HP: Dance of the Veela

Rebel Alliance Base, Dantooine…995 ARR…

The lush and vast farmlands of Dantooine might be a remote and seemingly backwater world but the planet had regardless been an important battleground for centuries in many different wars.

Both Satele and Meetra had been critically aware of its significance, not least Meetra who had once trained at the Jedi Enclave here and then later had fought for and stabilized the planet in the aftermath of Malak's attack.

Now the Rebel Alliance had established a base here and was running campaigns across the galaxy from this headquarters but this would not be for long as some Imperial scouts had gotten too close to the base for comfort and so they would move to a new location soon. A new headquarters was being selected and the Yavin system was looking particularly promising with its thick jungles, remote location and Massassi temples was about as perfect as they could ever have hoped for. But for now, they were still on Dantooine.

Seeing the busy command centre was nothing new to either women, war had dominated most of their lives regardless of which era they had lived in. Neither revelled in fighting but regardless they were good at it and they were here today to meet with some of the rebel leaders to determine in what capacity they would join this struggle.

Meetra was missing her friends more than ever now, glad beyond measure that Bao-Dur was still around but Atton, Mira, Mical, Brianna, Canderous and even T3-M4 were all long gone now. It saddened her deeply, she missed them more than she had before her original death even though she found that almost laughable to say, it made it sound like it was normal.

Satele meanwhile was allowing her mind to drift back to her son, hoping that he had enjoyed a long and joy filled life and was more devastated than she would ever care to admit that she hadn't been there to see it.

Seeing the Republic that they had both fought for and bled to defend be transformed into the exact kind of Empire they had tried so hard to defeat was tragic although given how corrupt it had been the Republic had died as a result of its own failings and how much it had rotted from the inside out.

Whatever replaced it would need to do better, that was something they could both agree on.

Holograms of the four leaders of the Rebellion appeared before them, they had all been senators in the old senate and to be honest while all were dedicated and had their own plus points, they all had their share of problems too.

Garm Bel-Iblis was a planetary leader who had a powerful military at his command and was one of the best military minds the Alliance had but he was also gruff, stubborn and focused on militant action over any other.

Mon Mothma on the other hand was perhaps the weakest link in the chain, she was a woman of principle which meant something and she was a firm believer in democracy but she was far too weak in her faith that they could win. She doubted that the Rebellion could achieve the Empire's defeat and had no intention of trying to fight if she could help it, thinking it would be pointless. She was also extremely slow to commit to anything like any politician so she could pull out if required. Mothma would have to commit to something eventually they thought with dismay but how long before she did?

The remaining two were much better in their minds; Padme Amidala-Skywalker and Bail Organa. Both were believers in democracy and both were decisive in their judgement, they would take action when required and try to find a mix of both. They also happened to be ones that were keeping the peace between Mon Mothma and Garm Bel-Iblis.

If they lost both of them the Rebellion would be in a lot of trouble both women realised.

Nevertheless, they were the leaders of the group so they had to convince them.

"Those credits Anakin stole have been a great benefit to the Alliance and to Liber8, they had bought us a lot of equipment and some valuable intel." Padme said proudly as she reminded the other three of her husband's accomplishment.

"But we must now address our newest members." Bail said turning to the two young women who were in reality much older than they appeared and far more skilled. While he personally couldn't quite understand the circumstances that had brought them here, he did know they were legendary Jedi with a long list of accomplishments to their names. Either would be an asset to the rebellion but both would be a coup.

"Indeed, and judge if they are the right sort of people we need in the struggle against the Empire." Mon Mothma said with cold detachment. Garm just shook his head and scoffed at her opinions.

"They are Jedi who know how to fight and are willing too. I have seen what the Corellian Jedi can do and these two are from what I am told far above them. If you want come to Corellia just let me know." He said with the hope of getting two very strong fighters into his forces.

"The Rebellion might have need of you as well." Padme said taking control of the discussion as it was fast getting off topic. "Apart from your own considerable skills in combat and leadership which I am sure will be an immense asset there is also the matter of the force sensitives that have joined the Alliance and a few former Jedi students that never finished their training. The more Jedi there are to work with the Alliance the more effective we become and the closer we are to overthrowing the Empire to restore freedom to the galaxy. Will you work with us?" Padme asked wondering if they were as strong as Anakin had told her they were but even if they weren't they would still be a great asset to the alliance.

