Courage Under Fire

"Sir, new enemy ships inbound!" Saye looked sharply at the tactical officer stationed at terminal 2B. The man was in his high thirties with brown hair and blue eyes.

"We have also detected the Courageous moving closer." Another officer reported in, this man from 1A.

"I want a scan done on that ship, and continue firing at the Rebels until the Courageous comes within range." Saye grimaced another bolt slammed into the shielding of the Vindictive, sending ripples through the protective layer.

"Sir, Lancer is under fire."

"Sir, both Strikes are under fire." Saye grimaced again at the two reports coming in, both from different stations.

"I want to make sure we are at a full stop, then tilt until the aft guns can fire at the Rebels. I want to shift drive power to shielding boosts once we are done. Tell the Assassins to pull out of their Ackbar Slash and commnce firing on the Dauntless until they are in range of that new cruiser, then fire at that."

"Sir, we have detected multiple fighters around the ship, and we have lost contact with all other ships." The grim report came in, and Saye's face paled.

"Well then, let's hope our Captain's know what to do."

"Sir, the Admiral is sending the havoc into position." The warning was one Aaron did not understand. Looking quizically at his lieutenant, he asked for an explaination.

"Sir, the Havoc will silence all communications within a two million kilometer radius, effectively shutting down communication. Unfortunately, it works both ways. They can't hear each other, and we can't hear each other. Both sides are now deaf." The lieutenant gave Aaron the facts, allowing him to make some last minute orders.

"I want all drives cut, and a boost on the shielding." He signaled all of the ships under his command, making sure they understood the order. Looking at Lieutenant Fisher, he said, "Lieutenant, that inclues us."

"Yes, sir. Right away, sir." The lieutenant gave a salute before turning away, muttering to himself.

Meanwhile, the battle raged outside. Aaron's squadrons had lost only one man, and his ships appeared to be holding out. His Neb-B was at 70% shielding, his Assault at 81.5%, the CR90 at 79%, and the Salvation herself at 86% shielding, though the numbers were dropping faster than Aaron would have liked. At least with the Courageous backing him up, he might be able to pull out of this.

The battle raged in the forward view port of the Courageous. The massive battleship was accelerating at its normal slow rate but as it picked up speed so did it pick up inertia.

"Captain, make your course three one seven degrees ,plus three degrees Inclination. Fire prepare the dorsal port thrusters for maximum burn."

Captain Kensly made the course change and preparations to fire all the thrusters. He nodded to an awaiting Holt. The admiral then entered in a command and brought up a display of the ships massed before him. three hundred kilometers. and closing. Turbolasers and ion cannon blasts now struck the shields of Courageous.

"OK gentlemen we will only get one pass with this. Charge the dorsal weapons capacitors to one hundred and fifty percent. Get the hot and bothered. When they are right at the point of exploding stop the charge and await orders."

The men and women manning the weapons stations nodded a confirmation then went to their task.

"Chief, I need those conduits fixed. We need to get out of here."

"Aye sir"

The Chief of the boat responded then went to yelling at some engineering officer who was running messages to the DC crews. All comms ship wide were useless at the moment. The ships runners were getting their exercise today. The speed of the massive ship climbed and climbed on its trip to engage the enemy ships.

"Sir we are peaking at maximum safe resistance."

The ship had reached its top speed and anything past the rated resistance unit rating could damage the ships Structure.

"Push it Captain When we hit seventy RU let me know."

The ship shuttered a little as the mass of the vessel moved along at speeds far beyond its rated speed. Massive barrages of turbolaser fire was now striking the forward shields. The Ship had moved within fifty kilometers and was closing on the Imperial group fast.

Saye watched as the Courageous moved closer, going much faster than any ship that size had the right to. Looking closely, he noticed it was speeding for his attack group.

"Fire up the engines, we need to get out of here!" He yelled at the officers, impatient. If the Courageous slammed into his Star Destroyer, it would all be over. "Send TIE 3 to signal the other ships that the Courageous is incoming. I want them out fast!"

"Sir, we have no communication with anything outside our own ship!" One of the officers reminded him.

"Well then shoot them! Anything to get their attention!"

"Sir, yes sir!" The officer responded, keying in a command.

Seconds later, turbolaser fire from the ISD hit the other Imperial Cruisers. One shot was fired at each cruiser, hopefully alerting them to the incoming ship.

"Sir, engines are at full charge!"

"Let's get moving, then!" Saye shouted, allowing himself a slight relief as the ISD started moving away from the incoming ship, which by now was probably going to quickly to change direction easily.

