Empire Risen: Rebirth

[BadSamaritan]

(Editors Comment: Eh, I'll think about it. But until then, another portion of the story.)

 

Corran cursed loudly as his sheilds dropped thanks to a stray turbolaser blast. He shoved his stick forward, and dove out of the path of several more blasts. As he did so, he looked out his side window, and saw that the B-Wing he was supposed to escort was missing. He grimaced, and assumed it had fallen prey tot he guns of the massive Gaurdian.

 

"Lead, this is Nine. My friend is gone, along with my sheilds. I'm getting out of here." he said, and he looked down at his sensor board. HUndreds of starfighters had set up for a run on themassive vessel, and by the looks of it, only half of them had even gotten close to their target. The Gaurdian and it's escort vessels were laying down heavy fire in so many directions, that bombers were being forced straight into waiting TIE squadrons.

 

"Nine, this is lead. Get out of here. We're following you out. This fire is to think for us to get through. Voon'tai is calling off all bombing runs. I think he means for the big boys to take those things down." came the reply, and Corran looked out, and saw that over a dozen heavy warships were moving into attack positions against the Imperials. Corran just shook his head, and continued on his course.

 

"Lead, is Voon'tai crazy? Those warships might slow that thing down, but with all tose support ships, they will get chewed up pretty fast." he said, and Tycho responded quickly.

 

"Yah, but what choice does he have? He has to do something to stop those things. If he doesn't, we can kiss these yards goodbye." Tycho said, and Corran cursed. He knew Tycho as right, but it was frustrating. The Gaurdian and the Lusankya so far had simply blazed their way through the yards, leaving a path of scrap behind them, including several warships.

 

"You have a point there lead." Corran said, and he looked about. he could see dozens of other starfighters flying away from teh Imperials, back to the safety of the heavier vessels that were inbound to begin a slugging match they couldn't win. Against a single Super-class, they had a chance. But two of them working together was confounding the defence forces, and Corran doubted that Voon'tai would be able to keep things together for much longer. He just hoped that he was wrong.

 

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Voont'ai stared hard at his sensor screens, his mind reeling. The Gaurdian and Lusankya were crushing everything they came across, including the defenders he was trying to organize. And they stayed close enough to one another that they simply moved to support each other when one got into trouble, forcing his fleet to fall back. It was frustrating beyond belief, hence the reason he was moving to desperation tactics.

 

"Have squadrons three and four move together, along with squadrons eight and ten. Have them move in to engage the Gaurdian and its' escorts. Squadrons one and two are to move to support six and nine. We have to prevent the Lusankya from moving to support her sister ship." he said, and he watched as his orders were carried out. Slwoly, the defence squadrons moved closer to one another so that they could concentrate their fire on enemy vessels, not to mention cover for retreating vessels. While this would also make them easier targets, it would prevent the loss of to many vessels. And considering the amount of yards already in ruins, it would be an admirable goal.

 

"Admiral, we have communications arriving on the holonet! Secure comm, non-encrypted." came a call from the communications pit, and Voont'ai waved it off after thining about it for a moment.

 

"I don't have time for that now. Log the message for now." he said, and the comm officer nodded, and did what he was told. Voont'ai turned back to the battle, and sighed seeing that the two enemy formations were blasting theri way closer to each other once again. This battle was simply not going his way. But since he knew he couldn't retreat, he had to fight on.

 

"Engineering, how long untl we are clear to leave the dock?" He asked, and his engineering officer looked up to him.

 

"Fifteen minutes Admiral. We are having difficulties with the forward moorings." he replied, and Voon'tai scowled.

 

"You have ten. If we are nto free by then, you are cleared to blast them off." he said, and the Engineer officer nodded. Voon'tai turned back to the battle once again, and felt his shoulders sag as one of the defending Star Destroyers exploded from concentrated fire from the Gaurdian. They were losing the battle, that much was obvious. He just hoped he would be able to save the primary yards. That was his new goal. He just hoped he wouldbe able to complete it.

 

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Deryk cursed, seeing that his hail had gone unanswered. He punched one of his consoles, leaving a small dent in the metal. If he didn;t get through to Voon'tai soon, the head of the second fleet was going to find himself floating free in space. He looked out his viewscreen to the starboard, and saw another member od Drake squad had pulled up next to him in one of thier custom starfighters. Made from the hulls of nearly scrapped B-wings, their vessles counted more as gunboats then they did starfighters. Dual hulls surrounded a single cockpit, which rotated with the vessel. On each wing sat a trio of laser cannons, and a pair of long range sensor suites. it was those sensors that had alerted them to teh presence of a massed Imperial warfleet, which seemed to be preparing for a run to Hyperspace.

 

"Arthyl, you think we can beat that warfleet to Kuat?" he asked into his comm, and the anser came back quickly.