Meetra and Satele didn't like the idea of training soldiers, war was nothing new to either of them but they did not like the idea of training new Jedi solely to fight.

A Jedi…a real one was far more than that.

They had both trained many apprentices in their lives, many of whom had gone on to be significant themselves in some way. But even if they did train them and they worked with the alliance that didn't mean they didn't have to be just soldiers. They could show them to find their own true potential and discover just what they were meant to be.

"We will work with you, as Jedi it is our duty to help those in need and to spread knowledge of the force to those who can hear it." Meetra said having done that herself and brought the Jedi Order back from the brink of extinction in her own era. Those Jedi she had trained had restarted the order when it was on the edge of going out and she was quite willing to teach again.

Satele likewise had fought to bring the Order back after it had first been devastated by the Great Galactic War and then the Zakuul Invasion. She disliked being responsible for soldiers on the battlefield again but it was unfortunately the burden you had to bear if you were going to fight the oppressive forces against them.

"Good, then if you are prepared, we are mounting a major push soon and many of our people are ready but they lack experienced leaders. We would like to entrust two particular assaults to your capable hands." Bail Organa said with an uncomfortable look on his face when talking about military action but resolute as it would hopefully help many in the long run while Mon Mothma looked ready to demean such tactics before she was silenced by a look from Padme Amidala.

This did not fill the two Jedi with confidence as this command structure looked extremely unstable to them, inaction by politicians had certainly been a problem they had both faced in the past so fighting among themselves was not something that spelled success for the Alliance. While putting all the power into the hands of one person was not to their minds a good idea as one only had to look at Palpatine, the Sith Lord to see how doing that could be misused but having a single leader who could properly direct and co-ordinate the Alliance and its direction would likely do the organisation much good.

Neither of them wanted that position however, they both thought with revulsion. They were both creatures of duty whatever that duty meant so even if they were offered such power, they likely wouldn't accept it. But it would do good to keep an eye on the four leaders of the Alliance, not just in case one of them turned against the organisation but also in case a potential main leader emerged from it.

Liber8 Base, Classified Location…

With a major operation planned many of the leaders of Liber8 including Anakin, Devan and Kagame where locked in the planning room making final preparations as was Padme with the Rebel Alliance. This meant watching over the two newest arrivals fell to the oldest Skywalker children…but under the supervision of HK-47, both Noghri, C-3PO and R2.

After what happened last time when the children had been left unsupervised, they weren't taking any chances despite the fact that both Luke and Leia, now both turning fifteen were in no way eager to relive what had happened on their first 'adventure'. Jal though who was the same age as them was somewhat responsible and so had been left with them too.

Tash and Zak Arranda had therefore become their responsibility, Tash was only eight years of age and Zak a year younger. Mace who was only about to turn nine so he too was in their charge.

Luke and Leia felt nervous as they were for the first time responsible for not only their little brother but also for two other younglings, it honestly was unnerving despite the safety of being in the base.

So, they had decided to try and introduce the Arranda siblings to their game.

"The aim of the game is to take the ball and get it in the goal behind your opponent." Leia said with tense nerves, having changed normal puck they used for a softer cushioned ball to make sure they couldn't hurt each other by accident.

"Do we kick or throw it?" Zak asked confused and Luke told him feeling as worried about the two hurting themselves as Leia was told him.

"No, you use the force to throw it, bounce it off walls until it goes into the target but you never touch it with your body." He said, keenly making that point clear as even with the cushioned ball they could still hurt themselves if it was thrown hard enough.

"But we don't have much control over it yet." Tash admitted, her blonde hair tied in a ponytail to keep it out of the way. She looked nervous as they hadn't quite managed to control the force as they channelled it yet. They weren't as powerful as the twins but they were still strong in the force and could be capable wielders of it one day. Masters Kagame and Skywalker hadn't had many lessons with them yet so the training was still in its early stages and they needed more practice to be able to use it properly.

"You will be fine." Luke and Leia said together, sharing a look before smiling as their force bond was much stronger these days and occasionally, they found themselves saying the same sentence at the same time.

