Meeting between the Grand Marshall and General Ming, several days prior to Coalition attack....



“Their tactics certainly are interesting, Marshall,” Ming said, his eyes gazing disinterestedly at the frozen image of the alien ambassador, stopped partway through his declaration of war. “Intimidation, perhaps?”

“That would have been a possibility, yes,” the Marshall said. “It has been proven to work before... against less stable societies. However,” he reached forward and flicked a switch. The ambassador’s face disappeared, and was replaced by a galactic map.

“..these fleet movements suggest otherwise.”

Ming leaned forward in his seat, studying the map.

“This is fresh in from Imperial Intelligence; not two hours old yet. Notice the groupings of ships in this sector here,” he pointed, “and here. They could be passed off as a sector patrol, only they’ve been sitting there for two days, and Intelligence reports more ships are inbound to their position.”

“A staging area for an attack force...”

“Yes... for more proof that they’re not bluffing, take a look at these passenger lists.”

Another screen was brought up, showing passenger lists over the last fortnight for several commercial transport agencies, most of which were based inside Coalition space. A number of names near the top were highlighted.

“Those people are all medium-ranking Coalition fleet personnel. Intelligence has been following them for some time now... and within the last fortnight they’ve all dropped whatever they were doing and made a beeline to this staging area, here.”

“And those were just the ones on leave,” Ming said, thoughtfully. Then, “What about the fleet commanders? I suppose they never left Mon Cal?”

“Exactly.” Kaine sat back, wiping the passenger lists from the screen with a casual gesture. “They’ve been planning this for some time.”

“So it’s definitely real...Well, that’s not much of a surprise, really, considering the Coalition’s erratic nature. Declaring war on us before they begin the attack... I’d assume that all the preparations we’ve been working on have already been put into effect?”

“Of course, which only leaves the issue of the counter-attack to be dealt with.”

Ming frowned. “I thought we’d already agreed on that. Admiral Klipton is leading the 48th ISD Squadron against Mon Calamari, isn’t he?”

“Ah, yes, that was the original plan,” Kaine said. “But Intelligence is reporting a new weakness at the Coalition world of Farquak. Their economy has not been going well lately, the supplies on their shipyards are fewer than those at Mon Calamari, they have less ships stationed there... all variables that have changed within the last few days, and so our attack plan has changed.”

“But Mon Calamari is a prime target. Diverting the attack to-”

“Don’t worry, General.” Kaine put up a reassuring hand. “The attack isn’t being diverted. Klipton is at this moment manoeuvring an SBC contingent to attack Farquak if the Coalition move against us. The 48th is being sent to Corellia, to aid Admiral Chandler’s force.

IHC has pulled another SBC contingent several other ships off of patrol duty to attack Mon Calamari, should the need arise in the near future to do so.”

“If Klipton is at Farquak, who is leading the attack on Mon Calamari?” Ming asked.

The Marshall tapped another button, bringing up more screens of data, before answering. “Admiral Desaria has been assigned to the task.”

“A good man,” Ming commented, thoughtfully. “I’ve studied his previous battles; he’s an excellent tactician. The right man for the job, I’m sure, although I’ve never served with him.”

“Well General, now is your chance.” The inkling of a grin tugged at the corner of the Marshall’s mouth as he leaned over and handed Ming a datapad. “Due to your previous experience with the Coalition and Mon Calamari, you will be commanding the battle.”

“Oh...” Ming said, slightly surprised. Then, “When do I leave?”



**




“Coalition forces, this is General Chau Ming. Power down all weapons and surrender to Imperial forces or you will be destroyed. Cut transmission.”

Corellia was yesterday, half a galaxy away. Ming’s mind did not dwell on the past, though, but rather on the battle at hand. He sat in his command chair on the ACS Argoth, the Imperial taskforce spread out at his fingertips.

The Sith Battleships were now moving to the fore, providing a three-dimensional spearhead formation that was aimed directly at the waterworld planet. The Carrier emptied its hangar bays and the TIE Devils formed up loosely, like the rest of the fleet.

And now the attack would begin.



