Prelude to War: Naboo

[Ghev Dralin]

Dee'ja Peak
Gallo Mountains
Naboo

Kage shimmied slowly up the stone column leading to the roof of the old, disused theatre in Dee'ja Peak. The stone left white and yellow smears along the front of his tunic and the inside-leg of his pants, but it didn't really matter; he'd come this far, he doubted he'd be seen now during the middle of the night.
He reached the top, and stood on the ledge, looking first at the expanse of roof stretched before him, then turning to admire the view.

Dee'ja Peak was stunning, especially at night. Built on the flat, grassy peak of the Gallo mountains, and surrounded by waterfalls and stone bridges leading away from the city, it was even more stunning than Theed. But somehow, the city had been forgotten, especially after the Empire was driven away from Naboo. Now, the only people to whom the city was any consequence, were the few who dwelled in it, and the few tourists who came to marvel at it's natural and unnatural beauty.
Kage crouched, so as to enjoy the view a little longer. At night, the waterfalls and bridges were illuminated, bathing them in a cool blue shade and casting a shadow over the fields beyond. Dee'ja Peak became it's own little haven, and the rest of the world became forgotten.
"Beautiful, isn't it" said a rather unimpressed voice. Kage whipped around, then almost stumbled from the roof as he stared down the barrel of a gun. Not a blaster; those things simply had dischargers. This, he could see straight into, even in the darkness. And the shape of it... there was no place for a blaster cartridge.
"There's two ways out of this. One, you jump, and if you're lucky, break every bone in your body. Two, you come with me".
The voice was female, but any illusions he may have had about a petite, pretty lady, were instantly shattered by the edge in her voice. Still, he wondered what she looked like, though the shadows obscured all but her firing arm.

"I... I'll come with you" Kage stammered, his throat suddenly dry.
"Wise choice" the woman said, and her other arm shot from the shadows, wrapped around the collar of his tunic, and dragged him into the night.
He tried to catch a glimpse of her, his captor, but all he saw was her blonde hair whipping around her in the breeze.
He needed to explain himself; Advisor Luur'ha had sent him to scout Dee'ja Peak, to look for the missing prisoner and the rogue Naboo guard who'd rescued her. It had been his way out, his way to the rumoured 'resistance', his way to salvation. For too long he'd unquestioningly followed the orders of King Leidana and Advisor Luur'ha, but over time, it had left a sour feeling in his gut. Something wasn't right, and it had become more and more apparent that the King was no longer in control.

Then the new regulations had been passed. The Naboo were no longer allowed to leave the planet without strict security checks from the palace. No long-range communications were authorised, except from the palace itself. Even those were monitored. Every other transmittor on the planet had been blocked, cut-off from the HoloNet and barred from anything but short-range calls.
The civillians were led to believe that such measures were for their own safety, and some had even bought into those lies. But there were also many who opposed the new laws.
Naboo had turned into a planet of mistrust.

The woman led him to a hatch in the roof, and pushed him forward.
"Down the ladder" she ordered. Kage glanced at her, but she slapped him with the side of her pistol. His cheek stung.
"I said..."
"I'm going" Kage muttered, rubbing his cheek; he could already tell it was going to bruise.
He turned and descended the ladder, into the bowels of the theatre. It had been pure chance that he'd found the safehouse of the resistance; he'd almost bypassed it until he'd seen Stefano, one of his former colleagues, entering through a side-door.
It was Stefano who greeted him, at blaster point.
"Kage? I'd like to say this surprises me, but..."
"Listen" Kage interrupted, keeping his hands visible in the narrow beam of moonlight pouring through the open hatch. The sound of boots on metal indicated that the woman was on her way down.
"Why should I?" Stefano asked.
"I'm not here to turn you in" Kage began, but Stefano laughed.
"Even if you were, you wouldn't get very far".
"No, but when I fail to report in one hour, Advisor Luur'ha will send forces here to find out why" Kage said, his voice deflated. He withdrew a device from his belt; a tracking beacon.
"You little kriff!" Stefano snarled, not so much pressing as slamming the discharger of his blaster into Kage's temple.
"Wait!" Kage yelped, backing against the wall, only to be kicked to the floor by the descending woman.
"What we got, Stef?" she asked, looking down at Kage. For the first time, he saw her face, her full lips and cold eyes. His eyes flashed to the tattoo on her left arm, then to her face again. She's the prisoner, the Mandalorian. Mira something.
"I told you not to call me that" Stefano muttered, not even glancing at her.
"Fine. So, what we got?" she repeated.
"Naboo security, one of Luur'ha's most loyal. He's carrying a tracking beacon..."
"Shoot him" Mira said casually.
"No wait! I have a plan" Kage said, sweating despite the cold air.
"It better be convincing" Mira said, kneeling down and looking him in the eyes.
"Send someone with my beacon. I'll contact Luur'ha when your man arrives at the border of hostile territory, then your man can throw the beacon into the river, or..."
"Or we could just shoot you and drag your body out of here. We have plenty of time before the alarm is raised" Stefano suggested, though his blaster was no longer trained on Kage.
"It would be simpler" Mira smiled, patting Kage on the shoulder.

