Victory II Class Star Destroyer Rishi: Hanger Bay


Lieutenant Sion, in his black with red detailing flight suit, sat upon a supply crate up in the TIE racks.  He turned his head to his left and down to gaze through the containment field at the purple whirl of hyperspace.  Its sweet serenity would soon be broken by the cold, dark white dotted void of real space.  For a fighter pilot it was even colder, for failure meant staying there for all eternity.

This would be no picnic; ship yards had no big neon free sign over them.  They were jumping into an agitated bee hive of cannon bolts and state of the art fighters.  This operation was the biggest thing in Sion’s career in the VEN.  This mission made everything from Bokura to the Hunter Incident look like child’s play.  The inside of his flight suit was already soaked with sweat.  He looked at his men who were arranged randomly around him upon the catwalks.  He saw the well known faces of the veterans along with a few wide eyed boys fresh out of the academy.  How many of them won’t be coming home?  How many more will I fail today?

Kaph Leader looked to the right at his XO who shared the crate with him.  The well built, long haired man had the yellow eyes of a predator.  Jaden was the ultimate example of a battle hardened veteran pilot.  In Kaph, this man’s skills and experience were second to none.  Than respected Khaar for both his fighter skills and his expert opinion.  This cold hearted, kick ass product of war had been chain smoking all morning.  There was no one that this battle didn’t get to, absolutely no one.  Hell, his droid Third Flight Leader, who as far as he knew didn’t have any form of emotions, had checked his fighter more times than usual.  With no humor in his voice he had given a direct order to Kaph to drain their bodies of any waste products before their gathering here.

“So, Than, why aren’t we stationed on the Tiamut again?” asked Krius, the Second Flight Leader of Kaph.

“Because the ship design is just too new,” replied Sion.  “They didn’t want to take the chance of something going wrong with it.  Besides, I’ve grown fond of that ship and I wouldn’t trust this battle with it.”

The slight look of disgust from the rookie pilot Tyrles at Krius talking to the SC on a first name basis was not lost to Kaph 1.  This boy was a creature of formalities, his flight suit was without wrinkle and his boots were shining.  It occurred to Sion a great many of times that this new recruit was not impressed by his messy blonde hair and his lack of the ‘required’ cap.  But he never said it, for the boy’s muscular figure he sure didn’t talk much.  Besides, you didn’t get  far telling your Squadron Commander he was a slob.

The PA system crackled to life.  “ETA is five minutes, all men to their battle stations.  All pilots prepare for immediate standby.”

The message was only a formality, the mess halls, lounges, and rec centers were empty.  There was no man out of place and every fighter was ready to take off at the drop of a hat.  It was all waiting now.  It was an endless grind to the biggest battle of most of their military lives...


(OCC: Short and to the point.  If anybody wants to make any pre battle character development (CD), this would be the time.  Just as a warning, I might not make it on tomorrow.)

C-3PX2 stood in an observation deck aboard the Victory II Class Star Destroyer “Rishi”. He could not stop thinking of the past. In the past few months, he had been though more than ever. Recently the Loyalist Army of Etti IV made a counter attack after being driven off the planet. They were met by an Army of Cyborg Bio-Modifications, they destroyed the Loyalist Army. But they lost more than the war; they also lost all the freedom and democracy of the planet. Where once the people controlled how they were govern, there was now an Iron fist that governed in fascism. Their ships and land vehicles were now the prime of the Planets Army of Corruption, there would be no good in the government of the planet.

“Thinking again?” Senior Crewman Telok “Jammer” Redstorm said.

“I just can not get these mysteries out of my mind” C-3PX2 replied.

“The war is over, we lost. There is no reason to dwell on it, we are no longer there and we can never go back.”

“True, but many mistakes were made during the return assault. We should no have returned the war was a mistake. We were in no shape to attack, and look at the end result”

“It was inedible that we would have lost. We only made it happen quicker; those damn Bio-Mods took us by surprise and tore us apart. We should just be happy we survived and more on.”

“That is just it, we did not all survive. The majority of the Army was killed, or captured. Even our commanders are in the enemies prisons now.”

“This is not a matter to keep going into every time we think back. What I should be doing is thanking you. You saved my life down there, and you got me a position in the Vast Empire. You gave me a new life, one where I can shoes to fight.”

“There is no need to thank me, if you must you can thank me by performing your duties to the fullest extent of your abilities. There are going to be people who test you, seeing as you have so much cybernetics in your body. They want to see what you are really made of.”

“Heh, no doubt on that. They will learn with time no to test the hardware. By the way, what is this about M-31337 being destroyed? I heard that there was an Imperial Security Operation going to see how safe the game was, and recently I heard that is has been taken off the Holo-Net and destroyed”

M-31337 was a Holo-Net Virtual Reality Combat Simulator where the player was in complete control of their character. It quickly spread over the imperial Holo-net after it was release, and was recently found to have one major problem. When you died in the game, it would kill you in real life. There were massive casualty numbers, and they all only had one connection, M-31337. An Imperial Security had been doing a research project to see the true effects of the game. They decided to watch players, on of which was C-3PX2. While he was playing he noticed something strange about on of the players, and attempted to WhoIs Back-hack the game. He was immediately disconnected from the game, and Imperial Security Firewalls activated. After seeing the truth about the player, he closed his account and covered up any data pertaining to his playing of this game.

