Invasion The Rim War: Revenge of the Empire | EotL Invasion of TAC-held Garn and Maldra IV | Chapter 2

[Karl Von Strauss]

Objective: II - Air War

• Sub-Objective:
  Spoiler

  

Location: Above Maldra IV, Aboard the Basilisk, Primary Bridge
Equipment: Imperial Uniform with Chest Armor, IG-14 Blaster Pistol
Allies: Empire of the Lost
Hostiles: Tingle Arm Coalition
Fleet and Complement:

Spoiler: Fleet

Flagship - Basilisk-Class Battleship

Basilisk | Shields: 0% || Armor: 100% |​

Castor I/E Cruiser Carrier

Wyvern | Shields: 0% || Armor: 100% | DISABLED​

Drake | Shields: 0% || Armor: 100% | DISABLED​

ISFM Storm Hawk Frigate

Wyrm | Shields: 0% || Armor: 100% | DISABLED​

Salamander | Shields: 0% || Armor: 100% | DISABLED​

Octarius-class Destroyer

Cockatrice | Shields: 0% || Armor: 100% | DISABLED​

Hasta-Class Corvette Mark I

Fairy | Shields: 0% || Armor: 100% | DISABLED​

Nymph | Shields: 0% || Armor: 100% | DISABLED​

Pixie | Shields: 0% || Armor: 100% | DISABLED​

Troll | Shields: 0% || Armor: 100% | DISABLED​

Goblin | Shields: 0% || Armor: 0% | DESTROYED​

Kobold | Shields: 0% || Armor: 0% | DESTROYED​

[Banshee Squadron] TIE/PhA Phantom Advanced (2 squadrons (8 craft))

| | | | | | | | (Disabled)​

Total Meterage: 7,373 meters

Spoiler: Complement

ALL STARFIGHTERS ARE DISABLED
Basilisk

• Jagdhund (4)
• Jagdhund (4)
• Tempest Squadron (8)
• TIE/v (12)
• TIE/v (12)
• TIE/MAS (12)
• ISTBL Tie Bomber (12)
• ISTBL Tie Bomber (12)
• ISTBL Tie Bomber (12)

Wyvern

• Hund (8)
• Sestina (8)
• TIE/v (12)
• TIE/v (12)
• TIE/MAS (12)
• ISTBM Tie Bomber (12)
• ISTBM Tie Bomber (12)

Drake

• Hund (8)
• Sestina (8)
• TIE/v (12)
• TIE/v (12)
• TIE/MAS (12)
• ISTBM Tie Bomber (12)
• ISTBM Tie Bomber (12)

Wyrm

• ISTFM TIE/LN (12)
• TIE/ss (8)

Salamander

• ISTFM TIE/LN (12)
• TIE/ss (8)

Spoiler: Colors

Karl Von Strauss
C1RC3
Crew
Keegan/Officers
Banshee Squadron

As the battle intensified after the first shots were fired, Karl's fleet reciprocated by unleashing massive volley after massive volley. The battle was beginning to go their way. In a few minutes, they'd be able to launch their boarding parties into the station and take it from within, dealing a large blow to the Tingle Arm Coalition and securing the safety of the Empire's shipyards.

A sensor specialist raised their hand.

The scans revealed an almost haunting stillness among the Coalition's ships. Life signatures were present, yes, but they were sparse—far fewer than would be needed to man even this modest fleet. What should have been bustling vessels, brimming with crew, were instead quiet, almost hollow. It was as though the ships, against every reason, were running on a skeleton crew. What could this mean? A silent question that lingered, even as the Empire's fleet closed the gap, outnumbering Phoenix Wing almost six to one.

"Sir, we've been able to penetrate their hulls with our sensors. They're running skeleton crews. Every ship is just a skeleton crew."

"What? That doesn't make sense. Get me Moff Mecetti..." Karl started.

"Sir, an enemy fleet is jumping out of hyperspace!" A technician shouted.

"It's not a fleet, it's just one ship. A single escort cruiser." Another corrected. The message of Solarus Fynch began to play throughout the bridge.

"They're still outnumbered, what do they plan on...!" Karl started to say before he noticed a flash of white from the emerging cruiser's bridge. C1RC3 rushed in front of Karl and pushed him down to one knee behind his command podium.

"Karl, get dOwnn." She began to say, her voice faltering as the shockwave hit.

From behind the podium, Karl was not blinded by the radiance of the once-lost, but now-found artifact. Yet even with closed eyes, he could see the flash of white as if he was staring at the face of the sun. Time seemed to slow as in the same instance as the flash, three sounds happened. One, the sound of a metal body hitting the floor. Karl knew immediately that it was C1RC3, she was the only droid on the bridge, and the only one tasked to protect him in any such event. As he began to crawl towards where he heard he fall, he dared not open his eyes, not wanting to be blinded or to see her on the ground.

Two, the sound of electrical components popping and fizzling as whatever this weapon was only targeted the technical, not the organic. He could also hear the explosion of ships outside his own, although he dared not open his eyes to figure out which. He felt the shower of sparks from above him and the pain they brought. He heard metal hit the ground next to him as sections of consoles, not protected by ion surge shielding, exploded in violent ways shredding the crew in front of them. He heard screams as their flesh was torn apart as metal flew through the air. He felt a slight sting in his left leg, and then, warmth.

