The Past
Last moments of Cloud City

The city was filling with the smell of smoke. For hours now explosions had torn through the floating city, sending shockwaves across the fabricated surface. The fires that were still burning were fighting with the surviving residents for control of the oxygen, still being laboriously produced by the overtaxed environmental control system.

There was little doubt that the city would fall. Imperial forces were pulling back, defending the centre as their numbers, and those of the militia that fought beside them, grew fewer.

Those huddled in the centre heard now the shouts of the advancing Sovereignty army, drowned out only by the outburst of weapons nearby or the screaming of the enemy’s atmospheric ships, sending deadly cargo into the heart of the city.

The city began to tremble, the ground rising up, and for a moment there was dead calm.

Then, the city exploded.

The blast was visible from orbit, the massive reactor that kept Cloud City from plunging into Bespin’s turbulent gasses blowing apart, and the fire igniting the volatile tibanna gas that was the planet’s atmosphere.

Within minutes, the planet had calmed once more. But the city, and the lives of some million people, were gone.


The Present

“War, General, has been our present company for longer than I care to imagine. I have no desire to begin another war with whoever has managed to wrangle control of Bespin away from the Coalition.”

The conference room of the Valhalla was empty save for the two individuals. Bhindi Drayson, who had spoken, and an older man wearing the black and silver uniform that was the standard of the Black Fleet.

“With all due respect, Admiral, Bespin is no longer much of any use to those who now occupy it. It is little more than a wasteland, lacking either any amount of tibanna gas or a platform to support life. The need to defend it is small.”

“As then is our need to retake it. What use to us is this world that is, as you say, so little use to our enemy?”

The General shrugged.

“Use? Only a little. But in the eyes of the galaxy – especially those who would oppose the Empire – it means much. The retaking of our stolen territory, the reestablishment of homes for the displaced… to prove that we do not take kindly to terrorism and theft.”

With a sigh, Bhindi nodded.

“If you will, General. The Empire certainly has the resources at hand to retake the world. You have my approval. You may take your task force and use what means you see fit to resecure Bespin.

But, General – do not fail me. You have asked for this mission. It is your responsibility to see it completed.?”



Bespin

The Empire’s first Expeditionary Fleet emerged from hyperspace, none the worse for wear from their short journey from the base at Ison. With the Zen at her head and the rest of the fleet spread to either side, the Imperial fleet stopped outside the planet’s gravity wells and stood ready.

“Shields report full strength, General.” The reports came in the same, one after another. Guns, charged and ready. Missile tubes, loaded. Fighters, deployed. Jamming was established, cutting the system off from the rest of the galaxy.

From the bridge of the flagship, General Vladameer prepared to command the liberation of Bespin.

Fleet Manifest:
Archangel ASD Zen
Eternal ASD Shadowcaster
Eternal ASD Black Asp
Eternal ASD Corusca Star
Eternal ASD Killik Twilight
SATAP Steel Rain
SATAP Crimson Tide
6 Fire LF
Full fighter compliment (SAS & TIE Defender)

Bespin
Cloud City

The office of Administraitor Tomas Alepel was located several yards from where the former office of the administraitor had been. The error in the reconstruction of Cloud City had been small, but enough to throw off any attempts at an exact replica. The private contracting firm who had overseen the construction had been docked heavily for such a blunder. Belgardi tour guides were as a result forced to add a note everytime they spoke about how exact the replica of the floating city was, stating the minor measurment errors which had slanted the final product.

Since obtaining Bespin from the Black Dragon Empire, in negotations held in the Tion Cluster, Belgardi Ltd had ramped up restoration efforts of the valuable gas giant. With vast untapped tinbanna reserves, and a marketable history that was boon to tourism, the company spared no expense in recreating the unique, orginal atmposphere of Bespin, replete with replica repulsolift cities floating among the clouds. Much of the expensive renovation had been paid with profit from the tinbanna mining, which was quite the lucrative bussiness.

