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| - Before him he watches as the Imperial warships revert to real space. The Imperial armada was quite impressive, broken up into three distinct groups. The first group consisted of the Malevolence and its support ships, and was aligned more or less with the enemy fleet over Cochran. The second group was several klicks "above" group one. The third group was several klicks "below" the first group. Kreldin had a plan, and he was prepared to execute it superbly. Behind the entire Imperial formation were Imperial carriers. In them were the Imperial bombers, prepared to take off and give the Griffons a nice morning wake-up call. Kreldin's head was unable to move, so he had to have his tactical computer positioned above him. It was a nuisance, but one he was willing to deal with. "Sir, Force Alpha has arrived in its entirety. Griffon fleet in orbit. Awaiting your orders." The Grand Admiral smiles. "Execute Retribution, Commander. Let them burn." The two main capital ships of the Griffon First Fleet were peacefully floating above the location where the City standed on Cochran - on each of its 'sides', each with their support ships. They all were 23 skeleton crew and were crewing up themselves again as most officers and NCO personel was waking up abord. A couple of squadrons were scouting the areas farther to the 'north' pole of the planet and getting back to the Gabriel now, alkmost finished with their scouting run. The Imperial fleet was not yet detected as they were out of scanner range. A normal starting day above the former debtor colony. With the recently concluded 'Exercise Eagle Talon' behind them the Griffon home defense fleet is back on orbit around Cochran, very much looking forward to their well-earned 96 hour pass down to the planet while the brass analyzes the data gathered during the Ex.. In fact, most of the crew is already gone.. though the remainder is still keeping a vigilant eye on the space around the system, just in case some adventurous marauder group decide to hit Cochran. "Tea, Ma'am?" asks the young Lt. with a bright smile as he walks over the middle aged Exo, who returns the smile and the nod "Thank you.. that would be lovely.." and with that she reaches out and takes the offered cup, a small sip, then she places it into the special holder designed to keep it steady even during combat maneuvers "So, Lieutenant Jor, I hear you're planning to pop the big question while on leave, is that correct?" she asks with a smile, causing the blonde haired junior officer to blush "Ehh, yes Ma'am.. I was hoping to do it while on leave.. I invited Ensign Lyra to come and visit my family, I'm planning to ask her to marry me while we're there.." to which the XO just smiles an almost motherly smile "That's good to hear.. there was actually a pool going on to see when you'll finally ask her.. in fact, I got 50 credits riding on it, so make it say.. tomorrow around 18:00.. and I'll send my winning on a nice bridal gift.." Then suddenly, for a split second the lights blink out and the bridge is filled with an eerie red glow "Imperial ships inbound, lots of them!" comes a shout from the officer manning the sensor controls "..including an SSD!" "Shields up, Red Alert, warn the rest of the fleet, warn civilian traffic.. stop all outgoing shuttles, see if the Captain is still aboard, helm.. bring us around, course 143, 23 mark 04, full speed ahead, bring us between the Imp fleet and planet. Bring all weapons on line, arm torpedoes.. Tac-COM.. start tagging all hostile vessels in the area and feed the telemetry to the rest of the Fleet." this is of course from the silver haired XO, her tea long forgotten as her brown eyes now focus only on the main holo-projector.. displaying the sector with more and more red glowing dots appearing within.. )) "Depressurize all tubes", the Commander informs his bridge crew, enciting a silent heightening of everyone's anticipation. For the countless concussion missile tubes aboard the Malignant are the heart and soul of the screening vessel's abilities, and while not one person onboard can actually hear the oxygen flooding forth as the tubes are sealed away from the ship and opened to space, almost without exception the sounds resonate in the crew's mind as the order to do so is relayed over the intercom. ((Bogumil)))) "Move us out to join the Gabriel," comes the strangely mild yet resonating voice of the Star Destroyer's captain. "Best speed possible." ((Snarl Sorry for the short'n'slow)))) Seifer was in the right mood, he had been angry alot lately, and this was his chance to let loose. After the Dark Jedi he was ready for anything. "Watch for any enemy fighters." He said to his Gunner. ((WOLF)))) Then, after a few moments, the turbolasers at the fore of the Dreadnought open fire, hundreds of batteries flaring to life as they fired long-range at the enemy fleet. There was no precision shooting; they were too far for that. Instead, they were intended to scatter the enemy fleet, to isolate them and take them down, one by one. The turbolaser bolts were fired "above" the fighter and bomber formations, hundreds of fighter craft streaming towards their targets, so as not to hit any friendly craft. "Once we reach point b, execute attack pattern triad," Kreldin speaks into the comlink set into place above him. "They won't know what hit 'em. Also, Delta Squadron, keep a tight