Three. He had forgotten one of the ways that the Basilisk was allowed such a small number of crew despite the ship's size and heft of armament. The symbiotic ghost link; he had forgotten it until he heard the agonizing screams. The screams of every bridge crew member as their symbiotically linked synapses fried killing them one after another, their bodies convulsing and bending in ways bodies should not bend. A few snaps could be heard as a few crew members contorted in a way that broke their backs before completely frying. Karl's hands went over his ears, he tried to block out their screams but they pierced through his hands into his very soul.

Then the white faded, and time seemed to flow normally again. Karl kept his eyes closed and ears covered until he was turned over on his back. He slowly opened his eyes as he felt himself being patted down the length of his body. He opened his eyes to a familiar face.

"Keegan. What the hell happened?" He said groggily.

"Some sort of super EMP. Hold still you took shrapnel to the leg. Moira! Grab the med kit and bacta canisters. Get everything!" Commodore Keegan said with his tunic, covered in blood. "Sir, you're going to be fine."

Karl's throat felt dry, drier than it had ever been, "Where...where is she? Where is C1RC3?" He said beginning to look with his blurry vision. He lifted his head towards his feet noticing only one boot as the pain hit. "CHIT! CHIT! CHIT! Oh my force it hurts. Keegan where the hell is my leg?"

Moira arrived with the much-needed medical supplies and started cleaning and bandaging his wound. "I've got it. To be fair sir it's a clean-cut, we just need to get you to the medbay as quickly as possible."

Keegan stood up and approached Karl's podium. He was pressing buttons frantically. A few of Karl's deathtrooper guards stumbled through the blast doors as they forced them open. "It looks like the ion surge shielding protected most of the important areas, but even so everything is barely working or being drained. The reactor is completely offline. We won't have power until we get the C.H.A.R.M. back online; if we can get it back online." Keegan said out loud.

Karl looked down to Moira who was finishing up on his leg, "Moira, where is she?" She didn't say anything but pointed her head in a direction behind Karl but in front of his podium. He looked and saw her there, lying, on her side hand extended towards him. "No." He said, beginning to crawl to her tears streaming down his face, "No! No! She's all I have left of her!"

"Commodore!" Moira said trying to hold the Moff back. "Sir, you need to stop moving. Please. You're ripping your bandages!"

Keegan knelt to Karl and lifted him onto his chest. "Karl, listen to me. Her backup would've been uploaded remember? When we get out of here she'll be back on The Nucleus, waiting for you."

Karl's hands gripped the commodore's tunic, he knew that if he rebooted C1RC3 she'd lose a line of code left by his wife. He knew, but not Keegan; he was just trying to make his old friend stop and calm down. After a few minutes, Karl propped himself on his elbow and pulled out a handkerchief wiping his eyes and the tears away. Then he pulled out a small flask, took a long sip from it, and handed it to Keegan.

"Help me up. I need to see our situation. Get me to the podium."

Spoiler: TL;DR

TAC activates its artifact sending a shockwave into his fleet.
C1RC3 is killed by the artifact. Parts not protected by ion surge shielding explode killing crew members and cutting off Karl's left leg. Ghost link crew members get fried (You're tellin' me an artifact fried these people?).
Karl receives medical aid but needs a medbay for his leg quickly. He looks and finds dead C1RC3. :,( Karl loses it for a minute.
Karl comes back to his senses.

OOC: Sorry for the long post. I got hit with inspo before writing lol.
Maldor Mecetti | Darth Rasnuhl | Eremia Loigos | Aether of the Iron Order | Fynch | Bella | Kharuna Tan | Orion_Knight

 

[Maldor Mecetti]

Objective II - Air War

Spoiler

One Velran Class Super Star Destroyer 'Revenge' || 0% Shields || 100% Hull
Seven Horizon Class Frigates
Vision || 0% Shields || 100% Hull (Disabled)
Venture || 0% Shields || 100% Hull (Disabled)
Insight || 0% Shields || 100% Hull (Disabled)
Intrepid || 0% Shields || 100% Hull (Disabled)
Endeavor || 0% Shields || 100% Hull (Disabled)
Aspiration || 0% Shields || 100% Hull (Disabled)
Spirit || 0% Shields || 100% Hull (Disabled)

Deployed from Capital Ships:
14 Squadrons of Skipray Blastboats (56 units - Disabled)
5 Squadrons of Hammer Class Blastboats (20 units - Disabled)
13 Squadrons of Crab Carryall Dropships (52 units - Disabled)
10 Squadrons of Tie/mg fighters with Ordinance Rings (120 units - Disabled)
10 Squadrons of Tie Interceptors (80 units - Disabled)

​

"Status! What's going on with the enemy reinforcements?"

There was a pause while Maldor imagined a squadron of ships descending upon the Imperial fleet, shooting proverbial fish in a barrel.

"Sir... they may not be enemy ships, after all. The FoF system isn't running properly, yet. Radio communication is intermittent. Encryption computers keep turning over.

I... may have misidentified a friendly force." The signals officer looked up at him apologetically from the pit. In times past, some officers would have summarily executed a subordinate who made that sort of mistake.

Maldor merely nodded.

He wasn't sure that their misfiring systems presented a much better scenario. The lack of situational awareness was debilitating. But it was at least a bit better than being shot at.

"All right. Forget the Friend-or-foe identifiers. Do we have tractor beams?"

