Trax Sector
Entrus

It had been a month since Colonel Markus and the 108th had taken Chamble. Most of the down time was spent training his new recruits and getting used to their new ship. After the Chamble mission the cover they had used on the last few worlds was blown. The Imperial had left the world but many had figured out who He and Lieutenant Peirc were not pipe salesmen and it was safe to assume Imperial Intelligence now knew as well. Admiral Holt had given the men a week off on Entrus and he and his men had taken advantage of the leave. Two men had to be bailed out of jail and two others gotten married. Now the 108th was working out the plan for the next world they planned to free from tyranny. Their new home was much roomier and had enough quarters for the entire Regiment. There would be no more sneaking in for the 108th they now had a complete assault force backing them and a assault fleet to boot. They were now in the business of over turning despots and tyrants where ever they were found.

The Remington was the largest vessel Markus had ever been stationed. Her hanger was three times the size of the old CC-9600 they used to call home. It was still not a large ship by most standards but for it to be assigned to him and his regiment alone meant he was doing something right. The corridors of the ship were pristine. The ship still had that new from the ship yard look. She had been the third Republic Mk II Star Destroyers to come off the slipway at Hughe.he and her three sisters were the last of the ship built over Hughe. Her yards had been moved to some undisclosed location and not the world was the Alliances Research and development center. The ship was like nothing he had seen before. He had assaulted an Imperial Star Destroyer once which was pretty snazzy but not like this. Compared to the old clone war ships and beat up frigates he had called home in the last fifteen years this was nice. Now he and his men moved away from Entrus to rendezvous with the rest of the assault force and get his final orders. He sit back in the ready room looking over some information on probable targets. Many worlds in the central mid rim still suffered from Imperial rule. With the Warlord Supreme General Fossk over the area the Imperials have dug in and world were more fortified then ever. Gone were the days of easy hit and run missions on world mostly on the verge of rebelling themselves. The few worlds important to Fossk's self built Empire in the area had been fortified. Many worlds had been left defenseless. Of these he knew his men would get one of the fortified ones. Why else would Admiral Holt throw all these new toys and ships at the 108th. The Remington shudders and jumped to hyperspace. Jor just sit back and closed his eyes. The jump was a fairly shot one and he would take the time to get some must needed rest.

Trax Sector
Ventil II

The trip from Entrus to Ventil II had been short and many of the men onboard Remington spent the time on the recreation deck. Now the Destroyer sat face to face with the massive form of the Rejuvenator Star Destroyer Courageous. The ship was over twice the size of Remington and from what he had heard powerful enough to hold off a small fleet. He had taken the shuttle to Courageous and meet with Admiral Holt and his planning staff. He had studied his orders and returned to Remington to prepare a battle plan and meet with his staff. The meeting went well and he thought he and his men had come up with a sound assault plan. One which he hoped would spare most of the civilian population and free the world to govern themselves. He stood on the bridge and watched Captain Dern prepare his crew and the small flotilla of ships for the job at hand. The back of the command deck was lined with small benched stations where guests could sit or the crew to break. Jor sat at one looking over the information on the world he and his marines were bound for. It had been subjugated by the Empire but supported the Alliance when it could. It was time the world be liberated he thought to himself. He had visited it once as a child. Growing up a farmer in the mid rim one could hardly not have been to the world at least once in his young life.. A quarter of the sector lived off the worlds food supply. Captain Dorn walked over and sat across from Markus. He nodded and spoke as he slide Markus a report.

"The group is ready Colonel. Give the word and were there."

Markus looked over the status report then placed it on the table.

"Very well Captain, Take us to the Bissillirus System."

Kalrechi-class Starfighter Redhot Four, near Draenell's Point 

Quietly cursing, Flight Officer Ddarr Tyunt eased back on the throttle of his crimson starfighter. Running silent meant that all of the ship's lights and even its electronic controls had been turned off. In a primitive craft like the Kalrechi, it wasn't a terribly huge shift from normal performance, but it was unnerving nonetheless. Aside from fumbling with the switches, the former pirate had to keep his eyes glued on the distant shuttlecraft. His left foot rhythmically tapped the thrust controls, giving short, almost undetectable bursts of movement to his starship. Redhot Four seemed to coast along the sea of stars, trailing the shuttle like a Corellian Sandpanther stalking its prey. Yet he didn't dare move in on it now. We are too close to the colony now. He bit back the urge to look at the planet. Some things just get harder when you're trying to concentrate...like actually enjoying your flight...the man from Izmir gently slid the pilots yoke to the left, sending his starfighter in a lazy curve along the same trajectory as the shuttle. They flew past one of the world's moons, and that's when his eyes opened wide.

His commander had been wrong.

They weren't tracking a supply ship back to a hitherto unpreviously known base.

They had tracked the shuttle back to core of Fossk's fleet.

