If the battle had seemed chaotic before, Admiral Carr's arrival sent things into absolute anarchy.

"Redirect fire on that Starhawk!" Asardus shouted.

"Bring the fleet around!" Vahle directed.

"All units, target that battlecruiser" Carr ordered.

Carr's Starhawks, Ortanic and Borhala, and the MC90 Wisdom opened fire on the closer of Asardus's two ships, the Reclaimer, heavy turbolaser and ion cannon shots slamming against its powerful shields. X-wings, B-wings and A-wings began pouring not just from their hangers, but from those of the Endurance-class fleet carrier Fortitude, which had two and a half times the carrying capacity of the Alderaan Spirit and was prepared to use every inch of it.

"Attack squadrons, redirect towards that carrier" Asardus ordered, fully prepared to exploit a quirk in the fleet's positioning. As Carr's fleet had exited hyperspace at the traditional terminus for Tren Roq, not the earlier drop point Vahle had used, her ships were ahead of Vahle's and almost on top of Asardus's. While this immediately turned the battle into a point-blank broadside melee, it also meant that Carr's fleet carrier, seemingly positioned safely behind her heavy ships, was actually in front of the remnants of the TIE force that had attacked Zama. The fighters immediately broke off their dogfight with the Eighth Mobile and raced towards Fortitude, split into two battered but still large packs.

"Altair, Vega, pursue and eliminate those TIEs." Vahle ordered. "Protect the carrier. Libra, make a run on the Star Destroyers. Cetus, head up and rendezvous with Libra, hit the SDs from below while they're distracted."

"Are you sure, sir?" Cetus 1 asked. "That'll cost our ground forces their air cover."

"I know" Vahle replied. "But if we don't break these ships, it's not going to matter. Get it done."

Carr's own attack force, the X-wings of Draco and the B-wings of Scorpius Squadrons, were already rushing past the Starhawks to engage the Reclaimer. A squadron of TIEs rose up to meet them, hoping to have better luck as defenders than attackers.

"It looks like we arrived just in time" Carr radioed to Vahle.

"We appreciate the assistance, Admiral" Vahle replied.

"I can do more than assist, Commander" Carr said with a gruff smile. "Draco Squadron, form up around Kappa. Kappa Squadron, break them in half."

For almost any other type of starfighter squadron, such orders would seem overly dramatic. But for the K-wing Heavy Assault Bombers of Kappa Squadron, shattering Star Destroyers was just what they were built to do.

With a flat head resembling a salamander's and two thick horizontal wings with twin moveable s-foils below them, the K-wing was never a finalist in snubfighter beauty contests. But what it lacked in aerodynamic grace or smooth silhouette it more than made up for with weapons and more weapons. In addition to the wide-arc laser turret placed beneath the cockpit to fire at foes in front, to the side or even below, the K-wing's wings were covered in all manner of projectile weapons. Eschewing the internal storage system used by most snubfighters to hold missiles and torpedoes, the K-wing possessed the highest ordinance capacity of anything short of a StarFortress Ultraheavy Bomber while retaining speed, agility and a slim target profile. The external ordinance mounts allowed Republic technicians to quickly and easily load and reload the K-wing with any conceivable combination of proton bombs, ion torpedoes, anti-fighter concussion missiles or more exotic weapons, though at the cost of safe hyperspace capability. But being tied to carrier was a small price to pay for the New Republic's foremost anti-capital-ship system. The larger burden for K-wing pilots and co-pilots was the lack of worthy targets, as in the post-Concordance galaxy hostile capital ships above a light cruiser were hard to come by.

This seemed to be Kappa Squadron's lucky day.


"Admiral, Republic K-wings are approaching Reclaimer" a bridge officer informed Asardus. The admiral frowned. As her own ship, Requiem, poured its fire into one of the Starhawks, Republic forces were continuing to focus on Reclaimer, seemingly intent on breaking it quickly rather than take on both ships at once.

"Concentrate the defensive fighters on those bombers" Asardus ordered.

"They are already engaged on multiple fronts" an ensign replied. "Republic fighter coverage is starting to overwhelm them."

Asardus briefly clenched a fist and was about to give another order when a communications officer informed her of an incoming transmission.

"Admiral Asardus, this is Major Sidna of Fel Squadron" came a gruff voice via her console. "We just got back from polishing off that fleeing Republic corvette. Looks like you're in quite a mess. How can we assist?"

Asardus resisted the urge to remark on Sidna's tone, which was dripping with enough arrogance to make the offer sound like an insult. "K-wing squadron is approaching the Reclaimer" Asardus said. "Eliminate it. Maximum priority."

"Roger that" Sidna replied. "Don't worry, ma'am. Special Forces don't fail."


The building shook slightly as another AT-AT shot impacted. Tallion ignored it.

Nova Team and a platoon of New Republic Army Troopers were spread out amongst the offices along the main hall of the Bos-Sigma-Six's administrative building. Ten feet ahead of them the hall opened up into a balcony overseeing the lobby, a staircase on either side descending into the reception area for whatever kind of dignitary would visit an outpost like this. The lobby had big glass windows to give a wide view of the landing platform and surrounding jungle, and some sort of statue took up the middle of the room.

Or, at least, it used to.

The front windows were gone. The statue was tipped over and in pieces. Random bits of debris smoldered and burned, filling much of the room with smoke.

Clearly, resisting AT-AT fire had not been on the architect's mind.

Daniels checked his chronometer. "It's been 30 seconds since the last impact" he said.

"Think they've finally stopped?" Henli asked. Tallion shrugged.

"You think they're just going to give up that easily?" asked one of the army troopers.

