First they were just going in to destroy communications. She had never flown an X-wing before, but that was all right. They’d go in. They’d leave. That was all there was to it. Now here they were stuck in a big war that she hadn’t even planned for, flying something she barely knew to fly. Life was beautiful.

After all the events that had happened, she became separated from Alpha flight and was now stuck flying over the shipyard. The chatter over the com was insane. She had never heard so much going on around her before, but now she was in her first real battle. And it was… actually somewhat fun.

Vanity flew over the shipyard and fired upon the cannons, all the while listening over the com. She just had to make sure Amacuse was all right. He had been shot down, this much she had seen. But where was he now, and how was he faring?

As she blasted a laser cannon to bits she heard the chatter of Alpha come up on the com. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing! Cayden was back in the thick of it! How could he be? Even Sarah said he wasn’t fit enough to fly! What in the world was that man doing to himself?!

Vanity opened up a private com link, “Cayden! What in the world do you think you’re doing?!”

“My job, Vanity!”

“Do you ever learn?! You're gonna get killed out here! And I'm not about to see that happen. Not after today."

Cayden was silent for a moment.  "I won't get killed... I'm too good to be killed..." Vanity couldn’t believe the ego.

"Yeah. Well that's what you say now, but later on when you actually do get shot? Then what? Then what am I going to do huh?!"

"You're going to do your duty, Vanity.  Just like the rest of us." Vanity shook her head and tried her best to steady her fighter as she unleashed another barrage on two laser cannons.

"Fine. Be that way. I'm sick of you running into stuff when you're not physically fit." She shut off the private link.

Fury. Rage. Pure and evil emotions that had always been her downfall. Now they were coming back to haunt her. Vanity began to fire like mad upon the shipyard, obliterating cannon after cannon. She wove her wave of destruction around again and again. She was fighting blind to everything and everyone else. Why did he have to be so stupid? She admired his bravery, but how could she even hope that he would survive when he made such stupid decisions? Why did she love such an insane man?

As Vanity came up for air, she looked down at the shipyard. Not many of the cannons were left and the rest of Regents were taking care of them easily. How many of those cannons had just been destroyed because of her? She had no idea. But what she did know was that it was about time she rejoined the rest of her squadron mates.

“Regents Alpha 2 to Regents . How are you faring?”

OOC:

WC: 523
Well, this post is not my best. But I am back in. Cannons done for.

Cayden smiled as Scral turned to follow him.  Command always sends one last person... at the end of everything too, cause I'm running low on power... hell, if I'm running low, I could imagine what the rest of my squadron is going through... he thought, locking on to the nearest A-Wing.

He was about to fire when a voice came over the comm.  [[Task Force Resh, this is Lieutenant Rocket.  We're going to start moving towards the shipyards.  All fighters will be on anti-fighter patrols.  Bombers and capitals will ensure that no other ships enter the attack area.  The Chrome Fox will be assisting the Fearless in engaging the station.]]

Cayden nearly punched his comm box after he heard that.  He keyed in to the Fleet Comm and said "Sir, this is Regent Lead.  With all due respect, Lieutenant, Regents has been pounding the defenses of that shipyard for quite some time now.  We need to return to the ship to resupply."

[[Regents, I have a different assignment for you.]]

"Go ahead, sir," he said, curiously.

[[Regents, I'm dispatching the 143rd Fighter Squadron, Firehound Squadron, to cover you guys.]]

"Cover us from what?" Cayden asked, firing his cannons at another A-Wing.

[[Tavers, you and your squadron are going onboard that DP-20 you're just so conveniently next to and capture it.]]

Cayden almost collided with an enemy A-Wing as it came about.  "Say again, sir?" he asked, confused and amazed at his orders.

[[Cayden, I want you to take that DP-20 and get it out of here.  That ship is to be captured, is that clear?]]

Cayden smiled and said "Yes sir, understood.  Regents will get the job done."

He shot down the last A-Wing in his immediate area and laughed to himself.  Capture the DP-20... orders I like to hear he thought to himself, smiling.  He keyed the squadron channel and said "Regents, listen up!  We have the most interesting orders I have ever heard.  I want all fighters at my current location ASAP!  We are going to attack and capture the nearby DP-20.  Those over at the shipyards will join us after we secure the hangar bay.  Firehound Squadron will be providing support, so that means we don't engage ANY hostile fighters.  Our mission is to take the ship, not engage enemy fighters.  I wouldn't have accepted this mission if I didn't think we could do it, Regents... make me proud to be your commander."

Cayden's private comm went off.  [[You crazy fool! You're gonna go and get yourself killed...AGAIN!?]]

"Sarah, I'm not going to get myself killed," he said.

[[You're ALREADY halfway there! Have you forgotten your current status? Both legs are broken as well as your forearm...How the hell are you planning to take that ship in your current condition!]]

"Same way I got in this fighter... same way I attracted the attention of 2 squadrons of A-Wings... determination, insanity, and an odd dash of bravery," Cayden said, a smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth.

[[And what happens when that determination of yours runs out, you become sane and run out of luck since sheer luck is what I think is keeping you as untouched as you are at the moment?]]

"Well... we'll cross that bridge when we get to it, Sarah."

[[Fine! Do what you want, your skull is too thick to find reason with you...Just don't come crying to me when yuo bust yourself up even more]]

Cayden was silent for a moment, then sighed.  "Sarah... I'll hang back and let you guys go first, if you want.  I just have to do this..."

[[That's better, we'll get this done but you'll need to hang back a little and let us take the brunt of it. I know you want this real bad but at one point you have to think about your squadron, not just your own self]]

"Thing is, Sarah... I haven't thought about my own self in over four months... not since I found out my fiancée died at the hands of our own people..." he said, trying to maintain control of the fighter as visions of moments he spent with Ashley flooded his mind.

[[Well, maybe now is the time. Don't you think?]]

Cayden sighed again.  "I wish it was that simple, Sarah... I really do..."

[[We'll talk about it some more when we're onboard the Fox and you're safely in Sickbay...For now, think of what I said and try to keep yourself out of trouble, ok?]]

Cayden smiled.  "Will do, Sarah... and thanks..."

[[My pleasure, now let's get this done!]]

Cayden smiled and accelerated towards the gunship when he heard an explosion behind him, then saw another in front of him.  He then saw the location of the blast was where the ship's hangar bay shield generator was located.

[[Ummm... Cayden?  I could use a bit of a lift here...]] he heard Maroy say over a private channel.

OOC:

WC: 820

Maroy... god help is all...

Those of us by the shipyards (Avalar), get your butts over to the DP-20 on the double!

Everyone else... good hunting, ladies and gentlemen

Cayden heard Maroy over the comm and smiled slightly.  You dirty dog... he thought, flying over to where Maroy's recovery beacon was.  He slowed down tremendously to almost a standstill as he began preparing for something that was equally as stupid as attacking a gunship with only 10 fighters: he was going EV.

Cayden stopped the fighter under Maroy and began preparing for EV.  He turned his suit's life-support systems to maximum and popped the hatch.  He looked up and pulled himself out with his left arm.  He positioned himself under Maroy and said "Maroy, I'm right beneath you.  I'm going to grab you now."  Cayden grabbed onto Maroy and smiled inside his helmet.

Cayden looked around to make sure no fighters were coming, and began pulling themselves back down towards the Interceptor.  "Maroy, I'm getting in first, then you'll after me," he said, starting to lower himself into the fighter.

"But Cayden... where am I supposed to sit?" she asked.

"Ummm... I guess on my lap, Mar..." he said nervously.

"What did you say?" she asked quickly.

"Oh gosh, don't make me repeat myself... I hate repeating myself..." he complained, sitting himself into the seat.  He raised the control yoke and smiled.  "Aright Maroy... I guess I'm ready..." he said.

Maroy lowered herself down into the cockpit and powered her legs on top of Cayden's.  She sat down on top of Cayden and said "Ummm... Cayden?"

"It's my sidearm, I swear..." he said, muffling a laugh.

Maroy shrugged it off and closed the hatch above them.  She hit the accelerator hard and began flying towards the gunship.  Already, several of their fighters entered the hangar and were waiting for further instructions.

Cayden watched Maroy pilot the interceptor into the hangar and smoothly land it next to an X-Wing.  "You really prefer being in a TIE, don't you?" he asked.

"You bet I do, sir," she said, popping the hatch.  Maroy climbed out, taking care not to step on Cayden.

Cayden followed her, then stopped before he exited the fighter.  He looked around and found his hidden compartment.  He opened it and pulled out his M-590 Assault Rifle.  Slinging it over is shoulder, he climbed out and stood next to Maroy.  He almost collapsed when he hit the deck and grabbed Maroy's shoulder to keep himself upright.  "Sarah, get over here on the double.  Both Maroy and myself have been exposed to vacuum and might require some sort of medical aid.  We're going to take the medbay first, to make your job easier.  Scral and Michele, you two will go on ahead and secure the medbay.  The rest of us will wait here until you signal the all-clear.  Any reinforcements we recieve I shall send to you two.  Move out, Regents!" he said into his comm, sitting down on a nearby crate.