“Yes, I had something similar to that. Strange things they do, they pick the weirdest times to decide to act on a problem” C-3PX2 said.

“You’re hiding something, I can tell from the way you said it.” Jammer responded

“Enough of this get to the briefing room and get your papers. Also I have recently begun work on a new Item for imperial Pilots, a Kneeboard for use in the TIE cockpit. I will notify you when it is finished so that you can pick one up.”

“Yes, Sir. I will go there right away” Jammer said as he left the observation deck.

C-3PX2 then left and walked back to his quarters and began to type a Holo-Mail Message.

> To: *****.1337
> From: Echo
> Subject: 0.o
> Priority: High

> He is getting suspicious; I am not sure how much longer I can keep him in the dark.
> Finish your mission and then inform him before he finds the truth about his cybernetics.

He sent the message, then turned off his Holo-Mail transmitted and went back to work on the Kneeboard.

OOC:

755 words. Just though I would add a little suspense, mostly just to use for later Char. Devolp.

(OCC: I swear that I posted this last night. I guess I didn't. Sorry, Shaz, since it is CD, but I swore that I posted it.)

Kaph 3

It was getting really close to the nitty gritty. Other than the necessary orders, Than had been almost completely silent since he left his office this morning. Skylla knew that he hadn’t slept a wink all night. That is how he dealt with stress, by going within himself. But Than wasn’t the kind of commander to just throw his men into hell with only a “get to your fighters!”

On cue he stood, his hard, thoughtful eyes pierced through the tobacco smoke. He took a good, long look at his men. There was no doubt about what he was thinking, which ones would come back as heroes and which ones wouldn’t come back at all? There was purpose in those eyes, a gleam of honor that no New Republic bastard could remove.

“I may not have much time to say this, so I’ll have to make it quick...” Than’s flat tone was interrupted by someone one running across the cat walk. Everyone looked over to see a purple eyed Zabrak rushing toward them with a piece of paper in his hand. The look on the skull tattooed face was very similar to Kaph Leader’s, full of purpose. “Warrant Officer, I thought you weren’t to be in active duty for another month?”

The Zabrak held up the piece of paper in his hand so that Than could read like he didn’t know what it said already. “Line Captain Shazam sees me fit to serve in this battle...sir.”

For a moment, Than’s cold eyes glared at the alien. Then, without warning they thawed and a smile turned up on his face. “I think we need to send you to rehab. You seem to have an addiction to trying to get yourself killed.”

“Rehab is for quitters.”

“Fine, but don’t cry to me if the NR flyboys pick on you, you had your chance to sit it out. Now go rejoin your family.” As quickly as his face loosened up, it hardened once more. “I’m not going to tell ya all that this is going to be a cake walk and that we’ll be handing the enemy their asses. I’m not even going to tell you all that we’ll all be coming back after this all done and over. That would be a lie, because the truth is that this will be the most difficult mission I’ve had to take part in. The truth is that we might all not be coming back.

But I tell you, don’t fear death; fear failing your flight members, fear failing your squadron, your friends and family. Most of all fear failing the Empire. If you die out here to day, rest assured that it will be with honor. The founding fathers of this nation didn’t just turn tail and run. When the NR, in all their deceitful and hypocritical ways, was out for their blood they didn’t go quietly in the night. Nor did they lash out immediately at the pack while our numbers were few and weak. They shifted to the edge of the galaxy, planning for the day that they would kill the beast.

My men, my brothers, this battle is the dawn of that day! It will be a very long, hard day, but rest assured that by night fall we will skin the beast. We will make those bastards pay for their crimes against the Empire. So sit up straight in your cockpit and make sure your boots are shined for today you will be doing a great service to your nation. Right now the NR may not even know we exist, but by the time the final gun is silenced “Vast Empire” will strike fear into the hearts of every fool who pledges allegiance to that pathetic government. We’ll show those conniving bastards that they can’t kick us around anymore. So go out there with dignity and if you’re going to die, die hard...”


(OCC: Yeah!!!! I hope I got your blood pumping with that one. Let’s do this guys!)

If one were to describe the pilot in one word, they would probably have to say- well they couldn't say anything. 

"You're not...  Afraid?"  The blue eyes looked kind enough as the line captain zipped up the front of the black flight suit, the Phoenix Wing insignia embossed onto the sleeve of his fireproof uniform- it would be a warm battle... 

"Quite the contrary- I'd have to say this is the happiest day of my life..."  And perhaps it was true because Shazam looked radiant, a grin that never seemed to cease spreading from ear to ear.  Again, the young brunette seemed incapable of comprehending, her hair a mess, still looking for articles of clothing she'd thrown off in a moment of ecstasy that led to several hours of passion of the likes she'd never known before...  She had to be in love...  No man could drive her that crazy, know her that well- understand how she needed to be loved...  She had to be in love...

