Chapter 6: Defence of Mandalore
Tash studied the stream of tactical information flowing across his screen closely. It was more than a bit agonizing, watching the pilots of his fleet doing all the work while the Trident and her sister ships were relegated to blockade duty above the planet. The timing couldn't have been worse, honestly. They had only just managed to get their squadrons back to fighting shape and orient the new pilots when the call came in from the top brass. Mandalore was under siege.
To say that the Mandalorian people were a strong ally was a gross understatement. Their skills in combat alone was a massive game changer for the Alliance's cause; let alone their cutting edge weapons and technology. Of course, since they showed clear favoritism against the Empire in the recent months, it seemed to have painted a target on their backs. Therefore, when an imperial raiding fleet snuck by the orbital sensors and landed planetside, of course Rebel Command answered the call to support.
When the fleet had arrived in system, they caught sight of a single Quasar Fire-class carrier in orbit. Unlike other imperial warships which would have turned to face them, it immediately cut toward the edge of the system and retreated, leaving its squadrons and troop carriers stranded on the ground. Of course, that didn't mean the ground war was an easy one. On the planet below, there was a major firefight occurring on the plains outside of Mandalore's capital. The Mandalorians themselves were providing the main bulk of the infantry and armor, with some of Task Force Trident's marines supplementing the imperials had been able to secure a foothold in the eastern mountain ranges and Clan Saxon, the faction that the Empire had named as the planet's ruling faction before the war had begun in earnest, was presently holding the walls of the capital city. Therefore the Alliance-loyal clans were making a siege on the city, while Task force trident handled the enemy reinforcements. Task Force Trident however, had more than just marines offering support.
"Flight-Con, contact wing-commander Sundrider. Tell her she's got contacts from the southeast, TIE bomber squadron incoming," Tash ordered, the Trident's sensors easily able to survey the battle below and pick out the different contacts thanks to the Morning Star's close-range scans. The corvette had gone to ground and was acting as a link between the neb-Bs above and the squadrons down below. Honestly, while Tash felt tense waiting for an enemy fleet to appear from hyperspace, he knew all too well that the squadrons down below had the situation well in-hand. Especially with the new pilots and upgrades they'd received from Captain Syndulla's Phoenix Squadron.
"Roger Trident, I see them. Cardinal Squadron, engage," Cora ordered, her tactical map alight with plenty of contacts. The imperial reinforcements were coming in waves and the Mandalorians, even when caught between the city's dome and the approaching stormtroopers seemed to effortlessly hold the line. However, they hadn't yet had to face any significant imperial armor or bombing runs. Cora planned to keep it that way. "Gold Squadron, we have incoming AT-STs due east. Stand by for targeting information." She was flying high above the main theater, the rest of Cobalt backing her up from below. For the most part, the enemy air support was largely limited to bombers, making it very easy for the three full squadrons of X-Wings to keep the Mando ground forces safe. Clearly, the imps had been expecting this to be a much more one-sided battle and now they were paying the price for it.
After the last fight with Commander Golrin Korr, the task force's squadrons had been all but depleted, less than six snub-fighters left in each. However, the sacrifice was more than worth it. Captain Syndulla's pilots had brought with them factory-new X and Y-wings, as well as the parts for maintaining each. Not only that, but they'd included an entire squadron's worth of X-wings outfitted with some new cluster-missiles. While only possessing limited homing capabilities, their payload would detonate with a large blast radius, allowing a skilled pilot to easily pick off multiple enemies with only one well-placed shot. Problem was, it took training to ensure that the pilot firing the missile wouldn't be caught in their own blast. As such, the famed Twi-lek Captain had sent some of her best aspiring pilots to train the rest of their new "Garuda Squadron".
"Garuda Lead, this is Cobalt Lead," she said noting a larger shape down below. "Looks like the imps have deployed an AT-AT. Can you handle it, Lieutenant Antilles?"
"Roger flight-lead, starting our attack run."
Cora nodded to herself and breathed out. For the moment all things were managed. So long as the fleet held the line and prevented any enemy fleets from reinforcing the imps on the ground, the Mando revolutionaries had a fighting chance. The R3 behind her gave a whistlebeep, alerting Cora to some new contacts slipping in. This time, it was coming from the west, from the city. "Flight lead to Morning Star, I'm seeing some unknowns on approach. Can you ID?"
