Courage Under Fire

Holt watched the young captain enter the room. He sat and greeted Holt then ask about his assignment.

"To the point I see, Well Captain, here is the situation. thirty hours ago Longbow jumped in damaged and bearing bad news. It seems some imperial bull dog pounded on him out in some forsaken system. He was fire up about them tracing him to Courageous."

Holt brought up a halo display. an image of the Courageous and the surrounding group of ships came on the display.

"I have who know how much time to get two hundred thousand people out of here and get ready for an attack. so, I need someone to assist in protecting Courageous while we finish evacuations efforts and rig the ship for a jump out of here. Are you interested?"

Aaron snorted. "of course I'm interested. I don't want to leave anyone here to die. What will be the ships I am assigned."

he glanced at the holo, looking at the hundreds of ships desperately trying to make their escape. They knew destruction was imminent, and so did Aaron. It would be only a matter of time before more Imperials came, and they would be bringing friends.

He watched as several more dots exited the system. Hopefully he could protect the station as long as he could before he was overpowered. Who knew? They might win.

"Captain, the 334th needs a commander. Captain Vasti fell ill just before they arrived. He has been sent back to Sullust with the others from the med bay. The XO is a good officer but lacks combat experience. I need you to take command of Salvation and lead the battlegroup while we get ready to jump."

Admiral Holt hands Nomar a data pad listing the ships and commanders of the 334th battlegroup.

Aaron glanced over the data pad looking over his new ships. He smiled as he saw that he was in fact in command of that Dauntless cruiser, along with a Neb-B, and Assault Frigate, and a couple of CR90s. It wasn't much, but it would be backed by the Courageous, so there was at least some hope.

"Thank you Admiral. I will make sure I do not disappoint you." He turned to leave, ready to familiarize himself with his new ships. He knew he only had hours until the Imperials came, so should get started.

Holt waited for Captain Nomarr to leave. He sat back and looked over the reports stacked on his desk. They were running out of time. He had so much to do before the Courageous could jump. He turned on his comm transceiver and pressed the transmit button.

"Captain Its time, Have the Dreads detach and take up defensive positions supporting Captain Nomarr and the 334th. Launch the gunship’s and get them patrolling the outer parameter. I don’t want anything sneaking up on us."

Aaron took in the vastness of the Salvation, admiring every detail. His dream ship, from top to bottom. Able to take on an Imperial Star Destroyer, it was one of the most powerful ships the Rebel Alliance had. There were only three in the entire 3rd fleet. Composing himself, he managed to make his way back to the command bridge without having his mouth hang open in awe.

He took in his new lieutenant, Lieutenant Fisher. He was a short man, a good three inches shorter than Aaron. He was bald, with a pink scar across the top of his head. He was a quiet man, but took his orders without question, and in the 5 minutes he had know the man, Aaron knew he was a good second-in-command.

"All right lieutenant. Give me a status update on the Salvation."

"Sir, we still have two hours before we can detach from the Courageous."

"Shields, weapons, power updates?" Aaron asked, raising his eyebrow. The man hadn't even looked at a datapad before answering. Even Kilsy couldn't have managed that.

Once again, he responded immdiately. "We have full shields and full power running to weaponry. The drive system is at ninety-five percent due to a power fluctuation, but we're working on it. We need to load a couple of fighters before detaching."

As Aaron saw the man speak, he realized there was a cyborg implant behind his left ear, meaning he was connected to the very fabric of the Salvation. Leaning over, Aaron commed the other captains signaling them to move into position. If the Imperials came, they would be ready.

Captain Tyberius Saye was looking out at the stars flashing by when navigation commed in.

"Sir, we will be arriving in 30 seconds."

After downing a presented cocktail, Saye watched as once again he exited hyperspace. He cracked a small smile, seeing his attack force. An Enforcer, 2 Carracks, 3 Assassin Corvettes, an Interdictor, a Lancer, and a Strike Cruiser. He knew Dodson would join him with the Lucky Shot shortly. He had allowed the man to visit his family before fighting the Courageous. He claimed it was a custom for him to say his good-byes before a battle, usually over the holo. He had said he wanted to leave a good-bye if he were to die.

"All right everybody, this is Line Captain Tyberius Saye. I want the Enforcer and the two Carracks on my port, the two Strikes and the three Assassins on my starboard. The Interdictor can line up behind me. As soon as Dodson arrives, we jump." He sat back, awaiting the last ship, knowing that the Courageous would be in a lot of trouble when he arrived, and even more when Greth followed.

Greth sat comfortable in his chair looking out over the six monitors laid out around him. five meters below the Moffs command section catwalk the command deck was alive with officers completing their last minute departure checks. The entire bulk of Scythe Squadron now sat posed to jump. Saye had expected it was not needed but he wanted to make a show for the rebels. He meant to send a message. Make them understand that he and the Perinn sector would not be toyed with.

Overlord sat at the intersection of opposing chevrons, twelve destroyers in all. twenty four smaller escorts made the up out prongs of the double chevron formation. From a distance above they looked like a skull and crossbones with [I]Overlord [/I, as ]the skull looking out on the unsuspecting foe. Just port of Overlord sat the Abolisher. She had recently been commanded by Captain Saye, and the man had requested it be assigned to his group once repaired. If thing went well with the attack he would indeed give the ship to the captains group.

