[Tales of] The New Sith Order (Redux)

[Defender_16]

+ + +

 

Taskforce One dropped out of hyperspace much as it had at previous navigation points on the trip from Agamar. This time was different though.

 

"Holocom re-established with Taskforce Two via Agamar and fleet relays." Reported the Communications officer.

 

"Status of Taskforce Two?" Asked Burgan.

 

"Report coming in from Admiral Ackron. They have been holding position one jump distance from Yaga Minor, as ordered, for the past three hours. They have held off sending recon ships into the system itself."

 

"Good, he obviously has a sense for more things than just hyperspace mechanics."

 

"Sir, Taskforce Two reports they have also been detecting asteroid like contacts appearing some distance away for the past half hour despite still being one jump away from Yaga Minor. I- One moment sir."

The Com officer stopped and began sending back confirmation codes to ensure their signal wasn't being compromised then turned back to the Admiral.

 

"Taskforce Two reports that they are being engaged by a fleet of asteroid-like ships. The ships micro-jumped to their position. The enemy fleet is equivalent to sixty percent of the tonnage of task force two."

 

Burgan gave an astonished look to Richardson. "Asteroids! Well now there's something we don't see often."

He turned his attention to one of the officers and raised his voice enough to be heard.

"Master Helmsman can we make a jump directly to Force Two's current position?"

 

The experienced naval officer input a few coordinates into the computer charts then turned in the Admiral's direction. "Yes sir! But it is a very narrow route."

 

"We'll chance it. Captain, have a flight of scouts continue on to Yaga Minor. Send two light cruisers along with them. They're to send all data back to the Holocom relay ships and to retreat if they find anything dangerous."

 

"Yes Admiral."

 

"Course plotted." Reported the Master Helmsman. "It will take several minutes to reposition the fleet to jump sir."

 

Burgan waved off the man. "Jump when ready. Com, tell Force Two that we should be to their position in minutes. And get a feed of the battle, I want to see how things are progressing."

 

The large overhead holographic projectors activated and soon were showing feeds from Taskforce Two. The now badly distorted hypercom signal was just clear enough to make out what was happening. A concentrated sphere of objects -obviously the asteroid ships- were pushing hard towards the Super Star Destroyer at the center of group two.

 

Hundreds of small asteroid fragment like fighters formed a defensive screen for the largest ships, soaking off the worst of the Turbolaser fire coming in at them. Several asteroid ships the size of Frigates or light cruisers broke up under the combined fire of two or three Star Destroyers apiece. Orange plasma poured out from the ships, impacting shields or wiping away Tie fighter formations. At the center of the enemy formation sat a ship larger than an Allegiance Destroyer. The huge enemy ship reached the remainder of the defensive screen formed by smaller Destroyers, just as Cruiser and Destroyer sized Asteroids were passing the heavier Destroyers surrounding the Command ship. The Cruiser analogs slowed as withering fire from the Command ship pelted them, turning space the bright green of Turbolaser fire.

 

The Admiral turned away for a second to talk to Richardson. "I want the status displays of our largest ships in Group Two. See what kind of damage they're taking."

 

"All hands prepare for hyperspace entry." Called the Master Helmsman over the inter-ship com.

 

Jerej plugged a datapad into the Admiral's command chair. "The status of the ships sir."

Half of the displays linked to the command chair previously showing Fleet status of Taskforce One switched over. The holographs indicating shield strength of Ackron's fleet held well above sixty percent for most of the ships. The Command ship's was still at ninety five percent.

 

"Hyperspace jump in three... two..."

 

The shields winked out of existence on half of the Destroyers.

 

"One..."

 

The forward shields disappeared from the Command ship and the other Heavy Destroyers.

 

Then they were in swirl of hyperspace. Something had gone horribly, horribly wrong and it took all of his will to keep a small scream from escaping.

He instead sublimated the noise into a command. "General!"

 

Richardson was there in a second. "Sir?"

Forcing the practiced calmness and tactical logic that had gotten him this far, the Admiral went into problem solving mode.

 

"Before we jumped the shields failed suddenly on all of the heaviest ships in group Two. It was not a display malfunction. Does a weapon exist that could neutralize shields so easily?"

 

"How suddenly?"

Burgan snapped his fingers for emphasis on 'sudden.'

 

The General frowned. "I'm not aware of one. There are slower acting devices but they require lots of power and take longer to cause effect than say, standard Ion Cannon do."

 

The Admiral nodded. "Right... Fine then. Invite our state guest to the bridge at once. If anyone would know about it, it might be her."

 

"Understood."

 

027

Edited July 3, 2007 by Defender_16

[Paul]

Good read Defender. Damn Vong scum. - Grand Moff Conway

[Defender_16]

+ + +

 

Ardent and it's escort ships dropped out of hyperspace for forty seconds, reoriented for the next jump and leapt back into hyperspace.

 

"Come on, come on." Whispered Dorja looking out through the forward viewports. "Don't be too late..."

 

"Sir?" Asked Wintle as he approached the front of the bridge. "Should we really be pushing the Hyperdrive so hard like this? It's just been installed, not all of the pathway connectors may be in place well enough to hold under our fastest rating with repeated use."

 

"We have to risk it. If there's a fleet headed to Yaga Minor we have to beat them there, or at least catch up in time to warn them."

 

The younger officer nodded solemnly. "Yes sir, but shouldn't we at the very least send one of the Carrack Cruisers the rest of the way to Agamar?"

 

"No. If an Interdictor caught them they wouldn't stand a chance. Likewise we need their anti-starfighter support. We all go or none of us go Commander."

 

"Aye."

The two stood there for a few minutes looking out into the endless swirl.

 

"I had an idea that could get us an additional pilot sir." The Commander brought up suddenly.

 

Dorja eyed him carefully. "Am I going to like it?"

 

"Not likely sir."

"Well shoot and get it over with."

 

"We put a self destruct device in one of the A-wings and see if we could interest the Rebel pilot in a decreased sentence when this is over."

The old Admiral leaned forward an laughed. "What, offer her five years in prison and extended probation?" He sighed and looked away for a second shaking his head.

"Why not? Ask her when we get a chance."

 

"Yes sir."

 

"And tell Colonel Fel about your plan. Bring him along with you."

 

+ + +

 

Admiral Burgan and everyone else on the bridge of the Superior were shoved forward slightly as the swirl of Hyperspace abruptly ceased.

"Premature reversion!" Shouted the Master Helmsman. "Gravity wells detected!"

 

"Status Report!" Shouted the Admiral.

 

"Interdictor fields have been established across the hyperspace lane sir. It's completely blocked."

 

"We'll have to find the gravity generators and destroy them. Deploy half out Vindicators and some Frigates to hunt them down. They can launch fighters at their discretion."

"Yes sir."

 

"Re-establish our hypercom connection with Taskforce Two."

 

"I'm having trouble establishing signal sir." Replied the communications officer. "I no longer have com feeds from the Taskforce Two Command ship."

 

The Captain of Burgan's Command ship spoke up. "Sir we've detached a force to destroy the interdictors but it's come under attack."

 

"Captain, handle that problem with the Interdictors for a moment will you? Use your best judgement. Now... what is the status of

Taskforce Two?"

