Joint Strike

[Moff Joran Greth]

Deep Space near Gandrossi VI

The massive black hull of the Overlord sat looming over the world of Gandrossi VI. Around him the vessels of the Overlord Squadron spread out around the planet. In all six destroyers and thirty six escort vessels took up position around Gandrossi VI.

Greth seldom visited the world. His dislike for The Imperial Governor of the world was well known. The man was a poor example of the Imperial leadership and if not for the mans connections he would have put the man to death long ago. Information gained from the questioning of the captured rebel pilot had lead Saye to the Gandrossi system. Further investigation had lead them to the main port on the planet.

“Contact Governor Desh and Inform him we are blockaiding the world. If any craft attempts to escape they will be considered hostile and will be fired upon.”

Greth enjoyed that. His dislike for the man had nothing to do with the blockaide but it was an added bonus that Desh was enraged and threatening to violate the blockaide himself. If the governor and his ship were to be taken hostage and was attempting to leave he would have no choice but to fire on it rather than let the Alliance spies escape.

A young communications officer stood and walked to the Moff. He was tall and took more pride in his service than most of the new imperial recruits. Greth has taken notice of the young man early on when he was in service aboard the Destroyer Judicator. Greth had been aboard for the ships shakedown cruise after her re-commissioning. . The young officer has stood out among the crew and upon investigating his service record and lineage Greth had him promoted and transferred to the Overlord.

“Sir, Governor Desh has issued a planet wide lockdown. He is not happy but he is abiding your orders.”

Greth smiled, Desh was a weak, inferior man. His gambling problems had cause many unwanted distractions for Greth and Imperial Command. Greth wished the man would challenge him. Oh how he wanted for the chance to take him and break him. Greth knew he was no rebel sympathizer but he was not above torturing the man just in case.

Greth turned to the young officer. He stood waiting for the Moff’s order. Tall and dressed down as an Imperial should be.

“Lieutenant, See to it that Captain Saye speaks with me as soon as he arrives.”

[Captain Tyberius Saye]

Aboard the Imperial Satr Destroyer Vindictive
17:24 Jihon System

Captain Tyberius Saye was in the simulation room of the Vindictive blasting away at Rebel ships when he was interrupted by a young ensign.

"Sir, communication incoming; it's from the Overlord." The ensign that had distuberd Saye's simulation stood nervously, afraid of the consequences for disturbing the Captain. Sighing, Saye turned off the simulation and pressed a button, converting the screen into a holo-projector.

"Captain Tyberius Saye, His Excellency Moff Joran Greth requests your presence at Gandrossi VI. He demands you leave immediately." Sneering, the lieutenant cut off the communications before Saye could respond.

Squeezing his fists in an effort to control his anger, Saye commed the navigation section. "Navigation, prepare a course to Gendrossi VI. You may jump as soon as the course is set, and I want the ETA, you got that?"

"Yes sir. Estimated time of arrival is approximately six hours. Jumping to lightspeed in ten...nine...eight...seven...six...hyperdrive intiated...four...three...two...one...hyperspace succesfully entered, sir." Saye smiled tightly as he took the turbolift up to the bridge. Sinking into his Captain's chair, he watched for only a second as the starlines whipped past the Vindictive. Whatever Moff Greth had planned for him this time, it should be good. A month cruising the sector with nothing to do had made Saye impatient. Now he was only six hours away from another task.

Six Hours Later

"Sir, approaching Gendrossi VI. Dropping out of hyperspace in five...four...three..two..one...hyperspace succesfully exited
Flicking a switch on the control panel, Saye contacted the Overlord as the starlines solidified into stars again.

"Your Excellency, I have arrived at Gendrossi VI. Approaching the Overlord now." Saye cut off the communications and paced the bridge, awaiting the Moff's news.

[Moff Joran Greth]

"Captain, I have been awaiting you. I have successfully retrieved the location of the Alliance Rendezvous point. It seems a vessel will be there in forty two hours to pick up a group of pilots sent here for replacement parts. Their freighter has been impounded and the pilots have been detained. They were very forthcoming when I questioned them. "

A smile cracked the moff’s lips. The last statement had been somewhat of an exaggerations. The pilots had not be easy to break. They resisted admirably, but in the end, everyone breaks.
Greth transmitted the Co-ordinates to Saye then punched in a set of orders.

“Captain, I am tasking a small escort for you and the Vindictive. They will meet you at the final hyperspace beckon before your jump into the Parshoone system. That is where the freighter is to meet the rebels. See to it we have survivors to question. I Have business here to finalize then I will be joining you. Good hunting captain.”

Greth motioned to someone off screen and the transmission ended. The screen went blank and his aide was working up the latest reports on the civilians’ he had unturned for questioning. It seemed the good governor had been unaware of the alliance operation under his own nose. For that he should have the man lashed. His actions to assist the Moff with the investigation had swayed the whip for now. Greth would be back to Gandrossi VI and then the Governor would answer for his incompetence.

