Post by Darth Xaos on Oct 22, 2015 1:34:39 GMT
A humid breeze washed over the palm trees surrounding a shallow, warm lagoon, rustling the fronds slightly. A Killik worker looked up a minute to examine the fronds, as the sound they made was unusually pleasant to his species' ears. The insectoid then bent down again to resume its task of gathering bushels of the richly sweet red berries that grew in this planet's waters. The Killik had completely filled the dried-reed baskets at its side by the time it rose again from its crouch. Gathering the baskets, the worker prepared for a return to its hive when it suddenly sensed a change in temperature accompanied by a darkening of illumination. Segmented eyes looked heavenward, expecting to see a large cloud, but instead their gaze met with a gargantuan triangular shape interposing itself between Tenupe and its sun. Fear rose in the Killik as it began to flee, a fear that rapidly spread to its fellows across the planet's surface.
Sunlight bathed the Vornskyr-1 as it moved into orbit over the planet, making the view of its kilometers-long hull quite impressive from the bridge. Darth Ares looked down on that hull and on the world behind it. Tenupe was tropical and fertile, the perfect climate for the Killiks. But that was ancillary in importance, the Sith Warlord expected, to the fact that taking Tenupe gave the Killiks a forward base just outside the Chiss' area of control. And that's why he was here, to drive the Killiks back.
Since the battle between the Sith Lord and the Jedi Joiners, confrontations between Chiss and Killik had been small border skirmishes. Though both sides knew total war was imminent, both were also waiting for the arrival of their allies. The bold maneuver of colonizing Tenupe caused Ares concern that an enemy offensive might soon be launched. And since the Sith Lord could sense that the Jedi were not present on the planet, he knew striking to be the wise course of action. Either the CEDF commanders mistook Ares' fervent warning as him volunteering or they had been looking for an excuse to get him out of Chiss affairs. Either way, the Miralukan now found himself leading an expedition charged with removing the Killik presence on Tenupe.
It was not the first time the Chiss had found a military excuse to send him away from their borders. Claiming they could not violate their non-aggression principle, yet seeing no wrong in inciting others to do so, the Aristocras had previously tasked Ares with attacking several groups in the Unknown Region. These groups, it was felt, would take advantage of the coming conflict to attack Chiss Space. All had been strange and challenging opponents, revealing to Ares just how deserving the Unknown Regions were of their name; the Warlord had been forced to learn new tactics as he fought. Of particular interest were the Blazing Chain, an order of Force-sensitives who lived as marauding pirates. Despite their crude lifestyle, Ares concluded the New Sith Brotherhood had much to learn from the way Chain fleets utilize the Force in their tactics.
It was not long after the Vornskyr arrived that its escorts exited hyperspace. The ten Tartans, ten DP20s and five Lancers moved into position, cautiously avoiding the fifty-odd large asteroids in orbit that were likely once a single moon. These were hardly all the ships Ares had at his disposal, but the other gunships and capital ships were currently in orbit over Dol Gorath, prepared to jump to the Ascendancy's defense if Tenupe turned out to be a feint. But the Union fleet was not the heart of this assault, that honor belonged to the ships that next entered into realspace.
The six Munificent Frigates and ten Lucrehulk Battleships of the Ascendancy Automated Forces glided forward with a grace belied by their peculiar designs. A ground invasion with the troops Ares had would have been doomed so, to remedy this, the CEDF placed the AAF under the Sith Lord's command. The presence of droid officers and technicians in lieu of Chiss ones spoke volumes about the Ascendancy's confidence in Ares' plan. But the droid forces were significant. Each Lucrehulk was packed to the gills with ground troops, vehicles, landers and Vulture droids. This represented an invasion force more than three times the size of the AAF detachment that had carried the day during the Battle of New Bethrezen.
It was not potential loss of droids Darth Ares felt the most concern for, of course. Though cadets eagerly buzzed about the bridge, overjoyed to be working aboard an Executor-class Star Dreadnought, there was an undercurrent of nervousness for they all knew this was their first time facing real battle. But of greater concern to the Sith Lord were those cadets who would be flying in combat. He hoped the new Interceptors and Vulture support would prove sufficient but the heavy fighter losses of his battle with the Jedi still haunted him. Of greatest concern to Ares though was the woman presently standing by his side.
