Arrival at Lorah'l (complete)

[Serena Laran]

Captain Serena Laran sat in her command chair, and toggled the switch that activated the comm. "All ships, prepare for lightspeed. Mark plus five, four, three, two, mark." She smiled to herself as the stars melted into lines, and then streaked into the blur of hyperspace.

She looked around the bridge of the the Imperial Star Destroyer 2, the Reprisal. The bridge crew was all new to her, as she had barely an hour previously been shuttled to the ship. The rest of her battle group consisted of a Victory Star Destroyer, the Dominus, the Fire-Class Light Frigate Fire XXVI, and Interdictor Picket I-121.

The crew, although unknown, was clearly Imperial, operating like a well-oiled machine. Serena had no doubt they were intensely loyal to the Empire, and she would have no troubles with them. She got up, and strode over to the tactical officer, an Ensign Moore.

"Ensign, is there anything I should be made aware of concerning the situation at Lorah'l?" She easily stood as tall as he, and he seemed to find it a little unnerving to be eye level with her.

"Sir, the defection of Poreon caused some uprisings among the riffraff on the surface. There has been some political upheaval, but the intel was a little sketchy on the paticulars. We may or may not have a self-promoted leader to deal with once we arrive."

The Captain nodded. "As I thought. As you were, Ensign." He nodded, and she returned to her chair to wait the return to real-space.

[Serena Laran]

"Captain, one minute to real-space." The lieutenant at the helm interrupted her thoughts, and Serena opened her eyes. Now to see what Lorah'l looks like this time of year. The starlines swirled, and then straightened into tiny pinpoints of light. The planet drifted up from the bottom of the viewscreen, and Serena raised an eyebrow.

It didn't look very lively, but she shrugged inwardly, and stood to her feet. "Battle group, all stop." I-121 engaged its sublight engines and separated itself from the other three, staying back and filling the main space lane from the planet. The gravity wells were powered, but not activated yet, ready to stop any hostile ships from escaping, should any show.

Laran paced the bridge. "Lieutenant Fsashhi, are the transports loaded?"

The comm crackled, "Yes, sir, loaded and ready for take off." Serena frowned, and the bridge comm officer bent over the console. The crackle disappeared.

She turned to the officer, "Get me someone on the surface." The officer nodded, and Serena returned to her command chair, crossing her long legs, and resting her elbows on the armrests.

[Serena Laran]

Captain Laran rubbed her temples with her manicured hands as she took a moment in her ready room. No one had replied to the hails to the planet. No one. Apparently all comm systems had been knocked out due to terrorist activity on the surface. She had just sent the transports of troops to the surface, and had nothing to do but await confirmation about the condition of the capitol, Lorhil’h. Once Lorhil’h was cleaned up, the rest of the planet would follow quietly.

Serena leaned back in her chair, and kicked her feet up on her new desk. The Reprisal was in excellent condition. She was beginning to like it there.

_______

Some hours later, the communications officer contacted Laran. “We’re being hailed from the planet. It’s Commander Hoiran.”

Serena laid aside the crew manifests she had been going through, and stretched. “Put it through in here.” She nodded to the four-inch holo of the stormtrooper commander. “Commander Hoiran, I trust everything is going well?” Even as she spoke, she heard an alarm sounding on the bridge.

The holo shook his head, “We managed to retake the government offices, which were being held by millitant civillian forces. I dispatched a squad to repair the communications’ systems, which are now operational. Two squads of troopers followed some of the militants to their HQ, which is in the process of being destroyed.”

The door swished open. “Captain, Interdictor I-121 has activated its gravity wells to stop -!” The captain cut the ensign off with a gesture.

Horin’s holo continued, “Several enemy ships have escaped, and are heading for you.” Serena nodded, and cut the transmission, sprinting to the bridge.

Tactics was already talking to her as she stepped out of the ready room. “Sir, five fighters and a transport have just left Lorah’l, I-121 has shifted to intercept their hyperspace trajectory.” He seemed a little excited. So green, but everyone is once.

She nodded, “Thank you, Ensign. Deploy a squadron of TIES to intercept.” She sat in the chair, and toggled the comm to Lieutenant Marcus Raerri, Red Squadron Leader. “Lieutenant, inform your fighters that weapons are enabled. You have permission to engage, but only disable the transport. We need those onboard for questioning. Destroy the fighters.”

His voice crackled back to her ears, “Yes sir. Raerri out.”

[Daray Pallaton]

OOC: pub24.ezboard.com/fgalact...D=12.topic (http://pub24.ezboard.com/fgalacticmilitaryalliancefrm49.showMessage?topicID =12.topic) Just so you know why I'm here, Serena.

IC:

Cadet Daray Pallaton rushed up to Lieutenant Raerri's TIE just as he was about to get in.