It was the bridge Engineering officer who responded to that one, "We still only have partial power from the cores. If we divert energy away from the weapons, we could bring the tractors online. But we won't have auto-targeting. Not with the computers still flickering on and off.

And if we want to fire weapons, we'll have to take time to bring the cannon capacitors up to charge again."

Maldor waved a hand dismissively.

"Never mind the weapons. We're not going to blast our way out of this. And never mind computer targeting. Use gunners and eyeballs.

Start by bringing in ships assigned to the senior officers of the fleet. Look for any executive escape pods belonging to those ships, as well. Use optical scopes to identify them if necessary, from their markings.

Start reeling them in. We can't lose the entire leadership to... this." Maldor shook his head. The invasion had become a recovery operation. Revenge had become retreat.

The orders were passed down to the gunnery crews. Through the viewport, the tiny twinkling forms of the fleet continued to drift off-course and towards each other. A couple of them collided, creating visible flashes of light.

Even inertia was an enemy force, now. With every second, their people were being lost to the inevitabilities of physics.

---

Karl Von Strauss Eremia Loigos Bella Aether of the Iron Order Orion_Knight Fynch Kharuna Tan

TL;DR - Recovery Operations Begin

 

[Eremia Loigos]

Objective II: Air War
Location: Bridge of Tate-Class Heavy Cruiser Keraunam, Flagship of Adm. Eremia Loigos, Orbit of Maldra IV
Allies: Karl Von Strauss | Maldor Mecetti | Empire of the Lost
Enemies: Aether of the Iron Order | Tingel Arm Coalition
Tags: OPEN

One moment Admiral Loigos’ flagship was lending support fire to fighters paving a way towards the enemy defense platform. Next thing the veteran officer knew there was a bright flash of light and when her eyes adjusted the bridge was entirely dark. ”What the frack was that!” Eremia demanded of the crew. Even as she said it she could feel breath harder to come by and her backside rising up from her command chair. Her hands gripped the chair tightly and she gave a measured growl. ”Systems status report…”

The Admiral’s eyes searched the bridge to find each of her officers struggling to maintain their post in the sudden loss of gravity. There was no verbal response, just head shake after head shake. ”Some sort of EMP,” Eremia muttered more to herself than her crew. ”Security officer Rovo. There are three zero atmosphere suits on the bridge. Draft two and get out into the ship. Half of the crew is dead already. Get anyone you can to get behind airlock doors and seal them. Hopefully anyone with access to zero atmosphere suits has already taken that action. Find any that are not in use. Seal the bridge on your way out.”

The security officer quickly selected two able bodied crewers, each made their way to the emergency locker and as swiftly as possible put their suits on. Eremia knew they had very little time before the precious air that remained in the bridge would escape. Eremia knew that the crew would do their best to weather this storm. In habit the eyes of the Admiral drifted out the front viewport to the battle at hand. She saw the explosions of her fighter wing as losing sensors, shielding, propulsion and arms sent the small, fast traveling ships careening into whatever was in their path.

Eremia blinked as she heard the airlock doors closed and manually sealed from the outside. Other crew members started pulling themselves into their anchored chairs. ”Admiral we’re venting all sorts of debris into space from the hangars…””Not just debris…bodies…””Is this happening through the whole fleet? The whole battlefield?”

”Three quarters of our brothers and sisters aboard this ship are dead. Their lifeless bodies are among the terror that is being vented from our open hangar bays. For the moment we are safe. But even sealed off from the rest of the ship we only have an hour or two of air at most. We need to start thinking of how we are going to live through this.” Eremia was doing her best not to let her panic show. But this was the worst case scenario for her. Her ego made her imagine her death coming victorious of old age and natural causes. At worst she would go down in a blaze of glory. Suffocating in a floating sarcophagus was not something she would have wished on her worst enemy.

”There has to be some way to access emergency air canisters. Anyone who can remember where they are, start devising a plan to get them. We need to figure out some way to communicate our survival. Until that happens we focus on the few souls remaining aboard the Keraunam. Damn the rest of the fleet.”

Spoiler: Strike Fleet Aurek

• Spearhead-Class Heavy Assault Destroyer Imperial Hammer Flagship - Drifting in space most of the crew dead and sucked into space
  • squad of 8 FAE/SF-01 "Sestina" Starfighters - Crash landed on Maldra IV
  • 4 squads of NCE-100a "Hund" Fighters (8 per squad) - Crashed into various “targets” in orbit
  • 4 squads of NCE-101b "Jagdhund" Elite Superiority Fighter (4) - Crashed into various “targets” in orbit
  • 5 NCE-131/c Heavy Dropship "Stork" - On planet
• Tate-Class Heavy Cruiser Keraunam - Drifting in space, ¾ of crew dead
  • 2 squadrons of PSF-8 Narglatch Fighter (12) - Arete and Enīpem - crashed into defending ships or station
  • 2 squadron of PSF-11 Shyrack (8) - Kindūnan and Deletaa - crashed into defending ships or station
• Corvus-class Commando Destroyer Imperial Triumph - Drifting in space most of the crew dead and sucked into space
  • 2 squadrons TIE/DL Defender of the Lost - Crashed into defending ships or station
  • Squadron ISSTAI TIE/LN Stealth Interceptor - Crashed into defending ships or station
  • Star Courier II
  • NCE-131/c Heavy Dropship "Stork" - On planet
• Deliverance-Class Heavy Carrier Imperial Patriot - Drifting in space most of the crew dead and sucked into space
  • 2 squadrons NCE-100a "Hund" - Crashed into defending ships or station
  • 5 squadrons Preybird Strike-class Starfighter - Crashed into defending ships or station
  • 5 squadrons TIE Vipers - Crashed into defending ships or station
  • 3 NCE-131/c Heavy Dropship "Stork" - Floating dead in space near station
• QDC-79 - Quarren Corvette
  • Hunter - Floating dead in space entire crew dead and vented into space
  • Predator - Floating dead in space entire crew dead and vented into space
  • Berserker - Floating dead in space entire crew dead and vented into space
  • Each Corvette carries one NCE-131/c Heavy Dropship "Stork" - Floating dead in space near station
• Imperial Paramount - Medical Frigate - Floating dead in space, ½ of crew dead and vented into space