"But you're going to die!"  She was a little more desperate now, those blue eyes pleading as much as shining like priceless diamonds, their magnificence making the pilot only smile wider.  Standing now, she pressed her head upon his chest and embraced him fiercely, Shazam a little taken a back as he glanced about for his boots.  Running his right hand through that incredible hair nearly made him consider desertion, but again, it seemed to reinforce all that he'd decided had to be true in the last couple of hours.  The most important of these facts was that he was, quite possibly, the luckiest man on this side of the galaxy or any other.  Still amazed at how blunt he'd been, haven decided against any and all suave he'd mustered in the past, Shazam had simply walked up to this woman and told her that she was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen and that if he could have one thing at that very moment...  He stood amazed that a woman who was completely, utterly out of his league, which meant not only gorgeous on levels he hadn't encountered before, but also rich and the best he'd ever had, was holding on to him for dear life...  The best part was- he was going to die!  There were no strings attached!  This was the way he wanted to go!  Of course, telling her ahead of time was probably what sealed the deal, but he'd never expected this!

"I love you..."  She sighed so deeply that Shazam figured for a moment she had died, but then came to when she inhaled so deeply that he knew tears would be on the way next.  Acting quickly, he pulled back and pushed the bangs from her forehead.

"You don't love me...  yet."  Looking into her soul, he moved in for the kill, holding her body against his own as he added the crowning touch, a kiss of such sensitivity that he thought the both of them had touched electric wiring.  Not releasing her for the longest time, he finally drew back, whispering into her ear-" If I come back- then you can try that one again..."  Shazam seemed to consider for a moment before adding- "Pray that I come back..."  And then he left her there, knowing, for sure this time, that after not looking back on the single greatest gift he'd ever received in this galaxy or the next, that he was going to die because no man was this fortunate.  It felt great... 

***

Jeri Linker was his name, a stout man of about thirty-two with a dark complexion, even darker hair and eyes, all equipped with a sharp attitude that made anyone reconsider crossing him, stood beside his TIE Interceptor.  His flight suit was neatly pressed, his eyes a nice white with gray irises, and he wore a designer boot as opposed to the Naval issue docks that every other poor sap had to wear.  In short- Jeri was well dressed at all times and made every attempt to appear more honorable and remarkable than any other pilot on board the Civesu.  Though his successes were many, it was the missions that had ended in utter catastrophe that made Jeri an anomaly- where others had perished, he'd found ways to overcome, drawing on a wealth of experiences that made him a natural survivalist.  Growing up on the far side of a mountainous moon, it wasn't surprising to find out that he was the only survivor out of his squadron when the snow and ice had forced their fighter group to the arctic peaks of an embattled planet.  He was the only one capable of climbing to shelter and living off of the bounty-less land for nearly three days.  Of course- he was a damned fine pilot as well.  Perhaps the only reason he was here was because of his honor though...  That honor that makes a man a man, or so he would like to say...

"You ready?"  Jeri's reproachable demeanor vanished as he recognized the form of his wing commander, who didn't appear quite as well-equipped for the mission as himself.  Straps out of place, his hair sloppy, and what could be red oil-based paint laced around his neck, gave anything but the appearance of an officer.  Yet, despite these signs of the inept, the uncommitted, Jeri knew better.  This was the man that had saved his life over the skies of Tiss 'Sharrl over five years ago, and saved it twice since then... 

"Ready as I'll ever be?  How much time do we have?"  Jeri's voice was fairly deep out of method, not years of dark responses or rituals- he was a good man. 

"We've got a half hour 'till we jump out, but we need to be getting in and checking our fighters out as of..."  Shazam looked around for a holo before turning on his heal, smiling once again and saying- "Five minutes ago..."  Jeri's face fell, his reputation for punctuality could suffer for this slightest indiscretion...  But he was rollin with the Commander.  Again, he couldn't believe how calm he was- his poise alone was worth his the merit others showed him...  How could he be so... 

On the inside, Jeri was nothing like himself.  The confidence he'd felt on those mountains or breaking out of enemy territory had totally changed if these were one in the same.  Right now he was one of the few that had been well informed of the enemy forces remaining as well as the place in which they would be appearing first...  Why were the flight suits so warm?

Shazam was strapping in meanwhile, the Interceptor checked for the fourth time in his seven hour stay, bound and determined not to be killed by some random flaw or mistake that could have been easily corrected had another check been made.  Then he began to bring the craft to life, first the sensory and sustaining systems, the standby status coming up as orange LEDs above the main monitor, just below his cockpit, and then the core of the unit itself, which brought all the other systems online in a flurry of ambiance within the cabin.  How many times had he seen this and it'd met nothing to him?  Had he not been so careful to treat every battle as his last?  Now, at this moment, he understood what his uncle had meant when, on especially good days, he would say - "I could just die..."  What a ridiculous concept, he thought, gripping the controls tightly, then loosely, then tightly once more as if to ensure he remembered that feeling even after he'd become stardust...

"Kind of reminds you of the good 'ol days, don't it, Two?"  Shazam had kept the helmet off for nearly the half hour as the pre-checks were completed and men began to scatter about in greater anticipation of what was to come.  Slipping the black headpiece on for the last time, he took a deep breath, listening to the hollow chambers of the suit resonate with his last breathes, and wondering if he would hear those before it was all over...

"I wish, One...  Difference is that a lucky shot won't save us today..."  Having realized the dreary effect this would probably be having on the other three TIE Fighter pilots listening, Jeri added in a slight chuckle. 

"Most agreed, but who knows...  Maybe they ran?"  The entrance back into sub-light was so sudden that they thought those stars were only a part of thier imagination.  Then the Civesu's body listed to one side, the ship tilting slightly to reveal the body of an Imperial Star Destroyer that was not their own...

