Bonadan

Kyoto Station - C-Level



"...I don't trust her!..."

Richter's familiar suspicious voice had risen just a little. Kaneda remained quiet before raising an eyebrow at his remark. The two men had been discussing Natalya's arrival at Vinda-Corp in the waiting room, as they waited for the medics to finish checking up on her...

"...we don't know anything about her, she could be a CSA assassin for all we know...."

Kaneda shook his head...

"...don't be so over the top..."

Richter was about to respond when he paused and turned his gaze slightly to behind Kaneda, to where Natalya had just entered the room.

"...he's right...in a manner of speaking"

At the sound of Natalya's voice , Kaneda turned and bowed his head slightly in greeting, and as his eyes met hers, she could read the confusion held within them.

"..what?..."

Richter could only stammer a reply, as Natalya calmly walked further into the room to pick up her jacket, and as she put it on, he cut a concerned glance towards Kaneda...

"...I was indeed trained as an assasin, from an early age the CSA recruited me into the ranks of their covert ops, where I was taught everything I needed to know.."

The two looked at each other, a little taken aback at her revelations. Kaneda stepped forward to meet her gaze and handed her a cup of Caf he had retrieved earlier...

"...that would explain our unscheduled meeting on Brentaal then..."

Smiling in thanks , Natalya took a sip before answering the Vinda-Corp operative.

"...yes...the Chiss would have spoiled everything..."

"What bloody Chiss!?.."

Richter's rather indignant voice interrupted them both, his face visibly showing his annoyance about not being kept in the loop. People knowing more than him, was another of his pet hates.
Kaneda simply stared at him for a moment before explaining , partly..

"...before the Caprician crisis began , our paths crossed on Brentaal, where I was sent to investigate a serious of attacks on Vinda-Corp shipping, CSA involvement was suspected, but never proven....
..there were only two people who could have proven the link...and she killed one of them..."

( a wry smile tugged at the corner of his mouth )

"..and the other got away..."

Natalya hung her head a little, obviously ashamed, and as she spoke her voice became soft...

"...I was lied to, had I known then what I know now, none of this would have ever happened..."

"..known what?..."

Came Richter's rather predictable response.

"...the CSA had planned to attack every area of Vinda-Corp, every venture, however they did not expect Vinda-Corp to have as good as intelligence as it did, and the operation was halted...instead they resolved to take a more direct approach..."

Kaneda's face grew serious as he listened to her speak...

"...I had been trained to assasinate Vinda... from a very early age, I was to be sent in to infiltrate Vinda-Corp..."

Richter's mouth seemed to hang open in disbelief as he struggled to understand what she had just said...

"...you were trained to kill your own father!?..."

Natalya's eyes seemed to cut straight through Richter as she responded sharply...

"..I didn't know he was my father!..."

She sighed and took a moment as if to compose her thoughts..

"...I was told Vinda had murdered my parents, and that the CSA had adopted me...I didn't find out the truth until about a month before I was due to carry out the assasination...a man contacted me and told me he had something important to tell me..."

Kaneda took a seat beside her as she explained...

"...I met him on Rampa II , and he revealed everything to me, said he had found it out via the data center while he had been assigned on Orron III , he was an operative like myself..."

Taking another sip from her cup, Natalya brushed back some of her hair from her face, her look had turned somewhat distant, and Kaneda couldn't begin to imagine what she had been through, and as if just remembering , Kaneda thought aloud absently...

"..Andersan..."

Natalya glanced up at the Vinda-Corp Operative and nodded her head slowly...

"...yes.."

Richter, who had up until this moment been trying to understand everything without gaining a headache, seemed to freeze as he heard the name escape Kaneda's lips...

"...Andersan well, at least we know who he is now, but why did he come here?..."

Turning to face Richter , Natalya's face showed a visible trace of confusion...

"...so he did make it, but... why didn't he warn Vinda?, thats why I asked him to come here...to warn Vinda of the CSA's attack, I gave him strict instructions not to speak to anyone else..."

Kaneda slipped Richter a furtive glance before turning his attention back to Natalya...

"...if what you say is true, then he would have missed Mr Vinda, he is currently away aiding the Capricians in defending their homeworld against an enemy attack..."

Richter interrupted once more...

