The heavy turbolasers breathed fire as the Sovereign unleashed her first volley, followed shortly by the Conqueror. The Imperial fleet commenced the attack, aiming to destroy the rebel blockade over Rodia. The Deliverance – though being a strong, massive ship – shook violently under the hits on her frontal shield.
The rebels returned fire with all they had, yet they weren't able to cause any damage, the shields and armor of the triangular warships did their job well. Under these circumstances it wasn't a question who's gonna lose, and so Admiral Ramulan faced a difficult decision. He couldn't keep his fleet in its current position. Should he wait until the fighters hopefully clear the way, then push forward and attack from close quarters? Or would it be better to break the formation and get into the side of the Imperials, which would reduce the number of guns the Star Destroyers and cruisers can aim at them?
No, he can't do the latter, that way they would open the gates for the enemy. If they remain like this however, they will not be able to stand their ground for long; he needed another solution.
„Deliverance to all ships!" radioed the Mon Calamari admiral. „Dead slow ahead, right full rudder, we form a single line of battle! Drivert energy to the portside shields and give them full broadsides!"
„Justice copy."
„Republican copy."
The three cruisers fired up their engines, moving ahead at low speed, then with well coordinated maneuvers they stood into said single line, with the flagship in the middle, their portside facing the Imperial task force. As such, they could fire the majority of their main armament which soon had its effects. the Conqueror's shields were weakened significantly.
Marcus saw what was going on and knowing that he couldn't keep it like this, he reached for the communicator. „Sovereign to cruiser escort. Regroupe on our left flank, form a single row and cross their T. We need to divert their firepower."
„Aye Sir."
„Endurance is waiting to regroup."
„Thunder understood."
„Aye Sir, left flank ."
As the battle continued the Thunder and the Archer passed behind the Star Destroyers and joined the other two light cruisers, creating the wanted formation.
„Resilience, Sovereign. What is your ETA for resuming new stations?" asked Marcus.
„Unpredictable Sir, we have to get through the artillery fire and some of their fighters." replied the commander of the cruiser squadron.
„Yes I know Resilience, get in front of them at best speed."
For a certain amount of time the Imperial capital ships were now left without support, bearing the hostile bombardment alone. Marcus wanted to finish off the enemy ships as soon as possible, hence he had both Destroyers pounding the Deliverance while the Conqueror's secondary armament targeted the Republican, the last ship in the Rebel line.
Luckily however, the TIE-fighters were slowly but steadily prevailing, filling the darkness of space with balls of fire and sparkling pieces of steel that were once shiny X- and Y-wings. The Emperor's pilots were worthy of their reputation, the rest few enemy starfighters that managed to get closer were shot down by the Destroyers' AA-guns.
It was right around this time when the light cruisers got into position and they began pounding the Justice with everything they had, while their opponent could only reply with its frontal weapons. Still, their smaller caliber guns needed much more time to achieve any effect despite of their number.
„First officer, damage report." said Marcus, observing the battlefield through the Sovereign's windshield, with his hands behind his back.
„Deflector shield is at 85% Sir." said Mersalli, standing at one of the many monitors. „Minor damage on the bow, two secondary turbolasers incapacitated by shockwaves, one other overheated. Repairs are underway."
„Good." nodded Marcus stoically. That was when he noticed a chain of explosions to his left. The combined firepower of the cruisers finally had its effect, breaking through the Justice's shield. They all targeted the bridge and the Mon Calamari cruiser's command center was reduced to a flaming inferno of twisted steel, knocking out the rest of the systems. What remained of the shield disappeared with that as well, the engines lost power and the warship became visibly unstable. It was now essentially a beast, left without a brain and heart.
Seeing this, the young captain didn't hesitate for even a second. „Attention all forces! Redirect your fire on the enemy leading ship!"
The gunners inserted the needed data into the computers and the two Destroyers joined their escort in slaying their prey. It took only a few dozens of shots, and the Justice, this powerful warmachine became nothing more than a glowing field of debris, whirling above Rodia. As far as Marcus could see, not a single escape pod was launched. He then turned his attention toward the remaining two enemy units.
In a desperate attempt to give the flagship a little bit of more chance the Republican moved forward and positioned herself to the upper port side of the Deliverance to more or less shield it from the ruthless Imperial assault without blocking Ramulan's line of fire.
She indeed eased the situation of the Admiral for a while but with that she also had to suffer the simultaneous attack of two Star Destroyers alone which couldn't last for long. Not willing to give up easily however, her crew stretched her power stations to their limits, giving the cannons as much power as they could. The enormous cruiser was shaking, not just because of the impacts but because of her own overworked generators and thundering guns. And it wasn't without effect, the Conqueror's frontal shield was significantly weakened. One of the casemates of the smaller turbolasers that was protected only by energy field recieved a direct hit, killing the crew of a gun and injuring dozens of others. In the superstructure, a shockwave literally sent two unfortunate crewmembers flying, slamming them against the wall. They were rushed down to the medical room, but they couldn't be helped.
„What's the status of the closest enemy cruiser's deflector shield?" asked Marcus in his earlier, neutral tone.
„Dropped to 55% Sir." reported Dargan from the sunken gunnery control station.
„Divert energy to the ion-cannons. We paralyze it."