The former pirate could make out a plethora of small craft coalescing around several star destroyers and large capital starships. The shuttle itself disappeared into the smaller ventral bay of the ISD Dragon's Head. His pressed his lips thinly together. There's no where I'm getting near that thing, or any closer for that matter. I've seen enough for today. He slammed the yoke hard to right; his starship's four wings struggled to compensate for the strain of the maneuver, but they held strong. The man abruptly began peddling the pump on the accelerator, pushing the starfighter away from the waiting Imperial-style fleet before leaping into the confines of hyperspace to Inferno Fleet.

*****

Efreeti-class Battlecruiser Husdant, Trax Sector 

Shaped almost like an enlarged Acclamator-class transport, the Husdant was not known for being a pretty or elegant vessel. Yet Kre'fey found an appreciation in the vessel's blatant emphasis on functionality and lack of aesthetic appeal, despite Sei'lar's egging that it could be confused for an ancient Old Republic warship. But Kre'fey couldn't entirely deny the choice in the coloring scheme; it was a throwback to the days when the old Republic he had hoped to restore used red-colored warships. Sei'lar thought Kre'fey's oblique reference to the older navy was pointless. The bothan spy prowled up to the naval commander. 

“One of the pursuit fighters has returned. It was successful in finding the base, in a way,” informed the spy. 

“If you could call an Imperial fleet a base,” muttered the alien, turning away from the viewport to face the other Bothan, “though I suppose the point is mute. We will have to intervene, sooner than not.”

 “You're not going to wait for High Command to reply back?” 

“High Command has been reporting back as normal anyways,” countered the bothan commander, “and we can't very well risk suffering that large of a loss. I doubt the invasion force is prepared to fight against all of the ships Fossk has gathered there. It is probably a trap.”

 “It is a trap,” clarified Sei'lar, “there's only one reason why he'd be hiding the fleet behind a distant moon like that.”

 Bandor cleared his throat loudly, “Signal the fleet to get underway and to prepare for battle. Helm, set a course for the outskirts of Draenell's Point.”

 “Aye aye sir.”

Remington exited hyperspace between the worlds of Outpost and Dreanell's point. Imediatlly the severity of the groups situation was apearant. Captain Dern looked at the senor image befoe him in shock. Sitting between him and the Remington and the world of Dranells Point was an Imperial flotilla. Thier misin to free the world was now one of survival and escape.


"Helm about one hundred and eighty, get us far enough away from Outpost to jump."


The helm officer carried out the order and the vessel began to turn away from the Imperial group and the Fighters now moving to intercept them. The remington was not a slow ship at the leaset but before the vessel could make the turn and move away from the planet it used to pull itself out of Hyperspace, the Imperial fighters were upon them.


The rear lift doors slid open and Colonel Markus wlked out onto the franticed Bridge. The incoming fighter group was already close enough for Markus to make out in the forward viewport. He had no Idea what had happened. Fleet Intel said this world was practically undefended and the planetary population were awaiting the Alliance to assist them in overtaking what little Imperial preseance there was and retake their world. What he saw out of the viewport and on the halo display was a much different story.


"Captain, Report!"


Captain Dern turned and noticed Markus for the first time. He looked over the data once then reported.


"Colonel, It looks like they were waiting for us. I have no idea who they knew we were on the way but they did. I attempted to turn and jump to hyperspace but there is at least one Interdictor in the system. Were can not run.


Markus took in the news and shuttered at the thought. His men were usless against the swarm of fighters now incoming. The plating beneath is feet vibrated as the guns of Remington began to fire on the incoming fighters. It was only a moment before the fighter returned fire. The ship had now completed its maneuver and was facing away from the incomeing swarm. The dea to jump had left the ship in the worse posible position since it now had no place to go.


"Captain move us closer to Outpost. Use the planet as a shield form the destroyers closing in. Keep us behind the planet and lauch out wing."


Captain Dern had already thought of the maneuver and the Remington had began its two point turn and began to move towards Outpost and the saft of the worlds shadow. The world would portect it from the Imperial ships closing in but not the fighters. The wing of Remington had to deal with them but first they would have to manage a hot launch into enemy coverage.


Major Bour sat down in the cockpit of his X-wing and was handed his helmet by the crewman assiting him. He did a quick preflight and waited for the flight crew to move the fighter into position to launch. Through the hanger opening he could see various fighters as the skimmed by on attack runs. The third fighter before him had launch and slammed into a passing Imperial fighter on lanch. The men of his sqaudron were mostly green but the few goo men and women he had were just that good. He closed the conopy of his fighter then launched. The X-wing slammed through the shielding portecting the hanger from zero gravity then through the ships shielding itself to a world of chaos. The Escorting Gunships had begun to thin the Imperial fighters out for the launching fighter but there were too man for the gunships to make a differeance. He nad his men were out numbered at least ten to one. He closed his eyes for a brief moment and prayed. Then he jerked his stick left anf throttled up to avoid an incoming fighter.


"Barister one to group. Pick em quick and drop em quicker. Don't engane if you do not have to work targets closest to you and break off. Do not track or double, let these imperials get out of our way so we can kill their buddies. Four , your my wing. Two bit it on the way out. Five, you and nine keep your groups coheirant. Work toghetr out here and maybe we will survive."


