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Listening to the Pilot's communicate from the sounds permeating through the cockpit from Pox's helmet Scars' grows impatient; she disliked this now that it had been experienced first hand, flying why in the galaxy would you want to weave around? Show Scars' a combatant and she'll destroy it no objections raised."Come on Hairgel, give me a blasted target!" Scars growls loudly and nods. "Let em' try they won't get very far." Scars' left thumb switches from the laser cannons to a more exotic type of weapon; missiles. Keenly watching with a pair of keen cybernetic eyes they both shimmer for a moment adjusting to the dark cold void of space."Computer, take Helmet-Mounted display offline."For the normal trooper this would impair them but not Scars with the pair of hi-sense orbs sitting in eyes sockets; prosthetic for a great loss experienced in a previous battle far from their current location within a different system entirely. Cybernetic hand makes a barely audible squeak from beneath Stormtrooper Armour while grip tightens around the fire controls with breath slowed and growing deep. Heaving like a hydroship rocking to and fro in a great swell, giving Scars' a brief sense of peace before both thumbs find an X-wing passing beneath them and the Stormtrooper's thumbs gives the butterfly-style trigger a sharp firm depression. The Oridnance launcher's rounds fire and warp into a spiral towards their target like a pair of blue tendrils reaching forth across the void of space increasing in speed steadily to reach their peak sub-light speed.
https://youtu.be/R43dYg_Kuc0
"Missiles Away!"Scars' exclaims happily with this dark bloodthirst that has taken over her not yet abating or regressing not with her sensitivity such as it was and the suffocating presence of the overwhelming dark side energies pouring from the First Order's fleet oscillating forth it has wrapped its' insidious tendrils around the untrained mind of Scars' her fury for injuries sustained at the hands of the Galactic Alliance and their allies would no doubt be met with gruesome satisfaction if possible before the battle was said and done with. Fear was another motivator now the usually stoic Scars did not want to die and she slay ever single Galactic Alliance craft and its' pilot that was encountered with brutally ruthless efficiency. "Oh yeah! Want some more of this!? I've got plenty for you, you farkling womp rats!" Scars snarls loudly at the Alliance Craft though she knew they could not hear her Pox might and she thought it could steel his resolve to be comparable atleast to a Soldier if not a Stormtrooper; there was an important distinction between the two in 6767's mind, one was a hapless adult volunteer and the other is an unflinchingly loyal serveant of Sieger Ren his will made manifest and the best educated warriors in the entire galaxy.
"Ma'am, the Liberty is coming under heavy fire. We do not believe it will be able to sustain much more damage."
"The targeted ship, reportedly the Crimson Dawn, is destroyed, Ma'am. Should we direct the Fortitude and Focus to aid the Liberty?"
"We have lost several squadrons pursuing the Conqueror, please advise."
Reports rolled in, echoing through the otherwise silent bridge, and though the situation demanded increased focus and determination with each passing moment, perhaps in spite of her attempts to muster more, Lily found herself steadily losing steam. It was becoming harder to concentrate, the slow, deliberate, adjustment to a sudden connection with the force pulling her in every which way. Emerald eyes shut tight with an expression pained, wound tight with tension just behind her brow, her head turning from side to side as though she could shake away the irritation. "Yes, direct the rest of our assault craft towards the ships barring us access to the Star Destroyer, throw whatever we can at them - if they're focused on us they can't fend off the rest of the Alliance." She said after a moment of contemplation. A sigh, laden with discontent, escaped through rosy lips as she slumped back in her seat and tilted her head back to stare up at the ceiling.
'What am I doing here?'
It was a thought she asked herself more often than not, nowadays, and today more than ever did she just want to get away - away from everything, from this conflict especially, but she just wasn't happy anymore. Amidst this introspection, and the returned silence of the bridge as the orders were relayed to each of the ships in her fleet, something deep inside of her stirred. It wasn't fatigue, and it certainly wasn't fear, instead it was rather a certain sensation of unease, like butterflies, that unsettled her. Despite everything, or perhaps in spite of everything, Lily couldn't help but feel just a little bit lucky that her command ship was largely unnoticed.
At least, until the explosion of one of the hangar bay doors rocked the super carrier and the sirens blared.
She had jumped to her feet when the initial explosion had sent a shudder through the ship, and she was knocked off balance, falling into her chair as the subsequent explosions in the hangar tore much of the interior of the ship within it apart.
"What is going on?" Lily demanded, hair disheveled as she sat herself back down and gripped the arms of her chair to hold herself in place. "It appears we have been boarded, ma'am. It must have been a cloaked vessel, our sensors didn't pick it up until it blew open a hangar bay and unloaded explosives inside. We've suffered some heavy structural damage in the hangar, including an inoperable door, and infrared motion detectors - our visuals are offline in the hangar - are picking up movement from the intruders moving towards the interior." The executive officer answered, his face grim as the gravity of his words sank in. "Get me visuals as soon as they're in the hallway, Gregor. Jakob, send a distress call out - they aren't going to just send a bunch of rookies in to take over a super carrier in a cloaked ship." She said, her heart starting to race as the adrenaline cycled through her veins.
"Understood."
"Visuals of the intruders available, casting to holographic displays one and four." Gregor announced, projecting a holographic representation of their intruders on the holoprojector directly in front of Lily as well as the main projector situated at the front of the bridge. Horrified whispers and gasps filled the bridge almost immediately - of the members of the First Order that had made their way onto the ship was the one and only Supreme Commander, A'sharad Graush, himself. Their concern was justified - the man had a reputation for brutal efficiency, and it was obvious that he would be coming to take control of the ship. "Gregor, order an evacuation of the Red Veil and the rest of you - including you - get out of the bridge and get on an escape pod out of here, have the Synergy pick you up. Command of the fleet will be temporarily yours unless a higher ranking officer in the Alliance is assigned control." Lily said. When the sight of A'sharad had filled the holographic display, helmet or not, all of the color had drained from her face.
'Does he know this is my ship?'
Hundreds of thoughts in line with that had filled her head all at once, shattering any focus she'd previous had left. The look of shock on her face was apparent to all, and was perhaps the source of the lip she immediately received from her executive officer. "Ma'am they are here for the ship, they don't need to take you too. You're the leader of an entire star system, think of your people." She wouldn't hear any of it, however - she had enough self-control left for that at least. "I am thinking of my crew just as much as I am thinking about my people - get off of this ship, now, before it's too late. I'm not moving, and it's pointless if you stay. I can deal with them - they can try to use me as insurance or as a hostage - and we've already sent out a distress call. If you're concerned give the access codes to the Alliance before you go." She said hurriedly, eyes glued to the hologram of her paramour on his warpath to her. "..Fine." Gregor replied, after a moment of hesitation, as he turned to leave the bridge opposite of the side of the ship that the First Order was quickly reaching the turbolift from. He paused as he keyed in the access code to seal the blast door, glancing back at the woman that was frozen in place with fear. "It was an honor, ma'am."
"Gregor?"
"Yes?" He asked, nearly about to leave the bridge.
"Tell my parents and my sister that I love them."
The Coruscanti lingered for a moment longer at the door, his face solemn. "They will know." He assured her, leaving her and the bridge behind as the door shut and sealed itself behind her as A'sharad and his group stepped out from the turbolift outside of the bridge opposite of the side the crew had evacuated from. She realized, quite too late, what the pain in her chest had been prior. For the second time in her life it appeared that the Sith wanted to break her heart - and maybe now he was here to get rid of her, too. She hadn't even realized that there had been tears in her eyes until she blinked at the sight of the blast doors opening for A'sharad to walk through.
There were so many things she wanted to say - to ask him if he was here to kill her, to question why he had made this so personal - but nothing came out when she opened her mouth to speak. His appearance was met only with the arrival of [member="Raph Thule"] moments later on the opposite side of the bridge.