The last of the ships reported status green. they were in position and ready to jump. Out in the distance small pinprick of light gave away the tiny TIE Avengers and TIE Defenders of the 238th Fighter Wing. The hyperspace capable Avengers ad Defenders had take up position in the center of the forward inverted chevron and awaited orders to jump.

Greth sipped his tea and watched everything unfold on his monitors. From below he heard the ships captain begin his final check list. after a short question and reply session with his crew he issued the order to jump. Greth watched as the monster that was Scythe Squadron jumped into hyperspace in unison. A monster about to breath its doom fire down on the Courageous.

"Sir, His Excellency Moff Joran Greth has jumped to hyperspace," the navigation officer said.

Saye was sitting in his captain's chair, keeping a hawk's eye on the monitor. His squadron was already en route to the last known position of the Courageous, which was a short jump away. He trusted his other ships had jumped in unison, but at light speed, there were no communications. If all had gone well, his entire squadron would jump out of hyperspace ready to pounce on the defenders. He frowned, mulling over the Moff's orders. He had said to engage the Courageous, but she wouldn't be undefended. An Imperial Star Destroyer wouldn't be able to attack the Courageous on its own, at least if the captain wanted to live. But if there were defenders, he was in a lot of trouble. If he chose to focus all fire at the Courageous, he would lose many ships to the defenders. He figured he should engage the defenders first, hopefully out of the firing range of the Courageous. Once Scythe Squadron arrived, Greth could easily handle the Courageous, but Saye's own force would be decimated by the monster. Given the short distance between where Saye had formed up and the Courageous, he would have to make an instantaneous decision. Attacking the defense fleet might spare his forces, but it would mean directly disobeying the Moff's order, which could result in a court martial. On the other hand, a court martial wouldn't matter if Saye was dead.

Finally, he figured he would attack the defenders, if there were any, first. If he had the Abolisher with him, he would be able to allow Filmor and whatever port or starboard side escorts he had, to attack the defenders while he concentrated on the Courageous. He wished had time to upgrade the Star Destroyer's reactor to allow heavier power output to the shields, but there was no time. It would be all he could do to engage the defenders, if there were any.

Admiral Holt enjoyed his morning tea in a brief moments of peace. Things had been hectic since Longbow entered had returned with news of an impending Imperial assault. All but the skeleton crew needed to operate the ship in battle had been evacuated back to Sullust. The final preparations were under way to jump away. Only the Longbow’ which had been patched up for the jump’, and the Selfless remained of the forces jumping before the main Task Force.

The Courageous had prepared for a fight it seemed now would not come. Three hours and were safe, he thought as he looked over the morning duty roster. It was odd to see so few names. He placed the data pad on his desk and rubbed hit temples. It had been nearly thirty hours since he slept. Not from lack of trying, he just could not sleep.

Holt walked down the access hall to the command center of the Courageous. The massive deck was fifty meters across and filled with communications and sensor consoles. In the center the bank of navigations and tactical consoles sat like an island in a large metallic ocean. Holts raised command chair platform sat just behind the island of consoles. Two other seats flanked his to the left. Commander Dorna Forlon sat in his chair awaiting him to take command from her and the third watch. An ensign came to attention then shouted out.

“Admiral on the bridge.”

This was a normal thing. Holt was not a stickler for protocol or procedure but the action of calling to attention as he entered the command deck was more for his crew than him. Commander Dorna Forlon stood and walked down the ram to greet Holt as he neared the command podium. Her long blond hair rustled as air from the ventilation passed by her. She was striking and beautiful but Holt knew that was just a enigma. She was a warrior thru and thru just like her father.

“Good morning Admiral, Here are this mornings logs. I have cleared Longbow and selfless to jump away and have brought all defending vessels to condition two.”

Holt took the data pad and looked it over briefly. Not a lot was on the log that was not on his morning data feed. Captain Nomarr had taken command of the Salvation and had set up a defensive perimeter. All non-essential personnel were off Courageous and leaving out with the Longbow. All hands had been rotated out in four hour shifts to keep them fresh. Now it was just a waiting game. His attention fell back to his third watch commander.

“Very well Commander, Send for the captain and then you may get some rest. I expect you back on deck by sixteen hundred..”

Dorna saluted then walked away to the comm station. She carried out her orders then left the deck. Shortly there after Captain Kinsley Entered the command deck and came to sit beside Holt.

“Morning Admiral,”

Morning Tom, did you get any rest?”

Captain Kinsley looked at Holt and smiled.

“Slept like a log .”

The tow laughed then went about the business of preparing the task force for departure. Longbow and Selfless made the jump and with them the last of the civilian and non-essential personnel. Now the business of war took over. The atmosphere changed from one of worry to one of trained calmness. If the Imperial showed up before they could jump the men and women of Task Force 32 would be ready.

Saye was pacing the bridge, waiting impatiently for the Vindictive to exit hyperspace. He had a cocktail in hand, occasionally taking a sip from it, marveling at how the cocktail moved at lightspeed with him, allowing him to drink.

