| abstract
| - The Colonies world of Teyr, deep in Imperial territory. Once a safe haven from the war and a tourist destination, Teyr has been turned into a fortress world and occupied by the dissident forces of once Imperial troops. Since the Imperial attack several weeks ago, security has been beefed up: the traitors are buckled down and waiting anxiously for the inevitable. Admiral Harkenson, Supreme Commander of this thrown together force of traitors, stands on the command bridge of the Golan Battlestation marked as NI-15. Dressed in the usual attire of an Imperial officer, Harkenson has done a lot to secure Teyr from the Empire. His forces are able and ready to counter the Empire... ready to give their life for their convictions. But they have little delusions that they can succeed against the all powerful Galactic Empire. At best, they can make their stand and hold out as long as they can, and hopefully inspire others to take their place and bring down the corrupt government. The battle fleet, arrayed in defensive formation around the Golans, is strong enough to take an entire sector. However, in the attack several weeks prior, their fighter strength is still diminished some; they hold no manufacturing facilities, and could not replace their losses. But their force is still a formidable one. Hundreds of kilometers out of the range of the Golan battlestations, the Imperial task force arrives in system, each ship blinking into existence from the realm of hyperspace. Immediately battle stations are on full alert and weapon systems go active. Klaxons begin to roar on each individual ship, alerting their pilots to begin take off procedures and their crew to buckle down and get ready for the upcoming fight. "Admiral Harkenson, this is Admiral Bejin of the Imperial Navy, acting under the flag of Emperor Aleister Vadim. You are hereby ordered to surrender yourselves and deactivate all weapon systems, and we will show you mercy. You have one minute to formulate a response. If you do not meet our orders, you will all die." While the admiral is doing the talking, the fighters and bombers are moving into position around the main I2SD that will be providing cover fire and support for this mission should the traitors refuse to see the light and surrender accordingly. In the cockpit of Alpha-1, Dante is speaking on ship to ship comm to the pilots assigned to this mission. "All right ladies and gents, here's the outline. Keep in mind that no battle plan has ever survived the first engagement with the enemy, but it's the plan we're going to open with. Molokai, the TIE's are going to fly cover for the bombers and escort you down their proverbial throats. TIE's, pair up and protect those bombers. The I2SD will engage any of the larger assets that get twitchy and decide to try to take a bite out of this. Our objective is this," she keys up the specific coordinates of the battle station that serves as the focus for this mission, sending those coordinates across to all the pilots assigned to this. "Take out this station and hopefully they'll see the light and surrender. Their fighter assets are weakened, they cannot absorb their losses, and neither can we. This needs to be clean and fast. Any questions?" "Why do they bother telling them to surrender...they never surrender.." Liza mutters under her breath, quietly enough as to not interrupt Dante as she talks about the mission plan but loud enough that those within the bomber can her her and which is rewarded by grunts and nods of agreement. "This is Zeta-1, Alpha-1. I think we got it, here." The co-ords are looked at carefully for a moment before Molokai gives a self-affirming nod and she keys them in to the navigation computer, letting it do the math. "Alright. You heard the Commander. I want us to stay with the fighters. Do not press ahead of them otherwise we're going to get our collective butts vaped." Now is the waiting game, the Scimitar sitting there, hovering in place while waiting for the command to go. Flying in formation just behind Dante, Odion tilts his fighter a bit in boredom as he awaits the fight. "Understood, Lead, just one question. We gonna be back in time for dinner? I'm starving." He heard a couple chuckles over the comms, but not much. He chuckled to himself. It was an old joke, but it still did the trick of loosening the nerves. He rubbed his knee, which had decided to begin acting up again. He looks ahead at the looming Golans and does another internal systems check. The last thing he wanted why to die to other Imperials. Mirden takes a quick view of the situation, carefully listening to Dante's battle plan. He surveys the the center-most Golan, making sure his bridge crew know the target. Speaking into his ship comm, "Okay, I want you to provide some