Maroy walked over and sat down next to him.  Sir, you didn't have to go EV to rescue me," she said.

Cayden smiled inside his helmet and said "Yeah I did.  I wasn't about to leave you in vacuum while I tried to get us into the hangar without dying.  Besides... you had enough vacuum exposure."

He saw Maroy smile and she said "Thank you, sir."

Cayden slung his left arm around her and rubbed her opposite shoulder.  "You're welcome, Maroy," he said, smiling.

OOC:

WC: 556

I TOUCHED THE MAROY!  I TOUCHED THE MAROY! 

Erhmm... anywho... Scral and Ellie, you two have fun getting the medbay.  Avvie, get yer flaming carcass over here so you can move on ahead and help the others.

Ellie, don't make Sarah hit me. :P

Only have enough air for the next five minutes... I guess the NR doesn't appreciate their pilots going on spacewalks. Can't imagine why, though... the stars are so pretty...

An interceptor slowly came to a stop beneath her... or beside her, depending on the frame of reference. The hatch opened, and Amacuse awkwardly pulled himself out with his left arm.

[[Maroy, I'm right beneath you. I'm going to grab you now.]]

She nodded slightly, and he grasped her arm and pulled her down while maintaining a grip on the TIE. She grabbed onto the TIE as soon as she could reach it and started getting ready to lower herself in.

[[Maroy, I'm getting in first, then you'll after me.]]

"But Cayden... where am I supposed to sit?"

[[Ummm... I guess on my lap, Mar...]]

Okay, that was just getting a little too awkward. "What did you say?"

[[Oh gosh, don't make me repeat myself... I hate repeating myself...]] He lowered himself in and tried to leave as much room as possible.  [[Aright Maroy... I guess I'm ready...]]

She slowly lowered herself down, aiming for the thin, currently unoccupied patch of empty space between Cayden's knees and the controls. Her feet hit the floor and she sat down, but quickly noticed a particularly uneven bump on his lap.

"Ummm... Cayden?"

[[It's my sidearm, I swear...]] He stiffled a chuckle, and Maroy couldn't help but twitch a lekku in response.

This feels really weird... I'm talking through a comlink to a guy just inches away from me, and... since when did I start calling Amacuse by his first name? She shrugged. I'll sort it all out later... right now we've got a mission to do.

She closed the hatch and gunned the throttle, angling towards the hangar. The backup atmospheric shielding was back up, sealing the hangar but leaving it wide open to attack... or boardng. Michele, Sarah, and Scral had already landed in the hangar, and the rest were on their way over. She pulled inside and switched to repulsorlifts, guiding the fighter in and setting it down gently next to Sarah's X-Wing.

[[You really prefer being in a TIE, don't you?]]

"You bet I do, sir."

Maroy popped open the hatch and leapt out. Cayden lingered for a moment, emerging with an assault rifle. He climbed out and slid down, but when he hit the ground his damaged limbs started to give way. Maroy bent her shoulder under his arm, and he leaned on her until he felt steady enough to stand on his own.

[[Sarah, get over here on the double.  Both Maroy and myself have been exposed to vacuum and might require some sort of medical aid.  We're going to take the medbay first, to make your job easier.  Scral and Michele, you two will go on ahead and secure the medbay.  The rest of us will wait here until you signal the all-clear.  Any reinforcements we receive I shall send to you two.  Move out, Regents!]]

Scral and Michele went through one of the doorways and were quickly out of sight. Sarah put her pistol away and walked back over to her X-Wing to get her medical supplies.

Amacuse stumbled over to sit on one of the few nearby crates left in the hangar after the decompression, and Maroy followed him.

"Sir, you didn't have to go EV to rescue me."

He smiled, making Maroy forget for a moment that he was injured at all. [[Yeah I did.  I wasn't about to leave you in vacuum while I tried to get us into the hangar without dying.  Besides... you had enough vacuum exposure.]]

She smiled back, lekku twitching in appreciation. "Thank you, sir."

Amacuse wrapped his left arm around her, rubbing her cold shoulder. "You're welcome, Maroy," he said, still smiling.

Suddenly air began rushing into the hangar from above. Maroy instinctively ducked, and Cayden held her closer. The air flow suddenly stopped, and her life support system automatically shut off to preserve oxygen. She switched it completely off, and took a few deep breaths of comparatively fresh air.

"Looks like someone re-pressurized the hangar..." Maroy pried off her ill-fitting New Republic helmet and smoothed out her squished lekku. Cayden nodded, and set his down next to hers.

"The question is, who-"

Amacuse's question was quickly answered as a loud, cheerful chirping noise came from the other side of the hangar.

Maroy was startled, but quickly put on a smile. "Mute!"

The little astromech droid rolled up to her, burned but obviously still functional. Cayden shot a confused look at her, but she just grinned.

"Mute, how did you... nevermind, I'll figure it out later. Cayden, meet the astromech of my late X-Wing, Mute."

He smiled a little and was about to reply when Sarah came back.

"Cayden Tavers, you are the most irresponsible pilot I've ever met! First you get yourself shot and nearly break all your limbs, refusing bacta treatments, and then you go and expose yourself to vacuum! Do you realize just how long you're going to be in medbay now?"

"Not long enough, I bet.  You know I can't stay still for long."

"Arrggh... Amacuse, you're infuriating! if you sneak out without leave, I'm going to make sure you never leave medbay again!"

"Never leave medbay again?  You can actually do that?  I'm afraid that is impossible, but... I will stay next time."

Maroy could tell the tirade was exhausting the other woman.

"Just... take these pills for the vacuum exposure, until I can get you two into a proper medbay."

"I already sent Michele and Scral ahead to secure one now.  As for those pills... I will take them with no fuss..."

He reached for them, but suddenly spun around as one of the far wall's doors opened up. Four New Republic pilots walked in, staring in confusion at the jumble of X-Wings. Maroy and Sarah quickly lowered Amacuse behind the crate and out of sight.

"You two there! What happened to the X-Wings?"

"What do you mean?" Maroy replied.

"I mean, why the frak are they all jumbled together and facing the wrong way?" He started walking towards them. "We're supposed to go take out that fake X-Wing squadron in two minutes! There's no way we... can..." He suddenly noticed the Interceptor, his eyes went wide with shock, and he drew his pistol.

However, unseen by all three of them, Amacuse had propped himself up against the crate and taken aim with his rifle. Within seconds, all four pilots were dead on the floor, holes burned right through their chests.

He smirked. "Rule number one in our line of work: attention to detail."

OOC:

WC: 1112

No one had responded directly to her question. No one had even acknowledged her existence. Yes, Vanity had once enjoyed the silence, but this was an even worse feeling. She was part of Alpha flight. She was supposed to be Cayden’s wingman. But instead she had been sent to the shipyards to blast the thing apart. The only com chatter she had contributed to was that of the flights over in that direction. The rest of the people she had actually cared about? Well, they had left her.

Vanity never dealt well with negligence. Not after her father had abandoned her. And here she had been opening up to Cayden. Now what was she to him?

She pushed the fighter towards the DP-20 with all of her rage boiling inside her. She wanted to punch Cayden right where it would hurt the most. Not only was he acting without thinking, he was helping to contribute to this feeling and she would not have it that way any more.

No. She was done with this stupid game. She was going to meet back up with the people she was supposed to be flying with, and she was going to make her presence known once and for all.

The X-wing flew into the hangar and set down. She saw that the others had already made it here long ahead of her. Once her fighter had touched down and she shut off all the systems, she jumped out of the fighter with her sidearm on her and an assault rifle slung around her shoulder.

The first thing she noticed was how bad off Cayden was despite the positive outlook on his face. She could tell that he was not actually in good health. Why in the world he had done this, she did not know. It took everything she had in her to not just deck him right then and there.

“Am I late to the party or what? Or have you all forgotten I exist yet?” Vanity’s sarcastic remark rang out to the group who took notice of her.

“Avalar, what took you so long?” Maroy. Always light-hearted. Enthusiastic…

“Hmmm… I don’t know. Maybe I just destroyed a bunch of cannons in a shipyard. Then again, maybe I didn’t. Who knows.”

“Vanity, cut it out.” Cayden’s voice cut her off before she could continue anymore. She turned her gaze to him. Her eyes were cold and heartless. There were no positive feelings there.

“Yes. Sir.” She emphasized the individual words. Before Cayden could reply his comlink came to life.

“Medbay cleared,” Ellesmere’s voice came from the other end.

“Good job, Regents. We’ll be heading up your way.”  Cayden began trying to stand. Maroy reached for him and helped him right himself. Sarah also positioned herself to help despite her objection to the whole thing. Only Vanity didn’t make a move towards him.

