Battle of Orem

The **Battle of Orem** was a major victory for the Cavaliers of Thornton and the single worst battlefield defeat suffered by the Armies of Organa during the Insurrection of the Cavaliers of Thornton. The battle was a Cavalier invasion aimed at destroying Masculine Quarters. With the base vulnerable and no reinforcements responding to their call, the Armies of Organa lost hope until Charles emerged to fight Natalia Thornton, buying the others time to escape as he was picked up by Luke Norris.

## Background

Prior to the battle, Natalia Thornton placed a bounty on the head of Helen McKeen. The Magistrate of the International Alliance forced her allies, B-4-90 and Ariana, to act on this. The meeting, to be held in Nexus Tower, was a great risk for the pair, and Ariana meditated throughout their trip. Before the scheduled meeting, Ariana was forced to shoot herself up with pain-killers to mask her injury from her fellow bounty hunters and, most importantly, Natalia Thornton.

## Battle

### The battle begins

Wave upon wave of boys fled to Masculine Quarters, prepared to protect it. In the meantime, Natalia Thornton arrived with troops of her own.

The Armies of Organa launched all of their forces at the enemy, firing heavy artillery and dispatching thirteen war bicycles to take out the command tower, led by Vincent Organa. Advancing from Draper, Death Platoon was reinforced by four Death Cruisers from Provo and traveled to Orem. The battle commenced soon after, with the Armies of Organa fighting a stalling effort to allow base personnel and command to evacuate with as many supplies as possible and regroup with the main Boy-Team fleet.

The Armies of Organa suffered heavy losses from the combined ground and air assaults. The Grand Cruiser, piloted by Helen McKeen, arrived unexpectedly and attacked the fighters, drawing them away from the battlefield and destroying all of the pursuers. Enraged, Natalia Thornton ordered General Maxine Bowe to lead a C-Car assault on Masculine Quarters, which the Armies of Organa could not effectively counter.

### Cavalier offense

As the C-Cars approached the breach, the Armies of Organa realized that all of the messages sent to their allies had been received, but none had responded. Steven Thompson announced that they were overwhelmed, but Josh Hogan rebuffed him and ordered that a last-ditch effort be made as the Armies of Organa began preparing for a final stand.

Admiring Hogan's nerve, Vincent Organa had his group redirect their attack from the lightly damaged command tower to engage the C-Cars directly, despite Alex protesting that this was insanity. Vincent was shot down in the exchange of gunfire that followed, but he emerged from his damaged speeder and single-handedly destroyed a tank with his powers.

### B-4-90's mission

En route to Nexus Tower, the two-man fighter piloted by B-4-90 and Ariana became temporarily involved in the Battle of Orem, where they helped disable a Boy-Team transport as an act of good will towards their Cavalier employers. Before the scheduled meeting, Ariana was forced to shoot herself up with pain-killers to mask her injury from her fellow bounty hunters and, most importantly, Natalia Thornton. It turned out that Thornton was aware of the crime; however, only wishing to see McKeen captured, it turned out that she apparently did not deem it as any immediate importance. The meeting went well enough, with Ariana and B-4-90 one of the first back to their ship. Ariana used her intuition to surmise that McKeen would make her way to the Tower Placement rendezvous. Ariana planned to make it to the rendezvous first to ambush Helen McKeen and get the bounty with ease.

### Charles and Luke Norris intervene

As the Armies of Organa contemplated their next move, Charles unexpectedly appeared to the group and resolved to go out to challenge Natalia Thornton as a distraction. His friend, Luke Norris, helped him scale the command tower and as he dangled from a wire, he called up to Thornton and began taunting her. She ignored him, but Charles continued provoking her until she agreed to challenge him. His addressing her as a "soft-bellied, messed up mom wannabe" was the final straw for Thornton. who ordered the two remaining C-Cars to shoot him down. Charles leaped off just in time, and the artillery aimed for him hit the command tower, destroying it. Thornton swooped down to the ground and whipped out her wand, finally resolving to face the teenager herself as revenge for taking out the command tower. He called her a "fool of a wannabe Dark Lord", prompting her to attack. In a brief confrontation, Charles dodged Thornton's spellwork andsaw Norris driving towards him. Charles leaped aboard just as a hatch let down by Norris closed and they sped away with the others.

With the time bought by Charles and Norris' distraction, the Armies of Organa fled. Ultimately, Masculine Quarters was overrun and destroyed, seventeen of thirty escaping Boy-Team medium transports were totally destroyed as they attempted to traverse the Cavalier blockade, and an intense pursuit of the escaping *Hawkeye* through the forest was conducted on Natalia's seemingly erratic orders. Despite much Cavalier effort, the Cruiser escaped to the Classic Fun Center in Clearfield, seeking asylum from Helen's old friend, Carol.

## Alternate realities

### Mutantry-3119

The battle is portrayed very differently in the graphic novels.

Advancing from Draper, Death Squadron was reinforced by four Death Cruisers from Provo and traveled to Orem. The Battle of Orem commenced soon after, with the Boy-Team fighting a stalling effort to allow base personnel and command to evacuate with as many supplies as possible and regroup with the main Boy-Team fleet. If Admiral Selena, who was soon relieved as commander of Natalia Thornton's Death Squadron for her error, had not come out of hyperspace so close to Orem, the Boy-Team could have been caught unaware and bombarded from the air, but instead they managed to erect a small external shield. Natalia ordered General Maxine Bowe to lead a walker assault on Masculine Quarters, which the Boy-Team could not effectively counter.

Masculine Quarters was overrun and destroyed, seventeen of thirty escaping Boy-Team medium transports were totally destroyed as they attempted to traverse the Girl-Team blockade, and an intense pursuit of the escaping *Hawkeye* through the forest was conducted on Natalia's seemingly erratic orders. Despite much Girl-Team effort, the Cruiser escaped to the Classic Fun Center in Orem, seeking asylum from Helen's old friend, Carol. Unknown to Helen and her companions, the Girl-Team had forced Carol into cooperating with its efforts to capture the *Hawkeye's* outlaw crew. Natalia, bounty hunter Xydarone IV, and a squadron of troopers apprehended the Boy-Team and captured Helen.

At the last second, the friends escaped aboard the *Hawkeye,* though Helen McKeen was taken to Zira Miranda Grover in Arizona by the bounty hunter Xydarone.