Jedi Insurgency 300

AN: song of the day for your reading pleasure: https://youtu.be/GXFSK0ogeg4?is=3mYF24p4tIogBn1Y

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Sitting upon the bridge of the Venator, Corvus's entire figure was shrouded in black shadow lighting as the hour long [Shadow Wrath Lightning Valor] worked on overtime. 

The men in his general radius were also buffed with this enhanced state, making them appear as if they were phantoms. Ordinarily, any reasonable person would be freaking out at having their entire body suffused with midnight void. However, thanks to the [Valor] aspect of the technique, their psyches-and bodies-were able to survive this awesome power. As a result, they completed their tasks faster, and at a much higher state of awareness. The crew of the entire ship now had double their original stats, enhancing the already impressive clone troopers into a tier on-par with the Bad Batch! 

With all his stats doubled, he then initiated phase one of his plan: [Shadow Invisibility Energy Resistance Hop]. 

To bypass those mines, he had his fleet gather within several miles of one another, creating a tight formation. Once they were close enough that his powers could affect all of them, he warped the fleet from the edges of the minefield to directly under the enemy! 

Whilst they were invisible, the ships began to disperse, moving towards targets that had been premeditated beforehand. To maintain operational security not a single message had been sent between the vessels for the last half hour. Corvus wanted there to be no inkling of their approach. 

Arriving above Kuat, Corvus looked through the bridge's viewport at the most famous giant ring in Star Wars. Famed for being able to produce multiple capital ships every single day, perhaps in some regards, this resource point was perhaps more important than Kamino. For any ship enthusiast, this was a holy ground, a place that had been on his bucket list since he transmigrated. 

Down below, he could sense the trillion plus inhabitants that called this planet home. Unlike Coruscant with its filthy lower levels, or Nar Shaddaa with its haphazard gangs running rampant, Kuat was a true representation of what a Core world could be. Clean, well regulated, and administered fairly, its citizens took pride in their work, and jobs were never in short supply. Dominating the ship construction market, war only served to fatten their pockets more. It could be said that there were few planets out there that bought into Palpatine’s promises for safety & security than a planet that had enjoyed these things for generations. They above all others recognized the importance of these basic principles. 

Unfortunately for them…Corvus was here to bring the sky down! 

[Shadow Inspire Followers Battle Meditation] 

An invisible wave spread forth from his position spreading out for hundreds of miles into the dark reaches of space. Hovering in place, Corvus entered a deep meditation, connecting his fleet like some sort of eldritch hivemind. 

The effect was immediately apparent. 

A fighter pilot who had a missile locked onto him was instantly saved by his comrade. No words were exchanged across the comms, nor was there any panic in the pilot. The second the missile was spotted by a ship several miles away, it was blown to smithereens. 

Another instance saw an Acclamator concentrate all their firepower at a specific spot on the enemy destroyer. When the destroyer attempted to flee, another Acclamator had moved to intercept, perfectly blocking its escape route at the most optimal position. 

From the bridge to engineering, the flight deck or outer space, the fleet moved like a singular organism. Death-rare as it was-did not bring panic, nor did it break morale. Men surged forth wave after wave with unbreakable resolve. 

Imperial ships-caught unaware-were mercilessly targeted, and destroyed one after another. Many didn't even raise their shields in time, so caught off guard were they by the sudden attack, there was no room to maneuver. 

Then there was the other sinister part about [Shadow Battle Meditation]. Not only did it enhance the morale of the Republic, but it acted as a widespread depressor of the Empire. Imperial gunners found themselves sluggish at the controls. Officers had trouble thinking up countermeasures, and pilots got cold feet, peeling off to retreat. Several sailors were driven mad, and tried to either kamikaze the Republic fleet, or even forgot about the minefield entirely, accidentally suiciding themselves. 

Hovering in position, Corvus had a sort of RTS overview of the entire area. An overhead-like view of the world was directly projected into his mind. Through his connection, he could ‘pilot’ any trooper under his command. Personally assuming control of a pilot, he unloaded a proton torpedo from an ARC-170, destroying a weapons platform. 

Zipping into another body, he loaded the artillery round in a broadside, then quick as can be, assumed the role of a gunner, and pulled the trigger. The giant gun unloaded a huge round, clashing with the weakened shields of an Imperial Star Destroyer. 

He was like a gamer assuming control of various parts of the battlefield, and adding his own skill to various scenarios. Although he couldn't use any Force abilities whilst he ‘piloted’ these troopers, at least no conventional ones like [Force Lightning], he still had Pause, and curious enough, [Shadow Reading] as well. 

Being able to see a few seconds into the future of someone or something, then buffer his reaction time, Corvus was able to sense when one of his soldiers was about to perish. He could then assume control of him right at that most dangerous of moments, and then attempt to save his life. 