"...there was a terrorist attack on VC-HQ about the same time as we became aware of Andersan's presence, he left with a party bound for Roonadan...we had , until now, suspected him of being a CSA infiltrator...."

As if only just remembering, Richter turned his attention towards Kaneda...

"...actually we have lost contact with Miles and his entourage , also we cannot contact Fifth fleet ... I was going to send a recon sqaudron in to assess the situation...as for Miles I was going to send someone in after him..."

(His voice trailed off , but the look he gave Kaneda spoke volumes)

Picking up on the hint Kaneda nodded slightly, and he turned back to face Natalya. As she took another audible sip of Caf her face developed into a frown as she tried to make sense of everything. She glanced up at Richter then back to the Operative sitting beside her...

"... who or what is a Caprician?..."

Urdur System

Onboard The Lucent



"...I thank you for agreeing to meet me Commodore..."

Trevalak gauged the tall, proud Bothan stood before him, his gaze glided across the man's uniform, took in his build , until their eyes met.

Trevalak nodded in greeting, still vexed as to what exactly this was all about. Van Rueben, for a moment seemed to do the same, before glancing around the ship, and the landing bay he was in, and ultimately the security officers surrounding them both. Turning back to face Trevalak, the Vice-Admiral spoke, his voice...persuasive...

"...Please Commodore, what I have to talk to you about is in the strictest confidence ..."

The Bothan threw a glance back to the Security guards around them, then cast his gaze back to the Commodore. Trevalak , ordered the guards to leave, without taking his scrutiny away from the CSA Officer.

"...wait outside.."

Begrudgingly the officers obeyed, and soon the landing bay was clear except from just the two men.

"...right, now perhaps you can tell me what this is all about?..."

Van Rueben couldn't help but smile at the Commodore's directness. It was a kind of toothy feral grin, just barely visible under all his natural fur.

"...of course Commodore, you will find this is in your best interest..."

Pausing for a moment as if contemplating how to phrase his next sentence, the Bothan decided to come direct to the point.

"...I asked you to call off your attack on Urdur because it will benefit you in the future. It is not needed... all that is , is for you to persuade me that Vinda-Corp is not just another Planet-raping corporation. Do that ,and I can persuade the authorities to come under Vinda-Corp's wing..."

The Bothan stopped , as if waiting for the Commodore to digest what he had just said... Which , he indeed was. Soon enough the Vinda-Corp officer responded, with a rather confused expression.

"...why , in the name of Vader, would you do that?..."

The CSA officer , clasped his hands behind his back, and looked the Commodore directly in the eye.

"...There are many within the CSA , and on the Direx board itself, who do not share Exo Aramaya's views on Vinda-Corp and indeed, Vinda himself..."

The Bothan explained more, as he noticed the Commodore's brow furrow further.

"..In fact there are many who would like to see Aramaya removed from power permanantly, and have done for a very long time...
These many, have realised that it is in their best interests to see Aramaya fail....

I represent these people"

Sighing deeply, Trevalak took a moment for these revelations to sink in

"...why?...why would these people want to do this?..."

Van Rueben seemed to stiffen as he replied.

"...Because of his insistence turning this sector into a warzone...."

The Bothan's eyes became distant...

"...many of us have sectors , systems, people to protect and maintain, what Aramaya is doing , is pushing this entire sector into war...."

Rubbing his head , the Commodore spoke as he tried to understand, his voice, understandably sceptical...

"..why didn't your people , do something about this earlier?, why wait until now..."

"...Fear, Exo Aramaya has Imperial backing, from the Moffs themselves...and because they haven't had the chance...until now"

The colour from Trevalak's face seemed to drain away as he heard about the Empire's involvement.

"...This assault on Vinda-Corp , is exactly what they needed to remove Aramaya from power, it would have given them the right political climate to do so.... his failure , would have turned out to be the perfect excuse....They could have spoken out without fear of any Imperial reprisal , as the Moff's would not have tolerated failure..."

Sensing the Commodore's imminent questions Van Rueben spoke further...

"...There was just one problem...
...Aramaya was not, and is not expected to lose.

Couple this with the fact they have just learned of his plans to dissolve the entire Direx board altogether directly after. In otherwords, his plans to dissolve , them...We all knew he was power hungry , but not a madman...