Jal sat with Mace at the side, eager to see this 'force ball' for himself as Tash and Zak stood at the ends of the small court. They nervously stood there and were almost afraid to lift the ball and so Leia showing a little of her own lack of patience so she picked up the ball with the force and threw it at Tash.

Tash screamed and raised her arms to protect herself but nothing happened as subconsciously Tash had summoned the force to stop and hold the ball. She slowly lowered her arms and saw it, shocking herself most of all while Zak looked on in surprise.

Tash slowly smiled as the ball fell but that was only for a moment before she managed to lift it again, this time on her own. Zak watched as his sister levitated the ball and then when Tash finally threw it at the goal behind him, it went straight past his head into the goal.

The scoring of the point made Zak's competitive spirit rise and he would not allow his sister to outdo him. So, he now forgot his own fear and lack of belief that he could do it, levitating the ball and throwing it back which Tash intercepted before bouncing it off the walls to score another point.

Both siblings were soon giving the game their all while Luke and Leia kept an eye on them and Jal sat with Mace to watch the match.

Unknown to any of them they were being observed by two men on a gantry nearby.

"All they needed was the right encouragement, and all the twins needed was the chance to be truly responsible to rise to the occasion." Anakin said with a proud look at his twins as unknowingly they had helped teach the Arrandas to open themselves to the force properly and improve their telekinesis at the same time.

"Some lessons work best when the student doesn't know they are being taught, or must live the lesson." Kagame said with a wise and small smile, drawing on his many years as a teacher. "Every student will learn at their own pace and so you should never judge one on the standard set by another." Kagame warned him as although he had trained three students to effective knighthood even if it was unofficial in Ahsoka's case he had not trained them that differently.

Anakin nodded, understanding that Kagame was making this into a lesson for himself too. He had five young apprentices now although Luke and Leia had come a long way in the last year and now had lightsabers of their own which were hanging from their belts. He would need to think of them as individuals and not compare them to each other.

Anakin and Kagame went back to silently observing the younglings as they played their game, gaining more confidence in their use of the force which would help them deepen their connection to it and let them learn the path ahead.

Kaitain, Pasdisahah Imperium…

Paul smiled as the children floated the ball back to him and then he did the same back to them, it was as much a game as it was an early introduction to force instruction.

The children were finally starting to open up to him, Paul thought with a smile of relief. They still were somewhat untrusting towards him but they no longer hid from him and allowed him to play their games with them. He took that to be a good sign that they were at least willing to give him a chance.

Irulan on the other hand remained as closed off as ever he thought sadly, she had been working on matters of state and her training with his mother with any time left spent with the children who loved to spend time with her, even when she was training. She had even taken lessons in lightsaber fighting and had travelled to Arrakis and dared face the desert to find her own crystal to build one with.

And he had not been allowed to help.

That stabbed at his heart, she remained as cold towards him as she had since he returned to public life.

His return to the Imperium's leadership had been met with a fair amount of scepticism, many not sure he would stay around after proving a failure before but he was slowly regaining the public's trust.

Tonight, though he thought with fear as he buttoned up his tunic, he was taking her to the opera in hopes he might make some more headway and prayed to the force to let it be so.

The time of Operation 'Big Push' had finally arrived, all the participants had been quietly preparing their forces for months in anticipation of this enormous co-ordinated attack against the Empire.

The Rift Alliance had spent the last few months staging mock exercises along their borders to slowly condition the Imperials watching to not react at a build-up of their forces, it was just another exercise after all and having seen weeks if not months of such activities none of them realised it was no exercise this time.

Not only that though but the Underworld Alliance was preparing to mount a large series of thefts from the Empire that would be extremely profitable and cause even more chaos.

The Rebel Alliance and Liber8 meanwhile were preparing their own series of raids and attacks, some of which might actually free some worlds of Imperial Oppression.

It was a major challenge for all involved to not only keep all this secret but to wait till the exact right moment to make their move. All the attacks had to be launched at roughly the same time across the galaxy and spreading the word without the Empire learning about it had been extremely hard. To the extent that many of those participating in the attack had no idea it was being done in conjunction with others on a mass scale.

When the day finally came, it was a major relief to all.

