Chapter Fifteen
"Space forces are operating ahead of schedule, but they could use a little help out there," Jace told the Jedi.
"My starfighter is already fueled and ready to begin combat with the enemy, just simply direct me to the sector or sectors that need our help the most. I'll be there within the next ten standard minutes," Dantius replied.
"Think you can cover seven grounds at once? The Sith fleet is closing on the west flank and we've got three sectors that'll go critical unless something's done quickly. We got four sectors of our fleet that'll be broken down on our frontside unless decisive action is taken. I'm supplying coordinates," Jace told him.
"I'd be lucky if I could manage three of those," Dantius told him.
"Then the others and I will take the other four. Which is the more critical, Jace?" asked Hyperion.
"If we lose our west flank, we'll be routed before we even land for sure!" Jace answered quickly.
"Then Dantius, you take that. You're the better pilot out of all of us and you know you could get three sectors covered if you had to. Supply him with the coordinates for the sectors and have him establish an order in which to do it. Morgause, if you know how to fly a ship, you're coming with Ashlynn, Inoy, and myself to help the front end," Hyperion said.
"I once flew my aunt's ship through a four meter wide gap without scratching the shuttle even once. Under the stress of combat too, if that helps," Morgause said. Hyperion nodded and asked Jace to get him and her starfighters they could use as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Inoy and Ashlynn fueled theirs to do their parts, deciding which sectors they would help clear with the abilities of piloting they possessed.
"We need our targets, now!" Hyperion said when Inoy and Ashlynn had left.
"I've supplied the necessary information for both the remaining sectors into both your comlinks for you to decide which ones you're taking. Look over them on the way to your starfighters. Hyperion, you taking starfighter number L75-32LX and Morgause, you're taking L75-33LX into the battle," Jace said, supplying them the necessary information. Father and daughter raced to their starfighters at that point, eager to join the fray of battle and help the Republic break through the enemy lines. On the way, Hyperion told her to help the sector in greatest proximity to Inoy's that he could help guide her through the systems of the starfighter she was taking once they were out there.
"Unlike him, I'm not gonna have time to talk to you about systems once I start attacking my sector," Hyperion warned her. Morgause nodded and commed Inoy to let him know she was going to reinforce his resolve at the next sector over from him. When Inoy commed back with confirmation that he accepted her help, father and daughter boarded their starfights (both of which were sleek and agile in design, similar to the starfighters Inoy and Ashlynn were using). Boarding their ships, Hyperion was quick to take off since his was ready first and he headed to the coordinates of the sector that he intended to help. When he arrived, he saw the problem that lied before him: a first-class dreadnaught was facing (at most) only resistance from some hammerheads and a second-class cruiser from the Republic fleet.
Comming the commander, he told him to pull back his main ships and half the starfighters to protect them on the way out while he went into deal with the dreadnaught. The lieutenant was in no hurry to disobey, relaying the news that Hyperion would be up against ion cannons if he went any closer than he already was. Hyperion had dealt with ion cannons before and he knew just how he was going to take out this cruiser, having read the blueprints as part of his duties as Emperor's Wrath. Possessing photographic memory, he flew not towards the flanks of the ship as the other starfighters had done but toward its prow, making sure the bridge was right before his face. A particularly vulnerable weakness of this type of dreadnaught was to destroy the communications array and knock out the bridge if one could during the first pass.
But what he was looking to do if he could was trick the starfighters defending the ship into following him to try and shoot him down, hence why he'd ordered half his friendlies to leave. When the Sith counterparts took the bait, Hyperion ordered all Republic starfighters to converge on them and take them down from behind before they had a chance to shoot Hyperion from the sky. "I want the hammerheads on their life support systems and the second-class cruiser on their engines, I'm gonna knock out their communications and destroy their bridge," Hyperion ordered.
"Copy that Hyperion, we are converging now, over!" replied the lieutenant, meanwhile the Republic starfighters dealt with their Sith equivalents and helped deal with their sensor array. Hyperion used his laser bolts to deal with the antennae of the communications and worked down to the base before the remaining gear exploded as he passed through the top of the flames on his way to the next target. Smiling, he was pleased to see he could still get the hang of flying a ship into battle as he waited until he was in range of good missile fire before leveling the bridge. He then checked on the ships to make sure the engines were being destroyed then ordered half the starfighters to shoot down the escape pods, forcing their Sith counterparts to focus on defense. With defense as their weakness, they'd be easier to shoot down and therefore, the Republic would have prisoners and fewer Sith resisting them further down the line.
When the engines went down, Hyperion confirmed that his sector was secured as were Inoy's and Ashlynn's. Jace then asked if the three of them could lend Dantius a hand in his sectors to which Hyperion had a prompt reply. "Inoy, Ashlynn, go help out my brother. I'm going to check in my daughter," he said to which both Jedi commed their agreement.
Meanwhile, Hyperion turned his ship around to his daughter's sector and decided to see if she needed any aid at all. Fortunately, when he arrived, she didn't need any aid but had just taken it slow due to that sector being one of the most heavily hampered. That said, when she completed her part, it was the most critical to Republic forces breaking on through the Sith ranks to get planetside and stop Crassus from performing the ritual of immortality on the populace below.