The Xen Chi Invasion: Riflor - The Falling Blade
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The Xen Chi Invasion: Riflor - The Falling Blade
NR Escort Carrier Archer.
Orbit above Riflor
Riflorii System
The commander of Riflor's Defense Fleet lay almost catatonic in bed, his bloodshot eyes uneasily focusing on the ceiling.
"Commander Letona, incoming priority traffic from Riflor Orbital Station."
He groaned, and tried to roll over while pulling the sheet over his head. He become tangled, and fell to the floor with a thwack. Used hypos and half crushed caf cups shot out from underneath him.
"Frack!" He rubbed at his head, he had hit one of his lekku on the bedframe.
"Commander Letona, incoming priority traffic from Riflor Orbital Station." The comm chimed again.
He stumbled to his feet, and grabbed at the quarter full container on his bedstand. He stared at the green liquid, momentarily wondering what it was. He took a swig anyway, feeling momentarily better.
He sloppily palmed the comm unit. "Lieutenant, give me a sec to pull on a shirt."
"It's the Governor, sir, he demands to speak with you immediately."
"I'll be there in a minute." He threw one of his dress tunics over his shoulder and headed out the door.
* * *
"These figures are SIMPLY unacceptable, Commander!" The Advozse governor raged, throwing the flimsy on the desk. Letona ignored the governor's ranting and focused on the his disgusting bony spar of a horn. At that moment, it symbolized everything Letona hated about this Sith-forsaken backwater and this particular Advozse.
"Piracy has actually gone up! Several important people have privately expressed their concerns to me over losing two or three ships a month. People are losing faith in this government, and the New Republic."
Translation, Letona thought bitterly, planetwide elections are coming up and I need to divert the people's attention away from the pork I've been serving.
"Governor, the pirates have their base in the middle of the colony on Tejrivozs. I do not have the ground forces to contemplate a raid, let alone an invasion. If you would like to raise your militia for the task, I'd be more than happy to provide them escort."
"I'm not asking you to invade the planet, I just want their Marauder corvette destroyed."
"And my two B-Wing squadrons have been training expressly for that task." Letona settled back in his chair with some pride.
"Commander, that's what you told me two months ago!" The Advozse paused, and took a breath. "Which brings me to my other matter of concern. Yesterday, the son of the executive director of AdvoEng was almost shot down for flying too close to the restricted zone on the moon of Zhala. What has the New Republic been doing up there for the past three months?"
"Governor, all my superiors will tell me is that it is some sort of experimental training facility. My own fighters get chased off by the A-Wings that enforce the zone."
Letona's aide gestured to him, and pointed to his datapad. "Excuse me Governor, I have business to attend to." He cut the holodisplay.
* * *
NRI Listening Post AX-798
Thala
Riflorii System
"Major Kay'lya. A moment please." The bothan turned away from the transplasteel window, and the view it offered of the rise of Riflor's third sun.
"Certainly, Pagyl."
The gotal took a moment to look out the window. "I've been preparing my report to Cracken and the Security Council, any updates I can tell them about?"
"We've intercepted eight more transmissions, encoded in what my analysts are calling Cypher A. We think we might have the encryption system figured out, but we have no way to be sure. My linguists and slicers are fighting minor wars in their respective sections over possible interpretations of the plain data. The truth is, we don't know enough about the Xen'Chi to make any sort of determination."
"So we've got nothing so far that requires meta-analysis?"
"Not quite." Kay'lya moved to his desk and picked up his datapad.
"Take a look at this."
Pagyl Drask paged through the document the bothan had called up.
"You're certain about this?"
"Absolutely. It was a permutation off of last month's fleet code for the Imperial Navy."
"Thrall Fleet of the Xen'Chi." Pagyl mused. "Hopefully, they will prove to be not much of threat."
* * *
NR Escort Carrier Archer.