The crew carried out the necessary changes and the special weapons came to life, filling the space with their glowing, silvery rays. As fast as lightning the projectiles speeded through the battlesight, hitting the Republican one after another. The gigantic ship was surrounded by sparkles and flashes of electric discharges and rocked by secondary explosions. Her guns went silent, the lights went out except for the emergency lamps and the engines failed. One of the strongest cruisers of the Rebel armada was now a helpless, doomed hulk, drifting away.
„It's yours Dargan." said Marcus with a sadistic grin. Usually he called his officers by their rank during combat, not by their names, but he thought he can afford it now. After all, this carnage is so so beautiful.
The gunturrets adjusted their aim and the Star Destroyers ripped the unlucky ship apart. This time, Marcus saw a mere handful of escape pods leaving the wreck and hurrying down toward the planet. Though they weren't targeted, some of them were caught by stray shots, perishing more rebels. Marcus simply shrugged and immediately forgot this thing. In a so heavy rain of shots there's always a chance of this anyway.
Admiral Ramulan and the Deliverance were left alone. While the Republican heroically kept the Sovereign and the Conqueror busy, he tirelessly attacked the Imperial light cruisers with the bow cannons and he even managed to damage the Archer so heavily that she had to retreat, unable to fight. Now there was no chance left for winning or fleeing. The shield was about to give up, several guns were taken out by hits and fires were raging inside the ship.
The Mon Calamari admiral looked at his adversaries. In front of him were three still operational light cruisers and to his port side were two barely damaged, intact Star Destroyers. With all hopes dashed, he decided to choose the only option that seemed honorable, as he was unwilling to give up without a fight.
„Left full rudder and ram that one!" he ordered, tightening his grip on the panel of his command chair. The Deliverance turned right against the Sovereign and what energy she still had was given to the engines, making her fly toward the Star Destroyer like a rocket.
„Evasive maneuvers!" yelled Marcus as soon as he saw what was going on. The sirens let out their scream once more and the Sovereign swung diagonally „upward", if this phrase exists in space at all. The vertical movement of a Star Destroyer was much more sluggish however than forward or even backward, and she was still in the Deliverance's way when the rebel cruiser was dangerously close. „Come on sweetheart, come on!" urged Marcus his ship mentally. He kept his stern, brave look to reassure the crew, but in fact his pulse was in the skies and the blood was roaring in his ears as the enemy ship grew bigger and bigger by every second.
Just a little more, just a little more...
There was only one or two seconds between life and death. Miraculously, the two ships only rubbed each other, with the Deliverance's upper side scratching against the Sovereign's belly, but the effect was still brutal. The Deliverance's bridge was crushed and virtually sawed off by the Star Destroyer's hull with everyone inside. On the other hand, Marcus was thrown against the wall violently together with everyone else. Mersalli hit his head so bad that he almost fainted and blood was flowing from his temple.
Marcus felt as if his entire ribcage was broken, yet he stood up in pain. „Where is it?!"
„Just under and behind us Sir. It's dead in space." said Dargan, rubbing her aching shoulder.
„Use the ventral cannons! Finish this once and for all!"
Without bridge and propulsion the proud flagship of the rebel blockade was a sitting duck, making an easy target. It took only a brief salvo and and the last Mon Calamari cruiser fell apart.
The status report found out that the engineers of the Kuat Drive made an excellent work, the armor withstood the shock, only a huge, ugly scratch was left from bow to stern. In general, though the Destroyer was battered, it was nothing that couldn't be fixed on the spot in space.
From the crew however, dozens or even hundreds needed medical aid. Of course, Marcus' worries were mainly for one person.
X
Lena was preparing for the beginning of the attack on the planet. With breastplate fixed on her upper body and helmet in her hand, she was in the hangar with many others, including her new, own regiment. According to the news from the bridge, the enemy fleet was about to be defeated. Then, suddenly the sirens sounded. Without any windows they couldn't see what was happening, and in the emptiness of space, with the artificial gravity they didn't feel the harsh maneuvers either. Moments later they felt much more than they expected.
The ship was filled with the loud bang of the collision and order turned into chaos. Lena herself flew two meters high and five meters away, landing with a painful thump. The sheer fact that she didn't get hurt anywhere was a marvel itself. Others weren't so lucky, soldiers were hurled against each other, breaking bones, equipments and vehicles were falling and turning over everywhere, even an entire AT-ST fell on its side with deafening clatter.
„Are you alright Commander?" grabbed someone Lena's arm gently. It was her cannoneer. The young boy, although still being under the shock, felt it was his duty to check his superior right away
„Yes gunner, I'm fine. What about you?" she asked as she got up with a grunt, seeing the stripes of blood, coming from his nose.
„It's all but a scratch. With your permission, I think it's time for us to get ready." Shortly after this incident, they heard the Sovereign 's artillery opening fire again, but it supsided by now. As a confirmation, the signal came for the ground forces to board their vehicles.
„Nice foreplay. Time for the main show." she thought, as the elevator lifted her up to the boarding hatch together with her crew and the assault troops.
Crossing the long corridor that went through the entire walker, she entered the cockpit with the gunner and the pilot.
„Any damage due to the previous thing?"
„Nothing Ma'am. The vehicle withstood it, everything is functional." replied the pilot, running through all equipments.
„Good. Fire up all systems and get ready for action." Here comes the sweet, sweet retaliation. And she was eager to repay everything with interests.
Just as she thought that, the little light on the radio began flickering, signalling an incoming message. „What the..." she frowned in frustrated disbelief.
The attack has been suspended.