"You have clearance to launch Phoenix Leader..."  The man on the bridge even seemed to be less despairing then other bridge members he'd listened to in the past- were they going to die to?  The moment's meditation again cleared what Shazam had identified as his purpose in this battle- to do as much damage as humanly possible before going down himself.  He honestly couldn't image surviving past the first skirmish...  While Nazgul and Kaph squadrons would be meeting him only moments later, he felt he'd done his part in preparing them for the loss of their commander- they would have to live to another day...  They'd been good pilots and he'd been good as well, but there was nothing left for him here.  Except Ms. Lane- his stomach turned over in circles thinking about the woman he's successfully snared back in his quarters...  Again he considered it- taking this fighter to the ends of the galaxy, grabbing the universe by it's tail and knowing he'd pulled off the greatest con any man had every conceived.  But he was gracious- there was no denying that it was a gimme...  He had to be thankful for this much.

"Phoenix Wing, Lumar Squadron- report..."  He wondered if she would really miss him or not, if he wanted her to for that matter.  Someone so fine should not be allowed to mourne for very long, he thought...  Again he grinned- who was he to have such an incredible gift?  No- he was a pilot.  It would not last.  He'd made his gamble and lost, gladly giving his earnings to the man seated next to him...

"Lumar Two, reporting."  Jeri was sounding strong despite his contending emotions, which betrayed him regardless of what training he thought he had in those specialties which are supposed to hide things.

"Lumar Three..."  The pilot stopped for a moment before catching himself, snapping out of it, and saying bravely- "All green."  Similar happenings occurred with Lumar Four and Five, but Shazam remembered feeling pity for Three...  Shazam and Jeri at least had a chance against those ships, their interceptors equipped with shields, but the other three- they were only there for appearances, and they knew it...  The captain was simply unwilling to let two pilots protect his ship in the opening battle though- there would have to be five... 

"Very well- the best to you all, men."  Shazam activated the repulsorlifts, bringing the fighter off the shining floor with the royal precision the Navy taught, but he'd often neglected in the past.  Today was special.  Pushing the rear repulsors into action, he felt the ship fall even deeper into his control, the interceptor gearing forward as it broke the barrier of the hanger and entered free space, where the repulsors were no longer useful and the twin ion engines, which had been waiting so patiently in stand-by, roared to life.  The ship felt so familiar, yet he'd been in and out of them only occasionally over the last eight months.  His time with Nazgul had come to an abrupt halt, he becoming Wing Commander and then running off on absurd adventures that had consumed all his being, only to end in greater misery.  How glad he was to be able to march to his doom like this... 

And immediately he began to orient himself with the galaxy, the various modes of radar flicking back and forth on the main monitor as they were updated, the enemy ISD above him identified itself as the Emancipator, while the Victory II-class Star Destroyer launching fighters from behind was called the Rishi.  Dead ahead, however, was the Sacheen-class light escort Runthar, it's ten heavy turbolasers breaking the silence of space with burst of powerful red beams, the first of which missed entirely as the Carrack Cruiser Civesu returned a blast of it's own, three of it's cannons making contact with the upper-right anterior shields...  They wouldn't stay head-on for long...  Detaching from the Runthar was the first surprise of the afternoon though: a full squadron of A-9 vigilance fighters, breaking into fights but no different none the less.  Above, the Emancipator seemed unbothered by the Imperial's presence as the enemy Nebulon-B Dissoance, began to dispatch a group of X-wing fighters and yet another squadron of A-wings...  They would be a while until they were gathered and attacking though...

"Circle back!  Keep in your flight, Lumars and stick behind the Civesu until we say otherwise...  Shazam realized now that he was signing an early death warrant, but he didn't care what the captain of the ship said anymore- he could do one good thing before he died and that was to at least offer these other pilots a chance to survive as opposed to sacrificing them for the sake of having five pilots...  What utter stupidity he thought as the three TIEs pulled into a tight Immelman, spiraling until they were headed the opposite direction.

"We're ganna split 'em in half and take out at least two of 'em- ya hear me?"  Shazam found himself throwing his shields to the anterior face without any hesitation, leaving no cover of any kind for his back should a stray bolt meet his behind. 

"If you can grab one, I most certainly can as well, One..."  Jeri was serious of course- Shazam saving his life on three occasions didn't mean he could one-up him...  Beyond the Dissonance, Shazam could make out the features of another tremendous ship, though not as impressive or titanic as the Emancipator above him.  He didn't have an identification for the ship in the distance yet, but he knew already that it had to be one of the MC-90s this mission was really all about- more technology...  All to be funneled into the war machine...  What an endless cycle, Shazam thought as he considered whether or not the average pilot would recognize why it was they'd been sent there.  Perhaps in fifty years the battle would be revealed to the public, but for now- the pilots thought this was another real battle.  No, no...  Note quite...

