Serreno Orbit
Corran Horn watched the tunnel of hyperspace disappear, and felt a lurch against his body as his X-wing reverted to realspace. The other eleven fighters of Rogue Squadron appeared around him, and the voice of Colonel Tycho Celchu spoke through his helmet comlink.
"Rogue Squadron, enemy fleet approaching at vector two one nine; lock S-foils in attack position," Celchu said. Corran did as he ordered, opening up his S-foils and preparing his starfighter for combat. As the squadron began to close in on the Imperial Fleet, New Republic ships began to appear around them. Three Mon Calamari cruisers were the first to appear, followed shortly behind by five Assault Frigates. The final ship was the Galactic Voyager, the state of the art cruiser that served as the flagship of Admiral Ackbar.
As his X-wing strafed the underbelly of an Assault Frigate, Horn keyed his comm. "Three flight, form up on me." As the fighters of Flight Three moved in towards Horn, he changed his frequency to full squad comms. "Rogue Leader, this is nine. Three Flight is awaiting orders."
"Copy nine," Tycho acknowledged. "Our orders just came through from the admiral. We are to protect General Salm's B-wings from starfighter attack, and clear a path to the Imperial fleet." Corran saw Salm's B-wings launch from the hangar of the Galactic Voyager, and watched them begin to approach Rogue Squadron. Now he turned his attention to the Imperials.
A dozen Victory-class Star Destroyers, each with blood red hulls, were situated in a low orbit over Serreno. Intel had reported that these were the last ships of the infamous Crimson Command, a fleet that had wreaked havoc against the New Republic weeks earlier. The planet they were protecting, Serreno, had once been a base of operations for Warlord Zsinj, before he was defeated by the New Republic. If Corran had to guess, the Imperials were hoping to salvage anything they could from Zsinj's former stronghold.
"Squints incoming, vector two seven," Wes Janson called out.
"I see them, five. Rogue Squadron, prepare to engage. Keep those squints off of Salm's B-wings!" Tycho ordered. Corran felt his heart begin to pound as adrenaline surged through his body. The interceptors entered range and Corran opened fire. Red lasers shot out of the quad cannons on his X-wing's S-foils, and he just barely missed the lead TIE. He took off after the fighter, with Rogue Ten following him closely behind.
"On your wing, nine," Ooryl Qrygg said. Corran didn't respond, engaged completely with the interceptor. In just a few short seconds, the chase was all over, and the interceptor was a pile of drifting stardust. Corran whipped his X-wing around, heading back towards the rest of Rogue Squadron. Now another squadron of TIE's was approaching Salm's B-wings.
"Three flight, eyeballs approaching in sector four, reroute to engage."
"I copy nine," Inyri Forge acknowledged. Her fighter formed up on Horn's wing, and was followed closely by her wingmate, Larryn Ghufran. The squadron of TIE fighters was now in range, and Corran had already targeted the lead fighter on his targeting computer. He opened fire, and the TIE had no time to react, being torn apart in milliseconds by Horn's lasers. The rest of Three Flight engaged the TIE's as well, and the squadron was quickly forced to break off its attack on the Republic B-wings. The TIEs were now fully engaged with Three Flight, and Horn was beginning to worry they would overwhelm him.
"Rogue Nine, Two Flight is moving to support," Janson said. With a sigh of relief, Horn watched Janson's fighters speed past his, as they quickly destroyed multiple TIEs in their first volley.
"Six, two squints approaching from your left," Horn heard Myn Donos say.
"Copy Seven, I see them," Gavin Darklighter acknowledged, moving his fighter to combat the incoming TIE interceptors. The squadron of TIE fighters was now almost completely destroyed, and only one fighter remained. That soon changed, as Corran watched Inyri destroy the lone TIE with a quick proton torpedo strike.
"Rogue's, regroup on me, Salm's B-wings are approaching the first target," Tycho said. Corran quickly acknowledged his commanding officer, turning his fighter around and moving back towards the B-wings. The Star Destroyer they approached was already heavily damaged, having been caught in a barrage by the Mon Delindo. The B-wings released their proton torpedoes, raining hellfire onto the hull of the unshielded Star Destroyer. The hull erupted, fire spewing from behind the red durasteel. Within a few seconds, the Star Destroyer split in two, and Salm's B-wings continued on.
"Nine, lookout!" Corran heard Ooryl shout. He felt his fighter lurch as the lasers from a lone TIE interceptor slammed into the shields of his X-wing. With Whistler chirping frantically, Corran spun away from the interceptor, trying to avoid any more damage.
