Open Flashpoint Kashyyyk Tipping the Scales

[Hokaan Veren]

Spoiler: Music

Hokaan was hoping he was not going to regret this day as he flew his personal Z-wing through the chaotic skies over Kashyyyk. The Mandalorian held back on the throttle since his starship was notably faster than the starfighters he was leading. Along either side of either side of the pilot’s ship were three AFC-1 starfighters crewed by experienced Mandalorian pilots. These ships were gifts from Senator @Aezzairrfhowrrhudrrl and they would serve to defend the system on behalf of both Rancor Squadron and the Wookiee natives . Half of the flight squadron was following Hokaan as he led the maneuver to flank an invading Hapan Battle Dragon.

The enemy forces had managed to weaken the defensive line over the Wookiee homeworld. Struggling to remain in position in high orbit was an unlucky Bothan class assault cruiser. Smoke and fires bloomed in sections of its surface and it was clear its shields were all but gone. But the ISC ship was not Hokaan’s primary concern, it was still firing afterall and drawing most of the battle dragon’s attention. The Mandalorian starships would need every bit of help when it came to this operation.

Before the planetary defenders could send their limited "Y-TIE" starbombers up from the surface and closer to the battle dragon, the Hapan swarm of starfighters needed to be dealt with. That was where Hokaan and the three similar groups of small craft were maneuvering to get behind the Hapan capital ship and tangle with the Miy'til starfighters. It was up to them to clear the way before the invaders could do significant damage directly to the planet. The last thing they wanted was for the Hapans to establish a beachhead.

Six enemy starfighters detached from the main group and immediately moved to intercept Aurek Squadron led by Hokaan. The pilot knew this was imminent. “Serene, hun focus shield forward please? Thanks.” He asked the ship integrated AI in a familiar way before switching over to the encrypted ship to ship link. This link connected him to Besh, Cresh, and Cherek Squadron. “Looks like they’ve noticed us vode. Stay frosty and lets show them what we’ve got.” He heard replies and war cries as groups of My’till starfighters broke off to engage other groups of Mandalorian piloted starfighters and they began to react in kind.

In a matter of seconds the sky between Hokaan and the Hapan enemy starships turned into an intense cloud of chaotic fire and carnage. Starships banked and swerved straining their ships to the maximum, rotating and peeling away to not hit one another and to give chase while some tried to shake missile locks. Hokaan was one such pilot as the front of his Z-wing was raked by a barrage of laser cannon fire. His ships sensors blinked and screamed, telling him he would be best served to not take a head on barrage again but he was too busy trying to prevent the missile from getting closer. The light deflector screens on the Adder starfighters were not as sturdy as the Veren’s but their pilots were still holding their own and avoided being shot down. Sparks and branches of electricity hinted at damaged shields but so far the dual disk shaped appearance of the Hapan Battle Dragon grew larger as the dogfight drew near.

Spoiler: Dice

Using dice for opposition. Part of the Kashyyyk flashpoint event.
Rolled for Mandalorian starting strength and rolled a 48/100 barely a success
Hokaan flies his Z-wing and is followed by six AFC-1 starfighters.

 

[Nakoa Singh]

THEME
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Rumbling from between the stars and smoke, the Very Little Gravitas emerged at speed from out of the burning Bothan cruiser's sensor shadow. Oversized thrusters roared and anti-fighter turrets rotated into position, approaching the soon-to-be clusterfuck Hokaan and Rancor Squadron were getting themselves into. Owing to Nakoa's more obsessive qualities, the VLG's living crew had been drilled relentlessly on their assigned stations to get used to the modified controls and refurbished systems.

Nakoa looked out from the cockpit with narrowed eyes and adjusted his grip on the controls, taking in the clash of fighters between Apex and the Battle Dragon. Behind in the hold stood Apex contractors and droids, as usual, but also several proton explosives. Battle Dragons were visibly terrible at point defense, relying solely on a rotating series of fixed heavy guns for offense. Their fighters and naval formations kept them safe, but this one had broken away to take a crack at the ISC cruiser.