“Guess I’ll be the one leading.” Vanity said. She turned on her comlink, “Ellie, this is Avalar, where is the Medbay located?”

“Not far.” She gave Vanity directions and Vanity affirmed them.

She looked at the three, beckoned them, and then turned and began heading down the hall. Her mind screamed in anger and frustration. It was a miracle she hadn’t just left them all to their own devices. It was an effort, but she managed to fuel her negative emotions into the current mission. How long it had taken her to even be able to channel her emotions in the first place! Only one of them here knew what happened when she let her anger control her.

But she didn’t want to speak to him at the moment.

Luckily it had occurred to her that she was still wearing a New Republic uniform else everyone around her would be wondering why in the world she was in a battle position. Instead she walked with confidence and authority. If anyone knew how to look intimidating, it was her.

Of course, this would have worked fine—and it had been working fine too—if it wasn’t for the fact that the alarm sounded. Vanity swore under her breath. Cayden was down as far as she was concerned, and either Maroy or Sarah had to help Cayden though he would say otherwise. New Republic soldiers began reacting immediately. Vanity pulled out her pistol and fired, killing the two in their immediate vicinity.

“Not good! We gotta get to the Medbay and fast!” Vanity looked back at the others behind her. Maroy had grabbed her weapon and Sarah was holding Cayden up. It was then that Vanity noticed that the Twi’lek wasn’t exactly in good health either. “What exactly happened while I was gone? Nevermind. In light of the situation I’m taking charge. I don’t want any of you to shoot unless you have to, and even then the only person I want to attack is Sarah since she is in good health. I’m not risking anything else with this squadron.” Sarah seemed more than pleased to hear her words. Maroy seemed a bit taken aback and Cayden… was Cayden.

“All right then. Regents, let’s get the heck to the Medbay and go from there!” Vanity began running on ahead of the group, firing at two more New Republic soldiers who made their way down the hall as they had stopped. One was shot down in one hit. The other took a couple of shots before he went down.

They made their way down the halls as fast as they were capable, Vanity, and sometimes Sarah, shooting enemies as they went. Finally Vanity came to the Medbay door. Cayden and Maroy were escorted inside by Sarah.

“Hey!” Vanity whirled around and fired upon the soldiers that had appeared. The wound in her leg from earlier began to throb again. She had forgotten it was even there. And the moment she hesitated because of the pain was a moment that cost her to be shot in the other leg.

“I’m so sick of being shot in the same place! If you’re going to shoot me then shoot to kill!” And with that she shot the man in the head. “The nerve of these Reshies.” Vanity popped back into the Medbay.

“Ellie, nice to see you,” She took notice of a man beside her. “And this would be?”

“Scral. Just joined the fight.”

“I’m Avalar,” Vanity turned to Cayden who was made to lay down on the bed. “Well, this is my first time infiltrating a ship for capture. What’s our next move?”

OOC:

WC: 1,088
Vanity is involved finally. I should get a big warm welcome

Unable to help himself, Drac glanced at the tactical display again. Slasher and Rocket, his two Taskforce Commanders, were acquitting themselves well. Still, though, he had to resist the urge to be constantly making suggestions about ship formations and attack patterns. ’I’ve been spending too much time with my nose buried in those strategy texts…not that they haven’t been studying just as much as I.’ Having known the two for what seemed like forever, and having flown with both for long periods, he knew he could trust their judgment. Sighing with tension, he took a closer look at the holoscreen. What had, at first, been two distinct Vast Imperial battle groups had more or less fused together, the heavy hitters of Resh and Besh intermingling where the groups met. It wasn’t a bad tactic, since their fighter screens were now unified and, with one less flank to cover, had been able to dedicate more TIEs to hitting the station defenses and other small targets. As the fighters took care of things on that end, the larger craft dueled the station’s defending ships in a heavyweight match the fighters just couldn’t quite handle.

As the Mon Calamari watched one of the New Republic’s dangerous Nebulon-B frigates began to break apart under sustained fire. Pleased, he nodded. Then he noticed the blips representing Regents Squadron, glowing a special hue due to their unorthodox ship assignments for the mission, approaching a DP-20. Looking closer, he allowed a frown to cross his features. ’What in the galaxy is Mr. Tavers doing in a fighter? I recall overhearing a notice that Regents Lead was on the Chrome Fox with severe injuries. Either that information was incorrect or I’ll be needing to have a long conversation with Amacuse.’ Knowing the pilot was irretrievable at the moment, Drac shrugged off the thought of lodging a query about his status. It would simply waste time and resources- Cayden would fend for himself, in any case, and ignore orders that took him from his squadron.

Finally the dark skinned amphibian turned his attention to what must remain his true focus throughout this battle: the Imperial II-class Star Destroyer Skyhawk. Escorted by a single Imperial Customs Frigate, it was attempting to outflank the portions of his fleet engaging the station and its defenders. He considered its position for a moment, then nodded. ’I must defeat that ship at all costs. My three heaviest ships combined ought to give her a good run for her money, and she must be defeated or all this will be for naught. We will gain nothing if we ride out the tide of the station only to drown in the Skyhawk’s perilous current.’ Glancing into the port crew pit, he called, “Mr. Groenveld, I have a job for you.”

“Deny the Skyhawk, sir?”

“You know me well.”

“Making it happen, Captain.”

“Excellent. Mr. Warnock, please relay the following orders: Excise and Ad Valorem are to insert themselves directly between the Skyhawk and our forces. We’ll be interposing ourselves between her and the repair docks. Any fighter squadrons not maintaining our screens are to destroy her fighter screen on the side facing the repair docks. Keep me updated on their progress.”

“Aye, Captain.”

TIE Interceptors began to boil forward to meet the oncoming X-wings and A-wings, the deadly spirals of dogfights forming in the center of the chaotic zone known in starfighter parlance as the furball. A spare minute later the huge Star Destroyers, the smaller escorted by two mighty Dreadnoughts, reached effective engagement range. Space filled with shafts of coherent light as gunnery crews on both sides opened fire. Drac grunted as he felt a tremor pass through the deck, eyes instinctively checking the remaining strength of the shields.

Three minutes later nothing had changed. Bolts of destruction still flew from both sides, smashing against shield and hull. Missiles crisscrossed the area too, their faint trails stretching behind them. Throughout the chaos agile starfighters tumbled and whirled, seeming to always dodge that ever-fatal last shot. Not all were so lucky, though, as every few seconds space lit up with another small fireball and another pilot’s life was snuffed out in a blaze of glory. ’Still, Drac mused, ’we have been successful thus far. The Excise and the Ad Valorem are well entrenched in position to cut the Skyhawk off from the main battle. If she tries to push through anyway, she’ll expose herself to double broadsides while being unable to train most of her guns. And we, we are in excellent position to prevent any direct assistance by or for the shipyards.’

Suddenly another object drew the Mon Cal commander’s attention: the Imperial Customs Frigate that had been shadowing the Reshies’ captured Star Destroyer. Something was off about its course…and its acceleration. He took a closer look…yes, its engines had been run up to full and that course…that course intersected with the bridge of the Excise. “We can’t have that.”

Marden Ludwig, his second in command and nominal Captain of the Dead Gun when Drac was not present, stepped up and spoke, “Sir? What was that?”

Pointing, Mihawk outlined his observation, “That ship intends to destroy itself upon the Excise. That can’t be allowed.” Tapping a button, he activated his Taskforce’s command channel, “Excise and Ad Valorem, this is the Dead Gun. Concentrate every gun facing that Imperial Customs Frigate on her bow and prepare to fire in salvo on my mark.”

“Excise acknowledges, standing by.”

“Ad Valorem is ready to fire, sir.”

Drac nodded, pleased at the quick responses, given with only the minimum time needed to inform Weapons officers of the new firing orders. Calmly, he spoke as he eyed the Customs Frigate dispassionately, “On the count of three…two…one…Fire!”

Sheets of coherent light lashed out from all three Vast Imperial ships, seeming to stagger their enemies after the sudden lull in firing. All three ships’ fire focused into a single cone of incandescent energy whose apex, could it have been measured, would have been placed within a meter of the center of the small ship, five meters back from the most forward point of the bow. The Imperial Customs Frigate’s shields flashed for a nanosecond before imploding under the awesome wave of destructiveness. Then the ship actually stopped dead in place and then was pushed backward by the force it could not deny. The entire front half of the ship began to glow before, within ten seconds, the entire bow blew apart. The shattered carcass of the former warship went dark as fail-safes killed the engines. It continued its backwards drift as the scattered remains of the bow began, under their own gravity, to coalesce into perfect spheres of quickly-cooling durasteel.

Moments later another of the defending ships foundered, a gout of flames and molten metal spewing from her engines. The Reshie craft around her scattered, sensibly concerned about her breached engines detonating completely. After a moment their scattered trajectories changed until all were backing away along the same heading. Moments later Drac’s communications officer, Jash Warnock, spoke up, “A hail for you, Captain. From the Skyhawk.”