Kage didn't know what to do, but he knew he'd have to talk quickly.
"I want to join the resistance" he blurted. Mira laughed, and Stefano shook his head, amused.
"Seriously. Luur'ha is controlling the King, and it's getting worse here. I... I want the old Naboo back" he admitted. "If that's not enough, then shoot me, coz I'm not going back to work for Luur'ha".
Mira glanced at Stefano, her eyebrows raised. Stefano nodded. Mira held out her hand.
"What?" Kage asked, unsure what their silence meant.
"Give me your frackin' beacon" Mira snapped, impatiently.
"Oh, that. Here..." Kage stammered, holding it out to her. She snatched it from him.
"Give me exactly thirty minutes to reach Gungan territory. Then contact Luur'ha. Tell him there's nothing of interest at Dee'ja Peak, but you're following a lead that suggests the resistance is hiding with the Ankura Gungans" she ordered.
"Then what?" Kage asked.
"Improvise. Exactly ten minutes after that, I'll crush the beacon and throw it into the forest. Give me your tunic" she added.
"My what?"
"Your frackin' tunic!" she shouted; she was in no mood for repeating herself.
Kage stripped his tunic, and shivered in the cold. Mira pulled a three-edged knife from her boot, and slashed at the thick material, gouging it and ripping it apart.
"I'll leave this a distance away from your beacon. For all intents and purposes, in 40 minutes time, you'll be a dead man" she smirked.

*********

It couldn't have gone more smoothly. By the time Mira returned, muddied and sweating, Kage was already being inducted into the resistance against King Leidana and Advisor Luur'ha. He'd been clothed, his haid had been dyed and a pair of image designers were now applying a henna tattoo to the upper-right side of his face. Mira barely recognised him; but that was the point.
"It's done" she said, walking into the auditorium and taking a seat. The theatre lighting had been dimmed, and the stage was glowing orange; a small fire had been built, controlled and harmless, but enough to provide warmth and light for the entire room.
"How did you...?" she began, pointing at the fire.
Stefano held up her gauntlet.
"Di'kut" she laughed, snatching it from him. She didn't feel nearly as naked now as she did a few days ago; travelling without her armour made her less conspicuous, though in her military greys she was still a source of authority.
She just didn't know how long she could keep up the pretense; she wasn't here to start a war, or a revolution. And despite the friends she'd made, she didn't care about Naboo's welfare. She had a mission to complete, and the resistance happened to be her best shot at finishing it.

[Ghev Dralin]

Eating in the makeshift mess-hall had drawn Mira's attention to something; the Mandalorians were segregating themselves.
Even in a room as cramped as this, they somehow managed to put some distance between themselves and the Naboo. She stood, wearing a green vest and black shorts, with military boots and her hair tied back into a tail, and suddenly realised how militant she looked compared to the other members of the resistance. It was a cultural difference, but it didn't help improve relations; most of the resistance had objected to allowing Mandalorians to become involved, but as Stefano had pointed out, the Mandalorians were here to stay until security on Naboo became less stringent.
And the only way that would happen would be with the dethroning of King Leidana.

Mira cleared her throat and walked through the centre of the room, the Naboo on one side and Mandalorians on the other. She kept her head down, not meeting the gaze of anyone, until she reached Stefano's table. He was in deep conversation with Kage; apparently, now that their differences were resolved, the two had become quite a pair.
"Mind if I sit?" she asked.
"What if I said yes?" Stefano smirked.
"I'd sit anyway. And you'd deal with it" Mira retorted, sitting down and spooning some steamed vegetables into her mouth.
"Kage and I were just discussing your latest plan" Stefano said, watching her, his chin propped up on his fist.
"What about it?" she asked with her mouth full.
"Well... we're concerned it's a little early to be taking drastic action" he admitted, and Mira snorted.
"Why too early? If all you're gonna do is sit and talk about gettin' rid of Leidana, then there's no point being a resistance".

Stefano looked at the table, and Kage obviously felt uncomfortable. The room had fallen quiet.
"You still talk as though you're not one of us" Stefano muttered.
"That's because I'm not content to sit on my shebs getting fat, hoping that Leidana might leave, and that we won't have to get our frackin' hands dirty" Mira snapped, standing up and throwing her tray on the floor, to get everyone's attention.
"I was brought into this resistance, and I thought it was because you needed someone to help you take action" she said, looking around the room. "So either start taking action, or go home. Go to your families. Live in oppression and complain about it. I'm not here to babysit people who won't help themselves".

With that, she marched out of the room. She had an operation to plan, one that could benefit herself and the Naboo. Whether the resistance was with her or not, she didn't care. She'd had enough of this.