cover around the Warlord's squadron. Don't want any harm coming to him now, or else it's on you guys." But for now, though, the Imperial fleet continues onward towards the targets, remaining in the same three-group formation as they had arrived in space, firing turbolasers across the vast void of space. They were still too far for any effective fire, but soon.. soon. (DANIK) And with that the Mako continues accelerating.. all weapon ports open and she's ready to unleash a barrage of her own on the Imperials even she's hit multiple times by the enemy I2SD.. Yes, the odds might be against the Griffon defenders.. but they will sell their lives dear.. a flash.. another and a third one as three torpedoes rocket from the Mako, cerulean comets aimed at one of the Scimitars.. (Ta) )) The GSS Black Eagle does not completely close ranks with the GSS Gabriel and the GSS Admiral. Instead, the Star Destroyer holds a steady distance for the moment so that the deployment of various vessels can be duely noted and a plan of attack drafted. The captain absently strokes his lush pepper and salt mustache, not noticing the thoughtful gesture that his crew has long since come to understand as meaning he is thinking hard. "Helm, be ready to move closer to the fray once we have determined the best course to follow," the man says calmly. "Yessir," comes the prompt reply from the young red-headed woman seated at the helm controls, her fingers obediently poised to take the massive ship into motion. At that moment, everyone on the bridge who has the moment of leisure to view the screen displaying the newly engaged battle is treated to the not-so-pleasant sight of the GSS Gabriel being hit several times by laser fire. Not moments later, they receive a message from the attacked vessel. Not asking for assistance, but suggesting that they target the VSD. The captain sighs and shakes his head before glancing to his left, "Fire turbolasers on the Victory Star Destroyer and see if you can't distract them for a while. We're probably too far away to do much damage, but it may at least get their attention. Helm, stay ready." Acknowledgements are murmured from various locations before the Black Eagle's turbolasers come to life.)) That is, until he picks up three locks heading down on him. Thinking they were proton torpedoes or some other high payload, Tellain rolls away from the lock and jinks his craft 'up' to pass the third one, 'down' and away for the second one, and back up again for the third one. It takes him a few moments to realize he's no longer facing the target. Grumbling, he pops a radio to the squadron. "Sorry, sir, got a little carried away there." He swings back to try and orient himself for another run on the Gabriel.)) "Grand Admiral, sir, we've arrived at the point. Your orders?" "Execute pattern triad; all ships, you know what to do," Kreldin says into his communicator. And thus the Imperial fleet begins to execute the maneuver. Group 1, consisting of the Malevolence and her escorts, accelerate forward at full combat speed, staying on their present course towards the enemy lines. Meanwhile, Group Two, being "above", prepares to climb towards the enemy fleet, and then when they arrive "over" the enemy fleet, they would simply come down from above, raining their turbolasers down; while Group 3, being "below", would continue onward while diving, and then when properly positioned below the Griffon fleet, they would start to climb and rain their turbolasers on the exposed weak spots of the Griffon warships. At least, that was Kreldin's intentions. The three groups would converge on the Griffon fleet from all possible angles, attacking weak spots and making any maneuver not worthwhile; should a Griffon warship turn to face Group 2, they would expose their weaker belly to Group 1, and so forth with each group. But for now, the Imperial warships are merely getting themselves into position, accelerating as fast as they could to execute the tactic. Kreldin simply smiles to himself. He knew it would work.. it had to. But if the Republic showed up, it would throw a wrench in his plans. He had to move quickly and finish the job before the Republic could make any attempt to rescue the Griffons; they were the only variable in his plan. The damn rebels had beaten them at O'paal, and embarrassed Kreldin at Etti IV. They were getting better, for sure. Kreldin just has to stay one step ahead. "Are the Interdictors in place yet?" Kreldin asks, to anyone in general. "Not yet, sir, they're still moving into position." With that the Mako slowly rolls starboard, now presenting a different.. fresh shield facing to the Imperials even as her weapons keep firing torpedo salvo after torpedo salvo.. now engaging multiple Scimitars in order to discourage them from firing at the fleeing civilian ships.. though so far most of the Imperials have focused their fire on her. A flicker as her tormented frontal shield finally overloads and collapses.. but for now she's still somewhat safe as her fresh starboard shield is presented to the enemy fleet.. and with that her weapons continue firing.. (Ta) )) It doesn't appear that this battle will have a particularly happy ending unless something alters soon. The destruction of a certain enemy capital ship would certainly help... "Fire," the captain orders, his tone calm yet carrying that element of command that every lesser officer clearly hears and