“Sir, Wait.”

The Lieutenant turned around and faced the Cadet, looking down at him. Marcus Raerri was about a full foot taller then Daray, which made him feel quite small, and weak. Daray saluted the Lieutenant, then handed him the datapad. It took Raerri a moment to read over it, then he looked back to the Cadet.

"Alright," He said, and let out a small sigh. "You'll be Red 2; my wing."

Cadet Pallaton grinned slightly, then saluted the Lieutenant once more, before walking off for his TIE. It didn't take long for Daray to reach his TIE, for it was just about right next to Raerri's. Daray got into the TIE, and started it up, waiting for the clearance to leave.

All that could be heard over the com was small crackling, and what sounded like voices in the background. Then a voice came over the com, which startled Daray.

"Red 1, Clearance confirmed."

"Alright Red Flight, lets go."

One by one, the TIE's left the hangar of the ISD Mark II, blasting out with a roar. Daray grinned slightly.

My first real battle, I just hope I dont get killed.

[Serena Laran]

The captain watched the small viewscreen in the arm of her chair as Red Flight left the Dominus. The TIE Devastators shot out toward the oncoming rebel ships. The fighters were Uglies, hybrids of different ships. Perhaps the genius who thought them up had hoped the hybrids would gain the strengths of both fighters...but more often than not the Uglies, as they were called, had only the faults of both.

Serena kept her face emotionless as the fighters engaged the Devastators, four Uglies peeled off from the transport's vector to distract the Devastators. A blip appeared on the screen from Lorah'l, indicating-

"Sir, a flight of hostile fighters have taken off from the planet's surface." The tactical ensign was sounding excited again. "These aren't hybrids, they appear to be an older model of X-wing, as well as an assortment of other fighters."

She watched the screen with mild concern. The situation on the surface was under control..or would be shortly. The troops were in process of rooting out the insurrectionists, and wherever these fighters were coming from would be destroyed in short order. "Ensign, send the coordinates of the spaceport those fighters came from to Commander Hoiran on the surface."

"Yes sir." He bent over his console. "Sir? I-121 is-"

"I see it." The captain of the Interdictor by now had powered his gravity wells up completely, effectively trapping the transport in realspace. The new fighters were heading for it, probably hoping to knock out the wells so the transport could get away. Raerri had better know what he was about. The Interdictor was picking off a few with its turbolasers, but soon the mess of fighters was too much to be able to distinguish safely between friend and foe.

[Daray Pallaton]

"Red Flight, this is the Dominus, There is flight of X-wing fighters enroute to engage the Interdictor."

“We're on it, Dominus.” Raerri calmly replied. “Alright Red Flight, we have more fighters coming in. X-wing fighters.”

Daray grinned lightly, getting slightly exicted that there were more fighters to kill. The grin dropped from his face quite fast, and his concentration went back onto where he was and what he was doing. It wasn't long before the TIE Devastators reached the Interdictor, but four of the uglies steered off and away from the transport, obviously trying to distract the Devastators, and get them away from the transport. That wouldn't do them much good though, for the gravity wells are up, and no-one was going anywhere.

Green and red bolts flashed through space, as the TIE Devastators engaged the four uglies. One of the uglies was turned to space dust on the first run, and Red One, Two and Three followed the other three uglies. Raerri got his kill quite fast, but Red Three had some troubles getting a shot in. Daray got a shot or two in on his target, but it wasn't enough to destroy it. The ugly twisted to starboard, and Daray followed, being not too far behind the fighter.

His targeting system flashed for a moment, and Daray pushed on his trigger, letting out a flurry of laser bolts. The ugly turned to port- but it was too late. Laser bolts crashed through the cockpit of the ugly, ripping through it like cardboard. The rest of the fighter either exploded, or ripped off and became space debris. A smile came to his face, being satisfied of what he had done. Daray almost instantly looked down at his radar screen, only to see that Red 3 had also killed his target.

Raerri was already heading for the Interdictor, and the flight of X-wings. Daray turned to starboard, until he was in-line with the battle between the rest of Red Flight, and the X-wings. They weren't that far away, and it'd only take Daray and Red 3 about fifty seconds to get back there. Then off they went, Red two and three blasting off for the rest of the battle.

[Serena Laran]

The communication from Lorah'l indicated that Commander Hoiran and his men were about an hour away from completing their mission. Apparently there were three desperate rebels involved in a hostage situation at an elementary school. Hoiran was confident that the situation would be resolved shortly. The trooper's three inch holo rested on the arm of her command chair. Serena nodded, "Very good, Commander. Keep me updated."

