Rapora War (Introductory RPG)

[BadSamaritan]

Ilos marched along the quiet corridores of the Gorath weapons center. Mazzoc walked along side him, explaining the use of each section of the facility. So far, he had been very much impressed. The production facilites on the planet were top of the line, and moving quickly to produce more weapons for the war. He had asked what some of them were, not recognozing all of them. And he had nodded in understanding when both Mazzoc and Ioor had informed him that they were not at liberty to discuss all the projects. But Ilos had recognized the Gorathian starfighters in one section. he knew that those starfighters were quite important to the war effort.

 

"General, I have noticed something that bothers me. I know that the majority of the facotries here are automated, and understand why. But what I have not seen are defence systems. If a fleet should appear, what forces do you have to keep them from bombarding the planet?" he asked, and the general grinned.

 

"We have very advanced sheilds that can snap up around the planet quickly if they are needed. And we alos have several very large weapons emplacements to blast ships out of orbit. Other than those, we basically rely on the corvettes and the starfighters fro protection." he said, and Ilso nodded.

 

"Which is all good, but what if troops manage to land? I haven't seen hide nor hair of ground troops or defences." he said, and Mazzoc barked a laugh.

 

"Admiral, this entire facility is a defence system in of itself. Let me demonstrate." he said, and he pulled a msall comlink from his pocket. He touched a few buttons, and for a moment, nothing happened. And then, out of nowhere, machine components moved, walls fell, and Ilos found himself staring at half a dozen war droids, and a series of blaster cannons in the walls. He nodded in approval.

 

"We designed this facility to pretty much run by itself, if need be. Each room has one set of defences, or another. if ground troops do land, they will have a long bloddy battle ahead of them to take the facility." mazzoc said, and Ioor nodded.

 

"And in case they deside to bambard, we have the planetery guns to fire back with. More then enough to smash an orbital fleet within an hour. Not to mention socres of missle and torpedoe launchers to end of starfighters and transports." Ioor said proudly, and Ilos smiled. Not even Denon or the Maw installation had this level of defensive capabilities. And given the advanced weapons that were being built here, he doubted he truly understood the full capabilites of the defences.

 

"But Admiral, Eveha mentioned that you had a project that you required our help with. With what you have seen so far, do you think we can be of any service?" Ioor asked, and Ilos nodded.

 

"Yes, I do believe that you can help me." he said, and he pulled a datapad out of his pocket. He handed it to Ioor, who took it and began to look over the contents. He smiled at what he saw, and nodded.

 

"Well, it certainly warrents a try." he said, handing the datapad to Mazzoc. Mazzoc took a look at the datapad, and laughed.

 

"Admiral, if this is all you require of us, I think we can help. Come to the main offices, and we can discuss this in a mroe comfterable area." he said, and Ilos smiled. After all of his recent failures, maybe somethign was about to go his way.

 

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

 

Seryk watched as the single small missile flshed out towards the incoming starfighters. he wondered what a single missle was going to do, until it struck the ground. His eyes widened as he saw the ground erupt violently, quickly swallowing some of the enemy sqaudrons. A few more followed thier brethren to a firey death, but the rest managed to evade the massive blast. He watched the survivors for a moment, until the sound of Fetts voice cut through his seeming awe.

 

"Seryk! Gwet your squadron ready, they are going to make a run at the cruiser!" fett shouted, and Seryk snapped back to attention. He bagan to manuver his squadron, but found he had waited for to long. The enemy starfighters had already began to rake the mandalorian squadrons with laser fire. Several of his own pilots fell in the opening barrage. Hearing the screams over the comm snapped Seryk back to the war against the Vong. He suddenly remembered all the pilots he had led to death all those years ago.

 

"Scatter! Avoid their fire, then engage at will!" he ordered, and his squadron quickly followed their orders. As he began to point the nose of his starfighter up at the oncoming fighters, he saw the guns of the cruiser open fire, along with the ground artillery. he followed the fire, wondering if they were targetting the starfighter as well. But then he saw the plamsa bombs. He watched as most of them were blasted out of the sky, or missed thier targets completely. But then he saw the explosions on the cruiser. He watched as the first few brought the shiled of the mighty warship down, and then the last two strike the hull. He watched inhorror as the ship slowly fell to the ground, crashing hard.

 

"All starfighters, get the enemy fighters, now! We cant let them make any more runs at the cruiser!" Fett ordered, and over the comm, Seryk heard dozens of pilots roar out a mighty battle cry. Seryk joined them, and plunged his starfighter at full speed at the reporan fighters. One starfighter fell under his guns, quicly followed by two more from his squadronmates. But when he checked his sensors, he knew that the repora had evened the odds almost. This was going to be a tough fight. He just hoped that they would last through it.

[Mad78]

The group was led by Mazzoc to a lounge which also contained a worktable and a holoprojector. Mazzoc served everybody a glass of Correlian brandy while Garik pluged the datapad to the holoprojector.

Once every body was seated in the comfortable sofas who surrounded the projector, Garik switched it on.

An image of a bird of prey appeared in mid air.

"So Admiral. You want us to build you four birds of prey?" asked Mazzoc sipping his drink "Couldn't any other shipyard do this?"

"Not Preybirds of this kind." answered Hirotek as the specs of the ship came on the holo.

"Nice specs. You seem to know what you want." noticied Mazzoc with professional look

"I need for built from scratch and 8 overhauled."

Mazzoc smiled

"Well General I shall contact our stocks and check that we have what you need I shall also send a ship to bring the 8 ships who need to be overhauled.

I the mean time i suggest you enjoy i hospitality."

 

*****

 

Tuvax and his group slowly approached the communication center which was their target. A quick visual scan informed them that the building was defended by 4 set of automatic blasters as well as guards on the roof.

"Positions" ordered Tuvax

He and four other Warriors climbed in the branches of the trees surrounding the clearing in which was the building.

The guards on the roof were protected in a bunker like cover but the most important was the turrets. They could cause serious damage if they got a target.

"Grenades."

simultaneously the rapors threw grenades. The warriors then guided them with the force until they were right next to the turrets.

I a great flash of light the automatic defenses exploded.

Tuvax roared and charged followed by the rest of the group.

[Trejiuvanat]

OOC: Sorry about the weapon mismatch. I would have thought that with Han corrdinating the defense forces of the planet he would have kept rather away from the front. Mad, I will hijack your char for a few lines, the comm post will definitely fall, but Tuvax may learn a few lessons out of it.

 

IC:

 

Tuvax halted the charge as he saw the defensive turrets turning to open fire on the charging Rapora. The grenades had exploded away from the metal turrets, dealing exclusively cosmetic damage to the turrets. Tuvax wondered what had happened, they had thrown them through the Force and he had guided them through the Force.

 

"Into the forest, regroup." Tuvax snarled as he impulsed himself from the floor up to one of the lower branches of the tall trees. The Rapora that had run into the clearing close to the bunker halted and turned away as fast as possible, some made it back to the relative safety of the dense jungle, but some died to the fire.

 

Tuvax hissed in anger. All of a sudden he felt to fall off the branch on the ground. He turned his head up and spotted thin walkways leading through the higher branches of the trees. Camouflaged Imperial troopers sniped from there to the Rapora. Worse yet, Tuvax could not feel them through the Force.

 

***

 

Lieutenant Darko Maitinnen felt good, his defenses were holding up. The ysalimiri that protected the area had confused and halted the Rapora, and his snipers from up in the trees continued to pick on individual Rapora.

 

Ysalimiri had been scattered everywhere, up high in the trees, where snipers and a few wookiees harassed the Rapora and down in the few underground galleries.

 

"Send out the Growltroopers," Maitinnen commanded. The few wookiee warriors that were assigned to this base had been dubbed Growltroopers. Wookiees had built the cat-walks in the trees, and had helped design the base. The Empire had given them, protective black armor and powerful sniping weapons to pick at the Rapora, they would exit through a series of hidden lifts, that opened in void trees and from there harass the Rapora. Maitinnen smiled.

 

The base would possibly not hold against larger mechanized units, but such units would have a difficult time coming through the dense forest, and it would be a considerable delay for the Rapora. He felt satisifed, if the Rapora wanted to destroy his outpost they would need to slow down their advance, which was his mission, after all. Even if the Rapora destroyed the turrets, it would take them a while enter and safely navigate the underground corridors. Lieutanant Maitinnen smiled at the Ysalimiri in the nutrient frame that adorned his command room.

 

But unlike the Imperial Officers three decades ago, Darko Maitinnen did not fear the Dark Side of the Force.

 

OOC: Feel free to kill Maitinnen and Co, Mad.

[Stellar_Magic]

OOC: And fromt eh ashes of the past comes...Shren!!!

