| abstract
| - There were certain things in the galaxy that everyone knew would only be a matter of time before it happened, not if it would. Such a day around Calamari where the Imperials showed up in force was one such thing, the only thing being a surprise is how many forces show up and when. Exiting hyperspace in a fast deceleration was the V2SD Nemesis, shortly followed by the ships of the entire Task Force Inquisitor. On the bridge of the Nemesis in full flight gear is the Marshal himself, leading his Task Force into the heart of the enemy's domain. There were orders from the Inquisitor himself of what they were doing here and he wasn't going to leave until they were carried out. Calling on the comm to the Inquisitor he says, "Captain Vermillion, begin your move forward." To the rest of the force he says, "All ships advance, keep the picket line forward and prepare a path for our larger forces." Turning with a glare to the comm officer he says, "it is time." The comm officer opens up a channel that takes the image of Krieg's face and transmits it on all rebel known frequencies. In a thickly accented corellian Krieg commands, "Attention citizens of Calamari. I am Marshal Krieg Inrokana of the Task Force Inquisitor. We are here to deliver supplies to the Quarren of this world. Stand down and allow us passage." The comm officer clicks the comm off, but Krieg doesn't wait for a reply. "I am departing to go fly. Keep the ships moving and do not stop until we have done what we have come for." With that he departs for the turbolift. Alarms ring out on the bridges of various NR capital ships, and orders are given. Weapons powering up, the great engines beginning to cycle up to an attack footing. Feet pound the decks as officers and enlisted alike man their battle stations. On the bridge of Home One, Admiral Ackbar lifts his head calmly. "They are late," he murmurs to himself before nodding to acknowledge the reports that begin flowing in. Another nod gets his communication officer to link to one of the channels that Inrokana was using. "Marshal Inrokana, your forces have invaded New Republic space. We will accept any humanitarian aid you wish to render for the people of Dac. Any other aid you are here to provide is unwelcome and will not reach its destination. You may signal your acknowledgement of this order by changing course to two one nine point four." However, the wily Mon Calamari admiral isn't one to be a fool. He doesn't expect their guests to comply, thus the orders ripple through the fleet. Battle stations. Defense plans. Plans within plans. Some ships left in reserve, fighters ordered to launch, but to hold fire until the Imperial response is given, one way or another. Nicamonte stands over the sensor console and marvels at the number of capital ships gathered here, to say its a ship techs dream would be an understatment. What would be make even better is if a few choice tidbits fell by the way side. He pats the armored shoulder of the pilot "Passive only, one the shooting starts. We can dare a bit more." It is purely by coincidence that Rasi finds himself on the bridge at this point, some administrative scheduling snafu having mixed up something or other. Or more likely, it is that bad luck of his that always ends up placing him square in the middle of climactic battles. There might even have been a pool around the vessel betting on which shift of his the battle would get started as. As soon as the first signs of Imperial vessel signatures are spotted by the sensor devices littering the system, the ship's automated battle klaxons begin to sound, commands dictating some to their battlestations and the rest to their quarters. A few deep breaths are taken and he begins issuing commands to the various officers on the bridge, flight control being ordered to launch fighters, damage control teams dispatched, shields prepared to be raised, engines prepared, so on and so forth. It is only after he has taken care of all of that the man smirks, "Humanitarian aid? Where are the Imperials of old, at least they were respectable in their honesty, they never hid the fact that they were out for nothing less than your annihilation.", the comment no doubt shared with whatever poor soul is forced to endure what passes for humour from the XO. Far away, there is a different style of bridge altogether. Its style curiously ancient but equipped with indecipherable instruments, the Refrain of Anshalar sleeps in solitude. By the will of Master Jedi Skywalker and one of his most trusted Jedi, the swordsman Ver-tak Kai, the ship has been shrouded from notice by the Force itself. The corridors are dark, the bridge silent save for the quiet breathing of its well-trained crew and the silent whir of technology. The troubled planet of Dac looms in the distance, a small ball of blue color only two centimeters in diameter. Its star glints off to the left. At the top of the ship, Skywalker and Kai linger in muted, meditative silence. Their powerful influence maintains the vessels secrecy, even from others who can use the Force. But when the minds of over a thousand evil men pierce its flow, Skywalker's eyes flutter open with an expression of dawning understanding. "It is time," he says, and rises to his feet just as Ver-Tak Kai opens his eyes and draws from his meditation. Luke turns to Kai. "Notify Senesca and the bridge crew." SF-2952 launches from it's bay along with so many other fighters, the A-wing's shields springing up nearly as soon as it has left the bay. Engines glow and hum as the small ship drifts over towards it's mother waiting for the response from the Imperial ships that have entered. The pilot runs through a checklist to ensure that everything is functioning as expected but as ordered weapons are not powered up as of yet. The ship bearing the Jedi Padawan Ikihsa Enb'Zik is still in hyperspace when the Empire arrives. The Sullustan has spent more than a day -- almost two of them -- silently patrolling a system many parsecs away. As a result, the size of the Empire's strike force isn't a complete surprise, after all. Rather, Enb'Zik had been tight-beaming whatever information he could find through a series of secure networks, back to a specific contact in the New Republic. Once he'd acquired as much knowledge as he safely could, Zik had moved his scout ship away and made a calculated jump to the Gand System. There, he'd traded the anonymous scout vessel for one a little more known to the Empire -- the modified Mantaray Ranger One. The little fighter had served him well on more than one occasion in blockade runs over Sullust; now was time to give it another run. The white and blue of hyperspace ripples through the golden canopy of the unusual Griffon relic, reflecting from the Sullustan's calm features as his ship now approaches the Calamari system. The Jedi's eyes are closed, like his Master's at his destination, as he meditates, preparing himself for battle. In front of him, the countdown timer clicks off the time left until reversion to sublight. A soft tone sounds, disturbing Ikihsa not an inkling as the ship closes to within three minutes of the watery world. The ships of Task Force Inquisitor have lined up in a spearhead, the smaller faster ships out front running the line to engage the enemy out as far as possible if this turns into a shooting match, the larger and heavier ships moving up behind. On Krieg's order the fighter and bomber squadrons alike had begun to deploy, forming protective screens around the larger capital ships and running forward with the frigates and corvettes to form a path for the force. The intent if anyone would be to see the formation is to drive deep into NR space and create a gap for the larger ships to penetrate, in which they were formed up for. Soon Krieg himself is in his fighter and deploying with his wingmen. All the famed squadrons of the Task Force, Razor, Widowmaker, Black, Viper... they were all here today in a rare formation for the Empire. While all this is going on various scout fighters and skipray blastboat squadrons begin to drop out of hyperspace on the very far edges of the Task force, also sending data to the Inquisitor on the movements of the enemy. Mainly Krieg had them watching for were any surprises, and if they were going to leave any 'gaps' in their defensive line. In his own fighter the comm was being patched through moments before from the rebels. He listens, and decides to give a response. "We are here under the authority of the sovereign nation of the Quarren Survivalist Party. We have every right to be here and I have direct orders to move supplies directly to their nation, not to place it in the hands of the Mon Calamari. I hear your order, and I am shifting my course to two one nine point four." Indeed, Ackbar didn't specify which ship should, or how many... and so Krieg complies by doing what the NR has asked. His escorts turn with him, but the rest of the Task Force presses forward. Grinning to himself Krieg knew exactly what he was doing. Maybe it would buy them some time, maybe not. "Oh dear god, just fire on the bloody.", for the sake of propriety, the rest of the man's comment is best censored. Though muttered, Rasi's words do carry to some, and there are plenty of nods, the gunnery liaison is informed to stand down with a quick wave of his hand. While he seethes inside at the short leash they are kept under, his control over his emotions is such that little of it is displayed save that for that phrase and the twitch of his brows. The Audacity begins to creep forward towards its assigned position, soon gaining it with the fighter squadron and its ships arranging themselves before it. By the bright flare of its