Tomas Alepel was in fact reviewing a profit analysis report on a recent sale of Tinbanna to a defense contractor working independently in the Anthos Republic, when his office com-link beeped. Looking down at the flashing light, he noted the orange color, meaning the comminque had come via tightbeam rentenna, signfying it had eminated from Bespin's private defense fleet. Why the fleet was resorting to the highly encrypted, short range communication was an instant bad omen. It signifyed that something was interfering with tradition transmissions.

"Administraitor Alepel speaking."

"Administraitor, this is Commodore Hulsy, of the Fireburst."

Alepel recognized Hulsy as the overall commander of the Belgardi Bespin defense fleet.

"Yes Commodore?"

"I would just like to warn you sir, that a contingent of warships has entered the system. They have begun jamming all transmissions, and are currently being considered as hostile."

"Do you have any indentification?"

"No sir. Our sensors are reporting that they have launched TIE Defenders, but that model of fighter has been known to have been in use by several major powers. We are reading seven large capital class, and six escort vessels. Model and affiliation unknown."

Hulsy delivered this news with a calm, bussiness like tone. Alepel wondered how the man reported the arrival, totally unexpected of an enemy fleet, without any trace of distress.

"Will you be able to hold them off?"

Alepel noted after those words the level of fear he had conveyed to the Commodore. If Hulsy noticed, he didn't mention it.

"We'll stay close to the planet, and use our planetary defenses to our advantage. I would recommend raising the planetary shields and prepping the turbolaser batteries. Also, launching the auxillary HLAF squadrons would be helpful"

Alepel nodded his head, though Hulsy was on an audio link only. Belgardi, noting the destruction of the last Cloud City, and the investment they had made in restoring and building a new one, had installed several flaoting defensive platforms to house planetary defenses. The thought of a protective shield and the large turbolaser batteries which Alepel had toured upon his arrival to Bespin comforted him greatly.

"It will be done immediatly. I also yield all my power on defense matters to you, pending the outcome of this battle."

"I appreciate it. Hulsy out."



The Belgardi fleet formed up over the swirling gasses of Bespin, holding a standard defensive formation behind a relativly small minefield. The ships went to full alert, launched their fighters, raised shields and weapons, and prepared for combat. Meanwhile, the planetary defenses began powering up, waiting long enough for the 4 ground based HLAF squadrons to rise into the upper atmosphere, before engaging the planetary shield.

Bespin was ready for battle, but against whom, remained to be seen.

OOC Manifest:

Immolator Class Battlecruiser- Fireburst
*48 HLAF-500s
Immolator Class Battlecruiser- Infinity
*48 HLAF-500s
Immolator Class Battlecruiser- Paradigm
*48-HLAF-500s
Rapier II-class Gunship- Estoc
Rapier II-class Gunship- Flamberge
Rapier II-class Gunship- Scimtar
Rapier II-class Gunship- Rapier
Rapier II-class Gunship- Broadsword
Punisher Class Pocket Cruiser- Punisher I
Punisher Class Pocket Cruiser- Punisher II
Punisher Class Pocket Cruiser- Punisher III
Punisher Class Pocket Cruiser- Punisher IV
Punisher Class Pocket Cruiser- Punisher V
Punisher Class Pocket Cruiser- Punisher VI
Punisher Class Pocket Cruiser- Punisher VII
Punisher Class Pocket Cruiser- Punisher VIII
Punisher Class Pocket Cruiser- Punisher IX
Punisher Class Pocket Cruiser- Punisher X

Bespin:
Gencore Level II Shield Generator
Gencore Level II Shield Generator
KDY Advanced Turbolaser Network
KDY Advanced Turbolaser Network
30,000 HM/2 Mines
96 HLAF-500 Fighters

“Any contact?” The General asked, watching the opposing fleet form up just beyond the reach of their defensive minefield.

“None, Sir. But we’ve detected surface defences coming online… Planetary shields and turbolasers. The fleet is holding inside their effective firing range so far.”

It was a pretty standard showdown – with one side hovering inside the range of their defences and the other side waiting to make their move. The trick of the matter was to do the unexpected.

“How far does that planetary shield extend?” The General asked, studying his TAC and frowning.

