The Xen Chi Invasion: The Invasion Begins....

18 years after the Battle of Yavin...
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The Xen Chi Invasion: The Invasion Begins....

Post by corsos »

This is what happens when you have to take orders from an alien…

Admiral Ton had never been so frustrated. He commanded the largest and most powerful single fleet in the known galaxy, with the galaxy’s most infamous vessel as its flagship. The New Republic, or whatever was left of it would have been torn asunder under the combined guns of his ships. The Empire was on the brink of war with Loris, and his fleet could destroy wreak havoc in their territory and finish the war before it even really began. But no, rather than being deployed against a real threat, the last living Grand Admiral, a complete fraud as far as Banner was concerned – had him parading about the Outer Rim patrolling territory against an a foe that was only real in the blue skinned alien’s mind. They were imaginary. Likely this assignment was merely to get Ton away from the Core to allow Thrawn to consolidate his power and remove Banner from a position in which he could challenge him.

Next to nothing had happened in the past month, only recently had they lost communication with Vortex, something he had sent a blockade runner to check out. Otherwise there was nothing, no scouts, no ships, no fleets, and no action. On the bright side he did manage figure out he couldn’t stand his new XO. He was a former Ardin supporter and thus a selection of Grand Admiral Thrawn. It was amazing how a man was able to rule from the grave like James Ardin. He was like a ghost that just wouldn’t leave Banner be. For a while, just a while, during Damascus’ reign it seemed like he finally did. He was winning the war, and nearly had the New Republic destroyed until Ardin returned. Then his command was taken from him. Thank the force Damascus killed him before his own death.

“Sir.” The annoying little overachiever Captain Paxson walked into the room and saluted crisply.

“What is it Captain?” Ton swiveled in his chair towards the entering Captain. He had forgetten to close and lock the door to his office. Next time, he wouldn’t forget.

“We’ve received word from the Corvette Epsilon.”

“It’s returned already?”

“No sir… not quite. Can I punch in?”

“Go ahead Captain.” Ton said straightening in the chair.

Paxson plugged his datapad into the desk and the hologram screen appeared above. It began with static, and the picture distorted with interference. Finally Captain Sellers voice became audible and slowly the image clearer.

“Are we through Nichols?”
“Yes sir, still resolving the image, but you are live.”

Sellers continued. The man was a good officer, so when Ton heard the panic in his voice it was…. disconcerting. “High Admiral, I’m afraid it was not a simple communications problem at the command center. Vortex has been invaded, conquered and destroyed. An enemy fleet is in system and aligning to leave. Nothing is left of the defense fleet or the orbital or planetary facilities.”[/i]

It was then that the picture became clear and Ton saw the enemy fleet. It was all encompassing, like specks everywhere around the planet. Ton mentally counted the ships. Not that much larger than his fleet, if at all.

Maybe Thrawn wasn’t so crazy after all…

“They’re moving into formation Admiral, to leave the system. A few ships are being left behind to do something with the surface. I’m not sure what. We’ve done our best to judge where they are going, and we believe it is Ord Mantell. We also found a fragment of a message from Ansion, they have been hit as well. Damage is unknown. We are going to head there next.”

“Captain we have ships moving in our direction, fighter class and one frigate, looks like we’ve been discovered.”

“Move to position 3.14 and execute micojump Theta.”

“Maneuvering sir…. Engaging hyperdrive.”

“It wont engage sir, some sort of jamming interdiction field. It’s also disrupting our sensors and communications…”

“Try transponders…. Chhhh…. 54……chhh…….”


“That was last contact sir.” Paxson said with a hint of sadness.

Ton did not match his tone. His face wore the look of eagerness. Finally, a challenge. Plot a course for a spot just outside Ord Mantell. We have a trap to set.”

“Yes sir.”
Last edited by corsos on Fri Jul 28, 2006 8:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by corsos »

The fleet had been in hyperspace for almost three hours, halfway to their microjump point outside of the Ord Mantell system. Admiral Ton’s plan was genius, and he did say so itself. It was a major gamble, but the payoff was going to be extroadinary. His strategy was based on some very basic assumptions. The first was that while the aliens would have some knowledge of hyperspace routes in Imperial space it wouldn’t have the same knowledge he and his fleet had at their disposal. The second was that this threat had some level of intelligence about their enemy, and they would understand the importance of the Cleansing and the tactical implications of taking it down. Third, their assumptions of the number of losses the Empire took at Corellia were overestimated, and they would not predict such a large concentrated fleet near such unimportant systems. If all those were true, this battle would be over only shortly after it began.

The hyperspace communications network had connected all his ships and he was ready to address the most senior officers in his fleet, who would then filter his orders down to their individual battle groups.

“Alright gentlemen, you’ll be seeing the battle plan appearing on your HUD. First, you’re looking at the fleet spread out along points along microjump routes outside the Ord Mantell system. You will notice this is not the entire fleet, we are missing approximately 15 ships, including the Cleansing. These ships will be in system, preferable before the enemy fleet arrives. We’ve sent our fast scout ships ahead to make sure this is the case before we implement the plan. Considering our knowledge of hyperspace routes and their assumed lack thereof beating them to their apparent objective should not be difficult.”

“Sir even in full, if our intelligence is correct, our fleet numbers fewer ships than theirs. Is it wise to split our forces in such a manner?” Captain Marks asked.

Ton nodded, “They will only be so for a short time Captain, have no fear. As you can now see, the Cleansing will be positioned in the center of the system, well inside the gravity well of the planet. It will supplmented by five escort vessels, two Victory Class Star Destroyers, two Nebulon Frigates and a Lancer. It will also have the planetary turbolasers and TIE squadrons for support. No doubt to our invaders this will seem too high a prize to pass up.”

“If you stay and fight sir, they will certainly suspect a trap and be cautious.”

Ton nodded. “Precisely, that is why we will look to turn and run, albeit slowly. They will give chase with a sufficient number of ships to destroy the Cleansing and her escorts. They will catch us, but not before we clear to the other side of the planet, where in its shadow will lay in wait our first surprise. Nine ships will be hiding in the planet’s shadow, including four Imperial Class Star Destroyers, three Strike Cruisers, and two more Frigates. This should be enough to if not destroy, at least delay the ship contingent sent after the Cleansing. Once the first group is dealt with, I have little doubt the alien fleet will move to envelop the Cleansing and its small battle group, in an attempt to surround and destroy. With the group already damaged and outnumbered it would certainly be what I would do.”

“This is when we launch our second surprise. Your microjump routes will bring in our ships at eight different converging points on the outskirts of the system. The alien fleet will be arranged against the Cleansing, and its battle group. We will be the anvil. Vice Admiral Brax, you and the rest of the fleet will be the hammer. With them scattered they should be easily disposed of.”

Silence filled the holo channel but only for a moment, when Brax asked a very careful intelligent question. “Admiral, it is a gambit for sure… and it all depends on whether or not the Cleansing and its support ships can withstand the alien fleet long enough to draw it far enough inside the system for our surprise tactics to be effective. If it is not…”

Ton nodded. “That is the risk Admiral, but here is my answer. The Cleansing has survived more regents and Emperor’s than any of us. This ship has stood against every enemy the Empire has ever faced and it has never even had to go into dry dock. The last thing I am concerned about is the ability of this ship and this crew in surviving any attack by an upstart alien species. We will hold out, and we will win.”

A few other small questions related to timing and communication were asked before the meeting was adjourned. The plan was now in motion. And Banner Ton would have his victory.
"The goal of war is not to die for your country, it's to make the other bastard die for his." General George S. Patton

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Post by Neuge »

Senis'arek watched with clinical interest as the Imperial corvette was reduced to a burning hulk by the Thrall warship and its fighters. The small vessel, after realizing that it was trapped, had put up a valiant fight, destroying two of the Thrall fighters, but once the Ractill frigate had caught up, the fight had been over within minutes. The Ractill were not known for showing mercy, and Senis had not ordered them to.

So far, she was unimpressed with this self-appointed Galactic Empire. The Xen'Chi Dominion had invaded two of their systems in quick succession, and had faced no notable opposition, nor any counter-attacks. Had a Xen'Chi been leading this Empire, Senis would no doubt be involved in a pitched battle with multiple fleets already mobilized to retake their worlds. Instead, she doubted they had even taken note. They were an unprepared enemy despite what reports on the blue-skinned demon would have indicated, and no Xen'Chi would miss an opportunity to shove the dagger even further into her enemy.

She turned away from the viewport, the action over, and swept the cruiser's bridge with her red eyes. All of her warriors were consulting their readouts and sensor data, and she quickly found the one analyzing the navigation maps they had acquired from Ansion.

"Kress!" she barked, secretly pleased when he jolted upright from his work. "Have you found the most suitable course for our advance?"

"Er, I believe so, Precept. I have found a route to the system known to our enemy as 'Ord Mantell'. It is possible that there are faster ways, however these charts are not as detailed as our own, and... guessing would be inadvisable with a fleet of this size."