"Boost thrusters. Delta three." "On it." Very Little Gravitas' boosters flared briefly to pass by the fight, front two turrets firing at dogfighting My'till fighters trying to get angles on the Mandalorian pilots. A staggered quad spread of concussion missiles launched toward the final approaching Hapan fighter wing as the VLG leveled out and disabled boosters, continuing toward the Battle Dragon at 60 MGLT and attracting several Hapan fighters along the way.

Several Hapan fighters were hit by the drive-by turret fire, and four Hapan fighters were downed by laser hits or missile detonation. With some threads breaking off to chase down the gunship, Hokaan may find his dogfights a bit less harried. By all appearances, VLG's aft gunner was no slouch, either.

"Aft landing for deployment," Nakoa said, a glancing hit rocking the ship. "Aye," responded the Duros co-pilot. Despite the difference in scale between it and the fighters chasing it, the VLG was more maneuverable than its size suggested and the Miy'till were having trouble getting a solid lock. So far, at least.

Their plan was to bypass the defending ships and board the hangar. Small craft couldn't disable the big ship quickly enough, but a few protons bombs in the thinner midsection's engineering compartment sure would. And if they could get their hands on comm protocols, even better.

@Darasuum

Dice Roll: 78/100 for Dynamic Entry/Attack. 4/6 downed Hapan fighters.

 

[Hokaan Veren]

With each passing moment the large concussion missile magazine of Hokaan's Z wing was being depleated. One warhead after another would target a Hapan starfighter. A splash of ion laser cannon caused the My'till fighters to lose their shields and begin spinning into the blackness of space or fall towards the planet's surface without power. Some rapidly ejected, praying to not end up on the windshield of a speeding starship before landing in Worshyr trees or worse. But most were blown out of the sky in one-two punches thanks to the arrival of the Apex Strategist and his forces.

Catching the Hapan forces in a pincer maneuver, the battle dragon would have no luck against the small ships. The combined teamwork of Apex and Rancor Squadron would thin the invading small craft that tried to defend its mothership. The Mandalorian pilot saw their opportunity and gave a signal to the Y-TIEs. "Dorn Squadron, launch now! We'll cover you."

All Adder starfighters redoubled their efforts. The My'till numbers decreased even as the Hapan sent the last remaining starfighters out of the battledragon's hangars. It was too little too late against the joint might of Apex and Rancor Squad. The bombers appeared like an ugly chimeric Y-wing and TIE fighter commination. But appearances aside, the Hapan forces would meet the laser and ion cannons of the starships as they raced towards their target.

Racing close to the capital ship and getting inside their shields, each of the Y-TIEs fired two proton torpedos. The first hail of damage would impact the shield of the ponderous vehicle. The cloud caused a few of the enemy starfighters swerve to avoid getting caught in the series of blasts that bloomed away.

Dipping beneath the weakened capital shields, the Y-TIEs focused their attention on targeting the structural weak points on the opposite side from the Bothan assault cruiser. Its tractor beam lost power and was inoperable along with twenty five percent of the port weapon systems. However if the battle dragon 'rotated' these turrets to a different side then they could make up for this week side. "Weapons are down on the battledragon's port side. That's the safest approach. Let's move in." He communicated to his comrades and steered his ship behind another My'till insterceptor before it could fire on the bombers

@Mr. Teatime

Spoiler: Dice

69/100 success for Y-TIE bombing run

 

[Nakoa Singh]

Chuckling darkly to himself, Nakoa and his copilot continued forward toward the hangar and prepared for a very specific boarding maneuver. It hadn't been done outside of practice, but hey. Field experience is valuable stuff, y'know?

"All hands, prepare to board." The VLG briefly flared its thrusters and began to rotate with maneuver jets, ponderous and boat-like frame slowly spinning on its axis until its aft end faced the open hangar. Thrusters flared again, slowing as the gunship passed through the anti-vacuum energy field into the hangar itself. Its ground sweeper deployed and filled the "landing zone" with automatic blasterfire, landing gear deploying to settle down.

Miy'till chased after the gunship, thrown off by the ridiculous boarding maneuver and unable to get a missile lock. In their focus on that task they failed to notice the VLG's fore had more turrets than its aft. These guns fired out from the hangar, nailing Miy'till who'd insisted on a straight-line chase against the slower gunship. They didn't get long to regret that choice.

