"Contact from the Imperium, Admiral." A voice came beside her, speaking with the appropriate still-nervous awe at the commander, sitting their regarding the planet below. Bhindi turned her head, almost carelessly, and nodded, signalling the man to go on.

"They've reached the light side, sesnor scans of the Imperial fleet confirmed. A small detacthement appears to have broken off to engage us."

Bhindi nodded, checking pulling the sensor display from the Super Star Destroyer up on her screen, a tight smile forming. They were indeed breaking up. Either the Jutraalian commander was overconfident... or it was a trap. And knowing that it was Gash Jiren in command of this fleet, she was certain it was the latter, and not the former, that was the case.

"Order the Imperium to continue on her course, Captain." She said. There was a pause as the Captain turned to relay that, wondering at the reasoning behind the orders. Surely the force they had sent would be better spent on the smaller battle group...

"You are wondering, Captain, why we do not turn and engage the oncoming forces?" Bhindi said cooly, turning again to look at the man.
"Uh, yes, Admiral. Not that I have any doubt in your-" Bhindi waved the further speech away, nodding.
"Of course not, Captain. It is simply logistics. If we attack this group," she indicated the smaller of the two forces on the screen., "then the other group moves in to defend, with relitive ease. Furthermore, as soon as we begin our turn and the enemy can move to intercept, cutting back the effectiveness of our attack."

She smiled a cold, hard smile.

"This way, the second group must make a full 180 degrees in order to help their comrades. Which, considering the relitive turning time of an Imperator Class Star Destroyer at cruising speed, should give us just enough time to finish the business."

The Captain nodded, evidently satisfied with the Admiral's answer.

Bhindi watched on the sensor screen as the Super Star Destroyer came closer to the enemy formation. Long-range laser blasts became to lancce out from the Jutraalian ships... but the Imperium remained strangely quiet. Exactly as planned, so far.

"Order Imperium to alter course to port by five degrees." Bhindi ordered calmly, and watched the massive ship swing a few dozen meters to her left. The deadly arrowhead point of the massive ship was now aimed directly at the rightermost of the two enemy Imperator Class vessels. It should have been clear, now, that the Imperial vessel was alligned to ram the enemy craft, tentively identified as the True Empire.

And still, her laser batteries remained quiet, the only visible thing on the ship her thirteen massive ion engines.

"Thirteen," Bhindi said quietly. "What is the date in the Capital today?" She asked. The answer came back almost immediatly.

"The thirteenth, Admiral." She nodded. An odd coincidence, maybe. But then, perhaps not.

"Admiral! High-priority sensor contact from the Imperium!" A voice from the crew pit yelled. Bhindi tapped her screen again, indicating the Demosthenes and her support craft.
"Uh, Admiral?" The Captain said tentively.
"I heard him, Captain. Move the flagship closer into formation with the rest of the fleet. No sense taking more damage then neccessary when the Jutraalians decide to press their advantadge."

Bhindi waited for the sound of approaching footsteps to die away before turning away and looking over the ensign who had shouted his report only a moment ago.

"Admiral, we have-" His voice faltered at the glare of Bhindi, and he stood for a full minute while the Admiral looked him over.
"This is a military warship," she said at last, her voice cool and hard, "reports are not simply shouted in the general direction of their intended recipient. Do you understand?"

The man nodded and gulped.
"Yes, Admiral." Bhindi nodded.
"Now, report."

"We have a high-priority sensor contact from the Imperium. It's likely that Chadd Fearsons or Kamon Vondiranch, possibly both, are aboard."

Bhindi nodded, eyes twinkling. It made sense for the Jutraalians to send down their greatest warriors, to instill some sense of security into the people, perhaps, or to attempt to clear a landing zone for the troop transports that would follow.

"No..." She said, almost to softly for anyone else to hear.
"Admiral?" The Captain asked, obvioiusly confused.
"There is no one on that shuttle. At least, no one of importance."
"Admiral, the readings we get-"
"False, Captain. Do you really thing that Gash Jiren would send two Jedi, alone, to the surface, with our ships still in orbit. Even on the other side of the planet?" She added, seeing that the man was about to object again. "No... Gash Jiren was the Military Chancellor of the Republic. He is very adapt at designing, and executing, ruses. That shuttle is an attempt to have us reveal ourselves... we shan't do that."

