Rapora War (Introductory RPG)

[Stellar_Magic]

OOC: Using an Eclipse was a mistake in general, but if I have Athien cover it, it should be able to rip a seam in the enemy fleet.

 

Captain Veran Cardras wa the creature's name. He stood on the bridge of his ship, the Kar Lur Cruiser Vrackador Cycle. Smiling her looked out at the black dagger which sat in space before him, "An Eclipse class ship. Helm full power, medium weapons target the dorsal heavy turbolaser clusters, heavy weapons, target the superlaser, fire on my command." The Cruiser rolled and leapt toward the Eclipse, its hulk swooping across the battlefield, "Order our fighter screen to gun for torpedo runs on that ship."

 

The Eclipse class ship saw the cruiser coming and began a ponderous roll to bring more of its guns to bear as a wing fo Raporan fighters loosed their torpedoes on the behemoth. The brilliant flashes of explosive plumes the size of star destroyers rippling across then through the shields of the ship dominated the bridge viewport.

 

"Their bow shield has collapsed!"

 

"All guns, fire!" Suddenly a solid stream of golden projectiles stabbed through the night and into the bow of the Eclipse class ship. The Superlaser casing cracked and broke disabling the weapon as blasts rippled across the ships front. over two dozen heavy turbolaser batteries fell from the barrage. As the ship grew closer the return fire collapsed the Kar Lur's bow then ventral shields. As parts of the hull began to evaporate Veran smiled, "Full axial roll, break off the attack."

 

* * *

 

Darth Avarice nodded as she saw the Eclipse's greatest weapon smolder from its destruction. Then as if to overshadow the magnitude of the GFFA's error the Vareme Super Cruiser unleashed its full weaponary. A seam was chiseled in the ship's hull the length of a star destroyer as the volley of super heavy plasma cannon fire rippled across its side and battering down the shields.

 

* * *

 

Athien was beside herself with anger, "You fools expected the Rapora to fall apart because of the appearance of a single Eclipse class Star Destroyer! That ship will be destroyed if we don't intervene." Biting her lip she spun to the communications officer, "Signal the Eclipse, inform them that we're moving to support. She glanced at one of her officers, "Commander, is the Freedom of Thought ready?"

 

"We are ready and awaiting your orders."

 

Jaina felt herself smile as Athien nodded, "Take us into the fight."

[ADarkJedi44]

OOC: Bs, I'm bringing in your fleet to save us...

 

General Ioor was reluctant to continue the battle. The UDA force was moving to assite the Eclipse, but even that seemed too little, too late. Salvaging the Eclipse was more important than keeping Kuat with only some of it's shipyards left. Yet he could not just leave...

The decision was made for him when the rest of the GFFA force arrived. The new force of fighters would be able to keep the Raporan fighters back for a time and the capitol ships were a good screening force. The massive ship continued to belch out hundreds of green lasers. Despite it's great damage it was still a force to be reckoned with. Onboard, General Ioor spoke.

"Concentrate all our fire on the supercruiser. The rest of the fleet should be able to take on the Kar Lurs and Salvas."

The orders were obeyed to the letter. The Eclipse instnatly began concentrating its fire on the Raporan supercruisers. The two ships now faced off, almost one on one while the rest of the ships squared off with each other.

***

It wasn't long before the battle over Ossus was finished. The Rapora took a few casulties and retreated before they were completly overwhelmed. They distracted the Fourth Fleet for enough time to prevent them for arriving at Kuat, so they left. However, the interdictors prevented their immediate jump to hyperspace and they took most of their casulties on the way out. At the conclusion of the short battle, Evahe turned to Kyp.

"We'll be entering hyperspace soon. I assume you want to stay on Ossus. Before I leave, what is it you wished to inform me of?"

 

OOC: Just listening to Stellar...

[Stellar_Magic]

Athien slammed her fists into the command chair in frustration, "Damn, activate gravity well generators, focus on the Eclipse's vector." She saw the looks of surprise from the crew but they hurridly complied.

 

"Transmission from the Genisis," Jaina said softly.

 

"I'll take it," Athien answered leaning back in the command chair.

 

"Athien, what are you doing!" The frightened and stunned form of General Ioor appeared before her.

 

Athien smiled, a smile she knew was just as predatory as the Rapora, "Winning this battle General." Glancing aside to Jaina she smiled, "Inform Colonel Fel that his fighters will be tasked with directly engaging those fighters which are targeting the Genisis." She smiled as she looked to her tactical holo, "Destroyer squadrons one and two, move to one thousand kilometers ahead of the Genisis. Combat groups three and four will move to one thousand kilometers port and stardboard of the Eclipse. Destroyer squadron three and command group will move to one thousand kilometers below and above the Eclipse." She glanced back at General Ioor, "We'll shield you from the faster ships, you take care of that supercruiser, use everything you've got including your whole fighter wing. We'll cover you."

 

General Ioor slowly nodded, "I understand, thank you Commodore."

 

Smiling brightly Athien keyed her fleet comm, "All units, your priority is to defend the Genisis at all costs, protect it and we may yet win the day."

 

* * *

 

Kyp Durron nodded, "Admiral, we found an immense underground complex, filled with working equipment, we counted over a hundred seperate chambers. Several of which were filled by hundreds of operation starfighters. We dated a couple and they're well over ten millenia old."

 

Admiral Evahe frowned, "Show me."

[ADarkJedi44]

Evahe sent half of the Fourth Fleet ahead to Kuat. They wouldn't arrive in time for the battle, but they would hopefully be there to reinforce a weary GFFA and UDA force or to catch a tired Raporan force. If they came across the second, they would likely flee and wait for the rest of the Fourth Fleet to arrive.

Evahe and Kyp boarded a shuttle and went down to Ossus. Kyp wasted no time. From there, they took an air taxi to the site. They went deep underground into a complex system of tunnels. Inside were dozens upon dozens of strange looking fighters. The discovery was amazing but it did not seem to warrant the Supreme Commander of the GFFA. During peace time, yes...but when he needed to run a war?

"Kyp, this is an amazing find but I don't see why I'm needed here. Certainly these fighters are interesting but there is no way they could possibly function. Even if they somehow could, they would certainly be obselete, no?"

He paused for a moment.

"Why have you called upon me to investigate this? There is a crucial battle going on. I cannot waste anytime..."

Kyp began to reply.

 

OOC:Well, I didn't want to make it two sentences long and I'm not sure what you have in mind so....

[BadSamaritan]

Hirotek swore as he saw the massive starship enter the battle zone, and fire its superlaser. He knew it was a freindly, but he hadnt planned on it being here. He didnt even know that it existed. But now that it was here, and the repora were turning to engage it, he knew he had to save it. This was going to get very ugly, very quickly.

 

"General, why did you not inform us of this ship? And why is it tryinjg to commit suicide?" he heard Athien yell over the comm, and Hirotek answered her quickly, anger in his voice.

 

"This was not part of my plan! I dont even know where that ship came from!" he yelled, and he heard Athien swear over the comm. he could see the UDA forces moving quickly to help save the massive ship, and he slammed his fist against the sensor board. Now was he not only going to lose the battle in horrible way, he was being forces to lose ships he wasnt willing to sacrafice. thankfully, the arrival of the ship behind the enemy fleet was forcing them to manuver decent amoutn of their forces to deter this new threat, including the largest of the enemy ships. This did give him a slight advantage, one he intended on using to the fullest of his now very limited capabilites. he studied the now thinly spread enemy fleet, and found the best place to jump in some firepower to help cause some more chaos among the reporan forces.

 

"Order the station that are capable of it to microjump to the far starboard flanks! They are to concentrate fire on the capitol shiips first, then starfighters. the rest of the fleet is to jump in to support that eclispe! Order all starfighters to draw their fighter supprt away from both thier vessles, and ours! if they cant, tell them to begin torpedoe runs on the smaller vessels! I want them out of the fight!" he ordered, and he leaned back in his chair. Thi swas nto going to end well, more than likely for either of the fleets. One way or the other, it was going to be a slugging match to the very end. Luckly, because of the asteroids, thier starighter support had already been weakened.

 

he watched as the station began to micro-jump into the fray, and opened fire at everything that moved. He winced, seeing several of them fall quickly to enemy fire. He had sent many good people to their daths by doing that, but it had to be done. he did notice that some of the enemy fighters were drawn off to deal with massive golan stations, while the few firestorm stations were shredding any starfighters that got to close to them in attempts at taking them out with plasme bombs. And the golans wre doing thier jobs, concentrating thier impressive firepower well, handing out liberal amounts of damage to several large enemy vessels. but the reporan had anticipated this manuver, and were already moving ships to deal with the stations.

