Releasing the Storm
a Run-on from Chapter II of Great Jedi War

"What?" Vail's voice hissed through the comlink "Why are you calling me now?"

Arania blinked a few times. "I understood we could always reach you like this, at any moment" she said into her communicator, looking around at the puzzled faces of Timbal and Phoenix, just as surprised with their Consul's voice as she was. They all knew Vail was on some sort of vacation, but this... He didn't sound as if he was resting.

"Now is not the right time" Unteminar's voice still came sillenced so much it was barely hearable. "Wait" he said just a pinch higher. Then, a long, long minute passed that seemed to drag into eternety, palms slipping with sweat of anticipation, untill they all heard his voice, loud and clear "Its all right now, we can talk"

"Conboss, what is the meaning of this?" Timbal interrupted "Yeah, where are you?" Phoenix added. "And what are you doing?" Arania jumped in before Vail had time to respond.

"We don't have time." Vail swiftly said, making clear he isn't debating on this one "Why are you calling?"

"Things are heating up here Vail" Arania said "There was a bombing of Arconan facilities few days ago, and now, Clan Naga Sadow is trying to pull it on us in front of the Assembly"

"What?" Vail almost shouted "Are you sure?"

"Yes. It is authentic message from Malik, with full signature and all. But neither him nor Tiss were around to confirm this"

"I don't like it" Vail spoke again "It doesn't sound right. They should be our allies! I don't know - try and reach either Malik or Tiss. Get to the bottom of this."

"And if they attack?" Phoenix interrupted again

"We shall see" Vail replied peacefully "this looks too much like the beginning of the previous Great Jedi War... I don't like it. Be careful people. If anything happens, leave messages for me, I will reply when I'm capable, and oh - tell our men that their Consul will fight by their side, whether they see me or not. That is all. Consul out"

With those last words, spoken in great haste, Vail's communicator went off, leaving the three other leaders of Clan Scholae Palatinae alone, with their worries, doubts and fears, and single, uniting thought - the storm was to be released once more.

KPN Vail

Vail looked at his data screen, not wanting to comprehend what was going on. Dark Jedi Master Kem-Shu Maeda apparently was causing quite a stir in the Brotherhood's Journeymen and Equites, making promises and guiding his disciples in his own version of how things are. Even worse, he requested and was granted permission to transfer to Acclivis Draco, which he had little choice but to accept. However, things have gone steadily worse, from the news reports that he was reading, and now culminating in a sudden declaration of war by Naga Sadow. Where the hell had that come from? He needed more information. Damn, it looks like he picked a bad time to be at vacation.

Opening a comm channel to his Proconsul, he received a message stating that Arania was currently not within comm range, so Vail grunted in annoyance and opened up a comm channel to Timbal. The reply was prompt.

"Greetings, Conboss. What may I be of service with?"

"Timbal, this news doesn't make sense."

"Sir?" Timbal was confused. He kept a sharp eye out on all news concerning the Clan and House.

"What? You don't know? Apparently, out of the clear grey sky, Naga Sadow has declared war on us."

"Are they mad? Since when?" Timbal demanded.

"Here, let me read to you the declaration. 'WHEREAS on this the Seventh Day of July of the Two-Thousand and Fourth Year of the Dark Side; the Summit and Brethren of the Clan Naga Sadow and Aligned Houses of Ludo Kressh, Marka Ragnos and Primus Goluud do henceforth issue the following declaration:

AND WHEREAS the Summit and Brethren of the Clan Scholae Palatinae and Aligned Houses of Acclivis Draco and Dorimad Sol have committed grievous acts of malicious slander and public infamy against Clan Naga Sadow and Aligned Houses to the detriment of the honor Clan Naga Sadow and its security within the Brethren of the Dark Side and the Final Order

THEREFORE the Summit and Brethren of the Clan Naga Sadow and Aligned Houses of Ludo Kressh, Marka Ragnos, and Primus Goluud do henceforth make a formal declaration that a state of war shall exist between the Clan Naga Sadow and Aligned Houses and the Clan Scholae Palatinae and Aligned Houses of Acclivis Draco and Dorimad Sol.

Signed and Sealed

The Honorable Sith Overlord Malik Sadow, Son of Sadow
Consul of Clan Naga Sadow

The Honorable Krath Pontifex Tissaya Argat
Praetor to the Krath High Priestess
Magistrate to the Commander of the Guard
Proconsul of Clan Naga Sadow.'"

"What? That makes no sense at all!" Timbal responded thoughtfully.

"This is not good at all. On top of that, it seems that all of the Clans, without a common enemy to come together against, are at the verge of something. What, I do not know."

"I agree. It seems as if the very air has a dark lining, and everyone is feeling it.”

"Yes," Vail sighed discontentedly. "Well, other than this mystery with Naga Sadow, what news of our esteemed Jedi Master?" The way Vail said the word esteemed showed Timbal just how much, or in this case, how little Vail thought of him.

"Well, after he directly disobeyed your orders, he has been rather brooding in his quarters, rarely venturing out. I prefer it that way, and I have ordered the House to leave him alone, and to minimize contact as much as possible. I don't want his rebellious attitude to catch on with the lower members."

"Good. Just to let you know, I have revoked his access to all Clan and House assets, so he basically just has access to the common areas of the Clan and House. I don't want him anywhere near our vital areas."

"Right-o, I was thinking the same thing. Beyond that, there's not much we can do. Hell, he is a Jedi Master, after all."

Vail grunted again in annoyance, knowing that this was a truth he could not ignore. "Well, just keep an eye on him for now. Last thing we want-" Vail was interrupted by Timbal.

"Razarmar!" Timbal fairly shouted the curse. He was reading his always running news display. Vail immediately was on edge. "What?!"

"Somehow Maeda got off-planet. Apparently he went off and got into a fight with some high-ranking Exar Kun Clansmen, and was hurt. They're not too happy."

"What are they saying?"

"Basically they are sent us a message saying to pick up, and I quote, 'Your dog of war', end quote," Timbal replied angrily.

"I don't care if I hate that S.O.B., but he's nominally our S.O.B.. They can't treat our people like that!”

"Right. I think we should reply in kind. I can tell Phoenix to start up the fighters for a quick strafing run...." Timbal added wistfully.

"Negative. I'll take of them. Just go get Maeda, and I'll deal with this. Vail out." As Vail closed the channel, he mentally started to compose his reply to the Consul of Exar Kun.

"Wow, it looks like the stuff has really hit the fan," commented Serovich. "At least we get a chance to kick someone's butt now!"

Cooch agreed, although he was more reserved. "It sounds pretty serious."

"What does the announcement say again?" asked Sero.

Cooch glanced back at his monitor, took a quick sip of brandy, and began to read aloud. "'As it has come to my attention that certain hostilities have been directed against members of Scholae Palatinae by members of Clan Exar Kun.

In the light of those events, I have no choice but to declare war on Clan Exar Kun. We will stand by our members, and any attack on one of us is seen as an attack on the whole Clan.

Let it be known that Exar Kun will be sorry to have engaged in hostilities.

Vail Aquillarum Unteminar
Consul of Scholae Palatinae'"

"Wow. I wonder what will happen next?" Sero asked.
"I don't know. And on top of that we have this whole CNS mess to be worried about. However, whatever it is, I know that our honor and name shall be exalted above all others. To the Clan!"

"Indeed, to the Clan!" Sero and Cooch clinked glasses, and turned their attention to other, more immediate and pressing concerns, such as the two Twi'lek females that had just arrived....

KP Timbal

Meanwhile, Tetrarch Rhaub hung levitated over a smoldering pit in the inner chamber of the Dragon Guard Hall, trying to perform his normal daily meditation. But strange, violent images penetrated his thoughts -- scenes of a turbulent, fire-swept battleground where legions of dark warriors butchered one another with blood-drenched sabers. He caught glimpses of familiar faces -- his Summit leaders, Vail and Arania, Dark Master Kem-Shu Maeda, Consul Malik of Naga Sadow. And there was another face -- this one unfamiliar -- a ghastly, gnarled skull of a face; a dark figure of some ominous significance. But who was he?

Suddenly a comm signal chimed and Rhaub was broken from his trance, feeling a bit fatigued by the intensity of the visions. He stepped down from the fire pit and replaced his robes, while gently pressing the comm. "Go."

"Rhaub, ya better get up here."

Timbal sounded relaxed as usual, but Rhaub sensed something deadly in his Quaestor's tone, and strangely informed, as though no explanation were necessary. And indeed, Rhaub needed none.

When he arrived in the Quaestor's chambers, Rhaub found the three Acclivan elders stretched out on their stomachs as a gaggle of Twi'lek masseurs applied heat pressure to their necks and spines.

"Ah, I see this was a matter of some urgency," Rhaub sniffed.

But Timbal was too engrossed to reply, stretching out his laterals for the benefit of the Twi'lek's fingers, while flipping through the pages of an ancient text, which Rhaub recognized to be the Book of Exar Kun.

"Good read?" Rhaub asked.

Timbal gazed up, looking grave. "Know thy enemy."

Pontifex Saitou took hold of the tome and flipped to a portrait of the old Sith Lord. "Kun was clever. But he was too eager to ascend beyond his abilities, and it brought him down."

Pontifex Cuchulain raised his brandy in toast, "Just like we're gonna bring 'em down."

"Hear hear."

"Kem-Shu Maeda is sorely mistaken if he thinks he can conduct a palace coup on my watch," muttered Timbal. "That CEK filth could keep him if it were up to me."

"Easy T."

"Hell no. They're making Kun's mistake, and I'm not in the mood." Timbal looked up to the Twi'leks. "Dismissed, ladies."

"Aww, man. Just a sec. I'm feeling the toxins loosen."

"Forget it Cooch. We've got a war to plan." Timbal pulled on his robe and headed to his desk. "Aghasett, get your phyle together and make escort preparations for our esteemed Dark Master's return. And bring him here. I'd like to talk to him."

"And Vail's instructions to keep him isolated?"

"Maeda knows a lot more than we do that this point, and that makes me nervous. Get him here. And kill a few Exar Kunsmen on the way."

KP Rhaub D'ar Aghasett Palpatine

Madness. That was the only explanation. The Force stirred so much, ravaged the minds of everyone, driving them into madness and nightmares. Arania understood that. To a Dark Jedi Master such as her, these things were clear as rock and sky were clear to a mortal man.

But what caused these stirrings was an entirely different thing, much, much harder to see. The secret at the core of all eluded her, stood just beyond her grasp, obscured by a dark shroud, not unlike the one that obscured the place of all answers now - the Dark Hall on Antei.

Then it happened - a sudden, swift alert, so familiar and always as troubling. A sense of movement in the headquarters of Scholae Palatinae, unique and impossible to mistake with something else - her Clan was going to war.

Who? What? Where? Did Naga Sadow attack? Did Timbal decide to strike first? If so, why?

The feeling of doubt could only be driven away in one way. She reached for her console and turned it on, immediately scanning news and announcements from the Clan.

There it was, glowing on the fluorescent screen in the comforting darkness of the room - Vail's declaration of war on Exar Kun.

She didn't wait. There was no time to think about this. The two clans which meant to her were to go to war with each other, and that had to be stopped. It should not happen, not at all. She had to do something quick - before Phoenix had time to initiate the attack.

She quickly opened another communications channel. Exar Kun Consul was readily available. It gave a hint of hope to Arania that she might have enough time to prevent the bloodshed. Still, she had to be quick.

"Khan! We must talk quickly! This whole madness must be stopped at once!"

KPN Vail

Consul Khan held the datapad in his hand, not wanting to acknowledge what he was reading. Why had this happened? Did this have something to do with that crazy Jedi Master Maeda? With all of the turmoil coming from the other Clans, he didn't need Scholae Palatinae breathing down his next, striking at him. He wanted to strike elsewhere, and that would be seriously hampered if CSP wanted to have a go at his Clan.

Looking for an answer, he was about to open a communications channel to Arania, since Vail was apparently on vacation and could not easily be reached. However, it seems that the Jedi Master had pre-empted him, and she was already trying to reach him.

"Khan! We must talk quickly! This whole madness must be stopped at once!"

"Arania, I was just about to contact you. What is this... This thing?" he asked, gesturing towards Vail's declaration of war against Exar Kun.

"I honestly do not know. There has been no justification for this, regardless of what happened with that idiot Maeda. Despite that, there seems to be a war brewing. What can we do to stop this?"