"Sir, we are exiting hyperspace. All units are on stand-by." Navigation commed in, giving Saye the signal he had been waiting for.

"10 Seconds...5 seconds...4...3...2...1...hyperspace exited succesfuly, and all other units have exited in position."

Saye sighed in relief as the lieutenant reported in. His sigh quickly gave way to a gulp when he saw the Rebel fleet stationed on a perimeter outside of the Courageous.

"Launch all fighter squadrons and set up a picket around our ships. I will focus my firepower on that Dauntless, Dodson, focus on that Neb-B, Hal and Bornil, focus fire on that CR90 and the Assault Frigate, respectively.. Jol, I want you to set up position behind the fighter squadrons. Ilro, I want you to join Bornil on an attack on that Assault Frigate. Captains Gilroy, Defa, and Zixl, I want you to pull an Ackbar Slash between the Dauntless and the Assault Frigate." He rattled off the names of the captains. "Captain Rew, I want you to activate the gravity well generator so that nothing gets away. Captain Yren, I want you to join Dodson on that Neb-B." He scanned over his new group making sure he had the names right. The Carracks were attacking the CR90 and the Assault Frigate, the two Strikes were attacking the Neb-B, the Enforcer was attacking the Assault, Saye was attacking the Dauntless, and Rew was keeping the enmy from hyperspacing. As he made a mental checklist, the first turbolaser blasts lanced out from his ships, firing the first shots of the Battle of the Courageous.

"Sir, enemy ships inbound!" The ensign's report was an unneccessary understatement. From his viewport, Aaron could see the menacing shapes hyperspace in, and they soon began firing shots at his own cruisers.

"Okay Fisher, let's unload on those Imps." He said good-naturedly, smiling at his lieutenant's frown as Aaron completely ignored protocol, adressing Lieutenant Fisher solely by his last name.

"I want the Hammer to commence firing on the two Strike Cruisers and the Brethren to fire on the Carracks. Also, the Brethren should boost shield power to the connecting spar; the Imperials will most likely concentrate fire there. I want the Hammer to turn into the Assault to provide less surface area for hits. I want the Glouster to fall back under the protection of our hull. If we're lucky, we can get a tractor beam locked on any ships that try to engage." Taking another look at the tactical, Aaron changed his orders.

"I want the Brethren to attack that Lancer. After that, send in all available squadrons to attack the fighters there. Lieutenant, I want a status update on shielding and a check on the range of the Courageous. I want to be able to know if the Courageous can hit those Imps."

"Sir, the range of the Courageous implies that she can hit the Imperial forces." Lieutenant Fisher replied, checking his implant to determine the range.

"Good. Now, let's see what those Imperials can do."

In the distance an explosion of light was the first indicator that they had company. The next was the proximity alarm sounding and the warning klaxons sounding. A sensor officer sounded off.

"Commander, new contacts bearing two ninety one degrees fifteen degrees positive declination."

Commander Filmoor stepped up into his operations position and began To give orders.

"Set condition red, all hands to action stations. Ops, launch the Havoc, we need them deaf out there. Tactical I want a solution on that Imp star yesterday."

He pointed from man to man giving orders. He turned to look at Captain Kensley and Admiral Holt. The two men sat looking over halo displays positioned around the Command Podium like a bubble. They were looking over incoming threat assessments and tactical data on each of the new contacts. Holt stood and walked off the podium and to the command station in the center of the bridge.

"Very good commander. I will take it from here. Please assist tactical, I need them on target."

Commander Filmoor nodded then walked away to take his place at tactical. He sat in a seat between the seven weapons officers. They had begun communicating with the gun crews and Targeting had complied a solution. He looked over at Admiral Holt who had now been joined by Captain Kensley. Commander Forlon had come in and was sent to the Ops station to assist Colonel Myphes with fighter operations. Holt was fastening into the command harness and engaging the halo displays of the command Station. Captain Kensley had moved to communications and was proceeding with elint operations. Reports began to fill the air as the officers of the Courageous reported back to Holt.

"We have a targeting solution admiral. Weapons are hot all guns stand ready."

"Havoc away sir, ETA two minutes ten seconds till she is in position.

"Fleet wide channel open sir,"

Holt took a second to gather himself. he listened as other stations reported and as officers gave orders. His crew was a well oiled machine. Each knew their place and their responsibility. They lived, trained, and had fun together. they were family and when it came time to fight they fought for each other, and did it well.

"This is Admiral Holt. We have been discovered and the Imperials have forced our hand here ladies and gentlemen. I intend on kicking these imps like they chewed my favorite shoes. We will engage and force them to tuck their tails between what is left of their ass and run home. Engage targets at will and keep this formation tight. Good luck everyone, may the force be with us this day."

Holt looked over to tactical and at the face of Commander Filmoor. He was waiting on orders. as were most of the other senor officers.

"Hold your fire commander. Navigation. reroute weapons power to engines. Shields to full lets get a bit closer shall we."

The corresponding officers did as they were ordered and the Courageous broke lose of the grip of deep space which had held her for almost seven months now. posed to pounce on the Imperial fleet. Holt looked over at the chief of the boat manning the engineering station. he was communicating with DC crews, and engineering teams. The ship was ready to jump now but the reactor conduit had not been merged at the anchorage links. The power conduits which had feed the dreadnaughts now for seven months had not yet been terminated. This would have to be done before they could jump.