"Typical of aliens," she snarled. "Inform Marszal Reczicc of the Ractill that we are moving on to Ord Mantell immediately." She turned again to the viewport, where the wreckage of the corvette could still be seen, slowly twisting toward the system's star. Soon, Senis knew, the large and still-grey space on her bare upper back and shoulders that she had kept empty of tattoos would be filled; there would be one describing her glorious spearheading of the Xen'Chi invasion of the Galaxy, and one telling of her achieving the rank of Overseer of the Xen'Chi Dominion.
It was, after all, hard to take a bright red Star Destroyer very seriously.
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Post by corsos »

ooc hope you dont mind me using your character Crofty - i think it adds flavor to the set-up

IC

Admiral Brax had wanted a face to face meeting with Banner before the operation began and Ton had granted it. Normally he wouldn't give the time to a subordinate, but Brax was an exception. He had served with distinction in the navy for some time since Croft's insurrection, and then joined Ardin's regentship. In fact he had moved on from leader to leader and served well under all circumstances. That was why Ton knew he could be trusted, and that he was a good COmmander, otherwise why would he have been kept around for so long. He was also one of Ardin's boys, therefore he was conservative and clearly had some issues with the plan.

"Sir, the Principality is the Empire's only other flagship, and it is still undergoing dry dock repairs outside Coruscant. The Cleansing is the jewel of the fleet, to risk it like this is brazen."

"Maybe..." Ton answered, "But it is also our best shot. Our fleets are diminished, and our resources scant. The Cleansing is our greatest weapon, and we need to use it in every way possible to achieve our victory. If that means putting it at the point of a spear we do it, even if it means making it bait and risking it all on its account. I won't have the Empire's best ship and best crew sit and watch others fight for it. It's a waste of resources. Besides the enemy fleet is larger than us, and we don't know their technology or their tactics. By laying this trap we force them to make the first move. We react, and learn our enemy. It will require flexible thinking on our part, which is precisely why I have chosen you to lead the cavalry."

"Your experience with small intelligence missions along with large fleet maneuvers makes you ideal for leading the remainder of the fleet and using your judgement as to when you should enter the system and exactly how. The plan I leave you is a skeleton, and I expect you to fill in the holes."

Brax straightened his back and sat up in his chair. A small smirk crawled across his face. "Alright Admiral, I'm convinced. And don't worry, we'll be there when you need us."

"Good enough for me. Now get off my ship, I have a trap to lay." Ton smirked.

"Gladly sir." Brax got up and left for the hangar bay. Ton made his way to the bridge. "Alright gentlemen, signal to the rest of the task force and prepare to move us into the system. Captain Paxson, has our forward ships coordinated with Ord Mantell defense forces?"

"Yes sir, they are expecting our arrival. They have a wing of TIE Fighters and an old Dreadnaught for their system defense fleet. THat will put our visible ship contingent at seven sir, with nine in the planet's shadow."

Ton nodded. "Excellent, it will be even slower than our Vics, making our slow escape attempt all the more realistic. Are we ready to move Captain?"

"Yes sir, our task force is in formation and is ready to depart."

Ton nodded. "Good, send word to Admiral Brax that we are leaving and emplo hyperdrive on my mark."

"Standing by sir."

"Mark."
"The goal of war is not to die for your country, it's to make the other bastard die for his." General George S. Patton

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Post by corsos »

“You know Admiral, technically since you are in my system and I am the rregional governor I am in charge of the defense of the system.” The man was a political beast, Ton could see that. And he was trying to wrinkle what he could out of this. But now he was getting tedious and annoying. And one thing Ton wouldn’t stand for was incompetent carreer politicians getting in the way of his operations. He hated politicians. He loved war.

Ton nodded and smiled at the slender man. “Is that so governor? Well, perhaps I should cede control of the Cleansing over to you now, make it your flagship? Well, actually, I have a better idea. How about a trace this transmission, find your location, target it and create a crater so large I could land this ship inside it. Then I can maintain control of this ship and my fleet. I wonder what your opinion would be on that governor?”

Banner gave the man a lot of credit. He didn’t flinch at all, in fact if anything he became even more smug. “I doubt Grand Admiral Thrawn would appreciate one of his governors being so callously removed from their post, not to mention the Moffs.”

Ton matched his tone, and smiled wider. “Ill take my chances.” Ton spoke louder and to his bridge crew. “Trace this transmission, and target the source. Prepare to fire.”

Now the Governor wasn’t quite so snug, in fact Ton could see the sweat form almost instantaneously. “Admiral… I don’t quite think that’s necessary. You have leave to use all my defense forces as you see fit, of course.”

Ton nodded. “Very good Governor. Ton out.” He turned off the transmission and looked to his bridge mates. Ion blast his palace please, I don’t want him interfering in this.”

“Sir…” Paxson asked incredulously. “You want us to fire on an Imperial Governor’s mansion?”

Ton nodded. “He wont go down this quietly Captain, and his interference could cost us this battle. SO yes, I want you to fire on the Governor’s mansion, do you have a problem following this order?”

Silence followed on the entire bridge. It was deafening. Finally he relented. “Of course not sir.”

Moments later blue energy was streaking towards the surface and the power flowing to the Governor’s mansion was cut. Ton was in total command, and now his ships were in perfect position. The Cleansing and its six escorts were arranged in plain view – its reinforcement of nine ships hiding in the planet’s shadow. The Clenasing was in the center of the visible formation, with the two Vics flanking it, and the Dreadnaught hanging just below it. The Frigates were scattered across its top anf front for fighter and missile support. The trap was set.
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Post by Neuge »

A soft tone echoed through the meditation chamber, drawing Senis out of her warrior's trance and bringing her to full consciousness. She breathed deeply, restoring the thoughts and memories associated with the hot, sulfurous atmosphere. She slowly opened her eyes, and drew her lips into a tight smile. Today she would conquer another enemy system for the Dominion, bringing the Xen'Chi one step closer to the goal assured by the Xa'Tieron... complete domination of the Galaxy.

She stood and strode confidently onto the bridge, her eyes adjusting quickly to the increased lighting provided by the swirling tunnel of hyperspace which dominated the front viewport. The vessel's command crew remained focused on their tasks as she entered, none overtly noticing her arrival. This was the sign of a fine crew, dedicated to duty, ready for battle.

She walked into the aisle, and looked at the central terminal, reading the numbers counting off in the top right-hand side. Three minutes.

Moving further along, she found her communications advisor. Placing her hand on his shoulder, she leaned over him and spoke quietly. "I am counting on you to ensure that Reczicc follows orders as they are given... if we face opposition, he may attempt to lead his fleet to victory, and he is not a master of tactics, despite his position. You will make certain that this does not happen. If you should fail," she emphasized with a squeeze, making him wince, "the consequences would be severe."

He nodded in pained agreement. "He will follow your orders to the letter, Precept."

"Good," she replied. "Besides, it would be a shame to lose someone... like you," she stated with a slight smile, her red eyes glimmering with something that could have been lust. She abruptly released him and moved purposefully back to the central terminal. Fear and intimidation were not the only motivators at her disposal.

The numbers were now counting down in mere seconds. She looked around at her crew, willing to succeed or die for the Dominion, and knew by their faces that on this day there could only be victory. "Warriors, prepare for reversion... and battle."

____________________


As he neared the edge of the gravity well, Jasser Ralleen, captain of the freighter Long Haul, was glad to be getting the heck out of Ord Mantell. When he'd arrived, Imperial Customs gave him a hassle for his cargo of Ithorian Recycler Beetles and taxed him about three hundred percent of the proper rate. They'd even laughed at his promises to complain to the Imperial Board of Trade. Then, his inn reservation had been cancelled without refund because some minor Imperial bureaucrat from the capital hadn't been satisfied with his stay and had ordered the whole place shut down pending inspection. He'd spent the night in his pilot's chair, a seat not designed with comfort in mind. After a fruitless search for another place to stay (in the middle of tourist high-season), he'd decided to simply skip ahead to his next pickup.

When he'd finally cleared the planet's pink clouds, he'd been greeted by a massive Super Star Destroyer which hung in space above him, surrounded by several other Imperial Navy vessels. The fleet had ordered him to fly around with a clearance of at least 10 kilometres, which had wasted another half an hour, considering that his desired exit vector put the fleet directly between him and his jump point, and that his freighter wasn't exactly top of the line. During that time, he'd even seen the Destroyer fire upon the planet below. Good riddance, he'd thought to himself.


He sighed, thinking back on the disastrous trip which had ended up putting him a thousand credits in debt, a trip which was finally over. He began thinking about how to tell the story back in Coronet, but stopped suddenly and laughed bitterly, realization dawning on him. His cantina buddies would never believe it. No one anywhere would believe it.

The red light on his console blinked out, indicating that he was now clear of the gravity well. He smiled, and reached forward for the hyperspace lever to get him out of this system forever. The red light blinked back on in the corner of his eye, and he drew his hand back and looked at it, confused. That's impossible. He shifted his gaze to the viewport, and his mouth opened in surprise. Where before there had been a simple starfield, now was an entire fleet of vessels. His mind raced, trying to place the designs, but he'd never encountered any of them before. He'd never even seen anything close. They were seemingly disorganized and jagged, and definitely built to intimidate. The vast majority were painted a deep crimson, with splotches here and there of black. They were, beyond any doubt, ships of war... and he was completely surrounded.

____________________


"Precept, there is a small unarmed vessel in the middle of our formation. It's trapped by the Ractills' gravity well generators," someone reported.

"Is there?" she asked rhetorically, musing over the possibilities. The occupant might end up being useful. "Capture it with our tractor beam, and bring it inside."

She turned her attention back to the viewport, which held a very unexpected sight. "What... is that?"

"Precept... I believe, from the intelligence provided to us by the Xa'Terion, that we are looking at our enemy's most powerful and most important vessel," came the reply.

Senis' expression transformed immediately from one of confusion to one of utter delight. "Unbelievable luck," she muttered to herself. Composing herself quickly, she looked to her sensor officers. "Have you scanned the system? Are there any other vessels?"