engines, the small corvette is ready to pounce into action as soon as command is given, no doubt a common sight throughout the lines. SF-5531 slips into realspace with a flicker on the edge of the system. The pilot immediately reverses thrust to bring the Gamma Class Assault Shuttle to as near a standstill as she can and cuts all power except the bare minimum needed to keep life support and sensors going. The outer lights that highlight the ship's hull cut out. The engine light slowly fades to all but the faintest glow. The ship and the sentients inside it wait.)) Like the serpentine coils of azure and alabaster outside his cockpit, Enb'Zik has come to sense the Force in waves and ripples and currents. In each of these, he is able to discern just a little about the galaxy through which his ship is now speeding. His knowledge is not so deep as Skywalker's; something of the complexity which Luke is doing would take long hours for Enb'Zik to decipher. But one of the Sullustan's better powers is the piloting of a ship through hyperspace, sensing obstacles, making tiny tiny course corrections en route, and comprehending the best moment to drop to sublight -- even if the navicomputer doesn't thing that time has come yet. The clock continues to tick. The ship remains in hyperspace, getting closer. Each second brings nearer the battle. Is this fight happening for the right reasons? Yes. He's decided that, in spite of some recent doubts. It is necessary. It could be his last fight. Is he ready for that? A welling of doubt rises in his stomach, and he silently makes an empty place in his mind, guiding the doubt into it. He will be. Yes. Seconds tick by. One by one. Aboard Home One, Ackbar sighs quietly. He didn't expect the Imperials to stand down. That's more hope than even he has at hand. However, Krieg's answer causes him to roll his fishy eyes slightly in their protruding sockets. "Younglings," he murmurs before beginning the sequence of commands that will pit his forces against the Imperials. There was no further use for talking to them. Around the Mon Calamari cruiser, New Republic ships of the line already have firing solutions on most if not all of the known Imperial vessels. Once their battle plan is readied and forces are being committed, Ackbar speaks to his own people, detailing orders and positions and adding the simple prayer, "May the Force be with you," at the end of his speech. And he wishes it to be true with all his considerable might as he sends his people into battle. Watching the sensors for that crutial data that was due to him from the sensor officers. As he gets the data it was shaping up to be what he expected, the NR preparing their defenses but not coming out to play. In one regard, that was a good thing. On the other hand, it would leave things to be a bit messier at the end. They'd have to move a lot faster. Bringing his own ship back onto course and pressing forward toward the front of the group he orders, "All ships, all ahead flank. Press in and do not stop. Execute Alpha plan." As he barrels in he knows that this round they will be within gunnery range of the NR. However, as orders stand, they were not to shoot to unless fired upon. The fact stood, they were looking for the rebels to fire the first shot and destroy whatever political claim in the area. Which so far was going along nicely. As they near Krieg and his ships line up firing solutions - though their guns are eeerily silent. Poised and deadly, Krieg was banking on the possibility the NR might not fire and let them pass through. But then again, that probably wasn't going to happen. Meanwhile the scouts keep their scanners on full, searching for any tricks or traps the NR might be hiding from the main battle area proper. On the NRCV Audacity - Once the alert rings out that the enemy has, at last, arrived in system Leia makes her way to the bridge with a sense of determination that matches the look of purpose and focus that can be seen on the faces of the crew moving through the ship. She strides onto the deck and pauses for a moment, surveying the crew and then the forward view screen with a sense of calm that belies the impending battle. She makes her way towards Commander Cen and states quietly, "If I may be of any assistance, Commander," and with those words conveys the message that she is here to assist in any way possible. Still a number of parsecs away from the fight, Enb'Zik has no indication whatsoever when the firing begins between the Republic and the Empire. His only knowledge is that the time for reversion is coming. He draws a breath that's deeper than the ones preceding it as his body begins a similar process of its own, coming back from the depths of his meditation. His eyes open behind the opened clamshell helmet he's wearing and go first to the countdown clock. No, he's aware, it won't take quite that long. He'll need to pull out of hyperspace just a tiny bit sooner. He draws another deep breath. Patience. Almost there. A black-gloved hand, sealed to the rest of his suit, is extended for the lever that will dissolve the spatial ripple propelling his fighter at superlucent velocities. He holds. Wait for it. Wait for it.... The oblong-shaped lump of metal hangs suspended in the cold, hard vacuum hundreds, if not thousands of clicks away from where the two sides converge on each other. Silent. Motionless. There, now, better. She would have commenced firing after a warning of precisely ten seconds, which is just right as far as she is concerned. Now that battle has officially commenced, the tactical running of this engagement falls to the captain of the Red Balance, one of the newer and more effective carriers within the New Republic's Second Fleet. But for the sake of this battle, it has been assigned to serve as a mobile reserve and placed behind the defensive lines. Its commander, however, has no intention of staying out of this as her ship is. Rear Admiral Quix's orders are soon enough transmitted to the three commanders of the task groups under which the defence of Mon Calamari have been placed and from there dissiminated to the individual ships and squadrons. Task Group Titan, the centre of the defences and the one designated to withstand the brunt of the Imperials' assault is instructed to fire at will and prepare itself. Whereas Crimson Sun and Adjudicator task groups are ordered to prepare themselves to maneuver towards the flanks of the Imperial wedge. "Ladies and gentlemen, fire at will.", the command, originated on the Blue Reef, echoes throughout the capital vessels and a large barrage of fire is directed at the Imperial. Politics are for others to determine, she is here to win this engagement pure and simple. Ah, better, infinitely, infinitely better. The ship jolts forward as its forward batteries begin to fire on the nearest Imperial vessel. "Krayt Control to Ghost and Falcon Squadron, the muzzle is off, you know your duties. Falcon, prepare yourselves to take point, clear a path for Ghost to be followed by Dagger." The familiar fighters having been assigned to the same group as the Audacity and within its small unit of corvettes and squadrons are many units it has fought alongside of in numerous past engagements. "Designated kill is coming up shortly.", its engines propel the corvette forward, the Audacity one of only many numerous vessels to move in that manner. The Audacity keeps within formation, with it taking point, the Juno below it and the Mon Mothma and Lightbringer occupying the flanks. There's a shock of motion in the Force, alighting when the batteries are unleashed. Like a drop of water causing ripples on a placid lake, the sudden burst of adrenaline from thousands of beings ignites a flame of unease in the Force. Luke's fingers clench just slightly as his gut feels a shock of cold. 'Set fourteen-point-nine, seven, and a hair past negative seven tenths,' impresses Luke silently upon his accomplice, Ver-Tak Kai. Down on the bridge of Refrain of Anshalar, Kai perceives the telepathic message and relays orders to the bridge crew. Computers calculate and power modules re-align themselves, while Luke reaches for the comlink on his belt. "Artoo, fire the converters." SF-2952 shoots forwards as the command is given to begin the battle with a hum of power vibrating through the ship but only the glow of the powerful A-Wing's engines conveys a fraction of the speed as the portion of Falcon Squadron present begins to scoot quite along. The falleen pilot of Falcon 3 doesn't even let his skin change color no matter how much instinct might demand otherwise. Powering up weapons with a flick of a switch and aquiring targets Anzon throws additional power to forwards shields knowing that this 'calm' is definately not going to last at all. The A-Wing zips forwards towards the Imperial fighters and starts to weave and dodge it's way forwards, not going to stand still and be an easily lead target after all. "Falcon 3 Engaging." He sends over the fighter's com-channel and then prepares to strip those lumbering giants of their first line of defense and picking out a TIE the A-Wing launches a series of laser blasts at the group and shoots past to hopefully lead them on a merry chase as the Falleen switches power focussing more to the back now...)) Due to the nature of the humanitarian aid and relief effort required in system, the CMS Reannon Calder and her crew had been in and out of the Dac system more often than not, of late. Having offered their help to one of the senators of Dac the crew had briefly established their own 'green zone' within one of the larger cities to dispense aid, medicine, the usual relief elements. So it is in this capacity that the Reannon Calder had returned