 

"Maybe. I know I can, but your fighter is running on half power as it is. Kerrin and Slak and doing alright, as long as they don;t have to fly any manuvers. Frankly, I wouldn't feel comfterable leaving you guys here." he said, and Deryk nodded in agreement. They had barely escaped a fight with a pirate fleet not more than an hour ago, and all their vessle shad taken a severe beating. Not to mention they were down two good people. All in all, far from one of their better days.

 

"Alright, we will have to run together. Everyone, prepare to make the jump to lightspeed. We have to warn Kuat. But get ready, we may have a fight on our hands when we arrive." he said, and he heard his remaining squad mates respond with silence. They all knew their jobs. And they all knew that their mission had been a suicide mission to begin with. But theyhad made it this far, so now they had to finsih the job. Deryk brought his starfighter to full power, and winced as the remaining engies strained with the sudden power up. He chekced his snesors, and saw that the remianing Drakes were following suite. He readched over, and slowly pulled back the levers to luanch his starfighter into hyperspace. he just hoped they wouldn;t be to late.

 

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"Admiral, all vessels announce ready for hyperspace. Shall I give the order?" Pelleon asked, and Teshik smiled. This was it, the final move to bring the war between the Empire and the New Republic back to a full boil. Most would have considerd such a thing suicide, but he knew what he was doing. With this one stroke, he would leave the New Republics' entire second fleet wihtout a leader. And without a leader, they would be easy prey to his forces. Which would force the New Republic to move the Third fleet against him, which would allow the forces from the Corperate Sector to strike. And such, the New Republic would find itself fighting a war on multiple fronts, a war they had never been forced to fight before.

 

"Yes, Admiral, you may give the order. This wil be a glorius day for the Empire. Our first step to our final victory begins right here." he said, and Pelleon nodded. While they both nw it would be a long fight, Pelleon had full faith in Teshik. Pelleon had never had such faith in anyone since Thrawn had died. But so far, everything had gone according to what teshik had said would happen, which made Pelleon think they finally had a chance to win. pelleon turned to the front of the vessel, and spoke loudly.

 

"All vessels, prepare to make the jump to lightspeed on my mark. Mark." he said, and as one, the Imperial fleet made the jump into hyperspace, on it's final leg to Kuat, and to it's first leg in the long road to what they all hoped would be victory.

 

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

 

Admiral Drommel cursed as the bridge of his massive flagship rocked from another enemy salvo. The enemy vessels were putting up a valian fight, and finally seemed to have found the courage to engage his and Taviras' straight on. Thankfully, the defending vessels were finding themselves horribly outgunned now that Tavira had managed to move her forces closer to his. But Enemy vessles were still getting a little to close for his own comfort. The last thing he wanted was for his ship to end up back in the drydocks for extensive repairs.

 

"Helm, give me a twenty-degree roll to port, and cut our starboard engines to half power. Let's show them our side." he said, and he smiled as his massive vessel began is slow move to catch a pair of Mon Calamari cruisers in a difficult postion. he glanced at his sensors, and saw that Tavira was still moving her forces closer to his. Once they were close enough, the defending forces would be hard pressed to stop them. And that was exactly what he wanted.

 

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"Admiral! We have enemy contects emerging from Hypsersapce! I am counting numerous heavy vessels, and support vessles. One of them is the Reaper!" came a frantic yell, and Voon'tai stood quickly.

 

"Where? I need coordinates, now!" he said, and he felt a gold ice grip his stomach. This battle had just gotten far out of hand. He was having trouble holding two Super-class destroyers at bay, the arrival of a third meant this battle was all but lost. Now all he could do was get as many ships out of here as he could.

 

"Sector four, grid nine-oh-eight! They're nearly on top of us!" the sensor officer yelled, and Voon'tai felt a cold shill run down his spine. They weren;t here for the yards. They were here for him. And with all available forces moving to engage the Gaurdian and Lusankya, he had few vessels to defend himself with.

 

"Call all availbe ships to our aid! All starfighters, all support craft! Engineering, blast those moorings, even if you have to hit the dock itself! Get us out of here! " he yelled, and he watched as the guns of his massive warship turned on the massive drydock, blasting the hard mooring that held them. He didn;t want to think of how many sentients would die because of this, but if he did nothing, even more would perish.

 

"And send an emergency commincation to Coruscant. Tell them Kuat is lost." he said, and a harsh silence fell over the bridge. The crew new what that meant. Voon'tai had no urge to stay and fight. He meant to fal bck, and retreat. And none of them would argue. They were far to heavily outgunned in this fight. They just hoped they would live to escape the deathtrap they had found themselves in.

 

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"Admiral! The Grand Admirals force has emerged from hyperspace!" came a sudden call from the sensor pits, and Tavira smiled. The final part of the operation was about to begin.

