"This is a Scramble alert. All pilots to their fighters. I say again, this is a Scramble alert. All pilots to their fighters."
Captain Ward thought that the words were unnecessary. The flashing red lights and blaring klaxons were enough to signal a Scramble. He'd already snatched his helmet up by reflex and was pounding out of the ready room.
In turn with the bridge watches, the three fighter squadrons carried by Ascension rotated as to who was the ready squadron for that watch. It was Talon's turn, and hence the X-Wing squadron had been waiting in the ready room. Moonlight Squadron of A-Wings and Green Squadron of E-Wings would be following soon.
Ward's X-Wing was already prepped, his astromech in place. He raced up the ladder and dropped himself into the cockpit, confirming all systems ready.
"Flight Control, sitrep requested." That was Commander Ezarel, as laconic as ever.
"A mercenary unit declaring itself allied to the Vice-Admiral dropped out of hyperspace and demanded our surrender. Ascension battle group is moving to engage."
As if to punctuate Flight Control's report, Ward saw the clamshell bow of one of the battle group's Dreadnaughts just some distance away. He nudged his craft up onto its repulsorlifts, guiding it out of the hangar bay.
"Enemy strengths are as follows: two Krayt-class cruisers, four Interceptor frigates, four Corellian gunships, and approximately ninety starfighters. Talon, keep it tight on Ascension for now while we clear out the gunships."
"Talon Lead copies," Ezarel said. "You heard Control, Talons. We won't be able to approach under that flak cover, so let the big boys open things up."
Admiral Nireni stood on Ascension's bridge, gloved hands clasped behind her back. She gazed at the points of light outside the viewports.
Fascinating, what such points actually signified.
She checked her chrono, then turned back to where Captain Me was glancing over the holoprojector's view of the battlespace. The blue-skinned Twi'lek was fidgeting, and Nireni had to smile. There was always a restlessness to her flag captain, and it was never so clear as when they were moments away from the actual clash.
Nireni glanced over relative positions. The enemy was coming in a pretty standard formation - cruisers at the center, gunships in front, frigates behind. They'd be making attack runs against Ascension first, being as the Star Destroyer was their largest threat. The formation also offered excellent cover against the starfighters New Republic forces so heavily relied on.
On their own side, she had Neladeen, an Assault Frigate, maintaining position at port side, whilst Harrier and Sunhawk, both of them Katana Fleet Dreadnaughts, formed to starboard. Two Escort Frigates, Thunderchild and Chancellor, stuck close to Ascension to offer anti-fighter cover. The Corellian gunships Halberd, Swordsman, and Glassforge were formed as a triad ahead and beneath of Ascension, ready to spring to any position to offer either anti-starfighter coverage or a swift swiping attack against the enemy.
"Talon Squadron is clear," Commander Delyne reported. "Forming up around us."
"Thank you, Flight Control," Nireni said. "Time for the other squadrons?"
"Moonlight is launching now. Green in two minutes, Phoenix in three."
Nireni acknowledged that with a nod. She glanced over the hologram again. "Going directly in would solve a lot of problems," she said.
"It would also expose us to a significant amount of fire," Captain Me said. "They're not stupid enough not to concentrate fire against the greatest threat."
The Admiral concealed a smile, turning it instead into a thoughtful frown as she tugged her gloves off. "This is, at best, a delaying action. The Vice-Admiral's not stupid. We outgun them in absolute terms, and there's no realistic chance of them actually inflicting significant damage. The danger lies in the threat to our fighter complement. Mismanage this battle, and we can lose our starfighters." She slapped her gloves against her palm.
"Your plan?" Captain Me asked.
"The gunships and frigates are the real threat; the cruisers are there as opportunistic damage-dealers against our capital ships. Especially us. Thus, we must neutralise their anti-fighter capability." She paused, slapped the gloves against her palm again. "Signal to Neladeen and our gunship triad. They're to advance and engage only the enemy's gunships. Fighter squadrons will hang back for the moment; if and when the enemy fighters engage, they are cleared to counter.
Escort frigates will maintain formation; signal both Dreadnaughts to prepare for maneuver." No convenient stellar bodies nearby. No matter.
She checked her chrono again. Still a bit of time. "Captain, you may fire when ready."
Captain Me stepped away from the holoprojector. "All turbolaser and ion cannon batteries, fire when ready. Signals, all other ships may do the same."
