Altiris Knights:Civil War

Book 2:Chapter 6:Battle of Lok Etreon

A large Legion fleet exited lightspeed over Lok Etreon. They immediately came under fire from the Alliance ships defending the planet. Exeroz, Yaren, Lokkas, Valtea and Kaeriza went down to the surface, along with several battalions of soldiers, Commandos and walkers. The Alliance soldiers and tanks were upon them at once. Five of their MTHA tanks took out several squads of Legion soldiers, two of the other Legion Knights with them and a walker before they were taken out.

Several of the less powerful, but more nimble ATLS speeder tanks surrounded another walker, and also took it down. They quickly made their way back to the infantry. Then, Kirtan, Lurana and another Altiris Knight joined the battle. A walker turned its attention away from the Alliance soldiers, and aimed at them. They leapt away before the shots could make contact, and Kirtan crushed one of the walker's legs, and forced it to ram another, knocking both down on the Legion soldiers, causing mayhem in their ranks. Lurana and the other Knight capitalized on it, and and attacked them. Kirtan fought off a few Legion droids and Commandos.

Exeroz widened his eyes as the Altiris Knights took down five of their Legion counterparts. "Valtea, Lokkas, kill Kirtan. I and the others will take care of them" he said. They nodded and rushed to attack Kirtan. Exeroz attacked Lurana, launching an air wave at her. She launched a burst of lightning, and the two attacks met, creating an explosion. He watched in horror as she sliced off Kaeriza's hand and grasped her throat, unleashing a torrent of lightning, and dropped the corpse to the ground.

Exeroz attacked, blasting her with air waves. She leapt away and launched a torrent of lightning, which he blocked with his energy staff. She sent some of the energy to her own energy blade, and attacked. His eyes widened as her blade struck the air in front of him, lightning rippling off of it. He staggered, but managed to recover, blocking her strike. She pushed him away and struck again, quickly proving to be the superior duelist. She kicked him in the chest thrice and launched a torrent of lightning, catching him unprepared.

He managed to stay conscious, despite the incredible pain, and unleashed a powerful air wave, sending her into a destroyed tank. She scrambled to her feet and attempted to retaliate, but he seized her in an air grip and slammed her against the vehicle again. He closed the distance and destroyed her weapon with a flick of his hand. He stabbed her in the abdomen. She staggered, and he withdrew his blade, preparing to finish her off. Just as he did, however, she grasped his arms, and let loose more lightning, gradually ramping up her power. Exeroz could feel her power burning him, and he knew there was nothing he could do. At last, when he thought it was all over, her grip relaxed, and the power disappeared. She collapsed, a blaster shot through the neck. He sighed, relieved, and too, collapsed, and passed out.

Yaren saw Exeroz going down alongside Lurana, and saw Kirtan and the other Knight dueling Valtea and Lokkas. He attacked the Knight, and realized he too, was a mind wielder. Their mind wielding nullified each other. Yaren launched an earth and metal barrage at the Knight, but the attack was stopped by a wall of fire. The Altiris Knight stabbed with his spear, the spear point striking Yaren's breastplate. Yaren batted it away and swung. The Knight blocked his energy blade and sent out a fire whip, scorching his face.

The Knight pushed him away. Yaren conjured an earth block around his foe's spear and swung with his energy staff. The Knight leapt out of the way and launched a fire wave at him. Yaren blocked with an earth wall, and struck back. The Knight ducked under his attack and locked his arm, and elbowed him in the chest. The Knight twisted his wrist, forcing him to drop his weapon, and locked his arm in place. His hands began heating up, and Yaren felt the fire burning him. In a last ditch attempt to free himself, he conjured a metal dagger and stabbed the Knight inn the gut. The Knight's grip weakened, and Yaren pushed him away.

Lokkas and Valtea attacked Kirtan again. Kirtan blocked their attacks with an earth wall, and knocked Valtea back with a kick. He encased her in metal and earth, and attacked Lokkas. He penetrated his defenses and sent his head to the ground. He turned to Yaren, who raised his energy staff for the killing blow, and attacked.

Kirtan's silver energy blade blocked Yaren's yellow, and the Altiris Knight pushed him away. The other Knight scrambled to his feet and retrieved his weapon. Yaren cursed, as the two Altiris Knights attacked him. They attacked with metal and fire, crashing through Yaren's earth defenses, sending him to the ground. The fire wielder closed the distance and held his spear to Yaren's throat.

A few Alliance cruisers and smaller ships separated from the rest of the fleet and headed for the Legion flagship. They took out several Legion support ships on the way, while several star fighter squadrons defended them from the Legion star fighters. Lynaxa watched as the enemy capital ships blitzed through her fleet. "Send out a battle group. Retrieve Valtea, Yaren and Exeroz, and let's get outta here" she ordered.

"Surrender" the fire wielder ordered, poking Yaren's neck. Suddenly, a Legion battle group broke through to the surface. A few blasts sent Kirtan and the other Altiris Knight to the ground. A few Legion Commandos took Yaren, Valtea and the severely burned Exeroz, along with a few surviving soldiers aboard, and they returned to the remaining Legion ships, and retreated to lightspeed.

Kirtan and Valhares retrieved their weapons and went over to Lurana. Kirtan leaned down and closed her eyes, and put her energy pike in her hands. "Sir, your presence is requested aboard the Resilience" said an Alliance soldier. "Tell them we are on our way" Valhares replied. They boarded a shuttle and flew to the Alliance flagship.

"I take it Lurana is dead" said Admiral Urixan. "Aye, admiral. So are nearly a few thousand soldiers, and many tanks, as well as a considerable amount of collateral damage" Valhares replied. "My condolences. Our fleet has also been hit hard. Most of our star fighters and quite a few capital ships were lost. Quite frankly, I think that if not for that maneuver, we would have lost" the admiral replied. "We were lucky Lynaxa herself didn't join the battle on the surface, too" she added.

"Admiral, our base at Alveor was sacked. Only a few ships escaped." "What about Judeor?" asked Kirtan. "He has been captured, and was taken to their outpost on Ven Rakka." "We have to send a rescue mission" said Kirtan. "I am afraid that is not possible. He is a valuable prisoner, and is in the Legion's most secure prison facility. We can not dedicate our fleets to retrieve one, no matter how important they may be. We have to focus on their fleet" the admiral replied.

"Yes, it will be difficult, but not impossible. They were able to rescue Exeroz in much the same way. And besides, Judeor is our most powerful Knight. When he served Lynaxa, our fleets were devastated, and he killed many of our Knights. If Lynaxa manages to control him again, we could lose the war. We shall go after him, with or without your support" said Valhares. "Very well, but we will not be able to help you" Admiral Urixan replied.