It is a time of darkness in the Galaxy. It is the year 5 ABY, and after the Battle of Endor, the Empire's fracture seemed assured. But a Warlord by name of Grand Moff Lan Erriso united the fractured empire and drove a deep spike into the core territories of the New Republic - the sudden assault was unexpected, and the Battle of Corellia, where Republic forces were preparing for a strike at Coruscant only months before, forced the Main Fleet of the Republic into retreat. But news from intelligence agents brought to bear the weakness of 'Emperor' Lan's strategies; His strong fleets encountered by probing forces were not from an inherently stronger Empire, as feared by the High Command, but due to his draining of internal garrisons to minute amounts to bolster his exterior defences.
With this information revealed, the New Republic formed the Brigand Task Force, designed to hide in a star system under Republic control but would likely by taken by the new Emperor soon. The force hid away, watching carefully as the small outpost at Neffora was destroyed by Imperial forces. After a short time, the Imperials warped out, leaving a small garrison. The orders from Republic command have now come; Wreak havoc.
Veg Claric watched carefully out of the transparisteel screen as the Nefforan system's planets came into view. With only two reported squadrons of TIE Fighters and a single Tartan-class patrol cruiser for space forces, it would be a simple enough first mission. Brigand Task Force would have no trouble defeating the imperial forces here; Having two Nebulon-B Frigates, six CR90 Corvettes, six squadrons of six X-Wings, two squadrons of four Y-Wings, and the ace squadron of ten A-Wings, Dawn Squadron, his forces were extensive - representing a fair portion of Republic forces. Were his mission not so vital, he doubted his task force would be so large. With a crew of two thousand, eight hundred and ninety total, as well as a detachment of three hundred soldiers, Veg could eliminate many Imperial garrisons, draw attention away from the Fleets, and allow the Republic to recuperate and recruit anew.
It was a daunting task. But Veg had come out with harsher odds alive before. Pulling down his secondary command screen, Veg activated his comms. "All Brigands, report to battle stations. Stay alert. Fighters, be ready for launch in five minutes." Confirmations rang out on his comms shortly afterward, showing all squadrons ready, all stations manned. Here goes nothing, came the sole thought in Veg's mind. "All squadrons launch. Y-Wing squadrons Lance and Hammer, hit the Tartan. Slate and Blade squadrons, escort Lance and Hammer. The Y-Wings veered off, flying towards the Tartan. A moment later, the X-Wings also followed, escorting the Y-Wings across the twelve klick gap between the Tartan and Veg's flagship, the Nebulon-B Frigate Justice. "Increase power to the weapons. Focus all lasers on the Tartan. Dawn, Cobalt, and Turquoise squadrons, intercept those TIE's - they're getting too close to the Yavin 4 for my liking." The corvette in question had opened fire with its turbolasers, eliminating one of the TIEs outright and hitting another in the wing, sending it into a spiral. The remaining four in the first squadron opened fire, scoring a couple hits - Veg's breath caught in his throat momentarily.
Then multiple TIE's exploded, and the X-Wings and A-Wings he'd sent zoomed into view, the Dawn squadron opening fire, making the battlefield a mess of lasers. Three TIE's remained, but these ones seemed to be the best of their squadrons; they turned about and began firing back at the fighters. Veg watched carefully as the fighters turned and twisted about, fighting. "This is Cobalt Leader - Cobalt Three is KIA, and Cobalt 4 has been disabled. Requesting firepower from Justice on these squints!" The Cobalt Leader's comm crackled out after a moment, and Veg nodded confirmation to his gunner commander. The man began relaying orders to the gunners on the Frigate, and the turbolasers opened fire on the TIEs. "Mark of War, open fire on the Tartan - aim for the shield generators." Veg's command received confirmation, then the other Nebulon-B Frigate opened fire, draining the shields of the Tartan and then hitting the shield generators. The explosion shook the small cruiser, and then the Y-Wing squadrons went in for an attack run, hitting the Tartan with proton torpedoes left and right. The craft began to shudder under the strain, and an escape pod jettisoned right before the craft exploded into a hundred pieces. With that, all firepower focused on the TIEs, destroying them.
"Use the tractor beam on that escape pod. Mark of War, recover Cobalt Four. All other pilots, return to your hangars and refuel. Our land forces need to deploy and will need bombing runs to eliminate the planetary garrison."
"Roger that, Rear Admiral." Captain Cyrus Trillix's comms fluttered for a moment, before returning to normal. "My troops are ready, sir. But looking at intelligence data, a detachment of maybe fifty men would be enough to defeat the garrison here, even in a worst case scenario."
"Understood, Captain, but I'm playing it safe for now. Take Nexus Platoon as well." A moments silence followed, and Veg watched the planet of Neffora approach. The Corvettes Yavin 4 and Dauntless moved faster, approaching the atmosphere, preparing for the land battle to come.
"Very well, sir." With that, Veg watched the Corellian Corvettes enter the atmosphere. A ping appeared upon his viewscreen - the Nebulon's excellent sensors alerting him to an incoming enemy fleet. His best guess was that it was a detachment from Fondor sent to stop him. The hyperspace signatures seemed to match a Victory-Class Frigate, with a few Tartan Cruisers in the mix too. Veg cursed. "Yavin 4 and Dauntless, land your men and return as soon as possible. I'm sending sensor data your way - multiple Tartans and a Victory."
Trick Fendosha, captain of the Dauntless, cursed over the comms. "Roger that, sir. I'm sending my Y-Wing back your way to help with the fight. So is Nix." With his words, the two Y-Wings attached to their Corvettes detached, returning to space and drifting to a stop.