Manifest:

Attack Carrier Sphere Argoth
--55 Squadrons TIE Devils
3 Fire Light Frigates
5 Shroud Attack Cruisers
25 Sith Battleships

OOC:
I don't have lots of time at the moment, so sorry for the very short post. Anyway, at max you have 17 Sith Battlecruisers here.

36(the amount listed in your manifest)-15(the ones at Corellia)-4(hte ones at Farquak)=17

You never RPed shields being active, and I alreayd gave you the chance at Farquak. Plus, after RPing against Isstal, I don't feel like giving any one a chance, so this time oyu are in trouble.

IC:

Commander Gremor swore as the enemy fleet came out of hyperspace.

"Crap. Raise the shields. Activate the Ion Cannon and activate all of the Defender Ion Mines."

"Yes sir."

"Send a message out to all the galaxy. We are under attack. We need help. All vessels should come to Mon Calamari if possible."

"Yes sir."

The message was sent.

"Sir, the Ion Cannon is charged."

"Excellent. Fire it at that Carrier."

The Ion Cannon fired at the carrier. As the shot reached the planetary shields, a gap was made, and it went through, impacting on the hull, since shields were not effective against ion cannons. The Carrier was partially disabled. The gap was immediately closed. The majority of the Defender Ion Mines were just to the left and right of the path that the ion cannon bolt had gone through, protecting the shipyards and they were easily capable of firing on the lead Sith Battlecruiser. Ion bolts flew at the lead Battlecruiser, and impacted on the hull, beginning disabling it. The continued to pound away at the lead Sith Battlecruiser. Commander Gremor felt that if some reinforcements came, they could easily win the battle. The enemy could basicly only visually target the mines, since Defender Ion Mines are extremely difficult to find on sensors and pinpoint. Unfortunately with a big field of them in front of the fleet, it wouldn't be hard to find them.

TNO losses:

Attack Sphere 50% disabeled-all your bow/front stuff is basicly disabeled
1 Sith Battlecruiser-disabled, only 60% battle efficancy left.

Edited it down so damages were more reasonable. If you have complaints Chau, just say so. I want a revision on your Battlecruiser number though. Right now I am assuming it is 17.

Commander Gremor wondered why the enemy hadn't responded to the intially volley. They were just sitting there, shieldless.

"Is the Ion Cannon ready?"

"Yes sir."

"Fire it at that big carrier once more."

"Yes sir."

The Planetary Ion Cannon lanced out once more and completely disabled the Assault Sphere.

Meanwhile the mines had almost finished disabeling the first Sith Battlecruiser. More mines were slowly moving in on the original position. Luckily the enemy had attacked right near the shipyards, where all the mines were placed.

"Sir, we have a message from Farquak."

"What is it?"

"The fleet at Farquak is just mopping up their defense. It seems that the enemy attacked there as well, but in small numbers. That defence fleet should be on it's way here soon."

"Excellent. Unfortunately that won't be enough. If only our other allies got the messages, and can send some reinforcements."

"Yes, if only."

The mines continued to fire, and Commander Germor waited in silence.

Damages:
Attack Sphere-Completely disabled
Sith Battlecruiser-Completely disabled

IC:


Why the frell are we not attacking?, Perrin thought as he stood on the bridge of a Sith Battlecruiser.


"The Attack sphere has been hit.." commented the Captain as the first Ion Cannon volley struck, trying to shoot through their spearhead formation. Unfortunately, the damage was not as extensive as the planetary defenders thought since they did not take into consideration the spearhead Sith battleships and, more importantly, that the lead Sith ship was in front of it.


But even then, the Attack Sphere did not fire back. The lead Sith Battleship pounded ahead, crossed the ion mine range threshold and was immediately attacked.

"Hold" the second Sith Battleship Captain orderd, just out of range of the mines ignoring the light display in front of him as the mines continued to pound the lead Sith ship. It began to lose stability as it started to tumble.


The scanners, now being able to pinpoint some of the mines (now that they could see what to look for) displayed their their positions somewhat easier than they had before, though detection was still hard.

Luckily the enemy had attacked right near the shipyards, where all the mines were placed.

The Argoth was sluggish and while out of range of the ion mines, it was not out of range of the cannon.