“Roughly to the level of their floating city, Sir.” Under normal circumstances, a planetary shield would provide excellent protection against an invading fleet. Unfortunately for the new owners of Bespin, the sheer size of the gas giant meant that even a powerful shield was stretched… and unlike on a standard sized world, where the shield would project only into the middle atmosphere, here it projected all the way out to cover the city, and therefore each section of the grid like shield was weaker than it may have been otherwise.

Which would explain why they had established two of the devices.

“To much power…” The General said, speaking mostly to himself. He typed a command into his computer, watching the numbers scroll by, and nodded.

“Helm, transmit this to the Eternals and have them prepare to execute on my mark.”

Then he stopped, and smiled.

“Open a line with the opposing fleet. I wish to speak with them.”

It took a moment for the Imperial vessel to lower the jamming across the single frequency and establish a communications link, but soon the light that indicated the com’s activity turned from red to green, indicating that he could talk to the other commander.

“This is General Vladameer, of the Imperial Navy Black Fleet. The world of Bespin was once a constituent of the Empire, before the terrorists who called themselves the Outer Rim Sovereignty stole it from us – and had it turn stolen from them.

“Today, the New Order returns to Bespin to reclaim what was once hers and restore the homes of those that have been so fortunate to survive the Bespin Massacre. You are thereby given one week, starting from the end of this transmission, to retreat Bespin and leave her to the Empire. You are free to take what you may, and the Empire shall reimburse you for what has been lost on your account.

“I warn you, however, that failure to comply with these demands is akin to Open War with the New Order. Bespin is the property of the Empire, now and forever.

“What say you?”

The line was left open, giving the opposing forces the chance to respond in kind (should they so desire). And still, the Imperial fleet held her position, standing out of range of any of the planetary guns (or, indeed, those of the fleet).

“Now,” the General addressed the bridge officers, “we wait.”

Immolator Battlecruiser Fireburst

“This is General Vladameer, of the Imperial Navy Black Fleet. The world of Bespin was once a constituent of the Empire, before the terrorists who called themselves the Outer Rim Sovereignty stole it from us – and had it turn stolen from them.

“Today, the New Order returns to Bespin to reclaim what was once hers and restore the homes of those that have been so fortunate to survive the Bespin Massacre. You are thereby given one week, starting from the end of this transmission, to retreat Bespin and leave her to the Empire. You are free to take what you may, and the Empire shall reimburse you for what has been lost on your account.

“I warn you, however, that failure to comply with these demands is akin to Open War with the New Order. Bespin is the property of the Empire, now and forever.

“What say you?”

And so the Empire laid down the gauntlet. The galaxies pre-eminent super-power had come to reclaim what was 'theirs'. No matter that Bespin had been obtained by Belgardi in a legal deal with another superpower. If the Empire had attacked any sooner, then they would have inagurated a war with the mighty Black Dragon Empire.

If fighting broke out, Commodore Hulsy, was going to make the Imperials wish that the dragons still controled the gas giant.

"Ensign."

Ensign Terus, the Immolators bridge communication specialist answered.

"Commodore?"

"Please copy that transmission to Administrator Alepel via the tightbeam renteena, then open the channel to the Imperial fleet."

"Yes sir."

Husly looked out his viewport, toward the massive Imperial flagship. He was uncertain of its make or model, but did not doubt its potentcy. Somewhere aboard it (he couldn't make out the location of its bridge) was his counterpart, General Vladameer. Hulsy knew that the General, having risen to such a position in the Black Fleet, the pride of the Yaga Minor Protectorate would be quite skilled in tactical combat. Very soon, Hulsy would be discovering how skilled Vladameer was in tactical diplomacy.

Hulsy already knew what Administator Alepel was going to say after hearing the transmission: he couldn't do anything without approval from higher ups, which in effect meant Rico Belgardi. That meant communication with Pavo Prime, the corporate headquarters of the Belgardi Limited. That long range communication was not available, due to the Imperials jamming. Hulsy was going to ask Vladameer to lower the jamming so that Belgardi could be reached.