cover fire for those bombers, keep those Star Destroyers occupied, and if we can spare the firepower, let's try and soften up that Golan, without hitting our own bombers." He orders, trying not to sound nervous. He carefully surveys the faces of his bridge crew, feeling the tension in the air. He wipes his brow with his forearm, waiting for the order to "Go". He takes a deep breathe, focusing his thoughts, and says to his bridge crew, "Shields up, we're about to light this candle." Admiral Harkenson jolted to attention and activity on the command bridge sprung to life. Crew rushed from station to station, officers shouting off orders and gunners rushing to their gun stations. The time had come, the time everyone here had trained so long and hard for. "Admiral Bejin. It's been a while, sir. Quite a force they gave you. I'm going to have to decline the offer. We true Imperials will never surrender to the likes of you, or your traitorous government. If we are to die, then we die by the New Order. Harkenson out." Harkenson turned to his crew. "Signal all commands to engage the enemy. They'll be coming for the battlestations first. Redirect and smash their bombers, and divide their Interceptors away from their escorts. Once they come into range, open fire on their capital ships." Two of the Star Destroyers peel off from the main group, flanked by three corvettes and two cruisers, and begin rapidly accelerating towards the incoming bomber squadron led by Liza. THeir own complement of fighters begin to deploy, rushing ahead to engage the bombers and her TIE escorts, led by Dante. As for the Star Destroyer guarding the bombers, the "rebel" Star Destroyers open fire, their turbolasers raining fire upon the Imperial Star Destroyer (Mirden). The "rebel" fighters sweep in towards the Imperial fighter/bomber formation, attempting to divide them and separate the bombers from their escorts. "Everything else is a distraction," Dante says into the comm, guiding her TIE expertly while watching the traitorous assets deploying as well. "The main objective is delivering the package. Fighters, I want you to fly a defense pattern, Omega-4 around the bombers." She calls up the scan of the sector then begins to issue orders, instructing the rest of their assets to form into a cylindrical formation, keeping the bombers in the center, TIE's as the next layer, the I2SD in position right behind with the rest of the force spread out with main weapons on the exterior side of the 'tube'. "Spread out a bit more, but don't let them slip into the formation or we'll have cross fire," she warns. "All ahead, maximum maneuvering speed, we need to punch through before they can get fully organized." As she speaks she keys up the first firing solution provided by the targeting computer, opening fire as soon as the nearest enemy fighter strays within reach. The Widowmakers follow once the fighters pull out and ahead, Liza allowing Dante and her crew to take up the lead while the bombers fall into a defensive formation behind the Interceptors. Needing all the bombers to survive, Slush doesn't play the aggressor like she might normally, the mission too imporant to risk the lives of the crews or their ships, waiting until they -have- to engage before doing so. Numbers are the key, here. "We're right behind you, Alpha-1." Odion pulls into formation ahead of the bombers. He watches one of the Imperials fire on the rebels and notices the ship explode with no flicker. "No shielding on those it looks like, must be Mark One Interceptors. Weaker, but don't get cocky, they can still teach us a lesson or two." He jukes his fighter a bit as a stitch of laserfire heads his way. Looking up he notices an incoming fighter. He pulls up a bit and lets off a small burst before rolling to avoid the fighter as it screeches past him. He then turns and returns to the formation, forgetting about the enemy. "Everyone stick close to the bombers, don't let them split us up." "Shields are up?" Mirden asks for confirmation as his viewport is filled with the incoming turbolaser fire. A crew man nods to Mirden. Mirden points at the "rebel" Star Destroyers ordering, "I want all forward fire power concentrated on that Star Destroyer right now!" His voice free of hesitation, although is mind is not, he reverts to working on pure instinct and naval strategy. To his satisfaction, his turbolasers start pouring fire down toward the insidious rebel Star Destroyer. "Weapons? Are we in range for ion cannon's yet?" A stern 'yes sir' from the weapons pit of the bridge reassures his thought. "Good, all ion batteries, open fire, I want their shields down!" Without hesitation he see his ion cannons open fire on the Star Destroyer, provoking an approving nod from Mirden. He scans the viewport for other