Talyn Krane
Imperial Navy
The droid ships screamed in like a swarm of angry piranha beetles. Line Group Kohuun kept up a steady stream of everything they had, and the black void of space was painted green and orange by turbolaser blasts and the explosions they left behind. Too many, Talyn realized, her heart sinking as she watched the battle through the central viewport. There were simply too many. In spite of the deflectors, in spite of the screen of defensive fire, she had damage reports coming in from all decks. The Unforgiving lead from the front, as any true-hearted commander should, but it was taking a pounding as the droid vessels repeatedly impacted its hull. The other three frigates weren't doing much better. The cowardly criminals were reaping a terrible toll.
"Captain," Commander Kayl reported, his voice tight, "we've just lost our forward deflectors. Life support is down to fifty percent. We have casualty reports in gunnery and the engine bay." Kayl was a good subordinate; he reported the facts, leaving her to make the judgement calls. "Understood," she said, her hands clenching the arms of her command chair so tightly that her knuckles had gone white. These scum were killing her men. Good men, loyal men, and they didn't even have the courage to risk their own lives doing it. They couldn't be allowed to escape. But if Line Group Kohuun was wiped out, her command would be gone, and with it her life. These were men who could go on to serve the Triumvir well. They should not be sentenced to die.
Talyn glanced at the Immobilizer cruisers. Those were the truly valuable ships, the ones that would win not only this engagement but the ones to come. Her vessels, her Line Group, were relics of a failed Remnant, not this bold new one. They were reminders of her time drifting, without purpose. The frigates didn't matter, not in the scheme of things. Outside the viewport, the Javelin burst apart as a trio of droid fighters smashed into its weakened central superstructure, ripping the ship in two. A stream of debris and bodies leaked from the wounded halves, and Talyn's blood ran cold with grief and rage. "Remaining Javelin crew," she ordered, managing somehow to keep her voice clipped and level, "abandon ship. All men to your pods. You've served well."
Through the opening the Javelin had been defending, more droid fighters came on in their locked suicide courses. The remaining vessels could not fully cover the gap. It was only an instant's disruption to the Immobilizers, but it was enough. A single shuttle streaked across the viewport and made the jump to hyperspace, vanishing from the battle. I'll hunt you down, Talyn silently swore. I'll make you pay for this. And there will be nowhere in the galaxy you can hide from me. At that moment another droid craft impacted the Unforgiving, ripping into the superstructure just below the bridge. Klaxons bored into her skull as fresh damage reports flowed across her screens. Her ships were dying. Dying for a cause, but dying nonetheless.
Behind them, the Immobilizers were unscathed. Though the EMPs of the torpedo had allowed a small window for that shuttle to escape to hyperspace, Line Group Kohuun had otherwise taken the full force of the droid attack - and paid a terrible price. "All hands," Talyn ordered, pride and sorrow mingling in her heart, "abandon ship. Guide your pods out of the battle; make for the surface, away from population centers." Their sacrifice had not been in vain, but it was still a sacrifice. That bitter truth stained Talyn's tongue as she and her command crew hurried to their designated pods. Hundreds of the tiny craft jettisoned from the frigates, bringing naval officers and members of the stormtrooper complement alike down toward the planet below.
Those on the surface, friends and foes, could see the fiery trails of countless escape pods burning through the atmosphere.
[member="Onley Xiangu"] [member="Causstik Rahn"] [member="Judge Cornelius Cromwell "] [member="Petrovska Crystall"] [member="Tanomas Graf"] [member="Lyth Meran"] [member="Miss Blonde"] [member="Desmond C'artyom"] [member="Sek Kali"] [member="Baron Morcus"]
"Captain," Commander Kayl reported, his voice tight, "we've just lost our forward deflectors. Life support is down to fifty percent. We have casualty reports in gunnery and the engine bay." Kayl was a good subordinate; he reported the facts, leaving her to make the judgement calls. "Understood," she said, her hands clenching the arms of her command chair so tightly that her knuckles had gone white. These scum were killing her men. Good men, loyal men, and they didn't even have the courage to risk their own lives doing it. They couldn't be allowed to escape. But if Line Group Kohuun was wiped out, her command would be gone, and with it her life. These were men who could go on to serve the Triumvir well. They should not be sentenced to die.
Talyn glanced at the Immobilizer cruisers. Those were the truly valuable ships, the ones that would win not only this engagement but the ones to come. Her vessels, her Line Group, were relics of a failed Remnant, not this bold new one. They were reminders of her time drifting, without purpose. The frigates didn't matter, not in the scheme of things. Outside the viewport, the Javelin burst apart as a trio of droid fighters smashed into its weakened central superstructure, ripping the ship in two. A stream of debris and bodies leaked from the wounded halves, and Talyn's blood ran cold with grief and rage. "Remaining Javelin crew," she ordered, managing somehow to keep her voice clipped and level, "abandon ship. All men to your pods. You've served well."
Through the opening the Javelin had been defending, more droid fighters came on in their locked suicide courses. The remaining vessels could not fully cover the gap. It was only an instant's disruption to the Immobilizers, but it was enough. A single shuttle streaked across the viewport and made the jump to hyperspace, vanishing from the battle. I'll hunt you down, Talyn silently swore. I'll make you pay for this. And there will be nowhere in the galaxy you can hide from me. At that moment another droid craft impacted the Unforgiving, ripping into the superstructure just below the bridge. Klaxons bored into her skull as fresh damage reports flowed across her screens. Her ships were dying. Dying for a cause, but dying nonetheless.
Behind them, the Immobilizers were unscathed. Though the EMPs of the torpedo had allowed a small window for that shuttle to escape to hyperspace, Line Group Kohuun had otherwise taken the full force of the droid attack - and paid a terrible price. "All hands," Talyn ordered, pride and sorrow mingling in her heart, "abandon ship. Guide your pods out of the battle; make for the surface, away from population centers." Their sacrifice had not been in vain, but it was still a sacrifice. That bitter truth stained Talyn's tongue as she and her command crew hurried to their designated pods. Hundreds of the tiny craft jettisoned from the frigates, bringing naval officers and members of the stormtrooper complement alike down toward the planet below.
Those on the surface, friends and foes, could see the fiery trails of countless escape pods burning through the atmosphere.
[member="Onley Xiangu"] [member="Causstik Rahn"] [member="Judge Cornelius Cromwell "] [member="Petrovska Crystall"] [member="Tanomas Graf"] [member="Lyth Meran"] [member="Miss Blonde"] [member="Desmond C'artyom"] [member="Sek Kali"] [member="Baron Morcus"]