And then the reason for the MC-90's importance became obvious as it's guns, which should have been completely out of range, let off in unbelievable magnitude, a volley of turbolaser fire that reached the allied ISD Coruscant, shaking the ship to its bones as it readily identified the enemy cruiser.  Meanwhile, the Rishi was beginning a long descent, it's nose beginning to dip well below the horizon of the Emancipator; in due time, if all went well, the Rishi would be able to redirect sharply into the belly of the Emancipator...  That would be rough, Shazam figured as the A-9s began to close in, the two interceptors taking a stroll about the ship to warm themselves up as the Civesu and Runthar continued to exchange fire, the Runthar becoming more accurate this time. 

"Here goes..."  Shazam said to no one in particular as they began to accelerate, the first flight of A-9s appearing in startling contrast to the blackness of space.  As they approached, Shazam observed their frail, white, porceline like bodies, their two massive and independant targeting guns, of which had greater firepower than T-65 X-wings, swiveling about a 90 degree arc to pick and choose between himself and Jeri as their target- first blood.  Shazam began to fire early, his two cannons in alteration as he strafed the incoming flight, rotating his fighter slightly as they held their ranks, Shazam mentally giving them a little extra respect for not swaying in the least when they were without shields; they'd earned their wings, at least.  The two bulbous cannons below each of the A-9 Vigilence fights began to fire from the first group, none of which met Shazam or Jeri, bu put them on their guard as their evasive maneuvers became more randomized in the hopes that they could divert back to the center of their targeting for a good shot...  Instead, the two imperials found themselves closing in at the first flight neared, firing without great precision into their line and forced them to split as they headed toward the Civesu, it's ten ion cannons coming to life from a distance and trying to strike them down in great surprise.  The second flight of A-9s hadn't expected the first to break so easily, so the appearance of the two interceptors must have been shocking, because they didn't fire until both Shazam and Jeri had successfully branded their third man, his white exterior ashen as the began to slow slightly and have more difficulty in keeping within the formation; they too split.  The final formation was not in a simple line; they created a spear that was not at all surprised to see the Interceptors and began to lay into them heavily, Shazam's shields dropping to a disheartening sixty-eight percent before the duo had passed by, still alive...

"I said two, Two!"  Shazam was in the process of balancing out his shields when Jeri accelerated and pushed ahead, guiding the element through a sharp s-turn that brought them against the tails of the the third enemy flight but brought them head on with flights one and two.  Shazam sighed slightly as he re-distributed the shields to the front, knowing that too many of these head on attacks would be enough to finish him off- they'd have to act now.

"Alright- we take out charcoal there first, then we get past and head over to the Civesu..."  Other pilots might not have picked up on the strategy from those words alone, but Jeri seemed to understand, setting his sights for the beat up A-9 from their previous encounter.  As flight one neared, the third flight already breaking apart and turning back around, Shazam turned his cannons to strafe, having to fly as if getting ready to turn around because of the magnitude of fire meeting him along the way; forty-eight percent was too low for comfortable shields levels and could be knocked out with a single, well placed shot...  Shooting wildly along the flight's surface, while Jeri linked his cannons and waited, and waited, Shazam barreled hard, avoiding as much fire as he possibly could, creating what distraction he could until...  Jeri's aim was true as the two cannons, acting as one beam, broke through the fuzz of cross-fire and met it's mark, the white hull of the already damaged A-9 accepting all of the heat as the bolts obliterated the cabin, it's two massive guns spinning off into space as the explosion muted in the black vacuum.  Shazam heard his wingman let out a yelp as they broke past first flight once more, Shazam noting that the X-wing and A-wings were on the fast approach and would be there within moments... 

The second flight was expecting them once again, but this time Shazam and Jeri took separate paths, the A-9s splitting into two flights to pursue as the Imperial headed back for the Civesu. 

As the group neared the Carrack cruiser, just out of the corner of his eye he noted two interceptor squadrons...  Shazam kicked the throttle to full as the Civesu's ions went silent, afraid to hit any of it's supporting fighters-  "Boys- come on on out!"  The remaining pilots of lumar squadron rose above the hind-end of the ship and immediately headed in the opposite direction to Shazam and Jeri, who would meeting in the middle once again, drawing their separate pursuers back together.  Spinning off in opposite directions as the last moment, the three Lumar fighters heading dead on with them, the two A-9s directly pursuing the two imperials, met a surprise demise.

(LET'S ROCK!)

The holoprojector shut down and the final image vanished from the screen, as the Commander completed his briefing and asked for questions. Tomas grimaced once again as the picture faded away, he had been on the opposite side of this scenario during his brief stint with the Braxant Sector Fleet back home. Never had the battles been quite to this scale though, and it caused Tomas to cringe as he recalled the death tolls from those previous encounters. This one would surely be even more catastrophic. As he recovered, Tomas felt a sense of awe from the rest of the room. It wasn't all that surprising really, as for a third of his squadron this would be their first mission period. He seriously hoped the other squadrons had experience to make up for it or they'd likely be decimated.

“...we will be arriving in ten minutes, so I encourage you all to finish preparations as quickly as possible as you will be launching as soon as we've emerged.”

As the Commander wrapped up his response to the last question and dismissed the pilots, Tomas rose from his seat and gathered the rest of his flight.

“So, how are we feeling?” he asked. I think everyone save a Gamorrean could pick up the worry in my voice right now, he thought to himself. He had tried to make it light hearted, but he was sure that only accentuated the distress. He had to inspire confidence, but wasn't entirely sure how.