and had taken up a deep system orbit away from the planet as things began to heat up rather precipitously on planet and in system. With their sensors sweeping the system on a steady basis the commander of the Reannon Calder is one of the many who recognize the fleet for what it is, but she does nothing more than broaden their sensor sweeps and enable the now-familiar link that bounces off of assets already in place which, once tuned, broaden their sweep of the system and return an overview of the interaction while keeping the RC well out of the thick of things. Now. With a quiet calmness and certainty, Enb'Zik pushes forward the lever on his console, upon which his palm has rested now for the short span of eighteen seconds. A faint tremble runs through Ranger One, and the whorls of hyperspace separate into long, thin lines. Those lines shorten until each one is a single, faint pinpoint -- stars many millions of kilometers away. His comm channels already set, Enb'Zik sends a tightbeam message destined for the Republic's chief Marauder Corvette: "Krayt Control, this is Ranger One. Hope I got here in time for the party, Commander. Hope my express mail got here on time? Over." Even as he speaks, Enb'Zik is checking his sensors for the positions of enemy and friendly vessels. The shipboard computer is already scanning for IFF indicators, flagging other ships in different colors as appropriate. Given the Empire's staging area and the fact that Enb'Zik has jumped in from the Gand System, his ship has dropped out of hyperspace to the rear of the Imperial lines. Rather than being anywhere close to the enemy fighters, Enb'Zik is instead positioned closer to the scout fighters and skipray squadrons, in between them and the rest of the Imperial formation. Proximity alarms begin to buzz rhythmically in his cabin as Zik throttles up to combat speed, the tiny craft accelerating comparably to an A-Wing. He's in a dangerous, dangerous spot, but at the same time, he's in a position to take out some of the Empire's eyes. The real question is how many of those eyes he can poke out. The Juno, accompanied by the Mon Mothma and Lightbringer peel off to take care of a larger target. And when this happens, the Audacity is left with only Ghost Squadron, half of Falcon and a flight of Dagger. Facing it an Imperial corvette strikingly similar to one it had dealt with just weeks past, a squadron of Tie Interceptor Mark 2s and some Scimitars. So clearly, odds were on the Republicans' side, or so is the thought that runs in Rasi's mind, perhaps as a comforting mantra, who knows really. "Madam, if you would please sit down and take this seat, this will get very hard to stand in just some moments. Your medical skills, if you are willing to lend, will be useful in keeping the bridge crew operating at full efficiency." The vessel's engines are kicked to their fullest even as Rasi offers his chair to the Chief of State, and the Audacity orients itself on a path leading it straight to the corvette, batteries firing wildly at whatever sensor pods it can identify on that vessel. "Krayt Control to Ranger One, packaged received and process. General target is the Corvette designated in this sensor package and that we are engaging in. Recommended course of action is to engage its fighter compliment and keep it off us." As he enters the battle, Enb'Zik quickly sizes up where his targets are, and what's liable to be coming after him -- as well as how to keep himself out of the way of one while attacking the other. Moving one hand to a rearward display, Enb'Zik divides his attention briefly to turn his fighter's turret cannons aftward. He'll set those to fire automatically and lay down some cover fire if necessary, but while he's got whatever brief drop on this Skiprays that still remains, Zik directs his ship toward the nearest of the Sienar Lone Scouts. Slow, they are -- even slower than the Skiprays, in fact, which in turn are just /barely half/ as fast as his Mantaray. Closing in quickly, Enb'Zik lines up the first of his shots with Ranger One's twin forward cannons and starts laying down fire on the Empire's eyes. At the same time, the Sullustan frowns at the message that comes from Audacity. He quickly replies via tightbeam message. "Krayt Control\, are you sure?" Enb'Zik radios via tightbeam transmission. "I'm at close range with Imperial scoutships on the back of their line and have just engaged. These guys are going to be a big threat to our surprise package if I don't take them out quickly enough\, over." "Krayt Control to Ranger One, understood, belay that previous order. Take out targets as you deem them appropriate, however, if it gets too hot, we will require your aid." The fight opens up with a flurry of volleys, all guns having been trained on the other side for quit some time. It was almost like the tension let out with a rush, the fire engulfing ships and shields flickering all throughout the night sky. As the force presses on the Elite elements of the group (Prowler, Razor, Widowmaker) all press on to engage the Audacity and delay it or keep it out of the way for the Inquisitor and Nemesis to pass through. Other support ships and the strike cruisers press out and forward on the flanks to keep the fire coming and keeping the route open, but it was quickly becoming clear that they might be doing some ramming to get them through the very small gap that was presenting itself. With the Prowler out front and the bulk of the forces still coming, it would not be overly long before bigger guns were in range to wipe out the enemy's smaller picket craft. The Prowler was giving it everything she got, and the bomber squadrons were just opening up with their projectiles. Razor presses forward to the enemy fighter squadrons in an effort to keep the enemy fighters off their more critical assets. The tiny blue planet stretches into a thick line, while stars stream into starlines. Refrain of Anshalar is performing a dangerous, close-range microjump, but the strange vessel is capable of thinking on its own in situations like these. The mottled sky of hyperspace blinks into view for all but a moment, before everything streaks back into realspace. All aboard the vessel lurch forward, because the dampeners just aren't able to keep up. But the battle before them is spread cinematically. From the view of space, the sleek vessel blips into existence on the port flank of the Empire's rear guard. Her bright blue engines flare to life as she accelerates to attack speed without hesitation. A tightbeamed communication is delivered to Home One. "Home One, this 's R'frain of Anshalar. Engagin' enemy rear guard. Watch fer flyin' shrapnel." Seth Senesca goes about his duties of directing the turbolasers, while Ver-Tak Kai takes the navigation console for himself. The Force no longer suspends the vessel's presence, virtually impossible in such proximity of so many beings and sensor arrays. Flaring into the battle, the Jedi cruiser soars with grace, her weapons silent until neccessary, diverting power to the shields. "I live but to serve the needs of the republic and her people," Leia answers Cen in reply and moves immediately to take the indicated seat, pausing briefly to open the panel marked 'Med Kit' and retrieves the med kit from it's location. While she is no surgeon, having any competent medic on hand is preferrable to having none and, once seated, she studies the sensor readings that track the movement of the ships in system. "Roger that\, Krayt Control. Long range sensors are showing at least one other Scout in my proximity. Can you relay info from SONG on other enemy Scouts in system? I'll try to clear a blind corridor for our fire ships\, over." The first thing that Krieg sees is an A-wing that was inbound for them, the smaller fighters of the enemy being a bane to the Imperial starfighters. Krieg moves to engage this first fighter, getting a good solid hit on him. However, he doesn't linger for long as this is combat and there are blasts all over the place. Spiraling out expertly he clears from this fighter but to move back moments later to open fire upon him once more. Meanwhile Zik's craft comes under attack from 2 skiprays, their ions opening up on him as well as their turret guns in an attempt to protect the scout.)) Shaken but far from taken out of the fight, the Audacity turns around and comes for another pass at the other corvette, the Prowler. Great care is taken to keep it as far as possible from the bombers while they have not been dealt with, though it does little to limits its options. Again it dives headfirst at the Imperial corvette, this time coming slightly above it and angled downwards in a diagonal line towards it. Only at the last moment does it pull out from this dive and quickly scurry away from within range of the corvette. Anzon would smile if he were to allow his emotions to show but as one might expect he does not. Even when underfire and rapidly punching keys on his control panel to reinforce the damaged shields on his A-Wing. Falcon 3 spirals in and about dodging through the laser fire of the TIE that had scored on his shields once before avoiding the dangerous fire that could threaten to drop his shields entirely but the nimble A-Wing is just a bit to slippery. As he watches the TIE spin off and give up the chase as it were Anzon pilots his A-Wing into a spin and a twist before he throttles it forwards again starting to close the distance on the slower TIE as he tries to come up on Krieg's six. Ranger One roars past the lone Imperial Scout in his sector of the system, bright crimson lances slamming home into the slightly bulkier ship's shields. Zik's displays show a significant impact, dropping