threats to his Destroyer. This small section of space over Teyr has exploded into an all-out dogfight. Rebel TIE Interceptors sweep into the Imperial lines and attempt to divide the bombers from their escorts. Two Imperial Star Destroyers are ganging up on a single Star Destroyer flying cover for the bombers. Several Interceptors explode as Razor Squadron responds to the threat, but others yet make it through the battle lines to harass and assault the bombers. Not too far behind them come their motherships, two Imperial Star Destroyers and their escorts that are harassing Mirden's Star Destroyer. The return fire is expected; Mirden orders a concentrated assault on only one of the Star Destroyers, whose powerful shields absorb the turbolasers blasts. The ion cannons completely ignore the shields and the ion blasts slam into the hull, spraying ion energy over several sections of the ship; power goes out in these sections, taking with them several weapon batteries. Overall, however, this Star Destroyer is still in the fight, and returns fire with her own turbolaser and ion cannons. Meanwhile, the second Star Destroyer, which Mirden had ignored, moves around and attacks Mirden's Star Destroyer from his right flank. All forward batteries go into assaulting the Star Destroyer. Their escorts, the corvettes and cruisers, move into the fight at full speed; two of the corvettes start taking shots at enemy TIE Interceptors, while the rest decide to gang up on Mirden's Star Destroyer; they attack from all flanks, coming from below, to the left, to the right, all pouring their fire at the Star Destroyer. Their plan is to hit the Star Destroyer hard from all directions, forcing them to expend more and more energy on their shields to cover all flanks and ultimately shorting them out. "Bread and circuses," Dante mutters to herself, her mic muted for the moment while selecting her targets with great care, both to avoid hitting her own fighters AND to avoid wasting rounds. "Don't get separated and don't let them pull you out of formation," Dante orders crisply over the channel. "All SD's and support assets, divide the bulk of your power between thrusters and shields. They're going to try to swarm you over and take you out of the game. Brace for attack but increase engine output, I want to get to that station sooner rather than later," she remarks in a calm voice. "Bombers, hold your fire. TIE's continue in formation, pick your marks with care." "Read my mind.." Slush comments to Dante in reply to her order to the bombers. "You heard her. Let's tighten up our formation. I don't want anyone getting picked off like a sick bantha or something." The other bombers slide closer together, each one within a few meters from the other, only the pilots' incredible skill keeping them from colliding with each other. "You have the co-ordinates and you know what to do, men. It's just a matter of waiting till the time is right." Shifting in her seat, she looks out behind her, trying to see how their larger ships are faring while Dante and her men do their thing by engaging the rebel traitors. A fighter next to Odion's rocks as a laserbolt clips it, making it's shields flash. The fighter straightens out as Odion looks around for the perpetrator. Seeing on coming straight on to their group he lines himself up and lets off a stitch before moving down to avoid the incoming fire and ship. He hears the screech of the fighter as it passes over him and he reforms. He check on the fighter next to him which reports green. He nods and starts looking around again. Mirden orders "Evasive maneuvers, put this ship down, I want all those ships on top of us, not surrounding us!" He yells, sweat from his brow dripping into his eye, distracting him. He quickly wipes his face and then follows up his order with, "Ion cannons, split your fire power between those two Star Destroyers, target their shield generators!" He knows the turbolaser batteries are doing what they can, so he neglects to change their orders. Once his ship pitches down to face most of his attackers from the top down, he orders the shield strength ratio to be put towards the top of the ship. "Tractor beams! Latch ahold of one of those corvettes, and do your best to use it as a battering ram.. I want that Star Destroyer to our right flank to be run through!" He yells as he hears warning buzzers and see's the distinct red flash of alarm signals. "Let's not be foolish here, take out those pathetic excuses for naval officers!" As Mirden's Star Destroyer dives to put herself in a better position against her swarming attackers, one of the cruisers that was assaulting from below fails to move out of the way in time; the starboard side of the cruiser smashes against the Star Destroyer's bottom hull, causing