 

Then the fleet jumped into the fray, almost immediatly opneing fire on enemy vessels. He saw that Athein had taken her own cousrse, and moved her forces to direclty protect the eclipse, leaving him to deal with the Repora directly. he saw the massive eclipse vessel exchange fire with the large reporan cruiser, leaving his fleet with everythiong else. he watched as several enemy squadrons tried to make bombing runs on his Ravager class detryoers, and smiled as the fighters were shredded, the laser cannons and missles taking care of most of them before they could even launch their warheads. And the warhead that did get launched, were destoryed before thay could hit their ttargets. Several of his smaller vessels werent so lucky, however, and feel to plasma bombs, along with a bothan cruiser.

 

"Move the fleet into point-blank range of their vessels, and concentrate fire on the largest vessles first. Order our bomber groups to take out their smaller vessles, and our faster starighters to hold off thier fighters." he orderd, and an obvoiusly worried Lir'ka nodded, and relayed the orders. he had hoped to avoid a direct slugging match, but it was his only choice now. he just hoped it would be enough.

[Rattler3]

"He wants us to do what!" yelled Admiral Colton. "You've got to be kidding me. Charge the bloddy ships!"

 

"Sir, thats what he said," replied his comm tech.

 

There ships could so easily be crushed... what was this General Hirotek fellow thinking...

 

"Orders sir..." asked Navigation.

 

"A moment please." Beside him other ships surged out to point blank. "Jeesuz christ, all ahead full. Stand by on the troops. Load up the assault shuttles. Follow the generals orders... How many fighters we have left?"

 

"Uh... 22... 10 from elite, the other 2 squadrons have combined into one." 22 fighters to escort 14 assault shuttles...

 

"Give me a link to Gold one." A moment, and a light flashed on his screen.

 

"Gold one here."

 

"Rhys, we want to try to board... Could you get those shuttles over to an enemy ship safely?" A pause.

 

"I... I think so sir... We'll need a few seconds warning to when they launch so we can form up..."

 

"Good, standbye." The ships shook as a blast ripped into it. He glanced at damage control... shields failing. The carrack was going to be destroyed if it stayed... though the assault frigate was holding up well.

"Tell the Defender to jump out of here and standby..."

 

"Aye sir. Troop transports ready... they could launch within 10 seconds of the order."

 

The Introvertor shook again...

"This General better know what he's doing"

[Stellar_Magic]

Space was filled by the firery detonations from missiles, lasers, plasma, and torpedoes. The brilliant flashes of destruction came fast and furious, sowing space with flames and embers from ruptured hulls and crackling shields.

 

Athien felt the bridge of the Freedom of Thought shake as a blast from the Kar Lur cruiser Draco's Circle smashed against her shields, "Report!"

 

"No damage captian, the shields caught it all," Lieutenant Jolean yelled from her post, "Port Shields at Thirty percent!"

 

"Full axial rotation, Plasma batteries, standby." Athien felt the deck rock again as the stars rotated above her, "Have you found their shield modulation?"

 

"Yes captain," the special tactics officer answered swiftly, "We've got their modulation."

 

"Match modulations for our guns and ready for a modulation switch on the shields," Athien hissed as she saw the last shots from the Kar Lur's volley flash against the shields, "Switch modulations."

 

"Modulations switched," The tactic officer replied coldly.

 

Athien smiled and nodded, "Fire!"

 

The batteries of Plasma cannons loosed their full salvos on the Raporan Cruiser, smashing against its main hull. One of the blasts sheared through the central spar of the cruiser and the ship began to tumble forward, out of control. Cheers echoed the bridge for a moment and Athien smiled, "Bring us onto the next target."

 

* * *

 

Jag bit his lip as the flight of Raporan fighters sliced through his defense sector, "Alright lets get them."

 

The Raporan fighters saw the Clawcraft dropping in behind them, in response they accelerated. Jag bit his lip as the fighters began to pull away from their foes, "Send all discretionary power to the engines, except shields!"

 

Their lead began to lessen and as the Rapora heard the twirping of their target warning systems began to maneuver. Jag center his crosshairs on the lead fighter as the massive bulk of the Eclipse class star destroyer rose before them.

 

Jag loosed a volley of green laser blasts at the target and saw two of them slice through the ship's shields and tear apart the vessel's engine. A second later it detonated. Now only three remained.

 

Then there were two, another Chiss Clawcraft sliced toward the formation and scored a hit on the fighter's cockpit. The craft carried on going straight and smashed into the Eclipse's shields even as the last two climbed over the hull. Jag saw what they intended, "They're going for the bridge!"

 

"I've got them," That was four, one of the few remaining fighters from the squadron under Jag's command. He fired tracking across the rearmost fighter which detonated in a brilliant fireball as the shots hit the plasma bomb slung underneath its cockpit. The flames blinded four and the clawcraft flashed and exploded as it hit the Eclipse's shields.

 

The final Raporan fighter loosed its plasma bomb and as Jag was about to call out a warning to the eclipse a chiss Clawcraft shot from around the bridge and flew straight into the bomb's path, sacrificing himself to save the command crew of the destroyer.

 

* * *

 

Darth Avarice turned away from the battle as waves of brillaint green turbolaser fire arched toward the Vareme class Supercruiser. Explosions danced across the vessel's hull but its shields held as the Cruiser fired upon the two nearest UDA ships obliterating them. Even so Avarice knew the truth, the battle was going against them.

 

* * *

 

Kyp Durron lead the Admiral through the maze of tunnels and pointed to rack upon rack of starfighters hanging above them, "The design seems familiar doesn't it."

 

Admiral Evahe nodded, "They look alot like the Raporan fighters."

 

Kyp nodded as they stepped through another bulkhead, "Yes, I've seen dozens of sculptures of Rapora in here, and we've found something thats really disturbing." They stepped into a broad circular room and Kyp nodded to Kara, "Go ahead."

 

The center of the room glowed slightly and suddenly a Raporan starfighter materialized in front of them. It hovered for a moment and settled down onto the floor. Admiral Evahe felt his jaw drop open, "By the force..."

 

Kyp nodded somberly, "It'll take a lot more then destroying their ships to stop the Rapora. If they can build a fighter in a few seconds, how long for a cruiser, or a destroyer? How long to build another resurrector or something even bigger?"

 

Admiral Evahe nodded, "You better send a report to the advisory council and high council. This has to be addressed." His com link chirped, "Admiral Evahe here...are you sure?"

 

Kyp turned to the Admiral, "What is it?"

 

Admiral Evahe shuddered, "A Raporan fleet has just been sighted over Fondor." He sighed, obviously tired, "Kuat will have to take care of itself, to Fondor."

[Mad78]

"Rear Shields at 50%" shouted a bridge officer.

"Tell the fighter to cover our back. We cannot allow their fighters to make more bomb runs. Intensify forward fire power." ordered Garick

"Incoming!" screamed the tactical officer.

Seeing them red glare of a raporan torpedoe Garik lept to the ground. A blazing flash of light and... nothing. The General got up to see a Chiss Clawcraft. pass over the bridge. He got up.

"We survived this one but we must not allow it to happen again. Concentrate all firepower on the Cruiser. Navigator, rotate us to present more of our cannons."

The Eclipose rotated. Its Turbolasers opening fire as soon as the target came into their sight. The Raporan cruiser shudded under the impact of energy. The Genesis's ion cannons opened fire at their turn. The enemy cruiser's shields started to fail, the laser fire who passedleaving burn marks and breaching their hull.

 

OOC: I shall DJ look after his own escapoe and the destruction of the Cruiser.

[BadSamaritan]

Hirotek watched the battle, worry in his eyes. His fleet was taking a beating, and he knew that after much more, the tide of the battle would turn against them. He eyed the battle between the Reporan super cruiser and the eclipse, and then saw it. The sheild of the reporan ship faltered, and then fell. Green turbolaser blasts and blue ion fire washed over the hull of the massive ship.

 

"Order the Thunderhead and the Stormshore in to help with that big cruiser! I want that thing dead in space!" he ordered, a slight hint of hope in his voice. He knew that if that Cruiser were to be taken out of the fight, the repora would lose out on a lot of firepower, and be in dire straights. He turned his eyes to the UDA forces, and watched as they blew another Reporan vessel out of the fight. They had begun a hard push into the enemy forces now, and the Repora were having a hard time forcing them back. He turned his eyes back to the Reporan cruiser, and watched as two of his Raveger-class destroyers came over the bow of the massive black ship, and opened fire on the hull of the reproan cruiser, adding to the destruction that the Genesis was already doling out.

