"Navigational officer, report." Cayel requested for the fifth time in the past fifteen minutes.
"Ten minutes until we revert to realspace sir." the officer patiently replied.
"Alright, carry on." Cayel said as he leaned onto the edge of the viewpoint vindow.
"Nervous captain?" the ever-insightful Thrawn murmored.
"A bit." Cayel admitted.
"Would you like to talk about it?"
"Well sir... when I was little, I used to read holo-comics alot, back then I wanted to be like the heroes in the holo's, with their great starships, I wanted to be like those heroes, captains, to have tactical wit they had. Back then I knew what I was going to be. Now Im not afraid of losing this battle sir... Im afraid of missing." Cayel blurted.
"Everyone goes through such times captain. It doesnt need to worry you, it is a normal proccess, I belive you humans call it... maturing." Thrawn smiled.
"Strange sir... the entire Fleet was whispering how cold and anti-social you were back then, I mean your clone, yet we were all ready to follow him until the end of the world."
"And do you see a lack of such qualities in me, the original, captain?"
"Well, right now the Fleet isnt exactly fearing about you admiral." Cayel returned Thrawn's smile.
"Oh really?"
"They are whispering of hope. The hope you brought to us, a hope for a better tommorow, where our children and families might live. A hope in the order of the Empire."
"Then I shall do my best to return that order to the galaxy, captain." Thrawn said as he shook Cayel's hand, and they both returned to their stations as the Nav officer began to call out.
"Reverting to realspace in 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, reverting to realspace." he finished, Thrawn and Cayel moved to the front viewpoints.
"Captain, is my admiral ship ready?" Thrawn asked according to the Imperial Protocol.
"The 'Inquisitor' is fully under your command admiral." Cayel supplied the proper answer.
"Then lets follow the schedule shall we captain?" Thrawn said as he seated himself in the command chair, eying the tactical display.
"Alright, shields up, all starfighter pilots to their stations. Sensor officer, give me a wide scan of the area." Cayel boomed, all professional and cold again.
"four cruiser analogs, one warship analog, a skip carrier and twenty frigates, skip count is over four hundred coralskippers."
"Very well, deploy our forces according to the schedule - no Yuuzhan Vong warship will leave Talfaglio." Thrawn boomed grimly, his voice reeking of convincion managed to draw out a few cheers.
Outside, the great armada began to spread out into a cone along the exit route, its center being the 'Inquisitor', flagship of the fleet, with another nine Star Destroyers holding the cone, the Star Destroyers began to deploy their Starfighter squadrons. Each carrying a wing of TIE starfighters, six squadrons to be more exact. The Jedi attack was already in full swing, so far the Jedi had lost noone, but that could change, with just one plasma bolt in the wrong direction.
Behind the cone the carrier 'Shadowfox' exited hyperspace and began launching its cargo, five wings of TIE starfighters. With fifteen wings of TIE's screaming through space torward the enemy fleet, with ten Imperial Star Destroyers following in their wake spitting hot light, hailing destruction and obliteration in their wake, the battle of Talfaglio had begun.
* * *
"All squadrons, this is Control. We got ten Star Destroyers exiting hyperspace along the escape corridor, plus another unidentified warship who just deployed five wings of starfighters." Corran's voice grimly came through the comlink, and Luke could feel Mara's worry begin to grow.
"Neg that Control, those Star Destroyers are friendlies, repeat, the Star Destroyers are friendlies." Luke said into his comlink.
"Jedi Strike Force this is Major Kowes of the Imperial TIE corps, permission to join the fight." Kowes's dark voice came over the comlink.
"Shure thing major, welcome aboard." Luke hastly said over the comlink as the first wave of TIE's hit them - mostly interceptors, but they seemed to fight as one, as one person, striking out and lashing at the Coralskippers. Either Thrawn made use of that Yammosk, or... Luke paled as the realization hit him. So thats why he said losses were irrelevent. Clones. Thrawn had a set of Spaarti cloning cylinders - again.
"Are you thinking what Im thinking Luke?" Mara cautiously asked, not many things could shock Mara - but another round of the Clone Wars would shock anyone. But this was not the time for falling into shock, that was confirmed as the warship analog detonated after its hull being drilled by blue beams of horrid energy, overwhelming the dovin basals, overwhelming the rikyam, and ultimately overwhelming the ship's capacity to withstand firepower of such magnitude. Luke was immediately hit with the suprise that the Jedi felt, as the armada moved in to cover the refugee transports, or better to say steamroll through Yuuzhan Vong lines. Another cruiser analog detonated in the distance, space was littered with a web of detonation from starfighters, coated in a net of plasma and laser bolts, both green and blue spears of death.
Suddenly, something strange happened. A deep voice, same one which spoke to Luke before, began to sing - quietly at first, but was soon joined by hundreds of voices, forming a simphony not heard since the days of the Empire, the Imperial March. As he jinked a coralskipper's deadly attention, Luke felt the detonation behind him as a trio of TIE's screamed past him in tight formation, blazing with all lasers, jinking and out-turning the coralskippers, and then he finally realized why the TIE Interceptor was hailed as the deadliest starfighter - sharp as a blade, and fragile as a blade, in the hands of a capable pilot it was a deadly starfighter, giving its pilot superior speed, provided he survived the head-on, which usually meant that he would out-turn his opponent.
Luke gazed beyond the Star Destroyer cone, and saw the refugee ships for a brief moment before they jumped into hyperspace, torward safety. The Force was with them today.