His leaders ackowledged his ordrs and Barister Sqaodron went to work on the Imperials. All around Imperial fighers sawrmed them. Barister Seven bought it when four fighter teamed up on him and his wingman. Eight had managed to escape and take two of the fighters with him but Seven was gone. On the other side of Remington Tempest squadron fared no better. Five of their swaudron had been killed in the first five minutes of the engagment. Now the remaing members strugled to stay alive in what was a nightmare both freind and foe fire. Remington had managed to get behind Outpost before the Imperial fleet had closed in but that would not last long. The gunships escorting Remington now broke formation and went hunting the one target that could save them. The Interdictor. Colonel Markus and Cpatain Dern both franticly thought of any ideas no matter how crazy to get them out of the situation they now face. Unfortunatlly neither had any ideas for a way out until the Interdictor was gone. The battle for Darnell's Point had not gone off as planed. It had never even began. The world in the distance was surounded by Imperial ships and space above was hornets nest of death and what looked would be a day of Imperial pride. Markus slammed his hand on the console and cursed.


"Captain, are all the fighters launched?"


Dern nodded an afirmative and Markus turned and walked out of the command deck into the lift. He would not go out like this. He and his men would not sit by and dye without a fight. Now he only had one idea. One option. He only prayed it worked.

Efreeti-class Battlecruiser Husdant, outskirts of the Draenell's Point system


The crimson warship cut into realspace with the ease of lightsaber through butter. Dozens of similarly colored boxy craft followed in its wake, mostly the converted freighters that made up Inferno Fleet. Two of the heavily modified CEC-built bulk freighters, the Reprisal and the Torch, cruised up away from the formation to sit outside the engagement. Those Torch gunships would act as earning warning ships if any more forces from Supreme Commander Fossk entered the system, or move to intercept any forces trying to escape the world. It was the smallest cordon Kre'fey had ever deployed with Inferno Fleet, but he felt that he couldn't afford to sacrifice any more firepower on mere possibilities with the very real certainty of the star destroyers Fossk had deployed to wipe out the Alliance invasion force. Sei'lar tapped his shoulder.


“They're doing better than we thought, can you look at that? They still have a formation, at least I think it's one.”


“That's a small reassurance,” muttered Admiral Kre'fey, turning to his comm's officer, “let's keep the artillery line back, but everyone else will advance behind the Husdant to that exposed flank right there. All weapons are clear to fire, and release all fighters to their flight controllers.”


The Flamewind led the quartet of artillery frigates out of the wedge formation and scattered separately around the outskirts of the world itself, allowing the Inferno Fleet vessels to employ convergent fire sectors and ensure the Imperials had no area where they could avoid their long-range fire. Dozens of streams of red-purple globes began to stream out from the craft to converge on the flank star destroyer, the Dragon's Head. The Husdant's own plasma mass-drivers began to fire at the Dragon's Head, drawing back scattered volleys of emerald turbolaser fire from the Imperator-class star destroyer. A wave of Hunters and Kalrechis surged forward and wove themselves around the capital ship's fire, sweeping into the flank of the Imperial fleet to join the Alliance fighters in their brawl against the warlord's starfighters. Bandor turned to his bothan SpyNet contact.


“Let's get the CURSE modules spinned up and see if we can hack into that central star destroyer.”


“On it.”
 

The twelve Katarn-class boarding shuttles shot out of the hangers of Remington and moved at flank speed towards the world of Outpost below. The confusion  on the flanks of the engagement zone allowed the ships to sneak off and move out of the way as the fighter wings of Remington chewed away at the Imperial fighters.  The few Imperials that noticed the shuttles were soon dispatched  by Barrister squadron as they worked between dogfights to escort the shuttles. The six hundred men of 108th's first battalion stood shoulder to shoulder packed in the twelve shuttles waiting for the green light. The interior of the shuttles were simple and practical for its design. Fifty men with heavy equipment  inside a reinforced hull. The extra thick armor and a lone laser canon was the only protection the craft had if it found itself alone against enemy fighters. for now the formation had moved out of the engagement zone but soon enough that would change. 

Colonel Markus Stood at the front of the craft looking over a display of the planet and its orbit. Live data streamed in giving him a good picture of the situation outside. The enemy fighters had engulfed Remington and were engaged in attack runs which the few fighters of Remington did what little they could to slow down the attacking fighters. Three Star Destroyers were moving into orbit on the far side of the planet and working their way around from both flanks to catch the Remington in a crossfire. Two moved around the world of Outpost from the right and one from the left. It was that one Markus was interested in. It had moved out of formation to flank the Remington but in doing do left much of its protective escort vessels  with the main group. A single frigate and two corvettes move along with it leaving it the best target. He sent his plan back to Remington via a protected laser communications beam and took the shuttles down into the world of Outposts atmosphere.  The thick atmosphere was rough and choppy  making it a chore for the pilots of the shuttles to keep the large craft low and in formation. The world was lifeless and barren for the most part and the mountain chain running east to west offered the shuttles a good hiding spot to move into position and await their prey.