[Captain Tyberius Saye]

Aboard the Vindictive
Gendrossi VI. 24:After the end of Moff Greth’s message, Saye glanced over the co-ordinates on his data pad before transmitting them to navigation. If Greth was right, he might get some action in. Unfortunately, would have to keep some scum alive until the Moff could question them.
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“Navigation, I want you to set our course for the hyperspace beckon, and then for Parshoone. It seems we will be getting a little help from His Excellency.” Saye cut off the commlink and paced the bridge. Another hyperspace journey; one of thousands for the Imperial Captain. Still, he was impatient for the action to begin. A month of nothing hadn’t been kind to Saye.
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“Sir, estimated time of arrival is approximately 32 hours away. Shall we make the jump to the beckon?” Saye’s commlink beeped again as the lieutenant overseeing the navigation crew reported in.
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“You may engage the hyperdrive, Lieutenant.” Saye sat silently as the stars lengthened yet again into the familiar star lines. He slowly made his way to the mess hall, picking up a small meal before going to his quarters.
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When he arrived, he typed in his passcode as the door slid silently aside, allowing the Captain to enter. The Vindictive’s captain’s quarters were much fancier than the Abolisher’s. Apparently, the former captain had a much grander sense of importance than Saye. Saye had only rearranged a few things, mostly reorganizing it like his old quarters, which were now home to the former Lieutenant Filmor. He had been promoted after Saye was reassigned to the Vindcitive. The bed was back against the right wall, with the traditional white sheets tucked in crisply. A picture of the Abolisher hung just above it. At the back wall was a desk and a lamp, along with another bookcase. In the middle of the room was a small round table, about two feet in diameter. On it were placed a book and a couple used cups of tea. A high-backed chair was pushed in on the opposite side. On the left wall was the entrance to the bathroom. Inside were a shower, a toilet, and a sink. Most of the floor was covered in carpet made from Bantha fur. Saye enjoyed a bit of comfort, and the soft fur of the Bantha made a nice touch to the room. Sitting at his desk, Saye perused his collection of tactical books. His plan was to knock out the weapon systems and then use a tractor beam to capture the disabled ship. Still, he wanted to see if previous Imperials had found an easier strategy.
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After several disappointing hours, Saye finally decided to get some sleep before the exit from hyperspace.

[Moff Joran Greth]

Edge of Known space
Imperial Hyperlane beacon 17899

The four ships of the 97th Skirmish Squadron slowly moved into position. They had just arrived from Valc VII and were awaiting the arrival of the Vindictive. Captain Dodson stood on the command deck of the Storm Blade looking out at the blinking light in the distance. He knew it would not be long before Captain Saye arrived.

He knew very little about the young commander. He had heard of him and seen him across a room once but never meet him. It seemed there were many up and coming Imperial officers in the Perinn sector fleet. He himself had served the fleet for eleven years. He had been promoted to command of the 97th five years ago and since had seen very little action. Now he was to fallow Saye into who knows what. A man he did not know nor trust.

A chrono countdown ran on the overhead display. It was the ETA of Saye and the Vindictive. With what he had heard of the man he would arrive exactly when the timer hit zero. So much Pomp and regulations in the Imperial navy. He used to be like that, by the book and click the jackboot kinda guy. Now he dressed out and did his job. Maybe why Saye is commanding this mission and not him. who knows. Greth can be manic and unpredictable on his good days. Best to fallow orders. Maybe he should join the Alliance. At least then he would not have to shave.

The timer neared its end and he double checked his uniform and had his crew look busy. His new Commander would be here soon so he and his ship needed to look at least half way Imperial.

[Captain Tyberius Saye]

Aboard the Imperial Star Destroyer Vindictive
Edge of Known Imperial Space. 16:00
"Sir,exiting hyperspace in 5...4...3...2...1...hyperspace exited,sir." Saye satin his Captain's chair,watching as the starlines solidified again into stars. At the edge of known Imperial Space, awaiting his arrival, were a Strike-class medium cruiser and two Carrack-class Light Cruisers, which made up his strike force.

Pressing a button on his chair, he opened up the communications channel to the Strike Cruiser, presumably the lead ship.

"Good day, Captain Dodson. This is Captain Tyberius Saye, your new commander. Are you ready to make the jump to lightspeed? I want the Strike Cruiser on my starboard and the two Carracks on my left." Saye watched as the smaller ships obediantly moved into position. At least the captain knew how to follow orders.

Carefully, Saye scanned his data pad for information on the ships. With a 1600 SBD rating, the Strike Cruiser was better protected than Saye had assumed. It also carried a reasonable arsenal of weapons and half a wing of TIEs, more than his Vic II had. The Carrack cruisers had impressive weapons and speed; they were faster than an old X-Wing. They had nearly a squadron of TIEs between them, bringing the total up to 10 squadrons. They also had compartmentized bulkheads, which made them much tougher than they appeared.

As the three ships sidled up to their respective sides of the Vindictive,Saye opned the comm channel again.

"Captain, make the jump to the Parshoone system on my mark. Five...four...three...two...one...now!" Saye watched as the four ships jumped in unison to the Parshoone system and whatever awaited them there.
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[Reshmar]

Parshoone system.
Alliance 3rd fleet rally point Baker

Captain Lortan walked the short access hallway between his quarters and the bridge of the Longbow. Access hatches still open exposing the ships conduit could be seen on every part of the ship. Though why his quarters and the bridge had not been the first systems updated was beyond him. A tech kneeled by the last access hatch working on some relay. As Lortan neared the man stood and saluted.

“At ease specialist. Tell me when does the chief think you and the rest of his team will be done with this. I need to get out of his system as soon as possible.”

Lortan and the 334th roving squadron had been assigned to patrol the area and report back to Courageous. A ion space storm had hit them and damaged many of the newly remodeled Longbow’s systems. Now seventeen days later he was growing inpatient.

“Sir, I will be done here within the hour. Most of the rest of the ship is already done we just need to reengage the reactor and run final diagnostics. I am not sure what timescale the chief has in mind but I think we could be fully operational by days end.”

