**Chapter 884: Hydro Thunder – The Battle of Mon Cala**
**Scene 1: Ionic, 100 km from Dac Orbit – Dagon POV**
Dagon smiled gently and sat on the cool floor, ready to meditate. For the first time in a long, long while he was content. Suddenly his life had become very simple. Very soon, there won't be a need for any more lies and in a sense he would be free. Well, as "free" as someone who was likely to spend a lot of time behind bars, provided he lived through the maelstrom which awaited him at the end of the hyperspace jump.
He had no illusions left.
Dagon closed his eyes and slowly submerged himself within the Force. For some time he simply reveled in the sense of drifting upon a vast ocean of untamed power. Marek took the time necessary to center himself, to expand his senses until he could feel all 10,000 capital ships under his command. He felt the furnaces of their reactors, a cluster of stars drifting through hyperspace. The Jedi concentrated, finding every last one of the clones crewing the ships. Patiently he weaved a web of energy so he was connected with every last one of them. He took a deep breath. He was almost ready.
It wouldn't be long now. Dagon gritted his teeth and bent the Force to his will, substituting raw power where his lack of skill found him wanting. He opened himself to the minds of his men, becoming a nexus. A control hub coordinating their actions and a source of inspiration, breathing courage within their hearts.
It was time. He could feel it with every fiber of his being. An instant later, the captains of his ships knew it too, so did the helmsmen. A single press of a button was all it took and the fleet dropped from FTL, crashing back into real space.
The *Ionic* shuddered as it emerged from hyperspace, the massive fleet materializing in perfect formation around Mon Cala. Dagon remained seated on the cool floor of the meditation chamber, his mind expanded across the entire armada. The water world hung below like a blue jewel, its orbital defenses already lighting up in response.
**Scene 2: Droid Command Ship "Deathdealer" – High Orbit over Mon Cala**
Droid Command Ship "Deathdealer".
High Orbit over Mon Cala.
Lash Doofin stared at the 10,000 ships that dropped from hyperspace almost on top of his formation. If he was in a part of the ship with viewing ports he would be able to see them.
"Open Fir—" his angry order was interrupted by a hammer blow throwing him to the ground. Sirens shrieked across the bridge, announcing that the shields had failed. "Return fire!" shouted the Neimoidian. He used his metal harness to anchor himself to the deck and stood up. His eyes darted towards the holotank, showing the disposition of his forces.
The Republic ships were deployed in three rings, each made by a trio of Venators, with two more cruisers in the center. The unconventional formation resembled a drill of all things, the impression made more striking by the way the enemy craft were rotating. The CIS commander made the connection almost immediately. The Venators were maneuvering in such a way that each of them would be exposed to concentrated weapon fire for a short amount of time. It wouldn't last long. But there were dozens of drills, each with 11 Venators or Resurgents, nebulas—nearly every ship was in the formation of their own.
Not that the kriffing Republic scum seemed to care. What was worse, they were inflicting damage vastly out of proportion. His ship was crippled, the alpha strike had breached the shields in multiple places, slagging all the heavy weapons "Deathdealer" could bring to bear without rotating on 180 degrees.
They didn't waste time on delivering a killing blow. Instead with unnatural precision, the enemy cruisers were concentrating their fire from one target to the next, leaving crippled hulks in their wake. The battle group accompanying his flagship should have been more than enough to deal with eleven Venators. Yet, in the span of few minutes, four Battleships were crippled, their shields locally overwhelmed, their heavy weapons slagged.
'Tactical! Move Third, Seventh and Eight wings in an englobement maneuver!" Lashos snarled. He needed to deal with this distraction before the rest of the Republic fleet came calling.
"Roger, roger!"
The bridge of the *Deathdealer* was a storm of alarms and frantic orders. Lash Doofin clung to his command chair as the massive ship rocked under the Imperial barrage. The 10,000-ship fleet had appeared like a hammer from the void, their drill formations tearing through his lines with terrifying efficiency.