"Havoc in position engaging Elint suite."

Silence hit the com channels like a brick. The modified freighter set off a massive RF bust overpowering every radio wave within two million kilometers. The massive power cell wrapped in a induction coil thirty meters in diameter sent out radio waves over every channel imaginable. Sic A-wing fighters took up position around the freighter waiting on the inevitable attack.

"Com have the rest of the 31st move into delta formation. Ops, launch all fighters."

Each officer did their part and the massive hulk that was the courageous was bearing down on the imperials with four dreadnaughts and six gunships in tow.

"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?"

Saye thought about the question the Moff had given him. He was a little relieved that the Moff hadn't severely punished him for the loss of the Noose.

"Well,Your Excellency, I would interrogate them see if they have any valuable information. They might know of Rebel plans that intelligence hasn't picked up on yet, such as invasions, fleet movement, that sort of thing. If they give us any good information, we might be able to strike the Rebels where they are vulnerable, or defend against possible attacks." He said, giving the question his best shot.

Moff Greth took a drink from the table before him and sat back. he sipped slowly from his cup as Saye answered.

"Then that is what you will do captain. After we have finished off the rebels I will give you the honor of interrogating them. Until then pull your ships out away from the rebel formation. Let us save what is left of your men."

In the distance he could see Punisher and Judicator laying waste to the remaining dreadnaughts. The Dauntless and Assault frigate were still putting up a formidable fight as they attempted to escape Greths trap. The small gunships were moving back to support the Courageous. they were much to fast to waste time on. His gunners time was better spent targeting the Lucrehulk and dauntless. Greth looked back to the image of Captain Saye.

"Your performance in these tasks has been commendable Captain Saye. Once we get back to Valc VII have dinner with me. Let us discuss your future with the Perinn Sector Fleet."

"Yes, Your Excellency," Saye replied, shutting of the communications, relieved that he had not been punished. In fact, the Moff had hinted of a promotion, but Saye knew not to get his hopes up. His four years in the Navy had taught him that much.

"You heard His Excellency! Let's get moving!" He relayed the order to his surviving captains, and almost keyed the button for The Noose before he forgot that she, like the Lancer, was nothing more than debris.

His fleet started to move away, drifting away from the combat zone, firing at the remaining Rebel ships. He could see the hulk of the Noose in the distance, torn apart, melted, and scrapped. His TIEs started to move near his hangars, ready to enter them as soon as they were clear of the battle zone.

Saye looked forward to the interrogation of the Rebel prisoners, and the dinner with the Moff. He continued to think about the possible promotion ahead, trying to guess what ships he would be assigned. He had lost two in the assault, but the Lancer was easier to replace then the Interdictor. He had never liked the Lancers anyways. Not enough shielding to work as a good anti-figher ship. Bantha fodder was more in its line of work.

He turned towards the battle, now distant flashes of light and small explosions quickly extinguished by the vaccum of space. He had made it out alive.

Admiral Holt watched as his ships were tore apart. He had taken his ship out to flank the imperial group in an attempt to win the battle swiftly. Now his decision had cost thousands of men and women their lives. Courageous was turning to engage the new force of destroyers. The shielding held for the time being but as soon as he became their primary target that would change.

Captain Nomarr had made the right decision to try to run without consulting Him. Any commander worth their pay grade could see fighting was hopeless. In the distance the massive dagger shape of a Praetor star Battle cruiser loomed like a vibroblade about to cut into flesh. He had seen first hand what such a ship could do during the clone wars. The Courageous was a formidable ship and Holt would put it against any ship short of a Star Dreadnaught any day. However the Praetor was flanked by twelve other destroyers.

"tactical, Have all gunners make their target that battle cruiser. Take us in nice and slow and plot a jump vector out of the system on out attack heading. Weapons to half power. Divert all the power we can to shielding as we approach. Chief, How long on the hyperdrive?"

The gruff looking master chief looked over his screen then spoke to someone in engineering. He yelled at them to work faster and threatened someone with something Holt could not make out. The chief turned and spoke.

"Seven minutes sir, I will have you power to your hyperdrive in seven minutes."

The chief slammed his pad on the console and ran to the turbo lift. It seemed he was going to deal with the issue himself. Holt turned his attention to the display once again. Two of the destroyers were breaking off and moving to engage Nomarr and the rest of his ships. The others were moving to target the Courageous.

Devik Boyle stood at the bridge of the Judicator, surveying the destruction. He had arrived with Moff Greth and the rest of Scythe Squadron, and had been ordered to attack the remaining cruisers defending the Courageous. At the moment, the Judicator was bombarding the Dauntless cruiser, which was stubbornly putting up a fight. To his starboard flank, he could see the Punisher, a Tector Star Destroyer, pounding away at the Assault Frigate. The small ship was firing back, but was turning its port flank into the fire, concentrating the shield power. Looking at the display, Devik saw the CR90 fleeing around the backside of the Dauntless cruiser, hiding behind its massive bulk. He guessed that the Assault Frigate would be trying the same maneuver.