 

[Roxxann Tane]

Objective: II: Air War
Location: Bridge of Spearhead-Class Heavy Assault Destroyer Imperial Hammer Imperial Crusader Flagship, Orbit of Maldra IV
Outfit: Simple Gray Robes
Equipment: Lightsaber, Medpac
Tags: OPEN

Roxxann didn’t know what she was doing on this mission. She was a diplomat first, a healer second. She knew that Admiral Rimmer had been making changes to the make up of the crews of Strike Fleet Aurek. He certainly saw the ease of using clones to fill in gaps quickly. But his previous experience at Lothal had him demand that clones be assigned the menial tasks that came with clear concise order and following their training to the letter. The command crew of each of his capital ships and the fighter squadrons assigned would be “real” sentient beings. For the most part that meant conscripting officers from the Imperial Navy to serve as squad commanders, ship captains and other various positions. But how did that evolve into Roxxann being here? If she were assigned to sick bay, or anywhere on the Imperial Paramount that would have made some sense. But on the bridge of the Hammer?

And what was even more strange was that she wasn’t the only one in the fleet that seemed out of place. Other Arilators and Obscurers were spread throughout the fleet despite lack of naval training or involvement in the landing parties put together to finish this mission. The Overseer, Roxxann’s cousin Teckla Tane , personally signed off on the assignments that seemed so odd to Roxxann. Between Teckla and Rimmer, there was no space for Roxxann to question orders, even though she imagined herself to be a useless observer.

Throughout the start of the battle, Roxxann’s expectations were confirmed. She and the other members of the Obscurium could do nothing but sit back and watch. Maybe they were supposed to be learning what is done so that Rimmer could make them more valuable permanent members of the Fleet. Still didn’t make sense to Roxxann personally. She didn’t belong where she was. But there was one odd thing that happened before they left for Maldra IV. Roxxann’s cousin told her to keep an eye on Rimmer. Roxxann knew he was ill. That only the Force was keeping him alive from a disease that was constantly assaulting his nervous and pulmonary systems. His armor aided take just enough stress off his connection to the Force that he could ably lead the Fleet, but Roxxann was told it was still a constant struggle for the aging man to breathe.

Then it happened. Had the presence of the Arilators and Obscurers been part of some premonition? Because in a flash of brilliant bright light, the mission of Strike Fleet Aurek instantly changed from rebel destruction to survival. Everything on the bridge went dead. Admiral Rimmer collapsed to the ground wheezing heavily. ”Admiral!” Roxxann called out and immediately kneeled down to tend to the fallen commander. The electronics of his armor had ceased working just as nearly all technology on the bridge had.

Roxxann closed her eyes, concentrated hard, and did her best to help Rimmer breathe and hold off the disease within him. ”We’ve lost all systems it seems. I don’t know what to tell them to do. Focus on the fleet. I’ve got you…” it was spoken in a whisper and in a very timid tone that would not instill confidence in anyone.

Rimmer gave a slight nod of his head and after a moment seemed to have much more control of his breathing and gained some strength. Roxxann expected to hear a booming voice barking out orders. Instead Admiral Rimmer closed his eyes and Roxxann heard a calm steady voice in her head. <<The clones are already dead. Secure the bridges and medbays of all ships. Seal airlocks where possible. Stay in communication. I’ve established a battle meld. Though the clones are expendable, save as much of the command team as possible. Get to EV suits and portable air. Distribute that as possible. And figure out some way to get communications to the rest of the fleet.>>

Roxxann blinked her eyes as she continued to maintain focus on the Admiral’s wellbeing. ”You saw this happening? Why didn’t you just stop the mission?”

The Admiral shook his head. ”Saw disaster. One possibility. Can’t cease to move forward because of fear. If we stopped we would have failed for sure. This action gave us a chance…”

Other people on the bridge were securing the bridge of the Hammer. The calmness of the Admiral managed to keep Roxxann calm and secure in her own survival at least for the moment. She would also sense another message sent through the Force. Not within the strike fleet, but to outside. On the other end Maldor Mecetti would receive the message through the Force that the fighters and the Corvettes of the Strike Force should be ignored. But the rest of the fleet had personnel in need of aid.

 

[Bella]

Location: Upper Stratosphere - Maldra IV
Objective: Breach the Continental Shield Junction Point
Squadron: Mirage Squadron
Tag: Kharuna Tan Atlas Drake

“Splash two!” Bella called out. All the while, the Baroness pressed her starfighter harder into the turn while twirling the machine around in a pair of 360° rolls. Her montrals were filled with the insistent vibrating tones of missile lock warnings, indicating that the enemy were locked onto her craft and had fired missiles in an attempt to shoot her down. Fortunately, one of the missles veered wide, missing her. However, the other came dangerously close before detonating several meters away from the aft of her starfighter.

