The Battle of Naboo: Space Combat

[LaPurple]

The sound of the Exile pilot's voice was a relief. Someone was coming to his aid, but the battle had only just begun. Denal couldn't be doing this the entire fight. He decided he would not call for aid again no matter how badly it was required. There were other good and deserving pilots who need help as well.

Turning to see Exile 9 come to his aid was a blessing. The Zabrak could feel the Force bond with the Fias. Until the Quarren fired his shots, Padawan Vering was forced to continue evasive maneuvers. Still darting downwards, the jedi added some spins and rolls. While Exile 9 was currently locking on to the targets, one of the QIE fighters hit his the deflector shield.

"Shields are down! Zithri get them back online." Denal ordered his astromech. The little droid chattered away in response and immediately got to work on the repairs. Until they were fixed, the jedi was in serious danger of being shot down. Turning his head back for a second, he could see as one of the fighters received a direct hit.

In a bright flash of red sparks, the QIE became nothing more than parts flying in different directions. The second was still in action, if only just. One of its main thrusters had been hit. It was crippled, but without active shields the Zabrak was hesitant to act. "Thanks Exile 9. I think you just saved my life!" the padawan thanked his new found ally. He hoped Fias would be able to pick off the remaining injured QIE fighter, if it didn't fall out of the sky on its own.

Padawan Vering's attention returned to his controls after hearing a positive bleeping noise. His shields, they had risen to 25%. Keep it up Zithri. A quarter of the way there."

 

[Zigara]

As Baniss’ Razor approached the onslaught of the TIE Fighters, he open fired upon the nearest fighter, tearing through their defenses and destroying several fighters as they firing lines got closer he quickly slammed his stick and made a rapid nose dive away from the lines. TIE fighters were fast but none could rival the nimble flow of a R-12 Razorback. Diving, diving, losing a ship who thought they could purse, he pulled a rapid ascend tearing through some more fighters.

His sensors pinged, The Defiant had arrived – the Duros grinned under his helmet, they weren’t alone anymore – his cockpit filling with Rebel comm traffic, it felt good to have a familiar sound. Baniss, quickly noticed one of the Jedi fighters about to be pursued by a couple additional TIEs, banking to the left Baniss set to intercept. “Echelon 5 to The Defiant, it’s good to see you. If you need me, direct me - over.”

The TIE he was chasing down erupted in a ball of fire and his R-12 ripped passed the rear of the fighter he’d just looked to aid. Celebrations were cut short when he noticed the droid interface indicating that landers were heading for the surface. “Thanks Tee-One! I wouldn’t have seen that.”

“Echelon 5 to the Exiles intercepting lander, if you can hear me – I’m moving to assist - unless you need me to break off.” He spoke over the comm, Streaking through the sky, Baniss banked hard left and right as a fighter came down in behind him, another fighter tore beside him and grazing his shields, causing a quick feedback – however the pilot didn't bother with corrective action and his faithful droid was too quick to respond.

At the immediate moment, alarms screeched as a missile lock was forming on his ship. Baniss began to take evasive manoeuvres, first completing a wide barrel roll and then a rapid loop with the intent of turning the tables on the fighters.

Fortunately, he was successful and he continued his course for the landers far off.

 

[TWD26]

There had been rumors deep within Hutt Space of a hidden spark--one that could change the course of the galaxy. Many believed these rumors to be[ simply legends, a myth to keep hope among those that could not take care of themselves. When the Imperials arrived at the edge of Naboo-a rift could be felt throughout the many neighboring sectors. Many fell into a frenzy of fright at the thought of the Sith Empire treading into independent Space, others felt a sudden spark of patriotism and raced towards the Chommell sector--yet there were some that saw an opportunity for profit, and potentially glory.

"We're entering lighspeed now, processing the coordinates to our entrance zone," squabbled Garr Numb as he tapped away at the controls. His black eyes peering out the window of the cockpit as they braced for entry point. "Exiting lightspeed now, cutting the hyperdrive capacity to 40 percent."

The Rodian glanced over towards his Sullustan co-pilot giving a bit of a nod-his focus shifting as they entered the Space around Naboo. His hands gripped tightly against the ship controls as he pointed towards the vast amount of ships, "Stuka pron Alay," Norro spat as he began to clip himself into his seat. "Lorda...manzzz...ze'...gunz," his voice screeched in hard basic, as he flipped the controls on the power system--dimming the interior lights.