Ship Name: ANS Liberty Ship Class:Citadel-Class Star DefenderShield / Hull:640/1800 Hangar: 3 Squadrons Locust-Class Starfighters (30 Total) Actions:Firing at FIV Conqueror and returning fire; All Squadrons deployed and heading towards the FIV Conqueror to engage
Command Deck, Supercarrier The Itsukusk Alliance Battle Line, Hex L-49
It appears to be working.
"Not enough," Supreme Commander Ven grunted in response, having grown more and more accustomed to the idea of a disembodied voice in his ear as the battle progressed. Somehow, despite his physical location in a quiet section of the bridge meditating alongside Master [member="Taeli Raaf"], the vice admiral had managed to keep himself apprised of the tactical situation from moment to moment. It was almost as if he was standing right next to him.
Still, this may be our best chance, Zark reasoned, his formless spiritual awareness standing right next to the Mon Calamari. Despite the immense strain battle meditation at this scale placed upon him, the Jedi Master had displaced his consciousness so that he could continue to function as the Supreme Commander's first officer.
After a series of exchanges between the two armada, the results had proved unsatisfactory for the both of them. There was no way they were going to blast their way through the First Order's heavy destroyers to make a hole for an assault upon their ultimate target, the Imperial interdiction station, at least not without unacceptable losses. But where Zark had advocated for brute force, Nemo had instead suggested finesse.
The Alliance assault on Triaxis apparently blunted, the Defense Fleet had seemingly resorted to targets of opportunity, and their battle lines appeared to fracture and route as smaller vessels broke off to engage First Order battle groups already provoked by a mass starfighter assault. The Imperials had pounced on the opportunity, sending many of their corvettes and frigates on counter-raids to harry Allied Command and other's more exposed formations. Frustrating holdouts remained among elements of the enemy 6th Fleet, including their command and cruiser battle groups, but there were now several small fractures in their formation's bulwark.
"Their line is drifting off of us," the Supreme Commander noted, with a curious element of frustration in his voice as he said so. With half the enemy fleet's firepower still thundering against the Alliance flagship's gargantuan hull, it didn't quite feel that way to those around him, "Lets see if we can keep their attention. Long range batteries, target that interdiction station. Order all attack wings to realign on primary objective."
Arrogance, Zark's voice touched Ven's thoughts, and the Mon Calamari nodded his bulbous head in agreement. It was the First Order's delusional conviction in their own infallibility that had given them this opportunity, and while the attrition would likely be higher than they had hoped, the longer this fight drew out the less chance their depleted starwings would have to inflict maximum impact. For only with precision bombing runs did they have the highest chance of crippling the enemy's gravity well projectors without having to obliterate the station itself and everyone on board.
To lure his enemy out, and then go for the throat. It was a remarkably Sith tactic, but then the Jedi Master reasoned to himself that Nemo Ven had made a lifetime of using the Darkside's own brutality against it. Brutality was a most imprecise form of attack, for dealt carelessly a savage blow could end up inflicting more harm on the one who delivered it than the target, in ways they do not expect. Along with an array of long range heavy turbolaser batteries, the Itsukusk's binary fusion ion cannons lanced out at Triaxis, all one hundred in told, each with the equivalent firepower of a hypervelocity cannon. The supercarrier's heavy warhead and energy torpedo launchers would take more time to reach their target, and ran the risk of being shot down, but not as much as before.
"Sir, enemy attack ships closing on us fast!"
And then came the cost.
"Reroute intercept groups to defend the Eriadu and Arbra," Ven ordered, taking into account occasional telepathic feedback from his Jedi XO as he planned their defensive strategy, "Order all Dirgible captains to make for the cover of the line's defensive guns."
They're not all going to make it, Zark said, and the Supreme Commander knew better than to question his prediction at this point.
"If their position is overrun," Nemo added, "Each captain may stand and fight at their discretion."
The Dirigible corvettes possessed little in the way of armor, but they were fast, and brawling other corvettes and frigates was their specialty. However, with the sheer amount of enemy strike ships rapidly approaching their position, to stand their ground would mean that it would be only a matter of time before the pack was overwhelmed. Both flag officers knew it, and the captains of the Alliance corvettes knew it, but when the time came even those who had not been targeted chose to stay and return fire rather than push on under the cover of the Defense Fleet heavy starships' point defense.
As the Jedi watched engagements play out all across the holodisplay above their heads, he could also quite literally see each battle happening from the perspective of the Alliance crew. It was getting more and more difficult to keep both focuses in his head simultaneously, both his surroundings on the bridge and the reports from his fellow officers, and a shared web of tens of thousands of consciousness all fighting a battle for their very survival. It was enough to break anyone, should it go on long enough, and while as Taeli's thoughts of encouragement drifted into his mind and reminded him that timeline was extended, he knew this could not go on forever.
Dimly Zark had become aware that on some level he was being called by something out there in the dark, in the void. At first his thoughts drifted to memories of Atrisia and he feared another incident of extradimensional interference, but slowly he realized that the answer was far more simple. He and Admiral Thuku were not the only ones enhancing their own forces through battle meditation. There was a presence out there, dark, malevolent, whose methods seemed far more intrusive. It too was being fed by another presence, although the relationship felt more parasitic than the symbiosis of the vice admiral's link with Master Raaf.
There.
"You are certain, vice admiral?" the head of the Defense Force asked, gazing at the holographic projection of the FIV Executioner, the Resurgent destroyer that had been the source of the First Order's response to Ven's initial transmission, which Zark had highlighted in his mind.
I sense a darkness, the Jedi's voiced echoed in reply, It must be illuminated.
"Very well," Ven nodded, "Secondary target, FIV Executioner. Inform the Axiom of the update."
I will probe deeper, he informed Taeli through their connection, See if I can find a way to counter these cultists.
But before he got the chance, both Masters' danger sense kicked in as the TIE Silencer of [member="Kyrel Ren"] slipped through a gap in the firing patterns of the Itsukusk's truly massive array of defensive emplacements. Distracted both from the presences aboard the First Order command ships, and in danger of letting his concentration on maintaining the Alliance's own enhanced coordinate. So far they had matched these others supernal savagery with a sense of fanatical righteousness and resilience in their own forces that simply could not be overwhelmed no matter the losses they may take, and while the chances of a single fire scoring such a devastating blow against them were low he could sense its pilot was strong in the Force.
Relying on Taeli's supplemented power reserves, the two of them directed their thoughts in an attempt to cloud the targeting judgment of the Silencer's pilot at the last moment. Against all odds, the Ren's strafing run struck several key secondary systems housed underneath the command deck, causing whole stations to erupt and sparks to fly throughout the bridge, sending a half dozen or so unsecure senior crew flying across the chamber. Cries for medics sounded all around them, but despite the large gash across his face the voice of Nemo Ven was not one of them.
Nevertheless, only once Zark had assessed the Supreme Commander and determined his life was not in immediate danger, did he return his focus to Master Raaf.
"Are you alright?" the Jedi asked, his focus having slipping enough that he drifted into actual speech.
Allied Command
Ship Name: The Itsukusk Ship Class:Supercarrier (Flagship) Shield / Hull:3400/3800 Hangar: 42 Squadrons (7 Wings). 10 Sprite-class X-Wing Squadrons. 15 CF10 Crossfire Squadrons. 10 A-Wing Squadrons. 5 D-Wing Squadrons. 1 X-83 TwinTail Squadron. 1 Dauntless-class X-Wing Squadron. Actions: Firing on Station Triaxis with long range batteries. Firing on FIV Executioner with standard range loadout.
Ship Name: ANS Axiom Ship Class:Citadel-Class Star DefenderShield / Hull:1500/1650 Hangar:3 Squadrons. 1 Sprite-class X-Wing Squadron. 1 A-Wing Squadron. 1 D-Wing Squadron. Actions:Firing on FIV Executioner.
Ship Name: ANS Remember Eriadu Ship Class:Essex-class Starfighter KillerShield / Hull:0/90 Hangar:- Actions:Firing on enemy TIE Raptor squadrons.
Ship Name: ANS Rivers of Arbra Ship Class:Essex-class Starfighter KillerShield / Hull:40/100 Hangar:- Actions:Firing on enemy TIE Raptor squadron.