the enemy ship's shields to somewhere under thirty percent integrity. At the same time, ripples in the Force register two things to the Sullustan's instincts. One, he's about to be fired on. Zik pushes his stick into a quick dive, spinning his fighter out of the way of the incoming blows and onto a course to loop around for a second pass on the Scout. Two, there's another ship in the neighborhood, and it's friendly. He also knows which ship it is: "Refrain," he keys the comm, "Y'know, some would say your timing is uncanny." A tight smile forms briefly beneath the Sullustan's dewflaps as he completes his looping maneuver and begins to bear down another time on the Imperial scoutship. Of all the things that she could possibly be doing, of all the places she could be, all of the details - big and small - fade away in the face of the here and now. As the Audacity maneuvers in combat against the Prowler, Leia can sense the tension and the determination focused on each movement, each round exchanged. If pure will and intent alone could win a battle she has no doubt that it would do so. So certain is she of these people, these brave men and women, these volunteers, that she takes the time to study the face of the crew as the battle continues. Thus far her medical skills have not been called into play and she studies the sensor displays. Knowing without a doubt that if she'd been tucked away in some safe room with a wall of body guards to surround her that she'd have gone screamingly insane within the hour. "Falcon 2, you interested in some help?" Tarin turns his control stick sharply to avoid some laser fire, and tries to slip in behind Alpha 1. He checks to make sure his weapons are set to lasers, then jinks back and forth to line the TIE up in his sights. When he thinks he's got it, he lets lose with a quick burst. Clearing from the first attack and moving out of the way Kreig keeps his speed up, but now transitions to a different fighter - an X-Wing that just opened up on him. This was a target rich environment but he kept his calm and called his targets as he presses on with the combat. Getting a good tone he opens up again, but keeps his wits about him and doesn't linger long, still moving - always moving. The Prowler takes a beating, it's smaller fighters nearby delivering blows. It's still well in this fight, the shields holding up for now. In fact, the bulk of the ships in the Imperial force have their shields holding up rather well. The Scimitars that are attacking the Audacity come in for another pass opening up with a new salvo while the fighters go valiently at the enemy ships. Her captain remains calm and doesn't veer away, the ship moving on towards Calamari. The Broadsword was coming up quickly though, and in a few moments it would be well within firing range on the smaller marauder ship. And since that was their path, it would more than likely commence firing upon it. With all their guns blazing the captain of the Nemesis estimates their time to go and relays it to Krieg who gives the following order, "Continue to press forward and do not stop. Flank speed." So far the Task Force still had the Prowler out front, the Broadsword on the left flank and moving up to the Audactity. The Prowler would soon be clear of the Audacity, and shortly behind the Broadsword the Nemesis and Inquisitor in tight formation bring up the center, the rest of the support ships arrayed around them. And no doubt the NR had them enveloped now, and getting out would be another matter. Once the Empire's rear guard is in range, Refrain of Anshalar abruptly lurches to starboard, and directs her path to graze along the back end of the Imperial Task Force as it wedges its way toward the water world beyond. Her portside shields strengthen, and all weapon power is diverted to the port batteries, as they lay down a strafing pattern. Each battery is guided by the Force to a small degree; another facet of the ship's unique capability. A few moments into this unique maneuver, a single starfighter bursts from the Jedi cruiser's hangar bay. Aboard Jedi One, Skywalker rides the rush of turbulence with a grin of glee from behind his flight helmet. The ship is rocked by backlash from Anshalar's massive ion engines, and the sheer force of acceleration meeting reverse inertia. The small X-Wing barrels in the exact opposite direction of Anshalar, her S-foils locking into attack position before unleashing a quick barrage that catches a pursuing blastboat and blows it off course. The A-Wing zips around nimbly avoiding fire and engaging with other targets is not part of the deal it seems since his target has managed to get around behind the X-Wing, "Perhaps I should return the favor." Anzon answers over the coms and then spins the A-Wing into a short juke and dive towards the enemy TIE when the Falleen gets the Imperial fighter in sight the trigger is squeezed and hot lasers score through the darkness and cold of space. "Remember me?" He asks the Imperial as if the other pilot can hear him. Tarin grits his teeth as the lasers strike his shields. When he sees the A-Wing, though, he smiles. "Thanks for the save, Two. Let's vape him." He pulls up and around to the left to bring himself off to the side of the TIE, and then lets loose with lasers. "Sluissi to Madam...respond Sluissi to Madam" Leia is startled briefly as the com system picks up a tight-band transmission directly to the Audacity and, more pointedly, directly to the name 'Madam' from Sluissi. Leia rises from her chair and makes her way to the nearest com console and replies. "Sluissi\, this is Madam\, over." Leia speaks in reply\, glancing across the bridge towards Commander Cen as she does so\, remaining silent as her gaze shifts back to the com console and she studies the display intently." The sensor officers on the Nemesis and Inquisitor are feeding Krieg updates, though he had confidence in the captains of both ships to do the job right. With his attention momentarily tapped to see that they were being engulfed in what would no doubt be their doom in trying to get out Krieg gives the order for the fallback plan to execute when their cargo was released to go planetside. Snapping up and over he takes the hit with grace, but doesn't lose the X-Wing that was attacking him. He knew the other fighter was there, but the longer he could detain these fighters here that meant the more the rest of his forces could engage the enemy. "Transmission received and confirmed\," Leia speaks in reply\, a slow but broad smile forms on her face for a moment and the smile can be heard in her tone of voice. "Standing by for data burst."" Warning buzzers go off, both in Enb'Zik's mind and on his console, as one of the Skiprays lines up behind his fighter and takes a series of shots. Concentrating on coming around for his own attack, the Sullustan has little time to move. He jimmies his control stick to starboard, dipping the Mantaray's wing, but the aft shields take a pair of hits. Thank the Force they're minor ones. Zik clenches his jaw as he dips Ranger One's nose and begins firing on the Scout yet again. "Come on, come on," he murmurs to himself, "Gotta get those sensors down. We're running out of time!" " Affirmative Madam...code bursting now", there is a high pitched whine of a massive but nanoseconds long data stream the floods into the communications computer. Who in the world is cluttering up his comm channels, the order is nearly sent to curtly tell whoever that is to identify themselves of bugger off. The Chief of State's movements, however, do stop him, and he only frowns for a moment, uncertain just what is going on. Present? This is certainly no time to celebrate such things. But for the time being, he has other things to focus on, other concerns, the primary one being the sudden shorting-out of a power relay in the third level, one that is of some necessity should they ever wish to regain their fighters. Damage control teams are dispatched, and he quickly has the comm officer have the Mon Mothma called off its current target and sent on an intercept path that would hopefully end with it in front of the Prowler. For the Audacity, however, it is time to make use of every bit of its engine power and place itself out of the Broadsword's line of fire, and help it keep up with the Prowler. Watching laser fire scatter off shields, no doubt weakening them Anzon takes a glance for a brief moment at the readouts of his target and then continues the chase while making sure that nothing is coming up on his six for a moment as it truly is a three dimensional battlefield. The A-wing settles in and keeps behind the TIE following it until the pilot hears that deathly tone and then throws a switch up before toggling a missle launch in a last bid to shake the TIE off the X-Wing's tail... or make it flee the battle altogether. "Receiving\," Leia says over the com\, falling silent for the length of time for the data burst to be transmitted\, received\, and the stream enabled properly. She speaks in a clear voice that carries over the sound of the crew and battle\, "Command Cen\, how would you like to listen in on the communications being transmitted from every imperial ship in system?" Turning back to the Com she says\, "Out deepest and most profound thanks\, Sluissi. Again. " Tarin gets rocked by another hit. Warning sirens tell him that his shields are down. Swearing loudly inside his cockpit, he breaks hard right to try and get out of the TIE's sights. "Let's get him, Two..." Tarin mutters. He watches the missile attempt, and manages to get behind the TIE again. "Stay put..." he grits his teeth and tries the laser fire again. "I am here laying in the darkness...Sluissi out." With