understands. Fingers dance over the weapons console, triggering yet another barrage of turbolaser fire to be unleashed. ((Snarl)))) "Break, Break!" Comes in through Wolf's comm, straight away he puts his fighter into a spin, and sure enough the enemy fire stream passed, "Whoa, That was a bit close! Someone get that fighter off my tail!" he said into his comm, just as he looks out the window at another fighter taking interest in him.. He quickly his fighter around, dodging again.. "What is it with these people and me today?!" He said, Bringing his bomber to bear on the large cruiser once again, "Missiles loaded, Sir!" His co-pilot said, "Fire." Another Conc. missile streams from his Scimitar straight towards the Gabriel.)) Tellain banks in just enough time to reorient himself to look back at the Gabriel. He breathes in, and back out. There shouldn't be too much of a problem attempting to shoot a--*BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP*-- Tellain doesn't take the time to facepalm as he recieves a new torpedo lock. Instead, he slams down on the pedals and rolls while keeping the Gabriel within visual range. This doesn't help as the torpedo slpashes against the ship's shields. Taking a glance at his shields, and back at the Gabriel, Tellain peers behind him in hopes he can see his co-pilot. Despite not having a good look at him, the other man grunts back at the pilot. "Try that one ship over there." Tellain asks back. "Which one?" "The one showing up as the enemy." There is a brief pause before Tellain figures out which one he means. "Oh, right." Tellain quicky banks and lets loose a missile at the Black Eagle. Hopefully nothing goes wrong there.)) The pilot made a long face out of horror as his fighter shudders a little, not from a hit on Theta One, but rather from a shock wave emitted from the MAKO below it. That meant its shields went offline. That could have made him desperate, but instead it rather heightened his will for combat. Which doubled when a torpedo from the very Gabriel hit hard on the Scimitar. "Gonna pay for this..." he mutters, as he's still sticking on the Scimitar's six, matching its very movement... that were still towards the Gabriel. Yeah, the scimitar pilot was a bold man, no doubt, but in that position the Scimitar was quite open for destruction. The scimitar let out another missile... And Theta One shot another volley of lasers, that sprayed more and more tightly against the Leader. In the meanwhile, the city got aware of the situation above and measures were enacted accordingly. The shields above the city got up, merely only protecting it, and reserves were being called for duty. Those who volunteered were given equipment, for withstanding a direct assault, and additional fighters were being launched off the Lion's Den, the Griffon fortified base just north the hills, that extended underground. Some ships were taking off the main starport, yes, probably people who were there but were not Griffons... And nothing indicated the people down there were mass retreating. A few fast ships took off, perhaps responsible fathers who told theiur family to leave and come back once the battle is over, and headed out for hyperspace lanes, carefully avoiding the battle above. Reports are coming in to Kreldin's..station..that the Mako was issuing heavy fire with its proton torpedoes. And it is none too pretty. So far a lot of Scimitars have fallen. But the Empire has one major advantage: there is only one Mako. Kreldin knows it would be unable to keep up for too long. "You guys know the order of succession. Isolate and destroy them," he speaks into the communicator, watching as more ships blink out on the tactical display. The Imperial fleet continues on their present course to encircle and trap the Griffon fleet, the three groups fanning out and preparing to spring the trap. 'A few more minutes,' Kreldin muses to himself, wishing he could get up from his medical bed and observe the battle from the bridge view port as he normally does. "That Victory Star Destroyer is giving hell to the Malignant.. focus batteries 15-35 on the Black Eagle, Chief." Danik's orders are followed out. On the port side of the massive hull of the Malevolence, the Star Dreadnought, turbolaser batteries begin opening fire, streaking out towards the Black Eagle. The space between the Imperial fleets and the Griffon fleet are filled with green and red turbolaser blasts and missiles, but that space is slowly but surely growing smaller and smaller. Other portions of Group 1, however, keep up their fire on the Gabriel and other vessels, the other two groups still not in position to open fire yet. The Interdictors, however, are still moving into position, their gravity well generators powering up. They were moving to strategic points in the system, escorted by Lancer-class anti-starfighter frigates and a squadron of TIE Interceptors each. But there was still some time before all preparations could be finalized, enough time for the civilian transports to get away. "Grand Admiral, sir, the shields on the primary target have fallen. How shall we proceed?" "Precision firing on the Gabriel; target her proton torpedo launchers. Those pilots need all the help they can get." Kreldin doesn't seem phased by the departure of the civilian ships; they were meanginless to him. He was not here to shoot down those who would flee; rather, kill those who decide to stay and fight, however