Above the world of Hargeeva....

"And may I say sir, that it is good to finally once again serve under your very capable command?" asked captian aldering of the Shoto battlecruiser Kirishima.

"Indeed," replied Commodore Harker, "I have been too long out of the service of the Empire. But the wretched virus that has plagued my body for so long is now gone, although some of it's effects still linger within me. Let me tell you, I now have a new lease and outlook on life."

"Sounds good sir. May I ask what impact this may have on our current mission?"

"None whatsoever, I will still strive to be a great leader." said Harker.

"Well, if you are ready, we can begin to conduct our buisness." said the capitan.

"Yes, let us attend the meeting, to determine which planets will be the next to feel the wrath of the empire." said Harker.

The two men walked out of the Commodore's private room and down the main corridor of the battlecruiser to the lounge where the meeting would be taking place. Gathered in there were men from various ships as well as Dameun officers and politicans concerning the commodore's next assignments and what planets needed to be taken for the glory of the empire. The planets involved ones within the empire's sphere of influence, as such was the case with Dameun policies. Vincent had an idea what the next target would be due to recent reports coming in from local news networks. He walked into the breifing chamber, which was a large round holo table, with some one hundred seats scattered around the room, most of them occupied. Vincent and the captian took their seats, and with that the breifing began.

The center figure in this room was a politican of Dameun, a man associated with naval and army branches both, along with foreign affairs. He slowly walked around the holotable as he spoke, and his voice was clear, crisp, and slightly accented. Vincent secretley suspected that from his age and accent that he may once have had to work in the spice mines of Kessel before he was liberated by the Dameuns.

"As most of you know, recently one of our Barbary class police corvettes misteriously disappeared while on a mission to apprehend a criminal fugitive hiding out on the planet of Senna. We have since sent probes to the planet, which by our estimates rates a small colony or two. What infomation our probes have given us shocks us with lots of informative information. Apparently during the wars one of the great empires had established a military base on the planet, and since then it has expanded into surronding regions. As a result the population of the planet is much larger, it's economy a lot more advanced, and they have quite a few warships capable of taking out a corvette with ease. We suspect the Empire may have been at play here since they did in fact station many ships at local bases, since Admiral Thrawn hid many sleeper cells across the New Republic, and since many warlords did exist in the latter years of the reign of the empire. Our goal therefore is to eliminate this potential threat, and to secure the planet for the greater glory of the Dameum good. Commodore Vincent Harker, who has been away from some time due to a mysterious illness, has recently returned to service. In order to ensure that his capability in the field of duty has thus far been unchanged, he will personally lead this assault." said the politican.

Whispering began in much of the room as the holotable was turned on and focused onto the world of Hargeeva, and showed the vessels in orbit, including the one that they were on right now. The greater might of once what was the Farfalen Imperial Navy resides in orbit here, as does many other vessels, many of them picket ships. The politican used a stick to begin highlighting certain vessels, upon which identification of them popped up onto the screen.

"The vessels assigned to his command for this operation will be as follows. The flagship of this operation will be the Shoto cruiser Kirishima. Other vessels in this operation will include the Shoto class cruisers Farfal, Kyric, and Pride of Hargeeva, along with some ten cutter class gunships, and twelve Kessel class pickets. Once the orbit of the planet has been secured and any enemy warships eliminated, we will begin groundside operations. General Belgrano, the gentleman sitting directly across the theatre from the good commodore, will lead this assault. The main objectives of theirs will be to capture the main city and secure the planet. He will be leading several brigades of Dameum troops, who although it would probably be considered overkill for this operation, could use any amount of experience that they can get. That is all for this meeting. After the operation has ended and the planet has been secured, we will move onto operations concerning the planet's future under the leadership of the black dragon empire. Any questions? No? Well then, that concludes our breifing. Man your ships, you will be on your way within forty eight hours. And may the fighting spirit of the dragon be with you all."

<I>SCRAMBLE LINE ENCRYPTED.

STAND BY.