"Men, when we hit  brace then immediately release your grav locks. I know only a few of you have done this, stay in formation and do not under any circumstances go off on your own. There are over nine thousand troops up there and we have to work in numbers against them. This is not like any urban training you have ever done. Corridor tactics are like building infiltration's but far more dangerous. stick with your team leaders and watch the man beside you."

Markus turned and looked at the display again. The shuttles were in position and the Star Destroyer above moving into firing position on the Remington had no idea what was about to happen. He gave the order and the twelve assault craft shot up out of a mountain raven and up through the atmosphere like missiles. The Imperials would for sure know they were there now but in three minutes that would not matter. The dime light of the planets atmosphere faded and stars began to fill the forward viewports. In the distance the familure shape of a star destroyers looming and ready for a fight. The shuttles shot towards the vessel  and shook as they reached their maximum safe level of acceleration and thrust. A corvette who now noticed the shuttles moved as fast as it could to intercept but it would not make it. One by one the twelve boarding shuttles slammed into the port side of the destroyers. The troopers inside released their grav locks and the weak gravity of the pod began to grow to match the level inside the destroyer. At the front of the shuttle Markus stood watching the tech operate the plasma torch cutting beam. The hiss of the beam seemed to last forever. His men moved into position and as the hiss stopped the vacuum seal popped into place and the chunk of durasteel which had once been the hull of the star destroyer shot off into the ship smashing someone who had been foolish enough to investigate what was going on.  the Two minutes it took to cut through gave the imperials time to muster a small squad of troopers to the area Markus and his men cut through. Markus ran out of the shuttle and immediately was meet with blaster bolts. He jumped to the deck and rolled up behind a corner and began to give his men cover fire as they exited the shuttle.  Across the ship the scene was the same. Alarms sounded and star troopers and imperial naval troopers chaotically ran to repeal Markus and his mean as the boarded the destroyer.  If he could cause enough damage maybe he could give the Remington a fighting chance.  Then his coms went crazy, Remington sent out a friend or foe call and then as if sent from some deity Markus heard a counter sign transmit and heard cheers from the open com channel to Remington. Help had arrived. That was good news but for his six hundred men which were now facing off with twenty five thousand  it meant nothing. They were on their own.

Efreeti-class Battlecruiser Husdant, Draenell's Point


Another staggered volley of the battlecruiser's plasma shells slammed into the Dragon's Head, pushing the combusting plasma deep into the innards of the ship. A brief fireall rose up from within the star destroyer itself as one of the plasma shells ignited a concussion missile magazine. The resulting explosion tossed metal debris and bodies across the ungoing battle; nimble TIEs and Hunters deftly maneuvered around the obstacles and continued their sparring. Several of the closer missile batteries on the Husdant fired at the larger pieces of debris coming towards the battlecruiser, engulfing it in secondary explosions and pushing it back towards the wounded Star Destroyer. But Kre'fey paid it all little heed, instead juggling a never-ending stream of reports and the motions of the vessels themselves. His fur rippled as he watched the Remington launch a boarding action towards one of the vessels. There can't be that many people to actually fully take it, can there be? Granted, the density should be such that it should be about equal assuming the star destroyer is fully staffed. The bothan turned to Seic'lar.


“Plant your trojans into the Dragon's Head, and once that's done, let's get to work on the star destroyer that the mainstream Alliance is boarding,” decided the bothan commander, “let's see if we can give them an edge in that fight.”


Seic'lar snorted, “Don't expect anything too grandiose, old friend. They'd be better helped by more boots on the ground, errr, deck. I'm assuming that you want to board the Dragon's Head too.”


His fur subtly shifted, “It would make a nice prize, I'll admit. Though considering how much damage its sustained so far...”


“You mean a nice trophy,” grinned the bothan spy, “admit it, we wouldn't have the resources to man it...”


“You are right,” admitted Bandor, “very well, let's abandon all plans to board the Dragon's Head. Have the Inferno Marines ready to move over to join the mainstream Alliance assault on the other star destroyer. When you see an opening to insert them, get them in there. I'm going to supervise the demise of what we've started.”


“You got it.”


Bandor Kre'fey turned his attention back to Dragon's Head. Much of the fleet blatantly ignored the smaller Imperial ships harassing them as they continued their assault on Fossk's star destroyer. His eye spotted a smaller Carrack nipping at the heels of the Crescent Flame. A wing of Kalrechis off of the Husdant swooped down on the Imperial warship, peppering it with ion-sheathed slugs and small volleys of missiles. Under the Inferno Fleet onslaught, the Carrack abruptly veered away the edges of the Inferno Fleet formation and retreated back to the relative safety in the middle of the Imperial fleet. The Cerberus-class Cruisers surged just overhead of the star destroyer, vaporizing many of the turbolaser emplacements jutting out of the craft via use of plasblast missiles and heavy disruptor batteries. They're loosing their ability to keep fighting. But they can still survive in space. And that gives them hope. Time to take that way...


“Activate the trojans on the Dragon's Head,” ordered Kre'fey, “have all of our ships fall back and redirect all fire to the Head's ventral reactor bulb.”