Saye looked out of the viewport, watching as several of his ships began to move away from the Courageous, scattering like fish being pursued by a shark. Saye watched tensely, waiting to see if his ships would make it. First the Carracks, then the TIES and the Lancer, then the Enforcer, and a Strike Cruiser. Two were left, Dodson and the interdcitor. Saye crossed his index and thumb and crossed his heart, the Anaxsi symbol of luck. He was hoping they would make it out in time.

'Sir, the Courageous is approaching the enemy at more than her maximum speed." An officer reported in, pointing out the distant hulk of the enormous ship.

'Fire at maximumm rate at the Imperial ships. Let's try to knock some of them out for Admiral Holt. I think I know what he is up to. Select targets 1,2, and 4,"he said, pointing to the two Carracks and a Strike Cruiser ID'd as the Lucky Shot.

"Sir, firing is commencing."

Aaron watched as more turbolaser bolts and ion bolts flew out from the Salvation in a dazzling display of beautiful light and deadly destruction. Shot after shot slammed into the Imperial ships, expending their energy catastophically on the shields of the targeted cruisers. The shields wouldn't hold out for very long.

Aaron looked on in satisfaction as some of his other ships got the message, adding their own firepower to the artful display of death. Aaron almost pitied the Imperials in the ship, but remembered his mother and father, both killed by Imperials. His father had been shot and dumped in a ditch after spending years in an Imperial prison, and his mother had died of a flu which the Imperials had refused to supply a vaccine for. Now Aaron fought for the Alliance to Restore the Republic, remembering his parents with every imperial he killed.

"Sir, if we continue the barrage for much longer, the guns will overload." Lieutenant Fisher reported in, appearing almost silently next to Aaron.

"Fire at max until it is unsafe, then revert to the usual lapse, but stagger the fire to punch through the shields." Aaron replied, watching as the man eagerly obeyed his orders. What's your secret, Lieutenant? You're more eager to kill Imperials than I am. Aaron thought. But that was a different matter for different times;times of piece, not war.

"Sir, reverting to normal lapse, staggering commencing." The lieutenant reported in again, relaying the report to Aaron.

"Good, good. Those Imperials won't last long!"

The Courageous was moving fast into the fire of the imperial line. The ship was holding together but reports of access hatches popping off walls and other small damage could be found through out the ship. Holt held on to the rain tightly. He looked around at the men and women under his command. All looking back at him puzzled as to what he was doing. He set his sight on the imperial who were now moving away from his course.

“Brace yourself everyone, This will be rough.”

The men and women on the command deck pause a second then tightly fastened themselves into their seats. The reactor could be heard pulsing in the back ground. The decks shook creaked with every pulse.

“Tactical, I need a twenty five second chrono on the main display. Start It on my mark."

"Navigation, On my mark I want all engined to full stop. I want a three second hard burn on the port dorsal thrusters fallowed by a two second burn on the starboard ventral thrusters. At plus seven I need a full burn on the starboard dorsal and port ventral thrusters for three seconds. At seventeen I need a full burn on all reverse thrusters."

"Communications, At plus three transmit a termination code on channel alpha seven four. Encrypt it with Delta four encryption. At plus eight Transmit to all fleet channels to concentrate fire on the interdictor. Have the rest of the task force go to formation delta one."

"Chief, What I.m about to do is tricky there will be damage. Have all DC crews who are not working on the power conduit ready to deal with stress fractures and hull leaks."

"Weapons, target the interdictor. Fire all dorsal weapons at her shields and engines. At plus twenty five 'if we are all still here' weapons are free.”

The crew prepared for for what ever admiral Holt had in mind. The main display showed a large six digit countdown set to twenty five second. The ship was less than twenty kilometers from the imperial now. A panel to Holts left exploded in sparks and fire. The ship could not take much more of this. He looked over the notes on his monitor. If his math was correct this would be one something for the textbooks. He looked once more at his notes then at the chrono.

“Now!”

The chrono started counting down. The hum of the engines stopped at the power to them was cut. The massive ship continued to move of its own inertia towards the imperial ships not frantically moving to get out of the Courageous' way. Blue fire shot out of the dorsal thrusters. They had been charged past maximum and the power nearly burnt out a number of them. The massive hulk began to roll. A moment later ventral thrusters fires speeding the roll of the ship. The massive horseshoe like shape of the Lucrehulk had rolled sixty degrees and was continuing to roll. As the ship neared eight degrees off its horizontal axis, thrusters fired slowing the roll and bringing every single weapons battery on the dorsal hull into firing arch with the imperial vessels.