the forward ships fully engaged and trying to press through the larger ships keep their slow march up the middle - their reactors fully bright and showing off their full combat potential. The forces are moving, and in a few more minutes they would be close enough to deploy their attack and cargo shuttles to the surface of the planet. Of course, they wouldn't be around for long and they would need to get the frack out of dodge. It seemed that there was a marauder corvette trying to gun down the Prowler up ahead, and that's when the order is given for the Prowler to go full reverse to let the big guns of the Inquisitor and Broadsword pick off the smaller ship. There wasn't any way that other craft would get away, and very shortly they would be in gun range. "There, they are far enough into it, inform our forward vessels to peel back, they will have no more than one minute to do so. Provide covering fire on our way out that section of the lines they are close to buckling and giving way.", the quick series of commands are accompanied by a quick tap on one of the screens of her bridge, the Rear Admiral designating a section very close to where the Audacity now finds itself. "Inform our special ground crews to prep themselves and launch for a quick ascent to atmosphere to greet the troop vessels and other attack craft." Whatever 'it' happens to be, it is enough for the Rear Admiral to give one of those smiles she offers rather sparringly. To say that it has nowhere to go is to underestimate first the speed of the vessel, its maneuverability, the Republicans. And most important of all, the well-developed instinct of one Rasi Cen. "Forget the enemy corvette, the Mon Mothma is practically within range of it. Just increase power to engines and keep us away from the heavier ships, especially that Star Destroyer." Yes, because Star Destroyer prey is not something he wishes to be in his vessel's immediate future. And almost as if he was one of those prophetic people, or more likely, that he had a great sense of timing, a dot appears on its sensor, zooming in slightly from the right and behind the Prowler and not much long before it is close enough to fire. Meanwhile, the Audacity's occupying with a wild maneuver that has it dive down as far away from the Broadsword before engaging in a tight rightwards turn. Again he's in the heat of battle with an A-Wing and an X-Wing - something that wasn't optimal for him but then again there wasn't much else he could do about it. Krieg keeps his power to the max, pressing his advantage for only a moment but staying dangerously close to the two fighters. Then he snaps over and pulls a fast one on the A-Wing, going head to head and firing at nearly point blank as his inverted fighter to the A-Wings gives the two pilots a great view of each other as they pass. There's a short burst transmission to those that are engaging him. Coldy he says very quietly "I see you two are more concerned with attacking me than defending your home ship... it's shields are almost down..." As he completes the transmission he kicks the power in and snaps over, staying very close to the two. As this is going down one of the scout's sensors go out and soon it is bugging out, the critical craft begins to fall back to the rally point. As this is going on the two skiprays continue to engage the fighter, seeking to detain it at this point more than anything with their capital class ion cannons. From her position at one of the com consoles Leia studies the ongoing data feed with that same broad smile, a gleam of determination and frank admiration can be seen on her face as she says quietly, "Do you know what kind of skill it takes to be able to do this?" she asks, "Even though we don't know what the code words mean - this time - it's still the sort of insight that's bloody rare and nearly impossible to get." She opens an encrypted channel to the Rear Admiral and speaks in brief, identifying herself - her position - and what data she's relaying and why, transmits the data with utmost care directly to the Admiral and lets the Rear Admiral disperse the information on a need-to-now basis and turns back to observing the relay. As Ikihsa's tiny fighter homes in on the Imperial Scout, the Sullustan is too aware that the constraints of time are not going his way. He's got an assignment to open a hole in the Imperial sensor screen, and it's got to be done quickly. In his mind, the entire battle might hinge upon it. Drawing a breath, the apprentice Jedi calms himself, again directing a negative emotion -- this time frustration -- into a closet of nothingness in his mind. The gap closes quickly, and guided by the Force, Ikihsa makes a minute adjustment to his heading and squeezes the trigger that lets fly another volley of red. A bright explosion is the Lone Scout's reply. Enb'Zik gasps as he knows without looking that the shots hit home. The Scout is still there, but he knows -- KNOWS -- that the damage he's done won't be repaired without them landing. "Krayt Control, this is Ranger One!" he calls into the comms, "The enemy's eye is out in my sector. Repeat, the enemy scoutship has been neutralized in sector four. This is the best opening you're going to get, Commander. Bring in the cavalry; I'll provide the escort!" As they come closer to the planet The Nemesis is getting a bit more ansy, but they were not officially to the launch point. On the intercomm inside the ship the order is given, "Prepare for deployment of the landing teams. Navigation plot our way out of here, engineering, boost our speed. We need to get this done with and now!" For now the guns of all the ships continue to fire, and in all directions. They start to see the Audacity pull away, the Prowler returning fire still, but there is a bit of wondering why they are pulling away. They were still a ways out, and not there yet... and that's when the Mon Cal is coming up and into range. The Prowler was of course closer to the atmosphere and her ship captain can see well what is going on. Without any orders her engines power up and make for the planet. The plan had two parts... if they could deploy and get away they would, but if they couldn't easily get away the smaller ships and fighters would go planetside under the safety umbrella of the Quarren while more forces were brought in. And that's when this would get messy, and Krieg knew it. However, it was their best chace for success of the orders he was given. Failure was not an option. Kirkland is one of the few mercenaries in the Republic's Red Brigade division whom is capable of starfighter combat. He has been preparing himself for this moment, not so much for the money or glory, but out of his desire to save the Republic. All rests on Calamari and its people... and Kirkland can't stand idly by as the Empire grows stronger. Now the Empire has shown its true colors and the extent of their involvement in Calamari's downfall, and the fate of the galaxy is at stake. When the invasion began Kirkland was immediately deployed from the surface, given his own X-wing bearing the insignia and red colored hull of the Red Brigade. The grizzled war veteran has thus far called upon his years of experience behind the cockpit to hold his own against the newer generation of warriors, racking up two Interceptor kills. He feels almost natural in the chaos of combat, flying his way through the frenzy with ease. He grows weary of a typical dogfight with Imperial aces, knowing that, in the end, the battle will hinge on the Imperial capital ships. Afterall, those TIEs have no where to go without the motherships. Not stupid enough to engage a behemoth like a Star Destroyer, Kirkland thrusts through the battlefield, setting his scopes on one of the Imperial corvettes (Prowler). But it seemed the Corvette was heading for the planet itself... grinning, Kirkland switched to torpedo control and, approaching from the ship's rear, lined up a shot. With lock-on engaged, Kirkland wasted no time in firing off a torpedo. "Red Four here, engaging enemy corvette. They're making a shot for Calamari itself." Anshalar's bridge crew receives a signal that Audacity is in too deep. Skywalker and Kai maintain their telepathic link, making quick decisions as if they were of one mind. Anshalar bursts into the protection of New Republic fleetships on the starboard flank of the battle, and begins veering about while recharging her systems. Meanwhile, Luke finally picks up on Enb'Zik's presence when the two pilots veer past each other, Luke now on the tail of another blastboard. "Enb'Zik!" He quickly punches up a fresh frequency to the Sullustan's ship. "Zik, it's Luke." He pauses, veering his X-Wing to avoid incoming fire. "Kai and Senesca are diverting, headed for Audacity. You need some help blinding things out back here?" The explosion of the vessel he's trailing doesn't even catch his eye, or the attention that his fingers were the deliverer of death. It is war, and he is following his instincts alone. As the missile goes wide from a tight maneuver that barely has the TIE avoiding a missile impact on it's weakened shields Anzon simply continues the fight, cold, cool, without showing any emotions at all, "Fall back Ghost 8. I'll take care of him." The A-Wing spins into another dive as the X-Wing begins to accelerate away. Then the TIE fighter is turning to bear on him again and Anzon reacts, quickly pulling his nimble ship into a spinning climb that spins through the quad bursts of TIE lasers that focus on the ship. If he's concerned about the fate of the Audacity Anzon doesn't seem to react instead he suddenly throttles it to max while spinning, aiming for the nearest large Imperial ship that is about to punch into the