A sharp hiss could be heard from behind the cockpit as a large Trandoshan made his way into the ship, Norro swiveled his chair to face the large trandoshan-hoping to kick him out. But, before speaking a cunning voice broke out from inside the darkness, "The whole crew is here," pushed his way past the large reptile and made his way towards the viewport, "Looks like the Empire has set up a blockade around the Planet's atmosphere," he grinned as he thought of the possible challenge, "The credits are going to be ripe on this one boys...."

Norro through his hands up in dismay as he tilted his head towards their captain, "Taking on Rebel andzz Empire, Loca stupa!" He turned his pilot's seat away from the Captain and towards the viewport, as he pushed down on the thrusters--his head pushing back against the head rest, as the YT-2400 roared to life.

"You kriffing fool," Hyde spoke up as he shot a look of annoyance towards the rodian, "The Rebellion is in need of hero's," he paused as a small grin formed on his face, "Hero's that they'll pay handsomely, what do you say boys, shall we take the opportunity of a lifetime?" Norro paused for a moment as he considered the thought. He was never a fan of the Empire or their antics, he felt that while the Empire was in control, business would be bad. But, on the other hand there were rumors that the Rebellion had not been taking too kind to the various pirates that roamed through the galaxy. He closed his eyes for a moment and considered the options.

"For the Rebellion," the Sullustan shouted as he clicked himself into his seat. Norro glanced towards his rather enthusiastic co-pilot and then towards their Captain-he gave a nod of approval--watching as the Deveronian leaned down between the two seats, pressing onto the broadcast speakers. "Calling the Rebel Fleet...this is the crew of the Howling Bantha, an...er...independent freighter," he paused as he cursed under his breath-not happy with the way the message was coming across, "Looks like you boys are in a bit of trouble...we're here to lend our ship, Bantha out." His finger fell off the channel and then towards his crew, "Let's do this."

 

[Commissar Brett]

Security Deputy/Fleet Commander Miyo Deftinwolf​

"Are we dropping out yet?" Miyo asked hastily, tugging at his uniform's collar. His anxiety was eating at him, but he ne'er let it show on his face.

"Dropping out in 3... 2... 1..." The ensign replied as the streaks of light sharpened into point amid blackness behind the massive blue/green sphere that was Naboo. They had dropped close... closer than they should've. Klaxons and alarms blared throughout the ship as men rushed to their many fighters. The first to swarm from the bellies of the 2 Siren-Class Frigates were the about 40 VF-001 Shredder fighter craft that immediately engaged all of the nearest TIE Fighters. The pair of frigates had entered realspace just behind the Imperial blockade, with no warships between them and the planet's surface.

"DAMN fine work there, ensign!" Deftinwolf praised the helmsman, amazed that the gravity well generators hadn't stopped them sooner, but now they were stuck in realspace until they were dealt with. He inspected the 3-Dimensional holographic display table as the sensors updated a 360-degree view of the battle with the Gravity's Union and Guilty Verdict situated in the middle. "Bring the us to bare, focus the first volley on that destroyer." He pointed to the nearest Banehound that was continuing to funnel dropships from it.

The frigates lurched around, swinging lazily to point their noses directly at the ventral-keel end of the ISD. The shots lined up. Miyo's flagship, Gravity's Union, rocked as the hollow sound of a church bell shook the vessel. The ships' rounds hit the hull of the destroyer, causing a massive explosion, but having failed to cripple the ship. As TIE fighters and bombers started squeezing in on the frigates, their point-defense cannons opened up and a storm of HE-FRAG shells filled the space in between, an almost impenetrable wall of shrapnel.

"Okay, we can start shooting everything now. I want evasive broadsides circling that destroyer." Ships turned and started swinging around the keel of the destroyer, throwing out fire from the heavier cannons whilst the Anacondas reloaded and charged. It would become like synchronized swimming.

T-4 THOR Gunships began burning their way through atmo, making a path for the company about to drop to the surface... right in the middle of Theed.

Domino, The Destitute​

Domino had his mission dossier updated to his dataphone, ready to use it for whatever was necessary. He ran to his SXS-1337 Shuttle, his brown trench coat blowing behind him, and hopped up in the cockpit. Pre-flight checks and all went smoothly, but his heart was racing. He heard boots down in the troop compartment and a pair walking up the steps behind him. His co-pilot, some lieutenant guy, sat down beside him and ran his diagnostic. A pair of VF-002s and a T-4 taxied up beside his shuttle and the one next to him as they came in over the radio.

"This is Gryphon Squadron, ready for escort of Papa-2 and Papa-3 to Theed." The pilot of the THOR waved to Domino through the cockpit window. "We hope you enjoy our flight. Please call the number on my tail and tell me how my driving is." He joked.