- x -

Aruza, Expansionist Region…

A pacifistic planet that had known nothing but peace for centuries the Aruza took great care of their world, ensuring it was a place of beauty and that all the needs of their people were met and improving the effectiveness of their Attanni implants that allowed them to share emotions and memories with each other when linked. To the extent that when joined they ceased to be separate people until they unlinked from each other.

They resembled the reclusive Chiss in many respects with blue skin and dark hair which may indicate a common ancestry but it was the implants that drew the attention of General Sinick Kritkeen of COMPNOR, the Commission for the Preservation of the New Order. He had grown to believe that if they could force a planet wide joining and use the implants to stimulate aggressive tendencies to force the entire species into being a violent and relentless warrior race for the Empire while stripping them of any positive emotions and enforced indoctrination to Imperial doctrine.

So, the Rebel Alliance had decided to save their people and Padme had brought in Anakin to lead the Taskforce, flying his customised T-65b X-Wing alongside the other fighter pilots as they battled the Star Destroyer in orbit.

However, while the Three Thranta-class Light Cruisers and the Nebulon-B Frigate that was operating as the flagship tangled with Star Destroyer, Anakin led the starfighter battle. His responsibility was hard enough without having the additional worry of Luke and Leia joining him for the first time.

"Got one!" Luke said from his own X-Wing nearby with excitement while Leia in her own X-Wing was not going to let her brother beat her and told him smugly.

"That still leaves you two behind me!" She told him and Anakin could feel his teeth grinding themselves together with his frustration before he told them sharply.

"This is a battle situation! No unnecessary chatter!" He scolded them and they instantly fell back into line.

"Yes dad." Both twins said quickly before resuming the fight.

As it continued though Anakin and the twins drew deeper on the force and began to slip into a bond that Anakin had only known once before, during the Clone Wars when fighting with Ahsoka over Naboo. His bond with the twins intensified and due to their deep love and trust for one another they all connected deeply to each other.

A force meld, brought about by the intensity of battle and their mutual desire to protect each other. Strengthened by their shared immense power.

The three began fighting in unison with each other, moving almost as one without hesitation or worry, their foresight now joined allowed them to foresee any danger to themselves.

They cut through the TIE fighters that were surrounding them and headed straight for the Star Destroyer, working in combination they attacked it, Luke and Leia punching through the deflector shield before blowing up the two projector domes on top of the bridge section with proton torpedoes. That left the bridge of the ship exposed and Anakin then fired his own torpedoes along with a barrage of laser fire.

The torpedoes and lasers ripped through the view screen and exploded inside; Anakin pulled up at the last moment as the headless ship staggered. All gunnery co-ordination stopped and the Rebel warships took advantage to attack the now vulnerable capital ship.

Anakin and his twins continued to move in unison across the battlefield cutting down Tie fighters with ease or using their fighters to strafe large vessels, seeing the Star Destroyer explode was rewarding before they joined the flight drop ships heading towards the surface.

Imperial Complex, Burkeen, Aruza…Later that Day…

There were no space ports on the planet as the Empire had made sure that none of the Azurans could ever leave their planet and to limit the potential spread of information on what was happening here. Regardless though rumours had leaked out and now the Rebel Alliance was at their doorstep.

Anakin with his lightsaber in hand led the charge into the Imperial Lab Complex, at his side Luke and Leia were brandishing their blue and green bladed lightsabers at his side as they forced their way into the area.

The sight of so many Azurans in pain and being left as emotionless or feral shells of their former selves was a real eye opener for the Rebel Soldiers and in particular to Luke and Leia who now saw for themselves the evils of the Empire and why it had to be fought.

Anakin himself was too controlled to allow his fury to show in any other way but an intensifying of his attacks, cutting through stormtroopers with ease and often killing them with their own blaster bolts which he deflected right back at them.

Luke and Leia both stayed close to his side, still as in tandem with him as they had been in orbit which made the trio much more effective and inspiring to their soldiers who followed their seemingly unstoppable Jedi, seemingly proven when an AT-AT walker lumbered its way into view.

Luke and Leia, leapt forward and with a single effortless swipe as they passed cut through its legs at the joints before Anakin used the force to pull the walker's top part from the separated legs, making it come crashing to the ground.