 

"General, the last of the jump station has been destroyed" Lir;ka siad, sadness in her voice. Hirotek nodded slowly, and sighed. The people aboard those station had done their jobs well, and had fought valiantly. They had drawn off enough of the reporan ships to make holding a line against his fleets difficult, at best. But now those ships were turning to enter the fight against his cruisers. He suddenly heard a cheer go up from his bridge crew, and he looked up. He could see from here the explosions that were beginning to rip through the reporan super-cruiser. Escape pods began to fire from the ship, and Hirotek joined his crew in cheering. he pumped his fist in victory, and then turned back to his sensors. Now they had an advantage, and he was not going to let it slip by him.

 

"Order all ships to press into their lines! We have pressure n them now, so lets keep it that way!" he ordered, and his crew went back to work, their hope for the bettle re-newed. he wtched as his forces began a hard push forward, and he smiled as several enemy ships began moving backwards in face of the fleet. Then, he saw some enemy ships at the rear of the formations, the ones that had dealt with the jump station, turn, and begin to move away from the fight.

 

"Are they going to try and flank us?" Lir'ka asked, and Hirotek shook his head, a smile growing on his lips.

 

"No. Look how the ships are moving, they arent going to flank us," he said, and he turned to look at Lir'ka, who had a confused look on her face. "They are securing exit vectors. They are preparing to retreat." he said, and Lir'ka turned her head back to the displays. She slowly nodded in agreement, and Hirotek turned back to the battle. The vagaari ships in the formations refused to budge, but the remaining Reporan ships also began to back off, in preperation of a retreat. Hirotek leaned back in his chair, and sighed. Unless this was some trick by the enemy, the battle was won.

[ADarkJedi44]

Darth Fury rushed off the bridge of the supercruiser. The battle was lost, the supercruiser destroyed. He ran for his Sith Infiltrator, he could not die. He could not die here at Kuat. He would be known as the Dark Jedi who brought about the greatest failure in Raporan history. He could not die, he would live another day and fight another battle.

It was not a good day for he Rapora. Even though the GFFA had taken casulties, the battle for Kuat was a clear GFFA and UDA victory. With the entire Fourth GFFA Fleet as Ossus, there was obviously Raporan casulties there. Darth Fury jumped into his Sith Infiltrator and he was soon off into the vastness of space. All around him, the once proud Raporan armada was collapsing into chaos. Hopefully Fondor will be different...

***

On board the bridge of the Genesis, there was jubilation. The Rapora had been defeated! General Ioor smiled, he certainly would be forgiven for his past failures. Then they recieved the news.

Fondor was under attack.

What can I do? Shall I take this beat up Eclipse to Fondor? Or shall I return to Gorath for repairs, so as to win future battles?, Garik thought....

***

Evahe began to run for his shuttle, but he suddenly spun around and faced Kyp.

"Kyp, do you know how these fighters work? Is there any chance we can use this technology to aid us?"

"I am not sure Admiral, it will take more investigation..."

"Very well, notify me when you have come to a conclusion."

With that, Evahe ran off. Although he had planned to send the Fourth Fleet to Kuat, he could not possibly do that now. Hopefully the Eclipse would turn the tide at Kuat. The entire Fourth Fleet was to head to Fondor.

I hope I am making the right decision. If Fondor and Kuat fall, then today will be a grim day indeed for the GFFA. If we lose them both, then the war may be lost...

[Stellar_Magic]

The Timeless One smiled as the massed Raporan fleet moved to engage the GFFA forces above Fondor. Their ships were struggling to enter formation as the enormous Raporan Replicator appeared in the center of the Raporan formation. It rotated activating its primary weapon assembly, then fired, slicing into the GFFA formation demolishing a trio of Imperial II Star Destroyers.

 

Then with a flash another fleet dropped out of hyperspace well above the world of Fondor and began to maneuver to engage the Rapora. At its center was the massive hulk of a Sovereign class Star Destroyer.

 

* * *

 

Admiral Oreton smiled as he nodded to the navigator, "Excellent Job, weapons is the Superlaser ready to fire?"

 

"Yes sir," The young green lieutenant answered as he leaned over the console.

 

* * *

 

Luke Skywalker nodded to Ulan and Harrar, "I appreciate you speaking with me so quickly."

 

Harrar smiled, a curious expression from the Vong Priest, "Any news of the Galaxy is welcome."

 

"I'm afraid it isn't good news," Ulan answered solemnly.

 

Luke nodded, "Has Ulan briefed you in on the actions of the Rapora?"

 

"He has, I wish we had another choice but to maintain what we have we must fight, I've asked Sekot to begin work building us ships, though it is cautious of having us take up arms, it has agreed." Harrar shrugged and nodded to Danni Quee as she drifted into the meeting, "How long until the ships are ready?"

 

"It will be awhile Harrar, Sekot has decided that the Skywalkers need a new vessel of their own first." Danni smiled, "Me and Sekot have been working on combining modern GFFA technology and Sekot's organiform equipment."

 

Luke felt his eyes widen, "A living ship?" He glanced back around the group, "What about the bonding ceremony?"

 

Ulan smiled, "The Organiform circuitry doesn't require such bonding."

 

Danni shrugged, "Still it would make the interface more efficient. The ceremony will be ready whenever you are."

 

Luke nodded, "Alright, Ulan I need you to contact the remnants of the Chiss Ascendancy, we need to know their statis. I hope you'll be able to find them within the redoubt."

[Trejiuvanat]

Not long after Athien had left for Kuat, had Thrawn asked Oreton to join him in his private command room. For a handful of hours had they watched art pieces of Raporan origin of different ages.

 

Commander Veran, had been invited to complement Oreton's knowledge of Raporan history and culture. As Oreton listened to the Raporan speech he focused on the bifuraction of a twin spiral, and then another, and another, all of it concluding in a greater spiral. All of it in a perfect mathematic succession, in perfect coordintation. Oreton had mouthed his thought of a two-pronged offensive on the Galactic Alliance, much like they had done in Imperial Space. There he had seen it as a logical course of action, he know supposed that the bifurcation seemed to be part of their collective inconsciousness.

 

Thrawn had applauded his conclusion and commended him for his speed of thought, the legendary Admiral then completed his suspicion with the name of the world: Fondor.

 

Oreton had asked the Grand Admiral to allow him to lead some UDA Forces there. In some of the art examples one spiral would collapse and end, in not one of them, had the two spirals of a bifurcation collapsed. If the UDA and GFFA forces succeeded in halting both offensive, they psychologic blow to the Rapora would be significant.

 

"Work is not yet finished on the Imperious, Grand Admiral," Thrawn said.

 

"Yes, I am aware, but it is above Imperial standards. It only lacks the UDA modifications, I trust that a group of your cruisers would cover the defficiencies of the Imperious."

 

***

 

More than a two dozen ships had joined Imperious in their mission. The starlines he saw from the bridge of Imperious were no different from the other hundreds of times he had seen them. They only felt different, he rejected the thought of interpreting his mre private thought as he focused on the possible course of action.

 

Unlike Kuat on Fondor there would be no risk of the Rapora trying to actually take the world. Fondor was a barren rock of space, their only goal would be the shipyards. The most modern shipyards within Alliance space. Rebuilt with state-of-the-art techonologies, after the Vong campaign.

 

Oreton expected what GFFA forces to be stationed at Fondor to form up a screen between the Rapora and the shipyards. Reinforcing that screen with the Imperious and the UDA Forces would make it unsurpassable for the first Rapora wave, that would be perfectly able of withdrawing, or at least drawing the defending screen away from the shipyards, rendering them vulnerable to the second Rapora wave, which would undoubtedly be there.

 

To jump behind the Raporan formation would be a viable alternative, but it did not feel right. He could be the one trapped between the first wave and their subsequent support which would be suicide, if the Raporan brought their Resurrector along. And considering the little use for a ground base on Fondor seemed the most natural thing to do with such an useless world.

 

"Captain Onolovav, is the Superlaser functional?" Oreton asked.

 

"Yes, sir. Chiss technicians restored it, it will not be at 100 %, which means we will not be able to destroy planets. Not that we need to," the Yagai captain reported.

 

"Good, have it begin loaded, I will want to be able to fire it as soon as we exit."

 

The superlaser would greatly support his initial strike, which would bring the Raporan fighters to swarm over his fleet. The entire wing of Delta-Missileboats, would help hiim control that, as the half dozen of Chiss Gunboats. Medium sized capital ships with more turbolasers than a Corellian Spiked Dunecactus had spikes.

 

"Prepare to drop out of the system, and use the gravity wells to draw the rest of the fleet out, from there we'll hyper above the planet, above the relative plane of the shipyards."