 

IC: GFFA Intelligence had kept her for two months now, trying to pull every bit of information she could reveal from her mind. The debriefing had been painstakingly long, but now it was over.

 

Jacen Solo drumed his fingers impatiently as the Intel officer compiled the last pieces of data, "Now what are we suppose to do with her?"

 

"A UDA officer is coming to pick her up, apparently their Supreme Commander wants to speak with her." The officer answered slowly.

 

* * *

 

Han watched as Ulan ran forward and swiftly decapitated the last Aklasp. As the creature's body collapsed Han ran a hand over his brow, "Do we still have Holocomm capability?"

 

One of the officers glanced over the equipment and nodded, "They destroyed the in system comm but we can still call out of system."

 

Han swallowed slowly, "Open a link to the High Council, we're going to need their help."

 

* * *

 

The GFFA troops that were attacked by the Aklasp broke and ran, their officers running along with the enlisted men from the seemingly unstoppable creatures.

 

Melina Thompson watched her comrades flee the strange aliens as a scream from her front forced her to look to her own defenses. Suddenly she froze, her position was now untainable as the Rapora charged forward with their sabers humming, "Everyone fall back!!!"

 

* * *

 

Darth Avarice watched the GFFA forces crumble, "All units, are to push forward as best they can, we've got them running, lets keep them running."

[Trejiuvanat]

"You better do it fast Han. I don't think it'll take the Rapora long to disable the long-range transmitters." Ulan suggested.

 

"I know," Han murmured and stood over the body of the dead creature. "Load the creature into a command speed and bring him into the research labs at the Capital, tell whoever is in charge that I want a complete analysis of the creature. Don't forget to take his head," Han said. still shying away from the dead creature, even if its temperature dropped rapidly the heat was almost unbearable.

 

Ulan tried to move out some of the equipment he had destroyed during his fight with the creatures. Doing that he found a small comlink, with the Imperial insignia carved into it.

 

"Han?" Ulan asked as he gave the comlink back to Solo, who stared at the object. As he recognized the marking he remembered it being the object Dorja gave to him.

 

"With Dorja down, who'd be in command of Imperial Forces?" Solo asked one of the Chiss. "General Rakhvess had been reported as her second in command, do you want me to open a link to him?"

 

"No," Solo answered. If it was someone who would be available on standard channels she would not have given him the comlink. Han put it back in his pocket, and made sure that it would not get out. There was one possible way to find out who was on the other side of that comlink, but he did not have time for it, Ulan reported that a weak-link had been opened with the High Council.

 

"Councilor, I'm afraid you won't like the news I have for you."

 

"I never do," Omas answered. "Speak, general."

[Stellar_Magic]

"The Rapora have brought allies to Ord Mantell it seems. My headquarters was just attacked by a group of three of them, they're like nothing I've ever seen."

 

Kyp Durron felt his eyes narrow, there was something more to what Han was saying, he was afraid, "Can you describe them?"

 

"I've got something better, we're sending you a holographic image of the creature. They seem to be made out of metal..."

 

Cal felt his eyes widen, "Captain Solo, do you mean a droid..."

 

"No, whatever this thing is its biological, but its not like any other form of life I've encountered, the thing seems to be entirely metal. It's innards are molten metal, it's skeleton is like armor plate, and its body radiates heat like a blasted furnace."

 

Han frowned slightly as the transmission shimmered slightly, "I don't know how long this link will hold. They're impervious to blaster fire, I expect to be overrun very quickly because of these things. We need every Jedi that can be spared just to slow them down. Ulan Shai is already here, can you send anyone?"

 

Kyp Durron glanced at the other Jedi in the room, "If the situation is as dire as Han says we have no choice."

 

Cal leaned back and glanced at Admiral Kre'Fey, "How vital is Ord Mantell?"

 

"If we loose it the Rapora could easily cut the Hydian way," Kre'Fey's hairs bristled at the thought, "We need to hang onto that world as long as possible if only to prepare the rest of GFFA for war."

 

Cilghal's eyes focused on Kyp and Cal, "We are guardians of the peace, if we do not participate we will have failed to fullfil our charge." Cilghal glanced at the others in the room, "If this is so vital, one of us should go to liason between the Jedi and the other forces on the ground."

 

Suddenly the doors of the chamber swung open and a worn figure stepped into the room. Her green robes were covered with cinders and dust, but the hollow look in her eyes sent a cold chill through the rest of the chamber. Kenth Hamner moved to stand but the new arrival waved him down, "I'm not hurt Kenth."

 

Kyp glanced at her and suddenly through the force recognized her, "By the force..."

 

Mara Jade Skywalker sighed, "Zonoma Sekot has been hit by the Rapora. The planet has fallen silent and thousands are dead." Cal Omas felt his jaw gape at her as she continued, "They need supplies and medics to treat the injured or thousands more may die."

 

Leia Organa Solo stood at the entryway to the chamber, "We owe Zonoma for its part in the war with the vong, now is our chance to repay that debt."

 

Kyp glanced up at them, "Where is Luke?"

 

"He's on the planet, we arrived after the attack. The Ferrorans were taken completely by surprise as were the Vong." Mara's fists clenched, "Danni Quee is alive, but Tahiri and the others are still missing, they may be among the dead."

 

Cal sighed, "So it seems we've got two crisis one on Zonoma Sekot and the other on Ord Mantell."

 

"Luke can lead the cleanup at Sekot," Kyp said simply glancing around the room, "And we don't have the resources to mount a full scaled rescue. We can help, but the GFFA government itself is the only organization with enough resources to help them."

 

Cal nodded, "I'll push it onto the Advisory Council, they may balk but in the end they'll be forced to agree."

 

Han's shimmering hologram glanced over to where Leia stood, "Hi hone, now who's going to head to my rescue?"

 

Mara shook her head, "I'm heading back to Zonoma."

 

Kyp stood, "I'm willing to lead a team of Jedi to Ord Mantell."

 

Leia nodded, "I'll go with you, it seems that Cal won't need me to badger the Senate in this Crisis."

 

Kenth Hamner stood, "I've just sent out a call to all unassigned Jedi, they should be here within the next few days." He smiled slightly, "It'll be quite an entourage Kyp. Katarn is free, as is Corran Horn, Lowbacca, Zekk, and of course, Jacen Solo, once he's finished transferring the prisoner to the UDA."

 

Kyp smiled, "If the Rapora knew we were coming they might just pack up and leave."

 

Mara shook her head slowly, "I doubt you all will return."

[Trejiuvanat]

Han turned one of the switches down, not wanting he had learnt some bad news. Han exchanged some words with the comm officer, suggesting to begin packing up, but try to reach some of the retreating GFFA commanders.

 

"Ulan?" Han turned to the Yuuzhan Vong warrior who stopped his words with his two palms.

 

"I have heard, makes you sad to hear that the world we chased for milennia and cost the live of trillions, was lost so easily," Ulan whispered. Han moved closer to the Vong, who looked at Han before continuing. "One of the reasons I came with you was because I feared that Sekot would be attacked. When I was their captive, they were so interested in me, in Sekot."

 

Han frowned, looking at his ally. The warrior that had beheaded two of the unknown Rapora warriors seemed so fragile. A fragility Han would have never imagined in a Yuuzhan Vong, the words of the Jedi rang in Han's words. From the tone he believed he percieved a faint echo of regret, of betrayal.

 

"I recall only few moments of my captivity, the rest is darkness. I know I met their leader. The man behind all this madness, and that his power seemed infinite. Han, I don't know if it was me who killed Sekot. He could have forced me into revealing the location."

 

Han looked with sympathy at the Jedi. For a race that is terribly feared across the galaxy, to show such weakness of spirit was fatal. Worse yet, Ulan did not have any certainty if he had been succumbed or not, and doubt gnawed at his strength even more.

 

"Ulan, I don't know much about you. I didn't even know you had been in the hands of the Rapora. I only know this, you are a Yuuzhan Vong and a Jedi, you cannot dwell on your grief and doubt when others need you. So come, we have plenty to do."

 

Ulan looked at Han.

 

"We have still to figure out who's on the other side of Dorja's comlink, and we have to train up our Jawa army."

[BadSamaritan]

Ilos walked the halls of Gorath, a frown on his face. Mazzoc had called him to one of the many hanger bays near his small room, saying his starfighters had arrived, along with a present from Athien. He had not been expecting the fighters to arrive so quickly, nor for Athien to send something else with them. Thoughts crossed his mind quickly as to what she may have deemed worthy of sending to Gorath. And frankly, he had no idea what it would be.