TION STAR DESTROYER 'EREBUS' FORWARD TO FLEET SUPPORT, TION CLUSTER.

PREPARE TO RECEIVE CASUALTIES FROM TOONG I INFILTRATION. MED TRIAGE TEAM ESTIMATE SERIOUS INJURIES. TEN THOUSAND, REPEAT TEN THOUSAND. WALKING WOUNDED EIGHT THOUSAND. ETA TEN HOURS. LOGISTICS PRIORITY FOR BACTA TANK SUPPORT TEAMS. TALON SQUADRON REPORTS MAJOR LOSSES. TALON WING COMMANDER KARA VONDAR TO BE REASSIGNED TO PLANET SENNA TO ASSIST FARFALEN INCURSION.

PREP FOR SEVENTY THOUSAND COMBAT-FIT DRAGONS, REPEAT SEVENTY THOUSAND, PENDING REDEPLOYMENT. PRIORITY WEAPONS SUPPORT FOR DEATH COMMANDO UNITS. TALON SQUADRON WILL PROVIDE AIR SUPPORT DURING DEPLOYMENT.

END TRANSMISSION.</I>

<b>Fleet Support Shoto Battlecruiser <I>Kirishima</i>, Barrack Level 5. Night before incursion into Senna.</b>

The transcript still burned in her mind as she kept recalling it after Toong I. It was a waste. A damn waste of her squadron.

Wing Commander Kara Vondar busied herself maintaining her helmet. She cleaned out the clamps, blowing the dust clear with a squirt of air from the pressure gun. She wiped the glass and cleaned the HUD display with a cleanser. Anything to keep her mind off what had happened.

"Commander?"

She looked up. The pilot who had walked in placed his gear, armor, and black flightsuit on the bunk opposite and stared back. His readout panel identified him as one of the replacement pilots for the Talons.

"I'm Striker," he said, and held out his hand for shaking. "I'm one of the new pilots assigned to the Talons. Real name is Fiz."

"Ace," Kara said without taking the proffered hand.

"So, Commander, you're the sole survivor?"

"Yep."

"The Taj must have been watching you, or you were just plain lucky."

Fiz stood there with his hands on his hips, his dogtags dangling around his neck. He spoke a little differently. He smelled subtly different. He must have been recruited from Kessel. The Farfalen were odd that way. She didn't bother to answer him. Fiz shuffled in his stance.

"The Farfalen assigned me to you," Fiz said carefully. "I know I could never replace the Talons you lost, but I hope to at least prove myself."

Kara considered him for a while, and went back to cleaning her helmet. Fiz put his kit in the locker beside the bunks, then swung himself up into the top rack in one smooth motion. He folded his arms under his head very precisely and lay staring up at the bulkhead as if he were meditating.

If he had been Sev, her wingman, Kara would have considered having a conversation, even if it was small talk. But Sev was gone.

The Dragon Legion lost soldiers in battle. So did Deathglider pilots. But soldiers were socialized with whole sections, platoons, companies, even regiments, and that meant that even after the inevitable deaths and removals during battle, there were still plenty of people around you whom you knew well. Deathglider pilots worked solely with each other.

Kara had lost everyone she had grown up with in Talon Squadron.

"It was a waste," Kara said.

"What was?" Fiz said.

"Deploying us in an operation like Toong I. It was an infantry job."

"That sounds like criticism of--"

"I'm just making the point the Talons had no reason to provide air support when ground forces had taken the capital. The hidden nest were just waiting for us with their surface-to-air missles."

"Understood. Maybe when we're deployed tommorrow we'll be able to do what we're really trained for."

Kara wanted to say that she missed her comrades, but that wasn't something to confide in a stranger. She inspected her helmet and was satisfied. Then she stood up and spread her flightsuit flat on the mattress and checked it for vacuum integrity with the sweep-sensor in her glove. It was a ritual so ingrained in her that she hardly thought about it: maintain boots, flightsuit, and armor plates, recalibrate helmet systems, check heads-up display, strip down and reassemble TC-44, empty and repack survival pack. <I>Done</I>. It took her twenty minutes and thirty seconds, give or take two seconds. Well-maintained gear was often the difference between life and death. So was two seconds. Now, she hoped her techs inspected her Deathglider just as meticulous.