"Thanks." Domino chuckled heartlessly, too distracted by his own nerves. "Oi, has the new guy showed up yet?!" He called down into the troop compartment, remembering the new merc who was leading Predator 2-7 on a separate mission from his. He was, however, supposed to be carpooling with them.

"Not yet, sir." Replied a trooper as the ship shook from another volley of Anaconda fire. The lights in the hangar dimmed for a moment and the vessel lurched and rocked. "Just got a comm. He's hurrying here as fast as possible."

"He better be..." Domino mumbled, ready to take off. His jitters were starting to unnerve him.

 

[Prudence]

Prudii lumbered over the thin Lieutenant dressed in a drab grey uniform "I assure you sir our pilots will do their best whil-"

"Your best? You will treat this ship as if it is your life." Prudii reached for the man's throat but stopped early "Because it is your life. If it's damaged.... Manda help you."

Prudii spun on his heels and walked away from the man, who was still quite intimidated. He was leaving his ship, the Devastator, in the questionably capable hands of Lieutenant dip'osik. Shaking his head Prudii continued down the hall at a brisk speed, his cape swirling behind him. "Computer! Alert me when we leave hyperspace, and if those dipshits do anything particularly di'kut with you... take control."


"Affirmative." the Calm voice of the computer called out "As you requested.. leaving hyperspace in 3... 2... 1..."

Hearing the countdown Prudii began to run down the halls until he felt the shudder that sent him stumbling, but he didn't fall. His EE-3 dangled from his chest, attached by a harness that attached around his arms and neck holding the blaster close to his body for quick shooting. Behind him his Verpine Shatter Gun clattered against his back. Turning a sharp left he nearly knocked a pilot over as he entered the hangar, where he could see his Devastator resting next to two shuttles. Nodding to the ship he jogged up the ramp.

"Kyramud here, ready for action." Prudii said as he slapped the bulkhead "Whenever you're ready, let's get out there, those TIEs are only gonna get more pissed."

 

[Arcangel]

Calcus Raynn had signed off with the rest of Exile Squadron as the ships entered the orbit of Naboo. After seeing the overwhelming forces against them a brief sense of panic had overwhelmed him before the adrenaline kicked in, the blood coursing through his veins demanded that he fight. As Exile Squadron engaged the swarm of enemy fighters he got off a few shots at some tie fighters before passing them by, not certain if he had hit anything. Suddenly a warning tone shot through his cockpit as a missile locked on him. “Blast” he shouted as laser fire blazed around him, a few shots glancing off his deflector shields, knocking them down to 25 percent. Seeing the missile heading straight for him, he bore down on it as he let the force flow through him, heightening his reflexes. At the last second he did a barrel roll, letting out a sigh of relief as the missile overshot him.

Swinging the ship around in a tight loop he came in behind the bomber that had targeted him. As his targeting reticule settled on the bomber he pressed down the firing stud, quad laser fire blazing towards the bombers rear. As he fired a tone blared, signaling a target lock. With a clenched grin he fired off a pair of proton torpedoes. “Lets see how you like a taste of your own medicine,” he whooped as the torpedoes streaked after the bomber.

 

[Oreus]

Glorious explosions flashed in front of Fias as he watched one of the QIE fighters he shot explode. The second had been wounded and was limping away from the fight towards the planet itself. It was likely to crash and burn so he turned away from it and pulled up alongside Exile 10. After a quick inspection, it looked like his ally had not taken any damage under the shields. They were still in this fight.

"No problem, Exile 10," he comm'd back, not sure what his real name was. "We'll need to fight in pairs if we're to stand much of a chance out here."

Nearby, Fias spotted one of their ships engaging an Imperial bomber. Perhaps a more fair fight but he didn't want to leave it to chance. He pressed the throttle forward and screeched over towards the battle in front of him. Fias recognized the pilot of the X-Wing as Calcus, another Jedi Padawan in the Exile Squadron ranks. He had just fired a proton torpedo towards the bomber in hopes of bringing it down quickly.

"Maybe he won't need my help..," he said to himself as he approached. "Might as well loosen it up for him!"

Blue laser bolts blasted forward towards the enemy bomber as he came within a reasonable range. He grinned widely as he maneuvered through nearby crossfire as a pair of QIE fighters approached to reinforce the bomber. The Quarren was gaining confidence as the space battle raged on. This was more his element than any ground fight could be. Two QIE fighters would be quite the challenge, but if Exile 9 was still nearby the two of them could take care of it. He veered off to the right into a loop as he disengaged from the bomber to focus on defending his Calcus from the incoming fighters.