The holo nodded, and winked out into nothingness. Returning her attention to the firefight by I-121, the captain absently scratched at the arm of her chair. Red Squadron was successful in negating the threat from the original Uglies, but the X-Wings were swarming around the Interdictor. Lieutenant Raerri and his Devastators were up for the challenge, however, sublight engines flaring as they tore off after the attackers.

This left the transport on its own. Definetly too much testosterone in space. The pilots were always after "just one more kill..." Serena contacted the captain of the Dominus.

Dominus launched their second group of Devastators, Blue Squadron. Serena tried to remember the flight commander's name, but it escaped her memory. The new wave of fighters overtook the transport, and made short work of its sublight engines. Serena nodded at an ensign who was hovering around the tractor controls. "Engage tractor beam, docking bay 2-43 is prepped and ready for receiving the transport."

Red Squadron had fallen into trouble. It appeared Lieutenant Raerri had an enemy on his tail...and was having trouble shaking him. Serena kept her eyes cool as she watched the events unfold on her small tactical screen. The X-Wing hit his sublights, and he dropped dead in space. One more shot disabled his weapons. She sucked in her breath slightly as the third and final shot caused a chain reaction that ripped through the fighter.

She flipped the comm, listening to the dead silence of Red Flight. "Raerri!" Red Three blurted, only to be cut off by Red Two, "He's gone, let's get to work."

Red Two, one Cadet Pallaton, had been a late addition to the Red Flight. Serena sat back, and watched as he naturally flowed into the leadership vaccum left by Raerri's death. He would bear watching in the future.

[Daray Pallaton]

"Raerri!" Red Three blurted out, only to be cut off by Red Two, Daray. "He's gone, let's get to work." Although the fact that Raerri was gone had hit everyone -apart from Daray- hard, they had to go on and finish the mission.

“Alright guys, this is how we're going to do this. I want Red Three and Four to wing up with me as One Flight. Red Five will be leader of Two Flight, which includes Red Six, Red Seven, and Red Eight. Red Nine will be leader of Three Flight, which includes Red Ten, Red Eleven, and Red Twelve.”

Daray let out a small sigh, before continuing.

“Break off in flight groups, and engage the X-wings. Let's go.”

Red Three and Four came up behind Daray's TIE, placing themselves on either side of him. Two and Three Flight were now flying in diamond formations, and Daray figured they'd be easy in that formation.

“Break from flight groups to wing groups. Go.”

The Three Flights broke off into 5 wing groups, which left Daray by himself. Red Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, and Eight blasted off to beneath the Interdictor Picket, where probably about half of the X-wings were, while Daray, Red Nine, Ten, Eleven and Twelve stayed above the Picket. Before the battle between Daray, Red Nine - Twelve, and the X-wings began, one of the fighters blew up into a ball of fire, and another group of TIE Devestators came blasting past.

“This is Blue Squadron, here to assist.”

Daray smiled. Although they didn't need the help, it was appreciated. From the first run by the Red Squadron flighters, four of the twelve X-wings exploded into balls of fire, or were damaged enough to crash into the Interdictor, and be destroyed anyway. With the help of Blue Squadron, It didn't take long to clean up the rest of the X-wings.

Twelve X-wings down. One loss for Red Group.

“ Reprisal, This is Red Two. All hostiles destroyed.”

[Zorin Hexes]

Delteon Sector Division II had dropped out of hyperspace in the heat of the fighter fire. Zorin had merely looked down at the skirmish and smirked. He wondered if Pallaton had been blown to bits before he had arrived to watch it. "Captain Yaran, has the Reprisal detected our drop from hyperspace?" Zorin's voice was almost teetering on the edge of rage as he glared down at the Star Destroyer.

"Sir, apparently so. We received a hail from them several seconds after out arrival, but initial sensor scans were slow to follow our drop. They may have been focused on the small task force below. Should we send a squadron out to assist?"

"No, it's under control." It had only taken those few seconds during which Zorin and Yaran were exchanging conversation to seal the X-Wing fighters' fates. Inform Captain Laran that I am here to regroup all ships from our second division. She's to board a shuttle as soon as preparations are made ready and transfer to the Star Destroyer, Exeter." He walked back to his command chair and seated himself. Yaran was almost out the door when he walled back at her. "Make sure she brings that new star fighter with her."

She nodded, "Yes, sir."

[Serena Laran]

Serena frowned momentarily after the comm switched off. She nodded to the ensign, as he reported both squadrons of TIES were returning to the Dominus. "Very good, Ensign." She stood to her feet, stretching up to her full height.

"Contact Commander Hoiran, I need to talk to him in my ready room." She walked off the bridge, letting the doors swish shut behind her.

"Captain Laran, this is Commander Hoiran, reporting as ordered." The trooper's voice was slightly metallic as it was transmitted to her personal commlink.

"Commander, I need a full report...and you will write one, later. Right now what I need to know is if everything is green down there."