Captain Lortan nodded and walked on past the tech. The access hatch to the bridge opened with a swish of decompressed air. The warmer air on the command deck had become normal these past few days. Lortan had the air coolers on half capacity to save power while the reactor is offline. He walked onto the deck.

“Captain on the bridge.”

Commander Downet acknowledged Lortan and walked to meet him. The two had served together since before Endor. Both climbing the ladder of alliance command together. It was Lortans actions at Mandel that gave him the boost in rank over Downet. Naturally once given a command Lortan took his friend with him.

“Captain”

“Commander”

The two nodded to each other and smiled. They turned to look over the scrolling data on the main display. A list of all systems grouped by category and station ran down the screen. Lortan could see the specialist had been telling the truth. Ninety eight percent of the ship was ready. Only the command level and the engineering deck remained. Commander Downet highlighted a section of the display.

“I see your quarters are almost done sir. I for one will be glad to have this system behind us. It is just luck we haven’t had an imperial patrol stop by. Now with the relay station gone I think the admiral will pull us out for good.”

Lortan let out a gruff laugh, “indeed” He looked at the highlighted display. The status went from in service to complete. The Specialist must have finished his work.

“What of the rest of the group commander? Have they finished repairs?”

Downet brought up another image on the display. All five escorts had complete beside each.

“It seems so captain, Trinidad was the last one to report in. they have launched a CAP and four longprobes.”

“Very good., inform me when the old girl is read for departure. I have reports to catch up on. The bridge is yours commander.”

Downet nodded to Captain Lortan then went back to overseeing the last minute system reboots. Lortan walked back to his quarters. Satisfied to see the panel back in its place and the specialist gone from his bridge.

[Captain Tyberius Saye]

"Sir, approaching exit from hyperspace. All units at combat stations and all personnel on stand-by."

"Very good. What about our shields? I don't want to risk anything," Saye replied to the lieutenant.

"They are up and running at one hundred percent, sir. Beginning countdown now. 5...4...3...2...1...Hyperspace exited." Saye was up in a flash as he saw the Rebel fleet. A bout of deja vu swept over him as he remembered his latest battle. This time, however, he had an Imperial Star Destroyer, A Strike Cruiser, and two Carracks. He glanced at the tactical display to make sure the 97th Skirmish squadron was flanking him. He directed his gaze back to the fleet sitting right in front of him, already within firing range.

"I want a stop 'n' tilt now!" He yelled at his crew, most of them already scrambling for their consoles. "All fighters launch and set up a screen at sector One-Niner-Six-Niner-Eight! I want all forward batteries to fire on that Neb-B and break it in half! Back batteries can fire at that Vic over there. Dodson, I want your Strike to move into a forward flank and fire at that dreadnaught. I want those two Carracks two do an Ackbar slash between the Dreadnaught and the Neb-B and then fire on those three CR90s." With luck, the Rebels would fire on the Carracks and hit each other because of the cruisers' incredible speed. Saye winced from the noise as ten squadrons of TIEs roared by, setting up an impenetrable picket line. It wouldn't be easy to get by 118 armed and ready TIEs. Saye watched as the first bolts lanced out at the enemy ships. Hopefully their shields were down and he could inflict damage early on. He would be earning his pay today.

He watched as the two Carracks, the Toad and the Mynock sped towards the enemy ships as fast as an X-Wing. The Lucky Shot moved forward, now sitting off of his starboard bow. As it moved forward, turbolaser blasts lanced out of the ship, joining the hail of bolts from the much more massive star Destroyer.

"Sir, we have identified three CR90s, a Neb-B, a Vic, and a dreadnaught, all of which seem to be under some kind of repair." As the lieutenant reported in, Saye grinned wolfishly. The only thing better than Rebels were impaired Rebels. This was going to be fun.

[Reshmar]

Major Samant Benint Banked her X-wing into formation beside Panther five. The four x-wings of splint into two groups and headed off to patrol the outlying area of the system. She moved up and glanced over at Kyl Bigoned. He had just made flight leader and Sam knew he was nervous.

“Buck up Kyl, its just a patrol.” Kyl turned to look at his wing mate and smiled. She had been nothing but supportive since his promotion. He knew she had wanted the job. She had tested high on the simulations but her attitude seemed to hold her back. She had this way of pushing the edge of her orders. Many times crossing them. The three reprimands on her record was the only reason she was not squadron leader.

“I know Sam, Lets look around out here and then get back to Trinidad.” He eased his throttled up and moved away from Samant's fighter. She fell in on his wing and they moved off to the first checkpoint on their mission layout.

In the distance a small flash gave away one of the long probes moving out to scan the system. The four modified Y-wings would be out and back way before they would be finished with their patrol. The new elint and deep system scanning suit on them allowed them to scan a system quadrant; map the system; mark all contacts; and do all this from the safety of deep space outside the system and engagment zones. An instant later a flash nearly blinded Kyl. There in space between he and Sam and the squadron was a sight that caught his breath and left him in shock for a moment. In his ear he heard Sam instantly call out.

“Longbow actual, New contacts on course one two six sixteen klics out.” Kyl gathered his faculties and looked over the data now scrolling from the nearest long probe. A star destroyer and three smaller cruiser had jumped in and was moving to engage the fleet.

Alarm Klaxons sounded the report from two flight came in. Captain Lortan turned and looked out the forward view port at the familiar shape in the distance. Once you have been on the receiving end of an imperial star destroyer that shape is forever burnt into your memory and soul.