"General Ming is a genius!" the Scanning Officer shouted as the General informed them of their plan.

Being as close the yards as they were, a slight adjustment to their left, while keeping the mines protecting the yards out of range, the vessels would move the shipyards between them and the planet.

Unfortunately the Sphere was the slowest due to it's damage and had yet to set course.

The second ion cannon wave fired, except, again, they failed to notice that there was a tumbling lead Sith Battleship in the way and so the brunt of the ion blast from the planet struck that instead.

The Argoth was very sluggish now, the lead Sith Battleship tumbling along the extensive path through the mines, made possible so the planetary defenses could shoot through the field. Being over 10 meters long, the mines picked up the tumbling ship easily and continued firing at it.


The Captain grumbled, "We're letting them do our work for us.."


The fleet maneuvered so that the yards remained positioned between the planetary ion cannon system and their location.

The simple programming of the mines had them remain stationary (since the fleet was out of range).


"What do we know about these ion mines?" the Captain of the Sith Battleship that Perrin was on.

The computer spat out the requested information.

Designed to blockade worlds, ion mines are utilized by various governments and organizations to help keep any ships from getting past their line. They use sensor masks and passive sensors to remain virtually invisible to any and all ships that pass nearby. Once it detects a ship within 10 kilometers, the mine begins firing its powerful ion cannon at the ship to neutralize it...

..A mine that detects a ship within its range will fire upon it once per round. Normally, it will ignore any object that is less than four meters in diameter.

The TIE Devils remained behind the fleet running simulated attack formations, providing a rear screen. The shrouds were silent near the Tie Devils monitoring the action and arming their missiles.


Perrin glanced at the scans and spun his lightsaber in his hand as the Captain turned to him and grinned. "Don't worry, Sith. You're part of the plan is still happening. Just had a little thing to take care of."


"The damage to the General's Sphere does not worry you?"


The Captain smirked. "It completed it's mission."


"Orders from the Argoth, sir. The final listing.."

The Captain mulled over it and grinned.

"Since the Devils are too small for the mines to detect, use the fleet's sensors to find them, and the Devils to neutralize them."

"Detail 100 Devils. Set ship scanners to detect active sensor sweeps. Pinpoint the origin and you have their location."

"Aye sir."

Using the Fleet's scanners as their eyes, the Tie Devils laid down blankets of their own shots neutralizing the mines.



TGC Losses:
90% of the mines that would be within range of the fleet and yards (with the exception of any mines behind the shipyards between the planet).

The Past

It was stuffy in the room, the air conditioning was down today for some repair work. More than one man was wondering if it odd coincidence, or simply fate that had led the repair to be scheduled for today, today of all days. Today, when the office of the President was crammed full of directors and their deputies, all watching the large flat screen holo-vid on the wall. There were three men visible on the screen, two of them obviously guards of some sort, the third an ambassador, or president in his own right. He had been speaking for but a few moments now, and everyone was watching intently.

"...Further back in history, they have attacked the New Republic, and all the way back to the collapse of the Old Republic and the birth of their Empire, they have always attacked whoever stood for justice and right. Well now is the time for striking back. Ever since the Mon Calamari Republic, the Azguardian Galactic Military, and the New Rebellion solidified their bonds into the Coalition..."

"Who was that?" asked the Director of Defense. "Pause it will you?"

One of the directors hit a button, and the holo-vid froze. It was not a live video, but rather a recording of something that had been broadcasted a few hours ago.

"Rewind, play the listing of governments he gives," said the Director of Defense.

The tape moved back before once again beginning to play.

"... ... Ever since the Mon Calamari Republic, the Azguardian Galactic Military, and the New Rebellion solidified their bonds into the Coalition... ..."

The recording stopped, and the Directors mulled over the names while they waited for the DoD to spit out what he had had it paused for. All of these men had seen the recording before, and a few had picked out special spots to highlight.

"Three governments, one of them previously unknown. Our Intel gives us nothing on an 'Azguardian Galactic Military', details about the 'New Rebellion' are scarce too. We presume they're some fringe organizations led by someone with a bone to pick with the Empire."

