Empire Risen: Rebirth

[Paul]

Bad Samaritan I am loving this, the Empire has a fair chance in this story. Much different than the trash written for the "Good Guys Must Win" school of journalism. - Grand Moff Conway

[BadSamaritan]

(Editors note: Long post here. Battle scnes were never really my best writings ever, and I'm in a hurry. But its all good for you Imperials out there.)

 

The bridge was a flurry of activity. Reports were coming in from several people at once, and Genreal Iblis was trying to figure out what was going on.

 

"Everyone calm down!! What in the name of the sith is going on?" he bellowed, and his commanding officer looked to him.

 

"Genreal, we have recieved word from Genreal Antilles, he is apparently in need of help to escape a trap laid for him in orbit. If what he got from the message is correct, his sheilds are failing."

 

"Sithspit! Helm, set a course! Order the rest of the force to follow us in! Launch all starfighters upon reversion! Bombers are to attack capitol ships, all other starfighters are to fly cover! Move people!" he yelled, and the bridge became even more hectic.

 

Within moments, his force began the short three minute trip to Soullex. He just hoped he would not be to late.

 

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

 

"Admiral, the Lusakya has sent a distress signal. Shall we prepare to make the jump in?" came the question from the crew pit, and Grand Admiral Teshik smiled.

 

"Yes, prepare for the jump. But we will wait until we know what we will be attacking before jumping in. I want this to be absolutely perfect." he said, and the comm officer nodded.

 

Personally, Teshik could not wait. He wanted to be there now, directing his forces in combat. It had been far to long since his last battle, even if the years had passed him by in moments. But more importantly, he loved humiliating his opponents. Making them know that never had a chance to win. That was where his great enjoyment came from.

 

And judging by how this was going so far, it was going to be a very bloody day for the New Republic.

 

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

 

"Genreal, the Kerra is reporting heavy damage to their front shields. We also have reports coming in from starfighter groups, losses are heavy among the bomber squadrons. The Whirlwind is also reporting that they are prepared to abandon ship. They can;t regain control of her." the comm officer said, and Wedge cursed loudly.

 

This battle couldn;t have gone any worse than it was. His force was being smashed by Pelleons fleet, and he could do nothing to stop it. Worse yet, Pelleon had managed to keep most of his fleet out of the firing arc of almost all of his falgships guns, making it nothing more than a massive target.

 

"Comfirm abandon ship for Whirlwind. Gunnery, any luck getting us some targets?" he asked, and his gunnery captain looked over to him , a pained look on his face. As he shook his head, Wedge wanted to scream out loud. Pelleon had outmsarted them from teh start.

 

"Genreal! Multiple contect leaving hyperspace! Its General Iblis' force! he is deploying starfighters, and moving to engage Pelleons' force!" Came the call, and Wedge shot out of his seat.

 

"Contect Iblis, and tell him we are preparing to retreat. Tell him we have escape pods in space that need pick ups." he said, and he sighed. Even with Iblis' intetvention, this battle was lost. All they could try and do now was get out of here in one piece.

 

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

 

"Admiral, more rebel vessels have appeared. They are vectoring in on our afts. I am seeing two Imperial class Destroyers, thee Mon Cal cruisers, and a host of support ships. Starfighters have been launched." was all Pelleon heard. More reports about what ships were neamed also came, but he ignored them. That force was not his problem.

 

"Ignore them, and contue hitting the Lusankya. Have the Judicator and Badi Dea come about, and move to cut off their escape route. That ship must not escape." he said, and he silenty wondered what was taking Teshik so long. he should hav been here by now.

 

"Admiral, the new contacts are within firing range of the fleet. Orders?" came the question, and pelleon sighed. If Teshik wanted him out of the way, now would be his chance. And now was time to see if he had been wrong in his decision.

 

"The orders stand. Continue with the attack." he said, and he watched as suddenly, the guns from his ship punctured the shields of the massive vessel floating above them.

 

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

 

"Admiral, rebel contacts have appeared behind Pelleons' force. Shall we jump?" asked the helmsman, who controlled the jump levers for all vessels, to ensure a perfect jump.

 

"No, I need to figure out which vessel is the command vessel for the new force. We will hit that ship first. Give me a moment." he said, and he continues watching the sensor reports.