foolish it is. And the raising of the planetary shields does not come as a surprise. He planned for it, and the second phase of the operation would handle it - if they got that far. The Republic was still an adversary he could not underestimate. "Ignore the civilian ships. Let them go." There is a brief pause, tension seeming tangible in the air of the bridge and making it harder to breathe despite the fact that life support is functioning perfectly well on the Star Destroyer. At least for the moment. "Weapons, switch our next attack from turbolasers to concussion missles and fire again on that Victory class SD... but see if you can't manage to strike the other capital ship as well. Just once," the man with the bushy mustache finally orders. Might as well try to share the 'wealth' as it were.)) His co-pilot points at the monitor. "Your shields are down." Tellain turns back. "Hey, I do not need the echo in the ship. Just do what I ask and we'll get back to the ship with minor scratches and maybe some fresh paint for the kill." Since the Black Eagle has yet to fire at him, Tellain doesn't see much of a threat to their collective well being and sets off another missile at it.)) < On the planet below, more important ships such as DSV or corvettes were being launched, probably families who didn't own a private ship - since the Griffons were community-oriented, personal wealth was often small - had probably been stacked on those ships. They fly the same path in order to avoid the ongoing battle that looked quite dire, considering a whole fighting group didn't even engage into battle.)) The time has come, however. Groups two and three had finally arrived in position, and were angling towards their targets, firing turbolasers and missiles at the new targets. Ships vanish under a blossom of explosions as the Imperial vise begins to close on the Griffon fleet. "I suppose the Griffons have really been suffering ever since Pride-1 more than we though," Danik says, blinking as he watches the tactical display. "All the better. Pending any unforseen events, I think we have this well under wraps.." Of course he was referring to the Republic. As Danik watches the civilian ships flee towards hyperspace, Danik can't help but wonder just how far away the Republic main fleet is. The GSS Gabriel, or what's left of her, soaks up more damage as she maintains her position in front of the Imperial Fleet.. blocking the route to the planet, trying to buy some time for the civilians to evacuate.. Her entire hull is now buckling under the combined assault of the enemy fleet.. fires are burning out of control as the damage control systems were also shut down so power could be redirected to weapons and shields. "Sir, we lost most of our torpedo tubes on the starboard side, some of our turbolaser batteries are also destroyed as well, we cannot lost much longer against them." comes the calm, almost emotionless voice of the tactical officer, though his face is openly showing the strain he's under "Copy that.." says the Captain and her brown eyes narrow as she considers the situation "Helm, give me ramming speed.." a second of silence, then without any further hesitation the helmsman complies. The ship lurches forward, completely ignoring the enemy missiles slamming into her hull.. her own weapon system fall silent one by one.. some due to being destroyed and the rest because energy has been cut from them and redirected to the engines "Arm all torpedoes, initiate a cascade loop to overload the main engine, all non-essential personnel.. abandon ship.." comes the Captain's second last command and within second escape pods are beginning to leave the doomed flagship as it continues maintains its course.. gaining more and more speed every second.. heading straight toward the Imperial armada.. At this point her exact target is almost impossible to determine.. but chances are she's not going after one of the Scimitars.. (Ta) )) For a moment, most activity on the bridge of the Black Eagle ceases as things begin to happen quickly on screen. It would appear that the dying Gabriel has decided to go out in a blaze of glory and hopefully take as many of the enemy ships with it as possible. While a sad state of affairs, the captain of the Eagle can't help but approve those brave souls in his heart. He sighs quietly at the loss of life before lifting a hand and directing his gaze toward his weapons officer. "Give them a moment. We need to see where and how the enemy scatters..." He breaks off as the communications officer imparts important news. "Sir, the New Republic fleet is arriving. Help should be here soon." Another brief pause can be felt on the bridge of the Black Eagle while the captain absorbs the information and decides on what to do with it. After a moment, he strokes his large salt and pepper mustache before answering, "Fire again on the that Star Destroyer closest to us, and then... we will retreat and regroup with our New Republic allies. It will give us time to repair our shields and enter the fray afresh. I believe that we will be most effective that way and the Gabriel's sacrifice may be less in vain. We would accomplish little here on our own without shields." The reasoning complete, the captain nods. "Go ahead, weapons. Fire missles. Helm, prepare to retreat to the New Republic fleet's location. Engineering, see about getting our shields repaired en route.")) From SW1ki, a Wikia wiki.