A few men grunted, each making mental notes to have their Deputy Directors investigate into these governments once the meeting was over. The recording began again. During the short span remaining, the recording was stopped twice as three Directors voiced their opinions on various phrases the man had iterated. And then, it was done. For a moment there was silence in the room, as each man mulled over the significance of the broadcast.

"Weren't they supposed to have the conditioning fixed last week?" asked the Director of Finances, as he fanned himself with a piece of paper.

"It is a bit uncomfortable, yes," said President Kaant, from his chair. "If no one has any more comments, we can dismiss."

There were none, and seconds later the room was empty.







Two days later

"Ah, Commander d'Bale, sit down, sit down."

Fleet Commander Michael d'Bale nodded, and took the seat offered him, and watched as the President grabbed another chair, and dragged it over to sit next to him.

"How have you been Commander? Your success with the Vigil's has guaranteed that the eyes of many of your superiors are upon you..."

"Fine sir, just fine, thanks for asking. My wife and I are expecting our first child, just found out the other day."

Isjhe smiled, and congratulated the man. Before sitting down, he moved over to his desk to retrieve a manila packet. Turning, while standing before his desk, he addressed d'Bale again.

"Understand, if you would prefer remain off active duty until your child is born, I can find another man to take your place."

d'Bale nodded, and without blinking, said, "I know my duty to my country, I would prefer not to jump ship at a time like this."

Kaant nodded in return, and crossed the room. He handed the packet to d'Bale, and took his own seat. As d'Bale opened and read the two pieces of paper contained inside, he watched the man. d'Bale's face remained expressionless throughout the reading, testimony to his great self control.

"Daring," he said, finally completing.

"Your thoughts?" asked Isjhe.

"None, really." The commander noticed the holo-display on the wall for the first time, and gestured to it. It was an image of the Coalition Ambassador who had delivered the Declaration of War. "The Empire's had this coming for a long time."

"Yes," said Isjhe. " The Coalitionists are right about the Empire in a few ways, to quote their press release... 'Like all Empires you greedily expand, destroying at will any and all in your way.' The Empire is most certainly a zealous, and greedy government."

"More so in the past than now, Sir."

"Yes," agreed Isjhe, "more so in the past than now."

For a moment the two sat silent, d'Bale reading the two sheets of paper again, Isjhe watching d'Bale.

"When do I leave?" asked the Commander suddenly.

"Twenty-one hours, the fleet was mobilized two days ago, hours after the press release. The Coalition may have the best intentions, but we must protect our land. So far neither Coalition nor Empire aligned vessels have sailed through Anthos space, we think neither wants additional trouble now."

"Very true. And my command?"

Isjhe stood again, and retrieved another paper from his desk. He handed it to d'Bale, who now stood as well, and watched his reaction.

"Very nice, very nice indeed," said the Commander after a moment of reading. "I should think this would be more than sufficient... the Empire will be very much taxed in terms of resources."






Present Day, minutes ago - Deep space

The fleet hung in space, as if waiting for a signal. It was a deadly arsenal, large enough to subdue the average small-time government with ease.

"Com chatter picking up, Sir!" said an ensign, manning on of the communications consoles.

d'Bale turned to see when the second communications officer also cried out.

"Sir, I've got a mayday, putting on speaker."

" .... All vessels should come to Mon Calamari if possible. .... We are under attack .... We need help .... All vessels should come to Mon Calamari if possible. .... We are under attack .... We need help .... All vessels should come to Mon Calamari if possible."

"It's a looping message Sir," explained the first Ensign.

d'Bale turned on his heel, and barked orders to his first officer, weapons officer, and other various personnel.

"Go to red alert, all personnel to battle stations. Prepare weapons and shields, helm, plot a micro-jump to the outer edge of the Mon Calamari system, communications, prepare jamming systems."

The bridge bustled, and the first officer leaned over to the Captain.

"All vessels? What, are they hosting a party?"

The captain chuckled slightly.

"Hyper-jump plotted Sir," said the helmsman.

"Transmit coordinates to entire fleet, prepare to jump on my mark.

Within seconds the fleet reported coordinates received, and d'Bale gave the order. "Jump."