 

He walked into the hanger bay, and saw in front of him a massive trasnport, and beign unloaded from its bays were were the last of the Sabre starfighters. But he expected that. What he didnt expect, was the squadron of Chiss Clawcraft that were parked next to it. He walked over to Mazzoc, who was talking with what looked like a Human pilot.

 

"Ah, Admiral. Your here. I would like you to meat Col. Eldrik, of the UDA starfighter corps. He and his squadron escorted the transprt here, and asked to speak to you personally." Mazzoc said, and he then walked away to go deal with the unloading of the starfighters. Ilos looks over Eldrik for a moment, and then nodded.

 

"Well, you asked to speak to me, so here I am. We are on a tight schedule, so I will have to ask you to hurry." he said, and Eldrik nodded.

 

"I understand admiral. My squadron and I were ordered to escort this transport here from Dresnak, and then we are ordered to follow your command." he said, and Ilos raised his eyebrows for a moment. He could not find one reason as to why He would have been given a Chiss squadron, unless Athien thought that he needed pilots for the Preybirds.

 

"I was also told to give you this." Eldrik said, and he handed Ilos a small datapad. ilos took the datapad, and activated it. When he did, a picture of Athien appeared.

 

"Admiral Hirotek, I spoke with my father about your plans to put live pilots into Sabre Squadron. He said that you would want a good group of pilots for them, so he has given you command of Knight Squadron. They are a vetern sqaudron, and have already faced the Repora on several occasions. They should suit your needs well. Good luck, and Hurry back." she said, and the datapad turned itself off. Ilos looked back up to Eldrik.

 

"Well then, get the rest of your people over here, so I can get a good look at them. And so I can explain what you are going to be piloting." he said, and Eldrik nodded. He turned around crisply, and walked back to where the rest of the Chiss squadron was standing. mazzoc came back over, and sighed.

 

"Honestly, I dont like them being here. They are more of a security risk than I think its worth. And I think Ioor would agree." he said, and Ilos nodded.

 

"While I agree, they are here now, and there is nothign I can do about that. That, and do you honestly think I am going to turn down a gift from Thrawn? He may be offended by that." he said, and Mazzoc nodded.

 

"Valid point. I wouldnt want to annoy him either." he said, and Ilos chuckled. He then saw Eldrik walking back over with the rest of his squadron, and Ilos was astounded by what he saw. He knew that the UDA was made up of many different races, but two members of the squadron surprised him. Walking in back of the qroup, were a Yevethan, and even more astoundingly, a Nohgri.

 

"Admiral, I present to you Knight squadron." Eldrik said, and Ilos nodded.

 

"Well, welcome to Gorath, all of you." he said, and he looked to the Yevethan.

 

"i apologize, but I have to ask, werent your people.." he began to ask, and the yevethan smiled.

 

"Wiped out by the Vong? For the most part, yes. But Supreme Admiral Thrawn sent rescue ships to our world when he heard what had happened. He picked up all the survivors, and transplanted us to a new world. Our people are now located in a single city, on a single world. I was a pilot who fought against the Vong, and was offered a spot in a starfighter squadron. I took it, to try and repay the UDA for saving my people." he said, and Ilos could here the pride in his voice. Ilos nodded, and then looked to the Nohgri. But before he could speak, the Nohgri raised his hand.

 

"Please Admiral, do not ask why I fly for he he used my people. I have my reasons, which I prefer not to speak of." he said. Ilos stared at him for a moment longer, and then nodded.

 

"Alright then. I suppose I should breif you on what is going to happen. If you will follow me, I will explain everything." he said, but then he noticed the Ensignia on the pilots uniforms. He though he recognized it from somewhere, but he couldnt quite place it. But he did have an idea, which could be confirmed with one question.

 

"Tell me, what fighter wing were you attached to before being transferred to my command?" he asked, and in unison, the thirteen pilots bellowed out the answer.

 

"One Eighty First!" they all yelled, and Ilos nodded. Not only did Thrawn give him a vetern squadron, he had a feeling he had been given one of the best squadrons in the UDA.

 

"I thought so. Now, if you will follow me." he said, and he tirned to lead the pilots out of the hanger. He had to brief them on his plans, and then start training them top fly the preybirds. And he had limited time in which to do it. But he had a feeling it wouldnt take to long.

[Mad78]

Tuvax leapt avoiding the blast of a grenade who had appeared from nowhere. The snipers were somewhere in the trees and had appeared from nowhere.

If Tuvax did not locate their entery point soon his hole unit would be eliminated.

Using the force he attracted the lightsaber of a dead warrior to his hand and waited.

He jumped at the last moment avoiding a shot. The sniper had made a mistake by revealing his position. Tuvax leapt and landed on a nearly invisible catwalk crossing the trees. In front of him was the sniper, a gigantic wookie in a black armor. The Wookie roared as he charged Tuvax claws ready to cut through flesh like butter. Tuvax struck with his two blades simultaneously severing the Wookie's head. The giant's body fell to the ground as a hidden door opened in a tree and two stormtroopers steeped out with their blasters blazing. Tuvax roared and charged.

 

****

Maitinnen was sitting in his Command chair sipping a correlian brandy when the comlink turned itself on.

"Commander! The Rapora have penetrated the underground passages." said the voice of a stormtrooper.

"Where are they now?"

"They have passed relay point 1 and 2 and are rapidly closing in on our position."

Maitinnen threw his glass against the wall.

Things were not happening as they should

"What are we to do?" asked the soldier's voice

"Hold your positions. We must delay them as long as possible.

 

****

Tuvax and his warriors charged along. The Imperials had not counted on their capacity to smell the blood of the soldiers.

The group arrived at a barricade. Sending back the fire of the stormtroopers and cutting anything in their way.

They stopped when they arrived in front of a metal door.

 

Maitinnen watched as the dorr of this office was slowly cut open by a blazing red lightsaber.

The door flew open and in stepped a Rapora warrior. His face was covered in tattoos and one of his feet was artificial.

"You must be the Leader of this Taskforce" said Maitinnen

"You have no need to know that Human" hissed Tuvax

"Yes I don't. In any case you shall die, just as I will" answered the Imperial as he put his hand above a control on the side of his desk. "This hole complex is rigged with explosive."

Maitinnen hand came down on the button and... stopped in mid air.

Tuvax smilled

"You underestimate the power of the Dark side"

Maitinnen arm let out an aweful crunching sound

"And now you will die"

The Imperial clutched his neck as Tuvax suffocated him using the force.

 

A minute later Tuvax walked out of the room. He turned towards his second in command.

"Clean up the bunker and place plasma charges. We have finished here"

[ADarkJedi44]

Fury watched as his army was assembled. The nano assemblers created massive vehicles. The UDA forces would know what to expect, but they would not be able to hold out. There was only a light forest. It would not prove to be too much of a barrier. Darth Fury smiled. He would enjoy the battle.

It was time to move out.

***

The Guardian came out of hyperspace with the Fourth Fleet behind it. The normal chaos of battle engulfed the ship. It was a comfortable feeling, but the size of the Rapora fleet distrubed Evahe's peace of mind. He had expected it to be merely a bigger convoy, it was surprisingly well escorted.

He walked around the bridge giving out the usual orders as the alarm sirens went off. The Fourth Fleet had massive power, no doubt, but it was nearly alone. The small UDA force has certainly underestimated the Rapora. It was too early to retreat, but it was not out of the question. He needed to get in contact with the UDA, but they were cloaked. It would be best to wait for them to contact the Fourth Fleet.

The Rapora were not caught off guard. Their fighters were soon flooding out to meet the GFFA forces. Evahe knew his fighters could not rush out offensively. Instead, they'd fight defensively. The Gorathian craft would prove valuable.

"Sir, we detect more ships exiting hyperspace..."

More Rapora?

[Stellar_Magic]

The two UDA task forces shimmered into existance on either side of the Raporan convoy. Their weapons were already targeted on the enemy as a storm of Chiss Clawcraft sped out of the hangers. Then with a flash the UDA ships opened fire. Six Vagaari Dreadnaughts detonated under the onslaught as the Drefma class Corvettes through their ship's engines to full attempting to claw themselves out of the firebag they found themselves in. The UDA's Freedom Sword class light Cruisers swept in, their four torpedo launchers spitting blue projectiles in the Rapora's wake. One of the volleys caught a Drefma class in the rear and blew apart the engine compartment, sending the craft spinning out into space.

 

Behind the Raporan convoy the reinforcing Rapora Warship's kicked into full acceleration toward the engagement. The eight Savlas in that formation were already blazing forward at full speed. Through the force Commodore Athien could sense the Rapora's fury. Smiling coldly she nodded to the communications officer, "Open a channel to Admiral Evahe."

 

The sensor operator spun in his seat, "Sir, we've picked up two more ships entering the system."

