Battle of Almania (Sith Crusade)

The Battle of Almania was fought between the allied forces of Almania and the Scourges of Those Bad Guy People, against the Sith Order of Decreto. It would show the besieged members of the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances that resistance was ultimately useless against someone as powerful as the Sith.

Almania would find itself a member of the Decreton Empire and all of its resources would be sent to their new new Sith masters for their grandoise schemes. Future historians would look back at this battle and say that it wasn't a battle fought between fleets and starfighters, but it was more between the wills of the two sides' leaders: Darth Abeonis and Nathaniel Kenobi Solo. Although, Nathan lost in the end, his resolve for ousting the Sith rose exponentially, while Abeonis was content with the victory and the temporary loss of a fellow strategist who, in a different lifetime, he could have called friend.

The battle also saw the end of many feuds that had been boiling against others since before the Confederation-Alliance War. Such long-standing rivalries came to an end. Some tragic, like the passion-fueled duel between Ada Karr and Darth Bosszú. Others, brought an end to a necessary evil and strenghthened the bonds of friendship, as was the case for Ichi Go and Renton Thur'ston in their duel against Darth Gloed and Darth Divat. With the end of these, the Jedi would gain power, but would also be reminded of how far one could go to attain victory.

Calm Before the Storm
Following the defeat of the Ottiumigos Centrality in the Battle of Novus Kamino Prime, Jedi Master Nathaniel Kenobi Solo had gone into a self-exile with the fleeing members of the broken government of Novus Kamino Prime. Among his followers were several Jedi Knights who had avoided capture, the Mandalorians, and the last of the clonetroopers.

For six years, they fought off every Sith vessel they came across and scuttled shipping operations within the Decreton Empire. But during that entire time, they never had a place to go to really hide, until they reached Almania and destroyed a minor Sith taskforce sent to subjugate the planet. Anxious to please their deliverers, the Almanians had given their saviors a base on Almania's moon of Pydyr.

This proved to be a boon to the organization's plans for future strikes, and it allowed Nathan time to work on convincing the Fallanassi that to remain neutral would only get them killed. The leader of the Fallanassi, Folapii, refused to join Nathan's group and threatened to alert the Sith to their presence there if they asked the Fallanassi for their alliegance ever again.

Unfortunately, a young Fallanassi with delusions of grandeur, contacted Darth Abeonis personally. He told of the agreement made between Nathan and the Almanians. In a seemingly rare gesture of gratitude, Abeonis allowed the man to relocate his family before he would assault Almania by giving him a ship for them to escape.

Meanwhile, Jedi Masters Ichi Go and Renton Thur'ston had had a premonition of the planet's destruction and of their demise at the hands of two of their most hated enemies: Darth Gloed and Darth Divat. They quickly alerted Nathan about that and he began an evacuation of Almania, but, as there was a shortage of available ships to transport civilians, it would take many weeks for a full evacuation. The Fallanassi male who had betrayed the planet and its moon Pydyr began to have a guilty conscience and was going to tell of his involvement in the attack when he was struck in the back of the head&mdash;Abeonis had betrayed him by installing a squad of SpecOps onboard the ship.

The SpecOps then proceeded to the planet so they could eliminate Almania's planetary shield as a factor in the coming battle. With minimal resistance, Almania was an open target for orbital bombardment. Racing against time, civilians killed others for a chance off-planet and cursed the name of the Sith.

Nathan met with Folapii for the last time, asking for his assistance, if at the very least, just for the battle ahead. Folapii spit in his face and told him the Fallanassi were impervious to harm. Nathan sarcastically replied:

"Can I quote you on that?"

- Nathan

Furious at Nathan's outburst, Folapii forced him off Pydyr, but he soon found that his decision was not a popular one among the Fallanassi. A faction of dissidents had surrounded his home and forced him to sign a declaration of war against the Sith. The Fallanassi had finally acknowledged that their lives were at stake.

"Kriffin' Sith, always arrive before the party starts!"