"Captain Djor, fire full bombardments in a gamma-three pattern at the assault frigate's stem, port stabilizer, and command center. Make sure she doesn't escape under the Dauntless. I will fire on the port side of the Dauntless to make sure the frigate cannot pass under." He relayed the order to the captain before concentrating again on the Dauntless.

"All TIE squadrons, take out those fighters. I want a delta-V attack pattern broken into three flights of two squadrons. Once one flight attacks, speed through their fighter formation. The next flight, attack the fighters if they turn to fire at the previous flight. If they engage you, I want the first flight to turn around and fire back at those fighters." He gave the complicated order, and saw the TIEs zoom in on the fighters, blast several, and cut through the formation. When the Rebel fighters turned to fire back, the second flight slammed more fire into the ships, incinerating even more Rebels. As ordered, the first flight returned to its position behind the third flight, ready to attack again. The second time, the Rebels were smarter. Instead of tracking the passing TIE flight, they fired on the incoming flight. Behind them, Devik could see the first flight of TIEs bank around and fire at the fighters from behind, once again blasting several fighters.

Meanwhile, the Punisher had concentrated her bombardment on the Assault Frigate, tearing down what was left of the shielding. As his TIE fighters continued to blast away at the outnumbered and outmaneuvered Rebel pilots, Devik turned his attention to the bombers.

"Bombers, skim along the surface of that Dauntless and fire on the torpedo launchers. I don't want a surprise attack coming from those Rebels." As soon as he gave the orders, the bombers screamed by, pounding the Dauntless with their proton bombs. Without the fighters to protect her, the Dauntless cruiser was defenseless against the bombers. As the huge ship started to retreat, Devik gave the order for more concentrated fire. He didn't want any Rebels escaping.

"All forces retreat!" Aaron yelled over the comm, watching as an Imperial Star Destroyer and a Tector Star Destroyer closed in on his outgunned group. 1 Wing of TIEs came soaring past, blasting his remaining fighters. Many had been lost today, and he would remember them.

"Sir, the Hammer has lost all shielding and is about to launch escape pods." A young tactical officer, maybe twenty five, reported from his terminal, his face ashen with despair.

"They're never going to make it through those TIEs! We need to retreat now! Turn the port flank into the line of fire, and fire all torpedo tubes at that Tector." He pointed out the Star Destroyer, and soon the torpedos were on their way, the deadly projectiles reaching hungrily for the Tector's hull. Despite the mass of incoming torpedos, Aaron knew that he wouldn't be able to destroy the ship. It had taken relatively little fire and was more heavily shielded than a regular Imperial Star Destroyer. Unfortunately, Aaron knew that the ship possessed point-defense systems, but several torpedos would get through. In the meantime, he had to save the escape pods.

"Captain, turn you ship to us, and launch all escape pods at the hangar bay." He ordered, watching the Captain comply. Just as the first few escape pods were launched, the frigate exploded in an enormous fireball, which quickly disappeared, leaving the melted debris and burnt bodies floating in space.

"Sir, it appears that a power line was ruptured and detonated catastrophically in a series of explosions leading down to the main reactor, which also exploded. There were no survivors." The same tactical officer reported in, and the bridge fell silent.

"Well then, lets get out of here. Captain, have the Glouster jump with us. Set co-ordinates to sector 13326. Jump on my mark." Aaron said, giving the order as calmly as he could.

"Sir, shields at twenty percent!"

"Hyperspace in 10...9...8...7...6..."

"Shields at fifteen percent!

"5...4...3...2...1...0!" Aaron sighed with relief as the two ships jumped away. He had made it out alive with little to spare. In his relief, he hadn't noticed the escape pod, drifting in space, with one of the hammer's crew inside.

"Sir, the Judicator and the Punisher are assissting in defeating the Rebel defenders."

"Good. Get me a damage report on all ships." Saye sat back and watched the fireworks as the two enormous ships duked it out with the Dauntless.

"All TIEs, report to your assigned hangars." He sent out the message and got comfortable in his chair. In the distance, he could an explosion as the Assault Frigate was destroyed. From hear he could see specs that could be debris or bodies, he didn't care which. Another second later, the Dauntless hyperspaced away, leaving nothing but dead space behind. So much for that Rebel.

"Sir, we have taken minimal damage, and only suffered minor scorch marks on the hull. The Lucky Shot, Toad, and Valc's Pride have taken no damage. The Mynock has reported two turbolasers knocked out in the fight. As you know, the Swiftfoot and the Noose were destroyed in the fight. The Slug has also taken minor damage. TIE 1 was obliterated completely, but the other TIE squadrons suffered losses of one or two men each, if that." The lieutenant came back, reading a data pad hewas carrying in his hands.

"Very good lieutenant. You are dismissed. We are to wait here until we receive orders from His Excellency to leave the battle." Saye watched the lieutenant go, then resumed his place on the bridge, watching the bloodbath beyond.