It took a moment, but the morning star soon replied. "Fang fighters on approach, Wing Commander. They've overshot the ground units and are vectoring on approach for Gold Squadron. Recommending intercept!"
"Copy Morning Star," Cora said before bringing her X-wing into a banking dive. "Cobalt Squadron, on me. Lock S-foils and calibrate targeting. We're on the intercept for Gold." Fang fighters, like all Mandalorian tech, were state-of-the-art and deadly. Mostly used for air and space superiority, they were particularly difficult opponents in a dogfight. Good news was, these pilots weren't the Defenders of Concord Dawn, they were clan Saxon grunts. Not pushovers, but not specially trained aces either. And right now, Cobalt had the altitude on them. "R3 increase the anti-g systems and get ready with the repulsors. I want us to dive in right behind them, give them no chance for retaliation." Some affirmative beeps replied back and soon Cora could make out some shapes moving just above the ground ahead of her. Steadying the control yoke she angled her for intercept. "Linking laser cannons now," she reported over the comms. "After the initial slash, bank away from them and circle back around. Don't give them the chance to get behind you." Steadily, she could better make out the red and white markings on the wedge-shaped fighters. Centering the lead fighter in her targeting computer's crosshairs, Cora breathed out and held it. The second that the lock began to chime, she squeezed the trigger and fired off a quad of red laser blasts.
The first of the fangs immediately caught fire and spun out of control, the gyroscopic S-foils of the craft failing and putting it into a death spiral. The remaining fighters began to jink, but even as she turned to circle back, she saw the rest of Cobalt's shots hit their marks. Watching her display closely, she took note as the contacts dropped one after the other, only a couple of the fangs still flying.
"Wing commander come in," the comms buzzed to life in her ears as the Morning Star's captain spoke. "What's your status?"
"Sunrider here. We've got the upper hand against the imperial armor," she reported, noting how both the AT-STs and the AT-AT had disappeared from radar. Meanwhile the TIE remaining TIE bombers had broken off and the fangs seemed to be doing the same. "Enemy air support is also routing. I'm ready to order my squadrons to chase the remaining imperial forces down and finish them off."
There was a pause before the corvette's captain replied. "Negative flight lead. Form up and follow us back into orbit. New update from the Trident, the imperial fleet has returned. It's Golrin Korr's fleet."
Feeling her jaw set, Cora nodded. "Copy Morning Star, we'll back you up."
As Cora led the rest of the Task Force's squadrons back up into Mandalore's orbit, her sensors once again filled with the several red lights that showed incoming enemy ships. Two large and several small were flanking them. Switching her channel to hail the Trident, Cora opened the comm. "This is Flight Lead, what's the enemy headcount?"
There was a pause before the flight controller aboard the neb-B answered. "We count two squadrons of enemy TIEs, including the defender squadron you've faced multiple times and a squadron of TIE/ADs. Other than that, we have the same unusual small-craft supporting them: the aggressor, the decimator, and the lambda."
Cora let each of the craft listed run through her mind. The TIE Advanced squadron was new. Like the defenders, they possessed shields and a hyperdrive; unlike the defenders they weren't as fast, as well armed, nor as overall deadly, however they could easily get in the way of any of the rebel squads trying to target the enemy ships or other small craft. The aggressor and the decimator were both dangerous, but overall could be countered so long as there was decent support from the neb-Bs and the hammerhead. Finally, there was the deadly duo: the defenders and that lambda shuttle with its suite of electronic warfare. Just weeks ago, the Task Force's squadrons had been all but decimated by that terrible 1-2 punch. While they were all better armed and staffed this time around, Cora knew she had to be careful how she handled the X and Y-wings' engagements in this fight. This was no longer just Cobalt she had to look out for, it was everyone. Turning her attention to the rebel ships, she took note of their approach vectors, the Trident was holding the center-line with the Ramora staggered just off of its port-side while the Morning Star was directly alongside on the starboard, using a nearby patch of asteroids for cover. The space between the Morning Star and the Trident made a perfect kill-box.
