Chapter 6

Location: Dreadnought Basilisk, Thyferra

The Thyferra System was quiet, even with its strategic importance and the proximity of Separatist space. But having a Republic dreadnought in orbit along with its accompanying fleet meant that there was not much local CIS forces could do to dislodge them. Thyferra was a critical world for the Republic to hold, seeing as it was a hub of Bacta production and distribution so the mass of the RVC was positioned here, as a deterrent from any hostile attacks. For this the RVC's red fleet, now known by the nickname "Reds", were well-suited. Twenty-one Venator Class Star Destroyers escorting a Mandator-I made for a powerful motivator not to attack.

But the volunteer forces were not looking to sit in one place for long. They'd been placed there for a reason, and that reason was to attack and destroy the southern pocket of the Confederate's galactic territory. That was what the RVC's forces were built and designed to do. Their first target was a crucial one in this sector, Yag'Dhul.

"Yag'Dhul, that is our target gentlemen," Admiral Drexel said to his assembled senior officers, "It is the key to the Separatist industry world Mechis, which is the main logistics hub for their continued assault on Bestine and the rest of the Seps' planets nearby."

"We're throwing everything we've got into this operation," Commander Vay, his Chief of Operations continued, outlining the plan, "The whole force will take part. The planet's too dangerous for a ground assault due to its extreme tidal pull and the enemy have no fortifications on the planet because of that reason alone. Our plan is a simple one, we will launch waves of starfighters and strike bombers that will hit the droid warships and soften up the enemy for our assault fleet to engage them. Our intelligence reports that a fleet of three hundred enemy warships, including six Federation battleships, will be in orbit facing us."

A holographic image of the planet appeared in the center of the table with tiny droid ships marked as assembled around their battleships which were in a close formation around the hyperspace exit from Thyferra.

"To get in close we have been dispatching civilian smugglers to map in an exact hyperspace exit for our starfighters. They will engage the enemy battleships with seismic charge missiles in the opening waves followed shortly by proton torpedoes on the more minor enemy vessels. The plan is for our starfighters to do enough damage that the enemy formation becomes embroiled in fending off this assault as our own fleet jumps in and engages them at close range."

Drexel now leaned against the table and highlighted the big ring-like battleships.

"These battleships are our primary targets, as they possess the largest starfighter hangars and have the strongest shields and most weapons of any ship in their fleet. Destroy those flagships and the droid captains will be in disarray. Enemy maneuver protocol is to bring their forces in tightly when engaged by a large Republic force so that their fleet can move as one mass and be brought to bear on the largest ship in the Republic fleet to take out the flagship. Our squadrons will encircle this blob, and pour fire into it until the enemy fleet is destroyed."

Commander Vay stepped forward now to put the finishing touch on the battle plan.

"Our fighters will swarm any breakaway vessels that attempt to flee and destroy them before they make the jump to hyperspace. From there we shall draw enemy attention away from their Bestine plans to allow for Clone forces to drive them out. Then we launch our attack on Mechis, and destroy the factories and the retreating enemy invasion fleet in concert with Clone forces attacking at the same time."

"This offensive is needed rather badly gentlemen," Admiral Drexel insisted, "Bestine represents a key part of our buffer zone protecting our fuel supplies from Malastare. We destroy the forces the enemy has gathered to cut that off and we can cripple Separatist offensive operations in this sector. That is months of strategic advantage, allowing us to take the initiative and drive to Sullust, clear the Riima Trade Route, and take the threat of invasion away from Eriadu."

In a nutshell what Admiral Drexel had just outlined was the total objective of the RVC. Eriadu, the most populous Republic industrial world in the sector, was under threat from Sullust cutting the major hyperspace route to the Core. They had tried once before to cut this blockage from the route, but Eriadu's local clone forces weren't strong enough, and northern forces couldn't advance south because of the assault on Bestine. But now a new fleet and army had arrived to the front and could begin operations to deal a hammer blow to this Separatist piece of turf.