 

The holofeed flickered back to life resuming it's grainy image. This time it was being transmitted from a Victory Destroyer. The ship’s first officer was doing his best to quickly relay the status of the fleet.

 

"Command ship 'Imperial Splendor' is reported adrift and without power. Imperial class ships have all been crippled or destroyed. The outer Frigate and Light Cruiser shell is now in full retreat. They are currently being picked off by concentrated fire from enemy cruisers."

 

"Damn!" The Admiral slammed a fist down on the arm of his command chair. "Instruct all remaining ships from Taskforce Two to jump to our

position. Captain, set our course for the interdictors. All ships ready weapons."

 

The doors to the bridge hissed open and walked in General Richardson accompanied by Shanna Vance, the Emperor's Hand.

At their approach the Admiral waved toward the displays.

"If you want to see what the enemy looks like feel free to view what happened to Taskforce Two just minutes ago. I have a battle to direct."

 

"Most of the surviving ships in Taskforce Two are jumping. “ Reported Communications. “They should arrive in seven minutes. "

 

"Did they recover any fighters?"

 

"The Droid fighter carriers were hit along with the Destroyers. All of the droid Augmented squadrons are remaining behind to buy time."

 

"What's the status on these interdiction fields?"

 

The Captain spoke up. "They appear to be generated by oddly shaped dedicated projectors. No engines detected. They must have been towed into place."

 

"Put up an image of one."

 

The image of a dark lump shaped not unlike a human heart appeared. A flight of Tie craft flew towards it on a strafing run, making sure to stay at range. Most of the laser bolts were swallowed by tiny black holes but some made it through to scorch the surface.

 

Jerej looked over the Admiral's shoulder frowning at what he saw. "Some type of interdiction mine. Reminds me of the Empion Mine project those years ago."

 

Two Vindicator class cruisers moved in on the same mine and fired salvos into it, overwhelming it's defences with sheer number of shots.

 

"Have the interdictor cruisers bring up their gravity well projectors. If we destroy all of the mines we need something to drag the Taskforce Two survivors from hyperspace. When the last survivors have arrived deactivate the wells."

 

Dreks looked to the side and noticed that the Emperor's Hand had finished reviewing the recordings from the battle and now seemed to be in some kind of trance. General Richardson, being the joker that we was, passed a hand in front of her face to see what response he would get. He wisely stopped after just a few seconds when he noticed his superior's attention.

 

The woman came out of her trance like state, frowned in Jerej's direction, then turned to face the Admiral.

 

"I have news Admiral. The Chiss have encountered this species before but not in anything approaching these numbers." She looked to the forward tactical displays. "Their tactics also appear to have increased in complexity."

 

Burgan had his attention riveted on the woman now. "How do we beat them?" He asked, his most intense stare directed at her.

 

Vance hesitated a moment then drew herself more upright. "Information on that was less clear. Varying laser power and intensity was one way of helping to defeat their defences. Their... propulsion affects their defence as well as the shield defeating effects we have seen. It was not very clear. The information from the Chiss has not been reviewed in some time. It could be hours before I can get you more information if there is any."

 

"It's better than nothing." Replied Burgan turning away.

"We'll have to figure out the rest on our own then. Propulsion and defence affect each other... a gravitic drive of some sort perhaps?"

 

"It's a nice theory but our data feeds from Taskforce Two arn't the best. By the time we figure it out ourselves we may be dead."

 

"We don't have any choice but to. All ships are to vary their weapon power and firing rates. Take down those Gravity Mines. If the enemy fleet follows the Group Two survivors then we’ll try to deploy our larger ships behind a screen of light cruisers. That might buy us enough time to see what works."

 

The General stepped away to issue orders to the proper ship Commanders. Meanwhile ahead, light cruisers, frigates and corvettes began to revert from hyperspace on the other side of the gravity mines. Their Turbolasers began pouring fire into the Mines, forcing them to split defensive cover between Group One's advance force and the Group Two survivors. Within a minute the last surviving ships had arrived and the Mines had been destroyed.

 

The smaller ships quickly made their way to the large formation and took up positions fed to them by the command ship. The advance guard also pulled back, waiting for the enemy fleet that had to be coming their way.

 

"Sensors let me know when you get anything." Requested the Admiral.

"Yes sir."

 

Several tense minutes followed in which little happened. Starfighter squadrons launched and took up positions around or near the Cruisers and Destroyers. The Gunboat and Skipray blastboat units were sent out to the fringes of the fleet to help prevent any attempts at flanking. Weapons and shields went through additional tests and the surviving ships of Taskforce Two tried to effect temporary repairs.

 

"Contact! Hyperspace reversion detected aft. A four ship unit, not part of our group."

 

"What kind of ships do we have sensors?"

 

"IFF shows them as the Destroyer Ardent, a Vindicator out of Yaga Minor and... two Carrack Cruisers from the Robaillo sector sir!"

 

028

Edited July 7, 2007 by Defender_16

[Paul]

Good as always Defender. More, More, More lol. - Grand Moff Conway

PS: Can any of you youngsters name the song and artist that that quote comes from? No fair you answering Tex lol

[DarthTex]

Good as always Defender. More, More, More lol. - Grand Moff Conway

PS: Can any of you youngsters name the song and artist that that quote comes from? No fair you answering Tex lol

That's not fair Paul! Sounds like age discrimination to me

 

@Def: I forgot this part. Keep in coming

[Paul]

Tex,

It's not age discrimination since we are the same age. - GMC

[Defender_16]

+ + +

 

 

"Hail them." Directed Burgan. "I'll take it at my station."

"They've already begun transmitting on all frequencies, audio only."

 

"Enemy ships appearing out of hyperspace dead ahead.â€

Edited July 7, 2007 by Defender_16

[Paul]

Very good Defender. Keep it coming. - Grand Moff Conway

[Defender_16]

+ + +

 

Admiral Dorja and Colonel Fel stepped out onto the spacious bridge of High Admiral Burgan's flagship. The rounded forward viewport was easily twice the width of those on other Destroyers and was heavily reinforced, with a second layer of Transparisteel viewports. The crew pit area was divided into four areas about the same size a regular ships' crew pit. The aft area with Command chairs and security checkpoints had been widened as well, easily making room for additional Stormtroopers or guests of importance. Slightly off to the left of center was the Admiral's command chair which had holo projectors arrayed around it.

 

Jag stayed beside and slightly behind Dorja as they approached the Command chair. The Admiral, who may only have been in his early forties, sat surrounded by several aids and officers, an Imperial Army General and a woman wearing a hooded cloak. Jag assumed she was a member of Imperial intelligence or something similar. Just as Dorja and Jag were coming to a stop, Burgan spun his chair to face them.

 

"Welcome aboard and congratulations on staying alive. I'm assuming from those two Carrack cruisers you brought along with you that the Robaillo Sector fleet is gone?"

 

"Yes sir." Answered Dorja. "The Right to Rule escaped with a civilian convoy but we were forced to sacrifice her to punch past a Cruiser Analog near Gravlex Med."

 

"Unfortunate, but that's the least of our worries. I assume you have all of the data you collected compiled?"