"Cardinal, this is Flight Lead," she said opening the direct channel to the other X-wing squadron. "Form up and settle into the Trident's two-o'clock. That should give you plenty of cover and put you in a good position to strike at the enemy once they break formation."
"Roger Commander Sunrider, moving into position now," came Cardinal One's reply.
"Gold Squadron, back them up. Once the enemy starts shooting, start picking targets." Gold's reply came shortly after and the Y-wings banked to follow. Cora then turned and angled her nose toward the Trident's portside. "Wedge, have Garuda form-up and follow Cobalt, we're going to sit between the Trident and Ramora, make the enemy squads nervous about getting close."
"Roger Commander, forming on your six," Wedge's voice replied. Eyeing the radar, Cora saw the TIEs and the lambda making moves to approach. This could still end pretty badly if they weren't on their toes. She had faith in Captain Syndula's pilots and their training, but even the best training sometimes fell short against enough firepower.
"R3, reroute shield power, double-front," she ordered. "We need to be able to survive this initial slash." The astromech gave an urgent beep and whistle as the shields shifted to match her request. Studying her HUD, however, she noticed something odd about the enemy squadrons' approach vector. "Hey… R3 can you calculate that approach for me?" A few more seconds ticked by, and Cora felt her eyes widen at the new data. Immediately she clicked on comms once more. "Wedge, this is Cobalt Leader. Forget the previous order and set up for an intercept course with the TIE defender squadron!" she said, banking hard to port, opening the S-foils and aiming her targeting systems toward the steadily growing red dots. "They're heading for the Ramora, don't let them start taking shots!"
Garuda squadron soon passed, their engines running at full. Normally, the heavy shot saturation that TIE defenders could dish out meant it was better to sacrifice speed for accuracy… but with their attention drawn by the neb-B, Wedge had the right idea. Cora meanwhile angled herself just to the right, aiming for the trailing TIE advanced squadron, no doubt preparing to counterattack whoever shot at the defenders opening slash. As all crafts converged, she saw the Ramora's portside shields flicker as the TIEs' ordnance hit their mark. Seconds later, the imperial fighters cleared the nebulon-B's engine block, space exploded with fire and light. A handful of the defenders seemed to clear the blast zone, but the vast majority of the heavy interceptors had been turned to space debris. That's for last time, Cora thought darkly as her targeting system began to beep as it acquired a lock on the approaching X1s. Squeezing the trigger, she caught a number of the heavy-duty TIEs in their thicker solar-panel wings; while she herself didn't score any kills, the rest of Cobalt was able to pick up the pieces, dropping the enemy count even further and forcing them to break off their counter-attack against Garuda Squadron.
Now a furball was started in earnest between the X-wings and the TIEs. While the X-wings had the upper hand in numbers from the initial clash, the defenders and the X1s were still advanced space-superiority fighters specifically built to counter the Alliance's fighters. In this close of proximity, it also made things difficult for Garuda to use their ordnance without harming themselves or Cobalt. This was all just pure skill now; a matter of who got who in their sights first. Catching sight of an X1 dipping down from above, Cora adjusted her X-wing's yaw and let loose a burst of laserfire, shearing off one of the wings and sending the craft spiraling out of control. Seconds later, her shields flickered as a green lights lapped at her from the side, prompting her to bank hard. "R3, get the shields rebalanced, the aft's wide open!" The droid beeped and whined, desperately trying to push the excess energy allocated to the front back to the rear. The lock warning returned and Cora swore, banking in the other direction… only for the warning to fade.
"I have your back Flight Lead," Wedge's voice reported, causing her to sigh with relief.
Leveling out her fighter once again, Cora saw the other frequency beeping, showing the Ramora's ID. "Sunrider here, go ahead Ramora."
"Flight Commander, have Cobalt and Garuda move toward our starboard. Our gunners have a shot on the remaining defenders, but we won't risk it with your pilots in the way."