Location: Star Destroyer Dauntless, Orbit around Thyferra

The air group of the Venator Class Star Destroyer Dauntless was assembled for their briefing on a coming mission. In fact it was their first real mission, and as such they were all incredibly excited. They were all dressed in their baggy red flight suits and white flak vest, life support gear on their chests with white helmets decked out in their unique personalized symbols. Their helmets wrapped around their chins with green visors, with self-contained comms in them, however they didn't have them on, and instead had them in their ready room hanging on the wall as the squadrons sat seated in rows, ready to get briefed.

"This is our first mission. All our training comes down to this, the real thing," Commander App said calmly, "The whole fleet is set to attack the Yag'Dhul system, the Admiral's decided we are the ones who will be the hammer."

Murmurs of confident agreement came from the assembled pilots.

"Now, the plan is simple. The bombers will hit them with seismic charges and destroy the battleships. Torpedoes will destroy the rest and soften them up. Their formations will be forced to close ranks and that's when their forces will be easy to encircle and destroy. The F-Wings will cover the bombers and take on their starfighters before they can hit us. The squadrons will move in orbits around the enemy fleet, making attack runs as they go. shoot at your targets as they are given to you by your squadron commanders, going to be a lot of traffic out there, lotta lasers flying around, can't have ourselves hitting each other."

There was a chuckle from a few of the pilots.

"Alright, this is what we've waited for, what we've been readying for," the commander said calmly, but dead seriously, "We are ready, I know a lot of you have been hearing the talking heads. They've been saying we're second-rate, we're not up to the job. Today they eat their words!"

A subtle cheer came from several of the younger pilots, who'd been hearing this for quite sometime. The pilot ready rec room was the center of their world whenever they were off duty and they always had something on having to do with the news, sports, or the RVC itself. The older pilots paid the news no mind but the younger pilots sure did. It served to light a fire in them that they could fight alongside the best of what the Clones had. Such a fire was good for a pilot.

Before the commander could get them to settle down to dismiss them the pilots heard the blaring of the high pitch alarm klaxon, signaling them to go to battlestations. The pilots rushed to snatch their helmets and charged into the hall as red helmeted and uniformed crewmen also rushed to their battlestations. A-280-armed security crews wearing similar uniforms as their brethren rushed to their massing stations in the hangar deck, a favorite boarding point for droids. A rainbow of different helmet and jacket colors were already in the hangar as the pilots ran in and fanned out to their starfighters.

Among them was Flight Lieutenant Teela Abya. A native of Corellia she'd had her sights set on an exciting life of danger in running dangerous cargoes in nimble CEC light freighters for big money. But war had broken out and the possibility of a life as an elite fighter pilot had proven to be too much to ignore. So she'd attempted to enlist in the Republic Navy, only to be shoved into the role of a secretary planetside. Her resignation hadn't even been processed by the time she had enlisted in the RVC, this time, as a pilot.

Her beautiful T-42 F-Wing wasn't a CEC-built craft, but it was hers and she'd learned to love the red-painted dogfighter and speed demon the F-Wing was built to be. Nimble and fast she'd run circles around the training drones and many of her fellow pilots with her fighter. Now, Teela had an opportunity to use it in actual combat, the realm for which legends were born.

"Ready for this?" her squadron leader called out to her as he went along the line of his squadron's twelve F-Wings, making certain his pilots were all set.

"Oh yeah," the young blonde grinned and began fastening herself into the cockpit, "I'll be ready for whatever the seppies can throw at us."

"Just remember, stay on your flight leader's wing, and don't chase kills," the older Corellian ordered her, patting her on the shoulder and jumped down from the ladder to move to the next fighter in line.

"Roger that skipper," she said shaking her head, an eager smile plastered on her face.

She checked the systems on her T-42 and saw all were green. Checking to be sure her superiors weren't looking she put in her own private holorecorder on her dashboard to record her first combat and share it with her friends and family. It wasn't against regulations per se, but it wasn't recommended either. However Teela felt herself to be a gifted enough pilot to be able to make these films look good.

Securing the holorecorder she saw a few canopies being closed around her so she hit the button to seal herself in, and with a swift pivot from behind her canopy sealed itself, hissing as it shut tight and the life support systems kicked in and took over.

"Silver Squadron, all wings report in," she heard get called out.

"Silver One standing by."

"Silver Two standing by."

The count went on to her turn, "Silver Eight standing by."