[Ghev Dralin]

The macrobinoculars flickered with static, then briefly shut off, before returning to focus. Mira slapped the side of them with her hand, and the image cleared up.
A simple security bunker, out in the middle of nowhere, with little to no purpose. Mira suspected it's main use was to occupy certain security forces with no future prospects. A dead-end post.
Except, recently, the bunker had been given a purpose.
The resistance had people inside the palace, moles who kept checks on the activities of the King, and performed covertly to make life easier for their refugee counterparts.
Mira had asked that one of these moles sabotage a signal relay, which periodically transmitted traffic control instructions and HoloNet advertisements to the nearby space lanes. After that, the inside men had seen to it that the bunker's long-range transmitter be activated and used as a back-up relay.

The rest was upto Mira and her team.
Stefano lay beside her in the grass, also studying the bunker entrance. It was guarded by two men, both wearing Naboo security attire. That wasn't the problem; the problem was not knowing how many were inside the bunker.
"Fireworks are set" said Kage, over the short-range comm. This close to a security station, they'd decided not to risk raising the alarm until they had to.
"Don't start the celebration 'til I'm ready" Mira replied. Stefano smirked, and shook his head.
"What?" Mira asked.
"Nothing. Just... this covert stuff. It's so... military" he chuckled.
"Well, you're in the big leagues now" Mira muttered, edging further forward.

She felt naked once again. Growing accustomed to not wearing her armour had taken some time, but now she was out in the field wearing camo's and trusting equipment such as hand-held comm devices and macrobinoculars. Equipment which, to her, was obsolete.
"Okay, we're ready" she said, then activated her comm. "Lets start the light show".
"It'll be impressive" Kage replied. Mira could tell he was evacuating the area; he sounded short of breath, and she could hear his heavy footfalls as he ran for cover.
An explosion tore through the landscape, at the borders of the nearby forest, then another and another, a cacophany of fire and churned-up soil, trees violently splintering and earth splitting.

Though bigger than the explosion Mira had been expecting, it worked as predicted; the bunker doors opened and guards poured out, running to see who or what had caused the explosion.
The clock was ticking.
Mira and her team sprinted for the bunker, hoping against hope that it had emptied.
The tricky part of the plan was getting into the bunker, stunning - not killing - any guards they came across, fulfilling their objective, then making it out again before the security guards returned.
It had to go smoothly. They couldn't be seen. If they were, they'd have to compromise the 'no kill' policy they'd established before the operation, but Mira didn't have much of a problem with that.

They arrived at the entrance, and Mira killed the power, to ensure the cameras were offline.
"This is where the..."
"Don't say it" Mira snapped.
"Don't say what?" Stefano protested.
"This isn't where the fun begins. Stay focused".
Without power, the bunker became dark once the team descended below ground level. Though everyone had flashlights attached to their weapons, Mira forbade the use of more than three at a time; too many would give them away.
They encountered nobody, which unsettled Mira. She'd expected at least one guard to have remained behind.
"Okay, lets get to work" she breathed, as they located the relay generator.
Stefano expertly unfastened the outer casing, and quietly set it down, while Mira and two Mandalorians checked the exits.
The resistance members waited with their weapons held in a ready position.
"Mira, you got the device?" Stefano asked. Mira held out a pre-programmed signal jammer, which would overlap the signal being transmitted, and send out her own transmission instead. Though not an ideal means of communication, long-range communications were restricted on Naboo, and it was impossible to transmit to great distances. This was the only way, and it wouldn't raise suspicion.
As for the bombing, it would look like a failed attack by the resistance. Although it would show King Leidana and his advisor that the resistance had gone overt, it was necessary.

Stefano finished installing Mira's device, then set about resealing the generator as fast as possible.
"We're done, lets bang out" Stefano said, making Mira smirk. She was rubbing off on him.
"I don't like this. It's too quiet" one of the Mandalorians said. He looked ill at ease, obviously not enjoying his lack of armour either.
As if on cue, a stun bolt scorched past Mira's ear, and she dropped to the floor reflexively, discharging her weapon into the guard without hesitation.
The guard dropped to the floor with a smoking hole through his chest, directly over his heart.
"I thought..."
"No time to argue. Lets move" Mira interrupted, and Stefano scowled.
The team encountered nobody else, and escaped the bunker undetected by the other guards, who returned minutes later.

"Is it working?" Stefano asked. Mira checked her datapad, which was tuned into the frequency of her jamming device. Every thirty seconds, it transmitted to co-ordinates she'd selected along her route to Naboo. Should any ship be looking for her, Republic or Mandalorian, they'd intercept the message eventually.
This is Captain Mirala Hokan. I'm alive, but in a situation on Naboo. I hold information on a threat to the Galaxy, and it is imperative that I reach friendly grounds. The Naboo refused to listen, and I fear their King has gone mad with power, along with his advisor. If anyone is out there, rendezvous at Dee'ja Peak.

She'd lied to Stefano, of course; he'd been led to believe she was putting out a call for reinforcements, to help the Naboo take back their planet. From a certain point of view, she was. She'd at least mentioned the situation here. But her own mission took precedence; the fate of one planet was insignificant when compared to the bigger picture.