How Vladameer reacted would really show how sincere the Empire was. Lowering the jamming could possibly allow Hulsy to send for reinforcements, or bombard the galaxy with the message of Bespin's "plight." However, if the Imperials didn't lower the jamming, then they were garunteed a battle, whereas by lowering they opened the door for a diplomatic settlement. There was risk involved true, though Hulsy had not real intention as of yet to plead for reinforcements- they would never reach Bespin in time.

Still Hulsy would have made a freindly bet as to what option Vladameer would choose. And he wasn't planning any transmissions to his wife anytime soon.

"Your on Commodore." Ensign Terus prompted.

Turning from the visage of the Imperial fleet, Hulsy composed his thoughts then spoke briefly.

"This Commodore Hulsy, ranking member of the Belgardi defense fleet Bespin. I have relayed your communication to my civillian superior on the surface, and have been informed that to comply with any of you demands it will be necessary that you lower the illegal jamming field you have currently in place around soverign Belgardi Ltd space."

Hulsy was brash because he felt that such speech would not diminish the already miniscule chance of the Empire lowering its communcation blackout.

"I have been asked to express Belgardi's wishes to obtain a peacful, diplomatic solution to your proposal, and note that Belgardi has not nor will begin hostile action unless sufficently provoked."

With that said, Hulsy waited. He didn't think the current peace over Bespin would last very long at all.....

The bridge was silent for a long moment as General Vladameer listened to the transmission from the defence fleet. It was clear to both sides what the situation was – either Belgardi would give in a yield Bespin, or a fight would ensue. A fight that, regardless of what happened here today, the Empire would win.

“Run a check on this Belgardi.” The General ordered once Husly stopped speaking. “I want to know everything about them.”

In the meantime, he turned back to the Belgardi fleet. For a Corporate defence force, it was impressive (to say the least). Almost too grandiose to belong to a business venture that held several worlds. For it to not only belong to Belgardi, but to be stationed over Bespin in an (apparently) permanent manner meant that the Corporation either had far more funding at their disposal than they let on (judging by their renown (or lack thereof) on the galactic stock markets…).

And that wasn’t even taking into consideration the planetary defences… and the reconstructed floating city that was the largest thing on the Imperial sensor boards. Something fishy was indeed going on, and Belgardi was a part of it. That much was for certain.

“Orders, Sir?” The communications officer asked, bending over the controls that could, at the touch of a button, deactivate the jamming fields and allow the Belgardi fleet to communicate. For good or ill.

With a sigh, Vladameer pressed the button that reactivated his link with Husly’s ship, and spoke.

“Commodore Husly, this is General Vladameer. On behalf of the New Order, I am refusing your request to lower jamming fields in Sovereign Imperial Space. This system, Sir, belongs to the Empire, and as such any measures we enact to protect it are not illegal.

Nor is this Belgardi space. The seizing of Bespin, and the destruction of Nimbus I, were illegal actions, and as such any party you may have dealt with regarding the control of Bespin did so illegally. I suggest you take up any issues this raises with them. I am hereby ordering you to power down your weapons and shields, and prepare for departure from this system. This is your only warning. Failure to heed it will result in action necessary to reclaim this system.

Vladameer out.”

Turning and cutting the transmission, he palmed another button and the holograms of the Eternal captains appeared around him.

“You’re ready?” He asked, gazing at each of the men in turn.

“Aye, General.” They replied, almost in unison. Imperial, born and bred.

“Good. If the Belgardis don’t back down, I’ll want you to execute immediately. Wait for my mark.”

The holograms vanished, and the General turned back to the opposing fleet. They knew – they must have known – that they couldn’t win against the Empire.

“Run, little man. Run.” Vladameer said to himself.

It was folly.

The Imperial response was almost exactly what Commodore Hulsy expected. Disenheartening, but not unexpected. The Empire rarely chose concords over conquest- not that Hulsy would have done things differently.

You can afford to be bullies when you rule the most of the playground.

The Imperial fleet had seen few setbacks in recent years, and had some pretty stunning victories. Impressive wins over the New Republic, Jutraalian Empire, Holy Demothesian Empire, Ridge Confederacy, Outer-Rim Soveringty and Galactic Coalition had easily proven the Imperial's claim as the preminent galactic powerhouse. There was simply no denying it.