 

"You have reconsidered your initial course of action." Onolovav nodded.

 

****

 

All fleets had arrived, the first shot had been fired and it had severely crippled the Raporan replicator, this had resulted in a shortlived wave of elation in the bridge and many a slap in the back to the superlase controller, and two genuinly satisfied words from Oreton.

 

Then orders started to flow again.

 

"Launch all starfighters, have them engage mines and enemy starfighters. Raporan starfighter, mines and Vagaari fighters, in that order. Instruct the UDA gunships to hang between them and us."

 

"Starfighter wings complying."

 

"Divert energy from redundant systems to reload the superlaser, once it nears the 70 percent mark restore energy to the other systems."

 

"Seventy sir?" Onolovav asked.

 

"In your words, we do not need to blow up a planet," Oreton answered back. "Signal to Honorous Duty and Order is Strength they will have a Kar Lur on their port flank but they will not concede a single meter. Power of Wisdom will move to lend support. Remind them that axial turns will help them preserve shields, also to care for their starfighters as they are their most important shields."

 

"The GFFA is signalling us, their commander was killed in the first salvo of the Replicator, they request orders."

 

"They will keep their position. The Raporan fleet will first deal with us, and whatever second wave there is will target the shipyards, their starfighters should stay with them, we can hold on our own, if it becomes necessary they can join, but will not use their warheads, captain if you will also instruct them to regroup to a containment formation."

 

"Sir, the shipyard administrator wants to talk to you."

 

Oreton rolled his eyes. He rushed to the communications console and ordered the Lieutenant to open the channel.

 

"Admiral, um... Grand Admiral, we had not expected Imperial assitance in this, but..."

 

"Will you make it fast?" Oreton impatiently asked, not worrying about correcting the affiliation of the support fleet.

 

"Yes, of course. In short, our shipyards are rigged with explosives, in the case the Rapora want to take them, you know you can blow them up."

 

"It seems the Rapora are the ones interested in blowing them up, why did you not have the shipyards equipped with hyperdrives?" Oreton asked. Before the bureaucrat in charge could make up an answer Oreton continued. "I suppose you are equipped with heavy lifter, trying removing some of the shipyards, take them into hyperspace. Scatter them if you need to. You are up to this assignement?"

 

"Grand Admiral I am no tactician-"

 

"Then get your security guard to do the job, or politely ask the captain of any of the Alliance Destroyers to plot a course into hyperspace for your shipyards. Also transmit provide me with the self destruction code."

 

"Transmitting. This was of course the point of my call, Grand Admiral-"

 

"Administrator, when the Rapora start moving towards the shipyards, whichever shipyards are still in system will not continue their escape but rather ram the enemy ships. So have all of your personnel in escape vehicles. It may be sooner that you hope. Oreton out."

 

Oreton sighed. In the holographic representation he saw the Raporan formation shift their direction, pointing now straight at the UDA group. The Resurrector left behind was slowly crawling away into the safety of hyperspace.

 

"Captain mark the spots where the reinforcements would be expected, both GFFA and Rapora, also send a signal to Spirit of Justice and its two support ships to pick one of the Karlur Cruiser and work on the modulation, they will open fire and remodulate on my mark."

 

OOC: After Fondor I'll deal with Ulan, otherwise my brains will explode.

[BadSamaritan]

Lir'ka laughed heartily as the last of the Vagaari ships oposing the UDA ships vanished in a violent explosion. A portion of both fleets still chased some of the Repora vessels out of the system, but it was obvious that those ships would escape. But it didnt matter. The battle was theres. There casualties had been heavy, but they had managed to not only save Kuat itself, but the remnents of the yards had also been spared. Hirotek looked over to his comm center, and sighed.

 

"Raise both Athien, and the commander of that Eclipse." he ordered, and his comm tech nodded. Hirotek walked over to to the comm center, and slwoy, both Athien, and the man Hirotek recognized as Gerneral Ioor appeared before him in holo form.

 

"Well, I belive congradulations are in order. We have managed to hand the Repora their first real defeat." he said, and the others both nodded. General Ioor sighed, and looked Hirotek in the eyes.

 

"Gerneral, I apologize for the loss life that I forced upon this battle. My appearence could have been a bit better timed. Not to mention better placed." he said, and Hirotek nodded.

 

"Do not worry about it. If yuo hadnt shown up,m Kuat would have been lost, and the Repora would have had yet another vitory under their belt. Because of your arrival, the Repora not only have lost a large amoutn of vessels, they have taken a massive hit to their pride." he said, and Athien smiled.

 

"This is true general, but still, our losses were heavy. It will take me a while to asses my losses completely, but sadly, I cannot stay here to do that. I must leave immediatly, and send my fleet in for repairs, and get them back out as soon as possible." she said, and her holo slowly faded. Hirotek could tell her smile had been forced. he could understand why. The UDA and GFFA forces had suffered over 50% losses, with most other ships heavily damaged. he didnt even want to think about how bad his fighter forces had fared.

 

"General Ioorm, what is the condition of you vessel?" Hirotek asked, and Ioor sighed.

 

"Not good, but she is still fcapable of putting up a fight. My superlaser is lost, and who knows how long that will take to repair. Thankfully, I didnt lose that many of my fighters, most of them had held back to hold off Reporan plasma bombs. That, and they are just in general hard to hit." he said, and Hirotek smiled. he had noticed the strange fighters in the battle, and was impressed with how well they had fared.

 

"Well, I obviously dont ave the capability of putting you up here for repairs. I suggest you make sure that she is capable of making the jump, and then setting in for repairs." Hirotek said, but Ioor shook his head.

 

"I have word that Fondor is under assault, by yet another reporan armada. The same size, if not larger, than the one we bested here. I am wondering if I should take my shop there, to assist in the battle." he said, and Hirotek sighed. he thought about it for a moment, and shook his head.

 

"No, dont take the risk. We cannot afford to lose a ship like that. We will need its firepower in future fights. Taking it to Fondor would simply be a waste of effort. " Hirotek said, and Ioor nodded.

 

"I will take her home than, and begin repairs. The Fourth fleet is already on its way to Fondor, so hopefully they will be able to handle the Repora." he said, and slowly the Holo faded. Hirotek sighed, and then turned to see lir'ka looking at him.

 

"We won. It cost us a lot, but we did it." she said, and Hirotek finally laughed.

 

"Yes we did. Now, how about we retreat to my conference room, and enjoy some more of my brandy?" he asked, and Lir'ka smiled.

 

"We have a lot to do right now Hiro. We have reports to file, captains to talk to, a fleet to re-station at the planet..." she began, and Hirotek simply waved his hand.

 

"That can wait. Lets go celebrate for now. Work later." he said, and Lir'ka nodded. they both tunred, and began moving to the conference room. All around them, in many ships in the fleet, many other people did the same thing. And they both knew it. Celebrations always came before work in Hiroteks fleet.

[ADarkJedi44]

Darth Fury knew he would be forever shamed. Even if the attack on Fondor suceeded, the victory would not be the crushing blow the Rapora had hoped for. Even worse, the Fourth Fleet or other GFFA forces might show up at Fondor. If the attack on Fondor failed, it was unlikely the Rapora would get another chance to take it without losing a massive amount of forces. The GFFA would be a little more prepared for them after the first battles...

He sighed. The Raporan High Command would not admit they had failed, they would not state they had been out fought or out manuvered. They would have to find a scapegoat of some sort. It would be him. He wouldn't be executed of course, but it was unlikely he would ever get a chance like he had again. How could they trust the one who failed to assassinate Shren then lost the battle of Kuat? What can I do? Become a hermit and hide from the Rapora? No, that will eventually get my killed and I will doubtlessly be shamed when the Rapora eventually conquer the galaxy...

His thoughts turned to Tuvax. He would have liked to speak to him and see how he had fared at Ossus...

***

The holographic image of Garik appeared in front of him.

"General Ioor, report on the status of your mission at Kuat."

"The battle is won. The Rapora retreated after taking heavy casulties, including a massive supercrusier. The shipyards were not touched. However..."

He hesitated...

"Well?"

"The GFFA and UDA forces took massive casulties. A lot of the defensive platforms were lost. The Genesis took terrible damage, including the lose of the superlaser..."

Evahe shook his head and sighed.

"Very well. I doubt the Rapora will attempt another attack on Kuat soon, so we'll have some time to repair the defences. The Genesis however..."

He paused for a moment.

"We need it back into service ASAP. We also need you Garik, you're a very capable commander. Bring the Eclipse back to Gorath for repairs and return to GFFA space immediately. You will be put in charge of half a fleet, with the Mon Mothma as your flagship. Prove yourself in battle with a regular fleet and we'll see about promoting you..."