“Put her through.”

“Aye.”

Moments later a man in the uniform of a New Republic General appeared in the holofield. He saluted formally, then spoke, “I am General Ongol of the Skyhawk. You seem to have the advantage of us. If you are amenable, we will abandon the system to you without further combat.”

Drac returned the salute, then replied in an even voice, “I am Captain Mihawk, commander of the Vast Empire’s 2nd Fleet. It is good to speak with a reasonable commander- thank you for that. I wish to be reasonable as well and will be happy to allow your forces to evacuate the system…on one condition.”

The smallest of frowns creased the Reshie leader’s face before he replied, “I see. And what condition is that?”

“As I said before, I wish to be reasonable. In return for allowing your forces to retreat unmolested, you will surrender the Skyhawk to me. You may evacuate as many of the crew as the other ships of your fleet can hold, and my squadrons will escort you from the system once we have confirmed the ship is not rigged to detonate. Additionally, I am prepared to guarantee the safe conduct of any crew you are currently incapable of transporting to the nearest neutral system, as well as an extra-vehicular personnel, with guarantee of no torture during the week in which we shall hold them. In short, General, in return for your retreat I wish the Skyhawk…and nothing more. But nothing less.”

The man eyed Drac warily, “Assuming your words are true, Imperial, I appreciate the gestures you offer. However, you must know that I cannot possibly give this ship over to you. It is unthinkable. Is there nothing else you wish?”

“No. It is the Skyhawk or nothing.” Drac remained firm, staring evenly into the man’s eyes.

“Then I am afraid we have no deal.” The transmission cut off.

Drac spoke instantly, “Taskforces Resh and Besh, cut off the defenders from the station. Don’t let them near it while you destroy all you can. Excise, Ad Valorem, concentrate fire on the Skyhawk’s maneuvering thrusters. Disable her if she comes about to attempt escape. Weapons Officers of the Dead Gun, spread your fire along her starboard gun decks and remove the safeties from our missiles.”

Outside, the retreating Reshie ships reversed course and drove back toward the Vast Imperial taskforces, aiming to reunite forces with the shipyards. The Skyhawk’s guns resumed their firing in salvos, their fire washing across the foredeck of the Dead Gun. It’s weakened shields gave out and a large swath of the pristine white paint blackened as the plates beneath began to melt and buckle. Tremors wracked the ship as the hull breached in two places, taking three guns out of action.

OOC:

Word Count: 1648

Thus begins the endgame.

-Those of you aboard ships should complete your takeovers.
-TFs Resh & Besh are to take out as many of the remaining enemy ships as possible, but no more than 1 per post.
-I’ll be putting up another post or two about the combat against the Skyhawk and one to wrap things up.

Expect this mission to last another week to two weeks, most likely. Make the time count! Then you will be released to engage in small unit missions, so get with your commanders (or your fellow commanders, SCAPs & SCs) to discuss what you’ll do next. It’s a huge opportunity to do something creative and maybe do some Certs or character development as well! Remember to submit mission ideas to TFCs on up for approval before starting them.

As Sarah was busying herself checking over Maroy’s vitals with her datapad, she her soft voices at her back and turning around saw Amacuse at Maroy’s bedside. As she realized that what she was seeing in front of her was truly happening, hot anger started to boil through her veins once again.

As she got ready the blast-burn kit to tend to the Executive Officer, she also took out two sets of medical restraints and set them on a section of counter-space free of any clutter, taking care to hide them from her Squadron Commander’s view.
As she moved toward the Executive Officer’s bedside, she muttered softly “you got lucky you know, I was expecting something a lot more serious than your current situation when I heard the commotion outside and you got rushed in here. And to think I discharged you only a few minutes before that firefight…” This last part she said with a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. As she started dressing Maroy’s wounds, she kept on speaking. “I hope that you realize that because you’re refusing bacta treatments, I’m going to have to declare you unfit for battle until you are fully healed”

“I understand the consequences of refusing bacta treatment fully and at this time will follow orders, however if I improve more quickly than anticipated will you reconsider and declare me fit for action?”

"We will see when that time comes but for now you are to remain here, with myself and Cayden until further notice. Is that understood?”

“Yes”

“Good, now…” Sarah said softly as she turned her back to Maroy and gave Amacuse a piercing stare ‘we have to deal with you and your knack for disobeying medical orders”

“Sarah…What are you planning to do?” she heard uncertainty in Cayden’s tone as she moved back over to the counter and took old of the restraints as well as a few immobilization sets for his legs.

“Oh you’ll see…” she said softly as she turned toward him and walked to his bedside. Without wasting any time, she immobilized both his legs with splints and thought about doing the same to his forearm but that would most likely compromise her plan somewhat. Acting quickly, she got Cayden’s good arm restrained and attached the other end of the restraint to the bar of the bed.

“Sarah….No…” Cayden pleaded as he realized what she was about to do.

“I’m sorry sir but orders are orders and I can’t leave you to hobble about with a few broken bones disobeying medical orders wherever we go, I was saving these as a last resort but you leave me no choice at this point” she replied apologetically as she restrained his broken forearm at the wrist next and quickly moved on to his ankles. As she stood back to admire her work, she couldn’t help but smile internally. The Squadron Commander looked like something out of a horror movie, the way he was restrained to the bed along with his many contusions and bruises made it look slightly unreal.

                               

---

Meanwhile down the hall, a quickly orchestrated clean-up operation was underway. The rest of Regents Squadron was busily hiding away the marines’ dead bodies in the empty rooms which could be found. The firefight had been brief but it could have been much worse than it had turned out to be.

As Michele disposed of the last body and gave it an irritated kick, she looked up and surveyed what was left of the carnage. The walls in the surrounding area were scarred with scorch marks caused by the countless blaster bolts.

“Let’s go guys, no time to hang around here longer than necessary should we be found out this early in our search for Engineering” Fianna spoke over the sound of bodies still being dragged off to the most convenient hiding spot.

As she unceremoniously dropped one of the few remaining bodies on the growing pile she had started making, Michele rejoined Fianna and spotted Avalar making her way toward them as well. As they waited for everyone to finish up their side of the cleanup, Michele wondered how many more NR troops were on-board waiting for them.

As the last of the stragglers rejoined the group, Fianna started off on their quest to find the engineering section of the ship. As they made their way down the seemingly empty halls, all was quiet save for the clomping of their heavy boots. We could probably bring the dead back to life with the amount of noise we’re making thought Michele soberly,  on second thought maybe the group was quieter than she initially thought. 

OOC:

WC: 779

"Maroy, would you stop talking to Amacuse for just... one... moment? I've still got all manner of shots and pills you need to take." It was getting more evident by the minute that Sarah was going crazy dealing with the two of them.

Maroy rolled her eyes, and laid back on her bed. "Go ahead... not like there's anything else to do in here."

"Well, excuse me, ma'am... I'm not the one who went and got herself shot. Hold still..." The stim-shot hurt slightly, but the wave of adrenaline following it more than made up for it.

The door Maroy had gone through not ten minutes earlier opened up, and a wounded Regent Five stumbled through. A wide but somewhat mild blaster wound showed through a hole in the flight suit. He had two blaster rifles under his arm.

Maroy recognized him immediately. "Coren... you're okay! But... how?"

He held up what was left of his life support panel, a misshapen unrecognizable hunk.

"I figured this might've come in handy later, so I kept it on when we landed. Didn't help quite in the way I'd expected, though."

Sarah turned to look at the newcomer, and almost dropped the fragile equipment she had been holding. "Great... not another blaster wound..."

"Don't bother, Sarah. I'm fine. In fact, I'll be on my way in a second. I just thought I'd check in on you three."

He started turning around, but then glanced back at Maroy and smirked.

"I think you dropped this."

He tossed Amacuse's rifle to her, and she clumsily caught it with her left hand.

Suddenly the sound of blaster fire came from the corridor. The door flew open and Ten ran through.

"A squad's coming this way!"

He locked the door and took up a defensive position behind it. Amacuse started pulling against the restraints.

"Let me out of these things, Maroy, I can still fight!"

She looked at him, a pained expression on her face. "Cayden... I'm sorry. I don't care what you think you can do... I'd never forgive myself if I let you get yourself killed."

The seriousness of the reply surprised even her. He looked very disappointed, but didn't try to argue. "I guess... I guess I can respect that."

She hugged him tightly for a moment, then grabbed the rifle.

She rolled underneath her bed, leaving her out of the troopers' line of sight. The door blew open, and the boots of what looked like New Republic marines came flying in. She stretched out her left arm, propping the gun up on her right hand, and fired at the nearest ankle. She smiled in satisfaction as he stumbled and fell, tripping up his squadmates. She shot him in the head, then rolled out from underneath the bed. She shot the two who had tripped over the body, and quickly dived back into cover. One trooper dropped to his knees to get a shot at her, but Sarah sneaked up behind him and stabbed him with a syringe. He fell the rest of the way to the ground, the powerful anesthetic knocking him out cold.