The huge wedge shaped vessel that was the Imperial flagship seemed ominious, looming over the perspective battlefield. Hulsy stared at it for a moment- understanding what it represented, in essence Imperial power. Soon he would feel first hand exactly how mighty the Empire's iron fist was.

"Copy the transmission to Alepel, and make a dump of it and the previous transmission. I'd also like the holo-recording of the upcoming battle to be included in dump."

The simple, non-chalant command braced the crew off the Fireburst for what was about to occur.

"Bring the fleet's tightbeam rentenna's online."

The Belgardi vessels which made up the bulk of the defense force would be able to hear every command Hulsy would utter, no matter what type of jamning was in place. The Rapier II gunships, a non-belgardi model, had captains and crews specially trained to respond to the other ships movements. Being primary anti-fighter platforms, their job would be self-explanitory, to put up flak shields for the defensive formation.

"Fleet communication's online."

"Alert all captain's we will be moving into defensive formation Xavi 4 on my mark. Also, open a link to the Imperials."

Hulsy waited for a moment, until his communications officer gave alerted him they had established a link.

"General, I apologize, but due to the fact that you will not lower your jamning feild, I cannot recieve the proper authorization for my forces to stand down."

Which was true, though Hulsy could have done so if he had felt to terribly outmatched.

"I apologize for the fact that Bespin was once Imperial property. However, Belgardi Ltd was not the power who took the planet, and we were never notified of the Empire's intention to reclaim this world."

Hulsy was fairly confident that the Empire would have left Bespin alone, if it was still under the jurisdiction of the Black Dragon Empire.

"Pending the proper authorization, my forces will stand ready, to protect Belgarid assets."

Hulsy signaled and the link was cut.

"Power up weapons and shields to full power, and sound the general quarters. Also, activate the Deciever, and be prepared to angle shield energy."

And the Fireburst's crew began efficently eecuting their orders, and prepared to relay them to the rest of the fleet.

"Tell the captain's begin moving to defensive positions."



The Belgardi force settled in behind the minefield, whose edges lay within range of the planet-based defenses.

The three Immolator cruisers occupied the center of the formation, sitting in a flat line three abreast. Forming up in front of them were three of the Punisher class pocket cruisers, while a wedge of three pocket cruisers anchored the flanks of the Immolators. Those ships sat at a 45 degree angle "outward" to better recieve attacks from their respective sides. A final pocket cruiser sat as a rearguard, situated parellel to the Immolators, but facing back toward the planet.

Situated above and below the punisher wedges on the flanks were 2 squadrons a peice of HLAF's, to act as fighter screens. Meanwhile the 5 Rapier II Gunships pushed in close to the center formation, ready to slaughter any snub-craft that dared enter their kill zone.

And thus the waiting game began.

The bridge was silent for a long moment as General Vladameer listened to the transmission from the defence fleet. It was clear to both sides what the situation was – either Belgardi would give in a yield Bespin, or a fight would ensue. A fight that, regardless of what happened here today, the Empire would win.

“Run a check on this Belgardi.” The General ordered once Husly stopped speaking. “I want to know everything about them.”

In the meantime, he turned back to the Belgardi fleet. For a Corporate defence force, it was impressive (to say the least). Almost too grandiose to belong to a business venture that held several worlds. For it to not only belong to Belgardi, but to be stationed over Bespin in an (apparently) permanent manner meant that the Corporation either had far more funding at their disposal than they let on (judging by their renown (or lack thereof) on the galactic stock markets…).

And that wasn’t even taking into consideration the planetary defences… and the reconstructed floating city that was the largest thing on the Imperial sensor boards. Something fishy was indeed going on, and Belgardi was a part of it. That much was for certain.

“Orders, Sir?” The communications officer asked, bending over the controls that could, at the touch of a button, deactivate the jamming fields and allow the Belgardi fleet to communicate. For good or ill.

With a sigh, Vladameer pressed the button that reactivated his link with Husly’s ship, and spoke.