"What about the Genesis sir?"

"Get it back to Gorath for repairs. It shouldn't take that long to repair because many spare parts are likely already produced. Construction on a new superlaser may have already begun..."

"They would use resources to produce a spare superlaser?"

Evahe smiled as he replied, "Who said it was supposed to be a spare superlaser? The construction of an Eclipse isn't the only project that is going on there..."

Garik nodded, "What will be done once the Genesis is repaired?"

"We shall see what the circumstances are then.."

With that, he ended the holo transmission. The Fourth Fleet was nearing Fondor.[/i]

[Stellar_Magic]

OOC: Is it just me or is BS's character flirting with Athien? Also the Raporan Replicator that is in system isn't the Resurrector but another ship called Malliable World.

 

IC:The Timeless One smiled as the force of Imperial ships closed on his position. He leaned back in the command chair of the massive flagship of the fleet, "Instruct Savla Squadron Kubal to conduct a portside sweep on the GFFA Task Force moving to support the attack.

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v436/StellarMagic01/SaclaAttack.jpg

 

The Timeless One watched as a squadron fo Twelve Savlas cut across the formation firing their weapons as they went. Behind them they left a stream of Mines, each one targeting its nearest opponent and firing. The GFFA Task Force broke up as the mines scored a kill on one of the Imperial IIs and trained their fire on the mines.

 

The Timeless One nodded, "Order the formation to invert." With that order the entire rapora formation switched from a dagger to a giant pincer that threatened to surround the Imperial fleet.

 

One of the Rapora spun away from the consoles, "Sir, we're picking up a fleet coming out of hyperspace, lead by the Guardian."

 

The Timeless One shrugged, "So Darth Tuvax could not delay Evahe for as long as I hoped, no matter. Signal Fleet Group Resurrector, supply them with a vector twenty thousand kilometers below and behind us." Smiling the Timeless One knew he'd just doubled his fleet and soon he'd have a true battle to contend against the enemy.

 

* * *

 

Athien leaned back and watched Hirotek get drunk, it was an odd quirk of the Rapora that drinking affects them extremely little, and it occasionaly made discussions over alcohol much more entertaining, this was not an exception, "So what happened?"

 

"General Ah'bat leaned down next to Kre'Fey and said, 'You admiral are drunk.' And then Kre'Fey said, 'You General are right! And if I wasn't drunk, I'd be punch drunk, taking coruscant can do such a thing you know."

 

Lir'ka stepped into the room, "Sir, I've got Admiral Kre'Fey on the line."

 

"You do!" Hirotek stood up in a rush, "Damn."

 

Athien shrugged and turned to the second in command, "Please inform the Admiral that General Hirotek is currently indisposed." She lifted her small glass of purely blue green aldera wine, "A toast to victory." Lir'Ka shook her head as she stepped out the door.

 

The General took one last swig of his wine then collapsed onto the floor. Athien laughed to herself as she took a drink from her wine and wandered over to the comm and keyed it, "Lieutenant, your CO has had a bit to much to drink, could you help me get him to his quarters?" Smiling she bent down pulled the General upright and thought to herself, maybe she'd get a glimpse of the other side of this eccentric man.

 

OOC: Now the Resurrector with support ships will drop into the Fondor system... BS, I just had to be a little funny with your new character didn't I?

[BadSamaritan]

OOC: Well, Since Hirotek is more wasted than a correlian smuggler on a good spice trip, ill switch over to Seryk for a bit. And is it just me, or does Athien possibly have a small crush on Hirotek?

 

IC: Sery sat in the cramped seat of the small fighter, wondering when he would finally be allowed to land. He had arrived at the plent a standard day ago, and he had given them all the proper clearence codes that Fett had given him. But for some reason, they wouldnt let him land. And it annoyed him. The canned air in the fighter was getting stale, not to mention he hadnt had the forethought to bring any food. And his armor was not the most comfterable thing to wear in a fighter cockpit. He was tempted to raise them again, just to see if he could get some food. But then, his comm unit crackled, and a familiar voice came over the comm.

 

"Seryk, you have been cleared to land. Follow this vector closely, and dont deiate from it. Ill meat you when you land." Fett said, and a long list of vectors appeared on his screen. Seryk sighed, and powered up the engines of the fighters. he began to follow the vector towards the planet, but realized that it was going to be difficult. The vector changed almost at random, and it douple back at least twice. But he followed he course almost exactly. only failing once, when the ship turned to tightly, sending him off course.

 

"Seryk, I said exactly!" Fett yelled over the comm, and Seryk cursed.

 

"Sorry, this fighter has some twitchy controls. Im still getting used to them." he said, and Fett sighed over the comm.

 

"Well, be carefull then. The fighters following you wont take it to kindly if you do that again." Fett said, and Seryk looked to his sensors. They didnt show wany fighters, anywhere. But then, a paif of Gladiator-class fighters flew past him, an Seryk startled. he watched as they came into formation in front of him, and lead him along the chosen vectors. He checked his sensors whenever he could, but the fighters still didnt show on them. That confused him greatly, but he diecided not to ask right now. It could wait.

 

After a while, he finally mae it into the atmosphere, and from here, it was a straight shot to the final landing zone. He gunned the engines, hurring to be out of the fighter. As he flew over the landscape of the planet, he took the time to admire the overall beauty of the planet. he could see tall mountains in teh distance, and right now he was flying over rolling hills, and not far from him, a dark blue ocean began. Overall, a beautiful world. Then he saw his destination coming up. it looked like a small village near the foot of the mountains, not the city he had expected. He did see a designated landing sopt for ships, however. He brought his ship down, and landed on the permacrete. he started to get out of the ship, when Fett came back over the comm.

 

"Dont get out just yet, Seryk. You still have a ride ahead of you." he said, and Seryk got a confused look on his face. Suddenly, the permacrete began to move, and then, lower itself into the ground. After a few moments, Seryk could see the giant underground cavern that he was dropping into. he could also see the giant claw looking device as it moved over to his ships. It grappbed his ship carefully, and moved it, placing it on a platform. The platform started to move quickly, and Seryk was astounded. This had to have been the most complicated entry system to a city he had ever seen. After several minutes, the platform began to slow down, and finally, came to a stop. Seryk looked around, and was happy to see Fett standing next to a doorway, along with what looked like two gaurds. Seryk got out of the fighter, and stretched his arms and legs. Fett walked over to him, and nodded.

 

"Took you long enough. You should have been ere a day ago." Fett said, anger in his voice.

 

"There was an assassignation attempt on the chiss we captured, and i helped thwart it. I had to get debriefed, again." he said, and Fet nodded. Seryk then looked over to the two gaurds, and noticed that they were both wearing mandalorian armor, minus the jetpack and helmets. He looked back to Fett, who smiled. fett motioned form him to follow him, and they moved over to the door. The door slid open as they walked towards it, and Seryk stepped through. On the other side, Seryk stood and stared at the expansive city that he saw, obviously buried deep within the mountain. he could also see two more gaurds, both of them dressed in the same armor.

 

"Like I said at tattooine, our people arent as far gone as most people think." Fett said, and Seryk nodded in agreement. He had never thought that he would have even seen one mandalorian, let alone a city full of them. Fett motioned for him to foloow, and they moved to a small speeder. Seryk and Fett got in, and Fett began to pilot the speeder towards a giant building in the center of the city.

 

"Where are we going?" Seryk asked, and Fett looked over to him.

 

"You are going to meet the High command member of this planet. And afterwards, we will be leaving." Fett said, and Seryk nodded. Than something in his mind clicked.

 

"Wait, this planet? there are more?" he asked, and Fett simply nodded. It then Dawned on Seryk, that the mandalorians were some of the trickiest people he had ever seen. Their entire civilization still existed, and no one in the rest of the galaxy was th wiser about it.

[Stellar_Magic]

OOC: I'm changing post styles, perhaps you should note the name of the Cruiser.

 

IC: Darth Avarice nodded to the repair droids that were examining her fighter as she exited the cockpit and dropped to the deck of the Kar Lur Cruiser Rakatan Enterprise with a thrumb of power the Sith Infiltrator Anger's Delight slid into the hanger bay and slowly dropped to a landing on the deck. Darth Avarice smiled as she felt the wave of anger and frustration that poured from the pilot as he powered down. She felt her smile broaden as she saw him step down the ramp his fists knotted at his sides, "You look angry Fury."

 

Darth Fury cast his gaze at her, hatred in his eyes, "We lost, how should I feel?"