- Before him he watches as the Imperial warships revert to real space. The Imperial armada was quite impressive, broken up into three distinct groups. The first group consisted of the Malevolence and its support ships, and was aligned more or less with the enemy fleet over Cochran. The second group was several klicks "above" group one. The third group was several klicks "below" the first group. Kreldin had a plan, and he was prepared to execute it superbly. Behind the entire Imperial formation were Imperial carriers. In them were the Imperial bombers, prepared to take off and give the Griffons a nice morning wake-up call. Kreldin's head was unable to move, so he had to have his tactical computer positioned above him. It was a nuisance, but one he was willing to deal with. "Sir, Force Alpha has arrived in its entirety. Griffon fleet in orbit. Awaiting your orders." The Grand Admiral smiles. "Execute Retribution, Commander. Let them burn." The two main capital ships of the Griffon First Fleet were peacefully floating above the location where the City standed on Cochran - on each of its 'sides', each with their support ships. They all were 23 skeleton crew and were crewing up themselves again as most officers and NCO personel was waking up abord. A couple of squadrons were scouting the areas farther to the 'north' pole of the planet and getting back to the Gabriel now, alkmost finished with their scouting run. The Imperial fleet was not yet detected as they were out of scanner range. A normal starting day above the former debtor colony. With the recently concluded 'Exercise Eagle Talon' behind them the Griffon home defense fleet is back on orbit around Cochran, very much looking forward to their well-earned 96 hour pass down to the planet while the brass analyzes the data gathered during the Ex.. In fact, most of the crew is already gone.. though the remainder is still keeping a vigilant eye on the space around the system, just in case some adventurous marauder group decide to hit Cochran. "Tea, Ma'am?" asks the young Lt. with a bright smile as he walks over the middle aged Exo, who returns the smile and the nod "Thank you.. that would be lovely.." and with that she reaches out and takes the offered cup, a small sip, then she places it into the special holder designed to keep it steady even during combat maneuvers "So, Lieutenant Jor, I hear you're planning to pop the big question while on leave, is that correct?" she asks with a smile, causing the blonde haired junior officer to blush "Ehh, yes Ma'am.. I was hoping to do it while on leave.. I invited Ensign Lyra to come and visit my family, I'm planning to ask her to marry me while we're there.." to which the XO just smiles an almost motherly smile "That's good to hear.. there was actually a pool going on to see when you'll finally ask her.. in fact, I got 50 credits riding on it, so make it say.. tomorrow around 18:00.. and I'll send my winning on a nice bridal gift.." Then suddenly, for a split second the lights blink out and the bridge is filled with an eerie red glow "Imperial ships inbound, lots of them!" comes a shout from the officer manning the sensor controls "..including an SSD!" "Shields up, Red Alert, warn the rest of the fleet, warn civilian traffic.. stop all outgoing shuttles, see if the Captain is still aboard, helm.. bring us around, course 143, 23 mark 04, full speed ahead, bring us between the Imp fleet and planet. Bring all weapons on line, arm torpedoes.. Tac-COM.. start tagging all hostile vessels in the area and feed the telemetry to the rest of the Fleet." this is of course from the silver haired XO, her tea long forgotten as her brown eyes now focus only on the main holo-projector.. displaying the sector with more and more red glowing dots appearing within.. )) "Depressurize all tubes", the Commander informs his bridge crew, enciting a silent heightening of everyone's anticipation. For the countless concussion missile tubes aboard the Malignant are the heart and soul of the screening vessel's abilities, and while not one person onboard can actually hear the oxygen flooding forth as the tubes are sealed away from the ship and opened to space, almost without exception the sounds resonate in the crew's mind as the order to do so is relayed over the intercom. ((Bogumil)))) "Move us out to join the Gabriel," comes the strangely mild yet resonating voice of the Star Destroyer's captain. "Best speed possible." ((Snarl Sorry for the short'n'slow)))) Seifer was in the right mood, he had been angry alot lately, and this was his chance to let loose. After the Dark Jedi he was ready for anything. "Watch for any enemy fighters." He said to his Gunner. ((WOLF)))) Then, after a few moments, the turbolasers at the fore of the Dreadnought open fire, hundreds of batteries flaring to life as they fired long-range at the enemy fleet. There was no precision shooting; they were too far for that. Instead, they were intended to scatter the enemy fleet, to isolate them and take them down, one by one. The turbolaser bolts were fired "above" the fighter and bomber formations, hundreds of fighter craft streaming towards their targets, so as not to hit any friendly craft. "Once we reach point b, execute attack pattern triad," Kreldin speaks into the comlink set into place above him. "They won't know what hit 'em. Also, Delta Squadron, keep a tight cover around the Warlord's squadron. Don't