- Nathan

Unfortunately, the Sith arrived sooner than expected and the populace's already palpable confusion and fear increased a thousandfold. Abeonis had arrived with his fleet, more specifically The Soiyo, sure to bring the planet to its knees by itself.

Abeonis issued an ultimatum: all responsible for the traversity would unconditionally surrender or perish. Nathan issued his own ultimatum: he would fight Abeonis for the right to control the planet and its people. Abeonis accepted, because the odds were definitely within his favor.

Duel With A Dark Lord
Nathan entered The Soiyo accompanied by Jaki Grawn, Derran Karr, Ichi Go, and Mariz Kenobi Solo, while Abeonis came flanked side-by-side with multiple Sith troopers and Sith Knights. Each exchanged a glance and a handshake, no matter how much they hated the other, they would still keep it civil.



"Been aching to do something like this for a while, Abeonis. Pity you didn't bring Micail into this massacre, I could have used the revenge. Would've brought some much needed closure to me."

- Nathan

"Which is precisely why I didn't bring him. Don't think for a second you have the better tactical mind here, Nathan. I know that you're just stalling for time, and I also know that if Micail was indeed persent in the battle, you would have dealt with my forces much more swiftly. Ready to die, Jedi?"

- Abeonis

"I'm no Jedi, so you'll have to rephrase your question, dictator."

- Nathan

With that, the two were at each others' throats like a pair of rival rancors, awaiting the prize of vengeance, or subjugation. Both attackers were blurs to their companions, making so much use of the Force, that the room became damaged with wires hanging out of their usual spots and lights flickering with the slow, but steady, loss of power.

Both combatants were evenly matched, Nathan's lightsabers gave him a slight edge to him for the victor, but Abeonis wasn't the Dark Lord of the Decreton Empire for nothing. His knowledge of Djem So and Vaapad allowed him to regain fallen ground, even making Nathan back away a couple of times&mdash;a very rare occurance.

Neither attacker could touch the other, it was a battle more of wills and endurance, than one of strength. Red alerts began to flood the ship as Nathan's true plan had been brought into fruition: the Almanian defense fleet had just jumped out of hyperspace, and had blown a giant hole in the transfixed Sith navy, allowing the refugee ships to escape.

"Don't think for a second you have the better tactical mind here, Nathan. I know that you're just stalling for time. What was that? Ha! Not only is that the second time you've used that statement, but whose got the better tactical mind now, nerf herder?"

- Abeonis and Nathan as one of Abeonis' ships is destroyed

"I ask the same, Nathan. As you should be receiving numerous reports of destroyed Almanian heavy cruisers in a matter of seconds."

- Abeonis



True to his word, Nathan did receive reports of damaged heavy cruisers, it seemed the Sith had figured him out and decided to hide a fleet of their own in hyperspace, ready to pounce upon the pouncer.

"Kriff."

- Nathan

Nathan quickly ordered a retreat back to the ship they had used to reach The Soiyo, but he heard the sound of the hangar bays' guns blasting it into oblivion.

"Your forced are routed, your plans ruined, and the people you sought to protect are dying, Nathan. Now, about that surrender."

- Abeonis

"Well, Abeonis, it seems you've outsmarted me today. You should be proud of yourself, not many people can say that. True to your word, my forces have been decimated and lie dead, but I learned something from Nom Anor: it's always good to have another backup plan. Later."

- Nathan

With that comment, he ghosted his party away onto the Who's Next? and gave a signal to some old friends to come out of hiding. Out of the dark side of Pydyr, Fallanassi and Galactic Alliance ships came pouring out to help relieve them.

The Past Must Be Dealt With
"In this duel that followed, Nathan, I was finally able to get rid of the past. My family and its past woes and worries were forever destroyed and I was finally free."

- Private conversation between Nathaniel Kenobi Solo and Ichi Go following the Battle of Almania

Following the escape from The Soiyo, Ichi Go went back to his and Renton's personal vessel, the Hybrid Idiots. He found Renton meditating in his quarters instead of fighting. Puzzled and angered at the same time, Ichi asked why he wasn't helping Nathan and the rest of them fight. Renton replied that he had been calling their enemies, Gloed and Divat to come and end their feud, as he, for one, was tired of the fight over things that happened years ago.