Communications transmitted the signal over the jammed frequencies. One small band was open which let the signal through to the Havoc which manually shut down the jamming projector allowing communications once again in the system. All four communications officer relayed orders to ships and on the fleet wide channel.

The dreadnaughts which had been left behind by Courageous' maneuver not spit off to show their broadsides to the imperials. Each ship plated a firing solution for the Interdictor and opened fire.

The gunships which had been able to keep up with the massive ship as it sped into the imperial line now formed up behind the Courageous and targeted fighters which had now moved to engage the battleship.

The inertia of the ship carried it into line with the fleeing ships and Courageous unleashed a massive salvo onto the Interdictor. Traveling too fast for a long shot the ship moved out of firing arch before the interductor could be destroyed. The massive barrage raining fire down on its shielding and engines.

Like clock work the reverse thrusters fired slowing the ship down. It had traveled another ten kilometers past the imperials and was now on the back side of the engagment. The Imperial were caught in a cross fire between the dreadnaughts and the dauntless cruiser to their front and the Courageous and gunships to their aft.

The ship sat motionless now. Still at its eighty seven degree off angle position. The bridge was quiet. Many consoles were dark and without power. Red flashing lights filled the ship. Admiral Holt looked around as the lights came back online.

“Damage chief?”

The Chief looked over his display. The ship had nearly broken in the maneuver. But she held. Multiple levels had been opened to vacuum but were being sealed now. Behind in the distance the barrage of turbolaser fire could be seen pounding the Interdictor.

“Navigation’s Level us out and make your course two one seven. Tactical. Launch what is left of the fighters. Weapons plot the Destroyer weapons free.”

"Lieutenant! What the hell are those Rebels up to now!?" Saye yelled as the distant bulk of the Courageous continued to plow ahead and suddenly start to spin.

"Sir, I have no idea. Nothing close to this maneuver has ever been done before, at least in the records of any Imperial ships."

"I have an idea. Lieutenant, take us to sector 1832. I think that son of a mynock Holt is trying to flank us." Saye said, pounding his fist against his captain's chair.

"Sir, communications are back online." A comm officer shouted from the other side of the room, and a small cheer went up.

"The Noose is taking heavy fire, and her shields are almost gone!" One of the tactical officers joined in, pointing out the rapid deterioration of the interdictor's shields. As Saye watched, the shields vanished, and the turbolaser bolts slashed through the ship, igniting small fires that were quickly burned out by the vaccum of space.

He could see tiny dots from the thrusters of escape pods as the ship exploded, ripping the entire ship into three parts.

"All ships, form up in sector 1832. The Vindictive in the center with both Carracks and a Strike on starboard and the Enforcer and The lucky Shot on port. Once in position, port batteries will fire on the Courageous, starboard on the defenders. I want both sides positioned under the hull to provide a better fire arc for all guns. Starboard ships boost starboard shield power by taking 40 percent from te port, port ships do the same with your port shielding. TIEs and the Lancer, reform the picket line in two parts, starboard and port." Saye knew that his ship wasn't built for the broadside attack, but it was his best shot with the Star Destroyers low maneuvering capabilities.

"Sir, Strikes report seventy two and seventy three percent shielding, Carracks at sixty nine and seventy, Enforcer at seventy five, Lancer at sixty three, and we are at eighty one percent. TIE 1 has only seven fighters, and TIE 6 has four, but those are the only losses so far." The tactical lieutenant reported in, and Saye grimaced at the low numbers.

As the ships formed up, pounding at both sides, he gave a final order. "Port and starboard ships, fire at anything on your respective sides." He sat back, hands gripping the chair so tightly his knuckles were white. He began to question if they would get out of this alive.

Aaron looked at the Courageous speeding across space, and wondered what the hell Holt was doing now. He simply shrugged, rolled his eyes, and was about to start giving out orders to his crew when the comms came back on and Holt gave the order to concentrate fire on the Interdictor.

"You heard him everyone, concentrate fire on the Interdictor cruiser in sector Two-Niner-Three."

Aaron watched as his men joined the assault on the cruiser. He looked at the monitor, watching the cruisers shields drop rapidly until they finally winked out of existence. There was a moment's pause, and then the barrage returned, ripping the defenseless ship in three, igniting fires and causing havoc.