 

"You completed our objectives Fury even if you do not know them, now the Timeless One has new orders for you," Darth Avarice leaned against the still warm hull of her Tornclaw fighter, "You are to take a small fleet and intercept a Jedi attempt to contact the Chiss hiding in their redoubt."

 

Darth Fury nodded, "It will be done."

 

* * *

 

Athien sighed as she dropped the General onto the couch of his quarters and looked up at the walls. Her father had trained her well and as her eyes flickered across the sparse furnishings she got a clearer look at the man's character. Then her gaze stopped on a single piece of artwork, a corellian piece that she'd seen as a holo before, "Typical Corellian, drunk and brash, but with an added layer of complexity, interesting."

 

General Hirotek stirred on the couch, "You forgot that we don't care about odds."

 

Athien felt her smile broaden, "But you do, you care for the men under your command." She gestured to a piece of Mon Calamari make hanging over his cot, "That was made by the late Admiral Ackbar wasn't it."

 

"It was," General Hirotek stumbled upright and straightened, "You are very much like your father Athien." She tried to walk to the bed but lost his footing and Athien pulled him back upright, keeping him from falling to the ground, "I shouldn't have drunken that last bit of wine."

 

Athien felt her eyes harden as she felt a hardened piece of skin under his sleeve. Pulling it back she saw a tatoo that few ever would seen and even fewer would recognize, "You're a mandalorian."

 

"Was," Hirotek replied ashe sat down on his bed, "I never truely fit in."

[BadSamaritan]

OOC: This is going to suck, but here it goes.....

 

IC: Athien looked at the general, and she shook her head slightly. She knew a lot of the mandalorians, her father had extensive archives about them. And she also knew that no one who was a mandalorian, left without a very good reason. And the few that did, usually stayed low, trying not to draw attention to themselves. But his one, he was in command of a large alliance base. The more she learned about this man, the more he managed to surprise her.

 

"What do you mean by that? You are a capable commander, even if your plans are unorthadox, if not completely crazy. And from what i know of them, mandalorians usually are like that." she said, and Hirotek nodded. He sighed heavily, and looked out the viewport of his quarters. Outside the viewport, he could see one of the many ships survived the battle. if his momory served him correctly, it was the Bothen Cruiser Valiant. He motioned to it, his hand shaing slighty, the wine still affecting him heavily.

 

"That ship there. the Valiant. Its captain is Captain Arlos Gashen, out of a small rim world called Helok. His has two kids, both adopted after the was against the vong. Like himslef, they were orphans. He cares more for those kids, than he does for his command." he said, and he then motioned to a small Golan I platform, the oldest in the system.

 

"That station, its commander is Colonel Resh, out of Coruscant. He recently married, and has his first child on the way. he is an excellent Sabbac player, and got his command by winning a bet he made with me during a game." he said, and Athien nodded.

 

"Thats why I didnt fit in. I care for those under my command. To most mandalorians, they would be nothing more than subordinates, to be used to further the goals of the fleet. But to me, they are all people. All their lives are precious, which is why I am loathe to simply throw them away. Again, thats not the normal way of thinking for a mandalorian. Thats why I left." he said, and Athien got a look of understanding on her face. The mandalorians were generally a cold, calculating people. But this man was much different.

 

"Tell me Hirotek. Can you name all the men and women under your command that died today?" she asked, and the general shook his head.

 

"No, but I can name many of them. Captains, lieutenants, colonels, even ensigns, know they can come to me and talk if they have a problem. Which is why my fleet works so well. We arent a fleet, who works together. We are more like a giant family, that strives to help one another. The loss of a single ship hurts everyone. Even the loss of a single starfighter can affect people on every ship stationed here." he said, and he leaned back on his bed. Athien nodded, even though she didnt completly understand.

 

"So why did you join the Alliance? Why not become a bounty hunter, or a mercenary? Certainly the money would be better." she said, and Hirotek laughed.

 

"Yes, that is true. the money isnt that good. But money isnt everything. I joined to help make a difference. I fought against the vong, and helped hunt down the few Vong that refused to surrender. And after the war was over, and I was posted here, I have been searching for a way to make a difference again. And with this war, i think I may have another chance." he said, and he slowly stood back up. Athein shook her had, and held out her hand.

 

"General, you are drunk. Get some rest. The fleet can wait." she said, but hirotek shook his head.

 

"Yes, the fleet can wait, but the dead cannot. Come, its time for the memorial." he said, and he began to stumble his way to the door. he got to the door, then shook his head to clear it. he then walked out of the room, still a little shakey in his walking. Athien watched him for a momen,t and then followed him.

 

*****************************

Hirotek, Athien, and Lir'ka all stood on teh observation deck of Hiroteks flagship. Out in front of them, the vastness of space spread on for lighyears. SPread out around the flagships, hundreds of fighters, gunboats, and cruisers were spread out in a ragtag formation. A whistle blew, and Hirotek cleared his throat.

 

"A great battle was fought here today, and we were victorius. but sadly, we have lost many close to our hearts. But for all of those we have lost, an innocent has been saved. We honor those that have fallen, and wish them luck in their journeys in the afterlife, where ever that may be." he said, and with those final words, all the ships surrounding the flagship opened fire with their weapons, sending torrents of fire out into space.

 

Hirotek had explained what would happen during the memorial. A shot would be fired for every person lost. It was Hiroteks way, and the way of all of those in the fleet, of saying good bye to their freinds. After a few moments, the fire halted. After a moment, a single torpedoe was launched, anf it flew out into space, to fly forever, a silent memory of the battle, signifying it was time to move on, but that the momories would be forever.

Edited October 31, 2004 by BadSamaritan

[ADarkJedi44]

OOC: Have fun Trej...

 

With a Kar Lur and two Salvas, he waited. They sat on the route which the Jedi would most likely follow in order to contact the remnants of the Chiss. A ring of mines had been deployed to trap the Jedi. Squadrons of fighters patrolled the area.

At last, the moment came.

"We have detected a fighter exiting hyperspace."

The Sekotan fighter came out of hyperspace, trapped by the Rapora. Darth Fury watched with pleasure as the fighters moved to attack the Jedi while the mines plugged the escape corridors. No matter how experianced the Jedi is, he cannot possibly escape now. Within a matter of moments he will be captured or dead...

***

The Guardian came out of hyperspace and found chaos. Evahe immediately began to bark out orders. As he prepared his own task force, another force of Raporan ships dropped out of hyperspace. At the center, a massive Replicator weapon. Evahe sighed.

"Sir, their second force is moving to engage us and the Replicator appears to be preparing to fire..."

Evahe wondered what to do for a moment. If he stayed too far away, the Replicator would pick his fleet apart. If he brought his fleet in close, the Raporan mines and fighters would decimate him. At least I can defend against the fighters and mines...

"Bring us as close as possible to the Raporan fleet, so as to prevent the Replicator from firing. Have our plilots ready to preform the best they can. We're going to need them to intercept Raporan fighters and mines and launch torpedo runs against Kar Lurs and Salvas. Otherwise..."

He left the sentences unfinished and returned to the battle. He needed to contact his allies before he was fuly engaged....

[Mad78]

The Genesis exited Hyperspace in the Gorath system.

"Do our sensors find anything?"asked Garik

"No Sir"

Of course they wouldn't. The orders of the complexe was to, if an enemy came that could not be beaten, hide and make the system appear deserted.

"Transmit identification code."

"Transmitting..."

The com station imediatly received a message.

"Welcome back General. You have authorization to dock at hangar Alpha prime."

"Thank you" answered Garik

As the Genesis approached the planet five interception corvettes took off and formed an escort for the massive stardestroyer.

When it passed the atmosphere of the third planet Garik could see that the misty and heavy atmosphere was partly due to the fact that all the metal raffineries were built on the surface. After a moment the auto pilot took over and piloted the Eclpise to underground hangar who's doors lay open beckoning the massive ship to enter.

Garik left the bridge and took to turbolift to the exit portals. Outside commader Lor Mazzoc awaited with an amused smile on his face.

"It seems you ran into a bit of trouble?"

"Nothing we couldn't defeat. But out superlaser tok alot of damage. Can you repair it?"

"Let me see General..." Mazzoc pressed a few buttons on his databloc "It seems you are in luck. The armopr seemed to have stopped most of the damage and the only damaged area is the focusing cristal and a few power cuplings."

"Will it take long" asked Garik with a worried

"Cheer up General." said Lor " an new cristal is on its way from the Equatorialk region. It should not take more than one or two days to repair. Now if you shall follow me i can show you some of my rare correlian brandys."

 

*****

Tuvax made his Infiltrator slowly glide into the inside of the hangar of the Kar Lur cruiser who served as Fury's flagship. As he exited he thumbed to two vaagari technicians to refuel the craft.