“Has it been ten minutes yet? I want to lay waste to some Republicans already,” Jared piped up. In typical fashion, his cockiness managed to shed a light on the otherwise dark situation. The woman to Tomas' left scoffed, causing him to glance over. Jared straightened up as well, seemingly taking offense to her reaction.

“Aleia was it?” Tomas spoke up again in attempt to clear away any animosity that was forming between the new pilot and the hot-headed crewman.

“You got it.” She replied matter of factly, bordering on a sarcastic congratulations. Her reaction actually helped in comforting Tomas as it was nice to know he wasn't the only one who recognized the danger they would soon face.

“Lamel?” This young woman, Tomas wasn't so sure about. She seemed timid, and cautious in her interactions with him thus far. There were times to be cautious out in the battle, but he sincerely hoped another side of her would reveal itself.

“Ready to go, sir!” she exclaimed with a small smile that surprised the Flight Leader.

“Alright then. Let's get to it, then!”

** A Matter of Minutes Later **

“Nazgul Nine, ready and raring to go.” Tomas reported in as his turn came. Lamel, and Jared followed suit with Aleia closing it out. Two by two, Nazgul launched from the landing bay and into the chaos of battle. With Lamel in his hip pocket, Tomas gritted his teeth and checked his radar.

“Good hunting, Nazgul. Let's bring 'er home.” Tomas shouted over the channel, hoping afterwards that no-one had their intercoms turned up too high.

Here we go...

Earlier

The Techs had been giving quick, shocked glances at the members of Kaph’s First Flight ever since they started working on 1 Flight’s fighters.  With the exception of Kaph 4, the Flight was riding naked.  They had sacrificed shields for firepower, their Interceptors were packing two extra cannons at the chin.  They also had no rocket pods, a mod that too many pilots learned to depend on.  The bare ballsers of Kaph were not part of this group.  All three of them were veteran pilots who had walked away from many sticky situations.  It would take someone really crazy or really good to fly naked in a battle this big, Than, Jaden, and Skylla were all of the above. 

Sion took a glance toward where Nazgul was camped out in the hanger.  He noticed the interaction between Toki and Trevor.  It was familiar.  It was love.  Though both commanders had relationships within their squadrons, a concept that was fairly looked down upon by outsiders, there was a major difference.  Well the pilots of Nazgul were looking at how the SC sleeping with another member of the squadron could cause problems of favoritism; the boys over in Kaph just didn’t care.  Kaph had its own way of doing things and that worked for Kaph.

Skylla...

He looked over at the woman that he had fallen in love with.  A great deal of his stress came from the fact that she would be out there too.  He did fear for his own life, but not because of the animal instinct to live every last second possible.  He feared for the effects that his death would have on the squadron and Skylla.  But he feared even more loosing Skylla.  I don’t think I could keep on going without her there by my side.  But then dropped four walls around his emotions, the cold logic system activated.  He couldn’t let his feelings for Skylla get in the way of the mission.  Without the mission he had no purpose, without purpose he had no reason to live...


1 Minute before Take Off


Lieutenant Sion was all strapped into his Interceptor, all systems were ready to go into action on a moment’s notice.  Now if only damn control would give them the all green, he was getting antsy.  His hands gripped the control yoke tightly, he breathed in deeply the rubbery air, he felt the sweat build up on his forehead.  He prayed to God that the fans in the helmet keeping the lenses defogged wouldn’t give out.  He took small comfort in the fact that he wouldn’t be able to feel his drenched boxers as long as they stayed the same temperature as his body.  In his minds eye he pictured Skylla in her own fighter, that same minds eye would pictured her screaming (even if he couldn’t hear it in reality) if she winked out as a point of light in the endless cosmos.  Remember the mission, it has top priority.

"Kaph Squadron, you are cleared for take-off."

"Right guys, lets at 'em!"  The mask was on, he was the bad ass SC that everybody in Kaph looked up to.  Yes, these men would all die for him, or anybody else in the squadron at that matter.  That was why it was so hard to see any of them go.  A part of him died each time one of them did.  But he wasn’t going to tell them not to be brave; better be it the man who dies with honor than the coward who lives because he ran.

The “all greens” ticked away to twelve and then they were off.  Off to hell.  For the second wave the battle had already begun.  They were right on the front line, right in the nerve damaging, eye exploding, chaos called the cross fire.  Kaph fell into formation with Nazgul and Elik squadrons through it all.  Right now their objective was simple, to rendezvous with Lumar.  That ‘simple’ task was quickly starting to seem like a run through a mine field blind folded.

“I assume that everyone is ready to move out?” asked the disembodied voice of Trevor.

“Yeah, we’re all set to go here, commander.”  Replied Kaph Leader.  The word ‘commander’ didn’t taste right as it came out of his mouth.  He had nothing against Trevor, they were actually pretty good friends.  There was just something about that WXO position that didn’t seem right...


Present


“Here’s how it is going to go down, Kaph,” Kaph 1 began to shout out orders.  “Flight 1 is going to be taking on the A-9’s.  Flight 2, you’ll have the A-Wings.  Flight 3, keep those X-Wings busy but watch your bombers.  Those things just don’t fly and turn as fast as a squint.  Remember men, flights from the other two squadrons will be taking on the same target as your own so you won’t be out there alone.  Keep your eyes open and your heads clear, this is all calm waters compared to what is ahead.”  Than switched his com board over to Flight 1’s frequency.  “Well guys, let’s show these A-9 pilots how to streak with style...”


