The Taste of Blood

War is a cruel mistress. She brings out the best and the worst in men. Great innovation, exceptional bravery and astounding leadership comes with the unfathomable cruelty and loss. Your House goes to war, seeking individual glory and the pride of victory.


OOC
This runon event is a cooperative, forum-based fiction event. Fictional cues will be given to each House and Clan at the start of the week. “Cues”, along with plot details released that week, will form the basis of the Run-On.

Rules
* The run-on will be conducted in specially designated forums, already set up for each House/Clan. Passwords may be obtained from Consuls and Quaestors
* No one but the author of the post is permitted to make changes to it. The Author may freely edit his post up until another person posts on the run-on.
* 2 posts of 250 words each is required to be counted as a participant.
* Each run-on must have at least 20 posts containing a minimum of 250 words in each post.
* Runon posts may be posted until 22 October 2359 (11:59 EST).


Week 1 Orders: War has been called on the Jedi of Odan-Urr and their home planet of New Tython. You have just received word to prepare and meet the rest of the Dark Council fleet before making your way to New Tython and attacking.

Week 2 Orders: New Tython has been invaded by Dark Brotherhood forces. Taldryan joins the fray on both counts. Taldryan is ordered to assist Naga Sadow in dealing with native New Tython forces

Week 3 Orders: The battle rages on as the Mandalorians and light jedi managing to hold their own against the combined forces of the Brotherhood. The Dark Council has joined into the fray. The Deputy Grand Master has descended upon your battle field, along with more enemy reinforcements in the form of battle droids. Taldryan, along with Naga Sadow, are tasked with assisting the DGM and clearing the remaining forces.

Week 4 Orders: Arcona, Tarentum, Naga Sadow, Taldryan, Scholae Palatinae and Plagueis have all begun to converge on the same point as they make the final thrust at Odan-Urr and their allies. The blending of Houses and Clans causes chaos between the "allied" forces, and old tensions rise in the midst of battle

Bridge
Command Deck, Cotelin-class Star Destroyer Justice
Above Karufr, Kr'Tal System

Shaz'air stood quietly, head craning from left to right as he observed the others gathered around the large holo-table. Several had joined him; his Aedile, Ashia Keibatsu. Former Consuls Keirdagh Cantor and Shadow Taldrya. Battleteam Leaders Rigar Ulrand and Benevolent Whiner. Each was gathered here personally by the Quaestor to talk about the Grandmaster's latest move.

"Welcome, friends and family. I ha-" began Shaz'air.

"What's all this about, Shaz'air? I'm missing happy hour," Shadow cut in, obviously attempting to lighten the mood - however the look on his face was quite serious. He had a talent for playing these things off. Shaz'air closed his mouth, and turned his head to face directly at the old Dark Jedi Master. A light sigh escaped his nostrils, as he started back up again. "As I was saying, I have asked you here to discuss the latest news from the Dark Council. Taldryan has been summoned to rendezvous with the Dark Council fleet above Antei. From the looks of things, they don't seem too pleased with the Jedi of Odan-Urr."

The others looked around the table, mumbling to themselves. It was true, that Light Jedi were known to reside within the Brotherhood's society. Even if just barely. Protected by the Dark Lord, Muz Ashen for reasons unknown to anyone else. Even Ashia was in the dark on the matter, and she was his wife. After they had finished talking between themselves, the Dark Jedi turned their attention back to the Taldrya that stood waiting. Benevolent spoke up, usually the quietest of the bunch. "What do you have in mind, Shaz'air?"

A fat grin grew on the face of Shaz'air. The Quaestor had once gone by the name that many knew and believed to have perished. Only three knew of his true identity; one who had said to have killed him, another who had helped preserve his life and aid in his recovery, and one who had led them at the time. Everyone else was oblivious, and that way it would remain. A master at deception, he was valuable in almost any situation. "That's simple, Beneveolent. We're going to send The Old Folks' Home in for some recon, while our main forces form up with the Dark Council fleet. We need our people on the ground gathering intelligence on what is happening. On the off chance that we invade New Tython, I want us to have detailed information on defense points."

Keirdagh quirked an eyebrow, staring the Quaestor dead in the face. He hadn't much information on their current leader, but he knew better than to underestimate any opponent. A master tactician, he had fought many battles at the side of Taldryan. As a former Consul and even Justicar, he was well known throughout Brotherhood space. "And if we are discovered?" Ashia looked over to the fabled leader, studying him. "I am sure you will be fine, Lord Taldrya. The Old Folks' Home is the finest intelligence unit within Brotherhood space. As long as Howlader doesn't fall asleep at the controls, I'd be amazed if you weren't able to get out of there alive."

The Dark Prophet crossed his arms. That made him feel so much better about their companions flying ability. "We need to create battle plans," began Shadow, "Just as a precaution in case we are ordered to attack the Odanite homeworld." Everyone nodded their head in agreement. Taldryan would be more than happy to execute the wishes of the Dark Council on such an occasion - ridding the Jedi from the Brotherhood and galaxy at large. They were a dim light in the darkness, one that required elimination. Their forces were small, and would likely be very easily overtaken by the Brotherhood of Dark Jedi.

Together the Dark Jedi formed a plan, in which Battlegroup Vigilance would be used as the main attack force with the Justice waiting on the Hyperspace lane ready to jump in should it be needed. Currently, the Dark Prophet II] and it's fleet were scattered about the Kr'Tal System, awaiting the call by the Quaestor. The Obelisk leader had sent his former Aedile, Anubis Annedu, to the Prophet to co-ordinate with it's commander and organize the fleet. After the departure of the Old Folks' Home, the Miralukan opened communications with the bridge of the cruiser from the communications centre on the Justice. His Aedile stood at his side, arms crossed and awaiting the answer to the call.

Bridge
Command Deck, Bothan Attack Cruiser Dark Prophet II
Above Volcanus, Kr'Tal System

Anubis stood in front of the holo-projector, bowing. As he brought himself back up, he stared at the blue silhouettes that appeared before him from behind his black faceplate. It was rare that he was outside his armour these days, even on the most important occasions. He felt naked without it. His eyes followed the features of both, as he noticed the female form that stood with the Quaestor. "Lord Taldrya, I have done as you have instructed. The Prophet is moving to the outer reaches of the Kr'Tal System, with the rest of the fleet forming up on us as we speak. It will not be long before we are in formation to make the transition to Hyperspace."

Shaz'air nodded. He had sent his former second for a reason. The man knew how to obey. Ashia gazed at the armoured clad figure through the projection, arms still crossed. She had been waiting for a very long time to see her former apprentice and predecessor. He was not the same man that she had taught all those years ago, but he still shared some traits that had been drilled into his skull. She mused to herself for a moment, before returning to the present. "As the fleet comes into position at the edge of the system, you are to wait before making transit to the rendezvous point. The Old Folks' Home has been dispatched to New Tython to provide intelligence on defenses and any other pertinent information. Shaz'air and I will be joining you shortly; the Justice will meet up with Battlegroup Vigilance at the edge of the system, with Vanguard staying here to assist HomeGuard in protecting from those who may choose to strike while we're away from home."

Anubis nodded, bowing once more. "As you wish... Master Keibatsu."

Bridge
Command Deck, Cotelin-class Star Destroyer Justice
Above Karufr, Kr'Tal System

A slight smirk creased Shaz'air's vissage as he switched off the holo-feed. His former Aedile was nothing if not respectful.

"You taught him well, Ashia. Some of it just took a little longer to sink in is all."

"Anubis has grown, that is for certain." The Keibatsu said quietly as she gazed out into the sea of darkness beyond. Her mind drift to her own recent mission to New Tyhon. She had unveiled some very disturbing things and she knew why they were headed there.

A chirp from the communications console brought her out of her reverie. She turned to one of the consoles as it lit up.

Her azure eyes skimmed across the screen quickly. A wrinkle creased her forehead as she read the message as it scrolled across the screen.

The Miraluka studied her carefully for a moment before speaking. "Is everything alright?"

"This message from the Deputy Grand Master is concerning..."

"What message?" Shaz'air shifted and moved to the console.

"A bounty has been placed on every Light Jedi on New Tyhon. Two thousand credits for each lightsaber brought to the Dark Council. He or she who has collected the most enemy sabers shall be honoured above all others."

She looked at the Quaestor. "This could cause internal war among the clans and houses."

"How's that?" He looked at her questioningly.

"Because everyone who claims a light saber will be at risk by someone looking to claim it for themselves. It won't just be us against them...it will be us against everyone else.

Mess Hall
Crew Quarters, Cotelin-class Star Destroyer Justice
Above Karufr, Kr'Tal System

Xander chewed thoughtfully while listening to the story of one of the men at the table. Xander was sitting among a group of soldiers who worked on the Star Destroyer. There were thousands of them and they were as interchangeable as building blocks. Having returned to the Taldrya fleet fews ago, passing himself off as being a mercenary for hire and taking up a quiet post on the ship had been relatively easy. A few small disguise tricks and avoiding taking on a high profile position like gunner, commando squad, or high officer meant that he was able to fly under the radar of mostly everyone. Thus, he found himself sitting in the crew quarters and eating.

"...I don't know why they are all so tense, but something big must be happening. They all seem to be gearing up for something, and have been stalking around the ship like cats looking for mice.."

Xander leaned back and pushed the glasses he was wearing up the bridge of his nose. He didn't need them, but Corporal Simic did, and that was his current role. He sipped a glass of water thoughtfully and shrugged.

"Who is they?" he asked seemingly dimly

"What? do you have bantha dung for brains Simic, the higher ups, the ones you see everywhere in black, with the weird flowing robes." A seargent said

Xander shrugged looking back at his non-descript uniform, he personally always hated wearing black, even when not in disguise preferring simple military uniforms.

"I guess, we'll find out."

The intercom system rang throughout the mess hall of the Destroyer, the triple-pinged twang of the horn that rang aloud brought a sudden halt to all aboard the vessel, as protocol ordered when the bridge was making an announcement. The ever familiar voice of Raif Slaxton chirped shortly after the third ping resonated, his voice calm and stern as usual. “This is Vice Admiral Slaxton. I bring to you the entire crew the pleasure and honor of having both our Quaestor Taldrya and Aedile aboard with us today. Show respect now as our leader addresses the fleet.”

A soft click sounded twice before the deep voice of the Miralukan rang throughout the Justice. “Greetings my fellow Taldryan; my brethren who share a similar gift that I do, and my humble subordinates in Taldryan’s fine Armed Forces: War is being toyed with once more by the hand that rests upon the Iron throne. And once more Taldryan has been called to do the bidding of the Dark Council, and of Lord Ashen. We are going to heed those orders. Already I have begun to ready battlegroup Vanguard to the border of the Kr’Tal system where we will jump to meet the Dark Council fleet just outside of our inevitable destination.”