Present Day, Now

"The Empire," hissed the first officer, through clenched teeth.

"Steady Number 1," said Commander d'Bale.

"We have planet based ION cannon fire Sir, I'm also reading a planetary shield active."

"Very little com chatter Sir, the Empire isn't doing much talking."

"One casualty definite Sir, an Imperial ship has been knocked dead by ION fire."

"We've got a healthy load of mines protecting multiple shipyards."

"Helmsman," barked d'Bale, "Plot a micro-jump to bring us abreast and back of the Imperial ships, behind the Coalition mines and Shipyards. I don't want to be struck by their ION fire... Let's do as the Empire is doing, and use the Coalition assets as a temporary shield. Double-check your calculations as well. Bring weapons fully online, prepare to raise shields and launch fighters."

Anthos Republic Fleet
<font size="1p1"> 02 Imperator Two-class Star Destroyers
- 5 squadrons of TiE Phantoms each (120 fighters total)
- 1 squadron of TiE Bombers each (24 bombers total)
04 Aegis Two-class Star Cruisers
- 2 squadrons of TiE Phantoms each (96 fighters total)
02 Interdictor-class Cruisers
20 Vigil-class Sector Patrol Craft
- 4 TiE Interceptor fighers each (80 fighers total)
02 Stalker-Corvettes
40 Skipray Blastboats

"Check."

"Damn."

Two bored-looking lieutenants, legs propped up on their communications consoles, sat playing chess in the lowest levels of one of the less-busy ORS communcations bases. It actually shouldn't be called a communications base, though, it was more of a relay base. One that relayed comm traffic from nearby systems or planets to the main Communications Center. The two lieutenants were not even active ORS military - and they weren't exactly civilians either.

With Marth Meer's proposal of citizens serving military service, it was followed up by thousands of civilians who wished to join the military. Most of these were middle-aged working class people... not exactly prime candidates for soldiers.

The reserve forces instantly expanded.

The two men sitting at their consoles almost didn't notice one of the console beacons going off.

"This is Sovereignty Relay Base D-four." One of the lietenants said half-heartedly into the speaker.

"This is Captain Drost of Patrol Force Alpha Three. We received a distress signal..."





"...strengthen our forces in the Ison Corridor, so we can prepare for an offenive in the Kathol Sector..."

Griff yawned quietly, not to disturb Admiral Jakob as the man droned on about military strength near the Galactic fringe. Jakob was also notorious for his overlarge ego, and Griff didn't want him to notice how bored he was. There were other things that needed attending to...


So intent on Jakob, Griff didn't hear the clicking heels of a jogging communications, rapidly approaching the door.

The door chimed and Griff smiled in relief, finally something to get him out of here.

"Come."

A young, fresh-faced lieutenant almost burst into the room. He saluted Griff and the ranking officer's appropriately and turned to Admiral Jakob.

"Admiral, a message, from Mon Calamari." The young officer said. Griff instantly frowned, feeling a knot forming in his stomach.

Uh-oh

Jakob read the short communique and turned ashed about half way through. Griff stood.

"What is it Admiral?" Griff asked.

"The Coalition is under atack by Imperial Forces..."

"Where?"

"Mon Calamari."

Griff groaned inwardly. Stupid Empire.

"Details?" The President asked.

"Captain Drost of one of our Patrol groups received the message, and even volunteered to assist the Coalition." Jakob said.

"How far away is Drost?" Griff asked.

"Close enough to be able to make a difference...if we send him."

"What is the standard composition of one of our Imperial-Sovereign border patrol fleets?"

"Enough to make a difference." Jakob said.

"Order Drost to respond. He is to do all he can." Griff said.

"Sir, Drost is new to the command... he is not the best choice to send to the aid of the Coalition."

"He may not be the best choice, but he is my only one at the moment. Order some follow up forces to reinforce him."

Jakob almost sighed, Griff could see, but the Admiral held it back, "Yes sir."





Captain Arien Drost leaned up from his status report, looking at his subordinate, Commander Foster.

"What do you think?" Drost asked.

"We are ready... but I doubt we will get orders to go to Mon Calamari..." Foster replied.

"Why do you say that?" Drost asked.