As the count continued she saw the first flights of fighters take off from across the hangar deck, their wing-like fighters gracefully accelerating out of the Dauntless to join many others. The young pilot saw a flight technician give the signal to the line of starfighters to start their engines. The F-Wing rumbled to life, purring in anticipation. It was a heck of a feeling being behind this kind of power, one that boosted the ego of most anyone who grabbed the stick and felt the starfighter answer their every command.

"Silver Squadron, take off by order," their squadron commander called out.

"Roger that."

"Roger."

"Taking off."

Men and women in the hangar deck waved and cheered their starfighters on. The procession of fighters and light bombers zipped by, with only the F-7 "Flying Brick" Dropships staying behind.

The squadron comms went quite active as the fighter wings now departed the safety of the hangar and zipped away into a crowded section of space that was quickly filling up with starfighters. M-Wings as they were nicknamed, also joined the much more numerous F-Wings that were forming into their squadron formations and then into wave formations. Teela could see their two seismic torpedos mounted under their hulls and grinned at the fact those particular weapons were about to be put to use. She'd squeezed one off in training and it was the most powerful weapon she had ever seen with her own eyes. If such a weapon pierced a hull the ship was destroyed or at the very least not going to be of any use any time soon.

Teela and Silver Squadron were in the third wave, their astromechs plotting the jump with ultra-precise coordinates. Their assignment was knocking out a wing of light destroyers at the lead of the droid fleet. It would be quite exciting for them, as they knew that these enemy ships had real hangar capacity for starfighters. Two hundred and forty Vulture droids were probably going to be greeting them from each of the three ships in their section. All in all, the Dauntless's three hundred and sixty F-Wings could possibly be outnumbered by two-to-one, possibly more.

This was where the Admiral's plan came into play. Teela and her squadron-mates would jump exactly two seconds after the second wave jumped which in turn was two seconds behind the first leading wave. In total six waves of more than a thousand starfighters each would be landing on top of the Separatist armada within a span of a twelve seconds. Behind them, two minutes later, would be the whole RVC fleet. If all went well the battle would be over in less than fifteen minutes.

"All squadrons will jump in three minutes," a monotone robotic voice informed them all as they maneuvered into formation.

"C12 we ready?" Teela asked her old astromech.

The astromech responded with a quick chirp. Like the rest of the RVC's starfighter astromech droids C12-D4 was a C12 model, a cheap, reliable, but somewhat temperamental model if it wasn't kept up with. It also depended on the pilot's preference, seeing as each droid was given a unique personality as it grew older and experienced more along with their assigned pilots.

The countdown timer continued on to the point where another timer for her own wave started up. It was now that each pilot and crewman felt fear and anticipation in their hearts, especially the pilots who were alone with their own thoughts. This was perfectly natural and was something that every one of them were experiencing except for those who were nearly insane. But that fear caused their feet and hand to shake and feel cold, their guts felt like doing backflips but they knew they had to control that.

"Wave one, jumping."

The formations of starfighters began cascading into hyperspace to their left. Then two seconds later, the other wave began pouring into hyperspace. This wave was close to the left-hand side of the formation of the third wave. She knew this was the time, and gripped her controls tightly. When the timer hit zero the stars stretched out, the ship buzzed, and then the fighter was kicked into hyperspace.

The F-Wing Teela sat in was ready to go, a new timer started up again, signifying the time that she had left before her fighter was dropped into the crucible of combat. The blue waves washing over past her eyes. Hyperspace was something she was familiar with, and they only had a few seconds left before the fleet of starfighters dropped out of hyperspace. Teela glued her eyes forward, watching as the stars reversed the process of what they had just done.

Dropping out of hyperspace she saw the speckled dots of starships grow into shapes, and then the shapes grew. The growing shapes became larger and the planet behind them also grew. Then there were the hundreds of starfighters that also showed up next to her and even more already zipping around, blue lasers and red lasers went back and forth by the thousands. Missiles and explosions dotted space as Teela wrenched her controls to pull up and rolled her starfighter.

