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Chapter Six
**65 ABY (26 Years into the Darth Dude Conflict)**
Theed – Naboo
Xander bit down on his lip with worry. The Purity and Guardian had made their jumps successfully – only a few squadrons had volunteered to remain behind to pester the capital ships, who had themselves withdrawn most of their fighter screens. What worried Xander was the increasing number of craft making it through their Anti-Air Turrets. At first they had been extremely effective, but more and more of Miedo’s craft were slipping through, to land in the marsh land near Theed.
Xander looked, almost unconsciously across at the screens showing the readings for Morgz’s walkers, and Cain’s men, as they stood, ready and waiting, in the plains near Theed. Then, almost caught up in the moment, Xander gave a bitter smile. At the start of the war, when it was thought it would be nothing more than a conflict between the Sith Empire and some disgruntled planet – oh how wrong they’d been! – he had sworn never to coordinate a battle, for he didn’t want good men dying under him.
But ever since his actions at places such as Kashyyyk, and Maridun, the Council had decided that he would be most effective serving as the overseer, and not actually on the ground. Oh how he longed to switch positions with Cain, or with Morgz, or even with Lyn, who had already commed him, saying he was clear and safe. But Xander was respectful of the Council’s wishes – he would never go against them.
“Orders, Master,” Cain said, waiting patiently. Xander had commed him as soon as he had received word that Lyn and the naval forces had delayed Miedo’s men as long as possible, to tell him to prepare for the coming battle.
“Spread your men out into a thin line, with Morgz’s walkers in front of your line, acting as a screen. Allow them to go into battle first, to wear away at Miedo’s own walkers. Get any men with missile launchers – proton torpedoes or concussion is not important – stationed behind the walkers, but leave gaps in the walker line so there won’t be any collateral damage. Have them concentrate fire on any walkers stronger than our own. Once the majority of the walkers are out of the way, keep our walkers focussed on their remaining walkers, but get the men with missiles, and our foot soldiers, to focus on their own militia line. You and the other Jedi will need to focus on any Sith they have commanding, whilst your men take out those of them who are clearly nothing more than foot soldiers,” Xander said, whilst reading a series of figures on his datapad. “Our scouts report that they have a sizeable amount of walkers, and even speeder squads, so it becomes even more paramount to send out our walkers first. Understood?”
“Perfectly Master, Mhoon out.”
Theed Plains – Naboo
Morgz sat in his AT-ST, almost bursting out of his seat in anticipation. It struck him as odd that humans and other creatures could sit still for so long in such a small seat. He felt the need to squirm and change position almost every second minute. His copilot, Jedi Knight Danté, who seemed increasingly uncomfortable at fighting such an important battle on his home planet.
Danté glanced over at Morgz and smirked, “Keep still, or I’ll think your a pest and whip out the repellent. Besides, as Cain said, the walkers are only needed for the start of the battle. I’m sure after that you’ll be allowed out to fight their foot soldiers.”
Morgz glared at Danté and adopted a look of pity, “And if you keep cracking jokes, I’ll think you’re dinner and take a bite out of your leg.”
Danté winced, imagining the hundreds of razor sharp teeth in Morgz’s mouth clamping onto his leg, “Ouch. I could have done without that one. Anyway, enough of this. Sensors indicate Miedo’s invasion craft will have finished landing, so their army should be here any minute.”
“They’d better not be much longer,” Morgz muttered, “I’m getting hungry.”
Theed Marshlands – Naboo
Darth Mauv stood strong, watching as the hundreds of landing craft around him began unloading their walkers, or speeders, or platoons of men. Gradually they were lining up, and Mauv surveyed them, trying to discern how much they had lost from the AA turrets. He smiled, they had been quite fortunate. Six of the seven AT-AT squadrons had lined up, with only one missing. They had been a little less fortunate with the AT-STs, with only thirteen of the twenty accounted for. The speeder squadrons, as well, had suffered heavily, with only twenty-eight of the original fifty fit for battle. But their foot soldiers were relatively all accounted for, and prepared for the battle. None of the Sith who had accompanied him had died, and were now lining up in front of their respective platoons.
Marching to the front of the line, and hoisting himself up into an AT-ST wit the aid of the Force, Mauv magnified his voice through the Force, “We have a planet to conquer! Onwards, to victory! Onwards, to the elimination of the Jedi!”
A roar let loose from the soldiers and speeder bike squadrons, and the air was suddenly filled with an enormous roar as AT-ATs, AT-STs, and speeders gunned their engines, and the large procession began the march forwards, towards the field of battle. Mauv’s scouts had informed him that a sizeable army was awaiting them in the plains, not far from the capital city Theed. So that would be where they fought, where the Jedi finally realised that this war would end quite catastrophically for them.