"Ten minutes until we revert to realspace sir." the officer patiently replied.
"Alright, carry on." Cayel said as he leaned onto the edge of the viewpoint vindow.
"Nervous captain?" the ever-insightful Thrawn murmored.
"A bit." Cayel admitted.
"Would you like to talk about it?"
"Well sir... when I was little, I used to read holo-comics alot, back then I wanted to be like the heroes in the holo's, with their great starships, I wanted to be like those heroes, captains, to have tactical wit they had. Back then I knew what I was going to be. Now Im not afraid of losing this battle sir... Im afraid of missing." Cayel blurted.
"Everyone goes through such times captain. It doesnt need to worry you, it is a normal proccess, I belive you humans call it... maturing." Thrawn smiled.
"Strange sir... the entire Fleet was whispering how cold and anti-social you were back then, I mean your clone, yet we were all ready to follow him until the end of the world."
"And do you see a lack of such qualities in me, the original, captain?"
"Well, right now the Fleet isnt exactly fearing about you admiral." Cayel returned Thrawn's smile.
"Oh really?"
"They are whispering of hope. The hope you brought to us, a hope for a better tommorow, where our children and families might live. A hope in the order of the Empire."
"Then I shall do my best to return that order to the galaxy, captain." Thrawn said as he shook Cayel's hand, and they both returned to their stations as the Nav officer began to call out.
"Reverting to realspace in 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, reverting to realspace." he finished, Thrawn and Cayel moved to the front viewpoints.
"Captain, is my admiral ship ready?" Thrawn asked according to the Imperial Protocol.
"The 'Inquisitor' is fully under your command admiral." Cayel supplied the proper answer.
"Then lets follow the schedule shall we captain?" Thrawn said as he seated himself in the command chair, eying the tactical display.
"Alright, shields up, all starfighter pilots to their stations. Sensor officer, give me a wide scan of the area." Cayel boomed, all professional and cold again.
"four cruiser analogs, one warship analog, a skip carrier and twenty frigates, skip count is over four hundred coralskippers."
"Very well, deploy our forces according to the schedule - no Yuuzhan Vong warship will leave Talfaglio." Thrawn boomed grimly, his voice reeking of convincion managed to draw out a few cheers.
Outside, the great armada began to spread out into a cone along the exit route, its center being the 'Inquisitor', flagship of the fleet, with another nine Star Destroyers holding the cone, the Star Destroyers began to deploy their Starfighter squadrons. Each carrying a wing of TIE starfighters, six squadrons to be more exact. The Jedi attack was already in full swing, so far the Jedi had lost noone, but that could change, with just one plasma bolt in the wrong direction.
Behind the cone the carrier 'Shadowfox' exited hyperspace and began launching its cargo, five wings of TIE starfighters. With fifteen wings of TIE's screaming through space torward the enemy fleet, with ten Imperial Star Destroyers following in their wake spitting hot light, hailing destruction and obliteration in their wake, the battle of Talfaglio had begun.
* * *
"All squadrons, this is Control. We got ten Star Destroyers exiting hyperspace along the escape corridor, plus another unidentified warship who just deployed five wings of starfighters." Corran's voice grimly came through the comlink, and Luke could feel Mara's worry begin to grow.
"Neg that Control, those Star Destroyers are friendlies, repeat, the Star Destroyers are friendlies." Luke said into his comlink.
"Jedi Strike Force this is Major Kowes of the Imperial TIE corps, permission to join the fight." Kowes's dark voice came over the comlink.
"Shure thing major, welcome aboard." Luke hastly said over the comlink as the first wave of TIE's hit them - mostly interceptors, but they seemed to fight as one, as one person, striking out and lashing at the Coralskippers. Either Thrawn made use of that Yammosk, or... Luke paled as the realization hit him. So thats why he said losses were irrelevent. Clones. Thrawn had a set of Spaarti cloning cylinders - again.
"Are you thinking what Im thinking Luke?" Mara cautiously asked, not many things could shock Mara - but another round of the Clone Wars would shock anyone. But this was not the time for falling into shock, that was confirmed as the warship analog detonated after its hull being drilled by blue beams of horrid energy, overwhelming the dovin basals, overwhelming the rikyam, and ultimately overwhelming the ship's capacity to withstand firepower of such magnitude. Luke was immediately hit with the suprise that the Jedi felt, as the armada moved in to cover the refugee transports, or better to say steamroll through Yuuzhan Vong lines. Another cruiser analog detonated in the distance, space was littered with a web of detonation from starfighters, coated in a net of plasma and laser bolts, both green and blue spears of death.
Suddenly, something strange happened. A deep voice, same one which spoke to Luke before, began to sing - quietly at first, but was soon joined by hundreds of voices, forming a simphony not heard since the days of the Empire, the Imperial March. As he jinked a coralskipper's deadly attention, Luke felt the detonation behind him as a trio of TIE's screamed past him in tight formation, blazing with all lasers, jinking and out-turning the coralskippers, and then he finally realized why the TIE Interceptor was hailed as the deadliest starfighter - sharp as a blade, and fragile as a blade, in the hands of a capable pilot it was a deadly starfighter, giving its pilot superior speed, provided he survived the head-on, which usually meant that he would out-turn his opponent.
Luke gazed beyond the Star Destroyer cone, and saw the refugee ships for a brief moment before they jumped into hyperspace, torward safety. The Force was with them today.
