1 Commander Wedge Antilles
XO Captain Tycho Celchu
2 Peshk Vri'syk
3 Nawara Ven
4 Bror Jace
5 Gavin Darklighter
6 Riv Shiel
7 Rhysati Ynr
8 Erisi Dlarit
9 Corran Horn
10 Ooryl Qrygg
11 Lujayne Forge
12 Andoorni Hui
Starting Date: 6.5 ABY
Starting Point(6.5 ABY): Hyperspace En-Route to Chorax-Talasea Relay
Starting Point(22 BBY): Destroy Malevolence, Ryndellia System, Kaliida Shoals Medical Station AO
Bold Italics: Perspective/Location Change
Italics: Thoughts
Bold: Droid/Comms Speak
Wedge Antilles, Hyperspace En-Route to Talasea
Wedge was no Jedi, that was for sure, but you didn't need to be a Jedi to feel when something was wrong with your ship. The frame was rattling, and several indicators were doing things they really shouldn't be able to. He frowned, reading through a message from his Astromech, R3-T6, who insisted there was nothing physically wrong with the X-Wing. 'I should check in with the others…' he thought to himself as he slid his helmet on, opening the Squadron channel, "Rogue Leader, Rogue Squadron, how's everyone looking? My ride's getting a bit bumpy over here."
From Rogue Five, Gavin Darklighter, came the quickest response, "It's the same over here, Rogue Leader, my Astro says there's nothing wrong though, and it's happening with everyone else, too."
That. That had Wedge worried, if it had been just one or two of them, it could be blamed on bad fuel or a faulty system, but all twelve? There was only one idea that came to mind, and sabotage was really high on the list of things that Wedge didn't want to deal with, especially not after he just reformed the Squadron. "Alright, Rogues, keep me updated. If it gets worse for anyone, we drop out and do manual checks. We'll be late for the rendezvous, and EVA time is limited, so everyone be careful."
Of course, just by saying something, he'd tempted Fate, or the Force, which one's turn it was to screw with him, really. Around him, and every other pilot, Hyperspace shifted. It wasn't really in a perceptible way, but their destination had changed, whether they liked it or not, and they had been unknowingly given an opportunity to change the fate of the very galaxy.
Anakin Skywalker, In Combat Near Kaliida Shoals
Anakin Skywalker was not having a good day. He had, as his brash reputation suggests, perhaps jumped the gun. Before him rose the massive bulk of the Seperatist Dreadnought "Malevolence", and with it, all the many guns it carried. They had made good time, but Matchstick and Tag had been lost in a collision at the start of the engagement, when they were forced to evade an Ion blast from the Malevolence. Three more Bombers had been caught in said blast, bringing them down to eight of the original thirteen fighters and bombers they had departed with.
They still had an impressive distance to close before they could reach the ship, and with only eight bombers, he wasn't sure it would be enough. Ahsoka cried out from the gunner's seat, "Master, they're launching more fighters!"
That wasn't good, the Y-Wings were tough ships, but they weren't designed for this kind of fighting. Anakin wished he'd brought along a Squadron of V-19s or two. The Force buzzed around him, it seemed almost...excited? He frowned, something was different, but what? It didn't matter, he had men to lead and a battle to fight, "Shadow Squadron, shift shields to double front! We'll punch right through those fighters and make for the Malevolence!"
Greeted by the affirmative responses from the other pilots, and the decidedly less excited one from his Padawan, Anakin couldn't help but grin, this was where the fun began
Wedge Antilles, Hyperspace En-Route to Talasea?
Wedge wouldn't count himself as overtly religious, but really, if there was some deity out there looking out for him, now would be a great time to help! The shaking had gotten worse, to the point where he was vibrating in his seat. He was tempted to call an early exit to realspace, but they were literally seconds from their dropout point. The fact that Hyperspace had taken on an orange-ish tone was not lost on him, but he didn't let it dominate his focus. "Rogue Squadron, prepare to drop out of Hyperspace on my mark…. Three. Two. One. Mark!"
What greeted him didn't really offer an opportunity to think, merely to act. On the edge of panic, he called out over comms, "Rogue Squadron, break formation and go evasive!"
The twelve T-65B X-Wings of Rogue Squadron split apart into six wing pairs, pilot duo's whose job was to watch each other's backs. They'd jumped straight into the middle of a battle, one not unlike the kind Rogue Squadron was known for. Wedge spared only a moment to look at his instruments, noting the seven Y-Wings and one...Delta-7? Charging straight towards a swarm of fighters that looked very much like the old Vulture Droid fighters the Rebel Alliance occasionally fielded. He cursed, the massive Dreadnought in the backdrop was an issue that would have to come after. "Rogues, you know what to do! Stick together and help out those Bombers!