A muted murmur arose throughout the crew shuffled in the mess hall. Alexander shifting his position where he sat. He had become comfortable with the crew he was dining with. His thoughts wandered for a moment as he wondered if he would need to leave their sides before entering onto the battlefield. A Krath serving with soldiers? He mused to himself before his attention fell back to that of the young-Taldrya’s.

“Once there, we will foster our units into whatever the Iron Throne requires.” Alexander could feel the men around him become suddenly unsteady at the thought of throwing away their lives at the whim from a Dark Lord that held sway over their Quaestor. “We shall serve our Brotherhood as we have in centuries past, and we will once again prove our Military might and prowess over those pathetic Clans and Houses. Together, Taldryan will once again be called to take arms up against Jedi; and once again we will do so and conquer. Serve me well. Admiral Slaxton, prepare the Justice to arrive with the rest of the fleet before jumping to meet the Dark Council.”

The mess hall was silent for a moment as the units contained there looked around at each other. A moment followed before everyone stood up from their seats and started towards their stations, leaving their un-finished food behind without remorse.

Bubbles did little more than raise an eyebrow at the announcement from her Quaestor before turning her attention back to the bowl of ice-cream in front of her. She scooped a large dollop up on one of Alanna's finest cookies, and smiled as the ice-cream started to run down her fingers. She had been in this position more times than she cared to remember, and knew all too well that the events of the inevitable war would soon take over from more mundane matters, such as stopping to eat.

As the younger Journeymen gathered in the kitchens made to move she gestured back at them to sit,

"Finish your food, there'll be plenty of time for glory later, but chances are you won't get a break for a good meal for a while. They'll let us know if they need us, but I'd put money on you having time to finish your dinner first."

They paused, looking a little uncertain. She fixed the closest with a glower,

"I said sit. Eat. If Shaz'air needs you urgently, he'll know full well where to find you. The last thing we need is any of you collapsing on us when things get tough because you haven't eaten."

A little taken aback, her housemates settled back down, and hesitantly continued their meal. The Epis licked her fingers clean and pushed back her chair. She may have been in this position before, but she still liked to know what was going on. Heading out to the halls, she paused for a moment, debating whether to see if Rian was in his quarters. She shook her head, in the days when she was Tetrach, she would've been long gone by now; she turned right and walked decisively towards the Command Deck.

“There are many things about these battle situations that are getting old. But seeing you stroll these corridors, isn’t one of them.”
Bubbles stopped and turned to look at the man whose voice she had already recognized, but had somehow failed to feel his presence.
“How do you do that?” she frowned a little as she asked the question.
A tall man, cloaked and hooded, stepped out of the shadow. He threw his hood back and walked towards her. Bubbles turned to resume her path to the Command Deck, and Lokasena Corvinus formed up left of her and threw his right arm around Bubbles’ shoulders. “Wheels within wheels, sweaty. Wheels within wheels.” He said while making circling motions with his right index finger at his temple and he allowed himself a uncharacteristically sincere, almost warm, smile.

Corvinus took care to release the Epis, before they stormed through the door. It wouldn’t be very professional, in front of the soldiers.
“So good of you two to join us…” Shaz’air said, with sarcasm a plenty.
“A lady’s prerogative to be fashionably late.” Bubbs replied.
“A lady’s, maybe… But what’s his excuse?” Ashia nodded to Lokasena, who in turn, motioned to Bubbles to wipe the corner of her mouth. His lips forming the word “ice-cream” without sound.”

“Cut it out, guys. This is the real deal.” Shaz’air commented.
“Well top, what’s the opp?” Corvinus asked, leaning back against a console. “Can you give us anything in the form of a sit-rep?”
“You’ll have to wait, Sena. Just like the rest of us.” Shadow said.
“I don’t see why we can’t hack some databases and find out in advance, that’s all.” Sena shrugged.
Ashia’s mouth dropped open just a little. “Surely, you can’t be serious?”
“I am serious!” he replied as a large grin appeared on his face. “And don’t call me Sh_”
“Sena…!” Shaz’air snapped.
“Sorry…”

Quaestor's Quarters
Deck 2, Cotelin-class Star Destroyer Justice
Outer Edge, Kr'Tal System

Shaz'air sat in his desk, well composed. His elbows rested on the dark surface of his desk, his fingers intertwined as his hands covered his mouth. He sat still. Silent. Contemplating his next move with care. It had been a couple hours since the second meeting on the bridge, at which several more members attended. Across from him sat his Aedile, her eyes studying the man on the other side. While she was new to Taldryan, she was very familiar with it's Quaestor. In fact, she was familiar with a couple of it's members. She had been a welcome guest many times in the Great Temple on Karufr, for ceremonies and other prestigious occasions.

"Have the command plans been finalized?" he asked, hands slipping away from his face as he retreated backwards in his seat. The Keibatsu nodded, extending a piece of flimsy. While his Miralukan sight was a great gift, it was also a curse; unable to view information on computer screens was a large impairment. On the piece of flimsy, Kagan had stored the information given to her on which members Keirdagh had recommended be posted where to command vessels within the Vigilance fleet. The Obelisk leader had ordered Battlegroup Vanguard to hold at the edge of the Kr'Tal System, staying behind as a reassurance that no one would attack the Taldryan homeland.

Only the Justice would be leaving, and even then, it would not be put into combat unless absolutely necessary. The HomeGuard fleet had been assigned to protect the Rybanloth System, with two of it's ships protecting the stand-alone planet of Merach. Taldryan territory was completely secure from unwanted visitors while the House was away. The Taldrya's sight scanned the flimsy for a moment, before he set it back down. "Excellent. Alert the chosen commanders of their posts. We'll co-ordinate our ground commanders as we meet up with the Council's fleet."

The former Daughter of Sadow nodded. She stood, bowing slightly. While she may have more experience than the Taldrya, she was still his subordinate. Even if she did not serve the Brotherhood directly, she was well versed in respect; and would not act otherwise. The respect did not work one way, however - Shaz'air knew the extent of his fresh Aedile's experience. She was a master at deception, intelligence gathering, and was wiser than most he had encountered. He valued her knowledge and input. Her robes flowed as she turned to leave the room, stopping half way through the motion - her intuition telling her their business was not yet concluded. "Is there something else you require, Lord Taldrya?

"I would like you to alert the ship commanders that they are to report their posts, and make sure our Dark Jedi are all aware of the upcoming feud for the Light Sider's lightsabers. This will be very bloody, and old war memories may surface to fuel the fires." Ashia nodded. She finished turning, leaving the Miralukan to his own thoughts.

Battlegroup Vigilance,
Outer Edge, Kr'Tal System

Ashia contacted the members that had been designated as military commanders of the fleet, and gave them orders to report to their posts. Aside from the absent members of The Old Folks' Home, each received their orders and reported to their posts over the next couple hours. Jac Cotelin and Shaz'air had moved to the Dark Prophet II, with Battlelord Vardar Ordo taking command of starfighters on board; commanding from a TIE Defender. Alanna and Bubbles Taldrya, both long standing members of the House, were to be stationed on the Orthanc; a unique Interdictor-class vessel that had been won by Taldryan many ages ago and retained in service with the introduction of the new fleet.

Hyperion Squadron was to be headed up by Amiz, once a member of the now defunct House Archanis. He had flown in the squadron previous, and was almost estatic to be heading up the group in the upcoming battles ahead. An opportunity only presented itself like this very rarely. The Valor was to be commanded by Ashia and Keirdagh, to prevent the chain of command from total annihilation should the Prophet/i] fall. Legendary pilot Howlader would take command of the Valor's starfighter forces once he rendezvoused with the Taldryan fleet above New Tython, keeping the cruiser alive and well.

Erinyes Tenema and Anubis Annedu were each instructed to report to one of the fleet's Corellian Gunships. There they would command the vessels and provide support for the Valor while Gobhainn Sgath was given command of the Sentinel, a vessel which command of was previously reserved for members of the Sentire Taldryae. Each had valuable insight and knowledge which would come in handy for the battles to come - as well as the experience to back it up. Slaxton would continue to command the Justice, while it waited in limbo between the Odanite homeworld and the meeting point with the Dark Council. Luckily for Shaz'air, he retained the power to change any of these commands as he saw fit. Whether or not that would be required, was another matter.

As each and every member present, Dark Jedi or Taldryan Security Force, prepared themselves for what was to come, the fleet made the final preparations and checks for Hyperspace. It wouldn't be long now before Vigilance would make the jump. Zero hour approached.

Bridge
Cotelin-class Star Destroyer Justice
Outer Edge, Kr'Tal System

Shaz'air was ready to give to order to jump to lightspeed. He could feel the nerves of the crew were becoming more tense as the minutes went by. Not his though, he learned to control his nerves years ago as with all Dark Jedi.

“Pilot, are the coordinates set?” question Shaz'air.

“Yes sir”, he replied.

“Let's st...” said and interrupted Shaz'air

“Sir, radar shows a shuttle appearing out of hyperspace!” stated the crewman.

“And things were going so smoothly up until now. COMM open a channel to the shuttle”, ordered Shaz'air.

Unidentified shuttle
Outer Edge, Kr'Tal System

Corax was sitting anxiously in the pilots seat of the shuttle. He hasn't seen his former house members for quite a long time and was ready to join them in battle.

Whispers of a war had reached his ears. The lust for blood consumed him and his lust for battle took over. He knew this was the time to re-emerge and rejoin his house for the greater good of Taldryan and the Brotherhood.

A light flickered on the COMM panel. Corax activated the COMM system.

“Unidentified shuttle, this is Shaz'air Taldrya, you have entered Taldryan space. You will enter the hangar bay of the Justice, and submit your ship for inspection”

Without a reply, Corax entered the co-ordinates for the hangar bay of the Justice. He set the autopilot and went to change into his robes, Obelisk-blue torrent robes, won by Taldyan in the last war. He takes much pride in wearing these robes as they show the hard work put in by not only him but the rest of the Taldryan members.

Corax made his way back to the bridge to start the landing process. With the flicks of a few switches the shuttle was now stationary in the docking bay of the Justice. He made his way to the shut boarding ramp and hit the controls to lower the ramp. Corax, shrouded in his cloak, waited for the ramp to lower and greet his house members.