Losing the Board , would mean losing all of the very few checks and balances left in existence....They can't have that, you can't have that, I can't have that, we can't have that...

...it is profitable for no-one...I , and the people I represent, did not sign up for this, the CSA is in effect no more, a twisted and bitter shadow "

"...so why are you here now?..."

The Bothan's face seemed to darken.

"...because , currently, Aramaya, is winning..."

Trevalak's face became confused again, and let slip a slight gasp of incredulity...

"...I think you need to check your sources!..."

Van Rueben's reply was instant and to the point.

"..no I'm afraid I don't..."

Before Trevalak could respond, The CSA officer continued...

"...This attack, the attack on Kir, Orron III, all of them , the whole thing , was predicted, of course Vinda would respond, of course he would make an example of the attack. The CSA knew this , the initial attack on Bonadan, was a faint, the real one, has only just begun..."

The Commodore frowned deeply as the Bothan's words sunk in...

"...what?..."

Van Rueben's voice was calm and calculated as he responded...

"...Roonadan... Your fleet assigned to take control of the planet has been ambushed by a hidden CSA fleet...and from what I hear...they are losing ...."

The Commodore stared at the Bothan blankly for a minute , and shook his head..

"...I don't believe you...this is some kind of ploy"

Van Rueben's expression became deadly serious...

"...I understand this is hard for you take in, but believe me when I say to you , you are needed elsewhere...conferr with your superiors, they will know if I speak the truth or not...you have nothing to lose...but know this, the more time you waste here at Urdur, means the more of your compatriats dying at Roonadan....and then more than likely, Bonadan"

As Trevalak gave the CSA officer a long cold stare, he activated his comms unit and contacted the bridge.

"...Bridge, get me Command. now..."

"...Aye sir..."

As the Commodore waited for the comms to be linked with command, he eyes the Bothan suspiciously...

"...I'm curious, Vice Admiral Rueben, why do this?, what exactly do you and your people get out of this?..."

The CSA Officer nodded slightly and smiled...

"...thats where you come in, Commodore. I and the people I represent, wish...

...to defect...."

Aboard the Blaze of Glory...


"The airlock is, of course, at your disposal at any time android." Adalric smirked dryly.

Droids have no comprehension of tactics.. he thought rather sourly.

But the Imperial Syndicate officer did not dismiss Achinta's demand out of hand. The droids wish did offer options and possibilities that held their own value.

Like getting him off my ship! Then perhaps his annoying woman will go with him. Oh how that would make my day.

The Caprician woman had been nothing but trouble and a source of angst to the Syndicate man and the situation he was in was falling out of control.

The Capricians surely have lost. was his first impression. Yet, Vinda Corp people are there, so how hopeless is the situation.

A quick glance at the monitor that Achinta brought up and the suddenly more figures came across his tactical display.

Emperor's Black Bones! There must be hundreds of thousands of them!

He looked back at Achinta and saw Scipio move protectively over to him (quite unecessarily Cronus thought) and heard her mention the area was named the Jak'Tol Province.


He turned back to his BAC display that the navigation computers updated every few seconds as the Super Star Destroyer maneuvered around the durasteel debris fields of former warships.


He came to a quick decision.

"Major? Prepare a shuttle for departure. Let's get Mr. Vega and Ms. Arien aboard immediately."


Scipio's eyes narrowed but she uttered no comment as to her thoughts.


Thank the stars for small favors.. Adalric mused.

Capricia, .. Jak'Tol Province..



The masses of Yuuzhan Vong warriors began to become visible the closer they came. In the far distance, the rumbling, slower creatures that served as the heavy artillery (of sorts) for these aliens began to show as well. Their bulky outlines began to be seen through the haze of distance.

“They are not stopping my lord Regent.” A soldier commented to Leantre Vio as he stood looking out at those coming to destroy them.

Leantre’s voice answered with a gruff grunt. “They haven’t stopped yet.” He commented, his mind replaying events from the initial assault to the fall of the Highlands. How much time had passed?

Days? Weeks?

The planet had yet to see any shipping of any kind.

Where was Herridian? What had happened to Scipio Arien’s mission? Was their system still under blockade?


All these questions summed up the overwhelming concern that the Regent’s logical mind played inside. The devilish arithmetic that added assets and subtracted lives in the great equation of war would not be denied.