There was a pause, and then the Captain spoke again.

"And if you're wrong, Admiral?" Bhindi's response was cold, the twinkle and smile gone.
"In the end, Captain, it hardly matters. The Imperium will mantain its current heading and proceed as planned. Oh, and Captain," she smiled grimly. "Prepare to abandon ship."

There was a brief silence as that went around the bridge, each crew member knowing full well what it meant.

(Gash: You have command of the Jedi Star fleet until further notice. Thank you.)

(OOC: Okay. I'll be posting tonight, Isstal.)

Gash smiled slightly. The ruse, of course, had failed, as it had been expected to. The wise tactician, though, never thought one-dimensionally. "We now have a read on the Demosthesians, I expect."

"Yes, sir. They seem to be on the dark side of this planet, as you predicted."

The Jedi Star fleet, now paralell to the Jutraalian fleet, hung in space to one side of the command vessel True Empire. "Sir, the Jedi Star vessels are requesting orders."

Gash smirked, slightly. The methodical shadow-boxing which always occured before direct combat was the most essential period of any battle; most were won or lost in those crucial minutes. "Bring Beta group around, ninety degree angle. Move them towards the Demosthesian vessels."

"And the Jedi Star ships?"

"Move them into the gap between us and the world. And begin to move Alpha down, towards the southern pole of Tholatin."

"Yes, sir."

"Have Beta fire off several warning shots at the Demosthesians. Try to attract their attention -- get them to concentrate on them."

OOC Fleet Positions:

TJE Alpha - moving towards south pole of Tholatin
TJE Beta - moving ninety degrees from former course, towards HDE vessels
OJS - moving towards the planet, into the approximate course of the HDE vessels

Kamon left Freefall in the hangar of the True Empire. He intended to go speak with Gash for a moment. He had something to give him.

He approached the turbolift and entered. His status as at Jutraalian Admiral allowing him to reach the bridge. He stepped out and walked over to Gash.

"I have something for you Gash."

He took a small disk from his pocket. It was about the size of a JedCred, but had the TTR symbol stamped on it. Kamon handed it to Gash.

"A reminder of how brutal the Demosthesians can be. That's a piece of the Serene Justice. It was destroyed in HDE's ambush outside of Commenor. The attack that started this war. I want you to have it."

The massive bulk of the Super Star Destroyer was drawing closer to the Jutraalian warships. The tip of the monolithic warship aimed directly at the heart of the enemy flagship.

Surely, by now, it must be apparent... if the Jutraalians didn't change course, the two warships would collide.
"Perhaps they consider it a worthy sacrafice, Admiral." One of the officers out forward, "An Imperator in return for a Super Star Destroyer..."

Bhindi nodded. That had occured to her already, of course. But if the Jutraalians refused to move, all the better for the Empire.

"Keep the ship on course. Are we nearly ready for the jump?" There was a nod from one of the com stations.
"Aye, Ma'am. A couple more minutes should do it."

Bhindi nodded.

"Let us teach the Jutraalians the foolishness of attacking the Holy Demosthesian Empire." She paused, considering. "Withdraw our fighters, save for those from the Devestator into their hanger bays. Prepare the rest of the fleet to jump."

Gash nodded and smiled to Kamon. "I haven't forgotten, my friend. And the Demosthesians won't forget this day, either -- for a long, long time to come."

The flagship of the Jutraalian fleet, of course, had long since moved away from the course of the Imperium. Perhaps it was simply a sensor glitch, caused by the sheer mass of the Super Star Destroyer, which led top Demosthesian officials to believe that Alpha Group had not begun moving down towards the southern pole of the planet.

Regardless, Gash Jiren, aboard the True Empire, now had a clear view of the slow, lumbering Star Destroyer -- from a fair distance below. The massive, often exposed superstructure of the incomplete vessel was instantly apparent -- as were the forces huddled beside and around it, as Beta Group had reported.

