The Solo Offensive

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Storyteller
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Posts: 54

The Solo Offensive Dec 14, 2017 4:02:56 GMT

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Post by Storyteller on Dec 14, 2017 4:02:56 GMT

(Just some circumstance set-up and light RP at a resistance cell in Lianna)

[1:18:53]
NPC Repository:
[On Lianna] The planet had seen better days. Lianna was the home planet of the Santhe/Sienar Technologies corporation, and had profited immensely with imperial contracts to build an endless supply of TIE-series starfighters. After the Emperor's death, local leadership had managed to squirm out a deal for neutrality with the Imperial Remnant, under the condition that they continue to supply the starfighters, but that arrangement had only lasted four months. Zsinj's Empire had come and subjugated them.

It was a noisy night in one of the planet's many manufacturing districts. The factories worked around the clock now, exhausted men and women manning machinery that built Zsinj's starfighters, while the environmental restrictions that had once been in place were removed. The air was thick with smoke and sleet, run-off from the factories filled vast basins at the edge of the district, giving it an acrid stench. For all the noise, the streets were empty: anyone who wasn't currently working an unbearably long shift was instead at home, likely behind thick, locked doors. It was not unheard-of for Zsinj's security forces to round up any large group roaming outside at night, nor were press-gangs uncommon.[+]

[1:25:16]
NPC Repository:
The resistance cell was set up in the bowels of one of the gigantic factories. Harried workers would smuggle weaponry out of the production lines, or work extra hours to cover for those who left the line of production covertly to receive the training. It was a cramped arrangement, a floor of the factory that had presumably been abandoned due to the simple fact that it could not provide adequate working conditions. Lights hung down from the low ceiling, constantly bumping against the heads of the black ops team or those they were training. There was only one, broad window on the side of the chamber - a floor-level window, from which it was possible to see the cityscape extending out to the horizon, a pair of Star Destroyers in atmosphere, enormous search-lights blaring down from them onto the boroughs below.

Leia had been smuggled out for a meeting with the planet's supposed ruler, Lady Santhe, and was scheduled to return in an hour. It would be a tense wait if there wasn't so much to do. At this very moment, a soot-covered man dropped into the room from one of the hidden trap-doors leading into it, hurriedly giving the passphrase, 'phoenix rising', before showing what he had for the resistance team: the explosive charge from a concussion missile. "You guys can use this, right?" He looks around warily. He was new, this was the first bit of hardware he'd smuggled for them.

[1:36:09]
Gale Maral:
Gale had brought, ah, party favors. Her contribution to the cause, in the form of two large locked boxes, which contained a pair of old school Z-6s each. They'd been accepted with a small measure of amusement from the quartermaster down here, and then she'd basically been told to fuck off and let the adults do their thing. So, she'd gone off and made small talk with some of the workers, traded hooch around, found something she liked that smelled like paint thinner and tasted like a coniferous forest in her mouth that she arranged for more of and just generally avoided being underfoot. She was here to make a good impression and so that was what she was going to do.

Well, to the best of her ability anyway, she still swore like the ganger she'd grown up as, drank, arm wrestled and generally came across as an uncouth lout, save for some rather canny observations she'd made about holes in their defenses and a few pointers on the importance of redudant air recyclers, given they were in the bowels of a factory, it'd be all too easy to get anoxic sinked. That had earned her brownie points from the locals at least. And more of that pine tasting stuff.

[1:47:17]
NPC Repository:
It was a mixed group down in that confined space. Some of them were the best of the best that the Republic had to offer: pathfinders, veterans of the Battle of Endor. They were a tight-knit group, and firm enough about the need for discipline that they would ironically have fit in pretty well with some of the empire's own elite units. The few republic troopers who had been steadily smuggled in for the past week were that much more approachable, at least enough that Gale's nature didn't rub most of them the wrong way.

The locals were an entirely different story. These people had been worked hard for a long time now, and the chance for some levity, drinks and uncouth entertainment suited them just right. While the pathfinders put a band of locals through some physical training in the back of the space, the worker who'd just brought a fresh explosive charge handed that off to one of the republic officers and then roamed around a moment, until he found Gale. He was new, but he'd heard about her, "hear you're the one to trade with down here, yeah?" He took his cap off his head, rubbed his face with it to try and get some of the soot off. It didn't exactly work, "I've got a cousin who's setting up a still."

[1:59:24]
Gale Maral:
"Ay? Well I do enjoy some hand made artisinal alcohol," she said, managing for a brief moment the poshest of Core world accents before a wide grin split her face. "Whatcha wanting and whatcha givin, ay berk? No touchy mind, ain nae that kinna gal, but stuff n' things, that I do. Or, give a looksee t'yer future? Nae guarantee on that min', prophecy is garbage, it's a what may be, nae wha' must come t'pass."

She did not exactly fit what one might think of as a seer, and frankly she disliked doing it for herself because it just got too confusing keeping the plot thread as it were, but others, what the hell? Not like they were gonna lie awake at night trying to tease out all the meanings of a murky assed glimpse of Laters.

Storyteller
Administrator

Posts: 54

The Solo Offensive Dec 18, 2017 5:03:48 GMT

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Post by Storyteller on Dec 18, 2017 5:03:48 GMT

[23:43:29]
NPC Repository:
[Commander Moonsong, in Hyperspace] Blade Squadron had been called in for their briefing only after they were in hyperspace - a wise security precaution, as being in hyperspace meant that any possible spies on the ship would be unable to report on the information about to be given.

They were in the Mon Remonda, an MC80 cruiser and flagship of Han Solo's fleet, and that meant they had access to a lot of facilities. For this briefing, they had an amphitheater with a large holo-projector in the center, allowing all the pilots in the squadron to sit around it and watch both their commander and the information she was about to share.

"We are now part of the Solo Fleet. You should all get used to that, we will likely be a part of this unit for a long time." Gina Moonsong strode up to the holoprojector as she spoke. She was in her flightsuit, but the helmet had been left at the table close to the entrance to the amphitheater, so as to leave both hands free. "We'll fly with the same squadrons, and under the same capital ships, so take your time in simulators to get familiar with all the ships in the fleet."

At a gesture, the holoprojector shifted to show the fleet: eleven capital ships and a handful of support vessels, as well as all the wings of Starfighters that could be crammed into the fleet. A-, X-, B- even Y-wing squadrons were present, some of them going back all the way to the birth of the rebellion.[+]
[23:59:03]
NPC Repository:
"Operation Breakthrough has come down from the highest echelons of the Republic military. Admiral Ackbar himself has put his stamp of approval on our missions. The first of those is Lianna," she gestures again, and the view of Solo Fleet is replaced by an image of the Star system - not to scale, given that the eponimous planet is quite visible, as is the Zsinj fleet above it. "Zsinj has pressured the Tion and the Corporate Sectors hard since they came into his sphere, and they are ready to join us in throwing him away. We have a lot of local support for this operation, so you'll be flying alongside ships you're not used to."

The holoprojector focused on the planet of Lianna itself: most of the planet was covered in cityscape, almost as thoroughly as Coruscant itself. Surprisingly detailed data was overlayed for known hostiles. "Zsinj has ground forces on the world of Lianna itself, as well as navy units keeping the world hostage. We have pathfinders and contractors in place on the world, as well as a promise of support from Lady Valles Santhe, the planetary governor. They will contribute ground forces as well as wings of TIE-class fighters to join us in the fight." Large-scale explanation done, she moved on to their specific mission.

"We will drop in-system as close to Lianna as possible, starfighters wings are to be deployed immediately to capitalize on surprise as much as we are able. There are five Imperial-class Star Destroyers in the system, and they are our primary targets," the holodisplay updated to show five red dots on about the planet. Surprisingly ,four of them were skimming the planet's surface, definitely within the atmosphere. "The Adjudicator is our first target. It is an Imperial-I in high orbit, and we should be launched directly into close range with him." The holodisplay updates, showing the force arriving immediately into close range: three mon-calamari cruisers, one captured Star Destroyer, several smaller vessels. "There are a further four Imperial-class vessels in the system, as well as six other ships of Frigate or greater classification. The flagship of the enemy fleet is the Tyrant, formerly of Death Squadron under Darth Vader, captained by Xamuel Lennox. Capturing or destroying the Tyrant is of the utmost importance." The display updated to show the Adjudicator in orbit, and the Tyrant, one of the vessels within the atmosphere.

[0:10:00]
Winter Frost:
Winter sat in silence as the briefing was going on making note of all the relevant details, eager to get the show on the road as it were but also hesitant. This would be the biggest imperial force they would have fought in awhile. "We'll be able to take out the Adjudicator pretty quickly, we'll have surprise on em' just jumping in to the system like that. The rest of the operation will be a prize fight though...."

[0:18:19]
NPC Repository:
The grumbles from the rest of the squadron matched Winter's own: one Star Destroyer taken by surprise, with support from several capital ships was one thing. But what would happen once the hornet's nest was kicked and the imperials organized to resist was a whole different story. Too many pilots had keen memories of the days of hard fighting over Kuat.

The briefing went at length about the initial engagement with the Adjudicator, showing estimated points of arrival for the strike force, ideal attack vectors and more. They were a B-Wing squadron, after all, and getting up close and personal with a Star Destroyer and then blasting it to smithereens is what they did. It was not something achieved without a great deal of planning.

Once all the information was dispensed, the briefing broke up. There were eleven hours in Hyperspace before arrival over Lianna, plenty of time for everyone to get some time in the simulators, some time in the sack, and a hot meal in them. At 0300 hours, galactic standard time, the klaxons went up for battle stations. They were about to drop out of hyperspace, and it was time to get combat-ready. At the Mon Remonda's hangar bays, X-Wing and B-Wing pilots were dropping into their ships, repulsorlifts raising them off the deck in preparation. Outside, the glow of Hyperspace was still visible. "All wings, report in." Came the call from Rogue Leader, Wedge Antilles.

[0:25:52]
Winter Frost:
She spent plenty of time in the simulator, and probably about an hour or two in the sack and a few minutes huddled with some rations before it was go-time. She hadn't slept well after what had happened in Kuat so caf had become her best friend, and considering the nature of the operation she had gotten a hold of some stims as well. She just couldn't function at the level she needed without chemical help at this point and there was far too much riding on this for her to get sloppy. "Blade 5, standing by." She reported dutifully as her B-Wing up.