Bridge
Command Deck, Bothan Attack Cruiser Dark Prophet II
Above New Tython

Shaz'air watched the carnage from the viewport of the cruiser, arms crossed as his mind processed the information it was being fed. The Jedi did have reinforcements. While Farmer's Daughter had planned for such a scenario, the numbers that had joined the Tythonian Jedi was slightly impressive. Mandalorians had even joined their cause. The Miralukan had put out an order to all invading Taldryan forces that they were into condition yellow - and condition red could be ordered at any time, at his discretion. Vigilance was entirely in-system, located close to it's ally Naga Sadow. While the alliance between the units was still growing, it was very apparent that they were willing to put their differences aside for the Brotherhood - and themselves. Jac Cotelin stood several feet behind, his mind's eye extending and monitoring allied forces. The Grand Master's reach extended far, down to the planets surface. "Arcona already has forces on the ground. They're suffering casualties" the words quietly escaped his lips, as his emotion made no change.

The Quaestor turned his head slightly, looking back at the weathered man. He nodded, before turning to face the rest of the bridge. "Alright, people. Order the Orthanc to keep at a safe distance and start it's gravity well generators. The Valor, Stormwind and Flamewind are to engage enemy forces directly, while the Prophet and Sentinel assist the Sadowite fleet. Open a link to the Final Way, alert them that we'd like to co-ordinate our forces with theirs. Launch all fighters and prepare the ground troops for invasion. Alert all Battalion colonels and captains to their posts - they are all to be at their designated drop ships within the next ten minutes. Get me Shadow, now. This is war... one which Taldryan will not lose."

Troop Area
Warlord Dropship X24-19B
Falling From The Sky, New Tython

The dropship burned through the atmosphere. It was not alone - there were several just like it, and even more forces with that, falling from space together. The Taldryan forces had begun their ground invasion. Priest Lokasena Corvinus prepared his gear; he was outfitted with a set of survival clothing, a pack that contained a a first aid kit, rations, a glowrod, macrobinoculars, and several flares, as well as a short sword to cut the brush - to match his skill set. He ensured the sharpness of the blade met his standards, and the rest of his equipment was strapped properly. They dropship hit heavy turbulence as it plummeted from the sky, the men inside the durasteel container shaking back and forth within their crash webbing.

The soldiers worked through the violent movements, seamlessly preparing their rifles, pistols, and combat knives for battle. They too, were checking over their equipment. A loud beep penetrated the rattles and metal clinking, encouraging the Krath to look down at his datapad. He activated the screen to see he received a message from Shadow Taldrya - the man who had been designated to lead the ground invasion. Quirking an eyebrow, the curious Human opened the message. His eyes scanned the faint blue he was presented with. Muraght and Kaltace Battalion were to assist the Sadowite ground invasion immediately upon arrival.

Gobhainn Sgath sat in the pilot’s seat of the VT-49 >Sentinel. He and his copilot, one Commander Yrrdanni Szel, a Zeltron female, looked at each other. He could sense the disbelief and frustration that she was feeling. The Sentinel and the Dark Prophet II were being sent to back up Clan Naga Sadow. These orders made no sense whatsoever.

Naga Sadow has a large fleet with plenty of the most modern X-Wings. There was no need to support them with the flagship of Vigilance fleet and certainly no need of the Sentinel when Sadow had two VT-49 Decimators already. These orders were sheer politics and diplomacy.

Politics and Diplomacy had bitten Taldryan in the ass before. Almost every clan and house feared Taldryan and at some point or another had betrayed, double-crossed, and/or backstabbed the former First in the Brotherhood in the past. And it had cost Taldryan in both assets and manpower.

“Don’t worry. I have no intention of being served up as a dish on the table of treachery. And I won’t let this ship and crew be thrown away either.” Gobhainn stated to his red skinned copilot. “We’ll provide flanking support. I’ll bring us to within seven klicks of their fleet and no closer. That places us outside of Sadow’s targeting range.”

Gobhainn opened the comm to the gunners. “These are the standing orders unless otherwise specified by me or communication from House Command. Intercept all unidentified ships trying to evade the Naga Sadow Fleet while approaching or departing New Tython. Destroy any vessel trying to vector in on the Sentinel except the Dark Prophet II”
“Yessir!” crackled in over the comm.

Turning once more to the Zeltron, Gobhainn let one corner of his mouth rise in a partial smile. “Commander, I understand your people enjoy thrills. Well you’ll get plenty today. I specialize in heavy assault. I assume you know what that means.”
The Zeltron’s eyes widened and she swallowed quickly. Other than that she showed no outward sign of nervousness or dismay.

“Yes, Sir.”

Heavy assault was every fighter pilot’s nightmare. The goal was to disable the defense, shield s and engines of capital ships in that order. It meant approaching vessels capable of destroying smaller vessels very quickly and attacking those very same high power weapons directly and from close range. You were not trying to destroy the larger ship; just weaken it enough so that others could safely finish up. Heavy assault was especially important on disable and board missions. Most pilots would rather fight a whole squadron of enemy starfighters by themselves than participate in heavy assault missions.

Gobhainn continued. “We will focus of large transports and smaller capital ships trying to the blockade. You will be in charge of warhead control. Since we have a limited number of missiles we will focus on primary heavy laser turrets, turbolasers and missile launchers. We’ll leave the cleanup to others. Remember, to ensure impact, you cannot fire until we are less than half a klick away. Trust in my flying and the gunners for defense and focus on your targets. At high speed and close range a half klick passes in the blink of an eye.”

“Yes sir, I understand. You can count on me” Szel replied

In the cockpit window, the pair could see that they were approaching the Sadow fleet.

“Well then, let the fun begin” the Warrior muttered to himself as he opened the comm to hail the other fleet.

“Clan Naga Sadow, this is Taldryan Decimator Sentinel . Be advised that we and the Dark Prophet II are on approach to render assistance as per our alliance agreement. Sentinel will be establishing a flanking position to the starboard of your primary position”

Gobhainn shut off the comm before the Sadow command could respond and issue counter commands.

Besides, he already saw a couple of Sacheen-class light escorts and a Hajen-class fleet tender trying to slip by on the outer edge of the combat zone.

Troop Area
Warlord Dropship X24-19B
Falling From The Sky, New Tython.

The message was clear, Lokasena would do his best to see the orders through. This was about lightsabers, and he would be in the thick of things. “What a great opportunity, for an Obelisk.” Sena mused to himself.
A young man looked at the Krath Priest, face green, ready to empty his stomach. Sena had seen it only to often. War was young men dying and hope failing. All too useless…
“We’re coming in, sir. Twenty seconds to landing.” Came over the intercom.
“Set us down clean, pilot. Save your tricks for later.”
“Yes sir!”

The large craft set down, rougher than Sena would have liked, but right on target. The red light suddenly blinked blue and everyone got up from their seats. Large doors opened and a stream of soldiers poured out onto the landscape. It was still day, though the sun barely shone. The two moons could be seen, vaguely.
With a long stride, Lokasena walked to the nearest officer, a lieutenant.
“I will be needing a team.”
“Sir, orders will be given when we have coordinated our efforts with_”
“Listen, I am sure you really believe that our superiors have our best interests at heart, but they don’t! Give me a team, so I can make a difference in this giant mess. Remember our agreement.” Sena said, hinting to something that never happened. But the Force was a strong ally.
“What do you need?” the lieutenant asked.
“Regardless of what our orders will be, I’ll need at least four men to accompany me.”
With a little hesitation in his voice, the lieutenant called out four names. “De’Jar, Vrax, Zimmer and Denezz.”
Three men and a woman turned and came walking toward them.
“You’ll be assigned to this Foxtrot Uniform for the remainder of the mission. You are to follow his orders, to the letter.”
“Sir, yes sir!” they bellowed in unison, clearly audible through the clamor of the troops marching around them. Corvinus was pleased.

Keirdagh sat back in the chaotic maelstrom that was once the orderly bridge of the Taldryan Naval Ship Valor as the heat and desperation of battle enveloped it. After so many years, he had become accustomed to the speed of the changing variables, the half heard shouts of five different people, all screaming out vital information and praying that someone important enough to do something about it understood them. He’d sat on many a bridge, in many a battle, and seen crews fight valiantly and bravely, as well as foolishly. Thankfully, Commodore Saiff Hessen, the Taldryan Naval Commander was a man who clearly knew how to run a warship. He stood in the center of all the chaos, the one unmoving statue of calm in the storm, and went about his mission with a calm and deliberate demeanor.
Glancing at the mysterious Dark Jedi by his side, Keirdagh felt her impatience stirring beneath her steely countenance, and smiled despite himself. “If I might offer a suggestion Aedile… our job here is to oversee, to rally our forces, as the Commodore does his. He’s a capable officer, and he doesn’t need two blasted Jedi watching over his shoulder as he runs his bloody fleet.” Keirdagh spared a glance forward at the Commodore, and his grin grew even wider. The sense of agreement washing out from the man would be palpable to even an Acolyte. “Isn’t that right Commodore?” he called out slightly louder.

The officer turned to face him; “Begging your pardon Mistress, but Admiral, that’s exactly right.” Another shouted message floated up to the Commodore and he was again lost in his duties, though his posture was slightly more relaxed. Though she bristled slightly at the directness of the Commodore’s reply, Ashia merely nodded. Saiff turned his head back to them. “Priority dispatch from Dark Prophet coming in on the Command Frequency. Patching it to your station now.” As good as his word, immediately the speaker started talking in the Quaestor’s voice.

“We’re tied up good with Naga Sadow forces and helping them out. Updates on our troop landings?” Keirdagh queued up the relevant information and handed it over to Ashia on a data pad.
“Slow going, our fighters are double duty to keep the skies clear and escort landing craft. Mando forces are putting up a heavy fight as to be expected. Groundside operations seem to be going smoothly, Shadow has a forward command post set up and is just waiting for more people to start moving out. Some mix up in the rendezvous with Sadow forces on the ground though.”
“Mix up? Give me details.”
Stepping up next to the microphone Keirdagh took the liberty of fielding that question. “I believe General Shadow’s exact words were: There’s a whole army of little blue tree huggers between us and them. Tell them we’ll meet them in the middle.”
Laughter rang through the transmission. “Dark Prophet out.”

Bridge
Interdictor Cruiser Orthanc
Above New Tython

Bubbles nodded to Commodore Kordoo as she joined Alanna on the Bridge of the Orthanc. She tried to suppress the slight smile that threatened to cross her lips whenever she saw the Jedi Master in command of a vessel, from past experience that was generally not a situation compatable with the vessel remaining flight-worthy for long; although at least on this occassion Alanna had a very experienced crew to delegate to.

The Epis perched herself on the edge of a console, a little surprised at how peaceful the bridge seemed, and rested her feet on the chair next to it, "It's looking interesting down there already by all accounts, have you heard anything from Sena or Shadow yet?"