"I got your back, Calcus," he spoke over the channel as he repositioned. "Take down that bomber, Exile 10 and I will handle these fighters."

 

[LaPurple]

More than grateful, Padawan Vering looked up from his rising shield levels to look at Exile 9's fighter as it passed him. The fellow padawan acknowledged his thanks and also advised that they fly in pairs. Denal had no objections to being his wingman. After all, he had seen what Exile 10 was capable of. "I'll be right with you 9." he informed.

Before the Zabrak rushed back into combat he wanted his shields to be at least 65%. They could continue to rise after that, but before he reached it, Denal would be too easy to take down. He coasted as he looked back at his monitor screens...58...60...62...65. "There! On my way!" Padawan Vering exclaimed.

Gaining speed in his craft, he spotted Exile 9 moving to aid one of their own against a bomber and now a pair of QIE's. He heard the jedi tell him that the two of them would cover him. "Denal Vering moving in to assist."

Swooping down and to the left, the jedi caught up with his wingman. Denal began targeting the QIE fighter to the right since that was the side that he was on. Systems began zeroing the enemy in. The Zabrak's dark brown index fingers were on the triggers. Holding until he was certain his sights were locked, the jedi fired several dual blast rounds. Each round alternated between the four laser blasters for more rapid fire.

 

[Galavant]

"Gotcha now," Dilair said to herself, grinning inside her helmet. Sure the enemy fighter hadn't fallen to her first barrage, and sure it was shooting at her, and suer her ship wasn't built for dogfighting, but that didn't mean that she didn't have the X-Wing right where she wanted. The Fury was still heading in a straight line, and she let the X-Wing beat on her shields, there wasn't much she could do about that part. For the proton torpedoes on the other hand, she dropped two sensor decoys. She only had the two, so it would only work once. With the way she'd been flying, odds were good that the torpedoes would impact the decoys, she was after all not throwing the Fury into any wild maneuvers that would make her the obvious target for them over the decoys, and they were directly in the line of the site the torpedoes where she was supposed to be.

The important part though came after the torpedoes had impacted the decoys however. When that happened she dropped one of the orbital mines from the Fury's ordinance bay. With any luck the explosion would blind the X-Wing to the fact that there was now a mine it was going to run over if it kept chasing her the way it was. After the X-Wing either hit or dodged the mine, she'd throw the Fury into a turn, heading "downwards" and towards one of the blockade ships, essentially daring the X-Wing to keep following her.

---

"Negative Echelon Five," Enfali said over comms, to the fighter. She assumed Andreas was going to be busy setting other things, and she didn't want to risk the friendly fighter getting too close. "The Defiant is not, I repeat not, here to assist."

It might have been depressing for the pilot, and any other Rebel on the encrypted frequency, listening in, but she'd rather they have the truth than her dressing it up and giving them false notions about what the Defiant was up to.

"We are headed to the planet's surface, please stay very clear of us, and do not attempt to follow," She finished. Hopefully the pilots would listen, she had other things to deal with, such as continuing to fire and not hit the Imperials, luring them into...whatever it was that Andreas was doing.

 

[Andrewza]

A second imperial Lander was hit by a proton torpedo. This time a direct hit. The ship exploded in to two. Neither of witch could survive reentry.


"Exile squadron. There is a Hyperion class star destroyer in the area. It will make any evacuation very hard to impossible for the rebel fleet and civlians. Well we have the chance we should try and destroy it."

 

[Commissar Brett]

Prudii lumbered over the thin Lieutenant dressed in a drab grey uniform "I assure you sir our pilots will do their best whil-"

"Your best? You will treat this ship as if it is your life." Prudii reached for the man's throat but stopped early "Because it is your life. If it's damaged.... Manda help you."

Prudii spun on his heels and walked away from the man, who was still quite intimidated. He was leaving his ship, the Devastator, in the questionably capable hands of Lieutenant dip'osik. Shaking his head Prudii continued down the hall at a brisk speed, his cape swirling behind him. "Computer! Alert me when we leave hyperspace, and if those dipshits do anything particularly di'kut with you... take control."


"Affirmative." the Calm voice of the computer called out "As you requested.. leaving hyperspace in 3... 2... 1..."