“Commodore Husly, this is General Vladameer. On behalf of the New Order, I am refusing your request to lower jamming fields in Sovereign Imperial Space. This system, Sir, belongs to the Empire, and as such any measures we enact to protect it are not illegal.

Nor is this Belgardi space. The seizing of Bespin, and the destruction of Nimbus I, were illegal actions, and as such any party you may have dealt with regarding the control of Bespin did so illegally. I suggest you take up any issues this raises with them. I am hereby ordering you to power down your weapons and shields, and prepare for departure from this system. This is your only warning. Failure to heed it will result in action necessary to reclaim this system.

Vladameer out.”

Turning and cutting the transmission, he palmed another button and the holograms of the Eternal captains appeared around him.

“You’re ready?” He asked, gazing at each of the men in turn.

“Aye, General.” They replied, almost in unison. Imperial, born and bred.

“Good. If the Belgardis don’t back down, I’ll want you to execute immediately. Wait for my mark.”

The holograms vanished, and the General turned back to the opposing fleet. They knew – they must have known – that they couldn’t win against the Empire.

“Run, little man. Run.” Vladameer said to himself.

It was folly.


"Pending the proper authorization, my forces will stand ready, to protect Belgarid assets."

And what, exactly, did that mean? That this Commodore Husly was not already within the bounds of his own law to ‘defend’ Bespin? Or that they were merely waiting for authorization to break the jamming – in which case Vladameer could guarantee it would never come.

As it was, the entire Belgardi fleet was situated behind the mine field – some thirty thousand mines hovering en mass over one small portion of the planet. Nineteen capital ships – none of which were larger than the Zen, but some of which looked formidable in spite of it.

“Belgardi forces have activated weapons, General.” The report came from sensors. The waiting game had begun in earnest – and the air on the Zen’s bridge began to grow heavy, despite the efforts of the ship’s environmental controls.

“Well, that’s that.” The General said, heaving a sigh. “That’s direct violation of our orders. Weapons, instruct all vessels to prepare a barrage. Targets: Alpha, Bravo, Charlie. On my mark.”

There was a moment’s wait as the order was relayed, and the ships moved into position.

“Mark. Fire one.”

Another pause, and then the fiery streams of dozens of missiles lanced out from the fleet, streaming in towards the Belgardi defence forces. Before they could impact, Vladameer ordered the second firing, and an instant later the third.

Within two seconds, more than 1000 missiles and proton torpedoes were clearing the distance between the opposing fleets, passing through the minefield (a few falling prey to unlucky mines and exploding) and smashing into the shields of the leading enemy ships. The first wave created gaps in their shields, which more warheads from the second wave (arriving only milliseconds later) exploited and widened, creating a gap through which the final wave poured, smashing into hull and sending pieces of the warships into space.

From the bridge of the Zen, well out of range of naval or planetary fire, General Vladameer sighed.

“Ready barrage two. Inform me if the Belgardi commander attempts contact.”

Now it was more than a simple waiting game. If the enemy came forward, they would lose the protection of their planetary guns. If they failed to do so, the Imperial fleet could continue to pound them from a distance. Eventually, the Belgardi fleet would have to succumb. The Empire could load and fire far faster than they could even attempt repairs

The multitude of missiles flew forward, a deadly swarm of destructive mayhem. Passing among the minefield, the slammed upon the Belgardi ships in three waves, with the majority of the projectiles targeting the three forward Punisher class Pocket Cruisers.

Commodre Hulsy watched from the viewport of the Fireburst as one of the small cruisers were pelted with over 70% of the deadly warheads. Punisher VIII exploded in a gargantuan flame that consumed some unsued missiles in its wake. The keel of Punisher IX broke and the ship's hull collapsed, shattering the ship into two large chunks that were broken up by other missiles thats slammed into the shrapnel that filled the space where the vessel had once sat. Punisher X fared somewhat better, maintaining it's hull intergity, but venting some gasses and showing serious damage. It was unlikely to survive much longer.