The Rebels were astonished and loved every moment of it, the legend of the Jedi seemingly brought to life before their very eyes.

As the locals joined their struggle, desperate for freedom and swelling their ranks the Rebels managed to breach the inner sanctum of the structure and came into view of the man responsible for the horrific experiments conducted on the Aruzans…General Sinick Kritkeen of COMPNOR. He seemed like nothing when you first looked at him, a human male of middle age with short brown hair but to the three Jedi among them they saw his complete lack of pity or compassion, his only desires to serve his Emperor and create a mark of his own on history for his great achievement.

Anakin did not waste any time talking with such a man especially as he would be unlikely to have any useful information and without at hesitation struck him down with his lightsaber which shocked some but it was drowned out by the cheers of the Azurans who celebrated the death of the hated general.

Imperial control of this planet was broken and many locals would join up with the Rebel Alliance which would begin construction of a base here. That might have been dangerous but the Empire had more than one front to worry about today, Anakin thought with a smirk knowing it was only the beginning.

- x -

Mantooine, Outer Rim Territories…

Travis was an experienced warrior, one who had fought in many battles over the years and for this battle had been given command of Liber8's forces, a position he was quite familiar with and ready to fulfil.

Today was a hard fight, he thought with gritted teeth. His people and the Mantooine Liberators who were the local resistance fought a harsh pitched battle against the Empire who were stubborn to give any ground. He lifted his heavy repeater and let rip towards the enemy, cutting down any that were foolish enough to stand in the open while a walker approached, just a smaller scout walker but still more than his blaster could handle.

A rocket launcher from one of the nearby rebel fighters saved him though, blowing up the ridiculous looking walker.

Still as his men and the locals were falling around him Travis knew he was in trouble; the Imperials were far too entrenched for him to make any headway in forcing his way into the complex. The space station in orbit had been easy but the ground battle was quickly bogging down.

Another three of his men were killed as they tried to run the gauntlet only to be cut down the E-web blaster turrets being deployed by the enemy. He saw one of them, Jovis a friend of his for seventeen years have half his face ripped off by the laser and he snarled with anger, his disgust at the Empire stronger than ever now.

But as he was about to risk charging the blasters himself a surprising source of reinforcements came into view, drop ships appearing just outside of the Imperial Anti-Aircraft defence net.

They were ships belonging to the nearby world of Fest, a bitter rival of Mantooine with which they fought several times in the distant past. But despite thousands of years passing the distrust between them remained. So much so that they would refuse to help each other even if it benefited both of them.

The Mantooine Liberators turned their weapons to face the Fest Resistance Group who were the ones flying the ships, convinced that they were going to be betrayed and slaughtered but what emerged from the drop ships was surprising, five MPTL-2a artillery platforms rolled out with some Fest Resistance fighters around them for protection.

They began to deploy their proton launchers but then to the surprise of the Mantooine Liberators they did not fire on them but instead targeted the entrenched Imperials. Travis smirked as a familiar robed figure appeared from one of the drop ships.

"Kagame, you son of a bitch." Travis said with pride as much as astonishment. He had not only managed to liberate the nearby system of Fest but also somehow convinced the Fest Resistance Group to help their hated rivals. To bond together against a mutual enemy.

Either way, the artillery Kagame had brought opened the way and led by Travis, the Liberators, Liber8 and Fest Resistance Fighters charged in to take the Imperial Ground Base and liberate the planet.

Mirial, Outer Rim Territories…

The home world of the Mirialians had been occupied by the Trade Federation and therefore had been a Separatist world during the Clone Wars so the Galactic Empire then took over when the wars were done.

The Star Destroyer Morrhage was on station to defend it but the Aden class ships leading the charge deployed a new weapon that the Mandalorians had ironically stolen from Count Dooku's hidden lab years, the scientists had been working on the concept for several years but only recently had it become a useable weapon.

Proton Beam weapons, a single energy beam that carried highly charged protons along it. Depending on the strength of the reactor that was powering the beam it could do considerable damage to energy shields and hulls. Three of the Adens had been outfitted with such weapons and under the co-ordination of Duke N'Val and Duchess Kane, demolished the shields and gutted the Morrhage. One lucky shot knocked out her life support and left the crew to slowly suffocate, they fled in what ships they had and abandoned the star destroyer without having set the self-destruct if it had even worked with all the damage. Duchess Kane smirked as the Morrhage would make quite a trophy, sending people out to secure it.