[0:34:27]
NPC Repository:
The other responses came in, Rogues, Blades, and a whole host of colors. Ships readied at the many hangar exits of the MC80, as the surprisingly calm voice of the vessel's helmsman came through the comms, "arrival in system in 10. 9, 8..."

The countdown got to zero and the battle began immediately. Blades and Rogues were first out of the cruiser, emerging even while the first salvo of shots were fired. The Adjudicator was there, hanging in high orbit over the planet, so close that even naked eyes could see the glint of reflected starlight. Surprisingly, it was flanked by two Victory-class vessels. The plan was in place, though, and Moonsong called for the squadron to form up with her, even as the Rogues surged ahead to take on the screen of TIE-fighters emerging from the Star Destroyers. There were reports of battle below, on the planet's surface, where infiltration units had gone loud simultaneously with the fleet's arrival, but there was too much to handle to pay attention to that. Every ship on Blade Squadron could hear the warning buzzes as the victory-classes sought to lock onto them to fire long-range missiles, and dozens of starfighters emerged from the holds of all three imperial ships.

For the squadron's new lieutenant, there was an added responsibility: men and women under her who would use her flight vector, her attack pattern to strike the Adjudicator during final approach. Four other pilots, dependent on her decisions both for their survival and the success of their mission.

[0:48:25]
Winter Frost:
"Frack!" Winter swore loudly over the intercom. The addition of the two Victory SD's wasn't a welcome one but they were committed at this point. "Blade six, seven, eight, nine on me. We're going to show them a little trick I learned." The woman would veer up on the Z-Axis in an almost ninety degree angle before jetting over toward the target, hopefully rendering their autolasers unable to acquire them do the 'height' involved.

[0:54:38]
NPC Repository:
Star Destroyers were built wedge-shaped so that the majority of their firepower could be focused on a single point. In full accordance with this fact, the Adjudicator and its two Victory-class support vessels had immediately started veering towards the Republic fleet. While they turned, the Republic was outputting a lot more firepower than them, but before the starfighters could arrive into range, the Star Destroyers were starting to take advantage of that edge.

For Winter's flight, that turned out to be a boon. Their orientation got them away from most of the fire, and the Imperial-class was somewhat anemic in point defense to begin with. 'Below' her, the explosions began while the two fleets exchanged and Rogue Squadron drew the full attention of the imperial starfighters, soon turning into a messy field of dogfights. Some of the other B-Wing flights were going right through that mess, and suffering for it: all it took was a couple very determined Interceptors to turn a successful bombing run into a suicide mission.

For the moment, though, Winter and her crew were mostly on the clear. They had a direct approach, little fire coming their way, and a Star Destroyer growing ever larger on their viewports. Some of Blade Squadron had been more direct in their approach, and the first proton torpedoes had already smashed themselves against the Destroyer's shield. Moonsong's voice came over the comm, on the private line to Winter, "make that run count, Frost. We're not likely to get a second one."

[1:04:14]
Winter Frost:
"Roger that!" She replied and pulled a maneuver that would have been more suited to an A-Wing and veered straight down on the Z-Axis toward the ISD. "Follow me and do exactly what I do when I do it, understand?" The tension was clear in her voice but the resolve was greater. She began to dive almost straight for the command tower on the ISD and peppered it with ion fire, and as soon as she was danger close she unloaded her payload of proton torpedoes toward that same target and before anything else, even pulling up to avoid crashing into the damn thing, she made sure they hit durasteel instead of shield.

[1:14:35]
NPC Repository:
It was the kind of crazy maneuver that the imperial book was strictly against. Unconventional, dangerous, but in the right circumstances tremendously effective. Ion blasts peppered at the Star Destroyer's shields, making all kinds of localized failures that the crew inside the vessel were just barely able to cope with, what with all the fire coming in from the Republic capital ships at the same time. Someone in that Star Destroyer was at the top of their game, though: a lot of fire start to pour up, every turret that could be swiveled to fire at the B-Wings angled themselves to do just that. Most of it was inaccurate fire of turrets unfit for firing at starfighter squadron, but it wasn't long before some of the heavy starfighters had their front shields splashed with laser cannon fire, and one of them had the fantastic misfortune to be get hit on the foil with a full turbolaser blast. The pilot ejected while the vessel spiraled completely out of control.

All but that one made the run, though, and their full load of torpedoes poured in through the flaws in the shielding. One of the sensor and shielding blisters was vaporized instantly, while explosions spread all through the command tower, keen eyes could see numerous breaches, atmosphere and crew vented out. The Star Destroyer had been orienting itself towards the Mon Remonda, but rather than stop once the Mon-calamari ship was dead on its firing axis, it just kept turning. Laser fire continued from the vessel, but it was disorganized, spread out. The ship was decapitated, and secondary bridges hadn't yet managed to reassert command - nor would they, as the Mon Remonda took full advantage of the shield failure that Frost's flight had caused - the next volley of turbolaser fire tore into the Star Destroyer, cutting right into it's ventral bulge. For an instant, the Star Destroyer grew as bright as a nascent star while it's reactor was breached, and then where it stood there was an expanding cloud of debris.[+]

[1:17:35]
NPC Repository:
The two Victory-class vessels had taken a licking in the battle up until then, and once the Adjudicator was slagged, they had no hope whatsoever of standing up to the Republic. Admiral Lennox was obviously no incompetent, however: the two capital ships hung back, focusing fire on the Republic fleet but oriented ever so slightly downwards in relation to it, making it harder for the Republic forces to engage with the four other Star Destroyers below, in atmosphere, while those climbed up and away from their formerly vulnerable position.

This wasn't going to be a clean battle. This wasn't going to be an easy win. Despite that, the infiltrators had done their job: if Winter bothered to check - and she likely couldn't given circumstances - she would find no data incoming or outgoing from the holonet. This battle was ongoing, but no one outside the system would know about it until it was done. Zsinj could not send reinforcements.

[1:43:29]
Winter Frost:
She managed to restrain herself from crying out in joy when she found that not only had they survived the near suicide run and ended up contributing to the death of their primary target, and it was easy to do when she found out they had lost a wing during the attack. "All wings, give me a payload report." She barked over the com. She wanted to see if anyone had enough proton torpedoes left to make a shot at one of the victories a realistic option.

[1:56:30]
NPC Repository:
A surprising number of the TIE fighters that emerged from the Zsinji destroyers were already missing - the handiwork of Rogue, Gold, Red and Blue squadrons, all of them X-Wings, and the foremost of those squadrons was earning every bit of their reputation. Not one pilot down yet, while they'd taken out a full squadron of TIEs. It did mean they were tied down, though, as the dogfight couldn't simply be abandoned.

Payload reports were delivered to Winter - most of them had enough torpedoes onboard that they were a legitimate threat to a Victory-class, though certainly not to the four Imperial-class vessels now emerging from the atmosphere below. The imperials were gathering support vessels, too: gunships, frigates, corvettes, all of them moving to the same direction, seeking to consolidate their fleet into a formation capable of giving the Republic some real trouble.

"We need to break as many of them as we can before they form up." Just like that, suddenly, it was Solo's voice pouring into Winter's cockpit, and that of several other wing commanders. "I'm sending some of our irregulars to cover you. All bombers, target the Tireless." It was one of the two Victory-class vessels, the one just a hint more exposed by virtue of having launched its fighters earlier.

[1:58:04]
Sai Corall:
There was a chorus of formal confirmations, and lost in the midst of it was a "whatever you say, handsome." Sai was in the midst of the irregulars - a big group of starfighters and transports of every class imaginable, mercenaries and volunteers drawn up to join the Republic battle fleet. It was an irregular - the Millenium Falcon - that had ensured victory against both Death Stars, so it was no surprise that tradition was being maintained.

Her starfighter was among the fastest and most agile, and soon Sai had surged out of the clump of irregulars. Her comm targeted Winter, "I'm with you guys. Vape that Star Destroyer at the end of our run and I'll buy you guys a drink later." The unconventional, mandalorian fighter was already aligning with Winter's own flight vector, preparing to cover their approach.

[2:02:15]
Winter Frost:
"You heard the man. Do you chumps want to live forever?" Winter knew that it probably sounded hammy to most folks but given the fact the adrenaline was pumping for everyone involved perhaps it would read as inspiring. She began to take them on a vector that would hopefully bring them behind and hopefully just a bit above the Tireless though it wouldn't be anything like the dive-bombing run from before. She began to plot out the bridge on her targetting computer and, as before began to dose the thing in ion fire and was actually able to get more of that in given the more conventional approach before she unleashed her remaining payload of torpedoes, confident her wing mates would do the same

[2:12:10] Sai Corall adjusted her own trajectory to match Winter's own, then sped up to surge just past them - as did some more of the irregulars: a Z-95 and a pair of uglies cobbled together from a mix of parts from different starfighters. It was just as well that they did, as not long after, half a squadron of interceptors surged up to meet them.

The mercenary flew like she didn't realize her ship was unshielded, diving right into the heart of the erupting dogfight, a concussion missile launched to turn one of the interceptors into a cloud of glass, while laser cannons splashed over another's solar panels. They were outnumbered badly, and the uglies were just barely able to keep up the pace in the dogfight, but they did their job: absorbing the full attention of the imperial starfighters. When one of the interceptors veered away from the dogfight to try and align a shot on the B-Wings, Sai barreled after it, raining down laser fire. "You're all clear, Blades. Go earn that name." She dove through a cloud of tie-fighter debris the next moment.

[2:16:21]
NPC Repository:
The second run was slower, more methodical. The Tireless knew they were coming, and it had a lot more point-defense than the imperial-class they'd worked on earlier. Winter lead her wing, the rest of Blade Squadron formed up and diving in as well, Moonsong giving occasional instructions for the wing commanders, improving their targeting vectors, making sure they got the most out of their proton torpedoes when it was time to launch them.

It was a painful run. Though starfighters were diverted away, laser cannon fire rained down on them from the Star Destroyer, and several of the starfighters were burned down until they had no shields at all. They pushed on, two of them vaporizing when a final hit managed to connect. The rest of the squadron made it, and unloaded what was left of their payload, joined by a few X-Wings with their own proton torpedoes. When they all detonated at once, the Tireless' hull cracked open all the way through, venting out plasma from a cracked reactor. Less catastrophic than the Adjudicator, but that was a dead bird regardless.