In the end, did it matter what they did at all?

Even if we proved ourselves victorious now, would there be two million more invaders waiting their turn to be let loose upon our world?

“Gomorran. I wish you were here to see us in our final hour.” He whispered to the wind.



…flash….

”Oh come Kay! You had returned to see the planet overwhelmed with many more ships than what you had? Tell me, why did you risk it all?”

Leantre Vio, Minister of Defense and Head of Clan Leantre watched young Gomorran Kay as he glanced at the reports of the Clan buildup. They were three days from Homecoming.

Capricia

After three years in exile, the Clans were coming home. After the first invasion…

And the questions raised still held a powerful force over them all.

Were they the better leaders that they hoped to be?


“Leantre, Capricia is my home. My wife and children were there. I could not, I would not abandon them.”

“What if they had more ships coming to flank you?”

Gomorran’s eyes seemed to come back into reality as the mention of young Kay’s family brought unwelcome thoughts to mind. “Old man,” he started, grinning, “You test me. What the devil to I care about flanks? If we are going to be destroyed, all good and fine. What can I give? What can any of us give other than our best?

We rely on ourselves to do so. We count on each one to do their part to save themselves and in so doing, save the whole.

We are not omnipotent. We are not all knowing.

If they did have a flanking fleet, we would have died.”


Then mischief broke the usual solemn look of the man, “But we would have given them one hell of a fight.”



…flash…


“INCOMING!!!” shouted a soldier as the creatures began to lob large plasma volleys into the air.

“Sir?” an adjutant asked toward Leantre.

Herridian, Scipio, Zier, they can take care of themselves. If they are holding then we have a chance. If they couldn’t then we are dead.


Leantre suddenly grinned, feeling much younger than his seventy odd years.

What the devil do I care about flanks? If we are to be destroyed all good and fine. What can we give… but our best…


“Sir?: the adjutant started again. “They are starting to fire long range volleys..”


Leantre’s mind came back into focus and he turned to the adjutant, amusement raging in his eyes.

“Then answer it.” He said with slight indignation. “And soldier?”

The adjutant stopped just before he was to transmit the order. “Sir?”

“Tell them to put an exclamation point at the end of it!”

“Sir!” and the man was speaking loudly and quickly into the transmitter.

“Give them one hell of a fight… that we will not go quietly into the night.” Leantre murmured.


And the Caprician lines, their heavy guns and their AT-AT’s opened up with a deadly vengeance for what the invaders had wrought.


The final battle had begun..

Bonadan

Kyoto Station



"...he said WHAT?!..."

Richter's face had paled dramatically as he struggled to make sense of what the Commander of Second fleet, Commodore Trevalak, had just explained to him via the holo-net.

His eyes stared at the Commodore in disbelief...

"...he says, he wishes to defect...and that fifth fleet has come under attack...

The expression of Richter's face seemed to darken more, his eyes giving the Commodore a deeply suspicious glare...

"..what in the name of Vader makes you think we can trust what he says?..."

Despite his words, Richter certainly felt an instinctive grave feeling about the over-quiet armada they had sent to Roonadan. They were overdure, and had been for quite some time...

"..well, since you cannot raise them on the comms, there is only one way to find out for sure..."

Richter fell silent for a moment, and simply nodded grimly, the worry lines criss-crossed across his face had deepened so much they looked like mini-canyons....

As the Commodore signed off Richter's eyes squinted slightly as the blue visage disappeared in a grainy fuzz of static. Gesturing to the comms officer to join him Richter spoke, his voice, serious.

"...I want a sqaudron prepped and ready to go, now..."

As the officer rushed off to perform his duty, Richter's eyes narrowed at the BAC display in front of him...

If what this , Van Rueben , said is true, then how come they had not detected it, were they hiding their ships, and if so....how?..

Caprician Space…


“The @#%$ are trying to get through to the yards!!” shouted the main gunner over the commotion behind him on the deck.

A comm. Officer turned to Tyscio Zier, aboard the Tribune. “Sir, Main Port Master Gunner report—“

“I heard him!” barked Zier as his ship lurched violently to one side amid swarms of enemy vessels blocking the rather magnificent view of the planet. Tyscio kept himself from falling by reaching out and grabbing hold of a bridge support beam. “Maneuvering thrusters at maximum! Bring us around and bank to the Starboard side and tell the gunnery crews to stand at the ready!!”