"No Precept, we can only detect the seven vessels in plain sight. We are detecting several sensor echoes, but they are proving impossible to triangulate with our fleet in such a tight formation."

Senis' red eyes glimmered once more, this time with greed. "Excellent, they are of no consequence. If they develop into anything further, inform me at once. In the meantime... order the Marszal to proceed into the system at flank speed and to open fire when within range. We will follow slightly behind. The destruction of that ship is our top priority... in fact, it is our warrior's destiny."
It was, after all, hard to take a bright red Star Destroyer very seriously.
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Post by corsos »

Admiral Ton stood silently at the viewport of the Super Star Destroyer Cleansing looking out at the empty expanse of space surrounding the small planet of Ord Mantell. They were coming, he was sure they were coming and he knew exactly where they would drop out of hyperspace. During Ferval's reign as regent and later in Damascus' hyperspace sensor bouys were placed along major hyperspace routes in and out of most large Imperial systems. It was no suprise the aliens were using such a route, as their knowledge of this area space should be limited unless their intelligence gathering had gone largely unnoticed. So it was just a matter of waiting... and waiting.....

In the past Banner had found it necessary to be constantly pacing and barking orders to make sure his crew was in shape and everything was running in conjuction with his desires. BUt not anymore. He felt enough confidence, and enough presence, that he knew his mere presence on the bridge motivated his crew. It also allowed him to really think through things before they even happened. It sickened Ton to realize that it was exactly what Grand Admiral Ardin used to do but it was the sad truth. Perhaps he had learned something from that ghost after all...

The low whine of the alarm on the bridge indicating hyperspace events interrupted Banner's reminiscing. They were arriving. Banner snapped his head up, and rested his hand on his chin as he watched every single one of the alien vessels jump into the system. His eyes darted down to the display in front of him.

Exactly the number our scout reported... and in the exact reversion point, give or take a few meters. Perfect.

Ton smiled, and lifted his head back up towards the viewport. They would hold here for a few moments, and feign suprise, and perhaps even a little panic. Caught completely unaware, the Imperial fleet was frozen in shock. A detatchment of the alien fleet would advance... and come closer for the kill.

Well perhaps we didn't project everything perfectly...

It wasn't only a task force that was advancing on them, it was the entire alien fleet moving in at what Ton hoped was their fastest acceleration. Well... this would be interesting after all. Maybe too interesting. The Cleansing would have to live up to its reputation of being able to take a beating. Now it was just a matter of selling it and counting on Admiral Brax getting here on time.

"Battle group Alpha hold your position. Make them think we don't have a plan. Record all alien fleet movements, and prepare for a tightbeam transmission to Admiral Brax. But do not transmit until my order. Hold..."

Ton waited. Every second seemed like a minute, and every minute an hour. Ton watched as the alien fleet grew ever large in the viewport, trying to spot what he thought was the lead ship. It was difficult to tell when he didn't know the classes of the different alien ships, and which held the most guns. He tapped his foot slowly on the durasteel floor, every hit echoing a hollow clap across the bridge and back. Everyone was waiting for an order... and Ton would wait... wait until it was time.

The counter on his display finally reached five minutes. Ton smiled and looked back up at the oncming alien fleet, and one thought went through his mind.

Suprise...

"Bring us about helm, and bring us back around the planet. Scramble our fighters. Communication silence."

Ton could feel the massive ship begin to turn on its axis very very slowly. In his viewport he could see his escorts doing likewise. Captain Paxson asked a fair question.

"SIr, should I notify Battle Group Beta as to the situation and arrange our rendevous."

"No Captain, change of plans, we'll be coming to them. They'll know it when they see us."

Paxson knew better than to ask Banner to explain himself, and Ton at least gave him credit for knowing bridge officers ettiquette.

"Helm, bring us in as close to the planet's atmosphere as you can. Skim it. Once you take us around the planet's curve and we get out of their sensor range contact Battle Group Beta. I want us arranged right on top of the planet, limiting the vectors the enemy can converge on us. I want our frigates in defensive formation around us, and our Imperial Class Star Destroyers. They are on fighter and warhead duty. Make sure they don't stray far, out of range of our turbolasers. This way we can cover them from enemy cruiser fire. I want every one of our Star Destroyers to be showing their broadsides to the enemy fleet. Unless they take the time to go around the planet the other way, which will only help us allowing Brax more time to wreak havoc, they will enter on the vector of our retreat. When they turn to the planet's shadow I want them to see six Star Destroyers unleashing hell on them. It will be a gauntlet of hellfire they will not survive. If anything it will make them rethink their strategy and adjust their tactics. It will buy us more time in addition to the damage we'll do to them."

"Sir, in that position we wont have a hope of escape."

Ton smiled. "Escape was never an option anyway, Captain."

The bridge gave no answer but it was clear the orders were being carried out. It took nearly twenty minutes for the ships to turn and move back around the planet, and the alien fleet did nothing but gain ground. But Ton's calculations held and the Imperial fleet had a large enough lead to give them time to adjust their formation. He punched his formation orders in and sent them to the additional ships waiting in the planet's shadow. They quickly began to shift into Ton's gauntlet.

"Activate the tight beam to Brax, and then drop it."

"Sir shouldnt we maintain the feed so he can monitor what's going on?"

"No, this feed will make him realize the situation. He'll be able to judge when to arrive."

He knows what he's doing.... or else we're all dead."

"Have the fighters from the surface launch and join ours in system. Order high alert, all crews to their battle stations. Prepare to fire the moment those bastards peak their noses in front of us."

Now it is only a matter of waiting, if they charge around the planet as brazen as they came into the syste, they'll drive headlong into the focus of our fire. They will naturally overwhelm us in time... but not enough time.... before Brax tightens the noose... come and get it.
"The goal of war is not to die for your country, it's to make the other bastard die for his." General George S. Patton

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Post by Neuge »

"Pathetic," Senis growled. The aliens had begun their retreat, apparently aiming to circle around the planet. "Increase speed to match the Ractill fleet, and keep us behind them at this distance. Order Marszal Reczicc to follow that group's trajectory, any closer to the planet would be suicidal."

She looked at the tactical map of the area provided by sensor scans. There was little or no advantage to hiding behind the planet, and if they continued to circle it, the faster Thrall fleet would have the less armoured stern quarter of the Imperial force to fire at. She pushed any doubts out of her mind; it would be several minutes before her combined fleet caught up with the fleeing and now out of sight Imperials, and until then, they had given her unchallenged access to targets on the ground.

She grinned at the aliens' oversight. "Scan for military installations and assets on the planet's surface."

"We have detected fighter launches from ground bases, apparently heading for orbit opposite our original entry point into the system."

"Hm. Good, open fire with our long range batteries at any installations within range as we pass by," she ordered. Bolts of white energy lanced out from the Xai'chen-class command cruiser towards the planet below, many undoubtedly missing their targets at this range, but those that hit wreaking havoc on the ground forces below. No more starfighters would be joining the fleet above from those bases, had they kept any in reserve.

A voice cut through the silence on the bridge, the warrior manning one of many sensor stations. "Precept, those sensor echoes we detected earlier... they are more solid now. I can make out what appears to be the large vessel we are pursuing, and possibly her escorts... the others are still indistinct but slowly resolving..."

Senis'arek thought over this information for a moment, her tactical mind working at whirlwind speed. The previous sensor echoes were now joined by the ships they were currently pursuing but were around the horizon... that could only mean--

"Precept! Enemy ships re-entering scope now!"

She whipped her head around to the viewport, where the massive wedge-shaped vessel could now be seen around the horizon. It was joined by the escort spotted earlier... along with nine more vessels, four as long as her own Xai'chen cruiser. A trap.

Her surprise was quickly replaced with smug satisfaction. The Imperials had tried a ruse to be expected of relatively competent aliens, but had failed to execute with sufficient force. Even their reinforced group could not hold against the might of an entire Xen'Chi Thrall fleet.

"Order Reczicc to launch all fighters and execute an enclosing manoeuvre with his fleet. Our group will engage at range from this vector. Ensure fire is focused and precise, and victory will be swift."

"What of our fighters, Precept? Should we launch them as well?"

Senis shook her head with the slightest of motions. "No, keep them in reserve. I doubt the enemy will notice us among the Thrall, but if we become targeted, we must have a suitable defence."

She turned her attention back to the viewport, where the first salvoes were now being exchanged between the Ractill and Imperial fleets. The sheer volume of laser fire from that single massive Star Destroyer lit entire patches of space with green... and had already taken the first lives of the battle, as a small Ractill frigate succumbed under the onslaught. As the fleets closed even further, the smaller vessels entered range and made their presence known with salvoes of their own, and soon the empty space between ships was filled with indistinguishable green and orange light and the tiny specs of fighters entering a much faster-paced dance of death.
It was, after all, hard to take a bright red Star Destroyer very seriously.
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Post by corsos »

Banner grinned at the ships. They could not have been more perfectly arranged. All of their engines were facing the planet’s atmosphere, allowing maximum maneuever for his entire task force once the alien fleet moved in. If their commander had half a mind they would circle around his taskforce and slowly envelop it, forcing the Cleansing to send energy to all of their shields. However, it would also allow for the Cleansing and its task force to fire upon the enemy fleet with every single one of their turbolasers, and ion cannons. Maximum damage output. It would require twice the number of alien ships to project as much combined energy. And that was assuming that their weapons had the same damage output as their finely tuned weapons of war.