The F-Wing pulled up again as she yanked back. The fighter rolled as she dodged the outstretched wing of a Separatist frigate as she fired her lasers into the underside of the frigate's flaming and exploding as a seismic charge blew it apart. She looked around as blue-trails from missiles struck into the sides of starship after starship. Explosions and flames ripped and tore at the Separatist fleet of hundreds. The clouds of starfighters zoomed and moved around fluidly in their formations seemingly without challenge. Teela could see that there were indeed Federation Battleships in orbit, and most of them were getting attacked, the hangar bays on the closest one were literally blown apart and the central core was flaming and the engines were dead.

That's when Teela saw a flight of Vulture droids zip past her line of sight as part of a stream of other such fighters. There were quite a few F-Wings already attacking the formation and so she heeled over to chase after some squirters getting out of the furball that was growing and fragmenting into roving dogfights and chases. She herself found that she was behind three Vulture Droids, and opened fire the moment she had them in sight.

To her glee the first one blew apart, sending one of the pronged wings into the bottom of the control surface of the second one. The second fighter began spinning lazily as it struggled to live. Teela fired again, blasting its control head into pieces and then with the same burst sliced off the last one's wing. That meant that three kills were attributed to her, and as she looked for another target a massive explosion rocked the battle zone as a Lucrehulk fully detonated and blasted apart the nearest enemy ships.

As she saw that happen a pair of F-Wings blew apart in front of her as red laser bolts from behind her struck them. She saw the red markings of the two Vulture Droids flew down onto her six o'clock. How She yanked her fighter to the right to evade, red lasers zipped by her canopy and she responded by spinning trying to thread her fighter through the gap between a destroyed light destroyer about to crash into a damaged frigate. But she misjudged the distance in her rush to break away from the hostile droid fighters, and the larger Recusant smashed into the smaller Munificent.

"Oh crap!" she yelled and yanked up and rolled her fighter.

She inverted over the wrecked ships bending and snapping their hull plates and support beams. Pieces flew by her canopy and she heard the pinking noises of the minute pieces of debris. But another piece of wreckage struck her F-Wing and red lights went up on her controls and she saw that her right wing had a piece of jagged wreckage jutting out from it and fire and smoke leaking from the jagged hole. But red lasers from the stubborn Vulture Droids.

"This is Silver Eight I could use some help here!" she called out to her squadron.

"I'm on my way Silver Eight," Silver Six responded quickly, the blue symbol on her HUD flashing white to signify who it was.

"Hurry up, my systems' are dying," Teela said aloud in warning.

"Break right!"

Teela yanked the stick right as she saw the approaching friendly F-Wing from in front. Blue laser fire blinked the two Vultures out of existence. She saw her power levels starting to drain and pulled out of the battle straight up. The fighter was fairly badly damaged, but Teela so far was still in control.

"There's the fleet!"

Teela turned to her right and saw numerous red dots start dropping from hyperspace and grow into the shapes of numerous star destroyers and cruisers. Then the huge bulk of the Basilisk jumped in, dwarfing the numerous burning and damaged Separatist ships. As the ships dropped out their turbolasers immediately opened fire. The leading warships began spreading out, firing away as they began to encircle the enemy fleet.

Republic ships continued to pour into the system and pour fire into the vast fleet. Wreckage was continuously clogging the battlespace. Their forces were doing this almost too easily as the starfighter swarms bailed on the close-in assault they had been conducting. The enemy warships were targeted one by one by individual groups of Republic ships and exploded or died quietly. The enemy fleet just couldn't maneuver freely in their tightly packed formations and the Venators and the other supporting ships were pumping them full of fire. Their forces were unable to fight back, and were slowly being wiped out.

"We're doing it," Teela said aloud, "We're winning!" then she saw her power levels, "Oh crap."

Her fighter was starting to die, and she didn't know if she'd be able to make it back to the Dauntiless. But she didn't mind the SAR bird having to come out to tow her back. The view here was just fine, hundreds of enemy ships drifting dead in space was a fairly nice view, it looked like victory.

That's the first battle won, next is the fallout, what will the Republic think? What will the Separatists think? Well they won't have time to think, there's still a war on.

What do you guys think so far? Should this go AU or an untold story? I'm not sold either way.

Next Chapter Preview: Mechis is next on the list, time to deploy the dagger of the RVC.