| abstract
| - The planet Dathomir was nothing special to behold other than it was a place of note for some of the most gruesome beats in the galaxy. Home of the Rancors, it was not a place many even wished to drop out of hyperspace at. This very backwater planet was the place of an Imperial container depot, and in the wisdom that nobody wanted to go here it was just the place to keep supplies safe. Guarding this depot was a CR90 flanked by 2 carrier capital ships, each holding 1 TIE mkII squadron. Since there was very little to no activity in the area, the squadrons only had two patrols of 4 fighters deployed, one to each side of the depot - from the each carrier respectively. Marshal Krieg Inrokana had arrived many hours earlier aboard the CR90 in part of his inspections of the depots, and today was no exception. In the hangar bay he had several stormtroopers around him, his shuttle had long ago departed and he waits by one of the fighters - one that would be his in a short period of time. A few staff officers with communication links to the bridge were nearby, the STs all surround Krieg eagerly listening to what he had to say. The last of hyperspace fading away from the view of his cockpit, the newly call signed Raxis "Spider" L'ygr feels the slight jolt forward as his A-wing comes to a stop. Normally, his astromech "Vee-Ten" would communicate to him, but in changing squadrons to an A-wing, there's no room for a droid in the hyper maneuverable starfighter. Flipping his secured line on, Raxis "Speed is life Falcons. Follow me on opening sweep. Spider over." He sounds off, listening to the reply of all Falcon Squadron pilots in similarly green and white tinted A-wings call in. Boosting his sensors, he takes a look outside. Spying the CR90 and two carriers, he marks them on his radar and prepares for maneuvers. The cargo was there as planned, and they'd apparently been expecting company. Quickly sending a subspace radio transmission to the fleet, he speaks into the comm. "Raider Fleet we have a go. One CR90 and two carriers, TIEs already deployed but the cargo is green. Repeat, prepare for hot entry. Spider over." Rei'yak was finally beginning to enjoy some more of the likeable assignments that the Empire was finally giving the man. Enough small prisoner guards had been done and he'd been promoted enough to get a smaller scale command on his return from Cardia. The century he had been given was another well trained group of Stormtroopers from the Empire, something which had been bred in combat and lived for it. Off in the ST Staging area of the Corvette, Rei was preparing his command squad for duty, finishing up their daily briefing with orders and routines that would prepare this shift for their day to day operations. The gear checks were always mandatory, but it isn't long before he slips the helmet over his head and moves to the door where the men begin a long walk through the corridors to their first patrol destination. Moving into the hangar he steps towards where the Marshall was finishing with the rest of the Stormtroopers, his men forming up behind them in with flawless precision. A quick salute is given to the officer while Rei'yak awaits any additional information he might have for the troops. Checking through his systems, Lance 'Wildman' Corbet is in the cockpit of Ghost Six. At the head of a small formation of X-Wings, he checks over all essential systems while also setting up the jump which is soon to come. "All Ghosts, check in." he calls over the Ghost comm, and soon, voices resound within his cockpit of those under his command. On board the Marine assault boat Spooky One, Lt. Vengan Draelis stands between the cockpit and the launch bay. The Marines aboard are all wearing full Marine space-combat gear and maneuvering packs, bulky affairs designed to allow them to maneuver in space with a surprising amount of adroitness. There's still a positive pressure in the cabin, a bit higher than is normally comfortable for most humanoids, in point of fact. Draelis is watching the scanner readouts from over the pilot's shoulder, as eagerly anticipating the word to commence as his men behind him, and the other two squads aboard Spooky Two which is flying just aft of the lead vessel. Draelis says into his commlink. He switches over to another channel. he says to Gren Delede's assault coordinator. The lingo comes clipped and sparse, as is the wont of military men- Draelis effectively informing Delde's more heavily armed landing shuttle to wait for the Marine zero-G assault force to take down the target's hangar-bay shielding before landing their own force on board. It's with no small amount of excitement that Twila finds herself geared up and waiting the time they're able to carry out their orders. She has already briefed their men, one squad of which has Grene Delede as their commander, and now all they can do is mill about until they time the word is given and they can go. Twila gives her gear and her weapon one last inspection and the mission is ran through mentally, giving herself something to do to occupy her mind, keeping her from growing too nervous. Captain Racknar was a talented New republic career captain who could trace his experience back before the Battle of Endor and earlier, commanding ships on behalf of the Alliance and its successor. Squadron command was something he had become used to, and he knew his job well. Yet for some reason, this operation left him vaguely uneasy, and the Elomin captain just couldn't figure out why. Frowning, as the recon report comes in and all as is expected, he frowns at his plot, studying the blips of the NR ships as he listens to reports come in. But none of those status boards are telling him what it is that's bothering him. He presses a button on his com panel. "Acknowledged, Falcon Lead. All ships commence hyperspace countdown on flag's mark." He cuts the channel, and nods to his helmsman, and the mark for hyperspace counts down, ticks over, and the NR ships' engines flare, flickering the strike force into the pseudo-motion of hyperspace entry. ...and mere seconds later, the process reverses itself, the shapes of four Nebulon-B frigates resolving into normal space, followed by a dozen smaller escort ships, and finally, the marine craft and their fighter escort, fire control sensors reaching out to define targets as the force settles itself, shields raising quickly. Right on cue a shuttle enters the system bearing all the marking of the Marshal's shuttle. It drives in towards the Imperial CR90 as to be 'delivering' the Marshal to the ship. The first transmission is sent 'in the open' to the CR90 from the shuttle, "Raptor 1 to control, request landing vectors." The control officer comes back with, "Channelize." It was a simple mistake that anyone could make, but it may be at the cost of the supposed Marshal's life. There wasn't much time now as Krieg looks to the STs. "Men, arm up and be ready to repel the upcoming assault. This is the fight we have been waiting for; the enemy will fail. This is your time to prove yourselves once again the elite of the empire! Good hunting." Saluting them for what will be the last salute for some, he boards his unmarked fighter along with the other pilots, the CR90 bridge control giving them the 'go' to escort the inbound shuttle - which is standard practice for if the Marshal was really coming in on. He knew the STs would do their job flawlessly and left it to them as he powers his fighter and launches, the entire squadron deploying to meet the Lambda class shuttle. Initially