he heard few screams, but a look showed why. Bodies surrounded a now-burning tree, most of the Kaleesh killed instantly by the wooden shrapnel. No time to be mourned, the surviving wounded were pulled back.

    Sight, shoot, pull trigger, confirm kill, retarget.

    Sight, shoot, pull trigger, confirm kill, retarget.

    Sight, shoot, pull trigger, confirm kill, retarget.

    A mass of Hssiss droids grew in the distance, beginning to surge forward as slugs cut the leading edges down.

    "Acklay! Prepare to charge !" Huntmaster Preskotta's command cut over the din of slugs and blasters. Sumis slung his rifle over his back, carefully securing it in place. His Lig sword glistened as he drew it, the inscribed design depicting the war against the Bitthævrians. The glories of a past war spurring him to fight harder in this one. He ran toward the battle ahead, a chant coming from his lips, taken up by those around him.

    Blessed Camrod geo Usrak, hear my prayer. Let my arm be strong, that my enemies might fear me.

    A warrior, marked with the colors of the Nashlek tribe, lay in front of him, blood still flowing from an open wound in their side.

    Let my wrath be great, that I might gain victory.

    Beratha, who lived a village over from him, screamed as a blaster shot sailed closed enough to burn the side of his face but seemed to run even faster.

    Let my death be glorious, that my legacy live on.

    Sumis lunged forward, his blade piercing the torse of a Hssiss droid. It shrieked at him as it lost power, going completely limp as he yanked his oil-covered weapon out.

    A flash of lightning showed someone falling to a Hssiss's cutting blades, avenged but a moment later by a point-blank blaster pistol from another Kaleesh.

    A Hssiss droid ran toward Sumis, weapons flailing. He parried the first blow, dodged the second, before pulling out his sidearm and blowing off its head, not risking a third.

    Another leapt at him from his right, knocking him to the ground. Its mass bore down on him, pinning his pistol to his side and not giving enough space to use his sword. Before it could take advantage, it went limp, now just dead weight.

    "Rise warrior, this is no day to die." The voice was instantly recognizable.

    Sumis threw the body aside, staggering upright. "General, you have my thanks."

    As the General turned away towards another droid, Sumis heard him say "One less death is one step closer to victory."

    Another droid ran in, cutting off Sumis' extremely brief rumination on those words of wisdom. This one he simply shot, before slamming his sword into its head with a cry of rage.

    And so the Kaleesh fought on.
     
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