The large Caprician warship began to pull away from the oncoming alien ships but that deterred the invaders not. Their organic vessels kept moving forward, their smaller attack craft overtaking the Tribune as plasma lanced out against the flaring of energy shields.

Before the invaders’ “pack” attack could begin to affect and slow the Caprician warship, another cruiser intervened and plugged the hole allowing time for the Tribune to make it’s turn. As the cruiser moved on to flank more incoming warships, the Tribune’s starboard weapons now tracked the enemy.

Zier’s eyes roved the holographic tactical projection searching for the right area to concentrate his fire.

“Z minus 20 degrees, Starboard weapons fire!!” he ordered. And the incoming wave of enemy corralskippers on that vector struck a wall of blinding lights as their yorik corral skins burst apart, leaving the ship’s dissolving remnants scattered.

“Plug that hole!” the master of the Tribune shouted.

“Ascion moving to intercept!” and another Caprician Star Destroyer came into view.

Yet the facts spilling forth from both the tactical readouts and the navigation sensors did not tell an encouraging story.

The Caprician Fleet was losing ground as the invader ships moved forward, ever closer to their goal of smashing the defending Carpician yards.

I need to pull a ship around the enemy to flank them from behind.… but I’ve no ships to spare. We are giving our all to slow their advance..

“What are the Vinda ships doing?” he suddenly asked, turning to his long range scanning crew.

Bonadan

Kyoto-Station



"...my father would do that!?..."

Kaneda stopped packing his backpack, and turned to face Natalya...

"...he is doing that...once word came of the Caprician homeworld's invasion, he went to their aid..."

The expression on Natalya's face seemed to become even more confused, as if trying to calculate some kind of indescipherable form of algebra, or some qauntum mechanics theory...it just didn't add up..

It was not how she percieved her father, in fact, from as far back as she could remember she had been taught the direct opposite...and although she never spoke of these thoughts that raced through her mind...
....her face spoke volumes...

..and as if by reading that alone, Kaneda followed up...

"...your father believes in looking after his own... the Capricians have become not just our trade partners, or military allies, but...our friends..."

There was an indisputable awkward silence as Natalya digested Kaneda's words ,with Kaneda himself realising that what he had just said perhaps carried more weight than what he originally intended...

Brushing her dark hair from her eyes, Natalya broke the silence, her voice held the traces of a seething anger...

"...I was told my father was a greedy, ruthless tyrant..and a murderer...then I find out the people who raised me, the ones I worked for, the ones who I believed...the ones I....

(her eyes seemed to burn through Kaneda as she fixed him with an icy stare..)

...trusted..

..those were the real tyrants"

Turning her face from Kaneda's gaze, Natalya exhaled deeply, as her voice seemed to tremble slightly for a moment, feeling her eyes well up , Natalya fought back the urge to cry...she couldn't remember the last time she had..

"...I don't know what to believe anymore..."

Cautiously laying a hand upon her right shoulder,as she stood with her back to him, Kaneda spoke softly...

"...those times are over now...and soon, so will those people.."

In an instinctive reflex, Natalya rested her left hand on top of Kaneda's, and for a split second, she seemed to let her guard down, and turned to face Kaneda...

A comms alert interrupted the two, and Kaneda reached for his comm unit to respond...

"...yes?..."

"..Mr Soom, Mr bayern requires your presence in command..urgently..."

As the Vinda-Corp spy acknowledged and signed off, he fastened and slung his back-pack over his shoulder, pausing for a moment, he bowed his head a little towards Natalya...

"..I have to go....you'll be safe here..."

..and with that left the room.

Battle of the Yard...


...Visions from the ordinary…




Jastin’s eyes went wide as the scaley aliens threw their voices up into the air and in one cry started to charge the Caprician positions, toward the construction yard. All at once, artillery began to answer their charge as seering light shot forth striking the invaders numbers. Amazingly the soldiers of the enemy had not yet begun to use their weapons.


“They are relying on those big creatures to pound the stuffing out of us and soften us up..” grunted a white haired, used-to-be-retired soldier next to him when he asked.