the patrols and even the capital ships do not detect the NR forces in the area, the recon being stealthy. However, it wouldn't be long before they would be picked up as an assault generally gave itself away as such. He nods softly, the white armor shell of his helmet moving softly and visibly in the hangar bay. Giving the Marshall another quick salute, Rei'yak turns back to the Command Squad "You heard the Marshal; all squads are immediately on duty, prepare for a boarding party and ensure that we lock down all vital areas of the ship. 1st squad is to seal off the bridge but they definitely won't make it that far." Shortly after the order is given; men and women wearing their black uniforms are quickly running down the corridors and donning armor while weapons are handed out to the fast-moving troops that are taking up strategic positions around the ship. In the hangar bay Rei'yak nods while another squad moves in to back them up "Take up covering positions using the cargo containers as best you can for when anyone lands." The squads move out quickly throughout the area and the sounds of blasters drawing power from their cells can be heard while Rei gives a briefing to the bridge "Hangar Bay Secure, I have an additional squad en route to secure your location. If they break through us, I want those turbolifts put into emergency lockdown." The Empire never made it easy for someone to board their ships of war. Sensors ping, returns are traced, and the Nebulons find their adversaries. Circuits close, and more sensors come live as fire control shifts into full target acquisition across the entire strike force. The first indication that something is wrong for many of the Imperial forces may very well come when the corvette and carriers are lit up like the proverbial Life Day tree. Another signal goes out from the force's lead ship. "All units, forward to attack range. Take primary targeting from flag and fire at will." At this, the largest of the frigates' turbolasers start firing in their extreme range settings, red lances crossing the gap to the nearest carrier. "All fighter craft launch. Boarding craft are free to carry out their orders." As he finishes, the first X-wings clear the hangars of the lead Nebulons, the other two disgorging pairs of Y-wings that swing on a vector towards the carriers. Aboard Vengan's boarding craft, a twi'lek dressed in simple, midnight blue fatigues with a comm headset and a carbine over her shoulder, a short sword at her side, looks up from the shuttle's miniature plot. "Vengan, we've got a green light from flag. Let's burn ions," Wrista informs him. She's without any of her own subordinates this time, selected to coordinate between ground and fleet after her proven ability to do so at Cochran. As the battle initiates, the starfighters expelled from the four Nebulon-B frigates take the defensive initiative, never straying too far from their homeships they are bound to protect. Mixed groups of X-wings, Y-wings, and A-wings with an equally mixed population of humans and strange aliens call in from their cockpits and begin maneuvers towards their prey...the Empire's TIE fighters and carriers. Turbolaser fire rushing past overhead they begin to crush into their enemies, effectively forming a battle line. "Falcons meet up and cover inward assault of Spooky One." Raxis calls over the comm, pulling hard on his flight yoke to meet his squadron up with Ghost Squadron. Smiling to himself, he dips a fin to Ghost Six, the familiar sight of his friend Lance Corbet. Turning on a tactical channel for them, he grins over their comm as Falcon rushes forward to greet some incoming TIEs. "Follow our path, Spooky One, Speed is Life. Weapons Free. Good hunting. Spider over." He finishes, rolling his A-wing towards the approaching TIEs, squadron in tow. Chuckling at the sight of Raxis, Wildman shakes his head slowly, and presses forward on his yoke. "Ghosts, form up on me. Let's lay down a line of fire to clear the way for Spooky One." And with that, Wildman lines up, sweeping inwards, and lets loose a volley of quad laserfire upon another unsuspecting TIE. Lance Corporal Zion peers around at her compatriots geared up and milling around in the drop bay awaiting orders from Lt. Draelis. Shifting slightly from foot to foot, she finds her own gloved fingers dancing nervously over her gear, unconsciously checking various straps and buckles. Slung over her shoulders is an extra pack not worn by many of the others in the formation, bursting at the seams with various detonators and explosive packs and cylinders. Glancing up at the one minute warning Leyanne echoes her commander along with the rest of the forces, her voice sounding tinny in the helmets mic. Looking up, Twila catches the order from Vengan and grins, nodding in approval as she turns to face her own men. "One minute...” She says, echoing the words from the NR Marines even and their actions - holding up one finger to make sure she's understood - something the rest of the VSC mercs do. After the countdown begins, Twila gives her husband a quick look, making sure he's alright. Once she is assured that he is, she gives him a thumbs-up which is returned. She then turns to face Vengan again, the Twi'lek giving him a bit of a smirk. It is time for the VSC to show the NR and the Imps what they can do. Still inbound to escort the shuttle, the CR90 squadron makes its way along at top speed to intercept and escort the shuttle back - it was just about then all Imperial craft got the alert to the NR assault force. Reacting quickly the captain of the CR90 had the two carriers launch all their fighters, the two patrols recalled for their full force to form up and give the best defense they could. It was a strategy being employed all too late as the enemy had the jump on them - and before any of them could form up for a proper strike back they were upon them and all over the space around them. One looking in might think the hornet's nest was stirred. Krieg doesn't give any commands from where he is flying as it may possibly give him away, but the squadron formation takes the pressure and deals return fire to the rebel fighters. They would fight their way out even if it was the last thing they did as one of their own erupts into a ball of fire. Not moments after the fist was destroyed another goes up into a ball of flame. It was becoming brutally apparent who held the power on the field today, as the rebel shuttle was clearly making its way to the CR90 to assault it. Word is relayed from the bridge of the CR90 to the STs of the inbound shuttle and that all forces standby to repel borders. It was going to be one nasty fight. Even as the turbolasers fire on the CR90, it was not any match for the Nebulon B squadrons, or the marine landing craft and the shields flicker under the heavy onslaught, to fall mere moments after that. The carriers in the system were taking a beating as well, their function only to hold fighters and nothing more than to give some sort of anti-fighter suppression - no match for actual capital ships. Two more TIEs from the carriers succumb to the deadly onslaught of the rebel forces but the defense was holding, for the time being. Sighting in a new craft in the first wave, an A-wing, Krieg takes a good hard look at the fighter’s flight profile as he engages it, recognizing some flight behavior to be familiar to him as he opens up on it, looking to detain the fighters for a little while before something drastic had to happen. As the frigates enter the optimal range of their