Alanna looked up from her datapad, "Not a lot, heavy fighting from all accounts, they're going to be busy for quite some time down there."

She paused for a moment as the gravity well generators started up, waiting until she was happy they were warming up correctly before continuing, "But it looks like things are going to get interesting up here as well, once their forces realise what we're doing we're going to become a target, and you know just how cumbersome these cruisers become with the gravity wells active."

Bubbs nodded, making little attempt to feign interest in the intricacies of ship mechanics. She turned her attention back to the screens of the console she was perched on, and busied herself with finding her way around them so she could be of some use when the battle reached as far as the Orthanc.

Bridge
VIN Valor
Above New Tython

Ashia observed the men and women bustling about on the deck of the Valor. It was well organized, but more hands on deck then she was used to. The Spear accomplished the same with fewer people. 'Too many hands spoil the war.' She thought sarcastically as Keirdagh reclined in the aft position and watched the chaos ensue.

"It appears then, that you have everything in order, Admiral. I will make my way planet side and join up with the ground forces."

Keirdagh raised an eyebrow at her then nodded slightly. "As you wish, Mistress Keibatsu." a slight sneer crossed his visage as he resumed his observation of the on going turmoil that was the bridge of the Valor.
-----------------
Golari Battalion
Owyhyee, New Tython

A warm wind blew east, stirring the leaves at their feet. Men and women bustled about the base on personal missions; putting the finishing touches on whatever needed to be done before they advanced. A palpable tension filled the air like the circling of carrion birds.

Sithspawn Taldrya stood before the Golari Battalion making his final inspections. Dralin Forte stood with him with a datapad in hand.

The Nightsister slipped in silently and stood next to Dralin for several minutes as he focused on his task before he noticed her out of the corner of his eye and took a double take.

“Where the blazes did you come from?” Dralin looked her up and down; a slightly disturbed looked crossed his eyes.

“My shuttle just landed from the Valor.” The Pontifex’s demeanor was reserved.

“Lady Keibatsu. How good of you to join us. How are we doing up there?” Sithspawn interjected.

“Same as always.” Ashia gave a curt reply that matched her disposition.

“That good, eh? Word has it we are supposed to be giving support to Naga Sadow. Who the frell gave that order?” The Adept spat. His crimson eyes burned bright in the afternoon sun.

“Orders from the Throne, my Lord.” The Krath said matter-of-factly without so much as a blink.

“Well, we can’t exactly communicate with them without running the risk of it being intercepted.” You could hear the contempt he held for what he believed was lunacy. This was war; the last thing they needed was a babysitting job.

“That’s easy enough. I have ways of communicating with them that aren’t…mainstream.” The Zabrak reached out through the Force; her mind worked as she sought out her brother-in-law’s mind.

Dralin stopped and looked at her quizzically. “What? How?”

Sithspawn grinned; the sun glinted off his metallic tipped fangs. “The Keibatsu. She has ways to communicate with them through the Force.”

’We're about 50 clicks northeast of Menat Ombo.’ Shin’ichi’s voice rang through her mind.

Taldryan VT-49 Decimator Sentinel
Above New Tython

Sgath was getting a little pissed off.

He and the Sentinel and its crew had been taking a beating. Shields were at forty percent and every one had bruises from being knocked about.

That in itself was not unusual. You don’t take on even small capital ships without taking a few hits. That’s why you pull back occasionally and let shields recharge as well let yourself come down from the adrenaline surges. You needed to breathe and relax every so often in an extended battle or else you got the jitters and jumps. Clear heads, calm hearts, and steady hands were the key to heavy assault and Commander Szel along with the gunners had done their jobs well. Together they had weakened six transports and two gunships as well as one escort carrier besides the two Sacheens and the Hajen they had encountered at the start of the battle.

No, the problem was the fighter pilots from Naga Sadow; they seemed obsessed with taking the Sentinel down with their targets. Twice the Sentinel had been caught in the blast radii of advanced proton torpedoes and several times had barely dodged incoming concussion missiles. The final straw had been when an Sadow pilot had launched two heavy rockets right behind him a moment ago as Gobhainn had been making a run on the escort carrier. With his shields on full forward, their impact from behind would have blown the Sentinel all the way back Kr’tur; The sith had pulled the decimator into an eight G climb and ordered the topside gunner to burn the rockets.

The comm crackled, “Sorry about that, Sentinel. I thought would fire through the hole you were opening up. I guess I was too close.”

Gobhainn keyed the comm, “You guess!. You launched those rocket almost directly into my exhaust nozzle. You should probably find somewhere else to be or I might have a weapons malfunction right in your face.”

Releasing the comm key. Gobhainn turned to his Zeltron co-pilot. ”Commander, what’s our status?”

“Shields at 40, Sir. Engines slightly overheated but fully functioning. Three advanced concussion missiles remaining but port launcher is damaged and nonfunctional. Keel cannon is damaged and targeting computer is down; Corporal Fared is shooting wild. If you won’t be offended. Sir; I can guarantee that he does not have a credit’s worth of Force sensitivity.”

Gobhainn smirked at her attempt at humor. Szel had actually seemed to be enjoying herself. It was her little quips and a healthy dose of those infamous Zeltron pheromones that had kept Gobhainn from losing himself in to his fury. However, she was also becoming a distraction. Between the pheromones and her crimson hair, so much like Saraid’s, and the light sheen of sweat on her cerise skin, more than once he had found himself thinking about debriefing her in his private quarters.

A smart pilot knew when it was time to bail. Fighting sub-par was just asking to become space debris.

“That’s it. We’re out of here. The Prophet and Our Sadow “friends” can finish up. Not much left up here anyway. Most of the Mandos are either dust or on the ground by now.

Gobhainn once more keyed the comm, this time to Taldryan’s private frequency.

“Dark Prophet, this is Sentinel . We are returning to Battlegroup Vigilance. We’re low on ordnance and have considerable damage”

*Mostly from our “allies”* Gobhainn remarked sarcastically to himself.

A unfamiliar voiced replied, “Roger that, Sentinel. Thank you for your assistance.”

“Some junior comm officer,” Gobhain muttered. “Just as well. Don’t want some command officer telling us to stay put.”

“Prophet, I advise you pull out soon as well. Never forget history. Oh, and advise our Sadowite friends that we will not need an escort. One of our gun’s controls is damaged and I’d rather avoid any regrettable incidents. Sentinel out.”

With this Gobhainn pulled the Sentinel into a hammerhead stall and swung her around toward the sector where Taldryan’s rallying point was established.

Switching the comm to internal, Gobhainn spoke to his gunners. “Gentlemen, well done. I’d like to relieve you of your posts but I think you had better stay put for a while. If anything tries to follow, blow it out of the skies. I don’t care what it is unless it’s the Dark Prophet; Mando or Sadow, I want it dusted. Is that clear?”

Dual voices replied “Yes sir! Very Good, Sir!”

Yrrdani chortled. “They’re more afraid of you than of the Mandos or Naga Sadow”

“They have no reason to be; as long as they do as they are told and do their best, I’ll do the best I can for them.”

“Oh! The legendary Sith terror Gobhainn Sgath is really a pushover. Who would have thought that a Dark Jedi Warrior would care for us plebs.” Szel laughed. But only for a moment, the next moment, her hands flew to her throat and her eyes bulged as an invisible hand grasped her by the throat.

“I care because we all make up Taldryan. We Dark Jedi rule because we have the power to rule. But it is you “plebs” that make up our true strength. But never forget that it is us F.U.s that rule; An individual life does not mean that much.” Gobhainn’s voice was hard as he rebuked her levity.

Then he released her.

“You’re a good commander, I would hate for something to happened to you.” Gobhainn said blandly

Maybe after this operation is over you can come to my quarter and show me the truth of the other skills that are so legendary of the Zeltron.

Commander Szel smiled weakly, rubbing her throat. Yet there did seem to be a slight sparkle in her eye.

“Yes, Sir”

Ateliuc Battalion
Somewhere between Central Mountain and Menat Ombo,
New Tython

Shadow stood firm, brandishing his weapon as the warm breeze blew through his ornate battle-clothing. His ears hummed as the fighters from Rage and Chaos squadron made another pass along the battalion before finally flying off into the horizon. Reaching towards his shoulder the Dark Jedi Master placed the small comm. receiver to his ear, the small mumble that was echoing from it suddenly becoming more audible.

“Command, this is Arkarso squadron reporting in for a final check. All primary objects have been met and the area has been secured for 0100 hours. Orders and co-ordinates to form up on Ferran’s Spear are requested.” The thick, raspy voice of the pilot rang through the comm. system briefly as he awaited a response.
“All battalions Ateliuc, Galori, Kaltace and Muraght report in.” The familiar voice of the Justice’s leading coordination officer.

Shadow heard the familiar voices of his fellow Taldryanites from Golari and Muraght ring over the small chip held to his ear, and finally Kaltace. “Colonel Sharad Taldrya Hett with Kaltace Battalion. All resources are clear and a go, minimal casualties yet from Operation Hammer of God. Ready to form up upon General Shadow and Ateliuc Battalion for Operation Ferran’s Spear.”

Shadow took a slight breath, raising the incoming piece of the comm. to his mouth. “All is accounted for on behalf of Ateliuc, operation Hammer of God has been in full effect and has had the pleasure of working with the Dlarit Military Cooperation.” He said, a sneer creeping across his face at the thought of working with the Clan’s military, his eyes shifting to the D-SOG agent standing at his side.
“If Command is willing, I request we be given granted access to begin Operation Ferran’s Spear, code word: High Tide.”
He let his finger remove itself from the override button as he awaited a response. There was silence for a moment, then the speaker lit up once more.
“Request granted, General Taldrya. All battalions, prepare to receive incoming order packets from command for Operation Ferran’s Spear. On behalf of Quaestor Taldrya, a job well done on Hammer of God. Be sure to give our condolences to Naga Sadow’s representatives. Good luck, and may the force be with you. Command out.”

The Dark Jedi Master refrained from rolling his eyes at the hearty expression that the young officer shouted over the comm. link. A TalSec soldier briskly walked over to Obelisk, his hand holding a lit-data-pad. “General Shadow, orders from Command. Your eyes only, sir.”

Shadow did not need to read the orders; he had helped write them. He glanced at the D-SOG agent again and said in a ruffled voice, “Other than aiding you in the space-frontier, how can we help Naga Sadow out further in this war?”