Relief washed over Holts body as he watched Salvation jump to hyperspace. He had ordered the gunship’s to do as Captain Nomarr had done and jump out. Two were not luck enough to make it out of the system but four ships jumped out and away from the nightmare that was the imperial fleet. Now only Courageous was left for the Imperials to target. Three of the fourteen capital ships were now on the edge of weapons range. the massive battle cruiser and the other ten were bearing down on him and the courageous. Turbolaser fire splashed over the ships ever decreasing shielding. Ion bolts struck the shields casting blue lighting arch’s over the shielding draining its power.

"Admiral sir, The chief is on the comm."

Holt turned to see where the shout had come from. Commander Forlon was now working on the engineering station assisting the damage control crews in the chiefs absence.

"Put it through to my consol commander."

A second later a image of the chief face appeared.

"Admiral We are about done here but you have to buy us five minutes to engage the power couplings."

Holt sighed. Five minutes as the object of half a sector fleets destroyers was not something he liked the idea of.

"Chief you have three minutes get it done."

Holt closed the small display window then looked over the console at the data scrolling and the mini map in the corner. The two ships which had moved off to attack Captain Nomarr were turning to head back towards the Courageous. on the other flank ten star destroyers were targeting the courageous and pounding her with a continuous barrage of fire. The there was the battle cruiser.

"Navigation's, I need a course plotted on our heading for a jump. The furthest we can get on this heading. Cut all power to engines and reroute it to shielding."

Holt turned his attention to the captain who was standing at the weapons console now.

"Captain, Target the lead destroyer in the formation and give her everything we can muster to throw at her. Lets give these imps a hoedown they will not forget."

Moff Greth watched the Dauntless cruiser jump to light speed. Anger built up inside at the thought of losing the ship. So close were they to ending the rebels here. Now only the massive battleship remained.He had ordered the ships to engage the ship and the fleet had moved into position and were raining turbolaser fire upon it now. He tried to focus on the target at hand but the thought of the dauntless slipping through his hands infuriated him. He had left the Constraint, His sector fleet Dominator-class star destroyer, at Valc VII. If he had the foresight to include it in the group he would have the cruiser dead to rights now and the alliance would be one capital ship less. For now the massive Lucrehulk was his chore. He had faced other such ships. Each time losing to them. No was different, now he had the Overlord.

"Well, I see our Rebel friend decided he didn't like the party," Devik remarked dryly to no one in particular. And then, noting the destroyed Assault Frigate, "Good riddance, I say. About time she went under."

"Sir, incoming torpedos! We count 60 of them, heading straight for us!" A frantic ensign called out from the bridge.

"Captain Djorr, fire all point defense weaponry at the torpedos, if you please." Devik signaled the other commander, and soon the Tector cruiser started to fire on the incoming projectiles. As shots wizzed past the torpedos, Devik muttered, "Not the best shot, is he?" He counted one, then five, then ten torpedos destroyed before the rest crashed into the Judicator. The shields plummeted forty percent as the torpedos detonated, obliterating some of the shielding.

"Thank you for your assistance, Captain Djorr. Now, commence fire on the Courageous." As Devik spoke, the two large ships drifted towards the massively outgunned ship, slowly approaching like sharks that have smelled blood.

"Sir, we are in range now." Another officer spoke up, over at one of the far terminals.

"Good. Open fire, men." Devik calmly spoke the words as the two ships added their fire to the incredible salvos lashing out from the other cruisers. Hopefully, this would all be over soon.

Holt held on to the rail tight as bolt after bolt slammed into the battleship. The shields were holding for the moment but it was just a matter of minutes before those were gone. The might of twelve Star destroyers and a Star Battlecruiser now lanced out at the Courageous Smaller escort ships mover around to flank the destroyers and add their firepower. Holt looked at the large status board over the main holo display. The hyperdrive was ready and a course was ploted out of the system but the power needed was not there. The ships Chief had left the bridge to see to the task himself and no word has been heard from him since.

"Sir Shield failure!"

A group of heavy turbolaser bolts cracked the shielding and slammed into the starboard ring of the ship. Like the flash of a bulb the oxygen and other gases on the hanger ignited from the heat of the bolts. The explosion ripped a chunk of the starboard ring open leaving a gaping hole fifty meters across. Emergency blast doors slide closed sealing off the forward sections of the hanger from the rest of the ship.

On the display Admiral Holt looked at the hole the Imperials had opened in the ship. In the distance frozen bodies could be just made out. The shields had recharged fast but the damage had been done.

"Port shielding at forty percent sir."

Holt glanced again at the status board. The sections forward of the mid hanger was red. Meaning they command center had no response from it. The communications lines must have been damaged he told himself. In the back of his head he knew the truth. The crew of those section were gone. The blast had opened the hanger to space and caused a catastrophic decompression of the hanger. The shielding closed this but the brave people on the forward sections of the starboard ring were either gone or trapped with no way to escape.

Greth stood now watching the Courageous drag itself directly into the fire of the Overlord. The weapons of the battlecruiser would give no quarter today. The Lucrehulk had been judged and found guilty. Now the Overlord would be its executioner.

"Focus all forward batteries to concentrate on the Starboard dorsal section of the ship. All power to weapons."

Greth watched as the heavy batteries on the prow of the ship doubled their fire rate and rippled the shielding of the Courageous. A moment later the shielding failed and the bolts tore into the ship. Fire shot out of a hole torn into the hull and out the forward hanger bay door. A smile cracked Moff Greth's lips. The thought of his enemy dying gave him a euphoria like feeling.