Mauv grinned. After victory here, he was determined that Miedo would see fit to promote him, so he would no longer have to mix with the common soldiers. He longed for a permanent position at a command centre somewhere, coordinating battles, rather than trudging through the metaphorical mud to combat the enemy himself. Mauv was no coward, he did not fear death, but with the number of battles he had fought in, statistics were sure to catch up with him at some point, and spell his doom.
For now though, such thoughts could betray him. He needed all energy focussed on the task at hand, a relatively easy one at that: destroy the Jedi forces, capture Theed, and call in reinforcements to combat any possible resurgence from the Jedi from their nearby fortress on Malastare – the next stop on Mauv’s hit list.
Theed Plains – Naboo
A large roar let out through the air, and Morgz snapped to attention. The Sith were basically advertising their presence with the amount of walkers they had brought for the attack. Morgz shrugged, Whatever works for them, I guess, he thought, and flicked a switch to broadcast to all Jedi Walkers.
“Men, the Sith are almost upon us. What’s say we give them a bit of a welcome?”
Suddenly, almost without warning, several AT-STs shifted their turrets slightly, and let loose with a volley, aimed at the distant trees through which the Sith forces were no doubt progressing. As the volley struck, scores of trees burst into flames, sending them shuddering to the ground. Loud crashes could be heard, which Morgz could only assume were Sith speeders or walkers being struck by the falling trees. As the fire spread, and the Sith grew closer, Morgz could almost pick up over his speakers faint screams as Sith soldiers fell to the flames.
Finally, though, the Sith were out in the open, only a few gaps in their formation from the little stunt Morgz had just pulled. Out front was a huge amount of AT-ATs, and AT-STs. Nearly forty AT-ATs at Morgz’s estimate, and many, many more AT-STs.
He turned to Danté, who also looked a bit overwhelmed by the show of force on Miedo’s part. “We may be in trouble,” Morgz said simply, “I guess I won’t get to go out slicing off Sith heads after all. I’ll have to actually try after all,” he sighed, “Alright. On my mark, rocket carriers take aim, then on my second mark fire. On my second mark, walkers take aim, on my third mark fire. On my third mark rocket carriers reload, and on my fourth fire, and so on,” Morgz said, waving his hand in the air dramatically.
“Alright, mark,” he said, and turned to Danté, and lowered his voice so that the comm unit couldn’t pick it up, “This could get rather boring,” he said, “I think I’ll take a chunk out of Xander’s leg instead, when we get back from this.”
Danté just grinned, and Morgz said his second mark over the comm, as the walkers drew closer. Suddenly bursts of brilliant fire sprung out from around them, and within an instant, several speeders spun off, crashing into the ground, AT-STs exploded brilliantly, and even a few AT-ATs crumbled to the ground, their legs disintegrating under them.
“Prepare for return fire,” Morgz said, “Oh, and mark.” He said, almost as an afterthought, and nodded to Danté, who had lined up their sites on an AT-AT that was preparing to fire on a group of soldiers brandishing rocket launchers, desperately trying to reload them.
Their AT-AT shuddered as it let of rapid bursts of fire, and was joined by other walkers around them, as more and more speeders, AT-STs, and AT-ATs fell from their fire. Finally, though, the enemy walkers began to return fire, and around them AT-STs and AT-ATs of their own began to fall from the fire.
* * *
Cain lay patiently as the cumbersome walkers exchanged volleys of fire. All of the forces had been ordered back, and were currently standing at attention behind the cover of the hill that Cain was resting on now. It gave him perfect view of the battle, without any risk to his men.
He knew Xander had ordered the walkers to eliminate the enemy craft before he was to get involved, but Xander hadn’t know the size of the enemy forces. Right now, if Cain didn’t bring the foot soldiers into the battle, then the foot soldiers that the Sith were bringing into the battle would reach the Jedi walkers and be able to take them out by other means.
Cain stood on the tip of a knife’s blade. He could disobey orders, and save countless Jedi lives, and maybe even win the battle. But then he would be going against the orders of not just a superior, but also those of a friend, and his old Master. He bit his tongue in concentration, thinking. Finally, knowing that whatever personal reasons he had, he couldn’t let them decide the fate of other Jedi, other living beings.
“General,” he said, turning to his non-Force Sensitive counterpart, who was also crouching on the hill, “Alert the men, we’ll enter the battle as soon as their foot soldiers draw within range.”