Hearing the countdown Prudii began to run down the halls until he felt the shudder that sent him stumbling, but he didn't fall. His EE-3 dangled from his chest, attached by a harness that attached around his arms and neck holding the blaster close to his body for quick shooting. Behind him his Verpine Shatter Gun clattered against his back. Turning a sharp left he nearly knocked a pilot over as he entered the hangar, where he could see his Devastator resting next to two shuttles. Nodding to the ship he jogged up the ramp.

"Kyramud here, ready for action." Prudii said as he slapped the bulkhead "Whenever you're ready, let's get out there, those TIEs are only gonna get more pissed."

Domino, The Destitute​

"Check thrust. Taking air." Domino remarked, keying the controls of the shuttle. It lifted into the air of the hangar, dropping most of the passengers stomachs to the floor. "We have good readings." He comm-ed to his escort and wingman.

"Alright, let's go!" The T-4 pilot enthused.

The sortee hovered to the hangar doors and left the atmosphere of the hangar as men continue to dart around the hangar deck, working endlessly to keep fighting. Before they passed beyond the shield fully, a VF-001 Shredder had 2 QIEs on its tail and trying to bring it down. A VF-002 Thunderbolt from another squadron zoomed right behind them, unleashing with its guns into the ass of those Impy fighters. One of them burst into a ball of flame as the Thunderbolt broke off, the second one being shredded by the frigates flak guns.

"We are ready for drop!" Domino bellowed into the comm. He turned around and pushed Prudii into the seat behind him, the harnesses automatically locking into position. "Sit the hell down!" He said as Prudii fell into the chair. A collective chant came from the troopers in the bay behind them.

"HELLJUMPER, HELLJUMPER, WHERE YA BEEN?!" The shuttle rolled over on its belly and nose-dived straight down towards the planet, atmo already burning around their nose. Around them, about 4 other formations of craft did the same thing as they, rolling an going face first into the hellish sight below.

Miyo Deftinwolf​

"Sir, our ground forces have been scrambled. All that's left is our fighters." Updated the comms officer, a slight man sitting at his dataconsole. He turned around to face the admiral, who stood anxiously eyeing the holodisplay of the fleet.

"Inform Guilty Verdict." Miyo commanded, half-distracted as the targeted Banehound's engines faded out and its guns ceased. "Can we achieve a short range jump?" He asked half-heartedly, rubbing his tired eyes.

"I'm sorry, sir." The officer replied, giving the admiral a sympathetic look. "That Hyperion has us locked down." At this, Miyo gave a long sigh.

"Make evasive maneuvers, we need to get something between us and this blockade." He gestured at the display, trying to think. "Get behind the third moon. We need to get there as fast as possible, get behind the damn thing."

"Sir?" The officer questioned, still needing something more direct.

"Full power to thrusters!" Miyo bellowed to the bridge. "Get us moving!"

 

[Prudence]

Prudii locked the restraints around his body and nodded "FEET FIRST TO HELL AND BACK AGAIN!" Smiling behind his helmet he held on tight as the ship plummeted. There wasn't much power to any kind of inertial dampeners, so he could feel the Gs pressing against his body. Through the transparisteel viewport in the front of the roo7m he saw as they pressed straight towards the blockade, and slipped by, plummeting towards the surface. "And here I was thinking Naboo was serene. Looks like hell to me."

 

[Oreus]

"Destroy one of those!?" Fias responded in shock over the comm as the two QIE fighters in front of him exploded brilliantly. "No way we're doing that with these fighters..."

Whether the other pilot was brave or foolish didn't matter much to the Quarren Padawan. No way was he throwing his life away in a futile effort like that. Holding the line against the fighters and bombers was their only hope until the larger Rebel ships could provide reinforcements. He would leave the heroics to those who desired it. For the time being, Fias was more than content to do his job with the rest of the squadron. His job at that time was to help chase down that bomber before it could escape and add to the havoc on the surface or damage the rebel capital ships.

"Calcus! Watch your front, that bomber dropped a nasty surprise for you!" he shouted over the comms quickly as he saw the dirty trick from a different angle. "We'll take it down together... it's our only hope."

As he got more comfortable and the adrenaline started to fade, Fias' doubts began to return. His pessimism about this entire situation once more came to light. So far Exile Squadron had avoided any losses, but how long would that last? Would Fias be the first casualty? He shook his head and refocused on the task. The ship purred quietly as he turned back towards the bomber. By this point he assumed Exile 10, Denal it was, would follow him. A bomber was a prime target for them, and they couldn't let it escape to do damage elsewhere. Exile 10 roared to life as Fias pushed the throttle to full power in a dive following the path of the Fury. Blue lasers littering the space in front of him as the X-Wings open fired on the fleeing bomber.