"Captain, everything is under control. I was just about to send most of the troops back to the Reprisal . A small task force is being left behind, in case the government has more problems in the near future. They'll be relieved in a few weeks."

"Very good, Commander. Commence your return to the Reprisal. I have been reassigned, and will be leaving command of this battle group. All command functions are returned to the captain of the Dominus, at least until further notice." She signed off, and then contacted the Dominus. What Admiral Hexes wanted with a hotshot cadet was beyond her. Most admirals couldn't see beyond the pips on their uniforms to notice the common pilot.

Serena, however, knew talent when she saw it. This Pallaton would be leading his own squadron soon, no mistake about that. She left the ready room, took her leave of the bridge, and headed for the shuttle bay. As she passed through the halls, she saw the captives from the transport being taken into custody. The brig was too good for them, rebels and rabble rousers all of them. She lifted an eyebrow, and passed into the shuttle bay.

Pallaton was already there, having been ordered to report to the Reprisal as soon as she'd gotten the word. He saluted smartly, and she told him to be at ease. "We're taking a trip, Cadet." She walked into the Lambda class shuttle, and he followed.

What awaited on the Exeter, neither really knew. Order were orders, and it was a fool who questioned an admiral.

[Daray Pallaton]

"We're taking a trip, Cadet."

Daray didn't even notice the Captain until she had spoken to him, and once he turned around, she was already walking off again. He scurried off after the Captain, and before long, found himself walking up the ramp of a Lambda class shuttle.

He placed himself in a seat next to the Captain, in the passenger area of the shuttle. He felt kind of uncomfortable not knowing where he was going, and he turned to Captain Laran.

“Sir, May I ask where we are going?”

[Zorin Hexes]

(ooc) To be continued here: pub2.ezboard.com/fswvstit...3912.topic (http://pub2.ezboard.com/fswvstitanicstarwarsroleplayingarchive.showMessage ?topicID=3912.topic)



The passing of time between the Lambda-Class Shuttle Tierphan's departure from the Star Destroyer Reprisal and it's arrival on board the Exeter had passed for Zorin in nearly a wink. His mind had been in other places... Over and over he ran through different formations and strategies, as well as everything which he knew about the planet Belkadan. A Jungle world in the Veflon Sector, and apparent home world to the Vong... All the research he had done on them in the time since he left Quitooine suggested that they'd be a formidable opponent.

"Vice Admiral - " Lieutenant Capson came to a halt behind the blonde haired Admiral, wiping his palms onto the hem of his uniform.

"Yes Lieutenant?" Zorin swiveled his command seat around, his now-focused pupils fixed on the man. There was tension in the room, and most of the crew didn't like the idea of going into battle with intelligence reports as incomplete as the one they'd been handed.

"Captain Laran was reported as being on board the Exeter."

"Very well." Zorin sighed and brought his fingers to his temples, rubbing them softly. "Bring us to light speed as soo as possible. Make sure she'd been briefed before we arrive. How long before we exit to real space?"

"Twelve hours, Sir." The young man took a breath and finally began to relax in his posture.

"Captain Yaran, you have the deck. I'll be in my private quarters until further notice." The Vice-Admiral stood up slowly, running his fingers once through his shimmering blonde hair, and then began his journey towards the one place he could concentrate and reach clarity regarding the battle that was ahead.

[Serena Laran]

The captain ignored the man sitting next to her, instead concentrating on the new mission that was thrust upon her. Not that she wasn't up for it, it took a lot to catch Serena flat footed. Belkadan. She'd never seen it before, and had only read the name once or twice on star charts.

It was an out of the way Outer Rim planet, if she wasn't mistaken. Serena finally registered that Pallaton had spoken to her, and she turned to look at him. "My command has been transferred to the Exeter. I was ordered to take you with me. Admiral Hexes himself. You've caught the attention of someone pretty high on the food chain. I'd be careful if I were you."

The shuttle Tierphan arrived on the Exeter, and Captain Laran was quickly striding towards the bridge, an officer at her elbow, briefing her on the SSD and the business at hand. Cadet Pallaton stood on the flight deck, a little lost, until another pilot ran over to show him to his new squadron. Angel Squadron consisted of TIE Devastators, as had Red Squadron on the Dominus.

Serena arrived on the bridge, and was pleased that the officers greeted her in the proper fashion. She nodded to the Lieutenant at the helm, and sat as the battle group jumped to lightspeed. The Veflon sector was twelve hours away....

She got to her feet after a few moments, and nodded briskly to her first officer. "I've had a long day. Take the bridge, and inform me when we are close to real space. I'll be in my quarters." He acknowledged the order, and took her chair as she left the bridge.

Now she had time to study the charts, the books, and take a nap as well. A well deserved one, at that.