“Shield status 80% and holding.” Bella growled as the ensuing shockwave shook her craft. Nevertheless, the Togruta activated her sensors at short-range focus, at which point a plethora of fast-approaching targeting solutions manifested in her HUD, two of which were headed straight for Mirage 3. Eyes gleaming with focus, Bella maneuvered her starfighter into a very slight lead pursuit with the incoming missiles before opening fire with her ion cannons. A split-second burst of discharged ionized particles disabled the two missiles in short order, both of which might have otherwise threatened to strike down her wingmate.

“I have you covered, Three.” The Baroness said over comms as she whipped her starfighter around in a tight chandelle. She calibrated her targeting computer again, this time setting it for full sensor range with the intention of firing another missile salvo at the Coalition forces.

Unfortunately, her opportunity never came.

A brief, searing flash of light briefly swallowed Bella’s vision as her montrals were filled with the uncomfortable vibrations of static. Instinctively, the Togruta pulled on the control stick, but her craft failed to respond to the input, causing her expression to shift into a slight frown as her eyes widened with focus.

“Computer, reboot systems!” Bella called out, the lights in her cockpit flickered and faded in response. Her mind raced with the possibilities then. She had been caught in an ion discharge before and survived. This was no different. She could get out of this, if only she could restore power and—

Bella shifted a brief glance outside the canopy to a sight that caused her jaw to slacken with equal parts disbelief and panic. Something big and shrouded in the fires of reentry was careening down from the upper layers of the atmosphere.

And it was not alone as more inflamed starships lit up the sky like blazing comets as they careened down into the stratosphere, each bathed in an inferno that seemed all parts apocalyptic and unbelievable.

“This is Miracle to all call signs! Report status and disposition immediately!”

However, Bella had the eerie sensation that none of her squadmates would receive the message.

Spoiler: Loadout

Craft: Jägerin - ALL SYSTEMS DISABLED

• Status
  
  • Shields: 0%
  • Hull: 100%
  • Structure: 100%
• Armament
  
  • Transcendent Disruptor Cannon (6)
  • Ion Cannon (2)
  • Verpine Shatter Autocannon (3)
  • Single Missile Tube (2)
    
    • Expended
    • Expended
  • Weapon Pod (2)
    
    • Missile Tube (2)
      
      • S4 Universal Missile - Plasma Warhead (8)
      • S4 Universal Missile - Plasma Warhead (8)
    • Missile Tube (2)
      
      • S4 Universal Missile - Plasma Warhead (8)
      • S4 Universal Missile - Plasma Warhead (8)
• Pilot Equipment
  
  • FAE/A-09 Anti-G Suit
  • X8 “Gambit” Elite Disruptor Pistol

 

[Kharuna Tan]

Objective: 2 - Air War
Location: Upper Stratosphere - Maldra IV, on Mirage Leader’s wing
Tags: Bella | Atlas Drake
Callsign: Mirage 3

The missiles were away, but Kharuna didn’t have time to track their progress. Multiple incoming enemy missiles were locked on and she was barely into her evasive turn. Countermeasures were in the sky, but Kharuna didn’t know if that was enough. She was shocked that she had blocked out the presence of a threat in order to fire off her own missiles. She was always more careful than that. Perhaps flying on the wing of Baroness Bella had emboldened the young pilot.

Kharuna leaned her weight into the control stick trying to force her fighter into a tighter turn that might have shaken free from the target lock that the Nautolan knew could be her demise. A couple missiles zoomed through her vision towards other contacts. But, Kharuna knew that she wasn’t out of the woods. The ringing of target lock warnings and the nagging feeling of bad things on her tail made sure that Kharuna didn’t relax. Her eyes checked her sensors, but before she could get a clear idea how long she had before impact the voice of Kharuna’s hero filled her comm.

”Thanks Miracle!” Kharuna called out as she completed her turn now safe from the imminent missile strikes. She switched her trigger from missiles to the disruptor cannon mounted on the underside of her fighter. It wouldn’t be as precise as sensor guided missiles, but Kharuna only had so many of them. So until she had a good shot at the shield generator, guns would just have to do.

Kharuna mirrored Bella’s chandelle as best as she could. The Sestina wasn’t quite as maneuverable as Bella’s Jägerin, and Kharuna wasn’t too proud to admit that she wasn’t quite the pilot that Bella was. Not yet at least. As both fighters were now pointed back in the direction of the defensive fighters, Kharuna’s eyes shifted to her sensors to pick out her next targets. She confirmed that the disruptor cannon was powered up and ready to unleash hell on the rebels.

Then just like everyone else in the space above and sky alongside her, Kharuna’s sight was blinded by a bright flash of light. Through the Force she was able to feel that there was no immediate danger of impact, even though she was right on Bella’s wing. The panic in the air was pounding Kharuna in all directions, even though she was relatively untalented when it came to empathy. She now felt the danger to herself in the Force and then sight returned to her.

