**Chapter 471**
**The Atraken Gambit – Finale**
**Scene 1**
**Brendol Hux POV**
**Atraken Surface – Northern Frontline**
The command bunker had become a tomb of dust and desperation.
Brendol Hux gripped the edge of the tactical holotable as another seismic tremor rattled the reinforced walls. For five months, he had watched this world bleed. Now, it seemed ready to die.
"Commander Stone," he called, voice hoarse, "any word from western command?"
The emerald-armored clone shook his head. "Negative, sir. The Separatists have jammed long-range comms. We're blind out here."
Hux closed his eyes for a brief second. *This is it,* he thought. *The line breaks here, and Atraken falls.*
Then the sky changed.
Bright blue engine trails streaked overhead as a fresh wave of Republic gunships and starfighters tore through the smoke-filled atmosphere. TIE Whispers and Defenders screamed past, lasers lancing down into the advancing droid columns. A squadron of MAAT gunships roared low, dropping troops directly into the fray.
And then came the walkers.
AT-STs — sleeker, faster, upgraded variants with rotary cannons — bounded across the rocky terrain like mechanical predators. Their cannons spun up with a deadly whine, shredding entire squads of B1s and B2s in seconds.
Hux's eyes widened. "Who the hell is that?"
Stone checked the ident codes flooding in. "It's him, sir. Starkiller. General Dagon Marek's Darkstar Legion just hit the field."
The bunker erupted in cheers as fresh hope surged through the exhausted clones and officers. Hux stepped outside onto the observation platform, macrobinoculars raised.
He saw it then — the Black Dragon himself.
Dagon Marek stood atop a speeding treadspeeder bike, black beskar armor gleaming under the sun, the cursed red star burning in his left eye. Around him, his elite troops in dark armor moved like shadows — jetpacks flaring, wrist rockets streaking toward enemy positions. Above them, the girls — his infamous bonded unit — flew in perfect formation, their colored armor unmistakable even from this distance.
The Leviathan Krayt Dragon, released earlier, rampaged through the heart of the Separatist lines, crushing everything in its path.
Hux lowered the macrobinoculars, a rare smile breaking across his face. "Starkiller has arrived."
The tide had turned.
**Scene 2**
**Dagon POV**
**Separatist Alpha Command Base – Ruins**
The main Separatist command base was a smoking ruin.
I moved through the collapsed corridors alone, my black armored arm raised, the Shield of Wrath glowing with faint crimson light. The Leviathan had done most of the work — its rampage had shattered the outer defenses and scattered the remaining droid forces. Now only the heart of the base remained.
Bio-weapon charges.
I could sense them through the Force — cold, malignant devices buried deep in the lower levels, ready to release a cocktail of toxins that would poison Atraken for decades.
"Stay back," I commed the girls. "I've got this."
Ahsoka's voice crackled back, worried. "Dagon, be careful. We're right behind you if you need us."
I pressed forward, lightsaber and beskar sword drawn. A few surviving B1 droids tried to stop me. They didn't last long. My blades moved in perfect harmony — red lightning crackling along the edges as I carved through them like paper.
Deeper in, I found the control chamber.
The room was dimly lit by emergency bioluminescent strips. In the center stood a cluster of organic canisters connected to a central pulsing device — the bio-weapon core. A lone tactical droid stood guard, its photoreceptors flickering erratically.
"Intruder detected," the droid announced. "You are not authorized—"
I didn't let it finish. A single slash from my beskar sword bisected it cleanly.
I approached the core. The device was alive — a grotesque fusion of Yuuzhan Vong biotech and Separatist engineering. It pulsed with malignant energy, counting down to release.
I placed my black armored hand on the surface. The Shield of Wrath flared, dark runes glowing as I poured raw Force energy into the machine. Sith alchemy met vong organic matter in a violent clash. The device screamed — a high-pitched, living wail — as I forced it into dormancy.
One by one, the canisters powered down.
I exhaled slowly, leaning against the console as the adrenaline faded. My body still ached from the wounds sustained on Helska IV, but the new arm and the Shield's power kept me standing.
"It's done," I commed the fleet. "Bio-weapon threat neutralized. Begin full planetary relief operations."
Ahsoka's relieved voice came back immediately. "We're on our way to you."
I smiled faintly as I felt all eight bonds flare with warmth and love.
Atraken was saved.
The long war continued — but today, we had stolen a victory from the jaws of ruin.