Battle of Praesitlyn (Sith Crusade)

"Praesitlyn, a desert jewel. It is here that the fate of the galaxy shall be decided, Adsec. I honestly don't know what is going to happen today, but whatever it is, it's going to take many lives, and destroy many, many more. Promise me this Adsec, if I die&hellip;make sure Katae knows how I feel."

- Darth Abeonis

The Battle of Praesitlyn, also known as the End of ends, was an engagement during the Sith Crusade of gargantuan scale and importance. The battle was the epitome of the Sith Crusade and by far, the most influential battle of the conflict.

Both sides suffered grievous casualties during the battle, where even commanders lost their lives.

The background
Following the merciless Sith campaign in 64 ABY the GFFA was on the verge of total collapse. The Chief-of-state, Luke Skywalker knew that if the Sith advance in the Outer rim wasn't stopped soon, the Alliance's holdings there would be conquered, and the entire fleet thrown into disarray.

Darth Abeonis, knowing that Skywalker would be determined to prevent another devastating Alliance defeat, settled upon the desert world of Praesitlyn.

Arrival of the fleets
First came the Sith, jumping into orbit of Praesitlyn and setting about landing troops on the planets surface. Never before during this conflict had such a massive invasion been undertaken. Almost three million Sith troopers landed in every corner of the planet. The Sith fleet encircled the planet, blocking out the sun. The Soiyo, leading the fleet, remained just out of orbit of the planet, with the Hidden Side waiting just off The Soiyo's brow. With his fleet in total control of the planet below, Darth Abeonis set about setting up a defensive perimeter in the system, but before he could, the Alliance fleet jumped into the system.

The Galactic Alliance fleet, lead by the Chief-of-state, Luke Skywalker instantly begun forming into an offensive formation, something Darth Abeonis honestly didn't expect. The Alliance fleet almost matched the Sith fleet ship-for-ship, and Abeonis (along with all of his commanders) could tell that unlike previous battles, the Captains of these ships had no intention of turning back – they were Jedi.

Initial skirmishes
Skywalker, taking advantage of the Dark Lord's shock launched his fighters against the Sith fleet, slowly bringing his main fleet into battle behind them.

Darth Abeonis, recovering from his initial shock, ordered his own fighter squadrons to engage the enemy. The casualties were instant, and immense; with thousands of starfighter being shot down before the two sides even collided. When they finally did, the sheer swarm of fighters lead many to simply smash into one-another, causing debris and rubble to fly off in all directions. These debris hit even more fighters, and this caused more crashes. Within minutes, the two sides were completely devastated.

Darth Abeonis, ceasing upon the moment, order The Soiyo and the rest of Death Squadron that had followed his flagship to open fire on the Alliance capital ships, through the fighters. Volley after volley of turbolaser fire bolted though the mass of debris, tearing it apart, before finally hitting the shields of the Alliance capital ships.

Admiral Ema, the Supreme Commander of all Alliance Forces, ordered his ships to open fire on the Sith fleet, opening battle fully.

The fleets engage
Skywalker made the first move, ordering half of his fleet to circle around the starfighter mass, and attack the Sith from the right flank. Darth Abeonis, expecting this attack, had previously ordered a part of his fleet to remain slightly behind the main bulk of the fleet, in order to prevent them being surrounded.

As the Sith support fleet engaged the encircling Alliance warships, Death Squadron blasted its way through the starfighter mass and began mixing with the Alliance warships. The flagship of the GFFA fleet, Alliance quickly became bogged down under enemy fire and an emergency evacuation was ordered. Skywalker fled to the flagship of his son, Ben Skywalker along with the vast majority of his crew, leaving Alliance a sitting duck, in amongst the Sith warships. Only then did Luke realize that not all of his crew had left the flagship.