Orbit above Riflor
Riflorii System
Letona entered the Command Center with his aide, and gave the holographic tactical display a quick glance. It showed the ternary suns of the system, as well as the several major bodies. Above Riflor, floated a miniature of the Orbital Station and the Archer. Letona's two Nebulean B Frigates, the Dapala and the Toprawa, were escorting a large civilian convoy. Elsewhere in the system, tiny yellow and green dots represented the civilian and patrol craft traffic.
"What's the status on our fighters?" Letona asked his aide.
"We have one B-Wing undergoing repairs do to the training accident yesterday, two X-Wings with light damage due to a skirmish last night with raiders, and one X-Wing that suffered extensive damage due to a bad approach. Retrofits for Dapala's Y-Wing squad have been scheduled for today, and Red and Yellow squads are on patrol duty."
"What was the cause of last night's fire?"
"Members of the engine and hanger crews decided to modify a few astromech droids for gladiatorial combat. Those responsible have had their pay docked and lost their next leave. Sir, incidents of this nature have been occurring more frequently in the last few weeks. When can we expect some real leave in the Inner Rim?"
Letona sighed. "No clue, Lieutenant. No clue."
Orbit above Riflor
Riflorii System
The commander of Riflor's Defense Fleet lay almost catatonic in bed, his bloodshot eyes uneasily focusing on the ceiling.
"Commander Letona, incoming priority traffic from Riflor Orbital Station."
He groaned, and tried to roll over while pulling the sheet over his head. He become tangled, and fell to the floor with a thwack. Used hypos and half crushed caf cups shot out from underneath him.
"Frack!" He rubbed at his head, he had hit one of his lekku on the bedframe.
"Commander Letona, incoming priority traffic from Riflor Orbital Station." The comm chimed again.
He stumbled to his feet, and grabbed at the quarter full container on his bedstand. He stared at the green liquid, momentarily wondering what it was. He took a swig anyway, feeling momentarily better.
He sloppily palmed the comm unit. "Lieutenant, give me a sec to pull on a shirt."
"It's the Governor, sir, he demands to speak with you immediately."
"I'll be there in a minute." He threw one of his dress tunics over his shoulder and headed out the door.
* * *
"These figures are SIMPLY unacceptable, Commander!" The Advozse governor raged, throwing the flimsy on the desk. Letona ignored the governor's ranting and focused on the his disgusting bony spar of a horn. At that moment, it symbolized everything Letona hated about this Sith-forsaken backwater and this particular Advozse.
"Piracy has actually gone up! Several important people have privately expressed their concerns to me over losing two or three ships a month. People are losing faith in this government, and the New Republic."
Translation, Letona thought bitterly, planetwide elections are coming up and I need to divert the people's attention away from the pork I've been serving.
"Governor, the pirates have their base in the middle of the colony on Tejrivozs. I do not have the ground forces to contemplate a raid, let alone an invasion. If you would like to raise your militia for the task, I'd be more than happy to provide them escort."
"I'm not asking you to invade the planet, I just want their Marauder corvette destroyed."
"And my two B-Wing squadrons have been training expressly for that task." Letona settled back in his chair with some pride.
"Commander, that's what you told me two months ago!" The Advozse paused, and took a breath. "Which brings me to my other matter of concern. Yesterday, the son of the executive director of AdvoEng was almost shot down for flying too close to the restricted zone on the moon of Zhala. What has the New Republic been doing up there for the past three months?"
"Governor, all my superiors will tell me is that it is some sort of experimental training facility. My own fighters get chased off by the A-Wings that enforce the zone."
Letona's aide gestured to him, and pointed to his datapad. "Excuse me Governor, I have business to attend to." He cut the holodisplay.
* * *
NRI Listening Post AX-798
Thala
Riflorii System
"Major Kay'lya. A moment please." The bothan turned away from the transplasteel window, and the view it offered of the rise of Riflor's third sun.
"Certainly, Pagyl."
The gotal took a moment to look out the window. "I've been preparing my report to Cracken and the Security Council, any updates I can tell them about?"