Like everyone else in a starship, big or small, Kharuna was now discovering that her vessel had no power. One hand kept the control stick steady, though there was no power, instinct took hold of the young pilot, the other hand was dancing over the controls trying to get anything to work. It was futile and Kharuna knew it. ”Miracle. I hope I’ll be seeing you soon. I think we’re going down…” Kharuna didn’t know what she would find on the surface of the planet. Imperial troops had certainly landed. She cursed herself for the umpteenth time during this mission for not bringing along her lightsaber. It was of little good in the cockpit, but on the surface it might have been invaluable.

Spoiler: Loadout

• Craft = FAE/SF-01 "Sestina" Starfighter - All systems disabled
  • Status
    • Shields: 0%
    • Hull: 100%
    • Structure: 100%
  • Armament
    • Cannon Hardpoint (6)
      • FAE/SW-11 Hybrid Beam Cannon - Medium (2)
      • FAE/SW-10 Hybrid Scattercannon - Medium (2)
      • FAE/SW-05 “Mayari” Transcendent Disruptor Cannon
      • AC-07 Verpine Shatter Autocannon
    • Ordinance Hardpoint (6)
      • FAE/WH-04-S4 Universal Missile (4)
        • Plasma
        • Plasma
        • Concussion
        • Concussion
      • NpKKV
      • Deathball proton bomb
• Pilot Equipment
  • FAE/A-09 Anti-G Suit
  • IG-14 Blaster Pistol

 

[Maldor Mecetti]

Objective II - Air War

Spoiler

One Velran Class Super Star Destroyer 'Revenge' || 0% Shields || 100% Hull
Seven Horizon Class Frigates
Vision || 0% Shields || 100% Hull (Disabled)
Venture || 0% Shields || 100% Hull (Disabled)
Insight || 0% Shields || 100% Hull (Disabled)
Intrepid || 0% Shields || 100% Hull (Disabled)
Endeavor || 0% Shields || 100% Hull (Disabled)
Aspiration || 0% Shields || 100% Hull (Disabled)
Spirit || 0% Shields || 100% Hull (Disabled)

Deployed from Capital Ships:
14 Squadrons of Skipray Blastboats (56 units - Disabled)
5 Squadrons of Hammer Class Blastboats (20 units - Disabled)
13 Squadrons of Crab Carryall Dropships (52 units - Disabled)
10 Squadrons of Tie/mg fighters with Ordinance Rings (120 units - Disabled)
10 Squadrons of Tie Interceptors (80 units - Disabled)

​

As the bridge officers passed the word down the chain to get the tractor emitters going, Maldor felt something.

It started as a pressure in the back of his head. Like the start of a headache. But this was not merely the product of stressful moments. No. Something... someone was reaching out.

He closed his eyes, letting the feeling wash over him, letting it enter him. Interpreting the unspoken message cast across thousands of kilometers. From one mind to another, one life to another.

Then he opened his eyes and pointed.

"Not those. Or those. Focus on that one. And that one. And this one, here."

He indicated the ships he wanted the gunnery crews to focus on, and conversely which ones he wanted to ignore. As he did so, he was consigning thousands of souls to death, and plucking thousands of others from its bloody jaws. It must have seemed arbitrary to the crew.

It might be arbitrary. Even contra-indicated. He was doing it all based on a feeling. A feeling in the dark.

He could only hope that this feeling- which seemed familiar and friendly- was legitimate.

The Dark Side could not always be trusted, and its practitioners even less so.

---

Karl Von Strauss Eremia Loigos Bella Aether of the Iron Order Orion_Knight Fynch Kharuna Tan

TL;DR - Maldor receives an impulse through the force, directing rescue efforts accordingly.

 

[Bella]

Location: Troposphere - Maldra IV
Objective: Breach the Continental Shield Junction Point
Squadron: Mirage Squadron
Tag: Kharuna Tan Atlas Drake

It took only seconds for Bella to realize that gravity—which only moments before she had defied with casual ease—was now her indisputable master. However, such was the speed of her awareness that the seconds almost seemed to pass as minutes while she frantically worked the controls, praying that anything—whether it be comms, sensors, controls, or computers—would answer her inputs. In that timespan, her expression shifted from narrow-eyed focus and determination to tight-browed worry, then finally, to wide-eyed terror.

Bella casted a glance over to Miracle Three, who was still flying right on her wing. For a moment, the Baroness thought that her wingmate might not register her panic, but she quickly remembered that the Nautolan was an Imperial Crusader—a Force-sensitive.

There was nothing now, to disguise her own weakness and terror at a circumstance which for all intents and purposes, had once seemed inconceivable.

Nothing save for the ground, which was quickly growing larger within her canopy as the Jägerin careened from the sky in a fiery descent, veering towards the middle of the battle transpiring below...