 

"Yes sir." Dorja pulled out a datapack. The decking vibrated from shield impacts as he handed it to Burgan sending the older man's gaze to the forward viewports. The bow of the ship may have been more than five kilometres away but if the shields came down it would only take seconds for any fighters to get through.

 

Burgan plugged the datapack into a slot on his command chair and information began to filter onto some of the screens surrounding him. The man was apparently good at speed reading because he had gotten through the meat of the data in seconds.

 

"The Yuuz... han... Yuuzhan Vong. These aliens. You've seen some of them outside of their ships and vehicles?"

 

"No Admiral. All of our encounters were ship to ship while we were attempting to retreat. The one time we won an engagement the entire ship was destroyed leaving only hull fragments. We believe the escaping plasma burned away any bodies."

 

"Anything specifically that seemed to work better for you in engagements?"

 

"In ship engagements, just using more fire than they could handle on a single target was about it. Ramming similar or greater tonnage ships into theirs also seemed to work."

 

A smirk tugged at the corner of Burgan's lips. "I'll take that under advisement. Starfighter tactics?"

 

Dorja gestured to Jag. "Colonel Fel here is my flight group Commander. His people have been getting better at taking down their fighters."

 

"Colonel Fel? It appears your family is becoming quite the celebrity group lately. Well let's hear some fighter tactics." Burgan flipped a switch on his command chair before Jag started.

 

"For starfighter tactics when engaging these... Vong, we found that the best way to take them down was to concentrate the fire of a group on single targets to overload their defences. Since the enemy fighters would retaliate we fast started using shielded vehicles like blastboats to take the brunt of return fire while the unshielded fighters could take cover behind them if they couldn't dodge the fire themselves.

Groups consisting of two or three interceptors around shielded fighters like Gauntlets seemed to work quite well as they don’t slow down the other Tie's."

Jag paused as another impact against the forward shields shook the ship.

"Heavy Flight groups appeared to do reasonably well, especially if undamaged vehicles could cover for others that had been hit while shields recovered. These plasma weapons are very dangerous. They can knock out an unshielded Tie with one hit if they get lucky. Any kind of graze will cause heavy damage. Missiles seemed to have little use against fighters."

 

The Admiral flicked a switch as Jag ended then picked up his communicator. "This is High Admiral Burgan to all flight Commanders. You are instructed to do what you can to follow the guidelines put down in the transmission you just heard. You're getting a great deal more warning about what you're against than others have. Do your jobs to the best of your abilities and we'll make it through this. May the Emperor guide your hands today. Burgan out."

 

The Admiral put his comlink away then turned to Jag. "That was very well done Colonel. Now get to your fighter and get out there. Admiral Dorja will be aboard for the rest of the battle unless something goes wrong."

 

Jag saluted, turned on his heel and fast marched to the nearest Turbolift.

 

"Let's get to winning this." He heard the High Admiral say before the door closed behind him.

 

030

Edited July 25, 2007 by Defender_16

[Paul]

This is what I like, Imperials doing well. Keep the story coming my friend. - Grand Moff Conway

[DarthTex]

Yea! Time for some Imperial retribution! Keep it coming Def!

[Defender_16]

A few of these didn't divide up as well so I ended up with two shorter ones. Here's the first.

 

EDIT: When the hell did Ardent get Tie Defenfers!?!?

*FIXES RAPIDLY*

 

+ + +

 

By the time Jag reached the landing bay they had entered from and launched with the rest of his flight, the battle had changed. The Vong fleet had closed with the Imperial formation almost to point blank range. The two fleets could no longer fire wildly into each other and were forced to divert fire to closer, individual targets. Then the fighters which had been held in reserve began their attack.

 

The shard fighters swept into the Imperial formation like a giant wave. Some whole squadrons of tie craft were swept away before they could react and roughly one quarter of the Corvettes were soon out of action. A second less devastating wave of blastboat analogs followed. Though they were able to compound damage done by the fighters first strafing runs everyone was prepared enough by the fighters to expect a second wave.

 

One squadron and two blastboats that had broken through the main fight headed for the Ardent. The fighters already surrounding the Destroyer formed up, ready for a head to head.

 

"One Flight on me." Called Jag. "We're going to come up right behind that small incoming force and hit them as the rest of Ardent's squadron does."

 

The Avengers and Gunboats launched missiles and torpedoes at the on coming force then opened up with lasers. The shards dropped back enough for the blastboats to come forward and the larger ship's superior defences gulped down the incoming missiles without any trouble. Then the formation changed to better intercept the laser fire even as the shards began firing plasma.

 

Jag's flight were just able to reach weapons range as they came up behind the attacking group. Sixteen laser cannon fired a continuous burst of single fire shots into the backsides of the enemies. One blastboat, distracted by the fire, put all defence aft for a second and was hit in the bow by an Avenger's quad burst. The interiors of the ship superheated and geysered out of the hole in the front of the ship.

 

Even as the blastboat and a few of the fighters were destroyed the formation held together with remarkable precision. The return fire was as devastating as usual. One Gunboat exploded as their shields failed and two of the older Tie craft detonated sending solar arrays whirling out in different directions. The other advanced ties scattered and looped off in different directions.

 

The remaining Gunboats barely survived the pass as they were hammered by more combined fire. As the two assault craft broke in either direction Jag saw that Ardent's heavy Turbolaser Batteries were straight ahead.

"BREAK! One Flight Break!"

Even as he was getting out the words and matching his own actions to them the Turbolasers fired. Bolts the size of starfighters flashed through the space they had just occupied and three shards were washed away by the beams. The remaining ships in the formation looped back, took fire from one of the Carrack cruisers for a moment, then headed back to the main fight. A flight of Gauntlets and Interceptors took pot-shots at them then returned to a position near the Sevanar.

 

Jag took a breather then keyed the com for the Ardent. "This is Fel, permission to detach flight elements from Ardent's defence for a quick foray into the main engagement."

 

Commander Wintle came on over the com instead of the Flight controller. "That's a negative Colonel. We're under specific orders to hold this relative position above the Command ship. You may not engage unless you, our group, or the Command ship's bridge tower are being threatened. Sorry."

 

Jag glanced at his sensors as another enemy unit broke through the main fight and headed for them. This one with what looked to be a small corvette analog hanging near the center of their flight.

 

"Don't be sorry sir. I think we'll have plenty to do here after all."

 

031

Edited October 23, 2007 by Defender_16

[PsychoInfiltrator]

Nifty. I'll have to keep tabs on this [just read the whole 6 pages].

[Defender_16]

+ + +

 

Dorja looked over the High Admiral's shoulder at the large holographic representation of the battle. They had an advantage in numbers but support ships were being lost at a rate of more than three to one.

 

"They're able to coordinate their forces too fast and too easily. I've never seen anything like it."

 

"Some sort of combined data network between the ships in their fleet perhaps?" General Richardson suggested.

 

Burgan waved the suggestion away. "Not likely. We'd have detected a huge bandwidth of com traffic. Even if they were to transmit in visible light or some other frequency like gamma rays we would have picked it up by now."

 

Dorja looked to the General then the Admiral. "Telepathic then?"

"It's not too far fetched." Agreed Jerej.

 

"Indeed." Answered Burgan and spun his chair to face Shanna Vance. "Are we facing anything telepathic that you could tell us?"