The space station in orbit had been rendered helpless as the Aggressor-class ship Parjai had used its special weapon to disable the station before Gladius and Halberd class ships disabled its weapons and shields so Warriors & Skytroopers could be sent to board it.

On the ground the battle raged, led by their newest Akaan, the Warriors and Skytroopers forced their way against the Imperials but there was little cover in the cold deserts that covered much of the planet and while the native Mirialians were not loyal Imperial subjects, many choose not to get involved in the battle but some who resented the Empire were only too happy to act as local guides to the invading Mandalorians, showing them paths and routes that were safer and would allow them to flank their enemies.

The Akaan leading the attack was none other than Galen Marek, brandishing his cyan lightsaber he was like a wrecking ball to the Imperials who had the misfortune to go up against him. He was extremely strong in the force and brutal in his use of it, force lightning being a speciality of his.

An entire squad of Stormtroopers found this out to their cost as he fried them with ease and he smirked especially as an AT-ST came into view.

Cute he thought with amusement.

He leapt forward, landing on top of the walker and using the force to pull the hatch open and the pilots out with it. Taking a thermal detonator from his waist he threw it inside before jumping off and letting the explosion destroy the inside of walker.

But he wasn't done yet, as the walker collapsed Galen lifted the remains with the force and smashed them down on the enemy ahead of him before scattering those behind by sending the twisted metal at them.

When the security doors on the compound tried to close, he held them open until their people could get inside and secure the gates. He then entered and moved like lightning around the compound, decimating any enemy that came his way until the planet was completely secure.

But as they approached the final area, the commander's quarters where the coward was hiding, he was surprised to find the man on his knees along with the rest of his staff as a female Imperial Officer stood above them with a blaster rifle in hand.

She looked at them and Galen's breath was caught in his throat the moment he saw her as she was possibly the most beautiful woman Galen had ever seen. Blonde hair with the clearest skin and crystal blue eyes, even the way she held herself was entrancing to him.

"My name is Juno Eclipse; Captain in the Imperial Fleet and I declare my intention to defect." She told him and her clipped tones and educated accent only made her seem more intriguing to Galen who thankfully did remember to be careful and he frowned before telling her.

"Understood, you will need to be questioned. Is that clear?" Galen asked her and she nodded.

"It is."

"Then take these scum into custody. Captain Eclipse is to be treated as a defector and not a prisoner." Galen warned his warriors who were much more suspicious than he was but accepted his orders.

Galen watched as Juno was taken away but gave her a nod of reassurance, all he could do without removing his helmet or speaking to her but she accepted and gave him a small smile that made him go slightly weak at the knees. Excusing himself to ensure the rest of the Imperial presence on this planet had been routed he struggled to get Juno's face out of his mind. Something about her just called to him and he could not really put it into words. He remembered his father had said the same thing had happened to him when he had first met his mother and from that day their paths together had been set.

Was it the same for me? He pondered before shaking his head at the sheer absurdity of it, you could not fall in love at first sight, he thought to himself scoffing at his own idiocy.

Still as he tried to sleep that night his dreams were dominated by her face.

Gamandar, Mid Rim…

Duke Ge'hark Orius was enjoying the thrill of battle, he always did and was glad to show his people that despite his advancing age he was as rugged and determined as ever. That meant usually bold and aggressive battle tactics that honestly would be frowned on by most.

And on Gamandar, would prove to be his undoing…while his armour protected him from most weapons a barrage of sustained fire could still damage it and the small turbolasers mounted to the walls of the Citadel they were storming were very powerful. He fell but when his sons caught him, he died with a smile on his face telling them to embrace life and death, you could not have one without the other.

His sons enraged by his death resumed the charge and conquered the planet in his name, the native Gamandars who had the same name as their planet cheered for their deliverance from the Empire and would gladly join their cause.

Rhen Var, Outer Rim Territories…

The icy planet of Rhen Var was strategically important as it was the ideal site for a listening post and many hard battles had been fought here before today.