Khan frowned. "What are you talking about? He attacked my people, and if anyone should be declaring war, it should be my Clan. What is this nonsense that Vail is talking about?"

"Wait, I think we have our signals crossed. What do you mean that Maeda attacked your people?"

"I mean that he waltzed up to our headquarters, and tried to gain access to our secured systems. He was trying to be quiet about it, too. Our patrols caught him trying to break in, and out of deference to his rank, they were simply going to escort him to the common areas, but he just attacked, and nearly killed both sentries before my security team and I were able to intervene. I had gotten an automated signal that someone was trying to access our secure areas. We're currently holding him in a cell, waiting for someone for your Clan to come and get him."

Arania digested this in silence. "Khan, you must know that Maeda was not on any sort of sanctioned mission. In fact, his access to any and all off-world transportation was revoked not long ago, and was basically under house arrest. How he could have gotten off-world and what he was doing there, I do not know. But I do promise you that I will find out. I'll get back to you; there are some things that I need to check on. I'm sorry for all the flak that you're getting."

Khan grunted, clearly not happy. "I'll be awaiting your reply. Thanks for contacting me." With that, the communications link was broken by both ends.

Arania started to pace around, starting to think of what possibly could be going through Maeda's brain, if he had one. He was going to order someone to go pick him up from Exar Kun, but she saw that Timbal had already cut the Dragon Guard Phyle to go and retrieve him, which meant that Timbal was on the ball. He could handle the fall-out ok for now, but she had an inter-Clan war to stop. This just not did make sense. She pulled up Vail's declaration of war again, and re-read it. Something did not add up. Something did not match. Wait.

Staring at the declaration, she started to closely examine Vail's seal. After seeing it countless times, she knew ever millimeter of the seal.

Then, she saw it. She swore lightly to herself, and re-opened the communication channel with Khan.

"Khan, bring up Vail's declaration."

Confused, Khan did as he was asked. "Go," he said simply.

"Look at the seal. The orb, Khan. That's not Vail's orb."

"What?"

Arania quickly went to her personal computer, and made a quick sort through her official messages. She found the one that she wanted, and forwarded the message to Khan.

"Here, I sent Vail's last Consul report to the Council. Compare the orbs in the seal."

After about a minute of close scrutiny, Khan swore to himself. "That declaration was not done by Vail. Damn. Who would do this? Why?"

"I don't know. But I'm going to find out, and get rid of this fake. I'll be in touch."

Khan nodded. "Ok, thanks. I'll be waiting for your call."

Closing the link, Arania quickly went to work.

Timbal, Cooch, and Saitou watched as Rhaub went to round up his Phyle, with a certain bounce in his step. They grinned, knowing that he would not disappoint them, and got to the serious business of war planning. They had only gotten to plan the orbital bombardments when Arania's call came in.

"Greetings, Proconsul-type bosslady. Checking in on the war plans? Any specific orders?"

"Actually, yes. You must cease the plans for any war with Clan Exar Kun."

"What? They attacked one of our people!" exclaimed Saitou.

Cooch shushed him, saying, "Shush, Saitou! I'll handle this. Arania, what are you talking about? They attacked one of our people!"

Timbal glared at them, and looked over at Arania for an answer, which she provided. "I've spoken to Khan. It turns out that Maeda was sneaking around in Exar Kun space, trying to access their secure areas for some reason or another. He was asked, I repeat, asked to leave, but he attacked them, and almost killed them before Khan and his security team stepped in and stopped him. They put him in a cell to keep him from attacking anyone else."

"Whoa, that changes things. Does Vail know?" Timbal asked.

"No. In actuality, if you compare Vail's official seals to the Council against the seal in the declaration of war against Exar Kun, you can see that the seal was tampered with, as the orb in the seal are not the same. Thus, the declaration of war was faked."

Stunned silence greeted that comment. Cooch recovered first. "How the hell could that happen? And who did it?"

"I don't know, but if you want track that information down, you've got the job. I've got a lot of stuff to take care of here."

Cooch looked as if he got caught in the cookie jar. He wanted to finish off that massage in his own special Cooch way.... "Uh, I had some other important matters that I needed to attend to-"

"Cut the cagal, Cooch. You're it. And take that alcoholic Saitou with you. Trace down who did this. We need to know so we can wipe them out. Hell, you can do the wiping if you want." Arania ordered.

Cooch pouted, but realized that he had no choice. "Oh, all right, spoilsport. We're on our way. Saitou, get the bags!" He then yelped in pain as Saitou kicked him in the rear. "Bags picked up, sir!"

Timbal shook his head and expelled the two out of his office. "So, what's next?" he asked his Proconsul-type bosslady.

"Simple. I need to get this declaration invalidated, and then see what I can do to patch up any hurt feelings. Contact Rhaub, and let him know what's going on. As soon as Maeda gets back, he is to be put in solitary confinement, full Spec-III isolation. Wait for me to get there, and we'll interrogate 'em together."

"Right-o. Good luck, we'll be waiting. Timbal out."

Rhaub was busy compiling the list for the deployment of the Phyle, and crossing off the last few items in the checklist of essential items that needed to be taken. "Extra blaster power packs, check. Extra sonic grenades, check. Plush squirrel figures, check. Pillows, check. Blankets, check. Chilled rum, check. Extra field rations, check. Holodeck-compatible episodes of 'The Z-Team', check. Looks like we're all set!" He started to put his datapad away, when a new Brotherhood-wide message came up on the top of his datapad screen. Catching his eye, he read the message, which said:

'The earlier message presented to us was not from our Consul, the message has been cleverly faked. Thus, the declaration of war towards Clan Exar Kun is not valid. We have since talked with the Summit of Clan Exar Kun.

On this the 8th day of July, of the Two-Thousand and Fourth Year of the Dark Side; the Summit and Members of the Clan Scholae Palatinae and Aligned Houses of and Aligned Houses of Acclivis Draco and Dorimad Sol and the Summit and Members of the Clan Exar Kun and Aligned Houses of Ziost and Byss do issue the following declaration:

Our Clans have committed themselves to a joint declaration of security within the Brethren of the Dark Side and the Final Order

Thus the Clans of Scholae Palatinae and Exar Kun do make a formal declaration that an alliance shall exist between the Clans and Aligned Houses.

Signed and sealed, in absence of the Consul

DJM Arania Aquillarum Lawakiro
Proconsul of Scholae Palatinae
Praetor to the Commander of the Guard

Sith OverLord Khan Kunar
Heir of Exar Kun
Consul of Clan Exar Kun'

"What?!" He opened a commlink to Timbal. "Rhaub, good thing you contacted me. Listen, this supposed war with Exar Kun is cancelled. So just pick up Maeda, and don't kill any Kunners. When you get back, put him in solitary confinement, full Spec-III isolation. Take no crap from him. If he gives you problems, subdue him by any means possible. No second chances. Arania and I want him for interrogation. I'll explain everything when you get back."

Confused, but given his orders, Rhaub acknowledged the order, and signed off. The next question was how in the hell would he be able to subdue a Dark Jedi Master. He quickly found his answer in a jar of pickles, and got into the transport along with his Phyle, and they merrily went on their way....

KP Timbal

Rhaub left the Quaestor's chamber in a bit of a rush. He got to his chambers then flipped the switch on a console. A screen popped up and a roster appeared on the screen. He went through the list of names and highlighted a few names. He had two other members that where exceptional in the Dragon Guard and one, Cuchulain, was accounted for. Krath Priest Exodius on the other hand, was a bit of a wild card. Since he got an apprentice, he had put himself and Radek in a self imposed exile. And from what the Summit has gathered, Radek has grown stronger in the force significantly. Rhaub was very impressed with the progress. With that, he hit a button and sent a transmition to the Trandoshan Krath. A hologram of the towering robed reptile appeared. "Ah, Tetrarch, a pleasure as always. How may I be of service?" the trandoshan asked. Rhaub looked at the hologram sternly. "Do you know of the fate of Dark Master Maeda?"

"Indeed I do. I tested my astral projections towards the QUA chambers during the briefing. What do you need me to do?"

"Well, you and your apprentice can help us extract our "dog of war" from CEK.

"Fine. I will make sure Radek is prepared and Issard is informed of his involvment. Where shall we meet?"

"My chambers for some final plans. Aghasett out"

KP Exodius

"We're here" said Exodius as soon as he entered Rhaub's office.

"Good" spoke Rhaub without raising his look from the papers littered over his desk. "It appears this will be far easier mission than we originally anticipated - Exar Kun will deliver Maeda as a sign of good faith."

"Maybe he just bored them to death with his usual talks" laughed Exodius

"Yeah, guess so... Either way, he's ours again, the thing is we have to bring him over here, so Timbal can have some small talk with him. And Exodius, Radek and you will be his official... Bodyguards on his return journey. That means you'll always be with him - watch him not to do anything, but also, watch for yourselves, don't allow him to influence you. Remember, he is a Dark Jedi Master, and wields considerable power, but so far, he was acting without Vail's approval, and against Clan."

"No problem boss" Exodius nodded. "Now, are we going?"

"Yes. Off to transport we go. You'll go in separate chamber with Maeda, and we will be a split second away, should you need any help"

The three went together to the docking bay where their transport awaited them with the rest of the Dragon Guard phyle. Just as they boarded it, a new messsage arrived, this time from Vail:

"I heard Maeda is to be returned. Keep in mind - I said to keep an eye on him, not treat him like rubbish. He is, after all, one of us"

KPN Vail

When the transport arrived at the agreed-to coordinates for the hand-over, Exodius summoned his Tetrarch to the bridge.

"Sir, we are stationary at 210 clicks outside of CEK's parameter. Scans indicate no proximate activity of any kind."

"Are we early?"

"Negative. We arrived on mark, and rendezvous time is at..." Exodius glanced down at the nav-screen, "...plus-twelve minutes and counting."

"Then I guess they're late." Rhaub gazed out through the starport at empty space, and just beyond, CEK territory. The vastness of space filled his mind's eye, and he felt suddenly detached from his situation. "Send an open hail."

Before acknowledging the order, Exodius turned to Protector Radek, who was sitting at nav-control. The Master sensed his dark apprentice's trepidation, and transmitted to him a private thought: "Your instincts are good, my student, but steady yourself. Annihilate your fear."

Exodius calmly turned back to Rhaub. "Sir, do we really want to ID our position? We don't know what's out there."

Rhaub paused for a moment, feeling flush and a bit dizzy. "Uh...lower the defensive grid and...take all countermeasures off-line."

"What? Sir, I don't think..."

Rhaub now seemed as though drunk on mass-volumes of brandy. "Power down...the engines and...purge...all...lifeboats..."

Then his head tilted back and Exodius immediately grabbed him. "Sir!"

Rhaub held his sweaty brow while gasping through clenched teeth. "Damn...Aaah...my mind...is being affected..." He clawed at Exodius's collar and barely managed to whisper, "Get us the hell outta here..." Then he collapsed unconscious on the deck.

Exodius immediately spun into action. "Radek! Plot course, 0-2-0 mark 1-8-5! Power drive to full! Hit it! Go! Go!"

But just as the engines were revving to make the jump, a barrage of blaster fire came pounding into the transport's port-side hull, and the vessel shuttered violently. Ship-wide alarms kicked in while the bridge crew darted to emergency stations through amassing smoke and flames. Then the fire retardant seals triggered open and the bridge became a wind tunnel of foamy mist.

Exodius leapt up to the con. "Nav-control! Come about, 1-4-1, full ahead! Tactical! Power to aft shields!"

"Incoming fire!" Radek screeched, and a second wave of thunderous jolts rippled through the ship.

A large chunk of charred bulkhead collapsed on the nav-panel and Radek strained with all his young powers to dislodge it. Just managing to glimpse the panel, he saw a series of expanding red circles. "They're right on our tail now!"

"Launch all countermeasures!" Exodius screamed.

From the undercarriage of the transport, a cluster of small canisters launched aft from the ship and began wobbling and spinning in space.

"Countermeasures launched sir!"

A few heartbeats later, another jostling explosion swept through the bridge.

"Sir, countermeasures detonated! 132 meters astern."

For what seemed an eternity, they waited for indications of their attacker. The transport's systems had been knocked off-line, leaving them immobile and completely defenseless. If they had not disabled their unseen foe, they were as good as dead.

In that moment of eerie calm, Rhaub had regained consciousness and was catching up on recent events. "And the identify of the attacker?" he asked.

"Unknown."