"Reverse direction in a shallow arc; move us into the Demosthesian fleet," Gash ordered. And, slowly, they did so, bringing Alpha Group around, to bear against the underbelly of the tediously moving Super Star Destroyer. For all the protection and camoflage it provided, it was extremely slow moving.

They closed in on the Demosthesian position, then, as did the Beta Group and Order of the Jedi Star vessels -- and, in the culmination of Gash's plan, the difficult position the enemy warships had been placed in finally became apparent; with the planet obstructing them on one side, Beta Group closed in on their other, the OJS ships approached from the front, and Alpha Group approached from below.

They were flanked -- and with no hope of escape, what with the natural gravity well projected by Tholatin.

"Deploy all remaining fighters," Gash said, "And have all groups open fire on all available targets on my mark."

They waited a moment, all three groups of vessels approaching the slowly moving Super Star Destroyer. Then Gash said, "Mark," and a truly catastrophic rain of fire poured forth from three directions, including the weak, undefended bottoms of the craft. The shieldless Super Star Destroyer errupted in flames at several locations, and the vessels surrounding it lit up with the saphire blue of their shields. Only the flagship of the fleet evaded their fire.

"Have available fighters fly into the exposed superstructure of that incomplete SSD," Gash ordered. "And search for the power core. They'll receive further orders once they've done so." They were able to do so largely unobstructed, of course, with the SSD being defenseless (and providing ample cover for strafing starfighters) and the Demosthesian fighters largely having already retreated into their carrier ships. Tactically cornered, numerically outnumbered and with increasingly few options, the Demosthesians were left with only one path available to them; one that lay behind. And such a retreat would take time, in the heat of battle, and be costly.

If Gash didn't know better, he contemplated in the glow of the lightshow, he would have thought that the Demosthesians had planned to ram the Jutraalian fleet with the Super Star Destroyer. Such a plan, they must have known, would be doomed to failure -- what with the lumbering slowness of the incomplete, barely-functional craft and her patched-on engines.

Kamon nodded.

"So it shall be. I must go. It is almost time for us to be deployed to the planet."

Kamon bowed to Gash then left the bridge. Entering the turbolift, he shot back down to the hangar bay. Then he walked up to Freefall.

"Let's load up my friend. It is almost our time to shine."

Kamon and Freefall prepared to load into thier ships. The two were ready to combat anything the HDE people could throw at them.

"There she goes," Bhindi said softly, watching as the True Empire finally began to move out of path of the Super Star Destroyer. Not to any direction, however... the ship was angling down. To such an angle that their active sensors would soon be sweeping over the Super Star Destroyer's underside and revealing the hidden craft...

"Now." The Fleet Admiral ordered, not taking her eyes from the sensor screen. An instant after the order had been issued, the Imperial warships emerged, appearing on the Jutraalian sensors in a blaze of ion eflux and laser fire. The entire group angled out from their location and shot across space towards the startled Jutraalian fleet, laser already firing.

The TIE Raptors had taken up flanking positions, and as the small force closed, a constant tone sounded from the command sectors for the TIEs, and dual concussion missiles lanced out, crossing the distance between the Jutraalian and Imperial fleets in an instant and erupting across the forward superstructure of the True Empire.

The enemy fleet attempted to return fire, of course, and shots landed across the reinforced forward shields of the small attack group, and half a dozen of the TIEs were blown out of space completely, more by luck than any real skill of the enemy gunners.

Then the ships were past, turning to hover some distance behind the enemy fleet. Where the Jutraalians to engage them, they would have to turn their entire armada around...

By now the planet's rotation had revealed the rest of the fleet, the smaller but errily similar dagger profile of the Demosthenes and her escorts, the Devestator in her holding position over the capital of Tholatin.

Bhindi smiled. The attack ground would already be reloading their missile launchers, but the Fleet Admiral knew that a repeat tactic wouldn't be nearly as effective as their surprise appearence.

"Open a link to the True Empire," Bhindi commanded. "I wish to speak with Master Jiren."

It was done, and at a nod from her com officer she spoke into the empty air.

