Battle of Coruscant

File:Battle of Coruscant.png
The **Battle of Coruscant**, also known as the **siege of Coruscant**, was a major battle fought in 99 BBY during the Conflict of the Numbers. With the Third Order, of whose true potency was unknown to the Jedi Order, planning to attack the Jedi Temple in five days, Kristen, who had just returned to a galaxy far, far away, proved invaluable in recruiting four organizations to fight the dark forces. Led by Supreme Leader Xerin Hedashield from afar and directly by Dark Lord Darth Mutialatus, the Third Order launched their assault on course, with B'en'jamin Thorrn sitting out the fighting with the Supreme Leader and not being able to assist the Men of Thorrn. The Jedi ultimately lost the battle, Kristen was imprisoned by the enemy, and Thorrn joined the Supreme Leader, inspiring rebellion across the galaxy.

## Background

With the Third Order, of whose true potency was unknown to the Jedi Order, planning to attack the Jedi Temple in five days, Kristen, who had just returned to a galaxy far, far away, proved invaluable in recruiting individuals such as Kreddus of Orenbach's Observatory to fight the dark forces.

Knowing that Kristen would return to the Jedi Temple in an effort to save the Jedi Order, Hedashield ordered Darth Mutialatus to send their forces to the planet where they would end the war and Yoda's ancient religion for good. Determined to fulfill her oath in the upcoming battle for the galaxy.

Eventually, B'en'jamin Thorrn decided to ask Hedashield for a rank in the Third Order, as he intended to glean useful information from her. When Hedashield encountered Thorrn in a chamber (after being discovered by Hedashield's men as an eavesdropper and forced into their electrochair for interrogation), he pretended to swear allegiance to the Third Order, saying he had come to request a chance to move against the Jedi. Hedashield doubted he was being sincere, and while she could tell he was conflicted about his feelings for her, she thought she could gleam useful information about the Jedi Order from him and effectively became the interrogator herself, not the interrogated.

The two had a civil conversation where Thorrn told her the Jedi were finally ready to counter against a full-on siege. Knowing that Kristen would return to the Jedi Temple in an effort to save the Jedi Order, Hedashield ordered Darth Mutialatus to send their forces to the planet where they would end the war and Yoda's ancient religion for good. Determined to fulfill her oath in the upcoming battle for the galaxy, Hedashield told Thorrn to accompany her in her private speeder. Arriving with her army on Coruscant, Hedashield asked Myddd if he had succeeded in killing Kristen. He denied this, much to her disappointment.

## Battle

### Ground battle

The Jedi Order mounted at the entrance of the Jedi Temple, determined to defend it. The battle began when Darth Mutialatus deployed mutated sando aqua monsters to dig a path through the towers. The Merciless, a band of thugs led by Jay Dee, came forward. Master Yoda commanded the troops to rain lasers upon the Merciless while Kreddus stayed behind with his forces until needed. Just before the stormtroopers collided the Jedi forces, Kreddus sent in hundreds of troops jumping over the Jedi lines to strike deep into the enemy lines, blunting the stormtrooper charge and giving the Jedi a chance to mount a counter-charge that skewered hundreds of stormtroopers, followed soon after by the rest of the Orenbach and Jedi forces. However, their short-lived advantage weakened when the Merciless regrouped with the stormtroopers and began to push the Jedi back with their vibro-maces, which their enemies' lightsabers could not penetrate.

During the battle, Xerin Hedashield commanded her army by using signal flags which tell a legion when to attack, while allowing B'en'jamin Thorrn to caress her. Satisfied that the allied armies were being slowly pinned down, she ordered her army to split up and head into three cities near Galactic City to wreak havoc with their blasters, knowing this would force the Jedi to fight on four different fronts at the same time. Thorrn was horrified at her proposition, but she forced him to remain seated. Seeing this, the species in the valley along with the Senior and Volto made their way to the first of the three cities to regroup with the defensive forces within and have them defend it and send a message to warn the other two, while the Jedi continued to engage Darth Mutialatus' forces on the plain.