Ship Name: ANS Rancor Claw Ship Class:Dirigible-class CorvetteShield / Hull:0/30 Hangar:- Actions:Firing on FIV Phalanx.
Ship Name: ANS Loth Cat Ship Class:Dirigible-class CorvetteShield / Hull:10/50 Hangar:- Actions:Firing on FIV Javelin.
Ship Name: ANS Righteous Sword Ship Class:Dirigible-class CorvetteShield / Hull:70/70 Hangar:- Actions:Firing on FIV Avalanche.
Ship Name: ANS Rebel Yell Ship Class:Dirigible-class CorvetteShield / Hull:70/70 Hangar:- Actions:Firing on FIV Javelin.
Ship Name: ANS Inalienable Ship Class:Dirigible-class CorvetteShield / Hull:70/70 Hangar:- Actions:Firing on FIV Thunderbolt.
Ship Name: ANS Nerfherder Ship Class:GR-90E TransportShield / Hull:50/70 Hangar:- Actions:Flanking the Itsukusk. Counter ECM on Station Triaxis.
Intercept Group One
3 Sprite-class X-Wing Fighter Squadrons
2 CF10 Crossfire Fighter Squadrons
3 A-Wing Interceptor Squadrons
1 X83 TwinTail Elite Fighter Squadron Actions: Defending ANS Remember Eriadu from FIV Goliath, FIV Genesis, FIV Dishonor. Status: 100%
Intercept Group Two
3 Sprite-class X-Wing Fighter Squadrons
3 CF10 Crossfire Fighter Squadrons
3 A-Wing Interceptor Squadrons Actions: Defending ANS Rivers of Arbra from FIV Cylone, FIV Infamy. Status: 100%
Summary of Actions
Attack groups Aurek through Esk take advantage of reduced enemy fighter screens to resume their attack run on Station Triaxis. The Itsukusk fires long range batteries at Station Triaxis [member="Robogeber"] [member="Cyrus Tregessar"], while standard turbolaser fire is redirected to the FIV Executioner. ANS Axiom redirects to FIV Executioner. [member="Sieger Ren"].
Dirigibles class corvettes are overrun by enemy attack ships, targeted corvettes take severe damage as the pack turns to brawl with First Order Ships.
ANS Ranclor Claw returns fire on FIV Phalanx, ANS Loth Cat returns fire on FIV Javelin along with ANS Rebel Yell, ANS Righteous Sword fires on FIV Avalanche, and ANS Inalienable fires on FIV Thunderbolt. [member="Morro"]
Intercept Groups One and Two redirect to set up fighter screens shielding the Remember Eriadu and Rivers of Arbra.
Intercept Group One strafes FIV Goliath, FIV Genesis, FIV Dishonor. Intercept Group Two strafes FIV Cyclone, FIV Infamy. [member="Morro"]
Attack run by TIE Silencer of [member="Kyrel Ren"] damages systems adjacent to the command deck, causing secondary stations to fail and casualties among those bridge crew who had not braced for impact. Also he gave Supreme Commander Ven a rad scar.
"My apologies Mistress Baiko. But the sentiment is welcomed. The loose translation of the phrase would be 'today is a good day for someone else to die'."
Shia triggered her jetpack just once to glide up one of the ventral access shafts, if she could make it to the upper ventral gun decks then likely as not one of the gun mounts wound have suffered a catastrophic failure she could get outside through.
She hated the silence, so she kept talking to other woman as she glided silently through the dead ship.
"We took the phrase from a bizarre race that we've since forgotten the name of, only that they had ridged foreheads. They had this ridiculous warrior sentiment - 'today is a good day to die'. What type of warrior seeks their own death willingly?"
There - a hole and beyond it, glittering stars. Shia halted her momentum then angled out along the deck, then up through the hole and out into the vast void. Aryn and the others were visible on her HUD atop the ruins of the command tower, so she took careful aim and jetted in that direction, gliding to a silent halt beside the group with a good thirty seconds to spare before pickup.
"And Aryn? You really want to trade the grimmest swamp planet in the universe for this? I mean, the view's terrifying and there's no air. But it's one to tell the kids."
A pause.
"Although perhaps we might agree to try the subtle approach that leaves us with an escape ship, next time?"
Hex L-49 // Space // ANS Red Veil Faction: The First Order // Enemy: The Galactic Alliance In Vicinity: Therran Graush, The Major, Lily Kuhn and Raph Thule.
[SIZE=11pt]Throughout the halls of the alien ship they traversed, as if they were familiar with the interior of the ship. It was different, unexplored before, and he certainly didn’t remember the exact path he took to get there. All he could do to lead the death defying [member="The Major"] and [member="Therran Graush"] to the bridge was use the Force, and even then he was drawing at bonds in the Force that sought to neglect him. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]“Assaulting the Engine Room now, My Lord!”[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]“Eliminate them all. Sabotage is not an option.”[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Earlier, the Bureau Agent had gone over the reports of Mandalorians that were supposedly upon the Crimson Dawn. Since that report, he couldn’t be sure if the Mandalorians were dead or if his ship was taken, it was something that he’d concern himself with after they took the Bridge.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Closing the commline, the Sith Lord finally indicated they were on the correct floor, and then they were outside the blast doors that would lead to the Bridge.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Cybernetic hand reached out to touch the door, electrostatic pads simulating the sensation of touching and feeling the cold metal before his hand dragged downwards when the hydrastaff coiled around his arm slithered back and into his palm. “Agent,” he said, “Get to a communications console. You have authorization for use [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]my [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]encryption,” he said. It wouldn’t do for the First Order to continue firing on the ship that their military commander was on. “Cousin,” he said, “Cover her.” [/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Beyond sensing the presence of [member="Lily Kuhn"] on the other side of the blast doors, who knew what would be on the other side? How many soldiers ready to die for an Empress so far from home? Graush’s own soldiers were ready to die for him? Were hers? To uphold the beliefs of a government that would’ve slaughtered her own mother had they the chance?[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Even if she didn’t know it, and knew it she did, she had confided in him as much, she needed to be freed from the grasp of the Galactic Alliance. First bodily, and then when the First Order had carved deep enough through their enemy… Empress Teta.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]When the blast door opened before him, he allowed the two of them to go before him…[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]When he did step in however, all thought stopped, if only for a few brief moments when he spotted her standing alone. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Does she think she can stop this? Stop me?[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]The Sith Lord strode forwards, the limp hydrastaff transforming into a spear that was switched into his left hand, dragging along the ground as his gaze was only held by the woman… [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]His [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]woman. “Lily Kuhn,” he said as he stopped a metre away from her, golden orbs momentarily flashing towards the opposite door from which him and his team had entered from, “Surrender the vessel to me.” [/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]His words were soft, like times of old. He spoke as if his armour wasn’t carrying splashes of the blood that belonged to the men and women of this ship. As if he didn’t sacrifice an entire crew of a Star Destroyer so that he and some elements of his own legion could make it to the ANS Red Veil. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Glancing behind him to the blast door that his team had passed through, the Sith Lord shot a sidelong glance at Lily before he slipped into blaster-repelling gas, and when the first hostile entered the room, Graush’s cybernetic right hand lurched outwards to try and take [member="Raph Thule"] off guard in the side of his head. Likely, he wore a helmet, but metal on metal still hurt, and the head inside would certainly ring if he made contact.[/SIZE]
Destiny The rapidly decaying frigate was continuing its smoking path, now tilting leftward, when two well-aimed proton torpedoes sliced right through its power core.
Two kilometers from its target, Destiny turned into a nuclear missile.
A brilliant explosion consumed the entire vessel in a fraction of a second, fueled by stored ammunition, incendiary missiles, proton torpedoes, and the power core itself. Everything within a kilometer radius of the explosion smaller than a frigate was instantly annihilated, and warships within the radius smaller than a light cruiser were severely damaged.
The blast was powerful enough to rupture the eardrums of any officers or pilots who survived the blast within one and a half kilometers, and was loud enough to be heard from seven kilometers away. While Destiny had failed to destroy its target, it would certainly have a morale effect, even a slight one, and would likely inflict more damage than the frigate was worth.