"First, we are a patrol group. Second of all, it is our first posting. And we are with relitively new ships... untested."


"First time for everything, Mac."

"I guess so."

"Don't worry about it, and you are probably right. We won't be going to Mon Calamari."





"Coming out of hyperspace, Captain." Foster said.

"Good. Seperate the fleet into three task forces. TF-1 at center, TF-2 at left and TF-3 at right."

"Yes sir."

"Raise sheilds, load projectile tubes, and charge weapons. Give me a system scan."

"Multiple Imperial ships, and a fleet that is currently unknown..." Foster said, staring intently down at his console.

"Identification?" Drost asked, looking at his Battle Computer.

"Nothing yet." Foster replied.

"Whoever they are, they aren't bothering us. Get shooting solutions on the Imperial ships."

"Understood."


Force Alpha-Three Maniifest
<!--EZCODE LIST START--><ul><li>02 Imperial-class Star Destroyers</li><li>015 Ranger-class Gunships</li><li>09 Corellian Gunships</li></ul><!--EZCODE LIST END-->

Commander Gremor didn't like the look of this. The enemy ships were holding back. Yes he had managed to disable the Assault Sphere, but now he only had mines left to defend his positions. The enemy ships were holding back, out of range of the mines. Suddenly a swarm of 100 TIE Devils came at the mines, and Gremor smiled. The enemy was probably using the knowledge that mines wouldn't normally assault ships less then 4m in diameter, but, that was normally, when there were bigger targets. With only the TIE Devils as a threat, the mines targeted them, the large cloud of them. Some of the shots missed, but with that many mines firing, they couldn't all miss. Within seconds, all the TIE Devils were disabled. The minefield had lost a total of 200 mines.

Suddenly an Anthos fleet popped out of hyperspace.

"Signal the Anthos Fleet asking for their intentions in the system."

"Yes sir."

"Are any of the Planetary Ion Cannons able to fire on the enemy fleet?"

"No sir."

"Damn."

"Sir, an ORS fleet has just come out of hyperspace."

"Excellent. Signal them and send our thanks for coming to our
aid."

Commander Gremor waited for a response.

OOC:
Losses so far:
TNO:
100 TIE Devils disabled
1 Attack Sphere Disabled
1 Sith Battlecruiser disabled

GC:
200 mines

Calculations:
With over 25 000 mines firing on your 100 TIE devils, they will obviously disable them really, really quickly, especially since the Devils had crap hull. Even so, I said that your Devils each had the power to destroy 1 mine in each shot, and they each managed to get out two salvos, both with destroyed a mine, meaning that you destroyed a grand total of 200 mines.

Perrin squinted his eyes as the Imperial Fleet faced the massive 40km shipyard, holding outside of the mines firing range.


The Captain grinned as the TIE Devils sped forward, the Imperials hoping to carve a path to the yard. But Perrin saw nothing much to grin about.

The mines opened fire on the fighters and the Captain chuckled.


"The sensitivity on their mines has been tuned up..." he explained and Perrin suddenly got it. "A measure of their fear." he commented in return and the Captain nodded.


In front of the 40km shipyard, the ion display was dazzling. The Captain pointed to the sensors.

"There is something more.. Look at the mines..and tell me.. do you see anything unusual about them?"

When Perrin shook his head, the sensor scan was widened to include the other yards.

"Now?"

Perrin's eyebrow furrowed in slight confusion. "Why would they do that?"


"You said it. They are afraid.."


"Sir! The General has transferred his flag..." came the comm officer and the Captain nodded.


The tactical display showed their original entry point with the shipyards to the left. To the right and left (though in front of their position was a field of mines.. with a path cut through for the planetary ion cannon to shoot into.

Staying out of range of the mines the fleet had maneuvered left toward the positions of the shipyards and placed one between their position and the planets.

With the 40km yard in front of them, the TIE Devils were detailed to cut a path... but mines seemed to neutralize their systems though inertia continued to carry them forward.

But that was unimportant.


What was important was the fact that their sensors detected the following:

...over 25 000 mines (fired) on (the) 100 TIE devils

A mine only has a sensor radius of about 10 km at the most. If over 25,000 mines were able to fire on the TIE Devils then the minefield before the Imperials was incredibly dense and in more ways than one.