want any harm coming to him now, or else it's on you guys." But for now, though, the Imperial fleet continues onward towards the targets, remaining in the same three-group formation as they had arrived in space, firing turbolasers across the vast void of space. They were still too far for any effective fire, but soon.. soon. (DANIK) And with that the Mako continues accelerating.. all weapon ports open and she's ready to unleash a barrage of her own on the Imperials even she's hit multiple times by the enemy I2SD.. Yes, the odds might be against the Griffon defenders.. but they will sell their lives dear.. a flash.. another and a third one as three torpedoes rocket from the Mako, cerulean comets aimed at one of the Scimitars.. (Ta) )) The GSS Black Eagle does not completely close ranks with the GSS Gabriel and the GSS Admiral. Instead, the Star Destroyer holds a steady distance for the moment so that the deployment of various vessels can be duely noted and a plan of attack drafted. The captain absently strokes his lush pepper and salt mustache, not noticing the thoughtful gesture that his crew has long since come to understand as meaning he is thinking hard. "Helm, be ready to move closer to the fray once we have determined the best course to follow," the man says calmly. "Yessir," comes the prompt reply from the young red-headed woman seated at the helm controls, her fingers obediently poised to take the massive ship into motion. At that moment, everyone on the bridge who has the moment of leisure to view the screen displaying the newly engaged battle is treated to the not-so-pleasant sight of the GSS Gabriel being hit several times by laser fire. Not moments later, they receive a message from the attacked vessel. Not asking for assistance, but suggesting that they target the VSD. The captain sighs and shakes his head before glancing to his left, "Fire turbolasers on the Victory Star Destroyer and see if you can't distract them for a while. We're probably too far away to do much damage, but it may at least get their attention. Helm, stay ready." Acknowledgements are murmured from various locations before the Black Eagle's turbolasers come to life.)) That is, until he picks up three locks heading down on him. Thinking they were proton torpedoes or some other high payload, Tellain rolls away from the lock and jinks his craft 'up' to pass the third one, 'down' and away for the second one, and back up again for the third one. It takes him a few moments to realize he's no longer facing the target. Grumbling, he pops a radio to the squadron. "Sorry, sir, got a little carried away there." He swings back to try and orient himself for another run on the Gabriel.)) "Grand Admiral, sir, we've arrived at the point. Your orders?" "Execute pattern triad; all ships, you know what to do," Kreldin says into his communicator. And thus the Imperial fleet begins to execute the maneuver. Group 1, consisting of the Malevolence and her escorts, accelerate forward at full combat speed, staying on their present course towards the enemy lines. Meanwhile, Group Two, being "above", prepares to climb towards the enemy fleet, and then when they arrive "over" the enemy fleet, they would simply come down from above, raining their turbolasers down; while Group 3, being "below", would continue onward while diving, and then when properly positioned below the Griffon fleet, they would start to climb and rain their turbolasers on the exposed weak spots of the Griffon warships. At least, that was Kreldin's intentions. The three groups would converge on the Griffon fleet from all possible angles, attacking weak spots and making any maneuver not worthwhile; should a Griffon warship turn to face Group 2, they would expose their weaker belly to Group 1, and so forth with each group. But for now, the Imperial warships are merely getting themselves into position, accelerating as fast as they could to execute the tactic. Kreldin simply smiles to himself. He knew it would work.. it had to. But if the Republic showed up, it would throw a wrench in his plans. He had to move quickly and finish the job before the Republic could make any attempt to rescue the Griffons; they were the only variable in his plan. The damn rebels had beaten them at O'paal, and embarrassed Kreldin at Etti IV. They were getting better, for sure. Kreldin just has to stay one step ahead. "Are the Interdictors in place yet?" Kreldin asks, to anyone in general. "Not yet, sir, they're still moving into position." With that the Mako slowly rolls starboard, now presenting a different.. fresh shield facing to the Imperials even as her weapons keep firing torpedo salvo after torpedo salvo.. now engaging multiple Scimitars in order to discourage them from firing at the fleeing civilian ships.. though so far most of the Imperials have focused their fire on her. A flicker as her tormented frontal shield finally overloads and collapses.. but for now she's still somewhat safe as her fresh starboard shield is presented to the enemy fleet.. and with that her weapons continue firing.. (Ta) )) It doesn't appear that this battle will have a particularly happy ending unless something alters soon. The destruction of a certain enemy capital ship would certainly help... "Fire," the captain orders, his tone calm yet carrying that element of command that every lesser officer clearly hears and understands. Fingers dance over the weapons