 

The woman looked to the viewports again, at the enemy fleet that was so close someone could reach out and touch it. She squinted at the ships and creases of concentration began to show themselves on her face.

Then she stopped and took several deep breaths.

"Nothing. There's nothing out there."

 

"Well it was worth a try. Now if-"

"Wait." The woman interrupted. "There is nothing out there. No life, no substance, nothing. It's like those ships shouldn't even exist but when I open my eyes they're still there."

 

"R-right." Responded the Admiral uncertainly. "I don't think that'll have a huge effect on how our fleet fights them." Without another word he turned back to the battle.

 

A volley of cruise missiles took down the starboard shields of one of the Star Destroyers and hulled it in several places. The crews were well trained and turned the ship broadside to the enemy presenting the least damaged shields while smaller support ships prevented fighters from taking advantage of the loss of shields on that side. Even so the diagnostics display for that ship started registering more and more hull and systems damage.

 

"Blast." Muttered Burgan. "Have a Vic Star and a Vindicator move in and support that Duce. I don't want to lose it if possible."

 

The bridge shook heavily and the light dimmed as systems tried to draw extra power from the grid. The indicator for the forward shields dropped by five percent.

 

"Report. What just hit us?"

"Nothing hit us that caused that sir." Said the sensor operator. "I think that the enemy command ship just tried to strip our shields. Inertial compensators in some of the forward sections nearly failed under the strain."

 

"Get backups in place. I don't want my command crew dead if they try that again."

 

"Aye sir."

 

A series of plasma hits blossomed against the forward shields in sequence. Shield power dropped more.

 

"As tough as these ship are, they can't take hits like that all day." Said Jerej.

"And they won't let it last all day." Added Dorja. "Eventually they're going to throw everything they have at this ship to break your line."

 

As if to prove his point a full wing of enemy fighters broke off from battling Tie fighters and in unison fired a concentrated barrage at the bow of his ship. As quickly as it had begun the Vong fighters returned to the Tie craft as if nothing had happened.

 

"I don't know how they're doing that but these guys are slicker than a Hutt. Helm! Find us some room and put us broadside to the enemy command ship. All guns pick a spot and drill it. Missile batteries launch a combined barrage at their command ship."

 

Concentrated cruise missile fire coming from the enemy carriers broke down the shields of an older Destroyer and ripped a series of hull breaches in it's topside from bow to bridge.

 

"Sir I'm detecting secondary explosions aboard Steadfast. They're reporting some kind of failure in-"

 

The officer was cut off as large explosions ripped the Destroyer Steadfast apart from the inside. It finished with a much larger explosion as the main reactors detonated, sending out a shockwave that crippled any support ships that had been nearby. The bridge shook as the topside shields absorbed most of the explosion's damage. Red emergency lighting came on as damage alarms wailed from several places on the bridge.

 

"Helm continue our maneuver!"

"Aye sir!"

 

Through the forward viewports clouds of Shards could be seen raining fire down on the forward and topside shields. Turbolasers without a clear shot at enemy capital ships tried their best to swat the pests.

 

As the Command ship turned Ardent and it's escorts stayed more or less in the same place bringing the areas infested with enemies closer to the ship and it's fighters. Several other tie squadrons also joined in the defence of the Command ship and there was soon a massive fighter engagement raging between the two Destroyers. As soon as the SSD ceased her turn all of the portside heavy weapons opened fire. Concentrating first on a Frigate analog that had been harassing them and then on the large enemy command cruiser.

 

"Sir, our Interdictor Cruisers are taking fire from cruise missiles."

 

Dorja leaned in towards the Admiral. "They only have a limited number of missiles aboard. They may be hitting them now should they need to withdraw later."

 

"No that's not it. They didn't start hitting the Interdictors until we started directing more fire on their command ship."

 

Jerej tapped a display panel. "The Carrier analogs are starting to pull back. A withdrawal?"

 

Burgan looked over the numbers of remaining ships and starfighters. "If they choose to retreat we'll have to let them. We don’t have the strength to break their formation. If they stay it get's messy for everyone. We need to regroup, or we'll be stuck in stalemate. Pull the Interdictors back and have them withdraw. We can't have them thinking they're stuck here and fight harder."

 

"We outnumber them." Mentioned Jerej.

 

"We outnumbered them from the start. We need to pull back and consolidate our forces. We also need time to fully analyse the tactics and weapons of this enemy."

He turned to the ship's captain.

"Prepare to pull the fleet back, but do it slowly."

 

Dorja simmered with anger but outwardly remained calm. "They are going to escape. We haven't done them any real damage. What we have done to their cruiser analogs is just superficial." Their chance to inflict a serious an immediate defeat to this new enemy was slipping away.

 

"We'll pull back to Garqi." Announced the High Admiral. "If they have any presence on the ground there, we'll land troops. It'll give our ground forces experience with these invaders. If not we can set it up as a temporary fleet base."

 

The Vong Fleet intensified their fire on the command ship for several seconds attempting once again to break the Imperial line, but could not ignore the other Destroyers for long. Knowing this all auxiliary power and feeds to the Superior’s starboard weapons were transferred to the shields. Tie craft rushing to the defence of their fleet's Admiral soon became too numerous for the Shards and blastboat analogs to counter. A Vindicator class cruiser protecting a pair of Lancer II Frigates moved into position and began wreaking havoc on the enemy formations.

 

Then the fighters and enemy cruisers were flocking away back to a safe place to enter hyperspace. The withdrawal was as orderly as the attack had been. Damaged fighters and vehicles were protected by near perfect formations of escorts as they pulled back. Any Imperial ships or fighters that attempted to pursue were quickly taken down. Then, within a handful of minutes they were gone.

 

"Detail ships to recovery operations. Communications, I want the small group we sent in to Yaga Minor to get out of there now if they're still alive. They're to link up with us at Garqi. And have the Hypercom relay ships move to establish communications between Garqi and Agamar. The main fleet will jump out in... half of an hour. Any ships unable to jump will remain behind with the recovery group."

 

Officers moved to carry out their orders and the bridge was filled with the sound of movement and hushed conversation.

 

Burgan spun his command chair to face away from the viewports. "Quite the new friends we've made. I'm guessing your first encounter wasn't quite so successful?"

 

"No sir." Frowned Dorja. Though he had to admit, it was a step in the right direction.

 

"Normally I would have risked the fleet to take down theirs but there's a problem with this being the only sizeable force within range for a couple of weeks."

 

"I understand, completely." Replied the older man.

 

"I can still have more ships brought in sooner than that but not in enough numbers to replace a full battle group. Now... General Richardson, prepare your troops."

 

"With pleasure sir."

 

032

Edited October 23, 2007 by Defender_16

[Defender_16]

Rebel Section. Not going to bother colour coding this one.

 

+ + +

 

On the other side of the galaxy, the Star Destroyers Blacken and Coercion dropped out of hyperspace. A fraction of a second later two Nebulon-B escort Frigates Trophy and Copsic reverted. Dead ahead was the capital of the Kathol sector, Kal'Shebbol.

The system’s traffic control picked up the ships just before they hailed the Golan Platform in orbit.

 

"This is Commander Adali Inkari of the Destroyer Blacken to local traffic control please respond."