[2:36:12]
Winter Frost:
Winter watched the //Tireless/ break apart with a grim smile. "Good job Blade Squadron, that's gonna hurt fatass Zsinj. Thanks for the support out there." The first part was to her own flight and the next to the irregulars. "This is Blade five requesting permission to refit and rearm, we're all dry on the heavy stuff." She knew there would probably be another couple of sorties today but for the moment she didn't want anymore losses on her end. The empty spots on her holo display were hard enough to look at as it stood.

[2:48:56]
NPC Repository:
Blade squadron were brought back to the hangar, as were several of the other squadrons involved in the engagement, most of them missing many of their ships - even Rogue Squadron drew into the hangar with one position missing. Over the next several minutes, hangar crews repaired damaged starfighters, refueled and rearmed them.

Outside, the battle was very much alive. Republic shuttles skimmed through the debris, seeking ejected pilots, even grabbing onto crack cockpits with pilots still inside, in the fantastical off-chance that they were still alive inside. The capital ships squared off over a distance, most of their screen of starfighters having exhausted themselves. Fire was intense at first, then grew ever more sporadic as each side sought to take strategically advantageous positions.

Eventually, the call came for Blade squadron to get off their ships and get their rest. They wouldn't be used for the next few hours. That command was already planning in terms of a multi-day campaign was telling. This had all the makings of a new meatgrinder, like Kuat had been.

[3:00:32]
Winter Frost:
The usual sort of numb-shock settled in reinforced by the fact that the pilots that weren't coming back had been her charges. This was war and losses were to be expected but the burden of command wasn't something she had been expecting. She only hoped the lives she had spent today would go to a worthy cause like a real and resounding victory, not some wash like Kuat had been. The echani woman stumbled out of her cockpit as soon as they were back aboard and wiped the sweat away from her forehead and just stood there.

Storyteller
Administrator

Posts: 54

The Solo Offensive Dec 20, 2017 19:31:08 GMT

Quote

Post by Storyteller on Dec 20, 2017 19:31:08 GMT

[14:03:19]
Leon Salrix:
Already pumped full of adrenaline from previous engagements Leon keeps a steady gaze on his comrades as they cross the open street in pairs of two from their cover of the back alley. From behind he's tapped on the shoulder in cue and begins a hasty sprint across. About halfway through the street his gut sinks with a deep feeling, an impending feeling of danger that manifested itself through the strange instinct he'd come to trust that now led him in a dive roll towards the end of the street. At that very moment the east side of the road lights up with heavy fire power, tearing down where he would have been.

"You're one lucky son of a bitch to trip like that, Sarge!" The soldier shouts while grabbing at Leon's collar to drag him the rest of the way behind cover.

Leon scrambles to his feet and firmly presses his back against the wall of the building behind them, his almond shaped eyes shifting their gaze to the other three soldiers waiting across the street. "Those are heavy guns. Commandos with T-21 blasters. I know that sound!" Leon shouts angrily as another barrage of blaster fire continues to suppress the rest of his squad on the other side of the street. Without hesitation he reaches into the inside of his jacket with his left hand, grabbing and then priming a thermal detonator.

"What the hell are you doing!? That's our only thermal and there's no way you have eyes on them!"

[14:04:32] Jorus Sode had been wandering aimlessly for a while now, his comms were shot and his squad lost to the void. Things were not much better for him, flying around space in nothing more than a TIE fighter. Approaching upon a planet it seemed there was a battle raging ahead, was that Lianna? There seemed to be both Imperial and Republic ships engaged in space combat, this was his time to shine. There was no chance he'd be able to take on any of the larger ships; instead he hoped he'd target a few of the fighters in the midst of combat. He only wished he was able to tune into the comms, it would be much easier if he could become part of a squad but maybe it was safer for everyone if he stayed a lone pilot. Focusing on the nearest Republic fighter he takes aim, and fires.

[14:07:33]
NPC Repository:
The battle was on the move again, from the lower floors of the skyscraper, spilling out onto the streets. This force was all locals trained by the Republic pathfinders sent to the planet months earlier: the only thing they had as far as 'uniform' went was the fact that they all wore mostly red. They had quality blasters, and every one of them had a helmet, but that was all the gear that was poached, smuggled and robbed for them before the battle started. They had been trained, but that didn't mean they were steady.

The many youths took cover along the colonnades lining the exit from the skyscraper, trading fire with swoopbikes above. It was inferior cover, and now the imperials had an even better angle of fire on them, the men and women were dropping like flies. One of the disruptor-equipped swoop troopers stopped at a fair height, took a good long look at the situation and took a bead on what looked like the most valuable target in the fight. Under normal circumstances, having a whole team of bodyguards kept you safe. When there were snipers about, it made you a target. Bean and Grace had most of a channel through the crowd open to the speeder, when the scream of a disruptor was heard, and the officer who had been running through that corridor suddenly turned into a warm coating of dust on all those around him. Moments later, a trooper with a repeater opened up a barrage of fire towards Grace, Beansidhe and the others who were out in the open. He hit civilians who were pushing up against the corridor by the handfuls, but obviously didn't care.

Several streets down, the oncoming relief force from the Republic was getting pinned down by Zsinj's commandos, the exchange of fire from another of the side-streets turning the entire situation even more chaotic. Meanwhile, several kilometers away at the imperial garrison at the center of the city, the major responsible for that battalion had identified this region as the most important in the developing situation, and more of his forces were mustering.[+]

[14:12:45]
NPC Repository:
Up in space, the situation was complex. The Republic fleet had gotten the defense force by complete surprise - and a defense force that had been focused on suppressing and intimidating the locals, not on defending itself against an oncoming attack. Jorus' sensors showed that four Star Destroyers were still inside the planet's atmosphere and climbing out of it to join the battle, that a lone Star Destroyer and a pair of Victory-class escorts were being badly pummeled, while a host of smaller support craft were burning towards the battle as fast as they could to try and save their beleaguered capital ships.

Both sides had a great number of starfighters, and the messy tangle of dogfights had spread out from the center of the battle for many kilometers. X-Wings, TIE-fighters, interceptors and more traded shots, and the sudden arrival of an added TIE-fighter from outside the scope of the battle took an X-Wing pilot by surprised. A solid battery of laser cannon fire turns his starfighter into an expanding cloud of gas and plasma.

"Unknown fighter pilot, identify yourself-" a voice came, the imperious, coruscanti-accented tone that could only belong to a a higher officer, "-this is an active conflict zone, you are to-" and then sudden silence, simultaneous with the Star Destroyer in orbit rupturing apart in an explosion that, for just an instant, tried to outshine the local sun.
[14:15:57] Beansidhe turned a masked and hooded face towards the woman with a glowing sword when asked a question. There was no response but the Jedi could definitely feel the tall creature sizing her up as a threat. At just that moment the officer and his guards were disintegrated. Without any apparent shock or haste that masked face turned to where her charge had once stood. The path before it was clear, the programming complete and insistent. "Contract terminated, return to Elysia"

With that same lack of... well anything... that masked head turned to regard Grace a second time. It tilted just a touch to one side. Suddenly the creature turned and sprinted towards the waiting speeder. One leap followed by another had the woman soaring through the air towards the trooper on the swoop bike. And that's when she started singing.

It wasn't words that left her, at least none that were discernible, but immediately any organic creature within hearing of her voice would be awash in vertigo.

[14:25:40] Grace Jax looked Bean over. The two of them sizing one another up for a brief moment. There wasn't much time for pleasantries in the middle of the action so she thought very little of it. There were much bigger things that she needed to focus on. Once they saw the sight of the guards and the commanding officer disintegrate she watched the taller girl rush to the speeder. For a quick second she thought about chasing after but a trooper caught her attention.

Dodging all of his shots with the repeater while she made her way over to him. A simple spin and se was in perfect position to slice her saber across his neck to terminate him as a threat. The fact that she didn't follow the other to the speeder would be a good decision since once she started to make her way through the street again she would likely be seeing the side effects that came along with hearing her voice.

[14:31:24]
Leon Salrix:
While closing his eyes he searches his intuition and reaches out with his feelings in order to try and locate the opposition that fired so heavily upon them. Simultaneously he timed their rotation of suppressing fire. Leon's eyes spark open with sudden life and he begins to sprint back across the street toward where the rest of his team was held down, twisting his body into an almost gravity defying leap and delivering the thermal exactly to the floor of the building facing west towards them.

Within moments the activated explosive delivers a powerful blast and completely clears the entire floor of the building, meanwhile shattering the integrity of the structure and bringing it down in an almost controlled demolition like manner. The squad quickly regroups, all ten still remaining, in brief celebration of their second small victory but continue toward their objective to support the nobel and his resistance fighters whom engaged prematurely. That is until the sonic weapon of a voice echoing through the surrounding area brings Leon and his squad to an abrupt stop, even causing the sergeant himself to double over in projectile vomit. "Ah, sith spit! Cover your ears!" one soldier shouts while staggering forward into a face plant.

[14:33:05]
Leon Salrix:
demolition like manner that swept the street with debris and shook the ground itself in a thunderous rumble** forgot to add)
[14:35:15] Jorus Sode cheered himself taking out the fighter, only to hear his comms come back, though he had a bad feeling that he wouldn't be able to send anything out, just before he went to identify himself it cut out. "Oh no," he watched as the star destroyer was lost, his hope in finding other survivors seemed to be fleeting. There was little he could do, but his only hope was to fight off the fighters that were going to be chasing him down, though most his effort would go toward maneuvering. He would weave and spin, trying to avoid all incoming blaster fire, grabbing his comms he'd start to broadcast in hopes he would be heard, "This is Jorgus Sode, pilot of the Imperial fleet, I am requesting docking permission with the nearest Imperial ship I am in an active battle zone with no back up. I repeat, I am requesting docking with the nearest Imperial ship I am in an active battle zone on my own." He needed to keep his cool, there was no time to panic, and indecision would lead to death. He searched his scanners trying to locate something other than a fighter, if he wasn't able to find somewhere to dock he was going to be blasted out into the void.

[14:37:26]
NPC Repository:
What had been a team of 12 troopers on swoopbikes had been reduced to ten before Grace even arrived at the battle, but since then they hadn't taken any more casualties. They had been winning, and quite thoroughly at that. And then in just an instant, things went horribly wrong. Their heavy support on the ground was flattened by a thermal detonator in a single instant, the strange hooded figure launched herself up at one of their snipers - a man thoroughly unprepared to defend himself against something like this - and the jedi promptly dispatched the unit's lieutenant. If that wasn't enough, the singing echoed: it was one thing to remain steady on your feet and try to fire under the effects of vertigo while you were on the ground, but to do so while riding a swoopbike? That neared impossible.