her to explode and shoot out debris in various directions, including straight into the belly of the Star Destroyer. The rebels intensify their assault on Mirden's Star Destroyer, pouring more and more fire, but one of the corvettes is trapped in a tractor beam, and despite her best efforts, it used as a ram against one of the Star Destroyers. She slams head-on into the port side hull, ripping into crew stations and reactor pits, causing a chain reaction that explodes the Star Destroyer - a huge explosion that destroys several nearby fighters, enemy and ally alike, and rains debris upon Mirden's Star Destroyer. Meanwhile, in the fighter duel, Dante's fighter screen proves effective and keeps the bombers safe for now as they continue onward towards the Golan. "Mirden, get a tractor on that debris field and throw it in their face," Dante orders as she slides at an angle to avoid a large hunk of what used to be the hull of one of her TIE's. Her voice remains calm, crisp, speaking over the channel to keep everything flowing, "Stay on target. Increase shield output. Damage report," she orders, listening intently as what damage is taken is relayed, shifting the fighters in the formation to shore up the weak side. "Molokai, how badly damaged is that bomber?" she asks next before pulling up the updated scan of the system to get a quick over view of the position of all in theatre. "Hold formation," she repeats, picking another target and firing on it, then another, each movement methodical while she continues to scan and plot the movement of the ships. Liza cusses in Sarian under her breath as she catches the explosion out of the corner of her eye and the resulting debris shower causes her bomber to be jostled about, some. "Damn...Command, we're down one here.." she then reports in after getting the news that one of her personnel was taken out thanks to the fact that there was a slight 'mishap'. Taking a moment, Molokai lets her co-pilot do his thing while she works on getting her shields -just- right. "Alpha-1, this is Zeta-1. I think this is going to be a bit more difficult than we thought." Alpha-1 replies simply to Zeta-1, "It always is, Zeta-1. That's why we get paid the big bucks, right?" by gum is that a sense of humor? The fighter shudders and Odion struggles with the yoke to keep it straight. He looks over and notices the fighter that had been next to him was gone. Poor guy, he'd made it through a scrape and then was killed like that. Odion shook his head and run a systems check again, his shields had been clipped a bit but he was fine. Shaking his head he looks around and notices an incoming fighter. Letting loose another stitch of laserfire and stays in formation, the Golans looming ever closer. Letting out a quiet sigh of relief, he smiles at the sight of the Star Destroyer ripping apart. He closes his fist in a triumphant moment of celebration, however short lived it may be. "Tractor beams! Good work, now I want that debris field thrown in the face of that remaining star destroyer!" He briefly assesses the damage to his ship, hearing warning alarms wail loudly. He orders the maneuvering officer to try and get behind one of the Star Destroyer ahead of them.. "Once we're behind it, I want all turbolaser batteries to fire on their engine's, let's try to make them dead in the water!" He yells, his voice straining over the sound of alarms and crew shouting to each other. The bridge of the Star Destroyer is in a semi-controlled chaos, men running from console to console, and then reporting information back to Mirden. Despite the destruction of the Revenant, the Star Destroyer that just exploded thanks to the ramming tactic, the rebel forces in this fight still have Mirden's Star Destroyer outnumbered and are keeping up their assault. After several more salvos and exchanges of turbolasers and ion cannons, the rebels finally manage to collapse the shields on Mirden's Star Destroyer, and her "belly" is heavily damaged thanks to the explosion of the Marauder-class cruiser due to their impact. The captain of the boat recognizes that the Star Destroyer is trying to get "behind them," due to the Star Destroyer's movement, and he's determined to not allow that to pass. "Maintain speed and keep up the fire. Don't let them get behind us." The Star Destroyer's remaining escorts are forming up in a defensive position around the Star Destroyer no, keeping Mirden's damaged Star Destroyer at bay. Admiral Harkenson looks over the tactical display in the Golan III's bridge, nodding his head. They have already lost a Star Destroyer and numerous other ships, but the fight is still going strong... and now, the Imperials are in range of their Golan's turbolasers. "Open fire. I don't want a single bomber to attack us." The Golans start