(OCC: You all know what is going down now.  Kaph, go out there and make me proud.  I’m sorry I didn’t advance the plot much, but I did get Kaph caught up.  That sure was a lot of reading before hand...)

Looking up at the Emancipator slowly spinning in space, it is hard to describe the sheer massiveness of the ISD.  It was like someone with a gigantic knife and hands cut out a big, wedge shaped chunk of a city and stuck it into space.  It was truly amazing that they were even able to build such things.  Even more mind boggling was the fact that the Empire of old had built two moon sized space stations which dwarfed the mentioned ship.  The Death Star Project taught a powerful lesson that pertained to today’s battle.  Anything could be destroyed; the bigger they are, the greater the fall.

Without warning, a flurry of lights gapped the void between the Civesu and the Runthar like the electrical lingo between two never cells.

“Keep well above the plane of that capital ship engagement, Kaph,” ordered Sion.  “It would be a crying pity if any of you got fried in the cross fire.  Also, keep fairly close to the Rishi.  It’s basically your only hope if things go down the crapper for you, so don’t go running off.  ETA to enemy fighters is 10 seconds, Kaph Leader over and out.”

He balled up his right fist and pounded it on his flak armor.  It was time to see what this heavily armed death trap could do.  He replaced his hand on the control yoke.  Trough the cold, black lenses of his helmet, his brown eyes locked onto one of the flimsy looking craft.  With a cocky grin on his face he let out one burst on the bandit, rapidly pivoted around to evade the return fire, and pulled to starboard.  Look at my shiny, bare six.  You know you want some.  The enemy pilot did not take the ‘opening’, instead he vectored toward Jaden’s 10 o’clock.  Like the First Flight, these men weren’t suicide jockeys.  They had the skills to pull off flying without shields and didn’t fall for cheap tricks.  That pilot knew Jaden would have been on him like white on rice if he followed Kaph 1.

Sion allowed himself another wicked grin as he quickly played with the communication controls, always having the greater majority of his attention on the battle during the process.  “This is Kaph Leader to the Rebel A-9 Squadron.  I’m feeling generous right now so I’m going to give you the chance to back out of this one.”

“Shut up you cocky Imp bastard, just be a good little boy and DIE!” was his not so amused reply.

“That’s tempting but I just can’t do that.  You see if I do that so early I miss out on the fun part,” said Sion while plotting his next move.  He knew there would be no thinking room for smack talk later, he would have to make up for that fact now.

“Listen here you arrogant Squint pilot.  I’m going to personally shove those words back up your ass where they came from!”

Sion switched off the greatly angered NR pilot and plugged back into secure, VEN channels.  “Kaph 2, put some more distance from me to port.  Check your radar, do you get where I’m going with this?”

“That straggler?” asked Jaden.

“Yeah.”

“Ten-four then.”

They charged the lone fighter.  They were too far apart for the A-9 to do a single strife on them with the big swivel gun and his buddies were all tied up.  The enemy would have to choose.  The NR pilot tired to take shots at both of them with the big guns but failed miserably thanks to the fact that even the most simple evasive maneuvers could avoid such divided attention.  Sion had checked the radar often ever since they had made contact with the enemy squadrons, he couldn’t let anyone get too close to his six.  There was no ‘warning shots’ when you didn’t have shields.  The A-9 finally made a break for it, but it was way too late.  Jaden nailed him as he tried to avoid a series of burst from Sion.  The fighter shattered to pieces in a burst of flames.

“Scratch another A-9 for the Empire,” shouted Sion over the com.

Max dodged another bolt of AA fire from The Runthar as he circled above the battlezone. From up here everything was clearer..... From what he could see, Flight One was going after a group of A-9's, with no particular winner visible, while Flight Two was locked with a group of A-Wings, them fighting above the Rishi, and with the rest of Flight Three swooping around after X-Wings. He looked down a the rest of Kaph and felt a longing, the same as what he got whenever he was away from them. They were out there risking there lives and he was above them all, circling around like a coward.

  "Max, get down here. You're needed." It was Than.


  "Yessir." replied Max as he dived down closer to the battle. "What do you need me to do sir?"

  "We need you to hit The Runthar with everything you've got. Now we're not trying to get you to blow the thing up, just get those shields down so The Civesu can get a clear shot at it. Understood?"

  "Yes sir. Beginning bombing run now." Max turned towards the Runthar, which was now facing sideways to the combat. It must've been pulled that way by The Civesu's tractor beams. It was  in a perfect postion. Not to far away, its side turned to him. Max  approached it from the left, the side facing the battle. Diving first as to go under its defensive armerament, Max game up from underneath and zoomed up over The Runthar, at the same time dropping his bombs down onto it , hearing them explode with an almighty noise. Looking out the rear window he saw the glare of the shields around the enemy Light Escort had gone down.

  "Good man Max." praised Than. "We've got confirmation of shields at thirty percent. Thats a good reduction. Good work."

"Thanks you sir." Max felt a warmth in his stomach like that that you get from Correllian Whiskey. Now, back to the Rishi to reload the bombs. He turned around and went down under the lumbering Runthar, and zoomed straight towards the Victory Class Star Destroyer. Max cleared hiis throat before speaking into his Comm-Link.       