The Imperial Listening Station here had originally been belonged to the Republic who themselves had taken it from the Separatists during the Clone Wars. But to Satele Shan who was leading the assault here, it was familiar for another reason.

During the Great Galactic War, she had once led a Republic assault here, attacking the fortress of Darth Mekhis who she had fought in an intense duel, gravely injuring her opponent in the process.

The landscape might have changed over all the centuries since she had last been here but the cold certainly hadn't, she thought with a sardonic grin.

"At least there is no storm." Andor said as he came up behind her and Vel at his side nodded in agreement. Satele however didn't need the force to tell them better.

"There will be, storms are common here so we have to take the outpost before dawn." Satele said with a grim smile before leaving the transport they were riding and igniting her double bladed blue lightsaber and moving to lead their troops into battle.

The stone steps of the old Citadel that held the listening post were thankfully rather easy to climb if dangerous as they were under fire, Satele thought with her saber as a beacon to follow charged into the heart of battle, deflecting blaster shots with either her saber or her own hands much to the shock of those that saw it.

She pulled down snow from the structures above positions and troopers when she could to bury them, it would be unlikely to kill them but it would disorientate or at least disable them. Many would likely die anyway but as abhorrent as she found that it was the nature and price of war she thought as she led them up and into the Citadel to capture the listening post. Moving so fast she appeared to be only a blur to their people while Andor and Vel struggled to keep up with her.

Satele's presence made what might have been a hard battle much easier, she cut through the enemy with ease and later when the Imperials tried to counterattack, she deployed something that the rebels had never heard of before…battle meditation. A special type of power that was a specialty of her family apparently, one that sapped the will of their enemies and their ability to fight effectively while bolstering that of their own people. Andor and Vel honestly could not say they had ever fought before as hard and as well as they had that day, defeating the Imperial counterattack and leaving them in possession of the vital outpost.

Yag'Dhul, Inner Rim…

Another hard-won victory occurred at the inner rim planet of Yag'Dhul, home to the Givin. Aliens who were expert navigators and starship builders. They might scare some people due to their resemblance to humanoid skeletons but their skills especially as mathematicians was legendary.

This led them to having some of the best shipyards in the galaxy even if they did not always include navicomputers or life support systems as the Givin did not require such things themselves. During the Clone Wars they had been Separatists and occupied by the Empire after the war, elements of the population though supported rebellion and given the valuable contributions they could make to the cause the Rebel Alliance had decided to send a taskforce to free their world.

Admiral Raddus in orbit smirked alongside General Rahm Kota as the planet was secured, a big victory for the rebellion and as more planets slipped from the Empire's control the weaker it became especially when they seemed incapable of stopping this.

The downfall of the Empire was coming and they both would dearly love to be there to see it.

Reytha, Expansionist Region…

Reytha was easily one of the most fertile planets in the galaxy and a major food basket, even greater than Dantooine but had the added bonus that the Imperial Governor, Antes Belladar was a soft and weak man. One that was slow to keep up with things after ruling a peaceful planet for so long, so it would be a good target for the Rebel Alliance during the big push.

To guide the battle, they had placed their forces under the command of their newest and certainly one of the most capable generals to lead the campaign.

Meetra stood in the Rebel Command Centre in the Montrosa Islands, frowning slightly as taking the planet had actually been far easier than she had imagined. With the starfighters and naval units they had brought it had taken no time at all to break the extremely small Imperial Garrison, the governor had not even known they were there until they had been right on his door step and the city which he ruled from had fallen in less than an hour…it was pathetic. Meetra thought with dismay.

After all the harsh wars she had known this had been as easy as flying a speeder! Meetra thought, not cheated of a harder win but honestly felt like it had hardly been worth doing.

Still the food productions of Reytha would soon be doing business with all the worlds of the Rift Alliance, the Rebel Alliance and Liber8. A taskforce had been assigned to guard the planet for its protection but it was a worthwhile achievement Meetra thought to herself. Many bellies would be filled thanks to this planet and she could take comfort from that.

Mechis 3, Inner Rim…

"At last, the droid factories of Mechis 3 are ours again!" Rodrack Tonith proclaimed proudly, as arrogant as his more famous uncle who had been an admiral for the Separatists during the Clone Wars but thankfully, he had assistance in this battle.