"Whistler, get the shields back online!" He yelled. Whistler beeped wildly, and Corran glanced at the screen where the droid's beeps were being translated. "I don't care that the ship is still taking fire, get those damn shields up!" As the interceptor continued to trail him, Corran moved in towards the hull of the Mon Delindo. He hoped that the Mon Calamari cruiser would open fire on the interceptor, since it seemed Ooryl was nowhere to be found.
His prayers were soon answered, as the laser cannons that lined the bottom of the cruiser opened fire, and the lone interceptor was forced to break off its pursuit. A quick whistle from Whistler indicated that the shields were back online, and Horn turned his fighter back around, heading back towards the Rogues. I'll have to scold Ooryl later.
The B-wings had destroyed another Star Destroyer, and they were now heading towards the ship located in the back of the Imperial formation. Horn's scanners showed that the ship was called the Crimson Sunrise, and that it was the flagship of the fleet. The ship was already damaged in multiple locations, damage it had taken from the Hope and the Quest, the two Assault Frigates that were engaging it.
"Squadron of squints, approaching in sector seven," he heard Hobbie announce.
"Copy Rogue Four, One Flight moving to engage," Tycho acknowledged. "Two and Three Flights, continue trailing Salm, we will handle this."
"Acknowledged, lead. Three Flight moving to escort," Corran said. Ooryl had once again taken his position on Corran's wing, as they moved in behind the B-wings. Two Flight was just beside them, as the Crimson Sunrise got closer and closer. The Victory-class Star Destroyer opened fire on them, and the Rogue's shot past the B-wings, firing on the laser cannons that lined its crimson red hull.
The Rogue's finished their strafing run, weaving around the back of the Star Destroyer's bridge for another pass. As they began to strafe the ship once again, the B-wings began to fire their torpedoes. The Crimson Sunrise was no match for the torpedoes, and the ship began to combust.
"Crimson Sunrise is down!" Gavin cheered over the comms. The B-wings turned and began to head back towards the New Republic Fleet, which was now cleaning up the remaining Star Destroyers.
"Rogue Squadron, stand by for further orders," Tycho said as the Rogue's regrouped near the remains of Crimson Sunrise. Only three Imperial ships remained, and all three were engaging the Galactic Voyager. Ackbar's flagship was easily holding its own against the small Star Destroyers, utilizing its powerful shields. The rest of the New Republic Fleet was now moving in beside it, and Corran knew that Imperials had little time left. As the Star Destroyer's went up in flames, Tycho's voice came through Corran's helmet.
"Rogue's, we have new orders from the admiral. We are to strafe the Imperial compound on the planet, and then return to the Galactic Voyager for debriefing. All flights form up on me." Corran did as he was ordered, following closely behind Celchu's fighter. Coordinates appeared on Horn's scanner, showing the location of the Imperial compound the Rogue's were ordered to strafe. They entered Serreno's atmosphere, moving through the cloudy sky. They blasted through the cloud cover, revealing the sprawling jungles below.
Horn leveled his fighter, still staying close to Tycho. The Imperial base soon appeared on the horizon, and from what Horn could tell, it was not very well defended. Only a few turbolaser towers could be seen, and only one hangar was present. A squadron of TIE fighters launched from the hangar, and began to speed towards the Rogue's. Horn watched them closely on scanners, wondering what Tycho would order them to do.
"Two Flight, engage the TIE's. One and Three flights, stay on me for a strafing run. Hit any crucial infrastructure with torpedoes.
"Copy Rogue Leader," Wes said, as Horn watched Two Flight break off from the rest of the squadron. They blasted ahead, engaging the TIE's. Horn maneuvered his fighter away from the dogfight, and continued towards the base. The turbolaser towers opened fire on the Rogue's, but they were quickly destroyed by laser volleys from Reme Pollar and Nrin Vakil.
With the base now in range, Horn opened fire, lighting up the main Imperial stronghold. The rest of the Rogue's did the same, and he heard explosions behind him as he blasted past the base. Two Flight rejoined the Rogue's, having finished off the TIEs, and they began to climb into the atmosphere, their mission complete.
The remains of the Imperial Fleet were once again in front of them, as they headed towards the Galactic Voyager. Horn began to decelerate his fighter as the ship got closer, and he maneuvered towards the open hangar on the side of the ship. The ray shield that protected the hangar from vacuum was now directly in front of him, and he brought his ship inside it, extending its landing gear. He relinquished control of the fighter, letting Whistler land the ship while he removed his flight helmet. Another successful mission was in the books.