opening fire, the turbolasers firing at Mirden's Star Destroyer and into the formation of bombers and TIE Interceptors. "Prepare to break formation on my mark," Dante orders calmly into the comm channel. At her instructions one of the SD's begins maneuvering down to provide fire cover for the I2SD that Mirden is coordinating fire power from, this offering more protection while keeping them in the fight. Already damaged, she see's no reason to have them take more damage if it can be avoided. The remaining SD's slide over to close the gap, continuing to focus fire on the enemy vessels. "On my mark, Fighters break off into four groups, bombers as well, Pair up, begin bombing runs," Dante orders into the comm, watching the display carefully as they move ever closer to the battle stations. "Mark," she says distinctly, moving into position to escort the first of the bombers that begin the attack on the battle station. Like a well oiled machine, the bombers break off and into smaller groups, Slush's own bomber sliding into one not too far from where Dante's fighter is. Knowing they are being fired upon, Liza divers her shields fully to front, giving their Scimitar as much protection even as they leave the rest of their ship fully vulnerable. "Let's do this. I want to get it over with, get home and hit up the Marshal for this good pay I seem to be missing out on. They must've over-looked me." She smirks at herself while gunning her throttle, the bomber jumping ahead slightly as it speeds up. "Watch my six. I don't want to die.." On the mark, Odion signals to the second group of bombers and fighters and splits off, leading them up. "We're gonna take it low and come right up their tailpipe and hit them, try to avoid that laserfire as much as possible." The group takes an abrubt dive to get under the laser fire from the Golan. A few fighters veer off a bit to chase back oncoming fighters but they stick together for the most part. Seeing the relief incoming from the allied Star Destroyer moving into position on his flank, Mirden's crew get's a new boost of confidence. "Okay guys, we're not done yet. Ion cannons, I want all fire directed at those shield generators on that rebel Star Destroyer." A crew member looks up from the pit with a look of worry on his face, although Mirden already knows what he's about to say. The incoming turbolaser fire had taken a sudden shift from hazing the shields to penetrating hull plating and causing unsightly explosions, causing even more alarms to wail. The crew member urgently reports the loss of the shields, bringing a moment of silence to the deck while the notion of being totally exposed to all turbolaser fire sinks in on the crew of the bridge. The newly-inbound fire from the Golan platforms does not help the situation any, but it cannot be helped. "Okay men, let's concentrate all firepower on the bridge and shield deflectors of that rebel Destroyer, let's focus on taking her out of the big picture." He takes his sight off of the rebel SD and quickly surveys the situation of the bombers, and to his relief they have finally begun their bombing run. "Let's hope this gets wrapped up quickly, or we're not going home from this one...." He mutters under his breath, careful not to alert the crew to his lack of faith of his survival. Star Destroyer, despite its damage, keeps up her fight... and it proves effective. The Star Destroyer's attack blast through the bridge shields, overloading them and shutting them down, leaving the bridge hull exposed and open to attack, which comes moments later as Mirden's Star Destroyer's turbolasers blast through the bridge, wiping it out completely. The Star Destroyer lurches and further explosions begin to ripple throughout as more turbolasers hit her from Mirden's reinforcements... the Star Destroyer begins to turn about, her secondary bridge taking control from within and trying to guide her safely back to the safety of the Golan defensive net. The three remaining rebel Star Destroyers are locked in their own engagements with the Imperial Star Destroyers, and the Golans are keeping up their assault on the Imperial fleet and bombers as they move in for their bombing run. Meanwhile, the rebel TIE Interceptors try their best to stop the bombers, and two of them, both wingmates, swoop in on one of the escorting TIE Interceptors (Dante) in the hopes of breaching the line to assault the bombers. Leading the first flight of TIE's escorting the bombers, Dante is taking point which means she's among the first ones shot at. She rolls neatly, sliding back into position as soon as possible to avoid creating a gap in the pattern. "Mirden, prepare to fall back," she voices the warning, instructing one of the other SD's to prepare to slide into position in the formation