 

A stern faced flag officer appeared on the holo projector. "Destroyer Blacken, you were reported missing two years ago in the Rift, along with another ship." He said it more as an accusation than a question.

 

"Yes sir. We were caught by a gravity pulse mine used by some fleeing Rebels. To make a long story short, we were ambushed and ended up traveling more than a year at sublight before we found our way out of the Rift."

 

The traffic control officer frowned as he looked off screen. "From our readings it looks like you've had lots of repair work done."

 

"We took control of a large Pirate base and used their station to expedite repairs. Called themselves the Skandrei Bandits or something? They were screaming something about that over the com when they attacked us."

 

"The Skandrei Bandits?! You found their base?"

"Yes sir. Was stocked just well enough to replace any weapons and systems we lost. We were forced to execute half of them, while the rest are being looked after by our Stormtroopers."

 

"What happened to your group's Command ship? There was a Super Star Destroyer with you if I remember." Even if it was a small one. The officer thought to himself.

 

"I'd... rather wait until a full report is filed sir. We lost a lot of good people."

 

"I understand. Very well then, one of my officers will send you an approach path that will keep you out of the worst of the scheduled system traffic. Good day."

 

The Officer in charge of the Golan platform and system traffic control turned to his support officers.

"Give them a slow approach path to give our sensors more time to look at them. I want to know exactly were those ships have been. Send a potential scramble warning to the ground based fighter wings just in case. Someone look up Commander Adali Inkari on our local database. If he came through here on that ship we'll have records from the crew manifest."

 

Within minutes an officer retuned with data on the previously missing ships and the man now in command.

â€

Edited October 23, 2007 by Defender_16

[Paul]

Damn rebels. Good read anyway Defender. - Grand Moff Conway

[Defender_16]

+ + +

 

"We have a line of four Destroyers formed up sir. Fighter screens are in position. Golan platform One reports full readiness."

 

"Good. Flight control, once the fighters from the planet-side bases start arriving, send our ties in to help those protecting the Destroyers."

"Yes sir."

 

The sensors officer spoke up again. "Enemy fighter wave incoming towards the Destroyers. They're leaving their cruisers to catch up."

 

"Good. Our ships can put down suppression fire while our Tie's pick off their fighters."

 

All four Star Destroyers tuned their Turbolasers toward the oncoming Rebel single ships.

"Rebel fighter wave will enter Turbolaser range in three... two..."

 

The Turbolasers on Blacken and Coercion began to turn and track in opposite directions.

 

"One... Fire!"

 

The two Defence destroyers launched their first volley as planned at the oncoming Rebels. The other two Destroyers fired on the defending ships that had come up to join their line. At the same time the Tie craft they had launched opened fire on the Imperials in the fighter screen. Nearly two dozen ties winked out of existence in a second. Tie Clutch type uglies launched from the traitor Star Destroyers and those tie craft already in space activated low powered shields.

 

Blacken and Coercion were able to get off three full Turbolaser volleys before the defending ships returned fire. When the Imperial fighters turned to attack the apparent traitors they were hit from behind by the Rebel fighter wave. A full squadron of Tie Clutch craft struck out at each of the two now wounded Destroyers, peppering them with laser and Ion cannon shots.

 

The Rebel strike fighters came into range followed closely behind by the Assault Frigates, all firing Ion Cannon. When the Imperial Commanders tried to roll their ships to bring fresh shields to bear, the fighters hit the unshielded sections. The Peregrine closed with one Destroyer unleashing it's heavy Ion cannon on the larger ship. Before long both defending ships were adrift and the Rebels were moving on to the Golan platform. A force of Tie Interceptors fleeing before them.

 

The Rebel flagship hailed the Golan platform.

"This is General Garm Bel Iblis to the forces of Kal'Shebbol. Surrender immediately and save your planet from orbital bombardment."

 

Fighter squadrons were still climbing out of the atmosphere and into orbit, headed for the Golan Two and the other light ships forming up around it. Blacken and Coercion came about slowly, allowing their shields to recover while the smaller Rebel ships formed up around them.

 

The faster Rebel starfighters began to make quick strikes against the remaining Imperial defence force, stirring up their formations. No response was forthcoming from the station so the Star Destroyers began a slow approach. While an upgraded Golan Three could hope to hold off a pair of Destroyers for some time, this was a old First Generation Golan Two.

 

The large guns aboard the Destroyers were nearly in range of the platform when a sector response fleet came out of hyperspace. A Victory Destroyer flanked by two Strike Cruisers and three Corellian Corvettes emerged at the edge of the planet's gravity well. Had the Rebel converted Carriers stayed farther behind, the new arrivels would have been able to easily overwhelm them. As it was, their appearance was too late to change the course of the battle, only lengthen it.

 

Iblis looked over the ship numbers carefully anyway. "Colonel, direct Blacken and Coercion to change course for the new enemy fleet element. Send two of our Dreadnaughts along with them. Peregrine and the Assault Frigates will carry on toward the station. And by the Force, get those Carrier transports to stay out of the way."

 

"Yes sir General. By the way, our two Nebulon-B Frigates are skimming the upper atmosphere and engaging fighters coming up from the surface."

 

"Fine keep them there. Have the regular starfighters, shielded Tie's, X-wings and the four B-wing's go with our Destroyers. That should leave us... the A-wings, Tie Clutches and the full Y-wing squadron for attacking the station."

 

"This could be a close match General. A Carrack Cruiser and two Corellian Gunships have taken up positions alongside the station. The system Patrol craft is also hanging nearby."

 

Iblis frowned at Tycho's report. "We'll just have to proceed slowly. The Assault Frigates can crack that station without much trouble, even faster with the Y-wings helping. We'll just have to take on the light ships ourselves and hope the Frigates finish up quickly."

 

The Rebel ships now heading for the space station formed up again, watching as the larger ships headed away. The Two Destroyers had enough power to beat the Imperial group but the Strike Cruisers had been outfitted with Carrier modules giving the group eight fighter squadrons.

 

"Weapons range with the station in twenty seconds." Called out a random officer.

An idea popped into the General's head. Or more accurately something he'd forgotten. "Send a message to Blacken." Instructed Iblis. "Tell them to begin continuously transmitting surrender protocols to all enemy ships once they engage."

"Yes sir."

 

Iblis shook his head. He was getting too old for this, too old without the proper medical support. He straightened his shoulders. If the offensive started to pay off the Rebels might be able to get access to proper medical equipment.

 

The three capital ships cruised in, firing the moment they reached range, the two Frigates protecting Peregrine most of the way in. The A-wings continued their slashing high speed attacks against the massed fighter forces, really doing little damage but causing confusion. Then the Imperial fighters could hold back no longer and charged the group attempting to swarm them.

 

Peregrine dropped relative down from the Assault Frigates and opened up on the Carrack and the Gunships which were following close behind the Tie fighter attack. A-wings and Clutch uglies dove into the starfighter fray which soon became so confused that few pilots had time to line up a shot. The Y-wing formation which had held back, dove into the gap between the Frigates vacated by the Dreadnaught.