"We've intercepted eight more transmissions, encoded in what my analysts are calling Cypher A. We think we might have the encryption system figured out, but we have no way to be sure. My linguists and slicers are fighting minor wars in their respective sections over possible interpretations of the plain data. The truth is, we don't know enough about the Xen'Chi to make any sort of determination."
"So we've got nothing so far that requires meta-analysis?"
"Not quite." Kay'lya moved to his desk and picked up his datapad.
"Take a look at this."
Pagyl Drask paged through the document the bothan had called up.
"You're certain about this?"
"Absolutely. It was a permutation off of last month's fleet code for the Imperial Navy."
"Thrall Fleet of the Xen'Chi." Pagyl mused. "Hopefully, they will prove to be not much of threat."
* * *
NR Escort Carrier Archer.
Orbit above Riflor
Riflorii System
Letona entered the Command Center with his aide, and gave the holographic tactical display a quick glance. It showed the ternary suns of the system, as well as the several major bodies. Above Riflor, floated a miniature of the Orbital Station and the Archer. Letona's two Nebulean B Frigates, the Dapala and the Toprawa, were escorting a large civilian convoy. Elsewhere in the system, tiny yellow and green dots represented the civilian and patrol craft traffic.
"What's the status on our fighters?" Letona asked his aide.
"We have one B-Wing undergoing repairs do to the training accident yesterday, two X-Wings with light damage due to a skirmish last night with raiders, and one X-Wing that suffered extensive damage due to a bad approach. Retrofits for Dapala's Y-Wing squad have been scheduled for today, and Red and Yellow squads are on patrol duty."
"What was the cause of last night's fire?"
"Members of the engine and hanger crews decided to modify a few astromech droids for gladiatorial combat. Those responsible have had their pay docked and lost their next leave. Sir, incidents of this nature have been occurring more frequently in the last few weeks. When can we expect some real leave in the Inner Rim?"
Letona sighed. "No clue, Lieutenant. No clue."
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Riflor - mid-rim, New Republic control, and not as far from the unknown regions as its inhabitants might hope. Lwekk and Bakura were both under Xen’Chi control with Endor and Riflor next on the list. The Xen’ Chi’s newest thrall fleet under the command of Grand Admiral To’barren was quickly sweeping the edge of the galaxy, effectively stealing worlds underneath the noses of their enemies. Riflor was about to fall victim to said sweep.
Vice Admiral Kichorn-oudao under To’Barren was the appointed commander of a hand-picked, battled hardened task force composed of a half a dozen ships. Admiral Chorn, as he was often addressed, was a Chiss - the legendary enemy of the Xen’Chi. His cold, calculating presence was a voucher for the… persuasiveness of Xen’Chi interrogations. As proud as he was to be a righteous Chiss fighting Xen’Chi, Admiral Chorn would settle for conquering the galaxy on the right-hand side of the devil. After all, once the war was over and the galaxy was forever changed, that righteous story might change as well.
The hypnotizing swirls of hyperspace had yet to dissipate, but Admiral Chorn stood on the bridge of the Icey Doom and waited. He wanted to be the first to see their targets. In his hand was a data pad with a ship list noting each of the vessels in his task force and their specifications. It was a very useful pad of information, but Chorn held it loosely - he had memorized it already. When the bright blue lines finally washed away and space reverted back to normal, Admiral Chorn immediately started issuing orders.
“Establish an encrypted channel - I wish to speak with each captain openly.” The holographic images of five captains appeared before the admiral one by one pertaining to the individual’s arrival in the system. Each captain was of a different race except for two who were human - what a perfect example of a thrall fleet… They were still far from sensor range, meaning that Riflor was blind to their arrival, but it would not be long before the hails came. The mix-matched fleet of traitors must have been a sight to marvel.