One of the troopers tried to shoot Sarah, but Coren blasted the wall behind him and watched as vials of chemicals came raining down on top of the troopers' heads. One of them dropped his gun and began screaming, red patches forming all over his face... and, presumably, the rest of him. Another fell backwards and collapsed, too fatigued to stop his fall.

Regent Ten leapt out from beside the door and tackled the last trooper, pinning him to the ground. Coren fired a stun shot, immobilizing the trooper.

As Maroy and Sarah hurried to restrain the surviving marines using the empty beds and hover-chairs, Coren surveyed the damage. "That was only six... There's bound to be more on their way. Everyone stay alert. We'll deal with the prisoners later."

OOC:

WC: 651

Scral suddenly pushed all three woman into an empty room and closed the door. Three seconds later a patrol of marines all armed with very mean looking rifles marched by. He breathed slowly as his hands gripped the unfamiliar rifle he was now carrying. Thanks to the previous patrol they had run into they all carried the 36T Blaster Carbine. They waited in the dark room for the sounds of the patrol to fade away completely.

"We are not going to make it going like this." Someone said in the darkness. Scral could not make out who it was, or who's voice it belonged to being new to the squadron.

"Sure we will, we have rifles now. We can just blast our way through them." Someone else commented. Sounds of disagreement echoed the statement a second later.

"If we were Stormtroopers sure." Scral said quietly as he continued to listen at the door. "I'm a pilot, I'll gladly take on a squadron of A-wings alone all day long. I'm not trained for this though."

"Like I said, we need a new plan." The first voice said. He heard the sounds of shuffling as someone knocked into what sounded like a table.

Thinking for a long moment Scral suddenly came up with the first bright idea he had had in a long time. "Everyone still has your flightsuits on right?" He said a moment later. He heard a soft chorus of agreements, he began nodding to himself as he turned around.

A soft light came on as his hand hit a wall switch. He slowly placed the Carbine on the empty table next to him and stood at attention facing the three females. They watched him as he breathed slowly. He looked over each of them, as if judging them in parade formation at some ceremony.

"My name is Commander Martri, Flight Leader of the Razor Squadron. My personal guard and I are here to provide security to the engineering bay while these saboteurs are dealt with." His voice was strong, he allowed a small bit of arrogance to creep in at the end.

"Flight Leader? Woo, wait a minute." Avalar said a split second later.

"Hold on please. Looks at our flight suits, why would mine be the black one if I was not in charge? All we do is march in formation straight to the engineering bay. Once inside I lie through my teeth while you three move into positions around the room. When everything is in place we spring the trap. With a bit of luck we will have the whole room secure without a single shot fired." Scral replied. He knew he was breaking just about every rule in the book, but they needed something crazy to survive this trip.

The three woman mumbled softly, after a moment all three seemed to agree. Avalar sighed for a very long breath before she too nodded. "I'm not calling you sir though." She said a moment later.

Turning to face the door Scral smiled as he walked out. They formed up in a standard diamond formation with him in the lead. Quickly their boots echoed in perfect coordination of each other. The three females held their rifles the same, he had left his in the room. He felt the weight of the pistol sitting in the harness at his left hip.

Turning the first corner he saw four guards standing to the side of the hallway. Making no move to stop he continued marching straight ahead. His dad had always told him. Son, if you find yourself in a sticky spot. Bluff, lie, and conceive the biggest play you can think of. With a bit of luck, no one will believe you are crazy enough to not be who you say you are.

He ignored the guards as they passed, he acted like they were beneath him. His boots echoed loudly down the corridors, his face was collected, an angry scowl transfixed in place. He was bluffing with every shred of ability he had. Outside he was calm, inside his heart was pounding. If those guards realized who they were they would be cut down in seconds.

Turning the last corner he saw the engineering bay doors ahead of him. A single guard stood outside. This one came on alert as they approached. Scral stepped up to the doors and kept starring straight ahead. He let himself become angrier the longer he waited.

After a few moments the young guard said "Uh, sir." He glanced at the black unadorned flight suit and continued, "you need authorization to enter here."

"Boy, do you have any idea who I am?" Scral said softly. His voice carried an air of menace to it. "I am Commander Martri, Flight Leader of the Razor Squadron. Instead of being in the air blowing up the Imperial scum we are stuck here babysitting you lot. Since you incompetents can't seem to guard your own ship we are here to do it for you."

He let a few long moments pass before he continued "Now, if you don't open this door and let myself and my personal guard in I will call the Captain and put you on report." He looked at the guard for a long moment before un-clipping his comlink from his belt.

"Sorry sir, yes sir. Right away." The guard said as he keyed in an access code. A moment later the doors opened. Scral wasted no time stepping through and marching to the center of the room. He pointed to three spots around the room before finding who looked like the chief engineer.

Luckily only a handful of guards were in the room. The space was not as vast as he thought it would be. Most of the actually engine components were accessed by catwalks, and tunnels through the rear of the ship. The room was still big enough to be a big of a problem, but with a little luck they could secure it long enough to get reinforcements in here.

"Who the bloody hell are you?" The man who seemed to be the chief engineer said.

"Commander Martri, my guard and I are here to provide security for you till the Imperial scum are dealt with." Scral said with authority.

"I've received no word about this." The man said after a moment. "I need to authorize this."

Four people moved at the same moment. The three woman brought up their rifles and began firing. Blue stun bolts impacted the men and woman around them. Scral brought up his SSK-7 pistol and fired a stun round into the engineer. The man crumbled to the floor a moment later.

Rushing to the doors behind him, he hit a set of keys on the control panel. He heard the doors lock and seal a moment later. All around the room the other doors began sealing themselves.

Raising her comlink Avalar said "Engineer bay secure."

OOC:

Word count- 1161

As Sarah listened to Cayden give out orders to take the Bridge, she felt uneasy about the whole thing. Something told her that he was going to do something she didn’t like, and sure enough he did. When she heard him announce he would be joining them she started to protest, he was in no shape to move about the ship like he moved about the hallways back home; and what’s more he wasn’t listening to her orders. With that in mind there was only one option left: she would have to go with him.

“Sarah, get me out of these restraints!” he ordered, jarring her out of her thoughts.

“Not so fast, sir; the only reason why I restrained you was because you have been disregarding my orders of bed rest given that you’re refusing bacta therapy as such, I can only find one option and that is to accompany you over there”

“Sarah, you’re not coming with me…We need you here in case we get more casualties or injuries-”

“I’ll bring a few Medkits along, so that excuse just flew out the window Cayden. I’ll make sure everything here is taken care of before we leave, that way if another group of marines stumbles in here their comrades will have a hard time informing them of our current location”

“Very well…get to it then, we don’t have much time”

“We’ll have to free you up at some point…But you’ll have to stay like that for a few more minutes. Regent 10, will you help me please?”

Together they set to work, she systematically gave each of their captives a sedative and Regent 10 bound him securely. They soon had Amacuse out of his restraints into one of the hover-chairs they had disabled and had a few marines restrained on the beds he and Maroy had occupied, once the deed had been completed  Sarah tinkered around with the hover-chair her SC occupied and soon got it working again.

“Thanks, Sarah” She could tell he was relieved to be out of those restraints and somewhat mobile once again.

“Don’t go off doing something stupid or I’ll disable the chair, find something to strap you in there real tight and put you in a corner to watch and you’ll miss out on the action. Am I clear?”

A pained look came across his face as he gave a curt nod, even though he was her superior she was currently in charge where he came in because of his physical limitations and he was in her care. Things would change once he healed, that fact was obvious to both but for now, she was calling the shots.

As they were heading out the door, they checked to make sure everyone was knocked out and secure and that everyone had everything they required, Sarah grabbed her rifle and a few Medkits on her way out and they soon fund themselves out in a silent hallway.

                               

---

As the door opened, Michele leveled her weapon and got ready to fire away. As the door opening widened, she saw a few wide-eyed faces which to her looked a little comical. This did not deter her from her task however; the Captain was plainly visible in the middle of the room, a mix of emotions crossing her face. Confusion, anger…She didn’t have time to study her any longer than she had to, there were some Bridge officers which needed taking care of after all. As she advanced, she heard two sets of footsteps to her right, twisting her upper body in that direction she saw two officers with their blasters drawn. Giving them a slight, sweetly deceiving smile she shot them almost point-blank. The first she got in the head, the other in the chest. As she looked away and searched for more people needing taking care of she heard the bodies crumple to the ground and more were falling around her still.

What kind of madness is this?! she thought to herself, feeling frustration starting to creep up on her.

OOC:

WC: 676

Cayden looked at the Lieutenant and tried to show no emotion at all.  Well... Lieutenant Jayda Rollan is the captain of this ship?  I've heard about her... she'll be easy to... persuade... he thought as Vanity moved her in front of Cayden.