 

"Excellent. Contact Drommel, and Inform him I am making my move for the outer yards. And if he wishes to tag along, he is welcome to do so." he said, and the comm officer nodded. With Teshiks' force now in system, the defending forces had two choices. Either continue to defend the yards, or move to try and save thier famed Admiral Voon'tai. Either way, the Empire would win. And that was a victory, no matter how much the New Republic had tried to stop them.

 

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

 

Corran dived to avoid incoming fire from a pair of TIE-Interceptors, and smiled as he saw one of them explode from the fire of a pair of A-wings. But then, he noticed that the enemy fighters were moving to retreat back to their home vessles. Confused, Corran looked to his sensors, and saw that all the TIE fighters were retreating.

 

"Lead, what's going on here? The Imps decide that it was time to leave?" he asked, and Tychos voice came back somber.

 

"Negative Nine. Check your long range sensors. We have new orders concerning new arrivals." he said, and Corran checked his sensors again, and felt his eyes widen at what he saw. Yet another group of Imperials had arrived, this group on the far side of the system. And they were heading straight for Admiral Voon'tais' docked battlegroup. it had all been one massive trap for Voon'tai. And they had all fallen for it.

 

"Change of Orders Rogues. We are to begin escort operations for damaged vessels heading out of system. Hold enemy fighters back, using any tactic necessary." tycho said, and Corran felt his heart sink quickly. That could only mean one thing. Voon'tai was giving up the fight. Kuat was lost.

 

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

 

Admiral Teshik atched as the New Republic forces that were engaging tavira and Drommel break formation, and start off on new headings. After a moment, he laughed softly. Voon'tai had ordered a retreat. The Kuat Drive Yards were now theirs to destroy. But that was not their primary goal.

 

"All vessels are to move forward at full speed. I don;t want any ships from Voon'tais' force to escape." he said, and he watched as his force continued on it's path towards the massive drydock which housed their target. As he watched, vessels from the drydock began blasting themselves free of theri moorings, in an attempt to escape the oncoming Imperials.

 

"Run, little ones. Run all you want. Your days of fighting are over." he said, and he laughed as the first of his vessles opened fire on the escaping ships. Within moments, several smaller vessels had fires blazing along their hulls. Some of them fought back, while others tried in vain to escape. But concentrated fire from Imperial vessels along with tractor beams held them in place. There would be no escape for them this day.

 

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

 

Voon'tai watched in horror as another one of his vessels exploded from incoming fire as it tried to escape the incoming Imperials. The Imperials had moved quickly to surround his force as it attempted to leave the drydock they were moored to. And all he could do was watch as his fleet was torn to shreds.

 

"Sound emergency retreat. launch all starfighters, get them out of here. Order all hands to abandon ship. Also order the evacuation of they drydock. We must save everyone we can!" he said, and he watched as the brige crew followed his orders, then moved to the escape pods themselves. He waited fro them all to leave, the moved to follow them himself. he had no intentions of dying this day. The Imperials may have destroyed the yards, but they would not get their true target. Nto if he had anything to say about it.

 

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

 

"Admiral, I am seeing numerous luanches of escape pods and smal craft from the drydock. They are abandoning the fleet." asensor officer said, and Teshik frowned. They would not be allowed to leave the system. He could not afford to let Voon'tai escape.

 

"Have our starfighters begin targeting the escape pods. Do not let any of them escape. Is that understood?" teshik ordered, and Pelleon nodded. It was a cruel tactic, one that any sane commander would object to. But Pelleon knew better than to argue. The stakes of this battle were far to high to use conventional rules of war. And so, the massacre of helpless enemies had to be done. Pelleon issued the order, and watched as their starfighter forces began to tear into the fleeing escape pods. The pods never had a chance, and fell quickly.

 

But in the pit of his stomach, he knew what was happeneing was wrong. A darker side of teshik was beginning to show through. One that made him much more like the Empire of old, and not the Empire that Pelleon had inherited.

[Paul]

This is great!! Teshik is my kind of commander-Kill them all, Let God sort them out. I just hope the Empire is victorious.-Grand Moff Conway

[Master_Xan]

You know what? This latest installment got me thinking, and I came up with a pretty neat and actually useful superweapon. I was trying to think of a way, anyway, for the NR to escape the trap, and somehow got to thinking of the superweapon... I'll post my idea in the general forum.

 

But anyways, its great! Got me thinking in addition to the entertainment value!

[Defender_16]

Ok, I've found the post after this but cant get to the cache for page 8, sorry guys.

 

 

http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:0QgE5MAV_9EJ:www.swrebellion.com/forums/posts2890-90.html+Site:+www.swrebellion.com/+Empire+Risen:+Rebirth&hl=en&gl=ca&ct=clnk&cd=2&lr=lang_en

[BadSamaritan]

(Editors comment: Thnk gof I typed al thsi up erlier. hr is the nexx instalment for all my fnas ou thre.)

