Love the Puppy

[Rhinn Ikthoos]

“So how reliable is this bit of information?” Rhinn leaned back in his chair, looking across the table into the eyes… well the holographic eyes of the CO of the Jackal.

The CO, a Commander Itris, shrugged but didn’t appear to be very worried about having Rhinn’s attention turned onto him. “Sketchy, sir. The smuggler that we gleaned the information from didn’t want to give us his name. You get what you pay for, and this was a freebie. Still, if it is reliable, it could be a pretty big hit, sir.”

Rhinn weighed the comments made by Commander Itris. He had been with the Rebellion almost as long as Rhinn had been. He had been slated for command of a Nebulon B Frigate, but his command style had led to him being posted in Rhinn’s group. He was aggressive and prone to take actions that were either risky and daring, or foolhardy. Rhinn also thought that he had a little bit of a deathwish in him.

Still, good intel was good intel no matter where it came from and this was a very intriguing target. Rhinn looked over the intel supplied to Itris.

A convoy of Imperial Freighters was heading towards Bespin within a few days from Sluis Van. They would be dropping out of hyperspace near Eraidu to take the Nothoiin Corridor. While the Imperial patrolled the Eraidu area, Rhinn knew that they couldn’t track everything. Rhinn circled an area of space on the galactic map.

“If we hit the convoy here, it will be the farthest from both Eraidu and Bespin. The convoy will also need to drop out of hyperspace to make a slight course correction. That is where we will attack.”

Rhinn looked at each of his commanders. They all knew what he was thinking. It was a good place to stage an attack… or a good place to be ambushed.

“Set course for our destination. We will arrive 1 day ahead of our prey. If it is an ambush, we will be there before they can arrive. I will have our deployment formation by the time we arrive. Paladin out.”

The commanders knew better than to push for details. Once they were ready, Captain Ikthoos would give them out. For now, they were just excited about getting some action in.

As one, Rhinn’s fleet set course for their ambush site.

{TBC}

[Rhinn Ikthoos]

Rhinn walked around and through the battleplans as they played out over the projector. Initially the plans were set up as a surrounding ambush, but Rhinn thought better of it. Instead, he had his forces set up in two groups. Group One would already be there when the freighters arrived. It would reduce the chance of the survivors realizing they had been sold out and presented it more as a group just waiting for them.

Group One would consist of the Jackal, Vigilante, Rancor and Krayt. Along with them for fighter support would be the three Headhunter Squadrons. This would present the image that it was a group of pirates attacking not the Rebels. They would begin to engage the convoy, necessitating the convoy launching her fighters. At that point Group One would slow down, delaying the actual encounter by several minutes.

Then Group 2 would attack. The Paladin would lead in the rest of the squadrons. The X-Wings and A-Wings would cut in on the fighters, catching them in a cross fire with the Headhunters. The B-Wings and Y-Wings would concentrate their ion fire on the main haulers. The Paladin would then fire her ions on the freighters while her turbolasers would be used on the fleet tenders. The Ghleshelm would remain out of the battle, but would act as their communications ship, alerting them to any chatter on Imperial channels. Then the assault shuttles aboard the Paladin would launch boarding parties to commandeer those freighters. While not heavily armed, the ships could be turned over to the Rebels and their cargo would be useful.

Confident in his plans, Ikthoos sent them to all commanders and squadron leaders. Then he made his way to the bridge.

[Rhinn Ikthoos]

== Jump Point Beta ==
== Paladin Bridge ==


“Paladin Control, this is Jackal. We have faint chatter on Imp Frequency. We estimate 10 minutes before they arrived.”


“Copy that Jackal. Get into position. We are ready to bring the hammer.”


Rhinn looked over at his CAG Officer. “Launch all fighters and form them up in front of the Paladin. We jump on my mark. Begin the countdown at 10 minutes.”


Rhinn stood up and paced the bridge of the small ship. The Liberator was less than 400 meters long, but boasted some of the most advanced weapons, shielding and armor. Still, the ship was only 398 meters and most of that was dedicated to the hangar bays at the aft of the ship. It only left a small area to roam and at times the ship felt claustrophobic.


The countdown began, but each second felt like an eternity. This was the life of a fleeter… days of boredom followed by seconds of sheer terror. Deep down, Rhinn knew that there was no other life for him. As a Duros, he suffered from wanderlust – the need to always be moving through the galaxy. While he had given in to it at an early age and piloted freighters, it really didn’t seem to have a greater purpose. Now, fighting for the Rebels, he got to travel the galaxy and fulfill his need for a higher purpose in life. He knew that at some point, maybe today, it would lead to his death, but the more enemies he took out, the less that innocents would have to pay.