"Copy," She answered, the smirk on her face effortless. "All X-wing fighting the TIEs, break off and move closer to the Ramora!" In moments the friendly blips on the radar were falling into formation, the TIEs trying to settle in behind… only for a wash of turbolaster fire blasting through them. In no time, the enemy fighter count had dropped to a third of what they had left.
"TIE defender squadron confirmed destroyed, Flight Lead," Wedge reported. "The TIE advanced squadrons are still flying. Mind if I do the honors?"
"Go for it Wedge. Cobalt and I are going to go backup Cardinal," she said before turning back toward the Trident. Changing frequencies she studied the display… and felt her heart stop. "Cardinal Leader, this is Cobalt Leader, come in!" No response. "Cobalt to Cardinal, please respond if you can hear me!" Still nothing. Frantically, she switched frequencies. "Gold Leader, this is Cobalt Leader, do you have eyes on Cardinal Squadron?!"
The comm crackled and burped in her ear for a moment before a garbled response called back. "Gold… here… Cardinal… have been… destroyed… decimator… electronic warf… support…!" the line then cut out.
Setting her jaw Cora unlocked her S-foils and pushed the engines to full-throttle. "Trident come-in, this is Cobalt Leader, what's the status on the enemy squadrons nearest to you?"
Mercifully, the Trident's flight controller responded. "Commander Sunrider, the enemy aggressor has been forced to make an emergency jump, but the decimator is still menacing both us and Gold Squadron. The Y-wings are doing their best to draw their attention, but even with their heavier shields, they're taking too much damage. We're sending you location and targeting data now." Cora watched as her blurry HUD information solidified, giving her a much better idea what she was up against. On one hand, the decimator was alone, save the lambda offering electronic warfare, but one of the enemy gladiator star destroyers was currently locked in combat with the Trident and the fire exchange was saturating the distance between her and Gold.
Studying the radar display one last time, Cora caught sight of the enemy lambda, situated just in the shadow the approaching gladiator. "Trident, can you focus fire on that enemy shuttle? If we can just get into contact with Gold, we can coordinate a counter-strike."
"Roger, Flight Lead," the Trident answered.
As her X-wing approached the heavy combat zone, she saw the point-defense guns opening fire on the lambda, causing the craft to rush toward the far side of the destroyer, the second the ship was out of range, Cora tried the comms again. "Gold, this is Cobalt. If you can, try to cut across the Trident's dorsal structure towards us, copy?"
It took a second, but soon a crystal clear voice answered back. "Gold to Cobalt, I copy Flight Lead. Adjusting heading toward your position." Giving a relieved sigh, Cora angled her nose toward the main dorsal structure of the Trident and aimed her crosshairs straight at the approaching attack craft. As she hoped, the fire intensity coming from the GSD let up as the decimator passed into the killzone. Switching to homing torpedoes, Cora reopened her S-foils and acquired the target.
Slowly the distance ticked down before the display went red as the target locked. "Gold, break now!" she called over the comm as she let loose the twin warheads. The Y-wings parted out of the way, clearing a path for the torpedoes to find their mark. The Decimator made an attempt to dodge out of the way, but to no avail as the shots caught it in the broadside of its main fuselage. Even with its heavier shields and thick armor, the gunship had no chance in shrugging off the explosion that followed. Giving a sigh of relief, Cora banked her X-wing back around to settle into the same heading as Gold. "All clear Gold Leader, sorry to keep you waiting."
"No complaints here, Flight Lead," Gold Leader replied. "Just glad you showed up when you did. That thing was impossible to get away from, and even if we could, we couldn't leave the Trident exposed."
"How… long did Cardinal last?" she asked, forcing the words out despite how much they stung.
A pause followed her question. "Cardinal leader went down fighting, but the imps started scrambling his systems just before the initial clash. Comms were gone and we couldn't keep up coordination. The Trident couldn't risk firing into the furball when there were more allies to shoot than enemies."
"Copy that…" Naturally, Cora couldn't help but blame herself for what happened… but honestly, if the lambda hadn't chosen to hit Cardinal, it would have gone after one of the other squadrons, no doubt. The best anyone could do right now was to cover the fleet as they fought off the two Gladiators still in the combat zone. "Garuda squadron, can I get a sit-rep? What is your status?"