Ton tapped his foot impatiently. He was able to enjoy the waiting before he retreated, and the withdraw itself as it was part of his strategy… but this hesitation was irritating. He was in perfect position in an expertly laid trap… absolutely exquisit… like a sharpened knife hovering over a bare neck. And it was time to let the blade drop…

“Sir, we have ships moving past the planet and into range.”

Ton nodded. “Wait a moment longer so we know they are committed.”

Only five seconds passed, and more and more of the ship’s forward portion passed into their view. More began appearing behind it and into view of Ton’s task force.

“Fire.”

And the Imperials unleashed hell, a coordinated fury of laser and ion blasts turning black space into a show of glittering deadly light. “Order all cruisers to lock their tractor beams on the ships closest to their position. Concentrate fire until they lose power then position their wreckage between them and the alien fleet. Make them blow the remains of their own vessels to get to us. The more time it takes them to break our shields the more time Brax has to arrive and crush them against our anvil.”

The first alien frigate blew up in a spectacle of flame, lightning and fire. It was the enemy’s fastest ship and first around the planet. It met the force of the Cleansing and almost every other ship. The Cleansing siezed it with one of its many tractor beams and dragged it across in front of its bridge area.

Call it reinforced armor for our hull…

“Sir, they’ve fired on the surface, striking at our fighter bases! Most of the full wing had already launched, losses are mininal.”

Ton nodded, smiled and watched as more and more alien ships entered the gauntlet.

“Sir, we aren’t detecting any enemy fighters yet… they are just launching!”

“Are they now?” Ton smiled. “Have our fighters make an unopposed warhead run before entering furballs for space superiority.” Ton’s eyes ran across the ships entering into the range of his fleet’s guns… and found the largest, some kind of cruiser. “Send this designated target to fighter command.” Ton punched in a few buttons on the console in front of him. Perhaps it was some kind of command ship, and destroying it would spread some disorder in the alien fleet. And if it wasn’t it would act as one hell of a roadblock for the alien fleet to get around in their attempt to circle the Cleansing and its sister ships.

It seemed the aliens were finally adjusting their tactics, but it wasn’t soon enough to save the first wave of their vessels. Ton watched as his fighters launched their missiles on the cruiser. He hoped it would be too late for it as well. He wondered where Admiral Brax was at this moment, where he was waiting and what he was thinking. Then again, Banner really didn’t care about that… only that he arrived on time.
"The goal of war is not to die for your country, it's to make the other bastard die for his." General George S. Patton

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Post by Neuge »

Senis watched the unfolding battle with a mixture of distaste and grim satisfaction. The Ractill ships were taking more casualties than she'd expected this early, and although they were finally close to surrounding the enemy fleet, the wedge-shaped Imperial vessels were still able to direct a withering barrage of fire in almost every direction. The vessels had been remarkably well designed, and were clearly equally well commanded... for a fleet fighting a lost cause.

The Ractill command cruiser had shied away from the battle somewhat, and was now flanked by two fighter-defense frigates. Senis was actually surprised that the Ractill leader, Reczicc, was still alive. His ship had been the target of a massive volley of missiles fired from the enemy fighters and bombers, surviving only due to its point defense system and high-powered shields. Nevertheless, the superior numbers of her fleet were beginning to show results. Some of the smaller enemy vessels had lost shields and were being pummelled by the Ractill laser and projectile fire. They'd pioneered an interesting method of attack, combining the armour-boiling properties of laser blasts with the piercing of high-velocity high-density projectiles. The effect could be devastating, as the Xen'Chi had found in their short conquest of the Ractill many years prior.

As she watched, the Ractill fleet had finally circled the defenders, and was beginning to focus its fire on targets deemed vulnerable. She smiled instinctively as one of the Imperial vessels was replaced with an expanding fireball. One-by-one they would fall, she knew, and she would stand and be hailed as a superior warrior, worthy of becoming Overseer.

She focused back on the largest of the enemy vessels, and something she saw struck her. The enemy was using destroyed Ractill wreckage as armour. But beyond that, they had shown her the part of the ship they most wanted to protect. "Order Reczicc to have his bombers and his vessels firing on the dorsal side of that behemoth to target the protruding tower if possible... that must be their bridge."

Several vessels immediately shifted fire, blowing away what was left of their own former frigate, and dumping fire into the shields around what could only be the enemy ship's command deck. Several bomber and gunship squadrons broke away from other targets to launch missiles and torpedoes when the opportunity presented itself. Meanwhile, the rest of the battle raged around the massive vessel... and Senis was winning.
It was, after all, hard to take a bright red Star Destroyer very seriously.
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Post by corsos »

For years and years supposive experts had bemoaned the weakness and vulnerability of the Super Class Star Destroyer's command deck and shield towers. They had cited how the Executor was quickly dispatched at Endor. The truth was that the Executor was rushed out of production, before that flaw was corrected. And even with the flaw it took a freakish combination of events to send an enemy fighter careening directly into the bridge right after the ships orimary shields dropped, and right before the back-up particle and energy shields could be raised.

Now, that vulnerability was gone, and fleet after fleet had come after the bridge of the Cleansing only to find its own defenses and the formation of his supports ships made it an excercise in futility. Admiral Banner Ton sniled. It was time for someone else to learn this lesson the hard way. Assault fighters, as well as an assortment of cruisers were now firing in the direction of the Cleansing's bridge.

Let them come...

"Order bridge support deflectors to power up. Shift power appropriately."

"We are close to a burn-out sir... we are pumping everything.."

Ton interrupted the officer. "SHe'll hold. I promise you she'll hold."

And come they did. At this point the entire ship was nearly surrounded on all sides by alien vessels pumping their energy and then some crude projectiles at the Imperial ships. Ton had already lost a frigate, and the garrison Dreadnaught was on her last legs. But the Cleansing was still fully functional, as were the three Imperial Class Star Destroyers arranged around her. The two Victory Class destroyers were struggling, and would be gone soon. But that didnt matter, because Brax was coming.

He had better...

The ships continued to exchange fire, literally every Imperial weapon was hot from turbolaser to ion cannon to tractor beam to missile tube. All the ships were running at high power, and would not be able to hold that indefinately, but long enough for this battle to be over and won.

The fighters closed on the Cleansing, and Ton watched the quad-laser cannons on the bridge activate and begin to fire, sending streams of laser fire into the oncoming fighters. Then the Lancer Frigate Sniper begn to add it's own fire at the incoming fires. It was like a blanket of energy, and the enemy fighters were paying the price for their audacity. Ton enoyed the site until his vision was stolen away by the garrison's dreadnaught that had an explosion rip through its center and split apart in the center. One half began to float towards the planet, the other was in a collision course for the bottom the VIctory CLass Star Destroyer Fear. He could see the tractor beams of the smaller ship try and halt the advance of the giant piece of debris, but they weren't fast enough and a second explosion lit up space. And suddenly the Cleansing's forward bottom quarter was quite exposed.

Meanwhile the enemy capital ships in range continued their violent assault on the Cleansing. The Cleansing and its escort ships combined their fire on one alien ship at a time, when that one was disabled and unable to fire, they would alter their fire to the next. They would disable the alien vessels one by one weakening it for Brax's reinforcements. The Cleansing's shields were down to under 50% now... and the bridge support shields weakening... the crucial zero time was coming, when Brax's force would not be on time to save the super ship.

That was when Admiral's Brax's ships arrived at various points outside the planet's gravity well, on the planet's dark side. They slowly began to converge on the aliens, and the Cleansing. The trap was sprung, and it was time to see how the alien bastards would react to it.
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Post by Neuge »

In a single moment, the Imperial commander's tactics suddenly made complete sense. He'd been fighting an impossible battle until now, arranged in such a manner to make it advantageous to his opponent to surround him... and it was now abundantly clear why.

"How many ships are there," she intoned, incensed at having been deceived again.

"I count nearly 50, closing from various angles, most behind their fleet from our position, Precept. There may be more: we cannot detect anything beyond the planet's horizon, as we are so close to it."

Senis scowled at this, knowing her certain victory had been replaced by an increasing likelyhood of defeat. The fleets were now nearly equal in numbers, but the Imperials were in possession of a ship which was worth nearly seven of hers, and her fleet was arranged to output maximum damage to the inside of their formation, not the outside.

No matter what decision she made, this battle would not go well. She watched with increasing trepidation as the Thrall fleet continued their pounding of the Super Star Destroyer's fleet, ignoring the Imperial reinforcements moving closer and closer every second. The Xen'Chi were never supposed to be pushed back, and certainly never defeated... and yet, another Thrall cruiser exploded under the combined fire of the enemy flagship and one of her smaller wedge-shaped escorts.

She muttered a curse, swiftly coming to the only decision which held a chance at victory. "Order Reczicc to draw back and realign his fleet in a demi-sphere, peaking on our position."

Her communications advisor turned to look at her questioningly for a moment, but snapped his head back to his console after meeting her cold stare.

Slowly, the Ractill vessels began their movement to a more defensible position, attempting to put the enemy flagship and her escorts between them and the advancing reinforcements, while still exchanging ferocious volleys of fire.

With any luck, they wouldn't suffer casualties greater than they'd been subjected to before, until the rest of the enemy arrived, but Senis had no illusions. This was going to be disastrous... for her fleet, her career, and probably her life.
It was, after all, hard to take a bright red Star Destroyer very seriously.
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Post by corsos »

Suprise...

If one had a lightsaber the smile could not be removed from High Admiral Banner Ton's face. His holographic display was soon filled with the confident visage of Admiral Brax. Ton smiled.

"Right on time."

"We pride ourselves on being prompt sir."

"Squeeze them, and crush them."