 

Corran sat and watched in horror as the Imperial warfleet began targetting fleeing escape pods in their brutal assault on Voon'tais' warfleet. And to make matters worse, there was nothing he, or any other member of Rogue squadron could do about it. They were helpless against the Imperials. Low on fuel, they no longer had any fight left in them. And he guessed the story was the sajme across the entire Kuat system. The entire Kuat defence force had fallen back in hoped of getting a reprieve from the assualt, and had set up a new defensive line along the last large set of shiplanes. It would be the final stand in a lost battle, the sole purpose of which was to try and get as many warships out of the lanes and into hyperspace as possible.

 

"Lead, this is Nine. What are our orders again?" he asked, hoping for a change, although he knew it would not come.

 

"Same, nine. We are to form up with the third defence wing, and head into the Divinity for as much refueling as we can get. When the Imperials arrive, we launch, and take out what we can until we are ordered to retreat." Tycho said, and Corran lowered his head. They were being forced to sit back and watch as thousands of beings were massacred without a way to fight back.

 

"As ordered lead, although I protest the orders. We should be out there trying to save those escape pods." he said, and he heard several agreements throughout the squadron frequency.

 

"I hear you nine, and I agree. But the way things stand, we would be vape bait for the Imperials. There are just to many of hem for us to handle. But your protest, as well as mine, are going to go one the record." Tycho said, and Corran nodded. As much as he hated to admit it, Tycho was right. The Imperials would massacre them if they tried anything. As corran turned back to the raging firfight nteh distance, he could see the other two IMperial battlegroups form up, and begin a slow, steady march through the now undefended shipyards. As he watched, shipdock after shipdock became nothing more than free floating debris.

 

"Alright Rogues, our turn is up for refueling. Head in fast, we need as much as we can get. This battle isn't over yet." Tycho said, and Corran sighed. The battle would not be over until the shipyards were completely destroyed, and they all knew it. But they had to save as much as they could. As he turned to lead his flight to the refueling ship, he spotted a trio of massive starfighters pacing them. While he thought they may have ben dual-hulled B-wings at one point in time, now they looked about ready for the scrap heap. Two of them were flying with missing wings, and one looked to be missing part of the cockpit entirely. Corran switched to the general frequency, and spoke, hoping to get their attention.

 

"Unknown starfighters, this is Lt. Corran Horn, of Rogue Squadron. What is your status?" he asked, and after a few minutes, a raspy voice came back, seemingly filled with pain.

 

"Horn, this is Drake leader. We are pretty banged up. We need somewhere to land, and I mean now. My starfighter isn't going to hold together, and one of my pilots is flying free." came back the voice, and Corran winced. That meant a pilot was flying without life support systems, a dangerous proposition. he switched back to the squadron frequency, and spoke quickly.

 

"Lead, this is nine. Drake squad to our starboard needs prioroty landing clearence. I don't think they will last much longer in those boats they are flying." he said, and Tycho came back quickly.

 

"I see them Nine. I have already ordered them to head to the Bespin Pride, and abandon. They are wanted as soon as possible back on Coruscant." he said, and Corran frowned. they needed medical attentiopn, not a free ride os some old gas freightor.

 

"Lead, recommend you reconsider. They won't make it to Coruscant on a bulk freightor." he said, but this time the raspy voice came back before Tycho could answer.

 

"No Horn, Tycho is right. The Pride is our ride back to the NRI. We are needed there. We will get medical treatment aboard her, dont worry." he said, and Corran suddenly understood. That vessel must be one of the countless NRI vessels that seeemed to be everywhere, and nowhere at once. They changed names so often that no one could keep track of them all.

 

"Understood Drake. Have a safe Journey." he said, and he watched as the trio of failing starfighters moved slowly to their ride home. In some ways, Corran envied them. They had a free ride out of here, a ride to safety. Where everyone else was stuck here, facing impossible odds. To him, it wasn;t a very fair trade. But he knew his duty. He turned back to where he was leading his starfighter, and scowled. Some people had all the luck.

 

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

 

Admiral teshik watched the destruction of the yards, ands mild happily. All was going according to plan. And some parts were even better. Instead of killing Voon'tai, they had captured his escape pod. A major victory. And to make things even batter, the hapless defenders had all moved to defend one last set of shipyards, leaving the reat of the Kuat system at their mercy. Andhe planned on taking full advantage of this fact.

 

"Have Admiral tavira and Admiral Drommel begin a run around the yards. Leave nothing in one piece. But do not engage the final defenders. We will save them for last." he said, and he turned to Admiral Pelleon, who was watching the sensors carefully. Teshik noticed that something seemed to be bothering him.

 

"Is something wrong, Admiral? You seem worried." he asked, and Pellaeon nodded.