Rhaub and Exodius stared at one another, each trying to comprehend how thy'd been ambushed, and if their attackers were knocked out, or simply waiting to finish the deal.

"Well," said Rhaub, "let's get repair crews working. And top priority on sensors. I wanna know..."

"Incoming transmission, sir! It's from...the attacking vessel."

"Hm. Guess we'll know right now. On screen."

The face of Vithril Isradia, Aedile of House Byss, danced across the static-filled screen. "Acclivan vessel, please cease and desist from any further hostilities. We have no intention of..."

Rhaub practically lunged for the holo-image, wanting to rip the Aedile's head off. "What the hell's going on, Vithril! Why did you attack my ship?!"

Vithril then looked away, as though unsure of what to say. "I..."

"You DO know that a truce has been called between us, don't you?! And you guys DO have a functioning chain of command over there?! Right? Or didn't you get the memo?!"

"Aghasett, I...Believe me when I tell you, an attack on your vessel was never my intention. I..."

But Rhaub had sensed Vithril's thought a split second sooner. "You were influenced. I understand. Apology accepted, my esteemed Aedile. I suffered a similar...violation, just moments ago. It was...Maeda."

"Aye. Your honored colleague."

"My very impetuous colleague."

"What's he up to, Aghasett?"

"I..."

"Scanning field back on-line, Tet," Radek interrupted

"Report."

"Looks like our countermeasures did their work well. The CEK ship is inoperable."

"Oh yes," acknowledged Vithril. "They did their job well. My compliments."

Rhaub stiffened. "Well we can all have a drink to congratulate ourselves and to celebrate our new alliance later, but first, if you please, we'd like our man back."

Again Vithril looked away. "Yes, well, you see, Aghasett, in the midst of the confusion, he managed to..."

"Relieve himself of your...protection."

"Yeah. And we didn't get a bead on him. I'm sorry Aghasett. He's gone."

KP Rhaub D'ar Aghasett Palpatine

Phoenix paced angrily around the conference hall on Caina, Dorimad Sol's HQ in the Cocytus system. His picked up his datapad and glanced over it once again.

"What the hell is going on here? First we are at war, then we are not. The PCon stops me from a beautiful all out attack....."
Phoenix let out a long sigh as he tossed the pad on his desk.
"....I feel that our type of warfare won't be needed this time around Mage."
"Yes it seems that way boss, usually Arania or Vail woulda let out a hint on a preemptive first strike, but they are now declaring war....Does take the fun out of it." Replied Mage, sounding as annoyed as his QUA.

"I wish I had some clue what was going on, I know I have been side-tracked with my training, but this...I need a brandy." Mumbled Phoenix has he approached his bar.

"Well, I have the list of our alliances as they are set from this morning." Mage tossed the datapad to Phoenix. He took a quick glance before choking on his brandy.

"Exar Kun....We practically annihilated them, and now we are allies. Naga Sadow...didn't they decalre war, I guess they retracted that....And now we must contend with Taldyran, who alligned with Arcona....." Phoenix laughed under his breath, "This war will be a wasted effort, Tal has the moronic Tanga'va family..traitors to the Brotherhood if you ask me. And all that Arcona has is our own traitor Numaril, which he is lucky i respect him, or his head would be on my wall."

"What about the Pimps, as well as Kir, Nexus, Shups and a handfull of others... Arcona as alligned themselves very well." Replied Mage.

"Yea yea yea....So they are some of the best the DB has to offer, but 11 vs 3 clans, one I might add that has you and I in...HA I say, this shall be over before it even starts."

"What should we do about Maeda boss..?" Asked Mage as he tossed the datapad to Phoenix. Phoenix glanced down at the photo of Maeda and the problems brought on by him.

"Rhaub and his men have a fix on him and are well trained...They should should have no problem attaining him. But if they do need assistance, gather up the Black Wraiths and keep them on Alert 1....If we are called upon, we must move swiftly. Make sure Deathdealer has his tools, if we go, we will be interrogating him to know who he is working with or for."

"I'm on it." Replied Mage quickly as he headed off to the barracks inform the troops.

Phoenix sits back down and finishes his brandy.....
"War has come to CSP and her members.....Time for talk and half mesures is over...It is time for action."

SWM Phoenix

Meanwhile, Arania still had work to do. Normally, Vail would handle this type of negotiations, but Vail was mysteriously busy and unreachable. And though she was on a journey herself, and she had every right to forget about Brotherhood and its affairs and leave them to Timbal, she could not do that. She had her duty to the Clan - same duty she knew Vail felt when he took over the Consulship of Clan Scholae Palatinae. Yet, Vail was away... Could it be some scheme of his, to assist his Clan in a less... visible way?

Beep of her console alerted her that she had no more time to think. Strangely, after she left Clan facilities, she easily got communications channel open to Clan Naga Sadow. And now, after a short wait, here she was - fellow Pro Consul, Tissaya Argat of Naga Sadow was available for talks.

"Lady Tissaya" Arania said "It is an honor to meet you finally"

"Lady Arania" Tissaya nodded, mimicking Arania's greeting "How fare our allies of Scholae Palatinae?"

The word allies rang strangely in Arania's ears. It was spoken strangely... honest. Honestly and with full heart - not something that she'd expect from people that declared war on them moments ago.

"Allies?" Arania looked at Tissaya as if she was a puzzle to be solved. Yet, Pontifexes face showed no puzzle of emotions or thoughts to solve "Even after this declaration or war of yours on us?"

Tissaya's eyes spread in astonishment "What declaration of war?"

"This one, from Malik... Let me send it to you"

Tissaya nodded, then silently read the whole thing. She finally looked up to address Arania "Malik was unreachable by us for quite some time... Yet, I doubt he made this declaration of war, especially since he didn't consult with us, like he'd do before making a decision of such importance. But I can't reach him to get clarification on this"

"Wait" Arania interrupted "Let me try contact him"

She quickly pressed the few keys and, just as she feared, got Malik at once. "I'm relying his messages now, we'll have a three-way conversation this way" she said. "All right, we have to get to the bottom of this soon. Malik, what do you know of this declaration of war?"

"I never made it" he said "And what is this talk of Scholae Palatinae lying about us?"

"We never did anything like that. Heck, both Vail and myself are away on trips. And strangely enough, it appears that communication lines between Scholae Palatinae and Naga Sadow have been severed. I tried contacting you a number of times, but failed every time until I got out of our territories"

"Same as here" Tissaya nodded "We tried contacting you Malik, but only succeeded through Arania"

Malik's message was short and clear "So you think someone wants us to have war?"

"I wouldn't be surprised" Arania replied "Same thing happened with us and Exar Kun... Someone forged Vail's declaration of war. But who would benefit from this..."

"Arcona" Tissaya spoke even before Arania finished her sentence "Who else?"

"Indeed" Malik agreed "They stole our artifacts. They want us to war on you, instead of fighting them to retrieve what is rightfully ours"

"You are probably right" nodded Arania "In which case, we have only one course of action available to us, don't you agree?"

"We do" replied Tissaya and Malik as one "Tissaya, since this was nominally our declaration of war, it would be fair if we announced the alliance. Handle it please" added Malik.

"Yes Consul." Tissaya nodded "Arania, we shall try to discover what is interrupting our communications. Until then, we'll use you to coordinate actions with Scholae Palatinae, agreed?"

"Agreed" Arania said with quite a bit of relief in her voice "Now, excuse me, but there are matters I must attend to. It was pleasure dealing with you both"

"Same" the summit of Naga Sadow replied "Fare well"

Arania sighted deeply as she closed the communications channel. So, Naga Sadow was to make war on Arcona. And they would have full support of Scholae Palatinae. She started writing a lengthy message to Timbal, seeking to explain the new situations, when she was interrupted by a new message that was delivered to the Brotherhood:

"Recently, some facts reached us. Where we didn’t have contact with Malik Sadow earlier, it was believed that he declared war on Scholae Palatinae to prevent further hostilities with Arcona.

This however, turned out to be a false assumption. Malik Sadow never sent out such proclamation. How it ended up in the system is unknown, and a hacker is suspected. The declaration of war against Scholae Palatinae is hereby withdrawn, and the previous alliance is reinstated. Furthermore, we deny the accusation from Arcona against us.

We will take steps to locate any malicious action against either Clan Naga Sadow, as well as our allied clans, Scholae Palatinae and Tarentum. This will include the individual, or group, responsible for sending out a false declaration of war.

Also, we will not rest until we have the items which have been recently taken from Naga Sadow’s possession, namely, the Sword of Naga Sadow, the Dark Sword of Hysshk, and the Koridan Collection, back where they belong. These have recently been taken by the individual known as Vassan Rokir, of Arcona.

The only conclusion, will be a declaration of war against Arcona. Let it hereby be known, that Naga Sadow, and it’s allies, will not pause until vengeance has been served.

KPN Tissaya Argat
ProConsul of Naga Sadow
P:KHP & M:CoG"

Arania nodded. This was it. She deleted her half-finished message to Timbal to write a short note to follow Tissaya's announcement:

"Let it be known that Scholae Palatinae will honor the alliance with Naga Sadow by all means. We are satisfied about the investigation results the Naga Sadow Summit has presented to us.

Based on the results, Scholae Palatinae herewith declares war on Arcona. We will not rest until this act of cowardice has been revenged.

DJM Arania Aquillarum Lawakiro
Proconsul of Scolae Palatinae"

She smiled to herself as she signed it and sent to entire Brotherhood. Then she wrote a simple, short message to Timbal "Arcona is our enemy. Show them hell"

And far away, on a dark, lonely place, hidden from the views of people, beasts and sun, so deeply hidden even his essence was lost and indistinguishable in the flow of Force, Vail smiled to himself as he read newest communiqué "I knew it." he said for himself "In any war, shoot Arconan first. You won't regret it"

With those words Vail got up to his feet. Someone had to deal a first blow to Arcona, and who was in better position then him, who anticipated this and left his Clan Hall so that he could be in best position to hurt Arcona when time was right?

"Just a small blow this time, and I disappear" he reminded himself again "Just something to make them afraid."

And they had a good reason to be afraid. For Scholae Palatinae was going to war.

KPN Vail

Something was wrong. He knew it; he felt it in his bones. Something was seriously brewing out there, and it had placed him on edge.

What precisely, he did not know.

Scanning all of the available news sources, he found nothing that could justify his feelings. Nothing beyond the confusing events of these past few days, anyway. A quick scan of the available sensors on the planet showed nothing was amiss, and what sensors he had access to that were Clan assets also showed a clear scope.

So why was he so antsy? He shook his head to clear his thoughts, and was about to order some food to be brought to his office when the incoming transmission started on his desk holoprojector.

"Timbal, it's Rhaub. The bastard got away."

The news brought Timbal's bad feelings back in full force. "What? How?"

Rhaub grimaced and visibly braced himself. "I hate to give you that news, my friend. We were waiting at the appointed time for the transport from Exar Kun, but they were running late. Finally, they arrived, but somehow he took over the transport crew's brains, as well as mine, and caused us damage when their transport fired on ours. Exodius managed to launch our counter-measures, which disabled their ship, but he got away in one of the modified lifeboats that the Exar Kun transport carried. Of course, that lifeboat had a small hyperdrive and shield system installed, so we couldn't stop it. I'm sorry for my failure." Rhaub's face fell, he faced etched in frustration and anger.

Timbal thought to himself quietly for a moment. "The Dragon Guard is not responsible. You can't easily counter the power of a Jedi Master. In any case, get any damage that you have that can get fixed up repaired, and get back here as soon as you can. The Phyle may need to be redeployed in combat really soon."

A flash of confusion crossed Rhaub's face. "Huh? Did we get another declaration of war or something?"

"No, but I have this feeling. I need the exact location of where this happened, and I expect to see you here as soon as you can."

"Right. Transmitting the coordinates now. Dragon Guard out."

With that, the holographic image fizzled out after giving Timbal the needed coordinates. Thinking hard, he knew he had no other choice. Opening up a channel in his holographic communicator, he found the needed person quite easily.

"Heya, Phoenix."

"Yo, what's up, Timbal?"

"We aren't having a good time. I need a favor."

"Go," said Phoenix immediately.

"Apparently Maeda doesn't want to be brought back here. You know that Exar Kun was going to transport him to us, but he took over, and managed to escape. I don't know where he's headed. I was wondering if one of your Sith flights can escort a squad of Obbies and track him down."

"We were getting prepared for such an event. We should be deploying within two hours."