Note: Please let me know if any of the effects of the explosion are unrealistic in this scenario. Escape Pods The Order fleet closed in like a giant shark, each dagger-shaped vessel a tooth. Suddenly, the sound of a violent explosion shook the escape pod, representing Destiny's sudden destruction.
The pod descended into silence for almost a minute, before Rick finally broke it up.
"We did it. Sort of." Rick said, part of him feeling overjoyed, but part of him was disappointed that the explosion didn't actually affect its target.
"What do you mean, sort of?" an officer asked anxiously.
"Destiny entered Order lines and exploded, but not on our target. An impact from a heavy weapon likely impacted the power core or an ammunition store directly, causing a chain reaction of explosions. While the explosion occurred only two kilometers from the target warship, it will likely not have a significant impact on its performance." he said, disappointment finally taking over his voice.
"Oh." the officer replied. "At least we tried, and probably still inflicted more damage to the enemy than the cost of Destiny."
It was his second loss of a warship in a major battle that had a possibility of not being made up for. He had really had hope that the ramming procedure would work, but he had underestimated the First Order. Thinking of them as only a renegade Galactic Empire, he had made a vast misconception of the speed and efficiency of the Order targeting systems. He would suffer for his mistakes.
"At least we tried." Rick repeated sadly.
Note: Changed font, got some feedback that my previous font killed some eyes Note2: Now I know, the spacing glitch has something to do with the subheadings
Informed GA defense fleet of flanking plan Exited hyperspace Turned toward FO vessels Deployed starfighters (Target: Executioner) Starfighters dove below FO visual range Destiny turned to the right Order given to prepare for withdrawal Starfighters attempted to fly through Order lines Destiny began ramming sequence against Executioner Surviving Y-Wings attempted to launch missile compliment Destiny's crew reduced to minimal Remaining crew members evacuated on escape pods once ramming sequence was almost complete Destiny exploded
Location: Hex I-49 aboard the Excubitor
Allies: GA, SJO, Mandalorians [member="Jairdain"], @ Cathul Thuku
Enemies: FO and Allies
Objective: Defend Cathul and Jairdain
So this was war, the almost blinding flash of turbolasers that flew by the shuttle as their pilot through the yoke around sending the lumbering brick flying between the lethal blasts of energy. It was almost like a dance, no scratch that it was a dance. Whilst she might not have been much of a pilot, the young woman was a skilled duelist and could recognize much of the same grace in the movements of two skilled fencers in the way the pilot weaved between the blasts, any one of which could have wiped them out. The Togruta had twisted around in her seat, her face pressed up against the viewport as she stared outside. Even without trying, without pushing her senses out beyond the confines of the shuttle she could feel it pressing in on her, the determination, elation, fear and sadness seemed to permeate this sector of space. She could almost imagine it as a painting a show, the artist layering one emotion over the other as he told the story of the battle.
The crackle of her commlink pulled the Padawan back to her senses, the little device thrumming with potential as she pulled it off her belt, holding the speaker up to her ear as she nodded.
"Well, it looks like the First Order managed to land some of their troops before us. They've managed to secure the Ventral hangar but the GA seem to have them bottled up and it looks like the Mandalorians are itching to join the fray."
The Padawan twisted her head to glance over at the seat where Jairdain had settled in so serenely, inclining her head at the Jedi Master.
"I spoke to the security team on ship, they asked us if we could secure the bridge and the Admiral so they can move more of their troops over to deal with the First Order. It makes sense, we wouldn't have to worry about trying to get two different styles of training set up to work together."
Unable to stop herself the Padawan let her eyes slide down the length of the shuttle to the rapidly approaching capital ship. She could see the pilot veering away, her body straining against the harness holding her in place as a turbolaser flew so close to the shuttle that she could almost feel it scorching her skin. The bulk of the capital ship drove even closer, the shuttle skimming across the surface as it wheeled and dived into the questionable safety of a hangar bay. The pilot twisted around, a cocky, almost challenging look on his face as he tipped a two-fingered salute at his passengers.
"Thanks for flying Ranger Airways, your one stop shop for all the hottest, most action-packed war zones in the galaxy. If you look outside, you'll find your party buses set to whisk you away to a wonder time of fun. Now please, this is very important, please try not to throw up on my nice clean floor and remember to tip your flight crew on the way out."
He turned back to his controls, chortling to himself as he ran through his post-flight checklist, the grumbling of the Marines and Beserkers music to his ears. It he had sent them away with a smile, or even sent them away a little more keyed up he saw it as a job well done. He'd never have switched jobs with them for all the money in the galaxy, even thogh Eleanor flew like a brick, with him behind the yoke they could dance.
Sure enough, waiting at the foot of the boarding ramp was a very neat, very tidy lieutenant and a row of...well the best word for them were golf carts. The Galactic Alliance officer cleared her throat and smiled at the horde of heavily armoured, heavily armed and downright terrifying looking men trooping off the shuttles. Swallowing nervously she focused on the less terrifying looking Jedi in the middle of the group.
"Welcome to the Excubitor, I'm Lieutenant Davies, I was asked to greet you and see that you make your way to the bridge with the thanks of the Galactic Alliance for all your..."
Her voice trailed off as the Marines eagerly pushed passed her, followed by the beserkers and the droids. The gruff looking Master Sargeant reached out to pat the poor girl on the shoulder.
"Don't worry about it ma'am. They've just been cooped up in those tin cans for a while, we're looking forward to finally seeing some action and figuring out just how good those Firsties really are."
Asaraa offered Lieutenant Davies a small commiserating smile before hurrying forward to perch herself on the edge of one of the carts, nodding at the driver who set off tearing down the corridor towards the bridge.
Assets: Ranger Special Tactics Unit, 'Radama Raiders'
Valkren was greeted by the Shadow soon after he entered the room. Liuna was hardly half the height of Valkren, at least in his own eyes. However, he knew good and well that the the shadows were a force to be reckoned with, and that their skill set would be invaluable on the battlefield if what she told him was true.
“The First order?” He questioned as she stated it, following the shadow out of the room as he spoke. Ironically, himself and his XO, Harris, had been arguing over the FO’s next movements rather recently over another one of their teams card games. Looks like they’d have an answer to their argument.
As they entered the briefing room, Valkren would split from the shadow’s path, moving more toward the center of the room to be sure he wouldn’t miss a detail. He’d place his helmet down on the table before him, folding his arms over his chest plate as the briefing continued.
Soon the familiar face of Jyoti would address the colonel directly. He figured that the Raiders would spearhead the ‘ground’ op, having been the head of several operations already. It was only right, at least in Valk’s book, that the ground pounders get their chance to swing at the enemy.
“They’ll be ready in no less than 10, Ma’am.” His words came off cold to the Avatar, still in a strange place relationship wise with the woman giving orders currently. With the end of the briefing, Valkren turned on his heels to move toward the hangars, forming with his Padawan friend, Jerit, as he walked. The much larger man planted a gloved hand on Jerit’s shoulder as they made their way down the corridor, gripping it.
“You aren’t going to make me save you again, are you?” Valkren said this jokingly in reference to their previous operation together on Ord Radama, but with the situation they were in there was no telling how it was supposed to be taken. It was easy to tell that the overall mood of the crew around them had changed after they left the briefing room. News was spreading, and it was putting everyone on their toes. Eventually they’d make it to their respected transport, where many of the Raiders were preparing their kits with other members of different ranger units. The Raiders armor today was their usual grey camouflaged pattern, with their mix of graffiti and ‘decorations’ signaling the battles they’ve fought and the kills they’ve collected. Valkren’s armor mirrored their own, aside from the black skull that was painted around the face of his visor. As the pair approached their unit, several rangers would recognize the young padawan, moving to welcome Jerit again in their usual way.
“Hey kid! We going to have to pull you out the fire again?j ” Specialist Lowder spoke up from his sitting position, rifle sprawled out across his lap as it seemed like he was in the middle of cleaning the killing-device.