Feeling a tug on the strings of fate, he directly took command of a marine. The clone was engaged in a boarding action, and was about to charge into a smoke-filled hallway. His assault was a full frontal, balls to the walls sprint, sort of like how the Stormtroopers entered the Tantive IV. In short, as the first one to breach, this guy was all but guaranteed death. 

Thankfully, there were some damage mitigations to work around. Wearing beskar armor, and equipped with a personal shield, there was a chance! 

Piloting the clone, Corvus instantly duck rolled to the left as a heavy machine gun spewed a tirade of bolts at him. A stray shot hit the area above his shoulderpad, nearly popping the energy shield, and showcasing how powerful the emplacement was. 

Tossing a grenade, Corvus also unloaded his rifle with one hand. The shots were scattered & innacurate, but were aimed to provide suppressing fire. For one glorious second, the machine gun had gone blessedly silent as the thermal detonator exploded. However, the gunner was behind cover! Aboard every capital ship, long hallways had barriers that could emerge from the side of a wall, just in case of for boarders. 

But that one second was all he needed! 

Sprinting forward, he saw the hint of red blasterfire, and some white armor through the smokey haze. His optics outlined a man in red, filing him away as an enemy. The gun barrel rose up, and the first shot removed the shield. Then, the second hit Corvus full on the chest, just about to knock him flat on his ass, and left open for a swift death. Moving with the momentum of the hit, he locked his boots on the deck magnetically, and then raised his gun. Aiming with Pause, he let loose with a singular bolt, braining the Imp. 

Just as another Imperial was about to man the gun, a pair of brothers ran past him, and shot up the choke point, killing everyone involved. 

This entire experience took less than 30 seconds, and before the Marines were going to advance to their next objective, Corvus had already bodyswapped to the next firefight. 

Focusing his attention on an Imperial this time, he had noticed a small contingent that had managed to break away from the slaughter. Retreating towards the weapons platforms on the ring of Kuat, they were moving towards the other side of the planet, hoping to link up with the other fleet. 

Now we can't have that, now, can we? 

As the Imperial force was slipping out of his effective range, Corvus directed Yon to fly towards their lead ship. Once he snuck aboard their bridge, Corvus used their [Force Bond] to get a close look at what was going down. 

A young, intelligent woman in her 30's had rallied this group, and used wisdom, and willpower to fight off Corvus's curse-like power. Interestingly, music was being played aboard her ship in an attempt to disrupt him. With a competent commander involved, and a somewhat effective mitigating solution in place, they had managed to start the retreat. The minds in this force of about a dozen ships were still weak due to his psychic attack, and would fold if engaged in a fight. But the fact that they were able to operate their systems at all was a commendable achievement. 

Whilst Corvus felt it a shame to kill such talent, he would not allow this retreat to ruin his perfect victory. 

Directing Yon to close the distance, once he flew into her vicinity, the teen [Mind Tricked] her. Under the influence, she began to issue orders contrary to her earlier statements. There was a great deal of back & forth over the comms-apparently Thrawn had implemented anti [Mind Trick] protocols across the fleet-however, due to their haggard state, and bombers constantly nipping at their heels, the remaining ships either surrendered, were forcefully boarded, or destroyed in short order. 

Letting out a heavy breath, Corvus felt that exercising such power at such a great distance whilst maintaining [Battle Meditation] across the entire fleet was extremely taxing. For such a ‘simple’ maneuver as a fleet-wide battle, he had spent 70% of his FP bar. Currently 20 minutes had passed, which given his enhanced [Shadow Wrath State], was a solid 33% used up. Participating in big group battles like this, projecting his mind, and interpreting a thousand separate futures every second was incredibly taxing. 

“Yon, I want you to disable the music on the Imperial ship, and open yourself to me. Using you as a conduit, or rebroadcaster, I'll subdue them completely.” Corvus sent across the bond. 

“Yes Master. I am ready when you are.” Yon eagerly agreed. 

Pulsing his will outward, Corvus directed the female Captain to follow his will. 

Onboard the bridge of the Imperial Venator, the Captain turned towards her subordinates. “Open a channel on an open frequency.”  

The comms officer-now sluggish & depressed once more-blinked his eyes in confusion, then belatedly did as he was told. 

“Representing the Hutt Crusher, I, Captain Luna Lucina hereby offer my formal surrender to General Revan, and encourage my colleagues to do the same.” 

This once charismatic Captain had managed to rally a dozen other ships to retreat. Now, with her calling for surrender, that tenuous morale had evaporated. Clutching onto hope like a handful of worthless currency that had lost all value, that last shred of belief was now replaced by despair. 

One by one the ships began to surrender. 

Another ten minutes passed, and the fight for this side of Kuati space was over. In the span of half an hour, 50 capital ships, dozens of support craft, and hundreds of defense platforms had been conquered. Dozens of ships had been boarded and claimed, a dozen more gave up without a fight. 

As for the Republic forces? 

Not a single capital ship was lost. 

[Shadow Inspire Followers Battle Meditation] had proven its worth.