**Chapter 788: Fall of Raxus**
**Scene 1: Olympus Mons Bridge – Raxus Secundus, Above Raxulon City**
**Dagon POV**
The Drop Engines — modified Sith technology used exclusively on the *Olympus Mons* — were not a standard hyperdrive. They were something far more dangerous: a faster-than-light system capable of precise jumps almost anywhere I desired. The drawback was exactly what I had just weaponized.
Dropping directly into a planet's atmosphere carried catastrophic consequences. The spatial distortion and energy backlash created a massive EMP effect that rippled outward across the capital city. As I stood on the bridge in my 19-meter Wrath Shield Rocket Nova form, I watched hundreds of civilian speeders and atmospheric craft lose power mid-flight, plummeting toward the city below like dying stars.
I felt no sympathy. They were the enemy — no more, no less. Probably thirty thousand dead already from the initial strike. The price of ending this war quickly.
"Commander, weapons loose and concentrate FS PAR on the large buildings. Deploy Skelters for enemy shield generators," I ordered, my voice distorted through the armor's vox emitters.
The bridge crew moved with practiced efficiency. The *Olympus Mons* shuddered as its massive weapons came alive. FS PAR batteries — the primary atmospheric strike cannons — locked onto key Separatist government towers and industrial spires. With a thunderous roar, they fired. Brilliant beams of concentrated dark-side energy lanced downward, turning several massive skyscrapers into expanding clouds of dust and fire in seconds. Cruise missiles followed in salvos, streaking through the smoke-choked sky to level remaining defensive positions and eliminate Separatist frigates that had crashed after the EMP wave.
Good thing the girls weren't here yet. Their supporting fleet should arrive soon through conventional hyperspace routes. I didn't want them seeing the worst of the opening moments.
"Status on ground forces?" I asked.
"Ethan's marines and the first wave of clones have landed. Resistance is disorganized. Skelters are clearing shield generators around the Senate complex," a clone officer reported.
I nodded inside the armor, the massive railguns on my shoulders humming with power. "Maintain orbital superiority. No escape for their leadership. Today, the head of the snake feels the blade."
**Scene 2: Raxus Secundus Orbit – Bridge of the Allocator-class Star Destroyer**
**Admiral Daan POV**
Admiral Daan was a female human who had joined the CIS eighteen years ago out of desperation. Her homeworld of Kooriva, deep in the Outer Rim, had been suffering a terrible crisis. Limited help from the Core, exploitation by powerful corporations — her people had pleaded for aid and received nothing but indifference. She had risen through the ranks at the Raxus Military Academy, becoming an officer and eventually an admiral through sheer determination.
Now, all that training meant nothing.
Report after report flooded the bridge of her Allocator-class Star Destroyer as the capital burned below them. The Raxus fleet was limited: only 4 Allocator-class Star Destroyers, 8 Lucrehulk-class battleships (Type B), and 20 Munificent-class frigates. A respectable force for system defense, but utterly inadequate against what had just appeared.
Open fire and risk slaughtering millions of civilians in the crossfire? Or hold position and watch the heart of the Confederacy die?
The decision was taken from her.
It passed like a fleeting shadow. Without warning, a powerful Republic fleet dropped out of hyperspace at close range. Green turbolaser fire rained down on her formation. Five TIE Advanced starfighters screamed in, missiles streaking from their launchers straight toward her bridge.
The last thing Admiral Daan saw was the brilliant flash of the incoming warheads. The droids around her showed no emotion as the bridge erupted in fire and decompression. The Allocator-class shuddered violently, then began breaking apart under the concentrated assault.
**Scene 3: Raxus Secundus Orbit – Ahsoka's TIE Advanced**
**Ahsoka POV**
"All squadrons on me! Eliminate the fleet quickly so the Wardens can land for capture of the CIS Parliament!" Ahsoka ordered, her voice steady over the comms.
"Yes, General!" came the chorus of replies.
*General.* The title still felt strange, even though she had been knighted. Only five months more or less at 17, and she was already considered a legal adult — at least by Dagon's reckoning. She wasn't entirely sure. At 14, Togruta were considered adults, and by 25 if unmarried they were viewed as old maids. Perhaps Dagon's past human culture had stricter age limits, but Togruta lifespans reached 100 years or more, while humans normally stopped around 90.
She pushed the thoughts aside as she lined up another wave of vulture droids. Her TIE Advanced screamed through the void, twin laser cannons flashing. Two droid fighters exploded in brilliant fireballs. She rolled hard, evading return fire, and unleashed a concussion missile that took out three more in a chain reaction.
The Republic strike group was performing perfectly. The *Olympus Mons* hung like a dark god above the planet, its Silencer arrays and heavy batteries carving through Separatist capital ships. Bothan Assault Cruisers danced around larger targets with lethal grace, while Venators and Nebulas provided overwhelming firepower.
Ahsoka's squadron tore through another screen of vultures. "Keep pushing! Don't let them reorganize!"
She glanced toward the *Olympus Mons*. Dagon was down there somewhere in his colossal armor, leading from the front as always. The thought sent a familiar mix of worry and pride through her. He had grown so much — and so had she. From padawan to general, from uncertain young Togruta to one of the most trusted commanders in the Dragon's inner circle.
Another flight of droids tried to intercept. Ahsoka smiled fiercely, green blades of laser fire lancing out. "Not today."
The battle for Raxus was well underway. The Separatist capital was burning, its leadership scrambling, its fleet crumbling.
And the Dragon's forces showed no mercy.
**Scene 4: Surface – Raxulon City**
Dagon's 19-meter armored form landed with earth-shaking force near the Senate complex. Skelter drop pods slammed down around him, releasing elite Republic marines and reprogrammed droids. Ethan's voice crackled over comms.
"Perimeter secure, Commander! Moving on the Senate building!"
"Understood," Dagon replied, railguns tracking Separatist security droids that tried to mount a defense. A single burst turned them into scrap. "Push forward. I want Bonteri and Lawise alive if possible. The rest… neutralize."
The streets of Raxulon were chaos. Crashed speeders burned. Civilians fled in panic. Separatist militia and battle droids attempted to form defensive lines, but the surprise atmospheric insertion had shattered their coordination.
Dagon advanced like a walking apocalypse. Dark side lightning arced from his CIWS systems, frying entire squads. The Disruptor cannon on his chest charged and fired, punching a hole straight through a fortified barricade and the building behind it.
High above, Ahsoka's squadron provided close air support, lasers stitching across enemy positions. The girls' ships were arriving now — their combined firepower sealing the system.
Raxus Secundus — the political heart of the Confederacy — was falling.
And with it, the illusion that the CIS could win this war.
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**Later – Olympus Mons Bridge**
Dagon stood on the bridge once more, armor retracted to its standard configuration. Smoke rose from Raxulon in a dozen columns. The Separatist Senate had been captured. Key leaders were in custody. The orbital fleet was wreckage.
Ahsoka approached, removing her helmet. "The city is ours. Minimal resistance left."
"Good," Dagon said quietly. "Send word to Coruscant. Raxus has fallen. The Dragon has struck the head."
He looked out at the burning world. The CIS would feel this loss deeply. Their leadership fractured, their symbol of independence taken.
The war was far from over — but today, the balance had shifted decisively.