All five fighters exploded into fireballs. The rest were occupied chasing Rancor Squadron and the Y-TIEs bombing the superstructure. At this point a comm call for support went out from the Battle Dragon, trying to recall the Nova-class that was supposed to be guarding it but was currently duking it out with a burning corvette.

"Alpha, with me. Bravo, secure this hangar. Stand by for exfil." The ramp dropped and activated RN-18s jogged down, firing at hangar techs and soldiers alike from around an Apex-painted Occupier. Some hangar officer was paying enough attention to lock down the access door, but the tank blew it right open again.

A feral, excited grin spread over the Wrean's face, razor fangs flashing. "Run 'em down!" Both hands moved in a strange way, forming a Sign. The Force took hold of fighter plating scrapped on their entry, forming cover for Nakoa and Alpha as they ran for the ship's hallway.

Engineering wasn't far. Not for them.

@Darasuum

Dice Roll: 96/100 for dealing with tracking fighters.

 

[Hokaan Veren]

Hokaan's Z-wing flew close enough to the Apex piloted AIAT/I to see the maneuver that would make a Mandalorian proud. The contractors were completing their jobs well and it was up to Rancor Squad to do the same. Chasing off any other starfighters from attacking the hangar, the Mandalorian forces now only faced nine Hapan starfighters.

The Y-TIEs continued their engagement of the Battle Dragon rather than retreat out of the fight. But they were still the primary focus of the invading forces. The Mandalorian piloted AFC-1 starfighters were bruised and damaged. Some were barely staying in the sky and probably would not be able to make it out of atmosphere. But enough of them remained in the fight to go toe to toe with the surviving Hapan forces. However if they received any backup from the nearest Nova battlecruiser then that was another story.

Hokaan could feel the sweat on his brow and his fingers tingling with adrenaline. The fight was far from over but there was confidence in his heart building with each enemy starfighter shot down. Over the comms he heard the familiar sound of a Wookiee speaking Shyriiwook. A moment later bursting from the cloud ceiling beneath the dogfight came four Auzituck gunships and escorting them were four Owool heavy interceptors. "We've got them on the ropes!" The Bothan class cruiser was still slugging it out, its crew trying to save the ship and not cause any damage in the inevitable rough landing. Hopefully the battle dragon would be in a worse state sooner rather than later.

@Mr. Teatime

Spoiler: Dice

Wookiee reinforcements: Rousing success (93/100

 

[Nakoa Singh]

Durasteel feet clanked rapidly on durasteel plates, single-minded RN-18s jogging and firing in predictable sequence to unleash a constant rain of forward fire and clear the way. Kaleesh sharpshooters moved and fired behind the cover their Strategist formed from metal and burning corpses, scraps glowing in the grasp of blue-green webs.

He advanced without fear, face alight with macabre cheer and amber-gold eyes nearly glowing with power. His confidence seemed only to spur the Kaleesh onward and disturbed the Hapan defenders. They had anticipated Jedi, perhaps. Not this.

With VLG and the Occupier covering them and rapidly clearing the hangar, Singh and his soldiers burst into the hallway through the hole they'd made. There were too many crew and soldiers, and an unsealable breach; the hangar crew could neither seal the hangar nor vent it into space. But they did have defense turrets that focused on the Occupier tearing through security forces and damaging ships.

The tank took heavy fire while forces moved to secure hangar controls, sparking and smoking, stopping in place as its repulsors shorted, but continuing to fire haphazardly at any hostile target. It was piloted by machines; they did not fear death, for they'd never been alive. Nonetheless, the Occupier was immobile and rapidly approaching total system failure.

Nakoa quickly strode down the hallway, wall panels pulled away by Signs and the Force to serve as shields against enemy guns. Some droids in front were damaged or disabled, but the Kaleesh were largely unharmed so far behind cover. They marched on toward engineering. So far, Hapan security only slowed them.

Despite borders, the Bridge was in chaos trying to handle the attacking bombers and new enemy fighters. Hapes had an impressively-sized military, but they were, vitally, horribly inexperienced. Hapes hadn't gone to war in over a century, their doctrine and engineering styles outdated, while Mandalorians and the Wookiees had been fighting for their lives for the last twenty years.

