(Replace jumping rat with kangaroo when the word comes up.)

Than Sion reluctantly left the safety of the turret. He deactivated the emergency beckon and stuffed it into his pocket.

"This is Kaph 2, I'm moving out. I'm heading for the controlled zone."

Sion returned to the pile of trash that used to be his TIE. He grabbed a couple of ration packs and clipped his vibro knife to his belt. He also grabbed his pilot helmet. I might want to grab this since these things are not very cheap, he thought. Sion kept the E-11 in hand for the battle was still very much alive. He fallowed the wall to the controlled zone. He cautiously checked every cave and hole in the wall so he knew that the enemy wouldn't pop out of one and shoot him in the back. He ran into a dead Rebel soldier on the way. He took the "decommissioned" soldiers blaster and what seemed to be some kind of smoke grenade. He didn't find anything else of importance on the carcass. He had only walked a short distance when he ran into trouble. When he looked around the corner of the most recent cave, he came face to face with a Rebel guard. He pulled the trigger before the other man could. He blew a hole through the man's chest at blank point range. The Rebel guard wasn't alone. Four other men occupied what was now clearly a secret hanger. Than Sion pulled back behind the ice wall as four blaster bolts flew were his body just was.

"You're all alone Imperial," said one of the Rebels, "surrender now and we will spare your life."

"So I can be executed after you put me through one of your jumping rat trials," said Sion in an agitated voice. "Better dead fighting then going through the embarrassment of surrender and dieing any ways."

"This is your last chance, surrender or die," said the Rebel.

"I have a better idea."

He threw the apprehended grenade, smoke quickly filled the room. Than Sion shoved on his helmet and changed the view to thermal. The enemy couldn't see him but he could see them. With the two blasters in hand, he targeted one of the bright orange blobs. Three came running stupidly toward the hanger entrance. He quickly took them all out. The last one was slightly smarter and was hiding behind a box. Sion probably wouldn't have even noticed him if he didn't have thermal on, and the man wasn't coughing loudly. The TIE pilot fired right through the box. He watched the orange blob slump over. When he tore the helmet off, the smoke was already beginning to clear. He began to see a faint out line of an all too familiar shape. It was a standard Lambda Class Shuttle with its ramp down. It wasn't much of a mystery of why the ramp was down. The smoke had revealed that one of the dead bodies was in command uniform. The man was trying to get away when Than Sion had dropped in.

"This is Kaph 2; I have discovered a shuttle and am planning on flying it back to the command ship. I will set off the emergency beacon so you don't shoot me down..."

"We jump in to rally with the freighters, and they aren't here?" questioned Jaden, "Aegis 4 to Kaph Leader, whats the situation?"

"The freighters haven't arrived yet.  They are in mid-hyperspace at the moment.  I know what you thought, we lost the freighters, but no.  If we don't take care of these fighters in the area though, we are going to have a tough time getting the freighters home in one piece," said Den, "Get to it"

"This is the commander of the VSD Brood, all batteries forward fire," said the commander, "Launch all remaining fighters in the hanger"

Jaden fell into formation with Chip, Will, Hunter, and the rest.  The space between the two groups of fighters was dimishing.  Jaden switched positions in the fighter to get comfortable- he had been sitting the same way for a few hours.

Jaden swung the fighter left and right, while increasing the speed of his fighter.  The targetting redicule flashed up as the fighters neared.

"Counting two flights of X-wings, and two flights of Y-wings," said Denethor, "Engage at 2 klicks"

"Jaden could see the fighters now, they were clearly flying higher than usual.  The Y-wings were in formation behind the X-wings.

Looks like they are going to make a run for the CounterPunch

The fighters were now much closer, within firing range.