“But… but their soldiers will reach our positions faster than those creatures need to pound us, as you say.” Jastin replied, gripping the blaster rifle that had been issued to his family by the Clans. It was the only thing that remained of his family, his sisters and mother having fled to the ill fated Highlands. His father had died at the Battle of the Line in the beginning of the invasion. Jastin closed his eyes at the thought of his father’s body scattered among the wreckage of broken KDY advanced cannons that had, at one time, comprised the “Line”.


“There’s truth in what you say, lad.” The old soldier grunted.




***


“Those sumbitches got something up their sleeves!” Grunted Altos, using the term he’d overheard someone from the Jedi’s group using. The colonist had a language all their own but the term fit and Altos saw fit to make it his.


His suspicious eyes scanned the horizon.


The invaders seemed to be circling the entire complex but it was a fact that he had no proof save what shadows he saw with his own eyes. The Caprician sun began to heat the morning into afternoon and distance played with the eyes.


But not the targeting scanners of the AT-ST’s or the AT-AT’s as they began to move forward in hopes of doing as much damage to the enemy as possible before they actually reached the yard complex.


Word along the lines was: in the forward position of the complex where the Vinda Corp employees and the Jedi’s groups were, the invaders had already begun to rush. That made him much more nervous, staring at the dark still-distant shapes on the horizon. Was the enemy bringing more of their forces to bear on the rear guard position of the complex? Where he was?


There were vague outlines of much larger creatures in the distance but still too far away to make any difference.


“Why attack the forward positions aggressively if they are not set up with the rear?” he asked out loud to no one in particular. The invader strategy ever since the beginning had always been to overwhelm the Capricians. No matter how unlikely their movements or unsuccessful their movements seemed, there was always a catch that ended up amounting to a massive overwhelming action against the battle hardened defenders.


Would they change their strategy now? At the end?


Altos didn’t think it likely and those with him, civilians mostly from the inner regions of Paroulsia, Opitlion, and Baskeria Provinces also agreed. People from small townships that had been razed to the ground by the advancing horde in it’s effort to overwhelm the capital cities of the Regency.


A plan successful so far.. Altos’ mind thought bitterly.


He fidgeted in nervous anticipation but also with some irritation.


Something WAS wrong!



***


Something is wrong!, thought Communcations Runner 3rd Class Leantre Vessalis as she moved from the 4th Armored Battalion Corps to relay their strategy to Command.


The creatures of the invaders seemed to emit some type of wail that interfered with military communications. So many specific zones were affected that Command felt the creature’s wailing was more than it seemed. Hence the mobile communications standards were put into effect.


She jumped onto her modified speeder bike and zipped away from the Armored Corps intent on avoiding the plasma volleys that seemed to vibrate the ground underneath her.


Interference was beginning to play havoc with their wireless instruments.

“I need something more powerful…” she mumbled to herself before the shockwave from a nearby plasma volley threw her from her vehicle.


Everything went dark.



***


“The bloody things are getting our range, the @#%$!!” shouted Kip. “Mark!” he shouted himself hoarse as the onslaught of Yuuzhan Vong rapidly closed in on the front lines.


Another person crawled up and hefted his rather large projectile launcher up onto his shoulder. “Range!” the person called.


“Give Mark covering fire!” Kip blasted out as the smell of the invaders began to creep into the wind.


The alien yells were almost as unnerving as their tattooed and mutilated bodies.


Support fire began to sound out striking Yuuzhan Vong soldiers squarely, though few fell.


Very few were falling.., thought Kip in sudden panic.


Their organic armor was absorbing the defending energy weapons rather well..


Frell!!


“Mark!” he shouted again, but unnecessarily as the rocket shot out of his friend’s launcher leaving a small trail.


The winding rocket shot over the heads of the invading masses and struck a rather large bulky creature in the distance causing it to loose balance. Another volley of plasma was building to be launched when the rocket struck. The creature, in surprise, let the energies go and the volley ended up landing among the invaders…



The fiery pain the plasma wrought could not be contained as both Warrior and Chazrach alike screamed…


Kip heard some Capricians let out a yell of delight at the sight and felt a small surge of pride well up inside him.


He took his eyes off of his grinning friend to gauge the oncoming enemy for a brief second. They returned in time to see several razor bugs sally forth striking Mark in several areas throwing him several feet back.