I hope this is enough.. we're getting too close to that blockade ship..

 

[Silverface]

This mission was a mess. A complete pile of bantha poodoo. The lead Banehound, Righteous Vengeance was crippled early on by a group of frigates using antiquated weaponry because Fleet Admiral Hocke was too arrogant to treat them as a threat. And now he was dead, as was the Vengeance. The other Navy officers were close to panic, the remaining eleven Banehounds breaking their formation momentarily. The Hyperion was vulnerable for a few precious seconds, a ray of hope perhaps for the dissenters in their fighters and freighters and frigates. The ominous bulk of the Skira command ship, Punisher, moved ponderously into position...

"I heard what you said Captain, I know the Admiral is dead. Now focus man!" Rufus Scryer bellowed at the sweaty, portly faced Captain of the sole Skira-class ship in the battlegroup, Captain Murrir. "If I damn well have to, I will take command of the fleet myself!" Murrir looked relieved for a few moments, swallowed and nodded. He wasn't fleet command material, and the Major knew it as he moved up onto the command deck, a handful of blue-accented 501st Stormtroopers moving to occupy security posts on the bridge. Scryer plucked a comm-unit from the command console, giving him fleet override comms, silencing the panic among the less experienced Captains begging for orders. He paused for a moment, realizing just how far he was stepping over the line to do this. A Stormtrooper officer's remit stopped the moment he stepped onto the bridge of a Navy vessel. And here he was, taking over an entire battlegroup on a doomed mission.

He had a sneaking suspicion that whomever ordered him to join this battlegroup was hoping he would die here...

"Attention Battlegroup Hydra. This is 501st Major Rufus Scryer. I am assuming command of the fleet, orders are as follows. Reform the fleet, protect the Shivering Serpent. Reform the fleet and maximise your forward firepower on the frigates. Let the droid TIE's handle the enemy fighters. I say again, reform" He clicked off the comm and watched the hologram projection to his left, watching the gap between the Banehounds seal up tight, removing any ray of hope of stopping the Hyperion's interdiction field. Swarms of droid-TIE's were still launching from the fleet, a vast bulk swarm moving to engage the enemy fighters now after the initial waves of QIE squadrons had engaged. The landing craft however, were being targeted.


"Send Hunter Group Four to protect the landing craft!" Scryer snapped out, a group of anti-fighter corvettes detaching themselves from the Punisher's fighter screen only a few seconds later. The landing corridor had to remain clear until the group operation was concluded. "Murrir, have Swarm Six move to back up Hunter Four" A droid-TIE swarm soon followed the corvettes.


"Now, focus on that frigate. Full barrage, all Turbolasers" Scryer said, pointing to one of the archaic frigates with their obsolete projectile weaponry. "And increase deflector potency, I don't want a single projectle getting through"

Eleven Banehounds trained their immense turbolaser batteries on the flanking frigates as the Imperial vessels settled into a defensive formation, maximising their weapons coverage. The Hyperion in the center of the formation activated it's numerous powerful jamming systems, hostile communications and munitions guidance packages around the battlegroup of Star Destroyers becoming less effective in a drastic manner. After a moment of securing a firing solution, the battlegroup focussed it's fire on one of the bullet-spitting frigates, plastering it with relentless volleys of turbolaser fire.

The Imperial fleet was refocused, it's earlier arrogance gone. This was now a proper battle. One Scryer intended to survive.​

 

[Andrewza]

Weaving in between the fire of a Cherek rear twin passer cannon Jake fired his lasers. It did not take long before the shield to fail and the engines to take a beating. Though the ship was still intacted it was with out power.



Well pulling in to a circle to finish the Cherek off Jake tuerned on his comms to be fleet wide. The risk of useing a less secure channel was out weighed by the importance of the message "We don't have a choice. As long as that gravity well generator is on line any help will have to fight the full might of that imperial fleet and the anything larger than a fighter stands no chance in escape. Yes we may die. I am prepared to become one with the force to save a live."


Just before Jake could start his attack run he felt a feeling of impending danger. Pulling a sharp turn to the left a barrage of laser fire just must him. There was a over a squadron of TIE fighters with a number of dagger corvets closing in on him and moveing fast. It seemed the imperial navy had noticed him interdicting there landing ships. It took them long enough to. Flying at max thrust Jake made good a escape before the corvets rocked up.

Switching back to secure com's Jake called out. "This is exile 6 I seem to have stuck my stick to deep in to the hornets nest."