firing envelope, the turbolaser bolts are joined by lighter fire. "Lead squadrons-- present broadsides to the carriers for optimal fire. Transfer power from port batteries to starboard and fire for effect. I want those carriers pounded to scrap." The capital ships, maintaining a disciplined and practiced formation, yaw ponderously to present their starboard broadsides to the carriers, and the fire intensifies, the NR ships clearly intent on removing the carriers from action as quickly and thoroughly as possible. Clearly, these are not reservists, but experienced and talented crews that know what they're about, their escorts deployed around them in a screen formation, the starboard-side CR90s adding their cannons to the firestorm. Forward starfighters reporting minimal shield damage to their capital ships, the defensive X-wings enter a vicious dogfight with the attacking TIEs. The starline lights up in an impressive light show, visible from many kilometers away. Meanwhile, the charred and exploding husk of a TIE fighter hurtles past Raxis as his shots ring true. Refusing to slow down one bit, Spider narrows his eyes and prepares to open up on a new wave of TIE fighters, when a stream of menacing green blaster bolts crush apart the shields on his forward array. Armor sizzling for a millisecond as the void of space extinguishes the bits of melted armor, Raxis banks and goes evasive. Pushing his speed to his advantage, his barreling roll is quickly turned into and upwards assault, firing at the TIE fighter that just marked him in passing. Raxis calls out over the comm, turning and spraying twin-linked blaster cannons at what he didn't know was Krieg's TIE fighter. Racing straight through the wreckage of the destroyed TIE, shrapnel bouncing off his foreword shields, Wildman continues on his barrage of the enemy. "Let's keep it up, boys! Punch the hole for Spooky One!" Chuckling, Lance stutters his ship, pulling back on his yoke, slowing his advance, ere punching it forward once more, continuing his forward momentum. Not noticing the hit Raxis takes, as of yet, Wildman continues to serve as the foremost X-Wing assault craft, his quad fire once more lancing out. Four rays of death flood from his four wingtips. All of these are aimed for yet another TIE vessel before him, blocking their path. The four gunboats suddenly split apart like a protective nutshell, revealing the two hard darts of motion that are the Marine assault craft. Spooky One and Two split and pinwheel in different directions, the lead boat with Vengan and Leyanne in it heading along the upper hull while Spooky Two angles downwards to get towards the hangar bay. Spooky One suddenly fires retro-rockets and slows to a relative crawl, matching the CR90's pace. The deployment hatch opens and Stick One, with Draelis in the lead, is literally blasted into space by the sudden explosive decompression. With a chorus of cowboy yells they are flung at the CR90's upper hull, just aft of the bridge. Magnetic grapnels deploy like snakes and seize a grasp on the hull and the Marines tug themselves along using magnetized gloves, moving like snakes across water over the hull. Two two-man maneuvering teams move to plant shaped thermal charges on the sides of chugging turbolaser turrets, while the other six Marines- Draelis among them- sneak to the bare upper edge of the viewing plasteel. Vengan nods at Leyanne. he says, pointing at his location, a spot just below her, and one occupied by a third demolitions team. As one, the Marines place shaped charges on the plasteel and activate the times, their tethered buddies hauling them back a few feet to ensure no flying shrapnel hits them when the shaped charges blow. Further aft, the remainder of Spooky One's Marines deploy to the aft side of the vessel, landing in teams and placing shaped charges to blast holes in the outer hull for their own assault. Spooky Two's blasters fire to weaken the integrity of the hangar bay shield and it disgorges its complement of Marines in a pair of long black strings, tethered together for safely. They arrive as a unit in the hangar bay, clattering to the floor and immediately moving to take defensive positions just inside of the forcefield. Marine demo teams move to destroy the protective shield while their compatriots open fire on the Imperial Stormtroopers defending the shuttle bay floor. Balancing tensely on the balls of her feet, LC Zion cradles her own maneuvering rocket in both hands, her rifle strapped across her chest ready for the moment she needs it. Fiddling nervously with the magnetic grapple end of the apparatus she peers intently at Vengan, awaiting the signal. Rocking with the motion of Spooky one as it fires its retros, Leya tenses ready for decomp. Blasting out of the hold, she and her tether partner fire their grapples and pull themselves along behind Vengan. Grappling with her pack she sets the charges quickly were indicated, spinning the timer dial as she goes. Pulled back at the last second as her first charge goes, she reaches a hand to her tether buddy, to stop her momentum. The VigSec assault craft, Noose, is protected by a collection of Hornet starfighters, and these ships split away and join the furball at large, as the CR90 is attacked. Noose moves into formation alongside Spooky Two, and begins to pump its own fire into the hangar bay's protective shielding. The assault shuttle's ramp comes down, and a VigSec's Commando One is deployed, tethered together, much like the NR Marines initial team. Gren Delede is the first man in line, an ST-II in his hands, and already spitting fire toward the defending Stormtroopers. An order goes out to all of his soldiers. Twila grits her teeth and steps just to Gren's left, being careful of any fire that might be flying their way. The Twi'lek's EKX is leveled over the man's shoulder and aimed towards whatever is closet to them, the VSC's CEO praying her shots fly true this mission. The other VSC mercs also fire when they're able to, each shooting at what is the optimal target for them even as the situation is being evaluated. Dodging fire from the A-wing as he would if it were his old rival, Ridge, Krieg quickly takes his craft back around for another strike. It was odd; this pilot seemed as if he didn't know how to handle his craft and in combat that could mean death for the other man. Perhaps there was some other reason for it, but Krieg wasn't here to really debate the topic. Instead he pushes the throttles full forward as he needs all the speed he can get, executing several high energy gaining maneuvers to bring himself back around and lined up for another shot as he evades the destruction of yet another of their own. Getting a good tone he lets loose with quad green fire, the energy of death lancing out. On the CR90 its shields have at long last gone down, the corvette taking a full volley of fire from the enemy and are quickly being overcome. On the two carriers, one takes several large blows as starts venting atmosphere, both of them losing shields at nearly the exact same time and both taking damage, it wouldn't be long under this kind of fire that there would be nothing left. As the battle rages the shuttle had gone into full evasive to get itself to the CR90, but a change of plans had occurred and the shuttle was now making its way away from the battlefield. Apparently its markings and such as carrying the Marshal have gone unnoticed. A patch through to be emitted by the shuttle comes from Krieg, "Keep close to our ships, all fighters keep up your defense." They