line and that's when the Falleen notices the other ships starting to split off from the main force. Pushing the engines as hard as they will go the A-Wing darts forwards towards the atmosphere as well and fires a missile off towards the Prowler and then flips the craft around to change the angle of attack. Among all the excitement of taking out that sensor ship, Enb'Zik's shields had taken some hits. Now, with a lull he knows won't last, he takes time to reconfigure them with the help of the built-in droid brain configured in the ship's computer. His fingers move quickly and precisely over the tiny fighter's console. "Master Skywalker!" A grin grows on the Sullustan's face at the sound of Luke's voice, and he switches frequencies to tightbeam his reply back to Jedi One. "Negative, Luke. We've got the section blind now, but the next phase is starting. We're about to have some ships passing this direction en route to the Imperial fleet. With a little luck, this blind spot'll mean the Empire won't see them until it's too late. It'd be peachy if you and Master Kai could cover them the way you did the Refrain, but we're talking multiple ships here. What I really could use is some help keeping that squadron of Skiprays off of them. That's going to be the Empire's first warning, and probably the best response they'll be able to muster." "Received and understood, Ranger One. Suggest grab breath, First Wing of the 2nd Squadron are on their way in to your position. They are accompanied by their fighters which . ETA near-immediate." With that, the Audacity continues on its wild attempt to get the heck out of there as quickly as possible. Its shields are brought down by the salvo from the dogged corvette that refuses to let go of it. No matter, its hull would hold long enough for the Prowler to get a surprise. And that surprise first comes in the form of a darting Corellian Gunship firing all of its forward batteries as soon as it is within range. Certainly not all of them have a hope of hitting, but some of them might, and that might deter the corvette. It does not slow down the least bit as it comes for that pass, the Corellian Gunship as with nearby Republican ships either pulling well back or pulling to the sides, in its case to the sides as with the Audacity. As the fighters pull off Krieg he sees that they are finally taking the hint. Knowing there were more fighters and bombers supporting the craft there he continues along, pressing forward to engage the X-Wing which had more firepower from the rear, knowing that there would be a chance that he could be too late on this. Seeing what was going on and that the backup plan was being initiated Krieg moves forward calling out, "All vessels press forward, flankers move to the center." In other words, he was calling for the smaller support vessels to move back in with the larger ships and gain their protection. As he speeds foward he gets good tone and opens up to keep his ship at full speed the rest of the way. As the Audacity is maneuvering into a different position in the battle, Leia has her hands braced against the com console to help keep herself on her feet and not tossed to the side as the ship is guided with the skill that only an expert pilot can employ when moving at this speed. She spares a mere glance at the forward view screen, decides that watching the other ships skim past at this range and speed is not precisely what she wants to contemplate at the moment, and goes back to listening to the com chatter. "Thank you, Madam Chief of State, the information is very much appreciated. We will feed it to the force's communications officer and that should give them some advantage.", the Rear Admiral answers, her voice quite deferential though it loses little of the hardness common to it whenever she is in a battle for her life. "Signal our forces to jump in at Ranger One's designated coordinates, deviate slightly so the Jedi is safe.", and with that, a transmission is sent to a force assembled at the edge of the system, droid minds and Astromech droids fed the particular coordinates and sent off on their way. "Now, activate field 4-1." The last of the Republican vessels barely manages to clear the large field before the concealed devices placed within it are activated, dozens of mines if not hundreds suddenly showing up on Imperial sensors as before the main force and on a direct path for the pickets and their protected vessels." Direct hit. But he knows his job is far from over... his sensors indicate the shields are still up, however weakened they may be. He intended to drop them all together. Loading another torpedo into the launcher, Kirkland hones in, awaiting lock-on to fire away. But moments before the green-light is given to fire, the X-wing shakes and shudders, his warning lights flaring danger. He's been hit from behind and sensors show it's an Interceptor... he shakes his head, upset over how he let it sneak up behind him without warning. "I need some help; enemy on my six, someone get it for me." He refuses to budge from destroying the corvette, but if his shields go down, which they nearly are, he would have no choice but to disengage. "Who are you..." he mutters to himself, wondering who is opponent is. Shrugging, he hopes one of his allies picks up on his plea for help and fires away with another torpedo at the Prowler's engines. Watching his missile splash against the shields Anzon hmmms softly to himself, considering his options perhaps as he hears the call for assistance. However, 'vette's do not head for atmo when there is this many other ships about without a very good reason. "Bring it down." Anzon responds and then turns his A-wing away from the corvette and moves to save yet another X-Wing since it has stronger missiles than his own. Throttle is jerked back as the Falleen pulls his fighter about and then the throttle is jammed forwards again. "Falcon 3 moving to engage your bandit." He answers crisp and calmly as he tries to bring the TIE back into his sights, waiting for tone and then thumb depresses concussion missile launch again, sending another crimson streak towards the TIE that has been harassing so many during this fight. "Gotcha," replies Luke on his channel with Enb'Zik. In the distance, Refrain of Anshalar has reset her course, and lurches out from the defensive cover of the New Republic warships. Her turbolaser batteries aim forward, cutting a path of intimidation before her as she cuts into the tail of the Imperial fleet, taking a dangerous path past the Inquisitor on her way to Audacity's aide. Her shields flicker and shine as they take multiple heavy shots, rocking the crew within. Seth Senesca gets on the comm again, this time picking out Audacity's frequency, and delivers a quick message in his redneck dialect that the Refrain is en route to support Audacity. Luke whips his X-Wing around swiftly. It was the first time he'd taken it out into combat after receiving some hefty modifications, and her speed was now lightning fast compared to before. "In the name of," he starts to say, before biting down his surprise and hammering the throttle to full. "I'll be right there, Zik." He's got something to take care of first. Following his instincts, he whips the ship sideways and lays down fire, cutting through a pair of blastboats as he heads for Enb'Zik's position. As the Prowler takes a beating it hits the atmosphere, and it wouldn't be too long before it could make it's way along with the other corvette, cruiser, and 6 frigates planetside. Not to mention it was going to be accompanied by the full fighter compliment of the Task Force as well as her bombers as there were various other craft entering the atmosphere as well - some of the fighters already were clearing paths through the minefield and were grateful the rebel forces were breaking off. The Nemesis and Inquisitor continue in, the Broadsword and Ravager on her flanks - the Broadsword now getting good shots off at the corellian gunship as it makes its pass by the Prowler. Cleaver, the captian of the Nemesis thinks. But this was far from over. Knowing they'd have to get a way out, this was probably the hardest part of the operation coming up right here. A while before the Fallback Plan order had been given, and soon everything would be in place for it. Krieg still was seeing what was going on and orders, "All craft, press forward. Execute emergency pullback on my order." The X-Wing in front of him just wouldn't give up, and Krieg wasn't about to break off from him either no matter who decided to show up to throw him off. They were getting close to the atmosphere, and with that he knew the operation was coming the that last critical phase. Still with the engines full ahead he gets another good tone on the craft and opens up (On Kirkland). This time he would be more certain to do some real damage as he continues to watch for other craft in the area that might want to foul up their plan. However, what had him a bit more worried was the fact that their rear was not open any longer... granted there weren't that many ships back there but it would be a real pain to try and break through. "Roger that, Luke. They're incoming. Trust me, we don't want these things taking too much punch while we're sitting close to them," Ikihsa calls over to Skywalker's ship. Then a mild grin builds on his face, "I'd have told you about all this, but uh... well, you know. The chance never presented itself." Enb'Zik, much like Anzon, is a pilot who typically shows very, very little emotion in his flying. Tonight, however, in this battle, there is a certain thrill he's having a hard time suppressing. Part of his mind even observes that, somewhat detached. It will be