"No way" said Daniels. "But their troops can't assault a position if they're still bombarding it."

"That is correct" DT-3 said, her three photoreceptors slowly rotating around her head, ensuring that she could always observe her surroundings. "An imminent infantry assault is highly probable."

"Are you prepared for this, Dottie?" Daniels asked. "We're going to need lethal force."

"Of course, Lieutenant" Dottie replied. "I am programmed to obey the Republic Code of Police and Military Conduct at all times without fail. This attack is clearly an act of war as described under Section 4 Subsection D. Lethal force to repel such an act is indeed justified."

"I've got contact" Shade reported, staring at his wrist-mounted holodisplay. One of his small probe droids hovered near the ceiling of the lobby, attempting to peek through the smoke to see the landing pad. "Several repulsorlift vehicles, look like transports, two AT-STs."

"Move up" Tallion ordered. The lobby had been indefensible with the AT-ATs firing into it. But now they might have a chance.

Daniels and several other soldiers advanced, taking cover behind what remained of the balcony's guardrails, Dottie crouching to conceal her tall frame. The cover wouldn't likely stop a blaster bolt, but it gave a speck of concealment, and they had an excellent view of anything coming through the front door. Not to mention a height advantage. It would do.

For over a minute the room was silent except for the crackling of the flames down below. The soldiers checked their weapons or looked around at the comrades they might never see again. One or two muttered a quiet prayer.

"Incoming" Shade reported, still staring at his holodisplay. Back down the hall, Trooper Lon'ti hefted a plex missile launcher onto his shoulder and waited for the signal.

Tallion raised two fingers and the rest of the troops on the balcony understood, raising their thermal detonators. Tallion steadied her heavy blaster on the guardrail. The signal was not going to be difficult to understand.

For another thirty seconds there was near-silence, save for a distant mechanical sound, which was probably a walker. Then, finally, finally, they appeared.

They emerged from the smoke like wraiths, a dozen or more white-and-black soldiers covered head to toe, blasters raised as they swept for hostiles. Stormtroopers, without a doubt. Their helmets looked a bit different from the infamous ones of the old Empire, but it didn't matter. The effect was the same.

Tallion didn't want to keep them waiting. Without a word, the Trandoshan pulled her trigger and sent a burst of automatic fire into the lobby below. Half a dozen thermal detonators followed, and all hell broke loose.


"Come on! Keep on 'em, keep on 'em!"

The X-wings of Vega Squadron and the A-wings of Altair Squadron were now thoroughly mixed into a big wedge as they chased the remnants of Asardus's initial TIE force towards Carr's fleet. Every so often, a TIE or two would peel off from the pack to attack the pursuing forces, but none of them lasted very long. At this point the question was not whether or not the TIE formation would be destroyed, but if it could be done before it damaged Carr's ships.

The TIEs dashed around a few turbolaser shots from an Arquitens-class cruiser and dove for the fleet carrier Fortitude. Laser fire from the carrier itself, two Eskies guarding it and the pursuing Altair and Vega Squadrons did nothing to deter the TIEs, whose own lasers slammed against Fortitude's shields. Half of the TIEs flew up towards the bridge tower while the others charged at the blue shield covering the massive starboard hanger.

The TIEs were quick, but they were not subtle, and Fortitude's hangermaster had already activated the emergency hanger doors, driving two massive hunks of durasteel towards each other. Some TIEs scattered, but four kept up their approach, aiming for the closing gap between the doors, lasers firing wildly. A shot from Altair 3 caught one TIE in the back, but the other three were going too fast. The lead TIE shot between the doors and slammed into the hanger floor, sending debris and burning fuel flying all over the hanger. The two other TIEs collided with the doors as they sealed, an impact hard enough to shake the ship.

"These guys are insane!" Vega 2 shouted.

"Doesn't matter!" Tambralynne replied. "Keep them off the bridge!"

That was easier said than done, as all of the surviving TIEs raced up Fortitude's bridge tower, firing their lasers without concern for accuracy or overheating. Several blasts breached the local shield and slammed into the bridge's side armor plating, sending sparks and smoke drifting off into space.

These TIEs were less desperate than the ones striking the hanger and none crashed into the bridge, instead shooting past it and racing away from the ship. They might be fleeing, but Tambralynne thought it more likely that they were trying to regroup for another dive on the bridge.

"Fortitude, report!" Admiral Carr demanded.

The captain, a red Twi'lek male, stumbled slightly as he appeared on the hologram link Carr and Vahle were sharing.

"Bridge is dented but still intact" the captain reported. "Starboard hanger took a hit, is containing fires and secondary explosions. Its bulkheads were damaged after they closed; looks like they won't be able to open again without repairs."

"Understood, Captain" Carr said. "Commander Vahle, we need this fight ended quickly. Shift your ships to offense."

"Yes, Admiral" Vahle replied. "Vega Squadron, Altair 1 through 6, break off pursuit and head towards the enemy battlecruisers. The rest of you mop up those TIEs."

"Copy that, Top!" Tambralynne declared, rolling her X-wing into a new orientation, closing her S-foils and punching the throttle to a level the official New Republic Starfighter Corps Handbook listed as "discouraged."


"Dets!" a stormtrooper shouted as the lobby erupted with blaster fire.

The Republic's rain of explosive silver spheres inflicted a few casualties but, more importantly, shattered the stormtroopers' formation, sending them scattering in all directions as the wall of fire from above mowed them down.

From the smoke came a stream of large, rapid-fire blaster bolts, tearing into the wall behind the Republic troops and sending most of them to the floor as the shots barely passed overhead. Clearly one of the AT-STs was providing close fire support.