Their only advantage was that they were a very mobile force, and whoever took over command of the unit wanted to capitalize on that. The swoopbikes swept around over the battle, passing right over the many combatants - a necessary final hazard - and then started a fighting retreat back towards their garrison at the city's center.[+]

[14:42:19]
NPC Repository:
Up in space, the superiority in numbers of fighters for the Empire was quickly dwindling. There were simply too many X-Wings and A-Wings, with most of the starfighters available being baseline TIEs, they didn't stand much of a chance. Those who endured did so through sheer grit and determination, a slowly-dwindling number of starfighters weaving through the chaos, and just occasionally managing to get a solid hit on some of the rebels.

The two Victory-class destroyers were turning away, moving to a rendezvous point with the rising Imperial-class ships, and approaching smaller support vessels. By then Jorus was close enough to see a squadron of B-Wings taking a flurry of fire, but managing a costly bombing run regardless that cracked the hull of one of the Victory- vessels, and left it a drifting hulk. The final capital ship was making good headway in limping away, but their odds were scant until a single quasar-fire class ship zoomed in at surprising speed, launching fighters as it did. They were an unconventional model: tiny, all-black ties, heavily armed and fantastically maneuverable. The dogfights immediately turned to favor the imperials, and distance began to build between the opposing capital ships.

"This is Raptor One to incoming starfighter. There's room in our barn, I'll escort you in." A crisp, officious voice on the other side, sensor system indicated it was one of the odd imperial starfighters.

[14:42:42]
NPC Repository:
(These: starwars.wikia.com/wiki/TIE/rpt_starfighter )

[14:47:05]
Beansidhe:
Even as the sniper on the swoop bikes started to pitch to one side and his bike to veer in a sharp downward bank, the leaping woman swung her staff weapon in a deadly arch. The sheer momentum of her leap and his countering velocity on the bike meant that the impact would shatter his helmet and send his body flying backwards off the swoop.

Without a pilot the swoop would crash to the ground, the tall woman landing in the street somewhere between it and the ejected trooper. Still singing her haunting dirge at her loudest volume she would casually stalk over to the prone trooper. Like a predatory cat approaching a squirming mouse stuck in a trap. His face was broken, but that didn't prevent his bodies need to vomit. With as much emotion as a person would use in splitting firewood, she descended her staff to shatter his skull.

Casually discarding her staff she would crouch to take the troopers disrupter rifle, then scan the battlefield for the Jedi. Locating Grace her next objective became clear. Singing unceasingly she would lift the taken blaster and take aim on the next nearest threat to Grace Jax, unloading a trio of blasts into that unfortunate trooper.

[14:56:33] Grace Jax felt the ground shake from the impact of the thermal detonator. Stumbling a couple steps but keeping her balance she would scan the area. Watching the sight of the swoopbikes going down due to the hooded girls voice having obvious side effects that Grace was lucky enough to be out of earshot of when she opened her voice. The effects of her voice were obvious and Grace wasn't one to think she could somehow manage to avoid the vertigo, or whatever it was she was causing. Even out of earshot though Bean was distracting enough that she didn't notice the three troopers nearing her. It wasn't til Bean took them out with the blaster that she realized she was being approached. Having them drop around her did bring her back tor reality as she looked down at their bodies. "Thanks" she mouthed to the girl. Words weren't something she was going to have the luxury of using with her. Glancing over to the forces in a fight retreat she pointed them out

[14:57:49] Jorus Sode saw the starfighter appear on his sensors, it wasn't anything he'd ever seen but the design was Imperial. "Understood Raptor One," it had been a while since he'd used a call sign, all of his squad was either dead or deserters. There was something much different about this group, the ships, the organisation, he wondered who had taken command after the fall of the Emperor. There was talk in his squad about how the Empire might have fully been destroyed but they all held hope that they'd have a command to return to when they managed to evade the Republic's forces, though on battle after another hope seemed to be further away. Carefully he brought his ship in to dock, landing and getting out of the cockpit. Climbing out and down he'd take in all the sights, it had been a while since he'd been on anything bigger than a TIE fighter, and all the ports he landed in were backwater places out in the Outer Rim.

[15:09:54]
NPC Repository:
The remaining swoopbikes backed away. They didn't fire while flying over the sudden upsurge of Republic resistance, instead focusing on making their way past them as quickly as possible, despite the awful effects of the hooded woman's voice. They took more losses during that pass, but once they were through, what remained of their forces set their bikes to a slow onwards cruise, and started firing back at the rebels. The irregulars who had started the battle were trying to put themselves back into fighting order, though the subsonic effects made it hard. For the most part, they clustered close to the armored speeder that should have been their getaway, and returned fire to the slowly-receding swoopbikes. There was a lull for a moment, the proverbial eye of the storm.

The Quasar-fire Jorus landed on was run with the kind of slick efficiency most imperial officers dreamed of. Someone had called up the chain of command to warn of his arrival, a clear path to his landing berth had been made, and before he even climbed out of the cockpit there was already a small team moving over. An imperial officer with a datapad, and a pair of troopers carrying bulky sensor equipment. Apparently they didn't take it for granted that Jorus was what he looked like, despite the fact that he'd fought against the Republic starfighters.

"That TIE has seen better days," he rumbled, none too friendly, not a hint trusting. "Are you one of the local garrison forces? You have been surprisingly absent from the fighting so far." The man damn near sneered.

[15:17:15] Beansidhe stood with blaster in hand and nodded slightly at Grace as she pointed out the rebels. That was as clear an order as she needed. The singing stopped and she turned to run over to the gathering knot of rebels. Once there she would grab one of them... any one of them would do. elyn did not have ranks, they had Purpose. Understanding the "chain of command" went only so far as their Charge. They didn't listen to anyone else. They didn't understand why anyone else would operate any differently. There was no room for such clutter in the weapon.

Twisting the man around she would point towards Grace and her unmistakable lightsaber. She didn't say anything to the man, gave no hint as to what she was trying to imply. Once his eyes were focused the proper direction she went on with her Purpose. Slipping behind some cover where she could acquire a stable firing position and lining up her sights on anything that seemed intent on causing harm to Grace or this squad of rebels. Trooper after trooper became her target... but at least she wasn't singing anymore?

[15:28:14] Grace Jax wasn't sure what she expected from Bean once she pointed them out but it wasn't her grabbing a rebel like she was. Once she got the guys attention and saw Bean move for cover Grace made her way over. She still had her saber active just in case but something told her the girl she had somewhat fallen into a partnership with would handle her cover. Looking the guy over "Seems like you boys could use a hand. Whos in charge of you bunch?" she asked in a calm voice as things calmed down for a moment but Grace already knew things were far from over, even in the treat of the others.

[15:29:30] Jorus Sode looked around before he saw the troopers with the equipment, "What is-" he heard the talk about his TIE fighter, he looked over to it, feeling a bit of shame. "Well, it's not been easy keeping it maintai-" it seemed he was having a hard time speaking without feeling a little interrupted by his surroundings. "Local? Actually my squad and I were separated and... well, I'm the only survivor. I have been holding out and on the run from some Republic forces that had been trying to bring us in, I have been flying around the Outer Rim and well, I noticed the fighting so I jumped in to help. That's all really; otherwise I don't know what's going on right now."

[15:34:50]
Titus Pellaeon:
“That’s… I-I am,” the ragged rebel replied, wide eyes bulging as he looked to the drawn lightsaber with equal parts stunned surprise and renewed hope. Dust still covered the human rebel’s jacket and face from the cloud of debris born from the collapsed building that had exploded none too long ago. He hefted the rifle uneasily, looking back to where he and his rebels had been fighting. “I am, now. Gerrik… he’s dead, so… “ He spoke too loudly, fighting off the lingering effects of the sonic grenade. “What do we do now? Er… Master Jedi?”

[15:43:53]
Beansidhe:
As soldiers are wont to do when in a state of panic and a sudden Legendary Icon of order and stability walk into their midst... the rebels, pretty much the whole squad diverted their attention to Grace Jax. If only for a moment before returning their attention to the battlefield. The strange hooded woman never wavered in such a state. She took it as universal fact that Grace needed her protection, she did not know how to fail in that capacity.

Having not taken her gaze from the grounds surrounding them, not even for an eyeblink, she was the first one to notice the movement of a fire team of troopers rush past a small gap in the rubble. It was just a flash of movement, but she caught sight of a Heavy Weapon and a Tripod. There could be only one target.

Of course she didn't say anything, didn't point. She just dropped her stolen blaster and took off at a sprint, like some sort of deranged lunatic she leaped and scaled rubble, only to drop down out of sight behind a huge slab of masonry half a block away from the rebels and Grace. Shouts and blaster-fire erupted almost instantly... most of the shots going wild and up into the air.

[15:50:09] Grace Jax noticed him looking at the saber in her hand and withdrew it. putting it back on her hip. With the lull in action she felt comfortable that having Bean cover her would be enough. Plus she was in the company of rebels so the threat was made even less for the moment. Grace wouldn't exactly call herself a master with her prolonged exile. "I'm not yours or anyones Master. Names Grace. Grace Jax. More commonly known as Ace" her voice was cool and calm as she talked. She didn't think anyone would know her story or at least no one would care who she was but she still would throw her name out there for him. "and if Gerrik is dead you would be?"

The gunfire caught her attention and when she glanced back noticed Bean was gone but seeing all the fire go wildly up in the air at nothing told gave Grace a good idea where the girl was. Turning back to Titus "and that one, well I don't know her name actually but she's with me" She added on about Bean. "as for what we do now it certainly isn't to stand out in the open and wait for the next attack. We need to make sure their next attack isn't such a surprise. Your base. Still in tact enough to provide sufficient shelter for us?"

[15:59:06]
Titus Pellaeon:
The young rebel flinched as Bean took off at a sprint, crouching as blaster fire could be heard and seen over the rubble beyond. “I… my name is Farn. Farn Haldi, Master Je… uh, Ace,” the Rebel answered her, peering towards the rubble and the sound of rapidly dying combat. “Your friend, shouldn’t we… help her?”

