The battle above Mygeeto ended in fire.
What followed was far worse.
From the surface, the sky had turned into a storm of falling stars.
Muun officials stood within the towering crystal spires of their administrative cities, watching in horror as the orbital defense grid collapsed in real time. The immense capacitor towers that powered their cities hummed steadily, feeding energy into shield systems that had never truly been tested against catastrophe of this scale.
They had always believed the fleet would hold.
Over two hundred warships.
Fifty Golan platforms.
Layered defenses.
It was supposed to be unbreakable.
Now it was falling out of the sky.
A senior Muun administrator stood in the central command hall of one of Mygeeto's largest vault-cities, his elongated face pale even by Muun standards as he stared at the holoscreen.
"No… no, that is not possible," he whispered.
The display flickered as another orbital station detonated.
Fragments of burning metal streaked across the atmosphere.
"Where is the fleet?" another official demanded sharply. "Why are they not maintaining formation?"
"They are attempting to regroup," a technician replied nervously. "But… but the Republic attack was too sudden."
"Too sudden?" the first Muun snapped. "We had early warning systems in place!"
The technician hesitated.
Then spoke carefully.
"Sir… there were no warnings."
The room fell silent.
"No warnings?" the official repeated.
The technician shook his head.
"All long-range sensors were operational. There were no Republic fleet signatures detected until they were already in orbit."
"That is impossible," another Muun said. "Even a stealth approach cannot conceal a fleet of that size."
The technician swallowed.
"Then… perhaps the attack did not begin with the fleet."
Before anyone could respond, the entire chamber shook violently.
A distant impact echoed through the structure.
The lights flickered.
"What was that?" someone shouted.
A security officer rushed to a console.
"Orbital debris impact, sir! A capital ship has entered the atmosphere!"
The holoscreen shifted to an external feed.
A massive burning hull tore through the clouds above the city.
A **Munificent-class frigate**.
Its engines were gone.
Its hull split open.
Fire poured from the fractured superstructure as it descended uncontrollably.
"No…" one of the officials whispered.
The ship struck the outskirts of the city seconds later.
The impact was apocalyptic.
A shockwave of fire and debris rolled across the ice plains, shattering crystal formations and sending jagged shards flying in every direction. Entire sections of the outer mining complexes vanished beneath the explosion.
The ground itself trembled.
Screams erupted across the chamber.
Another impact followed.
This time closer.
A fragment of a **Golan platform** crashed into the upper districts of the city, tearing through several levels of infrastructure before detonating in a violent burst of energy.
The shields flickered under the strain.
"They're falling on us!" a Muun cried.
"This is madness!"
"Activate all planetary shields!" another ordered. "Divert power from the vault systems if necessary!"
"We cannot!" the technician replied frantically. "The capacitor towers are already operating at maximum output!"
Another explosion shook the city.
Then another.
Outside, the sky burned.
Warships—once symbols of the Banking Clan's power—now rained down as flaming wreckage. Some broke apart before impact, scattering debris across kilometers of frozen terrain. Others struck intact, carving massive craters into the surface.
Each impact brought destruction closer to the cities.
Closer to the vaults.
Closer to everything the Muuns valued.
"Open a channel to the fleet!" the lead administrator shouted.
"We need status reports now!"
The communications officer worked rapidly.
"Attempting to establish connection…"
Static filled the room.
"Nothing."
"Try again!"
The officer adjusted the frequencies.
"Still nothing, sir. All channels are returning interference."
"Then use emergency relays!"
"Those are down as well."
The Muun turned slowly.
"What do you mean, down?"
The officer hesitated.
Then spoke the words no one wanted to hear.
"We are experiencing a system-wide communications blackout."
The chamber fell silent once more.
"No fleet signals?"
"None."
"No station reports?"
"None."
"No long-range transmissions?"
"None."
It was as if the entire orbital defense network had ceased to exist.
The Muun administrator stared at the flickering holoscreen as another burning ship fell from the sky.
"Then we are blind," he said quietly.
No one answered.
Because it was true.
---
**Muunilinst**
Far from the chaos engulfing Mygeeto, the polished towers of Muunilinst stood in perfect order beneath a calm, artificial sky.
Within the grand halls of the **InterGalactic Banking Clan**, the war felt distant.
Controlled.
Predictable.
That illusion was beginning to crack.
San Hill stood at the center of a vast command chamber, his thin fingers clasped behind his back as he studied the rows of holoscreens before him. Data streams flowed across the displays—fleet movements, financial projections, resource allocations.
Everything was as it should be.
Except for one thing.
A communications officer approached cautiously.
"Chairman Hill."
San Hill did not turn.
"Yes?"
"We have received no updates from the Muunilinst defensive formation."
That made him pause.
"No updates?" he repeated slowly.
The officer shook his head.
"None, Chairman."
San Hill turned now, his expression tightening slightly.
"The trap formation was established hours ago."
"Yes, Chairman."
"And the Republic fleet was expected to arrive within that window."
"Yes."
San Hill's eyes narrowed.
"Then why have we not received confirmation of engagement?"
The officer hesitated.
"We are… uncertain."
"Uncertain?" San Hill's voice sharpened. "Uncertainty is not acceptable."
Another officer stepped forward.
"Chairman, we are also experiencing delays in communications from Mygeeto."
San Hill's gaze shifted immediately.
"Delays?"
"Yes. Several transmissions have failed to reach us."
"That is not possible," he said flatly. "The communication network between Muunilinst and Mygeeto is one of the most secure in the galaxy."
"Under normal circumstances, yes."
San Hill's expression darkened slightly.
"Then something is interfering."
He turned back toward the central display.
The Muunilinst trap had been carefully arranged.
A Republic assault fleet would arrive.
They would be drawn into a layered defense network.
Then the full weight of the Separatist forces would crush them.
It was a simple plan.
Reliable.
Efficient.
And yet—
Silence.
No battle reports.
No confirmation signals.
Nothing.
San Hill tapped the console lightly.
"Reestablish contact with all fleet elements."
"We are attempting to, Chairman."
"Attempting is not sufficient."
He leaned forward slightly.
"I want answers."
The officers moved quickly, adjusting frequencies and rerouting signals through alternative channels.
Minutes passed.
Still nothing.
San Hill's fingers tightened slightly behind his back.
"This is… unusual," he admitted quietly.
Another officer spoke up.
"Chairman… there is one more thing."
San Hill turned slowly.
"What is it?"
"We have received fragmented distress signals from Boz Pity."
That caught his full attention.
"Boz Pity?"
"Yes."
"And what do these signals indicate?"
The officer hesitated.
"Total fleet loss."
San Hill stared at him.
"That is impossible."
"The data is incomplete, but—"
"No," San Hill interrupted sharply. "That is not possible. Boz Pity was heavily defended."
"Yes, Chairman."
"Then the report is incorrect."
The officer lowered his gaze slightly.
"Yes, Chairman."
But doubt had already entered the room.
San Hill turned back to the holoscreens.
Boz Pity silent.
Mygeeto delayed.
Muunilinst trap unresponsive.
Three separate anomalies.
All occurring within the same operational window.
That was not coincidence.
That was a pattern.
And patterns meant intent.
San Hill's eyes narrowed.
"Something is wrong," he said quietly.
No one argued.
Because for the first time since the war began—
The Banking Clan did not understand what was happening.
And that frightened them more than any Republic fleet ever could.