“You have all faced battle before, but not like this. Not as the Xen’Chi. Remember that they… and I… will NOT accept defeat.” Admiral Chorn turned his attention directly at the captain of the Dreadnaught from the Katana Fleet. “Captain, keep your ship close to the Icey Doom…”
Vice Admiral Kichorn-oudao’s strategy was basic but effective. The Imperial Class Star Destroyer would take the lead - meant to take in but also dish out the most fire-power. Above and to the right was a Nebulon-B frigate, perfect for support and protection of the Star Destroyer’s vital systems including the bridge, shield generators, sensor arrays, and not to mention the gun emplacements. The combined fire-power of the two ships would vaporize any vessel that ventured between or in front of them, which would force the opposition to focus on the left side of the Star Destroyer. Unfortunately for the opposition they would find a pair of heavily armed ships waiting for them; a dreadnaught and a springhawk-class cruiser. Hiding beneath the Star Destroyer’s left wing would be Chorn’s flagship and escort to take care of those enemies attempting the find a weak point in the Star Destroyer‘s defense.. In front of them, protected from all sides like a blade in its sheath was the Battle Dragon. Able to shoot multiple ion blasts in any direction, the Battle Dragon would easily scrap any capitol ships that were not hiding above the Imperial Star Destroyer. Finally, following behind the Nebulon-B frigate was a Lancer-class frigate. The Lancer was small but powerful and effective especially against fighters, therefore it made up for the weak rear-end of the Nebulon-B.
“Launch all fighter squadrons and order them to form up in defensive formations throughout the fleet. No focus yet. Shields up. Time to make first contact.”
The Thrall fleet quickly formed up according to Admiral Chorn's commands. Captain Co'Rex took some liberty with his placement of the Hapan Battle Dragon, Redemption, and edged it just past the tip of the Imperator-Class Star Destroyer. As long as their enemies weren't directly above the Star Destroyer he would be able to shoot them from his rotating disk of forty ion cannons. If the enemy had ever dealt with warriors form the Hapes cluster they would immediately recognize the ship by its two connected saucers. After the Remption was in position, the Captain then gave the order to launch their three squadrons of X-Wings.
Two squadrons of TIE fighters screamed out of the Nebulon-B frigate's hanger as well as a third from the heavily automated Katana Fleet Dreadnaught. An entire wing of fighters flowed from the belly of the Star Destroyer with four TIE fighter squadrons, one TIE interceptor squadron, and finally a squadron of TIE bombers.
By the time Admiral Chorn's fleet was completely in formation they finally entered Riflor's projected sensor range. It was a possibility that Riflor's defense also consisted of long-range sensor outposts or scouts who would have picked up notice of the Thrall Fleet already, but since Chorn's strategy was closer to Blitzkrieg than stealth, it wouldn't be a huge loss.
Vice Admiral Kichorn-oudao under To’Barren was the appointed commander of a hand-picked, battled hardened task force composed of a half a dozen ships. Admiral Chorn, as he was often addressed, was a Chiss - the legendary enemy of the Xen’Chi. His cold, calculating presence was a voucher for the… persuasiveness of Xen’Chi interrogations. As proud as he was to be a righteous Chiss fighting Xen’Chi, Admiral Chorn would settle for conquering the galaxy on the right-hand side of the devil. After all, once the war was over and the galaxy was forever changed, that righteous story might change as well.
The hypnotizing swirls of hyperspace had yet to dissipate, but Admiral Chorn stood on the bridge of the Icey Doom and waited. He wanted to be the first to see their targets. In his hand was a data pad with a ship list noting each of the vessels in his task force and their specifications. It was a very useful pad of information, but Chorn held it loosely - he had memorized it already. When the bright blue lines finally washed away and space reverted back to normal, Admiral Chorn immediately started issuing orders.
“Establish an encrypted channel - I wish to speak with each captain openly.” The holographic images of five captains appeared before the admiral one by one pertaining to the individual’s arrival in the system. Each captain was of a different race except for two who were human - what a perfect example of a thrall fleet… They were still far from sensor range, meaning that Riflor was blind to their arrival, but it would not be long before the hails came. The mix-matched fleet of traitors must have been a sight to marvel.