"Hunter, Geth, and Gemini, form on my wing," said Jaden, "We're going to hit those Y-wings hard.  Kaph, stick to those X-wings, all other fighters, attack anything you can see"

Jaden punched the throttle and started towards the Y-wings.  Will's proton torpedoes had made connection just as Aegis was engaging the fighters.  The Y-wings broke formation, along with the X-wings.  The X-wings immediately went for Kaph squadron, leaving Aegis with the chance to get the Y-wings.

"Shoot 'em in their underbelly's," said Jaden, "They are at a higher point than we are, and the shields are weaker in that part

The green darted from Jadens fighter as he pulled the trigger numerous times, tapping on the underbelly of the Y-wing.  Direct hit.  It didn't look as if the fighter had taken any damage, but it clearly wasn't flying like it used to.  A few seconds later, the fighter combusted into large pieces of shrapnel.

The 4 fighters were now directly under 2 of the Y-wings.  Geth let off a few shots at one of the Y-wings, taking the shields down to 25%.  Gemini quickly followed, destroying the Y-wing with ease.  Chip and Piter suddenly came into view.  Piter painted the Y-wing with his blaster fire, hoping to take down the shields, while Chip came around and blasted the Y-wing into pieces.

The Y-wings now picked up speed as the dogfight drew near to the dreadnaught Counterpunch.  They easily started to pull away from the attacking fighters, and were right on target.

"Counterpunch, brace yourselves.  Incoming torpedoes at vector three," said Jaden

The Y-wings unloaded their missiles.  The blue streaks streamed towards the Counterpunch.  Jaden flipped over to the delta squadron channel.

"Delta Squadron, assist needed in the destruction of the Y-wings in sector 4.7," said Jaden, "Move it"

The missiles pelted into the shield of the dreadnaught, decreasing the deflector shield to 20%.

"We can't take another hit like that!," screamed one of the engineers aboard the Counterpunch.

"Aegis, focus on your mission.  Take care of those Y-wings as quickly as possible," said the commander of the VSD Brood.  "More fighters are on their way to assist you"

Jaden looked through the viewport.  He could see the Y-wings coming around for another run, but a suprise attack was right beside them.  Delta Squadron had come in on their left flank, catching them off gaurd.  The ties easily took care of the Y-wings, and quickly scurried off to help with the X-wings.

"Thanks for the assist Delta," cried out the commander of the Counterpunch

"Any time," called the smooth, cool voice of Delta 1.

There was no time for congratulations though.  The X-wings were tearing Kaph and Alpha squadrons to pieces.  Jaden feared that the worst would happen, the loss of pilots from Kaph or Alpha squadron.  A blow either one of the squadrons would mean destruction of the Counterpunch, or maybe even the VSD Brood.

Jaden flipped over to the main com channel.

"Shouldn't the frieghters have arrived by now?" he asked.

"Speak of the devil, there they are right now," said Chip, "Looks like they had some trouble"

"This is lead frieghter Omnicron," called out the commander, "We were engaged by NR forces on our way here.  An Interdictor cruiser and 2 squadrons of A-wings"

"Damn," said Jaden, slamming his fist into the dashboard of the interceptor, "Are they following?" he yelled

"We presume it, yes," said the commander.  Jaden could sense the fear in his voice.  He could understand that the commander was a very strong man.  The fear for life was a very hard thing to deal with.

"Alright, Omnicron, Delta Squadron will escort you to your next hyperpoint.  We need those resources, so you need to get out of here.  We will make sure you make it back home," said Jaden

"This is Farren Kaal, the delta squadron leader," said the cool voice, "Omnicron and other frieghters, hold on, we are on our way.  Get moving towards our position just in case"

"Thanks Farren," said Jaden, "It's nice to meet you"

"Alright," said the commander of the Omnicron, "All frieghters, full speed ahead towards the Counterpunch.  If those ships hyper in behind us, we are doomed."

"This is Kaph 1," said Denethor, "We have the X-wings down to half their numbers, about 4 left.  Alpha squadron has lost 3 pilots in the process though, I already sent the information back to the Brood.  Once we are finished, we're going to take Delta Squadrons place and hyper out with the frieghters"

"Correct," said Will, "Best of luck to you guys"

But luck isn't what the pilots would get.