In the meantime, Kristen became worried for the lives of the Men of Thorrn, refusing to let them participate and barricading them inside the Temple. Bean tried to reason with her, insisting that the Battle of Coruscant *was* their fight. As Kreddus remained ready to provide backup, Hedashield noticed this, and when Thorrn pointed out that they could not fight on two fields at once, she sent the other half of her army, consisting mainly of spear men, to attack the city. Kreddus and his forces retreated to Galactic City.

Hedashield ordered that the troopers continue pushing forward while she sent General Gore to personally kill Kristen as she believed their only focus should be to reach the Jedi Temple so she could destroy it. The Captain reported that Kristen was barricading herself and they were exhausting their resources, but the Supreme Leader insisted that none of this would matter. He reminded her of his debt to her, surprising her, as she did not believe there *was* a debt to be paid.

Hedashield's now immense army nearly took Galactic City and cornered the Jedi, but Hedashield commanded her force to halt so that her droids could come forward. Then she commanded her army to annihilate the Men of Thorrn.

Suddenly, Kristen and her relieved company burst outside. Kristen had been reluctantly convinced by Bean's words of reason and they were charging to reinforce Yoda's forces. Heartened, they rallied around the Pearian and pushed back against the Merciless. It became clear, however, that they were nonetheless outnumbered, and the departure of Reid rendered the defenders even weaker. Kristen decided to take her best warriors, Phoenix and Victoria, and went on board the Vindicator, intending to kill Xerin Hedashield and plunge the Third Order into disarray, perhaps securing victory.

### Pursuit of the Supreme Leader

During the battle, Kristen decapitated a trooper and met up with Victoria, who said that she could not wait to see the look on the face of Xerin Hedashield. Kristen had no idea that Hedashield was anywhere near the Jedi Temple, so Volto pointed to the observation tower where Kristen used the Force to briefly see inside. Hedashield, however, was much stronger and she cut off the connection quickly. From the few seconds she got, Kristen mistook Thorrn's tense muscles for trembling. She decided to rescue Thorrn and to take out the Supreme Leader herself and was followed by Phoenix, Victoria, and Volto.

The band arrived, wondering where Hedashield was in the tower. Phoenix guessed she was on the top deck, where she would be safe from the battle. As Kristen stopped to consider the likelihood of this, out of nowhere, Phoenix was then seized by the collar, yanked onto the deck above theirs, impaled by Darth Mutialatus with the Sith Lord's lightsaber, and thrown off a tower. Infuriated and saddened by the loss of his girlfriend, Thorrn broke off to pursue Mutialatus, but Hedashield used the Force to bind him in cords. She shouted at him, infuriated by his betrayal. He told her he had been playing her, but she coldly stated that she already figured that out for herself. He used the Force to break free and listlessly challenged her to face him "like a man".

To B'en'jamin Thorrn, Hedashield appeared an amorphous entity of shadowy mist floating around before she revealed herself. Barely needing any physical exertion for this, she captured the weakened Padawan. However, she showed him mercy and offered him a second chance to be her loyal friend and ally.

## Aftermath

The Battle of Coruscant was a victory for the Third Order; the main force of the Jedi was reduced to barely over three hundred personnel. However, the Third Order failed in its main objective of completely destroying the Jedi, as some of its members — including Master Yoda — escaped the battle to continue their struggle. Some, such as Victoria, worried that the Jedi Order was all but destroyed and the Galactic Republic would be next, but Yoda reassured her, saying they had everything they needed to rebuild.

News of the Third Order's victory spread across the galaxy, inspiring many to support the Jedi Order and stand against the Third Order.

In the immediate aftermath of the battle, B'en'jamin Thorrn promised to submit to the training of Xerin Hedashield, promising to serve her and do anything in his power to prove himself to the Supreme Leader. In response, Hedashield told Thorrn that she would give him one final chance on the condition that he captured Kristen. He did as she asked, imprisoning her aboard the *Vindicator*. Hedashield began training Thorrn, teaching him secrets of the Dark Side of the Force. Having embraced each other as close friends, Thorrn and Hedashield gazed out the window and smiled at what they believed was a changed and improved galaxy in the making.