**Chapter 431**
**Ryloth – Orbit**
**Gray Wolf – Command Bridge**
**Dagon POV**
While the fleet secured orbital superiority, the real challenge waited on the surface. Reports from Cham Syndulla's resistance cells painted a grim picture. In the city of Nabat, Tactical Droid TX-20 had turned the civilian population into living shields. Twi'lek men, women, and children were being held near the Separatist J-1 semi-autonomous proton cannons. The droid had also prepared large gutkurr beasts — vicious predators starved in cages to make them even more feral when released.
The Separatists were making an example of Ryloth. Resist the Droid Army, and this was the price.
Kenobi had suggested using the main shipboard light cannons followed by EMP strikes to disable the droids while minimizing civilian risk. I respected the intent, but we needed something more practical.
I activated the holomap showing Nabat and its surrounding defenses.
"Look," I said, addressing the gathered Jedi commanders. "We don't know if the Separatists still have significant airborne droid forces on the planet, but we *do* know they have heavy cannons. The Accumulators are limited to isolated landing zones. I will lead the first wave into Nabat. The Ravens and MAATs are better suited for this than your older LAATs. Once I'm in position and the cannons are neutralized, you may deploy."
Obi-Wan stroked his beard thoughtfully. Anakin crossed his arms, clearly unhappy about being second wave.
"Understood?" I asked.
"Yes," they both groaned in unison.
I turned to leave when a soft voice stopped me.
"Umm… Dagon?"
I looked over. Master Shin Wren stood there with her Padawan Erictia just behind her. Those bright purple eyes and long white hair really were striking. *Damn it.*
"Could we accompany you to observe?" Shin asked. "We don't have much experience beyond Prism guard duty."
I studied them for a moment. The new Force bond between us still hummed faintly in the background. Part of me wanted to keep them at a distance. The other part recognized that combat experience was exactly what they needed.
"Sure," I replied. "Piett, you're in charge of the blockade. Lock down the planet. Make sure no CIS ships leave."
"Yes, sir," Captain Firmus Piett answered crisply.
**Scene 2**
**Gray Wolf – Main Hangar Bay**
The hangar was alive with controlled chaos. Raven-class gunships, MAATs, and the heavier UAAT transports ran final systems checks. Clone troopers in advanced black-and-grey armor loaded onto dropships. The three Alpha ARC troopers — Puck, Lucky, and Devil — moved among them like dark shadows in their modified beskar'gam.
I stood near my Skelter, reviewing the assault plan one last time. The Raven gunships would deploy treadspeeder bikes and a pair of repulsor tanks at a safe distance outside cannon range. My job was to punch a hole through the defenses and take out those proton cannons before the main force landed.
"Master Dagon," a voice called out.
I turned. Erictia approached, her brown hair tied back for combat and her dual lightsabers clipped to her belt.
"I told you, I'm not a Master," I replied calmly.
She blushed. At nineteen she was still a Padawan — unusual by some standards, but then again Obi-Wan had been twenty-two when he was still Qui-Gon's student. I wondered briefly about Ahsoka and Zule. Were they still technically my Padawans? Even after everything that happened with the girls, I couldn't let a failed relationship compromise their training. Luckily, Nox and Ashara were handling their instruction now.
"Oh, sorry," Erictia said, cheeks still pink.
I noticed Shin Wren approaching behind her.
"Uhm… Master Wren wants to know where we will be positioned," Erictia added.
I gestured toward Puck, who was checking the weapons on his jetpack. "Puck, you're in charge of Shin and her Padawan. Keep them close but safe. They're here to observe."
"Yes, sir," the ARC trooper replied, giving the two Jedi a respectful nod.
Shin stepped closer, her purple eyes meeting mine. "And you?" she asked softly. "Where will you be?"
I climbed into the cockpit of the Skelter. "Where I need to be."
The hangar bay doors began to open. Ryloth's dusty orange atmosphere shimmered below us. I sealed the canopy and activated the Skelter's systems.
"Time to fly."
The electromagnetic launcher system hummed to life. With a powerful surge, my Skelter was flung out of the *Gray Wolf* and into the planet's atmosphere. The sweep wings deployed as I dove toward the surface. Behind me, the first wave of Ravens, MAATs, and UAATs followed in tight formation.
The sky of Ryloth rushed up to meet me. Heat shields glowed as we cut through the upper atmosphere. Below, the arid landscape stretched out — rocky canyons, scattered settlements, and the distant spires of Nabat.
I opened a channel to the gunships. "All units, stay on my vector. We hit the proton cannons hard and fast. Protect the civilians at all costs."
"Copy that, General," Puck's voice replied. I could sense Shin and Erictia aboard his Raven, their presence steady through the new bond.
TX-20 and its droid garrison were about to learn what happened when you used innocents as shields against someone who had grown very tired of Separatist cruelty.
The Skelter screamed downward, weapons hot and the Force coiled tightly around me like living armor.
The liberation of Nabat had begun.