“Wait, you people pulled him out of a fire?” Plexico questioned the statement from the specialist, stepping up with his own weapon across his shoulders. Lowder facepalmed momentarily as the new NCO asked the question.
“Go easy on the boy, I’m sure he’s smartened up enough to know to avoid blaster bolts.” Lieutenant Harris spoke up as he approached Valkren and Jerit, planting a hand on Jerit’s shoulder aswell, welcoming him back to the mix. Eventually the LT turned to the colonel.
“So it’s true, it’s the First Order?” The Lieutenants face held a grin, strangely enough. But Valkren knew why he held the smile, as this meant that he had won their argument.
“Yeah, it’s them. We roll out soon, check your equipment and make sure everything’s good. I want every boarding team ready before we drop out of our jump. How copy?”
His team responded with a full, ‘solid copy,’ as the entire platoon of raiders moved around the Colonel. He knew his team would be ready, but it was just the matter of making sure every other team of Rangers would be. The young colonel let Jerit know that he would be moving about the hangar, and offered to let him tag along.
It had been awhile since he had spoken to another friend outside of the rangers, and he’d like as much time with those he cared about as possible.
Location: Pantera-class Stealth Frigate "Nightshade", Sullust Orbit Faction: Order of the Silver Jedi Allies: Galactic Alliance et al. Enemies: First Order Nearby Allies: [member="Jyoti Nooran"] | [member="Jerit Kolomor"] | [member="Liuna Ondizi"] | [member="Dusaro Dresari"] | [member="Allyson Locke"] | [member="Valkren Calderon"] Nearby Enemies: N/A Post Tracker (* = current):1 | 2 | 3*
Lightsaber (standard)
Space suit (standard)
Blaster pistol (standard)
She was relieved Dusaro didn't draw any unnecessary attention to her current state. I'm beating myself up enough for the both of us as it is. Kira was starting to realize that it would be better to just ignore it for the time being. I can't control how I feel, but I can control how I react to it. I won't let my fear overtake me. There will be time for that later. She dreamt of herself back home on in her room on Kashyyyk, surrounded by trees as far as the eye could see. Kira couldn't wait to get back, to get away from this nightmare. That's if I ever get to see it again.
"So we're more of a support for our squad of troopers?" She gave a look past Drusaro, sizing up the men behind him that they would be boarding with. Keep them safe, and they will complete the mission. "Makes sense to me." It was a bit of a relief to the Padawan that they would be playing more of an auxiliary role in the boarding. But it's still important, she thought, if we fail, the squad fails. "Keep them alive and they'll do the work for us. Got it."
Kira went over her equipment one last time, making sure everything was in order. "I've got my lightsaber and a blaster for backup," she told Dusaro. Kira didn't have much experience with any of the other equipment in the armory, and thought it best to stick with what she knew she could handle for this time. I need to trust in my abilities and my training. Don't try and do more than I can. I'm good with a lightsaber, it will be enough, she assured herself. "What are you bringing along?" It would do them both well to know what the other had on them for this assault. We are partners, after all.
Drusaro's mention of a Sith intrigued her. She had never considered the fact that they would come into contact with another Force user, much less one attuned with the dark side. If the Knights of Ren even use the dark side. She resolved to learn more about them when this was all over. Or we may just get first hand experience. Kira looked up at Drusaro, towering above her in his armor, "Have you ever fought a dark side user?"
Location: Hex I-49 aboard the Excubitor
Allies: GA, SJO, Mandalorians Jairdain, @ Cathul Thuku [member="Asaraa Vaashe"]
Enemies: FO and Allies
Objective: Defend Cathul and Jairdain
Post 1
It was then standing behind the pilot peering out towards the pilot viewport at the slowly crowding view of space before them. That he then began to contemplate the situation at hand which at best he knew very little about. Having just return himself from one mission and barely having no more than few hour rest in between having to be deployed to this one. When just as the shuttle was barely midflight that the com rang and he soon received a briefing along with a plan of action that was expected of him for this mission.
At which time soon after as their shuttle landed that he falling behind the rest of the squad he'd happen to share this shuttle ride along. That they soon arriving just behind the first wave whom he overhears was lead by a pair of Jedi. That he silently smirk as his sense kinda gave him a hint before he had been officially told as to who they were. That he then no sooner jump in with the rest of the squad onto the makeshift transport afforded to them. As they soon made headway into whatever battle or hell awaited them.....but at any rate, soon the transport that he was in was slowly catching up to the first group. That Ronin figured to send out a greeting to the other participating Jedi thru the force. Sending them a word of greeting and inquire of them their name seeing that he figured it is good to least know who he was work with this time around.
A yell of glee came over the comm as Rogue seven announced a hit, striking one of the incoming TIEs on the wing. "I got him! I got him!"
Rookies… Jax thought in mild amusement. Ironically so, he was still very much fresh meat so that proclamation mirrored his own vocabulary. Alder Squadron were coming in at full velocity so he needed to be prepared to just shoot them down as they came --- If they even managed to accomplish that. "Seven, watch yourself!" Jax growled into the comm as a warning while the enthusitic pilot rambled about their 'hit' that at the very least had not been a direct score. A sudden missle came out of nowhere dropping into the pilot's blindspot.
Seven throttled forward in an attempt to avoid the incoming missle from making it's target. "Kark! It's right on my tail!" Jax heard seven panic over the comm in an attempt to maneuver out of harms way to no avail.
"Hang on! ---- Gah!" Glancing to his right, a barrel of green laser fire came straight at him. Jax managed to barely juke and jinx his way out of enemy fire himself before he could even reach the young pilot in distress, obtaining minor damage to the port upper thrust engine in the process. Seven tried to outrun it's pursuer long enough before the blasted missile eventually caught up with it's target. Jax could only watch helplessly, flames streaming from his damaged engine as the missile hit right on; tearing away at the diminishing shields and punching into the X-Wing's aft only to set off a chain reaction. The anguished cries of angony could be heard over the mic as Rogue Seven burst into a ball of durasteel and was no more.
Anger flared up inside Jax as his white knuckles clenched around the stick. It had been the first death responsible at his command. Something that he hoped to never encounter or feel but life just kicked at you in unexpected ways. Ideally not a great start to being a 'leader' although instead etching on guilt he decided to focus on the alternative. Now you just made it personal punk... "R5, see what you can work with!" Jax shouted out a command to his astrometch droid who got to work on the problem regarding his upper thrust engine straight away. Throwing his stick down hard, Jax pulled up and slammed on the pedals causing his T-20 to flip on it's nose. Instead of aiming directly at the TIE, he decided to aim above it and to the left letting loose another spray of laser bursts. "COME ON!!" He roared.
Location: Pantera-class Stealth Frigate "Nightshade", Sullust Orbit --> L2 (Barrini Station) Objective: Boarding Allies: Galactic Alliance and Friends Opposition: First Order Directly Opposing: TBD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XF88VCve-iQ
Aboard her dropship, the cyborg silently communed with Nightshade in order to slave all the other transports and capital ships of the strike group to her vessel. Meanwhile, her reserve group had already left Sullust for the Metherian Nebula on a more standard route; following her would leave them stuck at L2.
<Slaving process complete, all vessels are now under your direct guidance.>
With the confirmation, she lifted away from the hangar floor into space. The molten surface of Sullust now dominated her view as she looked around at the strike group assembled.
While she maintained her steely facade, she felt familiar knotting in her stomach that came right before every fight. It didn't come from the fear of death, but from failure. So many were depending on the Alliance and Jedi right now, and there would be grave consequences for the galaxy if the First Order's blockade would be allowed to stand, for years to come.
She closed her eyes, delving deep into the Force to expand her conscious, becoming a veritable conduit of power as she did so, the air growing thick with residual energies radiating from her body.
Individuals around her faded into the background, little more than specks of existence as her senses attunded to the macro scale, where she could feel celestial bodies and great forces warping the very fabric of space-time. Folded at some points, stretched in others, and in some cases twisted in such a manner as to allow strange phenomena like wormholes.