due to the amount of damage it's already taken. Not being on the bridge itself she can't make that decision for him, but the option is there, to fall back and guard their flank while they continue the bombing runs. "Weapons free, I repeat, weapons free. Fire at will, then fall back, make room for the next wave." She's already opening fire on the enemy TIE's and anything that gets in their way. "Fire.." Liza hisses as she finally breaks free from the group, bringing the other bombers that formed up with her along for the ride. "Follow your vectors. Do not hesitate. Once you got them in range, I want you to fire.." She smiles as she says that, her excitement eveident in her voice. As the station looms before them, the targeting computer begins to sound off and Liza, along with the others, opens fire. The Star Destroyer starts to roll oddly on it's own as it's superstructure takes massive damage from the incoming turbolaser fire from the Golans. Alarms and sirens pierce the coldness of the bridge, and electronics start to shoot sparks from various panels. A crew member shouts to Mirden, "Sir, the ship is becoming unresponsive, and we've lost a lot of turbolaser batteries, we won't survive much longer!" Mirden knows this man speaks the truth, nodding to him and sternly saying, "Seal the bridge, have the secondary bridge prepare to take over if we get taken out." He thinks for a moment before saying, "Maneuvering, take us out of here, pull out." He switches over to the comm link to the fighter group saying, "We're not going to make it if we stay another five minutes, we need to pull back out of the fight and regroup." Mirden orders damage control squads to lock down bulkheads to seal off the ship from the massive breaches to the hull. Debris and specks of objects that he can only deduce are men are being sucked out into the vacuum of space, causing a slight pain in Mirden's stomach. He's losing men by the dozens due to the damage, and knows he needs to evacuate the fight quickly. Harkenson hisses. One of his Star Destroyers had been destroyed, and another was severely damaged, operating from her secondary bridge. One of the enemy Star Destroyers was pulling back, her own damage forcing her to succumb and retreat. But, Harkenson did not like his chances. The Imperial fleet was slowly but surely pushing his fleet back, and the bombers were now beginning their bombing run, and despite his men's best efforts, they could not intercept the bombers. Missiles and torpedoes slam into the shields and at various points across the Golan, and warning sirens blast throughout the battlestation. "Shields at 60%, sir! Shall I have a shuttle ready for your evacuation?" But Harkenson does not respond to this officer; he goes about continuing to direct the battle, ordering his Star Destroyers to pull back and draw the enemy Star Destroyers in towards the Golans so they can be ripped apart by the superior firepower. But the bombers are too small to be pinpointed by the turbolasers of the Golans, and they have to rely on their Interceptors to see the matter through. They continue to try to breach the fighter screen to attack the bombers as they begin their second attack wave. The first bombing run is completed and the second wave as well, both units wheeling and falling back to make room for the third then the fourth waves. Dante engages one of the enemy Interceptors, taking a solid hit on her shields but they hold long enough for her to return fire, maintaining her position as a fighter shield. "Do not get pulled into close combat," she warns over the comm to the SD's, watching as Mirden's I2SD falls back, having taken enough damage to warrant the movement. As soon as the fourth wave is complete she signals for the first unit to make the next run, again firing at any fighter that gets in their way, practically chasing their own 'tail' so to speak as the come around in a loop. Their trajectory is mapped out, which makes it more dangerous for them. "Attack pattern Beta," she orders, guiding the unit into a weaving dance that takes more time but hopefully allows them to make their run successfully. The ships move in unison, each pilot indeed being careful as Dante changes their own attack, Liza easily shifting her own formation easily. Yet another run is initiated, the bombers coming in fast and low, each ship only pulling up and away once their weapons are fired or they're in danger of being hit by enemy fire. As the bombing runs continue, five TIE Interceptors manage to breach the fighter screen and begin an assault on the bombers. They weave into the bomber formation as they begin their next attack run, firing laser after laser in a frenzy at the bombers to ward them off from another attack. Diving, climbing, rolling right and left, the