"There are no mines in front of the other shipyards."

There couldn't be!

With over 25,000 mines within 10 km of the "threshold" in front of them, there was no way their range could extend beyond the 40km shipyard to cover the other yards.



"We are not alone.." Perrin suddenly said, his eyes glazing over for a second.


"Sir! A fleet is taking up position behind us..."


"Signature?"

"Uknown.. wait.. a signal from the planet identifiying them as...Anthos?"

Perrin raised an eyebrow noting the anger in the Captain. Obviously, he didn't like surprises.


"What do they want?" growled the Captain, noting that the General had yet to officially designate his new flag. "Well, this is the General's problem. We have our orders..."


And then another fleet showed up assuming a highly agressive stance.


"More cavalry?" Perrin asked.

"General's problem.." the Captain clipped. Their need to finish their mission suddenly became more imperative. "Send a databurst to Imperial Center informing them of our situation."



A Sith Battleship (SBC 4) suddenly broke left and moved between the two yards, well outside the range of the densly populated mines in front of the first yard.

The fleet's shields rose with the arrival of the newcomers. The 3D formation flattened, and on the same plane as that battleship put more distance between the two fleets behind them, the TIE Devils keeping lose to the rear once more providing a screen cover just in case any shots went their way, leaving the minefield behind.



K405

The Shrouds were cloaked silently watching the turning of events.

"Z minus 10 km and maneuver us here.." the Captain explained to the helm indicating a position near SBC 4. "They are exposed to the planet and if it fires.. I want this done.." and he outlined his plan.

The shields rose.


K406

With the fleet moving to the 2nd unprotected yard, the cloaked shroud moved up, still out of range of the mines.

"Raise shields, launch and change course!"

Missiles shot out covering the distance rather quickly the mines sensors trying to lock onto the fast moving explosives.

One missle was hit and began to tumble but at a select destinations the missiles began to ignite causing a chain of explosions designed to take advantage of the dense minefield in a 10km radius.

The series of explosions crushed the 4m mines like tissue as gaping holes were torn inside the field debris scattering.



K407

While cloaked, the shields rose and the ship continued to monitor the new arrivals.


K408

With shields raised, it moved along the same plane as the Sith ships as it remained near the TIE Devil squadrons, the Sith Battleship SBC 4 providing cover with it's own hull just in case the planet decided to get cute.


Sensors had confirmed they had left the mines behind. The rest of the fleet, keeping the 2nd yard between the planet and themselves, began to open fire on the yard.


With the absence of the General's flag transfer so far, something had to be done..

A signal went out to the closest fleet. "Unknown fleet, with what terrorist lover do I have the distinct honor of addressing?"

Perrin looked at the Captain with slight amusement as he put a slight sneer on the word, honor.




TGC Losses:

50% of the "over 25,000" densly populated mines in front of the first yard. With mines to the right of the yard that impeded the Sphere's progress in the beginning (that the planetary cannon shot through) all your mines have been accounted for.

Shipyard #2 Damaged

OOC:
Know that I think of it, it would only be 25000 mines exactly, since the other 25 000 mines are on the other side of the gap. Please wait for an ORS and Anthos response before you respond.

IC:

Commader Gremor frowned as the fleet flew around the minefield and then started to pound on the 2nd shipyard.

"Damn, they beat our plan. Is there any way our Planetary Ion Cannon can get through that crack between the shipyards?"

"In their present position yes, just barely. We can only fire on those Fire Light Frigates at the moment."

"Excellent. Fire on the first one."

A Planetary Ion Cannon beam struck out, and went througha gap in the shields. The gap was then closed. The Ion bolt struck the Fire Light Frigate, disableing it completely.

"Excellent. Any reply from the unknown fleet?"

"No sir, but we are working on finding out who they are."

"Excellent."

The Ion Cannon had managed to find a thin path through the shipyards, but might not be able to do so again.

Up in space the mines had sit still and done nothing, as there was nothing for them to do. They ahd not been attacked by anyone.