If they didn't recover some momentum soon, this engagement risked spiraling further.

@Darasuum

Spoiler: Dice Rolls

Nakoa's Hallway Scene: 64/100 Occupier Tank Targeted: 8/100

 

[Hokaan Veren]

The second attack run by the Y-TIEs came around and struck again, crippling the Hapan battle dragon's exterior weapon systems. But the mighty ship would not be felled by the small craft's attacks or the Bothan heavy cruiser which now began to send up clouds of dust and dirt as it tried to safely land on the planet's surface. The ISC ship was out of effective range as its crew focused on evacuating and saving as much of the vessel as possible. Any remaining escape pods and small craft flew from its hangars to safety.

The Wookiee starships along with the Rancor Squadron and Contractor forces had decimated the Hapan starfighters. Now the Battle Dragon was without any accompanying ships. The nearest Nova class battlecruiser was only just beginning to split its attention from the EM-1 corvette. The smaller capital ship was heavily damaged and its backup deflector shields were almost depleted. But like the battle dragon, the Nova battlecruiser had lost much of its small craft against Kashyyyk's combined planetary defense.

A lucky ion shot from the Nova class battlecruiser struck one of the Mandalorian piloted starfighters next to Hokaan. The wingmate could not help but be roughly halted and sent spinning off course. In the process their wing clipped Hokaan's own craft and sent him twirling out of control before he struggled to regain control. "AAaahhhr" Thankfully the originally victim of the ion cannon had not been killed. Though their ship would join the many other wrecks falling towards the planet. At least the Mandalorian pilot would get a chance to eject before impact. "Stay evasive. Don't get cocky!" His gloved fingers diverted power away from weapons to focus on shields and not strain his engines. There were still contractors onboard the battle dragon that needed Rancor Squad's cover. "Boarding party what's your status?"

@Mr. Teatime

Spoiler: Dice

Hapan battlecruiser reinforcement: barely success (34/100 )

 

[Nakoa Singh]

How was the boarding party doing? So far, living up to the name Apex. The longer Nakoa was knee-deep in the fight, the more his eyes glowed with power. As other Hapan soldiers involved themselves, existence in the Force a chaotic mix of fear, adrenaline, anger, and determination, the more Irirangi's expression came to life.

And it was vicious.

"Close the doors! CLOSE THE- ARRRGH!" cried a Hapan soldier as a metal sheet Nakoa'd used for cover smashed into her waist like a blade, bisecting her and leaving her gurgling on the ground. The doors began to close before screeching loudly to a halt, metal warped and deformed, jammed open for the invading Apex forces. Guards beyond it were cut down by droids and sharpshooters, a couple more RN-18s fell. No one cared. They were expendable.

"Take the chief engineer, one other. Kill the rest." At his word the droids and Kaleesh filed into the engineering section, blasters set to stun. Nakoa then dealt with the comm message from what he was pretty sure was Rancor Squadron. On track. ETA ten.

Then he turned back toward the hall, lightsaber unclipped from his belt and snap-hissing to life, gathering the hallway in sunset orange light. A wide grin split his features, equal parts wild and exuberant. In the next moment, more security forces turned the corner.

"Show me what ya got!" he taunted them, laughing as his blade whipped through the air spurred by currents only he could follow.

@Darasuum

Spoiler: Dice

Engineering Attack: 86/100 rousing success

 

[Hokaan Veren]

With the Bothan heavy cruiser out of range the Battle Dragon heavily damaged, the Mandalorian and Wookiee starfighters continued to strike at the Hapan capital ship's weapon emplacements. But the Nova class battle cruiser was coming within optimum firing range. The Hapan battle dragon had begun moving towards its fellow ship to capitalize on the overlapping fire. Behind the nova battle cruiser limped the ISC corvette, still attracting half the attention of the Nova.

Hokaan heard the Apex Strategsist's response over the commlink. Ten? the Mandalorian thought to himself and swerved around the large ship, avoiding crashing into its superstructure to keep the Hapan Battle dragon between them and the Nova battlecruiser. He would see soon enough if they meant ten seconds. But chances were they meant minutes.