Twelve Jedi had remained onboard Alliance, in order to draw Sith fire away from the fleeing escape pods; and they had succeeded. The Soiyo, leading the assault on Alliance launched a final volley into the port side of the warship, tearing it in two. A second volley from Conqueror struck Alliance from below, dealing the final blow. Alliance blew apart, in two separate directions, before these were destroyed by secondary explosions. With the Alliance in pieces, both Luke, Ben, and Abeonis knew that the battle must be ended as quickly as possible. Luke, taking control of his son’s warship, sent an order to the rest of the fleet, saying that GFFA ground forces were to begin landing on Praesitlyn's surface immediately. Darth Abeonis, having intercepted this transmission, order his ground troops already on the planets surface to intercept, and destroy as many landing craft as possible.

Attack on Praesitlyn
As the GFFA landing craft drew closer to Praesitlyn's surface, the Sith turbolaser batteries opened-fire. Millions of turbo bolts ripped through the skies of Praesitlyn, striking the approaching landing craft with terrifying accuracy.

Hundreds of landing craft fell from the sky before their shields were even activated, and even then it had little affect. It was only as the landing craft approached the one-mile mark that the batteries stopped firing. It was up to the Sith troopers now.

Forming a beachhead
The GA troopers, having landed on the surface of the planet remained hidden away in their landing craft for several minutes, listening to their commanding officers given several heroic speeches and making them pray to the Force.

Katae-muri, leading one of the Alliance attack forces simply stretched her legs and prepared herself. Katae believed in leading from the front, much like her husband; who she sensed was already on his way down to the planet. Ordering her men to form ranks behind her, she ignited her lightsaber and lowered the doors of the landing craft.

Blaster fire instantly rung through the vessel, killing many in the front ranks. Katae-muri jumped from the craft, using her lightsaber to defend as many as she could. She glanced to her side, seeing hundreds more soldiers surging up the beach. Turning back to what was infront of her, all she could see for miles was wave after wave of blaster fire streaking in her direction. The Sith, determined to wipe out the attacking Alliance forces had thrown their entire weight into the defense of the planet. Darth Micail, who was responsible for the defense of that sector of the planet found himself being called away, and so left control of the region to Darth Alectasa, and his friend Darth Validus. Alectasa, unknowing of the connection between Abeonis and Katae-muri, ordered his SpecOps commander, Commander 039 to personally eliminate the Jedi Master. A task 039 accepted with relish.

Having informed his close friend, 001 of his mission, 039 set out on a mission to kill. 001, although confident in his comrade's skills, was dubious of his chances of success, and so followed him; much to the annoyance of 039. By the time Katae-muri and 039 met, Katae had secured most of the beach.

A fatal encounter
"It is an end of ends, brother."

- Commander 001 to Commander 039

001 and 039, two of the most combat experienced soldiers in the Sith army were a fearsome sight for any Jedi, and even Katae-muri was dubious of her chances of surviving an encounter with either, let alone both; but that was exactly what was coming.

As the two SpecOps, followed by a formation of tanks, came pouring over the brow of the beach dunes, Katae-muri took advantage of what little she had – the Force. Jumping high into the sky, she landed right in front of the two SpecOps, removing their advantage of distance easily. 039, having seen Katae-muri soaring through the sky towards them kicked out, launching Katae backwards. 001 and 039 raised their weapons and fired at the Jedi Master, but they were easily repelled. Katae, once again jumped just infront of them, but her weapon was kicked from her hand by 001. Resorting to hand-to-hand combat, Katae engaged the SpecOps commanders on equal footing.

Knocking 001 to the ground, Katae-muri fell to the floor and used the Force to call her lightsaber towards her. 039 leant forward, preparing to take a final shot at the Jedi Master, but was shocked to realize that before he could do anything, the Jedi Master's turquoise lightsaber was embedded in his chest.

Katae, not wanting to wait around any longer, pulled the lightsaber from 039's chest and jumped away, leaving 039 too collapse into the arms of his close friend 001. The final exchange between these two blood brothers was short, but sentimental.