“Let go of her, Avalar,” Cayden said, his face hard as stone.

Vanity let the lieutenant go, and Cayden allowed a slight smile to crack at the corner of his mouth.

"Petty Officer Goldwater, the Lieutenant and I shall need to converse in private," he said, looking up at Sarah.

Sarah gave Cayden a piercing look "I'm  not sure how much I can trust you...if I leave you'll get out of your chair and run off or do something stupid!"

"I'm where I wanted to be right now!  This is where I need to be at the moment!  All I need to do is speak with the Rebel captain in private.  I need to lay down the terms of her unconditional surrender of this ship to my command," he said, turning the chair to face her.

"Can I trust you will not do anything to put your life in jeopardy or to do something stupid to worsen your current state?"

Cayden pulled his sidearm off his side and handed it to Sarah.  "Yes, you can trust me."

Taking hold of his sidearm and tucking it away, she gave him another look and said resignedly "Very well, I'll give you five minutes. When I come back I want to find you as you are now, if you even move an inch from that seat of yours I'm dragging you by the ear back home and will have to write you up. Am I clear?"

Cayden tried not to smile and said "Crystal, ma'am... but, I might need more than five minutes... more, like... twenty minutes..."

"I'll give you fifteen..."

Cayden smiled slightly and said "Fine... fifteen works for me."

With a heavy sigh Sarah stomped out into the hall, already starting a mental countdown.

"Everyone, please go wait out in the hall.  I'm going to interrogate the Lieutenant.  And if I catch anyone hiding on the bridge, I shall have them shot, is that clear?" he said, turning to the rest of the squadron.

Everyone left the bridge, save for Vanity.  She still stood by the Lieutenant, holding the pistol to her head.

"Vanity... you have to leave too.  It's okay... she won't attack me," he said, glancing over at Jayda.

"Hell no, Cayden. I'm staying right here."

Cayden moved the chair over to Vanity and stopped a foot from her.  "Vanity, don't be fooled... unarmed and strapped to this damn chair, I can STILL take you down... now, despite what the heck is going on through your mind, you still have a job to do," he said.

"And what might that be? Let me just help you for once."

"You have to make sure that everyone in that hall survives for 15 minutes... at least, until I can get the Lieutenant to surrender the ship.  You are the one I want out there making sure that they all do not die in any further attacks from New Republic marines," Cayden said.

Vanity glared at Cayden. She hesitated at first, but then moved, her pistol still pointed at the Lieutenant and handed it to Amacuse. "Whether you throw it or keep it, I don't care. Just don't do it til I'm out of the room." Vanity walked back over towards where she had left her rifle, grabbed it, and then went out the door.

Cayden moved his chair over to the door and closed it.  "Now... Lieutenant Jayda Rollan of the New Republic Navy..." he said, smiling.

"Whatever you want, Imperial, you won't get out of me," she spat out.

Cayden moved over to Jayda and handed her a datapad.

Jayda read the datapad.  Her expressing grew from angry to horrified almost immediately.  "You... you can't be..."

"Jayda, I'm taking command of this ship... diplomatically or otherwise," he said, moving closer.

She re-read the datapad, then sighed.  "I'm under orders from Admiral-"

"My orders SUPERCEDE that of your Admiral's, Lieutenant!" he yelled, throwing the gun across the room.  "Effective immediately, as per the instructions on that datapad, I am taking command of this ship!"

Jayda dropped the datapad and sighed.  "I can't surrender my ship, Commander Tavers..."

"So you know me, Lieutenant?" he asked, smiling.

"How could I not, sir?  You're the Supreme Commander of the Bimmiel Military," she said, looking away.

Cayden smiled then said "And as the Supreme Commander, and per cession granted to Bimmiel by the ISAF Charter, I am taking command of this ship."

Jayda frowned, then sighed again.  "Very well... sir... I surrender command of the New Republic ship Silence to you."

Cayden smiled and said "Thank you, now... inform the crew that this ship is now in service to the Vast Empire, and that they are to obey my orders, and my orders alone."

"As you wish, sir," she said, moving to the command console.

Cayden moved to the door and opened it.  "I need someone at the helm, on weapons, shields, life-support, communications, navigation, and three to go down to engineering.  Sarah, I'm reconsidering my intial reaction.  I'm going to ask for bacta treatments, if possible.  Maroy, I suggest you do the same.  Everyone else, obey Lieutenant Rollan's orders as of they're my own."

OOC:

WC: 902

Pilot: Michele
Navigation: Fianna
Weapons: Vanity
Shields: Scral
Life-support: Coran
Communications: Regents 10
Engineering: 3 Unknown NPCs
Bridge Officer: Lt. Jayda Rollan

Medbay: Maroy, Cayden, and Sarah

You have your assignments.  Get to them.

See next post. -Drac.

Maroy burst through the doorway to the bridge, already taking aim with her blaster pistol. She would've used one of the stolen blaster rifles, but her right arm was still too injured to support the weight. She shot one of the bridge officers in the hip, sending the Sullustian spinning to the hard deck. She shot a security officer in the face, then looked around to check the situation.

Avalar, Scral, and Ellie were circling around the bridge, firing at everybody except one woman who seemed to be the captain. Sarah was guiding Amacuse, who was still strapped in to the hoverchair.

Then she saw Coren.

He was kneeling on the ground to her left, bleeding out of a small but deep wound in his side. The sight of her friend once again gravely injured from a New Republic blaster left her enraged, and she launched herself at the remaining hostile crew on the bridge. Within seconds every enemy was either dead, dying, or unarmed. Avalar walked out from behind a panel, the captain held at gunpoint in front of her. She dragged the woman in front of Cayden, who told everyone to leave the room. Sarah made sure to take his pistol before she left.

They gathered in the outside hallway, which was feeling very cramped at that moment. They took up defensive positions in case someone tried to attack, but nothing happened. After only about ten minutes, Cayden opened the door.

"The ship is ours. Sarah, I'm reconsidering my intial reaction.  I'm going to ask for bacta treatments, if possible.  Maroy, I suggest you do the same.  Everyone else, obey Lieutenant Rollan's orders as of they're my own."

He pulled out his comlink. "You two down in the hangar, we've captured the ship. You can stop guarding the fighters now."

[[Thank the stars! We've been under almost constant assault for the past twenty minutes!]]

"I need you two to set all of the troopers in the medbay free. I have a feeling they aren't particularly appreciating their new commander right now."

[[Yes, sir. We'll get right on it.]]

Everyone entered the bridge except Sarah, Cayden, and Maroy. After a moment the ship's internal audio broadcast came on.

"Attention, all crewmen. This vessel has been surrendered to the Vast Empire and is now under the command of Warrant Officer Cayden Tavers. You are to obey any and all orders from him and to cooperate with the incoming boarding parties. Resistance will be met with death."

They started walking towards what Amacuse assured them was an auxiliary medbay when Maroy suddenly stopped.

"Wait, what about Coren?"

"I'm right here, Maroy."

The voice came from right behind her, and she jumped a little. She turned around and sure enough, Regent Five was right behind her clutching his side.

Sarah immediately started examining the wound. "Doesn't look too bad, luckily. I'll need you to spend a few hours with some bacta on it, and-"

"Just slap a bandage on it, Sarah. Really, I'll be fine. Isn't the first time I've been shot today." He chuckled a little.

"But-"

"I'm serious, Sarah. There'll be plenty of time for medical treatments after the battle's over."

Reluctantly, Sarah reached into one of her medkits and pulled out a large bandage. She put it over the wound and applied pressure until it sealed, stopping the blood flow. He saluted to Cayden, turned, and headed back to the bridge. Maroy stood in slight awe at Coren's defiance of Sarah's control freak attitude. The doctor shook her head. "I'll never understand him... what's so bad about medical treatment?"

Maroy and Cayden exchanged a quick glance of amusement, then continued on down the corridor. They soon reached the medbay, where New Republic medical officers were busy tending to some of the same soldiers they'd been shooting at on their way up to the bridge.

"Everyone stop what you are doing!" Cayden said, moving into the room. "Sarah, you're in-charge of every doctor and combat medic in this room."

Maroy walked over to the nearest bed and looked at the crewman, her lekku betraying a hint of pity.

"How is he?"

The doctor seemed surprised that an imperial would bother to ask that, but she double-checked the man's vital signs.

"He'll be dead in a few minutes... he got shot in the throat." She glared at Maroy, and the Twi'lek picked up the implied "by you" in the woman's eyes. She quickly looked away.

Sarah found two unoccupied beds in the back of the room, and Maroy and Cayden soon found themselves laying down with bacta capsules encasing their right arm and all four limbs, respectively.