 

"Yes. I have seen the New republic do this once before. But I cannot remember where. But I do know I have a bad feeling about this." he said, and Teshik nodded.

 

"Noted, Admiral. But rest assured, this battle is ours. have no doubt of that. We will destroy the yards, then head back to Imperial space to begin our attacks on the second fleet. All is going according to plan." he said, and Pelleon nodded. But something was still sounding alarms all over the back of Pellaeons mind. he knew that he had seen this before, but for the life of his he could not remember. All he knew was that he had a very bad feeling about all of it.

 

"Admiral Teshik, we have completed our destruction of the primary target. What are our orders?" the voice of the Captain, and Teshik smiled.

 

"Bring our force back into primary formation. It is time to turn our attentions back to the main shipyards. There are a lot of yards out there, all of which muct be destroyed. We have our work cut out for us." he said, and the captain nodded. Pellaeon watched as the battle group sowly began to reform, and slowly made its' way deeper into the Kuat system, where dozens of yards sat awaiting thier destruction. As they did so, the last sets of defenders also began to move, right towards them.

 

"Ah, it seems that they are ready to put up their final stand it seems. Once they are dealt with, we can finish this ystem once and for all." teshik said, but Pellaeon knew he was wrong. he turned to the navigation control, and cursed.

 

"Helm, plot out our interception point for the remaining new republic defenders. Where will we be in relation to Kuats gravity well?" he asked, and Teshik looked to him, a frown on his face.

 

"Is there a problem, Admiral?" he asked, and Pellaeon nodded.

 

"Yes, there is. The second battle of Duro, after the death of the resurrected Emperor. this was the exact tactic they used to lure our forces into a trap. " he said, and the helm officer looked up at the admirals.

 

"We will be just inside the gravity well. A leap to hyperspace would require a full reversal of course, at the very least." he said, and Pellaeon nodded.

 

"That is what I thought. They are luring us into a trap. If we enter the gravity well, reinforcements will jump into system at our backs. We will be trapped in system." pellaeon said, and Teshik nodded.

 

"You are correct on that assumption, Admiral. And I think you may be right. Helm, change our heading so that we never enter the main gravity well of the Kuat system. order Tavira and Drommel to do the same." he said, and the helm and comm officers nodded. teshik turned to Pellaeon, and smiled.

 

"Thank you admiral, you just mayhave saved us from being routed. Although we will have to forget about destroying all of the yards." he said, and Pellaeon nodded.

 

"That may be true Admiral, but it is a fair trade for our lives." he said, to which teshik hardily agreed.

 

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Admiral Ackbar sat aboard his flagship, and watched the sensors carefully. The Imperial warfleets were altering their courses, to avoid the inner gravity wells altogether. He sighed, realising his ruse had failed.

 

"Contaqct al vessels, have them prepare to jump in system. We may not have trapped them, but we will still strike. Contact General Solo also, and order him to continue chasing the Imperials." he said, and he leaned back in his seat. Upon learning of the attack on Kuat, he had taken the entrie Coruscant defence fleet, and several other tasks forces to this spot in space, in hopes of surprising, and destroying, the attacking Imperial warfleets. Dozens of Mon Cal cruisers, Star Destroyers, and even more smaler vessles had arrived, but not in time to prevent the destruction of much of the Kuat Yards. Now all they could do was try and salvage what they could out of a bad situation.

 

"All forces, make the jump to hysperspace in one minute. Attack quickly, we will not have much time. We muct take out as many of their vessels as possible." he said, and he watched as the massive fleet began it;s run to hysperspace. The battle for Kuat was not over yet. But even if he were to force the Imperials into retreat, he knew the battle was a victory for the Empire. Yet another victory that would go unanswered.

 

Ackbar was growing weary of that. Every time they planned something, the Empire struck again, forcing them to alter thier plans, and start from scratch. It was almost like Thrawn all over again. But Ackbar knew it was not Thrawn. He, and a few other people, knew exactly who it was they were facing now, thanks to a extremly lucky intelligence squad. He just hoped that they could stop the growing tide of Imperial victories, before they washd over the shores of the new Republic.

[BadSamaritan]

(Editors note: This will be my last post for this story while I am on vacation. I will try to make it a nice long one, as I have all day to type it. I may even and this part of the arc today. We will see. )

 

Also, the Imperials may be winning, but they rebels are not getting butchered by any means. They actually put up a really good fight. But the Imperials simply outgunned them. Admiral Voon'tais' force was the only fleet to get butchered.

 

Also, Drake squad is our RP chars. Started with six, down to three by the end of all of this chaos. Gotta love attrition.)

 

General Han solo sat aboard his temporary flagship, the Assault Frigate Free Dreams. He watched as the remainder of the Kuat defence forces kept up their harassment of the Imperial forces in system, his mind reeling. Voon'tai had been captured. The yards were in shambles. Much of the defence force was either destroyed, or dead in space. This couldn;t have gone any worse.