She closed the top of her pack with a <I>clack</I> and secured the seal. Then she checked the catches that held the seperate ordinance pack to see that they were moving freely. When she glanced up, Fiz was propped on one elbow, looking down at her from the bunk.

"Dry rations go on the <I>fifth</i> pocket," he said.

Kara always packed them in the third, near the hygiene kit. "In the <I>Farfalen</i> maybe," she said, and carried on.

Fiz took the hint and rolled over on his back again, no doubt to meditate on how differently things might be done in the future with his new Wing Commander. She placed her gear in the locker, rolled onto her bunk, placed her hands behind her head, and stared upward.

Kara would have traded every remaining moment of her life for a chance to rerun the day's engagement back on Toong I. She would have ordered Sev and Trish for a quick flyby over the south sector; she would have sent Oan west for a quick recon sweep.

But she hadn't.

"I was up there with them, Striker," she said quietly. "I miss them all. I should have died with them."

Kara closed her eyes.

"I know, Commander," he said. "I know.."

Approaching the World of Senna...

Vincent was sitting alone in his cabin. Currently his hands were clasped onto his head, tilted downwards, one of a man who had much on his mind, much of it very stressful. He had a very tough assignment ahead, and would need every bit of concentration avilable. But in the calm before a battle, his mind turned very doubtful, wondering if he had miscalculated, if there was some element unseen, that he might be leading his fleet into a disaster? Currently he was doing his best to rid his mind of such thoughts, but it was an exercise in futility. He always did it, no matter what or how hard he tried. He could not help but think, to thought, so why, why did he bother trying so hard to not think when he knows he will think it anyways? Because while he cannot help but think the evil thoughts, he also cannot help but think there is a way to rid his mind of such thoughts, and so he will always keep trying like this, even though he will always be unsuccessful in this attempt to do so.

Gradually the thoughts disappeared, and he could being to properly prepare himself for the tough road ahead. He sat up out of his bunk, and leaned forwards, looking for something to drink. He poured himself a cup of caf from the steaming kettle he always kept near his nightstand, and slowly drank it, letting the warm fluids enter his body and snap them to attention, bringing him more and more awake. Taking in a deep yawn, he set off to the refresher. Having disposed of last night's meal and drinks, he then set about getting himself dressed. He selected his white Commodore's uniform from the closet, and set about putting it on, ending with the buttons, and then his medals and decorations. He imagined making a few holo communications today, offering terms of surrender to the enemy, and then informing his superiors of what had occured when the first day's operations ended. Having dressed himself accordingly, he glanced over himself once in the mirror before exiting his room and heading down the corridor torwards the local mess hall.

His aides caught up to him then, having been waiting outside his room like owls waiting for the mice to come scurrying out of his underground lair. But they didn't say anything immediatly of non-vital importance, other than what calls he had recieved since he had went to sleep the previous night. The last two aides that had bothered to do so were trying to find new employment on Kessel, which probably meant that they would end up working the spice mines, along with many of the Farfalen forces that had deserted during the war against the Outer-Rim Soveriegnty. Walking through one last intersection they finally arrived at the Mess Hall. Vincent selected a nice dish of Hawk-Bat Egg Casserole, and a glass of Lomin Ale before settling down into his usual spot in officer's country. He was being joined besides his aides by the captains of the other Shoto cruisers that were keeping column formation with his flagship as they cruised flank speed torwards their destination, the target world of Senna.

Having finished his meal a short time later, Vincent turned to the officers, in order to stike up one last fit of conversation before all matters turned completley to military.

"So, capitan Aldering, I hear that you are now married to a woman of some thirty years. May I inquire as to how long you have known each other?" asked Vincent in an innocent voice.