“Set condition red all hand to battle stations. Shields up Commander. ” The crew began to man their action stations and prepare for battle. A moment later turbolaser bolts struck the forward hull of the Longbow. Two bolts hit the hull before the shields came up scorching the armor and disabling one of the forward turbolaser cannons. The Kent was not as lucky. Bolts hit her amidships and severed her from her engine section leaving the frigate listing in two directions and working to stabilize her position.

“Get Captain Farr on the comm. Tell him to rig his ship for scuttle and get his people aboard Longbow.” Lortan knew even if the ship stabilized she had no propulsion or hyperdrive. That meant she was a loss at this point. The three corvettes were on the move now and moving to harass the two carrack cruiser's which were now moving to engage the Trinidad.

“Tactical, report.” Lortan walked over to the tactical station and awaited a response. “Sir, Trinidad reports she is under fire from the Carracks and a strike cruiser out near the destroyer. Her shield are holding and she is returning fire. Two flight is moving to rendezvous with the rest of panther and the longbow are holding position at the edge of the system.”

Lortan looked over the screen and the tactical layout of the engagment zone. He looked up and back out at the shape in the distance now obstructed by turbolaser and ion cannon bolts. He did not like his odds here. The longbow had been remodeled and on its own could hold off an Imp long enough to escape. Now he had a busted ship and was taking on survivors from the Kent.

“Lieutenant, Where is the Chief?” The man sitting at the comm station looked around to see if the captain was addressing him. With much distress he saw the he was indeed looking at him and expecting an answer. He called down to engineering twice now and had received no answer both times. The third time an ensign answered and informed him that the Chief and all three DC crews were working to get the engines and hyperdrive patched into the power grid.

“Sir, the chief is in the process of getting the engines online. Engineering reports all systems are patched the reactor is at full and the shields can be set to full strength now.” The captain shot a look at his XO and without any order given the man knew to boost all power available to shielding.

“Comm. Open a fleet channel.” the crew carried out orders and ran between stations checking and double checking firing solutions and tactical vectors. The weapons pounded the Longbow but she was a tough ship. The Trinidad was holding her own but the two carricks had now come along side her and were barraging her with heavy turbolaser fire. The battle waged on as salvo after salvo slammed into the shielding of the Longbow. She was down to seventy four percent now and her weapons were now answering the blows the imp was sending her.

[Captain Tyberius Saye]

Saye smiled triumphantly as the Neb-B broke in two from heavy turbolaser fire.

"Divert two-thirds of the forward batteries, starboard and dorsal, two the Vic cruiser. Carracks, see if you can loop behind the Vic and fire from there. Dodson, I want a stagger salvo on the dreadnaught's command deck with a half-second between the two closest turbolasers. I want to break through the shielding. Tactical, get me a reading on the entire 97th's shielding." Saye paced the deck, belting out orders over the comm. More blasts shook the Star Destroyer as the Vic returned fire. An unfortunate TIE fighter was blown to pieces as a stray bolts slammed into it, vaporizing it in an instant.

"Sir, shields holding at ninety-five percent." The tactical officer reported in, but looked again as a salvo racked the Vindictive. "Make that ninety-four."

"Reroute thirty percent hull shield power to the forward generators. TIEs, engage the X-Wings." Saye ordered the lieutenant, who was dressed as impeccably as Saye himself.

"Sir, the Toad reports ninety percent shielding and the Mynock reports eighty-seven percent, but they are in position. The Lucky Shot has around eighty-four percent shielding left. It appears the Vic has boosted power to shields and is attempting to make a transmission."

"Dammit. Who forgot to jam them. It's kriffing standard procedure!" Saye exploded in the lieutenant's face. "I shouldn't have to order it myself." Switching channels, he said ,"I want all forward batteries to do a tri-stagger on that Vic. Give half of a second between shots until the heat gets to be too much, then revert to a one and a half second lapse between the first and third batteries. Target the forward command deck and the connecting ridge. See if you can snap the command off." Saye watched as the turbolaser and ion blasts slammed unmercifully into the Vic, colliding with their shields and opening small gaps, which were than replaced just before the next bolt hit. "TIEs 1, 2, and 3, sweep along the starboard side and take out their weapons emplacements." Saye glanced at the screen to make sure the TIEs were complying with his orders before turning back to the bridge. Those shields woulnt hold up for long, boost or not.

[Reshmar]

Bors Nel always felt uncomfortable in the flight suit and helmet. He knew whoever designed the suit did not have a race like the bothans in mind. They just got Hot. He hade to spend hours after each mission combing his fur. None of that matter in the here and now. A Tie was lined up in his sights, with the squeeze of his flight stick’s trigger, the solar panels shot off and the cockpit exploded into a ball of fire and scrap. He liked kills like that. So much better than the normal boom and gone kills. The panels flying off in different directions really made the job more fun. Panther three passed in front of him followed by two ties. He banked in behind them and fired on the lead fighter. It juked and his laser bolts went joyless. He banked to pursue the fighter just as the second tie light up Panther three . If he had only targeted that one. He didn’t think about it more. He had learned long ago not to second guess himself. He would morn his man later, for now he would avenge him.

Kyl heard lieutenant Dorsan scream on the squadron channel. A bright flash to his left must have been him. He had not like Dorsan much but he felt anger and sadness at his dying. He put that away and went on. Sam banked past him then rolled up and around to bring the tie that was chasing her right into Kyl’s sights A second later the tie fighter was gone. “Scratch another Squint” He yelled out the statement before he knew it. SO much anger and exhilaration had built up in him. He knew Bors did not condone such outburst. He had that bothan by the book mentality. He expected a slap on the wrist later for that. Sam lined up again next to him and smiled. He smiled back then the two broke off in a double inverted roll to find new targets.