 

As he watched the vessels, one of the Star Destroyers moved to the front of the position, with the other falling in behind and above it. teshik smiled, and looked to his helmsman.

 

"Mark our exit point direct behind this vessel," he said, poiting at the ship he thought Iblis was on, "That vessel will be our main target. Have the Crippler and Kings' Tide also concentrate on it. All other vessels are to take targets of oppertunity." he said, and he sat back. As he watched his feleet make the jump, he idly wondered how Iblis would feel right before he died.

 

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

 

Iblis watched as his force, small copmared the the one he was chasing fanned out, turblolasers blanketing space with red and green bolts. But something bothered him. Pelleon was ignoring him. Other than calling back enough fighters to keep hi at bay, he was not turing away from the Lusakya. He ws up to something.

 

"General, the Lusankya has lost her aft sheilds! Thier hitting her engines hard!" came a clal from the crew pit, and Iblis closed his eyes. Without those shields, the mighty vessel was lost, and they all knew it.

 

"General! We have more contact entering the system behind us! Imperail vessels! They are right on tp of us!" a sensor officer yelled, but before Iblis could repspond, he was knowcked from his seat as the first salvo hit he vessel.

 

As he stood back up, another salvo hit, and the captain looked at him, fear in her eyes.

 

"Sir, aft and starboard shield are down! One more salvo like that, and we are done for!" she yelled.

 

But before Iblis could open his mouth to order the evacuation, anouther salvo tore into the hull of his flagship. hte shots tore until they hit the main core, which breached immediatly.

 

With a massive flash, the Fireborn Maiden exploded, sending chucks of debris out in every direction.

 

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

 

Wedge stumbled back to his feet, having baan knocked down when the first wave of turblosaler blasts had hit his hull. But before he could begin to issue orders, the sensor officer looked up to him.

 

"Sir, more Imperial vessels have entered the system! The opened fire immediatly! The Maiden is gone!" he said, and Wedge felt an icy hand grip his heart. If that that vessel was gone, than so was Iblis.

 

Wedge slowly stood, and looke at what he wa snow dealing with. The remnants of Iblis' forces were now being hounded by six more Star Destroyers. This battle had turned from a complete route into a massacre. Now, all he could do was run.

 

"Open a channel to all ships." he said, and he waited form his comm officer to nod at him. As Wedge spoke, the words seemed to choke him as he spoke them.

 

"All vessels, retreat. I repeat; All vessels retreat. Get out of here, however you can. Meeting point is launch point alpha." he said, and he motioned for his comm officer to close the channel. As he did that, a massive exploson ripped through the hull, and Wedge was tossed into the air. Right before he hit the deck, all he could think was one thing.

 

He had failed.

 

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

 

"Admiral, the Lusankya has lost engine cluster three. They are stuck in system." came the call from the sensor officer, and Pelleon smiled.

 

"Open a channel to all enemy vessels. Tell them they can continue to fight, or surrender. The choice is theirs to make." he said, nad he leaned back. It had been a fine battle, but for the first time in a long time, the New Republic had lost horribly.

 

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

 

"Admiral, several enemy vessels are breaking formation. They are retreating. The rest are either adrift, or are surrendering." came the voice of the commading officer, and teshik smiled.

 

"Accept all offers of surrender. What of the Luskankya he asked, and the sensor officer looked up.

 

"Im seeing massive amounts of escpae pods sir. They are abandoning ship." he said, and Teshik nodded.

 

"Pick up all escape pods, and inform all survivors that they are now prisoners of war." he said, and he stood up from his seat.

 

He walked over to the viewport, and watched as the remains of the rebel fleet made leaps to hyperspace in random direstions. It was a disorderly retreat, one made in panic. He smiled, knowing he had done his job.

 

Now, the New Republic would know fear. know, they would be reminded of the fact that they could be beaten. Now he just had to think of how to drive the point home.

 

And after that, all he had to do was beat them.

[Paul]

Beautiful simply wonderful! An Imperial victory that captured back Isards ship as well.- Grand Moff Conway

[Zer_Teron]

Good for too long the Empire has been without a victory like this, Bel Iblis Killed, a ESSD Captured and Wedge Antilles captured wonderful.