 

The Assault Frigate bringing up the left side of the now two ship formation, directed Ion cannon fire at the Carrack Cruiser and Gunships as they passed but did little serious damage. They did however serve as distraction enough to keep the Gunships from noticing the Y-wings. As soon as the Corellian built ships were past, the Bombers streaked in at the station in a flying wedge. Their concentrated Torpedo spread lit up the Golan's shields like a stellar nursery.

 

The Station's Turbolasers couldn't penetrate the shields of the Rebel ships and the Y-wings had just barely enough speed to dodge. Soon Laser and Ion Cannon bolts shook the station's hull. Blue lightning skittered across the exterior and through internal systems causing them to short out or overload. Before long most of the station's weapons had ceased firing and several sections were burning air off into space.

 

By the time one Frigate came about and headed back into the battle, Peregrine was being hammered. The three Imperial ships and some Ties were giving everything they could to take down one of the Rebel ships. They were nearing success. Holes started to open in the old ship's shields and Cannon fire cored through several topside decks amidships. A Gunship hammered away at the engines causing a secondary explosion.

 

Peregrine's heavy Ion cannon fired a last desperate volley into the Carrack's engine bank bringing down the smaller ship's shields. The Assault Frigate fired at maximum range hitting the now unprotected light cruiser, it's engines exploding in a spectacular fireball. Some of the Y-wings were soon ducking through the firefight and launched their last missiles into a Gunship dropping it's shields. A flight of Clutch fighters targeted it's weapons, losing two of their number but fast disabling it.

 

The remaining Gunship, seeing it was now far overmatched transmitted it's surrender.

 

Off on the far side of the station four Y-wings and the other Frigate chased down the fleeing System Patrol craft. The heavier ship shook up the SPC with it's heavy weapons enough for the Bombers to take out the engines, leaving it drifting.

 

+ + +

 

The General picked himself up off the floor of the Command center as he heard the distinctive sound of hand operated fire extinguishers. The tactical holo display still functioned though it had a bad flicker. Everything near the station read green or yellow, no enemy contacts. Tycho was directing damage control efforts from one of the control panels not damaged in one way or another. A support beam had collapsed toward the front of the chamber and the wall behind it was warm.

 

"Tycho, Report."

 

"All enemy space forces are either destroyed, disabled or have surrendered."

Iblis wiped as his forehead and was grateful that no blood came away when he did so.

"The planet?"

 

"The planetary Governor is willing to negotiate terms for surrender. Apparently he heard your broadcast about Planetary Bombardment."

 

"My ship is in a bit of a mess. Not the sort of thing I want a Governor to see. It would likely be taken as a sign of weakness."

 

"I already have a shuttle waiting to ferry you over to Blacken Sir."

 

034

Edited October 31, 2007 by Defender_16

[Defender_16]

And now for perhaps one of the posts Paul (One of my most dedicated readers) hated the most. Even I didn't care for parts of it so I retyped it to make it more believeable.

 

+ + +

 

The Victory Striker type experimental Destroyer 'Rough Justice' dropped out of hyperspace for it's rendezvous with the Destroyer Tribune. They had just completed their first circuit of the Kathol Sector, rumoured to be the place where a Rebel fleet and Imperial task force had disappeared a mere two years ago. The sector was vast but far from empty. When they had strayed off of their planned route just slightly, the ship had stumbled upon pockets of inhabited systems and areas not recorded in Imperial survey logs.

 

Their arrival had scared off armed transports ship before they could hail them on more than one occasion. This time though it wasn’t an armed transport that greeted them. The Imperial Destroyer Tribune floated, dead in orbit, above the planet Brolsam. Hovering near it like a pair of scavengers were two Mon Cal Star Cruisers. The curved ships oriented on the incoming Vic in seconds, their Turbolasers soon getting firing solutions. A cloud of starfighters started to boil up from behind the two ships and overtake them.

 

"Helm, get us out of here." Ordered Noris Sloan, the ship's Captain. "Set course for the Capital, there should be two Destroyers there plus their reaction force."

 

In a matter of minutes the ship came about and was safe in hyperspace again. There was no way to tell for the moment if the two Cruisers and their fighter escort had followed them. Once a few minutes had passed and things calmed down a bit, Sloan set about the task at hand.

"Sensors, I want a full report on the numbers and types of Rebel ships that were there."

 

If they knew what the Rebels had brought with them then the Imperial fleet could tailor it's force to deal with this incursion. Tribune would also need to be towed back to a repair yard.

 

"Both Mon Cal cruisers were broadcasting their IFF transponders in the clear. Mon Remonda and Mon Karren both of the MC-80b type. There were several smaller ships clustered around Tribune, mostly converted transports. There were eight squadrons of fighters deployed, X-wings, A-wings, Y-wing mark Two's and Uglies. Lots of uglies."

 

"Damn Rebels. Were there any Tie Fighters deployed? They tend to use a lot of older model Ties outfitted with shields."

 

"There were a handful of Tie Clutch craft sir, no other ties."

 

"They must be keeping them for defence of whatever planet they've been hiding near. Once we reach the Capital we'll just need to insist that they take up a search of the surrounding systems after defeating these Rebels."

 

+++

 

Rough Justice arrived at the sector capital, Kal'Shebbol, to find the already meager Imperial Defence forces in ruin. The planet's permanent Destroyer guard of two Imperial class ships were as dead in space as the Tribune had been. A mixed force of ships patrolled the area centered around a pair of weathered looking ISDII's.

 

"Where's the light reaction force?" Asked the Captain.

"On the opposite side of the planet sir. We're still receiving some telemetry from satellites. The Vic in the group had been chewed up and both Strike cruisers appear to have had their forward sections blasted apart. It could be from missile hits."

 

Sloan wanted to scream out a long drawn out 'No!' but restrained himself. For the crew's sake, he reminded himself. Now they had serious problems. Two Mon Cal's and two Destroyers would be nearly a match for most of the remaining Imperial ships in the Sector. With the Rebels holding the main route out of the sector now, he would have to run to the Kathol Republic to gather forces. That was back on the other side of the sector, it could take three days or more to get there. And the Charis Fleet, which had been relocated to Episol, had no heavy ships to take on Destroyers.

 

"Sir, Hyperspace disturbance detected aft. It's one of the Mon Cal cruisers. Also, additional Rebel ships are heading up from low orbit. Two Assault Frigates with a fighter squadron escorting each."

 

Sloan continued to gaze through the viewport. In the distance, maintaining a patrol around the enemy Star Destroyers could be seen the shapes of Tie craft. That was why they hadn't used them before, they had been saving them up.

 

"Captain, the Rebel ships are hailing us."

"Put it on the speakers."

"VSD Rough Justice, under orders from The General we are giving you a chance to surrender. Power down your weapons and lower your shields. You have one minute to respond unless you take hostile action."

 

The Captain continued to consider his options. “Helm, could we make it to Episol before the Rebel ships overtake us?â€

Edited October 31, 2007 by Defender_16

[Paul]

Defender, when will we get back to Imperial action? I cant handle too much more rebel scum action. lol - Grand Moff Conway

PS Good read anyway dude

[Defender_16]

We now return you to your Imperial program.

 

+ + +

 

 

The Imperial Fleet poured out of hyperspace in a high orbit above the Planet Garqi. Scout vehicles and Tie craft dropped from the bays of carriers and Star Destroyers in still formidable numbers. Corvettes and Light cruisers surged ahead, moving into lower orbits to scan the surface of the planet.

