As soon as they showed themselves on the ridge, the few warriors left inside the village would undoubtedly sprint out of their huts with weapons in hand, ready to repel the attackers. That's when the invading Ewoks opened up from the trees with the sniper rifles they had been hastily taught to use, missing most but still felling many. With Limmapia in disarray, the Ewoks on the ridge began to descend. First a dozen of them, then eighteen, then two dozen, and so on until the furry creatures eventually swarmed down the bank in no particular order; all while a line of archers rained dutaks ("arrows") into the village ahead of the charging Ewoks to thin out whatever organized resistance the Malakists had put together.

Their goals were twofold: one, to charge the temple and destroy the false god Malaki. Two, to defile the women of the village, not simply as a wanton, sexual conquest, but rather because their females would thus be "impure," assimilated with other tribes that the Malakists were so determined to destroy. An act of religious genocide? Perhaps, but not uncommon to Ewok culture. With most of the Malakist army still gone, the Ewoks should have little trouble in overtaking their remaining defenses and capturing the village, going hut to hut to make sure the females and woklings were safe.

Meanwhile, back in the forest the Prudential's floodlights came to life, shining flourescent light upon the forest floor, the droids, the remaining Ewoks, and Deven and his mercenaries. The gunship's loud speaker came on, and the Captain's voice called authoritatively down to Deven and his party. "Poachers," he announced, "This is the New Republic gunship Prudential. Leave your weapons where they are, stand well clear of your droids and ordnance, deactivate them if possible, and await detention imminently for killing protected species and intruding on a protected site. Repeat, leave your weapons where they are and stand clear of your droids." The Captain shut off the intercom and glanced at his Lieutenant, his brow raised with bemusement at Deven's last transmission. "Not what it looks like, he says?" The two men shook their heads.

In the ship's modest cargo bay, the vessel's marines and a small team of NRI agents readied themselves to rappel to the forest floor, strapping on tethers and rifles. But first, the Prudential wasn't quite finished cleaning up.

Gregory Blount
Imperial Intelligence

"Mr. Flare," he replied, this time on Deven's comlink rather than the speaker, "You will be detained imminently for trespassing on a protected site and murdering a protected species. You may contact your representatives or legal counsel when you are in custody. Your cooperation and your complaint will be noted, please continue to stand clear. You are advised to cover your ears." The Captain clicked off his comm handset and nodded to his ExO, "Commence firing."

The Prudential opened up again, this time exclusively on the droids, tanks, and spider walkers. The forces were engaged in a blatantly illegal activity, and thus they were forfeit no matter who owned them. The Captain would have preferred to impound them as evidence, but the Prudential didn't have any ion cannons and, besides, they had evidence enough already. 30 more seconds of quad laser fire and 6 concussion missiles later, the tanks, walkers and most of the droids were destroyed. In the maelstrom, the marines (5 of them, and an NRI commando) had their boots on the forest floor even before the dirt, smoke and particulate debris had cleared, finishing the remaining droids with their A280 rifles.

But deactivated droids were one thing; a Sith was another, especially one who might resist arrest. Three of the marines approached Deven and the mercenaries with their rifles set to stun, hoping not to use them but ready to do so. They had intended to cuff the suspects, but how do you cuff a man with a weapon for an arm? Nonetheless, they tossed pairs of stun cuffs to the mercenaries and instructed them to fasten them and submit into custody, informing them of the charges again. "Mr. Flare," one of them asked, "Do you understand the charges against you?"

Back in Limmapia, the battle was turning gruesome. Dead Ewoks were strewn up and down the ridge outside the village, many of them grotesquely disembowled (but still adorable, even when dismembered) from the B2's crudely wielded lightsaber. Even after the droid was overwhelmed and knocked to the ground, many more Ewoks were killed as they tried to pummel its durasteel frame with spears and clubs that were effectively useless. It wasn't until the droid's arm was pried off, and the Ewoks brought their blasters to bear, that the B2 was finally rendered inoperable.

The other droids were taken down more easily, and the Ewoks eventually stormed the village. They secured many of the huts, females and woklings before Malaki's mass suicide order could be delivered to most of them (since Malaki seemed more concerned with fortifying his temple than spreading the Word). Sieging the chapel would be more complicated, however. When the first line of Ewoks was cut down, and their blasters proved ineffective against the masonry, they realized they would need a different tack.

While a party of Ewoks went into the surrounding woods to fell a tree for use as a crude battering ram, another group used gliders and ropes to land in the surrounding trees and onto the temple walls, rappelling down to the building's firing loopholes, plunging their spears into them and firing blasters indiscriminately within. The Ewoks also tried setting fire to the Malakist's homes (after the females and woklings had been removed, that is) to entice them to open the doors and surrender. Mere distractions, of course; the warriors that Malaki had around him would probably die before they surrendered.

Gregory Blount
Imperial Intelligence

"Do we really believe he's a Sith?" the Lieutenant asked.

"You saw what he did! And he's got a laser sword for an arm, Force sake. I'm not taking any chances."

"What choice do we have?" Hodges noted, "He's cooperating with us, and we have to take him in."

"Well look," the Captain said. "The manual sure as hell doesn't say anything about Sith, now does it? I think we need to improvise here. I'm the Captain of this ship, and if I think that it could be commandeered, by this Sith and his weapon and his.. Force.. trickery, then I have to do what's necessary to keep this crew safe, yes?"

There was a contemplative pause, eventually broken by Lieutenant T'sharrl. "You have to tread carefully, Sir. We have to tread carefully."

"No," the Captain raised a hand to preempt him. "This is my decision, and I'll take the consequences for it. I'll be held responsible, not you."

"What do you have in mind, Sir?" Wes asked.

The Captain gazed sternly out the viewport for a moment, then nodded. "Put me through to our men on the ground."

The marine closest to Deven reached his free hand to his earpiece as he recieved the transmission, his right still holding the rifle, slung under his arm. The rest of the marines would also hear the conversation. "Yes Sir, I read you. Yes, the others have been taken into custody." There was a long pause as the soldier listened, then a concerned expression appeared on his face. "Repeat, Sir? Yes, well. Yes, Sir." The marine glanced at the other soldiers, then back to Deven as he raised his rifle. "Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to keep your arm and your weapon at your sides please.." He hesitated for a moment, then pulled the trigger three times in succession, firing blue, fluorescent stun blasts at the Sith.

If he was hit, not even a Sith would be able to hold onto consciousness. If he made any effort to dodge the shots, the rest of the marines would join in, firing stun blasts of their own.

Gregory Blount
Imperial Intelligence