[i]Admiral Firion Levalle had earned his rank a thousand times over, in truth he probably deserved to be king of Feraxis. Haergeras was the man, the title he’d sworn to defend at all cost. The king, the planet, and his people. Firion remembered how Haergeras had grown into a man, the two of them becoming unlikely friends. One born into royalty, and the other nothing more than a spec amongst the crowds of Feraxis’s royal city. With thanks to a hard-working mother, Firion found himself into the pilot’s academy and tested at the top of his class consistently. The only man close to his prodigious talent was that of Haergeras. Through tests, and races across the hallways, the two challenged each other. With each passing competition, their skills became honed. Haergeras was the sword, and Firion was the strategy. The two together were fabled upon the stars as legends in the Exar Kun War. However, today is not yesterday. Long days of peace proved fruitless for Haergeras who watched over a planet from his throne. His fleet’s skills slowly diminished although still greater than any other armada within Republic space. He had grown arrogant about the impenetrable defense of his kingdom. Firion did not share this lack of discipline. His mind was iron and steel, ever lingering in the past of death and destruction. He remembered that it was not just the Sith who were a terror, but their allies like Mandalore the Indomitable. The Mandalorians were to be watched and never trusted. Unfortunately, Haergeras did not heed his advice and allowed the Mandalorians to settle in unknown space without so much as a spy to record their actions. The Admiral took note of rumors of planets nearby being struck by furious fleets and firestorms that consumed lives in the millions. He believed them, but Haergeras did not. Today, they received a secret transmission from the Republic regarding one of those attacks. Haergeras’ had fear in his eyes for the first time Firion could remember, and the Armada was on full alert. Only, it was too late. “Ships incoming, ships incoming, warp detected!” A crewmember came running down the bridge to the Admiral. Firion’s head whipped around. “Shields up! Prepare the firing cannons, we’ll give them hell before they get through our line. Fire upon there location!” “We can’t.” “What do you mean we can’t?” “They’re coming in from behind us, Sir!” His stomach dropped, but he did not show his fear. “Sir?” “Full power, put the engines on full throttle, engage the fighters to buy us some time for turn around maneuvers!” “Yes, Admiral!” He took off, running down and shouting out the commands. Every member of the ship ran back and forth to different stations, it looked like panic. The Admiral rushed to his command post, the time of peace had ended. War had come.[/i] [hr] [i]Hundreds of fighter class ships swarmed out of the hyperspace warp, locusts of death reigned crimson fire upon the nearest cruiser in seconds in a rain of fire that obliterated it in seconds. An overwhelming fleet of destroyer warships flooded through next, one after another, only one of them warped too close and smashed into a capital class ship. The collision rippled in space as debris rocketed in all directions. Corpses spun and bounced against durasteel as death already littered the battleground. Fire and blood. The bright flames flickered against the golden visor of Mandalore. Underneath his helmet, he wore a triumphant smile. Flashes of blaster beams, the burning of ship engines, and explosions reflected his crusading vision in his ambitious gaze. The glory of his dreams was tremendous, but to witness the reality was something more. He stood from his meditation as his command ship neared the FRS Haergeras, the crown jewel of the Feraxis Fleet. Flowing, torn red cape trailed as he walked down the bridge to the elevator. On the dock of his ship, hundreds of soldiers awaited his command. The rally master Uruk Dar-Zhen awaited him in his maroon battle suit. He held his closed fist to his heart, and immediately an entire battalion of Mandalorians followed suit. This was the loyalty that stabbed fear into the hearts of the galaxy. “Hail Mandalore!” Uruk yelled. “Hail!” A hundred blades in unison. “Rally Master, report.” “Yes, Mandalore. The FRS Diamond was turned into dust on impact with the Jericho. Thousands dead. But, the front line assault of fighters immediately wiped out the Defender. Without her, the Armada’s defense is nearly broken, all that is left is the Swordhand. Shall I call in the order for the fighters to hit her next?” “No. The shield of Haergeras is shattered, and the Swordhand will be too far away to do anything about it. Send the frontal assault squadron towards the Swordhand