 

"Enemy forces coming up from the planet. Two squadrons and three Corvette analogs." Reported sensors. "The Corvette's are angling to slip around the planet and escape."

 

"Deploy sufficient numbers to deal with their fighters. Can we catch those Corvettes?" Asked Burgan.

 

"No Admiral. They'll be away before any of our ships can transit to the other side of the planet."

 

"Don't bother with them then, just have a ship record their jump vector. As soon as the enemy fighters are destroyed begin a full orbital survey. I want escorted landing craft on their way to ground in thirty minutes."

 

The High Admiral waved over Dorja.

"Yes sir?" Inquired the older man.

 

"I'd like you to send four of your best pilots along to help escort the landing barges. Your people still have more experience fighting these aliens... er Vong than my people do. They may adapt faster to tactics they use for fighting on the ground or in atmosphere."

 

"Understood."

 

+ + +

 

Jag lead his flight in a long sweeping arc around a group of AT-AT barges as they descended through the Atmosphere. Air friction reduced the speed and maneuverability of Tie's in atmosphere considerably but there were positives as well. Any pilot that ejected had no need to worry about freezing to death or running out of air like in the depths of space.

 

Reports were starting to come in from the ships in orbit about odd star shaped structures in or near the planet's cities. Columns of what looked like prisoners had also been seen along with large shambling things that could have been ground vehicles or large creatures.

 

Because Garqi was a farming world there were no shortage of landing sites. Transports and landing craft chose to set down in a series of fields ten kilometres south of the main population center. There were raised roads, tree lines, and a few small bridges that stood between the landing zone and the city. Though any of them could be used to slow the Imperial advance, this was the most defensible landing zone this close to the city.

 

Two Squadrons of Assault Gunboats and one squadron of Skiprays hung in the air suspended by repulsors. They formed a loose circle surrounding the landing zone facing outward. Anything approaching the transports would have to deal with the powerful vehicle's cannon and missiles. Just inside the ring formed by the fighters landed the Sentinel class Landing craft, deploying Troops to better form a perimeter. Inside that ring the large transport barges finally were disgorging walkers.

 

One squadron of Defenders one of Gauntlets and six Interceptor Squadrons patrolled the surrounding airspace, careful not to get in the way of the transport craft. Once their walkers had been deployed the barges lifted off and headed back into orbit. Half of the Sentinels went back into orbit as well but the other half stayed and joined the Gunboats as low hovering fire support vehicles. A wave of Assault Shuttles came down and began securing bridges and roads that would be needed to advance to the city. Heavily armed troopers, some in power armour, began taking up stations at these strategic points.

 

AT-ST's and Stormtroopers began advancing outward from the landing zone, moving quickly to reach the points secured by the heavy troops. AT-AT formations began to lumber across the fields, taking their time and letting the AT-ST's do their job. Things continued without incident and the AT-ST's soon reached the first bridge. The bridges on Garqi were strongly built, intended to allow the heavy droid operated farming equipment to easily pass the large waterways scattered around. The waterways themselves were shallow enough that the walkers could have waded across but that would have slowed things down.

 

Then combat reports started to come in. A unit that had taken a crossroads near the main waterway separating them from the city was under attack. They were being hit with what appeared to be large bugs. The veteran Sergeant on the com was calmly describing the alien weapon creatures.

"Approximately hand size give or take. They have a razor sharp front and wings that they use to fly and steer themselves. They can be taken out with blasters but they're fast. They can cut through trooper armour when they build up enough speed."

The com cut off for a second then resumed.

"Enemy forces are located in a forested area just east of our position. Requesting fire support."

 

Right away a wing pair of Defenders and a squadron of Interceptors pealed of from their patrol and opened fire on the kilometre long triangle of forest. Fighters dropped down to hover over the Stormtrooper positions, firing laser cannon wherever the troopers directed their fire. Razor bugs pinged off of Starfighter armour or shields having no effect. Some small explosive bugs also joined in the mix but had no effect. AT-ST's were just starting to reach the crossroads when the hail of alien bugs stopped. The Interceptors ceased their strafing runs as more troops and vehicles approached along the road.

 

A heavy landing barge carrying a groundside shield generator touched down at the main landing zone. Though the defensive ring of fighters around the LZ had spread out there was still more than enough to fast counter any threat. Seeing this Jag pulled his flight farther away from the LZ, about half the distance to the city. From here they could more easily see the Crossroads and parts of the city opposite the waterway.

 

"Incoming Artillery fire! Evacuate the crossroads!" Yelled an Interceptor pilot on high flight.

Jag looked and sure enough a golden ball of plasma arced across the water from the city and hit the crossroad. The Scout Walkers and two Tie's hovering there were blasted away in different directions. The boxy walkers ripping apart like flimsiplast crates and the fighters exploding as their engines were melted through. White encased bodies and parts thereof flew in all directions.

 

More plasma blasts arced in from three other points inside the city, pounding the surrounding roads. Surviving troopers began an orderly charge into the forested area off of the road as they waited for the AT-AT's to reach them. The enemy plasma artillery fire did not stray south of the main road except for on the approaches from the bridge. Before long the AT-AT's and escorts were forced farther south to avoid the barrage. Instead they began to cut across the open field to reach the road coming up to the crossroads from the south east.

 

+ + +

 

General Richardson, who had come down to the surface on the heavy shield carrying barge, wasn't happy with what he was seeing. He had been hoping to capture the city with as little collateral damage as possible. The ships in orbit were able to locate pockets of life forms on the planet but it was hard to tell what were civilians. Killing civilians and non-combatants, even accidentally, was one way to get the big General angry. If there was a good enough reason he would allow it but he had executed soldiers before for the unneeded slaughter of civilians.

 

Garqi Agricultural University sprawled across one side of the city and was the source of most of the life form readings. One artillery piece was firing from the University Campus with three more scattered in the cover of the city just in from the small river. In adjacent or blocking buildings were human life signs. He cursed the alien's attempt at spiting him. The roads and open fields leading to the river would be a killing ground for any forces that tried to cross them. AT-AT's with their direct fire cannons couldn't hope to reach the enemy vehicles. XR-85 Tank droid's would have been handy now but it would take too long for some to arrive.

 

He picked up his com and looked up the starfighter Commanders in the air. "Colonel Fel, this is General Richardson. I want you to take a high flight over the enemy positions. I'm having the 420th wing’s Squadron Two accompany you up. If you think you can hit a target do so. If you cant crack those Artillery from up top let me know, I can divert some Gunboats."

 

"Order Acknowledged." Responded Fel.

 

Richardson turned to an aid. "Get me some Tie Bombers down here with precision munitions. And bring in a Corvette or two, it'll be faster than trying to deploy a self-propelled Turbolaser."

 

The aid ran off to carry out the task as another began to report in. "Sir our infantry that’s pulled back to the forest to avoid the artillery is under heavy attack."

 

"Let me see."

 

The holo display lit up showing the transponder locations of all ground troops and forces in that area. The Soldiers had fought their way into the trees pushing back the enemies that had occupied the area in minutes. Now the aliens appeared to have organised a counter attack and positions were crumbling.