Kip kept his head down shouting out to his friend though his eyes knew what his heart refused to believe.


Mark’s neck was broken as he lay several feet behind the line, his body positioned awkwardly.


Through tears, Kip shouted, “Keep firing and hold your edged weapons nearby!”


“STOP THEM!!!” his voice broke.


The chanting grew increasingly loud.


“HERE THEY COME!!!” someone else yelled quite unnecessarily.


The shooting, shouting, and fighting all merged into symphony of death…

A song the invaders were masters at..

A song the Capricians were beginning to learn through practice..

The front lines had been reached..

Roonadan



"..one minute to Hyperspace reversion, Vanguard formation, all fighters confirm...lets keep this tight fellas..."

"...copy Sigma leader..."

Lo'tan looked out at the strange swirling mass of hyperspace, watching it stream past the cockpit as he listened to each of his sqaudron sign in over the comms.

Though primarily a defensive force, Commanche sqaudron,a powerful unit of sixteen Skipray Blastboats, had been sent to Roonadan on a recon mission of some importance, mainly because most of the other Recon squadrons were already engaged elsewhere.
The squadron leader took a moment to clear his thought and find his nerve, this was their chance to prove themselves.
Their orders were clear, confirm reports of enemy ships,locate fifth fleet, and alert VC command of the situation.

Lo'tan just hoped it would be be as straight forward as that.

A small shrill alert dispelled these wishes quickly, an advance warning of premature Hyperspace terminus.

Frowning as he glanced down at the navi-comp, he braced himself , as his ship started to shudder and groan under the sudden strains and stresses it had started to come under...
It was not a good sign, and any experienced pilot knew what it was..

Commanche sqaudron was being pulled from Hyperspace by an artificial source...

This could only mean one thing.

In an instinctive reaction, Lo'tan gripped the controls tighter, as his ship and his squadron were dragged out of hyperspace by an interdiction field.

Lo'tan grimaced as the sudden strange enviroment of Hyperspace suddenly disappeared and was replaced by a scene of utter havoc...

Intel's rumours were correct...

They had just flown into a war-zone.

"FORM UP!"

Any shadow of doubt disappeared in the blink of an eye, as the sqaudron of ships were intercepted by a wave of enemy laser-fire.

Not the warmest of welcomes.

In a bid to avoid narrowly flying into CSA dreadnought , the team pulled up hard , trying to gain a higher level with which to gain some insight into the situation they had just become embroiled in.

Fifth fleet was massively outnumbered, and every capital ship was engaged in fierce ship-to ship fighting, almost oblivious to the newest entrants

Cursing under his breath as he tried to alert VC-HQ, Lo'tan, gritted his teeth as he banked suddenly to the left to avoid a barrage of laser-fire from a sqaud of Authority IRD's, his fellow wingmen following in tight formation.

They were obviously jamming all transmissions, but it would not matter, Commanche squadron was under a strict timetable, if they did not report back to VC-HQ within the next fifteen minutes, they would be considered overdue, and therefore engaged in hostilities.

Lo'tan calmly issued his orders, even as another IRD screamed past, just barely missing a headlong collision..

"...Commanche 2,try to contact fifth fleet ,Commanche 3 get a lock on whatever is jamming our transmissions..."

As the pilots acknowledged over the short range comms the sqaudron twisted and turned to evade the highly manouverable CSA fighters.
Lo'tan winced as he eyed the data from his compatriot's sensors as they bought up the aquisition of a new target, the culprit causing the Communications jamming.
An Authority Victory-class star destroyer keeping back from the heavy fighting.

Feeding the targets details through to the rest of the squadron, Lo'tan swore loudly as he felt the rear of his vessel shake violently.

"..what the!?.."

In a pre-emptive answer to a question he had on the tip of his tongue,another IRD scorched past his cockpit, spraying an array of green laser-fire across the hull.

Lo'tan eyes squinted in pain as it quickly became a blinding flash of fire and molten plasma, his wingman having neutralised the threat...for the time being...

In a burst of acceleration, the sqaudron banked left hard as they started their attack run, their hulls being shaken by the furious and sudden barrage of turbolaser fire. An indication the Destroyer had indeed noticed them...

Almost at once, three of the rearguard sqaud members fell foul of the Turbolasers in a blistering explosion of showering sparks and pyrotechnics. There was no time for mourning, or lament, there was only time to act.