Out ahead of the Paladin, the starfighters of his group, minus the Headhunters, were arranged in two formations. The X-Wings and A-Wings were to the left while the Y-Wings and the B-Wings were to the right. When they jumped, it would be as a group, but to two different locations, depending on the formation of the Imperial freighters.


Just past 5 minutes and time still seemed to drag. With each passing second, their fate drew closer and closer.


As the timer went to 3 minutes, a signal came in to the Paladin. The Imperial convoy had dropped out of hyperspace. It consisted of 3 Action IV freighters and 2 bulk freighters. Three squadrons of TIE Fighters were launching to engage the Headhunters. It seemed the Imperial Commander had decided to fight instead of run.


== Ambush Point ==
== <ST1:p<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comhttp://www.sw-fans.net/forum/ /><st1:PlaceName w:st=Paladin</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st=" /><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Jackal</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Bridge</st1:PlaceType></ST1:p ==


Commander Itris just smiled. When the Imperial Convoy had arrived, he had arrogantly called for their unconditional surrender. Itris was playing a gamble that the commander of the Imperial Convoy would be itching for a fight… a chance to prove he was ready for a command job other than a convoy.


The tactic had worked. Now, as the bulk freighters fell to the back, the three Action IV freighters moved to shield them and launched their TIEs; three squadrons in all. From the looks of it, the Imperials overmatched the pirates, but that would change in two minutes.


“Comm, calculate the point where the fighters are just outside our range and at the midpoint of their run and send those coordinates to the Paladin. Then ready our fighters, but hold them back, making them look like they were not ready for this surprise.”


Itris looked at the timer which was counting down to zero. In one minute, all hell would break loose.

[Rhinn Ikthoos]

The Paladin and her fighters broke forth onto the ambush site like a hailing banshee in the nightmares of little children. Again, Captain Ikthoos had planned the jump coordinates with expert placement. Just as the Tie Fighters were about to engage the retreating Headhunters, the X-Wings and A-Wings dropped out on their port flank. Without warning, they opened fired with a barrage of torpedo fire. They achieved more kills in the first opening seconds than in most battles.

As the Tie fighters tried to move to engage this new enemy, the Headhunters, Gunships and Interceptors moved in, firing away. The Ties fought back, but convoy Ties weren't the elite. It took only seconds to thin their herd and send the remaining Ties back to their freighters.

Only 8 remained.

Meanwhile, the Paladin led the Y-Wings and the B-Wings into the midst of the freighters. Their orders were to engage the freighters with their ions. While the destruction of the freighters would hurt the Empire, it wouldn't help the Rebels. Only by taking the freighters, and their cargo, would it accomplish both goals.

The Paladin targeted the last two freighters in the convoy. They targeted the engines and communications of the bulk freighters. While the Freighters had shields, they were up for the task and quickly gave away.

Ion fire washed over the communications and engines and then over the hulls of the ships, wreaking havoc with their electronics.

The B-Wings and Y-Wing Squadrons each targeted one of the Action VI Freighters. These were smaller and went down in quick order.

As the Ties made it back, they were faced with 3 Squadrons of Bombers in front of them, 6 Squadrons behind them, 5 Capital Ships and their home ships disabled.

They of course surrendered.

On the bridge, Rhinn smiled.

"Okay teams, Phase 1 is over, let's get Phase 2 done before reinforcements arrive. Send over the shuttles with the teams. Form up the fighters around the convoy and call in the Ghelshelm. If we can't get a ship running in 20 minutes, then we will take what we can and destroy the ship. Snap it up people."

Seconds later, the Assault Shuttles from the Paladin left the bays and headed toward the freighters. Inside the Shuttles were teams of techs and troops to take command of the ships. Their simple job was to disable any tracking devices and slave their hyperdrives to the Paladin. The remaining 8 Ties were brought aboard the Paladin, their pilots taken into custody.

While Rhinn knew that this was a little victory, especially in the eyes of the Empire who probably had more freighters than the Rebels had warships, but this was just the beginning. The supplies denied to the Empire would put some hardships on the planet where they were intended while supplying the Rebels with much need materials.

"Captain, we have a priority message from Sector Command. We are to proceed to Sullust as soon as our current operations are completed."

"Thank you Lieutenant. Acknowledge receipt of message."

Rhinn turned back to the task at hand, but in the back of his mind, he wondered what was up. They usually didn't bother calling a small force like his back to a planet unless he was being reassigned or it was under attack. Since it wasn't sent with an Omega Code, he thought it had to be the former.

"We are working under the clock. Keep at it people and we will have some free time on Sullust."

Within twenty minutes, the freighters were ready to go, slaved to the Paladin and in formation. The fighters were all in their bays and debriefing was commencing.

One of the more positive things, besides not loosing anyone was the Flight Officer Taggart made Ace with 2 kills today.

==::END::==