"Lon'ti!" Tallion shouted. The Selkath fired his plex missile into the smoke, trusting the telemetry from Shade's droid to guide the rocket to target. The AT-ST reacted quickly, attempting to sidestep, but the projectile still struck its side and sent it stumbling away.

Tallion and her troops were about to get up and exchange shots with the surviving stormtroopers when two thermal detonators came flying up from ground level.

"Pull back!" Tallion shouted, the squad breaking cover to flee down the hall. One army trooper took a blaster bolt to the back and fell, while another was struck in the forearm but kept moving.

Daniels slide into cover alongside a few troopers as the platoon aimed their weapons down the smoky hallway, which shook slightly as the enemy grenades exploded. The lobby was now the First Order's, but this was defense in depth. Trading space for enemy blood was acceptable.

Enemy blaster fire continued for a few seconds as the stormtroopers fired on abandoned positions, but then the building quieted again, save for the crackle of the flames. Crouched behind thick cover, Shade stared at his holodisplay, still feeding him images from the probe droid hovering quietly above the lobby. Sure enough, stormtroopers had ascended both staircases and were stacking up on either side of the hall, careful not to let the Republic soldiers see so much as a finger. A trooper on the right side of the hall raised a thermal detonator, and the rest prepared to attack.

Their preparations were in vain, however, as Trooper Lon'ti hefted his plex launcher once again and fired a rocket directly at the floor behind the stormtroopers. Heat and shrapnel slammed into the first set of soldiers, maiming them and sending the unfortunately live detonator one had been about to throw flying into the formation of troopers on the stairs behind him. The Republic forces immediately opened fire on the other corner, pinning those stormtroopers.

Daniels was firing down the hallway when a door to his left suddenly burst open. In the rush to take positions, the Eighth Mobile's forces hadn't had a chance to properly scout the area, and they would pay for it now. As blaster fire emerged from this new door, Daniels dropped on his backside, narrowly avoiding the fates of two army troopers beside as they collapsed from a barrage of chest-high shots. From his new position near the ground, Daniels poured fire into the doorway, shifting his carbine to its less accurate burst fire mode. Other soldiers across the hall joined in and the breach seemed to seal, or at least be suppressed, only for another detonator to come rolling out of the doorway. Daniels scooted forwards and kicked the sphere hard, sending it spinning away into an empty office, which exploded.

A second door on the other side of the hall also burst open, with similar consequences.

"They're flanking us!" a trooper shouted. There must have been additional ways into the building, or other ways into the interior from the lobby. The defenders had had no time to find out, but the First Order clearly had.

"Back up!" Tallion shouted, firing her heavy blaster down the hall to suppress the enemy still there. Daniels scrambled to his feet, taking a quick note of the two blasted NRATs beside him. Picking the one with less severe-looking injuries, he bent down, placed his hand under the man's elbow and wrapped an arm around his torso. Firing his carbine with one hand (though not with any accuracy), he dragged the unconscious man back into cover, where another trooper picked him up and hauled him towards the rear.

Daniels dashed across the hall to link up with Dottie, who was calmly firing from behind her large energy shield.

"This is not going well!" he shouted, firing at one of the hostile doorways.

"On the contrary, Lieutenant! For an unprepared defense against a numerically superior enemy with armor support, we are performing well above expectations! Commendations to you all!" She punctuated by firing a small rocket from her wrist into an occupied doorway.

"Aren't you always the positive one, Dottie" Daniels muttered.

"I am merely realistic, Lieutenant" the droid said, her voice unnecessarily cheery. "Proper understanding of the dangers of war is essential to maintaining battlefield morale. That said, we should retreat. Now."

Daniels didn't argue.


From his point of hyperspace egress, Major Rhys Sidna, Fel Squadron, First Order Special Forces Detachment 32, had a wonderful view of the battle. Resurgents and Starhawks pummeling each other with turbolasers, frigates formed up around their carrier, fighters chasing each other like headless torchacs. It was glorious. Finally, the First Order fleet had been unleashed against a worthy opponent. Finally, they could do what they had trained their whole lives to do.

Finally, Rhys Sidna could have some fun.

"Got those K-wings on scopes" reported Fel 3. "Ready to strike, Fel Leader."

"Understood" said Sidna. "Let's scrap some banthas."

With wings split into points like two large forks, Sidna's TIE/ba Space Superiority Interceptor dove into the battle, confident in its speed, firepower and shielding. Unlike many of its model, the ship was dark black, with the only splash of color a white crescent moon painted across the cockpit. An identical image cut across the front of Sidna's helmet, a mark of individuality that signified his status in the First Order more than any rank badge could. The rest of Fel Squadron took formation around their leader, their four TIE/sf special forces variant fighters less distinctive but only slightly less deadly.

The squadron could be stealthy when they wanted to, but this was not the time. One of the Draco Squadron X-wings escorting Kappa noticed them immediately and turned to face them, an A-wing following suit.

The X-wing fired at Sidna, but his fighter tilted to the side and unleashed its four powerful laser cannons. The near-simultaneous impacts overwhelmed the X-wing's shields and the fighter shattered.

"Heavy enemy contact!" the A-wing pilot radioed, rushing through Fel Squadron's formation without scoring a solid hit. "Looks like fighter elites!"

"Copy that" said the pilot of the nearby Eskie E-37, another part of Kappa Squadron's escort. "Engaging."

The A-wing turned and took up position behind Fel Squadron, which had not attempted the evasive maneuvers that were standard when an enemy was at one's back. Sidna didn't need to. He didn't even give an order as the rear-facing turret gunners of Fel 3 and 5 opened fire on the surprised A-wing.