were vastly outnumbered, but all that was about to change very shortly. Coupled to the last transmission was the signal for Task Force Inquisitor to drop out of hyperspace. Only the task force had some help today. Flanking the battlefield on the right and on the left were Interdictor cruisers - the minute they drop out of hyperspace they kick on their gravity fields, preventing an escape of any of the rebel forces via hyperspace. Dropping out of hyperspace above and below the battlefield comes the Inquisitor and another I2SD, both securing that route of escape. Next to either of the Interdictors were the rest of the ships of the Task force, evenly split with the V2SD Nemesis forming the center of the battlefield to be flanked by the 2 strike cruisers and multiple frigates, cruisers, and corvettes; all pressing in on the center of the fight - the lone CR90 and its two carriers. The real battle had begun, with Captain Keline Nelhrn at the command of the entering forces. There were two routes out of this battle - the first route was to deep space and out of the 'ring' envelopment formed by the Imperial forces. The other was the planet Dathomir. Anyone looking at the battle could see that the route to deep space was left open, and for some reason many could ponder why this was so. However, that very question was answered with the presence of the HIMS Malevolence, a super star destroyer. Explicit orders had been given, however, that the Malevolence will not deploy any forces or fire. There was another mission for it to fulfill and it was not for here today. This became readily apparent as it was the only ship out of range of all weapons. In the end there really were two ways out of the envelopment. Death or to Dathomir; either had its perils but one held the hope for life after this, the other did not. At the arrival of their forces Krieg calls openly on the Imperial frequency, "All units engage the enemy. Force them to the planet or to their death, good hunting." Keline immediately begins to issue orders to the other fleet commanders at the ships of the Task Force make the transition from hyperspace into the Dathomir system. "Order the Nemesis, the Broadsword, and the Ravager to move toward the Nebulon B frigates. The other star destroyer and ourselves will provide suppressing fire for the attacking units and to protect the Interdictor cruisers if necessary. Order the frigates and the corvettes to engage the gunships and corvettes. All ships to launch fighters and order the pilots to screen the advance of the capital ships. Open fire when in range. Most of the Stormtroopers have taken up covered positions behind standard crates of Imperial supplies; nothing fancy, but it gave them a nice horseshoe layout for anything that entered the hangar, and to some degree it would lead the enemy initially into crossfire from the unit. "4 to 10 squads report in." While the checks come through over the helmets' com, Rei'yak quickly reads the scrolling data over the HUD over his left eye. "Check your grenades and blaster packs, we're gonna have company real soon." He was never a commander that would leave the front line, and the stern, trained silence of each voice including his that is spoken comes with a cold, unfeeling battle readiness that was feared of this particular unit. Rei'yaks' voice comes casually over the comm "All units report in enemy contact and move to intercept; give each other backup before anyone can be overwhelmed." As the blaster shots begin to move towards the emplaced men, he gives a small unseen smirk towards the men while he looks back and forth along the positions. "Fire at will." Like a well written chorus, the heavily trained men don't fire until those words were spoken of the intercom, and immediately red streaks begin to fly through the hangar bay from all directions on those who are seeking cover; Rei leaning out behind a crate of supplies to fire at those who are lagging behind for someplace to hide. Up near the bridge of the ship the other squads have sealed off certain doors and the blast doors to the actual command section have been shut; leaving the men out there on their own. Reports of hull breeches come through over the intercoms in what sections and the white armored men begin to move along quickly through the corridors with their blasters up and ready to fire the second anyone approaches. Over the sound of blaster fire and shattering pieces of cargo crate, Rei's voice comes over the comm again "Redirect additional units to the breech points and use your grenades where you can. Ship damage is secondary at this point." Captain Racknar's vague unease is vindicated, even as the frigates rain fire down on the carriers. The first indication that something has gone wrong is the proximity alert of the Imperial ships exiting hyperspace... and the further alert of gravwells spinning up as the sensor officer updates the main plots. "All units, be advised, a large imperial force has entered the operational theater. We read multiple capital ships, interdiction cruisers, and a star dreadnaught. Fighters, cover your assigned craft and suspend offensive actions. Frigates and escort, one-quarter forward, but keep firing on those carriers while we still have the range. Stand by for further instructions." The captain must think fast. They're trapped, caught between the planet and the Malevolence, with the interdictors placed such that escaping to the flanks isn't an option. But there must be something he can do. He just doesn't have very long to figure it out. "Send a message to the freighter groups. Tell them to abort their mission and return home immediately." Aboard the Marine craft, Wrista frowns thinly, clicking her com back on. All boarding units, be advised we have a major hostile incursion. I don’t' think we have much time left. What's the status on taking the Bridge?" Given pause by the sudden lack of escape vector, multitudes of pilots start sounding off to their homeships while dogfighting. Another TIE fighter explodes in the fray, and still the warfare between the starfighters continues. Panic erupts over the comm systems, but order is maintained as the starfighters stay in the fray, fighting for their lives. Cursing at the sight of an armada surrounding them, and the yellow light on his console meaning his jump trajectory was nil, Raxis kicks his engines into a push. Deftly dodging a return attack from the TIE on his tail, Raxis looks over his sensors and begins bobbing and weaving through the firefight. Charging the shield ignition, he calls over the comm to Lance. He calls, pressing the button to recharge his shielding. He calls out, snarling under his breath as he knows that a cornered foe is more dangerous than one that has options. He knew today was going to be bad...and it just got worst. Ducking and dodging through the furball is Lance, and as his screen lights up with new arrivals, he curses beneath his breath. Yet, as chaos erupts upon the comm, his voice raises above the others. "Shut up, lock your targets, and give them hell! We may be in a tough spot, but that doesn't mean we can't bring it to them." Fingers flash across his controls, even as he adheres to Spider's request, heading towards the vector given him. "Let's get our heads together! Stay together, and we stay alive. And at the very least, let's take as many of those bastards out as we can before they lay it on us. LOCK AND LOAD!" Without another word, for there is no time as Wildman opens fire upon the incoming A-Wing. However, as the quad laserfire rocks