She could begin to see paths that led from Sullust to the her final destination within the Nebula. They were ready to go.
With a mental command, the strike group jumped to hyperspace as a single synchronized unit.
All the vessels moved quickly through hyperspace, faster than they had ever traveled before along incredibly efficient routes plotted in real time. They only became faster as Jyoti accelerated them from one slingshot maneuver to another around black holes.
As she approached the range of the interdiction fields, she directed the strike group above the galactic plane where the coverage of the fields was weakest (more or less being arranged on a single plane). From this vantage, she could perceive how the different interdictiors disturbed the entire space of the sector, creating dangerous anomalies that she had no doubt had already claimed several lives.
Something else she saw, were several fluctuations within the strength of the fields. They probably haven't perfected the technology. Now it made a little more sense why there were so many stations present. She checked that weakness into her head as she dived into the gravitational maelstrom.
Entering the interdictor fields automatically activated the HIMS aboard the Silver warships, cocooning them in hyperspace bubbles that protected them from being pulled out (and potentially apart) by the mass shadows of the interdictors. The strike group was uniquely suited to contend with the First Order at this venue, their composition hand picked by Jyoti herself to originally counter the First Order's well documented obsession with gravity traps. As previous Kiribian warships had been designed to counter past iterations of the Mandalorians and Sith, new lines were now being constructed with the latest crop of Imperials in mind.
The strike group reverted into realspace far out from the FO formation at L2, about 20 minutes travel by sublight. Jyoti had it within her ability to drop them right on top of the FO formation, but she didn't have the details of their exact positions, so she could have very well fell into a trap by doing so. There was also the issue of other objects being pulled into the area by the station. Even now, her feed was alight with thousands of signals of stranded ships in the area, and a few hundred more distress calls from those suffering from the effects of collision.
What have they done?
Sure enough, there was the formation there like intelligence had reported, as well as a station just like the one seen on L4. It appeared to possess some sort of countermeasures for detection, but it still showed up like a Life Day tree from the huge output of raw energy. They had their mark.
"Silver Group, initiate ECM and cover our advance. Limit your coverage to the immediate area around the station. We don't want any civie ships getting their navigation interrupted. Put out an order for all non combatants to evacuate the area. Then follow up with the deployment of droid forces."
Moments later, the space would become saturated by the deployment of dozens of ECM drones by Kiribian ships, programmed to emit a signatures mimicking the Silvers' choice of dropships and boarding craft for this operation. Nightshade, tucked behind Lament, activated its GAM.
Next came of waves droid parties in Spiral Assault Ships and Drill Pods, carrying about a brigade's worth of units committed just to station itself. With them were squadrons of Fencers, DERPs activated to hide them away from enemy sensors and set a trap for enemy interceptors. They also functioned as a form of ballistic defense, the drones' weapons having been originally made shoot down fast moving missiles and other projectiles.
"All transports engage stealth systems, we're going in." The small fleet of Eidolons under her direct command did as ordered, greatly reducing their signature sas the drones and droid forces cruising ahead made a nice big distraction.
"Sergent Walsh, please take over." Her Ysanna copilot nodded and started flying the transport as she leaned back into her chair rubbing her temples.
Instinctual astrogation wasn't all that physically draining, especially as their flight from Sullust had been relatively short, but it was mentally taxing, so she needed a breather before the main action kicked off at the station. Given SIS reports she had read about the events at Anoat, she fully expected to face off against all sorts of nasty opposition on board.
The rest of the strike group hung back, reorganizing themselves into a proper formation, more drone squadrons disgorging from the Centurions. The ships launched several canisters worth of anti-beam canisters preemptively on a parallel trajectory with their path, currently set in a wide orbit of the station and its defending forces.
The Itsukusk in Carlyle Rausgeber's mind, represented the Alliance, and all that was wrong with it. It was in the Fleet Admiral's mind, a physical manifestation of the Galactic Alliances modus operndi. The vessel was a hulking behemoth, one, which aesthetically speaking was intimidating. The vessel was massive, eclipsing any command Rausgeber had held before. But much like the Alliance, it did not stand up to scrutiny. Aside from intimidating size the Itsukusk was weak, and vulnerable. As with the Alliance, the vessel was held together by shoddy work and craftsmanship. The flagship was not a vessel forged by hard work. It was not crafted by hard working engineers. Nor was it planned by ingenious architects, who wanted to press the limits of engineering. It was scavenged. Looted by opportunists. Weaklings. Like the Jedi, and hollow politicians of Jaius Sovv's calibre.
Unlike First Order ships,For these adages the Fleet Admiral felt a sense of superiority. Smugness, if one were to elaborate on the feeling. Rausgeber watched the corvettes begin their attacks. "Admiral," The Comms officer began, "Sir, Commander Asturo has requested orders sir." The Comms officer reported, "He asks whether we press our attack upon the enemy." The Fleet Admiral briefly listened to Asturo's request for orders. Part of him was insulted by the request for orders. The other half, wished to assert his dominance. To hold the line and order nothing but a static formation. Put the whelp in line. However, pragmatism dictated action. And that action would be a countering to the Alliance's aggression. An assertion of the First Orders supremacy amongst the stars.
"Commence attack." Rausgeber ordered, "Move us forward, and break the Alliance's fleet in half." He commanded, standing firm, "We will split their fleet," He raised his hand, "And once the time comes, we will crush them." His gloved hand clenched into a fist, "The Alliance seems strong now, but we will tear their positions apart, and destroy their commands, piece by piece." Within seconds of the order being placed, the Reprisal, and Conqueror, began to move forward, spearheading this offensive. "Ensure our Mandators remain at the rear." Carlyle reminded his crew, "And make sure the Commander Asturo's force holds the daggers, and their E-War capabilities negate their reliance on missiles."
"Captain Morro, follow us up." Carlyle ordered, "Imperator Command will spearhead this assault. The Minotaur will follow through, with a bulk of the fleet." The officer elaborated, "Now, press forward, and destroy those who stand in our way." Rausgeber commanded, "Keep your TIE's close to your fleets, and when the time comes, deploy them, and watch as we finally destroy the Alliance." The Conqueror took point, and began to move towards the Alliance's fleet, with the Reprisal following close behind. TIE Squadrons clung to the hulls, firing and chasing off any opportunistic enemies.
"Admiral," It was the Sensor Officer, "Sir, we have the Excubitor, sir, it's tractor beaming a large fragment of the Crimson Dawn's bridge sir." The officer informed his superior, "Sir, I think Admiral Thuku maybe attempting to perform your-"
"Ossus Manoeuvre." Carlyle finished, a bemused smile cutting across his features. Ossus had been Rausgeber's last major victory. One which shattered the back of the Silver Jedi Order, and lead to their withdrawal to Kashyyyk and the seperatist movement which now fermented in their former territories. A battle which saw Carlyle expertly weaponize the environment around him to destroy the incompetent naval command of the Jedi. Perhaps it was coincidence, but Carlyle felt slightly suspicious about this. Had Thuku learned from that engagement? Was there in fact collusion between the Silver Jedi, and their colleagues in the Core Worlds? Who knew, bu the Admiral was to put an end to it, "Order the Devestator to destroy projectile."
And the Devastator followed through. Two kyber imbued blasts shattered the bridge. Unshielded, and severely damaged, the command deck of Supreme Leader Graush's imperial-x star destroyer was nearly disintegrated by the two blasts. Durasteel and glasteel melted beneath the attacks, until the projectile, which had at one point been about fifty meters in length, now sat at a mere six. Hardly the threat which now threatened the fleet. Rausgeber smirked, "Fire all guns at the Star Defenders, and shatter their fleet gentlemen." Rausgeber commanded, watching as a fresh wave of Alliance fighters fell into the trap he had laid, pursued by TIE's and intercepted by the anti-fighter net held by the escorts. He felt bolder. Stronger than ever. "We will seize the initiative, and crush those who stand against us!"