The missiles which bypassed those ships however, were scattered upon a multitude of targets, and met by a firestorm of anti-missile fire from both the Immolator's laser gattlings and the Rapier II gunships specialized laser cannons. Overall, damage to the fleet behind the small pocket cruiser screen was negligable.

But the message had been sent.

Hulsy quickly realized that the current defensive situation was not to his advantage. His ships had far fewer warhead launchers than the Imperials, and would unable to trade favorablly at the current range. Still, Hulsy knew his advantage lay in his defenses and position, and to abandon the saftey of his planet and space based defenses was an exercise in futility. So a compromise would have to be made.

"Prepare targeting telemtry for the Immolators . Hold for salvo's on my mark."

Hulsy had fewer warheads than the Empire, but he had seen the Imperial's effectivly employ their warheads and had an idea of how to use his own, more limited supply.

"Prepare to fall back, defensive formation Max Delta. Pocket cruiser's and Rapier's first."

The Imperial ships would be well defended against any missile barrage, but enough missiles would make it past defenses toward a single concentrated target. That was the idea anyway.

"Began fleet manuevers."

The Belgardi fleet became a torrent of activity as its smaller ships pivoted and began withdrawing from its position right behind the minefield. They were pulling back to a point much closer to Bespin's atmosphere, so that if the Empire wished to engage, they would be forced to come at least in range of the planet's powerful planetary turbolasers.

As the pocket cruisers, fighters and gunships began to move, the three large capitals, the Immolators, turned sideways to expose all their warhead tubes to the enemy.

"Fire now."

On key, each Imolator discharged 33 proton torpedo's in a wide salvo. Two groups of missles began to form up, of 45 and 44, though parts of the two salvos had a small lead over the missles that had longer courses. The two groups were aimed at a pair of FCLC's.

As the missiles shoot forward the Imperial vessels, the Belgardi fleet began to form up into its new defensive position...

OOC-

Punisher Class Pocket Cruiser- Punisher VIII- Destroyed
Punisher Class Pocket Cruiser- Punisher IX- Destroyed
Punisher Class Pocket Cruiser- Punisher X- Crippled/Severly damaged

“Damage assessment is coming in now, General.” The report came from the sensor station. It was hardly necessary, though, with the flaming wreckage of two of the targeted ships visible even from the Empire’s position. Another of the ships, off to one side, had darkened, and it was clear as the remaining ships fell back that she was crippled, unable to move with the rest of the fleet.

“Thank you, Lieutenant.” Vladameer returned, offering a sigh. Those were relatively small ships, and if this was a Corporate fleet one could assume they were lightly crewed. But all of those deaths were caused by him. But if Belgardi hadn’t forced us to act… He shook his head. If the ORS had never taken Bespin in the first place. No. The blood shed here was on his hands. Too many families would be receiving depressing letters from family when this was all done.

No time now to dwell on that. What was done was done, and whatever might come would come.


The returning wave was expected, and with its relatively smaller numbers was easily shot out of the sky by the fleet’s antimissile cannons.

“Captain, are we still in missile range?” Vladameer ordered calmly, standing and striding down the command walkway, hands clasped behind his black.

“Negative, Sir. Maximum targeting range will be inside their planetary defense coverage.”

That was to be expected. But being within the gravity mass shadow of a planet the size of Bespin meant their own maneuverability would be severely restricted. There was no way the Belgrade fleet could gain an advantageous position over the Empire having retreated so far. They were, as the old adage went, stuck between a rock and a hard place.

“All right.” Vladameer said, observing the enemy formation carefully. They were lined up in a pretty basic defensive formation, close in to the planetary shield. “Form the fleet into a column.” He ordered.

It was a risky move. History had shown that a line was almost always better in open combat than a column – in the old days of field war lines of soldiers would stand and fire at one another until one of them had killed more of the enemy than the other. There was some irony in the fact that, as much as technology had changed in the thousands of years since then, tactics had not. Capital ship combat followed the same basic principle – two lines of ships would trade fire until one side had won.

The first rule of combat, the General thought, watching the rest of the fleet form behind the Zen, is to do the unexpected.