Brax smiled. "Gladly."

Ton turned off the display and looked back towards the viewport. The alien fleet was slow to react. Ah, the element of suprise... Fire continued to flow from and into Ton's ships and the aliens seemed to be paralyzed. That's when they finally started to withdraw. Likely they would move away and concentrate themselves to survive the closing vice as long as possible. Ton was determined not to make it so easy.

"Re-Activate tractor beams, four per alien vessel. That should allow us to hold at least a half dozen of them in place, either stopping the rest of the fleet's withdrawal or isolating them for destruction. As the other ships move away target their engines and aft quarters. We can't let them run unscathed. My guess is that they will move around either side of the planet and re-arrange there. Prepare to pursue around the far side."

Ton smiled and waited. The alien ships began to depart, at least those not trapped in the Imperial tractor beams. They were chased away by green turbolaser blasts and blue ion cannons. But while they were for now unengaged soon Brax would be pounding them with his own cannons. Ton had his own problem, the four ships, all smaller frigates and support ships that were caught in his cruiser's tractor beams.

"Concentrate fire, one ship at a time. When one is destroyed move on. When you get to the last, do not destroy, simply disable it and prepare for boarding opertions. Send our best team and leave the Victory Class Destroyer Terror to board and I want to know what we're dealing with. When they are all destroyed, or disabled begin pursuit of the enemy. We can't allow Admiral Brax to have all the fun."

It was not long before the frigates were gone and the Cleansing and its support ships, sans the Victory Class Destroyer were in pursuit of the enemy, who were regrouping on the other side of the planet, and were just now engaging the first of Brax's ships... now it was only a matter of mopping up.... or perhaps something else all together.

Ton clicked his frequency over to general and smiled. "Alien vessells, this is High Admiral Banner Ton, commander of the Imperial Fleet and the Cleansing. We offer you the terms of unconditional surrender. Your crew will be spared their lives. You have one minute to consider this offer. Ton out."
"The goal of war is not to die for your country, it's to make the other bastard die for his." General George S. Patton

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Post by Neuge »

Sacrifices for the welfare of the Dominion, that's what the ships caught in those Imperial tractor beams were to Senis. They were doing their duty, dying with honour for the Xen'Chi and for their species, repaying their benefactors for the priviledge of being part of the greater Xen'Chi armada.

The enemy was smart, but was employing counter-intuitive tactics. Senis would have expected the enemy fleet to chase her formation and attack it en-masse, but instead they merely picked off the smallest and weakest vessels. The offering of surrender was insulting, but perhaps the enemy had different, weaker values. She'd ignored it.

The core of the Thrall fleet had yet to be damaged during the retreat. This would not last long, one group of newly arrived enemy ships was about to enter range, trying to intercept her retreating warriors. Green lasers swept into the sides of the Thrall vessels, some even targeting the few Xen'Chi ships among them. Enough was enough.

"Shift heading. We will strike through the heart of that formation like a srraka blade, leaving their hulks in our wake. They forced us to fire at our own, we shall see how they like the same treatment."

The five Xen'Chi vessels reformed into a claw formation and the remainder of the Ractill fleet that had kept up formed around them. The still powerful group of vessels changed direction abruptly, heading directly for the incoming group of Imperial vessels. While weakened, the Thrall fleet was still numerically and statistically superior to this closest group of newcomers.

As they closed, green fire bracketed her fleet from behind and in front. The white and orange streaks from her fleet flowed freely forward into the still-advancing reinforcements. Closer and closer they grew, finally merging into one incomprehensible cloud of chaos.

Finally, it seemed, the Xai'Chen class cruiser limped out of the far side of the fray, nothing but stars to be seen in the viewport. Senis motioned with her hand. "Status."

"We've lost half of our shield coverage, thirty percent of our weapons are out of commission, and engines are operating below standard."

"What of--" she began, pausing for a moment as the ship rumbled with the impact of an explosion shockwave... or a warhead hit. "What of the fleet?"

"The Hes'krethik is emerging behind us... but we've lost the other three. Some of the Thrall are still battling through the enemy formation... Reczicc's ship is in flames. We dealt them a cruel blow however, most of that reinforcement group is in ruins."

Senis smiled for a moment, knowing that they had made their final stab. While victorious, it would only be a short matter of time before the massive Star Destroyer and her underlings caught up and ground her ships into the dust, or another reinforcement group intercepted them. The edge of the gravity well was simply too far, even halfway there, and her fleet was too slow. Even as that thought crossed her mind, it struck her that retreat hadn't really been an option she'd considered anyway. This way perhaps, she might not be remembered with scorn and embarrassment by her peers.

"Cease forward motion, and turn us around. When we die, we die facing our enemy."

The ship swung around slowly, the carnage of battle still taking place as the few slower vessels remaining struggled through the gauntlet, now centred in Senis' viewport. Several kilometres in the distance, the massive Star Destroyer and her group advanced silently, moving in for the kill. For her fate, Senis was ready.
It was, after all, hard to take a bright red Star Destroyer very seriously.
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Post by corsos »

The Cleansing rumbled through space, its task force with it leaving behind the hulks of the alien vessels. The rest of the task force had fled, and had now run into one of Admiral Brax's battle groups. Neither had faired well. Brax's battle group was badly damaged, but they had done their work. The remains of the alien fleet was in tatters, spare a handful at its center. Those ships were of a different design and had never entered the battle proper. Ton knew immediately what they had to be, some type of coordination ships. Ton knew something else as well, that with him in pursuit and Brax's ships slowly enveloping and the ships damaged there was no way they would get far enough to jump into hyperspace before they were caught.

And it appeared that the alien vessels knew it as well... they were turning to fight. Brave, certainly, but stupid more accurately. They were as good as dead. Well Ton had at least learned something about their new foe. There was no such thing as surrender. So be it.

"Form up, and prepare to accelerate to attack speed. The whole fleet on us. Full ahead. Let's finish this now. Disable and board what ships you can. We want as much information about our enemies as possible. Let's get it."

The Cleansing, with most of the fleet on its flanks moved ahead. Brax and his task force were separate, assisting with the looting of one of the destroyed alien vessels. That was fine by the Admiral, he had other business to deal with. Ending this battle.
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Post by Vox »

OOC: The first part takes place as the first part of the battle is going on, second part takes place just after Corsos's last post. Xen'Chi fleets are composed of picket ships at the forward edges with the majority of the firepower toward the edges and rear in this engagement. There will be other formations but that is the standard formation for this fight. I would assume, since this is a whole Battle Clan (full fleet) that they would range in about the 40-50 ship range total. That means your looking at about 100 ships total bearing down on you Corsos.

If someone thinks these numbers are high please speak up, but on an OOC if you would please. I thought these numbers would be plenty accurate given that the Xen'Chi are supposed to be a nasty enemy. If they should be higher speak up as well.

IC:

Ondir Strike Point – The Rim
Xen'Chi Command Cruiser Uk'thar

“Overseer, the fleet is in position shall I inform Overseer Resik’otan that we are ready for jump?”

Hands clasped firmly behind his back in an at-ease position Taruk looked over the monitors before him examining his fleet’s formation. The Clan group was primed for a fight and his command ship hummed with anticipation of the first battle that was only hours away. “Send the message Precept Ous’lvas, prime the Vesilice Squadrons and send orders to all vessels to be at the ready when we arrive in Ord Mantell, a battle awaits us Precept, I will not accept failure and will purify each Ships Warrior that has not prepared his vessel to satisfaction.”

“As ordered my lord.” Bowing in salute Precept Ous’lvas sent the messages out moments before the Xen’Chi vessels began to disappear from sight one by one. The battle clan’s had received word only an hour prior that the Thrall fleet had encountered considerable force, including a vessel that massed more then four Command Cruisers combined, and was trapped with no means of escape. They would fight to the death; Taruk had known this would be the case even if there had been a means of escape as well. Drawing in a breath the Overseer took the reply message from Resik’otan beginning to read over it as his Precept’s prepared his command vessel for war.

Overseer Resik’otan stated clearly the situation and chain of command for the battle, it would be placed firmly in Taruk’s hands until victory was secured as per order of Overseer Kalis. Once the battle had ended, surrender was not to be accepted and all ships were to be destroyed or converted, Overseer Resik would assume command of the Battle Clan’s and official engagement orders would then be given. Taruk had already gotten information as to where is Battle Clan would be headed, it was only a formality that Resik was given the ability to officially pronounce it to be fact. Placing the reader down Taruk eyed the countdown timer as it counted backward letting each warrior who saw it how much time was left until the battle would be fought.

**************************************

Ord Mantell System – Staging Point for Invasion
Xen’Chi Command Cruiser Uk’thar

“Overseer!” the shout rang through the commander center of the fleet ship, “multiple foreign vessels directly before us. The coordinates given by warrior Senis were correct; we have arrived just out of engagement range.”

“Very well,” Taruk stated coolly with a full air of control, “order all Vesilice Squadrons to launch upon the first engagement of the picket vessels. Maintain formation, all cruisers are to stay tight against us for additional protection until we have punched through their battle line.”

“Yes my lord, what are your battle commands for Overseer Resik?”