"Thanks. I'm transmitting the last-known co-ordinates now. Hopefully you can get enough of his hyperdrive emissions to get some leads. He was in a modified lifeboat, so he can't be too far away. Bring him to us in chains," Timbal said with a steel voice.

"No problem, my people are on their way. Anything else you may need?"

"Yes. If Mage is not on a mission or some other project right now, you may want to include him in the recovery team. He'll be the one that will most likely be able to stand a chance against his powers. Once he's here, Arania and Vail should be able to keep him under control."

Phoenix laughed. "He was going to help lead the team, so he's good to go. I'll send along the compliments anyway."

Timbal gave Phoenix a lop-sided grin. "Thanks, bro. If you need anything, let me know. HAD Actual out." With that, he let out a frustrated sigh, and began to scan the news headlines again. Maeda was his biggest pain in the neck so far, and he didn't appreciate any pains. He would have some choice words for him when he got back-

Timbal's thoughts stopped right there. Reading the new news thread, he repeated it aloud to further impress the words on himself.

"WHEREAS on this the Seventh Day of July of the Two-Thousand and Fourth Year of the Dark Side; the Summit and Brethren of the Clan Arcona and Aligned Houses of Galeres, Qel-Droma and Oriens Obscurum do issue the following declaration:

CLAN Arcona hereby allies itself with Clan Taldryan and its Aligned Houses Dinaari and Ektrosis, that together we will restore the power and glory of the Star Chamber by crushing all other warring factions. Clan Arcona thus shares all talents and resources with Clan Taldryan for the duration of the conflict.

HENCEFORTH there shall exist a formal state of war between Clan Arcona, its Aligned Houses, and Clan Scholae Palatinae and its Aligned Houses of Acclivis Draco and Dorimad Sol; Clan Exar Kun and its Aligned Houses of Byss and Ziost; Clan Naga Sadow and its Aligned Houses Ludo Kressh, Marka Ragnos, and Primus Goluud; Clan Satal Keto and its Aligned Houses Aleema and Kirleta; Clan Scholae Palatinae and its Aligned Houses Acclivis Draco and Dorimad Sol; Clan Tarentum and its Aligned Houses Cestus, Gladius and Tridens.

Signed and Sealed

His eminence,
Krath Archpriest Cyris Oscura
Proconsul of Clan Arcona
Son of House Qel-Droma of Arcona
Magistrate to the Herald, Master Lightsaber Craftsman
Senior Judge of the Antei Combat Centre
Combat Master Emeritus
The Black Hand

His Lordship,
Dark Adept Khobai Arconae Wrathraven
Di Tenebrous Arconae
Obelisk High Commander Emeritus

Archpriest Vassan Rokir
Quaestor of House Qel-Droma
Praetor to the Oracle
Magistrate to the Herald

Dark Jedi Knight Sykes Rokir
Aedile of House Oriens Obscurum

Warlord Demosthenes JediShaFT-Serpenti
Quaestor of House Oriens Obscurum
Commander of the Guard
Agent of the Grand Master
Knight of Serpentis"

So, Arcona and Taldryan wanted a war with his Clan. With his House. Timbal's eyes narrowed, and his blood began to boil. So, if blood was what they wanted, blood was what they were going to get. Even more interesting was that almost immediately Arania released a new message to the Clans, stating that Naga Sadow and Scholae Palatinae were formally allied, and that results of certain investigations revealed that Arcona was guilty of messing with the Clan. That was immediately followed by a short message from Arania; 'Arcona is our enemy. Show them hell.'

Indeed. Hell itself was about to bath Arcona in a way they never knew before....

KP Timbal

Just as Arcona and Taldryan declared their alliance and their intent to make war on the rest of the Brotherhood, Vail's communicator vibrated again with incomming transmission.

“Consul Vail. I am thankful that I could reach you. I, Gord Darkonian, Consul of Clan Satal Keto salute you”

Vail sighted deeply, leaning on the cold cavern wall, covering the screen of his pocket communicator to hide its light. “Greetings fellow Consul. It is an honor to speak with you”

“Thank you Consul. I call you because I desire an alliance with your Clan. Long ago, our Clans had a fragile alliance, and that alliance was never formally renounced by either side. It is in these hard times, that we must remember such bonds, don’t you think?”

“Indeed sir” Vail nodded “Especially at times like this, we must forget our enmities, and remember our bonds of friendship. Only together can we survive.”

“You speak highly, count” Gord spoke in a ceremonial tone “Perhaps you would like to agree to renew this alliance between our clans?”

“I agree with full heart, my friend” Vail replied in the same tone “Now, if you would excuse me, but I would ask you to make that announcement – I will just add my seal. I am sorry, but I have some important pre-planned affairs to attend to”

“I have formulated the announcement already. If you could only add your seal to it…”

Vail quickly read the document, then nodded and signed. “Here, its done. Now our fates are combined in this war”

“Indeed” Gord now spoke in much less ceremonial, and much more friendly tone “Can I know what’s taking your time, count?”

“You will hear shortly my friend. I plan to appear in the Assembly shortly. Now, if you would excuse me…”

“Of course. Fare well, count Unteminar”

“Good luck lord Darkonian” said Vail, as he switched off his communicator, this time for good. There were no delays now.

And on the communication screens all over Brotherhood, new message appeared, message that, just for a moment, stopped everything, and caused entire Brotherhood to stand still:

“An old an fragile alliance is hereby renewed, forged within the raging fires of Zanche.
This bond shall be created and will last as long as the eternal firestorms shall burn.

We would like to openly and visibly confirm the alliance existing between Clan Satal Keto of the Aranna System and Clan Scholae Palatinae of the Cocytus System.

Pontifex Vail Aquillarum Unteminar,
Consul of Clan Scholae Palatinae

Sith Overlord Gord Darkonian,
Scion de Satal
Consul of Satal Keto, Liberator of Aranna
Brother to the Sith Order”

In every council chamber of the Brotherhood, same question was asked: Why? Scholae Palatinae seemed to involve much more in this war then they originally intended. Why such a change? And what way did they intend to involve? To what extent?

But events set in motion were too complex to stand still for so long. Within minutes, everything returned to normal, and war preparations continued uninterrupted. The war was not about to end.

KPN Vail Aquillarum Unteminar

The holokink went black as Phoenix sat back in his chair. He smiled a smile that wasn't seen since the time The Black Wraiths attack of Exar Kun many a year ago.

"Mage....Suit up, Alert 1 has been confirmed. Your mission is to take Maeda ALIVE at all costs, and that comes from the Bosslady and Timbal. Have Deathdealer, Voldemort, Devin, and Reven take a gunboat while you and Dias take the modified Y-Wings as cover. Myself, Esche, Eliphaz, Sledge, and Conorrius will be on standby. Remember, this has got to be by the book, so unfortunately our shoot first, shoot again and when they are all dead ask questions won't work." Ordered Phoenix.

Mage let out a slight laugh...
"Will do boss...But what will we do about Maeda taking control of our minds?"

"Use the Cocytus plant. Ground it up and make an incendiary device out of it. The residue should cover his body and render his powers useless...Only problem is if your cought in it, your screwed as well. Now go and brief your team....."

"Aye sir! Mage Out." Replied Mage

Phoenix returned back to his position.

"I better suit up my team and have them ready just in case." Phoenix grins again..."This should be fun."

SWM Phoenix

"Dammit!" Rhaub sneered, slamming his fist on the comm-panel. Return orders were not what he'd hoped for. He wanted Maeda. But in light of the sudden manic flurry of war declarations amongst the clans, it was understandable.

Equally frustrated, Exodius grabbed hold of a hanging wire and forcefully yanked it out of the smashed nav-panel. "Okay, mission is aborted kids. Let's secure all stations and await Phoenix's arrival. Once he's dropped off our gear, let's get repairs to the drive system underway and get our asses home asap."

"Damn it to hell, Exo," Rhaub whispered to his trusted lieutenant.

"Maeda's well known for his mind tricks, boss. There was nothing you could've done. Don't beat yourself up about it."

"I should've been more prepared. But you got us out in one piece. So if I didn't mention it already, excellent job."

"Thanks Tet. And thanks to Raith Sienar for that cute little defense system of his."

"Worked well, didn't they."

"Isradia's in worse shape than we are."

"He got too close, that was his mistake. Otherwise we would've been space debris."

"They're here, sir," Radek interjected. "Wraith squadron approaching on vector 3-7-2 by 8-0-1."

"Okay Radek, vent the docking ring."

"Aye, preparing for docking."

Rhaub and Exodius headed down the gantry and made their way to the docking port.

As Phoenix entered the transport, he was followed by a group of his people moving crates of repair equipment and replacement parts. "This should be everything you need, Rhaub."

"Welcome aboard, Phoenix, and thanks for the layover."

"Not a problem. Won't be here long, though. We've got a wolf to track."

"Protector Radek's putting together our last telemetry scans as we speak. Might be helpful to you."

"Appreciated Rhaub, I'm sure it will."

"In the meantime, please, join me in my quarters. I've got an unopened bottle of Hellvan brandy waiting to be liberated."

While Exodius oversaw repairs to the transport, Phoenix and Rhaub retired to the captain's quarters and made themselves comfortable. Happy to see his fellow Son of Palpatine, Rhaub was nonetheless made sullen by the thought of losing Maeda.

Phoenix studied the deflated Tetrarch, sensing his conflicting thoughts. "Debating whether to disobey a direct order?"

Rhaub gazed up over his brandy and said nothing.

Phoenix set down his glass and started for the door. "Well, you're welcome to tag along, if that's what you want."

"Do I get to make the kill?"

"Heh, not this time." Phoenix paused before making his exit. "Maeda really got to you, didn't he?"

Rhaub took a long, slow sip of brandy. "Caught me off guard, you could say."

"Yeah, well. Dark Jedi Master's will do that. Anyway, I'm off. Anything I can bring back for ya? Souvenirs?"

"Just Maeda."

Phoenix grinned. "We'll do, Rhaub. No worries."

"And Phoenix..."

"Yeah Rhaub?"

"Just watch for that..." Rhaub pointed to his head. "Some neural inhibitors might come in handy."

"Understood."

After Phoenix's Dark Wraith squadron had continued on after Maeda and the Dragon Guard had effected all repairs to the transport, Rhaub gave the orders for home. It was a long, bitter return trip for the Tetrarch, but as they approached the Cocytus System, Rhaub's despair quickly turned to anger.

"Tet!" Radek screamed. "We're reading a barrage of blaster fire on the planet's surface. CSP's anti-infantry cannons are hot and getting hotter."

"Hail Cocytus control!" Rhaub commanded.

A brief moment later, Timbal's voice came crackling through the comm, "Rhaub, get your team down here! CSP is under attack!"

KP Rhaub D'ar Aghasett Palpatine

Mage donned the last of his body armor and gear with superhuman precision and speed. The rest of his team, assembled and ready to roll, watched in awe. Frustrated by their milling about, Mage barked out for some order.

"Stop standing there like you've never seen this done right, you bunch of Novices! Get in a line, and give me a roll call!"

Deathdealer, Devin, Dias, Reven, and Voldemort all quickly formed a line, and responded to Mage's orders with calls of their names and ranks.

Mage, now fully equipped, spun about to face the team. He moved as fluidly, if not more fluidly, than he had before, but was encased in 20 kilos of body armor and equipment. His identical custom lightsabers hung from readily-accessible loops on his tool belt.

"Alright, listen up. We're going for Maeda. The brass want him in one piece, which means we're going to be doing this carefully, and by-the-book. Understand this now - none of you are to engage him directly without my explicit order. You will die."

The Dark Jedi scuffed their boots on the ground, mixed emotions washing over their faces. The realization hit them soon enough, though - he was right. None of them could do this alone. The all-but taste of this challenge renewed their readiness.

Mage continued.

"I've got all the requisite stuff packed up for this extraction. I've prepared a couple of small, customized thermal detonators with powdered cocytus extract. They'll render Maeda's mind control powers useless, but that doesn't make him any less a threat."

Mage looked around, a faint smirk curling the corners of his mouth. These Dark Jedi were where he had been not so long ago - thirsting for a taste of the fight. And boy, would they get it...

"Once we've got him neutralized, we're gonna pack, wrap, and head off. Remember, though, that every inch of this is to be done exactly the way you've been trained. There's no room for funny business on anyone's part. I can probably hold my own against him in a lightsaber fight, but I'm going to need all of you on your bestest field trip behavior to make sure we can take him down. Now, get your acts together, quit bouncing around like a bunch of fresh Shadow Academy recruits, and let's go do this."