Ascension fired first, the massive turret along its centerline discharging its two barrels in a scarlet flash. The other turrets and the static gun batteries followed, lighting up the ship's angular form in a corona of fire. The gunners simply fired as they bore, some going on manual instead of waiting for their computers. The enemy was coming in too fast for precise firing solutions.
The enemy ships were blazing forwards in attack formation, the two cruisers already lighting off with turbolaser discharges. Neladeen, unhampered by enemy fire and at an angle to their approach, opened up with its own batteries. Harrier and Sunhawk, on the far side of the Star Destroyer, lent their own battery blisters to the barrage. Turbolaser and ion fire splashed off the enemy shields. They were taking a solid battering, but at their speed and with the shield overlap afforded by their formation, they could take hits.
The gunship triad accelerated, already beginning to come about and match velocities with their opposite numbers. Their own gun emplacements began to light off as well. Dual turbolasers aimed for their counterparts. Quad lasers went for fighters. All three loosed a volley of concussion missiles, aiming to sap shield strength. The two Escort Frigates, not to be outdone, began their own rates of fire as well.
In a stand-up fight, Ascension could have eaten them all for breakfast without slowing down. The Nebula class of Star Destroyers was made to fight an Imperial-II on equal terms and come out on top, after all.
That, of course, was exactly why the mercenaries weren't going for a stand-up fight.
Engines blazing, they blitzed past Ascension, discharging a series of punch-fire barrages from all their batteries. Even the gunships ignored the fighters scattering away from their attack path, focusing their fire instead on the Star Destroyer.
"Talon, Green, Moonlight, stoop and sting!" came the order from Flight Control.
So released, thirty-six fighters swung in. They were outnumbered three-to-one, but few mercenary forces could field starfighters as fine as New Republic craft. Yet the enemy fighters weren't breaking formation.
Neladeen, its broadside presented to the enemy, kept up a steady hail of fire. Ascension was maneuvering to do the same. No ponderous behemoth, the Nebula-class; it was swinging into position by the time the enemy had come about.
Talon Squadron was the first to approach close enough to the enemy formation, but a hail of laserfire persuaded them otherwise. Moonlight's swifter A-Wings managed a salvo of their own, to little effect, and they had to abort their run as well.
Talon Nine cursed. "Flight Control, we're not going to be able to pry off any of the enemy fighters. They're too close to the gunships."
"Copy that, Talons. All fighters, take up formation around the Dreadnaughts and keep clear of our field of fire."
There was simply no way the fighters could get in close enough without risking destruction, not with the firepower the gunships were mustering. The triad of Halberd, Swordsman, and Glassforge flashed past, guns blazing. The enemy was coming about, preparing to make another attack run.
This time, Ascension's main battery fire was more specifically targeted against the gunships, adding its own considerable firepower to that of Neladeen. Not even the most perfect shield overlap could protect a mere frigate long against the concentrated firepower of a Star Destroyer.
Still, it was Neladeen's pinpoint firepower that forced a gunship to drop out of formation, its hull bearing marks of carbon scoring, aflame in two places. A second gunship was subjected to a ferocious primary bombardment from Ascension, heavy turbolasers battering its hull until it crumbled and exploded.
An interceptor frigate fell to concentrated fire from the two Dreadnaughts. Ion fire slowed it until it fell out of formation, and then they battered its hull relentlessly. Turbolasers flashed until finally it fell silent and unmoving.
"We've got a chance now," Commander Ezarel said, as the enemy fighters rearranged themselves. "Talons, prepare to engage."
This time, as the enemy closed in, the fighters broke formation. Moonlight Squadron leapt forward, guns blazing, several of them firing off concussion missiles.
For all their numbers, the enemy fighters were a hodgepodge. Talon Nine chose as his target a Z-95 Headhunter that looked to have been modified quite a fair bit. The CloakShape flying on its wing blew apart as Moonlight Seven flew past. Talon Nine's lasers, set to dual fire, chewed through the Headhunter's shields and then tore into its starboard engine. To its credit, it managed to discharge several shots in revenge, but those splashed off Talon Nine's shields.
It's a fascinating battlespace to be in, Talon Nine thought. There was a constriction that generally wasn't present in space. There was a distinct 'ceiling' to things, demarcated by the hail of red, green, and blue bolts flying from the capital ships above them. Ascension's main battery fire, massive paired turbolaser blasts, were easily picked out from all the rest. A gunship's shields failed, and it crumbled under merciless bombardment.