[Ghev Dralin]

Something about fixing things seemed to relax Mira's mind. Her arms were covered upto the elbow with oil and grease, her hair hung messily and was matted to her forehead, her face bore scratches and yet more oil and grease.
They'd told her the old Flash Speeder was broken beyond repair, but she'd taken to trying anyway. She needed something to do with her spare time, and as always, she took an impossible task.
"Still working on that old thing?" Stefano asked, leaning against the doorway.
"This old thing has life in her yet. She just needs a little tune-up" Mira replied, not coming out from under the speeder.
"More like a complete overhaul. You know, we have plenty of working speeders..."
"And soon you'll have one more. Engine's fixed" Mira said, sliding out from beneath the speeder and standing up. Stefano laughed.
"Something funny?" Mira asked, wiping oil from her nose, only succeeding in smearing more black over her face.
"Never seen a woman so greased up before" Stefano chuckled, grabbing a rag and handing it to her.

Mira wiped her face and arms, removing the excess oil that hadn't already dried on her skin.
"Never met a woman like you before, either" Stefano continued, averting his gaze. He seemed embarassed.
"That's coz I'm one of a kind" Mira replied flatly, stretching her aching arms.
"You can say that again" Stefano smirked, edging closer.
Mira put her hand on his chest and cocked her head to a side.
"Whatever it is you're thinking, don't" she said, her tone threatening.
"What is it about men that offends you?" Stefano asked, frowning and backing off.
"I don't have time for this" Mira huffed, grabbing her belt and holster, and stepping toward the door. Stefano blocked her exit.
"Dammit Stefano, just move" she sighed.
"Not til you answer my question" he replied, looking her in the eyes.
"Frack it" Mira growled, and snapped him into a headlock, rolling him to the floor and pinning him.

Stefano yelped in surprise, then choked as she locked her arms tight around his neck.
"The only way I'll ever take a man is when I find one stronger than me" she said. "You don't qualify".
Stefano tried to stand up, but she wrestled him back down.
"Next time you think you can get romantic with me, forget it" she snapped, then released him. Standing, she left him choking on the floor. She left the room... and an alarm blared throughout the building.
"Action stations!" she heard someone yell.
"What's going on?" Mira called out, jogging into the corridor and stopping a young security guard.
"They've found us!" the boy shouted over the alarm.
Mira let him go, and stared stonily at the wall. How did this happen?
"Mira c'mon! Where's Stefano?" Kage shouted from the entrance to the tactical control room. Kage.
"You little barve, you did this!" she roared, pinning him against the wall and pressing her sidearm into his head.
"What?!" he cried in surprise. The fear in his eyes was real... as was the confusion. She let him go.
"Forget it. Stefano's in the garage. Go get him" she said, pushing Kage into the corridor.

She could hear blasterfire.

She took off at a run, heading toward the firefight. She passed the auditorium, which had emptied, and stepped into the lobby.
Green bolts of laser fire criss-crossed the entire area, destroying what had once been a beautifully decorated entrance hall.
Without thinking, she aimed her sidearm, and fired, shooting the attacking Naboo security forces.
One, two, three men went down bleeding, slugged in their chest, neck and thigh.
"Retreat to the auditorium!" she yelled, beckoning the resistance fighters over to her.
Something caught her eye; a billowing black cloak, swamping the entrance in shadow. Advisor Luur'ha.
As resistance fighters edged past her to reach the safety of the auditorium, she bolted forward, killing guards with clean head-shots.
One of them wheeled around on her, aiming a carbine, which she deftly removed from his hands and shot him with.

She unleashed a hail of laserfire, taking cover behind the receptionists desk. The old mahogany antique had been shot to pieces, and wood splinters dug into her leg as she kneeled behind it.
She rose, and took down another three guards, leaving only two guards and the advisor standing.
She checked her blaster cartridge, and swore inwardly. She only had two shots remaining.
"Mira, where are you?" asked a voice. At first, Mira thought it was Luur'ha, but then realised it was her commlink. Stefano.
"See you in hell, buddy" she muttered, then stood and took her shots.
Screaming, both guards went down. Mira stared down the advisor. He remained cloaked and hooded, unmoving, but she could tell he was staring straight back.
"You are meddling in things that you cannot comprehend" the advisor spoke. His voice was hoarse, and gluttaral, oddly accented. Something about it unnerved Mira, but not enough to stop her. She braced herself on the remainder of the desk, then vaulted over it. She skipped deftly over corpses and debris, rolled, picked up a fallen side-arm, then as she came to, shot the advisor in the chest.