“Base is pretty far out, and those Imps have swoops. Not sure how we can get there with our injured, Farn,” another rebel called out, a Duros with one eye wrapped in a bloody pressure bandage about his head. A comm chirped on the Duros’ belt, and he pulled it out to speak quickly. Above, in the atmosphere, a hollow boom could be heard as something dropped from hyperspace, dangerously close to the planet. Within moments, the hull was heating up from the calculated entry. The Duros managed to look surprised before he held out the comm towards Farn and Grace. “Sounds like Republic command wants to talk to someone in charge down here.”

Farn, ragged and nervous, looked to Grace, unsure of what to do, let alone say. The comm chirped, the words audible. "This is Captain Pellaeon of the Republic Star Destroyer Defiant, do you copy."

[16:07:18] Grace Jax glanced back to where the blaster fire was coming from. "Oh she is fine. Girl can handle herself" Grace acting like she had history with the girl and knew her rather than just meeting her when all the action started. "Plus if any of your guys gets her talking it would be a mistake. But nice to meet you Farn" Spending a lot of time on small talk wasn't her thing but she knew at least a little of it was needed. Giving the other guy a nod as he mentioned making it to base would be ill-advised. "Fair enough." She glanced around their surroundings and found what looked like a

[16:08:09]
Beansidhe:
Having a whirling dervish of destruction suddenly dropped on the heads of a team of 4 surprised troopers was about as bad of a day as they could have imagined. Fists, feet, knees, elbows went flying everwhere. Rapidly fired strikes smacked into joints stealing balance and coordination. Sudden dips and spins and flips made her a target nearly impossible to catch up to. Erratic motions carried her through and around the fire team, until moments later they all lay dead at her feet, one with a broken neck, one with mangled limbs and all of them sporting smoking holes in their armor from their own sidearm blasters.

Of course none of the rebels would see that... only see her drop out of sight... hear shouts and screaming... silence... and then a moment later the tall leggy girl coming around the rubble and calmly walking back towards them. She had two Power Packs slung over one shoulder, a medium Repeater Blaster perched against her opposite shoulder, and in her right hand a couple of utility belts with holstered pistols and a few grenades spread among them. All of the weaponry she dropped in front of the first rebel she came to. Without a word of explanation she then just moved over to loom as a threatening shadow behind Grace.

[16:15:04]
Grace Jax:
glanced back to where the blaster fire was coming from. "Oh she is fine. Girl can handle herself" Grace acting like she had history with the girl and knew her rather than just meeting her when all the action started. "Plus if any of your guys gets her talking it would be a mistake. But nice to meet you Farn" Spending a lot of time on small talk wasn't her thing but she knew at least a little of it was needed.

Giving the other guy a nod as he mentioned making it to base would be ill-advised. "Fair enough." She glanced around their surroundings and found what looked like an apartment complex that took a fair amount of damage but looked to in structurally sound. "There" she nodded. "We can recoup in there". Once she was handed the comm she responded back. "Captain Pellaeon?" she asked like she might actually have an idea of who he was. "Ace Jax. Of the um...lolli pop guild" she added in the most dry tones possible. "Simply getting your crew to cover."

Seeing Bean come back she grinned and looked at Farn. "See, told you she had it handled" flashing a wink "come on" not saying anything as she began to the building.

[16:18:50] Jorus Sode is escorted further into the ship, they tell him they will need to debrief him and further gather any info to verify his claims. He follows the troopers to what he thinks is a holding cell, it seems this situation isn't much better than the one he was just in. He decides it's better than being in the enemies custody, at least he knows here they will be letting him go.

[16:24:22]
Titus Pellaeon:
Farn seemed more shocked than anything, that Bean returned, laden with her appropriated gear fit for a small armory. “You don’t say,” he replied to Grace before she spoke into the comm. A long moment of silence stretched on the other end of the comm before the cultured, unmistakable Imperial accent of Captain Pellaeon returned, equally as dry.

“Understood, Lollipop Guild. Send us your coordinates and we’ll have troop shuttles deployed for strategic reinforcement and rendezvous, along with medical evac for your injured squadmates. Can’t help but notice the handiwork with the explosives. Well done. Be advised, Imperial walkers have been deployed in the city. We count four AT-STs and one AT-AT on the move, with another being deployed by the western garrison,” he replied to her in the matter-of-fact business that now unblinkingly referred to her and the rebels as the joke she had tossed his way. Whether he was being serious himself or just as sarcastic was hard to say. “Scrambling fighters to handle deployed Imperial air forces and hamper those walkers. Keep the comms open and advise if you come across a walker. We don’t want friendly fire eliminating the Republic’s only source of sugar on a stick.”

Farn blanched. “Walkers? That’s… that’s not good. Alright! We’re moving to the apartment building for now, that street corner! Let’s move!” he called out, galvanizing the disparate and ragtag group of rebels to hurry along with Bean and Grace.

[16:34:10] Grace Jax couldn't help but be amused she had some commander referring to her as the lollipop guild. It was as true of a statement as anything she would have told him. "I'll send coordinates your way and understood." she kept the comm and left it open while they walked to the building she pointed out. The girl that seemed like a lost puppy around her would follow suit along with the rest of the rebels. Making it rather cramped until they could figure something out

[16:48:45]
Titus Pellaeon:
Within the next few minutes, they could hear and see the shuttles and fighters deployed from the Destroyer overhead. The ships heavy turbolasers remained pointed only towards space and did not dare to fire down towards the city. Sentinel-class transports and X-wings rushed to the surface, the sounds of battle joined in the city echoing through the streets. One of the transports arrived atop the building the rebels on the ground had taken cover in, ushering Farn, Bean, Grace and their comrades on board, taking their injured with them. Over the shuttles comm, they could hear the transmission broadcast across the city, declaring safe zones for civilians to evacuate to.

The shuttle raced back towards the Destroyer hanging in orbit, rushing the rebels and injured onboard off and loading the transport with more troops and supplies. The hangar seemed a well-oiled machine, despite the chaos of battle, Republic forces moving in synchronous clockwork as Farn, Grace and their associates were ushered off and taken care of. A small hangar transport waited, one of the Republic officers ushering Grace towards it so she could be taken to the bridge and speak with the Captain.

Ashada
Guest

The Solo Offensive Dec 27, 2017 20:04:58 GMT

Quote

Post by Ashada on Dec 27, 2017 20:04:58 GMT

Ok, super rough cut here we go:
[15:56:47]Gaele Aelasar:
War. Was a terrifying thought. No one woke up in the morning expecting their planet to become the location of a great space battle. Already, folks from Lesting were packing their bags, cramming their transports full of family and personal effects. Republic broadcasts were sent to the planet, designating safe zones for fleeing people to fly to. Would have been nice having a ship to get away.

Gaele had spent most of the night watching the battle tear the sky on the horizon, the bright flashes as ships exploded and lasers flew, like fireworks on Harvest day. It chilled her to know that lives were being extinguished, but all she could think about was how pretty it looked from afar, and how her heart raced at the thought; if only I were a pilot, flying up there to keep folks safe.

The ships carried on their fighting now and again on the horizon. She’d found herself in her Uncle’s landspeeder, ferrying folks from the farmlands to the spaceports. They hadn’t even been thinking about payment but folks offered gifts or credits in thanks anyway. It was the least they could do, after all. Gaele adjusted the thrust as she swooped over a hill, the spaceport in sight. It buzzed with activity unlike anything she’d ever seen before. “Almost there, folks. Shouldn’t be more’n a minute, alright?” she assured her passengers pleasantly.
[16:15:30] Garm The Sith Slayer Sat in the cockpit of his Sith Fighter as it drifted through the Spatial disorienting void of the worm hole he was engulfed into. As he emerged through the exit of the anomaly, he was thrown into the middle of a space battle over an inhabited planet. Imperial and Rebel fighters zoomed past him as lasers exchanged between two two forces. Garm quickly took evasive maneuvers avoiding missiles and laser bolts all around him. He attempts to break free from the war zone finding it quite difficult, he soon realized he had an X-wing on his tail. He tries to roll his ship to avoid incoming laser fire from the X-wing, one of the laser blasts skims his left wing. With a growl Garm looped around and came up behind the X-wing chasing him. As he came side by side with his purser he glanced over seeing the Rebel pilot inside of his cockpit, Garm raised his hand and used his dark force powers to choke the rebel pilot causing him to lose control of his fighter crashing into a passing tie fighter. Garm smirked as he watched the x-wing crash and burm, upon doing so he left the war zone heading for open space.
[16:18:04]Sai Corall: The Irregulars had been scoffed at when they arrived during the initial bouts of the battle. A bunch of self-maintained starfighters and personal transports, most of them looking like flying hunks of junk, flying into a battle zone like this was still the rebellion doing the fighting, not the New Republic. Through several engagements now, they'd proven themselves. Y-TIEs, Z-Ceptors, Z-95 Headhunters, a pair of YT transports and Sai's fang had been put through their motions, and what they lacked for in uniformity, they made up with grit.

The fact remained, however, that most of their ships were either cobbled together from spare parts, elbow-grease and wishful thinking or were long past the expected dates for repairs and maintenance. Mid-dogfight in low orbit, Sai's Z-95 wingmate had a sudden break in the main power coupling, three of the ship's engines suddenly died out and it began its uncontrolled, spinning descent down to the planet below.[+]
[16:23:17]Sai Corall: For the folks on the ground, the war had suddenly become a lot more real. One of those distant points of light that glittered in the sky even during daytime suddenly grew in brightness, developing a tail of fire as it spun and spun on its way down to the surface. The falling vessel came dangerously close to the civilian convoy - and well into the designated safe zone - as part of its uncontrolled fly. To the pilot's credit, he'd just barely managed to retain enough control that the ship's shielding had endured the heat of uncontrolled re-entry. When the ship slammed down to the ground less than a kilometer from the convoy, the tall dust cloud of collision wasn't followed by an explosion.

For Sai, the instinct to immediately veer away and try to rescue her wingmate had to be put aside - just for a while. Y-Wings were well on their way in an attack run on a large imperial gunship, and leaving them without cover was the same as killing them herself. Tense, angry minutes of dogfighting followed as she drove TIE-Fighters back, blasted one of them, and ensured the Y-Wings had a clear path back once they'd unleashed their payload. Then, finally, she got her scanner to turn onto the planet below, "I'm going down for him." It wasn't a request for permission, it was a stated course of action.
[16:29:17]Gaele Aelasar: The sudden chatter on the comms and the blossoming light and plume of smoke on the horizon was enough to warn them. Gaele yanked the speeder in a sharp turn and corrected her course towards the spaceport, punching the throttle. They’d arrived a short distance from the building when the ship crashed somewhere in the distance but a telltale explosion did not come forth. She was already helping the family offload in a hurry before she was hopping into the landspeeder and gunning the throttle.