“You have all faced battle before, but not like this. Not as the Xen’Chi. Remember that they… and I… will NOT accept defeat.” Admiral Chorn turned his attention directly at the captain of the Dreadnaught from the Katana Fleet. “Captain, keep your ship close to the Icey Doom…”
Vice Admiral Kichorn-oudao’s strategy was basic but effective. The Imperial Class Star Destroyer would take the lead - meant to take in but also dish out the most fire-power. Above and to the right was a Nebulon-B frigate, perfect for support and protection of the Star Destroyer’s vital systems including the bridge, shield generators, sensor arrays, and not to mention the gun emplacements. The combined fire-power of the two ships would vaporize any vessel that ventured between or in front of them, which would force the opposition to focus on the left side of the Star Destroyer. Unfortunately for the opposition they would find a pair of heavily armed ships waiting for them; a dreadnaught and a springhawk-class cruiser. Hiding beneath the Star Destroyer’s left wing would be Chorn’s flagship and escort to take care of those enemies attempting the find a weak point in the Star Destroyer‘s defense.. In front of them, protected from all sides like a blade in its sheath was the Battle Dragon. Able to shoot multiple ion blasts in any direction, the Battle Dragon would easily scrap any capitol ships that were not hiding above the Imperial Star Destroyer. Finally, following behind the Nebulon-B frigate was a Lancer-class frigate. The Lancer was small but powerful and effective especially against fighters, therefore it made up for the weak rear-end of the Nebulon-B.
“Launch all fighter squadrons and order them to form up in defensive formations throughout the fleet. No focus yet. Shields up. Time to make first contact.”
The Thrall fleet quickly formed up according to Admiral Chorn's commands. Captain Co'Rex took some liberty with his placement of the Hapan Battle Dragon, Redemption, and edged it just past the tip of the Imperator-Class Star Destroyer. As long as their enemies weren't directly above the Star Destroyer he would be able to shoot them from his rotating disk of forty ion cannons. If the enemy had ever dealt with warriors form the Hapes cluster they would immediately recognize the ship by its two connected saucers. After the Remption was in position, the Captain then gave the order to launch their three squadrons of X-Wings.
Two squadrons of TIE fighters screamed out of the Nebulon-B frigate's hanger as well as a third from the heavily automated Katana Fleet Dreadnaught. An entire wing of fighters flowed from the belly of the Star Destroyer with four TIE fighter squadrons, one TIE interceptor squadron, and finally a squadron of TIE bombers.
By the time Admiral Chorn's fleet was completely in formation they finally entered Riflor's projected sensor range. It was a possibility that Riflor's defense also consisted of long-range sensor outposts or scouts who would have picked up notice of the Thrall Fleet already, but since Chorn's strategy was closer to Blitzkrieg than stealth, it wouldn't be a huge loss.
Absent-minded Wanderer
Posts: 475
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NRI Listening Post AX-798
Thala
Riflorii System
The gotal and the bothan continued to discus Pagyl's upcoming report, when the major's commlink chirped. "One moment, Pagyl. Kay'lya here, go ahead."
Pagyl could sense his friend's growing alarm, despite it not showing in his demeanor.
"Launch a Ferret, and locate and monitor the source of the transmissions. I'm heading over to Ops now." Kay'lya closed the commlink.
"What's the situation?"
"Ops detected several is system transmissions using an unidentified cypher. More disturbingly, Ops also picked up tactical battlenet chatter from the same source."
* * *
Riflor Orbital Station
Orbit above Riflor
Riflorii System
Abros Kurdan almost danced his way out of the Wayfarer Tavern, riding a wave of euphoria. Earlier that day, his dear, his love, a delightful young woman stationed with the Riflorii Defense Fleet, had agreed to leave the military and return home with him. Then just moments ago, he just won a small freighter in the local sabbacc tournament.
He strutted over to the transparasteel window in hopes of seeing his love's ship, anxious to tell her the good news. He caught a glimpse of a bright flare rising from the surface of one of the moons, and wished his good fortune would continue.
* * *
NR Escort Carrier Archer.
Orbit above Riflor
Riflorii System
"Commander, we're picking up four capital class contacts at long range."