Anakin Skywalker, In Combat near Kaliida Shoals
It was often said that Anakin Skywalker feared nothing, he was the Hero with No Fear for a reason, right? Well, today was one of those days. He was afraid to let down his Squadron, Master Koon, his Padawan, and he was afraid of dying. Despite that, he pushed on, channeling the Force to enhance his reactions. So it was much a surprise to him when, right as Ahsoka began to call out a warning about several Vultures coming around for them, that the droid fighters practically fell apart, torn to pieces by laser blasts from someone else. The only thing he saw was a blur of white and red as two new contacts shot past, spiraling away to chase down another pair of Vulture Droids chasing another Bomber. Anakin could only spare half a second to stare in wonder before a near miss forced his attention back to his own ship
Clone Pilot "Broadside", In Combat near Kaliida Shoals
Broadside was in trouble, that was for sure. His gunner, Sketch was doing his best to keep the three Vulture Droids chasing them from getting a solid lock, but within the bubble of the turret canopy, there was only so much he could do. The Y-Wing shuddered as another Laser Blast splashed over the rear shields, causing them to flicker as they dropped to dangerously low levels. Unable to divert his attention from the controls, Broadside called over his shoulder to Sketch, "How're you doing back there, Brother?"
Sketch, too, was having difficulty. Vulture Droids were renowned for their agility and hard hitting guns, and it was often the fate of a Clone Pilot to get ganged up on by two or more of the hive-minded droids. As he rapidly switched between firing bursts at three different targets as they flitted in and out of view, he grunted and called back to Broadside, "I could be better, these clankers just won't quit!"
At this rate, they weren't long for this world, the Y-Wing, beauty that it was, simply couldn't keep up with this kind of punishment. He could feel the fighter straining around him as he pulled maneuvers that, in a gravity well, would have blacked them out long before then. It was fortunate, then, that he wasn't alone out in the void any longer. Two fighters of an unfamiliar make rolled onto the six of the rear-most Vulture Droid, unleashing an impressive amount of firepower into the unshielded and fragile hull of the fighter from it's quad laser cannons. Sketch could have sworn one of the pilots waved to him before the fighters dipped out of sight, presumably to go after other targets. "Broadside! We're clear, go!
Wedge Antilles, In Combat near Kaliida Shoals
Wedge grinned, this was a good fight! The droids were quick and hard to hit, but they weren't very smart, and tended to bunch up together to go after single targets, making taking them down two or three at a time easy. They weren't exactly hard targets, either, which made Protons unnecessary. With Peshk on his wing, he swung over to dive down and join the lone Delta-7 in tearing apart a swarm of Vultures chasing the Bombers. It was odd, these Bombers and the Delta-7 were all Clone Wars vintage pieces, even retaining the paint schemes and Old Republic emblems. There were far better vehicles available for this kind of operation, but then again, the Dreadnought which was almost startlingly large and strange looking made him doubt the validity of that. The old Medical Station still launching ships was another piece that didn't seem to fit the puzzle anywhere, either. His astromech confirmed this wasn't the Talasea System, and if the sensors were right, they were way off course, in the Ryndellia System.
Command was going to tear his head off for this stunt, but hey, a fight is a fight, and this was the easiest in a long while, especially with how much trouble Rogue Squadron seemed to find itself in! Looking to his right, he waved to the Kel Dor pilot of the Delta-7 before peeling away to hunt more Vultures. There were only a few of the Droid Fighters left now, but the Dreadnought loomed in the near distance, it's guns tearing into several seemingly disabled transports vectored away from the station. He frowned, he didn't see any Ion Cannons firing, so he wasn't sure how they were disabled, but the Dreadnought had to go regardless. Sparing a glance back to his Astromech, he calls out to the little droid, "Hey, R3, try and see if you can isolate the channel these Bombers are on. I want to talk to them sooner than later."
The affirmative warbles from the droid went unheeded as Wedge focused on clearing away the last opposition as they entered flak range. He cursed, the flak was impressively heavy, more than anything even an Imp-Deuce could put out. "Rogues, divert power to your shields, I don't want any lost pilots from a simple mistake!