“This is Gaele. Dropped the family off, heading towards the fighter,” she called on the comm to her fellow convoy pilots and cut the chatter when protests erupted. The speeder danced across the hills dangerously, the engine roaring as she raced towards the crash site. The pilot had landed the ship rather well, all things considered, but the great billowing clouds of smoke, the snapped wing and the quarter mile trench the ship had dug in the crash certainly did not seem like good signs. With the speeder still running, she leapt out and hurried towards the fighter, looking for any signs of the pilot.
[16:33:35]Sai Corall: The ship was smoking and sparking, the damage widespread enough that there was no hope it would ever fly again. Really, it would take a particularly desperate person to even consider salvaging the thing, even a good mechanic would be hard-pressed to find a working part in that wreckage.

The cockpit was half-open, and whining servos could be heard that constantly pushed it a few inches open, and then right back to the previous position, no doubt stuck on something. It didn't matter too much, given that the transparisteel canopy had been completely blasted apart. The pilot inside, helmet still in place, had a fair bit of blood running down his face, but it was hard to tell whether that was a superficial injury or just the sign of something worse, what with the red jumpsuit masking blood stains. He was definitely unconscious.[+]
[16:36:14] Sai Corall 's sensors had found the groove her wingmate left on the ground below, and planned a course to go into atmosphere after him. Her ship didn't benefit from shields, so the initial entrance into the atmosphere had to be careful: most Fang pilots could rely on their ship's armor to handle the heat, but she couldn't trust her maintenance of the ship quite that much. It made for a circuitous route that took painfully long. Even worse, she was entirely aware of the eyes on her from above the entire way - both the remaining irregulars departing back to the Republic fleet, and the imperials watching the strange activity of a starfighter going into a territory which didn't have any strategic targets that they knew of.
[16:42:01]Gaele Aelasar: Gaele coughed and waved her hand before her face, attempting to keep some of the acrid smoke from her mouth and eyes. “Hey!” she called out, carefully making her way towards the cockpit. “Hey! Don’t you worry none! I’ll get you out, alright?” Her booted feet kicked at the shards of transparisteel that stood in the way and she carefully made her way towards the cockpit, fishing out a vibroknife in her boot to cut at the straps that held the pilot trapped within.

“Easy does it, now,” she said to the poor fellow, the smell of blood hard to miss. With a snap, the last strap gave way and Gaele hooked her arms under his to haul them out and drag them towards the speeder. “Blast it, they aren’t gonna like what you do to the seats. Stars above, you’re a heavy one,” she muttered to herself. “Don’t you bleed out on me, now. Spaceport’s not far, we’ll get you patched up real good, okay?”
[16:51:19]Sai Corall: The man was in bad shape, though to what degree - it was hard to tell. He certainly didn't respond to Gaele in any way, other than starting to bleed on her the moment she got him off the downed starfighter. It was an unpleasant walk getting him to the speeder, but at least it was uneventful. Before long they could be on their way.

Sai kept to the higher atmosphere once she was in, running a scanner over the scene before descending. She spotted a speeder nearby and saw it start away, but despite the obvious and nagging suspicion, she slowed and lowered for a pass by the downed starfighter. She didn't even need to get off her cockpit to be able to identify that the pilot wasn't in the ship anymore. Whether he'd struggled out on his own or been carried she didn't know, but that gave her one destination to head to next. She sped after the speeder, trying to raise it on comms meanwhile, "this is Corall, to unindentified speeder, come in."
[16:52:03]Garm The Sith Slayer: Garm Remained in orbit observing the fight from a distance, until suddenly a group of X-wings came for him assuming he was an imperial operative. Garm's targeting computer beeps as he glanced over he saw a few bleeps heading his way he came about heading towards the surface now. the X-wings were soon right on top of him, his inferior tech soon become his downfall as he could not escape the faster engines of the X-wing pilots. One of the pilots gained missile lock and fired directly at his engines, as the missile explodes on his tail it caused him to lose control of his fighter soon flying into the atmosphere of the planet. Right before crashing he focused all of his power into a field around his body to protect him from injury in the crash landing. A trail of smoke was seen in the distance as Garm's ship crash landed and skid across and open field. As a group of Republic soldiers gathered around his crashed ship, a red light saber blade cuts through the hull plating of the cockpit cutting a hole in it. Garm climbed out sustaining minor injuries during the crash, as soon as he got onto his feet he heard one of the soldiers shout "Put your hands in the air and put the light saber down". Garm smirked under his helmet as he lunged at the man shouting orders at him, his saber piercing through his chest. As he cut the man in half the other soldiers there fire upon him, Garm blocked these laser blasts easily with his lightsaber, cutting each of them down before heading towards the closest space port intending to hijack a ship.
[16:55:24]NPC Repository: [Aboard the Star Destroyer Tyrant]] Lennox didn't like the way this battle had been going. Their losses in the first bout had been too heavy, and had left him unable to bring it to the kind of decisive, brutal end that he favored. It had turned into a battle of quick strikes and dishonorable feints, and some part of the experienced imperial admiral hated the fact that apparently General Solo was a better fencer than he was. He had to constantly keep his forces moving, not to lose key strategic objectives on the ground or expose his fleet to a sudden attack, but every bit of motion exposed something for the rebels to pick apart. He had just lost one more gunship to one such attack, and it made his blood boil.

The little ping on his planet-wide sensor system shouldn't have been worth his attention, but the fact that it was so far out of place drew the eye regardless. An active starfighter, inside a zone with no valuable targets? One that had just participated in killing that gunship? He drew what information he could about the circumstances, then sent a taskforce from the neighboring quadrant. It was petty revenge, but it was still revenge.
[17:06:35]Gaele Aelasar: With the man tossed into the backseat and herself back in her own chair, she started the speeder off at a brisk clip, her eyes flickering behind her to keep an eye on the man every so often. After a brief call to the spaceport to ask for a medical team, she heard the roar of a fighter craft in the sky and felt her palms sweat as it closed in on her direction.

“Corrall, I copy. This is unidentified speeder. Please tell me this fellow’s one of yours and you ain’t here to turn me into a small crater?” she asked, more than a little worry in her voice. “Bringing him to the spaceport for medical attention’s all, I swear.”

She looked behind her to the crafter before cresting another hill, the spaceport in view. As well as the small number of specks growing on the horizon in a rather cohesive formation. “Um...Corrall? Those five fighters at our three o’clock yours too…?”

She had a bad feeling about this.
[17:17:06]Sai Corall: "I gotcha," for someone who had been in combat, her voice was surprisingly friendly after the very first phrase, "good thing you did, it would not look good to try and cram him in here with me." The starfighter kept a small distance and adjusted speed to mostly match the landspeeder, Sai being friendly enough to keep the starfighter's nose pointed just away from the ground vehicle. She had some idea how uncomfortable it was to have laser cannons trained on you, even if the person controlling them was supposed to be a friendly.

Her own sensor had pinged the five arrivals about the same time the woman in the landspeeder warned her about them. She grimaced, "oh, shit." Not exactly the apex of military discipline here. She had to think fast, but really only one course of action seemed to give any chance of people coming out of this alive, "you speed on ahead, I'll try to get their attention, draw them off."

The starfighter pulled up and accelerated as soon as the landspeeder was far enough to be safely away from the engine wash. Before long the sky immediately overhead was lit up with green and red laser bolts, the starfighter that had accompanied the speeder for a while constantly trying to veer away and gain some distance, but the more numerous fighters never failed to box her in, shepherding her in place. It wouldn't last long.
[17:40:40]Gaele Aelasar: “Draw them off? It’s five to-” Gaele started, but the Fang was already peeling off with five TIE’s on her tail. She took a quick look to the pilot in the back seat. Then again, if she went for the spaceport, what if the TIEs followed? Her hands squeezed the yoke a little harder and she gave a frustrated half-groan. “Ah, hell with it.”

Gaele simply slammed the throttle forward, pushing the speeder on towards the TIEs, hoping to get the attention of at least one or two of them. “Stupid, stupid, stupid-” she called to herself, despite the smile that slipped across her face. She heard the squealing roar of the TIEs and was rewarded with two of them veering off her way, green blasts tearing up the dirt between them. The speeder juked and danced, drifting this way and that as she raced along the hills.

“Got ‘em distracted, Corrall! Swinging back your way. Let’s get ‘em caught in their own crossfire, if you think you can dance through it!” she shouted over the comm.
[17:51:07]Sai Corall: The Fang fighter did dance - beautifully. TIEs were built for space combat, their shape was all kinds of awkward when dealing with an atmosphere. The Fang, on the other hand, was built like a flying blade and performed as one would expect. The first exchange in the encounter had been nasty, just barely making it through the gauntlet of enemy fire, returning some of her own to keep the imperials on their toes, but knowing that she would never hit. It grew easier, if just a little bit, after the first exchange, and it took some time to realize that it was because the landspeeder was acting damn near aggressive towards the TIEs.

"We got you into this," she started. It didn't take a holo to know she was gritting her teeth as she spoke, it showed through easily on the voice, "let us get you out- shit!" A laser cannon shot slammed on the Fang's right wing, sending her into a brief spin and digging a deep scoring into the ship. Any attempt at dissuading Gaele from her decision died then and there. She recovered control of the starfighter, now firing from only a single laser cannon on the left side, and angled towards the landspeeder, doing exactly as suggested. She moved evasively to avoid laser cannon fire from behind while they approached, but the pass gave her a great, clear shot at the TIEs. As the two groups of starfighters passed over Gaele, the Fang danced through, and one of the TIEs had a panel blown completely off, and was sent spinning away to slam into the ground. "That was a good call," came her voice, as she pulled back on the stick. Despite damage, climbing was one thing her fighter could do a lot better than the TIEs, and it let her gain some breathing room.
[17:57:04]Commodore Aleena Tassiter: Three. Two. One. Drop. A pair of MC80s, one a B variant, and four Nebulons dropped into Lianna to hopefully break the stalemate here. This was a hot drop, the ships coming in hard and fast. Almost as soon as they hit real space the squadrons aboard started to buzz out. This of course was the plan from some time ago, but the added pressure on the Imperial fleet would at least force Lennox's attention firmly upwards.