The Dark Jedi all ran for their respective craft. Mage sauntered over to his, wisps of blue flame escaping his eyes and licking the air around them with the same taste for battle that he was now awash with.

Mage flipped open his commlink just long enough to get a brief message to the Warrior who had passed him his orders.

"Phoenix, this is Mage. Put a sign on my office that says, 'Gone huntin'!'"

Grinning, Mage snapped the commlink shut, hopped into the modified Y-Wing, and readied himself for yet another test.

OPM Mage

Phoenix returned to his seat in the his borrowed Strike cruiser.

"Rhaub should not get so down on himself....It could happen to anyone, plus he should revel in the fact that his men are well trained under his command, plus Maeda should be caught within days." Phoenix thought to himself.

"Sir....A transmission has come in, CSP has formed an alliance with Satal Keto." yelled a young Apprentice from across the bridge.

"I wonder why CSP has become such the wanted ally in this war...Is there something bout this clan that will make it a pivital point in the turning of the war. Do we hold the key to the victory of the war.....Of course we do, we are CSP." Pondered Phoenix to himself with a slight grin to his last thought.

"Thank you Resiment, get Cocytus on the comm, I wish to speak with Timbal." Ordered Phoenix, content on how things were coming to be.

"Aye." Responded Resiment.

Timbal's voice boomed over the comm.
"CSP'S UNDER ATTACK!!!! GET ALL AVAILABLE TROOPS HERE NOW!!!"

"Christ....Dragonfire I need ship-wide, all hands battle stations. Malak full power to engines, set course for Cocytus....the War has come home."

"Resiment, get a message to Mage....Get Maeda ASAP because he is on his own till further notice." Ordered Phoenix.

SWM Phoenix

Timbal paced around, trying to clear the thoughts that were racing around his head. Indeed, the furious pace of war and alliance declarations was confusing the hell out of him. He just hoped that it was doing the same to any possible enemies.

The hell with it, he thought. There was no use in worrying about things that he could not control. It was best to stay with things that he could control, which in this case meant some sort of lunch.

"Charlene, if it's possible, could you get me a spot of lunch? Gundark ham with some nerf ribs and a side of pomm sounds pretty good."

His assistant responded after a short delay. "Sorry, Quaestor. They're serving peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, heavy on the peanut butter."

Timbal immediately flew into a rage. They were warned already of such a possibility. Would Timbal have to choke a mynock to get his point through, he thought to himself darkly.

"Charlene, note: Remind me later on to kill a member of the kitchen staff. In the meantime, is there any alternate fare available?"

A short pause, and then, "Nerf soup?" she asked, hesitantly.

"Fine," Timbal bit off the word, and closed the channel. Someone was going to die, oh yes, they were. Timbal was brooding over what ways to best make an impression to not serve PB&J when his alarms started to go off.

"What the hell?" Timbal snarled. Hitting a hidden switch, his hidden displays showcasing various old landmarks from Alderaan disappeared, and strategic and tactical displays took their place. "Crap!" Timbal immediately pressed a recessed button, sending out pre-designated orders to all members of the House that were on planet to combat readiness. Still, with one Phyle out on a mission, and various other members out on various other missions, they were woefully short on personnel. They would have to make due with what they had. He needed to get some sort of backup, though....

"Vail, Arania. This is a recorded message. As I speak, unidentified forces have arrived in bulk, and are currently landing on Antenora. From what sensors I am able to access, it seems as if some forces are directed to the Clan headquarters, as well as to Caina, presumably to attack the Dorimad Sol facilities. I am sending what few fighters I have here to link up with what Phoenix left behind, and they should be able to handle whatever is thrown at them. Clan headquarters are virtually impenetrable, so I leave them to you and the automated defenses. That leaves us. As you know, our ground is pretty rugged, so we should be able to slow them in the mountains, but we'll stop them for sure before they reach our facilities. Death to our enemies, and avenge any of us that do not make it back." Timbal's no-nonsense combat face dropped slightly at the next few words. "I will be evacuating what non-Jedi we have, and put Saitou in charge of the group. This will include Joshua. You know where they will go, in case we don't make it. If that comes to pass, you know what to do." Timbal's gaze hardened, and his combat face came back up. "Acclivis Draco out. To hell with our enemies!"

Timbal quickly encrypted the message with the best one-time pad algorithm that they had, and placed the message in the case of a stealth messenger droid. Extremely expensive, these droids were no bigger than a small bird, and were sensor-stealth against virtually all sensors. Blindingly fast, it even carried a small hyperdrive, and had a small blaster for self-defense. It was virtually guaranteed to make their destination, which Timbal needed right now. He launched the probe by himself, and told Charlene to evacuate with the rest of the civilians and/or non-Jedi. Without waiting for a response, Timbal started to strip out of his working robes, and removed a black combat jumpsuit he always kept handy. Strapping on some light-weight body armor, his lightsabre, his two sai, and several carbon-reinforced tipped shuriken, he grabbed a headset with a comlink built in, and headed for the Combat Center. On his way out, he tripped the remote destruction activation sequence, which would destroy every molecule in his office with quite a few high-yield thermal detonators if Timbal's vital signs were to cease. The information there would never be recoverable by anyone.

Arriving at the same time to the Combat Center as Cooch, they both gave each other a thoughtful nod, and started to view the feeds from the sensors. Apparently the incoming transport had landed a few kilometers away, probably in the ravine that led to the HAD facility, or so the on-duty techs thought. That made sense, and ground sensors had started to confirm that. Acting on that information, Timbal started to position his people in key defensive positions, trying to leave something of a reserve. The few non-Jedi and civilians that were on the base had almost finished assembling in the main training hall, and would be good to go for evacuation. Timbal's heart suddenly flip-flopped, knowing that his son would be in the middle of that group, but he knew that Saitou would be more than adequate to guard them. Speaking of which.... "Saitou, you rat bastard. Where the hell are you?"

Although replying with a slightly slurred voice, he was clearly on the move. "Yo, Timbal! What's the deal?"

"We've got an incoming assault force. Where are you right now?"

"Heading to the forward defensive positions."

"Cancel that. Head on over to the main training hall. All of the non-combat personnel are awaiting your arrival. Get 'em out of harms' way, bro."

Saitou growled. Clearly he wanted to take part of the upcoming battle. "Timbal, I can be of better service if I'm upfront with the troops-"

Timbal cut him off. "Negative. They are out people, and they need to get out. As soon as possible. Besides, Josh is with them."

Saitou inhaled, and then exhaled audibly. "Damnit! You know I can't refuse that!"

Timbal winced, knowing that Saitou was torn in half. "Bro, you're one of the few that I can trust. I don't expect any problems, but you are their only shield."

"Right. Ok, I'm on my way."

"Acknowledged. Oh, and Saitou?"

"Yo?"

"The gloves are off. No restraints. If it's not CSP, kill it immediately." Timbal maintained the steel in his voice over the comlink.

An unseen feral grin crossed Saitou's face. "Roger that, sir. Saitou out."

Timbal closed the link, and looked at his one-time Quaestor and Consul. He in turn looked at Timbal with a calm look. "So, as you can see, we don't have much to work with. We'll need careful coordination from our people and our automated defenses if this is going to work. Care to take up the battle from the front?"

A knowing grin crossed his friends' face. "Hell, I'm ready for anything. I'll keep you updated."

As he left, Timbal said to him, "I'll try to scrounge up what support I can, but don't expect miracles. And like I said to Saitou, the gloves are off on this, Cooch."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Cooch grinned, and departed. Timbal took a deep breath, and started to concentrate on what his sensors were showing. Apparently, thirty odd invaders were coming in from the ravine, taking out what sensors they could easily detect. The way they were moving suggested combat experience, and they moved with a fluidity that showed that they were not afraid of their mission. This was not unexpected, but it was also not hoped for. "I wonder who they are," Timbal mused to himself. A tech turned around, and said, "Sir? I thought you know. We were able to scrub the few images of the transport that our long-range visual sensors were able to get. The identification of the ship is known. Here, I'll bring it up on the main display."

The blurry image of the Gallofree medium transport sharpened up, and closed in on the markings of the bow. Although the Clan colors of the ship were scrubbed free, the name of the ship still remained.

The Odin. The only Gallofree medium transport in service of Clan Taldryan.

To complicate matters, in orbit their sensors detected at least a Lancer-class frigate, a Carrack-class light cruiser, a Dreadnaught-class vessel, and more ominously, an Immobilizer-class Interdictor cruiser. That meant that they didn't want anyone to leave, and even worse, they had the combat power to destroy whatever they caught in their net. Identification of the ships was easy, since they were all broadcasting IFF beacons. The Bloodfang was the Lancer frigate, the Nighthawk was the Carrack cruiser, the Dark Seraphim was the Dreadnaught, and the Orthanc was the Interdictor. Apparently they also had two squadrons of fighters with them as well, one protecting the Interdictor, and the other one in a loose protective sphere around the rest of the flotilla. Luckily, or unluckily, the entire Scholae Palatinae fleet was currently on maneuvers elsewhere, although Timbal knew that they were close-by. He could call them in at any time he wanted to, but the flotilla outgunned the Clan fleet somewhat, and the fighters would provide that extra edge. Timbal would only bring them into the system when they would best be used.

However, the incoming ground force looked like they would not want to give them the chance to do that. The leading forces had just engaged the first of the automated defenses. That was expected, and in the plan.

What was unexpected was the sudden presence of new troops, about fifteen of them, making an off-axis attack. Crud. That he would not really be able to handle. Making a quick decision, he opened his comlink's channel.

"Issard! This is Timbal."

"Heya, boss. What can I do for you?"

"I know that you are ready for this. However, your students may not be. I need you and two of your students to head on over to the area near the galley. I would provide you with more, but we are low enough on people as is. We have incoming troops via that entry point, about fifteen. Eliminate this threat. I'm sorry to put your students in this, Issard...."

Issard casually waved the ominous words aside. "We stand ready to defend the House honor, Quaestor. We'll be departing at once. If you are in need of assistance, please let me know. Issard out."

Timbal had a dark feeling that he was sending some of those students out to die, but he had no choice. At least he knew that Issard would give him some warning if that flank was about to collapse.

He was about to tell Cooch of Issard's redeployment when a new set of sensor readings came in, and this time from the south-west, near the unfinished Citadel. "Damn!" Timbal raged to himself. They were starting to overwhelm him. The good news was that there was no possible way they could get any more people here, since the transport must have had its capacity over-filled with the amount of people that were on the ground now. This new group numbered at thirty strong, a threat he could not ignore.

But who could he take off the line? Cooch was sure enough going to need as much help as he could get. He opened a line to Cooch.

"Cooch, this is Timbal. I've sent Issard and two of his students to the galley area to head off about fifteen enemy troops."

"I saw him on the way out; he told me what's going on. That's cool, I can spare them."

"More bad news, man. We've got another group, coming in towards the Citadel. Thirty, three-zero strong."

Even without the Force, Timbal knew that Cooch grimaced. "Cooch, I need you to handle that end, and backstop Issard, just in case."

"What about the group near the Citadel?"

"Send me Protector Mordecai. He's done pretty good in the Antei Combat Chambers, time to prove if he can do that for real."

"And yourself?"

"I'm heading personally to the Citadel. I'll route all comms to my comm unit. If our line gets broken through, head back towards the command center, and take charge from there. You know that it's a natural strongpoint, so it'll take them a bit to get through."

"Right. Luck," said Cooch.

"Skill," countered Timbal. He gave the techs some orders, and by the time he was heading out, Mordecai almost skidded into Timbal. "Reporting for duty, sir."

Looking lethally competent, with a full combat harness, he had quite a few grenades, mines, and oddly enough quite a few daggers in his combat rigging. A neural whip and blaster completed the outfit. "Excellent. Has the Pontifex given you the gist of what's going on?"

"Fully, sir. Ready to take the war to these bastards."

Timbal looked into Mordecai's eyes, measuring the man behind them. Satisfied, Timbal broke the gaze, and quickly began a trot to the area near the Citadel.

Cooch wasn't happy. He just lost four more precious people, five if you included Timbal. The incoming force was systematically taking out the automated defenses, which they in themselves were causing few casualties. This was going to get ugly....