Then he smell it.

"Avarice" he hissed "What are you doing on my master ship?"

Avarice gave him a disrespectful smile

"None of your buisness Tuvax."

"It will be if you stay in my eyesight much longer."

Avarice may have been powerful in the dark side but did not want to fight a one on one fight with Tuvax in this place.

"We will meet again Tuvax"

"The sooner the better Avarice."

On these words Tuvax left the Hangar and moved towards Fury's room.

[Stellar_Magic]

Darth Malice hissed between his teeth as the small one man Raporan Kar Asp class starfighter (Standard fighter of the Rapora Fleet) slid into the hanger bay of the Kar Lur Cruiser Sith Arisen. He hated the orders he had been given, but understood their importance. Still, that didn't stop the eagerness of the possibility of an encounter with an old foe stirred within him. His bemused smile vanished as the rest of his orders came to mind, it was a test of loyalty which had been personally ordered by the Timeless One.

 

The hatch of the starfighter slid open and the dark silhoutte of a human female slid from the fighter's cockpit. She knelt before malice, her dark braided hair falling across her shoulders and the dull grey cortosis lined breast plate that had been hidden by her black cloak. Her dark brown eyes did not lift from Darth Malice's boots, "I have arrived as ordered."

 

Darth Malice nodded, "It is rare for me to be given such a remedial task Darth Venom, you have disobeyed the Timeless One, and he as begun to doubt the sincerity of your oath of loyalty."

 

"How can I banish this my lord?" Darth Venom asked glaring at the polished black panel of the floor.

 

Darth Malice smiled, "The Timeless One orders you to assist me in the quest to capture or kill the Mandalorian called Seryk. He has tracked the man to a world in the Rim, we shall leave immediately."

 

Darth Malice did not notice the single tear rolling down Darth Venom's face, how could things have come to this. She had betrayed her father's memory, could she betray herself next?

[Trejiuvanat]

OOC: Didn't the Replicator arrive after tEvahe did? Oh well..

 

"Sensor report?" Baros Oreton asked from the seasoned officer that reviewed the status of the sensors.

 

"Incoming freindlies on vector Seventy-Four. IFF says Galactic Alliance, I'm picking the Guardian among them."

 

"Evahe, and the Fourth Fleet," Onolovav whispered as he let out a subdued whistle.

 

"They are moving towards the Replicator Group." The officer said.

 

"True, you can read that from their formation." Oreton said. "Evahe is not a fool he know that the superlase cannot harm the Replicator from this distance, not with so many Raporan ships in between."

 

"Status on the Fondor Defense Fleet?"

 

"Heavily damaged, they were not prepared for the barrage, we have order request."

 

"Tell them to hold their position, and regroup into a small fleet elements. They will focus on the starfighters. Start moving us to lend assistance, I believe we assume there will not be another Raporan fleet."

 

"Seven shipyards were successfully evacuated, sir. Twentyfive are still pending, the Administrator is leading the evacuation from within an Assault Shuttle." Onolovav reported. "Three shipyards will possibly still make the room, the other twelve will not make it a group of Kar Asp Starfighters have set an interception course."

 

"Transmission from Channel Besh, it is Admiral Evahe."

 

"Oreton." The Alliance Admiral said as soon as he materialized.

 

"Admiral, an Ackbar Slash? So early in the morning?"

 

There was a snort that silently was received via holocomm. "That Replicator is our primary objective. What is your plan?"

 

"Only twenty seventy percent of the shipyards have been evacuated, the ones that won't go are rigged to explode at my order. The first Raporan wave has entangled us and will not allow to be pushed back, so Imperious and the UDA cannot help you. If we blast the Raporan ships around us the Replicator will have a clear shot at us."

 

"I understand your situation, Grand Admiral." Evahe said. "I will see you when we celebrate our triumph."

 

Oreton closed down the channel.

 

"The Replicator fired upon the Fourth Fleet, two Victory-III Destroyers were lost, a Ravager is drifting."

 

"Not too much," Oreton dictated. "Signal to Spirit of Justice and their support, open fire and remodulate, I want that Raporan flank destroyed. Maneuver to counter their pincer."

 

"Superlaser status?"

 

"Sixty percent, sir."

 

"Fire on the Savla Formation on my mark."

 

Oreton waited for the Savla to split their forces in two groups, to surround one Imperial II Destroyer. "Mark."

 

The green superlase seamed through two of the Savlas and crippled another one.

 

"Excellent shot, start recharge protocol. Torpedo batteries, focus fire on the Kar Lur cruiser on starboard. Turbolaser batteries, target mines."

 

"Starfighters down to seventy-percent, Rapora down to fifty." Onolovav added, for the first time did the Empire hold the upper hand in the starfighter battle. Hopefully would things continue this way.

 

The Guardian and their group were already exchanging fire with the Resurrector Fleet. Oreton continued to analyze the status of the battle.

 

"Signal the Administrators and his crews to make their escape. Get me the pilots on the Heavy Lifters."

[Stellar_Magic]

The Timeless One smiled as he watched the battle play out before him, "Oreton, your father taught you well, order Savla group Cycle of Destruction to pull back and be ready to microjump on my order."

 

"Sir, Pride of the Rapora has lost maneuverability, she's adrift." The Raporan tactician spun to to the Timeless One, "Our flank is crumbling."

 

"The Vareme class Cruiser Warrior's Pride is to break formation and move to reinforce that flank, also order those captial ships directly in front of the Replicator Malliable World to disperse and fall back behind the battlestation. Have their fighter screens redeploy to protect the the station."

 

Another Raporan tactician spun toward the Timeless One, "Sir, Flight Group Dew Claw has penetrated the shipyards, they're inflicting heavy damage but have spent all their ordance."

 

The Timeless One smiled, "Order Savla Group Cycle of Destruction to jump to the shipyards and order Flight Group Dew Claw to move to cover the Savlas.

 

With that ten Savla Class Cruisers dropped into the midst of the shipyards and loosed their array of mines. Within two minutes nothing would be left but ashes if they weren't stopped. Satisfied the Timeless One turned his attention away from the Imperials, "Your move Oreton," and focused his attention on the Fourth Fleet, "Order all ships to revert to a dagger formation with the Replicator Resurrector at its tip.

 

A moment later the battle station fired again and broad blast the sent a pulse of plasma in front of it like a shock wave detonating corvettes, frigates, and starfighters that were before it. The wave of energy washed across the lead six destroyers eliminating their shields and rendering most of their weapons disabled.

 

Nodding the Timeless One turned to the starfighter controller, "Tell Flight Groups Cane of the Cycle amd Lash of Immortality they may begin their runs." If they weren't intercepted six GFFA Star Destroyers would die.

 

* * *

 

The Sith Infiltrator fell out of hyperspace above a seemingly barren world in the Rim. Darth Venom twirled her lightsaber idly as she watched Darth Malice pilot the vessel toward the world. With a flick of a switch the Infiltrator dropped from sensors and faded into the blackness of space.

 

Nodding to himself as if satisfied Darth Malice turned to Venom, "There is a city underground, teeming with life. One of the refuges of the long thought dead race of Mandalorians. We will find him there, and kill or capture him."

 

Darth Venom frowned, "How will we enter this place and how did you know about it?"

 

"Do not underestimate the powers of the Timeless One Darth Venom or they will be your downfall," Smiling Darth Malice produced a detailed holo of the complex before him, "I have been here before, in my youth searching for bounties, now as a trained sith I've returned to settle an old score." He pointed to a number of air shafts, "That will be our entrance and exit, like any city they need air and water."

 

"What about security?" Venom asked eyes the projection coldly, "Won't we be detected?"

 

Darth Malice smiled, "I guarantee it."

[BadSamaritan]

Seryk sat in the barren room, the only furnishing s a simple table with a series of chairs set around it. he had been sitting here for almost an hour now. At least this time, his hosts had been nice enough to supply him with some water to drink, along with a small platter of food. The water tasted stale, and the food was bland, but it was more nourishment than he had had in quite some time. he wondered in the back of his mind who exactly was going to meet with him. Fett had said something about the High Commander of this city. He wondered how many people were in the city, and how many of the cities there were. But he was sure he would find out in time.

 

Finally, one of the doors to the room opened, and Seryk turned his head, and watched as two men in body armor entered the room, followed by an elderly woman. The old woman had an elegent grace to her, as if she was royalty, but her eyes gave her away as an experienced warrior, one who had been through her own share of battles. The old womad looked at Seryk intently, and then waved her hand. The two gaurds left the room, and the old woman moved over the the table. She sat down across from Seryk, and slwoly, she smiled, although Seryk believed that the smile was forced.