 

* * *

 

Admiral Evahe glanced up as Commodore Athien's three dimensional image appeared beside General Fel's, "Admiral, those Savlas are moving to attack our rear, if you'd eliminate them we can finish off the convoy and present a unified force to the Rapora."

 

"Thank you Commodore. General have you identified the two new arrivals?"

 

General Fel shook his head, "Negative, they appear to be the two ships that engaged our fleets over Ord Mantell but we can't confirm that."

 

* * *

 

Aboard the Aklasp cruiser Varkrask Captain Kask Clawdar smiled at the Aklasp Admiral, "You were correct Admiral Velras, the enemy has targeted this convoy. The Timeless One will be most impressed."

 

Admiral Velras smiled slightly as he heard the comment, "You have not seen us fight yet have you Clawdar, well prehaps this will warm your opinion. Launch fighters!"

 

Like a pod of Kracken in the deep Mon Calamari sea the Aklasp fighters exploded from the Cruiser's hanger. The glowing red orange squid shaped vessels spun toward the conflict and shot forward.

 

* * *

 

Commodore Athien watched as the GFFA imposed itself between the Raporan reinforcements and the UDA. The Savlas shied off their course as the enormous bulk of the Executor class Star Destroyer Guardian slid into space before the enemy.

 

Then her smile faded as she turned back to the holoprojector, it was time to test Hirotek's idea, "Open a channel to the Vagaari vessels." The communications officer was to experienced to ask questions as she keyed in the frequency, "Vagaari Vessels, we have no quarrel with you or your ships, the Rapora are our target, if you agree to remove yourselves from their service we will consider you noncombatants."

 

As Athien leaned back she listened to the response on the frequency as the Vagaari argued between themselves. Suddenly one of the Alaga class Dreadnaughts broke formation and sped away. Sensor revealed it lowering it's shields. Suddenly two of the Alaga class vessels in Raproa convoy began powering down. Then another voice came across the comm, a clearly Raporan one, "Damnation to traitors!!!" Suddenly three of the Alagas in the convoy were vaporized by a volley of Raporan plasma shots.

 

One of the Savlannas in the convoy suddenly vectored toward the fleeing Alaga it's weapons systems powering up and throttle at full. Behind it a full wing of Vagaari fighters shot from the Paskla class Carrier. The fighters shot toward the Alaga apparently trying to beat the Savlanna there. Athien whispered to herself as she watched, "There must be Rapora on that ship, that Savlanna is burning space."

 

Suddenly the Vagaari fighters turned about and fired on the Savlanna across the channel a hoarse Vagaari voice yelled, "Liberty or death!!!" The Savlanna began to tumble, its weapons and engines disabled. The remaining Vagaari ship's began to vector away from the convoy, some ready for combat, others powering down. Glancing at the displays Athien watched as the Alaga class dreadnaughts engaged and destroyed four of the Savlannas that had begun targeting the Paskla class.

 

Smiling to herself she leaned back as a Vagaari voice crackled onto the comm, "Commodore this is Supreme Commander Dravik we'll fight for you to throw this yoke of oppression from our people!"

 

* * *

 

His name was Brigadier General Valinkor, and he was a Vagaari in charge of a mottled unit of his comrades. A warrior during the struggle agains the Raporan conquest of the Vagaari he had joined the UDA to escape what he knew was soon to happen to his people. Now he was on Ord Mantell leading a full Brigade of UDA troops in the fight against the Rapora.

 

He stood on the top of the UAT-HT hover tank with his electrobinoculars focused on the Raporan regiment that was advancing toward him. He smiled coldly, "So there's Darth Fury, perhaps we'll show him why Sith is a curse inside the rim." He turned and nodded to the communications officer, "Inform Colonel Sterask that he may fire when ready."

 

From behind the small ridge a whole battery of eight UDA Liberty Rain missile batteries whined onto the propper vector for launch and unloaded a full volley of sixty-two proton tipped missiles. Their magazines depleted the batteries activated their repulsor lifts before their missiles reached the top of their trajectory.

 

Just below the top of the ridge a regiment of UDA armored vehicles waited, their hulls protected by the hill itself from line of sight weapons. The AT-AT-UDs were kneeling down on their fours to keep out of sight, a tricky maneuver for something so large as the regiment of Sentinel droids rolled to just in front of the walkers, flanked on each side by UDA infantry.

 

Brigadier General Valinkor nodded to himself as the AT-PT-UDs clattered to the peak of the ridge, their shield generators producing a warpped appearance over their cortosis reinforced hull. They sat there watching as Valinkor turned back to the Raporan regiment and watched the proton bomb tipped missiles drop onto their targets from almost directly above them.

[Trejiuvanat]

Evacuation. Heavy hearted, Han Solo and his staff and officers removed themselves from the base that had housed them for the past days. The equipment (what was left of it after the creatures attacks) had been quickly packed up and loaded on lifters, technicians and crewers performed smoothly their routine. After all sensitive equipment was hauled away, the crewers efficiently loaded the wounded in another vehicle and sent them off. Now was the turn of the officers. Behind them only the soldiers awaited to be ferried to the next base. Even the corpses of the dead creatures had been sent off to the capital for a complete medical analysis. One of the Chiss had gone with them.

 

Behind them a cumulus of black clouds rose from the burning forest. The Rapora slowed down after the Ewok gambit apparently had decided for the wood fire to die of its own and then pass over the ashes of the forest instead. The group of the fire-walking creatures that had come through the forest during the fire had already destroyed one of the small outposts on the fold of the mountains, and just reinforced the urgency to pack up.

 

"Hope you are ready for a long trip," Han said. as he entered the hover vehicle.

 

"How long will it take us to arrive?" Ulan asked.

 

"It'd be about forty minutes in a shuttle, about thirty in the Falcon." Han answered. "But," and his voice trailed off with annoyance.

 

"But?"

 

"But we are going to make the trip in this bucket of bolts. After what happened to Dorja I don't think it'd be safe to use shuttles, not without some strong escorts."

 

"General's orders?"

 

"That's why he's here," Solo answered. The delay would be considerable it'd take them mfour or five hours making it in the hover vehicle through the mountain range. The entire convoy would be making a very slow time.

 

"You better take a nap," Solo suggested as he made himself confortable in the seat in front of him. The hovercraft had been designed for ten people plus the pilot and copilot. Now only Han, Ulan and their pilot were inside giving all of them plenty of space. Han took out the comlink.

 

"Everything loaded?"

 

"Yes sir, we are ready for departure." The voice came back.

 

"So what are we waiting for?" Immediately the hovercraft's engines hummed to life and the convoy began its slow journey to Riverbase. Solo put the comlink with reach and closed his eyes.

 

Ulan looked at the human, then shifted his gaze out of the viewport at the moving landscape. His eyes slowly began to close. The soporiffic hum of engines and the monotone landscape helped to put him to sleep.

 

The images and thoughts that troubled his mind had no trouble appearing in dreamform. The once-lush forest of Sekot were blackened by fire, just as the ones in Ord Mantell. The stank of hundreds of corpses filled the air, and the reddened water tasted like poison. He heard the voices of Harrar, and Nas Choka as they denounced the treachery. He felt the pain of the mothers that lost their children of the father that lost their families. Renewed oaths of vengeance, of war. Prayer to Yun-Yammka rose over the disgraced agony cries of thousands of Yuuzhan Vong. The Rapora had not even landed on the planet, the Yuuzhan Vong had been slaughtered from orbit. Sekot had not been able to defend its inhabitants, nor had it given them the weapons necessary for defense. The curses changed their destination as many Yuuzhan Vong cursed their homeworld before they were completely silenced.

 

In his dreams Ulan wept.

 

Craters of fire appeared where their cities and towns had existed, a dark entity shadowed the world. Amidst all the destruction a blueish figure sat. Impassive, indifferent to the tragedy.

 

"Master Ocas," Ulan noted.

 

"This is the result of your choice." The ghost answered, the comment had a powerful effect on the Yuuzha Vong.

 

"I know."

 

"Do you regret your choice?"

 

"No," Ulan answered, with a honesty that surprised himself. Trej, evidently was not suprised.

 

"Choices forge our lives. I once spent years in regret of one cowardly choice, other choices I took and died for them. You resisted the temptations, had you give into them Zonama Sekot would be safe."

 

The image in the dreams shifted to the Zonama as Ulan remembered it. "Other worlds would have suffered the terrible fate, but not Zonama. At the side of the Timeless One, you would have repeated the feat of your fathers and in few years you would have conquered the known galaxy in His name."

 

"I do not regret my choice," Ulan murmured quietly. There was no regret, only sadness.