"Now all guns focus on the engines!"

Greth was excited. The adrenalin was rushing into his body. He felt better than he had in years. The thought of the Rebels losing their beloved Courageous. that was what he had been needing. The fix he was looking for. The feeling only battle could provide. The drug of pain was his addiction. The pain the rebels felt. The pain their friend's and families felt. In his excitement he yelled out a gleeful order.

"Take us in captain, Let us look at the face of our prey!"

Admiral Holt was knocked to the ground as another round of fire made it through the shielding and into the hull. This time the barrage hit stronger armor.

"Sir, they are targeting the engines."

Holt stood up and grabbed the rail again. The hyperdrive was still not ready and the Courageous was taking the punishment of half a sector fleet. Holt thought about the ship. She is a strong old girl and could take more punishment than any ship he had ever served aboard. He had also watched as Lucrehulks of the CIS took all the punishment his Republic battlegroup could give it and escape with slight damage. There was no question the ship was tough, but no ship, not even an Executor-class Star Dreadnaught could take the punishment the Scythe squadrons was giving.

"Commander, find me the chief. Tell him I need those conduits online fifteen minutes ago!"

Sparks flew out of a console to Holts left. The smell of charred flesh filled the command deck for a moment. the scrubbers quickly circulated the air out and back in filtering out the odor. Holt saw a woman laying on the floor, her face burnt. Corpmen had ran to her immediately and waved for petty officers to come take the body. Everyone standing on the bridge was through off their feet as a barrage of heavy fire struck the massive sphere core ship. More sparks flew and the lighting went out for a second only to be replaced by red emergency lighting. Holt stood once again and looked out the view port. The massive battlecruiser was moving closer and laying down a concentrated pattern of fire at the aft of the ship.

It was difficult to anger Holt. He took pride in not losing his cool and being an objective commander in the face of any situation. But now he was mad. The Courageous had teeth. It was time to use them.

"Tactical, See if we can't give that battlecruiser second thoughts about moving in closer."

Instantly the order was given to all the remaining weapons crews and any and all guns with a clear arch fired on the Praetor Battlecruiser.

The weapons of the Overlord bombarded the rebel battleship unmercilessly. The ships were now closing on each other. The Lucrehulk was moving on a course which brought it away from the port weapons of the Overlord but giving all the starboard weapons emplacements a clear firing arch. The gunners of the Overlord tracked the ship maintaining their bombardment on the aft section of the ship.

Then like a hive of angry hornets escaping a destroyed nest, weapons fire exploded from the starboard weapons of the Lucrehulk. The shielding of the battlecruiser had taken steady punishment from the ship but now every weapon able was focused on the ship. Greth paused for a moment. The ship was formidable but it was too little too late.

"Your Excellency, the shields are dropping fast."

Greth looked at the status display on his podium. fifty six percent and dropping. The massive battleship had far more power than his intelligence had indicated. Still it was a time game. and the Courageous had far less time than the Overlord.

The Courageous was taking heavy fire and slowly losing her shielding. The massive ship had been built to take just this type of punishment. She however was not meant to take it alone or in such a prolonged engagement. An explosion rocked the ship and nearly knocked Admiral Holt to his knees once again. He held on tight and continued to give orders. Courageous was alone and outnumbered and as of yet could not jump. A technician ran onto the bridge and straight to Admiral Holt.

"Admiral sir,"

They young man saluted and waited for a response."

"Its ok crewman, we don't have time for protocol here what is it boy?"

The young crewman looked tired and winded. He relaxed a little then looked at the admiral.

"Sir, The chief sent me, He said to tell you to go to protocol Newborn. He also said don't wait on him."

The implications of what the young crewman said shook Holt. Protocol newborn was never meant to be an escape action. It was. He stopped himself and accepted the that the chief knew what he was talking about. He always had.

"Very well crewman, strap in over on those benches this is going to be rough."

Holt typed in a series of numbers and powered down the command podium. He walked over to the captain and informed him of his plan. a plan that if it worked would save thousands but kill thousands more.

Holt and the command staff all went to the group of seats in the center of the bridge. They sat down and strapped in. Holt pressed a button and a small pad shot up from between the chairs and folded out into a small command terminal. An explosion rocked the ship violently. The concussion of the blast washed across the Courageous in a wave of fire and shrapnel. from behind he heard someone yell.

"The fuel resurvey in the starboard ring"

Holt felt the vibrations of the smaller secondary explosions in the hull plating below his feet. He brought up an image on the display. There in the distance a large section of the massive hanger ring was slowly moving away from the rest of courageous. The lights flickered and sparks exploded out of one of the panels to Holts left.

"Prepare to execute Captain."

The man beside Holt nodded and began pressing in the sequence of numbers. Holt waited then a small icon appeared on his terminal. he pressed in his authorization code then execute. A shutter shook the the entire ship. A loud pop then a series of screeches rang through the ship. The violent procedure of Protocol newborn had begun.