Letona watched as four yellow dots were added to the display, and then gradually coalesce into the familiar outlines of an Imperator-class Star Destroyer, a Dreadnaught-class heavy cruiser, a Nebulon-B frigate, and a Lancer-class frigate. "Looks like an Imperial taskforce, they'll probably be making the jump to Endor soon."
"I concur, sir."
Letona traced the display and rested his finger on a tiny green dot.
"Comms; dispatch picket ship LD-142 to approach, issue a stand off warning, and then shadow them until they leave the system."
"Right away, sir."
Letona turned to his aide. "What's the status on that civilian convoy?"
"They're at the jump point now, sir, and will be jumping in a few moments."
He smiled. At least the governor won't have anything to complain about this time. "Good. Have the Dapala and the Toprawa sweep the asteroid field for smuggler caches after that convoy jumps."
Thala
Riflorii System
The gotal and the bothan continued to discus Pagyl's upcoming report, when the major's commlink chirped. "One moment, Pagyl. Kay'lya here, go ahead."
Pagyl could sense his friend's growing alarm, despite it not showing in his demeanor.
"Launch a Ferret, and locate and monitor the source of the transmissions. I'm heading over to Ops now." Kay'lya closed the commlink.
"What's the situation?"
"Ops detected several is system transmissions using an unidentified cypher. More disturbingly, Ops also picked up tactical battlenet chatter from the same source."
* * *
Riflor Orbital Station
Orbit above Riflor
Riflorii System
Abros Kurdan almost danced his way out of the Wayfarer Tavern, riding a wave of euphoria. Earlier that day, his dear, his love, a delightful young woman stationed with the Riflorii Defense Fleet, had agreed to leave the military and return home with him. Then just moments ago, he just won a small freighter in the local sabbacc tournament.
He strutted over to the transparasteel window in hopes of seeing his love's ship, anxious to tell her the good news. He caught a glimpse of a bright flare rising from the surface of one of the moons, and wished his good fortune would continue.
* * *
NR Escort Carrier Archer.
Orbit above Riflor
Riflorii System
"Commander, we're picking up four capital class contacts at long range."
Letona watched as four yellow dots were added to the display, and then gradually coalesce into the familiar outlines of an Imperator-class Star Destroyer, a Dreadnaught-class heavy cruiser, a Nebulon-B frigate, and a Lancer-class frigate. "Looks like an Imperial taskforce, they'll probably be making the jump to Endor soon."
"I concur, sir."
Letona traced the display and rested his finger on a tiny green dot.
"Comms; dispatch picket ship LD-142 to approach, issue a stand off warning, and then shadow them until they leave the system."
"Right away, sir."
Letona turned to his aide. "What's the status on that civilian convoy?"
"They're at the jump point now, sir, and will be jumping in a few moments."
He smiled. At least the governor won't have anything to complain about this time. "Good. Have the Dapala and the Toprawa sweep the asteroid field for smuggler caches after that convoy jumps."
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“Sir, we’re picking up several ships and...”
“Class?” Chorn asked, his dull red eyes staring out the view port.
“So far… two Nebulon-B frigates, an escort carrier, an orbital station, and a picket ship headed right for us,” the sensor array operator answered quickly. “The frigates appear to be escorting a convoy in sector R...6552. Mostly freighter class - civilian, most likely. There is some traffic in the system here… sectors S6542 through 7021. The computer is having some trouble distinguishing civilian from patrol craft.”
“That won’t matter in a few minutes,” Chorn answered swiftly, the sharp attack of his voice more like a riposte than a reply. “All ships - shields down. Don’t engage. If they’re sending a picket ship to intercept us they must think we’re an Imperial task force.” Oh the irony… “Captain Co’Rex, be ready to fire those ion cannons, but do not target the ship until we‘ve hailed them.”
“Already charged and ready, sir,” chimed the small holographic display of the Redemption’s captain. The bridge was silent for a minute or two. Control panels softly chimed and crisp uniforms rustled with movement, but it still felt like silence. Everyone was waiting for that hail…
“We’re being hailed, sir,” the communications officer announced.