 

"You acted upon what you felt was correct. You have shown faith in yourself and in the Force, Ulan Shai. But the journey is not over yet."

 

Ulan wanted to answer, but his eyes opened wide.

 

"And here I thought that Jedi did not take naps." Han asked.

 

Ulan blinked. "Did you say something?"

 

"Just noting that this journey is not over yet," Han answered. "And that not many Jedi take naps."

 

Ulan smiled and looked at Han again. "How far are we?"

 

"Not much, we may have one hour or so before we arrive. But it's good you woke up, as I want to see who's on the other side of this." And he put out the special comlink Vana had given him.

 

"There goes nothing," Han said as turned on the comlink.

 

The transmission clicked once and a strong human voice came through, slightly cracked up by the static.

 

"General Solo, you had me worrying."

 

"Oreton?" Solo asked. It was definitely not what he had expected to hear, he had counted on a Rapora tellling him that Vana was dead, or on the mute silence of an unanswered call.

 

"Grand Admiral?" Ulan asked, recognizing the voice too. Equally suprised as Solo.

 

"Baros," Han spoke again, he allowed himself the familiarity having met Oreton about two decades before. "This thing is not long-range. You are-"

 

"You know the answer to that question, General," the voice on the other side interrupted him. "This might be the most secure channel on all the planet, but some things are better left unsaid. I gather you are moving to the Base by the River Emante?"

 

"Yes, we captured some strange aliens allied with the Rapora."

 

"The ones that walked through the forest?" Baros asked.

 

How did he know? "Yes, those. They are tough things, it took Ulan a lot to deal with them, they are made of metal or some crystalized silicate material. THey are really hot." Han noted.

 

"Interesting." Oreton answered. "I have other problem to attend, General. I will communicate again."

 

And the transmission clicked off. "Who hasn't his own worries these days?" Han sighed. "At least we learnt some few things."

 

***

 

Oreton regretted having to close off his communication with Solo. Even if it was the most secure channel, Oreton would wait until Solo arrived to the base and coordinate then.

 

In the meantime, Solo had confirmed some of his notes on the particular creatures that intervened in the past battle.

 

Made of metal or crystalized silicate, Oreton looked over his database. He keyed another channel in his command room and another welcome voice came over the comm.

 

***

 

"Vaathkree?" Captain Arien Yage asked.

 

"A necessity we cannot rescind, Arien." Oreton answered. "I trust your mission has been proceeding well."

 

Arien smiled grimly. "I have had my own share of problems, but we have achieved some success. The visit to Vaathkree might be a problem."

 

"You survived six months in the Unknown Regions all by your self on the Widowmaker, you will find a way to bring the Vaathkree on our side."

 

"Yes sir, I might just strike a deal with them," she said in the enigmatic way that Oreton himself used. "It will delay my arrival on Ord Mantell for another week."

 

"I understand."

[BadSamaritan]

Ilos looked out the viewport of the massive Star Destroyer, and smiled as he watched the Reporan warfleet arrayed against his foces slowly manuver. It was the third such attitude change in their forces in as many minutes. He was confounding his enemy quickly by changing his tactics quickly and often. he just hoped that it would be enough to last until re-inforcements arrived. As he watcheed the enemy forces amnuver, he suddenyl saw two massive Savla class warships break away from the main group. He thought about it for a moment, then smiled.

 

"Contact group three, and order them to jump in to the following coordnites. Tell them to fire at what they see in front of them." he ordered. He waited for a moment, then saw two Victory III class vessels drop in right next to the lone Savla cruisers. Ilos grinned evily as the two warships opened up with their weapons, and tore the Savlas apart with thier salvos of missiles and turbolaser blasts. But he knew that trick wouldnt work again. He sighed, then saw something that intrigued him.

 

The enemy formation was suddenly changing shape, but much more quickly then he had seen them switch before. The enemy commander was trying to match his tactics, perhaps?

 

"Order all ships to hold for now. Lets see what they are up to. Order group two back to the main force. they did their job." he said, and he turned his attention back to the front lines of both fleets, whcih were exchanging blows heavily. He watched as a pair Ravagers exploded from teh concentrated fire of a group of Reporan vessels. He fronwed, wondering if he should order fresh vessels to the front for now. He didnt want to lose ships to pure exhaustion.

 

Suddenly, the bridge of his vessel rocked, and ilos fell to the floor. As he began to stand back up, he saw the squadron of Reporan fighters that had somehow gotten into the thick of his warfleet, and had hit his flagship with plasma bombs.

 

"Admiral! We have lost our forward shields, and starbord guns are all offline! We have hullbreaches all over the place!" on of his officers yelled, and Hirotek cursed.

 

"Bring fighter groups two and three to engage those starfighters. And order the Solarflare to move in to protect our flank." he ordered, btu then he saw that it was to late. He watched out the viewscreen as the Reporan starfighters moved up along his inactive starboard side, preparing for a run at the bridge. he sighed as they neared the command tower, and sat bck down in his seat. The viewport suddenyl went dark, and General Ioor suddenyl appeared instead of a rolling space battle.

 

"Well fought Ilos, you did fairly well that time. You would have won too. I couldnt even get your lines to budge, let alone break." Ioor said, and Ilso nodded.

 

"Very true. I just dont understand where those starfighters came from." he said, and Ioor laughed.

 

"Those? They came from right behind your vessel. they launched from a cloaked warship." ioor said, and Ilos nodded. A dirty, yet effective tactic. One he would have to remember.

 

"Well played Ioor. And I must say, these simulators are quite impressive." He said, and Ioor nodded.

 

"Yes, I like them also. They use some of the most advaced AI brains that we have available to design these. You should try out the Endor simulation. I cant win as either side in that battle." he said, and Ilos smiled.

 

"I will have to do that. But for now, lets go see how far along Sabre squadron is, shall we?" he asked, and Ioor nodded.

 

"Yes. They should be done soon. And Knight squadron should be finishing up the first set of trials to see how well they adjust to their new starfighters." Ioor stated, and Ilos nodded. The screen went blank, and Ilos stood. He wanted to be leaving this world soon. He hated sitting around, not knowing what was uoccoring in the war. he turned, and exited the simulator with the rest of the bridge crew.

 

But for now, there was work to be done here.

 

OOC: Ill post for the Mandalorians later.

[ADarkJedi44]

Darth Fury hissed as the rockets rained upon his men. It was a mere annoyance, he assured himself. His column as a whole was unaffected. They needed to keep moving, or they would be destroyed. But they would not be too quick...

Upon seeing the UDA forces' strike, the Saylars' returned fire. The Raporan artillery has been waiting for the right moment to strike. Their attacks would force the UDA artillery to concentrate on them, or to risk destruction. The rest was up to Fury's main assault force...

"I need to speak with Avarice." Fury said to no one in particular.

***

The Raporan convoy exploded into chaos. The betrayal of the Vagaari wasn't a terrible menace to the Raporan ships, but it was a distraction. It would keep their eye for the moment. Evahe glanced back at the holographic image of General Fel as the man began to speak.

"Admiral Evahe, have your fleet form a wall in front of our forces. Your GFFA ships can protect us as we run sorties against specific Raporan ships. The Rapora will doubtelessly have reinforcements on the way, so we must be swift and be careful to avoid getting too caught up in the conflict."

Evahe complied. "Good idea, General. It'll only take us a moment to organize."

So it was. The well trained Fourth Fleet easily complied and reorganized. The Rapora were still busied with the chaos the Vagaari had caused, and could not react in time. The UDA forces were just as swift. The plan came to fruition quickly. Meanwhile, the Rapora had finally organized and were preparing to engage the GFFA defensive wall.

"Get the Gorathian interception frigates behind our fighters and have them prepared to meet the Raporan fighters. We cannot risk plasma bombs being launched within our formation." Indeed, they could not. If the line broke up internally, the massive Vareme would have a field day. A drop of sweat fell from Evahe's head as he watched the Rapora manuver.

Let's see what the UDA ships can do...

 

OOC:Have fun chasing us off.

[Stellar_Magic]

Commodore Athien smiled as the GFFA formation opened up to create fire lanes for the UDA, "Alright, our first target is that Vareme, Task Force Alpha, form line asterm full power to forward weapons and shields."

 

The UDA force formed up into a ragged line, ragged due to the continuous maneuvering of the ships to ensure the spread of plasma fire across the ship shields instead of at one point. Biting her lip Commodore Athien glanced at her display, "Chiss Rose, Warrior of Rightousness, and Thunder of Thrawn spear point formation, take point!"

 

With a flash a formation of three Freedom Sword ships rocketed through the fire lane and dove down onto the Vareme's dorsal surfaces, their weapons firing a steady stream of shots. The Vareme's shields began to falter and small holes appeared in the shield's screen allowing a few turbolaser blasts to sneak through the defenses.