Luur'ha didn't die. He laughed. She shot again, and again, and again, tearing his cloak to ribbons, exposing the black armour underneath, each shot having no effect on the imposing figure.
Finally, she expended the cartridge, and she tossed the weapon aside.
"My turn" the advisor growled, and with alarming speed, closed the gap between them and back-handed her across the room.
She smacked into a stone column, then dropped to the floor heavily, grunting.
Before she could catch her breath, he was on her, pinning her to the floor by her throat.
She scrabbled in the dirt, looking for something to use as a weapon, anything to assault the advisor with. Her hand closed around a splintered piece of wood, sharp at one end. She drove it into the shadows of Luur'ha's hood, and the advisor let out a throaty howl.
The howl turned into a laugh. What the frack?
"You cannot hurt me, foolish human. The embrace of pain is a comfort to me. I have shed my fear of hurt, and..."
Mira twisted the wood, removed it, then stabbed him again.
The advisor released her, and staggered back, clutching at his face. Mira slid the knife from her boot, crafted from beskar, and rammed it into Luur'ha's shoulder. Whether he felt the pain or not, it didn't matter; the intention was to render his arm useless.
She dove onto him, wrapping her legs around his huge torso for support, and began hacking and stabbing at his arm, black blood spraying her, soaking her clothing. She let herself drop, hanging onto the knife, and it dragged through skin, snagged on bone, then cut straight through.

The limb landed beside her on the floor.
"You... will die for this" Luur'ha roared, and something slithered from beneath his robe, biting at her.
Screaming uncharacteristically, Mira rolled, as the serpent-like creature stiffened. Luur'ha wielded it like a weapon, swinging one-handed at her. Mira ducked again, then found herself backed up against a wall with nowhere to go. The staff hissed, and snaked toward her, it's fangs ready to strike...

Mira cut off it's head.
"What?!" Luur'ha roared, holding up the limp creature, it's head missing.
"Di'kut" Mira panted, breathless. "I know what you are" she said. She'd read about the Yuuzhan Vong, and their weapons, and their love of pain. Verity, the Chiss, had provided her with that much information and more.
"Then you know that even if you kill me, your galaxy will still fall" Luur'ha laughed.
"Maybe. But not starting with this planet. And certainly not the way you hoped" she said. She knew now that Luur'ha's rule was over. He'd hoped to manipulate the planet into joining with the Yuuzhan Vong. Perhaps it would have been successful, and perhaps it was even happening elsewhere.
"No matter. King Leidana is dead. Even without me, this planet will fall into chaos. It's ripe for the picking" Luur'ha snarled, before departing.

Mira didn't follow; Luur'ha was inconsequential. The Vong would come, and they'd take Naboo, and destroy everything. The resistance had been fighting for nothing, and she was too late in her mission. She'd die here, a failure. With any luck, the Republic would somehow get their hands on the wad of flimsiplast tucked away in her belt, detailing everything the Chiss had learned of the Vong.
"Mira, c'mon..." Stefano said, picking her up. She suddenly felt so vulnerable, defeated.
"It was all for nothing" she muttered.
"I heard it all" Stefano whispered, brushing her hair from her face, and forcing her to look him in the eye.
"I've failed" she murmered.
"No. We still have time, to evacuate the planet" he said, grasping for hope.
"No we don't. Don't you see? The Yuuzhan Vong are already here. They've been here for months. Luur'ha was just the first..." she said.
Stefano looked outside, at the growing shadows in the sky. And with that, he knew she was right. The Vong had been waiting. And now that Luur'ha was exposed, they were free to take the planet by force.

The first ships began to descend. War was coming.

[Trenton Vinh]

As soon as the Repletion exited Hyperspace, Jon knew that something was terribly wrong.
He knew Naboo had been having problems with its king, but the thousands of warships descending upon the planet were not here to help.

The Yuuzhan Vong had come to exterminate.

Jon wiped a bead of cold sweat from his brow, realizing that this was the third time he would engage the Yuuzhan Vong. Aeolan said to him quickly, "They probably haven't seen us yet. We should send a message to Ghev...and to the New Republic, asking for backup."
Jon nodded, "Do it. I'm going to take us in."
Aeolan shot him a wide-eyed look, "Are you crazy? The planet is a warzone!"
Jon nodded, "And our woman is in there. We told Ghev we would find her...alive. We can't wait for backup. We will go in...find wherever Mirala is, and get her the hell out."
Aeolan had the steely look of determination in his eyes, "Let's do it."
Jon nodded, and grasped the controls. Aeolan set up a series of waypoints on the transparisteel viewport, giving Jon a path to Dee'ja Peak that offered the least chance of them being spotted by the Vong.
Jon accelerated sharply, the pair was pressed back into their seats by the force. He brought them down in a wide arc to the far side of the planet, the Corellian Corvette flying low over the peaks of Naboo's mountainside. They saw dozens of Yuuzhan Vong ships, Coralskippers, making flyby's over Dee'ja Peak in the distance. Jon brought the ship in for a landing less than five hundred meters from the town, knowing it would be unsafe for them to land within city limits.

The landing ramp lowered after Aeolan broadcasted a signal saying, "Get to Dee'ja Peak" In Mando'a over the comm network. Chances are, only Mirala, if she was still alive, would understand it. Mandalorians didn't tend to take vacations, and if they did, chances are it wouldn't be to Naboo.
Jon and Aeolan readied their gear in the ship before striding down the docking bay. Blasters in hand, they sprinted toward Dee'ja Peak.

