As they'd been called upon by their allies during the furious battle earlier, ship after ship of the Norlinthian fleet - all of them shaped much like longswords - descended from the starry reaches of space down into the smoking forests of Felldew. Having broken through the separatist army's own fleet that was now scattered along with regrouping elsewhere, Norlinth forces were now allowed to reach their allies amongst the scarred forests and begin setting up their militaristic defenses; establishing mounted turrets, ordering their own battle droids, providing medicine to the wounded and checking their various weapons for problems.

Perhaps Norlinth had been taken by surprise during the separatist ambush several days ago. Perhaps they'd had trouble breaking through the enemy lines/fleet that'd surrounded the moon of Felldew during the invasion. Nevertheless, thanks to perhaps the gods or dumb luck or bravery, the enemy had been routed this time and the ambush had failed. And this time, when the separatists returned with their armies of droids to attempt to steal more resources from lush Felldew to cripple Norlinth, every Norlinthian would now be beside the Felldewans. On both the battlefield and in space.

The first battles above Felldew had been brutal ones. Thousands of starfighters had raged in dogfights as ships - both capital along with supporting - had blown each other to pieces with their cannons, batteries, devices, lasers if not more. As a result of this, debris from many of the fallen craft in space ha fallen onto the beautiful as well as natural landscapes of the moon of Felldew. The burning, torn forests that the Norlinthian ships filled with so many troops - followed by Commander Ivan T'lore - were one of the casualties due to the space battles overhead. Indeed, as the Norlinth troops departed their drop ships in battalions, many witnessed their formerly gracious surroundings with shaken hearts.

Perhaps the battle had been won this time. Maybe the Felldewans had been saved from enslavement or worse. Still, Felldew's lands had been razed. Thus, the hearts of its inhabitants if not friends had been shaken. And there was sadness felt by everyone. Regardless, that sadness would soon turn to something usable; anger. Anger, if toned properly, could be rallied behind. It could be turned into valor.

Luckily for the Felldewans of the smoking forests being attended to by landing Norlinthian soldiers, the leader of the arriving Norlinth troops knew how exactly to keep his armies in line and how to turn their weaknesses into strengths. As his ship - a unique looking spacecraft that had the shape of an arrowhead amongst the many longsword ones - touched down onto the mostly grassy ground, as the loading bay was opened to allow his footmen out in organized order, Commander Ivan took in everything around him without a flinch or grimace. He'd served his people's armies for a long time up to this day, having grown accustomed to the ways of fanatic rebels and how relentless their tactics had been against his monarchy. Still, as he tucked his high ranking helmet under his arm while walking amidst the scarred trees as well as Felldewans, he noted... that droids had been in control here.

Rebels back on Norlinth had at least been mortal. Their mortality, their emotions, had somewhat limited their willingness to battle onwards or be too cold against the people as they'd needed them to fuel their campaign. As for droids though - especially separatist ones - they did have the same handicaps. There was no emotion in a combat robot. No real emotion anyway. They were not shackled by moralities or feelings for there were none. They only had their orders. They lived not with a soul but a digital code. And it seemed that Felldew had endured the brunt, the injustices, the horrors of the emotionless droids commanded to shoot on sight, take little prisoners, raid at anytime.

Really, the droids were not the scariest thing. It was their leaders - the ones who made the commands - who were unbelievable. Who were merciless. Who were pure evil.

Feeling a bit angry over his sadness himself, Ivan took note that his hands had balled themselves up into fists. He was feeling quite a few emotions at once. Out of all of them though, he was out for revenge. This war with the separatists was an unexpected if not cowardly thing. Yet, as everyone knew both here on the Felldew Moon and back home on the core world of Norlinth, they were not at official war with the separatist armies fighting the Republic. If that'd been the case from the beginning, the Republic's clone troopers would be present currently. Also, Felldew would not have been held onto for so long nor would the enemy have taken Norlinth by surprise from the start. No, Ivan - keeping up with politics despite being a soldier - was aware that the enemy, although an obvious separatist battalion, was attacking by "neutral" colors. They were pirates, or so they lied, following "Sin, the Fennec Fox". They had no connection to this Count Dooku or the rest of his droid armies.

Still, as politics went, even with the evidence right there in front of them, the council/monarchy of Norlinth was torn about joining the Republic in battling the Separatist armies. There were many who didn't want trouble but, like their friends of Mandalore, wanted to remain neutral. Others, plain outright and perhaps corrupted, didn't blame Dooku for anything but claimed he was a war hero fighting for the beliefs of people everywhere against the tyranny of the Republic's power mad democracy. These were becoming complicated days. If there was to be peace, there would have to be the eventual war though. And after every war, Norlinth as well as Felldew survived. This time would be no different.

Ivan made his way through the ranks of everyone at work, examining the area around him that would be his battlezone. To his relief, just after they'd been taken over by hostiles, he was happy to see that the local inhabitants were more than willing to accept the rule of his soldiers. The Norlinthians were busy with so many things at the moment. Here in the forests as well as everywhere throughout the moon. They needed full cooperation from everyone if they were to mount a proper, worlwide defense for their enemies when they returned. Which they would, if the communications and sensors had told them anything while landing for the last 24 hours. Either way, if things were going so well here in helping the locals, then it was more than likely the case everywhere else in the other Norlinth bases/camps of operation.

Right now, knowing his own duty, Commander Ivan was focusing onto his own task. While his men prepared themselves for the many battles ahead, he took to looking for the local leader; the one who had apparently single-handedly managed to send the coordinates along with distress signal through enemy lines; the data that had helped the Norlinthian fleet finally break through and scatter their enemies in space. This local leader, this "Nyrina Urchinhide" was to be thanked and interviewed for further information on the enemy. She, along with others, had led a rebellion against the droids during the space battles. Ivan just had to find her now and...

The Norlinthian commander hesitated a moment next. He guessed at once that he had found who he was looking for; a younger than expected she-otter carrying a "lightsaber" - the weapon of the Republic's jedi - of all things. On another note, he couldn't help but suddenly understand from the start why she would be the local leader if she was the one he was looking for. She had a slender yet more than powerfully built body. Her armor was more than unique compared to others, steel plated and adorned with emerald fur. Her appearance was like the landscape of Felldew itself, a natural beauty. Truly, in every way, where Ivan knew he looked the part of a leader, this she-otter seemed to be his objective.

And he would soon find out that he was right. Standing beside the torn yet inspiring flag of Felldew amid the smoke, the she-otter was in fact Nyrina Urchinhide; a hero of the people now and in the future, as everyone would soon come to discover.

++++++

Another awesome as well as inspiring piece of artwork drawn up by Holtzmann. It would help him a great deal to take on more commissions and supporters, being as talented as he is. So please, you can find him on FurAffinity: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/holtzmann/

Nyrina the She-Otter or Jedi Knight is owned by me, Felldewan.