Aboard the Longbow Captain Lortan had grown angry. He had been caught with his pants down. Sure it had not all been his fault but that was not important. What was important was that He had lost a ship already, Could not launch his fighters to support Panther squadron, could not move his ship to assist the Trinidad, and most of all Could not jump out of this mess.

“Trinidad is underway sir.” Commander Downet stood over the tactical console relaying orders and reports through out the bridge. Lortan knew the man was far better at tactical than him. He would make a fine admiral some day. From the forward viewport he saw the dreadnaught come into sight from the starboard corner. Two carrack gave chase and continued to pound the ship mercilessly. The ships had closed now and the Longbow had a surprise for them.

Three corvettes shot past the forward view screen making another high speed run on the carrack’s. The were moving in squadron formation then breaking into single trajectories to fire on the light cruiser. The imps had scored hit on them and one vette was nearly shield less yet they continued to run the delta five attack pattern on the imperials.

“Commander, Let them have it.” Downet nodded then relayed an order to weapons. Like only rehearsed time and time again precision could teach the shielding dropped and a massive barrage of heavy Turbolaser fire lanced out at the two unsuspecting light cruiser. A volley of fire slammed into the armor of Longbow scorching armor and burning holes in the ship. The shield full power came on again an instant later and the Longbow licked its wounds. The Carrack's however faced a much more uncertain future.

[Captain Tyberius Saye]

Saye grimaced as the Carracks took a beating from the upped Vic. Their shields flickered wildly as the were bombarded by turbolasers and ion cannons. Saye stifled a curse as their shields dropped seven percent each. He had to get them away from those cannons.

"Toad and Mynock, do a under-and-up 270 degree turn on that Vic, winding up at the far aft section. Get away from that fire. Fore turbolasers, resume the triple-stagger on the Vic's command bridge. I want the ions to do a one-three-two stagger with a second of lapse between the first and third shots. Dodson, maneuver the cruiser so you are facing the enemy; you're shields are dropping. TIEs 1,2, and 3, watch out for any cluster traps or added weaponry. I want you to shoot at anything you can see." As he relayed the orders, Saye could already see the pattern of fire he had ordered slamming into the Vic. Blast after blast lanced out from the batteries, smashing into the Vic's lesser shielding. Meanwhile, the Vindictive's shielding was more than taking the punishment, hovering at ninety percent. Two TIEs screamed by the bridge, followed closely by an X-Wing and another TIE. Almost simultaneously, the X-Wing and a TIE Fighter exploded, the explosion lighting up the black space outside of the viewport. Shrapnel slammed into the shielding. peppering it with tiny hits. Saye watched as the Carracks finally maneuvered into position, stopping behind the Vic and hammering her from behind. They were taking the puishment well, their speed allowing them an easy escape route. In the meantime, Dodson's shielding was nearing seventy five percent. Saye knew that once the shields were down, Dodson would have no chance.

"Release the bomber squadrons. I want TIE 2 to peel off and guard them while they strafe one of those CR90s. I want the engines and any weaponry to be taken out." As Saye relayed the orders, another blast lit up the screen, marking the excellent demise of another X-Wing. He hoped the Vic's shielding wouldn't be as stubborn as it appeared to be. He needed this over quickly.

[Reshmar]

Downet saw the new contacts come onto the tactical display. A group of bombers were launching from the destroyer and forming up for a run. The status light on the hanger was still red. He could not launch his fighters until all rescue operations were complete. The Captain was watching the carrack moving behind them and out if the turbolasers line of fire. Commander Downet thought for a moment then had an Idea.

“Captain, If I may.” The captain nodded. Lortan was not the type to stifle his subordinates ideas. He knew Downet was a genius tactician and any idea he had was to be a good one.

“Tactical is your commander.” the captain watched as commander Downet frantically ran from tactical to communications, the familiar voice of Major Kirij. He was outbound and the last of the longprobe y-wings left in system.

“Longbow actual this is cyclopes one, I am returning in bound and painting the target.” The recon y-wing banked and began heading back towards Longbow and the battle. The advanced scanning and recon suite powered up and a target acquisition program booted. Cyclopes one banked to miss a stray turbolaser bolt then went back to his heading in system. The Tap searched for its targets then locked on. A high intensity beam shot out and marked two targets.

“Longbow actual, Targets are hot.” The small fighter slowed and tried to maintain the lock. The two target had come to a stop which made the chore easier. But the stray weapons bolt and debris made it somewhat more difficult. On the Longbow the message had been received and Commander Downet turned to the the weapons officer and gave the order.

“Fire!” The deck shuttered below Captain Lortan then from all arches of the ship the all too familiar sight of thruster trails left the Longbow. Like mad hornets eighty assault concussion missiles left their tubes. All moving off away from the Longbow then turning to head towards her tail.

From the cockpit of his Y-wing, Major Kirij could see an uncountable amount of small streaks moving away from the ship and towards the two smaller carricks. A fragment of hull game into view and he banked to miss it taking the targeting laser off the ships for a moment. He frantically moved to target the ships again before the missiles missed their targets. He tracked them then the lock signal sounded. A moment later forty heavy missiles slammed into each of the Light cruisers.

[Captain Tyberius Saye]

Saye watched in horror as 40 missiles slammed into his two Carracks, ripping forcefully at the shielding and busted through, tearing into the stout armor. Only about ten missiles made it through, but they smashed into the ships with all the force of a giant hammer. He could hear his men's dying screams as they two Carracks were ripped to shreds, bits of the hulk getting some revenge as they slammed into the Vic. Red in the face. he shouted at his men "Everyone target that Vic and take it down. I want no survivors."