"Squadron fighters, check fuel levels. How many minutes of fighting time can you get?" Veg listened carefully - the results were not great. The dogfight had dropped fuel levels twenty five percent. While his Nebulons had enough consumables to last two years each, and the corvettes a year each, fuel was extremely valuable - without it, he'd be rendered useless. "Tartans are extremely weak against our Nebulons. Mark of War, you'll combine firepower with my own ship against them. Corvettes, I want you to hit their starfighters. Y-Wings, you and the Slate squadron will focus on that Victory. Maroon, Dawn and Renegade squadrons, I need you to hit any TIEs they bring in. Cobalt, Turquoise, Blade, I need you to be on point. Protect our corvettes and frigates - make sure they dont give us any trouble while we eliminate the Tartans."
So it went. His men refueled as much as possible before launching the assigned squadrons. The remaining men were waiting ready in the gunner positions. Waiting was quite bothersome, the anticipation in the final two minutes killing him. Reports from the Corellian Corvettes Yavin 4 and Dauntless showed that the ground forces had established a headway and were eliminating some outer turrets before they hit the main barracks. Suddenly the enemy fleet warped in - a sleek Victory-class. From the slight distance, the TIE fighters streaming out looked like little marbles. "Everyone, get to work. Mark of War and Justice gunners, focus on those Tartans." The patrol cruisers in question were attempting to shoot down his starfighters, but the beginning of a barrage forced them to power their shields more, and their shots were less steady.
Jed Lywin's anticipation was almost physical, filling the air in his A-Wing's cockpit with a tension. When the enemy fleet warped in, Jed watched as multiple squadrons flew outwards. "I count three squadrons, six to a squad. Dawn Leader, weapons are ready." The comms were silent for a moment, and Jed checked his systems.
"Alright, Dawn Squadron. Orders are in from above - we have to eliminate those TIEs. Dawn Six, Dawn Seven, you need to hit those eyeballs coming out of the port side. Dawn Four and Five, you and Renegade Three and Four take starboard - we've got a squadron of dupes, need to keep them away from the corvettes. Everyone else, follow me." Confirmation came over the comms from everyone. Jed and Lan veered off, the maneuverable A-Wings flying through the space between the capital ships alongside their X-Wing compatriots. "Renegade Three and Four, take those dupes heading for the corvettes. We'll hit the ones gathering up."
"Roger that, Dawn Four." With confirmation recieved, Jed pivoted his A-Wing, moving into a tight turn as he followed a slow TIE Bomber. It attempted to roll out of the way, but Jed matched the bomber's move, spinning in a tight movement before locking his eyes on the bomber. Pausing for what seemed a minute but was closer to a half second, his sights aligned and he clamped down on the trigger. A burst of laser bolts sprung forward, hitting the bomber with multiple hits and sending it into a fiery explosion, the A-Wing zooming through the superheated ball of gas before turning in a long motion, bringing the vehicle back to bear on the bombers, which were attempting to reach the corvettes. Speeding up, Jed aligned his sights on another bomber, he pulled the trigger, but only suffered it a blow to the wing. The bomber went into a spinout, slamming into some debris. The hit, along with the lack of shields, tore open a hole in the bomber, sending the pilot flying out. His gunner tried to hold on but was flung outward as well - a passing X-wing slammed into him, sending the gunner flying away.
Jed pulled back on his stick, sending his A-Wing into a tight flip and putting more targets into his sight-line. Suddenly, two green laser bolts flew by him, missing him only by a few inches. Cursing, Jed slowed down while simultaneously flipping himself vertical to the attacking TIE. After a short moment, Jed turned upwards, flipping around and speeding up, now behind the TIE. It tried to shake him, rolling and fluttering about, but Jed matched the eyeball in his moves, lining up his sights. He pulled the trigger, a burst of red laserfire flying forth, but the TIE pivoted away, veering off to the left. Jed flew after him, but a sudden bolt of green smashed into his port wing, sending him into a spinout as his left stabilizer wing stopped working. Cursing loudly, Jed pulled his stick to the left to stop his spinout and then slowed down momentarily, allowing his internal diagnostics systems to show the damage. The stabilizer was critically damaged, and Jed cursed himself for getting so cocky. Transferring power away from engines and weapons, he boosted his shields a fair amount and carefully began to move himself back to the Justice, dodging and weaving through the explosive battlefield as much as possible. A few times a stray bolt hit him, but his shields took it and he approached the Nebulon's hangar bay. Then he noticed the dupe. It seemed it hat made it away from its attackers and was preparing for an attack run on the connecting bridge that attached the engines to the command bridge; this was the major weakpoint on a Nebulon-B Frigate.
Cannons were firing at the bomber, but it ducked and weaved, avoiding the fire as it prepped for assault. Jed pulled out of his movement towards the hangar, tightly rolling to the right and aligning his sights on the bomber. Here we go… He fired. The bolts flew towards the bomber, hitting it squarely and exploding the thing. Pushing his stick downwards and rolling to the right. In doing this maneuver, he saw the battlefield in full view. The starfighters had taken some damage, but the air seemed clear of TIEs and the Victory was taking heavy barrages from all ships - the Tartans were gone. Jed watched as a single Y-Wing sent his payload into the command bridge, the transparisteel and shields taking a beating for a moment before the bridge exploded. Moments later, so did the rest of the Frigate. "Dawn Four to Justice. My port stabilizer wing has been damaged, and my fuel levels are low. Requesting pickup with the tractor beam."
"Roger that, Dawn Four. Prepare for pickup - once everyone's gathered, we're exiting the gravity well of this place and plotting a new course."
"Where to, bridge?"
"Fondor."
A/N Thanks for reading. Please review!