"TIE X1 squadron neutralized. Ready for further orders, Flight Lead," Wedge replied, his squadron cruising alongside the Ramora in a defensive formation. Giving a relieved exhale, she studied the combat zone. The Trident and the Ramora had bypassed the enemy Gladiators and were presently making moves to turn back and face them. One of the GSDs was angling back in to face the fleet while the other was still en-route to Mandalore. Radar was picking up several smaller craft emerging from its hangers.
"Form up on me, we'll try to chase down that escaping gladiator before it can reinforce the imps' ground position…" Cora said, preparing to kick the throttle back to full.
"That won't be necessary, Commander Sunrider," a feminine voice answered. Seconds later the radar noted four unknowns slipping into the battlefield. After some brief analysis from her R3 unit, Cora recognized them as Kom'rk-class fighter/transports, famously known as Mandalorian Gauntlets. Once they were within range of the imperial landing craft, the enemy ships quickly began to drop from radar. Shortly after, the gladiator turned away from the planet and made an emergency jump to hyperspace. As the final GSD made its own jump, the mandalorian fighters made their final approach to the Task Force. The lead Gauntlet was painted gold and grey, a strikingly unique color compared to its blue and dark-grey counterparts. "This is Countess Ursa Wren, I am here to speak with Commander Walden."
Moments later, the open channel was joined by Tash's voice. "This is Commander Walden. Flight Commander Sunrider, if you and Cobalt team would please escort the Countess." Closing her S-foils, Cora settled next to the larger assault fighter and matched speed. "What is the status of the ground war, if you don't mind my asking?"
"Imperial forces have been captured and are being held as prisoners of war. Clan Saxon and their supporters are being given the same treatment. The capitol is now under our control." The countess' voice was the cold matter-of-fact that one would expect from a leader from a warrior culture. "Your assistance in this fight has been exemplary, and I give particular credit to Commander Sunrider and her squadrons." Cora definitely appreciated the praise; given the woman's serious tone, she assumed the Countess didn't give such complements out very frequently. "I will wait until we meet in-private to discuss the terms of our continued allegiance."
Tash straightened his uniform as he waited at the main docking port for Countess Wren's arrival. Knowing that Mandalorians valued strength, he was flanked by two marines, both armed with A-280 blaster rifles in-hand but not leveled. As the airlock hissed open, three Mandolorians came into view, all wearing gold and light-grey armor. The center Mando's helmet reminded Tash of a nocturnal bird of prey while the other two had more standardized mandalorian helmets with no extra frills apart from the paint job. Each were armed with twin Westar-35 blasters each painted to match their armor; while holstered, Tash had no doubt each of them were able to draw in the blink of an eye. "Countess Wren. Welcome to the Trident."
Reaching up to remove her helmet, the countess met him with a harsh-but-professional gaze. "I must confess… I'm rather shocked how long ships like this have lasted in your Rebellion's war against the Empire. The thin dorsal strut is a glaring weakness that any competent commanders would readily exploit."
Tash gave a chuckle and a shrug. "I don't disagree with you, Countess, but the Alliance doesn't often have the choice. We simply make do with what we have and try to cover our weaknesses where possible."
The Mandolorian clan leader gave a thoughtful huff, and Tash could have sworn he saw her mouth curl just a little (if only for a moment) before she stepped forward, her guards remaining a couple steps behind her. "Enough pleasantries. I trust your ship has a conference room where we can speak in private?"
"Right this way," Tash said turning and walking just a pace or two ahead of her, the Marines remaining shoulder to shoulder with him. After a brief walk, then entered the Trident's main diplomatic suite. Likely used in the Imperial Navy for humoring some stuff-shirt Imperial moffs or higher members of the military, it was a sterile and geometrically utilitarian meeting room. Tash had furnished it with some flags embroidered with the Rebel starbird but other than that it was still as cold and humorless as the day it was christened at Kuat. All the same, the Countess didn't seem to show any positive or negative reaction to the furnishing one way or another.