"I&hellip;can't feel my legs, brother." "Don't worry 03, you're going to be alright. I'm going to get the para[medic]s over here." No, brother. You and I both now that their is only one way for me to go now. Brother, before I die&hellip;" "No! Don't talk like that, you can't die! Not after what we've been through together. You just ca&hellip;" "Brother! Let me finish. Before I die, promise me that&hellip;that you will&hellip;" "What?" "Argh! The pain! Forgive me brother." "I have nothing to forgive."

- Commanders 039 and 001

Counter-attack
"She's mine."

- Darth Abeonis

Darth Abeonis, knowing that he had lost a valuable soldier this day, decided to take matters into his own hands. He ordered Darth Adsec, his apprentice, to destroy the Alliance landing forces on the far side of themain landing zone. Abeonis would deal with his wife personally. Adsec complied, and made his way out of the command bunker.

By the time of the Sith counter-attack, the Alliances forces had left the beach and made their way into the deserts and forests beyond. Abeonis, taking command of two hundred Sith Knights, made his way down to the site of 039's death. But by the time he arrived, nothing remained but a smouldering ruin of tanks and bodies. 001 had remained by his brothers side since his death, and only at the orders of Abeonis did he leave the body. Joining Abeonis' side, they spread out, searching for Katae-muri.

Darth Korin took advantage of his Skrini heritage and scoured the skies for the Jedi Master, but to no avail. After two hours of searching, all that Korin could report was that the Sith armies had regained most of the ground they had previously lost, but Abeonis paid no heed. All he cared for was finding his wife.

Searching deep inside himself, Darth Abeonis used his strength in the Force to find his wife's spirit, amongst the great mass or carngage that surrounded them both. What he found shocked him to the core, and caused him to Ghost to the far side of the landing zone. Before him stood non other than Darth Adsec, with Katae-muri's body laying before him.

Master versus Apprentice
"That will be the last mistake you ever make, Adsec."

- Darth Abeonis

Darth Adsec raised his head, and stared at the Dark Lord in a state or rage, his lightsaber still ignited. Darth Abeonis took no time in making his intentions known, pushing Adsec far from his wife's body via the Force.

Adsec, regaining his footing then began his attack, proving his mastery of Ataru. Striking hard at the Dark Lord, Adsec easily proved his equality to the Dark Lord in lightsaber combat. Darth Abeonis, having to rely more on the defensive nature of Atra-Manua more than he wanted, was being pushed onto the back hand. Seizing upon his advantage, Darth Adsec spited the Dark Lord over the death of his wife. Making a particular point on how she had "&hellip;begged for [his] mercy&hellip;" and "&hellip;cried for Jasca&hellip;" before he stabbed her through the heart. Darth Abeonis, now more enraged than ever, used a momentary break in combat to conjure up a deadly "midnight black" which struck Adsec in his chest.

Darth Adsec, having been knocked onto his back, panted for breath. He had been lucky to survive Abeonis' last attack. As Abeonis stood over Adsec's exhausted body, Adsec mustered the strength to carry on fighting, launching Abeonis ackwards, and climbing to his own feet. As Abeonis did the same, Darth Adsec choked the Dark Lord, but was quickly repelled when Abeonis broke Adsec's concentration. Abeonis then used the Force to hit Adsec hard in the chest, knocking him backwards slightly, as he ran towards him and impaled Adsec through the abdomen. A slight smirk came across Abeonis' face, as he withdrew his lightsaber and then used it to decapitate his former Apprentice.

With his revenge satisfied, Abeonis ran towards the lifeless body of his wife. He could faintly hear the recognizable voice of Darth Wyyrlok from over the dunes, shouting for the Dark Lord to respond – he simply ignored it. As he sat, cradling the body of his one love, for the first time in over twenty years, Abeonis eyes had welled with tears. But even as those tears poured from his eyes, Abeonis could not help but feel anger for one person – Luke Skywalker.

Luke had allowed Katae-muri to take charge of the assault forces on Praesitlyn, he had allowed her to partake in the battle, and he had left her to the mercy of Darth Adsec. Darth Abeonis vowed that, one way or another, Luke Skywalker would pay for the death of Katae-muri.