"Damn! They've got rear-" the A-wing pilot started but never finished.

E-37 rose to meet the interlopers, turrets firing streams of deadly lasers. This did require Fel Squadron to scatter into evasive maneuvers, but that barely slowed Sidna's ability to aim and fire two concussion missiles. E-37 broke off to evade them, turrets on all sides continuing to fire, but the shift briefly threw off the gunners' aim. Fel Squadron used that wiggle room to close in. The underbelly turrets of the special forces TIEs swiveled forwards and pelted E-37 with laser fire from several directions. Sidna's initial missiles detonated harmlessly behind the gunboat, but Fel 4 was in a perfect position to put two more into its side, easily breaching the damaged shields. The Eskie imploded.

"Excellent" Sidna radioed, allowing a rare moment of praise. The Republic pilots were in keeping with the thousands of simulations Fel Squadron had trained against. If these frontline pilots fell this easily, then nothing the Republic had could touch them.

"Fel 2, Fel 3, Fel 5, target the bombers" ordered Sidna. "Fel 4 and I will scatter any remaining fighter cover."

"Roger that, Fel Leader" replied Fel 2, lining up the first of the K-wings as the squadron barreled down on them from above.

Fel 4 was counting the distant enemy A-wings on his scanner when a new contact suddenly appeared.

"Incoming bogey, starboard!" he shouted. "Large missile!"

"That's no missile!" Fel 3 shouted, making visual contact. "That's an X-wing!"

"Impossible!" Fel 4 replied. "They don't go that fast!"

Sidna saw it on his scanners too. Snubfighter-sized, extremely fast and headed directly for his formation.

"Scatter!" he ordered. The Fels would need to break off their attack on the bombers, but the alternative was their mysterious sensor signature slamming straight into the squadron's side.

Tambralynne Kusarni gritted her teeth as she withstood far more inertial force than her ship's compensators were meant to handle.

"That's the stuff, BR-17!" she said. "Engine overheat light, eat your heart out!"

Through her expertise in "engine coaxing", Tambralynne had reached the area far ahead of the rest of Vega and Altair Squadrons. That left her two problems: she was going so fast she could barely control her craft and she was alone against an entire enemy squadron.

So, no problems at all.

Tambralynne rocketed through the middle of Fel Squadron, the TIEs breaking formation rather than risk impact with her. That bought Kappa Squadron some time, but it also left her with enough momentum to take her straight out of the engagement area. At this speed, turning around could take a minute or more.

Never a patient sort, Tambralynne cut her engine, threw her stick forward and flipped her X-wing over its nose. Stabilizing with thrusters, she was now speeding away from the battle like before but upside-down and backwards. Most pilots would find that disorienting, but Tambralynne instead focused on reactivating and maxing out her rear engine. As she was currently flying backwards, the blast from the overclocked engine quickly countered her earlier momentum and sent the X-wing roaring back into the battle. The ship's highly advanced inertial compensators groaned as they struggled to absorb the strain of such a rapid acceleration, and Tambralynne was pushed far back into her seat.

After a few seconds of this, Tambralynne's head snapped forward as the compensators got things under control. She glanced at the chronometer on her wrist. Three seconds of blackout. Pretty good for a Barsalla maneuver, which had a well-earned reputation of knocking pilots out cold, killing them outright or ripping their airframe apart. Fortunately, Tambralynne Kusarni and the T-85 X-wing were both the best in the galaxy, and now right on Fel Squadron's tail.

"What on Dathomir was that?" Fel 3 shouted.

"Don't care, bring it down!" Sidna shouted. The squadron's rear turrets opened fire, but Kusarni, S-foils still closed, was far too evasive. She fired a few shots, more to test her foes' reflexes than score a solid hit.

Sidna growled as Fel Squadron, composed of some of the First Order's most elite pilots, was slowly pushed away from their K-wing targets by a single X-wing.

"Keep the fire on him" he said. "I'm flipping up."

"Roger."

Sidna pulled back on his stick and his TIE shot upwards, arcing back around to face his pursuer. Sidna's lasers flared as his sensors prepared a concussion missile lock and the rest of Fel Squadron used their rear turrets to suppress the X-wing. The plan was simple: overwhelm the foe with excess stimuli. No pilot could dodge all of this.

Tambralynne Kusarni was not fazed, and jerked her ship to the left while snapping open her S-foils. Sidna fired his missiles, only to discover that they had failed to score a lock and flew harmlessly past their target. As Sidna and Tambralynne's ships came close to colliding, the Zeltron put a laser blast into Sidna's wing. He rolled and dodged her second shot, but warning lights flickered and the ship shuddered as its shields barely withstood the blow.

This pilot was proving to be a real challenge after all.


Daniels and Dottie scrambled out of the base's administrative section under a hail of blaster fire.

"That's it! We're clear!" shouted an army lieutenant. "Light 'em up!"

The two Republic T2-B tanks did not hesitate, unloading their rapid-fire blaster turrets into the doorway the retreating defenders had stumbled out of. Several stormtroopers were cut down, while the rest retreated into better cover, temporarily suppressed.

"What's the plan?" Daniels asked, approaching Tallion and several army officers.

"Top, we can't hold the base without heavy casualties" Tallion radioed. "Original garrison has been evacuated. Do we stay or go?"

Back in orbit, Commander Vahle continued to stare at the hologram depicting the space battle.

"Understood, Nova. The base is not mission-critical. Let them have it and we'll drive them out once we have space and air superiority."