He had watched Darth Amorata grow powerful over the short course of their journeys through the Unknown Regions. The secrets of a Sith Acolyte rested easily upon her and she was already displaying mystifying applications of Sith Magic. Ares could feel changes his apprentice's arcane studies were engendering in her Force presence. She had grown in ways he did not fully understand. And yet he still feared for her safety in every battle for which she was present.
Sunlight bathed the Vornskyr-1 as it moved into orbit over the planet, making the view of its kilometers-long hull quite impressive from the bridge. Darth Ares looked down on that hull and on the world behind it. Tenupe was tropical and fertile, the perfect climate for the Killiks. But that was ancillary in importance, the Sith Warlord expected, to the fact that taking Tenupe gave the Killiks a forward base just outside the Chiss' area of control. And that's why he was here, to drive the Killiks back.
Since the battle between the Sith Lord and the Jedi Joiners, confrontations between Chiss and Killik had been small border skirmishes. Though both sides knew total war was imminent, both were also waiting for the arrival of their allies. The bold maneuver of colonizing Tenupe caused Ares concern that an enemy offensive might soon be launched. And since the Sith Lord could sense that the Jedi were not present on the planet, he knew striking to be the wise course of action. Either the CEDF commanders mistook Ares' fervent warning as him volunteering or they had been looking for an excuse to get him out of Chiss affairs. Either way, the Miralukan now found himself leading an expedition charged with removing the Killik presence on Tenupe.
It was not the first time the Chiss had found a military excuse to send him away from their borders. Claiming they could not violate their non-aggression principle, yet seeing no wrong in inciting others to do so, the Aristocras had previously tasked Ares with attacking several groups in the Unknown Region. These groups, it was felt, would take advantage of the coming conflict to attack Chiss Space. All had been strange and challenging opponents, revealing to Ares just how deserving the Unknown Regions were of their name; the Warlord had been forced to learn new tactics as he fought. Of particular interest were the Blazing Chain, an order of Force-sensitives who lived as marauding pirates. Despite their crude lifestyle, Ares concluded the New Sith Brotherhood had much to learn from the way Chain fleets utilize the Force in their tactics.
It was not long after the Vornskyr arrived that its escorts exited hyperspace. The ten Tartans, ten DP20s and five Lancers moved into position, cautiously avoiding the fifty-odd large asteroids in orbit that were likely once a single moon. These were hardly all the ships Ares had at his disposal, but the other gunships and capital ships were currently in orbit over Dol Gorath, prepared to jump to the Ascendancy's defense if Tenupe turned out to be a feint. But the Union fleet was not the heart of this assault, that honor belonged to the ships that next entered into realspace.
The six Munificent Frigates and ten Lucrehulk Battleships of the Ascendancy Automated Forces glided forward with a grace belied by their peculiar designs. A ground invasion with the troops Ares had would have been doomed so, to remedy this, the CEDF placed the AAF under the Sith Lord's command. The presence of droid officers and technicians in lieu of Chiss ones spoke volumes about the Ascendancy's confidence in Ares' plan. But the droid forces were significant. Each Lucrehulk was packed to the gills with ground troops, vehicles, landers and Vulture droids. This represented an invasion force more than three times the size of the AAF detachment that had carried the day during the Battle of New Bethrezen.
It was not potential loss of droids Darth Ares felt the most concern for, of course. Though cadets eagerly buzzed about the bridge, overjoyed to be working aboard an Executor-class Star Dreadnought, there was an undercurrent of nervousness for they all knew this was their first time facing real battle. But of greater concern to the Sith Lord were those cadets who would be flying in combat. He hoped the new Interceptors and Vulture support would prove sufficient but the heavy fighter losses of his battle with the Jedi still haunted him. Of greatest concern to Ares though was the woman presently standing by his side.
He had watched Darth Amorata grow powerful over the short course of their journeys through the Unknown Regions. The secrets of a Sith Acolyte rested easily upon her and she was already displaying mystifying applications of Sith Magic. Ares could feel changes his apprentice's arcane studies were engendering in her Force presence. She had grown in ways he did not fully understand. And yet he still feared for her safety in every battle for which she was present.