Interceptors try their best to stay atop the bombers while avoiding a counter-attack from their enemy Interceptors. In the distance, one of the Imperial Star Destroyers explodes as concentrated fire from one of the other Golan Battlestations and a rebel Star Destroyer ravage it and overwhelm it, destroying it in an instant and vaporizing the lives of thousands of crewmen. Upon witnessing the destruction of the mighty Star Destroyer, morale among the rebels soars, and they fight on even harder, their will to survive against all odds driving them on to overcome their Imperial adversaries. The Command Golan, however, is not faring well from the repeated bomber assaults. Her shields have now dropped to a mere 10% functionality, and her crew are scrambling to all they can to keep the last bit of shield power active. Turbolasers continue firing at the bombers in the hopes of hitting one of them as the Interceptors do their best to intercept and destroy them. Dante will take the time to swear sometime later, but at the moment she's completing the most recent bombing run and engaging the enemy INT's again. Keeping an eye on the over all battle from her position requires a bit of multi-tasking, and it's with a glance that she catches the explosion of one of the SD's in the distance. She thumps one hand against her console, a reflexive gesture, but orders, "Keep in formation, those deaths will not be in vain. Keep formation, continue bombing runs!" The Scimitars home in on their target, the bombers weaving their way around just about everything that's thrown at them, a testimony of the skill of the pilots. The weapons officers' training is also flaunted as they get their wepaons fired off effortlessly, much to the pride of Liza. Mirden orders a damage control assessment, and the report is not good. Most of the 'belly' of his SD is gone, including his hangar, which means he has no means of escape other than escape pods, not a pleasant thought under the most peaceful of circumstances. Seeing one of the Imperial SD's perish in an explosion that lasted a mere matter of seconds, his crew is somewhat relieved at his order to pull out of the fight. He orders a scan on the center most Golan, relieved at the fact that it's shields are almost completely down. Even though the Golan is probably near destruction, the rest of the Imperial forces are not faring well, and he makes a decision he knows could cost him his life. "Put us back into the perimeter of the fight, let's engage one of those Cruiser's, but don't get too close to any of the Star Destroyers." He thinks for a moment before adding, "And also prepare to evacuate via escape pods, if necessary." The ship begins to slowly and awkwardly maneuver back into the edge of the fight, turbolaser and ion batteries opening fire on one of the Cruisers. The shields finally give away, exposing the Golan to the full brutality of the Imperial bombers. As the five Interceptors continue to harass the bombers, apparently unable to do anything to derail their assault, more and more missiles slam into the exposed hull of the Golan, chopping away entire sections of hull and vital systems. Explosions ripple throughout the Golan as more missiles impact, but her crew is adamant; they will not surrender, and keep on firing. One of the five Interceptors that breached the fighter screen hone in on Liza's bomber and open fire, while yet another opens fire on one of the bombers. Elsewhere, a cruiser turns its guns to bear on the wounded Star Destroyer commanded by Mirden, which has returned to the fight despite its heavy damage. The commander, cocky and confident he can take it on due to the heavy damage it has already sustained, orders the cruiser to open with everything on the wounded Star Destroyer and take it down. With sensors indicating that the shields are down on the Golan and it's taking serious damage, Dante gets a fleet assessment update as her unit wheels again to let the next three take their turn. "All units, time to shake things up again," she begins over the comm. "Units three and four, continue bombing runs. One and two, we're going to give that wounded I2SD a hand," meaning the one that Mirden is currently using as a pinata. On her mark the first two flights complete their bombing runs, turning and - at top maneuvering speed - press towards the cruisers and open fire as soon as they're within range. Targeting shield emitters, engines, weapons, with so many fighters in each unit they more or less paint the cruisers with weapons fire. Swarming over and around. Time after time, the bombers continue their endless attacks, never once slowing. "Alright...we've got them. Don't let up now." Liza knows that this might be the last time she sees some of the crewmembers that help with the raid