 

"Enemy forces are reported to be using close combat tactics. They... I believe they're armed with some kind of vibroblade sir. Troopers report that their armour is being cut through with single hits. Enemy armour is taking two or three solid hits from standard blaster rifles."

 

"Can you get me visual?"

 

The aid hit a few buttons and a side display switched to showing the image from a Stormtrooper’s small mission recorder holocam. They were being steadily pushed back by a swarm of short creatures armed with small curving weapons. Their numbers alone were causing problems. Behind and sometimes among them were tall thin looking humanoids armed with long coiling whip like weapons.

"Emperor's black bones."

The Trooper, using his carbine in one hand and a sidearm in another, was firing as fast as he could to keep aliens back. Then when a hole opened in the line one of the tall ones from the back rushed forward, swinging its weapon around like a sling thrower. It sidestepped a blaster bolt, took another to its chitinous looking armour then swung its weapon across decapitating the trooper.

 

At least Richardson assumed the man had been decapitated, since the camera view spun showing alternating ground and sky before landing next to a headless body.

 

"Pull them back. Pull them back to the south east! Have them meet up with the Walkers coming up that road. When the majority of the troops are clear of the forest have the AT-AT's and Interceptors burn what's left of it."

 

036

Edited November 1, 2007 by Defender_16

[Paul]

Very good read Defender, thank you very much. Of course I hate the Vong as much as I hate the rebel scum lol. - Grand Moff Conway

[PsychoInfiltrator]

Stinking Vong.

[Defender_16]

I'm expecting that eventually a Rebel fan will post here with damn/stinking Empire, etc.

 

+ + +

 

Jag's flight and the Interceptor Squadron flew over the city. Taking a chance, they were only at about half the altitude called for in high flight observation. Nothing happened after their first pass but on their second the artillery vehicles started directing fire up at them.

 

"Scatter formations. Keep it erratic and don't get hit."

With most of the squadron breaking up and farther away from the fire sources, Jag heeled his fighter over and dove towards the ground, Tarth sticking right with him. Unwilling to waste a good chance for a strafing run, Jag fired lasers at the source of some of the ground fire. Before they could hit, both his and Tarth's laser bolts winked into nothingness at a familiar distance from the ground. Pulling up and putting all power to engines the two pilots soon rejoined the rest of the squadron.

 

"Everyone stay at altitude and continue to dodge fire."

 

He switched back to the Command Frequency the General had called him on. "Fel to Richardson."

 

"Go ahead Fel."

 

"We just made a run at one of their artillery. We didn't get a very good look at it but they are definitely shielded."

 

There was a long pause then the General asked. "The same kind of shielding as their ships use?"

 

"The same. It could take a lot of firepower to remove them."

 

"That's a problem. I'm sending you a Gunboat squadron, do what you can. There will be a Corvette in firing position to hit those targets from medium altitude in five minutes, but their gunners arn't so good. There are buildings surrounding those enemy positions with human life signs. They're being used as shields from our ground forces. Do something about that as well will you?"

 

Jag calculated numbers and forces then replied. "I need two Assault shuttles and a Sentinel. Any fire the other squadrons could direct toward the targets would help."

 

"Fine you've got it, just get the job done."

 

+ + +

 

Jag orbited above the combat groundside waiting for his forces to reach attack positions.

 

"All fighters direct fire at the westernmost artillery setup. Gunboats, fire one missile apiece at the roadway twenty meters north of the target."

 

As soon as the fighters opened up, two Assault Shuttles and a Sentinel dropped to the deck from their waiting position and screamed in towards the west side of the city.

 

Laser and Ion cannon fire from twenty eight vehicles converged on the enemy position. As usual many of the lasers disappeared and return fire in the form of Plasma licked at the shields of the less maneuverable Gunboats. Most of the concussion missiles were ignored though, and they hit the street with a large explosion, throwing up a fireball the size of the buildings around it.

 

Illuminated by the explosion Jag could see that the enemy weapon was a large lumbering creature almost as tall as an AT-AT. The large bony ridge along it's back served at the mount for the plasma weapon which appeared to be grafted to it. Then the explosion and shockwave swept under the tiny voids it had been using for defence, tearing into it's hind and flank. The creature's back end dropped but it kept firing, scoring a hit on an Interceptor and then a Gunboat that couldn't get out of the way in time.

 

The Imperial fighters could no longer direct mass fire at it, being forced to dodge fire not only from the wounded beast but the other three in the city as well. Then the Assault shuttles swung around a corner in the city streets. Their Turbolasers, normally used for tackling resisting ships tore through the wounded back side of the monster, burning through it until beams came out the front of it's armoured hide.

 

"Direct fire at the other artillery beasts to keep them distracted." Instructed Jag. "I'm going down for a closer look at the dead one and the hostages."

 

The Sentinel Class landing craft hovered between buildings until it reached the burning smouldering hulk of the dead monster. The three vehicles set down and directed shields above them should any fire come their way. Stormtroopers charged from the landing ramps and entered the buildings. No sooner had they entered then the strobing flashes of blaster and stun shots flashed from the entrances.

 

Moments later the Troopers backed out of the buildings and headed for the safety of the shuttles. A horde a humanoids charged out after them, some armed most not. They looked a great deal like humans except for strange calcifications and growths on them. Some appeared to have growths farther along than the others, looking almost like armour. The Stormtroopers formed a firing line two deep around the shuttles, overpowering the humanoids while the shuttle crews brought their weapons to bear.

 

Jag punched up the General. "Fel to Richardson."

 

"Go."

"Recommend that you implement planetary quarantine procedures. The humans that were supposed to be in the buildings have strange growths. They appear to be parasitic but there's no way to be sure right now. They are attacking out troops without any regard to their own safety, most are unarmed."

 

"That's going to make things tricky. Capture one, I don't care how, we'll have to study some. Do you believe that the rest of the humans we detected will be like this?"

 

"There is no way to be sure sir other than to take the other positions."

 

"Figures. Capture one and pull back. Don’t bother with the other artillery."

 

"Aye sir."

 

Jag swung his fighter around and poured laser cannon shots into the attacking mob, trying to cut it off from the buildings. At the same time contacting the trooper commander to capture some of the mutated looking humans for study.

 

A man in a modified space trooper suit grabbed an opponent and backhanded him into unconsciousness before lifting and carrying him back to a shuttle. Another was shot with several stun beams and tackled by three regular troopers. All the while the laser cannon from both the shuttles and Jag's cycled, putting more energy into the mass trying to exit the building, turning the pavement and Ferrocrete molten. Jag was grateful he wouldn't ever have to find out what it smelled like out there.

 

Then the Troopers were back aboard their shuttles, the landing ramps going up and the vehicles backing away. Without a second thought, he fired a pair of Concussion missiles into the base floor of the building, bringing the five above it telescoping down and into the street. He kicked the Tie backwards on repulsors just enough to avoid the falling debris then turned and followed the shuttles until they were out of the city.

 

037

Edited November 1, 2007 by Defender_16

[PsychoInfiltrator]

So I take it the corvette's poor accuracy no longer matters?

[Paul]

Good read Defender, and the Empire is the rightful ruling body-NOT the evil terrorists (rebels) lol- Grand Moff Conway