In the distance, he could see the Imperials trying to regroup, forming a double defense on the port and starboard sides of the main cruiser, the Vindictive.

"Concentrate fire in on-two-four-three staggers at the Enforcer cruiser." He told his crew. Switching comms, he said, "Captain Iholl, concentrate all fire on the port Strike Cruiser. Captain Hijj, concentrate fire at the port cannons along the Star Destroyer. Captain Deyil, concentrate fire on the port fighters." Aaron shut off the comm, and turned his head to watch the new salvos aimed at the Imperial formation. Shot after shot slammed into the three ships, reaching hungrily at the hull.

"Sir, Hammer reports sixty five percent shielding, Brethren reports seventy percent shielding, and Glouster reports sixt percent shielding." The tactical officer gave the reports. Aaron grimaced at the low numbers, hoping they would hold. Looking on at the impressive barrage hitting the Imperials, he had hope that he could outlast them.

Greth stood watching the activity of the bridge. The Overlord and Scythe Squadron had reverted from hyperspace five light years from the Courageous battle. The group needed to reform and prepare for the jump in. The ships of the squadron mover into a standard line formation spreading out over two hundred thousand kilometers. six destroyers to each flank staggered one destroyer to three escorts.

"Sir, All ships have moved into position. We are ready to jump."

Moff Greth smiled and waved his hand to the captain. The officer walked away and proceeded to co-ordinate the jump. The line positioned themselves then jumped to hyperspace for the Courageous.

The Interdictor broke apart as courageous plotted an attack course on the Star Destroyer. The Courageous was hurt. The maneuver had weakened a brace between the core and ring. It would not have been an issue if the ship was not headed back into the battle and oncoming fire of the imperial group. The imperials were holding their own against the combined group of Captain Nomarr's force and the dreadnaughts of his group. The Vindicators short ranged weapons were holding fighter and bombers off while the more powerful weapons of the strike and carrack cruisers worked on the dreadnaughts and dauntless. The Destroyers heavy batteries were pounding the Courageous now. Blue and green bolts splashed over her shielding in an attempt to lower them.

"Sir, the ship is sealed."

The Chief smiled and went back to his work. The damage control crews had sealed all of the hull leaks and braced the damaged hull struts. They were not pretty but they would hold until the engineering crew could get the power conduits back online. Holt watched the battle in the distance. The Courageous was back in weapons range now and her gunners were picking targets of opportunity. This was keeping the imperials on a defensive stance but was doing nothing to shorten the life of any of their ships. As much as Holt hated to kill the crew of a ship it was his job. and it seemed the imperials out there had no problem with killing his people.

"Tactical, Have all gunners focus on those strike cruisers. Ops, get those fighters away from that Vindicator. have them reform and move on the opposite flank of that destroyer and keep them away from that vindicator and lancer."

Holt went back to watching the battle. The imperials were giving the good fight but his force was too much for them to handle. Why was the imperial still fighting? He paused for a moment then it hit him.

"Communications, Open me a channel to the Salvation."

"Sir, incoming communications from the Courageous. It appears to be from Admiral Holt." A comms officer spoke up, having to yell over the shaking of the large ship.

"Put him through and reroute the signal to my display." Aaron replied, composing himself for the incoming message.

The Admiral's form appeared on his display, and Aaron gave a small salute before nodding to Lieutenant Fisher. The signal was clear.Take over for a couple minutes.

"Good day, Admiral," Aaron said, noting the irony of his statement. "What are your orders?"

Captain Nomarrs face appeared on Holts display. The man greeted him and awaited him to speak. Admiral Holt thought for an instance that what he was feeling was just battle stress. But the Imperials reaction to losing their interdictor and being over powered, even if it was slowly, did not set right with him.

"Captain, The actions of this imperial commander puzzle me. I am afraid the little dog is just leading us into the big dogs yard. Keep your eyes open and watch your flanks."

Holt closed the channel then communicated with his dreadnaughts to do the same. He had a bad feeling. He had been in many battles but not one where the rebels had this kind of numbers majority and an imperial did not run. Either they were dealing with a commander possessed by the ghost of Tarkin himself or things were not as they appear.

Saye paced the bridge impatiently, wondering whether Greth was on his way to help, or if he was sipping some horrible drink and leaving Saye out to dry.

"Sir, The Lucky Shot is at sixty percent shielding and dropping." Saye cursed as he watched the status of Dodson's shields. He had already lost many men when the Interdictor exploded, and he didn't want to lose the men aboard the Lucky Shot, especially Dodson. Over the past couple days, Dodson's cheerfulness and logical way of thinking had grown on Saye, who was always ready to try the unexpected.