console, triggering yet another barrage of turbolaser fire to be unleashed. ((Snarl)))) "Break, Break!" Comes in through Wolf's comm, straight away he puts his fighter into a spin, and sure enough the enemy fire stream passed, "Whoa, That was a bit close! Someone get that fighter off my tail!" he said into his comm, just as he looks out the window at another fighter taking interest in him.. He quickly his fighter around, dodging again.. "What is it with these people and me today?!" He said, Bringing his bomber to bear on the large cruiser once again, "Missiles loaded, Sir!" His co-pilot said, "Fire." Another Conc. missile streams from his Scimitar straight towards the Gabriel.)) Tellain banks in just enough time to reorient himself to look back at the Gabriel. He breathes in, and back out. There shouldn't be too much of a problem attempting to shoot a--*BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP*-- Tellain doesn't take the time to facepalm as he recieves a new torpedo lock. Instead, he slams down on the pedals and rolls while keeping the Gabriel within visual range. This doesn't help as the torpedo slpashes against the ship's shields. Taking a glance at his shields, and back at the Gabriel, Tellain peers behind him in hopes he can see his co-pilot. Despite not having a good look at him, the other man grunts back at the pilot. "Try that one ship over there." Tellain asks back. "Which one?" "The one showing up as the enemy." There is a brief pause before Tellain figures out which one he means. "Oh, right." Tellain quicky banks and lets loose a missile at the Black Eagle. Hopefully nothing goes wrong there.)) The pilot made a long face out of horror as his fighter shudders a little, not from a hit on Theta One, but rather from a shock wave emitted from the MAKO below it. That meant its shields went offline. That could have made him desperate, but instead it rather heightened his will for combat. Which doubled when a torpedo from the very Gabriel hit hard on the Scimitar. "Gonna pay for this..." he mutters, as he's still sticking on the Scimitar's six, matching its very movement... that were still towards the Gabriel. Yeah, the scimitar pilot was a bold man, no doubt, but in that position the Scimitar was quite open for destruction. The scimitar let out another missile... And Theta One shot another volley of lasers, that sprayed more and more tightly against the Leader. In the meanwhile, the city got aware of the situation above and measures were enacted accordingly. The shields above the city got up, merely only protecting it, and reserves were being called for duty. Those who volunteered were given equipment, for withstanding a direct assault, and additional fighters were being launched off the Lion's Den, the Griffon fortified base just north the hills, that extended underground. Some ships were taking off the main starport, yes, probably people who were there but were not Griffons... And nothing indicated the people down there were mass retreating. A few fast ships took off, perhaps responsible fathers who told theiur family to leave and come back once the battle is over, and headed out for hyperspace lanes, carefully avoiding the battle above. Reports are coming in to Kreldin's..station..that the Mako was issuing heavy fire with its proton torpedoes. And it is none too pretty. So far a lot of Scimitars have fallen. But the Empire has one major advantage: there is only one Mako. Kreldin knows it would be unable to keep up for too long. "You guys know the order of succession. Isolate and destroy them," he speaks into the communicator, watching as more ships blink out on the tactical display. The Imperial fleet continues on their present course to encircle and trap the Griffon fleet, the three groups fanning out and preparing to spring the trap. 'A few more minutes,' Kreldin muses to himself, wishing he could get up from his medical bed and observe the battle from the bridge view port as he normally does. "That Victory Star Destroyer is giving hell to the Malignant.. focus batteries 15-35 on the Black Eagle, Chief." Danik's orders are followed out. On the port side of the massive hull of the Malevolence, the Star Dreadnought, turbolaser batteries begin opening fire, streaking out towards the Black Eagle. The space between the Imperial fleets and the Griffon fleet are filled with green and red turbolaser blasts and missiles, but that space is slowly but surely growing smaller and smaller. Other portions of Group 1, however, keep up their fire on the Gabriel and other vessels, the other two groups still not in position to open fire yet. The Interdictors, however, are still moving into position, their gravity well generators powering up. They were moving to strategic points in the system, escorted by Lancer-class anti-starfighter frigates and a squadron of TIE Interceptors each. But there was still some time before all preparations could be finalized, enough time for the civilian transports to get away. "Grand Admiral, sir, the shields on the primary target have fallen. How shall we proceed?" "Precision firing on the Gabriel; target her proton torpedo launchers. Those pilots need all the help they can get." Kreldin doesn't seem phased by the departure of the civilian ships; they were meanginless to him. He was not here to shoot down those who would flee; rather, kill those who decide to stay and fight, however foolish it is. And the raising of