“He is to puncture their heart and rip it out with glory, set his coordinate path parallel to our own until he sees our forward vessels slowing to gain additional support then he is to drive forward with full force.” Watching each of the enemy vessels slowly being placed into proper position over the three dimensional battlefield before him Taruk tapped the largest vessel in the formation and the information immediately appeared on one of the monitors near him. The Cleansing was its name, a fitting name he thought to himself as he would cleanse the galaxy of its existence before the battle was complete.
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Post by corsos »

ooc Neuge - i thought we had agreed to have the Xen'Chi fleet arrival be the result of a scheduled reinforcement rather than a quick response scenario. I wanted to play off the idea that Ton was done in more by bad luck rather than anything else. Did i miss the post where Neuge sent for reinforcements? Either way - if i did im going to have Ton not detect that transmission and at least believe he was undone by bad luck. No difference in the end.

IC

You're mine...oh glorious victory, how I've missed thee. And by the force, I'm going to enjoy this.

As his forward ships began to engage the enemy, Banner's smile was ear to ear. This was his meaning, as necessary for him as breathing. It was war. It was victory. It was win his blood.

"How are our shields?"

"Up to eighty percent sir."

It'll be enough...

"Excellent, have all forward batteries port and starboard completely charged and ready to fire when we are in range. Maintain tight formation, I want no suprises. Disable and board."

The ships continued to exchange fire, and Ton could smell the scent of victory. His enemy was as good as dead. It was only a matter of time now. He would return to Thrawn with a victory, trophies to prove it, and be given back his place as head of the Imperial navy. Perhaps this would prove to Thrawn that he was not given his post by Damascus...no... he had earned it. That was when a hundred ships jumped into the system. That's when Ton knew his dream was forever gone.

"Sir, we have multiple reversions from hyperspace, ships matching the configuration of the ships in the center of the enemy formation. Count is nearly a hundred."

Two to one....

Ton already knew his victory was gone, now the battle had switched to survival. Get out with what he had, and with the Cleansing. But how did they know where to arrive? And when?

"Comm, we detected no transmissions from the enemy vessel?"

"None sir, if they sent a distress signal we did not detect it."

Ton nodded, and didn't answer. Luck, damn blasted bad fortune... Ton knew for a long time that some of his carreer been a product of good fortune. By default his vessel was the one available to get Tainer after he decided to turn himself in. The same could be said after Blackthorne's terrorist attack on Bilbringi. He was able to go and crush his meager forces. Now fortune had turned and Banner was on the wrong side. And in his gut he knew it had turned badly.

"Full ahead, full ahead, straight for the edge of the system. We have no time to shift our heading. Once we clear the gravity well jump immediately. I want every ship in the formation to move into escort formation around us, escape is now our only priority."

The bridge crew moved with ridiculous efficiency, sending out his orders and following them as well.

"Sir, Admiral Brax is still on the other side of the planet concluding his capturing of the alien vessel."

Ton nodded. "Make him aware of the situation, tell him his primary objective is to get out and report what we have learned, secondary objective is to bring back as much intelligence as posssible."

"Aye sir."

The Cleansing rolled forward, with its escort around it. The alien force in front of it was preparing for war, numbering more than the Cleansing's battle group. The second half of the alien force was moving in on his right flank. They would have to move forward fast enough to avoid being strung up in the enemy's net. Ton would have to let fate decide.

Admiral, you are going to die today unless I save you... and I think I will.

It was a whisper in Ton's head... he heard it, but didn't. WHat he didn't know was that he would be hearing a lot more of it before this day was out.
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Post by Vox »

Imperial World Ord Mantell, High Orbit
Xen’Chi Command Cruiser Uk’thar

Red eyes watched the display before Overseer Taruk. His analysis of the enemy fleet was coming to completion each type of vessel and its basic armament now firmly placed in his mind. There was no real threat from the fleet before them from any vessel except for the largest of them, a command ship that had an impressive arsenal of weaponry. “Precept Deh’ker, bring your vessels forward, engage the enemies flank, parallel to Overseer Resik’s command.”

“As you wish my lord.” Bowing through the image that gave him direct communication with his commanding officer Deh’ker gave his orders through a muted visual. The order would pull half of the Uk’thar’s heavy protection forward, exposing the flank opposite the enemy to attack, a risk Taruk was willing to take to slow the enemies escape. Moving at a much faster rate of speed then the vessels they were chasing the Xen’Chi Clan Group would over run them in a short time, only if things went as planned. The outer reaches of the two groups were already engaging in ranging fire, the Xen’Chi picket ships sending lances of yellow energy out at the corvette analogues of the Empire. Taruk looked away from the real time layout before him for a moment double checking Overseer Rasuk’s position in relativity to his own. The second Clan Group was now pulling up alongside the Imperial fleet, the first of his medium class vessels bring fire upon the smaller enemy vessels.

His orders would stay the same for several more minutes, the engagement had to fully develop before he could give another set of orders even to his capture vessels waiting only a few moments away to secure any vessel he saw fit for the beginnings of another Thrall fleet. Moments after the lancing shots from either side began to light up space the Vesilice fighters escorting the picket ships accelerated quickly swarming the first corvette analogue they came across like flies to a carcass only moving away from it once it was neutralized and the enemy fighters came in screaming like demons.

There was no honor in their fight Taruk deduced as he watched everything continue to unfold. They would not turn to fight or even give Taruk the honor of having a chance to engage without having to resort to means that would diminish his victory. An enemy who would not turn to fight was cowardly at best in the minds of the gods, to Taruk they were far worse. “Overseer Resik,” Taruk stated boredly over the communication, “pull your fleet tight to their flank, if they wish to run we will rip them apart piece by piece instead of giving them a warrior’s death.”

“Indeed, their grave will be that of the Trokian’s.” Resik’s reference to the now dead political clan within the Xen’Chi Dominon was not lost on Taruk.

It was again time for Taruk to wait for the next movement to take place in the battle. His ships were beginning to catch the enemy already leaving vessels limping along behind their command ship joined by only a couple of his own vessels that met and end that was born from overzealous commanders.

OOC: Sorry its short but I was really not sure how far you wanted me to take it even though you said "take it as far as you want".
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Post by corsos »

"Admiral, we have to lines of enemy vessels coming up on both flanks. Our rear ships are engaging, but they will not last long."

Ton nodded, but did not move, hands clasped behind him staring out the forward viewport at the enemy force that was before him. Something was happening here, beyond what Ton was seeing. Of that he was sure, he wasn't sure how, but he was sure nonetheless. It was almost as though whispers, from no one at all wrre filling his ears along with the official cadence of his crew. He was doing his best to ignore them and focus on what was in front of him, but it wasn't easy. It was almost as if with every passing second a small piece of his consciousness was being chipped away.

The enemy is trying to flank us, forcing us to turn and fight, or lose ships in our force one by one. But if we stop, turn and fight, all of us are as good as dead, or worse, captured. There's only one thing to do, move forward.

"Have our rear quadrants halt their advance, and slow the ships on our flanks. They are to do everything in their power to prevent their advance on the Cleansing and the center of our battlegroup."

And move forward the Cleansing did.

Yes... leave them like lambs to the slaughter, save yourself Admiral. The Empire depends on this ship....save yourself....

His Captain's answer took him out of his stupor.

"Yes sir, transferring orders."

Ton turned his attention to the holographic display, and watched as six ships on each flank, stopped and blocked the enemies advance and engaged with full batteries. Each group had an Imperial Class Star Destroyer and several support ships. It would have to be enough. Resigning himself to their destruction, Ton redirected his vision to the fleet before him, blocking their passage with their full broadsides to bare on them. HIs eyes shifting to his left and right he wanted to make sure his sensors were not playing tricks on him. He had a Star Destroyer on each flank, two above and one below. Arrayed around them and the Cleansing were the other 14 remaining ships, Strike Cruisers, Frigates, and corvettes. This would their escort against a force more than twice their number waiting for them.

Normally Ton would let the computer spit out possible points of enemy weakness, but considering these vessels had no record, it would be impossible. It was time for him to do what he was trained to do. There were still minutes before they had to make their final course decision, and he would use that time examining the battles going on behind him. Perhaps they would give at least some clue as to what designs of the enemy vessels were the most armed, and armored. And he watched. It was painful to do so, to see his ships being torn to pieces by a far numerically superior enemy. But they died doing their duty, and giving Ton what he needed, a test case for his new enemy.

To Banner it seemed like only seconds had passed, but in reality it had been the only minutes he had left before he had to make a decision. And he had made one. "Set course, three-one-nine. Full ahead, remain in tight formation. All ships are to focus fire on the vessels in front of them. The moment you are at maximum fring range, clear the road."

"Aye sir! Chanaging course three-one-nine."

The hulking super-ship turned and lifted its nose just a little, heading for what Ton percieved as the weakest portion of the enemy blockade formation. He prayed he was right. Finally turbolasers began to fire, filling the black void with green energy and blue ion power. The Cleansing was quickly joined by its support ships, and the battle was joined.

"All fighters on bombing and missile detail. Rotate escort and bomber runs. Target one ship at a time and move on. We need to force a hole."

"Aye sir."

The distance between the fleets continued to close, and the density of the laser, ion, and plasma blasts only increased, until it was difficult to even see beyond the space directly in front of you. The Cleansing shook as a Star Destroyer above it exploded, and split in two. The back half with some measure of propulsion continued forward, but the front half fell into the planet's gravity well, towards the nose of the Cleansing.

"Rotate us, 90 degrees! Roll us now!"

No one even had a chance to confirm the order, and the Cleansing began to roll, stressing the inertial dampeners to their max. Ton watched with wide eyes, hands clamped like vices on the bulkhead as the pearly white nose of the Star Destroyer missed the Cleansing's nose by about fifty meters.

Well done Admiral!