"Copy, Top" Tallion said, nevertheless scowling. Running away now was just going to embolden the enemy. But that was no reason to sacrifice a platoon or more of good soldiers.

"I need a demolition team setting charges on those pillars" she ordered, pointing to several columns that held up the face of the building. "Pack up the tanks and get everyone on the Raider and in the air. Nova Team, form up on me. Let's go!"

"I thought we were retreating" Shade asked as the VJs gathered around their leader.

"We are" said Tallion. "But that doesn't mean we run with our tails between our legs. Counterstrike into the building, knock the enemy off-balance and pull out before they can respond. Buys the airlift some time and makes sure these fools remember tangling with the Eighth Mobile Fleet. Understood?"

The Galactic Marines nodded as one.

"Keriala sur, Nova" the colonel said, a toothy smile finally appearing on her face. "Let's slag some cloacae."


In the upper reaches of Tren Roq's atmosphere, Cetus and Libra Squadrons rendezvoused and fused their formations.

"Quite a mess up here" said Cetus 1.

"You have no idea" Libra 1 replied. "Now, can we blow something up?"

With Cetus's X-wings now forming an arrowhead around a core of Libra Squadron B-wings, the combined squadrons stabbed upwards in mixed formation at the soft underbelly of Asardus's undamaged flagship Requiem.

"Sir, additional Republic fighters coming from the planet" one of Requiem's bridge crew reported. "Appears to be an escorted bomber group."

Admiral Asardus rubbed her brow. Between the attack wing that had been chased off of the Fortitude, the TIEs defending the battered Reclaimer and Fel Squadron's wild goose chase, her squadrons were spread thin and weakening.

"The bomber group is approaching Requiem from below."

Asardus sighed. "Best case scenario. Angle the ship to maximize anti-fighter coverage. Hold fire until they get close. Draw them in, and then erase them."

"Yes, admiral."


"I could use some help here!" Fel 3 called out. The TIE/sfs of Fel Squadron had scattered once again as Tambralynne bore down on them, and Fel 3 was the unlucky one to have kept her attention.

"I'm on it!" Sidna shouted, frustration clear in his voice as he swooped back into the battle, Fels 4 and 5 forming up on his wings. They were behind their foe now, which in theory made this a piece of cake. But theory had been taking a beating in the last few minutes.

"2, 3, take the bombers" Sidna ordered, careful not to lose sight of the mission. "4 and 5, box 'em in and let's scrap that ace!"

Fel 4 and Fel 5 banked right and began to sandwich Tambralynne between their fields of fire. Sidna angled his Interceptor to line up behind her. Unable to dodge left or right without exposing herself to his wingmen's fire, the target would have little defense against Sidna's final blow.

Textbook.

That was his mistake. Tambralynne Kusarni had spent her life reading and breaking every flight textbook in the galaxy.

Tambralynne rolled, closed her S-foils and dove towards the Star Destroyer. Sidna, 4 and 5 followed but the angle of the turn opened up a gap in their fields of fire. Tambralynne banked left, slamming herself into the side of her cockpit as her X-wing's reduced profile slid between the laser blasts. With a grunt of frustration, Sidna followed, his greater turn radius giving Tambralynne critical distance.

"Incoming!" shouted Fel 3's gunner, firing at her. Tambralynne swerved, switching her S-foils to attack position and unloading at the two TIEs approaching the bombers. Fel 2 and 3 banked away, a laser bolt striking 3's wing and nearly breaching its shields.

Now unmolested, the K-wings unleashed a barrage of missiles against the side of the Reclaimer. With the ship's shields crumbling from Starhawk fire, the projectiles penetrated easily, tearing a large chunk of battlecruiser's midsection. Not a lethal blow, but a second run in the same spot would likely inflict a fatal core breach.

"Good hit, Kappa!" Tambralynne radioed.

"Thanks for the cover, Vega 1" Kappa 7 replied.

"Fel 3, status?" demanded Sidna.

"Wing's singed, but I'm good to fly" 3 replied.

"Roger" said Sidna. "Let's finish this nerfherder."

That was going to prove easier said than done, not the least of which because the rest of Vega Squadron and half of Altair had finally arrived on Fel Squadron's flank.

"Hey, guys! You made it!" Tambralynne radioed.

"I'm surprised you left us a piece of the action" Vega 5 replied.

"Blast" Sidna muttered. "Fel Squadron, we're being flanked. Reposition."

"What about the ace?"

"I'll handle it" Sidna growled. "Shred those reinforcements."

"Understood" said Fel 2, banking towards Vega Squadron.

But then the battlefield went dark, and everything changed.


Inside the remains of Base Bos-Sigma-Six, the stormtroopers of the First Order's 43rd Legion checked their weapons and their wounded. The fighting had destroyed most of the building's lighting, leaving it dark save for fragments of daylight from shattered windows and the eerie glow of scattered flames. A few rooms ahead, the thumping of blaster fire from the Republic T2-Bs seemed almost soothing.

From the shattered lobby, a new platoon of reinforcements arrived.

"Good to see you, 547" said a sergeant from the original attacking force.

"What happened here?" asked Captain EI-3547, a red pauldron proudly on his shoulder. "Why has the advance stopped?"

"Resistance was heavier than we expected" said the sergeant. "Needed a minute to regroup and prepare to breach their lines."

"Your minute is up" said the captain. "Move in."

"You heard him!" the sergeant shouted, doing her best to keep her bruised lung from affecting her voice. "Troopers! Move up!"

"Ooh-rah!" the stormtroopers cheered, standing up and moving towards the courtyard, thermal detonators and plex missiles prepared to counter the T2-Bs.