The First Order 6th Fleet, Battlegroup Imperator, Imperator Command
Name: FIV Reprisal Vessel Class: Supremacy-Class Star Destroyer Shields: 1600 | 1600 Hull: 1600 | 1600 Attacking: ANS Excubitor
Name: FIV Conqueror Vessel Class: Vanquisher-Class Star Destroyer Shields: 1140| 1400 Hull: 1600 | 1600 Attacking: ANS Liberty
The Ravager lurched hard as an enemy shot struck something volatile. The klaxon that followed blared for only a moment before an operator in CIC silenced it, wisely judging that more focus was needed on the battle at hand than any damage control problem. Seated at his command chair, Cyrus didn't even look up from his holodisplays which now formed nearly a perfect semicircle around his head. A dozen displays each with streams of data about the conflict raging across the whole sector. He glanced from screen to screen, analyzing each, issuing orders as needed, and moving on.
For the most part, the subordinate commanders were handling things well enough. By now there were enough Alliance ships in the area that several smaller strike forces had formed, and every Interdiction Station reported engaging cohesive and determined enemy forces.
By far the biggest concern was the concentration around Station Triaxis. There, with the Itsukusk as their anchor, Alliance forces were making a credible push to crack the defensive line and destroy the station. Reinforcements were on their way, a pack of escorts formerly under Cyrus' command, and the But there was a trend to their maneuvers Cyrus had seen before, an expectation, a reliance perhaps on the stratagems that had defeated the once mighty One Sith.
Was Nemo Ven still fighting the last war?
“Relay to Fleet Admiral Rausgeber, execute a Jagged Blade formation. Lead with Supremacy-class ships. Do whatever it takes to interrupt enemy flagship's line of fire.”
The Jagged Blade was a formation that was simple on paper, but notoriously difficult to execute. Heavy ships took a staggered formation in all 3 dimensions, and rotated positions, providing a constantly moving screen. The forward vessels would receive the most firepower, screening the ships behind them, but no vessel was out on point for very long. It called for commanders to be able to hold formation both in advancing and withdrawing under fire, and to neither withdraw more than necessary nor pursue enemy vessels. It was not a formation the One Sith Navy had ever been able to do well, being too impetuous and aggressive a force. This was particularly ironic given that it was not actually Cyrus' invention, but rather a derivation of a tactic devised by the harch Admiral Chysa'sk (late of Omega) who's attention to fleet maneuvers was fairly legendary.
But the First Order navy practiced it regularly, and had the discipline and the skill to pull it off. Nemo Ven might be in for a surprise.
Their hulls flashing with the fire of guns and turbolaser batteries, the Icefang and Baneblade, twin Marauder-class Cruisers raced towards the enemy artillery ships currently bombarding Station Hapspir. Behind each flew several squadrons of Star Wing II Fighter/Bombers and support squadrons of the new TIE's. The Draken's would find themselves unable to prioritize defenses, as warheads, repeating mass drivers, and energy weapons in equal amounts targeted them, all the while the Marauders reached out with tractor beams to snatch at the escorting squadrons and engage them with the lethal Bastion Combat System.
They were following explicit direction from Cyrus, who now found himself fighting two almost wholly separate battles. The larger sector-wide offensive demanded more attention purely because of the scope, but this close and brutal engagement was far more urgent. For now, he had a golden opportunity to exploit the focused intensity of the Directorate ships. With the exception of the Ravager herself (who could take it) the rest of his strike group wasn't being targeted by main batteries at all.
“We only get one shot at this. Pick apart the enemy fleet ship by ship. Target primary batteries and long-range guns. Engage at close range if necessary, but prevent them from firing on that station!”
The two Halberd-class Frigates continued their concentrated attacks on the enemy artillery cruisers. While they couldn't match the overall firepower of the larger cruisers, each shot from the frigates, a fire linked set of four particle lances, was significantly more powerful, capable of piercing through armor on the Kiribian vessels. Meanwhile the Marauder cruisers continued to close, now launching a hail of fire on the escorting squadrons to try and thin them out before launching their accompanying units in a large strike package. The Whirlwind interceptors were about to find themselves in an uphill fight, outnumbered 4-to-1.
“Sir, the enemy flagships is shifting shield layers in order to better absorb our fire.”
Cyrus nodded. His operators on the Ravager were doing the same, and while that had prevent most serious damage it allowed for a number of small holes in the overall array. For now, his own squadrons and Bastion had kept any enemy craft from exploiting those gaps.
The display suddenly flared out as two large green bolts burst from the Ocean Tide and flew across empty space before impacting the side of Station Hapspir. The resulting explosions were visible across the sector, and visibly rocked the station. Reflect coating and armor plating was shredded and spread out like blood pouring from a wound. It was a serious injury, but not yet a mortal one. The stations had been built to be tough, to be able to take fire and defend themselves. Point defense weaponry engaged the swarms of strikecraft around it, though there were less turrets firing than before. Somewhere in the Ravager's CIC, a tech reported that the crew onboard was requesting immediate assistance.
He shook his head, frustrated. He should have expected nothing less from an enemy he'd faced for a decade. Each commander was a consummate expert, and even during the old Sith wars [member="Gir Quee"] had been one of the most proficient Republic admirals. Second only perhaps to the now retired Admiral Stahlmann.
Unbidden, unwelcome, the old burning rage in Cyrus' heart began to stir. It wasn't anger, not really. He was glad to have an enemy who put up such a good fight, but the cold fury that drove every Tregessar could brook no insult, and tolerate no obstacle.
He scanned the displays once again, dimply aware of the heavy cruisers forming a defensive grid to cover their smaller brethren. Left alone, those ships would be able to cripple the station. Every sound strategy called for breaking up that formation, and keeping the disarray in the enemy force that so had so far prevented any serious damage to the objective.
He knew this, logically, but he didn't care.
“Shift fire, all guns focus on the Ocean Tide. Have the Lance batteries track shield emitters and make pinpoint strikes. Follow up any fluctuation in enemy screens with HVC barrage. Have strike craft fall back to reserve, we'll let Bastion deal with inbound enemy for now. Once the shields start to fluctuate send the strike craft in with a volley of assault warheads. I will see that ship destroyed.”
His voice was iron, emotionless. Vayyrel looked back in alarm, but said nothing.
The Ravager turned, twisted in space, and the hundreds of turrets and guns seeking a single target found their mark, and fired.
Summary of Actions
Ravager taking damage, but limited because of divided fire. Shifting and focusing all weapons the Ocean Tide.
Marauder Cruisers, Halberd Frigates, and 14 Squadrons engaging Draken cruisers. Marauders attempting to move to close range.
Dagger Frigates maintaining defensive screen on Ravager, engaging enemy strike craft.
9 squadrons falling back to cover behind Ravager and Daggers, will conduct strike package in concert with warhead launch following heavy attack on Ocean Tide.
"I assure you I'll get on him about that, thank you Baiko." Silas responded to his family's handmaiden, floating towards her he took his shotgun back from the woman. A small smile grew across his face at the mention of [member="Kaden Mantis"], the boy was growing faster than he liked to admit. He turned his helmet up towards the opening at the end of the tubrolift as a timer appeared, broadcasted by Karsan. The One Sith veteran had pulled through for them, funny how throwing someone through a wall ended up leading them to saving your life.
Such was the culture of the Mando'ade he supposed.
A satisfied smirk twisted underneath his helmet as Silas raised his arm upwards, sliding the shotgun onto his back, allowing it to firmly attach to his back before he fired off a grappling cable high above, the cable attaching to some unseen surface. It wouldn't take him all the way out, but it certainly get him moving anf allow him to slingshot himself out with a tug from his prosthetic, right into Calnov's waiting vessel.
Wordlessly he offered out a hand to any who lacked a grappling device of their own, with the lack of gravity he could bring along their whole group in theory, though it'd be an odd image for sure. Still, whatever worked went with the Mandos, they didn't have time to be picky. Oxygen supplies were a finite thing, and none of them had any desire to let their's go to waste.
"Attention all Mandalorians in this sector, the Excubitor is under attack! As indicated earlier by one Kiyron, here's your chance to fight some dar'manda!" she broadcast over Mando frequencies.