The massive bulk of the Coreship broke away from the engine and hanger ring of Courageous. The spherical hull slowly dropped away from the rest of the ship and began moving off away from the Courageous and the massive Imperial battlecruiser. Holt looked at the image of the Courageous' ring sections left abandon and lifeless. It was no threat now to the imperial yet still they pounded it.

"Tactical, fire on that battlecruiser, Navagation plot us a jump vector and get us out of here."

Greth sat indignant as his flagship was pummeled by the Courageous. He had no doubt she would survive but the Overlord was taking damage and would need to be dry docked now for repairs. His mind was awash with anger and resentment. This rebel had put up more of a fight then he would have imagined. Why hadn't he jumped. The only logical solution was the ship was not capable. This took the edge off the anger building in him. The thought of the ship being stranded and at his whim enthralled him. He would see the battleship pounded till nothing larger than a fighter remained of her.

His excitement turned to euphoria when the screen darkened as a flash blinded the sensors for a moment. Had the ship been scuttled? The image cleared and he was over joyed. The Courageous was still fighting. But half of the starboard ring was gone. The other half floated off away from the battleship. He had needed this. The rush of the battle. The lives he controlled in the palm of his hand. He thought about it for a moment. He figured nearly a fifty thousand men and women had to be aboard that ship, fifty thousand rebels.

small explosions could be seen washing the hull with fire. The port ring was quiet now. The Courageous had ceased fire and seemed to be falling apart. Escape pods were launching from the aft section near the engines. A group of freighters shot out of the port hanger trying to evade imperial fire and escape. The two massive ships were not within two hundred meters of one another. Greth could see running light and port holes flickering as he suspected power was intermittent through out the entire ship. The excitement willed him with a pleasure only death brought him.

He watched the massive lucrehulk in its death throes. The destroyers still firing. The shielding was giving way to more bolts now and the armor of the ship was breaking down. He watched then noticed something unsettling.

"Whats she doing?"

Greth stood and ran to the console. They without warning turbolaser fire erupted from the Courageous once again. This time from the large sphere at her heart.

"Your excellency, The ships core has separated and is moving away."

"Greth stared in disbelief. The massive coreship had separated from the ring and was making a break for it. He began to laugh. A loud boisterous laugh. The crew all stared for a moment then went back to their duty before Moff Greth noticed them. He smiled and turned and walked back to his lounge area.

"Captain, turn that ring into dust, and have a salvage crew recover what is left of it. Have Judicator engage the core ship and disable its engines."

Greth sat back and took a sip from his glass. he let out a small laugh once again. The battle was not over but he was satisfied with the outcome. The rebels in the Perinn sector were beaten and he could go home to Valc VII and indulge in less marshal endeavors.

"Bring us around to sector 1223 and open fire with all batteries at the core ship," Devik said. "Fire in half second staggers at the shielding around the engines."


Devik watched as the Judicator opened fire with a massive salvo aimed straight at the Courageous' engines, slamming into the shield. Right after, the second volley hit the ship, looking to punch through the shielding that had been weakened by the first volley. As soon as the second volley was launched, the thrid followed, slamming once again into the shielding of the core ship.

The fire intensified as the core ship tried to escape, attempting to flee the battle. The volleys from the Judicator mercilessly bombarded the ship, attempting to knock out the engines.

"Start the pursuit. I don't want her getting away." The trap had been sprung, but it looked like the Courageous might escape, after leaving her ring behind.

The massive Star Destroyer started moving, pursuing the fleeing ship. The hunter was now the hunted as the two giants played a game of cat and mouse.

The Courageous moved away from the ring section slowly. By now the Imperials knew what was going on. The ring and the crew in it were all dead or in escape pods by now. Reports had come in of the imperial firing on the floating pods which angered Holt. He had been watching Greth for over a year now ans the man had no regard for life. The price for freedom was payed this day. Every man, woman and child in the rebellion owe the crew of the Courageous gratitude. For three years they had monitored, disrupted, and slowed commerce in the Imperial sectors north of Coruscant. Today the Alliance fleet had lost soundly. Men, material, and morale were the toll payed. One which soon would not be forgotten.

"Captain Take us to hyperspace."

With that order Admiral Holt relaxed for a brief second as the
Courageous jump to hyperspace and safety. The scorched hull of the Courageous' core ship was all that was left of the once mighty vessel. She had survived the clone was. Survived the New order. Now after almost 60 years of service the courageous was gone. Holt sat in his seat and closed his eyes. The death toll was unfathomable. Holt slammed his fist on his chair arm and jumped up.

"Captain you have the com. I will be in my quarters if you need me."

Holt walked off the deck and to his quarters at the end of the short access hallway. The men and women of the Courageous' crew watched in silence as he left.

Greth watched in silence as the core ship of Courageous jumped away. It would have been better if it had been totally destroyed but the same message would be sent. He stood and walked to the forward command console. the crew were busy dealing with damage control and post battle operations. The condition had been stepped down as soon as the Courageous had jumped. Only a hand full of escape pods and a couple of damaged fighters were left.

"Captain, I am retiring to my chambers. please inform me once we reach Valc VII."

Greth walked past his seating area and to the lift which lead to the Command chambers. His mind was on other things now. The battle was over and his men would see to the clean up. He was ready for some relaxation. Maybe an indulgence or two.