 

The Vareme returned fire, blasting heavy plasma rounds at the smallest of UDA starships. One shot caught a Freedom Sword in the engine compartment severing it in half. The other two broke away toward the GFFA fleet engaging their phased cloak and over a dozen shots passed straight through the vessels.

 

Athien smiled as she studied the damage done to the Vareme, "Very well, instruct the Thunder of Thrawn to abandon ship, we'll pick them up."

 

The holographic image of General Fel appeared before Athien, "Commodore, we're reading for a pass on the Vareme's Stardboard, would you care to take its port?"

 

"Thats just what I was planing General, helm attack vector, guns fire on my mark, I want a full plasma torpedo spread ready."

 

The UDA force under Commodore Athien shot through the firelane as the force under General fell did the same some fifty kilometers to port. They both broke toward the Vareme and opened fire. The brilliant display of plasma, chiss, and turbolaser fire flashing between the ships was blinding as the two squadrons converged on their foe.

 

Commodore Athien smiled as the Vareme grew larger and larger in her view, "All ships prepare torpedoes to fire on my mark...mark!" The entire squadron fired a full volley of torpedos as the Vareme loosed its full fury. One volley of plasma rounds blew apart a Freedom of Thought class cruiser, while another volley disabled the engines of a Freedom Sword class amongst Fel's force. The Rapora then opened fire on the torpedoes with their antistarfighter lasers and caught several before the inevitable impacts. One both sides of the ship the torpedoes pummeled the shields ripping them away, over a hundred smashed into the ship's hull yet it remained intact as the UDA fleets performed a perfect criss cross maneuver over the ship's dorsal surfaces.

 

But one ship, the damaged Freedom Sword class cruiser from Fel's fleet, the Iron Will of the Free, couldn't break its course and collided with the Vareme, dead center. The Freedom Sword detonated from the impact and ripped into the hull of the Vareme disabling its power generators and killing a third of the crew. Without the power generators the ship was dead, an occupied hulk in space.

 

* * *

 

Brigadier General looked skyward as the glowing blue tracer of a Salyar artillery shell shot upward followed by three more. Smiling the General lowered his electrobinoculars, "Excellent, you got their positions?"

 

The sensor operator nodded, "Nice of them to show us, good thing our artillery units moved, transmitting to Tigre Squadron."

 

Suddenly from above the clouds a squadron of Clawcraft equipped with rocket pods dropped toward the Salyar artillery battery and opened fire.

[BadSamaritan]

OOC: *mumbles something about pushy roomates not letting him use the comp*

 

IC: Seryk pressed the firing button, and watched as his laser cannons ripped inot the Reporan starfighter. it exploded, and Seryk sighed in relief. That one had snuck up on him, and he almost hadnt gotten away. He checked his sensors, and saw that the Mandalorains were still winning this fight, but just barely. The fire coming fom the ground forces was helping, but not by much. But thats not what bothered him the most. What bothered him was the mandalorian cruiser, which was heading for a hard landing on the planets surface. He could see the damage to the outer hull that the plasma bombs had created, and could also tell that the ship would never leave the atmosphere again. Not without massive overhauls.

 

"Seryk, watch your back!" came a voice over the comm, and Seryk juked his fighter hard to starboard, just in time to see a series of plasma shots rip though where his starfighter had been moments before. He cursed, and sent his starfighter into a hard dive, hoping to dissuade his tail from following. He rocked as a blast hit his sheilds, and he began to bring his starfighter back up, realising that the reporan fighter had followed him.

 

As he did, he saw a mandalorian fighter flying towards him. He smiled, and shot his fighter right towards the oncoming ship. He waited for a moment, and then juked to to starboard. The other starfighter, realising what he was planning, swerved to port, and raked into the oncoming starfighter with its laser cannons. He ship roked as the shockave from the explosion hit his sheilds, but he knew he was safe for now.

 

"Fett, what are we going to do about the Wolfsbane?" he asked, and he heard Fett sigh over the comm.

 

"Nothng we can do about it. We will protect it from starfighters for now, and then we have to start moving south. Sensors picked up GFFA troops that direction. The crew will have to get the backup reactors running, and then launch the ship again. Then we can use it is a weapons platform." he said, and Seryk nodded.

 

"And if they cant get the reacotrs rnning?" he asked, and Fett waited for a moment to answer.

 

"They will fight to the death to defend it fromt eh Repora. And if it seems they are going to fail, they will detonate main reactor. Either way, they die like Mandalorians." he said, and Seryk nodded. He was beginning to se how far mandalorains took their lifestyle now. They would sooner die then be captured, or to have their vessels get captured.

 

"Come on Seryk, back to the battle. We have to finish these fools off, then start moving. We dont have much time." Fett said, and seryk sighed. he turned his starfighter around, and flew back into the dogfight, lasers blazing away. He just hoped that he lived to get off this planet. The Repora had much to answer for, far more than could be dealt with here alone.

[Trejiuvanat]

Rivers, Oreton considered, had been a decisive strategical element in ancient times. With one rival on one side and another on the opposite, bridges and other crossing point had become of pivotal importance during battle. Hovertanks and hovertransports now made bridges and crossing points useless. In modern warfare were no longer an obstacle, rather they were an annoyance.

 

The base at River Emante had been edificated during the Clone Wars, the broad empty grassland had been the landing site for Acclamator Destroyers, the fortress had been the base of the Republic. An overly defensive General, a Jedi whose name was lost from history books, built a defensive fortress. Build atop a hill that slightly altered the river's path, the fortress rose over the grassland. The hills slop had been reinforced with heavy armament and shielding. The fortress seemed inpenetrable, strong enough to turtle inside for days and weeks. Something, Oreton decided, that probably would not fit General Solo's command style. So, when the angered voice of Han Solo came out of the sound console Oreton had to suppress a knowing smile.

 

"General, I trust that my call is not inopportune."

Not inopportune? Han grimaced, "Not at all. Just polishing some tactics. And how's everything whereever you are?"

 

Oreton ignored the sarcastic remark. "I am sending a special trooper regiment down to River Base."

 

"We are pretty far from the Imperial Bases, and after the Rapora cut through the jungle lands I did not expect you to have units in the neighboorhood. We can hold out on our own, I don't think we'll need reinforcements. This won't be the decisive battlefield."

 

"One must be prepared for everything, Solo. Some of the Rapora movements have been intriguing."

 

"The lost heavies, you mean?" Han asked, somewhat annoyed of his dialogue with an amateur Thrawn. Scouts had picked up that the heavier machinery had been left near the mountain area, only the ground troops were advancind. Solo suspected that the heavies would be air-dropped once in the battlefield.

 

"No," Oreton answered to Solo's suprise. "The advance of the ground troops has not been steady, giving time to their parallel advances in the jungle lands, and the creatures attacks on communication stations in the open. But sometimes all three forces have slowed down purposefully. There is, General another unaccounted Rapora group."

 

"There has been no notice of such an engagement," Solo snapped back.

 

"There are some unpopulated areas, that neither the Empire nor the Galactic Alliance have been watching. But it is interesting to note that the fourth groups advance is very slow. Slower than the Firewalkers."

 

"Something heavier?"

 

"Or we have some unexpected allies," Oreton complemented. His tone more matching to a shrug than to certainty.

 

"Where do yo expect them from coming?" Solo asked. "From the ocean?"

 

Less than thousand kilometers to the East the River Emante flowed into the worlds largest ocean. It was one unexpected direction, and the Alliance had several scout posts and facilities near the shoreline and along the river."

 

"Or from the North," Oreton said. "For certain the jungle troopers are coming from the south and might join the Rapora and Firewalkers that followed you through the Letnaman mountain range in the Southwest. Along the course of the river to the Northwest is rather secure GFFA territory. The deserted North is an unknown value."

 

"When is your regiment going to arrive?" Han asked in a deadly-serious tone. Oreton was smart and had his own information assets, the fourth groups existence could not be disclosed. If the Imperials joined he could have some scouts and troopers watch for a possible arrival route and have some warning.

 

"I just ordered him to depart, they will be taking the slow route. They might arrive just before the Rapora."

 

"Thank you, Grand Admiral. If you excuse me, I have some duties to attend." Han said and closed off the transmission. He secured the comlink in his his belt and patted it lightly with his hand. Mentally he did something that he had never done before. He thanked the Empire.

[ADarkJedi44]

After hearing (and feeling) the latest threat, Fury reached out using the Force. He smiled as he felt the power of the Dark Side engulf him. With it, he gave a mental touch to the nearest Raporan pilot. The pilot acknowledged it and began to respond. It was too late for the Saylar batteries, but the UDA fighters would not cause any more damage. Not to mention a few plasma bombs could achevie the goal of the lost Saylars....