EXIT CHAPTER 2. ENTER CHAPTER 1.​

Spoiler: Loadout

Craft: Jägerin - ALL SYSTEMS DISABLED

• Status
  
  • Shields: 0%
  • Hull: 100%
  • Structure: 100%
• Armament
  
  • Transcendent Disruptor Cannon (6)
  • Ion Cannon (2)
  • Verpine Shatter Autocannon (3)
  • Single Missile Tube (2)
    
    • Expended
    • Expended
  • Weapon Pod (2)
    
    • Missile Tube (2)
      
      • S4 Universal Missile - Plasma Warhead (8)
      • S4 Universal Missile - Plasma Warhead (8)
    • Missile Tube (2)
      
      • S4 Universal Missile - Plasma Warhead (8)
      • S4 Universal Missile - Plasma Warhead (8)
• Pilot Equipment
  
  • FAE/A-09 Anti-G Suit
  • X8 “Gambit” Elite Disruptor Pistol

 

[Kharuna Tan]

Objective: 2 - Air War
Location: Upper Stratosphere - Maldra IV, on Mirage Leader’s wing
Tags: Bella | Atlas Drake
Callsign: Mirage 3

Kharuna had trained in telekinesis of course. It was one of the core abilities that was learned when one became a Crusader. But her talent with the power was not that strong. Certainly not strong enough to keep her fighter from plummeting to the ground below. Not strong enough to keep it from a rate of speed that would certainly result in extreme injury if she stayed strapped into the cockpit and hoped to ride out the crash. She might survive, sure, but she stood a better chance without the fighter at this point. The only question was when to eject. She had tremendous breathing capacity because of her link to the Force, but still there was probably such a thing as too high. And there would definitely be such a thing as too low. And the instruments that she would have depended upon to give her such information were dead.

As these thoughts were spiraling around in Kharuna’s brain, the thought that there was another source of information that might be able to tell Kharuna when she needed to act. Her eyes shifted away from the horizon and the fast approaching ground and she looked over to what Miracle One was doing. Kharuna would believe wholeheartedly if someone told her that Bella had never been forced to eject from a ship. Even if that was the case though, the younger pilot guessed Bella would have a better instinct for such a thing than Kharuna would. So she watched. Using the Force to keep her fighter close to Bella’s.

When Kharuna saw the canopy of Bella’s cockpit blow off and the Nautolan pilot reached for the manual eject lever and did the same. Letting her heavy fighter go wherever it desired, Kharuna turned her focus in the Force to the descent of her ejector seat. It had nothing to stabilize her fall, and neither did Bella's. It would be a stretch of her abilities, but she did her best to slow their fall and direct them on the same path. Kharuna knew that being on the ground was going to be a whole different animal. And she had no clue what Bella’s capabilities were in that area, but she knew that their chances of survival were much higher together than apart.

FURTHER POSTING WILL OCCUR IN OBJ 1​

Spoiler: Loadout

[*]Craft = FAE/SF-01 "Sestina" Starfighter - All systems disabled

• Status

[*]Shields: 0%
[*]Hull: 100%
[*]Structure: 100%[/LIST]
[*]Armament

• Cannon Hardpoint (6)
  • FAE/SW-11 Hybrid Beam Cannon - Medium (2)
  • FAE/SW-10 Hybrid Scattercannon - Medium (2)
  • FAE/SW-05 “Mayari” Transcendent Disruptor Cannon
  • AC-07 Verpine Shatter Autocannon
• Ordinance Hardpoint (6)
  • FAE/WH-04-S4 Universal Missile (4)
    • Plasma
    • Plasma
    • Concussion
      [*]Concussion
  • NpKKV
  • Deathball proton bomb

[*]Pilot Equipment

• FAE/A-09 Anti-G Suit
• IG-14 Blaster Pistol

[/LIST]

 

[Atlas Drake]

Bella Kharuna Tan​

---

"Kilran's black bones..." Atlas groaned.

He couldn't remember the impact. Didn't know how long he'd been unconscious. Every time Drake tried to move the pain got worse and it took him a while to notice the thin durasteel rod impaled through his midsection. Debris shifted warning him of movement nearby and somehow the captain fumbled his blaster from its holster.

"Rama?" he blinked in surprise, "Thought you were a...buckethead come to...finish me off."

His anzellan engineer Rama Tok yammered in their native language. Tiny limbs heaved a panel aside and Drake caught his first glimpse of their pilot's body slumped over burning flight controls. Still fighting to stay awake it took him a few seconds to realize what Rama planned to do next.

"Whoa now, let's think about-"

Drake screamed when the fragment of durasteel came out. Blood seeped from the wound until Rama sealed it with a bacta patch. His pain eased at once as the miracle drug flooded into his system. Aside from an apparent sprain and a few cuts the little engineer looked unscathed. He listened to his own heavy breathing for a while before mustering enough strength to speak.

"Anyone else make it?"

From how the anzellan wouldn't meet his eyes, Drake knew they were the only survivors. With the bacta patch keeping his wound sealed he could just about stand up. Together they forced the manual release on an escape hatch. Blue skies and a long drop below greeted them. As fortune would have it their pod teetered on the edge of a steep cliff ravine.

"Let's get out of this tomb."

Rama agreed, climbing onto Captain Drake's back while the wounded resistance leader fired an ascension gun into Maldra IV's soil. Leaping just in time, the wreckage of his bridge tumbled moments after Atlas swung free. Loose rocks tumbled past but the grappling hook held. Reeling himself back up both Atlas and his fellow survivor scrambled up onto more stable ground.

From this high up they watched the relay burn. Impact had cracked the fallen corvette's spine in half, and it loomed over hundreds of minor crash sites like some kind of massive effigy. Even if the entire crew made it to their escape pods this felt like a hollow victory. Worst of all he owed Fynch a drink since their insane scheme actually worked.

Something nudged his wounded side. Drake took the flask his engineer was offering and thought about what they should drink to.

 

[Aether of the Iron Order]

​

Aether's crystalline form glimmered with a fragile beauty as he boarded the rendezvous ship, each fracture crackling with vulnerability. His exposed core throbbed with strain that threatened to pull him apart, the pressure mounting with every passing second. Still, he anchored himself, drawing strength from the Force to hold his form together.