[Ta'hok]

Kyle had never felt more relieved then when he finally felt the ship landing. At last they had reached whatever destination Jon ad decided to venture to. Kyle retraced his step towards where he had entered falling in behind Jon and Aeolan as they exited the ship. He didn't understand why they were running but sprinted after them knowing that from the sounds of it he would be safer with them then by himself.

[Trenton Vinh]

Naboo is going to fall. Jon thought to himself, as him and Aeolan peered around the corner of a building.
Dee'ja Peak was being demolished by the Yuuzhan Vong. Coralskippers passed overhead, unleashing hellfire upon the running, screaming residents.
The Naboo were a peaceful people, and didn't tend to carry many weapons with them. Some people tried to fight, but those who did were quickly cut down by the hundreds of Yuuzhan Vong Warriors walking the streets.
Buildings burned, children screamed, women cried.
Jon and Aeolan watched in horror as a small child was thrown to the ground by a Yuuzhan Vong Warrior. Amphistaff raised above his head, the Vong Warrior took a moment to relish in the crying boy's terror.
Aeolan let out a yell, "Hey, scarface!"
Jon turned to look at Aeolan, who had been beside him a moment ago. Now Aeolan was standing in the middle of the street, a dozen meters away from the Yuuzhan Vong Warrior, blaster held loosely at his side.
The Vong Warrior looked up, a look of surprise on his face. He probably didn't understand much basic, but he could tell an insult when he heard one. He stepped over the curled up boy and started striding towards Aeolan slowly, the amphistaff on his hand slithering up his arm and around his body.
Aeolan smirked, glad to see the boy not slaughtered, then raised his blaster and shot the Yuuzhan Vong Warrior in the face.
The Vong's head seemed to explode; Aeolan's blaster had been set to high-power.
Jon cringed inwardly, then sprinted over to the young boy, and was about to help him up when he saw a trio of Vong Warriors running full out towards him, behind Aeolan.
"Behind you!" Jon yelled to his ally, and raised his blaster. He fired a shot, the bolt passed by Aeolan and struck one Warrior in the leg, severing the limb at the knee.
The Warrior fell, screaming in pain...but not the horrified kind of pain. Jon remembered a night he had once spent with a rather risque purple Twi'Lek. She scratched him repeatedly, drawing blood on several occasions. Jon had made yells with the same kind of sound, a pleasureful yell that came when one caused a bit too much pain than one was comfortable with.
He pushed the rather dirty thought from his mind and threw himself into a somersault as the Vong hurled small circular objects at the two men. One missed Jon's shoulder by inches. He paid it no attention, until something slammed into his back, knocking him onto the concrete painfully. He looked up as the small object returned to its owner, who prepared to hurl it at Jon again.
Aeolan was ready, he had dropped onto one-knee, and with two hands on his blaster pistol, he fired a shot that took off the Yuuzhan Vong Warrior's hand at the wrist.
Jon finished off the crumpled-over Vong with a shot to the neck.
The third Vong, and last one standing, charged Aeolan, Amphistaff swinging wildly.
With a battle cry, Aeolan met his charge, dodging under the lightning quick attack, and unloading his blaster pistol in the Vong's face.
Jon nodded at Aeolan when the man looked back. Aeolan's face was covered in sweat, and he had a slightly maddened look in his eyes.
Jon knew the look. It was the look of a man who wanted revenge, who wanted the mindless violence to stop, the look of a man willing to do anything to put an end to innocent slaughter.
Jon felt the feeling too, he just hadn't embraced it. It was dangerous, caused people to become reckless.
He suppressed a grim smile, thinking:
The Jedi fall to the Dark Side when they use their raw emotions in battle. We have this.

[Ta'hok]

Kyle stared after Aeolan and Jon. Were they crazy? Why were they charging right into the middle of a battle field by themselves? He suppressed a shudder and uncoiled his vibro whip. He hadn't yet had to use it in combat, but that didn't mean he didn't know how. He waited, carefully watching the battle unfold, trying to find the ebb and flow like learning the tides of a sea. He knew he wasn't as good as the Shadow Stalker, knew he couldn't just charge in and swing with wild abandon or he would hurt his allies.

At last Kyle found his opening. He ran swiftly, appearing little more then a dark shadow close to the ground. His whip lashed out striking several Vong across the neck, three times claiming heads. Kyle didn't stay to finish the others who would likely asphyxiate from their wounds. A few more steps brought him over the boy who had nearly been smashed. Instantly he was twirling his whip slicing projectiles to keep them away from the child. He slowly worked his way down to one knee and lifted the boy by his collar pulling him to his feet. He started guiding the boy towards him but the child hardly needed encouragement swiftly burying himself in Kyle's stomach and wrapping his arms around Kyle's waist. Well, at least he wouldn't flee. Kyle wrapped his left arm around the boy trying to help him feel secure despite their surroundings. He could feel the child's tiny fists gripping his shirt against his back, and the wet spots of tears against his stomach. He suppressed his welling feelings of compassion instead letting himself sink into the flow of battle once more. His whip slicing through the air with a nearly incessant hum.