EI-3547 smiled under his helmet. His troops' enthusiasm for war made him proud. How could the Republic, how could anyone stand up against such-

A cylindrical object flew into the room from a side door. 3547 tried to shout, but before he could, the flash grenade exploded in a burst of light, sound, and radio waves designed to scramble helmets and comm systems.

The room erupted into blaster fire as a series of figures burst into the room, slamming into the platoon's flank and firing into the backs of the stormtroopers advancing on the courtyard.

Something exploded. 3547 fired his blaster, despite being almost blind. A yellow shape rushed towards him. With a shout of "Captain!" the sergeant tried to place herself between the attackers and 3547, only to take a blaster bolt and fall. 3547 fired at the yellow shape, but it did no damage as the thing slammed into him.

3547 tumbled to the ground, his blaster slipping out of his hand. He tried to draw his sidearm, but something clamped onto his arm. The fallen captain looked up at a tall, black, skeletal figure with glowing red eyes. Then Dottie hit him with a stun bolt, followed by a second one to be certain.

"Dottie, what are you doing?" Tallion growled, firing her heavy blaster into the crowd of stormtroopers. Daniels slid beside the downed captain and slipped his hands into binders.

"Executing a lawful arrest, Colonel."

"This is a war, DT-3!" the Trandoshan shouted.

"I am aware, Colonel. I am capturing this enemy officer for interrogation."

Tallion glared at Daniels, suspecting that he was behind this.

"If we don't know our enemy, we should learn about them, right?" he said.

"Just get him out of here" Tallion said. "Nova! Back it up!"

Daniels threw EI-3547 onto his shoulder and ran back through the door Nova Team had used, the rest of the team firing wildly. With their element of surprise wearing off, it was vital that they keep the enemy from organizing and surrounding them.

Two stormtroopers in heavy white armor appeared from the lobby area. Each one held large, distinctive weapons.

"Flametroopers!" Noarh shouted.

The stormtroopers raised their weapons and the remaining VJs bolted through the door. Fire erupted from the troopers' weapons, filling the door and the room beyond it.

"Holy nerfs!" Henli shouted as the Galactic Marines stumbled back out into the courtyard, a few mildly singed but none substantially wounded.

"On the shuttle, now!" Tallion ordered. The Vrogas Vas had already lifted off, the T2-Bs were reattached to their U-wing carriers, and a single Omicron-class shuttle awaited the team in the courtyard as hovering U-wings and Eskies fired into the building.

As usual, Tallion was last on the shuttle, putting a last few blaster bolts into the doorway to discourage pursuit.

Above them, an AT-ST appeared, having somehow climbed onto the building's roof. It unleashed a barrage of fire on the rising shuttle, damaging its shields but not its hull. With a rumble, the detonators on the building exploded, collapsing that side of the structure, knocking the AT-ST down and probably burying some of the First Order attack force still inside. It certainly was going to keep them out of the courtyard for the next few minutes.

Daniels strapped himself into a seat as the shuttle pointed almost straight up, securing the unconscious, bound stormtrooper captain, and searching him to ensure that he had no hidden weapons or other tricks.

"Let's hope this guy can explain what these lunatics are up to" Henli said.

Shade was about to respond when he noticed a shadow come over the shuttle's window. The specialist looked outside.

"Uh… guys? What the hell is that?"


Far above the battle, space bent and distorted as a massive shape popped into existence, instantly casting a shadow upon both fleets. It loomed over Tren Roq like a massive bird of prey, wings 60 kilometers from tip to tip. What had previously seemed an epic battle now appeared to be the insignificant squabbling of children next to the new arrival's bulk.

On the bridge of Requiem, a hologram appeared, unprompted and unannounced, showing a scarred, bald man reclining in a chair.

"Admiral Asardus" he said, his voice deep and raspy. "I hear you are having some… difficulties pressing forward."

"Not at all, Supreme Leader" replied Asardus without skipping a beat. "We were in the process of polishing off these Republic stragglers when you arrived."

Supreme Leader Snoke chuckled, a sound that was not pleasant on the ears. "Your confidence is to be commended, Admiral, though I am not yet certain of your competence. I must leave immediately to inspect Project Sinkhole. Until I return, the Supremacy is at your disposal."

His hologram form leaned closer, his brow nearly touching Asardus's.

"Impress me."


"Carr…" Vahle said, his voice uncharacteristically fearful.

"I see it, Commander" Admiral Carr replied. "Fighters, form up around the fleet!"

"We can't take that thing, Admiral" Vahle said. "Not with what we have."

"I understand that, Commander" Carr snapped. "We're retreating. But we've got to hold out until our hyperspace-incapable craft are back on board. Not to mention your ground forces."

A barrage of massive turbolaser blasts began to arc down from the dreadnought above, suggesting that that would be easier said than done.


Libra Squadron had been on a solid approach to attack Requiem when the dreadnought arrived.

"Top, this is Libra" Libra 1 reported. "We're in position to attack the battlecruiser. Do we commit or pull out?"

"This battle's done, Libra" Vahle said, studying his holographic display for a way to extract his fleet from the situation. "Get to a safe distance and hyperspace to rendezvous coordinates. Cetus, meet up with the shuttles coming from the surface, make sure they get home safe."

"Understood, Top."

The squadrons had just broken off their approach when the bottom of Requiem lit up with the flashes of a dozen anti-fighter concussion missiles launching.

"Woah" said Libra 3 as the squadron raced away, outpacing the missiles. "That's a lot of AA."