He bowed his head once to remember the men who gave their life for the Empire before turning to the battle once more, watching as the fury of an entire Imperial Star Destroyer slammed into the Vic, shaking it like an over-sized dog.

"Dodson, I want you to attack that Dread, and boost fore shielding. I don't want to lose you too." His voice cracked a bit as he spoke. Two whole Carracks down in a matter of seconds. He shook his fist at the Rebels and yelled through his comm, "Revenge for our brothers! Destroy every last kriffing Rebel!" He heard the roar of thousands of men taking their fury out on the Rebels.

[Reshmar]

Major Kinij watched as the two light cruiser succumb to the missile barrage. The first carrack took multiple hits amidships igniting a fuel cell. The ball of fire from the explosion washed over the aft shields of the Longbow and obscured the second carrack and its last moments. when the fire ball had cleared both ships listed away from the Longbow and off into space. He banked away and headed back out of the system as ordered looking back once at the Star destroyer giving the Longbow everything she had. with a flash his longprobe Y-wing vanished into Hyperspace.

Captain Lortan watched on a display as the missile attack overpowered the carracks. An exhilarated shout came from the men on the command deck. He looked over at Commander Downet and smiled. The man may have just bought them the time they need to save themselves. He looked back out at the ship in the distance. In a way he felt bad for the imperial commander. No one ever wanted to lose men. Not even imperials. a moment later the full power of the star destroyer feel upon the Longbow. The shields had just taken on the brunt of two carrack cruisers exploding and now the massive barrage from the imperial ship was chewing away at what was left of her shielding.

On the tactical board one of the corvettes vanished leaving only two. They had moved on from attacking the carracks to making strafing runs on the strike cruiser. The Trinidad had managed to move into an arch below the Longbow and lined up her broadside to the medium cruiser. Her shield were at twenty percent now and falling as the strike cruiser doubled up on her forward shielding and went at the heavy cruiser. The repair status board lite up all green. Captain Lortan looked over the display one more time them turned to Commander Downet.

"Commander, send a fleet wide transmission. All Alliance vessel are to retreat to hyperspace at best route. Rendezvous at beacon seven four two."

Commander Downet relayed the message to a fleet wide channel then went back to assessing the battle. Lortan had made the right call this was a battle they could not fight for much longer. Just them the status on Trinidad went red indicating her shields were down.

[Captain Tyberius Saye]

Saye heard Dodson’s whoop of glee as the Dreadnaught finally succumbed to the barrage of the Lucky Shot. Another salvo of energy burst out of the Strike Cruiser, slamming into the dreadnaught, which was protected only by its armor. More shots from the Strike Cruiser continued to pound the defenseless ship, bringing more deaths with every hit. Saye smiled as he thought of the Rebels onboard the Dreadnaught. He would get his revenge several times over.

“Sir, a transmission has been made by the Vic. All Rebel ships are in full retreat.” The lieutenant standing by a green monitor reported in, giving Saye the good news.“See if you can get a tractor beam locked on those CR90s that are making life difficult for our poor friend, Captain Dodson. I want that order to be relayed to his cruiser as well. Meanwhile, I want a full salvo at the bridge of that Vic. See if the bombers can damage that ship so it is incapable of hyperspace.” Saye finished his orders and glanced over his data pad. Fewer and fewer X-Wings remained as they succumbed to the sheer number of TIE fighters zipping around.

“I want TIEs 1 and 3 to target the engines on that Vic. I need a shield and damage report on both our ship and Dodson’s.”After scanning over data, the lieutenant replied, “The Lucky Shot is down to fifty-two percent shielding and has sustained minor damage in sectors one and eight. The Vindictive is at eighty percent shielding and has sustained only scorch marks on the armor. However, we’ve lost a total of thirty eight TIEs, leaving us with 80 fighters left. The enemy is down to only a few X-Wings.”

Saye monitored the bridge as the barrage of laser fire continued to pound at the Vic’s shielding, lapping hungrily at it. Hopefully he could destroy the Vic before they managed to escape from the battle. He longed for an Interdictor cruiser. He could use it, seeing as it would trap the Rebels in the battle until either they were destroyed or the Interdictor was destroyed. He shielded his eyes as another explosion lit up the night sky. He looked down at the tactical display and was relieved to see it was the dreadnaught, not any of his ships. On the right, he could see the Strike Cruiser trying to get a lock on the CR90s while systematically pounding them with ion blasts, saving her turbolasers for the remaining parts of the dreadnaught. The normally black space was lit up with green and blue energy bolts that danced across the black space, slamming violently into the shields of the two massive ships. Saye knew his ship well, and had confidence that it would outlast the Vic, should the battle come to that.<O:p></O:p>

[Reshmar]

Captain Lortans decision was a nightmare one. The Trinidad was taking a pounding and did not have long. A large explosion tore off a fifty meter chunk of her starboard side and opened many of her decks to vacuum. Escape pods were jettisoning into a hail of fire, the few that made it were now floating in space. He took a moment and thought over his options. Wait and attempt to take on survivors or leave them to the Imperials mercy.

Thousands had died in the last blast he was sure. Some were out there floating helpless and hoping for rescue. If he ordered rescue craft to launch and take on survivors they would be moving right into the concentrated firs of a destroyer and medium cruiser. he would lose men trying to get survivors aboard. Also the shields on the Longbow would not last. By him ordering the survivors rescue he would be committing his crew to an action which more than likely be their deaths. Twelve thousand souls depended on him.