Around him, the remnants of the fleet hung as if frozen—massive ships that once pulsed with energy now drifted lifeless, their hulls dark, engines silent. In the eerie quiet, shattered hulls and debris glinted in the black void, a field of mechanical corpses. Cold turrets stood motionless, locked on phantom targets.

Aether's awareness shifted to a nearby escort ship, its systems dead save for the faint hum of life support. Through the Force, he touched its hull, feeling the cold metal beneath his mind's grasp and sensing the trapped crew's shallow breaths. He latched onto the lifeless vessel, threading it between charred remains and twisted durasteel as he guided it through the chaos.

With every pulse of the Force, his own fractures deepened, yet he pressed on, walking the proverbial tight rope of balance between survival and shattering. Echoes of the fallen brushed against his mind, their life signatures fading as each dormant ship drifted further into darkness.

At last, the rendezvous ship and its silent companion broke free of the battlefield's opressive grip. Aether cast a final 'look' at the haunting graveyard behind—a vast expanse of loss and silence, fragments of purpose adrift.

They had survived. For now.

And, though morbidly, Aether now found himself understanding the moniker of "Empire of the Lost"—a regime built upon the lives lost under its cruelty.​

 

[Darth Rasnuhl]

​

Objective II: Air War

Allies: Karl Von Strauss | Maldor Mecetti | Eremia Loigos | Bella | Kharuna Tan |
Enemies: Aether of the Iron Order


Fleet composition:

Spoiler: Fleet

6 Impetum Heavy Cruiser War Retrofit
RDF Defient 100%
RDF Courageous 100%
RDF Imperious 100%
RDF Shadow 100%
RDF Talisman 100%
RDF Coiled Shadow 100%


2 Cynosure Nidus
RDF Sandstorm 100%
80 Vultures
28 Tri-Fighters
26 HMP's
10 shuttles
RDF Kalafax 100%
80 Vultures
28 Tri-Fighters
26 HMP's
10 shuttles[/B]

​

On the bridge of the RDF Shadow the crew saw the sight of Darth Rasnuhl performing arcane Sith arts taught to him partly by his master, but perfected by Demveath Okamsiu . The crew knew he had brought aboard some of the religious caste but not what they were doing. The glowing lines on the floor and the double vision view brought the transparisteel bridge windows were a sight to behold. Including his ships Mazer, turbo laser, and other ordnance bring fired & doubled form their view towards the defenders... well until the bright flash happened. Thats when things got weirder.

Random systems were off, others still on, a couple systems over loaded exploding. At least that's what the crew heard as the AI called out systems & was glitching hardcore. The cacophony was too great for all involved in the ritual to continue making them break concentration. When the ship reappeared it was a mess, from the ship being in and not in the blast at the same moment left things weird. Some weapons worked, but couldn't move. Others could move but were disabled, half of everything was offline leaving the ship stopped dead in its tracks as the crew took measure of what needed restored for propulsion.

Darth Rasnuhl looked around in dismay "Status Report!" the diligent female Comm officer yells back from a completely different area than the comms station that was still on "Lord Rasnuhl, it appears there was a massive weapon used. We have half the systems down, but appears whatever you were doing plus our innate defenses & the Corplast Hull must have dampened...." She trails off as eyes go wide.

Darth Rasnuhl follows her line of sight to see the rest of his ships still traveling at the speed they were down towards the planets surface.
Bantha fodder! That can't be! He couldn't believe what he was seeing. "Do we have enough sensors to asses them?" a few moments pass as the rest of his fleet descend farther towards the planets surface. The closest ship to the surface in the chevron formation was the RDF Coiled Shadow which was starting atmospheric reentry as the glow started to build.

The report is interrupted by a wash of ominous feeling, with ship making noises it never normally did. The handful of organics on the other ships bridges, save for the RDF Talismans mostly organic crew were in terror as they frantically worked to get the core & engines restarted.
The ritual casters cast away the feeling from their vessel, but the rest aren't so lucky.

The Comm officer responds finally "Sir it appears we have mostly operational sensors... well minus we have to visually identify... anyway. It appears all ships are down... And the SSD shows increasing energy readings." That genuinely shocked Darth Rasnuhl. He stood for a moment silent taking in the data that was read off, there had to be some way to help.

But the moment didn't care about plans, Only the RDF Talisman had gotten its engines relit to stop their descent. He just watched as the Droid laden crewed ships crashed to the surface below with finally having escape pods in the descent firing off. At least they got power restored to those pods.

He raged at what had happened turning his attention to the rest of the fleet. Comm'ing the cargo bay "How many shuttles made it through this ordeal operational?" He assumed half a reply from a hologrammed engineering Zabrak "It appears that a third wasn't affected. And one cargo door is fully operational... after we manually undo the blast door." This gave him some comfort. "Prep whatever we have to see who we can rescue." A aye aye is given back before the hologram ends.

Darth Rasnuhl stands on the bridge watching his fleet crash to the surface below as his crew works to restore engines & the maimed systems. His mind drifts to what edits could be done to the ritual in the future.

Spoiler: Actions

The fleet is devastated by the weapon
The fleet is terrorized by some unknown force which compounds the small organic crews on almost all the rest of his ships
Only RDF Shadow & Talisman regain engine & controls
the rest fall to the surface