[BadSamaritan]

Wedge Antilles captured

 

(Editors Note: Sorry, but he got away. Rogue sqaudron was present, and they blasted anything that got even close to his escape pod before he could be picked up, and then escorted out of the system.

 

The next installment will talk about how much the New Republic actually lost (Which was a lot), but the following is a tally of the Imperial losses, as I won't be writing about them.)

 

~34% of all TIE fighters destroyed

~One Carrack Cruiser - Name unknown (Rogue Squadron blasted it when it tried snagging Antilles)

~Two Escort Frigates, Names Unknown

~One Vic Star, "Straight Shot"

~One Imp Star, "Imperial Conviction"

~Heavy damage to several other vessels

[Thrawn90]

You are a very talented writer, BadSamaritin. Keep it coming!

[Paul]

I am waiting for the next installment dude -Grand Moff Conway

[BadSamaritan]

I am waiting for the next installment dude -Grand Moff Conway

 

(Editors Note: Sorry Paul, but we got captured at Soullex, and didn't escape for several months, so I am trying to write up what happened in those months, as we had nothing to do with any of it. And a lot happened, some of which will come as a complete and total mind-screw to you.)

[Paul]

Which I take to mean that my boys lose, now I am depressed.-Grand Moff Conway

[BadSamaritan]

Which I take to mean that my boys lose, now I am depressed.-Grand Moff Conway

 

(Editors Note: No, not really. A few people get whacked around, a few battles take place. But what the surprise is, who joins in the war. It through us for a loop, right from the back of left feild.)

[DarthTex]

BadSamaritan wrote:

 

But what the surprise is, who joins in the war. It through us for a loop, right from the back of left feild

 

The Klingon Empire?

 

Well, really I would make a guess at either an "old" enemy (Pre-Empire, like the Trade Federation or such), or a supposedly allied faction (Hapans, Chiss?), or a neutral "other" faction (Ssi-Ruuk, Mandalorians?). I guess I'll have to wait until your next installment. Keep them coming, they're very interesting!

[BadSamaritan]

(Editors Note: You guessed so many times, and never got close. Good ideas though, especially with the Ssi-Ruuk.)

 

Admiral Ackbar stared at the bacta tank, in which General Antilles was floating. He still had not regained conciousness, and was not likely to awaken for several more days. Whcih was all for the better. It would likely be that l;ong before they had everything sorted out.

 

"What is his conditon captain?" Ackbar asked, and the medical technician watching over him sighed.

 

"He was pretty banged up when they got him here. Major cocussion, several borken bones, lacerations just about everywhere, second and third degree burns over 30 percent of his body. From what I understand, most of the other bridge crew was killed. Im surprised he made it this far." the woman said, and Ackbar nodded.

 

"General Antilles is the only surviving member of the command staff from the bridge. Several crew members went to the bridge to check for survivors before they evacuated, and found him alive." Ackbar said, and the tech nodded.

 

"He was lucky, Admiral. Very lucky. He will not likely remember much of it, however. It wouldn;t surprise me if he lost all memories from the previous several days. It is not uncommon with injuries of this sort." she said, and Ackbar sighed.

 

"Alright. Keep me informed captain. If he awakens, I want to be notified at once." Ackbar said, and the tech nodded.

 

"As ordered, Admiral." she said, and Ackbar turned and left the medical center. As he walked, he wondered how Wedge would take the news of what had happened. It was not very often a general loses his entire command, and lives to tell the tale.

 

As he entered his office, he found General Cracken waiting for him. Ackbar walked around to the chair behind his desk, and sat down. He looked to Cracken, and nodded.

 

"Thank you for seeing me Admiral. The final reports are in on the losses we suffered at Soullex. A few starfighters are appearing her and there, but I am certain not many more will." he said, and Ackbar leaned back in his chair.

 

"What were our total losses, General?" Ackbar asked, and Cracken grimaced.

 

"Exceptionally heavy. Every vessel larger than a starfighter in General Antilles force is gone, most were destroyed, but we know for certain the Lusankya was captured, along with perhaps the Whirlwind. As for starfighters, 79% of the starfighters from his force were destroyed. It was about as close as you can get to complete destruction." he said, and Ackbar closed his eyes. An entire task force was gone, because of his orders.

 

"What of General Iblis' task force?" Ackbar asked, and Cracken shook his head.