Speaking to the other pilots, they needed to attack the battlecruiser. "Maneuver beneath them. Y-TIEs, target their engines. Try to keep loose and watch your spacing. Put all shields to forward." He heard a series of confirmations both in basic and diverse series of languages.

Coming about on the hapan battle dragon, the small craft dove towards the planet. The Nova class battle cruiser tried to dive and keep its nose dipped. It fired its heavy turbo lasers after the small ships but they were too fast. The starfighters and starbombers were fast enough to beat the tipping nose of the Nova.

Striking at the ventral side of the nova, the shields of the battlecruiser were already heavily damaged and virtually non-existent after its continued exchange against the ISC corvette. Blooms of fire from missiles and torpedos exploding caused bright reflections on the cockpits of the starfighters. The Nova almost instantly began to list and loose momentum as its engines went dark. The turrets ceased fire and one of its wing like fins completely broke off. "YAAHOOO!"

@Mr. Teatime

Spoiler: Dice

bombing run on the nova battlecruiser: success (78/100 )

 

[Nakoa Singh]

The engineering section was more well-defended than average, as if the Hapans knew exactly how vulnerable that section could be on a Battle Dragon. A half-dozen droids were disabled by armed engineers and security, and two Kaleesh riflemen killed in action. But the push by Apex was well-practiced and highly proficient and they quickly closed on the chief engineer. She was captured and taken down by stun shots, hog-tied and bundled to be carried away.

Back in the hallway, Nakoa's saber was a blur of motion even as he darted forward toward Hapan forward. A shot skimmed over his left shoulder, but it didn't stop him from cutting the woman down. A drawn vibroknife was thrust toward his ribs, caught by iron fingers and returned to the perpetrator's throat. Another got a good cut across his ribs and was set alight like a flash of the Force, flames scorching them to a horrible end.

No stopping, no mercy. Every pulse of fear, rage, or determination from the Hapan forces was just another thing drawn toward him to fuel his own power. Adrenaline burned in his veins alongside the Force, the pain entirely unnoticed as Nakoa whirled forward. Before long this newest skirmish was over. Dead lined the hall when the Apex droids and soldiers left the Engineering area.

"Chief secured, explosives primed," reported the Kaleesh leader. She seemed unconcerned for Nakoa's new injuries. He recovered quickly; if he wasn't dropped down or leaning on something, he was probably fine. Singh nodded and and, as a group, they moved as quickly as possible back to the hangar.

The hangar itself had been well-held and the control room cleared out. Other than tossing an explosive onto the very disabled Occupier tank for good measure, nothing delayed Apex from reboarding their gunship.

"Departing now. Fly clear," Nakoa sent to Rancor Squadron as the gunship lifted off, turning to soar clear of the Battle Dragon with their prize aboard.

After about thirty seconds, the thin center section of the Battle Dragon lit up in a massive explosion, hull cracking to pieces from demolition charges planted within. Lights went out entirely, the two halves of the craft well and truly disabled.

@Darasuum

 

[Hokaan Veren]

"Fly clear, fly clear." Hokaan repeated Nakoa's directions as both an acknowledgement and also to relay to any others that might not have heard them. The Wookiee and Mandalorian starships pealed away from the hull of the Hapan ships. They continued to manuever to avoid any remaining attacks but the guns of the enemy went quiet a moment before it too was split in half.

Explosions and wreckage filled the seemingly infinite void. The sky above Kashyyyk was dotted with hundreds of ships with streaks of laser cannons and weapon impacts. The chaos of war backlit the Hapan Battle Dragon's final moments as it too succumbed to the internal sabotage of the Apex contractors.

The Hapan battle dragon split from its lower and upper halves, beginning to drift apart. Before the battle was over they would likely succumb to the gravity of Kashyyyk as well. The remainder of Rancor Squad and Apex would have their fill of combat before this was over. This was the first of many Hapan ships destined to fall today. "Hell yeah! Woohoo!" He cheered for their success.

"Heading back to get refitted. Then it's back out there again." The Veren had plenty of fight left in him. After a few repairs, some fuel and new batch of concussion missiles the Mandalorian would be back in the skies taking out Hapan pilots and leading attacks on capital ships.

End thread​

@Mr. Teatime