"I believe it is worth saying, but Mand'alor Kryze is very grateful for the Alliance's continued support," she said, taking a seat at the main conference table. "She does, however, worry how much attention that has been gathered around Mandalore. This latest attack was primarily spurred by imperial aggression, but we still do not possess the numbers, nor the fleet to stand up to a true imperial fleet. If faced with a true assault on the planet, we need to know that the Alliance is willing to step in and come to our aid, just as they have today."
Tash nodded his understanding. Mandalore was far from a defenseless world, but militarily savvy or not, without a substantial planetary defense a decently-sized Imperial fleet could easily lay waste to the planet below with little worry of resistance. Thankfully, the admiral had already contacted Tash on his way to this battle. "The Alliance is prepared to offer the necessary aid. We have ships that can defend Mandalore from orbital bombardment," he said. "Just like today, we can rush to Mandalore's aid at a moment's notice…"
"Commander, let me be frank," the Countess' voice lowered and her eyes narrowed. "I'm not asking if the Alliance will come to our aid or not; that, at the very least, has been proven through your actions and those of you collegue, General Pul-Lar. What I am asking you now is will the Alliance send a fleet to remain permanently in orbit to defend us from attacks proactively, rather than reactively? If we're attacked by a sizeable Imperial fleet, there likely won't be enough time to send out a transmission, let alone time for one of your fleets to fly to that aid from Mon Cala."
Tash felt his blood run cold. Ackbar hadn't cleared him to guarantee a defensive fleet and without authorization from command, he could not offer that now. "Countess Wren, believe me when I say, the Alliance values Mandalore as an ally…"
"Think well before you speak, Commander Walden," Wren said, her voice taking a dangerous tone. "If you're going to preemtively sweeten what you're about to say, I'm prepared to preemtively throw that claim that 'the Alliance values Mandalore' right back in your face. I have no illusions that mine is a homeworld… a race with the ability to wage galactic war like in times of old. In the here and now, we are either protected as a sovereign system, or we are simply one Imperial Moff's ire from complete annihilation. Do you understand me?" Like that, Tash felt his blood downright freeze over. What had been a successful defense of Mandalore was now teetering on the edge of a diplomatice breakdown over continued protection. Continued protection that he was still unable to guarantee. After a long moment of silence the Countess finally sighed and stood. "I believe I have my answer. When your war is finished, we will send an envoy if your Republic is successful. If not, at the very least we will not have lost valuable Mandalorians to a lost cause."
As she turned to go, Tash felt his nerves stiffen. What he was about to say was definitely a gamble… in more ways than one. "Your daughter seems to think differently, Countess," he said, causing her to stop in her tracks. "She's a legend among the Alliance, her and everyone among Phoenix Squadron. The system of Lothal is free today because of her efforts, efforts she made after protecting Mandalore. That's what an Alliance means: that we aren't just a bunch of isolated systems, we are united against this common foe." The countess half-turned and fixed him with a gaze like the barrel of a blaster. Tash held that gaze for a moment before continuing. "This Alliance also isn't just systems, it's individuals taking a stand. Just like your family fights for Mandalore and the Alliance, so mine seeks to fight for Corellia and the Alliance. All systems should be united as one, and so should Wren and Walden. So…" Tash took another breath, before reaching into his pocket and pulling out his personal comm link. "... while I can't speak for Alliance command, I can speak for myself, and for my brother, Fleet Commander Canth Walden. While Task Force Trident is small, Firaxan group has plenty of ships. I will contact my brother and convince him to send a detachment of his fleet to defend Mandalore's sovereignty. And if Firaxan group calls all of their ships to a major conflict… my fleet will personally fill in for them, you have my word."
Slowly, Ursa Wren turned back to face him completely, her eyes still set in that same harsh stare. After a long moment, however, she drew one of her Westar blasters. The marines shuffled in surprise lowering their rifles, but Tash held up a hand and shook his head. Not having flinched once, the Countess placed the blaster on the table in an offering. "I will accept your word, Tash Walden, but in exchange you will make a pact with me. Take this blaster and keep it with you at all times. If you break your word, you will return this blaster to me and it will be the gun that takes your life; otherwise, my clan will hunt down yours and wipe it from the face of the galaxy. Do you accept?" Tash studied her for a moment longer, then with a steady hand, he reached forward and accepted it.