Bridge
Command Deck, Cotelin-class Star Destroyer Justice
Above New Tython

Shaz’air stood up from his seat, eyes widening for an instance as the Justice’s command-aid motioned for news from the Cotelin Regiment popping up in various messages and communication relays.
“Sir, all of Cotelin Regiment is in agreement to a successful operation on behalf of Hammer of God. General Shadow is requesting permission to continue with our progression and initiate Ferran’s Spear. Shall we grant access?”
Slaxton shifted his weight, the elder officers eyes shifted from across the room to the Exarch who now stood with his arms at his side, fingers presses lightly against a small platform. He stared at the Miralukan’s blue-gray eyes before returning to his holo-display before him.

“Grant access for Operation Ferran’s Spear to initiate. General Shadow has free reign when acting upon our allies in Naga Sadow.”

He finished with a curt nod towards Slaxton. “Put me in communication yet again with Consul Methyas.”

Bridge
Interdictor Cruiser Orthanc
Above New Tython

Bubbs pulled her hair back off her face and tied it securely in place as a lull in the battle gave her a moment’s grace. She glanced towards Alanna and swore under her breath. The Jedi Master could at least feign a slightly disheveled appearance occasionally.

An interjection from Commodore Kordoo interrupted her train of thought, “Incoming message from the Dark Prophet for you Lady Alanna, would you like me to patch it through to you?”

Alanna nodded in reply, and turned her attention from the damage report in front of her to the message. Bubbles sat patiently, knowing that trying to rush Alanna would only lead to her being kept waiting all the longer. After reading the message several times, knowing full well that the Epis was waiting expectantly, Alanna turned to face Bubbs, “It seems our fleets have been successful, they’re reporting casualties, but those of the enemy far outstrip ours. The Dark Council has requested Talryan's assistance, along with Naga Sadow’s to help combat the forces on the ground. Shaz’air has asked for any available members of the house to reinforce Shadow and Sena on the ground.” she paused, slightly amused at the glint in Bubbs’ eye “I take it you’d rather stay here…”

Bubbles glowered at Alanna for a moment, then her expression softened and she grinned, winking at the Master, “I’ll see you when I get back then," she replied, just catching the faintest hint of sarcasm in Alanna's last statement, "If you can get a message through to Sena let him know I’m en route.”

As the Epis left the bridge somewhat hastily, Alanna sat back in her chair, allowing herself a moment to reflect on the younger Krath’s enthusiasm for a fight. Never let it be said that the Krath did not enjoy their share of combat. With a knowing smile on her lips, she turned her attention back to the state of the Orthanc.

Troops on the march.
New Tython.

“Sir, what exactly are our orders?” the youngest of the group asked. It had been several hours since any clear messages came through. But now the time had come for action.
“Lady and gentlemen,” Sena began. “We received orders to join in the assault. Therefore I suggest we do not delay and follow the rest of the army to the front of the battle. Any chance I see to gain an advantage, I will exploit. Make sure you stay close to me at all times. It will be a rough ride, but I want to win some sabers for Taldryan.” The soldiers saluted at the mention of the name.

Corvinus checked his sash for his weapons and supplies, his finger tips found everything he needed. The soldiers checked their guns and fell in line.
“Let’s get to it, kids.” Sena said, and he walked out to a an outcropping of rocks that were located at least one kilometer from the landing zone.

Climbing up the rocks, they would have a nice view of the open terrain that lay before them. It overlooked the flank of the main force. Mostly short grass on a fairly flat landscape. No animals could be seen…
But there…
Sena dropped on his stomach, just as a projectile flew over him. He could hear a deep gasp, someone falling and then a gurgling sound. Vrax was dead. Extending an arm to grab the thigh of Denezz. The young woman fell to the ground. A small push with the Force caused Zimmer to topple over as well. De’Jar was not so lucky. There was the shimmer of a blaster bolt. The soldier dropped to his knees, a hole the size of a Tavian grapefruit were his face used to be. Zimmer’s helmet was covered in blood by the sudden expansion of his squad mate’s head.

The comm. Unit in Corvinus’ pocket vibrated. He quickly scanned the device. An incoming message from the Orthanc. Brief and to the point. “Epis Bubbles will be joining you shortly.”
The message almost brought a smile to Sena’s face. He knew she wouldn’t be the type to settle things from a console.
He looked around and saw the frightened faces of the two soldiers. All around now the fighting had broken loose. The incoming fire was met by heavy resistance from the main Taldryan forces.
“Snap out of it!” Sena bellowed as he quickly unclasped his saber from his sash. “Ready weapons and return fire.” The order seemed to have the desired effect. Denezz and Zimmer rolled over to face the enemy and opened fire. For a while Sena analyzed the situation. Should he pick up a rifle and hold back the incoming force, or take up his saber and take the fight to the enemy. As much as he wanted to, he could not wait for Bubbles to arrive. Besides, she would find him, even in this mess.

“Zimmer, Denezz. I want you two to lay down a suppressing fire and allow me to get closer to their flank. Once I’m near the next outcropping, I want you to fall back and get reinforcements, about fifty men, and then follow. When their advance brings them past us, we’ll try to charge their flank and disrupt their battle line.”
The two soldier nodded and for a moment stared at the Priest. He didn’t look like a cleric, right now. He didn’t even look like a scientist. This man was a soldier. Then they turned and opened fire once again, drawing attention to themselves and laying down a suppressing barrage to the enemy’s advance.
Corvinus hurried towards the island of rock in a sea of grass. Blaster bolts passed him only by inches. Just as he was about to make a slide behind the rocks, one shot nicked his left knee.
Sena lost his balance and slammed head first into the stone facing. His shoulders had also absorbed much of the fall and as he sat up, only a thin trickle of blood ran down his forehead. The blaster shot had not penetrated his leg armor, merely glanced it. Looking back at the rocks he came running from, he could see Denezz and Zimmer had already left to find the reinforcements he had requested. Sena really hoped they would also bring Bubbles with them, but would she land on time?

Bridge
VIN Valor
Above New Tython

The situation was escalating fast. Since the arrival of the Grand Master and the Dark Council forces, there had been a quick and startling progression in the battle. While there were still pockets of resistance in the orbital theatre, most of the invading Mandalorians had scurried to the surface as fast as they could when faced with overwhelming numbers. Most of their ready fleet and fighter squadrons had changed from trying to engage Brotherhood forces, into harassing any Brotherhood Starfighters that tried to enter the battle sub-orbital. It was making for a distinctively annoying distraction from the task at hand. Keirdagh watched in mostly silence from the back of the bridge, giving advice and shouting orders when the situation required it. “Commodore, open Communications to Wing Leader Howlader and General Shadow on the surface if you would.”



Ateliuc Battalion
Somewhere between Central Mountain and Menat Ombo,
New Tython

The communications unit built into Shadow’s headset played a remarkably cheery tone, indicating an incoming transmission. “Go for Shadow.”
“Go for Shadow? Seriously that’s how you answer a comm in the middle of a kriffing battle?!” The immediate response over the comm channels made Keirdagh smile. While the members of the Old Folk’s Home were some of Taldryan’s best warriors, the simple fact of how often they’d seen this type of thing was evident in how lightly they took their situation. Nothing but experience could give that sort of calm in the midst of raging battle. Between Shadow and Howlader, Keirdagh knew both the Fighter group attached to the Valor and the ground forces were in excellent hands.
“Be quiet Panda”
“No seriously, GO FOR SHADOW, are you kriffing kidding me?!”
“Howie shut the hell up and listen.” While he enjoyed the banter as much as the next guy, sadly Keirdagh didn’t actually make this call for purely social reasons. “What’s the situation down there Shad, you mudbugs having issues?” There was a muffled scream, and the sound of a charged Bryar releasing its payload before Shadow responded.
“Honestly, we’re having a field day. Apparently these mando’s armor isn’t up to scratch and we’re just carving them up. Halcyon has joined up with us, and we’re making progress through their ranks.” Another pause, another scream. “Mostly what’s holding us up is keeping a cohesive line with the Sadow forces.”
“Ok fine, the hell with cohesion. Take a portion of your forces, drive down the middle, and split the enemy. Howie, send two squadrons to buzz the flanks, draw out any mando cover and then take the squadron you’re leading and blast a path down the middle. Shad you can pick up any light sabers you see off their charred corpses.”
“Roger that Yacks, we’ll keep our heads down. Let us know when you’re inbound, Panda.”
“Sure thing.” Howlader paused, as if fighting back the last words, in the end though, he couldn’t hold back his last little barb. “Honestly… Go For Shadow…”

Muraght Battalion
Somewhere between Central Mountain and Menat Ombo,
New Tython

Ben chuckled to himself, amused by the exchange between Shadow and Howlader. It really was much safer for everyone when those two had a war to concentrate on; their idle hands had carried out some of the better pranks of our time.

Muraght Battalion wasn’t running into the bulk of the resistance, and that suited Ben just fine. Not that the Council’s bounty wasn’t good motivation to pick up some sabers, but these mandos and droids certainly didn’t carry any and getting shot at wasn’t exactly the Primarch’s idea of a fun time. Besides, it would just be so much easier to just pickpocket some off some meatheads from another clan later at the bar. To his right he saw the forward charge by a group from Ateliuc, Shadow and Halcyon included. If they wanted to waste their breath running, go right ahead. Off in the distance, closer to the Naga Sadow forces, he could hear the echoing roars of the Aedile’s pet Rancor. Ben couldn’t think of any better way to draw enemy fire than sitting atop a giant slobbering monstrosity – that was just plain madness.

The Primarch was tasked with escorting a sniper team into the trees to the south. They were to provide cover for the advancing forces, free from counter-attack. Of course, nothing is ever that simple. In the forest, they came across the mutilated body of one of the Odan-Urr Jedi, lightsaber already taken. He opened a channel for the update. "Came across a redeemed bounty, and I don’t think one of ours won it. We’re closer to the other clans than we thought and they’re out hunting. Keep your heads up just in case".

Muraght Battalion
Somewhere between Central Mountain and Menat Ombo,
New Tython

Teia came up behind Ben as he spoke into a commlink. She held her KX-80 repeating blaster rifle at her side for quick use.

"...we're closer to the other clans than we thought and they’re out hunting. Keep your heads up just in case," Ben said.

Teia stopped about a foot behind Ben and looked down at the mutilated body of the Odan-Urr Jedi. The Jedi's head had been cut in half from chin to crown and fluid from its brain leaked into the ground, staining the grass red. Careful to not touch the body, Teia knelt, noting that the Jedi had probably been female, and was disappointed to see the lightsaber gone. Not that Teia could have kept the saber even if it was still there - she could ever hope to defeat the Primarch in a fight for it.

"Move," Ben commanded, gesturing with his hand. He took off at a trot. Teia stood and followed with the rest of the group.