 

"About as bad. Iblis' flagship was destroyed almost the moment the second wave of Imperial vessels arrived. Along with that vessel, a Mon Cal cruiser, the Stormfront, and the Star Destroyer Silver Ray were lost. There was heavy damage to all other vessels. Starifghters losses total about 53 percent." he said, and Ackbar shook his head.

 

"General, this entire fiasco just may be the end of my career as Supreme Commander of the New Republic military." Ackbar said, and Genreal cracken looked up.

 

"Admiral, i know we took a heavy hit, with the loss of Iblis and the Lusankya, and it can't be that bad." Cracken said, and Ackbar shook his head.

 

"General, we lost far more than that. How many good people are now in the hands of the Empire? How much vital information was stored abord those vessels? How many ships will they turn back against us? The onyl way this could have been worse was if they had manged to Capture General Antilles." he said, and Cracken nodded.

 

"This is all true. But still, who would have known they would feild that many vessels? Our worse case scenario was no where near this bad. I didnl;t even know Pelleon was capable of feilding a fleet that large." he said, and Ackbar smiled.

 

"None of us were. But still, someone must be blamed for this. And I have every intention of taking responsibily for it all. I planned, and ordered the execution of, this mission. All blame will fall to me." he said, and Cracken frowned.

 

"Admiral, we both know this is not your fault." Cracken said, and Ackbar sighed.

 

"While this may be true, general, only we and the Force will know it. Let us both hope that that is all it takes to get us through this."

[Paul]

The rebel scum took pretty bad losses- excellent work on the Grand Admirals part. I am waiting for the next excerpt.-Grand Moff Conway

[BadSamaritan]

(Editors note: here be the next installment. And for those of you who ever think of blindly assualting a Imperial garrison, a word of advice. Turbolasers hurt. A LOT.)

 

Grand Admiral sat in the observation room of th amassive repair dock, staring out at the massive bulk of the [iGaurdian[/i]. Workers could be seen swarming over the ships hull, repairing years of neglect. Hanging farther away from the station, he could barely see the rear section of the Super Star Destroyer Lusaknya. That vessel had taken a masive amount of damage to the engine sections, and would take months of repair work to be operational again.

 

As Teshik watched, he could hear Pelleon walk through the doors behind him. Without turning around he nodded, and smiled.

 

"How are the repairs going so far?" he askend and Pelleon grimaced.

 

"Not well. It will be several more days before the engines of the Gaurdian will be ready for their test run. As for the Lusankya, as the crew abandoned the ship, they appear to have shot almost everything in sight with blasters. They knew it woas going to be captured, so they did a much internal damage as possible. Not to mention all the last-minute booby traps we found. It will be months before we will be ready to try to do anything with it." he said, and Teshik nodded.

 

"I expected nothing less. But it is of no consequence. We will not need either of the vessels for some time yet. For now, the important part is that we took bth of them away from the New Republic, and embaressed them at the same time." he said, and Pelleon nodded.

 

"This may be true, but we should expect some retaliation. I think they may already be preparing for one, judging by some of their fleet movements." he said, and Teshik nodded.

 

"This may be true. But, they would have a hard time doing anything about it. They attacked an independent world, that had asked for our help in removing an Imperial opressor. Basically, we were doing what the New Republic does. They arrived as the aggressors, and we rightfully defended outselves." Teshik said, an Pelleon smiled.

 

"Very true. But in case they do attack, what are we going to do? We have all of our forces tied up now defending our borders, or searching for Tavira." he said, and Teshik nodded.

 

"I am aware of this. I have sent a delegate out to possibly bring another warfleet to our aid. A rather large, if old, fleet." he said, and Pelleon grimiced. Almsot every warfleet outside the Empire or New Republic were allied with teh New Republic, or nuetral. he couldn;t think of any that would openly ally themselves with the empire anyways.

 

"May I ask who you are referring to? Or are you going to keep it a surprise?" Pelleon asked, and Teshik laughed slightly.

 

"I think I will keep it a secret. For now, however, I think it is time we plan our next course of action. Am I to understand that the first wing of TIE-Sabres is ready for battle?" he asked, and Pelleon nodded.