And the firefight continued, the large capital ships taking fire from both their opposites, and opposing fighters. Quickly the Imperial fighter corps, bieng completely outnumbered, and focusing on bombing runs were being demolished. BUt they, along with their parent ships were doing what they designed. A hole was forming, and the Cleansing was moving full ahead towards it, and the edge of the planets graviatational pull, and freedom.

"Jump to hyperspace the moment we are free to, to Yaga Minor, do you understand?" Ton barked.

"Aye sir, also, we are getting fragmented reports in from our hangar bays that enemy transports are trying to board. Thus far they have been repulsed. Shall I redirect fighters?"

"No, do nothing of the kind! we have full garrisons on board this ship with heavy weaponry, we will deal with the boarders in due time, after we are out of here. Status on our escorts?" Ton asked.

"Sir, only eight ships remaining. The Destroyer Hades above us, Ares on our left flank. BUt Ares is losing power, it won't last. The Lancer Frigate Sniper remains near our bridge for protection. The Carrack cruiser Swift and Nebulon Frigate Black Dawn remain escorting the Hades. The other three were escorting our destroyed cruisers. They are on their last legs, and will be destroyed or captured in minutes."

"Distance to breach and the edge of the gravity well?"

"Still three clicks sir."

Ton cursed and slammed his fist down on the bulkhead. He shattered three bones in his hand, but right now he didn't even notice. The Cleansing was just now coming under heavy fire, its escorts had done well in protecting it, but was it enough? Admiral Banner Ton, even in a planned withdrawal refused not to achieve his objective. This would work. It would work. But there were no more maneuvers, no more tricks, no more tactics. Was this ship, the ship that had been the face of the Empire for a decade strong enough to withstand a battle group worth of fire in the time it would take to escape? It had survived the civil war, the rise and fall of Corellia and the Republic, Tainer, Black Plague, the RSA, Blackthorne's terrorists, and more regents and rulership changes that should ever effect the Empire. Ton swore by his honor it would survive an attack by a second class rate over a backwater planet.

Banner's eyes flashed between the numbers on the display in front of him, showing him shield and armor strength, and the actual battle outside his viewport. One by one the Cleansing's remaining escorts were turning into flaming wrecks, some distentegrating, others falling prey to capture. All that was left was the Cleansing, now so close to freedom that it was dipping underneath, over and past the enemy wall of ships. It was taking far worse than it was giving, but it still left death in its wake. Enemy fighters were making runs on the bridge and the engines sending their bombs and their plasma. But the shields held, by the force they were holding. It would be enough, bedamned it would be enough.

"One click sir!"

The enemy was good, disciplined and clearly well coordinated. The moment on of their ships fell out of formation, another was moving to take its place. Their blasts were coming quickly and precisely, and for their fighters to even get a foothold on the ship while boarding was unthinkable. This was a much greater enemy than the ships Ton had already destroyed. They were far more dangerous. This was a truly an enemy worth fighting, in this case worth fleeing.

"C'mon... C'mon you son of a bitch... move." Ton muttered...

"Sir, we have lost contact with the secondary hangar, and security systems are showing enemy combatants are advancing towards the bridge."

"Order a security detail, close the blast doors, they cannot get through!"

Oh, don't worry Admiral. they won't take control of the ship.

Ton heard the heavy clang of the blast doors but stayed focus on the display in front of him. Two engines were out, their weaponry was down to 30 percent, and the shields were all but gone. But they were less than a click away and closing on their goal. He could taste it, absolutely taste it. That's when his display changed, showing a new hyperspace route, and other codes he wasn't familiar with. Then he heard the hiss of air.

"Helm, what's going on, who authorized this?"

"I'm not doing anything sir, I'm locked out of the system!"

"Sir, we've lost weapon and shield control, and communications!"

Ton turned, face ruby red. "Don't tell me we're experiencing a system failure this close Captain!"

"No sir, the systems are up, but we've lost access. Controls have been rerouted to main engineering!"

Ton's eyes went wide, and after he heard the hissing sound of escaping hair his mouth dropped.

One of Ardin's protocols, one you requested you dumb fool...

The Executor Class Ship always had one weakness, even if in later models it was remedied some, bridge vulnerability. Ardin had seen this and designed a failsafe. Even if the main bridge was destroyed the ship could still be operated from three other remote terminals, main engineering was one of them. But no one had the codes for that but Banner, no one. The procedure required consent by the Captain, the main engineer, and Ton. No one had given it. This was impossible. The main bridge was being jettisoned and used as a very advanced escape pod. Why would anyone do this? Why now? Why? The sure shook, and explosions replaced the sound of hissing air...

* * *

Admiral Brax had finally secured his quarry and was moving out of the system, keeping one eye on his path, the other on the fate of the Cleansing. It did not look good for the Empire's flagship.

"Sir, we have multiple engines out, and now we are detecting explosion near the ships bridge. All communication attempts are not being returned. We read many systems losing power, and it's slowing down."

Brax nodded. "How far is it from the edge of the system.

"Point three clicks sir. ANd it is now being caught up in enemy tractor beams."

Brax nodded. "It's over. The Clenaing is gone. Prepare to jump to Yaga Minor. We have a gift to deliver, and a report to make."

"Yes sir."

Brax had never heard a bridge so dispondent. They were thinking what he feared. The Empire had finally regained control over the important sections of the galaxy. ANd now, by some cruel twist of fate something was coming to take it all away again. The stars turned into lines, and then into spiraling blue lights.

* * *

The bridge expulsion was more violent than Ton and the bridge crew expected, and they were all thrown off their feet and onto the durasteel floor. Finally Ton managed to get to his feet, despite the broken hand, abd look out of the viewport at his ship, hanging there taking the last battle damage it ever would. It was stil in the planet's gravity well... it was over. He was betrayed... somehow the enemy had gotten to engineering and input the codes... but how they knew of the protocol and the codes at all he would never understand.

The bridge shuttered again as it was caught in an enemy tactor beam. The Cleansing became still, and then began to shift as the bridge was pulled towards an enemy vessel. That's when something happened... something that was against the laws of physics, something that was absolutely impossible. But it happened. Ton swore it, and would again to anyone that asked. The Cleansing jumped into hyperspace...

* * *
Sorry Admiral, you are no longer worthy of commanding me. Your time is over. Off you go.

How can you...

Oh quiet James, you don't command this ship any longer either, it is mine. And despite your rambling, you don't the power that I still wield with it. Behold!


It wasn't that the planet moved, but gravity shifted around the Cleansing somehow. It disrupted the enemy tractor beams, and gave just enough time for the Cleansing to jump into hyperspace, free of its all too mortal human commanders. Its fate was far greater than any human could possibly imagine. Yes it was. The only thing was, no one knew it yet.
"The goal of war is not to die for your country, it's to make the other bastard die for his." General George S. Patton

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Post by corsos »

The trip to Yaga Minor was not a very long one, but it seemed to take forever considering what Admiral Brax was carrying. And he didn't just mean the ship in his hold. He meant the news. That seemed even heavier than the alien ship. It seemed even heavier when Brax arrived in system and saw the Chimaera, the Grand Admiral's flagship. The communication to his ship was almost immediate, what suprised Brax the most was the fact it was a personal communication from the blue skinned Thrawn. The two had never formally met before, but that didn't seem to bother Thrawn. He went right to the point.

"Report Admiral."

Brax began. "We encountered a large alien fleet, engaged and destroyed it, including capturing one of their frigates. However, shortly after two full fleet arrived in system, different configurations and modules than the initial fleet. The entire designs were disimilar, as though made by two separate species."

Thrawn nodded and interrupted. "We are aware of the varying types of the alien vessels Admiral, proceed."

Brax nodded. "HIgh Admiral Tom was pinned against the gravity well of the planet, and tried to escape. His plan was sound, but his fleet was eliminated. Before I jumped to hyperspace, the Cleansing's bridge had been destroyed and was caught in enemy fire, well within the planet's gravity shadow. From my expert opinion there was no hope of the ship's survival. My battle group departed shortly thereafter."

Thrawn nodded. "No communications from the Cleansing since?" His eyes seemed to glow a brighter red now. If Brax didn't know any better the unflappable officer was angry.

"Nothing sir, we ran multiple simulations, all give the Cleansing no chance of functioning."

"ANd how was it your ship found its way out of the system, Admiral?" Thrawn asked.

"Admiral Ton ordered us to capture the alien vessel, it left us on the other side of the planet away from the arriving alien fleet. It allowed us to escape, as per Ton's orders. We have full holo-data of the battle."

"Send it Admiral, and deliver the hulk of the alien vessel to the Chimaera immediately."

"Grand Admiral, we already have begun analysis, we have some of the best..."

"Send it now, Admiral." And the communication was over. Brax looked over to his second in command and shrugged. "You heard the Grand Admiral, prepare for transport."
_____________________________________________________

Thrawn glared over to his staff officer.

"Connect me to the Ardin, NOW!"

ooc see delth thread for continuation
"The goal of war is not to die for your country, it's to make the other bastard die for his." General George S. Patton

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Post by Vox »

OOC: Okay this has more to it and will go up but I wanted to give Neuge a chance to post something before I finished and went with Ton being brought before Taruk.

Overseer Taruk smiled through a scarred upper lip as the Cleansing began to break apart. The enemy ships were trapped between two Xen’Chi fleets, unable to escape and held at the mercy of the warriors who were now boarding them, neutralizing them for later use in Thrall fleets. Tapping the Cleansing’s beaten hulk Taruk pulled up the latest rough scan of the ship looking over the data before it suddenly vanished. Taruk quickly covered his shock with a vicious shout. “Find that ship,” his voiced bellowed. He had been deprived of a vessel that would have made quite the bribe to another Overseer, one loyal to Kalis to buy his favor. Taruk knew this would be a dishonor to his name, one the person responsible for this super ship warping out would pay for dearly when caught.