Issard wasn't happy. Only his two students from the Ebon Cloak Phyle and himself were not in a great position to stop these intruders. Still, they would hold, or die trying. What few automated defenses Issard had available, he activated. It was only a matter of time, now....

Timbal wasn't happy by one bit. With the odds of fifteen to one just on this flank alone would not be cause to make him happy. Still, he was certain that he would be able to kill them all before the broke through, although he doubted that the young Protector and himself would survive....

The attack was simultaneous.

With a hail of blaster fire, the original group of intruders tried to pin down what defensive positions that was obvious. Of course, Cooch knew that they were going to try that, and pulled his people back into a tight semi-circle, with overlapping fields of fire. When the first of the intruders stepped into the imaginary trip wire of the kill zone, Cooch fired a single blast from his blaster that neatly scored a hole in the intruder's face signaled the rest of the line to open up....

The nervousness of his student was apparent, and what's worse was that his student was not all that trained in the art of combat. This translated into him firing into the approaching interloper’s way before his blaster fire would be effective. Issard hissed at his student, while simultaneously using the Force to move his finger from the trigger. "Fool! You gave away your position! Fall back!" They scrambled for their alternate positions when the ground where they were taking cover in previously exploded with a withering set of explosions and blaster fire. Crud, this was not going good. Then, they were in range. "Fire!" Issard yelled, opening fire with his own carbine....

Timbal and Mordecai took up defensive positions at opposite ends of the knave of the Citadel. Various pews and meditation locations offered plenty of cover, and also posed a navigational difficulty to the intruders, as they would have to clear these obstacles before being able to close with the defenders. As soon as they were within range, Mordecai let go with a flurry of blaster shots, which got at least one of the intruders. They oriented on him, pouring fire while Mordecai had the good sense to duck. Timbal popped up, and let a fistful of shuriken fly. Using the Force, he was able to get two each in the neck, causing them to go down hard, blood pouring from their wounds. Timbal dived for the floor, avoiding their fire, when his comlink went off. Immediately accepted, and heard Rhaub's voice. ""Hail Cocytus control!"

Timbal instantly responded, buoyed by the fact of reinforcements coming in. "Rhaub, get your team down here! CSP is under attack!" Timbal had a vague sense of acknowledgement, and closed down the channel. While being ducked down, Timbal had moved laterally, so when he popped up again to attack, he was not in the same place that he was before. He popped off a few more shuriken, knowing that they made contact, but not knowing if they were fatal to whomever were the lucky recipient of the weapons, Timbal ducked again, blaster fire again tore his way again. Mordecai popped up on the other end, and threw a frag grenade towards the incoming enemy troops. Timbal sensed that some of the intruders were trying to get a Force-hold on the grenade, but Timbal caught a firm hold of it, and allowed it to follow it's flight through, exploding on contact in the vicinity of a few of the attackers. The fact that he was able to gain control of the grenade that easily suggested to Timbal that none of the attackers present were stronger than him, which gave him a bit of comfort. However, their sheer numbers could wear him down. Mordecai popped up again, laying down a stream of blaster fire, but he got hit in the shoulder by a blaster bolt. Laying him out on the floor, Timbal narrowed his eyes, and felt the rage bubble in him. Then, his comlink opened up again, and heard Phoenix talking in the background. Timbal cut him off, "CSP'S UNDER ATTACK!!!! GET ALL AVAILABLE TROOPS HERE NOW!!!"

Getting an acknowledgement through the Force from Phoenix, Timbal knew that he stood alone against approximately twenty enemy troops. They were about to see the fury of a fully enraged Krath Priest unleashed on their souls. Like an Angel of Death, Timbal jumped up and forward, obviously surprising the enemy troops that were circling closer to Timbal's former position and Mordecai's current position. Like a banshee, Timbal roared, and a used a telekinetic strike to blow the intruders back. Since this was a difficult thing for Timbal to do, the blow did not do much but stagger them back a few steps. However, that's all that Timbal needed. Flicking out his remaining shuriken out, he caught at least three, each of the shuriken guided by the Force to the sensitive necks of their targets. Each of Timbal's sai went flying, each connecting with a target, the sheer weight and inertia of the weapons causing the blade of each to pierce what combat armor they had and throwing them back. The remaining enemy troops recovered, and started to blast away at Timbal, who had by now holding his lit lightsabre and blocking the incoming bolts, heading straight for the nearest group of troops. With a savage blow, the head of one trooper went flying, and the next one was cut in half. Two others fell victim to another telekinetic strike against them. Timbal was going berserk, using the power of Enhance Skill to cut down, block enemy weapons, and otherwise attack and dismember the enemy. Sensing that the time for his trap was near, he backed away from the nearest cluster of enemy troops, who out of necessity clustered into a tight semi-circle to try and defend themselves against the furious assault by the HAD Quaestor.

This made them all but easy prey for the white phosphorus grenades that Mordecai had managed to toss into their midst. The weapons exploded upon contact with the ground, the intense heat of ignited phosphorus attaching to and burning through everything it came into contact with. With the screaming of the dying cluster of troopers as their background, between Timbal's lightsabre and Mordecai's blaster, they made a clean sweep of it.

Shutting down his lightsabre, Timbal felt the rage that was built up within him that had fueled his attack, but pushed it back down. He needed to think clearly now, not give into his anger right now. Coming off the high of combat, he suddenly felt all of the parts of his body that were now complaining at their abuse. Near-miss blaster burns caressed parts of his body, but Timbal forced that pain away. Walking over to Mordecai, he helped the Protector up, and they both exited the Citadel. It had now been baptized in blood. "Where to, boss?" Mordecai asked, knowing that although he was hit, he was still game for anything. Timbal's voice tightened up. "Issard. We must get to him. Let's go!"

They set off on their way as fast as their injured bodies let them....

KP Timbal

The sense of danger was overwhealming, even from such far a distance. Arania's connection with her Clan was such that she did not have to be told of an attack, she felt it in every part of her body. It was especially clear to her what was happening as the aggressor had picked Acclivis Draco's base. Her connection with this House was especially close. The rage building up inside her was hard to supress, but she had to supress it to allow her mind to be free from interefence.

She also knew where the attack was coming from. Standing on the planetary grounds of Karufr, it was not hard to figure out Taldryan was behind this. The tremors in the Force were betraying Consul Kir's plans, and Arania was sure the tremors would soon turn to quakes. Ever since Antei had been closed off, the Proconsul would have liked to use one of her many Force artefacts in the hopes to figure out what was going on, but unfortunately, those were at the Clan Headquarters under security lock. After all, she had not planned on all this when she had left their homeworlds to see an old friend of hers.

Sitting in an unfinished tunnel belonging to the Clan she despised most was adding to her feeling of helplessness. The tunnel was part of an intricate system about to be finished. It had been very difficult for her to even get here, even if it had not taken all that long. Non-Jedi natives working for Taldryan had been very receptive to mind control to get her into the first set of tunnels, but after that, progress had been slow and dangerous, even for a Master of the Dark Side. Having avoided some patrols, mind tricking some others and hiding herself in the Force, the woman had only covered a quarter of the distance she needed to go to reach Taldryan's main area. And truth to be told, she had no plan yet how to proceed, including getting out alive. Truth to be told, she was not even sure what had possessed her to do this. She was acting on some information stored somewhere in her mind, but she could not get a hold on it. But here she was, and too stubborn to even think of returning she would continue her self imposed mission. With an inward sigh, she focussed her mind away form her Clan and onto her current task.

"How did they know Alberigo's defenses were offline?" Liara, current Aedile of Dorimad Sol, was fuming in the House's main base on Ptolomea. The woman stared at the tactical display, unwilling to believe what she saw. The combined fleet of Taldryan and Arcona was invading their system, and thanks to a defect, the Clan's defensive systems on the moon Alberigo were not operational. This was a true nightmare, and even more so as the House's grounds were almost empty at the moment, with Phoenix having taken most trained people off to chase the treacherous Maeda.

"My guess is they caused the defect," Arania's adopted son, Marr, said calmly from behind her. "After all, they are known to sabotage someone else's property."

"You could be right there, son." Liara pressed a few keys, and a close up of the tactical situation around Ptolomea showed. "Some of them are heading our way."

"Arcona or Taldryan?" Aishea wanted to know. The Obelisk woman was combat ready and had just appeared at the doors.

"Does that make any difference?" Liara spat. "They are the enemy in either case."

'Typical Sith,' Aishea thought. Loud she said "It makes a tactical difference. Both Clans have different tactics - don't you get different attack patterns when in your fighter, too?"

"Yes," Liara acknowledged. "We've identified them as Arconan. Seven combat shuttles, and from their flight pattern, I'd say they are going to form a star around us when landing, enclosing us pretty good."

"Sithspawn," Aishea cursed. "That means at least 70 invaders."

"We're dead," a resigned voice was heard at the comm station. "I tried to call for assistance, or even tell them about our situation. The base is cut off from all communications with the rest of the Clan since roughly 10 minutes. Someone is jamming us."

This was not adding to any positive feelings. Liara turned to look at Zulo. The Jedi Hunter, known to be a good captain in any situation, now seemed frozen. "What's the matter? Getting scared?"

Zulo, a dark skinned pack of muscles without any hair, shrugged. He was known to never lie, and he replied openly now, too. "Yes, Milady. Not of death, but for the Clan. It looks bad considering who is where on the bases."

Liara nodded, then looked at the others. "Ready the few we have here. Marr, are your sister and your Wookie brother still here?"

The boy nodded. His siblings had been visiting him from the Headquarters, where they currently were assigned as part of the room design group. "They should be waiting in my quarters."

"Right. Aishea, get everyone ready for combat - that includes you, Marr - and assemble in the combat hall. How long until the shuttles land?"

"ETA in 27 minutes," Zulo replied. "Seems they knew about our lack of forces and concentrated on our Krath first."

"Enough time then, I hope. Zulo, get ready as well. We'll get them a show for their money. I just wish we could have planted some traps by now in addition to our perimeter defenses. The project has always been shifted back due to other work... what is it, Marr?"

Marr was blushing and nervously dancing around. "Excuse me, but there are some defenses. Nothing big, more like the leftovers of a game my siblings and me played yesterday."

"There are?" Aishea frowned at the boy. "I didn't give permission..."

"No matter now,"Liara cut them off. "Get ready. Explain to Aishea on the way. I'll stay here to coordinate - for now." As the three of them left the room, Liara allowed herself a long sigh. Phoenix would have been better to coordinate this, she knew. But she would give them a warm welcome as well. At least, for all she knew, the Clan Headquarters themselves were safe enough from any attack.

Aishea gathered the remaining troops in record time. Not all were Obelisk and Sith, a few Krath had been visiting as well to recieve extra combat training, but their numbers were still small. Aishea counted 42, many of them barely out of the Shadow Academy. Even with the best luck, those newbies would likely all die, and they seemed to be aware of that fact. Amazing how well they carried themselves still.

The main problem was how to split 42 people to cover seven landing points, considering the noobs could not go alone. The best would be to rely mostly on the experienced members and have the noobs act as backup. And then there was Marr and his little toys close to the estimated landing points of two of the shuttles.

"Here's the plan," she said. "And you better all follow it to the letter."

DJM Arania

While the battle was commencing on Ptolomea, homeworld of the Dorimad Sol, Phoenix just came out of hyperspace, scanning the space of Cocytus system. Taldryan’s fleet was impressive, but if he could hold them for just some time until the rest of the fleet arrives, they would have a fair chance of winning.

Just, Taldryan’s fleet didn’t allow him any time to wait. They immediately turned to assault his ship, firing at it with turbolaser and laser batteries.

“Evasive maneuvers” shouted Phoenix as his ship shook from surrounding explosions “Defensive fire! Concentrate all fire on that Lancer-class frigate!”

Tension built on the bridge as the ship rotated, targeting the Bloodfang with its turbolasers. The small frigate was no match for the bigger ship; after a few barrages it was obviously in bad shape and headed back to hyperspace.

“Sir, Dark Seraphim is turning on us! They’re firing missiles at us! Incoming!”

“Shields!” Yelled Phoenix, holding tighter for his chair “Brace for impact!”

The impact soon came, short, yet furious impact that shook entire ship, carrying strong vibrations all through the superstructure.