He turned and saw Commander Downet looking back at him. Both thinking the same thing. He nodded to his XO the turned to look out at the burning hulk of Trinidad.

Commander Downet knew the choice was a difficult one for Lortan to make. but it was the right one; the only one. He saw the captain bow his head and close his eyes. Choices like these haunt a mans soul for the rest of his life. It was not his decision yet he too felt guilt and pain. He would be the one to make the order.

"Tactical, All power to forward shielding, reroute weapons capacitors. Navigation, come to course one five one engines to full."

The ship turned straight towards the star Destroyer. barrage after barrage now slammed into the shielding forward of the bridge. The shield were boosted but the remaining weapons power stored in the capacitors and seemed to be holding. They had fallen to sixty percent and slowly dropped as the Longbow got closer. Downet now stood at the navigations station overlooking the two officers working on moving the ship. he pointed to a set of numbers on the second mans display.

"That will work Lieutenant, he stood up straight and looked once more at the destroyer growing larger in the forward view port. an alarm sounded indicating the shielding had now fallen below fifty percent. They did not have long, as it was this maneuver was dangerous, but with each moment he waited the shield dropped and the chances of this working did as well.

"Commander fifteen kilometers and closing." Downet looked back at the numbers on the navigations console. the red scrolling numbers flashed green and Downet did not waste a moment.

"Helm, fourteen degrees positive declination all power to maneuvering thrusters." The ships engines died and its shields dropped. Angry green and blue bolts slammed into the armor of the bridge. as this happened the nose of the Longbow shot up letting the forward momentum bring the ships ventral bow into the arch of the imperial destroyers deadly barrage. Heavy turbolasers and ion cannons hit the nose of Longbow punching holes in the armor and raining blue arch’s of electricity down the hull. Soon this and the ion strikes to the command structure would short out the electronic on the ship leaving it dead in the water. Commander Downet had other plans.

"Having been knocked to the floor when the turbolasers hit the command structure Captain Lortan now looked up at the ceiling. from somewhere to his right he heard Commander Downet shout.

"Jump!"

[Captain Tyberius Saye]

“Sir, the Vic seems to be trying to jump over us!” The ensign was frantic. Obviously he had run a long way to tell the news, and Saye wondered what was wrong with his comm. “Get as many tractor beams as you can to lock on to the Vic. I want a full bombardment by all batteries. Give me a bombing run at their command bridge, but have the bombers duck away if it appears to be jumping.” Saye felt the Vindictive shutter as tractor beams tried to trap the Victory in realspace. “Sir, we cannot get enough locks on her to trap her.” The lieutenant’s grip report made Saye clench his fist in frustration. So close, yet so far. As he watched the dreadnaught explode in the distance, and saw the drifting hulk of the Neb-B, he allowed himself a small smile. Many Rebels had died today, but so had many Imperials. 38 TIE pilots and two whole carracks worth of men had given their lives to the Empire. They would be sorely missed. “I want a full barrage on that cruiser now!” Saye yelled, knowing that it would be too late. A full Vic would escape his grasp. Moff Greth would not be pleased.<O:p></O:p>

[Reshmar]

The hull ceased shaking and Lortan forced himself to one knee. All around the deck was a wash with res emergency lights. debris hand from the ceiling of the bridge and was laying here and there on the floor. Smoke had clouded the bridge and the smell of burning electrical wire filled the air. He grabbed the railing and made his way to his feet. A sharp pain shot up his leg when he put weight on it. He leaned on the rail and took a second look around the bridge.

"Commander Downet, Status?" No answer came. he could not see clearly, he head pounded and he was finding it hard to focus his sight on anything. That and the cloud of smoke made it nearly impossible to see the aft section of the bridge.

"Commander Downet" More an inquisitive tone this time. He head something move in the vicinity of navigation then a voice. A rough weak voice.

"Here Captain He is here." Lortan closed his eyes and tried to think. The pain was unbearable. His head seemed as if it was going to explode. He touched the side of his head then looked at his hand. Blood, he must have hit his head on something. He shook the thought and used the rail to move close to navigation.

"Lieutenant, Help me." one of the navigation officer came and took Captain Lortan by the arm. He slowly helped him to one of the seats of the navigation station. Lortan looked around. there beside the station was the second navigation’s officer. Lieutenant Urtin he believed that is the mans name. or was. He has shrapnel in his chest and head. then there in the distance the cloud of smoke cleared a bit and he saw a second body on the deck. then as he made a semicircle observation of the waste that used to be Longbows deck he found his XO.


"Corpsman!" he tried to stand again but his leg would not have it. He looked up at the navigation’s officer then back to commander Downet. The lieutenant left him and went to check on the commander. Lortan watched as the lieutenant and two corpsmen looked his XO over. The lieutenant looked at Lortan and shook his head. The man had saved them all, now he had payed the ultimate price. Time would come to grieve. then time for revenge. Now as the confusion cleared a bit, Lortan remember what was really going on. He looked around a third time what a mess he thought.

"Someone get me a damage report and see whats working." The officer ran and sat in the seat beside Lortan. He looked over his console then brought up a display of engineering. He heard a voice from the engineering console across the bridge. it was weak like the rest but Lortan could make it out. It was the Chief. he was working on directing damage control teams and assessing the ships status.

"Routing it to your console now captain." Lortan watched as a new image replaced the engineering status page. he looked over a list that scrolled down past the screens ability to display. A clank and the a bang rattled the deck as the ships ventilation came back online. The smoke started to clear leaving what looked like a war zone. A girder had fallen on his XO and severed his leg at the groin. He would have bled out in minutes. Minutes, come to think of it how long had he been out.