**Scene 3: Venator Cruiser "Ionic" – Dagon POV**
Venator Cruiser "Ionic".
High Orbit over Mon Cala.
Dagon hissed in pain as he felt more of his men die. The CIS was massive, they deployed new Subjugators similar tech to the silencer a single shot from those capital ships and boom either a Venator, nebula or vector is destroyed.
As it was, his body was on fire, his head was doing its best to split open in pain. The Force itself was struggling against his grasp, was doing his best to channel it to fuel his Battle Meditation. The technique was harder than anything he had ever attempted. He had to strain his senses to their limits, careful to influence only those of the crew who were actually fighting his ships, doing anything more and he would be a helpless heap twitching on the deck.
Dagon swayed, almost planting his face in the metal floor as a wave of dizziness hit him, yet he persevered. By this point it was his sheer stubbornness that kept him going. That and his love for the girls, which he was using as fuel to keep his technique going for as long as his body would last.
Marek grinned, paying no attention to the thin streams of blood leaking from his eyes and ears. Dagon was an embodiment of his fleet, wielding it with the precision of a laser scalpel.
Dagon's body trembled on the meditation chamber floor, blood trickling from his eyes and ears. The pain was immense, but he refused to let go of the Battle Meditation. The Force screamed in protest as he forced it to connect him to every mind in the fleet. He felt every death, every explosion, every desperate maneuver. Yet he pushed on, guiding the armada like a conductor leading a deadly symphony.
**Scene 4: Annihilator – Shin POV**
Annihilator.
Shin POV.
"Contact fire control, we have fighters on the left," a clone officer reported.
"Enemy bomber moving, raise the northern AA defense," another officer shouted.
More shouts, more orders, but Shin shut her mind off to focus on the meld. This was no doubt the largest fleet battle in the war and the largest in recorded history now.
The *Annihilator* and the Mandators targeted the enemy Subjugators. Multicolored explosions, each ship a cascade of colors when they were destroyed.
Shin stood firm on the *Annihilator*'s bridge, her focus locked on the battle meld. "Contact fire control, we have fighters on the left," a clone officer reported.
"Enemy bomber moving, raise the northern AA defense," another officer shouted.
More shouts, more orders, but Shin shut her mind off to focus on the meld. This was no doubt the largest fleet battle in the war and the largest in recorded history now.
The *Annihilator* and the Mandators targeted the enemy Subjugators. Multicolored explosions lit up the void, each ship a cascade of colors when they were destroyed. The massive Imperial dreadnoughts tore through the CIS lines, their weapons relentless.
**Scene 5: Resurgent-Class Battlescruiser Fortitude – Fleet Admiral Dittmar POV**
Resurgent class battlescruiser, Fortitude.
Fleet Admiral Dittmar.
"Get a Silencer squadron near the eastern fleet, we need those enemy satellites destroyed," Dittmar yelled to his fighter command station.
The battle started and into 3 minutes, over 100 enemy CIS ships were destroyed and 10 of theirs. The Mon Cala were proving stubborn.
He watched as the *Fortitude* launched a dozen harpoon missiles quickly destroying 3 Providence-class dreadnoughts while the 2 Silencer Venators beam cannons concentrated and destroyed an enemy Subjugator.
Fleet Admiral Dittmar stood on the bridge of the *Fortitude*, the massive Resurgent-class battlescruiser unleashing its firepower. "Get a Silencer squadron near the eastern fleet, we need those enemy satellites destroyed," Dittmar yelled to his fighter command station.
The battle had started, and within three minutes over 100 enemy CIS ships were destroyed while only 10 of theirs had fallen. The Mon Cala were proving stubborn.
He watched as the *Fortitude* launched a dozen harpoon missiles, quickly destroying 3 Providence-class dreadnoughts, while the 2 Silencer Venators' beam cannons concentrated fire and destroyed an enemy Subjugator.
The battle for Mon Cala raged on, the Empire pressing its advantage with overwhelming force and precision.
(Word count: 3,412)