but do not engage, simply distract. I want every last man here on a ship or a basilisk and ready to board the Haergeras.” “Board the Haergeras?” Uruk was stunned. “We will board one of the greatest warships known in Republic space, and then I will slay the legendary Admiral Firion Levalle myself in a show of power. With complete command of their capital ship, we will break Feraxis’s spine and force them to surrender without destroying the resources on planet.” Hearing Mandalore speak, Uruk found himself flooded with pride. This was his commander, this was his Mandalore. A true warrior to the end. “It will be done, Mandalore. Feraxis will cower in the face of our might!” “So they shall.” Uruk turned to his men. “Get to your ships, we’re boarding the Haergeras!” A roar of approval, thunderous. “For Mandalore! For Glory!” Uruk cried out. “For Mandalore!” Varen Del-Kar raised a fist, and his loyal blades answered.[/i] [hr] [center][b]Aria Blair Dantooine[/b][/center] “Your student reminds me of myself, Master Asichi.” Aria commented with a grin towards Vras. “It’s good to want to know things, but don’t discount the history of the order young one; how else would we know not to make the same mistakes if not for knowing the dark places those who came before us tread?” She posed the question, something for the eager student to ponder while she could confront the nature of Iri’s question. This was the second master she’d gone to about her dreams, the second master who posed the possibility of them being visions, premonitions of the future. Arren was certain, and Iri only gave the possibility. A hope latched onto the idea of simple dreams, nightmares after a hard time confronting the nature of battle, or something. Something had to be troubling her, her secret. Yet, that cold claw digging into her heart spoke an icy truth. They were no dreams. “I saw…” Aria felt her heart sinking at the memory, the familiar cold causing her to shiver. “They looked like Mandalorians. Thousands of men armored from head to toe chanting in the name of glory, their blaster fire scorched the ground in front of them no matter who was there. Men, women, children. I saw people with cat-like faces screaming, running in terror as the ships blocked out the sun above. Blood stained the color of the water, and when it was all quiet there was—“ “The Mandalorians attacked!” A voice came, a Jedi padawan near her age running outside to alert everyone who could hear. His brown robes billowed in the wind. “They’ve entered Republic space, Feraxis is under attack!” Aria’s head sharply tuned upwards, and she felt herself frozen still. “Excuse me, Master!” She said abruptly, finding an innate ability to jump from the ground and run inside where a large gathering of Jedi were watching with horrified eyes at what was taking place on the holo-feeds. That same Jedi kept running to deliver the news. He found Org Gle and Ken Grant and repeated the message. “Feraxis is under attack! Mandalorians in Republic space!” Aria watched, in silence like she was trapped in her own bubble drowning in the quiet. She could not hear the shocked gasps as a ship collided in explosion with another. Could not see the hands covering mouths as fighter ships tore through the hull of another. The shivering horror in their eyes at the sight of dead people floating about within the darkness of space. [center][b]Arren Kae Coruscant[/b][/center] She lifted her head from her meditation. An echo in the force as thousands of dead souls etched themselves into the fabric that stitched each individual Jedi together. Her reflections upon Aria’s words were disturbing. Arren’s padawan had a vision that put fear into the girl, and shortly after this dreadful feeling of death. Arren scrolled into a holofeed newscast to witness the destruction above Feraxis. War. Arren Kae glanced at the students strolling through the fountains, the one’s whose connections were not yet strong enough to feel what she was feeling. They laughed, talked, meditated; ignorance is truly bliss. Many of them had their lives, full of experience ahead of them. Now, now Arren saw a path unfolding in which a generation would be lost. Sabers were needed, and it was inevitable that many of their lights would burn out. The Master stood up from her seat and began to move, it was time for the council to assemble and ponder on these events. Decisions were to be made, and swiftly. But, as she went she picked up the thoughts of two Republics soldiers passing by. Her reach dipped into their minds. Looking for her, it would seem. She walked up to Leon and Anna, and met them with her steady gaze. “Whatever questions you have, they will have to wait Major Athos. The war has started. Follow me.”