“They’re preparing another salvo” shouted someone

“Countermeasures” ordered Phoenix “Remain calm… We’re to hold them off just a bit longer”

Taldryan’s dreadnaught fired another salvo of torpedoes at them. Phoenix waited calmly, seemingly uninterested as deadly blue bolts arrived toward the Valkyre. He waited until they almost reached, and were about to connect…

“Now” he shouted. His crew instantly responded, launching the countermeasures before the Cruiser. Torpedoes hit the sudden obstacle, harmlessly detonating away from Phoenix’s ship.

“They’ll figure we’re prepared now” Phoenix said “They’re heading for us… And that Carrack Cruiser of Arcona is flanking us… Hold on people, we’ll make it”

The two enemy ships had some trouble coordinating; their commodores were undecided among themselves should they take careful or less careful offensive approach. But eventually they decided to circle around Valkyre in a spiral pattern, closing in on her while Orthanc prevented any thought of escape.

But they spent too much time undecided. For, just before they fired, sensors detected new ships arriving in the theatre. Victory-class Star Destroyer Excidium and Modified Corvette Victory had just showed up, threatening the valuable Interdictor Cruiser.

Phoenix sighted with a mixture of relief and worry. The odds were now on their side, but was it in time to help his people on ground?

KPN Vail

Just as Phoenix sighed thinking he and his men were out of trouble, the Dreadnaught unloaded another barrage of missiles. Before he could react, the ship had taken 3 direct hits, while the other 4 missed.

"Malak, I need sensor readings of the terrain, find out where there is the most fighting and where we are pinned down.....And land on it!!" Screamed Phoenix across the bridge.

Malak whipped his head around and the thought crossed his mind..."You want me to do what!?!?"

"Don't give me that look, you have your orders...DO IT!"

"Well, his reputation as a psychopath isn't all fabricated." Thought Malak...."Coordinates laid in."

"PUNCH IT!!!" As Phoenix bellowed out the command, the Valkyrie took a major blow to the engines.

"Main engines are down boss....We're going in hard and fast!"

"Resiment, open a channel to timbal, tell him he is about to have a very big distraction. Signal all hands brace for impact." The Valkyrie ripped through the atmosphere at break neck speeds. Pieces of the bulkheads began to melt and rip away as Malak tried to keep control over the ship. Even Phoenix using his limited powers to help the young Apprentice did not seem to fluctuate the rapid decent of the ship. With a thunderous boom, the Valkyrie hit the planet's surface, stopping about a mile from the initial crash site.

"Whoa...Let's do that again." Muttered Phoenix with his evil grin while trying to get to his feet. The members of the bridge snickered as they awaited their orders.

As he cracks his back...
"Everyone accounted for?" A round of "heres" was shouted, except for one..."Where's Sledge...?" Asked Phoenix.

"Umm...He's right here boss, but I don't think he'll be going anywhere soon though with the missile shrapnel in his forehead." Stammered Devil Child.

"Great...like I needed more problems....Esche, load up and take Dragonfire, Malak and Resiment and circle round to the far side of the citadel. I want you to try to flank the Tal forces coming in. Eliphaz, Conorrius and Devil, you'll come with me straight into the citadel. You have your orders, now go."

All the young Jedi scurried off to the armory to prepare themselves, while Phoenix made his way to his quarters. He pushed through the debris blocking the doorway to his quarters and slipped in. He gazed upon the enormous chest off in the corner of the room, it has been a while since he has opened it. Phoenix knelt down in front of the chest and opened it slowly; a dim light peered from the inside. Phoenix reached in and pulled out the light armor, still holding the insignia of the obelisk order from the Obelisk Rite of Supremacy. He secured the armor, and then slipped on the razor gauntlets. Then he sliced through a small marble table in the room, a grin came to his face.....the blades were still sharp. After attaching his saber, some throwing knifes, spikes, grenades and his two blasters, he turned back to the chest to get his most prized weapon. He took the long sword out of the chest and secured the sheath to his back, its had been many years since he had used this weapon. Made of mystic metal and crystals from his home planet, and passed down from ruler to ruler of his people, Phoenix was the last in the bloodline to hold possession of "The Phoenix Blade." Named after its creator and first king of his people, it was passed down to Phoenix upon his return home and his coronation as the rightful king of his people. The sword was rumored to increase its bearer's strength and mental abilities as well as being able to deflect any weapon thrown at it, even a Lightsaber. He placed the sword back in its sheath and gazed out a hole in the hull.

"It is time I join you my brother, For the enemy shall die at both of our hands....."

SWM Phoenix

Exodius noticed the Phoenix's ship go down on the screen. "My friend is as crazy as I remembered," the Trandoshan mumbled. He looked to his apprentice, Radek who was at the helm. "Provide covering fire for PhoBird's squad. Head directly for the Citadel and land on the opposite side of it." Radek replied with a crisp salute and got to work. "Rhaub, what the hell are we going to do anyway? This battle seems a bit disorderly," the reptilian Krath stated. He was right. There seemed no order in both sides. Rhaub pondered this and shook his head. "I have no idea honestly. I'd like to know what happened to Timbal and try to locate him. Me, you and Radek can be on that, and the rest of the crew can defend the Citadel. Radek, how far?"

"Closing in with 200 meters to go, sir..."

KP Exodius

“100 meters and closing fast!” Radek reported.

After a less than smooth landing next to the Citadel, Rhaub ordered the crew to hold off the enemy at all costs. Meanwhile Rhaub, Exodius, and Radek headed off towards the location of Timbal’s last communication. Noticing a strange look on Radek’s face Rhaub inquired “What’s the matter?”

“Well not to second guess your leadership sir, but I believe it would be best to work our way from the command center outwards so that we can push back any one who may have broken through the lines.” Radek explained.

Rhaub took a few seconds to contemplate the suggestion.

“It doesn’t sound like a half bad idea,” Exodius added. “Better to have it covered than take the risk.”

Trusting his men Rhaub agreed.

Making their way to the command center, Exodius noticed Timbal, Mordecai, and Issard being pushed back by a large group of about 50 enemy troops.

“Let’s Go!” shouted Rhaub...

PRT Radek

Zulo had been placed in command of team Nightmare – weird how Aishea seemed to love real names for teams – and he felt as if the team’s name was program. Unfortunately, it would turn out a nightmare for themselves, not for their enemy. Going over his 6 heads strong unit once more, he hoped they were all ready for what was to come. Granted, the opponents coming from this direction would not be much more than 10, probably 12 if you’d count their pilots. And the pilots might stay behind. Still, even being remotely outnumbered was not a good idea when most of his fighters (and those of the other teams as well) were completely inexperienced, didn’t have their sabers yet and in a few cases never had had real combat training. Yes, it would be a nightmare, and he was prepared to lose everyone and die himself as well.

The shuttle had gone down close to a hot spring in the middle of the valley’s jungle. A real dumb place to land at, but the invaders could not know about the inhabitants of the water. The magadiles were all the hope Zulo had left. Big, flat reptiles with enourmous maws, they were known to jump at anything remotely edible, and they were immune to mind tricks. They were also about impossible to detect with the Force, unless you were at least an Adept. This was probably because there was not much of a mind to manipulate or detect first place. As their blue and green scales made them melt into their habitats perfectly, it was also hard to notice them visually.

Any minute now, the invaders must leave the shuttle. He motioned his team to get ready, and they all drew their blasters. He just hoped at least half of them knew how to aim.

Aishea’s team was profiting from Arcona’s dumbness as well. The shuttle they had been bound to cover had landed in pseudo-swamp to the north of the Headquarters. The seemingly solid ground, which would have been no problem to talk over for humans or even heavy animals, gave in when the weight of the shuttle came down on it. It seemed like the invaders had not done any detail reseach about CSP’s worlds – which was as well as they could use each advantage.

Team Hellfire, as she had called hers, was now on the way to support team chaos, which was, logically, the group of kids and newbies around Marr. They were closest, and while they were probably at the safest position, Aishea knew Arania would kill her if anything happened to her children. So, logic played little part in her decision to check on them first.

Of course, team Gunsmoke could have used their help better. East to the Headquarters, they had come late to their destination. Their enemies were already disembarked and had also sensed them coming. To make it worse, the shuttle was empty when they arrived, which made matters worse. Either the enemy was about to ambush them, or they were on their way to the headquarters already, which meant the team would have to search for them. Things were not looking good here.

DJM Arania

The Acclivan Quaestor and his two comrades flung their sabers at the onslaught of Taldryan troops with unbridled fury. The first oncoming wave fell at the Quaestor's feet like a windswept hedgerow, but the second wave was proving to be more of a challenge.

Just as the cadre of Dragon Guard had reached them, Mordecai was moments from being overcome by a troika of Taldryan Obelisk. They appeared to be taunting him -- circling around the Protector, jabbing at him with their saber tips -- savoring the moment of the kill. But too preoccupied with their own folly to notice, Rhaub, Exo, and Radek had managed to creep upon them in stealth, and with simultaneous swipes of their sabers, they decapitated the three Obelisk. But the headless bodies remained standing for a moment, as though too shocked to accept their fate, before dropping into a fleshy heap.

"Heh...thanks." Mordecai's trembling lips parted into a more relaxed grin, before tensing once again. "Look out!"

The three Dragon Guard immediately dropped to their knees as a volley of blaster fire grazed overhead. But rising above, Mordecai spun his saber around in a series of figure-eights, deflecting away the blasts, returning several to their senders.

As the three Dragon Guard rose to charge their attackers, Rhaub looked down to Mordecai's training saber and laughed. "And to think, you won't be receiving one of those for another three promotions."

Mordecai grinned. "One of the joys of Antei Combat. Plenty of playtime. No restrictions."

Rhaub looked up towards the battle and nodded. "No restrictions."

As they plunged into the fray, Rhaub noticed Timbal and Issard up ahead, with saber and blaster in hand, standing shoulder to shoulder as they fended off a Taldryan platoon.

"A little help?!" Timbal shouted.

The Dragon Guard rushed towards their Quaestor, waylaying several attackers upon entry, and fought their way in towards the heart of the battle.

"Nice of you to join us!" Issard hollered.

"You should have told me we were having guests!" Exo shouted back. "I would've spiked the punch!"

And though beset on all sides, the Acclivans laughed in unison, emboldening them in the face of poor odds and superior numbers. They continued to smash their way back through the invading horde, regaining their territory foot by foot, inch by inch.

Consumed with the purest form of focused rage, Rhaub was feeling exhilarated by the heat of battle, and altogether centered in a moment of destruction and chaos. It was times like these that he felt most in touch with the Dark Side, where training and meditation could only glance.

But as he made his way through, slashing his enemies, avoiding hits, in harmony with his violent surroundings, something disrupted his flow. A blurry image, accompanied by an "almost sound," that rose from his subconscious like a morning star, then made its way to the center of his thoughts and burned so brightly that it faded everything else.

Unnoticed by those around him, Rhaub tripped back slightly and his head lagged from side to side. Deep in his inner self he was agonizing to regain his thoughts, to push out the familiar presence that now made itself understood to him. "Your strength is leaving you, your courage, bleeding away, replaced by fear, weakness, fatigue..." The words droned through Rhaub's synapses, but he managed to summon the strength enough to clear his sight and see, beyond the battlefield, quietly watching from a distance, the imposing silhouette of Kem-Shu Maeda.

Straining every last fiber of his self-will, Rhaub tore himself away from the battlefield and headed towards the Citadel.

"Sir, where are you going?!" Radek shouted. But Rhaub was too sapped of energy to reply.

He made his way into the Citadel, approached a tech-locker and smashed it open with his saber. After frantically searching its contents, he found the neural inhibitor he was looking for and strapped it to his temples. Just as he did so, the blinding spot in his head started to fade and the private realm of his own thoughts returned.

Now free of mental influence, Rhaub exited the Citadel, made his way back through the battlefield and headed off in the direction where he'd last spotted Maeda.

Jogging through the winding paths of the valley beyond the Citadel, Rhaub called out to Maeda, but received no reply. Thinking he'd heard movement in a shaded gulch, he cautiously stepped down over the jagged rock face, but slipped on a patch of moss and plummeted to the bottom in a painful thud.

"Maeda!" Rhaub belted out of his bruised ribcage, and the name echoed down the crease of the gulch. But still, nothing, and Rhaub laid still for a moment, listening to the soft crackle of the forest crawlers and the running stream, while trying to suppress the pain and regain his strength.

But as he slowly began to rise, Maeda's black boot stomped down in front of him, and Rhaub instantly shot up as he reached for his saber.

"Greetings," said Maeda instantly.