The group crested a hill that dropped off steeply after its apex. Two small trees and a large bush provided cover. Below, Mandalorians, battle droids, Light Jedi, and Dark Jedi were engaged in battle.

"Here," Ben said. Silently, Teia knelt with the other troops and set her blaster rifle on the ground. She reached behind her and released her X-45 sniper rifle from its holder on her back. Soreness instantly filled her back and Teia gasped quietly as she rolled her shoulders. Damn heavy rifle, Teia thought. She'd been offered the lighter sniper rifle the other troops used, but Teia refused - she trusted her X-45. The weight was worth it.

Teia set up her tripod and laid on her stomach, peering through the X-45's sights. She focused on a male light Jedi with a green lightsaber fighting one of her housemates. One trigger pull would eliminate that threat...

An explosion rocked the the hill. Teia heard Ben yell and activate his lightsaber. She rolled to the right, hit the bottom of a tree hard, and pulled herself behind the cover of its trunk, pulling her 22T4 holdout blaster out from a small pocket in her armor.

A group of Mandalorians ran up the side of the hill that the Muraght had come up minutes earlier, blasters firing.

What the he-- Teia's thought stopped in its tracks as a member of the Muraght fell beside her.

I did not come this far to die tonight!

Teia reached her hand out for her repeating blaster rifle and pulled it quickly to her body. She reached out and used the Force to aide her aim. She pulled the trigger and an approaching Mandalorian fell. A clean headshot.

"Ben, what is going on here?!" Teia yelled.

Muraght Battalion
Somewhere between Central Mountain and Menat Ombo,
New Tython

As the Mandalorians raced up the hill, Ben and the Jedi at his side braced for close combat. While the Taldryan forces had largely been able to deal with the mercenaries who they had so far dealt with, long experience had taught the Primarch to know that underestimating an enemy was one of the best ways to end up dead. Looking around he shouted to the snipers around him “Focus fire on their flanks, force them to me!”

Ben contented himself with checking the power levels on his bryar and then force leaping forward to the centre of the Mandalorian assault line. Rushing forward with his lightsaber he dealt death with every swipe, swinging without mercy, deflecting blasts both friendly and enemy in order to keep himself safe.

From his periphery he noticed the blaster fire from behind him begin to drop off as Mandalorians reached the line of snipers who were providing cover fire for his suicide leap into the center of the fray. “Yacks!” called Ben into his tactical helmet “Condition critical, need support. Scout sniper squad overrun with mandos”

Dealing with his most immediate threats, Ben sprinted back to the snipers who had rallied around Teia, melee weapons out and swinging, and surprisingly for a bunch of snipers were holding their own well with the Mandalorians.

Hearing a distant whine of the ubiquitous twin ion engines, Ben got a sinking feeling in his stomach as the familiar black and white TIE Defender streaked toward him from the horizon. “Yacks, not Howie! ANYONE BUT HOWLADER!”




Ateliuc Battalion
Closing in on Menat Ombo
New Tython

Between the technologically inferior but incredibly persistent natives, the blasted Mandalorians, and the increasing “friendly fire” near misses from the encroaching Clans of the Brotherhood, Shadow was not having a good day. A bad day would be better than this; he was in fact, furious and glad to have the steel and firepower of his bryar in his hand. The approach to the capital had been slow, and having to slow Taldryan’s approach to lend assistance to the Naga Sadow forces had only kept them away from the prize for longer than he’d wanted. “Shavit, he blasted him! What the hell, was that an Arconan?”

The chatter on the TAC channel snapped Shadow’s head around. Putting on his most impressive General voice and growled into the HUD mic. “Report, what is going on!”

The words that came back made his blood boil and his day darken a little bit more. “Some Arconan Jedi in Mando armor just blasted one of our soldiers who was looting a Jedi.” The news that Arcona wasn’t even trying to hide their aggression in stealing from Taldryan wasn’t exactly unexpected, but it was extremely unwelcome.

“This is General Shadow addressing all Taldryan forces: Condition Rainbow in officially in effect. If it’s not Taldryan or Naga Sadow and it looks hostile. Kill it. Ask questions later.”

Closing in on Menat Ombo
New Tython

Blaster fire flew over Sena's head as he shuffled around to find himself a better firing position. Laying down suppressive fire he swore to himself as he noted reinforcements moving up behind the enemy's lines, the odds were not looking good.

He didn't have to wait long for the expected surge of Mando forces, but just as he was considering the best line of retreat, a TIE Defender swooped low over his head, cannons firing at the forces rapidly advancing on his position. The Defender turned sharply as soon as it passed over their heads, and flew off to engage forces elsewhere. Momentarily distracted, Sena almost jumped as he was joined behind his rock by a female Krath, already blood splattered and with a glint in her eye.

"Thought you might like some back up, I passed the rest of your unit on their way out, they should be with us shortly, but they mentioned you might be in trouble." she paused, noticing the blood trickling down the side of his face. A look of concern crossed her face momentarily and she hastily reached up to wipe it off, checking the wound underneath. She nodded slightly, satisfied that Sena wasn't about to keel over on her, then gestured over her shoulder towards the remains of the Mandalorian forces "Looks like they weren't wrong," The Epis flinched as a volley of fire hit the rocks they were sheltering behind, "Now what do you say we take them now, before they get a chance to recover from our good friends' fly past?"

Lokasena opened his mouth to reply, but Bubbles was already gone. He allowed himself a moment to smile, shaking his head slightly at her exacerbating enthusiasm, before following her into the fight.

Closing in on Menat Ombo
New Tython

Sena got to his feet, holstering the blaster and igniting his saber, followed Bubbles into the battle. Their sabers deflecting bolts of energy back to their attacker, while using the Force as their ally to dodge the rest of the onslaught.

“These reinforcements would really be handy about now, did you tell them to get back here double time?” asked Bubbles.

“They'll be here, we just have to hold off a bit l.....”

Before he could finish the sentence, waves of energy fire were being fired upon the Mandalorians. His jaw dropped. He looked to see Zimmer and Denezz rushing to join the battle with the requested two platoons. That wasn't what surprised him. There was a figure in black and blue torrent robes among the platoons, charging towards both he and Bubbles.

“I heard you two use some assitance!” said the Obelisk Knight with a smile.

“Aren't you a sight for sore eyes,” replied Bubbles while slicing through a Mandalorian.

“Well, I couldn't let you both have all the fun now, could I?” joked Corax “Now what say we turn the tide on our attackers and make for target!”

The three Taldryans and their platoons marched on the battlefield, engaging any enemy they saw. Corax was mixed up in a battle with two Mandalorians at once. They were indeed worthy fighters, giving him a good fight. Corax dealt a killing blow with his saber to the first of the two, slicing the Mandalorian's head clean off his shoulder. At that same moment the second managed to hit Corax's knee with a blaster shot dropping him to the ground. He momentarily dropped his saber leaving him at the Mandalorian's mercy. Hesitating to take the killing shot was the last thing the Mandalorian had thought, as a timely saber throw through the chest allowed Corax to survive a bit longer.

Muraght Battalion
Closing in on Menat Ombo
New Tython

Teia uncurled from her position on the ground, listening to the insane TIE fighter fly onward. Its blasters had effectively taken out the Mandalorians facing Ben, Teia, and the rest of Muraght Battalion, though its technique was certainly unorthodox.

Ben stood and faced Teia and the others, grinning wickedly.

"We're in Condition Rainbow," he said.

"If it's hostile and not Taldryan or Naga Sadow, kill it?" Teia asked.

"Yes." Ben replied.

Teia smiled. "Excellent."

"Crew, follow me!" Ben cried, turning to run down the hill and lead the way into the battle, igniting his lightsaber.

Teia broke out into a trot, stowing her hold-out blaster in its pocket and detaching her collapsable staff from her belt. She pushed a button at the end of the staff with her thumb, flicked her wrist, and the 1-foot long stick extended both ends to its full 1.75 meter length. Teia broke out after Ben in a full-on run.

Muraght Battalion collided with a group of Mandalorians fighting Dark Jedi - Teia couldn't tell what House or Clan they were from. She dodged a Mandalorian's vibrosword and brought up an end of her staff, striking the Mandalorian soundly in the head.

The Mandalorian fell and Teia followed, planting her knee soundly in his chest and using the Force to help hold him down. He struggled as she collapsed her staff with a flick of her wrist and reached her other hand behind to pull her vibroknife from its sheath across her lower back. Holding her collapsed staff in her right hand, she savagely shoved the Mandalorian's helmet up with the heel of her hand. As soon as skin became exposed she stabbed into his lower neck with the vibroknife in her left hand, burying it to the hilt.

The Mandalorian shuddered and was still.

Teia withdrew her knife, not bothering to wipe it clean, and stood. The group of Mandalorians and Dark Jedi had dispersed. She looked into the battle and saw Bubbles, Lokasena and Corax deep in the throng.

Teia sheathed her vibroknife behind her back and flicked her wrist to re-extend her staff. She broke out into a run toward Bubbles, Lokasena, Corax and the middle of the battle.

It's been too long, she thought, grinning wickedly.

Closing in on Menat Ombo
New Tython

Xander followed the three force users among his platoon his weapon ready. He mostly had stayed out of taking any sort of main role in the fighting himself. He had been slightly irritated that he had been assigned to fight planetside, Regardless, this was really a different side of the battle that he never really considered. People at this level died in the name of whatever cause they had been fighting for and never really were remember. The death of one force user in the brotherhood was often tragic, the death of a squadron was often little more than a statistic on some ledger. He continued to fire at the enemy as they continued, his firing unlike the rest of everyone had the habit of almost never missing.

*headshot*
*headshot*
*headshot*

Xander fired his weapon picking of the enemy with ease, while those around his fired with less accuracy. From the corner of his eye he watched a fourth force user joined the group as they continued to make their way forward. Xander hadn't really been with Taldrya for very long before he had left to work for the Grand Master. Now he was here, and in the middle of the battle though he was not sure what he should do in the future. He had come out wearing his troopers helmet, obscuring his visage from those around him, making himself just another one among the many troops.

Suddenly out of seemingly nowhere a Mando dropped into the midst of the area that Xander was in firing their weapon. Xander tucked and rolled getting out of the way of a sudden explosion from an explosive device thrown his way. The sudden appearance of the Mandolorian appeared to be causing havoc amoung the ranks. Sighing internally Xander charged firing and dodging his weapon, the force speeding his passage and closing the distance between himself and the enemy in the blink of an eye. Planting his shoulder squarely into the chest of the enemy Xander disarmed the large man.