  "Telok, are you around? We have to get back to the Rishi, I'm all outta bombs up here."

  "You got it Max. Where are you at the present moment?"

  "Just above the Civesu, it looks like."

  "Okay. I see you. Be with you in a-" But a voice he recognised as Than's cut across Teloks mettalic voice.
 
  "Max, enemy A-9 coming down on you fast!" Max looked back out the rear window to see the familiar egg-shaped craft. These are bomber-killers, Max thought to himself. And now, I am the bomber they are trying to kill.

    Max twisted his TIE to the right and to the left, the A-9 following him like a fish follows a lure. The A-9's cannon lit up and blasted away at him, with him only narrowly avoiding the bolts.


  "Someone get him off me!" yelled Max into the Comm-Link. This was serious panic-time. If no one arrived in the next few seconds....... he couldn't even fathom it. Suddenley with out warning, the A-9 exploded in a ball of flame, destroyed by some unseen force.Max heard the Mettalic voice again on his Comm-Link.

  "You okay Max?"

  "Oh, Telok, thanks for that. Really."

  "It's alright. Now, you need to get another bomb-load from the Rishi, corrrect?"

  "Yes Telok, you'll have to come with me."

  "Alright, I'll escort you to there and then I'll return to combat. Call me when you're loaded out and I'll come over to guide you back."

  "Thanks Telok." They flew without incident back to The Rishi, where Max glided in through the separation shield onto the flight deck. With a hiss, Max opened the hatch and clambered out. He pulled his helmet off and found his sweat dripping to the ground. In the name of the Emperor, that was intense. One of the techies scuttled over, a clipboard in his hand.

  "What do you need done, Sir?"

  "I need this re-fitted with bombs, as fast as you can."

  "Right Sir," said the techie, before calling  more engineers over. He turned to Max, who was standing watching the operation. "This may take a while Sir." he said to the Crewman, who nodded and headed out the hangar doors. He strode out into the bridge area where they had received the briefing from Than earlier. Max pulled a cigarrette out of his top pocket and lit it up. He gazed out a window at the battle going on in the void. He wished he was able to be out there with his freinds. With his family.

Before the Battle

C-3PX2 was walking down the hall to go to the hanger bay. He knew what they were being asked to do. The Imperial Navy was given a mission that would be one for the books, a raid on a New Republic Shipyards and on the ships around it. This mission would test the ability of the pilots involved in it, for it would take their best to complete it to the fullest. This mission would also serve to test the Flight Leaders in their ability to lead under pressure, for there would be too much confusion to have the squadron commander designate every order. C3PX2, the Elite Kaph Squadron’s Flight Three Leader, would be tested by his higher-ups but also himself. He wanted to know if he would be able to do his job. The last few missions turned fine, but the last had a fatality.

C-3PX2 continued down the hall where he saw a member of his flight, Max Fagron.

“Hello, Sir.” Max Greeted

“You know you don’t have to call me Sir, right?” C-3PX2 questioned

“Alright then, C-3PX2. Any news on when the mission will begin?”

“Shortly, it is best if you tie up any loose ends you have here and get to the hanger for final launch prep. The faster we get the prep done the faster we launch.”

“Yes, Si…C-3. I will head there right away.”

After that was said Max went on his way. C-3PX2 continued on his steady pace down the hall towards the inevitable battle, knowing that that there were still loose ends he needed to tie up.

OOC:

Mostly a post to show Activity, i plan to post about the battle when i get the time to sit down and think

“Alright Deth this is what we are going to do. Get a missile lock on the A ahead let one go and then Immelmen, you remember that right?” Reaching up to the computer Cy began to divert his shields aft. Though the A-Wings didn’t pack a punch like the Xs more then a few would seal his fate.

“I don’t understand…” Feeling a little anger in the pit of his stomach the Zabrak cut him off. “You don’t need to now just get that lock. Krius I’m counting on you.” Out of his viewport Cyleaf saw a streak of light jettison past his wing eerily close to him. Looking over at his radar he saw their enemies nearly finishing their turn. Opening up his frequency Cy spoke hoping for them to hear him.

“Pull out of here kid, they are too much for you.” Knowing that Deth was already performing the Immelmen and rising up and away he hopped they wouldn’t correct and continue after the more experienced pilot. Sometimes Cyleaf hated being right. His fighter rocked viciously from a direct hit aft but his shields held at 80%. Silently he wished Krius to hurry.

Another jolt lowered his shields to half and a second nearly depleted them. “Break now!” Hearing Krius’s voice Cyleaf put the fighter into a barrel roll. Seconds later one of the As vanished from his tactical display but the second was still hot on his tail. Turbo laser fire lit up the canopy and a feeling of dread smacked him. Losing track of their position the Zabrak was entering the Civesu’s line of fire.

Another blast this one much closer drained his shields completely. "Evasive action, don't let yourselves be hit by a stray bolt. Deth stay on my tail and mimic my moves exactly." The first part was more for him then the others. Silently the Zabrak cursed himself for putting Kaph's second flight in this position.

Increasing the speed slightly past the limiters and putting the Interceptor into a dive another turbo laser shot past him missing both Imperials but catching the trailing A-Wing dead center.

Tallied here.