With his flagship in the lead, and the rest of the fleet tucked in to evade the fire from the enemy ground defenses, the Empire moved in. Shields were angled and strengthened, almost overlapping to envelope the whole of the flotilla in one protective shell. And the Starfury fighters, piloted remotely from the Star Avengers, provided rearguard action, buzzing about the rear of the fleet to intercept enemy fighters. The TIEs held in close, protected from enemy fire and mines by the bulk of the fleet.

“Entering the minefield now, General.” The weapons officer reported evenly. “Opening fire.”

Indeed, the antimissile turrets and laser cannons of the fleet were shooting off, easily intercepting the mines that came towards the fleet. The few that made it through this gauntlet impacted harmlessly against the shields, alone to weak to hurt the fleet.

“Time to firing range?” Vladameer asked, watching as the fleet drew closer to the Belgardi formation.

“Coming into effective range now, General.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant. All batteries, begin synchronized firing.”

With timing facilitated by the fleet’s Multi-XMAP networks, the guns began to fire, pouring trillions of terajoules of energy into the enemy forces.

“Prepare volley two.” Ordered the General, walking back from the viewports and taking a seat in his chair. “Target the enemy command cruisers.”

The Imperial fleet’s advance was met with no coordinated action, merely a disjointed and mostly futile fusillade spread across the breadth of the fleet. Not that even a synchronized effort by the enemy might have done any significant damage to the Zen; the command ship was one of the most heavily shielded vessels of the entire fleet. As it was, though, the fleet closed and engaged the enemy, breaking their column and coming on firing at close range. They were near enough now to the Belgardi vessels that, where their surface guns to fire, they would run almost an equal risk of hitting their own vessels as they would hitting the Empire’s ships.

“Coming into range of the cannons now, General.” The weapons officer reported from the pit. That meant that the great ship’s heaviest weapons could now be brought into play.

Vladameer paused, looking out the forward viewports to the Belgardi fleet and shaking his head. It was to late, he knew, to offer them another chance of surrender. Imperial protocol demanded that, now that the battle was underway and the Imperial ships had taken fire (however minor), the enemy was to receive no quarter.

And so they would fight on.

“Prepare firing on my mark. Away missiles.”

And once more, the missile tubes spat out their deadly firing, straight this time into the maws of the largest enemy vessels. The fighters warheads were absent, but the effect was nonetheless impressive as the torpedoes and missiles splashed against enemy shields and ruptured hull plating.

The layered volley did its work well, opening the shields of the enemy vessels and allowing Vladameer’s command ship to pour its deadliest fire yet into her hull. The continuous beam turbolasers burned armour away and struck deep into the vessel’s hull, carving out a deep crater before shutting down to cool.

And only half had yet fired, the others waiting for the next gap in the enemy’s shields to deliver their own damage.

Presently, the fleet (the Zen in particular, but the Star Avengers also) turned their guns to these enemies, turning the area around the new formed craters into a twisted molten mass. The lead Belgardi vessel, with these damages sustained, now began to drift away from the battlefield, lights flickering as she went.

And the Imperial fleet fought on. Now the two remaining large cruisers were taking the onslaught of the Zen and her spherical escorts. The other ships – the Star Destroyers – were dealing handily with the enemy’s smaller vessels, and the Fire Frigates engaging the enemy escort vessels.

The fighters continued to hang back, wary of the enemy’s anti-starfighter vessels and preferring to keep out of the range of their guns.

From the bridge of his flag, General Vladameer offered a thin smile.

“Continue firing. Mr. Belgardi must learn the price of the Empire’s Wrath, if he wishes to oppose the New Order.”

Deaths nonwithstanding. They were on Belgardi’s hands now. Let him write the sad letters home, and explain exactly why so many sons would die in a fruitless struggle.

---

Damages:
Immolator Class Battlecruiser- Fireburst -- Crippled/Out of Action
Immolator Class Battlecruiser- Infinity -- Moderate Damage
Immolator Class Battlecruiser- Paradigm -- Moderate Damage
Rapiers - Moderate to Heavy Damage
Punishers - Light Damage to 3, Moderate to Heavy Damage to 4