Kiyron said:
EXCUBITOR
"Admiral," he called across the room, "Mercenaries have boarded the ventral hangar. See if you can't get some fighter-jocks to clear out their ships."
En Route To EXCUBITOR (2 posts)
Allies: [member="Kiyron"]
Enemies: [member="Khonsu Amon"] [member="Emilia Ravel"] [member="Connor Harrison"] [member="Xenro"]
"Last call station, this is Old 97," he replied to [member="Kiyron"] over the freq he'd squawked on. "Be advised, I am sierra mike on your location, time now. ETA 05 mikes. Please advise tactical situation, so I know who to kill."
The hangar accesses have been bolted shut, which would force the enemy to use their explosives early. Also, she could sense one familiar dark-sided presence in the hangar, one specific dar'jetii called Connor Harrison, the Butcher of Skor... and also a few more Jedi, three of them, coming for the ship in one shuttle. Including the one she taught pyro/cryokinesis just a short while ago: the one Togruta they called [member="Asaraa Vaashe"]. But the only reason why she could even monitor Mando frequencies in the first place was because of Clan Meran. And maybe Clan Lok; one would hope that her image has been restored enough among the Mandos that she could count on them for the time being. I might have disgraced the Mando clans once, but I helped them out by destroying the Crimson Dawn, she thought, while hoping that the Mandos would actually come to their aid, not knowing what teeth they had against the First Order. Hopefully, if the enemy breached one of the hangar blast doors, [member="Jairdain"] could slip past it and then make for the CIC; she sensed that she wanted to make for the CIC before the enemy did.
"Admiral, the Red Veil crew have abandoned ship!" the sensor technician reported.
"Poodoo has hit the Red Veil's fan... we must have the Velga and the Lujo carry as many of the evacuees as we can. Meanwhile, turn us about, we are facing the Executioner's topside head-on! While they are so busy fighting the Itsukusk, they shall not forget that they have another enemy on their flanks"
Meanwhile, the 16 squadrons returned from an attack run at Triaxis, using MIRVs to get re-armed, with heavy proton bombs: they knew they were going to need it, so the Chiloon-IIs were to take over in getting a strafing run done against the enemy boarding craft used to get the enemy onto the Excubitor. Meanwhile, their own escorts were coming under fire, from the very ship targeted by the last volley of missiles; there were hundreds of submunitions filled with buzz droids, and, from the nearly 2,000 buzz droids fired their way, only about 500 survived and hit their mark, hard at work attempting to cut through the barrels of the turbolasers, or cut through the barrels of the point-defense guns. On a ship that size, all that buzz droids could ever hope to achieve were firepower kills. Yes, they killed a significant fraction, but not all of them; some of the regular proton torpedoes, a small minority perhaps, still managed to slip past the point-defense, and impacted onto the battlecruiser's hull.
"We're not making much progress against the enemy escorts" Tanith reported in.
The three carriers still operational were busy accommodating the first wave of evacuees from the Red Veil, which was getting boarded. Alongside the 16 squadrons that were being rearmed with heavy bombs so that, even if the bombs missed their target in future attack runs, What would cause the Red Veil to abandon ship while they were dealing with boarders? she thought, while the Executioner was edging towards standard turbolaser range from the Itsukusk and hence of the Excubitor. But, given that the ship was handling like a brick, it was pretty slow to turn around, and yet, once the turn was done, they could still train eight of the 88mm HVCs towards, albeit with the aft ones being trained at rather odd angles, with the remaining three 88mm HVCs being instead trained at the battlecruiser's command tower; most of the buzz droids gravitated towards the ship's trenches. It was now possible that the point-defense onboard could be busy attempting to shoot down the buzz droids and maybe even hit their own hardpoints, or barrels, while trying to hit buzz droids.
"To all units in range: concentrate all your heavy standard-range firepower at the Executioner! Concentrate all long-range fire on Triaxis! If we kill these targets, we shall deal a big blow to the enemy morale! Just avoid their starboard hangar" she shouted into the FLEETCOM frequencies susceptible to be used by allied commanders.
"We'll be providing cover fire with missiles, aimed at the various escorts, as well as with the light standard-range firepower"
Heavy turbolasers, worth over a thousand turbolasers in total, were fired at the enemy battlecruiser, mostly centered around the command tower, which was still clearly visible. And three 88mm HVCs firing projectiles at high speed for fifteen seconds each. As for the covering fire, once again, the proton torpedoes fired from the carriers were fired before any notion of buzz droid-carrying MIRVs were, here hoping that either the enemy would trigger some countermeasure that would fry the buzz droids already in place, or be beset by more buzz droids. In the meantime, all seven heavy HVCs as well as eight 88mm HVCs were fired at Triaxis and 96 energy torpedoes, so as to keep up the pressure on the station, while the Itsukusk kept firing at it from long range. Finally, the screening ships around the Executioner would also get beset by rapid turbolaser fire from every direction, to the tune of over a thousand barrels being affected to that purpose, with the understanding that some may as well be hitting the Executioner proper given the high mobility of the escorts, such as the Javelin, Goliath, Dishonor, Cyclone, Infamy, Genesis, Phalanx, Thunderbolt and Avalanche, all of whom also came under fire.
Used the Providences' ECCM to counter the sensor jamming and target painting
Opened fire at long range at Triaxis
Fired Discord missiles and heavy weapons at the Executioner
Fired short-range, rapid-fire batteries at the screening ships
Had 16 squadrons circle around the fleet to protect it against fighters and other craft
Fired short-range stuff at screening corvettes and frigates around the Executioner
She was not one known for patience. She stood still, quiet and focused, but any who could sense the true feelings of one attuned to the Force was not fooled by her exterior posturing. With each passing moment her every cell screamed for action, cried out for the chance to take her blade to another; Or, better, to a waiting Jedi fool. Yet, as each of those moments passed, she continued to be disappointed and was met solely with the frustration of scrambling personnel and the tell tale signs of the vessels own response under pressure.
In a snap instant, a splitting sound erupting from what she knew, in her limited knowledge of destroyers, to be the ship wide sensor overview. The sound, at first, came as an irritating distraction from her lacking attempt to focus her senses towards whoever had dared to board the Supreme Leader's ship, but quickly it became something far worse. When the personnel near it failed to comply with a proper response, the young Ren gripped her saber tightly, ignited it's blade with a roaring eruption of unstable energy and approached them with frightening haste.
"Move," her voice came through her helmet's vocabulator. Her tone was harsh, the urgency behind it clearer than those before her cared to respond to. Only when they failed to respond, when they glanced at her in their desperation to focus on the images on the screen, did she speak again raising her blade close to the face of one to emphasize her presence. "Do not make me repeat myself."
The glow of red against the man's face, a fainter one against the face of the man opposite him, was all it took to force a step back from them. And as quickly as they stepped back, the young Ren stepped forward, disengaging her saber and bringing her free hand to the console. How had they not seen it? Was it that hard to notice? Moving her fingers over the console in a few simple strokes, the Ren brought forth the information she sought. The source of their irritating signal.
Something, or someone, had crashed in the second hangar.
Turning away from the console, her breathing evening following her elevated intrusion, the Ren waited for the two personnel to step back to their station before closing enough distance to relay her concerns to the Supreme Leader. She knew not to place herself too close, he did not need the direct physical distraction, as she was needed where she had stood before among the three silent Disciples left by Brennan.
"The second hangar has been breached," she breathed as her composure returned, her grip on her saber hilt loosening just a bit with the passing tension. She raised her head enough to note his form but not to draw her eyes too heavily upon him as to draw away his focus. "Shall I take the fight to them?"
It was an unnecessary question, but one presented in the current circumstances none the less. She knew her purpose and what was expected of her. And while her choice would have been to pursue them, she knew that whoever had arrived likely possessed the skill or complete arrogance to believe themselves able to challenge the Supreme Leader himself.
The safe choice was to stand her ground, but it was her gut and escalating anger that craved face them head on.