"We have been acqauinted for some two years, ever since we first met in a bar following the victory over the Sovereignty in the battle of Kessel. At the time I served aboard one of the Shoto cruisers that was responsible for shooting down six enemy Birds of Prey. I was quite loose that night, and...." said the capitan when he was interrupted by Vincent.

"I only wanted a brief summary, not your life's story." said Vincent as he looked strictly at the capitan. The capitan himself seemed to grow somewhat angry and offended at this, and it was at this point that Vincent let his glowering turn into the large grin and chuckle that he had been concealing underneath. The everyone joined him in a short laugh before siddling down again.

"But seriously, I don't want any hard details, just a nice, 'I met her after the Battle of Kessel in a bar, and from there....' sort of thing would do perfectley well." said Vincent.

"Okay then. After the glorious battle of Kessel, in which..." began the capitan, before he was again interrupted by Vincent.

"Stop, stop, stop. No one wants to hear about your glorious achievements in the battle. Besides, all the birds of prey had their shields down. Anyone can destroy six of them when they are like that. I am suprised that you did not destroy ten." said Vincent.

"Hey yeah, if I was in that battle, I would have destroyed twelve, if not sixteen. What with our octect launchers primed and ready to go, and our turbolaser and wyvern cannons, and all that. What happened that made you destoy only six?" piped in another capitan.

"Well, the Birds of Prey weren't the only threat in that battle as you know. There were also two Imperial class Star Destroyers, and both of them had their shields raised and going. Besides, my ship wasn't the only one at the battle on our side. By the time I was looking to destroy a seventh ship, there were simply no more enemy ships out there. Believe me when I say that my ship destroyed more Birds of Prey than any of the other five ships present at the battle." boasted the capitan.

"Five ships? What, were three of them destroyed in the engagement. I remember reading over the reports of the battle when they had come in, and they mentioned only the Zen class Command cruiser and two Shoto class battlecruisers listed on the manifest." said Vincent.

"Yes, well, there were originally six ships in the Kessel defense fleet. The flagship of course was the cruiser Zen, commanded by Kyric Zen himself. Then there were three Shoto class battlecruisers, one of which I captianed, and then finally there were two Belarus class Medium cruisers, old ships useful for a last ditch scrap such as the one we were involved in. In any case, during the time period we engaged and destroyed the Birds of Prey, The Birds themselves, before they were annihilated, along with the two star destroyers, engaged and eliminated the one shoto cruiser, and the two Belarus cruisers." said the captian.

"Ah, now that makes sense. But come now, what kind of damage did your ship sustain. Surely, killing the most Birds of Prey must have attracted the attention of the enemy flagship?" asked Vincent.

"Yes, well, that was an odd moment of the battle. The Shoto cruisers were the ones thrown into the middle of the battle, and we did indeed sustain heavy damage while eliminating most of the enemy ships. But the star destroyers instead focused on eliminating the Belarus cruisers on the flank of the Birds of Prey. I have thought about this many times, and it has come to my conclusion that they were perhaps realising their mistakes, and were trying to eliminate the flanking cruisers in preparation for a quick withdrawal." said the captian.

"Hmmm, perhaps. In that situation then, it is of my opinion that the enemy deserved to lose the engagement. They should have been thinking about how to win the battle, not how to run away from it." said Vincent.

"A thought, though sir that just occured to me. If the enemy was intent on winning the engagement, then their actions could be justified as such. If the star destroyers eliminated the flanking ships, the Belarus cruisers, such as they did, then that would free up the Birds of Prey to enclose and destroy the Shoto cruisers through mass firepower." said another one of the capitans.

"Mmm, that is also true. I think the enemies actions after the Bops were all destroyed would tell whether or not they were intent on winning the battle." said Vincent.

"In that case, then I may conclude that they were indeed serious about winning the engagement, for after the Bops were all destroyed, then they came after us in the two remaning Star Destroyers. We then withdrew, as it was the best course of action remaining open to us." said the capitan.

"What, running away from the enemy?" piped in a junior capitan.