He halted and relayed the order to the rest of his troop using the Force. He considered for a moment. They were basically out in the open and were vulnerable to any UDA artillery that remained. On the other hand, the Kar Asps' plasma bombs could be nessacary to punch a hole through the UDA line. He could not be cautious now...

He would move his force foward, but perhaps a bit slower...

***

With the Vareme basically disabled, the Raporan fleet was a bit less menacing. The UDA strikes were effective, but they were a slow process. Raporan reinforcements would arrive sooner or later and Evahe was interested in inflicting the most damage as possible.

"General Fel? Shall I move my fleet to pressure the Rapora? We can retain our wall-like shape will merely moving closer." Evahe said will turning toward the hologram.

The UDA General nodded. "Don't get overconfident. The Rapora are still very dangerous. Do not lose the formation or they'll be able to break through and likely even the odds."

After a few quick orders, Evahe had the GFFA fleet advancing upon the Rapora fast. Once within range, they stopped and maintained the "wall" formation. As the two forces engaged, the UDA continued their strikes. A Kar Lur was disabled by one, the next destroyed a Vaka. The Raporan fighters were distracted by the GFFA forces, as were most Defras and Salvas. The UDA merely had to manuver their way in and out...

If the Raporan reinforcements did not arrive soon, they were doomed.

[Stellar_Magic]

OOC: The Aklasp forces are strung out, the fighters are about to arrive. Hmmm... the UDA - Rapora engagement, well... lets see what you make of UDA air defense equipment.

 

IC: Brigadier General Valinkor watched as a squadron of Raporan Kar Asp fighters dropped out of the clouds to pounce on Tigre squadron. He smiled coldly and turned to his communications officer, "Order Tigre to fall back, terrain following pattern past our position. Inform Colonel Aldar that he is clear to engage the Raporan fighters."

 

The Chiss clawcraft broke off from their strafing runs as the first plasma bolts flashed among them. They sped as quickly as they could, skimming the surface as the Raporan fighters kept after them. Then suddenly a half dozen missiles shot upward from the concealed AD-UD batteries in the woods behind the ridge. Within seconds the missiles turned downward and split open flinging out six seperate warheads, each one targeted on a raporan fighter. None of the squadron could escape with thee warheads equivalent to proton torpedo in power and a CM-9 in speed and maneuverability on their tail.

 

Still smiling the Brigadier General raised his electrobinoculars, "Have our artillery redeployed?"

 

"Yes sir," The comm officer responded.

 

"Then tell them to fire with everything they've got."

 

* * *

 

Commodore Athien worriedly glanced at her monitors as a squadron of unknown fighters continued to approach. She rubbed her chin thoughtfully, "Jaspre and Rubra squadrons, intercept those ships, hold them back as long as possible, destroy as many as you can."

 

Then Athien turned her attention back to the battle at her front, there everything seemed to be going well.

[BadSamaritan]

Seryks' Starfighter shook as he landed it in the midst of the ammassed mandalorain ground forces. he had taken several major hits int he dogfight, btu had lasted long enough to see the final Reporan starfighter explode, which was all that mattered. he could see Fett walking towards hm as a steady pace. Seryk jumped down from his starfighter, and nodded.

 

"The repora seem to have sent a small force to intercept us. We need to get moving, and try to out-flank them. I dont feel like taking them head on just yet." Fett said, and Seryk nodded. He then looked around to inspect the Mandalorain war equipment. He could see massive artillary peices, ground skimmers, hover-tanks, anti-air mobile turrets, and strange looking walkers. He motioned to the walkers, and spoke.

 

"What are those? They look like walkers, but they are pretty small." he said, and Fett nodded.

 

"They are small. One warrior to a walker. They are Mandalorain battle mechs. They wre designed to fend off ground troops, and light ground equipment. Its amazing what a mandalorain can do with a few laser cannons strapped to his arms." he said, and Seryk chuckled. From what he saw, mandalorians only needed a few blasters to be effective. Giving them laser cannons seemed almost like overkill.

 

"How long of a march do we have until we reach whomever is in charge?" he asked, and Fett thought for a moment.

 

"At most, no more than half a day. And thats with bad terrain, and those Reporans causing problems. Which I dont think they will." he said, and Seryk nodded.

 

"How can you be so sure?" he asked, and Fett looked back at him, and put his helmet onto his head.

 

"Seryk, the mandalorains used military forces smaller then this to give entire old republic planetary armies a headache. And that was with lesser technology. With what we have here, I think we will be fine." Fett said, and Seryk sighed. He could only hope he Fett was correct on that assumption.

 

Seryk walked over to one of the dozens of hovertanks, and climbed onto it, along with a dozen other soldiers. In this army, he looked like just another mandalorian, save for the lightsavber hooked to his belt. Suddenly, the hovertank rose off the ground, and began to move. Alomst at once, the entire ground force began to move southward.

 

For the first time in centuries, a mandalorian army marched to do battle. For the first time in history, it was not to conquer a planet, but to save it. Seryk just hoped that it would not be the last time he saw it happen.

[Stellar_Magic]

Jacen Solo lead Shren through the corridors of the GFFA Intelligence Headquarters to the landing pad where the shuttle that would take them to the Star Destroyer Prometheus waited. With a hiss the doors slid open and Jacen lead her into the vessel. As he did his thoughts turned to Ord Mantell and his mission once this one was complete.

 

* * *

 

With a flash the Corellian Action IV Transport dropped out of hyperspace above the world of Ord Mantell. The moment it dropped into the system the Jedi onboard went to work projecting the illusion of nothing and hoping the Rapora wouldn't catch on.

 

Kyp Durron hunched over the controls, his brow furrowed in concentration as he reached out with the force to make sense of the chaos bellow him. He heard the hatch behind him slide open as Kyle Katarn slipped into the cockpit, "So how many ships?"

 

Zekk turned away from the display frowning, "Over a hundred, most of them are Rapora but there are a couple Vagaari and a few unknown types."

 

Leia glanced up at the holographic display, "Lets hope most of them don't catch on."

 

Lowbacca growled agreement as the Corellian Action IV slid through the enemy formation and toward the planet. As the atmosphere of the world began to surround the ship Corran Horn keyed his comm, "Well Kyp, that seemed pretty easy."

 

Leia suddenly jerked forward, "Maybe not as easy as you thought, we've got a squadron breaking to engage us."

 

Kyp grit his teeth, "Alright I'm heading for Han's Headquarters, hopefully someone around there will get some cover up to us, this could get nasty."

[BadSamaritan]

Ilos smiled as he watched the new starfighters set down on the loor of the massive hanger. In front of him, the squadron of pilots that would be flying them stood in awe of their new fighters. Ilos had guessed that they had never seen anything like them before. Indeed, quantum armor was a rare sight anywhere in the galaxy. And to see a starfighter squadron made up of it was something most squadrons could only dream of. But his squadron was getting one. And hopefully, it would turn out to be a wise use of valuable resources.

 

"Well, these are your new starfighters. They will be painted standard GFFA colors to hide their true nature. But that will only last until you actually engage the enemy ships. Then, they will figure it out." He said, and Col Eldrik nodded.

 

"Well, those few moments of surprie will be all we need to devestate any enemy fighter squadrons that we face. At the beginning of the battle at the very least." he said, and Ilos nodded.

 

"Yes, thats when your skills as pilots comes into play. I wanted a vertern squadron for this assignment, because a rookie squadron would just get cocky in these fighters." he said, as the last of the starfighters landed. They all walked up to the starfighters as a group, and a female Chiss motioned to the elongated cockpits.

 

"Admiral, why are the cockpits longer? They are far to long ofr just one person." she sai,d and Ilso faught hard to remember her name. The long Chiss names had always caused him problems. He decided to just call her by her rank for now, to ease his mind.

 

"Well, captain, the cockpits are longer for all of your co-pilots. If they could be called that." Ilos said, and Col. Eldrik looked over to him, an odd smile on his face.

 

"Co-pilots? Of what kind?" he asked, and Hirotek raised his hand.

 

"You will see once they arrive. Until then, pick out your fighters, and take them for a test flight. Get used to the real thing. We will be departing within the week." he said, and Col. Eldrik nodded. Ilos watched as the pilots all chose their new starfighters, and stood there long enough to see them lauch themselves back into the atmosphere of the planet. He then turned, and began to walk back to his quarters. he had been studying several of the projects that were being conducted here, and one of them had intrigued him immensly. Project Zsinjs' Shadow still needed some work, but it seemed to have promise. But only time would tell.