 

"So, Fett tells me that you are the decendant of one of our people. One who disgraced himself by marrying a jedi. Is this true?" she asked, and Seryk nodded. he began to explain what Fett had told him about his grandfather, and about his findings at the hideaway on tattooine. The old woman listened intently, and when Seryk finished, she nodded slowly. She sat there for a moment, and then reached underneath the table. She pressed a small button there, and a holoprojector lowered from teh ceiling. A hologram of the galaxy appeared over the table, and Seryk could pick out at least two dozen red dots, all of them spread out along the outer rim. He also ntced dozens of brown dots, spread throughout the galaxy, many of them near major shipyards, or major government systems.

 

"Seryk, this hologram shows the true extent of our people. We have cities spread out all around the outer rim of the galaxy, all of them well hidden on uncharted planets. We also have agents spread throughout the galaxy, keeping tabs on what is going on. We have stayed hidden for centuries now, and stayed out of the galaxeys way." she said, and Seryk nodded, studying the map closely. He did notice that some of the small brown dots were at current hotspots in the war, with one being at Kuat, which he understood was either under attack, or going to be attacked by the repora. He also saw a large cluster of them near the GFFA capitol of Denon.

 

"Why stay hidden for all this time? Why not show yourselves, make your presence know to the galaxy?" Seryk asked, and the old woman sighed. She looked to the map one last time, and then the hologram vanished. Another hologram appeared, this one showing a massive space battle over what was obviously Coruscant, but Seryk could not indentify any of the ships in the hologram.

 

"Tell me Seryk, do you know what battle this is?" the old woman asked, and Seryk shook his head. the old woman nodded, and then continued on.

 

"This is a hologram of the last battle in the great mandalorian war. The war in which we mandalorians were beaten. After that war, we vanished. Most people thought that we ended up wiping ourselves out in the chaos afterwards. And frankly, they were almost right. We did nearly wipe ourselves out. At one point, we were on the verge of extinction. but in time, we came to accept our defeat, and decided to leave the galaxy to its own devices. the differnet clan of our people each chose thier own planets to colonze, and soon, our people were forgotten by the rest of the galaxy, except by those who read about us in the history books. Of course, we always had some on the outside, keeping us up to date on the going ons in the rest of the galaxy." she finished, and Seryk nodded. he knew of that war, and of the destruction that is had caused. the mandalorians had left vast swathes of the galaxy in ruins in their attempt at beating the old republic. And according to all the history books, after they had been defeated, they remnants of their people had wiped themsleves out, and that only a few small pockets of them had remained, and eventually, even they had vanished. But apparently, the mandalorians had wanted it that way. And suddenly, it dawned on him as to why.

 

"You were afraid. You were afraid of what the rest of the galaxy would have done if they had found you. They would have persecuted you, much like the jedi during the rise of the Empire." he aid, and the woman nodded.

 

"Yes, you are right. That, and we were ashamed. We were a warrior culture, and to be defeated like that, was a blow to us. So we went into hiding, a sort of self-imposed exile. We have been slowly rebuilding our people, waiting for the right time to reveal ourselves." she said, and Seryk remembered the rumors he had heard about a group of mandalorians helping in the final few fights agaisnt the Vong.

 

"You helped fight against the Vong, though. Why didnt you show yourselves then? We could have used you in that war." he said, and the old woman shook her head.

 

"No, we didnt think the time was right. We allowed Fett to take some of our warriors to assist in the battle, but we werent willing to commit to a full scale war." she said, and Seryk became confused.

 

"Why not? the galaxy would have welcomed you back with open arms. We needed all the help we could get. We came dangerously close to losing that fight. it was only luck that allowed us to win." he said, and theold woman nodded.

 

"Yes, we know. But, like I have already stated, we didnt think the time was right." she said angain, and Seryk sighed.

 

"Andyou think now is the time?" he asked, hope in his voice. But to his dismay, the old woman shook her head.

 

"No, not yet. We are still waiting for something to happen, before we can rejoin the rest of the galaxy." she said, and Seryk got a quizzical look on his face. The old lady smiled, knowing what he was going to ask.

 

"And no, i will nto tell you what that is. What we are waiting for must happen on its own without the interference of another." she said. After she said this, one of the doors opened, and a gaurd entered. he slauted her, and she nodded in return.

 

"M'Lady, our scanners picked up a small vessel entering the system. but it vanished soon after." he said, and the old woman began to get a concerned look on her face.

 

"Did it re-enter hyperspace?" she asked, and the man shook his head.

 

"We cannot be sure. It simply vanished from out scanners. We think it may have cloaked, and his heading to this world." he said, and the old woman stood slowly. She turned her head to Seryk, a scowl on her face.

 

"Did anyone know where you were going? Could thay have followed you?" she asked harshly, and Seryk shook hi head.

 

"no, I was assured by Admiral Eveha that my ship would not be tracked. And I showed no one the coordinates that Fett had given me." he siad, and the Old woman sighed.

 

"Alright then. Sound the alarm. Bring security up to maximum level. Prepare to begin closing off all exits to the city. Inform the defence untis to expect an infiltation attempt to the city. Remind them to beware of the ventilation ducts to the surface, I do not want a repeat of what happned the last time." she said, and she began to walk out of the room. Seryk stood, and began to follow her, but the gaurd stopped him. the old woman turned to him, and smiled.

 

"I am sorry Seryk, but yo must stay here for now. Boba will come and get you if you are needed. Until then, wait." she said, and she turned to walk out of the room. Seryk watched her leave, and then moved to sit back down at the table. he wonderd who had managed to find the world, and what the old woman had meant about what had happened last time. But he figured that he would no son enough. Something in the back of his mind told him that much, at least.

[Trejiuvanat]

OOC: Hey my post wasn't lost. I thought I had lost it when Firefox crashed... How many Replicators are here? How many are functional? I thought I had disabled one when I came in!

 

IC:

"Two Raporan ships have hypered into the area of the shipyards?"

 

"Is that so?" Oreton asked as Onolovav nodded back, with a predatory smile on his face.

 

Oreton touched a few buttons and zoomed into the area of the shipyards, the cruisers were well within the shipyard group. Detonate the shipyards now would deal them considerable damage, not enough to actually destroy them. But remove them from combat for the time being would be enough.

 

"Signal the Fondor Defense group to move away from the shipyard, they are to move at maximum speed to the port flank of the Dignity Group, they will take the role of destroyers, they must keep away from the cruisers. That's what the UDA ships are for."

 

In the holo representation the few ships from Fondor's fleet were moving. Some starfighter chased them away, while the Raporan cruiser moved deeper into the shipyard area, fearing perhaps an offensive by the UDA ships to halt the destruction of the shipyards.

 

"Transmit code." Oreton said.

 

In a quick succession the most modern shipyards of the Galactic Alliance exploded, taking seven of the ten cruisers with them. The three survivors, were only that survivors, with little to do in the rest of the battle.

 

"Whatever the outcome now is, the Alliance certainly has lost much." Oreton said.

 

"Oreton!" Evahe's voice came through the holocomm. A bitter angry tone came with it.

 

"Admiral, seven Savla-class cruiser have been destroyed."

 

"And you, Oreton destroyed what we were defending here," the angry tone took over.

 

"With the Cruiser having jumped in there, there was no other alternative. Shipyards can be replaced, the crewers that would have died had the ten cruisers survived cannot."

 

The other commander grunted. "What is your plan now?"

 

"The Rapora have succeeded in one of their objectives, they have denied us the most important resource on Fondor. While strategically this world is an access to many space lanes on this side of the galaxy it is not as important as other worlds like Corellia or Kuat are. If we push further they might withdraw. Oreton out."

 

The human Grand Admiral took a deep breath. The loss of the shipyards would mean a setback of warship production, while he did value more the people crewing the vessels than the vessels itself, it would not help overall strategy if he had idle crewers that had no ships to occupy and send against the Rapora. He grimly made a mental note about communicating with Dorja and Yage about Imperial production and recruiting.

 

"SIr, the Raporan pincer is breaking. Spirit of Justice and their group have forced them back. The two fleets will regroup."

 

The shipyards were gone, there was no point in halting the UDA - Imperial Fleet anymore.

 

"The GFFA fleet?"

 

"Engaged against Kar Lur and Savla Cruisers. The Replicator has withdrawn from point-blank ranged and has opened fire on the Alliance support vessels."

 

"Signal, our Delta-Missileboats, use SLAMs and heavy bombs to make runs on the cruisers attacking the GFFA Fleet, gunships will hold mines and fighters. Bring us to reinforce the GFFA group as well, there is no point in staying here, there are no shipyards anymore."