The MC80B's transponder lit up with Gravitas and Mon Diras as she swung in from the opposite side of the Rebel fleet. Comms chatter picked up as a hard push was made to blindside the Endurance which had pulled away from the line. B-wings lead the fore while aboard the Gravitas Commodore Tassiter began to conduct her orchestra of destruction.
[17:58:48]Gaele Aelasar: “Brilliant, terrible ideas! I’m full of them!” she whooped over the comm, her landspeeder sloughing into a wide arc after leaping over a hill, the intertial dampeners groaning from the effect. Blood roared in her ears as her heart thudded in her chest, two fighters destroyed as the Fang rose upward defiantly.

“Fancy flyin’, Corrall! If you got it from here, I’ll take us back to the spaceport an’ you can come collect your friend, alright?” she called out over the comm, watching the TIEs give chase to the Fang. Her excitment died down as she turned back towards the spaceport and caught sight of something that hadn’t been there before. From where the TIEs had come from, farmlands billowed with black plumes of smoke and her gut sank into her feet. “Uncle Parth, y’alright back over there?” she called out on the comm. Static answered her loud and clear.

She focused on the spaceport for now, bringing the wounded pilot to awaiting technicians. But her eyes remained fixed on the smoke in the distance.
[18:07:14] Garm The Sith Slayer approached the space port slowly walking up a ramp onto the main platform. A republic officer stood in his way pointing a blaster at him "state your business!" Garm's blade slashed with a swiftness cutting the man in half with ease, as he was soon surrounded by Republic soldiers they fired upon him, using his saber and force deflection powers he remains untouched as he danced through the ranks cutting through each soldier he came upon. He makes it look easy as he quickly disposed of his attackers. He glanced over to a small family of civilians scurrying into a transport ship, He looked around for a ship that could take him off of this planet.
[18:08:12]Titus Pellaeon: “Sir, inbound ships!”

The shout from the officer in the command pit garnered Titus’ attention. He flicked his fingers, drawing up the readout on the lenses in his eyes, seeing the ships leap in from hyperspace and lead an assault against the Imperial forces. A brief calculation and a handful of moments to think later, Titus flicked the readout away and turned to look at the officers. “All hands, battle stations. Helmsman, take us on an opposing pincering trajectory from the ‘Gravitas’. Comms, open a line to them. I want fighters scrambled and linked to their operation. We have one chance to make this attack count. Let’s make sure we take advantage of it, on the double!” he called out to them. It was not the harsh whip of imperial command, but the sure and steady manner of a respected Captain. They all snapped to attention as they went about their tasks, the klaxon shaking the ship to life, the engines rumbling beneath their feet.

“Gravitas, this is Republic Star Destroyer ‘Defiant’, do you copy,” Titus called over the comm, watching from the forward viewport as the battle gew closer.
[18:11:06]Sai Corall: The Fang climbed high - it had lost an attitude repulsor and a laser cannon, but the main engines were running just fine, and an atmosphere gave her something to play against to get some maneuverability out of a ship with only half the wing repulsors. Actually using air flying over and under her wings to maneuver felt like something out of historical holovids, but it could be done.

She pulled up, up, up until the air grew thin. Two of the three remaining TIEs angled up after her, but their climb was pitiful in comparison. One had angled away and towards the landspeeder pulling away. Naughty imp slimo. Also an easy target.

She spun laterally, the way old atmospheric craft might do, angled her nose just a short way ahead of the landspeeder and punched the throttle in. Gravity combined with thrusters to give her tremendous speed, and as she expected the landspeeder flew past her line of fire, then the TIE roared right into it. Firing with a single cannon made accuracy a bitch, but she only needed one hit. Another TIE bit the dust. The two remaining were onto them, of course, but the speeder was as good as home at the spaceport. "Would have made a fancy crater if not for you," she responded belatedly, and it was true. Kriffing Wedge Antilles could take on a dozen TIEs by himself and come out like it was target practice, but she was no Antilles, "you holding up ok?"

She took the starfighter on a broad circuit of the spaceport, using the speed and maneuverability to get some distance from the two remaining TIEs. Not surprisingly, the two disengaged, moving away - incidentally towards the columns of smoke on the horizon. She spotted some mess at one of the spaceport's access ramps, and grimaced inwardly. No rest for the weary.
[
[18:22:26]Gaele Aelasar: The comm chirped and Gaele flicked her headset to the right channel. “Roger that, Corrall. I’m… I’m still kickin’. Worried ‘bout the farmsteads. I.. I think the TIEs made a pass before lookin’ to punch our dance cards,” Gaele replied over the comm, looking back towards the sky where the damaged Fang proceeded to outfly the TIEs. A fierce smile blossomed on her face as she flicked a wayward lock of red hair from her face.

“Well, you certainly returned the favor to those TIEs. Bunch of fancy craters now. Listen, don’t you worry ‘bout me none. And your friend’s been taken by the medical team, alright? I gotta head back, now. See the damage done by them TIEs. Thanks for coverin’ my six out there, Corrall,” she replied to the Fang but she didn’t wait for a response or bother to answer the spaceport personel. She was already hopping back into her speeder and blasting towards the farmlands. Gaele looked up through the canopy to the skies above as the fighting ins pace renewed, ice-water flooding her veins as genuine fear began to replace the rush of adrenaline.
[18:23:30]Seras y Alta: "Acknowledged Defiant. This is Gravitas Actual. Commodore Tassiter at your service. Keep as much enemy fighter cover engaged on your end of things as you can. I have a few dozen B-wings who would love to get a Star Destroyer kill notched to their belt." The Gravitas pushed forward along with her screen of fighters and bombers while the rest of the assembled group fanned out to prevent escape.

The Endurance was pinned down and in no shape to fight as turbo-laser and torpedoes cracked into the battered ship and a lucky torpedo hit a crack in the ships armor and split a large portion of the ships reactor in two. Though not blown to pieces, the reactor was forced to scram itself to prevent the whole ship from becoming a cloud of ionized vapor. Bombers returned to hangars to reload for round two.
[18:30:01]NPC Repository: [Solo Fleet, over Lianna] "Nice of you to join us, Commodore Tassiter, great timing." The former smuggler himself, no doubt speaking from the bridge of the Mon Remonda. "Coordinating assaults now. Lets free this world." The various captains on the other capital ships among the fleet did much as was expected: comm-line handshakes exchanged, vectors traded, starfighter cover combined. With the new arrivals and the final destruction of the Endurance, the Republic's forces on Lianna were finally overwhelming, the big battle everyone had been expecting was finally starting.

Throughout the conflict, the Lianna Defense Force - the local defense units set up during Palpatine's reign, composed of a dozen heavy ion cannons on the surface and wings of TIEs, had remained uncommitted. Really, a big part of the need for the land-war element in this conflict had been to ensure or compel the assistance out of the natives. For now, they remained silent, apparently unconvinced that the Republic would actually make good on this opportunity.[+]
[18:32:15]NPC Repository: Lennox might have been a flawed admiral in any number of ways, but he was no idiot. His own forces coallesced into a strong fighting line, Star Destroyers taking a single target - in this case, the Mon Remonda - and ligning their wedge-shapes up with it so they could all fire all of their main guns at it at once. It was firepower well within the ballpark of a Super Star Destroyer, pouring out as fast and accurate as hard-pressed crews could manage. The remainder of the fleet clustered close by the Imperial- class vessels, following classic imperial doctrine: The Imperial-class did the fighting, everyone else was there to support them, no more.
[18:40:16]Titus Pellaeon: “Well met, Commodore. I’ll see what we can do. ‘Defiant’ will be moving in to provide covering fire,” Titus answered, his Imperial accent distinct and rather clear. He switched to the incoming reports from General Solo and eventually turned to the Defiant’s deploying fighters, hailing them while en-route.

“Fighters, this is Captain Pellaeon. You have your assignments. General Solo might trust his luck, but I put my credits on skill. Keep those bombers safe, like I know you can, and we can have this day won. Give them everything you have, you rebel scum. May the Force be with you,” he told them, his pride audible. The telltale signs returned over the comm; the laughter at being called rebel scum, the friendly taunts back at him, the general sense of camaraderie in defiance of the soon-to-be-joined battle.

Readouts began pouring in, the Imperial warmachine bearing all it’s firepower on a single target. “Good work with the Destroyer, Commodore. General Solo will find himself sucking on vacuum soon if we don't do something. I’ve a risky proposition, but it could help break the line the Imperials have. Your bombers ready for another run?” he called out calmly over the comm.
[18:40:19] Sai Corall circled the Spaceport one more time, then moved to the large landing pad at the top. There were some Republic-friendly personnel on hand, happy to give her a landing slot. With only half the repulsors to manage the final landing, though, the starfighter settled on the ground not with a gentle hiss but with a sickening crunch of over-stressed metal and hydraulics. Sai hopped out of the starfighter, looking quite tireless despite the sweat that made her hair cling to her face and neck, "can you guys have a look at it? See if there's something to be done?" The technicians on the ground gave her weird looks, and she persevered, "I'll go check out what's going on downstairs, help you people out. Scratch your back, you scratch mine." They'd obviously heard of some disturbance, because that convinced them well enough. The cockpit on the fighter locked up, men soon clambered around it to see what could be done about the damage.

She put an earbud on for a comm unit. First she checked with locals - indeed, her injured wingmate had been loaded into one of the cargo ships, with proper medical care given. Next she and called out to her dogfighting buddy from not long before, "hey, I'm at the spaceport now. Got someone you want me to check in on? Things are messy here." And she was making her way directly towards the mess. Trust the Nagai to be idiots.
[18:47:14]Gaele Aelasar: “Hey there, darlin’. Look, if you can find out about a Parth Aelasar, or… or a Wira Aelasar, I’d… I’d appreciate it real big,” Gaele called out over the comm, the sound of her speeder’s roaring engine almost drowning her out. There was some panic in her voice as she watched the sky light up and the smoke in the distance grow larger and larger and larger.