Angry that Renton had actually invited them over, Ichi said that the only reason he wanted them here was because Renton wanted to fight, beat, and then own Divat as his wife. Surprised at his friend's accusations over his character, Renton replied that he was indeed in love with Divat, but that would have no bearing if she could not be turned; Renton would kill her if need be. Still unconvinced, Ichi went to the cockpit, and then to the escape pod, if Renton was dumb enough to have asked them to come to their ship, then he was stupid enough to ask Gloed to come to Almania's surface to fight. Seeking his adversary through the Force, Ichi presented his proposition, to which Gloed accepted a bit too eagerly.

As soon as he landed on Almania, Ichi knew that all was not as it had seemed, and not because the people had all fled and there was barely any life on the planet's surface. There was definitely something more sinister in the making. Searching through the Force, Ichi found that he was not as alone as he had originally thought, something very powerful was drawing near him and it wasn't Gloed.



Sensing it again, Ichi went to investigate, and soon found that he had been confronted with one of Gloed's most fiercest creations: Hollow, an attempt at making an all-powerful, mindless Sithspawn that followed only him. The attempt had been successful, although, as far as Ichi knew, he hadn't had success the second time he had attempted it. Raising his specially-made vibrosword, Zangetsu, Ichi told the creature that it was going to die. The creature merely grunted and attacked, causing Ichi to move back and rethink his next move.

Ichi Go sheathed Zangetsu for a moment and ignited his lightsaber, as he knew the Sithspawn was resistant to his vibrosword from past experiences. His dark red blade shining brightly in Almania's light, Ichi Go made the first move and swiped at Hollow's feet, but missed, as the beast's agility and stamina were far better than his.

Ichi began examining the beast's movements as he fought it. More often than not, it left its left leg exposed in the fight, but that was always a feint, as it could attempt to bite Ichi if ever tried to exploit that. Fortunately, what the creature didn't know, was that its mouth was always left open when it moved its left foot, leaving it open to an attack. Smilingly smugly, Ichi pretended to aim for Hollow's left leg, but as soon as the Sithspawn had noticed that and attacked, he had pulled back and stabbed the creature through the mouth, reaching its brain and effectively killing the monstrosity.

"Come on! Is that all you've got, Gloed? Come here and fight m&mdash;"

- Ichi Go attempting to goad Gloed into a fight, and getting more than he bargained for



Ichi Go, brash after defeating Hollow, sheathed his lightsaber and yelled in definace at Gloed, attempting to get him to come out and fight him. While he was yelling, he was barely able to react in time and get out Zangetsu to counter Gloed's stealth attack. Announcing that he was there to finally end his family's shame, Gloed sheathed his lightsaber and brought out his own vibrosword, a dark and twisted version of Zangetsu.

Ichi's self-control lost at the sight of the desecration before him, he lost all of his thought processes and attacked Gloed with a blind rage. Laughing the entire time, Gloed goaded Ichi on and on, attempting to make him fall to the dark, and then intending to kill him when he did so. Ichi, however, informed Gloed that he had no intention of falling, as his true Master, Nathan, had always shown him ways to use his anger for the betterment of all. He didn't see things in shades of black or white, he saw them in grey, and planned to make sure Gloed would know this as well, because he was going to turn him to the light.

Chuckling at the idea that Ichi could turn him to the light, Gloed Force pushed Ichi into a nearby butte and slashed after him. Remaining stubborn, Ichi said that no one person was beyond redemption, no matter how much he hated himself for saying that after what Gloed had done to Ichi's Human mother years ago. Beaming with pride, Gloed said he would have done it a thousand times over, just to see the look on Ichi's face when he ended her life.