"Yeah" Cetus 2 replied. "I'd hate to be someone doing a bombing run on that."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence" Libra 1 muttered as he confirmed Admiral Carr's encoded transmission of hyperspace coordinates. Somehow, he got the feeling his squadron was going to have to learn how to do exactly that.


Nova Team had only been in the air a minute when their shuttle shook. Daniels tore his eyes away from the massive dreadnought visible in orbit and stared towards the planet's surface. A shower of laser fire was pouring up from the ground from AT-ATs and AT-AAs on the base's tarmac.

It was merely another minute before the convoy had gained enough altitude to escape the ground fire, but the threat was not entirely gone.

"Top, we have a problem" reported the captain of the Raider corvette Vrogas Vas. One of the ship's engines was venting smoke from an AT-AT shot.

"We have a lot of problems" Vahle snapped. "Do you need support?"

The corvette shuddered and tilted, the helmsman struggling to correct its course.

"I don't know if we're going to make orbit" the Raider captain replied.


"Vega Squadron, get those K-wings back to the carrier and then get out of here" Tambralynne ordered. "I'll cover the retreat."

"Understood, Vega 1" Vega 2 replied. "Give 'em hell."

"Don't let them escape!" Major Sidna ordered. "Tear these cowards apar-"

Tambralynne's X-wing flew into the middle of Fel Squadron, firing wildly.

"Son of a…" Sidna growled. "I'll take that ace, slag the rest!"

"Easier said than done, Lead!" Fel 2 shouted.

Tambralynne grinned to herself. Time for a good ol' knife fight.

BR-17 let out a worried beep.

"What do you mean the engine is actually overheating?" Tambralynne asked. The X-wing shuddered as its main booster shut down.

"For the love of…" Tambralynne muttered as Fel Squadron swooped past her, her sudden drop in speed throwing off their attempt to attack. "Vent all available coolant and redirect life support power to the system reboot." The Zeltron began pushing buttons around her cockpit, raising the S-foils to their widest setting and activating the rear maneuvering thrusters to give her the slightest boost forward, though it was far weaker than even a low power setting on the regular booster. This did little to halt BR-17's stream of angry beeps.

"I know, I know" said Tambralynne, sounding like a teenager being scolded by her mother. "I'm gonna drop us like a rock now, okay?"

Just as the droid made a loud beep that could not be interpreted as anything but a strong "No!", Tambralynne pushed another button and the X-wing tipped towards Tren Roq, firmly in the planet's gravitational pull. A shower of laser fire and two more concussion missiles overshot her as Fel Squadron's attack run was foiled again.

"This pilot's either a genius or a maniac!" Fel 5 reported.

"I don't care which it is as long as they're a dead one!' Sidna replied.


Despite the rain of heavy turbolasers bearing down on it from the Supremacy, the Republic fleet was mostly retreating in good order. Anything with a hyperdrive was exiting under its own power, so the fact that the carrier Fortitude had half of its hanger sealed was not a huge deal. Kappa Squadron, the most in need of carrier support, landed without incident.

There were two ships in a lot of trouble, though. The first was the Starhawk Borhala, which, as the ship at the front of the formation, had received beatings from both Reclaimer and Requiem in addition to the brunt of Supremacy's fire. The Starhawk's legendary shields and thin profile had allowed it to weather the assault better than most ships, but flames were billowing from several different places.

The other problem was the Raider-class corvette Vrogas Vas, fleeing the surface of Tren Roq, which found its entire left engine block not only venting smoke but entirely non-functional.

"Borhala, what is your status?" Admiral Carr demanded.

"We're definitely beat up, but we'll make it" the ship's captain reported. "Get everything else out."

"Vrogas Vas, can you make orbit or not?" Vahle asked.

"Not looking like it, Commander" the corvette captain replied.

"Land on the planet, take what supplies you can and hide in the jungle" Carr ordered. "We'll return with reinforcements to recover you as soon as possible."

"Negative" said Vahle. "I've got a Marauder moving in for pick up. Insight, cover them."

The Eighth Mobile's sole functioning Marauder corvette emerged from the maw of the Alderaan Spirit, its crew simultaneously happy to have something to do and deeply regretting their life choices.

Vrogas Vas shuddered as Tren Roq's gravity took hold of it, slowly pulling it from its original vertical course into a level flight that would no doubt end in a dive back to the surface. The other shuttles and U-wings of the convoy had separated to avoid its erratic flight patterns and were making their own escape, leaving Vrogas Vas alone save for a few X-wings from Cetus Squadron and the Eskie E-41.

"TIEs, inbound" Cetus 9 reported.

Of course they were.


Tambralynne steered her X-wing into the pillar of smoke floating off of the hole Kappa Squadron had left in the Reclaimer. Fel Squadron followed, blindly firing at her.

"Fel Squadron, what are you doing?" Admiral Asardus demanded. "You're firing on our own ship!"

"Taking out an X-wing, ma'am" Sidna grunted, trying to get a missile lock.

"An X-wing?" Asardus shouted. "The Republic bombers are escaping, and your entire squadron is chasing a single X-wing!?"

"This is harder than it looks" Sidna replied as Tambralynne's engine restarted and she rocketed out of the smoke cloud before closing her S-foils, swinging around and diving into a large gap that separated the upper and lower sections of the Star Destroyer's prow.

The Fels tried to pursue, but all but Sidna waved off upon seeing the tight confines they would have to fly through.

"Persistent, isn't he?" Tambralynne said to BR-17 as she danced around metal girders, firing her laser cannons at random and even putting a pair of unguided proton torpedoes into an important-looking bit of superstructure. She slid out into open space as part of the prow collapsed, forcing Sidna to veer away and find another way out.