"Sir, TIE 1 has been completely destroyed." Saye grimaced again. 12 more men would be joining those who were on the Noose when she exploded. 12 more families were now left with a giant hole in their life.

"Starboard guns, fire in sychronization of the halves. Port guns, fire in staggers at targets one through four." He calmly gave out the order, though he was anything but calm. If Greth didn't arrive soon...Saye shook his head, banishing the thought.

"Sir, we are now at seventy percent shielding,wait, make that sixty seven." A tactical officer said, increasing Saye's worries. In the distance, he could see the massive bulk of the Courageous, which seemed to be bearing his assault well. Shot after shot, salvo after salvo slammed into it, but still it fired back like a stubborn Jawa. On the other side, he could see the Rebel ships firing back steadily at his own massive assault, though they seemed to be handling it worse then their ally on the other side.

Finally, he made on last announcement. "All guns, give 'em hell." And give the Rebels hell they did. More shots continued to slam into the cruisers, only to be stopped short by the ever-weakening shields. Maybe he could hold out long enough for Greth to come, and once Scythe Squadron was here, it would all be over.

"Sir, we currently ha-" The lieutenant's report was cut off as he had to steady himself aboard the shaking ship. The Imperials seemed to have doubled their efforts, pounding the Rebel ships with amazing barrages of firepower. Despite being outgunned by the larger ARR fleet, they continued to pound away at the Rebel's shields, which were currently faring better than Aaron expected. His order to concentrate the shielding power seemed to have worked, as the shields continued to hol, though they were steadily dropping. Between the Courageous and his own ships, Aaron felt they could easily beat the outgunned Imperial Captain, and hopefully make him pay for the destruction of all of the Rebel ships he had destroyed.

"Sir, we have seventy percent shielding now. Hammer has fifty two, Brethrem has forty nine, and Glouster has forty two." Aaron glanced at his display, which confirmed the numbers. His stomach sunk a little at the low percentages, and he hoped his captains could hold out. The Salvation seemed to be the only ship doing well, as despite the barrage she endured, she was still at seventy percent shielding, more than enough. He thanked every deity he could think of that the Mon Calamari had invented redundant shielding. It was certainly the only thing keeping him alive.

Despite his tactical superiority, with more ships, more guns, and better maneuvering, he still had a nervous feeling in his stomach, just like Admiral Holt. Why was the Imperial staying, despite being massively outgunned? He continued to scan the surrounding space, and he had his tactical crew on high alert, just in case the Imperial had any surprises.

The imperial threw everything they had at Courageous. The shielding began to show signs of deterioration but the Lucrehulk was more than up to the task before it. Holt had closed with the imperial group and was trading heavy fire with the port broadside of the Star Destroyer. The six gunship’s had begun a dance like attack pattern keeping them always on the move and hard to track. As they moved in and out of the oncoming fire stray bolts struck their shielding. Missile salvos would be fired and slam into the destroyer then the gunship’s would bank around for another attack run. One gunship mover out of its attack run and exploded as a heavy turbolaser barrage got lucky and made short work of the small crafts shielding and armor. Holt cursed as the fireball extinguished in the vacuum of space leaving charred debris and frozen bodies.

On the opposite side of the imperial group the four Dreadnaught heavy cruisers closed in and took up broadside positions on the imperial group. Turbolaser slashed out in anger against the imperial ships. The lancers weak shielding was close to giving as was the newer Enforcer cruiser. The later still fighting admirably but the combined fire power of four dreadnaughts were working its modest shielding down. One of the dreads was nearly shield less and the other three were below fifty percent. They still have fight left in them but if the rest of the alliance group did not take out the destroyer they would have to withdraw soon.

"Sir, New contact bearing one seven."

A gasp fallowed the sensor operators words. Holt turned to see the man staring at his screen. The look of horror on his face sent a chill down Holts spine.

"Lieutenant, what do you have?"

The sensor officer looked up from his screen to the questioning face of Admiral Holt. A second sensor officer gasp as the first had done then spoke.

"Sir, Sensors register fifty plus ships reverting from hyperspace."

Holt brought up the sensor information, what he seen was worse than anything he had imagined when he started looking for a trap. It was like Endor all over again.

"Chief, I need those conduits fixed now!"

"Sir, we, uh, have a problem." The tactical officer said in a small voice, which meant trouble of some kind.