The man dropped his weapon drawing a vibroblade and attacked Xander short range. Having little alternative Xander let his weapon fall to the ground and tried to dodge the attack. The Mandolorian managed to catch a glancing blow off Xander's helmet but caught a Wakizashi up and under the helmet of the mando and through his throat for the trouble. Withdrawing his weapon from the now corpse Xander flicked the blood of the weapon, the symbol of the lion glinting on the blade.

“Very nice work trooper” A voice said from behind him “Nice weapon, though that symbol on the hilt is awfully familiar”.

Xander pulled the helmet off his head and tossed it to the side, turning to face whoever addressed him “I suppose it would be...”

Closing in on Menat Ombo
New Tython

“Next time we stay up all night, drinking and singing battle songs, yearning for the simple combat days, hit me with a stick!” Lokasena said, while deflecting several blaster bolts back to where they came from.
“Come now, Sena.” Bubbles replied, her forehead covered in sweat, deflecting fire and cutting into any Mandalorian who came to close. “Aren’t you having fun? You prefer the depravity of your interrogation chamber?”
“Well, you have to admit.” Sena retorted as his saber found the necks of two Mandalorians. “It’s much more civilized!”

As the two heads fell to the ground, the reinforcements finally arrived. The enemy was now meeting with heavier resistance. For a few moments, Sena and Bubbs could take a breather.
The Epis stood proud and looked glorious, her outfit accentuating her fit physique. Krath Priest Corvinus was on his knees, catching his breath.
“You know, if you spent less time in that lab of yours, and more time training, you wouldn’t feel so bad.”
“But then who would find new and inventive ways to make the prefect chocolate flavor for your ice-cream making?” he panted. She smiled at him but then she saw a change in his expression. He looked at something. “Bubbles…” he said.
The young woman turned her head and immediately realized what her friend had seen. “I see them.”

Three figures with dark-brown cloaks and activated lightsabers came toward them, slaying their soldiers in the process. Lokasena took a deep breath and jumped to his feet.
“What do you think?” he asked the Epis.
“I think…” she said, while sizing the three Jedi up with a piercing gaze. “we can take ‘em!”

At that, the two Krath jumped forward and engaged their enemies head-on. The Odan-Urr defended themselves efficiently. The seemed to switch their positions constantly. Sometimes Sena would be fighting two of them, while Bubbles handled the other, and then all three of them would go after Bubbels and Lokasena had to draw their attention away. The Epis cart-wheeled and back-flipped all over the place, her dexterity serving her well.
Corvinus had to rely on his cunning, more than anything. Bubbles had drawn two of them away. Excellent, they managed to split them up. Sena kept engaging the Jedi, preventing him from closing in on his brethren. He swung low and then high. He parried incoming attacks and even locked sabers with the man. But Sena was pushed down ever so slightly and then received a hard blow to his head from the Jedi’s elbow. Stumbling, but refusing to go down, Sena straightened himself and defended as his opponent was already trying to finish him off.
“Too soon, too fast…” Sena mused, using the element of surprise he brought up his saber in a horizontal parry, deflecting the attack. Then he quickly swung his saber around as he dropped to one knee. The Jedi cried out in pain as both his legs were severed. Sena finished the job by taking the man’s head off.

He picked up the Jedi’s lightsaber and immediately turned his attention to bubbles. She had already killed one of her opponents, but the second one seemed an even match for her. The Krath Priest ran toward her, taking off a few more Mandalorian heads on the way. As he closed in, he saw the Odan-Urr lifting the palm of his right hand in Sena’s direction. Sena immediately did the same, blocking the Force Push. It wasn’t very strong, since the Jedi was still laying most of his focus on Bubbles Taldrya.
Corvinus jumped forward, his saber poised to pierce the Jedi’s abdomen. But the man deflected the saber and forced his knee into Sena’s face. The Priest fell to the ground, his nose broken, blood and tears running down his face. He quickly called to the Force to counter the exploding pain in his head. Lokasena got to his feet again and started to engage the Jedi. Now it was two against one. The man was capable of holding the Epis and Priest at bay, for a while. But tension started to show on his face. With an act of desperation, he lunged out for the weakest of the two. Bubbles saw an opening and immediately ran the Jedi through with her violet blade.

The Jedi fell to the ground. And Bubbles spat on his dead husk. She looked at Sena, to gloat and thank him for his help, but her expression quickly changed. The Priest stood there with a cauterized hole in his right armored chest plate. He looked down at the wound and then back up to Bubbles. “You were right! We got ‘em.” He gasped and fell to the ground.
Bubbles quickly knelt beside him. She ripped the armor off his body, exposing his chest. The saber had pierced his right lung. Nothing that couldn’t be fixed by two experienced Force users, but it would take a little time. Bubbles quickly shouted to the troops to advance forward, Sena and she would catch up a little later.

Closing in on Menat Ombo
New Tython

"Good kill, Hunter" Ben communicated to Teia as she ran off to join the main battalion group. With the sniper team escorted into position, the Primarch was free to do a little of his own hunting. He nodded to the commander as he resumed direct command, and brought his sniper team back towards the main group.

Examining the robed figures the Mandalorians had been attacking didn't give too much insight. They weren't high ranking anything, so they were missing any overt signs of clan affiliation. And again, no Jedi lightsabers. Ben found a few, but they looked like Dark Jedi armory sabers. He was activating them as he searched the bodies, but it kept coming up red. "There's got to be at least one here I could pass off as a Jedi saber. This is just getting irritating". Finally, one of them came up blue, but its owner had scrawled "Dark Side 4 Lyfe" with a black pen on the hilt. "Maybe with a little cleaner I could get that off?". He tucked the armory saber into his robes. The Mandalorians were less interesting, unlikely to be carrying any Jedi blades.

---

The Taldryan Forces continued their advance westward toward Menat Ombo. The enemy forces of Mandos and Droids started to thin as they marched forward, their goal in sight over the next set of hills. It wouldn't be too difficult for them to enter the city when they got there, the outskirts of the city were not much more than small shacks sticking out of the mud.

What did make their forward progress difficult was the calling of Condition Rainbow. On one side they had the allied Sadow forces, but the other held the combined forces of Clan Arcona and House Tarentum. As the Brotherhood forces got closer and closer to the city, skirmishes between these two groups increased in frequency. Many of Taldryan's force users were discretely called to group up on that side of the battlefield, as the main force was no longer having trouble with the pockets of Tythonian resistance.

---

Ge'tal Gaan Command Post
New Tython

The young man had bad news to report to his superior. "Sir, we lost contact with the honor guard you sent with the collection of recovered Jedi lightsabers. At last report they were just east of the city, trying to outrun the enemy forces on their back. Some lucky bastard is about to cash in on quite the bounty."

Golari Battalion
Owyhyee, New Tython

Sithspawn nodded as Ashia relayed the information.

“Well done. We’d better get moving then.” He moved off to give the orders to the rest of the unit.

‘It’s good to hear you again little sister.' Shin’ici’s voice resounded in her head again.

’Little? Shin, we’re the exact same age.’ She shot back at him. She hated it when he played big brother. They were born on the same day after all. Even with no blood relationship between them, their connection with each other through the Force was strong.

‘I know.’ She could hear the grin in his voice. Oddly enough, the voice she heard mentally was not his metallic one, but what he sounded like before.

‘We’ll be planet side shortly. I brought something for you.’ He continued.

‘Planet side? I thought you said you were 50 clicks northeast of Menat Ombo?’ Ashia looked around quickly, panic starting to set in. If they mobilized and missed the rendezvous with Naga Sadow…

‘Sorry, I meant they were 50 clicks from Menat Ombo. I’m on the Spear. Where else would I be?’ That grin in his voice came through again. The Nightsister relaxed some.

‘What’d you bring me?’ She responded suddenly.

‘You’ll have to wait to see. He’s missed you though.’

The Keibatsu smiled to herself as she moved to help Dralin and Sithspawn.

------------------------------------
Golari Battalion
Closing in on Menat Ombo
Owyhyee, New Tython

The battalion moved towards their target with alarming speed. They had been under the direct training of Sithspawn for some time now and were…for lack of a better term, a well oiled machine.

Ashia assisted where needed, leaving the direction and leading to Sithspawn and Dralin. The Mandalorians had started swarming in as they moved closer to their destination.

A Mando with a flamethrower appeared out of nowhere and lit the area near them with flames that leapt a few meters in the air. The Keibatsu was swift, calling the Force to her will and quickly extinguishing the flames before they could any real damage. Dralin was right behind her and lifted the Mando up off the ground with Force and sent him careening into the side of a tree. His body went limp as it collapsed to the ground in a heap.

The two swept ahead taking out the bigger targets in tandem while the rest of the unit took on the others.

They soon emerged out of the trees into a large clearing where a bigger battle ensued. Bodies littered the ground. Felled trees lay here and there, scorched by the flamethrowers the Mandos used. The ground ran red with blood off the fallen.

The melee that unfolded before them consisted of Mandalorians, Jedi and Dark Jedi. Which Dark Jedi, they weren’t sure of.

They moved in closer when Ashia noticed someone familiar across the scrimmage.

’It’s good to see you cousin.’ She sent her mental thoughts out through the Force towards Tsainetomo.

The Sadowan’s twin crimson blades slid through a Jedi like butter before he swung around to take down a Mandalorian behind him.

’Ash! Glad you could join us.’ Sai’s internal voice floated towards her.

“It’s Naga Sadow.” Ashia relayed the intel to the Colonel as they moved in.

Sithspawn nodded his head. “Good, Ateliuc Battalion has arrived too. Time to party.” The Sith gave an eerie grin before barking orders to his men.

They fought their way closer to the battle. Taking down Mandos and Jedi alike. It wasn’t until they got closer that they realized they weren’t the only ones there to party.

“Arcona” The word fell from Dralin’s lips like a parasite. Ashia watched as Dark Jedi wearing Mando armor blasted another Dark Jedi from Naga Sadow. He quickly collected the couple of Jedi sabers the Sadowian Knight had obtained before moving on.

Ashia’s comm clicked, “Shavit, he blasted him! What the hell, was that an Arconan?”

Suddenly she heard Shadow’s voice come over the TAC channel, “Report, what is going on?”

“Some Arconan Jedi in Mando armor just blasted one of our soldiers who was looting a Jedi.”

The news crackled over the channel like a swarm of angry bees. Silence held the line for only a moment before Shadow’s voice came across clear and determined.

“This is General Shadow addressing all Taldryan forces: Condition Rainbow in officially in effect. If it’s not Taldryan or Naga Sadow and it looks hostile. Kill it. Ask questions later.”

Ashia looked towards Sithspawn who nodded that he had heard it too before turning towards the rest of Golari and issuing orders.