"This is really good bacta... apparently the NR got their hands on a high-potency batch. Frighteningly expensive, I've heard. At the this rate, Maroy, you should be good to go in about an hour. Amacuse, it should take about four or five hours for you, as well as some physical therapy. In the meantime, though, there's not much else I can do."

"Why don't you take the rest of the medical staff and move to the main medbay? It's better stocked and closer to where the most injured will be when we start taking fire. Maroy can take care of me if anything happens."

"But-"

"That's an order, Sarah."

"Fine. I will keep your vitals monitored, though."

Sarah turned around and spoke to the other doctors.

"Everyone pack up, we're moving down to the main medbay!"

They activated the repulsorlifts on the beds and took them out to the hall. Soon Maroy and Cayden were all alone.

Cayden smiled. "I thought she'd never leave..."

Maroy glanced around to make sure nobody was still around, then sat down next to Cayden. "She's a very persistant doctor, I'll give her that..."

"Yep... That's why I had her transferred from the Chrome Fox," he said, looking at Maroy.

Maroy nodded, then sighed. "I'm so used to seeing the New Republic as just enemies... the same people who captured me when I left my homeworld. But these people... They're actual, sentient beings, with feelings, and families... and I just killed several of them. I don't know how I can just shrug it off like it means nothing."

Cayden reached over and grabbed Maroy's hand. "No one ever said our job was easy, Maroy. And I'm not asking you to shrug it off either. Cayden's face grew darker and solemn. "I've killed more people face-to-face than I believe I'll ever kill in a fighter. I've ordered the deaths of hundreds of thousands on my home planet alone..."

Maroy wrapped her injured right arm awkwardly around Cayden and held him closer. "I'm sorry..."
   
Cayden smiled slightly and said "It's okay... it's what I get for starting a revolution..."

"If anyone can start a revolution and win, it'd be you." She smiled with him.

"Maroy, can I ask a personal question?"

"Of course..."

Cayden turned himself as best he could to face Maroy. "How come you don't have yourself a fella?"

"You mean... like, a boyfriend?"

"Something along those lines, yes..."

"I don't know... I guess I've never been in love with anyone. I've never felt happy just being around someone... At least, until today."

Cayden stared at her, then asked "Who's the lucky guy, if you don't mind my asking?"

Maroy gazed into Cayden's eyes for one long second before answering. "I think you can figure it out."

Cayden's heart must have skipped a beat, because the machine he was hooked up to made 3 beeps in response. "Damn medical equipment..." he muttered.

Maroy giggled for a second, then grabbed her comlink. After a few seconds of loud yelling, she replied. "Calm down, Sarah. Cayden's fine."

Cayden smiled and asked "Can you loosen these restraints, Maroy?"
   
"Promise you won't go wandering off?"

"Oh don't worry... I'm not going anywhere," he said, grinning.

Maroy grinned back, and removed all the straps holding Cayden to the bed. Cayden stretched his left arm high into the air and smiled. He moved himself closer to Maroy and wrapped his arm around her. Maroy felt her heart beat faster, and immediately her monitoring machine started beeping like crazy.

"...Frak it..."
   
Cayden suppressed a laugh and threw an empty tray at the machine. He then grabbed his comlink off the side table. After much more yelling from Sarah, Cayden said "It's alright... Maroy just got freaked out by a gizka. She's fine."

Maroy looked at Cayden questioningly. "Gizka?"

Cayden blushed slightly. "Would you rather she come back? Cause them coming back would ruin what I have in mind..."

"Of course I don't want her coming back... what do you have in mind?"

Cayden smiled slightly as he leaned over and kissed Maroy lightly on the cheek. Maroy blushed, turning her normally green cheeks a pleasant shade of yellow.

"You're turning... Yellow..." he said, his face slightly turning red.
   
"Oh... uh... I guess I am..." To hide some of her embarrassment, she kicked the monitoring equipment and grabbed her comlink. "Sarah, I think the machine's broken. I'm just going to go ahead and shut it down."

Cayden grabbed his sidearm and shot his machine. "And mine... Well, it died... I'm fine though. Maroy will let you know if any problems arise."

Maroy sat back down as close to Cayden as she could get, putting her arm back around him. She smiled, and her right lekku sneaked its way up his back and around his shoulder. Cayden shuddered slightly and smiled.

He leaned forward and kissed her lightly on the lips. It was the first time Maroy had ever kissed a boy... and it felt wonderful. She wrapped her other arm and lekku around him, and held him tightly. Cayden smiled, knowing that his heart-rate must be spiking. His face was almost scarlet red when he kissed her again.

Finally Maroy pulled back. Her face was an almost solid shade of yellow, but she didn't care. All she cared about at that one moment, was that she was with someone who loved her.

OOC:

WC: 1701. Sorry for all the romance stuff, but Amacuse and I were bored.

Reassuring himself that things were proceeding well across the board, Drac took an opportunity to call up a list of the encrypted channels being used by the various Vast Imperial units participating in the battle. A quick query provided the frequency the Regents were on and he set his holodisplay to it. The channel was silent for a moment, then several pilots spoke. It was obvious from their words and the background noises that they’d boarded the DP-20 Silence, but it wasn’t until Drac heard Cayden’s voice faintly through another pilots comlink that he realized just how far things had gone, "Thank you, now... inform the crew that this ship is now in service to the Vast Empire, and that they are to obey my orders, and my orders alone."

"As you wish, sir," came a female officer’s faint reply.

Cayden again.  "I need someone at the helm, on weapons, shields, life-support, communications, navigation, and three to go down to engineering.  Sarah, I'm reconsidering my intial reaction.  I'm going to ask for bacta treatments, if possible.  Maroy, I suggest you do the same.  Everyone else, obey Lieutenant Rollan's orders as if they're my own."

‘I admire your spirit, Amacuse, but that’s taking things too far,’ Drac thought to himself, ‘There is no possible way that your pilots can fly and fight with that ship- especially in their current conditions. Frack it, man. You’ve got to learn to conserve your people. If you don’t, you’ll just get them killed.’

Quickly calling up a backup communications system, the dark skinned Mon Calamari quickly typed in a message: [To the Commander of Regents Squadron:

Effective immediately, you are to stand down and surrender the ship to Vast Empire forces boarding the ship.  Failure to comply will result in court-martial.

Cayden, you have to be border-line dead by now... Surrender command of the New Republic ship to the Marines, and report back to the Chrome Fox.

-Dracule "Drac" Mihawk
Chief of Naval Warfare]

“Hopefully that will keep them alive.” Drac muttered.

“Captain Mihawk! Sir! The Skyhawk is rolling to present her port gun decks to us, plus fresh shields. Should we roll as well?” Drac’s Chief Pilot called out from across the bridge.

The Mon Cal replied instantly, “Not quite. Position us to present the maximum number of concussion missile launchers against her on our nearer gun deck.”

“Aye, Captain.” Drac felt the deck tremble and watched the stars scroll over as the Dead Gun adjusted her roll.

The two mammoth warships completed their maneuvers at almost the same moment and the Skyhawk began to fire immediately. Claxons rang out in raucous disharmony as several shield sections began to fail. The Dead Gun’s Shields Officer called out, “Sir, we’re about to lose all starboard shields. Orders?”

“Weapons, give me concussion missile firing solutions in a line along the highest concentration of the Skyhawk’s operational guns.”

“Already prepared, Captain.”

“Excellent. Fire all starboard missiles in four volleys. I want every gun on Skyhawk’s port side turned into a crater. Understood?”

“Absolutely, sir. Firing one!”

Thirty five missiles streaked out toward the enemy Star Destroyer, passing by beams of coherent light flashing the other way in strident counterpoint.

Three seconds later. “Firing two!”

Thirty five more missiles shot out of the tubes. The others reached the halfway point, three bursting into bright flowers of fire as lucky turbolaser bolts intercepted them.

Three seconds later. “Firing three!”

Thirty five missiles winged their way outward. Thirty of the first wave slammed into the Skyhawk, turning her entire port side into a bright yellow oval of fire and flaring shields.

Three seconds later. “Firing four!”

Drac called out, “Roll the ship! Present port gun decks!” Thirty five missiles streaked into vacuum, following the traces of their deadly fellows. The enemy gunners had caught on while General Ongol ordered all shield power to the port side and initiated a roll…but it wasn’t enough. Twenty seven concussion missiles laced  the Skyhawk’s gun decks, the final few overpowering her overladen shields.

Three seconds later. Thirty two missiles impacted on the now undefended Reshie Star Destroyer. The previous waves had done their job- sowing confusion and terror into the crew. This third wave of explosive destruction descended, detonated, and chewed away at the sharp lines of the great warship. Turbolasers and Ion Cannons detonated up and down the length of the Skyhawk, their crews torn apart or fried where they stood.

Three seconds later. The General’s roll took effect, turning the bottom of the Skyhawk up enough to change the impact zone of the final round of missiles. Thirty five missiles slammed into it, unopposed by the twisted and fiery wreckage that had been a gun deck three seconds before. They spread out, pitting the hull heavily and wrecking the hangar bay doors, but failed to gain tight enough groupings to penetrate deeply. Only three locations vented atmosphere along with torn and melted durasteel.