 

[Cortan]

Neither brave nor stupid, thank-
Thank himself for knowing how sane people think. Though it was doubtful it could be seen, Xam had given a brief salute to the enemy pilot as he passed beneath them. Having dove away, he expected the opposition to give chase again, and they did, much to his delight. Theirs was a dance across the battlefield, as Xam directed their path back into the fray of furious fighters, navigating across the flight paths of both friend and foe in order to raise doubts in any potential lock. Yet whilst he enjoyed the dance, determining how it would end ahead of time was proving... difficult. Whoever this pilot was now knew the QIE's capabilities, which normally helped shock an opponent into providing an opening. Trying to outwit them could prove difficult, particularly when the only armaments he had were limited in their firing arc.

Other events began to colour the field, canvas of chaos that it was. Freighters and frigates were finding their way unto the field, bringing new waves of opposition into play. Cursing under his breath, the Lamian wondered where these had been to help the Rebels before. Of course, these weren't exactly overwhelming reinforcements, but more than unexpected...
"...Ah." And then he realised, his enemy had a lock. Cursing louder, Xam went for the first crazed idea in his mind, and fired only one thruster into reverse. The QIE fighter spun awkwardly around the wayward booster, like the unfolding corner of a page. Adjusting mid-turn, he brought all thrusters to forward push, rolling as he attempted to align his blasters to the oncoming foe. Two shots fired before he had to fly away, and avoid a collision. Shots fired wildly, likely to miss, and-

"Attention Battlegroup Hydra. This is 501st Major Rufus Scryer. I am assuming command of the fleet, orders are as follows. Reform the fleet, protect the Shivering Serpent. Reform the fleet and maximise your forward firepower on the frigates. Let the droid TIE's handle the enemy fighters. I say again, reform."

And... huh. Xam gazed out his cockpit as much as he followed his sensors, finding a small section of a TIE fighter swarm coming his way. Droids were not his usual sort of wingmen, but he could work with that.
"Swarm 1.2, form up on me, help me wipe this X-Wing from the skies." He laughed, swinging around for a pass as the TIE droids themselves already began to fly against the foe who had proved such a hound. Those things were cheap, but even glass cannons were cannons still.

 

[Oncaro]

Alanna momentarily cursed her luck as her shots missed; this pilot, even without the Force to aid them, was quite skilled, and she respected that. Her focus remained unshaken even as he used his odd ship to pivot around and fire blindly at her; to which Alanna had to respond by taking a hurried, evasive action; one of the shots missed entirely, the second glanced off her shields.

Furrowing her brow, Alanna arced to continue giving chase to the pilot, before Arfour's frantic beeping and whistling caught her attention; he detected a multitude of TIEs gunning for her, and Alanna detected no life-signs in them.

Droids, she thought, as an odd sense of relief came to her. Organic pilots were unpredictable, innovative, able to ultimately think outside the proverbial box. But pilot droids were different, which Alanna knew all-too-well. They didn't have that same amount of skill at improvisation, and they could be fooled into making mistakes just as easily as an organic pilot. Possibly moreso. So as Alanna worked to keep Xam's QIE in her sights while simultaneously trying to avoid the droid TIEs, she smirked.

"Hey Arfour, wanna see a cool trick I learned before we met?" she asked, her tone surprisingly conversational given the sheer chaos around her. Arfour's beeps translated to: //This is gonna be really dangerous, won't it?//

Alanna just grinned as she chased Xam, and right when her sensors indicated lock-on's from the droids, she suddenly decelerated extremely quickly, causing both the droids and their shots to overshoot her entirely as she spun somewhat to avoid getting crashed into; the shots the TIEs made, as it happened, were heading right for Xam even as Alanna leveled out and proceeded to blow the Imperial pilot's wing-droids to scrap.

Alanna Noymara was far from a normal pilot, he could be certain of that now.

 

[MasterTyvokka]

Renald was staring out the view port of The Empress's Bane, a heavily modified Corellian Engineering Corp Action VI transport. He had always marvled at the mesmerizing color display that hyperspace was. The swirling blues and white had always captivate his imagination. While some didn't like hyperspace travel, or even space travel for that matter, Renald loved it. The Empress's Bane was currently on its way to a pick up location to pick up some supplies for the CLF. It was a major pick up so Renald had decided to accompany the crew on the run. In order to save some time Renald had the navi comp calculate a route that would bring them as close to Naboo as possible without having them pulled out by the planet's gravity well. In theory this was supposed to be an easy and quick trip. Of course that was not the way the galaxy worked.