Tambralynne guessed that the rest of Vega Squadron was far enough away and began a dash away from the battle to reach a safe hyperspace point, away from the planet's gravity and the First Order.

The Order wasn't quite done with her yet, though. Fel 4 had not attempted to pursue her through the Star Destroyer but instead remained above it, putting him in perfect position to strike from behind.

"Rear shields to max, -17" Tambralynne said as she noticed her tail. "Deactivate the propulsion on torpedo 4 and set it to proximity detonation."

The droid beeped in what sounded more like exasperation than anything else.

"Target remaining on a straight course" Fel 4 reported. "Gunner, lock on all available weapons."

Fel 4 was now directly behind the X-wing, which had given up evasive maneuvers in favor of the fastest route out of the battle. That was looking to be a mistake. Fel 4 fired two laser blasts, one of which bounced off Tambralynne's rear shields. Those were just rangefinding rounds though, and his TIE's targeting computer quickly calculated in the results and centered the X-wing's engine block in its sights. The turret's computer reported similar results, and the mag-pulse missiles had a lock as well.

Tambralynne looked behind her, did some quick math in her head, and fired a proton torpedo.

"I have you now" both pilots said at the exact same time.

Fel 4 fired as Tambralynne yanked her stick back, cut power to the engines and opened her S-foils. The result of these maneuvers was the X-wing hurtling backwards relative to the TIE, one of the laser bolts skimming its rear shield and singeing the metal.

Tambralynne's X-wing wobbled uncontrollably, forcing Fel 4 to steer out of the way to avoid a collision. The TIE zoomed past her.

"Gunner!" Fel 4 shouted. His gunner whirled the TIE's turret around to blast the now-vulnerable X-wing.

And then Fel 4 slammed into Tambralynne's fired, unguided, propulsionless proton torpedo.

Such torpedoes were built to penetrate armored, shielded capital ships using a shaped explosion to tear straight through even powerful defenses.

Needless to say, the TIE/sf's shields were woefully inadequate. The explosion was impressive, though.

"Alright, let's skedaddle!" Tambralynne said, regaining control of her fighter and preparing to jump to hyperspace.

"Fel 4 is down" Fel 2 reported as Tambralynne disappeared into the void between the stars. "No sign of ejection. Enemy ace has fled."

Rhys Sidna punched his windscreen before sighing and turning towards the rest of the battle.

"Let's see what Republic scraps are left."


"This is going a lot better than I was expecting!" shouted E-41's dorsal gunner.

"Easy for you to say," replied the port gunner. "They all like my side!"

No one was entirely sure where the TIEs had come from (probably remnants of Asardus's original assault force), but they had definitely noticed the crippled Vrogas Vas, and smelled blood in the water.

"Come on, you!" Cetus 5 shouted, running off another TIE, only for it to turn around and try again. There couldn't have been more than five TIEs left in this area, but they were a dangerous combination of cautious and persistent.

Vrogas Vas shook again as a portion of its electrical system failed.

"We are definitely going down now" the Raider's captain reported.

"Marauder in position!" a friendly voice shouted. The Marauder corvette appeared over the stricken ship, carefully adjusting its speed. "Tractor beam initiated."

In theory, this maneuver was simple – get to the Vrogas Vas, snag it with a tractor beam, drag it back to Alderaan Spirit. But few simple things were easy when under fire.

"Supremacy, the Republic's rear echelon is escaping" Admiral Asardus said. "Place a few shots in that area, would you?"

There was an acknowledgement, and several new massive turbolaser blasts began arcing towards the rear of the Republic formation.

"Move Requiem up" Asardus ordered her helmsman. "It is time to end this."

"Incoming!" shouted Cetus 4.

The shots, as large as they were, were not likely to hit any of the X-wings, or even the Raider-Marauder duo. But the Alderaan Spirit, itself approaching the Raider, was another matter.

"Carr, we need coverage on our carrier" Vahle said, as Carr's own carrier, Fortitude, limped into hyperspace.

"Understood. Wisdom, shield them as best you can."

The large MC90 cruiser tilted and shifted, placing itself between the First Order and the Eighth Mobile. One of the Supremacy's massive cannon shots struck it, then another. A barrage of conventional fire from Requiem followed.

"Come on… come on…" muttered the pilot of the Marauder corvette as it slowly dragged Vrogas Vas into the mostly-empty hanger of the Alderaan Spirit, which was already turning to prepare for hyperspace.

At the last second, a solitary TIE came out of nowhere, bracketing the back of the Marauder with laser fire. An electrical surge rippled through the corvette, overloading its tractor beam and dropping the Vrogas Vas. The Raider corvette slammed into the hanger floor and rolled in a way that starships were definitely not supposed to roll before coming to a stop. The Marauder cut power and half-landed, half crashed into the hanger as well.

"Ship's onboard, let's go!" shouted Chief Dorath.

Neither Vahle nor Carr felt like arguing. As another rain of heavy turbolasers came crashing down, the remaining Republic ships stretched and shot into hyperspace. In just a few seconds, the orbit of Tren Roq was quiet save for tumbling debris and burning fuel.


"The Republic forces have escaped" a lieutenant reported.

"I noticed" Asardus said, her voice icy.

"Supremacy reports that they still have it on scanners" said someone else. "Hyperspace tracking is functioning properly."

"Very well," said the Admiral. "Recover our fighters, ensure Reclaimer's damage is under control and prepare to move out in pursuit."

The admiral starred into the void of stars. Commander Vahle had proven himself quite clever. But cleverness would not be enough against the First Order's technological might.

"After all," she said to herself, "this war has only just begun."