“But Master Vos said-”
“I don’t give a kriff what Master Vos said, he isn’t here right now, he doesn’t know what we’re up against. It’d be like a Mustafarian inhabitant commenting on the temperatures on Hoth. He doesn’t know what its like here. He gave us orders, that could very well put lives in danger. We will go against them, and I shall take full blame once this is over. If we don’t, there won’t be a chance to talk to Xander about his choice of orders, we’ll all be dead. You understand.”
The General stood, eye to eye with Cain, and finally backed down, relenting, “Yes sir, I’ll notify the appropriate individuals.”
“Very good General,” Cain said, grabbing his lightsaber from his belt, preparing for their moment to enter the field of battle. I’m sorry Xander, but I know this is the right thing to do for the Force.
Jedi Knights Zhar Esseri, a fellow Zeltron, and Tyra Secura, a Twi’lek from Ryloth, crept up the hill to lie next to him. Cain nodded at them each in turn, and they ignited their lightsabers. Behind them came the sound of rank upon rank of men preparing for the gut-busting sprint that would take them over the hill and into the frontline.
Peering over the hill, Cain turned back, and called out, “Now!” Leaping over the hill, an emerald blade and a violet blade at the edge of his vision showed him that Zhar and Tyra had done the same.
Blaster shots spun towards them from shocked Sith foot soldiers, and Cain blocked them back, melting through their armour, killing them instantly from the added force his lightsaber added to the blaster. Landing, return fire filled the air above Cain’s head, as the Republic soldiers reached the top of the hill and spilled over. The soldiers split into thirds behind each of Cain, Zhar and Tyra, chewing holes through the Sith line that had almost reached the walkers.
Reaching out through the Force, Cain almost faltered as he sensed how many Sith presences there were, far more than the three Jedi. Still, many of them seemed to be weak, with only one powerful Sith diverted to each flank of the Republic forces to deal with the three Jedi. The most powerful by far, seemed to be in Zhar’s flank, battling his way steadily forwards to the Jedi Knight.
Cain returned attention to his own forces, and flipped, to avoid a blast, before swiftly decapitating the offending soldier. Landing, he kicked a female officer in the chest, sending her wincing to the ground. He spun, impaling another soldier through the chest, before leaping into the air, stabbing down, impaling the woman as she struggled to rise.
Turning, Cain watched as a powerful Sith – a Zabrak woman wielding two sulphur blades – launched herself towards him, slicing through several of her own troops in her desperation to reach him. Crouching, Cain spun, holding his lightsabers out, clearing the area immediately of enemy soldiers – sending them into enemy or friendly fire – killing them instantly.
The woman reached him, a barely veiled expression of contempt filled her face. Leaping suddenly towards him, she slashed out at his head. Cain crouched, spinning in a circle again, but instead holding his blade vertically, catching her back leg as she leapt over him, burning through a part of her sole, and causing her to yelp, and limp as she landed.
Cain felt a slight respect for her. Most Sith were flamboyant, preferring to give grandiose speeches before battles, spelling out his doom, or telling just how much pain he’d be in, smirking at him. That smirk wouldn’t remain long, Cain wiping it off minutes later. Instead, this woman just got on with the fight at hand, ignoring any sense that she needed to big up her self-importance.
She turned, her limp obviously impeding her, as she leapt at him again, this time choosing to try and throw him off guard, by throwing her lightsaber at him. Cain blocked the main force of the blade, deftly catching it in his other hand, and locking his blades with hers as she reached him.
Pulling away from her, Cain leapt into the air, striking at her as he flipped over her head, forcing her to apply pressure to her injured foot. She grunted slightly, and her guard dropped, for a moment, but a moment was all Cain needed. Lashing out, his lightsaber lopped cleanly through her left shoulder. Landing, he turned to face the fatigued Sith, who was breathing heavily, sweat pouring down her face.
Cain reached out through the Force, and felt only determination. He shook his head slightly, he knew he would never be able to capture her, but knew deep down that he had never had the chance. Reaching out in the Force, he pinned her to the ground, as shots whizzed over his head as the two opposing armies fought on. He approached her slowly, as she struggled. At full strength she most probably would have been able to break free, but with one arm and a hunk of her left foot missing, she was in no state to resist.
“May you find peace with the Force,” Cain said, stabbing down with her own blade, piercing her cleanly through the heart. Suddenly he stumbled back in shock, and spun around, in time to watch a shocked Zhar stumble slightly, gaze down at the gaping hole in his chest, and collapse to the floor, as the Sith – obviously the leader in this fight – stepped back, smirking slightly.
Cain clenched his jaw slightly, tension building up. Slowly he relaxed, breathing deeply, trying to calm himself, even as his arms unconsciously brought his lightsaber around again and again to block shots back. Cain moved steadily forwards, towards the monster who had taken Zhar’s life. On the far side, he could see as Tyra did the same.