“Good. All ships, full-speed ahead, but do not break formation. Accept the hail and give them a video feed if they can receive one. Jam their transmissions if possible.”
“Sending video feed in 3 seconds, sir,” declared the comm officer.
‘Thrall fleet of the Xen’Chi. Is this what it’s come to?’ Chorn thought to himself. The men around him… all traitors. None of them were loyal to each other, and yet they all were. It was fear that kept them in line - fear of each other. One wrong move and there’s a couple thousand spies watching you.
“Transmitting.”
As soon as the picket ship and the Icey Doom were connected, the captain of the New Republic vessel began to speak. However, Chorn didn’t plan on listening very long.
“Hail unidentified vessels, this is…”
“Never mind the formalities, captain,” Chorn interrupted. The Chiss stared coldly into the video receiver, his eyes like two rubies reflecting from the bottom of a well. The admiral heard his comm officer activate their jamming signal once they were within range, but he made no comment. Whether or not it worked was a minor detail - the orbital station would notice when one of its ships suddenly dropped off the sensors.
“I am Vice-Admiral Kichorn-oudao of this Thrall fleet of the Xen’Chi. I will hear your last words.”
_____________________________________________
Onboard the Redemption Battle Dragon
“Target the rebel ship now,” Captain Co’Rex ordered. “Fire ten shots when ready.”
“Ten, sir?”
“I want to be sure. Forward shields up.”
This was, after all, the captain’s first bout with this ship. Ten blasts from the ion cannons sounded a bit like over-kill, but if the picket-ship was disabled after six or seven then he told himself he would order a cease fire. The targeting computer got a quick lock and the first ion blast burst from the tip of the Battle Dragon’s top saucer. The guns rotated much more quickly than Co’Rex had expected and the next ion blast fired less than a second after the first. The third and fourth came just as fast, and by the time the captain ordered a cease fire the tenth was already ripping through space.
The first five heavy ion blasts did their job well, lowering the deflector shields to critical levels in the blink of an eye. The ninth and tenth blasts finished off the rest of the shields and dispersed throughout the ship shorting out computer after computer until the destructive electro-magnetic pulse had wasted all of its energy.
“Fire proton torpedos, sir?”
“Wait for the command from Admiral Chorn,” Co’Rex said.
_______________________________________________
Icey Doom
“I will hear your last words.” Chorn watched with some satisfaction as ten heavy ion blasts pummeled the picket ship before them. They came at a rapid speed as if fired from a blaster pistol - most impressive. The open transmission sparked out to dead silence and disappeared. Chorn assumed it was due to damage from the DEMP’s.
“Shields up,” Chorn ordered, “and open fire. Continue full-speed ahead, fighters remaining in defensive formations. Plot a course for that orbital station.”
The six ships screamed forward and moved like a wall in space. The Lancer could not get a clear shot with it’s small quad laser cannons, but the Nebulon-B opened fired with its light turbolasers, the heavily armed Dreadnaught released a barrage of turbolasers from its cannons and batteries, the Battle Dragon fired ten proton torpedos (one from each tube), several missiles from the Springhawk-class cruiser made an impact, and finally a rain of fire from the Imperator-class Star Destroyer topped off the attack.
“Class?” Chorn asked, his dull red eyes staring out the view port.
“So far… two Nebulon-B frigates, an escort carrier, an orbital station, and a picket ship headed right for us,” the sensor array operator answered quickly. “The frigates appear to be escorting a convoy in sector R...6552. Mostly freighter class - civilian, most likely. There is some traffic in the system here… sectors S6542 through 7021. The computer is having some trouble distinguishing civilian from patrol craft.”
“That won’t matter in a few minutes,” Chorn answered swiftly, the sharp attack of his voice more like a riposte than a reply. “All ships - shields down. Don’t engage. If they’re sending a picket ship to intercept us they must think we’re an Imperial task force.” Oh the irony… “Captain Co’Rex, be ready to fire those ion cannons, but do not target the ship until we‘ve hailed them.”