in, Spider banks hard to port, leaving the rays of death streaking directly towards the pursuing vessel; Krieg's MKII. In the depth of space, there is a silent puff of air and glittering glass- a flash of plasma- and the plasteel viewports on the CR90's bridge rupture. Bodies, weapons, a few Stormtroopers, and anyone not strapped in place goes floating outwards into the vacuum. On the bridge, it's an entirely different experience- a devastating explosion, a flash of heat and noise- then the screaming of the wind as the bridge explosively decompresses, a few vulnerable officers swelling disgustingly as their bodies expand beneath the lack of pressure. The tethered Marines, experts in such assaults, swing up and out on their monofilament tethers and land in the bridge as soon as the decompression ends, boots magnetizing to the hull. Blasters firing, they eliminate any remaining opposition and move to seal the heavy durasteel doors and reel the remainder of their team in. A pair of specially trained pilots move to the command units, taking control of the un-secured ship quickly. Draelis lifts a hand, pointing. he orders Leyanne over this commlink. The Marine lieutenant flips to the secure frequency. he informs the Marines ready to shut down the secondary fusion reactors. Vengan nods at one of the slicer experts. he asks over the click and whine of his rebreather. Down in the hangar bay, the Marines and VSC units are in heated combat, overturning this and that in their efforts to overtake the Imperials. At a predetermined signal, all the Marines activate their tethers and boots, giving Delede's crew a signal to do the same. When everyone's secure, they blow the atmospheric shielding just as the bridge has been breached- only this time, a few hundred thousand square feet of atmosphere blow outwards, along with anything that doesn't weight more than a few hundred pounds or is firmly bolted in place. Clinging to her tether buddy for a moment Leyannes gaze flicks out over the ongoing space battle just as the Imperial Armada exits hyperspace. Using her grapple tether to position herself to face the hull breaches she just helped create, she steels herself for entry into the maw. Swinging with her tether buddy onto the captured bridge, the corporals boots magnetize immediately, as she detaches her tether and moves to secure the doors as order. Dropping her thruster/maggrapple on the deck she slings her rifle around to the front, cradling it in the two handed ready position as she presses the door seal. Delede slides into what cover that he can find, and continues his attempt at targeting their white-clad foes. The flurry of reports from the fleet are transmitted to the VSC leaders, along with text on their helmet HUDs, courtesy of Gren's R2 droid, aboard their assault ship. A twitch of his head, and he activates his tether, letting it keep him secure. A gesture of his hand, and he begins to advance, moving forward as he best he can, in magnetic boots. Twila grits her teeth and rolls her eyes a bit, annoyed with how difficult it is to move. Those damn boots makes most anything difficult to do and Maker help them if they have to run anywhere. "I am moving," she grunts in a tight voice, her grip on her rifle turning her knuckles white. Growling she follows Gren, letting the rest of their men follow behind as they're able to. It was a spectacular sight for Krieg to see, his task force had arrived. If the enemy hadn't figured out that he was in a fighter by now, the better. After a failed attempt to re-engage the A-Wing Krieg does not hesitate to go for a better target, and in this case it was an X-wing of familiar markings that has come close, it looked like Lance. Without skipping a beat he picks up on the new target, getting a good tone and chasing this pilot with green laser bolts. As he engages he calls to the Imperial force, "All forces move in on the enemy, do not let them mount a defense. Defend our interdictors; engage their ships and destroy them before they have a chance to do anything. Razor squadron, on me. We're taking down these fighters." In his final shot on Lance he says ship to ship, "It ends today." Meanwhile, the CR90 was at a complete and total stop, the fire had long ago disabled most of the propulsion and the weapons - her guns had run silent for some time now giving an eerie feeling to those aboard. The calm before the storm, if you will. As for the two carriers, one is taking massive damage and her guns go silent in a violent explosion, but she was not totally down for the count. The other continues to take damage but her guns keep trying to fire back on their attackers. The new starfighters rush into the fray, taking their initial volley on the enemy fighters and lighting them up in a similar fashion to the NR first strike. Only a pair of TIEs are struck down this round, unlike the damage inflicted on their foe. The newly arrived forces of Task Force Inquisitor, along with the Star Destroyer brought in to reinforce them, continue to move toward the enemy capital ships while their fighters fly ahead to engage the New Republic fighters hurriedly moving back to their capital ships. The Imperial ships break into groups, the frigates and corvettes aligning into one, and the 2 ISDs, the VSD, and the two cruisers into the other. This later force begins to head toward the Nebulon B frigates and, when within firing range, the big guns of the ships open up on the Nebulon Bs while the frigates and corvettes make their way to the corvettes and gun ships of the New Republic. The captain isn't very fond of suicide missions, and that doubly true when another option presents itself. No less desperate, but it's more likely to work. "Negative, Falcon. We don't have that kind of time. They've got 2 cruisers and a Victory to our four frigates, and the interdictors are overlapping their fields. All ships, come to heading two two nine, flank speed." His command bridge rocks as the cruisers start firing on the frigates. "Forget the carriers; we'll have to settle for heavy damage. Defensive fire configuration, shields double-aft. Escorts deploy for fleet defense. We can't run the Malevolence, and those interdictors would take too long. We'll have to attempt to run for the planet and slingshot out-system. The frigates might not like that kind of abuse, but it's our best shot." The orders come and call over the starfighter battle as Captain Sojuss Hovy, CO of Falcon Squadron receives Raxis' communication from within the cockpit of his own A-wing. Dodging through the blasterfire, he finds himself in danger. A painful row of blasterfire from a trailing TIE connects just behind his cockpit and sparks fly. Flight control damaged, the A-wing begins to barrel roll out of control. The sullustan calls as his cockpit begins to superheat. Killing his engines suddenly, the A-wing crushes to a stop. The last that is heard over the comm is a defiant battle cry from Falcon's CO as his A-wings power core explodes in a brilliant explosion. The two trailing TIEs just passing in the process are disintegrated as well in the explosion. "NO!" Raxis calls out as he dodges his A-wing to avoid the explosion, having watched his commanding officer consumed in the blaze. Face turned red, he keeps his speed up and prepares the shield charger again as he barrels down through the fray. One by one, two more brave republic pilots meet their end as the small green dots on his radar disappear from view. One X-wing's S-foils sputter outwards as the cockpit explodes, and a Y-wing takes a fatal hit that