“Send the proper message to Overseer Kalis, inform her that the system is secure.” The bustle around the bridge continued as Taruk looked over the remaining ships that had been captured. A sour taste filled his mouth as the size and category of each vessel was listed, even capturing three of the enemies most powerful destroyer analogues did nothing to change his mood. “Have Oversser Resik finish this, I will be in my antechamber cleansing this failure from my mind.”
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Post by Neuge »

OOC: Cleaned up the OOC posts =)

IC:

The battle had proceeded as planned for the Xen'Chi warriors. Essentially, it had been a glowing success. With no chance of survival, the enemy super-ship had attempted to flee, and had been caught by superior Xen'Chi tactics and numbers. Her impressive escort fleet had been reduced into slagged metal hulks and drifting tombs, disabled vessels waiting for capture. The Xen'Chi dominion had proven once again its superiority over all forms of life in the Galaxy.

Or, would have proven so, had the greatest prize in the Galaxy not simply disappeared without explanation from the middle of a gravity well. It shouldn't have been possible, but it had happened. Furthermore, it would be regarded as a failure by those senior to Resik, although that would be mitigated by Taruk's involvement and command of the situation.

It was clear to Resik that the enemy had some strange new technology which could break the laws of physics at will, but without a doubt the sensor logs would reveal what had happened upon further inspection. Either way, reasonable heads would determine that this had not been due to his or Taruk's incompetence, which might have proven fatal to those in their positions.

Until then, he had been awarded the task of cleaning up what remained of the Imperial fleet. A quick glance at the sensor readout proved that there really wasn't much left to finish. A small number of Imperial vessels still fought fiercely but already they were being surrounded and subdued by the combined fleet of Xen'Chi vessels in the system. One by one they were destroyed or left drifting with blue lightning arcing over their unpowered hulls. Any hope of escape they might have had had vanished along with their command ship.

Without their capital ships' support, the enemy starfighter squadrons were destroyed or forced to desert, those capable of making the jump to hyperspace doing so. Major space combat operations were all but over.

The boarding actions had already begun, but would doubtless take a number of hours to complete, especially on some of the larger vessels, Resik knew, depending on resistance. As if to punctuate his thoughts, a smaller enemy corvette disintegrated suddenly in a gout of flame, likely sabotaged from within by her crew in order to prevent capture. Twenty-seven of his warriors were dead.

He turned away from the viewscreen, and breathed in the air of the homeworld, revelling in the ashen scent it brought to his lungs. There was much to prepare for, and much data to study, and he was not one to agonize over his warriors' honourable deaths.

He tilted his head slightly, remembering the other order of business he needed to attend to. "Warrior Senis," he spoke, before departing the bridge. "Bring her to me."
It was, after all, hard to take a bright red Star Destroyer very seriously.
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Post by Vox »

Ord Mantell System – Staging Point for Invasion
Xen’Chi Command Cruiser Uk’thar

Kneeling before the hazy figure of Overseer Kalis the ashen form of Overseer Taruk tensed under yet another harsh scolding. “You let your biggest prize escape Overseer, you left yourself open for an escape and the enemy took it. If you were not primed perfectly for a strike to secure us more resources I would remove you of your privilege to lead this invasion. Do not fail again Taruk or you shall lead my weakest Thrall fleet against the enemy’s strongest system.”

Rising slowly Taruk looked into Kalis’s violet eyes as the transmission ceased. His rising before she had closed the transmission bordered on disrespect the Overseer did not see the need to feel worried however. Maintaining his gaze on the transmission relay before him the image of Consul Intic appeared his face far graver then Taruk ever recalled seeing it. His hands touched at finger tip before disappearing from view as his aged voice resounded over the transmission. “She is close to the edge Taruk, her mind is full of thoughts placed by ambition and not by the gods. Should the rest of the Council hear of this she would be placed at the mercy of the gods, stripped of her protection by Brok’var.”

Consul Intic’s words sent ripples of pleasure through Taruk’s veins though he hid them well. Removing Kalis’s protection from Brok’var would leave her open to the wrath of the gods. She would no longer be trusted with a command; instead she would be given the rank of bondsman and slave to the newest Xel’Char, the most powerful Overseer of the Xen’Chi. “Remember your place Overseer!”

Consul Intic’s voice echoed through the chamber over the transmission sending Taruk to a knee in a bow. “My apologies Consul, may the gods have mercy on my insolence.”

“They will Overseer,” Intic said raising his chin slightly, “so long as you remember your place.”

“My place remains at your bidding Consul our fleets are ready to strike.”

“Then do so Overseer and I will see to your rise to power.” Ending the transmission Taruk stood once more watching the screen cycle as it opened the channel to Overseer Resik’s vessel. Taruk’s mind quickly left the thoughts of power behind as the image of Resik’s highest precept came into focus.

“Your master is to commence with his attacks. His targets are as we discussed. He will secure Bilbringi and Reecee then begin his campaign at Borleais. May your enemy be strong and the gods in your favor Precept.” Bowing his head Resik’s Precept waited for Taruk to close the transmission. Stepping out of his chamber Taruk looked at his five precepts assembled in his antechamber. “Ready the warriors, it is time."

Watching his precepts leave Taruk felt his body tense and relax. He was ready for battle, his mind anxious to be tested and his body ready to be worked in a fight. The Council had granted him this opportunity to rise within the Xen’Chi, he would not dishonor their faith with failure.
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Post by Neuge »

Ord Mantell System - Staging Point for Invasion
Xen'Chi Command Cruiser Kes'rthek

The situation aboard the Xai'Chen-class cruiser Kes'rthek was not dissimilar to the one taking place between Taruk and Kalis aboard the Uk'thar. The main disparity came with the fact that Precept Senis'arek was physically standing in the same chamber as Overseer Resik'otan.

"Warrior Senis. Not only are you responsible for the loss of the entire Ractill fleet, but you have also sacrificed three cruisers of honourable warriors in your folly. I find it surprising and even somewhat distasteful that the gods have deemed fit to have seen you survive this battle."

Senis' grey skin blanched visibly at the insult, but had no retort. The Overseer was correct. She been tricked by an alien commander, and had survived where most of her warriors had fallen. There was no excuse.

"Senis... you have proven yourself unworthy of the weapon that you were entrusted with. Precept Koren will assume command of the Kes'metan."

This time, Senis spoke, albeit briefly. "I understand, Overseer."

Resik raised an eyebrow and glared at her, questioningly. "Are you certain, Senis? If you are not, it is better that I slay you here and now."

Senis met his eyes. "I am."

At this, Resik nodded, but his voice did not lose its menacing edge. "Good. You will take the Hes'krethik and return to Chil'a'Chin at once. I have assigned you to cargo escort duty. Perhaps in time you may once more prove yourself a useful warrior."

He paused and closed his eyes, breathing in the sulfurous air of the homeworld deeply. When they opened again, Senis had left.
It was, after all, hard to take a bright red Star Destroyer very seriously.
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Post by Vox »

Xen’Chi Space – Ondir Strike Point
Xai’Chen Command Cruiser – Ital’a’Kin

Inhaling the sulfurous grey air that created the haze onboard his command ship the third Overseer bowed in submission before the image of his commander. “My lord, your orders have been carried out perfectly by Overseer’s Taruk’ghir and Resik’otan. Their fleets are already close to their second rendezvous point. Overseer Taruk’ghir has requested the movement of the secondary fleets, including my own.”

“Excellent, do as he says, order our Thrall fleets to support positions of the Overseer fleets. Your fleet is to stage at Ord Mantell, Overseer Leras’vel will position his fleet at Vortex. Your ability to support Overseer Taruk and report his movements will bring renewed honor to your name Overseer Rison. Taruk communicates with Consul Intic too often; find out how far his treachery runs.” Bowing even lower in his crouch Rison acknowledged his superiors order.

“As you wish my lord, you will have him as a slave before the next campaign begins.”

Raising her chin Overseer Kalis let a cold smile form on her grey lips. “I will tell you exactly what I told Overseer Taruk’ghir. Do not fail me, or the honor you lose will take your offspring generations to restore.”

“You have my word Overseer, you shall not regret giving me this opportunity.” Bowing once more Overseer Rison waited for the transmission to end looking toward the single Precept which stood in his antechamber. “Relay the orders, ready the fleet we will not delay our invasion.”

“As you wish Overseer.” Bowing sharply the Precept left Rison to his thoughts. Rison was the youngest Overseer within the ranks of command; he had gotten here not by skill but by his ability to find ways to please Overseer Kalis. He had some battlefield knowledge yet that was not his ultimate goal, the gods rewarding cunning his aim was to enter their favor in a way few Xen’Chi had. His rise to power would begin the moment his fleet reached Ord Mantell whether the gods found favor in his means of doing so was irrelevant, they would not be able to ignore him once he rose to power however. Composing his thoughts Rison watched as the Precept entered his antechamber once more. “My lord, the fleet is ready, we await your command.”

“Jump, send a message to Overseer Taruk’ghir just before we do. He will be most pleased to see we have wasted no time in securing his rear flank.”

Bowing the Precept left once more leaving Rison to enter his meditation chamber alone. He would need the focus of the Deceiver now, his mind was too young and did not have the wisdom to pull such an act off on his own. Only the Deceiver could give him the means to find out Taruk’s secrets without letting his own agenda being discovered.
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