Talon Nine, jinking away from the swift fire of an Ixiyen fighter, suddenly caught a flash of pseudomotion. Hyperspace entry. No mistaking it.
There was also no mistaking the distinctive ball-shaped cockpit of a TIE-series fighter.
And there was only one TIE design that bore three sets of solar array wings.
A transmission came in over clear broadcast. "New Republic battle group, this is Tempest Squadron of the Galactic Empire, reporting twelve, say again, twelve TIE Defenders cleared for action. Requesting permission to join the fight."
The reply was also in the clear, and it wasn't Flight Control. "Tempest Squadron, this is Admiral Nireni. We'd be glad to have you. Join in wherever you like."
The grin could be heard in Tempest Lead's voice when she responded. "Thank you, Admiral. Tempests - bring the rain."
Six wing pairs of TIE Defenders vectored into the fight, engines screaming. There were very few fighters that could be said to be the best in existence. The X-Wing was one of them, earning that prize through sheer versatility. It wasn't the fastest, it wasn't the toughest, it wasn't the strongest - but it could fill any of a dozen roles with alacrity.
The Defender earned its place on that same list by virtue of sheer excellence in its chosen fields. It was faster and more maneuverable than an A-Wing and had more primary firepower than an X-Wing or E-Wing. Its shields were just as strong as either, and its hyperdrive capability permitted it the same independence as an X-Wing.
Where it fell short was cost, but Talon Nine knew that none of the unfortunates on the receiving end of those blistering green laser bolts would find that notion comforting. Expensive Defenders might be, but that meant nothing when you had a wing pair right behind you, refusing to be shaken, right before the Cutlass's fuselage detonated.
Talon Nine focused on his job. With the gunships and interceptor frigates being destroyed one after the other, the fighters were more free to engage. Phoenix Squadron was already making an attack run on one of the cruisers, their way cleared by their fellow squadrons and the gunship triad.
Most of the mercenary fighters were being blasted apart by Talon, Moonlight, Green, and Tempest Squadrons. The mercenaries had managed to take two Moonlights, a Green, and two Talons out of the fight, but they hadn't managed proper kills; they were merely damaged and had vectored out of the fight, past where the gunships were holding station.
And in the meantime, the Tempests were tearing through the mercenaries with contemptuous ease. A Tempest found a TIE Interceptor menacing Moonlight Seven, who was pulling off an impressive show of evasive action. The Tempest didn't wait, blasting apart its lesser cousin with a quad-linked blast from its lasers.
One of the cruisers slewed, dropping out of formation. Harrier and Sunhawk turned, but fired only with ion cannon. In fact, the turbolaser fire had stopped for a moment; only the Dreadnaughts and Ascension were firing, and only with their ions.
"This is Admiral Nireni to the Brightwind Mercenaries. Half your force has been destroyed and your starfighters are losing to ours. Surrender now, and your survivors will be treated with dignity."
There was no response to the admiral's transmission; if anything, that only spurred the mercenaries on to vengeful fervour. A damaged Z-95 put all its remaining power into engines and aimed to ram one of the Tempests; it managed to evade only through deft maneuvering with the aid of its tractor beam, using its wingmate to drag itself out of line. Moonlight Three caught the Z-95 and blasted it apart.
Above, the last Krayt cruiser seemed bent on mirroring the scene, its engines burning, aiming straight for Ascension. The Star Destroyer's gunners didn't hesitate, turning all their firepower onto the oncoming ship. Few ships could survive the full attention of a Nebula, and a mere Krayt wasn't one of them.
Whatever fanaticism had infected the mercenaries clearly wasn't all-pervasive, as the cruiser was shedding escape pods as it continued on its suicide run. Some of the gunners were still at their stations, turbolasers blasting away.
The cruiser slowed. The Escort Frigates had advanced, tractor beams tugging at the cruiser, counteracting its forward motion. Presented with a stationary target, Ascension's gunners pounded the cruiser until it ceased firing.
Reduced to a hulk, it burned, the flames consuming its atmosphere.
"All fighters, return to base. Tempest Squadron, we'd be pleased to take you in our hangar bays. Support ships are launching for recovery operations."