against the Golan but she can't help but to feel pride welling up at the same time, pride in knowing the calibre of people she serives with. As the missiles hit home Liza feels more and more at peace with this...they're doing their jobs and doing it well. Standing 'at ease' in front of the viewports with his hands clasped behind his back, Mirden surveys the situation to his ship and the fleet. "All batteries focus fire power on the bridge of that Star Cruiser, let's hit her where it really hurts," he says with a sneer and an upturned lip. His crew look up at him from the crew pits with looks up unease and a hint of hostility, perhaps thinking he is foolish in his actions. He holds a face of strength, with an air of superiority about him, trying to instill confidence in his men by example. He smiles as he sees the bombers taking their toll on the Cruiser, and clicks on his comm unit to the bomber wing, "Thanks for your help." One of the explosions rip through the hull and tear into the generator storehouse, destroying it and causing a massive eruption of fire that engulfs the battlestation. Admiral Harkenson says nothing as his crew frantically fights to escape from the bridge in a vein attempt to reach the escape pods, and is soon vaporized by the explosion. The Golan is destroyed, and with it the command structure of the rebel military. Being the central hub of orders and communications, the rebel military is without a sense of direction or command. Their morale plummets, and disorganization begins to spread throughout the ranks. The cruiser that had been targetted by Mirden's damaged Star Destroyer continues its vein attack against the Star Destroyer, unaware that a flight of Imperial fighters and bombers had deviated to execute a run on her. Within seconds, the combined fire from Mirden's Star Destroyer and the Imperial bombers destroy the cruiser, saving the Star Destroyer from any more serious damage. Elsewhere, the rebel units grow weary and their fighting becomes sluggish. One of the remaining two Golans is heavily damaged from barrages by Imperial Star Destroyers and other bomber units, and the other is fighting to stay afloat. The rebellion has been reduced to only three operational Star Destroyers - one being destroyed, the other too damaged to continue a fight. Command of the rebels falls upon a junior captain, who, watching his forces crumble around him, decides its time to call it quits and surrender before anymore of his men have to suffer. A call is made to Admiral Benij, and the rebels begin to issue a "white flag" over the radio waves, begging for an end to hosilities. "Enough lives have been lost today." Dante's hands briefly rest on the console in front of her, tracking the progress of the battle as they turn the tide and the traitors begin crumble and their command structure appears to fall apart. The indication that the traitors are ready to surrender is made clear, and while the instinct is to wait for them to shut down the weapons systems then exterminate them is STRONG.. orders are orders. "Ours is not to question why," she says to herself then speaks into the comm. "All units stand down and fall back per the Admiral's orders," she says, "keep those targets painted," she adds in a lower voice. "If they so much as TWITCH, open fire again." "We'll keep everything covered on our ends.." Liza says over the comms. She gives the order to have the bombers move back into one group, quite the impressive sight considering their number despite their losses. It is fairly easy to tell that they are going to be capible of a lot of damage at once if they were to attack while so close together. Mirden lets out a hearty cheer as he views the destruction of the Cruiser, and his crew join him in his cheering as the message of surrender is broadcast. Smiles all around, he turns his back to the viewport to commend his crew on a job well done, and a brave fight. He radios to the rest of the fleet, "A job well done, I must say, a round of drinks for the crews of those bombers on me tonight." He says with respect in his voice for the crews. The space battle dies down. Imperial Stormtroopers have boarded the remaining Golans and enemy starships and secured them, placing all crew under arrest and preparing them for shipment to a re-education facility operated by the ISB. Both sides suffered the loss of one Star Destroyer, plus numerous other starships. Battle debris litters the space lanes over Teyr, a reminder of the Empire's stance on those who defy its rule. On Teyr itself, the rebel leaders conceal themselves within the safety of the Teyr Rift, protected by their military units. The battle isn't over yet.
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![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)