 

"Yes. The One-Eighty-First has been training in the sims for several weeks now. And the first wing of starfighters has been sent to them for space try-outs. What kind of action were you thinking? I doubt the New Republic is going to fall for the same trick we used at Soullex." he said, and Teshik thought about it for a moment.

 

"You are right on that account. But I think i have an idea as to how we will test them out." he said, and Pelleon riased one of his eyebrows.

 

"And how would that be? We can't exactly dump them from a Star Destroyer into a sytem the Republic controls." Pelleon said, and Teshink nodded in agreement.

 

"True. But, who said we had to use a Star Destroyer?" he asked, as slowly a plan formed in his head.

[Paul]

Keep it coming Bad Samaritan. Also is the fleet the Corporate Sector Authority?-Grand Moff Conway Edited October 25, 2005 by Paul

[Rolladogg]

This is great, keep it comin man.

[Zer_Teron]

The Katana fleet?

[DarthTex]

When's the next installment coming out? Just curious I'm hooked on your story and would like to read some more.

[Paul]

Don't feel bad Tex, I am hooked as well.-Grand Moff Conway

[BadSamaritan]

(Editors Note: Sorry about the delay, had a long couple of days filled with drama. Paul, what made you come to that conclusion about the CSA? Just curious.)

 

Pelleon stared out the viewport of his flagship, his eyes darting back and forth quickly. Outside, the laser blasts of vessels firing upon each other dominated the view.

 

"Order the Dragons' Bane to fall back to our starboard flank, those vessels are not going anywhere. And have TIE group two move to block that Corvette from leaving the system. We cannot let any ships escape." he said, and he watched as his orders were carried out.

 

Compared to the battle of Soullex, this was mere childs play. Pirate groups were never known for their brilliance in tactics. This group in particular was well known for simply using brute force to win fights. Unfortunetly, brute force didn't help them at all here. The pair of Star Destroyers and trio of Dreadnaughts Pelleon had brought with him were mre then enough to capture the vessels.

 

"Admiral, we have commications with someone claiming to be the leader of the Pirates. Captain Ordi Kithysh." an officer called out from the pit, and Pelleon smiled.

 

"Good. Inform her that if she orders her vessels to stand down now, her life, and the lives of her crews will be spared. " he said, and the comm officer nodded. Pelleon looked out the viewport again, and added up the number of ships that he was capturing.

 

Their flagship, an elderly Rebel Assualt Frigate, was one of the largest pirate vessels in existance. Where they had captured it, Pelleon had no idea. But that one vessel alone made this pirate group as dangerous as it was.

 

Next to the frigate, a pair of Corellian Corvettes hung in close, their engie dead from ion barrages. Both of those vessels had been captured from the Empire in recent months, and Pelleon was happy to have them back.

 

Sitting a ways away from the main force, hung a massive Bulk Freightor, which the pirates used to ferry around their swarm of starifghters. Surrounding the freightor was a squadron of blastboats and freightors, all of them trying to fend off the TIE starfighters that were keeping them trapped. Pelleon hated throwing TIEs away ike that, but it had to be done. No vessel couldbe allowed to leave.

 

"Admiral, the captain has accepted your offer. All vessels are standing down. She says two more bulk cruisers will be jumping in system soon. They are the other vessels of her fleet." the officer said, and pelloen nodded. he had wondered where those two ships were.

 

"Excellent. Inform the good captain that she will be having a meeting with me. And contact the Badi Dea, and inform them it is safe to ump in system now." he said, and he walked to the back of the bridge.

 

As he sat in his chair, he allowed himself to wonder what target the Grand Admiral would choose to hit with this new force. It wouldn;t be a large target, they did not have the time to overhaul the ships properly, as they could not be placed in any major shipyards. But at the same time, it would have to be a well defended target, to truly test the capabilities of the TIE-Sabres.

 

Either way, he knew teshik would be able to find a suitable target. There was a galaxy full of them. And with this fleet, they could assault any of them, without fear of reprisal. And once the attack was done, they could simply abandon the fleet, leaving no trace of the fact that they had ever taken it.

 

It was a good plan, one that pelleon was going to have fun executing. And at the same time, they would be once again humiliating the new Republic. And Pellon had no reason to argue with that.