The swirling blue turned from starlines to stars in nano seconds as The Empress's Bane was yanked out of hyperspace suddenly. Renald, who had been standing was thrown to the deck, "what the kriff." Renald suspected has he stood that he had miscalculated and gotten to close to Naboo. His crew's silence and the few in front of him to a different story. "Kriff, Kriff, Kriff..." Renald exclaimed as he grabbed The Empress's Bane's pilot by his shoulders and yanked him out of the seat. Renald completely trusted his pilot under normal circumstances but considering that they had just been pulled out of hyperspace by an Interdictor into a major battle, he wasn't about to trust the piloting to anyone but himself. "Battle stations," Renald shouted as he turned the ship hard to port. The Empress's Bane shuttered as a flight of ties the ship had come out on top of attacked. Renald imagined the surprise then chagrin on pilot's faces as they realized they had not caught easy prey. The Empress's Bane's turbolasers tore the ties apart. Little did Renald know he had just blasted a bunch of droids.

Quickly Renald servyed the battle field. He wasn't getting out of here so he knew he might as well look for someone to help. Renald spotted a battered rebel fleet but they were dukeing it out with the Banehounds. The Star Destroyers were to big even for the double hull plating, deflector shields, and 3 three turbolasers on The Empress's Bane to handle. Renald activated his advanced scanners to see if he could locate the frequency of the old X-wings. As Renald scanned he noticed an old X-wing that looked like it was about to be in trouble. It had corvettes and fighters after it. Since Renald was close by he thought he would help. The Empress's Bane's lurched as Renald brought the sublights up to full power. Renald's gunners took shots at the ties protecting the corvette's backsides. Two of them were blasted apart before the other broke formation. Another was turned to space dust as it tried to peel away.

It wasn't long before his turbo laser batteries were blasting was way at the rear end of one of the corvettes. Renald peeled up and off slightly as the corvette turned its fire toward Renald. Renald didn't worry too much and kept fire of the corvette. The corvette's armament was meant to take on fighters and not larger ship. Plus The Empress's Bane was made to hold its own against corvette's and other system patrol craft. The Empress's Bane was more than a match for the corvette. But there was more than one and fighters to contend with as well. Renald's console beeped telling the frequency for the fighters had been located. Renald first contacted the group before contacting the specific fighter he was helping. "X-wing fighters this is Renald with the The Empress's Bane. I have been pulled out of Hyperspace into this mess so figured I would assist." Renald then turned his attention to the X-wing he was helping. "Pursued X-wing. I have attracted the attention of one of your stalkers but can't handle all of them. Can you draw the others way from me?" Renald hoped what he had done would at least help the pilot some.

 

[Commissar Brett]

Miyo Deftinwolf​

Gravity's Union shook as it and its sister ship were pummeled by the newly directed fleet.

"We need to cut evasive maneuvers!" He bellowed, grabbing onto the edge of the holodisplay to balance himself as the ship shook again.

"This is Captain Aurelius of Guilty Verdict." A cool female voice echoed about the bridge. "We can't take this fleet on." She remarked. The voice of one of the rebels flooded into the comm system. This was their opening, a way to take that Hyperion down. "I'm going to divert fighters to the surface, they need our assistance. Then I'm gonna keep these fighters off of you while you get those corvettes off of those X-Wings."

"Agreed, divert all fighter squadrons to the surface." Miyo confirmed, watching as the wisps of KES fighters left broke away to the Palace of Theed. "We're all alone up here." He muttered to himself. The bridge took on an uncanny silence, even as the ship shook from the sustained fire from the Destroyers pummeled them.

"Sir, our shields are at 23%." One of the bridge officers called out. "We need to move, sir."

"Godspeed, Natasha." Miyo addressed the captain informally, having (at one point in time) been romantically involved. This is why we can't have nice things... "Get us in range of those corvettes and get them off Exile's tail."

The corvettes were shredded in no time as they were consumed by a broadside of Jackhammers. Guilty Verdict bobbed and weaved, its point-defense flak guns chugging lead and shrapnel into any fighter that got too close. The Destroyers naturally focused on the ship that happened to be peppering them with Gorgon-Class Concussion Missiles

 

[Andrewza]

It seemed help had arrived. The daggers had turnerd to engage a new and bigger threat. This gave Jake his chance. Simply droids where not hard to destroy. They did not thi k out side the box. Even before the request came Jake had starters to cut his way through the TIE fighters.

"No problem. Glad to help the guy who helped me." But even before Jake could think of how he would be able to deal with a dagger one of the friendly frigates popped in to say hi.

"Thanks for the help. Both of you. May the force be with you all"