destroys its starboard engine, sending it spiraling into Dathomir's gravity well. Unable to correct, it explodes in the atmosphere. ...and then it happens. A crushing blow to Ghost Squadron is dealt as an unmarked TIE fighter bears down on Ghost Six. An explosion on the aft of the X-wings sends it spiraling towards Dathomir, out of the fight. Raxis calls out, assuming command of both squadrons as his temper flares into a controlled chaos. The battle was turning several different colors of red and green, the explosions and laser fire mixing to make a masterpiece no artist had ever created before. Krieg deftly flies through it all, making it known that they were not going to back down until every last NR ship was taken down. Moving from the X-Wing Krieg picks up that pesky A-Wing once more, looking this time to kill it in one fell swoop. Falling into a battlerhythm Krieg notes that the NR forces were looking to dive into the outer limit of the atmosphere, probably hoping for a speed shot around the planet. Calling out to Keline he says on a secure channel already pre-programmed, "Captain, take the Imperator class star destroyers, the victory and strike cruisers and strike the enemy forces now. Cut them off it you can all forces forward. Use tractor beams to slow them down. They are /not/ to escape." His voice is calm but holds an edge of evil mischief to it as well as he barrels down the flight path of this a-wing, moving as it moves. With a good tone he fires on this craft as well, looking to score a major hit. The CR90 lay dead in space for now along with one of the carriers. The third ship was at a full stop too, looking to heal its wounds while trying to give protection to the other craft. The Interdictors were doing their job well, and the officers on each of the bridges were looking to plot what the rebels planned as a way out - and get in the way of it. Keline listens to the gist of Krieg's message before she turns to her comm officer. "Send the orders; we've got to stop them now before they try to get away." *She looks at the sensor screen built into her command chair as, while outside, the capital ships turn about as their engines flare brighter as they begin to move forward toward the New Republic ships. On board the Imperial ships gunnery officers begin plotting their targeting solutions before the green bolts of destructive energy begin to lash outward the enemy ships while the tractor beams stretch out their emerald fingers to grasp as many of the ships as they can to delay their progress out of the system. Green flashes against the blue splashes of overcharged deflectors, a light show dancing across the back of the speeding NR fleet. The first ship to give up is a corvette, flaring brightly as its reactor finally goes, followed by a solid hit on the rear of one of the frigates. The frigate looses speed from the damage to one of its engines, repair teams scurrying about inside to try to bring it back online. A second engine is saved as an escort gunship heroically dives into fire from the VSD, erupting in flames as it shields the larger ship and pays for the act with its loss. Narrowing his eyebrows as the unmarked TIE comes screaming towards his cockpit, he returns fire at about the same time Krieg's TIE opens fire. Holding his breath as he shoots, he weaves his A-wing in passing as the TIE's shots fly past him. Not even bothering to see the result of his return fire, Raxis opens his comm to the remaining pilots in the Ghost and Falcon squadron on his wing as they race to meet up with the battle group. He barks over the comm, glancing at his sensors for a return attack from the unmarked TIE as protons and concussion missiles from his group soar like a wave at the VSD. He calls out, keeping one eye on his tail. The scene of desperation unfolds as the X-wings and Y-wings of the New Republic fleet race to return to their frigates. Attempting to avoid a crashing scenario on the decks, some are left to fend for themselves while waiting for a boarding window during the firefight, as the battle continues right outside the Republic capital ships as it works on its escape. "Terror Squad form up!" a gravelly voice from he leader of a squadron enters over the airwaves "Keep it tight, and use evasive patterns, were going to make a few strafing runs on those damn rebels, hit 'em as their docking." A few acknowledgements filter through and the pilot's scarred face creases into a sneer before his eyes widen "Income, dammit, break break break!" the pilot yanks the controls down and to the left, letting his TIE go into a downward spiral at the incoming missiles. "Scatter and don't le.." a scream his heard over the com as a TIE Disintegrates "Dammit I said not to let them hit you, fly like people not droids!" he growls and narrows his eyes "Emperor dammed rebel scum!" Raxis pages: fair. how many nr dead is that total? 12? p = shot down total is 13, including Lance You paged Raxis with 'shot down total is 13, including Lance' The A-Wing pilot apparently knew something about how to fly the craft in the end as Krieg was unable to hit him for a second time. As Krieg falls deeper into his rhythm he makes his movements more deliberate as he powers his craft around in battle. Captain Nelhrn was doing excellent and the power play was going as planned for the most part, and he knew the rebels were going to want to escape sooner or later. He wasn't sure of a few things in the battle still, but he had competent commanders that would either deal with the problem or alert him if something was off. He had made that clear enough as dying trying to accomplish something without telling anyone left them worse off then before. A few more TIEs go down in balls of fire, but the number of enemy craft was starting to surpass anything they had lost up until this point. The two carriers and the CR90 were still out there adrift will full scale repairs underway. Watching with a careful eye the two interdictor commanders note the movement of the battle, as well as the captain of the Malevolence. Krieg knew he was being graded by the commanders up above, and failure would look bad on his part. Pressing in again he talks to this pilot, "New one, aren't you? Didn't they tell you to give up?" Then he fires green death at the man. The ships under Keline's command continue to move forward as fast as their engines can move them, the VSD and the cruisers making some lead on the larger ships, as they continue to fire upon the escaping NR ships. Keline turns to the weapons officer, ordering him to command the all fire be aimed at the engines, before the sensor officer turns to her and reports the incoming missiles heading toward the Nemesis. The ISD2s close up closer, using their shields to reduce the amount of damage delivered to the VSD, as they continue to move forward. Keline studies the sensor data again before she orders a course change that will attempt to cut the ships off as the tractor beams continue to try and slow the escaping ships down. Captain Racknar frowns at his plot and the damage codes mounting across the fleet status boards. His own ship is the best off, but certainly not untouched, and the aft generators were so strained keeping up against the assault that they were likely to blow at any minute. He'd had some time, realized that thee was no way the frigates were going to make it through a close pass to the planet necessary for a slingshot. Frowning heavily, he keys his comm again. The other captains were all friends, squadron mates. Two of them, he'd fought with since the