[Ghev Dralin]

Mira didn't bother to change into her armour; there was no time, and by now she'd grown accustomed to not wearing it around the resistance. Besides, none of the resistance members wore armour. So neither would she.
Stuffing her armour and equipment into a hold-all, she ensured she was equipped with enough weaponary to see her through the city; for she knew Dee'ja Peak was almost defenseless against this attack. Theed, as the planetary capital, would have better success against assault, but she'd have to get there quickly in order to secure passage away from Naboo.

"Mira, we're..."
"No time" Mira interrupted, throwing the hold-all around her shoulders and clipping her belt around her waist, loaded up with ammunition, blaster cartridges, and her side-arms.
"I really think you'll wanna hear this" Stefano said, handing her a headset.
Whoever was speaking, they were speaking in Mando'a. Someone had received her transmission, someone who knew her language. They must be looking for me.
"Okay, load up and bang out!" she roared, tossing the headset aside, slapping a cartridge into her carbine.
She hadn't cleaned up since her encounter with Luur'ha; oil and congealed blood, both human and Vong, was matted in her hair and smeared across her skin. Her clothes were marked, bloodied and ripped. But she'd snapped out of her hysterics, and was back on track.

She led the resistance, and her fellow Mandalorians, into the lobby. It bore the marks of the chaos that had rained down upon it minutes earlier, and the sight of so many dead friends would have an impact on morale.
"Okay, these chakaare are the ones responsible for killing your friends. They're responsible for everything that's happened to your planet, and it's damned time we gave 'em some payback" she growled. They're responsible for a lot. Darryn, the 'Hammerfall', Commander Dala, Verity...
"Let's do this" Kage said, through gritted teeth, staring dead ahead at the broken doors to the old theatre.

Mira charged, followed by Kage, Stefano, and the entire surviving resistance. Those who didn't fight on foot came rocketing from the garage in Flash Speeders, or on speeder bikes. Even the injured had taken up arms.
The opening conflict was bloody, but Mira had eyes only for her enemies. She poured carbine fire into the enemy ranks, and when her cartridge ran out, she hacked and slashed and stabbed with her beskar knife, until she could breathe long enough to slap another blaster cartridge home and unleash her fury.
"Fall back!" she heard Stefano shouting, and afforded herself enough time to take a quick cursory glance of their situation. Yuuzhan Vong warriors were filing into the city from it's bridge, having landed at the shuttleport. A Corellian Corvette had flown over the city plaza. The resistance were being brutalised.

"Fall back!" Mira echoed, ducking beneath an amphistaff as it was hurled at her.
She retreated, but the theatre was blocked; the Vong had overrun it.
"The starport, hurry" Kage said over her comm. She sprinted into action, and the resistance followed her like a beacon, drawn to her wherever she fought, wherever she ran.
She didn't stop, or even slow down, except to nail a Vong in the head or to check on the progress of her people. My people... frack, I've adopted them all.
She almost ran headlong into a man wielding a vibro-whip, then forced herself to stop as she noticed two other humans taking up the fight.
"Are you my rescuers?" she shouted over the noise, still able to lace her voice with sarcasm. "If so, we need to get outta here, now. Dee'ja Peak is lost. We need to save Theed and mobilise the people" she instructed, speaking to the resistance and the newcomers. "They'll still be reeling from the shock of King Leidana's death to react to this threat".
She extended a dirty hand, and smiled despite herself, blowing her sticky, blood-soaked fringe from her face.
"Captain Mira Hokan. Pleasure."

[Ta'hok]

Kyle had no idea what was going on. So much chaos so much death. One minute he was surrounded by Vong enemies on every side, then there were people running past him. Most were wounded or at least covered in blood. A female almost ran into him before dodging out of the way and continuing past him. She was shouting something but he ignored it and continued watching Jon and Aeolan to see what their ractions would be.

[Trenton Vinh]

Had Jon not known Ghev, he would have been much more confused, and probably slightly annoyed by Mira's entrance and introduction. However, being a brash, obnoxious Corellian fighter pilot, he shot her a cocky grin and replied,, "Jon Rohaeus. I've got a ship that will house at most...500 passengers. It won't be too comfortable with more than 300, but we can manage. Do you want us to evac some people?"
He began to jog towards the Repletion, Aeolan keeping pace.

[Ghev Dralin]

Mira cocked her head, panting, but obviously enjoying a quick respite from the fighting.
"Nice to meet you Jonny" she said, checking her ammunition. "If we had anywhere close to five-hundred people, we'd take this rock ourselves. Last count, we're closer to two-hundred" she said, though she knew there'd been heavy losses this past day.