 

OOC: Ill let someone else figure ut what the project is. Zsinj was crazy enough to have some crackpot project running that would be of use now.

[Stellar_Magic]

OOC: It's alive...maybe. I'll setup the climatic battle at Ord Mantell

 

IC: Han Solo looked up as the sensor operator ran into his quarters, "General!"

 

"Yeah, what is it?" Han answered groggily standing.

 

"Kyp Durron is on his way here, with Raporan fighters in tow!"

 

Han was instantly awake, the grogginess forgotten, "Scramble Spear and Polearm squadrons have them escort them in." He started toward the door, "Was there anything else?"

 

"The UDA forces have withdrawn to a mile of our position and are digging in, also remaining Imperial forces have begun to arrive."

 

"Good," Han answered smiling, perhaps soon they'd be able to get off this rock.

 

* * *

 

Fifteen kilometers to the north of the base an Army slowly awoke beneath the trees and prepared for its last few kilometers of movement. Their dull grey and green vehicles thrumbing to life as squads of infantry in their battle suits clambered onboard transports. Within moments the entire Mandalorian army was moving.

 

Boba Fett watched them move out, "It is quite an impressive sight, one I'd never thought I'd see."

 

Seryk stepped around the command track with a Raporan Plasma Carbine in his hands, "Lets go meet our hosts."

 

Boba snickered softly within his helmet, "Which ones, the old enemies or the new?"

 

* * *

 

Kyp Durron maneuvered his bulking transport as best he could in atmosphere. Suddenly a storm of X-wings flashed by their lasers blazing at the Raporan fighters. Kyp smiled, "Good, that should help us."

 

Leia Organa Solo glanced at the displays, "We're clear, the Raporan fighters have moved to head for space."

 

Kyp glanced down at his monitors and whistled softly, "Looks like we arrived just in time."

[BadSamaritan]

Seryk smiled as the army moved swiftly through the forests. Over the comm link in hishelmet, he could hear some of the troops talking about low flying scout vessels from teh GFFA forces. He wondered what they made of the army, and if they though it was an enemy force. He severly hoped that the GFFA wouldnt attack them, for that would stick them between tow massive forces. And while he was confident in the mandalorian army, he wasnt that confident. But he trusted that Fett knew what he was doing.

 

Serykl checked the sensors on the hovertank he was riding, and saw that they were just a few Kilometers away from the GFFA base now. And by the looks of it, there was a lot of comm traffic bouncing around. Preparing for an upcoming engagement, perhaps? But at the moemnt, it didnt matter. All that mettered was getting to the GFFA without getting shot at. Which might or might not be a daunting task.

 

"All forces, hold your positions. Feild officers, form up around me" Fett said over the general comm, and Seryk rocketd off to the command vehicles. He had been given a temporary promotion to cover for the loss of a high ranking officer when the Wolfsbane had crashed. Most of the mandalorians still didnt trust him, but they knew not to question Fetts orders. Seryk landed near Fett, as did close to a dozen other armor clad warriors.

 

"Alright, we are close enough to their base that they have to know we are here. And judging by how many flyovers there have been, they are gauging the strenght of our forces." he said, and one of the officers nodded.

 

"Very true. But are they gauging our forces so that they can attack us, or so that they can defend if we attack?" he asked, and some of the other officers alos voices their concerns over the matter. It seemed none of them really wanted to be caught inbetween the people they were trying to save, and the people they were trying to kill.

 

"I have been thinking about that. The only thing we can really do is establish contact with them. But they wont answer hails on open frequencies. And we havent managed to crack their code yet. So all we can do really is go up and talk to them." Fett said, and Seryk nodded in agreement. Some of the other officers aggreed also, btu others were more skeptical.

 

"How do you know they wont take whoever goes to them as a prisoner of war? They cant know for sure that we are on their side." she said, and Fett nodded.

 

"I know. We will have to send someone they know is on their side. Someone they can trust." he said, and he looked over to Seryk. Seryk stared blankly back for a moment, before realizing what he was implying.

 

"Me? What makes tyou think they will trust me?" he asked, disbelief in his voice. He didnt like the prospect of being the one to talk to the leader of the GFFA forces.

 

"Beacuse of that lightsaber at your belt, for one." Fett said, and Seryk nodded slowly. he may not be a jedi, but he had met a few of them during his breif stint on Denon. And it was possible that some of them were here.

 

"That, and you have had more experiance than any of us with the rest of the galaxy, except for Fett. And we cant afford to risk him." one of the other officers said, and Seryk sighed. he knew they wre right on both accounts. But that didnt make him any more willing to do it. But it wasnt like he really had a choice in the matter.

 

"Alright, ill go. What do you want me to say to them?" he asked, and Fett Shrugged.

 

"i dont know. Im sure you think of something. You think quickly when there are guns pointed at you." Fett said, and the rest of the officers chuckled. Seryk didnt see anything funny it that staement, but he laughed anyways. he had to at least try to keep his spirits up. And with the way things were looking, he would need all the good spirits he could get.

 

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

 

"Well, they arent Reporan. Thats for sure. The thermal scans are all wrong." Han said, looking carefully at the screens in front of him. he and several of his command staff had been staring at the screen for several minutes now. The large force had stopped a few kilometers shrt of the main base, just outside the outer defence rings. But not knwing who they were bothered him. Especialy since they were right on his doorstep.

 

"Imperials, perhaps?" Ulan asked, but han shook his head.

 

"no, they would have contactd us by now on the correct frequencies. These guys are dead silent." he said, and he then looked up at Ulan.

 

"You feel anything through the force about them?" he asked, and Ulan closed his eyes for a mement, then shook his head.

 

"No, their minds are closed very tightly to the force. Wether it is a biological action, or strict mental conditioning, I cannot say. But I can say one thing. They are agressive, but not necessarily towards us. I think it may be a general agressiveness." he said, and Han nodded.

 

"Great, so we dont know anything that we didnt know before. What did we get with the flybyes?" he asked, and his sensor operator shrugged.

 

"Not much. We know there are a lot of troops, and a decent amount of what we think are peices of heavy equipment. Or at least we think its heavy equipment. We arent sure." he said, and Han selcted this time to let loose with a very old, very powerfull corellian curse. One he usually reserves for politicians and other authority figures.

 

"Great. So we dont know who they are, what their equipment is like, whos side they are on, and what their intentions are. What do we know?" he asked, and Ulan shrugged.

 

"We know that they are there." he said, and Han sighed. This was not looking like it was going to be his day.

 

"Sir, scanners are picking up a single object heading our way from the unknown force. Spped is consistant was either a slow rocket, or a military style jetpack." his sensor officer said, and han looked up. If it was a rocket, it would be a waste of effort to worry about it, the bases sheilds would handle it. But if it was a jetpack, that would mean they want to talk to him finally.

 

"Alright, Ill go topside and figure out what we are dealing with. The rest of you, continue on with the battle preperations. I want something for every contingeny possible. I even want a plan for Rancors to be attacking, got it?" he said, and his command staff chuckled at his last comment. They knew he wasnt serious with that last comment, but that he was tryign to ighten up what was quickly becomeing a very dark mood.

[Stellar_Magic]

In retrospect Han thought as he watched the figure drop down to the ground before him, maybe he hadn't been so far off the mark. The man, if it was a man wore the classic armor of a mandalorian warrior, but it was clearly an older suit and style then those he'd seen fighting alongside Fett during the war with the Vong. If that weren't enough he wore a lightsaber on his belt, a combination that could mean only two things Han thought. A force using Mandalorian, or a Jedi hunter with his trophy, neither of them was good in his opinion.

 

The slightly familiar buzz of the helmets speaker echoed as the man talked, "General Solo I greet you on behaf of the Mandalorian Empire." The man's helmet glanced up as he straightened slightly, "Fett sends his greetings."

 

Han felt a slight smile slide across his lips, "Really, well it's been awhile since I saw the old man." Han's mind raced as he processed this newest seed of information, "So the Mandalorians aren't extinct after all." He glanced up at the man, "Who are you then, I mean you personally?"

 

* * *

 

The three flights of Chiss clawcraft broke from the taskforce, their blue stripped wings glinting in the distant sun. Between each pair of claws a boxy missile launcher sat. In the cockpits a dozen pilots were hunched over their controls as their comrades battled the Rapora behind them.

 

Their leader was a human named Johann Vela. He scratched his cheek as he watched his sensor display, "So what are these things? Two, are you reading what I'm getting?"

 

"Roger that, they're registering as having a internal temperature of 600 Kalvin," The calm stern voice of his chiss wingman answered.

 

Johann nodded, "Alright switch to missiles open fire at maximum range, I don't want those things getting any closer."