something to analyze later in his meditations. Not now, however. That next wave of fighters and Skiprays is now incoming. "Alright, Ranger," he murmurs to himself while he switches beams back to the Audacity, "here we go." His voice goes up to answer Cen on the other ship, "Confirmed, Krayt Control. I see them. I'm setting seven-one and going in full speed. I'll try to intercept them and give our fireships some leadtime." Ranger One begins to accelerate, having some modifications not unlike those on Jedi One. The inertial compensators are set so that the Sullustan pilot feels just a little bit of push into his shock couch as the fighter speeds toward the bandits. Closing to within firing range, Enb'Zik targets one of the incoming Skiprays and opens fire. Those will be the real threat to the convoy he's protecting. Just as with the many ships nearby, a bright and nearly uninterrupted large field of mines appears on the Audacity's sensors the moment they are activated. Menacing, they have been made as efficient as possible, even going as far as seeing to reducing their sensor signatures though nothing can be done to concealing them physically. Still, even with the fighters getting rid of as many as they can, a substantial part of them will remain leaving, it is hoped, the Imperials with the only option of forcing their way down. The Audacity regroups far enough from the main scene of the action, the sight of the Mon Mothma shaking badly as it is targetted by the Broadsword sends a wince through Rasi. "NRCV Audacity to NRCV Mon Mothma, shake that cruiser and join us, we'll regroup and go at it soon." In that area where a hole has been created in the Imperials' sensor net, several ships begin to exit hyperspace in quick succession, the hoped-for reinforcements one would assume. There is little time spent regrouping, and as soon as a large portion of the reinforcements have been gathered they are sent on a course towards the rear of the Imperial line. "Thanks for the help," he says to Anzon over the Republic line, grateful for the assistance. Unfortunately, it does not deter the Imperial pilot. Now that the fight was taking to the atmosphere, he knew time was running out on stopping the corvette. The Imperial behind him had damaged him enough to rid him of his protective shields... his hull slightly damaged, Kirkland knows it's time to disengage from his pursuit of the corvette and to start minding his survival. Grunting, the mercenary takes his X-wing into a whirling dive. He knows he can't outmaneuver an Interceptor, but he doesn't have much choice. He diverts power to his engines and accelerates full-throttle away to try to put distance between himself and his pursuer. His mind drifts to why he's lacking... he's so use to the controls of TIE fighters and interceptors. The X-wing is foreign to him. It's heavy and not swift like the TIEs he use to fly, long ago. "Oh, that's fine," says Luke on his tightbeam to Enb'Zik. A slight grin flashes. "Nothing we can't handle." But then, the grin is gone, as the severity of battle returns. The blastboats he'd just attacked are rocked by the X-Wing's attack, but their shields stay strong. Sensing that these two must be disabled, Luke throws his X-Wing into a vertical climb, luring one onto his tail while letting the second soar past, then abruptly peels about to get the second in his sights. With quick fingers, he fires surgical blasts that take down the shields of his prey. The last two shots throw the skipray's sensor and comm array into oblivion, just in time for Luke to push his starfighter into a barrel roll to avoid getting pelted by his tail. "Oh, you just stay right there, buddy," he jeers to himself. Refrain of Anshalar suddenly dips as her shields go down on the starboard side, courtesy of the Inquisitor. Under Ver-Tak Kai's skilled hands and Jedi instinct, the vessel turns it into a roll, going belly-up and exposing her port side to Inquisitor while maintaining her bee-line vector toward the NRCV Audacity. "Route power from the main computer to the shield generators," he directs. The crew flies blind for a moment or two as the power is rerouted and the computer is forced to reboot, but it gives them precious moments of recovery time before they're out of the fray and drawing up on Audacity. Taking up an empty space below the NR Corvette, Refrain of Anshalar begins turning on both axis, to expose her stronger side to the Imperial wedge and resume volleys. As yet another missile goes wide there is a brief moment when Anzon's skin actually turns crimson, but it is just a moment. "Reinforce your shields, or get out of there." is sent to the X-Wing that has been hit again by the TIE and starts to spin away from the Corvette. A switch is thrown and the Falleen switches back to lasers as he flips the nimble starfighter around and as he passes by the TIE again Anzon guns the throttle forwards and then matches speed with the TIE, trying to remain on the Imperial's six and then he unleashes more laser fire, leading to much and then he jerks quickly back trying to guess which way the Interceptor will turn and fires a more concentrated stream of laser bolts. "I will get you again, and when I do that is the end of it." Anzo says to himself, after all there's no way for the TIE pilot to hear him but now the A-Wing isn't shaking and the TIE isn't likely to be capable of outrunning it. After all, there -is- quite a few mines around but those threaten both the fighters... to an extent. "Inform the fighter pilots accompanying our fireships to make haste and reach the rear of the enemy lines immediately. The fighters are to pick off whatever protection their larger ships are left, bombers soften up their hulls and then have our fireships programmed to ram them. Specific attention paid to those frigates and other vessels assumed to contain large number of ground troops and reinforcements." Barely is that processed by the officers assisting her that she has another set of commands to transmit. "Tell Second Wing to lift from the ground and be prepared to meet them just as they enter the atmosphere. Proper escort to be provided by our atmosphere fighter crafts and starfighters on the ground. Inform Brigadier-General Samin of the Marines, and Major-General Vao that they should ready themselves for imminent engagement and prepare evacuation of what civilians are left in the designated combat zones." The latter having already lifted off and heading to greet the Imperial vessels now barreling down on the planet. With the First Fireship Wing planned to make contact with the Imperials' rear not too long from now, and a suitable force lifting from the planet, that should be quite the present for the enemy task force. Having hit the atmosphere and starting down with the fighters and bombers the Prowler and other support craft begin their run planetside. All the while Captain Vermillion from the Inquisitor gives the order, "Deploy ground forces, bring the force about and prepare to make a run for it." Krieg comes on the intercomm, "All ships get clear, break through that minefield. Good Hunting. Razor squadron on me, we'll provide point blank defense for the Inquisitor as we press out of here." The larger ships start launching the away craft as they come about near the atmosphere of the planet, giving them the best chance. The assault shuttles lead out as their heavy armor and sheilds will prove invaluable to get through the minefield. As for the rest of the forces, it seems they were leaving anything to Dac that could land there. It was doubtful the NR would obliterate a Quarren city. If that was true, they would be worse than the Empire. Just as the Inquisitor, Nemesis, Broadsword, and Ravager have come about another vessel comes out of hyperspace to provide them some much needed relief, the I2SD Predator. "They're deploying ground forces," Leia calls out across the bridge, knowing that the Rear Admiral and the rest who are listening in are hearing the same thing that she is. "They're making a break for the minefield to fall back. Razor Squadron is going to defend the Inquisitor," she announces. A grim tone enters her voice, "The moment they link up with their local support, engage secondary protocol," she orders. "Give them the time to meet up with their supporters so that the number can be better assessed." Meanwhile, members of the Quarren Survivalist Party are prepared for this moment. Just when the soldiers of Morjanssik thought that the New Republic marines were about to bring down their defenses, the attack is lightened. They can only presume that the marines are forced to respond to what is visible now in the skies above. However, another threat lurks from the waters below, halfway around the planet. Hundreds of large submersibles suddenly burst from the waters, with massive cannons mounted on their backs. Manned by Quarren Party soldiers, the cannons swivel slowly and begin firing long-range torpedoes into the air. The torpedoes pick up speed and race through the skies, soaring at blinding speed toward the NR ground reinforcements flying to meet the incoming dropships near Morjanssik. After unleashing hundreds of torpedoes, the submersibles dip back into the water and make for another location. Observing the statistics as they are brought to his command center deep inside Aquarius, Korynn Fleming watches with squinted eyes and thinly pressed lips. Still on the X-Wing Krieg gives chase for at least one more moment as their away forces do their job. Dodging fire from an A-Wing again Krieg doesn't mind him so much, just that he could get a few of these forces to peel away and let the heavier ships out of here. This was by far one of the riskiest operations