Anakin Skywalker, In Combat near Kaliida Shoals
Anakin was impressed. These guys were on a level even above the Clones, who were themselves amazing pilots. They seemed to dance more than fight their way through the Vulture Droids, tearing them apart without a thought. And how he'd love to get his hands on one of those fighters, they looked like a wonder to fly, inside and out! In the back, R2-D2 warbled that someone was trying to break into the Squadron Channel on comms, and he frowned. Looking to his right, one of the fighters slid into the formation next to him, the helmeted pilot holding a hand up to his head as if to signal a commlink or communicator. Ah, so that's what they were doing, "R2, let them into the line, but watch out for any funny business!"
Switching the audio output so that Ahsoka could hear too, he called out on the communications channel, even as the flight began to juke and dodge around laser and flak bursts from the Malevolence, "Unidentified Flight, identify yourselves!
Wedge Antilles, In Combat near Kaliida Shoals
Wedge raised an eyebrow, this guy sure was confident. Granted, he seemed to be an excellent pilot, but really, who takes a single squadron of Y-Wings with one fighter against a Dreadnought? Regardless, he should probably respond, "This is Commander Wedge Antilles, Rogue Squadron Leader. We're a bit off from where we're supposed to be, but we thought we'd give you a hand!"
There was silence for a moment, before the voice returned with a laugh, "Welcome to the party then, Commander Antilles! We're aiming to hit the 'Malevolence' where it hurts, maybe if we're lucky we can take out the Bridge and that Ion Cannon!"
Super Ion Cannon? Malevolence? That sounded almost disconcertingly familiar. Regardless, that wasn't the issue right now, the Dreadnought is. "Copy that, we've got Proton Torpedoes in our payloads, just tell us where you need them!"
The voice returned less than a second later, sounding all the more eager for it, "Go for the Bridge! My boys and I will handle the Cannon!"
And that settled it, the Rogues were definitely getting the harder job, but even Wedge could tell the slower Y-Wings wouldn't be a match for the amount of flak those turrets were spitting out. He returned a quick confirmation, then flipped back to the Rogues own channel, "Alright Rogues, we've got a job to do! Form up on me, we're making a run for this monster's Bridge! It's more exposed than even an Imp-Deuce's, but they've got a lot of flak to make up for that! Shift power to shields and stay low!"
Anakin Skywalker, in combat near Kaliida Shoals
Anakin spared a moment to watch the mysterious flight calling itself Rogue Squadron form up as they prepared to dive on the heavily defended Bridge. Twisting around to look behind, he grimaced at his own half-strength Squadron, a pang of sadness at the lives lost in the charge on the ship.
Ahsoka seemingly sensed this, and sent a tide of resolve-anger-confidence through their Training Bond, giving him a slight smile. She was always there when he needed her, "Alright Shadows, we're making our move on the Ion Cannon! Our new friends from Rogue Squadron are taking the Bridge for themselves, can't let them have all the fun, now can we?"
There were several excited whoops over comms, Clone Pilots practically lived for this kind of thing. Lining up behind him, the Y-Wings of Shadow Squadron shifted their own power to shields, then swung down to make their run, hugging the hull of the Dreadnought so as to make it more difficult on the flak guns.
Anakin flinched as another Y-Wing shattered from a direct hit, the lives of the pilot and gunner winking out in an instant. They were on the final approach now, and he flicked open the trigger guard for the Torpedo Launchers mounted in the Y-Wings nose, and turned on the targeting computer. Just a few more seconds, and they would be in range
Wedge Antilles, in combat near Kaliida Shoals
A grimace adorning his face, Wedge held his X-Wing steady as explosive bursts rumbled around his fighter, shaking him with each close detonation. The flak here was some of the thickest he'd flown since Endor, and it showed, with how his power was practically all being diverted to the shields to keep them regenerating. No one had been hit yet, but there had been a few close calls.
His targeting computer beeped, having located a probable weak-point on the Bridge Spire of the ship before them, pinpointing it on his targeting reticle. "Alright Rogues, I've got our target, torpedoes away on my mark...three...two...one...Mark!"
With a roar of ignited thrusters, two torpedoes rocketed out from the nose of his X-Wing, even as he yanked the stick high and pulled away from the attack run, aiming to get his people out of the flak as quickly as possible. Each of the Rogues launched their own torpedoes before following him, and when he spared a glance out the back of his fighter, he grinned at the tangled mess they had made of the tower's base.
