OOC: Barely.
IC: The attack of the thrall fleet was almost reckless in its zeal to destroy the intruders. Failure to fulfill the orders of their Xen’Chi masters would result in strict punishment or an even worse fate. The corvettes and gunships opened fire as soon as they were in range, attempting to scatter the enemy formation in the ages old tactic of divide and conquer.
Precept Zanri watched the small scuffle unfold before her as she tried to fathom what the enemy commander could possibly be thinking. Such a small force had no hope of defeating her forces, let alone taking the planet. A single Hetch'hek cruiser would have had no problem in mopping up the pitiful strike force arrayed against her, let alone the forces she actually did command. Even if the enemy recon had been flawed, they showed no sign of retreat despite the superior forces arrayed against them.
A suicide mission then? For what purpose?
These ship designs were unfamiliar to her. They matched nothing in the admittedly limited information the Xen’Chi had on ships of this galaxy. As she watched them fearlessly attack the thralls, it quickly became clear what their strategy was although their objective was still a mystery. As their box-like and saucer-shaped ships moved forward to engage the thralls, the two largest ships, flanked by others that reminded her of the armored
kra’l bug of her homeworld seemed to be making directly towards the planet.
Zanri barely paid attention to the explosions on both sides of the battle; thralls were there to die after all; as she puzzled over the motives of her enemy. Whoever these newcomers were, they were fierce warriors and it was apparent that there was something on the planet that interested them. Zanri was almost tempted to give into her curiosity and allow them to land just to find out what they thought was so important… but then she would have to explain her actions to the Overseer and that was not an idea she relished.
No, better to annihilate them all now rather than suffer the wrath of the Overseer for some perceived inaction on her part.
“Tell our forces on the surface to expect to repel ground troops,” Zanri decided. “Inform the thrall fleet to go after the largest ships and their
kra’l bug escorts first. They are to be given top priority. Ruh'kmars will release their fighters to mop up whatever is left over.”
Zanri crossed her arms in satisfaction. This fight would be over in minutes and would require only minimal effort on the part of the Xen’Chi ships to do it. The Overseer would be pleased.
“Precept, we’re reading new hyperspace contacts inbound.”
Zanri scowled as she looked at the warrior who had delivered the news. “How many more ships have these pests sent?”
The disbelief in the warrior’s eyes said it all for Zanri. “We’re getting thousands of contacts.”
“Impossible!” Zanri hissed as she violently moved the warrior aside to look at the numbers for herself. “We would have known about a fleet of that size before it reached us! It must be a trick!”
Even as Zanri finished her sentence, the identity of the mysterious contacts revealed themselves. An untold number of pods, each large enough to hold a single humanoid figure, slid out of hyperspace and streaked towards the planet. A few burst open upon reverting to realspace, disgorging a figure that looked startling like a bulked up stormtrooper. Rather than attack, these troopers remained where they were as the pods of their brethren shot past them.
“Missiles?!” Zanri mused out loud, trying to understand what this new wrinkle in the battle was before her scanners revealed the few that had exited their pods. “No… it’s an invasion!”
What was going on here? Was the first attack just a diversion? If so, the strategy was doomed to failure. She still had more than enough firepower to deal with these mysterious shocktroopers. “The thrall fleet is to continue to attack the first group! Recall our fighters and have them destroy the pods before they reach the planet! Vis'kral frigates are to assist!”
***
Admiral Jer Roviditian sat back in his command chair as his ship, the Imperator Mark II
Kismet, started to receive the data being transmitted from the dark trooper observers. He didn’t try to hide the grin that lit his aged features as he watched the frigate analogs of the Xen’Chi break formation with the rest of the fleet to move forward to destroy the hyperspace pods. The alien invaders were going to be in for a big surprise once they started taking out the containers.
His expression turned more serious as something caught his eye. “Enhance grid 258.”
The tactical map before Roviditian zoomed in on the desired grid to reveal the Xen’Chi’s thrall servants in active combat with another group.
“Any idea who our friends are?” Roviditian’s XO, Ralor Jav, asked with curiosity. “I don’t recognize the design, aside from the YT-1300’s.”
“I do,” Roviditian answered him, his voice distant. “But I don’t believe it. I haven’t seen ships like those since before the Clone Wars. They’re Mandalorian designs.”
“I thought the Mandalorians were extinct.”
“So do most people, but I can tell you first hand that the stories about them are not tall tales. They’re a tough people. I wouldn’t be surprised if some survived after Galidraan.” The elder man laughed dryly. “You know, their home planet is rumored to be in this area of space.” Roviditian cleared his throat. “In any case, Mandos or not, they still deserve our thanks for helping to draw apart the Mechis III fleet. We’ll assist them if we can, if only because they’ve made things much easier for us.”
“Will Kasr approve?”
“As long as it doesn’t compromise our mission, he’ll trust my judgment.” Roviditian raised his voice as he spoke down to the bridge crew. “Do we have the coordinates yet?”
“The last numbers are coming in now, sir,” a tech replied.
“Kasr has planned quite a trick for us,” Jav said under his breath. “I don’t mind telling you that I’m not exactly thrilled with this idea.”
“I’m confident we can handle it,” Roviditian replied, his voice betraying nothing less than confidence. “Taskforce cruisers will jump to Mechis III on my mark…”