they had executed so far, and was rather surprised that they had made it this far without any significant losses. Not to mention the rebels weren't leaving gaps in their defense like they normally do. Whatever the cause for this Krieg files that way for later as the fires upon the x-wing again, keeping close as he can to avoid stray fire but at the same time keeping tabs on the larger fight. Right after his volley is off he gets hit, the shields go out and that's enough for Krieg for staying around here. Breaking off to get back and protect the Inquisitor he checks the status of the battlefield again, wishing he could stay longer to engage but knew it was not the time or place to get bogged down. "Understood, Madam Chief of State. However, they are heading for areas under control of the QSP, we are not authorized to attack the city of Aquarius because of the civilian population no doubt held hostage there. With your permission, Madam, we will focus on shooting them in the air and we will have to live with whatever sneaks down onto Aquarius and Morjanssik." Former Imperial she might be, but the woman has taken to heart the values of the New Republic and attacking cities crammed with innocent civilians is no longer her cup of tea. "Fireship wings, ram at will. First wing, aim for their frigates, Second wing for their landing vessels and those capital vessels still in the atmosphere. Proceed as plan..." And then the barrage of torpedos occurs, startling the Rear Admiral for a moment. "Ignore that for now, send the nearby Knights unit to follow those vessels, take out whichever they can and find out where it is they are hiding them. We will deal with that in the future." The battle proceeds as it should, with each side taking out as many of the enemy as it can, though the Republic has played one of many trump cards it has in reserve with the first escort squadrons of the First Fireship Wing beginning to engage what protection is left with the large frigates and other such vessels of the Imperials while the bombers proceed the droid-controlled ram ships and soften up whatever Imperial vessel they can track down. It is only the sudden arrival of another Imperator Star Destroyer which startles the Rear Admiral, though in her case the reaction is limited to a quick sigh. "Transmit coordinates to Task Group Vespa, if it proves troublesome, we will send them in." Once you're being chased by a TIE Interceptor, you almost never escape. They're just too fast. While he greatly appreciates his comrade's efforts, the possibility of defeat dawns upon him... exploding in a firery display or plummeting into the water below. Neither appeals to him. But to his surprise, the TIE peels off and withdrew, leaving a few good parting shots that hit and sent him spinning. Cursing as he fought to regain control of his X-wing, Kirkland vows to ditch the damn ship and get in an A-wing if he survives for the next battle. "Ugh.. Red Four, still alive... moving to engage troop ships." Regaining balance, he directs his X-wing towards where the Imperial troops are landing, figuring he'd launch a torpedo or two to rip the troops to shreds. But the arrival of hundreds of submarines quickly changes the scenario. Torpedoes and anti-aircraft fire fills the sky around the Imperial troops and Kirkland is fast to react. He enters a steep climb and begins his ascent towards space. "No way I'm getting through that firescreen, command... pulling out and returning to space." With Luke's target unable to communicate, he takes two more shots at it to disable her ability to fly. Then, just as Enb'Zik opens fire on his pursuer, Luke pushes the X-Wing into a nosedive to avoid being struck by friendly fire. The choreography of daring contest provided by Jedi instincts is truly impressive. "Nice one," he says, before taking a moment to scan the skies for another target. Finding a distant blastboard, he guns the engines. "Artoo, make sure those guns don't overheat on me, okay?" Trusting that Kai and Senesca can help keep NRCV Audacity from hull breach, he focuses on the task at hand. As the TIE's shields fail and Anzon watches vastly blunted laser fire pit and score the Interceptor's hull the Falleen simply nods to himself and sends another stream of laser fire at the TIE Interceptor as it begins to retreat, "Ah. So you want to go now. Very well." He says cooly and then the A-Wing breaks off, flying up away from the atmosphere and the Interceptor. Engines burst to life as the A-Wing's engines are put to the test as is Anzon's piloting skill as he dodges in and out of mines and scattered laser fire. "Falcon Three pulling back to engage primary targets." He sends over the comm-system and then throttles it to head back further into space and starts moving at speed across the battle towards the blastray's. Good thing A-Wing's are fast... Having issued the orders Leia has no alternative but to observe them being carried out. Secondary Protocol. It sounds so.. efficient, so brisk really. Secondary Protocol which, in this case, replies to waiting until the QSP links up with the incoming enemy soldiers and, once they've done so, they are no longer 'in theory' labeled as enemy insurgents. They are, instead and in fact, working with the enemy and openly enemy collaborators. Leia knows that they're no possible way to get an accurate head count, but even a glimpse is better than nothing. She remains on the com frequency and says, "Madam Admiral, the citizens in the city can be used as hostages to ensure our continued good behavior. It is imperative that we get as many of our people away from these zones as possible. I know that our resources are not infinite, but task what you can to moving people. Willingly or no, the People are the Republic. Not the land, not the property. Not their stuff. The people." "NRCV Audacity to CS-1761. The Mon Mothma and this vessel will be making a run on nearby Imperial capital vessels, however the Audacity's shields are out and the Mon Mothma's are only at 3/4s effectiveness. Request assistance and that you orient yourself on us for our run." Even as he speaks, the Mon Mothma begins to position itself below the Refrain, though it will go on should the Jedi ship go to attack another point in the Imperials' retreat path. The intent is relatively clear, to stay slightly behind the Refrain all the while protecting its more damaged side and let loose at whatever target is close to them. "NRCV Audacity to Red Balance, the Imperials are on their way back through the field and they seem to be going for our fireships. Recommend redirecting the remaining mines and detonating them as soon as enemy torpedoes are in range, they will serve as a screen for our fireships." Luke glances to see Enb'Zik's daring move, and frowns. "Zik, get the hell out of there, there's nothing we can do." His voice is stern over the tightbeam; they're fortunate the torpedoes are headed for lifeless droid ships, not the brave marines. In a way, even if the torpedoes help to nullify the NR Fleet's daring move, it has also kept those QSP torpedoes from killing sentient lives. It is not as much of a loss as one might initially expect, but understandably takes a Jedi Master's calculating peace to discern that in such a blinding moment. Instead of acting, he draws his vessel back off and closes his eyes, drawing in a moment of calm. This round may be drawing to a close, but the battle is far from over. The problem with such massive volleys of torpedo's is that it's easy to create a chain reaction. Especially when you have something like Concussion missiles which have a nice blast themselves. Anzon turns the A-Wing towards the oncoming swarm of torpedo's and then throttles it hard towards the first swarm. The falleen flips up the thumb guard on the missile launcher and then fires off missiles into the crowd of torpedo's. If necessary he'll trigger the manual destruct to make sure he catches more than a few of them. If even that doesn't work, well, that's what ships are for. The Falleen prepares to do what is necessary. "Falcon 3 preparing to intercept torpedo's." Lets just hope the tech's got his ejection seat working, after all he -is- only a Flight Cadet. Still he fires off missile after missile towards the swarms, only abandoning his ship as a blockade runner against a horde of torpedo's if he absolutely has to... Maybe it will help thin them out enough that the other measures will protect the fireships. It appears he has decided not to ditch his ship but once his payload of missiles is empty he breaks back for distance from any resulting explosions. Enb'Zik's face hardens at Luke's words over the comm -- but only because the Sullustan knows his ploy is too desperate and isn't going to work. The Padawan draws a breath, frustrated with himself. He's got too much experience to pull something like this. Still, the disappointment is evident in his voice as he replies to Skywalker, peeling away from the incoming torpedoes and hoping the minefield will be effective enough on its own. "Understood, Luke. Ranger One rolling out." For now the Imperial forces get chased by the rebels, but they're able to make it to the edge of the system after a period of time - in order to lick their wounds and give the rebels something to think about before committing forces in too many locations. Whatever made is planetside is still uncertain, communications were lost with the forces deployed in a brilliant explosion. However, it is certain that something got planetside as a good portion of the force was deployed there. Only time will tell what actually made it, this was round one. And the Empire was far from being done.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)