(Author's Very Brief Forward: This was originally organized as a series of in-character posts for a Star Wars online RPG I participated in. It went nowhere, but I liked the idea of the storyline so much that I am rewriting it as a short story. The planet in question was originally Mon Calamari which had been attacked in the RPG, but I've made it more generic for the purposes of fitting it into the larger context of Star Wars. Enjoy.)

The world was lost, and there was nothing Ardek Wereling could do about it. 4th fleet was a shell of its former self, ravaged end to end by enemy fire. The Peaceful Current, the task force's lone advance MC-90 class cruiser, streamed atmosphere from dozens of holes in her hull. She had borne the brunt of the Imperial assault, using her advanced shields and superior firepower to shield her more vulnerable companions so they could escape.

She had nearly paid the ultimate price for it too. As 4th fleet fought their desperate escape out of the gravity well and towards the hyper limit, the Imperial fleet had concentrated their attacks solely on the advanced vessel, seeing her as too valuable a prize to allow escaping. In the end it was the self-sacrifice of her older sister, the MC-80 class Kraken's Clutch that allowed her to escape. The older vessel had interposed herself between no fewer than four Imperial cruisers and the Peaceful Current, giving the Peaceful Current and the rest of 4th fleet the time and space that they needed to escape.

The Imperials had torn the Kraken's Clutch to pieces, but it slowed them enough to allow the remains of 4th Fleet to make it to the hyper limit. Ardek felt a cold, piercing pang of guilt at the fate of the doomed ship's crewmembers. The fact that they had made their sacrifice knowing what would happen to them was cold comfort. The Imperials were not known for treating prisoners kindly. It was likely that many of the crew, especially the officers, were likely headed for a fate far worse than death in Imperial prison camps.

In the end though, they'd traded their lives for something more than just the freedom of their fellows. Suspended between the surviving ships of the line was a dagger-shaped lump of steel. Early in the engagement, 4th fleet had managed to disable the Gauntlet, a Victory-class star destroyer. The war was going badly, and intelligence of any kind was of incalculable value. Ardek had made the decision to keep the fleet together, and with the engine damage to the Peaceful Current already slowing the fleet considerably, it had been worth the effort to drag the hulk along, crew and all. Hopefully NRI could find something of value onboard, thought Ardek. Perhaps then this battle could be remembered for something other than abject defeat.

At least escape was an option.

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It had been a long road, but finally the battered vessels of 4th Fleet dropped out of hyperspace into the Corellia system.

The trip had taken weeks which had passed in near silence. It seemed as though each and every member of the fleet, from Ardek down to the lowest rating, had had their spirit crushed along with the Kraken's Clutch. With morale at an all time low, Ardek had been forced to maintain a hold of iron discipline within the fleet just to hold it together. The crew hadn't taken it well, and more than a few suspicious junior officers had gotten jumpy in his presence, expecting him to take any minor mistake they might make as a personal insult.

"We have arrived in the Corellia system," said the helmsman, making the formal announcement. The young man looked up at his Admiral pensively, hoping for some sign that things were going to be fine. Ardek nodded his head in acknowledgement, but said nothing. After a moment, the helmsman turned away.

The bridge sat almost totally silent for a moment. The normal, continuous sounds of starship operation were still there, humming and whirring and beeping along, but no one spoke. After a moment, Ardek kicked himself mentally for allowing shame and depression to rule their morale, and he began issuing orders.

"Get the Peaceful Current into dry dock," he ordered, "as soon as you can. In the meantime, I want every ship to begin repairs. Each ship will also send a maintenance team to the Current, to get as much work done on her as possible before she heads in."

He cleared his throat, and continued. "Get us in touch with naval command," he said, "and inform them of our situation. See what you can do to get our fighter complement up to strength again as soon as possible. Ride herd on Procurement if you have to. I want every ship to be restocked with fighters and munitions ASAP, and I want us ready to go back into combat as soon as humanly possible."

"But sir" asked an officer, "where could we go back into combat? Surely it will take the Remnant only a few days to secure the planet."

Ardek fixed the officer with a cold stare for reminding them all of their recent failures. "I agree, Commander," he said with a voice as flat and cold as the side of a knife, "which is why we're not going to LET them consolidate their gains. We're going to coordinate with Naval Command, and then we're going to fight back."