Refusing to let that coerce him to join the dark side, Ichi Go fought on. Noting that Gloed usually left his head open to attack every now and then, Ichi planned to swipe at it at the appropriate time. Slathering him with Force lightning, Ichi then used the momentary pause to his advantage and attacked&mdash;aiming for Gloed's head. But, instead of the quick and easy victory he had foreseen, Ichi was stabbed by Gloed, who had cast an illusion over himself, so that Ichi would go for it.

It's On
"Not one, not even two, but three hidden fleets in the same system? Tactical genius unlike any I've ever met! Unfortunately, in the end it didn't mean much."

- Fifth Republic Admiral Torsko Hu'lya commenting on the battle

With three fleets under his command to combat Abeonis' two, Nathan felt better. But still, even though he had numbers on his side, the Sith had the better firepower and the overall morale of the Galactic Alliance troopers wasn't exactly at an all-time high. The Sith, on the other hand, were weary from constant battle after endless battle with seemingly infinite foes, but they still wielded the power of the dark side to channel away the negative emotions of their own troopers to their opponents.

The Fallanassi proved to be very ineffective against the superior Sith, who knew how to fight, expecially against a wounded foe. Nathan moved them away to support and brought the hardened pilots of the Galactic Alliance to the front. Fortunately, most of Almania had been evacuated, with only a few iconoclasts, deserters, and collaborators remaining on the surface.

Growing tired of the battle, Abeonis called for a full-frontal assault, bent on destroying the man responsible for the battle: Nathan. Realizing Abeonis was targeting him, Nathan ordered his fleets to get prepped for an emergency hyperspace jump.

The Fallanassi were the first to leave, as they were protecting the refugee ships. They were followed by the Galactic Alliance, Mandalorian, and Almanian ships. When Abeonis sent men to follow them, they tore apart when they attempted to jump, as an Alliance Interdictor had just joined the battle at the very outskirts of the Almanian system.



Coming very close to the end of his patience, Abeonis focused his forces on the destruction of Nathan's vessel. The Soiyo reached the Who's Next?, which had seemingly become a derelict, but he still felt Nathan's lifesigns within and fired all guns on the vastly inferior vessel.

Just as soon as the "vessel" exploded, multiple missilelike objects burst forth and gave a message: ''Hello, honorable leaders of Those Bad Guy People! You've opened the cap to the wrong answer. Please try again later.'' (It later turned out that the Fallanassi had recreated the ship utilizing their unique Force Illusion power and had even gone so far as to accurately be able to mimic the lifesigns of a humanoid male.)

It was told that Abeonis' anger was, well, suffice to say it wasn't a good time to be onboard The Soiyo's bridge. Nathan had cheated him of his true prize: the destruction of an already dead planet, and there weren't any prisoners to bring back for his troubles.

Although this battle was later labeled as a victory for the Sith, the humiliation Abeonis suffered caused later scholars to say that in terms of psychological warfare, Nathan had just achieved his personal Endor.

Aftermath
"Better than nothing."

- Nathan commenting on the outcome of the battle



Heavy losses were suffered on both sides, especially for the Scourges of Those Bad Guy People. More than half of their fleet had been destroyed and left behind because they were beyond repair. This served as a major blow to their ability to strike at any Sith ship, as they now had to protect the Almanian refugees and the Fallanassi. Eventually, they outfitted the refugee ships with weapons and continued their guerilla war.

The Sith would herald this as a victory, but Abeonis rebuked them for doing so, as that was exactly what Nathan had wanted: the Sith to keep getting overconfident and make a mistake like he had in the battle. It was also during this time that Nathan would receive a new nickname from the younger Sith recruits: the Scourge of Decreto.

Unfortunately for the Galactic Alliance ships that had supported Nathan, they were nearly wiped out during the Battle of Coruscant. It was said that he and the Alliance leaders had had a falling out following the battle and even refused to help defend Coruscant.

The Scourges of Those Bad Guy People eventually folded after reaching the Galactic Commonwealth, where they helped to reshape and restore the broken Jedi Order. The Fallanassi and Almanians soon followed, where they relocated to Arabanth.