the planetary shields does not come as a surprise. He planned for it, and the second phase of the operation would handle it - if they got that far. The Republic was still an adversary he could not underestimate. "Ignore the civilian ships. Let them go." There is a brief pause, tension seeming tangible in the air of the bridge and making it harder to breathe despite the fact that life support is functioning perfectly well on the Star Destroyer. At least for the moment. "Weapons, switch our next attack from turbolasers to concussion missles and fire again on that Victory class SD... but see if you can't manage to strike the other capital ship as well. Just once," the man with the bushy mustache finally orders. Might as well try to share the 'wealth' as it were.)) His co-pilot points at the monitor. "Your shields are down." Tellain turns back. "Hey, I do not need the echo in the ship. Just do what I ask and we'll get back to the ship with minor scratches and maybe some fresh paint for the kill." Since the Black Eagle has yet to fire at him, Tellain doesn't see much of a threat to their collective well being and sets off another missile at it.)) < On the planet below, more important ships such as DSV or corvettes were being launched, probably families who didn't own a private ship - since the Griffons were community-oriented, personal wealth was often small - had probably been stacked on those ships. They fly the same path in order to avoid the ongoing battle that looked quite dire, considering a whole fighting group didn't even engage into battle.)) The time has come, however. Groups two and three had finally arrived in position, and were angling towards their targets, firing turbolasers and missiles at the new targets. Ships vanish under a blossom of explosions as the Imperial vise begins to close on the Griffon fleet. "I suppose the Griffons have really been suffering ever since Pride-1 more than we though," Danik says, blinking as he watches the tactical display. "All the better. Pending any unforseen events, I think we have this well under wraps.." Of course he was referring to the Republic. As Danik watches the civilian ships flee towards hyperspace, Danik can't help but wonder just how far away the Republic main fleet is. The GSS Gabriel, or what's left of her, soaks up more damage as she maintains her position in front of the Imperial Fleet.. blocking the route to the planet, trying to buy some time for the civilians to evacuate.. Her entire hull is now buckling under the combined assault of the enemy fleet.. fires are burning out of control as the damage control systems were also shut down so power could be redirected to weapons and shields. "Sir, we lost most of our torpedo tubes on the starboard side, some of our turbolaser batteries are also destroyed as well, we cannot lost much longer against them." comes the calm, almost emotionless voice of the tactical officer, though his face is openly showing the strain he's under "Copy that.." says the Captain and her brown eyes narrow as she considers the situation "Helm, give me ramming speed.." a second of silence, then without any further hesitation the helmsman complies. The ship lurches forward, completely ignoring the enemy missiles slamming into her hull.. her own weapon system fall silent one by one.. some due to being destroyed and the rest because energy has been cut from them and redirected to the engines "Arm all torpedoes, initiate a cascade loop to overload the main engine, all non-essential personnel.. abandon ship.." comes the Captain's second last command and within second escape pods are beginning to leave the doomed flagship as it continues maintains its course.. gaining more and more speed every second.. heading straight toward the Imperial armada.. At this point her exact target is almost impossible to determine.. but chances are she's not going after one of the Scimitars.. (Ta) )) For a moment, most activity on the bridge of the Black Eagle ceases as things begin to happen quickly on screen. It would appear that the dying Gabriel has decided to go out in a blaze of glory and hopefully take as many of the enemy ships with it as possible. While a sad state of affairs, the captain of the Eagle can't help but approve those brave souls in his heart. He sighs quietly at the loss of life before lifting a hand and directing his gaze toward his weapons officer. "Give them a moment. We need to see where and how the enemy scatters..." He breaks off as the communications officer imparts important news. "Sir, the New Republic fleet is arriving. Help should be here soon." Another brief pause can be felt on the bridge of the Black Eagle while the captain absorbs the information and decides on what to do with it. After a moment, he strokes his large salt and pepper mustache before answering, "Fire again on the that Star Destroyer closest to us, and then... we will retreat and regroup with our New Republic allies. It will give us time to repair our shields and enter the fray afresh. I believe that we will be most effective that way and the Gabriel's sacrifice may be less in vain. We would accomplish little here on our own without shields." The reasoning complete, the captain nods. "Go ahead, weapons. Fire missles. Helm, prepare to retreat to the New Republic fleet's location. Engineering, see about getting our shields repaired en route."))
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