Alliance. They all knew the score, though, and they'd agree with what he was about to do. Another corvette went up in a fireball, screening its frigate from fire, then two Gunships, followed by a fourth escort that just couldn't soak any more fire. And that made the decision for him. Half the screen was remaining, and the lead ships would never make it. "Frigate group. Evacuate non-essential personnel to shuttles and lifeboats. Shuttles are to attempt to break to hyperspace, lifeboats to make for the planet surface. Reroute all spare power to shields and plot an intercept for the VSD. All escort ships, break formation and proceed along slingshot course at individual flank speed. Flag is uploading full battle recording to be delivered to Ord Mantell in the event any of you are successful. Fighters are to cover remaining fleeing craft, Falcon and Ghost, you keep on those Marines til they bug out. We're going to buy you all what time we can." As small craft shoot out of the frigates, swinging around to join the escape vector and the remaining corvettes power up to full speed in a desperate dash for clear space, the four damaged frigates swing around vengefully on their pursuers, the shields re-balancing to the front, as they switch from defensive fire to offensive, the red lances converging on the VSD among their pursuers. Across open com, many voices can be heard as the Republic warriors start their final charge: "FOR FREEDOM AND THE REPUBLIC!" As some TIEs turn to face the collective bombing run, an A-wing explodes off of Raxis port side. Gritting his teeth, Raxis primes his blasters and lines a targeting solution on one of the Victory Star Destroyer's tractor beam arrays. His strike force, in a death defying move to hold the star destroyers at bay, does the inconceivable...attacking the capital ships He barks over the comm, in a do or die scenario. He yells aloud, and presses the trigger as another round of protons and torpedoes streak at the VSD, hoping to get caught in the inward pull of the gravitational lasso. Cursing as more blasterfire connects with his tail, scarring the mid-back of the ship with black scorching, he opens the comm again. Staring into the face of death as his group is on a dead ahead course for the VSD's belly, he narrows his eyes. Now taking the combat to skimming over the I2SD's themselves, hoping to use the crossfire to their advantage. The grey hulls rush by with a wave of defensive blasterfire from the Star Destroyers fighting to draw on the bead on the starfighters as they rush by. "Get off of her you son of a..." "I'm hit! AAAr--" calls over the comm as the death of another X-wing pilot attempting to cover the landing starfighters explodes in a blaze of glory. Dodging and weaving around, using the short range defenses of the Nebulon B for a tactical advantage, the New Republic pilots are still losing their fight. A brilliant explosion rocks the side of a frigate as another X-wing barrels out of control, this time crashing into one of the frigates itself. A grim, desperate situation falls over the combat. Terror squadron breaks up and the scarred leader chuckles and hits the open com "Death to the Republic and glory for the Empire!" his message ends with a gravelly chuckly before he clicks back to the squadron frequencies "Ok boys lets chew those fighters up and spit out scrap, and remember, bounty on aces, knock an ace down, make a confirmed kill, then you get a few extra rations and a day off." he grins and lines up an X-Wing "Bang." he whispers as he stitches a line of a green bolts up it's fuselage, blowing apart the R2 unit before hitting the cockpit, shattering it "Two, you picked up a fly, let me swat it, swing my way then pull off." A TIE with an A-wing on it's tail swings in front of the lead TIE and jukes out of the way as several lines of green bite into the A-Wing's backside and blow it apart "Abandon all hope rebel scum." is heard over the comms as Terror squad plunges into the fight. It wasn't long before the fleet was starting to really punch into the rebel forces, and Krieg was picking up on indications that the enemy force was starting to evacuate prior to their attacks now. It was a brave effort, though those surviving would be forced to the planet or picked up by the tractor beams of the SSD. He himself moves around, locking back onto that same target realizing it was Raxis who was flying it. "I see they have given you a new ship for me to destroy, give up now or fall forever." His forces press the attack, the TIEs successfully engaging the enemy craft and intercepting their warheads, preventing them from a successful strike on their V2SD. As the battle progresses the two carriers are forgotten about, but the CR90 it looks like is moving again, and is venturing close to the atmosphere. Krieg knew that if there was something wrong the commanders of the force would let him know and they would intercept their own vessel if need be. Vectoring off a flight of six Krieg has them move to intercept the CR90 just to be sure. As for he and Raxis he presses forward again using speed and angles to intercept the craft. Another good tone, another shot. Keline narrows her eyes as she watches the blips on the sensor screen that represent the frigates turn about and begin to head toward the formation of Imperial ships before turning to look out the front viewport. She lowers her voice to mutter "If you want to die fools then have it your way." *she snaps up her head to look at the weapons pit as she raises her voice. "Order all ships to open fire on those frigates, all forward fire, and maximum strength. Deploy the Scimitars and order them to do whatever damage they can to those ships. They may want to end their lives but they're not going to take us with them!" It might pass relatively unnoticed, in the face of the frigates rounding, that the Imperial CR90 that got boarded is again under way, swinging around to join the NR ships as they attempt to escape. The Forth escort gunship, not quite able to keep itself together after going to full power, just... shreds apart under the engine strain, the earlier damage from being shot leaving it unable to maintain integrity. The frigates, despite the certain death they charge to in order to save as many lives as they can, are still operating with impressive efficiency. Perhaps even more than usual, since the crews have resigned themselves to going down fighting. In an effort not seen in a long time, the ships wade into the fire undaunted, pouring fire into the VSD as best they can, even as shields fail and green scalpels start to strip the ship's armored flesh from durasteel bones. One frigate, particularly hard-pressed in the charge, continues to fire with one solitary turbolaser, even as the engines flicker and die, and it starts to pitch uncontrolled as the attitude thrusters cut out. The last of the surviving pilots at the frigates dock, to the scene of a brutal massacre. The starfield is littered with debris and downed pilots as the Imperial flood chases after them. With more screams and lives cut off over the comms as they explode, five more pilots are silenced forever. The swarm of TIEs breaks off and begins chasing down individual fighters now, the most kills seems to be generating from a black TIE with the mawl of a Krayt Dragon painted in the middle of it's solar panels and with red markings around it's cockpit "Terror Squad, concentrate on those X-Wings, I hate X-wings." the squadleader growls a bit as several red beams slip past him "Maybe this will confuse you.." the