Total damages:
GC
200 mines destroyed
Shipyard 2-Medium Damage

TNO:
1 Fire Light Frigate Disabled
1 Attack Sphere Disabled
100 TIE Devils Disabled
1 Sith Battlecruiser disabled

You can't have launched missiels cause it takes one post to load and one post to fire, and no where did I see anything about loading your missile launchers.


NOTE CONCERNING ANTHOS IDENTATY:I won't edit my last post, cuase I don't want to be accused of cheating, but I do not know who the Anthos fleet is.

"Sir," said one of the communications officers aboard the Ostentatious, "We are receiving a binary message from the planet asking our intentions in the system and our identity."

"That was quick," said dBale, slightly impressed. "Return a burst of static, nothing more."

"Aye," replied the ensign.

"Incoming hyperspace fluxuations," called one of the sonar men, his voice overlapping that of the communications officer. "Multiple contacts to the port side of the planet,"

dBale nodded slightly. It was not unexpected, though the chances of reinforcements were low on his list of probable contingencies. Probably some sort of Coalition patrol group based off of Mon Cal.

"Cancel the micro-jump, re-calculate to here," he touched a point in space on the holo-display before him, marking the spot for the officer to calculate to.

"Aye, aye, Sir."

For a few moments the bridge of the Ostentatious was silent, each man working at his job.

"The Imperial fleet is beginning maneuvers, Sir," said another sonar man. Simultaneously the command holo-vid morphed from a wide-angle display of the system to a close in representation of the planet. Icons representing each class of ship identified by the computers moved around slowly - the vid view was too recessed to properly tell what was going on.

"Magnify, if possible," said dBale.

The display zoomed in, and the display became much clearer. dBale and his officers watch the tactics with interest, commenting as ideas as to what the imperials were up to came to mind. Finally, dBale grinned, and nodded in correlation with his first officer.

"I think you've got it there," he said. "How much damage can the shipyard sustain?"

"Unless they manage to punch through to the central power core the yard can take quite a beating. Any amount of turbolaser fire will reduce functionality, though.

"ION fire from the planet," called one of the sonar men. The holo-display reflected a brief line of light coming from the planet's surface, and connecting with one of the ships maneuvering in space.

"Direct hit."

"Good gunners" replied dBale. "Is that hyperjump calculated?"

"Another moment, Sir, I'm running a validation over it now."

"Take your time, if we can arrive closer to the desired spot, the few moments will be well spent," said dBale. "Communications," he continued, walking over to the appropriate consol, "Send a text message to the Imperials as follows. 'Fortune favors the bold.' Encode it with the encryption algorithm we received before we left."

"Hyperjump plotted, Sir," called out a man from hyperdrive control. "Slaving to the rest of the fleet now."

"Engage on my mark ensign."

"Aye"

For the briefest of moments the stars around the Ostentatious turned to long lines of light, as if the craft was actually entering hyperspace. But the moment passed quickly, and the stars returned to their former positioning and size.

"We are in position, sir"

"Eject fighters, designate the formation as Omega. Sonar, any additional readings on that other fleet?"

"Their transponders have identified them as ships from an Outer Rim Sovereignty, we have two Imperator class vessels and twenty five gunship class vessels."

"The, not an. The outer-rim sovereignty Ensign, they're a fringe organization."

"Aye, sir."


The fleet began to line up in a customized Omega formation, the heavy Imperators, Aegis cruisers and Interdictors stood at the center surrounded in a flat virtical oval by the Vigil-class SPC's. It was a vertical circle, as if the ships were stacked one on top of the other.


"Have the stalker's cloak, and move out of formation. I want a constant data-stream from them."

"Aye, Sir," replied the communications ensign. "Message away."

"And now we see how far this rabbit hole goes," muttered the first officer.

"Eh?" asked dBale.

"Nothing, a phrase from a book I read ages ago."

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Actions: Anthos fleet micro-jumps to a position between the ORS fleet and the TNO fleet, offset by a large distance, as seen below. ( T= TNO, P = Planet surface , A = Anthos, O = ORS)

- - - P P P - - -
- - - - T - - - -
- - - - - - - - -
O - - A - - - -