She began running with Jon and the other two men who hadn't introduced themselves, keeping pace, heading for the Corellian Corvette.
"We'll evac this area, rendezvous at Theed" she said, against her better judgement. She'd rather get off Naboo altogether, but she felt some sort of committment to the resistance. She'd led them this far, the least she could do was try to help them keep their planet. "Are reinforcements on their way?"
She hoped so. A handful of resistance fighters, a dozen Mandalorians... it wouldn't be enough to save Naboo, even if they managed to spur the Theed residents into action. They needed back-up, and fast.
"As much as I hate to admit it" she said, reaching the boarding ramp of the Corvette, "I think we need Jedi".

[Trenton Vinh]

Jon nodded, and Aeolan replied, "Jedi? Yeah. We can get some of them out here. Ghev and the remaining Mandalorians are all stationed within the Temple for now. So we can get all of them out here. Hopefully some of the New Republic Military as well."
Jon agreed, and as soon as they got back to the Repletion, he put on a burst of speed, passing all the others and sprinting up the boarding ramp at full speed. within seconds he was on the bridge, sending a message to Ghev,
"Dralin. Its Jon. We've got Mirala. But the Vong are here too. We need Jedi...and anyone you can spare. And if there's someone who can get some of the New Republic Military out here...that would be great. The Vong will be taking Theed soon, and once they take the capital there won't be much we'll be able to do, by then most of the residents will have been captured or killed."

[Ghev Dralin]

Mandalorian Living Quarters
Jedi Temple
Coruscant

After receiving the transmission, Ghev quietly mulled things over. He had other things to deal with... namely, the Mandalorians. If he became a Republic fighter, then he'd have little hope of swinging Tracyn's loyalists back over to his side.
But then, the Yuuzhan Vong threaten us all, don't they? he thought. The bigger picture extended beyond the Mandalorians. He couldn't make a political war between himself and Tracyn his top priority, not if he wanted to save his people and the galaxy they wandered.
"Trenton?" he said into his comm, after inputting the Jedi's frequency. He was the only Jedi he trusted completely, despite the hospitality of the Temple. He was the only Jedi who'd take action, and possibly spur others into following him. "It's Ghev. See what you make of this" he said, then relayed Jon's message to him.

"I'm tired of warming my backside. Need something to do. Fancy a trip to Naboo, maybe do a spot of Vong hunting?" he asked, already donning his armour. Others around him had taken the cue, and were gearing up for battle. Today, the Mandalorians would go to war officially.

[Trenton Vinh]

Trenton had his eyes closed, hands raised in the air above his head. The Force swirled around him, and he gathered the energy above his fingertips. He compressed the energy, focused it. He forged it like a blacksmith, manipulating it until the atoms sizzled in the air above him. Out of nowhere, like a ship shutting down a cloaking device, a long spear appeared out of thin air. It was as black as night, and the cold steel reflected no light at all.
The long shaft of the spear was partially formed, and sweat was forming on Trenton's brow. He took a breath and focused on every inch of the blade forming slowly above him. The Spear of Midnight Black, as the technique was called, was considered strictly dark side, because it was used to simply slay an enemy. Trenton refused to allow himself to be ignorant of any ability, whether considered morally right or wrong, and was practicing to learn the ability. He was moments away from fully forming the weapon, when his comlink beeped loudly, and he sighed. The Spear dissipated like dust in the wind.
Trenton pulled the comlink out of his belt pouch, and wiped the sweat away from his forehead with the arm of his robe. He answered, "This is Trenton."
A familiar voice said, "It's Ghev. See what you make of this."

There was a crackle, and the voice of Jonathan Rohaeus came over the comlink, "Dralin. Its Jon. We've got Mirala. But the Vong are here too. We need Jedi...and anyone you can spare. And if there's someone who can get some of the New Republic Military out here...that would be great. The Vong will be taking Theed soon, and once they take the capital there won't be much we'll be able to do, by then most of the residents will have been captured or killed."
Once the message had been played, Ghev spoke again,
"I'm tired of warming my backside. Need something to do. Fancy a trip to Naboo, maybe do a spot of Vong hunting?"

Trent let a trace of a smile cross his face. He had been training for another confrontation with the Vong. The Jedi and the New Republic had both been stalling on setting up proper defenses, and several planets had fallen. Trent had watched the Galactic Maps the Temple had, and the Vong were carving a swath through the Galaxy. If Naboo fell, that is just a galactic step away from the Corellian Run, and the Hydian Way, two of the largest Hyperspace routes in the Galaxy. Dantooine, which was rumored to have fallen as well, was on the other end of the Hydian Way from Naboo. The Vong, assuming they had forces on both ends of the route, had a clear swath through the Galaxy, able to hit any of thousands of planets. And they had a clear path to the Core...
Naboo couldn't fall. It was a pivot point. If the Vong had Naboo, they could use either of two Hyperspace routes to get to the Core, or any other planet in the Galaxy.
Once Naboo fell, the Galaxy would be much harder to defend.
Trenton knew the score, the council needed to know as well.

Trent replied, "I'll get a few Jedi together. Give me an hour. Meet you in the starport soon."