[Paul]

Bad Samaritan, I thought CSA because of the comment about aging fleet. The Corporate Sector Authority bought many older Victory SD's and other ships from the Empire. The books that are set in CSA always talk about the age of the ships compared to the Empire's ships.- Grand Moff Conway

[BadSamaritan]

(Editors note: Well thought out Paul. You are correct. And for that, you will get a prize, if you so desire it.. And by the way, I am currently working a lot of overtime, almost 80 hours a week, so parts of the story will be far and few between right now. Blasted thanksgiving holiday.)

[Paul]

Back when I worked I also had that situation. I look forward to the story parts that you get time to write.- Grand Moff Conway

[Shadow_of_Thrawn]

just started reading this today, and i must say thats its a very enjoyable read...i look foward to the next chapters.

[BadSamaritan]

(Editors Note: ok, here is part one of the first battle invovling TIE-Sabres. Sorry it took so long to get around to this part. Work is overwhelming right now.)

 

 

Admiral Pelleon sat on the bridge of the Assault Frigate that was his flagship for this operation. He had never liked the cramped spaces of the elderly dreadnaughts, and the modifications the New Republic made to them to convert them only made things worse.

 

As he glanced at his chrono, He heard a hiss as the door to the bridge opened. He turned his head slightly, and from the corner of his eye caught a glipmse of a bright white uniform. Pelleon turned his head back to the white lines of hyperspace that were flowing around the vessel.

 

"We should be arrive at Altherix VII within 5 minutes Admiral. The Chimeara and Condemned should already be on station in case anything goes wrong." Pelleon said. Teshik walked up beside him, and smiled.

 

"Two Imperial Star Destroyers will be of great use if we need them. But we shouldn't need them if our intelligence is any good. This should just be the standard military resupply convoy. Nothing overly special. Just what we need to try out our new starfighters." he said. Pelleon nodded, but he still felt better having backup in case they were needed.

 

"Admirals, we will be leaving hyperspace in 30 seconds, I recommend you sit down. This beast exits hard." came a call from the helm officer, and Teshik smiled.

 

"Well Admiral, Let us see how our planning has gone thus far, shall we?" Teshik said, and Pelleon nodded.

 

"Prepare all starfighters for launch." Pelleon said, and he leaned forward in his chair.

 

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

 

Commander Ush'la sat in the command chair of his flaship, the Dreadnaught Overlay Delight. He stared out the viewport of the bridge, a scowl on his face. He was an old hand at escoprting these convoys to the front lines. And he was getting tired of them. All he ever did was escort convoys these days.

 

In nearly twenty years of service to the rebellion, and then the New Republic, he had occrued more combat experiance than then most people above him in the chain of command. As far as he was concerned, he should be on the front line leading warships into battle, not escorting convoys.

 

"Commander, we have unidentified contacts leaving hypserspace at twelve-nine-alpeh. Orders?" came a voice from the sensor station. Ush'la smiled, and leaned back in his chair. This was different. And anything different made his life more interesting.

 

"Pull IFF transponders for all vessels. And give me types if you can." he said, and he got the answer immediatly.

 

"I'm seeing one assault frigate, no IFF transponder. Two Corellian corvettes, no IFF. Two vessels that vaguely resemble bulk cruisers, no IFF. and one bulk freightor, no IFF. Fighters are being deployed. Class unknown." came the repsonce, and Ush'la nodded.

 

"Pirates more than likely. Launch all starfighters, set the convoy into formation Alexis Prime. What is the nearest warship to our position?" he asked, and the sensor officer looked to him.

 

"The nearest vessel is the Moc Cal Homestar. Fifteen minutes jump. Unknown forces moving to engage us." the officer said, and Ush'la nodded. Their forces were evenly matched so far. And he knew he could outwit any pirate commander with ease. But it never hurt to be safe.

 

"Contact the Homestar, and ask for their assistance. Deploy starfighters in a screen to engage theirs before they got to us. ETA to engagements?" he asked and he looked out the viewport. The two Corellian gunships under his command were moving to flank his falgship, as were the two Nebulon-B frigates that had joined him for this escort.

 

"One minute Commander. Still no mtach to the starfighters." the officer said. Ush'la nodded, and continued to stare tou the viewport.

 

"Probably some new type of ugly. Let's show them what real starfighters are capable of, shall we?" he said, and a chuckle came from across the bridge.