"No, fool, we did not run away from them," stated the capitan with a cool tint to his voice, "Kyric Zen never runs from the enemy. No, we had superior firepower enough to engagement and eliminate the Star Destroyers, but from long range. We used our missile launchers to their maximum capacity, and whittled them down from long range. We stayed close to the planet, so that the enemy could not use microjumps to catch up to us. Eventually, when their shields were almost gone, then they turned around and withdrew from the engagement."

"Yes, captian Irving, do not ever again imply that Kyric Zen would run away from the plane of battle. Such statements are treasnous." warned Vincent.

"My Apologies, Commodore, Capitan, I meant no such offense." said the junior capitan.

"So, what other battles did the war did you participate in after the engagement above Kessel?" asked Vincent.

"The next battle I served in was the famous engagement above Bakura." said the capitan, with some of the others around the table gasping.

"Indeed? Did you also serve on a Shoto class battlecruiser during that engagement?" asked Vincent.

"Yes, I served on the same ship, a short time after she had come out of the repair yards." said the capitan.

"And, tell us about the first section of the engagement." said the commodore.

"Well, the first part was probably the least fearsome of the battle. We came out of hyperspace, after which the Interdictor cruisers hung back out and powered up their gravity well projectors. Many of us knew that the ships would be going to their doom, and we never expected to see their crews again, although thanks to intervention by the Empire, some of them did survive to see the light of day again. After that, we basically cruised in torwards the enemy Super Star Destroyer, which was the primary target of this raid of ours. Other targets within the system consisted of eight Imperial class Star Destroyers, four other small star destroyers and many more support vessels came against us." said the capitan.

At this point he had captivated the attention of the other capitans, as well as the commodore. "Proceed" stated Vincent.

"Well, we engaged the enemy fleet. And I'm sure that it was a nightmare for both sides. We lost many cutter class gunships in this first part of the engagement, due to the enemies long range Intimidator class cruisers mostly. Also, some of our Shoto class cruisers were damaged as well. But by far the most damage was suffered by the flagship, the Zen, which was disabled very early on. In return we damaged their Imperial class Star Destroyers." said the capitan.

"I can guess what happened next due to the reports." said the commodore.

"No need to guess. The enemy flagship then interposed it's self between most of the enemy damaged ships and our own ships. We fired most of our remaining torpedoes at it, and heavily damaged it in the process. We got it's shields way down, and then the disabled Zen let go of it's Devastator class nuclear missile, which then streaked in at the enemy flagship. It detonated right below the super star destroyer's engines, destroying them and causing the ship to plunge into the planet of Bakura, causing much devastation and destruction." said the capitan.

"From there, back at our entry vector, three fleets had since arrived, two of then enemy, the other one a small detachment of ships sent from the fledgling Mid-Rim Protectorate, coming to see where they could help out. One of the other ones belonged to the empire of the Tholatins, coming to help out their allies, and the final one belonged to Dakkon Darksword of the Hapan Empire, what with their treaty of joint defense. The latter two fleets had eliminated many of our interdictor cruisers, with the Imperials managing to rescue most of the crews from the destroyed ships along their entry vector. The Empire then proceeded to rescue most of the remaining crew of the Zen command ship, including Kyric Zen himself, before concluding a short engagement with ORS forces, and withdrawing from the system. As for us, we went over the length of the planet, taking ground fire from the planet, and fire from the pursuing ORS forces before withdrawing from the system. During this time we lost a few Shoto class cruisers along with several more Cutter class gunships. In the end we lost most of our gunships, and about half of our shotos, and in exchange took out the enemy flagship. Quite a stunning victory for us." said the capitan.

"I concur. Now that we have had most of your life story, which although I did find enjoyable, I wanted to avoid, it is the end of the breakfast break. I hereby call our meeting, if it can be called that, more likely storytime", to the chuckling of some of the capitans, "adjounred. I will see you all back here one last time for a late lunch before we earnestly being our operation. Gentlemen." said the commodore as he stood and tipped in his hat to the other men, a lazy form of a salute. The other capitans all saluted properly, before heading away from the cafeteria and back to the docking collars for the transfer via picket ships back to their respectful cruisers and gunships.