The confusion the trojans caused should help buy us time in figuring out what we're up to, but then it'll be too late. And once the reactor safeties on that thing go, the Dragon's Head will be a ticking time bomb...
 

Enemy Star Destroyer
Above Outpost

"Hold the line!"

Shouted a storm trooper from somewhere in the distance. The corridors were thick with smoke now from the smoke grenades Colonel Markus and his team had thrown up the corridor at the junction ahead. Blaster bolts flew out of the smoky darkness without pause. Markus and his team were pinned down but they had a plan. Markus and his team returned fire  from behind overturned equipment and from access way hatches. The battle so far had been hard fought. The Imperials were not about to let someone just walk in and take over. Word from his teams all shared the same constant theme. The crew and the troopers on board were giving them one hell of a fight. a marine was slammed against the wall behind Markus as a bolt hit him in the chest. another grabbed his leg and drug him to safety around a corner.  The med techs began working on him  but Markus knew it was bad. he motioned to a marine then stepped back. the marine walked past him with a blast shield and stepped out into the corridor. Bolt after bolt flew past as the troopers shot blindly at the marine. It was as difficult for them to target the marines as it as for the marine to target the trooper. This Markus was about to remedy.  The blast shield wielding trooper knelled and positioned himself so to hold the shield in place against the blasts which struck it. Then a second marine walked past Markus and stepped bent down to move into position behind the shield. He took the plasma missile and slid it into the launcher then braced himself and the launcher firmly behind the marine with the shield. He fires into the smoke and a moment later the explosion ripped down the corridor. The two troopers squeezed together behind the shield as the inferno of fire slammed into it. Markus and the other marines hide around corners and behind objects to keep from being singed by the fireball. heated plasma scorched the walls and burned through the armor of the troopers. The blaster fire stopped  as the flames subsided. Markus looked around the corner to see the walls, floor, and ceiling burnt and the smoke which had blinded them burnt away. In the distance a charred body lay burning  and the stench of charred flesh filled the air. He waved the marines in and two by two they moved down the corridor firing a bolt in each  troopers helmet to make sure the job was done. The floor had been cleared  and now Markus and his troops had to move on deeper into the ship and the engine room. Markus checked in with his teams progress as he took advantage of a lull in fighting. He knew  he had another two hundred meters to fight threw before he made it to the engine room and the brief rest felt good. The battle was long from over and he feared the price he and his men were paying but he knew it was better than staying aboard Remington. He thought about Captain Dern and wondered how he and his crew were faring against the destroyers. He had heard over the coms Inferno fleet had arrived. That was  a double headed coin. They were not know for playing nice or working with the alliance fleet. They pretty much did their own thing. Some  in the fleet saw them as pirates at best and looked down on Kre'fey and his men. All Markus knew is they were there and probably saved Remington and his marines ass. That was good enough for him.

Remington
Above Outpost

Captain Dern braced as the volley of torpedoes slammed into the ship. The shields were at forty percent now and fading. His crew had managed to keep damage control on pace but soon the damage to the ship would be too much for his DC teams. The arrival of Inferno Fleet was truly a miracle.
The ships had moved in and engaged the destroyers  taking their attention off Remington and giving Dern and his crew a chance. His gunners worked to track and target the fighters now strafing the hull of the ship. The Imperials had planned this well. somehow they had known Remington was on its way and they had know for some time. The remaining marines  had joined his crew in damage control teams and in assisting the gunners. A few had even thrown on flight suits and taken reserve fighters out to assist the fighter wing. Of Remington's original seventy two fighters only forty nine remained.  They had done well as the average kill rate was three to one so far. But there had been hundreds of fighters out there. Now Infernos fighters had joined the fight and the tide seemed to be turning slowly. For the first time since the battle had begun Dern could see a way out. A way for him and his crew to survive. A explosion rattled the vessel as Dern finished hie thoughts. Alarms screamed out and then as if the had of some deity had reached out and and grabbed Dern in the pit of his stomach terror and anger welled up inside him. He heard the second explosion and the third as the shock wave through him to the floor. He grabbed his console and lifter himself to his feet and pressed the one button he had never hoped he would have to.

"Abandon ship, All personnel  make for the escape pods as fast as possible."

A forth explosion shook the Remington like it had been some play toy in the hands of a mad wookiee. The ship listed to the starboard side as the decompression fueled fire acted like a thruster pushing Remington into a spin. Just like that his hopes of him and his ship surviving were gone. Life pods began to fire off and out into space. Imperial fighters began targeting them as the broke free of Remington. Dern screamed a curse at the Imperials and slammed his fist on the console. He heard the fifth explosion then felt the heat. He squeezed his fists and thought of his family. A moment later the ball of super heated fire washed over the command deck as the reactor ignited the fuel reservoir engulfing Remington in a ball of fire. Then in an instant everything was gone. The ship emerged from the fireball a burnt husk. the explosion had torn the aft section off of the ship and flung it out away from the planet below. The forward section floated dead in space slowly moving toward outpost as the planets gravity reached up to grab it. Escape pods had been thrown around by the explosion and may had not made it out of the blast radius fast enough. These had been reduced to little more than slag and blood. Imperial and alliance fighters had been caught and many reduced to nothing. Many others had been disabled from the shock wave and others thrown off course causing a variety of problems for them. 