Ashia reached out to Sai through the Force. ’Cousin. Our orders have been issued. If it seems hostile and is not Naga Sadow or Taldryan, kill first, ask question later. Spread the word!’

’Roger that.

The Pontifex spun on her heel; her twin sabers glowing amethyst and silver in the fading light. She flipped them around in tandem progression, slicing through two opponents in rapid succession.

A familiar disturbance in the Force forced the Keibatsu to turn around. A man stood before her; the spitting image of his father. His amethyst eyes full of rage.

A slight smile crept upon her face as she nodded to her son. Sanjuro only nodded back as he took his place beside his mother. Back to back the two cut through the enemy as if it were nothing. To them, it was nothing; they’d been here before. Drawing off each other’s strengths and enhancing the other in ways that were unimaginable.

’Sis.’

The word echoed inside her head. There was only one person that called her ‘Sis’.

’Shikyo’ She turned to see his crimson saber slice through the helmet of a Mandalorian.

’Shin brought you someone for you. Shikyo moved forward along with Korras as a sudden rumble in the trees behind made Ashia look up. A beast crashed through the foliage; breaking them like toothpicks. It let out a mighty roar before stopping before her.

The Nightsister looked up to find a Rancor staring down at her; drool running down its mouth as it’s tiny eyes sought hers. She raised her hand and sent the Force out to steady the creature; unsure of its surroundings.

Zar'dez starred down at her; a welcome sight in the midst of an unwelcome battle. The Rancor sighed heavily, or so it seemed. Glad to be back with its master once again.

The Zabrak sent out silent commands to the beast then, using the Force, jumped to its back and moved it forward. The Rancor grabbed the first Mando that entered its path and ripped its head off with his terrible jaws.

Shikyo and Korras moved forward with Ashia riding the Rancor just behind them, clearing a path of destruction.

The Herald stopped and looked to the skies momentarily.

‘Frell.’ The word fell from his lips as he saw the approaching ship. Ashia looked up and recognized it too. The Taldryan’s throat went tight at the sight.

[I’Eojin.’ The thought went through the Keibatsu as she stared as the ship moved closer.

New Tycho
Very near the Menat Ombo Citadel

“Thank you, I feel much better.” Sena said, as he wiped the blood from his mouth. He had coughed it up earlier, but soon found some relief as he and Krath Epis Bubbles Taldrya pooled their resources to heal his wound. His lung, ribs and muscle had been healed. There was still a large scar and everything was tender, but there was no time for details. He could function, and for now, that was enough.
“No problem, if you think you’re up to it, let’s go.” The Priest got up and patted the dust from his clothes.
“What’s our situation?” he asked the young woman. Bubbles’eyes scanned a com-pad. “Rainbow is in effect. It would be wise for us to make our way into the citadel and capture a strategic target.”
Sena stepped in and looked at the pad. “Can you bring up a map of the city?”
“Right here.” Bubbles replied. Lokasena thought hard as he viewed the map. His mind a maze of facts and statistical probabilities. “If we could capture and hold the Ordain Vonoro Spaceport, it would be easier to bring in reinforcements later on. Energy signatures indicate that the controls for their automated defense-grid is located there as well.”
“Sounds like a prime target. I’ll have a skimmer bring us to our troops. They have reached the walls.”
“Let’s go!” Sena said.

Ten minutes later, the two Krath were stepping down the ramp of the skimmer that brought them to the Taldryan forces near the city wall. One of the officers came walking towards them.
“Lieutenant, is there a way you can get us into the city. Preferably near the Spaceport.”
“The other battle-groups keeping the main forces occupied, we seem to be dealing with a reserve unit, but they are resisting heavily. At least four Jedi commanders have been spotted with the unit.”
Sena looked at Bubbles, his eyes revealing some reluctance at the prospect of fighting four Jedi. “For a small house, they do seem to outnumber us a lot.” Bubbles laughed at his remark. “Don’t worry Sena. You maybe a lab-rat, but pale, scruffy and naked as your mother made you, you are still worth a hundred of them. Come on Priest, you’ll make Archpriest yet!”
“I find your admiration both sweet and disturbing, but I shall venture not to disappoint you. “

“Lieutenant, draw their fire away from us. Corvinus and I will try to tackle this minor obstacle.” At that, she made off, Sena following close in her wake. The soldiers had no choice but to give them cover fire, lest they saw them killed and would be held responsible.
Blaster fire of all colors shot by them as they made their way to the Citadel wall. Once there, they immediately started climbing it. Strong fingers, assisted by the Force, found grip on the most unlikely of places. Faster than would be expected, they conquered the wall. Upon its battlements, the two Dark Jedi unleashed the power of the Dark Side. Ten Mandalorian soldiers flew off the wall, landing roughly on the men that stood below. The remaining troops were taken aback by this sudden onslaught, and did not react quickly enough to stop it. Lightsabers drawn, Sena and Bubbs slashed their way through the opposition. All most synchronized, they jumped off the wall, into the defense perimeter below. There, one of the Jedi stood. Sena rushed toward the man, eager to make up for his earlier mistake. Epis Taldrya ensure that no Mandalorian soldiers would interfere, by effectively dispatching a large number of them.

The sound of weapons fire and screams seemed to blur into the distance, as Lokasena engaged the Jedi head-on. The man tried to defend himself, but to Sena’s surprise he was hardly a match. Sena caught the Jedi’s sword arm with his left hand, twisted it away from his body and then brought his own saber down onto the back of the Jedi’s neck. With a quick gentle motion, he let the man’s arm slide through his hand until he could simply take the saber from his enemy’s hand. Quick to react, he deflected some blaster fire back to its owner. There was no sign of the other three…
“We need to get to the port. The longer we stay here, the more likely we’ll get pinned down.” Bubbles called out. Lokasena could only agree with that analysis. He searched his belt for the thermal detonator he had brought. He activated it and placed it directly next to the wall. “Get in cover!” he bellowed at the Epis. Te two Dark Jedi called to the Force from behind their cover and willed that the strongest energy of the explosion was channeled into the wall. A large hole had now formed, and the weight of the rubble above seemed to heavy for support struts. A large portion of the wall collapsed and created an opening large enough for the Taldryan forces to advance through.

“You think they’ll get the hint?” Sena asked Bubbles. As the first Taldryan soldiers began to pour through the threshold, he had his answer. Bubbles merely winked at him before they both started toward their target again.
The map was very helpful in directing them to their destination. They only encountered minimal resistance in the city, as they bulk of the enemy forces were deployed at the wall. They were careful around every corner, but they did make haste. After about five minutes, they were finally ate the main gate of the port. Unlike the inner streets, it was well defended. Heavy weapon teams were deployed in front of the gate and three Odan-Urr were positioned behind it.
A glance from Bubbles to Sena was enough to relay her idea to the Priest.
Sabers drawn, they both ran toward the gate. Just as he was less than three meters away, Sena pulled out his short sword and threw it at the heavy gunner on the right side of the gate, hitting him in the throat. Bubbles had already decapitated the one on the left. They both burst through the gate, but the Jedi were ready for them. Again the three Jedi worked as a single unit. Switching combatants, trying to confuse Corvinus and Bubbles. But it did not work. This time they would stick together.
A long struggle ensued, but in the end, the Priest and Epis both stood victorious over the three broken bodies of the Odan-Urr. Sena limped, blood running down his face and clutching his chest while breathing heavily. Bubbles had a nasty cut above her left eyebrow and another on her left thigh. Healing would have to wait. They hastened toward the main building. Inside it was devoid of enemy presence. They quickly destroyed the console controlling the automated defense systems.
Bubbles grabbed her com-pad and relayed the message. “We have the Ordain Vonoro Spaceport under control. To any and all available Taldryan forces, we needs assistance in holding it.”
Hopefully they would get there, in time.

2 Hours Later
Ateliuc Battalion
Purging Menat Ombo

The Masters comm.. lit up with interference once more. “General Shadow… Quaestor Taldrya is en route to our position, prepare a landing zone for him immediately.”

Shadow stopped mid swing, distracted for a split second by the junior officer’s voice, the moment passing as he brought lifted his shotto into the stomach of his target. “Kriffing…”

“Use your standard d-smoke grenade, purple for secure, red for hostile. This is command, out.” The officers voice had long become that of annoying to Shadow, the constant interruption of his battle meditation brought on by countless battles had begun to wear on the Elder.

The emerald-green armor of the Deputy Grand Master shone against the sun that had begun to settle into dusk. “Halc, Shaz’air’s is on his way.” Shadow yelled towards his fellow Taldrya.

“I need a 20 meter perimeter set up on my mark!” He looked over his shoulder. “Mark! Our Quaestor is approaching the battlefield. Place a red smoke grenade there now… no way this will be ‘secured’ by the time he arrives.” The latter part was said under his breath as the Master charged a droid before its targeting system could recognize him.

“Sir, incoming ship.”

The transport came from the northern part, just over the city. It hovered 10 meters above the ground, a moment passing before a dark colored form dropped from the open door on it’s side. “And in style…” finished Shadow.

Chaos came up the rear from Shadow, his two lightsaber ignited, their green light pairing with that of the masters own viridian. “Shaz’air came from the north-west… that’s where Menat Ombo is.”

As the elder Exarch finished his sentence, the Quaestor trotted towards his fellow Taldrya’, “Menat Ombo is already being sacked. Were we notified on the Iron Thrones direction? I thought we were going to be the first in line for this?”

The two experienced Obelisk’s gave a curt chuckle under their breath, Shadow stepping up to answer the question for Shaz’air. “No… We are the contingency plan in case the Iron Throne cannot perform up to the Grand Masters standards. Although… Halc, why didn’t you tell me about this!?” Shadow’s voice appeared to be lost in the battle before Halcyon turned towards him. “If you were supposed to know, you’d-“

His sentence was cut short, his face turning from a sly, almost comical grin to one of remorse. He turned on his heel to see the brown robes his opponent, the orange of the sun behind Michael burning a radiant glow.

Shadow compromised with haste. “All units in Ateliuc, advance upon Master Halcyon’s position and make a large parameter. Do not engage in the Deputy’s affairs, stay out of the way, and continue on with Condition Rainbow. Bring home those saber hilts for Taldryan. And watch as history is made before your eyes. At all costs, back up lord Halcyon.” Shadow finished, eyes darting towards Shaz’air. “This IS what you came to the field for, correct? To fight?”

Shaz’air grinned, an uncharacteristically defined feature for the Miraluka. “We will wait here and fight until the order from the Iron Thrones says otherwise. All other plans are null. Shadow, patch that in to the rest of the Regiment. Fight, and fight for Taldryan.” He ended before igniting his saber.