<B>Morning. Incursion into Senna. Talon Squadron.</b>

The squadron of seventeen Deathgliders were surrounded by a tapestry of stars as they raced from the <I>Kirishima</i> toward the red planet.

Behind them in the farthest distance, the spectacle of the Maw looked like a garish finger painting as ionized gas plunged into multiple black holes. Directly in front of the crescent-shaped starfighters, Wing Commander Vondar saw the glare of the Kessel system's sun. As the squadron rotated in formation to align with the ecliptic, Senna itself came into view, orbited by several ships that were rumored to be formerly Imperial.

"Right on target, Ace," Striker chirped, "and look at that sight for sore eyes. Senna really isn't much to see, is there?"

"Can it, Strike, we've got a job to do," Vondar bit back. "Talons: formation."

Another pilot made a quick comment over the comm and made an indication at his HUD. Kara looked down to see blips already in orbit around the planet, emerging from the blanketing clouds of the atmosphere. "I see 'em, Talon Six. Looks like about a half dozen ships. Too far away to determine the types."

"I guess they're happy to see us," chimed her wingman.

"Well, then we'll just tell them who we are. After all, we are the first to make contact with these people. Maybe they'll be friendly."

Not to her suprise, the orbiting ships changed their vector in unison and increased speed to intercept the Talons.

The two closest ships raced in, first growing into distinct points of light, then taking on shapes. "Talons, I think we better set our forward deflector shields to double-front. We've got company coming."

The two incoming ships sped past her squadron at unbelievable speed, spreading out on either side. The sight of their dagger solar panels and central pilot compartments turned Kara's blood to ice water.

TIE Interceptors. And they had just made their confirmation to their wingmates the Black Dragon Empire had arrived.

"Striker, you sure Farfalen confirmed that these guys are <I>not</i> the Galactic Empire?" She switched on her targeting computer and eased up on her speed. "The last thing I need is to open a can of worms by mistake."

"Confirmed. Admiral Harker has stated Senna is run by a local warlord. They're open game."

Another pilot shouted. "Here they come!"

The TIE Interceptors came in for a two-pronged attack, spreading above and below the squadron and firing their lasers.

"Talons, break!" The Deathgliders blossomed outward in several directions. The enemy vessels fired again, but the beams streaked harmlessly through space.

The two TIE Interceptors swooped up in a tight arc, executing a complete one-eighty and roaring back for a second attack on the Dragons.

The battle was engaged as more of the warlord's attack ships entered the fray. The Deathgliders began to pick random targets and started their pursuits.

Kara had already sighted one of them on her HUD, the TIE Interceptor made a digitized target, growing larger. She tightened her grip around the stick, her thumb hovering near the trigger. She waited, feeling sweat build up on her neck as the blue hue reflected off her face from the helmet's light. One more second. One more second.

She squeezed the trigger and red laser fire cut across space, vaping it.

"Scratch one!" she shouted. Her Deathglider snaprolled into a dive and began to pursue the second TIE. She followed it in tight pursuit, her speed matching the Interceptor's, and attempted to lure the image of the fighter into her crosshairs.

Kara squeezed the trigger, strafing her deadly laser fire onto her prey. The Imperial fighter swooped to avoid but could not change its course quickly enough and succumbed to her Deathglider's shower of laser bolts. The ship blossomed into a flower of exploding fuel and debris. She shouted her triumph in unison with Striker's whoops.

"Let's try to clear a path so we can get our guys on the ground. The transport ships are now behind us." A TIE fighter swerved outward in a long trajectory, then headed back toward the larger ships. "Hurry, before more reinforcements can get here. We can't rely on the <I>Shotos</I> for now."

Striker increased speed, closing the gap between his Deathglider and the TIE fighter. "I've got this one, Ace. Escort those assault shuttles to Senna."

Talon Six called out again from below; then Kara saw what he was shouting about. "I see it! I see it!"