Major Bour watched in quiet horror as the Remington disappeared in a ball of flames. The Imperial fighter he had been tracking spun around and out of his cross hairs. He turned away from the flash of light just as the shock wave hit him. He held onto the controls and managed to keep his X-wing from spinning out of control He shock the thoughts from his mind and turned to find the fighter he had been tracking. He had a job to do  and he was going to do it. He did not have time to think about hat had happened.  The Imperials still outnumbered them  and he did not plan on this being his last battle. He opened the channel to his squadron and tried to speak. The words did not come at first. his mind was trying to deal as it tried to bounce back into the fight.

"Barristers, Fight on!" 

This was all he could muster. he closed the channel then blocked everything else out as he homed in on the fighter he had been tracking. A squeeze of his trigger ended the craft  and gave Bour the tool he had needed to make it through the rest of the battle. He opened the channel one more time and yelled.

"Revenge, for Remington."

A cry that would ring out from every other pilot on the channel. For the men and women of Remington's fighter wing the odds meant little now. they had a reason for surviving and for killing as many Imperials as they could. The deal they would deal would never make up for the friends and crew mates they had just lost but in Bour's mind it was good enough.

Efreeti-class Battlecruiser Husdant, in orbit via Draenell's Point


Kre'fey slapped a button on his stark command chair; huge slabs of fire-red metal slid up over the viewports of the battlecruiser's bridge. Mere seconds later, holo-projectors lit up the same slabs with hazy holo overlays of the ongoing battle. A brilliant flash emanated out from the distance, spreading harsh rays of light across the battlefield. Even with the holo-projection overlay, Bandor found himself wanting to shield his eyes with his hands. But he didn't. He watched the Remington explode violently from the wrath of Fossk's ships. But even as the last flames licked the stricken hull of the Alliance vessel, the crimson-orange fire of Inferno fleet finally smashed through the last safety barrier to the Dragon's Head's ventral reactor bulb. A hazy mist began to flow out of the hull before several plasma shells from the Husdant ignited the reactor fuel. The brief conflagration quickly consumed the outward layer of fuel and went into the bulb of the now-unstable reactor itself. The resulting explosion blew apart the Dragon's Head from the inside out. No glorious explosions could be seen from the assault, but the rapidly expanding cloud of debris and pieces of superstructure flying through the battlefield like a meteor shower announced to all the death of the star destroyer.


“That's one for one,” muttered Seic'lar, “we aren't going to win the battle at this rate. They will turn their guns on us soon.”


“Perhaps,” mused Bandor, rapidly flipping through his old-fashioned monitor screens, “but you're assuming that they're the ones with two star destroyers, not us.”


“You really think they're going to take the other destroyer?”


“I really hope so,” snorted the bothan commander, his fur rippling, “because if not, we need to start implementing a tactical withdrawal.”


“You're not fooling anyone. You mean a retreat.”


“I mean a retreat.”


***
Unknown Imperator-class Star Destroyer, in orbit via Draenell's Point


Sergeant Lawless thrust his force-pike deeper into the lock of the door. Another Inferno marine, also clad in their trademark space armor kept his blaster trained on the door. Behind him, several squads of Inferno marines took stock and guarded their flanks. Instead of blasting their way past a star destroyer's armor, or attempt to board the craft where Imperial repair and damage control teams would likely trying to fix hull breaches, the Inferno marines had used their only computer connection into the ship to eject some of its command tower escape pods. With only light airlocks and no sensors set up to detect intrusion through those ports, the Inferno marines had managed to enter where the escape pods had been stored. Thus far, they had managed to move even closer to the bridge undetected by using tight maintenance corridors. But that was about to change.


Finally, the lock out of the maintenance corridors popped out. Lawless quickly retracted his pike and another marine flicked the door open. The marines piled out through the doorway, firing their blasters. The red-armored men immediately cut down the stormtrooper guards manning the security station into the bridge itself. Sergeant Lawless trotted up to the console and glanced upwards.


“Everyone ready?”


Most of the marines silently nodded. He slapped a button on the console, opening the bridge doors. The Inferno Marines rushed onto the command walkway to seize the bridge.


 

"DOWN!" screamed Connors as the charges  on the bulkhead into engineering ignited. The blast sent a concussion wave down the corridor rippling the lose outer layer of Connors flak suit. The flash subsided and was replaced with smoke and debris. Connors stood and jumped over the barrier he had been hiding behind when the blast went off. The lighting in engineering was much brighter than that in the corridor. A marine fell to the floor as he stepped through the hole and was quickly pulled out of the way and behind cover. Connors jumped thought the hole and immediately dived behind a large capacitor which was the closest object to the now destroyed hatchway. Three other marines had made it to the massive cylinder and were working out where the fire was coming from. A marine spoted one trooper and made short work of taking him out with a well placed blaster bolt. A crossfire situtation was the main issue now. At least two groups of troopers had taken up overwatch postitons in preperation. They had set up barricades to use as cover and now seemed to have the marines pinned. Connors could not use the missile trick here. Too many things went boom in engineering for him to even thing of using large ordinance. This would take a more delicate touch.