"I need an update on the chrono." he waited then a new image had popped up on the console display. Forty seven minutes, he expected a much different answer. The ship was now sitting in deep space, where he did not know. The navigation’s officer sitting next to him had anticipated his request.

"Sir, we are seven light years from the Parshoone system." Lortan thought about what that meant. The imperial have had forty seven minutes to try to figure out where and how far they had gone. the thought shook him to his core. If the imperial found them it was over. A new screen popped up and the Chief read off the list.

"Captain. Decks one through fourteen sections A through K are gone. DC crews report auto seal bulkhead have seal the ship and were are tight. All forward maneuvering thrusters are gone. The maneuver was too much for them. Most are gone anyway, those left are burnt out. We have aft maneuvering but only limited power. Command Structure Decks thirty four through forty one have been sealed. Most of the starboard section of the structure it also gone." Another voice chimed in from across the bridge.

"Missile Tubes twenty five through thirty one have been destroyed. The crews had not had time to reload so no secondary damage has been reported. Power to all weapons forward of L section is down, and Targeting and fire control are as well." The news got worse as each station reported. The Longbow had engines and could move but steering would be next to impossible. The hyperdrive was working but the computers were down and a safe jump was out of the question. Weapons were at sixty percent, Forward shield’s were at twenty percent and the forward flight bay was gone. a thought came to mind, oh no the forward flight bay. all those survivors.

"Tactical give me the status on the main hanger." the request took longer than anyone on the bridge hopped. Lortan grew impatient and the pit of his stomach was starting to well.

"Sir, Flight ops reports all is well. They have taken damage and there are casualties but most of them are ok." Lortan let out a sigh of relief. Nearly five thousand souls had been in the main hanger section.

"OK everyone lets buckle down here. I know a lot has happened and we have all lost friends and loved ones. We need to get Longbow ready for a jump. We have to get out of here before the Imperial’s Find us."

[Captain Tyberius Saye]

Saye stared out the window as the Vic vanished with a flicker of pseudomotion, all that was left of a ravaging battle. Thousands had died, and Saye himself had lost over 2000 men, almost all of which were on the Toad and the Mynock when they exploded. 2000 families had to be consoled. Widowed spouses, children left with only one parent, one figure in which to cling to, all parts of a war that should have ended at Endor.

“I want a departure vector on that Vic. They can’t have gone far, at least not in that condition.” Saye himself had seen the shot that had smashed through the remaining shreds of shielding, blasting through the protection and expending itself violently into the command bridge, melting, twisting, burning, killing everything in its path. A lucky shot had knocked out the power conduit for many of the weapons, another had smashed through the hangar, likely killing several people. Just before the Vic’s escape, a salvo had left the Lucky Strike, smashing through the durasteel of the Vic. The Rebels paid for the 2000 Imperials lost several times over. Saye counted up the casualties in his head. A dreadnaught, a Neb-B, and two CR90s had gone down along with the Carracks, lighting up the black space with the fire of death.
<O:p</O:p
“Sir, we have traced them to a range of five to ten light years away, given their extensive damage.” Saye smiled as the lieutenant reported in from navigation. “Good. I want a jump to all possible distances at five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten light years away.” Switching comms, he added, “Dodson, form up on the starboard side approximately nine hundred meters down from the aft section. On the count of five, we will make the jump. One… two… three… four…five!”

The stars lengthened into starlines as the remainder of the Imperial Fleet jumped to hyperspace.As soon as Saye came out of hyperspace at seven light years away, he saw the tail end of the Vic, sitting there like a dead slug. When the navigation crew and tactical crew were tracking it, it escaped, leaving behind empty space. Despite his disappointment, Saye knew he had won.

“Trace their possible departure vector. They can’t have gone far. Judging by their damage, they can’t afford to stop. Therefore, they will make only one jump to the Courageous, which appears to be where they are based, at least according to intelligence.” Saye paced the deck, hoping for an answer. A minute later, he got it.

“Sir, we have found the Courageous. I repeat, we have found the Courageous.” Cheers went up as tactical reported in. Now they might have a chance of defeating the monstrosity that haunted the dreams of more than one Imperial Captain. Maybe now Moff Greth would not be displeased with Saye’s loss of ships.<O:p></O:p>

[Reshmar]

Captain Lortan watched as the body of Commander Downet and the others were taken from the bridge. One of the Chiefs crews had repaired the navigational console and the hyperdrive had been repaired. It was not damaged during the jump but the command transmission lines had been. Now the ship had jump capabilities once again.

"Lieutenant, Plot a jump to Courageous." Lortan was concerned the imperial might trace his trail to the command ship but at this point he had maybe one jump left in the old girl and it needed to be Some place safe. The risk would have to be taken.

"Plotted sir. Jump on your command." Lortan walked over to inspect the section of the bridge which the chiefs crew had blocked off. A ion bolt had hit near the communications station and shorted all the comm gear. Both officer manning the station had died in a blue flash of ion energy. So many had died. but so many more survived and were still in danger. He began to walk back to the center of the command deck when the proximity klaxon went off.

"Con, new contact, bearing one seven four, eighteen thousand meters. It's the destroyer captain." Captain Lortan whipped around and looked at the tactical station. Both officer had survived the jump. They both looked up at him in horror. He grit his teeth then spoke.

"Jump now!"

The stars flickered then stretched as the Longbow jumped once again. The ship shook in protest but it made the jump and was moving along through the distorted light show that was hyperspace.