Pausing for a moment, Rhaub suddenly realized that Maeda was trying to probe his brain. He could feel the attempt. But the inhibitor was doing its job, keeping Maeda's influence at bay. For all his dark powers, Maeda no longer had his most powerful weapon -- for a time, anyway.

"I was just going to kill you, Maeda. Rip your eyes out and be done with it. But..."

"How lively of you to say. How whimsical. How rich." Maeda smiled broadly. "But please, do go on." He glanced down at his watch. "We have time."

Rhaub spat out a gob of blood and continued. "The impression I've been getting is that my mind has become something of a preoccupation with you. You've been there three times."

"Of course you flatter yourself, like all acolyte-knights with delusions of skill and power. I can affect hundreds of minds simultaneously -- grip them in my fist and yank them wherever I wish. You were but one puny strand in a very large web."

"And you cast yourself as the spider, I suppose."

The Dark Master flicked his wrist in indifference. "If you like. My powers are beyond your comprehension."

"Or at least your ego."

Maeda acknowledged the insult with a slight lift in his shoulders. "Not ego alone. Think what you will, but genuine, unique ability is why I'm in this awkward position. You see, the Dark Council fear what I can do -- they view me as a manageable threat -- so they pool their collective impotence and throw me to the margins as their errand boy. But it won't last." At this he made a fiendish grin.

"Errand boy? What errands have you been on, Maeda?"

"You may ask the question, but it will make you none the wiser."

"Come, Master Maeda, tell me something of your byzantine plan -- a tidbit -- a glimpse of your brilliant scheming. You want me to believe that this great war of the Clans is an elaborate concoction of the Dark Council, and that you're taking steps to capitalize on it for your own secret agenda. But you miss the very simple truth, my dear Master."

"Oh, the truth is before you," Maeda hummed. "But your vision is simply too limited by your immense stupidity."

"The truth is that you're insane, Maeda. Nothing more. You fancy yourself the clever puppet master, but that's the delusion. This is all going nowhere."

"Your feeble insults are of no consequence Aghasett, but I thank you for trying. Next!"

"We are alone, as you may have noticed."

"So we are." With this, Maeda calmly drew his saber hilt and ignited it. "When you get to the other side, be sure to send Palpatine my darkest regards."

Taking this as his cue, Rhaub immediately brought forth his ignited saber and lashed out at Maeda in a fluid whirlwind of unreal speed, streaking an indigo glow passed Maeda's face, but failing to make contact. Intuitively, Maeda lunged with his ruby blade to fend off the attack, countering with visceral ease as Rhaub struck again.

The Dark Master's movements were increasing in speed and complexity, and it was becoming difficult to keep up. Greatly outclassed, Rhaub desperately called on powers as of yet unknown to him, and couldn't help but to wonder if this would be the end of his fate. But just as Rhaub's moment of truth was at hand, a different voice cried out Maeda's name, and the Dark Master abruptly withdrew from the duel and turned to see who it was.

Around the perimeter of the gulch stood Timbal, Issard, and the remaining Dragon Guard, all with burning sabers in hand and strapped with neural inhibitors. They had Maeda surrounded.

KP Rhaub D'ar Aghasett Palpatine

Phoenix exited the craft and joined his awaiting members. He looked off into the distance, see the night sky flash with blaster fire and explosions.

He took a deep breathe.

"Today is a good day to die." He thought to himself. "Everyone ready?"

"Yes Sir!!"

"Good good, hope you all used the bathroom and parents signed your permission slips, cause we are heading out." The small joke broke the tension amongst the young Jedi for this was, for the most part, their first time in real battle.

"Remember, take your time, trust the force...And amongst all things, Your fellow clan members are out their, watch who you are shooting at. Plus, if you harm my brothers in any way, I will kill you myself. Move Out!!"

Each team headed off in their own direction. Esche and his team went north-west to circle around to the far-side of the citadel while Phoenix and his team went straight towards the citadel.

"Stay frosty and keep your eyes moving, we don't want to be ambushed." Ordered Phoenix. He felt a disturbance in the force, getting stronger as they moved through the wooded are...They were getting close. The sounds of blaster fire and explosions went off directly in front of them. Eliphaz peered through the brush to see a large group, about 50 or so, Taldyrans converging on Timbal and Mordecai's position.

"Boss...there is 50 or more.." Stammered Eliphaz.

Phoenix reached out with force, 56 to be exact and Rhaub making his way up behind Timbal...This should be fun.

"When I hit the ground, open fire on that group." Ordered Phoenix with his evil smile. The group looked at him, confused yet knowing exactly what the lunatic was about to do. Then, like a lion pouncing on its prey, Phoenix drew his sword and jumped as high as he could towards the group. His blade gleamed in the moonlight as he swung it round in a circle from front to back. With a thunderous boom, Phoenix sliced through 3 of the would-be dispatchers and shattering the ground with his mighty blade. As instructed, a flurry of blaster fire unloaded into the group. Stunned and shocked, the Taldryans tried their best to counter-attack and defend themselves, but Phoenix did not give them a chance. The "Phoenix Blade" sliced through the younger jedi, sending their blood spewing from their throats and torsos.

Then two Dark Jedi Knights stepped up to the Sith Warrior. Phoenix took out his saber, and spun it in his left hand while gripping his sword in the other.

"Lets dance.." Taunted Phoenix. The two knights lunged at him with furious swipes, each being block or avoided. Phoenix then launched his counter-attack, spinning and swiping at the knights. In the melee, the one DJK lost his arm, while the other recieved two large gashes across his torso. As the one night layed in shock from the loss of blood, the other fell to his knees holding his stomach. Phoenix placed the tip of his sword underneath his chin and raised his up slightly.

"You should not have come here......Now you die." And with one quick swipe, Phoenix beheaded the young knight then spun the sword round and impaled the other, killing him instantly.
"Hmm...." Said Phoenix to himself, noticing that he was nowhere near the battle anymore.
"Now to find my way back to the fight."

SWM Phoenix

The battle was at its peak.

Forces of Universe focused in the homeworld system of Clan Scholae Palatinae. So great was the moment that air itself filled with tension, vibrating with expectation and suspense, that people were aware of each breath they made or released, in constant awareness that things will resolve, in one way or another, any minute now.

The battle of Caina was long, drawn out, and above all, deadly. Members of Dorimad Sol gave no ground; slightly outnumbered they fought from cover, retreating only when no other choice was available. Their knowledge of terrain, surprise maneuvers and ferocity in battle served them well, but better training and equipment and greater number of Arconan troops prevailed, and one by one members of Dorimad Sol fell, dying without regret or fear, with only one thought – to take as many opponents as possible with them.

As ferocious as it was, the battle was just the pale reflection of the main war, for on planet Antenora the fate of the Scholae Palatinae was being decided. Fighting with the Taldryan troops was led by Phoenix – he stood in front of his men, wielding his lightsabre in one hand and his ancestral blade in the other, slashing at his opponents in wide circles, keeping them back, giving no ground. People rallied around him, and for the moment they halted the advancing Taldryan tide – yet, the victory of any side hanged in the air, unreachable by any.

And not away from the field of battle, far greater conflict was being fought; the inner tension of Scholae Palatinae finally erupted in the duel of its loyal members against Maeda. The Jedi faced, surrounding Dark Jedi Master, attacking him from all sides, yet Maeda did not easily give in – he deflected the incoming flurry of blows and evaded the lightsabre wielders, picking on the most lone to strike down – Issard rose his lightsabre to deflect the blow, but Maeda aimed his strike in such an angle that it was to simply glance around Knight’s blade and across his body. Deadly blow was suddenly stopped by another lightsabre, from Rhaub who added his strength to Issards’ parry. Maeda pulled back, turning to strike again, but instead deflecting Timbal’s blow which came from the side, then, ducking under Issard’s overhead swing, moved again to face all his opponents on the front.

These three battles were being fought, none with any victory in sight, yet, each was critical for the Clan. Its members knew well –defeat in any of the conflicts would spell disaster for Scholae Palatinae. That thought alone gave them strength to carry on – brought strength back to their bodies, allowed them to tap into unknown wellsprings of energy, untapping the potential which made even the simplest of Acolytes a force to be reckoned with.

Still, powers against them were great. And, for the moment, winds of war were blowing against Scholae Palatinae. A well-placed group of grenades fell straight on the defensive position, eradicating seven defenders in a matter of seconds, right before Leara’s eyes. The surprise, the shock of sudden, senseless death did not stun her reason – she knew without them there was no chance to hold defense line from already advancing Arconan troops. “Retreat, all positions” she said “group on the following coordinates”. Then, she slowly retreated, slowing the advancing Arconans enough for her retreating comrades to withdraw to the new defense positions.

For Phoenix, situation became unbearable. Around him, men were already in retreat. “Fall back behind those rocks” he shouted without looking at his men. He deflected the two incoming lightsabres with his own, then made the swift work of his opponents with his other sword. “Hurry up, don’t die to these assclowns!” he shouted as he retreated a step backwards, waving his weapons to drive four Taldryan Obelisks which tried to surround him back.

And Maeda revealed his true power – the man moved in a blinding frenzy of speed and prowess, unleashing a flurry of blows at his opponents with unmatched speed. No one even saw swift kick of his right leg, which caught Issard straight in the chest, crashing him down on the ground. In a blink of an eye Maeda was above him, aiming his lightsabre straight for the swift kill. Rhaub jumped on the Dark Jedi Master, preventing the blow from landing, destabilizing Maeda and pushing him several steps to the side, but Maeda moved with skill and grace, throwing Rhaub behind himself, crashing him on the ground with enough force to stun the Archpriest. Timbal charged to help him, but purple lightning jumped from Maeda’s fingers, sending agonizing pain through the body of the Quaestor. Timbal fell on the ground, but Rhaub and Issard were on their feet, holding their lightsabres in the level of their eyes, aimed toward Maeda, holding their hurt torsos with their other hands as they circled around their opponent.

For a moment, all seemed lost for Leara. Arconans were all around them, firing and advancing from all directions. Her men were loosing nerves - only her presence prevented them from completely falling to panic. “Hold your ground” she shouted, her voice almost drowned by the blaster fire falling around her. “Hold your ground!” she repeated again louder as another barrage fell on them, this time catching her arm. She yelled from the pain and fell back to cover. “I’m all right!” she shouted to her people. This was it, she knew. Nothing to do now, but for one desperate, last stand. “I’m just said I never said Vail one thing” she said “I consider myself greatly underpaid”. Then, she grabbed her weapons and jumped out of the cover, charging at her opponents, followed by remnants of House Dorimad Sol.

Phoenix held his position valiantly – few of the Taldryan soldiers which tried to attack their positions died as soon as they made first step, and now the attackers were consolidating, preparing for one final, organized push at Scholae Palatinae warriors. “What are we waiting for?” someone asked Phoenix. “Support fire fool” replied Dorimad Sol Quaestor. “What do you think Victory Star Destroyers do?”. He immediately knew what the novice wanted to ask. “Yes novice, they might catch some of us too. But, as Vail had told me when he was in this position before, who cares”

And in the duel of powers, moment of decision was near the end. Strength was failing the people loyal to summit. Still, with each strike, Maeda grew more and more weaker himself – he was not as fast anymore, not as flawless as he used to. He made no significant errors, nothing his opponents could exploit – still, his prowess was degrading. Just the question stood above all – who would hold longer? Which will prevail? The number of Scholae Palatinae warriors or the power of the Dark Jedi Master?

Maeda’s lightsabre finally fell on the ground as he made his choice. Timbal, Issard and Rhaub, all of his opponents jumped on him at once, from all sides. But, Dark Jedi Master simply spread his hands above his head, emitting a pure, telekinetic shockwave through Force that knocked his opponents on the ground. Before they could get up, Maeda was gone. The Dark Jedi master disappeared without a trace, leaving only his red bladed lightsabre behind.

“Why?” Issard asked as he looked around for any trace of their opponent.

“He didn’t want to risk anything” said Timbal “He has some purpose of his own to accomplish”

“Or maybe” Rhaub said with a hint of fear in his voice “Maybe he already accomplished what he intended”

Taldryans released a barrage of blaster fire at Phoenix’s position, so strong they had to lay down low and protect themselves behind the rocks, aware that their opponents were closing in every second. Phoenix shouted in rage, jumping from his cover, deflecting the incoming bolts, sending some back at his opponents. He missed one bolt, which just glanced over his shoulder. Still, the Sith didn’t react to pain, instead he swung his ancestral blade, slashing straight