“Status?” Drac asked quietly, steadying himself against the rumbles and tremors that still wracked his ship.

The Damage Control officer replied, “Staying put let us hurt them, but it let them hurt us too. Our starboard shields are down permanently- too much damage to recharge. We’ve also lost a considerable number of guns on that side, though the missile tubes are still intact. The hull’s breached in ten…no, eleven different sections. Two of those damaged power cells  connected to the starboard maneuvering thrusters. We’re not crippled, but we’re not far off from it.”

Drac nodded, then looked over to Sensors, “And the Skyhawk?”

“She’s running, sir. Her trajectory is changing to bring her on the shortest course out of the planet’s gravity well. Looks like her port gunnery decks are completely gone, though the rest of the ship is relatively lightly damaged.”

“Very well. Send the Excise and the Ad Valorem to get out ahead of her. Make sure they take advantage of her lack of guns on the port side. Prioritize damage control efforts for the moment. I want to be able to trade body blows if the Skyhawk refuses to stay penned in.”

A quick glance over toward the shipyards showed the other ships of 2nd Fleet to be closing in on it. Return fire from the station was weak and sporadic, while reports from the Marine teams he’d sent in assured him that the complete lack of action by the docked ships was for the best of reasons. The Silence, he noted, sat quietly at berth. ‘Good. I’d have hated to court-martial the man.’

The two Dreadnaughts, relatively undamaged, pushed ahead of the maimed Reshie Star Destroyer with little trouble, easily absorbing what little fire it managed to direct at them. The few fighters the Reshies had remaining to them, a scant twenty, made a final, desperate push to save their flagship. A quick dogfight against the numerically superior and less damaged Vast Imperial fighters  resulted in the deaths of eleven of their number, after which they fled back under the protection of the Skyhawk’s starboard guns.

Then it was done. Excise and Ad Valorem swung out, crisscrossing each other and presenting a formidable wall of durasteel and turbolaser at the Skyhawl. Drac watched as the enemy ship’s engines darkened and it slowed. After a moment his holoprojector sprang to life once more.

General Ongol still stood ramrod straight, proud despite the blood caking one side of his face and an arm hanging limply at his side. He nodded at Drac, “Captain Mihawk, forgive me for being unable to greet you properly with a salute.”

Drac looked at the man in some surprise, “Think nothing of it. That a man in your position has the honor and grace to react in such a manner is quite enough. We could use more people like you.”

The General nodded seriously, “Yes. I’d heard of the attack upon your officer corps- a cowardly and disgusting tactic. It doesn’t appear to have reduced the efficacy of your forces, however. My compliments- that missile barrage, while brutal, was quite unanticipated. An excellent tactic for handling a better armed opponent.”

“Thank you, General. You are calling, I trust, to accept my offer of surrender?”

Ongol nodded, his shoulders slumping a fraction of an inch, “Indeed…if the offer is still on the table?” The man’s concern for the wellbeing of his men was evident.

“It is. Your other ships will be granted safe passage and your surviving personnel transported to a neutral system. It is a small price to pay for a prize such as the Skyhawk.”

“Thank you for that. Your tactics may have been brutal, but your honor is not. I surrender the Skyhawk to you, Captain Mihawk…on one condition.”

Drac’s lips twitched in amusement at the man’s intentional echo of his earlier wording. “I see. And what condition is that?”

The General shifted uncomfortably, sighed, then spoke quietly, “Asylum for myself. My men will not be punished after being returned- though I expect they’ll go through their fair share of suspicion. However, as the commander of the Skyhawk and the other New Republic forces in this sector, I will be held up as a traitor by certain politicians no matter the valor and loyalty of my deeds. Understand, Captain. I am not afraid to die- but I have no wish to die pointlessly. Asylum is what I seek, so that I may avoid a wrongful execution.”

Drac thought about the General’s request for a moment or two, then spoke, “You will be reviled as a traitor, then, no matter the outcome?”

“Just as I said.”

“I see. Then I will offer you, not asylum, but this: defect, along with your ship, and serve the Vast Empire. We are not a perfect government either- but I doubt such could be found in any case. However, we do respect honor and skill, and reward it in kind. What do you say, General? Will you keep your ship- but under my command?”

Ongol was taken aback. His brow furrowed deeply and he appeared to be lost in furious thought for more than a minute. Then, slowly, he nodded, “I have never seen Vast Imperial forces fight with anything less than honor, and I know you are indeed in need of officers. The Skyhawk and I are yours, Captain.”

“Glad to have you aboard, Captain Ongol. Have your people stand down and open all hangars still in operating condition. Vast Imperial Marines will board the Skyhawk shortly, with explicit orders to harm no one who offers no resistance. Once we’ve secured the ship, the Excise and Ad Valorem will tow your vessel to the shipyards.”

“Understood, sir.”

Drac activated an open channel and broadcast to everyone in the system without encryption, “This is Captain Mihawk of the Vast Empire. New Republic forces within this system have surrendered, effective immediately. All Republic forces are to stand down and power down all weapons. Vast Imperial rescue teams will assist those in need. All Republic vessels except the Skyhawk are free to leave the system in peace- anyone unable to reach a vessel will be taken into custody and released onto a neutral world.” He paused for a moment, letting the silence draw out, then spoke again, “I do hereby claim the Belgaroth System in the name of the Vast Empire. It is now under the protection and law of same.”

Turning off the holoprojector, Drac stretched to work the kinks out. Ensign Ludwig approached, “That went well, Captain.”

“As well as could be expected,” Drac replied with a grimace. “Oversee our occupation of the shipyards and the rescue of endangered personnel, would you? And set up a defensive perimeter of the least damaged ships.”

“At once, Captain.”

“Thank you.”

“May I ask what you plan on doing now, sir?”

“I’ll be informing the Naval Commander in Chief that 2nd Fleet has a new home…and a new flagship.”

Marden turned to look out the viewport, examining the spaceport and planet with a new eye, “That sounds…excellent, sir.”

-----
[Two Weeks Later]

“Status report, Captain Ongol?”

The human officer, sporting a new scar on his forehead to go with his new uniform, saluted crisply before replying, “Sir, the Halcyon Warrior’s structural repairs are completed. Given another month for fabrication and installation of replacements weapons and superstructure, your new flagship will be ready for combat.

“That’s good to hear. Captain Ludwig?”

“Dead Gun’s repairs should be finished within the week, sir.”

“Excellent.” Drac rose from his chair and stepped from behind the desk. He stood in his new office, a spacious and well appointed, if functional, room that would now serve as the seat of his command when he wasn’t onboard the Halcyon Warrior. He stepped through a door in one of the side walls and into a large briefing room. It wasn’t like any squadron briefing room he’d ever used, though. Rather than a stage and stadium seating, he stood before a long conference table with built in datapads, comlink chargers, beverage holders, and a host of other planning and comfort features. This was a briefing room for commanders, where Ship Captains and Squadron Commanders and their assistants could assemble and plan whole missions. Seeing it shot a thrill of nervousness through the Mon Calamari, ‘How very, very far have I come...and been so audacious about doing so.’ He glanced through the window, noting the burnt out hulks still floating in place about the station, ‘But I must remember that part, too, lest I allow arrogance to get the better of me. No matter my surroundings, I’m here because I have a job to do and a duty to fulfill.’

The dark skinned amphibian settled into his chair at the head of the long conference table, nodding at the others to be seated as well. Then, pressing a hidden button, he opened the doors at the far end of the room. People began to file in, dispersing to seats along each side of the table. Lieutenant Gorma took his seat at Drac’s right hand, the Captains of Task Force Aurek filled out the head of the table, then the Captains of Task Force Besh continued on down, interspersed with Squadron Commanders from both battlegroups. Prominent pilots and other important sailors lined the walls, watching in attentive silence.

Once everyone was seated, Drac stood and welcomed them, “Gentlebeings, welcome to the new home of the Vast Imperial 2nd Fleet. This is our home and this room is the core of it. Here we will discuss strategy and plan missions. Here we will organize our assaults and defenses. Here we will drive forward the name of the Vast Empire.”

Everyone assembled saluted as one. Drac returned it, then sat again, “Okay. Now that we’ve got the formalities out of the way…what do you have for me, gentlebeings? I know you’re itching to undertake some smaller scale actions.”

OOC:

Word Count: 2,477

Finis. This story will remain open for several days, so that anyone who wishes to can wrap things up from their perspective as well.  The Regents already have a story up, and I know the ‘Shrikes have one in the works as well. If you’re not involved in either of those yet, get with me and the relevant commander and we’ll get you involved. I think Slasher may have something up his sleeve as well, so keep an eye out for that.

Awards and promotions from this story will most likely go out this Sunday.