As Darth Wyyrlok came into sight, Abeonis stood up, using the Force to ignite his wife's body and taking his wife's lightsaber with him. Walking away from the body, towards Wyyrlok, who was standing in silence, Abeonis would, for a brief moment, hear the faint voice of his former wife, echoing through the desert.

"I love you, Jasca."

- Katae-muri

The Jedi withdraw
"Not a chance!"

- Ben Skywalker to Darth Alectasa

With his father in command of the fleet above, Ben Skywalker had taken over all command of the forces on Praesitlyn itself, but with the death of Katae-muri, Ben knew that the tide had turned against them. Ordering his forces to withdraw to their landing craft, Ben sent an emergency transmission to his father saying that the battle on Praesitlyn had been lsot, and that the fleet should prepare to make its escape.

As Ben made his way back too the landing craft, he found himself being pursued by his old rival, Darth Alectasa. Alectasa, raising his blade and burying his feet, gestured for Ben to attack, but was met with a blunt refusal from Ben. Ben simply lowered his weapon, pointing it at Alectasa. Darth Alectasa, realizing that he would have to make the first moved swung his weapon high above his head and brought it down upon Ben with shattering strength.

As the various drags of Alliance forces came fleeing too their landing craft, Ben and Alectasa continued to exchange blows. Alectasa used his natural height to great advantage and hammered down upon Ben Skywalker, but he was easily repelled by the fledgling Jedi Master. Ben, in the prime of his life, took every chance he could to undermine the Sith Lord, but he often failed. Growing tired, Ben decided that the time had come to escape.

And so, after using the Force to push Alectasa into the hull of a nearby landing craft, Ben ran into his landing craft and got it into the air. By the time Alectasa had regained consciousness Ben and his forces were far beyond his reach. Alectasa simply picked up his weapon and walked away, holding his side in agony.

Escape
With the fleeing Alliance landing craft returning to their ships, Darth Micail, now commanding the Sith fleet, ordered his ships to open fire on the fleeing enemy forces, but was quickly forced to divert his attention to the Galactic Alliance fleet when they renewed their assault. The Hidden Side, which had been weaving in and out of the GFFA fleet for the past few hours was struck by a stray bolt on its starboard side, and plummeted into the planet below, killing the entire crew and many Sith personel who were caught in the explosion.

Finally, when all of the surviving landing craft had returned, Luke ordered the fleet to jump into hyperspace. Darth Micail was left staring into the blankness of space, with only the rubble of hundreds of starships to lighten his view.

Aftermath
Follwoing the battle, Darth Abeonis simply sat in his private quarters aboard The Soiyo, admitting no-one. Darth Wyyrlok, sensing the pain Abeonis was in, thought it best to take command of the clean-up operation. Totalling the losses, it became painfully clear to Wyyrlok that the battle of Praesitlyn had been one of the most costly battles of the war, by far, and had had little affect on the course of the war.

With the casualties numbering in the millions, and the loss of starships costing trillions, Wyyrlok found it hard to believe that the Sith Order of Decreto would be able to continue the war on much the same scale that it had beforehand.

Darth Abeonis had gone into seclusion, the Commander of the Home Fleet had been executed, and one of the greatest assets to the Sith cause – Commander 039 had been killed. All in all, it seemed that the battle had been nothing more than a grand slaghter.

Galactic Federation of Free Alliances

 * Ema
 * Katae-muri &dagger;
 * Ben Skywalker
 * Luke Skywalker

Sith Order of Decreto

 * Commander 001
 * Commander 039 &dagger;
 * Darth Abeonis
 * Darth Adsec &dagger;
 * Darth Alectasa
 * Darth Korin
 * Darth Krayt
 * Darth Micail
 * Darth Validus
 * Darth Wyyrlok

Behind the scenes

 * The battle of Praesitlyn was created early as part of a challenge issued to Jedi Master 76 on IRC. The aim of the challenge was to create the largest battle article on Star Wars Fanon.
 * The author also decided to make use of the battle of Praesitlyn as the final build-up of so many of his Sith Crusade-era stories.