Avoiding and evading more enemy fighters, Lo'tan concentrated on the bigger target, as if almost willing his ship there,the Destroyers Sensor and jamming array...

It now looked like this mission was going to be a one way ticket...

Narrowing his eyes in reaction to this thought, Lo'tan pushed it aside , in favour of one better...


...lets make this worthwhile...










Bonadan

Kyoto Station command


"..what the?.."

Richter's voice resounded around the command deck, putting a voice to most of the crew and operators thoughts, as a sudden, but short barrage of comms traffic burst over the Comms console. The event lasted for only thirty seconds, until it fell silent once more.
His already furrowed brow, seemed to embedd itself further , as Richter watched the communications officer try to make sense of it...

Rubbing his temple in sheer disbelief, Richter listened to the audible segements the comms officer had managed to clear up enough for him to comprehend...

Fifth fleet's SoS and a call for back-up from Commanche sqaudron.

Quickly activating a comms channel to the entire personnel , Richter spoke, his voice sounding hollow, as if his worst fears had come to light..


"...recall all fleets and ships...co-ordinates Roonadan...

...and I mean....everything..."

Battle of the Yard


Tslah Vhess’s narrowed and a predator-like smile played across his mutilated lips as the Grutchins began to swarm over the invaders.

Every yell from the infidels he cherished for a confused enemy would soon break if the hammer struck hard enough.

Already the yard was being encircled…even while the forward positions charged at the enemy.

As the creatures hurling the plasma volleys found their range it was only a matter of time before the defenders have their fill.

Better to die well pleasing to the Gods than scurry for one more breath of coward’s air!


Alas, though, the shining Caprician sun was descending under the horizon and Tslah cursed that the flying creatures had not left their hatcheries sooner.

With darkness setting, their instinct would be to go to ground.

Even so, Tslah’s temper was soothed that his forces would continue to charge on into the night. Fresh reinforcements would be crossing into the Plains and join the attacking Yuuzhan Vong by midmorning.

Tslah saw the light-weapons of the infidels strike out at the sky but he knew there were too many creatures to let a few dead hurt their effectiveness.

He knew the infidel leader must be feeling the noose tightening.

//War Coordinator. The first lines of the forward position are holding strong.// a religious servant spoke, tactics as alien to him as the infidels themselves.

//Come dawn, our forces surrounding this holdout will be in position and the defenders will face harsh charges on all sides.//

//It is the beginning of the end.// the Yuuzhan Vong of the religious caste stated.

//It is the end!// Snapped the War Coordinator to which the other bowed in humble submission.

Tslah turned his attention to the battle at hand as the twilight began to fade. The plasma volleys cast their own erie shadows as they sailed across the air.


*

“Hold the line! Hold dammit!” came a rough voice from the past, explosions from plasma volleys striking everywhere.


The defenders had staggered at least three lines before entry into yard could be accomplished. The lines were not something hastily crafted either for Leantre, in designing the yard and sunk enough reinforced durasteel to halt an armoured charge.

Unfortunately, the defending turrets had not been installed before the invasion began and the status of their installation fell by the wayside as cities began to burn.

Leantre’s Command Location monitored the advance, which seemed to be coming at the forward position of the yard only. This surprised the Regent but he would not argue with providence. He’d take any break he could.

The forward positions were reinforced with some heavy military units (including the personnel from the Judicator, Tyscio Korban’s Corps and the Vinda Corporation Personnel) but the transmission monitors shouted confusion at him.

Yes, they were in the thick of it!

“There’s too many of them! Gather your men, swing around to the left! The Left!”

An officer brought Leantre a new report as he listened to the battle going on. “The creatures seem to be lessening. They didn’t hurt us as bad as I thought they would.”

“They burned sunlight just flying to this province. If they move against us tomorrow, expect a very hard time of it.” The Regent answered seriously. He pointed to the transmission, “Instruct the AT-AT’s to concentrate their fire just in front of the first line. Let’s reduce the pressure on our forces…”

“Yes Sir!”

The sounds of the battle were ferocious and harsh. The snap-hiss of an ancient weapon and the hum of it’s swing suddenly entered the transmission and an old soldier’s shout, “Leia! Look out!”