“Already charged and ready, sir,” chimed the small holographic display of the Redemption’s captain. The bridge was silent for a minute or two. Control panels softly chimed and crisp uniforms rustled with movement, but it still felt like silence. Everyone was waiting for that hail…
“We’re being hailed, sir,” the communications officer announced.
“Good. All ships, full-speed ahead, but do not break formation. Accept the hail and give them a video feed if they can receive one. Jam their transmissions if possible.”
“Sending video feed in 3 seconds, sir,” declared the comm officer.
‘Thrall fleet of the Xen’Chi. Is this what it’s come to?’ Chorn thought to himself. The men around him… all traitors. None of them were loyal to each other, and yet they all were. It was fear that kept them in line - fear of each other. One wrong move and there’s a couple thousand spies watching you.
“Transmitting.”
As soon as the picket ship and the Icey Doom were connected, the captain of the New Republic vessel began to speak. However, Chorn didn’t plan on listening very long.
“Hail unidentified vessels, this is…”
“Never mind the formalities, captain,” Chorn interrupted. The Chiss stared coldly into the video receiver, his eyes like two rubies reflecting from the bottom of a well. The admiral heard his comm officer activate their jamming signal once they were within range, but he made no comment. Whether or not it worked was a minor detail - the orbital station would notice when one of its ships suddenly dropped off the sensors.
“I am Vice-Admiral Kichorn-oudao of this Thrall fleet of the Xen’Chi. I will hear your last words.”
_____________________________________________
Onboard the Redemption Battle Dragon
“Target the rebel ship now,” Captain Co’Rex ordered. “Fire ten shots when ready.”
“Ten, sir?”
“I want to be sure. Forward shields up.”
This was, after all, the captain’s first bout with this ship. Ten blasts from the ion cannons sounded a bit like over-kill, but if the picket-ship was disabled after six or seven then he told himself he would order a cease fire. The targeting computer got a quick lock and the first ion blast burst from the tip of the Battle Dragon’s top saucer. The guns rotated much more quickly than Co’Rex had expected and the next ion blast fired less than a second after the first. The third and fourth came just as fast, and by the time the captain ordered a cease fire the tenth was already ripping through space.
The first five heavy ion blasts did their job well, lowering the deflector shields to critical levels in the blink of an eye. The ninth and tenth blasts finished off the rest of the shields and dispersed throughout the ship shorting out computer after computer until the destructive electro-magnetic pulse had wasted all of its energy.
“Fire proton torpedos, sir?”
“Wait for the command from Admiral Chorn,” Co’Rex said.
_______________________________________________
Icey Doom
“I will hear your last words.” Chorn watched with some satisfaction as ten heavy ion blasts pummeled the picket ship before them. They came at a rapid speed as if fired from a blaster pistol - most impressive. The open transmission sparked out to dead silence and disappeared. Chorn assumed it was due to damage from the DEMP’s.
“Shields up,” Chorn ordered, “and open fire. Continue full-speed ahead, fighters remaining in defensive formations. Plot a course for that orbital station.”
The six ships screamed forward and moved like a wall in space. The Lancer could not get a clear shot with it’s small quad laser cannons, but the Nebulon-B opened fired with its light turbolasers, the heavily armed Dreadnaught released a barrage of turbolasers from its cannons and batteries, the Battle Dragon fired ten proton torpedos (one from each tube), several missiles from the Springhawk-class cruiser made an impact, and finally a rain of fire from the Imperator-class Star Destroyer topped off the attack.
Absent-minded Wanderer
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Man of Many Faces
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Absent-minded Wanderer
Posts: 475
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OOC: Sorry, as tends to happen with me, several things conspired to keep me from posting since last May, or June. If anyone wants the gory details, I'll update my profile with my new AIM and Yahoo.
I don't know if it would be possible to continue this story, but if you want to Notorious, I'm up to it.
I don't know if it would be possible to continue this story, but if you want to Notorious, I'm up to it.
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