General Grievous, aboard the Dreadnought 'Malevolence'
The feared General Grievous, Jedi Killer and Seperatist Leader both, was beyond angry. He had them! Those damnable bombers had been moments from destruction before those strange new fighters appeared from Hyperspace! Around him, his ship shook and shuddered with explosion after explosion, even as the bridge began to collapse around him, smashing several droids to bits even as he prowled off the bridge.
The Bridge had been damaged beyond repair, the control systems severed from the rest of the ship, leaving the Malevolence cruising without control, and the Ion Cannon had been destroyed before it could be fired again, causing a power surge that crippled the weapons of the ship. There was little recourse but retreat now, and even Sidious' help wouldn't arrive soon enough to make a difference.
Entering one of many hangars aboard, Grievous swept into his fighter alongside several IG-100s, and quickly prepared for liftoff. Around him, the buzz of Porax-38 Fighters rapidly fills the hangar, and Grievous silently hopes they can slip away into Hyperspace and have the Jedi be none the wiser
Wedge Antilles, near Kaliida Shoals
His comms crackle for a moment, before Vri'syk's voice comes across, "Hey Commander, I've got a couple new contacts on my scopes, looks like a few fighters trying to run!"
Wedge raised an eyebrow, that was interesting news. "Hold off for a second, Vri'syk, I'm going to check in with our new friends and make sure it's not one of theirs."
The lack of a response from his wingman was taken as an affirmative, and Wedge flips over to the Shadow Squadron channel, "Shadow Lead, this is Rogue Lead, we've got contacts on our scopes, fighters trying to leave the AO. Are they any of yours?"
The response comes quickly and with a surprising amount of anger, though it wasn't directed at him, "Grievous! The coward is trying to run! We're too slow in these Y-Wings to catch up to them!"
Grievous!? This was getting weirder by the second, but if this was an HVT trying to escape, it was better for everyone involved if they never got out of the system. "Rogue Squadron, we've got bogies on an exit path from the system, run them down and don't let them get away!
General Grievous, fleeing from Kaliida Shoals
Grievous growled out loud, to no response from the droids escorting him. Those new fighters were coming after him, and they were fast! Punching several commands into his flight console, he directs the droid escorts to intercept the strange snub-fighters and buy him time to calculate his hyperspace jump.
Without so much as a sound, the Porax-38s around him executed precise snap-rolls and vectored towards those fighters, and Grievous doubted they would survive long. The droids had excellent programming, but battle after battle had proved that a sentient pilot was better than a droid in a battle of equal standing, and such was why the droids were normally deployed in massive swarms.
It took but a few seconds for the first Droid Fighter to shatter into millions of tiny pieces, the Quad-Cannons of these X shaped fighters tearing them apart without seemingly any effort. The explosions of the rest of the droids came shortly after, as the full dozen enemies came down on his escort, their firepower and durability far surpassing even the high-quality modified fighters. Grievous picked up the pace of his calculations, even with the distance he had gained he didn't have long
Wedge Antilles, near Kaliida Shoals
His X-Wing rattled as Wedge plowed through a cloud of rapidly dispersing micro-debris, the now destroyed droid fighter impotent in it's final attempt to kill him. He grinned again, looking around for Vri'syk, finding his wingman off his left side, chasing down the final escort and promptly blowing it apart. That just left the HVT fighter, which had left its escorts and was making full speed for the nearest jump point, which he was dangerously close to.
Wedge reached down and pressed several buttons on the dash, shifting power from his weapons systems to his engines, the acceleration noticeable only through the relative movement of the debris scattered around. After several seconds, he had closed to maximum range for his weapons, and acquired a lock, sending a volley from his cannons spitting downrange. The first blasts splashed off the shields of the fighter, which were noticeably stronger than the escorts, while the second volley shattered them.
He was squeezing the trigger for a third volley when it happened, the enemy fighter flickering with a burst of pseudo-motion as it disappeared into the dimensions of Hyperspace. Wedge released the trigger with a sigh, and signalled for the Rogues to form up on him and head back. He idly notes that three Destroyers had appeared on the other side of Malevolence while they had been engaging the fighters, and were currently laying into the crippled Dreadnought. Oddly enough, the ships were older Venator cruisers, bearing...Republic colors?
A/N: Heya guys! This is my first story in a few years, and I'd really appreciate it if you'd look past spelling errors or clunky grammar. I'm always looking to improve my writing, so constructive criticism is always welcome! If anyone notes anything story wise that's wrongly labeled or inaccurate, please PM me with details on it. Depending on reception for this defines whether or not I'll continue this, and I can't guarantee a stable upload schedule given COVID and the chaotic mess that is the school system. Till next time!