There was total silence throughout the com system when it happened.  The interdictor cruiser, Bell had just entered the sytem, along with 2 MC-80's, and 2 squadrons of A-wings.

"Frieghters, make a move for it, all other fighters, draw the fire away from the frieghters, but try not to get too close to the starships and cruisers, we can't aford any more casualties," said the commander of the Brood, "VSD Brood is moving into position to intercept the Bell.  Keep the fighters off of us"

The mission had just taken a turn for the worse.  The freighters were now rushing to the Hyperpoint, with only a squadron of ties at their side.  Kaph squadron had now taken the position of Delta, and Delta was engaging the A-wings.

"Aegis, you are not to engage the Bell, repeat, do not engage that interdictor," said the commander of the Brood.  "There is vital information about the mission now aboard the Counterpunch, and you are to escort it until Delta Squadron is finished.  Once the freighters have hypered out, we will discontinue our attack on the interdictor and hyper out, unless we are caught by the gravity wells, we will relieve you of your mission." said the commander, "All fighters, you know your mission, carry it out with good intentions,"

-----------------------
Jaden Khaar


Vast Empire
FM/SCPO Jaden Khaar/Aegis 1-4 (Aegis 4)/Phoenix Wing/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE (=*A*=) (=*SA*=) [VC:S] (SV)

Ever since Than Sion was a child, he had found hyperspace travel fascinating. Just the idea of going faster than light always gave him a feeling of awe. That fascination was at full power as he watched the stars come back into focus from the cockpit of the shuttle. It had only been a small jump, as it had been planned.

"This is Kaph 1, to Kaph 2 aboard the shuttle. Head for the docking bay of the command ship. The capital ships have detected enemy fighters on the long range sensors. Your a easy target out for them to pick off. We don't need any more causalities.

"Than Sion obeyed the command and headed for the docking bay.

(Sorry about that JMac, I didn't know that you were the mystery pilot.)

(OOC: Gotta admit though, Jmac...they were nice ideas :P)

Piter swung his fighter round to dogfight with one of those damned Y wings, he linked his cannons and went in for the kill...he squeezed off a shot, the shot hit home, frying the fighters astromech, Piter let a dark grin of satisfaction play across his thin lips "this is going to be easy" he thought to himself as he squeezed off another shot hitting the Y wings reactor, luckily he kept his targeting computer in check regularly..he quickly swung his fighter out of the way to dodge the derbris from the destroyed Y wing and also to take on some more of the hated rebels
 
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where do i put my signature again?

Than Sion walked down the ramp of the shuttle onto the cold metal floor of the hanger bay.  Then a damaged TIE Interceptor came screaming into the hanger.  It's one of the new pilots, oh what is his name, Thought Sion.  Russell, that's it.  What am I saying; this is my first taste of real combat to.  A mechanic scolded Russell for damaging the TIE.  Than Sion's comlink crackled.

"This is Kaph 1 to Kaph 2; get your ass out here in an Interceptor like that Russell.  We need all the men we can get to take out the new threat!"

"Roger that Kaph Leader, Kaph 2 out."

By the time he got off the comlink, Russell was already zooming out in a brand new TIE Interceptor.  He quickly climbed into a new Interceptor himself.  The speed on this thing is amazing, thought Sion.  He hadn't ever driven a TIE Interceptor accept for on simulations.  It is a lot faster than that TIE I crashed back on the planet for sure. 

"Kaph Leader to, Kaph 2.  You just missed the slaughter of some A-Wings.  Let's Join up with Demonic and Russell, and then go after the rest of those X-Wings!"

"Roger that sir, sounds like a great idea," Than Sion copied.