 

"General, Admiral Ackbar is on his way. What are your orders?" someone asked, and he simply shook his head. This situation was beyond him. Even his experience against Zsinj was of no use in this kind of fight.

 

"Keep up the harassment. We don't have the firepower anymore to take on either of those fleets head on. When a vessel needs to pull back, let it. Those decisions are herebye left to the commanders of all individual vessels. Cycle starfighter squadrons in and out of the engagement, I don't want any squadrons in there for to long." he said, and he leaned back in his chair. This entire situation was just out of control. He had never felt so helpless in a battle before. He just hoped Ackbar arrived soon with reinforcments. Otherwise he would be forced to abandon the fight, and the system.

 

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Admiral Teshik watched his sensor screens carefully, watching for any signs of incoming forces. But the defenders were simply harassing all his forces now, moving ships in and out of the engagement quickly, to prevent any more serious losses. A few smaller vessels here and there exploded, but most simply fell back once they had suffered moderate damage. It seemed the defenders had wisened up, and were trying to whittle away at his forces enough to weaken him. And this was something that he could not allow.

 

"Contact all forces, and order them to move to phase three of the operation. Begin recalling starfighter squadrons, and all retrievel craft. We have accomplished out mission for this day." he said, and Pellaeon nodded. They had accomplished a lot, but they couldn't keep this up, lest they give reinforcements time to arrive.

 

"Right away Admiral. What will our course out of the system be?" Pellaeon asked, and teshik thought about it. They had a few options, but he needed to choose the best one. But before he could answer, circumstances chose his course for him.

 

 

"Admiral! Enemy forces are leaving hyperspace to our aft-starboard! Numerous vessels, all heavy classes!" the sensor officer yelled, and Teshik stood up quickly.

 

"Get all starfighters back here, now! Alter course to seven-oh-seven-nine! All vessels to full speed! Get us out of here!" he said, and he watched as his force began the slow manuever to fly away from the newly arrived forces. He turned to his sensor boards, and almost gaped at what he saw. Dozens of massive warships were arrayed behind him, more then enough to handle the Imperial forces in system. He had no idea this kind of force was anywhere near Kuat. If he had known that, he never would have attempted this mission.

 

"Admiral, Tavira and Drommel have confirmed retreat orders, but both ask if we are in need of assistance." came a call frm the communications pit, and Teshik thought about it for a moment. If all three forces joined together, they may be able to take on thse new arrivals. Buthe couldn;t risk it. he needed to get his forces out of here.

 

"Negative. Order them to fall back as planned. Alter the meet point to the beta system, however. As soon as all forces arrive there, we will have to head back to Imperial space with all possible speed. We have a lot fo work ahead of us, and not much time to do it." he said, and he walked to the forward view ports of the bridge. In the distance, he could see a few enemy vessels make a vain attempt at slowly down his force, but to no avail. His fleet simply plowed through the enemy vessels like they were not there.

 

"Admiral, we have a incoming communication from the fleet chasing us! They are asking to speak with you!" the comm officer caled, and Teshik frowned at this. If they were aksing to speak with him, they knew of his return to the world of the living. This could complicate many things.

 

"I will handle this Admiral. We cannot let them know that you actually are alive." Pellaeon said, and Teshik nodded. For them to know of him would send many of thier carefully laid plans to waste. Which was something that he could not allow.

 

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Admiral Ackbar stood next to the Holoprojector, awaiting the reply from the Imperial forces. If he knew one thing about the Grand Admiral, it was that he could not stand to mis a chance to gloat about a major victory. And he had to confirm the Grand Admirals return to life somehow. Suddenly, the holoprojector sprung to life, but instead of the Grand Admiral, Ackbar saw that Admiral Pellaeon stood before him.

 

"Ah, Admiral Ackbar. It has been some time since we last spoke. The battle of Duros, was it not?" Pellaeon asked, a smile on his face. Ackbar nodded, realising that Pellaeon was mocking him for trying to same tactic against him again.

 

"Yes it was, Admiral. But you are not whom I wish to speak with. I wish to speak with the commander of the Imperial Navy." Ackbar said, and Pellaeon frowned.

 

"My dear Ackbar, surely you know that I am the commander of not only the Imperial Navy, but of the Empire itself. Who in the emperors name would I give the reigns of what I hold most dear to?" he asked, and Ackbar shook his head.

 

"Do not lie to me, Admiral. I know that you somehow managed to clone Grand Admiral Teshik. Several of our sources have now confirmed this." Ackbar said, but Pellaeon shook his head.

 

"I am afraid you are wrong, Admiral. If we could clone a Grand Admiral from death, you know who I would choose. Teshik was a geniusm but Thrawn was far beyond that." Pellaeon said, and Ackbar sighed, now knowing that Pellaeon was not going to give in.