"Langston Whats the word on those conduits?"

Connors waited for a response and when one did not come he cursed and took a few shots at the troopers. His communicator signaled and the voice of specialist Langston spoke.

"Colonel, we had heave opposition here in Ion Control. The group you guys are fighting are about to get reinforcments. They just ran out of here heading your way sir."

Connors thought to himself. things were going from bad to frak me very quickly.

""Ok Langston, just do your job. We will worry about those troopers. We need this ship dead in space. get those thrusters disengaged I will let you know how this goes if I survive."

Connors turned off his communicator and began firing at the troopers hiding behind a pile of duty lockers which had been piled up along the left side of engineering control. A second beep from his communicator sounded and he pressed receive.

"Colonel, We were moving up into the command section when all hell broke lose on the level above us. We got pinned down betawwen a group of helmets trying to make a tactical retreat and another group coming to their assistance. We handled the issue but I wanted to inform you before I went up into the command decks. Something is going on up there."

Connors thought about the new news then rolled out of the way of blasts from a new group of storm troopers. He gave a hand signal and a marine took two others to work their way around the room and flank the newly arrived troopers.  He thought about what lieutenant Dresf had just told him. His best guess was help from Inferno fleet. He knew those guys would shot and ask questions later and the last thing he wanted was for his marines to end up in a friendly fire situation.

"Lieutenant, hold your position and make sure no other imperial forces make it up into command. If the Inferno boys are in there let them do the work. We will have the power down soon. "

The lieutenant gave yes sir and closed the channel. The troopers who had joined the party now found themselves in a cross fire. They were between Connors and his group and the flanking group now fighting off both. The two groups of troopers were keeping the marines at bay and helping to keep the group that had joined the fight late from being overrun.

"Connors looked through a gap in the capacitor housing and formed a plan in his head. He motioned to two marines who had taken up position outside the hole  they had blown in the side of engineering. They fired one the right group of troopers long enough for Connors and another marine to move into position to engage the left group. The troopers laid down a barrage of fire in the direction of Connors then slpit their fire between him and another group of marines. Connors peeked over the console he was now behind at the group of storm troopers. Three troopers  were dug in behind the makeshift bunker they had cobbled together. He spotted one taking aim at him and ducked behind the console. He gave a series of hand signals to the marine then rolled to the left of the console. HE rolled behind a second console and took aim before the confused trooper could adjust. The trooper spun his sights around to target Connors but in doing so did not see the second marine. The marine had jumpd out from behind the console and landed behind a bank of computers. he let lose three bolts and one by one each struck the trooper in his chest. A second trooper shocked by his companion going down paused long enough for Connors to plant a single shot into his visor knocking the trooper back against a wall.  The third trooper of the group ducked down behind the pile of lockers and consoled they had piled into a bunker and tried to catch up. In a mater of seconds the two troopers with him had been eliminated. Connors could tell the man was talking to someone him his helmet. The man shook his head once then seemed to slump down. Then he turned and began firing again at the marines. In the chaos he had not seen Connors or the other marine  or where they had fired from. This would be his undoing. Connors watched the trooper and as his attention was set to the group of marines at the hole in the bulkhead he jumped up and drew out his vibroblade. He was upon the trooper  and had the blade shoved up into his neck where the helmet and body armor met. The trooper had noticed him too late and in his attempt to turn and engage Connors he lost footing. The two feel to the floor as Connors momentum carried them down and across the room.  the second marine took the advantage to set up behind the barricade and fire on the second group of troopers.  Connors rolled the body of the dead trooper over on top of his just as the second group fird on him. The body  in his hands shock and convulsed as the bolts slammed into his back. He tried to lay as flat as he could and use the mans body for cover. A moment later the fire stopped as the group of marines at the bulkhead used Connors distraction to move in on the other group of storm troopers. The marines stormed the group behind the lockers as the flanking group took out the late arrivals. A moment later the room was quiet. Connors peeked over the deac body he had used as a shield at a smoky half destroyed control room. Most of the consoles and equipment were less than in working order. The Engineering control room had been secured but there was no way he could control anything from it.

"Secure the room, I need a working console or a way to shut down this reactor."

The marines moved the dead bodies to a corner and began to gather what was useful and look at what worked in the room. The troopers had done a good job of scuttling the control room when they had ordered the technicians out. What Conners needed was a tech. Just happened he had a couple they had taken hostage on the way in. The techs were led into the room and questioned by a couple of marines. Connors worked on a console he thought could work if he could get power to it.

"Sir, this one says there is a manual shutoff down in the core."

Connors looked up and over at the marine talking to him.

"That does us little good Lieutenant, We need it down now.!"