"Well, ensign, spit it out before I grow old and die!" Aaron said, flustered by the battle and by the ensign's reaction.

"Sir, over 50 ships have exited hyperspace, and we count several destroyers among them." The ensign said, sending a murmur throughout the bridge.

"Navigation, get the hyperdrive out of here before we get into firing range, comm, send out the retreat signal!"

"Sir its too late! The Hammer and the Brethren are both under heavy fire! Their shields are dropping to quickly!"

"Get us out of here now! We can't afford to wait any longer!" Aaron said, knowing with a sinking feeling that his men might not make it out alive.

"Sir, we have lost the Lancer cruiser!" An ensign called out from a terminal. "She managed to launch all of her escape pods, but not everyone was off the ship when she exploded."

Saye bowed his head in sadness as more Imperial lives were lost. He had expected the Lancer to be destroyed after a heavy bombardment by the Courageous. In fact, he was the one who had ordered the evacuation of the ship.

In the distance, he could see the Rebel cruisers getting bombarded by his own ships, and from the amount of firepower pouring out of the cruisers, he knew it wouldn't be long until the smaller ones were destroyed.

Suddenly, an alarm went off as several new ships exited hyperspace. A cheer went up from tactical as Moff Greth and Scythe Squadron arrived to save the day. His men doubled their efforts, pouring enormous amounts of firepower into the Rebel ships, pounding the shields into submission. In the distance, tiny flashes of light indicated that His Excellency had joined the battle. Saye smiled at the timing of the Moff as Scythe Squadron began to rain lasers onto the shields of the cruisers. Another half an hour and his fleet would have been destroyed, the outgunned ships obliterated by the Rebels superior forces. But now the tide had turned, and the Imperials were getting close to finally destroying the Courageous.

"Open up a comm channel to the Overlord," he told one of the communication officers. "Route it to His Excellency"

As the comm channel opened, and Saye could see Moff Greth on the display, he said, "Your Excellency, your timing is unparalleled. You have arrived just in time to defeat the Rebels."

"Exiting Hyperspace your Excellency." Major Travers handed Moff Greth a data pad linked into the ships main computer. Greth noticed a small vibration then the shutter of the ship coming to a halt. The sound of the ion sub light engines softly replaced the quiet of hyperspace. His pad showed the line forward formation of Scythe Squadron. small representations of the other ships in the area appeared and were tagged showing id and battle assessment. Captain Saye's group was in trouble. It was time to intervene on his behalf.

"Major, Have captain Baroo order the group to fire for effect on the alliance group to Captain Sayes Starboard flank. Then have him move the formation ahead."

With the command a weapons barrage like few have ever seen lanced out with dark intent at the alliance ships. thousands of green and blue bolts covered the distance between Scythe squadron and the alliance group and struck the shielding of ever ship in the group like a tsunami. A nebulon B which had been managing to keep its shielding up under the massive barrage of Captain Sayes group instantly succumb to the barrage disappearing into a ball of fire as the fuel and oxygen in the ship ignited. the ball of fire extinguished as fast as it ignited leaving very burn debris. A moment later a dreadnaught lost its shielding and it too exploded under the barrage. the dauntless and remaining cruisers had survived the first barrage by Scythe. Captain Saye was on a comm channel now awaiting Greth.

"Captain, where is my Interdictor?"

Saye's smile instantly disappeared after the Moff's question. He was hoping Greth wouldn't ask, but nonetheless the Moff had posed the question. now he would have to face the consequences.

"I'm sorry, Your Excellency. The Rebel Admiral pulled a crazy maneuver, and we couldn't get through to the Interdictor to move because our comms were completely shut down. I fired a wrning shot at them, but by the time the capain noticed, it was too late. The interdictor took a full slavo from the Courageous and from the Rebel defense group, and she exploded." He gulped after the last words, dreading any punishment the Moff had in store for him, Knowing the Moff's reputtation, he did not take incompetence lightly.

Joran considered the mans words. He looked over his data pad and highlighted the icon idicating the Courageous. The massive ship was turning to engage the imperial group. He looked away from Captain Saye and spoke to someone off screen.

"Major, Have Baroo break off Judicator and Punisher to assisst Captain Saye with what is left of the defense group. All other ships are to concentrate on the Courageous."

He returned his attention to Saye. The man had been outgunned it seemed. It was as much Greths fault for underestimating the rebels force.

"You have preformed well against a superior force Captain Greth. Tell me captain, what would you have me do with the rebel survivors we pick up here?"