She began to see where the fighters had raked the farms, the husks of some of the harvest ships still burning, fields ablaze. Even some of the homes had been blasted during the TIEs run towards the spaceport. Still, Gaele pressed on towards her Uncle’s farm, changing to the farm’s comm. “Uncle Parth, come in! Aunt Wira? Can someone answer the blasted line?”
[18:52:03]Seras y Alta: Lennox had made just the mistake the Commodore was hoping for, turning fire away from the fresh and ready ships. "I'm certainly open to suggestions Captain, you've been on the scene longer than I have, though one moment please." There was a pause as she turned away from the terminal, saying something muted. Sounded like 'Pods away'.

Which would make sense shortly after as the Neb's burned hard for a moment before releasing what appeared to be a bunch of old freighters. Stripped of anything not absolutely critical and then scabbed over with a dozen or two torpedo tubes, the torpedo pods burned forward and then, once in range, began to disgorge an obscene number of high-yield proton torpedos into the rear of the enemy formation. Five salvos however saw them emptied at which point the pods droids were jettisoned and the ships left to drift, however 360 long range torpedos bearing down on the rear end of the Imperial formation was bound to have a bit of a wake up call.
[18:52:28]Seras y Alta: Oh hey apparently I've been posting on Seras the last two posts. Fuuuuuuuuck me.)
[18:53:56]Sai Corall: "Ya got it." She switched lines and started checking in with the locals about those names. There were people who were familiar with the names: built-up system or not, this was the outback of the planet, and folks knew each other. Yet still, she didn't find any news, not yet. She did hear about a commotion at one of the on-ramps for the spaceport, and kept trying to get some information as she made her way there. She arrived from the side to find a scene of devastation, several of the locals cut down, blaster scoring all around in erratic patterns. No one was that inaccurate, despite jokes to the contrary. That scoring pattern spoke of something deflecting bolts.

Uncharacteristically serious, she crouched down to take a spare blaster from one of the dismembered arms, tucked it away hidden at her back, then followed the path of destruction, a hand already lingering at the handle of her foil. This was gonna be no fun. She just knew it.
[19:00:05] Garm The Sith Slayer Hadn't made it too far from the scene, he looked over ships he passed checking to see if he could get one running. He was looking in the cockpit of am x-wing when the trail she followed led to him. He felt something, he had a feeling someone was following him, he jumped down onto the platform drawing his saber as he turned to confront his pursuer.
[19:00:29] Sai Corall headdesk. Headdesk)
[19:05:59]Titus Pellaeon: “Sending coordinates. Take your ships with you. Should provide you with the proper tactical vantage point, directly above their line. I’ll keep them distracted. I suggest the fighters target weapon emplacements on our run while our cruisers hammer their engines,” he offered, already feeling the Star Destroyer altering its course, the Imperial line coming into sight.

“All hands, brace yourselves and prepare for jump,” he called before grabbing the railings nearby. With a sharp nod, he gave the signal and the helmsman pushed the Destroyer into hyperspace for a fleeting moment.

It roared back into realspace, the microjump barreling them directly above the Imperial line. So close were they to Admiral Lennox’s ship, both ships’ shields flared opaquely. The ‘Defiant’ shook violently and it had rotated ever so slightly before the jump. Botht he Defiant and Lennox’s ships shields collapsed against each other and all of the Defiant’s starboard batteries were ready and waiting.

“Fire!” Titus called, the Defiant’s batteries roaring to life and hammering Lennox’s ship from point blank range. A defensive line was only as strong as the Admiral’s will, after all. And if Lennox’s resovle broke from the sudden, reckless maneuver, that was all it would take to give General Solo time to breathe.
[19:07:05]Sai Corall: "Well, kriff." She eyed the man - the little metal cylinder, the armor, the oppressive atmosphere of violence and impending doom. It didn't take a force-sensitive to figure this out. "I thought all you mudlickers had gotten vaped a year ago." She drew her foil, gave it a single testing spin as she settled into a fencer's posture: posture sideways, one foot leading while the other hung back for speed and balance, foil out and pointed directly towards the other man, free hand at her back - insultingly so, almost as if implying she thought she could do this single-handedly. "Never too late to finish a job, I'm thinkin'."

No one ever said Sai was the brightest.
[19:15:29]NPC Repository: [Over Lianna] It was a lot to throw at a formation at once. The TIE Raptors out of the Quasar-fire the Imperials had brought in were excellent for torpedo interception duty, and the lighter vessels in the fleet - such as the Gladiator cruiser - had some solid weaponry to try and take out oncoming torpedoes, but the sheer number of the projectiles more than overwhelmed all those measures combined. It was ironic, really, that a force that included a dedicated missile cruiser suddenly found itself out-torpedo'd.

As the torpedoes roared in and started smashing into the fleet, Lennox forced himself to keep his patience. This battle was unlikely to be won cleanly, but if the Mon Remonda went up in flames, the rebels would have to pull back, regroup and try to find survivors. It's how they operate, he figured, the over-emotional fools.[+]
[19:17:36]NPC Repository: Damage reports were coming in from the fleet, several Star Destroyers had damaged engines, shields faltering. Other vessels were no less harried, and he was certain at least one of the sensor pings for friendlies winked out of existence. But he kept steady, directed his firepower forward and - - suddenly an enemy Star Destroyer was damn near ramming him!

Officers took cover, fully expecting a collision that didn't quite come. Gunnery crews were sluggish in responding to the strange and sudden threat, and their shields had been down to half strength from the exchanged fire and the torpedoes already. A single heavy turbolaser blast squeaked through faltering shields, melted the bridge's transparisteel viewport, and Lennox and his officer corps were vented out into space.

Quite conveniently, moments after the Tyrant suffered critical damage to the main bridge, the Republic forces saw the planet below lighting up with friendly sensor identifiers. The Lianna Defense Force had apparently finally made up their minds. Over two hundred TIEs were being scrambled out of hangars on the surface, while planetary ion cannons swiveled around to face the imperial formation.
[19:21:22] Garm The Sith Slayer reached out as he used the forced to pull the blaster from her hand, as he caught it he moved closer to her putting the tip of his saber to her throat. "I want some answers and I want them now! What year is it?!?" He asked watching her for movement.
[19:26:47]Commodore Aleena Tassiter: "Imperial Vessels, this is Commodore Aileen Tassiter of the Gravitas. Surrender now or face annihilation. To the crews of the vessels, if your officers won't surrender, I'm willing to overlook a little muddied up chain of command if you don't have any particular attachment to breathing vacuum or plasma. Any ship who powers down weapons and put their reactors into standby mode will be spared. Any who do not will find themselves destroyed. You have five minutes to comply and we will not be holding back until these terms are met. Gravitas group out."

The transmission was pumped out as loud as the Gravitas could shout them out, even while she was bearing down on the Tyrant from behind. "Focus fire on damaged targets first and foremost. Cease fire on any ships who power down." These were her orders, along with far more detailed tactical information pushed through straight from her mind through the ships computers to the Rebel fleet.
[19:32:37]Sai Corall: She didn't try to grab onto the foil as it was pulled out of her grip, that would only be exposing herself to the enemy - nuh-uh, she let it fly to the other man who deftly grabbed it out of the air. Her swiftcut foil, in some saber-toting zealot's hand? Insulting, it is.

The right hand, which had formerly held onto the sword worked quickly, fingers squeezing at the console on her inner wrist, prepping up, while the other hand stayed on her back. She took a single step back, but the other man was much faster and was onto her in no time flat, saber coming close enough that she could feel the air warm up by her face and neck. "Not what you put on my face when you want a good, long chat, buddy."

Despite it all, she was only barely paying attention to events around her. She was thinking of home, of her training. When she was being brought up in Nagi, the Empire had been at its prime. She and the rest of her caste had had some training for the eventuality of dealing with inquisitors once they were set loose on the galaxy. So she thought of home - fond thoughts, peaceful, like someone accepting the oncoming death. And as she thought fond, distant thoughts, her right hand triggered the wrist-mounted energy shield to make a tiny buckler-shape, good for a quick surprising swipe to just give her an inch of distance from the saber, while the other drew out the blaster she'd picked up earlier, set it damn near in contact with the sith's gut, and pulled the trigger as rapidly as her fingers could work. Nagai fingers worked pretty damn fast.
[19:34:20] Sai Corall makes fellatio jokes before shooting first.
[19:34:44]Titus Pellaeon: “Evasive maneuvers! Helmsman, put that Destroyer between us and the planetary fire. Gunnery crews, hammer the engines of those adjacent ships. Pour it on them!” he called out, the Defiant shaking and rattling from the wayward fire of Imperial turbolasers. They watched from such close range as the Commodore’s payload wrought havoc and death on the Imperial line, the sudden buckle of planetary allegiance and the rapid collapse of the Imperial line.

His knees buckled as a wayward ion blast struck the tip of his ship, the forward section going dark, damage reports filtering in. “Redirect power from engines to shields! We weather the storm,” he ordered, pushing himself upright and staring out into the raging battle, unyielding. If he remained standing, unphased, the crewman could look to him for courage. Of course, he’d be the first to go if the viewport was damaged.

The Republic forces began to hail and with the Commodore’s message through, Titus ordered the comms to echo the command. “Any vessels that power down and have active escape pods will be rescued and their crew unharmed. Send out shuttles and have fighters escort them.”
[19:43:29] Garm The Sith Slayer grabbed onto the barrel of the blaster pistol pushing it away from his gut,he soon felt the laser bolt rip through his armor and burn his skin, as the first bolt made it directly into his abdomen. Through the pain of the laser blast he mustered enough strength to send a surge of electricity into the blaster disabling it and shocking her if she was still holding onto it by then. He then stumbled backward falling to one knee, he glanced up to her his free hand now grasping his blaster wound. He is able to use the force to execrate his cell growth, but even then it will take him a few hours to heal back up.
[19:59:32]
Commodore Aleena Tassiter:
While the remaining Star Destroyers were tenaciously holding on, keeping the firing going save for a small attempted mutiny from the Thunderflare, the smaller vessels almost all at once shut down. They could see where the wind was blowing, and it was not in their favor. Gravitas and friends hammered at the Imperial position from behind, which was faltering in it's attempt to bring down General Solo's flagship. Without Admiral Lennox fleet cohesion was rapidly falling apart, as some ships turned to face other threats rather than the slowly withdrawing Mon Remonda. Without their point defense however bombing runs from the B wings were starting to wear heavily on the other vessels while the Gravitas and Defiant pounded the hell out of the Tyrant.

Star Wars on RPH

The Solo Offensive

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