The remaining flight of X-Wings came into view.  Than Sion dived below one and came up quickly, guns a blazing.  The snub fighter turned into a cloud of fire and debris.  The real thing is as maneuverable as the simulations, Sion thought with a smile.  The other snub fighters caught onto the strategy and went evasive.  Denthor got behind one of the fighters and hit it while it was vulnerable.  In the confusion, one of the X-Wings got behind Than Sion.  Not again, thought Sion out load.  He went evasive with a snub at his six o'clock for the second time that day.  The first time he lost his TIE, he wouldn't make the same mistake twice.  Thanks to Russell, he didn't.  He turned Than Sion's chaser into scattered atoms with his quad guns.  The combined four fighters took out the last X-Wing. 

(Had to get back into the story somehow.  In Star Destroyers, are there the systems of walk ways that have holes in the floor for the TIE hatches like in the base in Jedi Outcast?) 

Cheatle just coming from a traditional dog fight with a A-wing began to form up on Demonic's right wing, then he noticed a flight of A-wings coming from the left flank. "Another flight!" yelled Cheatle over the com.
Cheatle began evasive maneuvers and came about to the aft of one of the A-wings, shooting the quad lasers twice, "I got one," screamed Cheatle.
Demonic returning fire just barely missed a direct hit, he then swung his ship up right and did a 180, firing all at the same time, hitting the A-wing directly in the cockpit.
Forming up to my left on Demonic came Russell.
"Engage at will Russell" instructed Demonic.
Russell retorted "Time to kill some rebel scum"


As the last A-wing was destroyed by Russell, Demonic came over the com "Let's take out those X-wings, over there," he turned in the direction of his Nine. Cheatle and Russell followed in suit, until they were almost on top of the fighters. "This is Kaph 6, engaging the enemy," Cheatle darts off trying to target one of the X-wings. As he follows the X-wing he noticed that he was beginning to veer far off from his flight, thinking to himself "I need to do something about this ugly so I can get back."
Cheatle in desperation to take the fighter out decides to try and do some questionable maneuvers, which a pilot as green as he is shouldn't try.
Cheatle then dropped at a forty-five degree angle, and came about full throttle and did a tumble across his right flank coming to the under belly of the X-wing giving it all he had until it exploded into a little burst of fire that the vacuum quickly put out.


In returning to the battle area he noticed that Kaph one and two had joined Demonic and Russell to finish off the rest of the X-wings. After Cheatle arrived, Denethor came on the com "Take place alongside the freighters, we have to escort them to the hyperpoint."
As soon as this was said the five Kaphs sped off towards the freighters.


 
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FM/LCR Cheatle/Kaph 6/Phoenix Wing/mSSD Artus/DEF/VEN/VE/

Than Sion was still in his Interceptor when the Star Destroyer was preparing for the final jump.  It took that long for the excitement to end and for the true meaning of what he just did.  He had just begun to avenge his parent's, but it wasn't over.  Not until the New Republic was destroyed would his mind rest.  For the NR did more than take away his parents, they also destroyed the happy life he once had.   

He took the repulser lift down from the TIE racks and headed for the lounge.  On his way the hyperspace jump alarms went off and the ship left real space.  When he finally got to the lounge, he stopped dead in his tracks.  A pro imperial news feed was on the main display, it was about the other Than Sion, Than Sion of Ethrois.  He having the same name was a coincidence from them being distantly related.  He had heard much about this man from his last time on Kazaar, but never seen his face. But here the man was, on the news. 

It was about Sion of Ethrois' belief that if all the Empire's remnants banded together, they would be able to take out the New Republic with one swift attack.  It also went into detail about his go around services to the different remnant groups in exchange for military supplies and vehicles, and his policy on never attacking any part of the Empire.  The people at the news desk mentioned that the record was a few years old and that no one really knew where Ethrois really was.  They began to debate if he would join Thrawn or not. 

This is interesting, thought Sion of Vast Empire&

(You will be able to learn more about the two Sion situation when I work on my private story about my last trip to Kazaar after this story is done.)