pilot reverse thrusts quickly and as the X-Wing firing at him slips over him he cackles and fires a stream of laser shots at the fighter until it explodes in a ball of flame "Haha stupid rebel, someone get that, nice." The HIMS Nemesis takes a heavy beating, and over the time it was taking this her shields go down, flickering out. However, this was not a lightly armored craft and the vessel takes hits to her hull, but nothing too serious. It keeps its firepower up, the hull taking major scoring and damage. It was in this for the long haul, but eventually may have to pull out. The rest of the Task force's frigates and corvettes make their way after their rebel counterparts, engaging them to the max extent possible. Receiving Rei's transmission he says back to the man calmly. "Evacuate the ship, we are targeting you now. The ship is caught in the planet's atmosphere." And from what he could see, it was and they were in trouble. Not much they could do at this point as he orders the scimitars to unleash a volley into the ship to cripple it on its journey to the surface. As for the battle with Raxis he says to Dante, "Engage the A-wing and bring it down. We press forward." And with saying that he calls back to Raxis, "Such insolence, you need to be taught a lesson." That lesson being the green lances of death aimed for that man's ship. Quiet but deadly or something like that. Flying as Inrokana's wingman, Dante runs a constant scan of the immediate system in order to update her 'image' of the battle every minute or so. In a constantly changing battlescape, keeping an eye on the over all picture is pivotal to making sure that one doesn't get left behind - or accidentally shoot the wrong fighter. Granted, A-wings are significantly different than TIE Ints or Mk2's but that's not really the point. She is quiet on the comm channel, listening intently as orders are issued and as terse remarks are made from one pilot to another. To that end she has her sights set on a particular A-wing, waiting for the order of the Marshal before she fires her main weapons. For a moment there's a fierce grin on her face, a dangerous gleam in her eyes that says without words that the killing dance is begun. <"I'm hit!"> Raxis calls out over the comm as his tail section takes a massive beating. Panels light up as damage displays cover his screen readouts. <"I...I think I'm okay I--"> He blurts out before Dante's TIE passes overhead, blasters digging into the same spot that Krieg had just hit. What was once damage to his sensor systems was obliterated as the shot dug down into his main system wiring. Console sputtering, Raxis' A-wing begins taking power drains at random. Flight controls sluggishly responding with little speed, he finds himself caught in Dathomir's gravity well. <"I'm going down! Falcon Five going down. Ghosts, Falcons, protect that Corvette and get the hell out of here. Falcon eight and ten, take some ghosts back with you. The rest of you...keep with her...May the force be.."> He gets out before his communication is covered in static. The A-wing's nose begins to superheat as it faces the friction of the planet's atmosphere. Using the last of his available power, Raxis pushes the engines and eases the A-wing into a correct angle. Rocketing into the planet's ozone layer, the A-wing is a fiery comet in the sky as milky grey clouds rush past his cockpit. "Oh this is gonna be a karkin' treat..." Raxis grunts, struggling with the controls. His altitude readings blanked out, he closes his helmet's facemask and grabs his emergency kit and pulls on the ejection seat's two handles. With a crushing explosion, his cockpit's canopy shudders and flies off, followed by his ejection. Parachute deployed, he lands in a swamp, parachute stuck on a spiny tree six feet off of the ground. Meanwhile, the desperate space battle is clearly lost. Twenty more signals from New Republic pilots fade out of existence as only eight more TIE fighters are downed. The captured corvette abruptly looses power, then engines dying just as the ship starts to slice into the upper atmosphere of Dathomir. Caught in the planet's gravity irrevocably now, it's only a matter of time before it's sentenced to death, but at least those aboard have some scant time. One of the Marine assault shuttles, damaged but still flying, moves towards the bridge, presumably to pull whatever NR marines it can from that location while it's still possible. It's a desperate procedure, but that's really the only hope they have short of trying to fight towards the escape pods. Another pair of fleeing corvettes breaks apart under fire, a third falling behind, but the final squadron of CR90s seem to have taken their orders to heart. They've got a bit of a head start, and they've thrown their entire auxiliary and weapons power into the drive, even shutting down much of life support to get more power out of the brightly-flaring engines and the swing in a tight sling around the planet's equator. Meanwhile, the frigates are certainly going down with a log of fight. That lone turret has finally been silenced, another frigate has gone dark, reduced to a battered hulk that is unlikely to even make good salvage and with the targets cut in half, and the last two are rapidly joining them. As his sister ship finally breaks apart, Captain Racknar makes a final broadcast on an open channel. "Where I tread, many will gladly follow. The Empire shall do well to remember that." The com breaks apart in static as the antenna is hit, but something far more important is probably catching the Imperials' attention at this point. As the ship's lights flicker and die and the weapons fall silent, a power spike in the reactor cuts through the usual interference of battle, slowly building. It seems the Captain has elected to overload it, now that he's as close to the Imperial ships as he's likely to get. Rewarded with his wingman coming in to destroy what was left of Raxis's craft after he hit it with a mighty blast, Krieg pulls off and has several fighters form on him so they could sweep the battlefield. When he reports in to the Inquisitor to get a battle report he finds out that several rebel shuttles made it to the planet, along with the CR90 making its crash landing there. Their own 501st he was told was able to make it out, but only in ejection pods. So much for them not having anything to leave behind for the enemy. Knowing full well that the capital ships had to leave he gives the order, "Give me a Gamma Class assault shuttle with a full strike team now, I will provide escort. I also want a lambda shuttle with supplies loaded. We're going in to round up our forces and remove the rebels. Take the Task Force and pull out when ready." The massive capital ships comply with the order and soon there are two shuttles of very different shape that make it out of the Inquisitor. The fighters and bombers are recalled and the gravwells are shut down. Soon the Malevolence jumps out, to be followed by the interdictors. Task Force Inquisitor is the last to go, the depot remaining relatively unharmed but actually empty all the same. With an escort of 3 TIE fighters the flight of 6 ships makes its way down to the planet to the last known trajectories of the 501st. They were going to be down there for a while as Krieg knew that there were other operations ongoing. It was a successful interdiction; however three damaged enemy corvettes made their escape. In the meantime, it would prove to be a most interesting week.
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