The marine went back to questioning the techs. he then slapped one and knocked him to the floor. The tech held his hands up in front of him in protections but the marine did not strike him again. They pulled the tech outside and around the corner. then  a shot filled the room. The echo of the bolt rang out from outside the room and drove the reaming techs skin white as sweat began streaming down his face. The tech began frantically describing how to manually shut down the reactor from the core relay. He pleaded for his life and sobbed as he explained it was the only way to shut it down. Connors motioned to two marines and they ran off out of the room down a short corridor to the Core access hatch. Connors kicked the console over as it was not usless and walked over to the crying tech. The man was laying on the floor now half sobbing and pleading for his life. Connors knelled down and spoke.

"We wont kill you were the good guys."

He motioned to a marine and the tech they had drug out was drug back into the control room very much alive. Connors grinned at the man then turned and walked out of the control room He would soon have the ships power off and it dead in space. As for the remaining twenty thousand or so crew well that was pointless now. with Inferno onboard the ship would soon be on lock down.

Sergeant Lawless pushed the last of the Imperial crewmen up against the sealed bridge foyer doors.  With a sharp kick behind the patella, the Inferno Marine knocked the sailor onto his knees.  Lawless' gauntlet-covered hand pressed the man's face up against the cold metal.  If they want to blast the way through the bridge doors, they can go ahead and try.  Let them take out their own men.  Lawless strolled back towards his squad, already lined up with their blaster's raised.  His tongued toggled his helmet's comlink.

"Eight, go ahead, snap a picture of them lined up just like that and send it via the ship's communication system to their security stations."

A marine to his right briefly lowered his carbine and snapped a quick shot of the captured men with a camera tangling from a lanyard attached to his chest rig.

"All right sarge, I got a decent pic."

"Double check your weapons," ordered Lawless.

The Inferno troopers double-checked their weapons and murmurred through their comlinks that they were set.  Lawless briefly raised his hand, and promptly flagged it down.  Half a dozen men fired their weapons at the kneeling men.  Bright blue stun bolts smacked into them, subduing them.  One of the men attempted to rise but Lawless snapped off a shot with his pistol; the man collapsed onto the floor almost a half meter from where he had kneeled previously.  At least we won't have to worry about keeping too close of an eye on them.  He turned his head to Six.

"Six, double check the prisoners, make they're all stunned and start searching them.  If there's anything interesting on them, I need to know about it.  Everyone else, you know what to do."

The troops broke off to their predesignated roles.  Two other squads of marines were taking care of the crewpits below, performing the same tasks as his men just had.  Lawless sat down in the ship's command chair, grateful that the captain's code cylinder was still inserted.  The lights on the bridge suddenly went dim.  The sergeant briefly looked out of the bridge viewport, but quickly noticed that there wasn't any significant damage to the outside of the craft that hadn't already existed when they had boarded the craft.  The rebels must have taken over the power core.  We're running on auxilliary power...Shouldn't effect our plans too much though.  The soldier quietly waded through the various screens of the ship's commander.  While he was not intimately familiar with all of the programs, it wasn't too foreign from the ship's controls had seen before.  Finally, he reached the security screen and tapped multiple options, locking down all the doors and turbolifts within the starship.  Travel inside the starship went down to a standstill.  Below him, several marines switched the ship's course via manual use of the etheric rudders, sending the star destroyer on a course out of the battlefield.  Another set of marines tampered with the environmental controls, turning off the artificial gravity and excessively thinning out the atmosphere on areas where they knew the rebels below didn't occupy.  Lawless was content to think that within fifteen minutes, most of the crewmen on the ship would be unconscious due to hypoxia, though they would still live a bit longer assuming the marines restored to them oxygen from time to time.  We'll still have to worry a bit about the stormies though I suppose.  But they can't have too much in terms of emergency air...what was it, thirty minutes?  Soon, they'll be just as vulnerable as the rest of their comrades...

***

Efreeti-class Battlecruiser Husdant, Draenell's Point

"It's headed out of the area," mused Seic'lar, "I'd say it's safe to say the star destroyer is no longer a threat..."

"That just leaves one.  That is much more doable," mused Kre'fey, stroking his fur, "it is only a matter of time now."

The batteries of the Husdant turned to fire on Fossk's last remaining star destroyer active in the battle.  Bright red-orange plasma shells chiseled away at the Imperial ship's shielding.  More weapons fire from the star destroyer, including ion cannon batteries, answered it.  A flurry of damage control reports announced that the Husdant was now suffering more minor system fluctuations and even outright failures.  Ion Cannon fire can be such a pain at times...but we will prevail.  But as the star destroyer focused it's attention on the Inferno Fleet flagship, the other alleged mercenary vessels of the fleet swept in to surround and blanked the Imperial ship in a firestorm.  Dozens of the makeshift Torch gunships fired their weapons at an intermediate distance from the heavy cruiser, while some hundreds of kilometers away, the artillery frigates slowly closed in and continued to bombard the star destroyer.  Skimming just over the hull of the opposing vessels, Cerberus cruisers unleashed volleys of plasblast missiles and heavy disruptor fire into the Imperial heavy cruiser.  Its shields crackled before cascading into a series of localized failures.  We have them now...