Location: Bomis Koori IV
Objective: His Last Command
Allies: The Galactic Alliance, [member="Astarii Saren"], [member="Karen Roberts"], [member="Ajira Cardei"], [member="Asmus Janes"], [member="Choli Vyn"], [member="Vance Caydence"].
Enemies: The Vanguard
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Cockpit, Imperial TIE Defender
Attack Wave, Bomis Koori IV
Vanguard Battlegroup
All around Ebon Leader, lesser trained Imperial conscripts in standard TIEs erupted in silent infernos, either caught in a barrage of point defense flak or picked off by the precision guns of Alliance X-Wings. Cross had come from the same humble beginnings, surviving more than performing his way to the top, but there was not enough left of that person now to feel any empathy or remorse at his comrades' fiery demise. The Defender pilot even went so far as to use less skilled conscripts as a shield against the incoming anti-starfighter ordnance, leap frogging wrecks as he edge his way closer to his prize. Behind him, the remains of his squadron struggled to keep up with their commandant's inhuman pace through the battlefield, but Cross cared not. Blasting his way through several A-Wings, a path opened enough just large enough for his TIE to make it through to the Unyielding carrier beyond. The
Rebel's Hope was within his sights, flanking the asteroid field currently boxing in the Alliance forces.
The majority of their complement might be inferior TIE models, but the Vanguard's main advantage over Alliance forces was sheer numbers. Not only did they have waves of eyeballs and interceptors set up in a defense screen around the suffering Imperial formation, but they had dispatched a sizable detachment of fighters and bombers to assault the encroaching task force head on. Ebon Leader's squadron had been assigned to defend several critical assets in the rear, but the Commandant was determined to test himself against the best. There had been no sightings of the Rogues so far on the battlefield so, ignorant of the prototype stealth fighters, Viktor had instead headed straight for their mothership. The carrier had held half a squadron in reserve, and as Ebon Leader slid easily onto an X-Wing's six, it became apparent that whoever these jockeys were, they weren't Rogues. Simmering with rage, Cross exorcised the last shreds of human emotion within him, channeling a calculating fury as his starfighter ripped a member of Blue Squadron apart.
Bridge, Unyielding-class Command Cruiser Rebel's Hope
Advancing, Bomis Koori IV
Federation Task Force
The Battle of Bomis Koori IV was an endurance brawl, and while the
Hope's reinforced hull was more than capable of taking a beating, Captain Pulsar was beginning to grow genuinely concerned that they would run out of munitions before they had seen the day through. The Unyielding, like many Omega Pyre designs within the Alliance arsenal, was a heavy hitter, and with his enhanced senses Zark could actually feel the vibrations in the deck plating during each firing cycle of the massive mini-Javelins. The HVG slugs, traveling at speeds too quick to perceive, seemed to materialize at their intended targets, shimmering shields giving way to localized explosions along the broadsides of several star destroyers, mostly the Victory IIs. Mass driver rounds and clusters of concussion missiles however lit up a firing arc between the
Hope and the incoming heavy turbolaser fire and Imperial ordnance the Vanguard was dishing out in return.
Scrambling to adapt to unforeseen circumstances, the command frequency was abuzz with activity as Fleet Admiral Saren struggled to salvage what remained of their strategy and the captains all around her scrambled to comply. What they had meant to be an overwhelming speartip strike straight into the heart of the enemy's line hadn't had enough time to gain momentum, and the boarding action on Imperial planetary defenses had been intended to be synchronized with their initial assault. It was now a race to take over the world's heavy weapons platforms before the task force was overwhelmed and decimated by combined Vanguard firepower. Right now it was all the Captain could do to keep his ship close enough to the asteroid field to serve as overwatch and support for Rogue Squadron. His XO had balked when Zark had accepted Commander Janes' request to give the new TR-20s a try for the first time in such a critical engagement, but where other commanders may have looked at the asteroid field boxing them in as a disadvantage or obstacle, the Captain saw an opportunity.
Not only that, but although he was loath to admit it, he was letting the Force guide him. And his trust in the old feeling paid off when a communications officer reported the message [member="Veino Garn"] had sent on the Rogue's frequency.
"An audacious plan," Zark said, calling Commander Stazi and his third officer Arix over, "Rogue Squadron received a communique from a Jensaarai strike team requesting assistance in capturing the
Adjudicator III."
"Capture a star destroyer?" Arix asked incredulously.
"Normally I'd agree, but you've heard Mr. Caydence bragging about what those TR-20s are capable of. Granted it'd be a trick we could only pull once, but if we can down her shields while the Rogues escort the strike team in, they can break off for a precision strike on the destroyer's bridge. After that, its just a race to the reactor to keep the Imps from scuttling her, and then we can slice some basic controls in engineering."
"Its extremely risky," Mazik grunted.
"But if it works, it could give us the edge we need," Zark replied, activating his own comm channel with the Rogues when the other two officers nodded their assent, "Rogue Leader, you are cleared for an escort and stealth attack run on that Victory II. Uploading priority targets to your nav computers."
"TIE Defender, port side!" a sensor officer called out.
"i'm hit, I'm hi-" the panicked voice of a Blue Squadron ace sounded strange in the neutral robotic tones that were the limit of the X-Wing's comms packages before the craft's transponder winked out on the holoprojection before them.
"Where the hell did he come from?" the Captain demanded of no one in particular, "Order the rest of Blue Squadron to fall back on the
Hope, point defense batteries on that TIE, but keep our main guns trained on that destroyer! We need to get their shields down before the strike team reaches her!"
Command and Control, Orbital Defense Platform The Fanged Maw
Under Siege, Bomis Koori IV
Vanguard Battlegroup
"This is madness!" the sweating, wide eyed lieutenant screamed, gaze darting to anyone and everyone that would make eye contact, "They've breached the hull! They came out of nowhere, and there could be dozens more powered down ships out there! Its a trap, we should surrender or evacuate! We should-"
Commander Titus Haunt drew his service blaster and shot the gibbering officer through the heart.
"Ignorant confusion is one thing, but I will not abide cowardice," Haunt said softly, barely loud enough for the entire command center of the defense station to hear, "Inform all hands they are to prepare to repel boarders. This, gentlemen, is our stand. I will not abandon the
Maw, nor let these Alliance mongrels use it to do harm to those under the Warmaster's command while I draw breath."
The Commander never raised his voice, and the dullness in his tone matched the deadness in his eyes as he glanced down in disdain at the lieutenant's corpse, "And remove this trash from my sight."
On the outer edge of the defense platform, the Fighting Fifth had established a beachhead in one of the breaches the gunships had torn into the station's hull, swiftly and viciously clearing out the surprised crew in the vicinity. They did not make it far beyond into the station however, before running into more organized resistance in the form of the first wave of the stormtrooper battalion billeted to the
Fanged Maw. One the exterior hull, the remaining Alliance forces waiting to board came under fire from several squads of spacetroopers, their boots magnetized to the platform's hull.
[member="Gideon Raith"] [member="HK-36"]