 

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

 

General Turr Phennir, leader of the elite Imperial 181st Wing, smiled as he saw the formation of starfighters expand in front of him. This was going to be fun.

 

"All fighters, keep yur speed standard to that of a TIE fighter until we are right on top of them. Then let loose with full speed, and tear them apart. Let's put these things through the paces everyone. The eyes of Admiralty are watching." he said, and heard a long series of acknowledgements. Every member of his fighter wing knew that Grand Admiral Teshik and Admiral Pelleon were here for this operation, and he wanted to give them the best show his people were capable of.

 

As he watched his sensors, he counted the seconds until he could let loose with the engines. So far, the enemy forces were treating his group like they would any other group of Ugly starfighters. He smiled, knowing it would be the last mistake any of them made.

 

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

 

"Keep our vessels in a loose formation. Order all gunners to scatter half their shots. Have a squad of the blastboats jump out ahead ten seconds early. Remember, we're pirates this time, not Imperials. Let's make this convincing." Pelleon ordered, and Teshik watched the sensor screens in front of him.

 

"Watch those freightors, some of them might be armed." Teshik said, and Pelleon nodded.

 

"Yes, some of them will be armed. Every fourth freightor in the outer ring will have defensive weapons. There will also be a squadron of either A- of X-wings hidden in amongst them." Pellon said, and Teshik smiled.

 

"I take you you have faced this commander before?" Teshik asked, and Pelleon nodded.

 

"Years ago, before Endor. We ambushed a Rebel convoy, which set up in this exact formation. The dreadnaught at the battle escaped. This is the same vessel. What are the oods two commanders would use the same formation years apart?" he asked, and Teshik nodded.

 

"Very low. Excellent memory Admiral." Teshik said, and he then noticed that the starfighteres were about to engage each other.

 

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

 

Commander Reskit sat in his cockpit, his eyes on the starfighters out in front of him. His sensors could not give him a direct lock on what he was facing, so he assumed uglies. Nothing he hadn't faced before.

 

"Alright, prepare for to engage. X-wings and A-wings, hit the starfighters, B-wings more to hit that frigate. Let's do this people." he ordered, and he looked to his target lock sensor board. Just as the enemy starfighters came into range of his guns, they suddenyl shot forward and broke into seperate groups then pairs, far faster than any ugly he had ever seen.

 

"Son of the Sith, those things are fast. Watch your backs' people." he ordered, and suddenly th starfighters were all around him. He arced his starfighter towards one of the enemy ships, but before he could get a lock, his warning alarm went off. he jerked the control sitck hard to the left, but not before laser fire slapped his shields.

 

He reached over to adjust his shields to compensate, but before he could, more laser fire slammed into his sheilds, the last few bolts breaking through. As the laser fire ate away at his ship, all he could think was how silly it was to have been beaten by pirates.

 

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"Commander, our starfighters are taking a beating. Whatever those uglies are, they are fast. Our gunners can't even get a holding lock to get a shot." the sensor officer said, and Ush'la nodded.

 

"Alright, Pull our starfighters back, get those enemy fighters closer to our gunships. And move our frigates forward, we will need their firepower to handle those bulk cruisers." he ordered, and he leaned back in his chair. This was getting interesting. He just hoped it didn't get to interesting.

 

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"Admiral, thier starfighters in falling back into the protection of the larger vessels. The enemy frigates are moving forward." the sensor officer called, and Pelleon smiled.

 

"He is trying to counter our cruisers. Move our forces forward, but have the Corvettes hold back for now, and fall in slightly behind us. And let the first group of blastboats loose. Remember ten second delay on the blastbaots, then let the whole group loose." pelleon ordered, and Teshik smiled.

 

"An Altrurian gambit. Hold back lighter vessels as if to protect them, then let them loose for a surpise punch. Risky, but effective when it works." Teshik said, and Pelleon smiled.

 

"Close, Admiral. This is a move I learned from the late General Iblis. All we have to do now, is wait for them to foul themselves the right way." Pelleon said, and Teshik tilted his head to the side slightly, and stared at the sensor screen. Soon, the corvettes vanished from the sensors as their image was fouled by the backwash from the larger ships engines.

 

Slowly, teshik smiled as he realised what Pelleon was doing. He would have to remember that tactic for future use.