 

"Either way Admiral, this act of aggression will nto go unanswered, I assure you. You will regret ever attacking Kuat." Ackbar said, and Pellaeon nodded.

 

"That may be true, but I have the feeling that you are incorrect. I bid you farewell Admiral. Until we meet again." pellaeon said, and the hologram vanished. Ackbar turned to the viewport, and saw that the main IMperial force was beginning to make its' jump into hysperspace. One by one, the vessels vanished. he continued to watch, until they were all gone. He slowly walked over to his chair, and sat down.

 

"Contact General Solo, and get a status report. I want to know how much we lost. And send a communication to Coruscant. Tel them that recent events have not yet confrimed the return of the Grand Admiral." he said, and he leaned back, his eyes half closed. He knew now thathe would have to strike back at the Empire, but with what he did not know. They had lost so much in this battle, and in the previous months, that completely shuffling around the fleet was becoming his only choice. And that would take time, while the council wanted immediate results. he had a bad feeling about this, oen that he could not get out of his mind.

 

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Several hours later~

 

General Han Solo, Admiral Ackbar, Colonel Tycho Celchu, and Commander Calskar all sat around a table, looking over different reports. None of them looked to be in a very good mood, and Han looked like he was almost at the boiling point.

 

"Final counts are in. Fourty-seven percent of the yards in system are either destroyed, or heavily damaged. It will take some time to get the damaged ones back to operating order. And even longer to replace the destoryed ones." Commander Claskar, said, and Ackbar nodded.

 

"Yes, they did a superb job in destroying everything their guns could reach. What were are total vessel losses?" Ackbar asked, and Solo shook his head.

 

"Not a single vessel from my force escapes without heavy damage, at the very least. I lost several of my larger vessels, along with most of my smaller ones. As for starfighters, final counts are still coming in, but it looks like I'm sitting at about thirty percent losses." he said, and Commander Claskar looked at one of his datapads.

 

"I suffered eighty percent starfighter losses, mostly due to runs against the Super Star Destroyers. As for my capital ships, I lost have the defence force in trying to stop them. The other half suffered damage on varying levels, from minor to crippling." he said, adn Ackbar nodded.

 

"Yes, their starfighter defense was amazingly effecient. From the recording, I coudl see thatthey only left a few safe avenues to get within torpedoe range, and once your starfighter got close enough, they let loose with turblaser fire, forcing you into their starfighter squadrons." he said, and Tcho looked up from his reports.

 

"Yes, this was a very different Imjperial navy we faced today. They almost never manage to stop our torpedoe runs that well. Either thay have been trianing a lot for that, or something was motivatiing them." he said, and Solo nodded.

 

"Which lends more proof to our Grand Admiral theory. When Thrawn showed up, the Imperial navy got a lot better real fast. It was like a completely different enemy." he said, and Tycho looked up.

 

"But still, how would they bring a Grand Admiral back from the dead? The Emperor managed to do it, but that is a special case. This has to be some sort of trick." he said, and Ackbar sighed.

 

"I hope you are right, Colonel. Because if teshik has been returned from the dead, who knows what will happen next. Teshik is unpredictable, and ruthless. Unlike Pellaeon, he will not hesitate to bombard a world in order to take it. we will have to move quickly to counter his forces." he said, and Han nodded.

 

"yah, but how are we going to do that? Admiral Voont'ai was in command of the second fleet, and his force was the most experienced in the fleet. With them gone, the second fleet is hurting." he said, and Ackbar nodded.

 

"Which is why I will be moving the Fifth fleet in from their patrols to reinforce the second fleet for now. I am also going to have the third fleet begin preperations to move against the Empire as soon as the Fifth is in place." Ackbar stated, and Tycho nodded.

 

"That will put some pressure on the Empire, but how long will that take? We may not have much time." he said, and Ackbar nodded.

 

"General Ah'bahnt has already been contacted, and his fleet is being mobolized as we speak. Also, Fleet Admiral Ovlosk has been ordered to prepare his fleet for mobilization against the Empire. If everything goes accoding to plan, we will relieve some of the pressure ont he second fleet, enough to replenish their numbers, and place a new Admiral in charge." Ackbar said, and Tycho looked up.

 

"Who is the leading canidate for that spot?" he asked, and Ackbar shrugged.

 

"I currently have no idea. There are many canidates. But that is up to the council to decide, not myself." he said, and Tycho nodded. One by one, each of them returned to their reports, occasionally asking questions of the others. But in the back of al their minds lingered the same question.

 

Who were they facing? A seemingly sharper minded Pellaeon, or a ruthless Grand Admiral?

