From orbit, a hundred dropships burned through the sky like falling stars.
The 501st had arrived.
Inside the lead dropship, Anakin Skywalker stood at the open ramp, his armor glinting his gaze was pure focus.
Behind him, Rex, Sarah, and Ahsoka stood braced for impact, weapons ready.
Anakin activated the dropship comms.
"All units—Phase One. Swift strike. Hard breach."
"Second Lieutenant Tano, lead all Paladin squads and prioritize civilian safety and evac."
"Yes, sir!" Ahsoka responded immediately, voice crisp.
"Rex," Anakin said without looking back, "Spearhead formation. Slam the east gate."
Rex grinned behind his helmet. "Gladly."
"Sarah—"
"Sir," she said, stepping forward, gold visor gleaming.
"You're with me. We cut through the heart."
She nodded sharply.
The dropship shuddered as it hit hover mode just above the dust line. The ramp slammed down—and Anakin leapt.
The Battle Begins
The desert exploded with chaos.
Blasterfire ripped the air. Heavy cannon fire from the outer walls barked wildly across the valley as sand and bodies were thrown into the air. Slave chains clattered and the terrified screams of prisoners echoed from the fortress corridors.
Anakin landed first, sand erupting around him. His amethyst lightsaber ignited in one fluid motion, humming with lethal grace.
"Forward!" he bellowed.
Rex and his elite clone squads sprinted past him, their training perfect—cover formations, overwatch fire, pulse grenades.
Sarah hit the ground next, drawing her blaster rifle shooting with deadly precision she engaged the nearest mercenary guards.
Blaster bolts hammered toward Anakin.
He deflected one, two, three, almost lazily, before surging forward in a blur of speed.
With a roar, he carved through the first barricade—his saber slashing a clean crescent through durasteel plating and shattering it into molten fragments.
Inside the Fortress
Ahsoka led her Paladins through the broken eastern access point, twin sabers flashing green. She didn't stop to fight unless she had to—her mission was clear make sure the innocent are safe.
"This way!" she shouted, cutting through a rusted lock.
Paladins swarmed the cages, unlocking cells, carrying the weak, shielding the children.
Ahsoka dropped to her knees beside a scared wounded Twi'lek girl, using gentle Force healing to to calm her. The girl clung to her with teary eyes.
Ahsoka smiled warmly. "Your safe now. Stay close."
The sound of blaster fire echoed down the halls—but Ahsoka moved like a whirlwind, deflecting blasts with a grace that belied her youth.
She was the storm that tore apart despair.
The Heart of the Fortress
Meanwhile, at the central spire of Mos Verath, Anakin, Sarah, and Rex's teams fought their way upward, step by brutal step.
A dozen slavers and mercenaries fell before Anakin's saber, but more kept pouring from upper balconies and side chambers—mercenaries, bounty hunters, and loyal Hutt officers.
Sarah moved like a living weapon, switching from her rifle to her smaller sabers darting between attackers, disabling them with precise slashes across armor joints and weapon barrels.
Rex's clones advanced with brutal efficiency, suppressive fire, covering each other as they cleared room after room.
Anakin caught a glimpse of a massive Hutt slithering toward an escape ship behind the throne room—fat, gluttonous, panicking.
The Hutt barked orders to his private guards—heavy battle droids, fitted with disruptor rifles.
Anakin's jaw tightened.
"No mercy!" he roared.
He leapt through the final set of blast doors with a downward arc of his saber, cleaving them in half.
Sarah and Rex were right behind him.
The battle droids apeared opening fire immediately—but Anakin was faster.
He moved with a grace, fury and discipline combined, weaving through the withering barrage, his saber a blur. He was the eye of the storm.
Sarah split left, spinning between the blasts and severing a droid's rifle arm before gutting its torso.
Rex and his troopers flanked the right, lobbing ion grenades that exploded in arcs of electricity, short-circuiting droid systems.
Anakin reached the Hutt first.
The creature tried to activate a personal shield—but Anakin stabbed the emitter panel with one precise jab.
The Hutt roared in terror.
Anakin grabbed the slimy creature by the throat with the Force and slammed him against the wall so hard the stone cracked.
He deactivated his saber and leaned close, his voice low and deathly calm.
"You're done selling lives, you miserable worm."
The Hutt trembled and gibbered something about surrender.
Anakin wasn't interested.
He slammed the Hutt into unconsciousness with a second telekinetic blast—and turned toward the throne room's control console.
A map of slave camps flickered to life across the galaxy—hidden caches, names, trade routes.
Sarah whistled low. "We just hit the motherlode."
Anakin nodded grimly. "Send it all to Command. Now."
Rex immediately began transmission protocols.
Outside, the Alliance flags unfurled over the crumbling fortress walls.
Ahsoka led the liberated slaves to the waiting medevac transports, her heart soaring with pride as she watched the people—once broken—now laugh freely under the orange sunset.
Inside, Anakin stood at the highest balcony, overlooking the desert plains.
Sarah and Rex stood behind him, helmets off, sweat-soaked but smiling.
Rex clapped him on the shoulder. "Hell of a day, sir."
Sarah gave a sharp salute. "Freedom, sir."
Anakin inhaled deeply, the twin suns burning low on the horizon.
"For all of them," he whispered.
This was only the beginning.