All around them, the Sith foot soldiers were falling back, overwhelmed by the numerically superior Republic forces. Several Sith lay dead – Tyra had taken care of the main Sith in her wing, and several of the minor Sith had been overwhelmed by foot soldiers.
Cain could feel through the Force that the walkers were struggling, and that several of the Jedi stationed in them had been killed. Morgz, a Baxthrax Jedi, and Danté, seemed to be fine for the moment, but they seemed to be tense, as if the struggle was against them. However, the majority of the Republic foot soldiers were turning to the speeder bikes, that were harassing the AT-ATs, and even as Cain watched, speeders began to spiral to the ground, losing altitude before disappearing in plumes of fire and smoke.
Moving swiftly towards the Sith monster, he paused, taking a deep breath, and leapt at him, striking hard and fast, hoping to catch him unawares. The man spun, locking his blade with Cain’s, cackling slightly crazily as he spun, locking blades with Tyra, who leapt at him as well. Cain jumped forwards, but was forced to spin aside as the man leapt over his head, leaving Cain with only Tyra in his path.
“No pitiful move could defeat Lord Mauv,” the man said, raising his left hand, letting lose a powerful barrage of Force Lightening. The speed of the lightening showed that the man truly was a skilled Sith, though his slip of the tongue showed he was either careless, or an idiot.
Cain gasped as the lightening came, barely bringing his blade up in time, to absorb the majority of the lightening headed for him, the power forcing him back a step. Tyra wasn’t fast enough, and the lightning struck all over her body, sending up plumes of smoke, striking her lekku, sending her to the ground, convulsing in pain.
Cain clenched his teeth and leapt at Mauv, locking blades again, striking hard and fast, first high, then low, in an attempt to get the man off-guard. He was easily the hardest Sith Cain had ever fought, and an intense duel only minutes ago didn’t help his chances of defeating the Sith Lord.
Mauv locked blades with Cain, before spinning and kicked him in the chest, sending Cain stumbling back. Mauv somersaulted over Cain’s head, only half-heartedly striking at him, before landing, and before Cain knew what had happened, the Sith had his lightsaber to Tyra’s chest, her clothes peeling back with the heat, and soon her groaning increased in volume as layers of skin began to peel back.
“If you touch her, I will personally rip your head from your body and send it into the sun of this system,” Cain growled, edging forwards.
“Not very Jedi of you, is that?” Mauv taunted, and as Cain leapt at him, he sleaved quickly through Tyra’s head, before leaping away, keeping a sizeable distance between him and Cain.
“What, are you afraid of me?” Cain said, a crazy glint in his eye. Tyra had been a close friend – not more than a friend – and her death had pushed Cain too far. He wasn’t a fool, he knew he couldn’t win this battle, which is why he didn’t care if he descended to the Dark Side. If he could injure this Sith, or more, then that was the best possible outcome.
Cain struck and spun, slicing and hacking at Mauv’s defence, but the man delicately parried each and every strike, adding some of his own, which occasionally worked their way through Cain’s defences, to add a welt to his cheek, or a cut to his leg. Despite the pain, Cain fought on, hoping to eventually wear down the Sith Lord’s defences.
Mauv spun, flipping over Cain as Cain lunged into an attack, and kicking him in the back, sending him tumbling to the floor. Mauv threw his lightsaber at Cain, and Cain barely rolled out of the way in time, the blade slicing through the thing cartilage of his ear, sending a roar of pain from Cain’s lips.
Cain jumped to his feet, as Mauv called his lightsaber back to his hand, and leapt at the man, slashing and kicking, feinting and punching, even more ferociously than before, and finally Mauv’s defence seemed to falter, if only for an instant. Mauv stepped back, luring Cain forwards, and Cain lunged. Mauv sideslipped, and slashed into Cain’s back, sending the Zeltron slumping to the ground, not breathing.
Mauv turned away, and when he realised that his forces were in almost full retreat, began to flee, until he heard a slight gurgling, and a murmur, as if they were words. He turned back, to see Cain mumbling words into a comlink he had produced, presumably from his belt. Mauv smirked, and stepped over, grinding the comlink into the ground with his heel.
Cain looked up at him despairingly, and reached out his hand, as if to attack Mauv once more with all his remaining energy. Sparks flickered from Cain’s fingertips, but then the stress was too much, and they converged on his fingers, working their way back up his arm, and reached his head, boiling his eyeballs and wrinkling his skin, as Cain Mhoon slumped to the ground, joining the Force.
_________________
Time to start again.
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