"Indeed Admiral." Kalani said with his usual deadpan voice voicer, having done much of the work for this victory that delivered the immensely useful droid factories to them, San Hill had assigned him to this personally to monitor and observe the new admiral. He was recommending that he be kept on home defence duties till his arrogance lessened and till he had gained some more experience as he had made several potential mistakes that needed to be addressed.

Kalani was due to take up a new post of his own soon as Military Advisor to San Hill after this offensive was complete. His programming had calculated that although the offensive would be successful in freeing a considerable number of star systems there was a sixty percent chance of a counter offensive from the Empire.

He would have to watch for it Kalani determined before going back to his duties.

Spirit of Fire, Mandalorian Front…

Neville Longbottom was busier than ever as he co-ordinated their special forces teams all across the war front, missions that were critical to success of the operation and despite some heavy casualties they were achieving most if not all of their objectives.

Din Djarin however delivered what might be arguably the most important prize of the day though.

The young man had outdone himself Neville thought with a slight shake of the head as the captured Star Destroyer Avatar appeared nearby, one of six that they had captured during the offensive. They might even put some of them into service in some capacity or just break them down to use the resources to build better ships or perhaps just keep them as trophies who knows. But it was not the ship that was the most valuable prize Neville thought with a smirk as they had caught a 'big fish' today.

He journeyed down to the hanger bay as the shuttle came aboard and Din proudly led the small group out of it, among them were dragging a bound and gagged figure with them. Dressed in what had been a pristine white Imperial naval uniform earlier that day was one of the twelve new Imperial Grand Admirals that had become their prisoner.

The bay was full of warriors along with members of the Rift Alliance forces that had joined with them for the assault, all of them cheered at the proud Imperial was forcefully brought before Neville who smirked under his helmet as Din threw the prisoner at his feet. Neville nodded to Din and told him.

"Excellent work Din, truly excellent." Neville told him and he could feel the boy's pride while Rufaan Tigellinus, Grand Admiral of the Imperial Fleet could only glare up at them.

- x -

Some Time Later in the ship's brig, Neville stood in front of Rufaan and after forcing Vertiserum (secretly blessing Luna for finally having discovered a way to recreate it) down his throat was prying Imperial secrets out of him. Being a social climber and a Grand Admiral Rufaan had a lot to say but then they came to the most critical thing.

"Have you any idea what Project Stardust is?" Neville asked, glad that Trilla had managed to find that much although little information about it could be found so whatever it was, the Empire obviously considered it top priority which made it top priority for them to find out what it was. Neville had been a part of the efforts to find the truth and been frustrated at every turn but thankfully today, he would finally get some answers.

"Project Stardust is a superweapon called the Death Star." Rufaan said as his face was covered in sweat from efforts to avoid talking but was unable to stop himself. "A moon sized warship capable of destroying entire planets in a single blast, a weapon to crush all resistance to the Empire." Rufaan said with a dreamy look in his eyes.

Neville honestly was shocked, having never dreamt that the Empire would actually build not only such a huge vessel but make it so dangerous. He pressed for more information but sadly despite his rank Rufaan didn't know that much more about it even where it was currently except that it wasn't operational yet. Pressing deeper revealed extremely little save for one detail that might just be the break they needed.

"Galen Erso is the leading scientist on the project." Rufaan finally admitted and Neville felt so much frustration that he actually punched the wall of the interrogation room, denting the metal he was so angry. At last, they knew just what the Empire was up to and had no idea of just how to stop it. Thinking back on the vision that Luna had showed them so long ago now it was all so clear, this Death Star was the threat she had seen.

Neville did his best to get hold of himself and took a few steadying breaths before pressing Rufaan to see if there was anything else to gain from him but apart from some information about a 'Super Star Destroyer' they were working on there was nothing more to be gained.

So, he put him under intense watch in the cell block and returned to the bridge, telling the captain to take them straight to Mandalore, he had to inform the others of what he had discovered immediately.

The Offensive was enormous and had spread itself out, the various factions pushed into the Empire and wretched many systems from its control but more than that, they cut off key hyperspace to other areas where the Imperial control would soon begin to slip while cut off from the rest of the galaxy but at the same time, unexpected consequences would emerge to this and take quite some time to truly be appreciated.