 

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Grand Admiral Teshik stood on the bridge of the Reaper, a smile on his face. Even though Drommel and Tavira had sufferd heavy losses, their missions had gone perfectly. The Kuat yards had nopt been comletely destroyed, but enough had been to hamper the construction and repair of vessels from that system. Admiral Voon'tai had been captured, severing the head of hte second fleet. And the most battle hardened task force in the entire New Republic had been annihilated. It was time to make thier move, while the New Republic was still recovering.

 

As he stood there, he could hear someone walking up behind him. He turned to see Admiral Pellaeon, and Teshik smiled.

 

"Ah, Admiral. Just the person I wanted to see. We need to send out orders as soon as possible. I want the first set of targets on our list to be nothing more than rubble within the day." he said, and Pellaeon nodded.

 

"Of course, Admiral. But for now, here is the final reports on our losses from the battle. Our losses were minimal, but Tavira and Drommel both suffered heavy starfighter losses. Also, we lost numerous support vessels, and several Star Destroyers. Their losses will be hard to replace." he said, and Teshik nodded.

 

"This is true. But if we attack quickly enough, thier losses will not have been in vain. If I am correct, Ackbar will move the Fifth fleet to help reinfoce the second, and he will mobolize the third to relieve pressure. And that is when Kayn will strike from the Corperate Sector. And once that happens, all we have to do is let the New Republic make it's mistakes." he said, adn Pellaeon nodded slowly. While he did not belive the bew Republic would fold over so easily, he knew that getting the CSA into the fight would severaly weaken the new Republic.

 

"I only hope that you are right, Admiral. because if you are not, this may very well be the beginning of the end for us." he said, and Teshik nodded.

 

"Oh, have no doubt Admiral. If Supreme Admiral Kayne does not enter this war, we will nto last six months. But if he does enter the war, I think we can have the New Republic beaten back in under four years time." he said, and Pellaeon nodded. it was a long term goal, but still much shorter than he could have ever thought possible.

 

"If you don't mind me saying so, Admiral, I hope the Force is with us on this." Pellaeon siad, and Teshik shook his head.

 

"Not at all, Admiral. I myself hope the force is with us on this. if it worked for them, perhaps it can work for us as well." he said, and silently, they both watched as themassed Imperial battlefleet moved through space, on its; way back to the safety of Imperial space. How long it would stay safe, however, was up to fate, and the force.

 

(Editors note: And that is it for this arc!!! Finally. I also have a major mission for everyone while I am away. Go through all of this story, and edit all of my spelling/grammer mistakes. I don't care how you do it. Just get it done for me, please. And now, for a preview of what is to come in the second arc.....)

 

 

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Han cursed as the deck beneath his feet rocked from another salvo of turblaser blasts. he stared out the viewport, silently cursing himself for ever agreeing to go back into the military. As he watched, the elderly Star Destroyer to his starboard began to break apart with a series of explosions. Finally, the core erupted, and sent debris out in every direction. he ducked as a massive chuk of the vessel skimmed right over thier heads. he shook his head, and walked over ot eh comm center.

 

"Lando!! Get your ships moving, we can;t hold them off for much longer!" he yelled, and he held on as another salvo rocked the vessel. Then, Landos' voice came back, strain evident in it.

 

"I'm trying!! But these fighters have us pinned down like womprats! Can you lend me any fighter support?" Lando asked, and han looked over to where Wedge sat. Wedge simply looked back to him, and shook his head. han ground his teeth together, and lowered his head.

 

"Sorry, no can do. We are having enough trouble keeping their fighters at bay up here. Just try to hold on. We'll think of something." he said, and he cut the comm off. He turned back to Wedge, a look of fear on his face.

 

"Please tell me you have something? Anything? Even a pair of Y-wings?" he asked pain in his voice. Wedge simply looked back to Han, a lump in his throat. He nearly choked as he spoke, trying to get the words out.

 

"I'm sorry Han, but We have to retreat. We can't stay here any longer. We can't get back down to the surface." he said, and Han just simply stood there, a look of shock on his face. he turned to the viewport, and stared dwon at the world underneath them. it looked so peacefull down there. But he knew that somewhere, people were fighting for thier lives. people he could not leave behind. But he knew he had no choice. he reactivated the comm, and stood there for a moment. he then spoke softly, tears running down his face.

 

"I'm sorry Lando, we can't get down to you. We can't hold up here any longer." he said, and he heard nothing but silence on the other end. then Landos voice came back, strong as ever.

 

"Go Han, get out of here. You do what you have to do. I understand. I'll get us out somehow." he said. Han held the comm open for a few more seconds, and then spoke again.

 

"Lando, tell Leia I love her, and I will be back for her." he said, and he then closed the comm before Lando could respond. He then stood up, and Looked at the men and woman across the bridge, they had all heard what he had said it. They all knew what it meant. Han Solo, hero of the rebellion, was leaving the woman he loved more than anything ont eh planet. As he looked around he simpyl nodded, and spoke softly.

[Danish]

The stormies shpuld be cloned Teshik's lol.