"Master Jiren, I have no time to waste on pleasantries or the honours I am sure you deserve. I would simply look to inform you that you are in violation of Soveriegn Space," her voice dropped slightly, becoming colder, graver, "and the fate of the people of Tholatin is in your hands. Shut down your engines and weapons immediatly, or..." she trailed off, and in the same instant a single turbolaser blast lanced down from the Devestator, striking the surface below in a blinding flash.

"Do not worry, Master Jiren - the Royal Palace was empty. The next targets will not be. Their fate, Master Jedi, is in your hands."

The link was cut, and she frowned slightly.

"Prepare for battle. Jiren might take our threat the wrong way."

"Shields?"

"Holding at sixty."

Gash nodded, the electric-blue splash across the True Empire's shields fading away. The TIE Raptor's tactical blunder had cost them, however; in rushing at the Alpha Group, they'd taken significant losses. The three groups of allied vessels continued to pound away primarily, however, on the Super Star Destroyer and her surrounding vessels. The partially constructed craft was aflame in numerous sections, her exposed superstructure being run at by fighters.

"Sir?" One of the men in the communications pit, specializing in fighter co-ordination, got Gash's attention. "As ordered, one of our fighters has penetrated the Imperium's exposed superstructure, and located a primary power core linked to her engines. They're requesting orders."

Gash didn't flinch. "Fire away, and order them to immediately evacuate once they've done so," he ordered. "Order all vessels to hold their distance from the SSD. No closer. Hold their lines and continue to fire at will."

The Demosthesian vessels were still within range of the damaged Super Star Destroyer. Still, more importantly, in blast range.

Seconds later, a single fighter became visible, rushing away from the areas exposed to space on the hind quarters of the Imperium. It was highlighted on the tactical display meters away from Jiren, a Clawcraft blazing away at full power. Then, from within the behemoth of a ship, a fireball emerged; it grew in size, engulphing her engines, feeding on the ionic particles. The explosion rushed through the forward sections, aided by the already-burning fires.

With one, final heave, the ship exploded outwards in a rapidly expanding cloud of fire and debris, engulphing many of the already-batter Sith Cruisers around it.

(OOC: SSD destroyed. Massive blast damage to the craft which were surrounding her so closely. The ship was incomplete, which makes her quick destruction legitimate. And I ordered my fighters to enter the thing in my last post.)

Tholatin, Capital City

Seemingly unbeknownced to the Demosthesians, they had, earlier, allowed a largely-abandoned Carrack Cruiser and a squad of Skipray Blastboats through to Tholatin. They now rushed across her surface, towards the capital city. Their commander, a Captain Ikliz Klain, noted the brief orbital bombardment, and prayed that the damage was not serious.

It was not. Evidently, only an evacuated civic building had been damaged. The Carrack Cruiser set down in the streets below, opening her cargo bay doors. Ikliz broadcasted, "The Demosthesian Empire is targetting this city for bombardment. It is no longer safe; anyone who can is advised to board the landed vessel; those who cannot should go underground or flee the city, and head for the hills," he finished, smirking slightly.

Mere minutes later, the Carrack Cruiser, her cargo bay and interior filled to capacity by every human and alien they could cram in there, lifted off once more. As they flew away, Ikliz could see streams of refugees fleeing. He knew that many more had built underground shelters after the Tholatin declaration of war against the Demosthesians; he hoped it would be enough.


"Do not worry, Master Jiren - the Royal Palace was empty. The next targets will not be. Their fate, Master Jedi, is in your hands."

"Were you recording that?"

"We record all transcripts, sir," one officer replied.

"Excellent. Continue to record this, and open a hail to the Demosthesians."

"No, Admiral Drayson, the Ossan Parliament and Jutraalian Empire will not be cowed by your threats or placed into a position of responsibility for the deaths you may cause -- nor will I leave the people of Tholatin up to your oppression and brutality. What would my surrender accomplish, but to place you into a position where you may slaughter the people of this world as unflinchingly as you currently threaten to, but without the deterrent of our presence? You should know, Admiral, that my crew is recording this, and that a log of this battle will be distributed to every news organization in the galaxy willing to take it, win or lose. So, no, Miss Drayson; I reply to you, the fate of the people of Tholatin is in your hands. The galaxy is watching; what will it be?"