A Howlrunner approached from Talon Six's rear, slowly gaining on the Deathglider as they neared Senna. Kara took a quick potshot at the Howlrunner and missed. Even from this distance the starfighter seemed old and battered, as if it had been repaired many times.

"Just hang on, Six!" Kara pressed her back against her cockpit's chair and focused her attention on her target.

A fleeing TIE fighter soared into the wispy tail of atmosphere in front of her, blocking her target. The Howlrunner fired on the Deathglider from behind. The lasers scored a direct hit, incinerating one of the fighter's crescent wings. The fighter began to spiral downward toward the planet. She had lost one of her men.

She cursed, then shouted into her comm. "<I>Kirishima!</i> We've got to get out of here soon! It's starting to get thick around us!"

<I>Damnit, Harker, you better have a plan to get us out...!</i>

The Shoto class cruiser Hatsuse approached the engagement at full flank speed. Tion Deathgliders and enemy starfighters circled about in a fiery dance of death, explosions rippling across the night sky above the world. Approaching the engagement from the other side were two gunships, Corellian class. Capitan Ito could not let those ships reach the range with their quad laser cannons, otherwise the Deathgliders would be chopped to pieces. Other Deathgliders streaked into the engagement now, three full squadrons of reinforcements that had been dispatched by the Commodore to personally finish up the enemy starfighter fleet. The capitan ordered the octects to be dispatched from the ship. The enemy gunships needed to be dealt with, like right now.

On board Deathglider 03-A1

Flight Leader Giovanni led her squadron of seventeen deathgliders into the engagement zone, firing their laser cannons at the enemy targets as they did so. One enemy howlrunner that had proven troublesome was blasted into pieces immediatley, and two TIE fighters followed suite. In return one of the arriving Deathgliders was blasted by a turbolaser blast, upon which had Giovanni looking around to see where that had come from. There, two gunships approaching from around the orbit of the planet. Giovanni said a quick prayer that she hoped that the capitan would soon deal with that threat, otherwise she may soon go to meet her maker. Standing the deathglider up on it's wing, she dived down torwards the planet, two TIE fighters on her tail. She called her comm for assistance, then startled as lasers flashed around her $$$$pit. She started to pull up, but she was too late. A flurry of bolts crashed into her engine compartments, causing them to shut down. Trailing smoke, she plunged into the atmosphere, maybe to never be seen again.

Aboard the Hatsuse....

"Gunners, open fire with your wyvern cannons on the enemy starfighters. Communications, open a channel to our starfighter squadrons. I have a special manuever for them to undertake." ordered the Capitan..

"Sir, your channel is open." replied the comms officer.

"All starfighter squadrons, this is the Hatsuse speaking. Our wyvern cannons will help clear space for you. On a count of three from the end of this transmission, clear the lane of space between this ship and the approaching enemy gunships. That is all." ordered the capitan. The Tion deathgliders did as ordered, and within seconds space was almost clear between the Shoto cruiser and the approaching gunships. A few enemy starfighters strayed into this region, which the wyvern cannons quickly dealt with. Then it was time. The capitan ordered his octect launchers to open fire. Over a hundred proton torpedoes streaked though the starfighter engagement. In that time period, two more enemy starfighters strayed into the spread pattern and detonated several torpedoes along with their starfighters. Then the remaining torpedoes were through the gap and streaking in at the gunships, which promptly pulled up and opened fire on the approaching torpedoes. Several more detonated before they slammed against the shields and hulls of the gunships, reducing them to flaming wreckage descending into the atmosphere of the planet below. The deathgliders, free to fully manuever again, went on the offensive, and soon most of the enemy starfighter squadrons had been destroyed.

Elsewhere in battle around the planet....

The other Shoto cruisers were currently engaged with the bulk of the warlord's fleet. His biggest ship was an old bulk cruiser, heavily modified with weaponry. But he also possessed many smaller ships that carried more potent weaponry. That case was proved in point with the difficulty the Yashima was having with a trio of old carrack cruisers. Her shields were being pummeled with heavy turbolaser blasts, and many of her weapons were offline due to the enemies' ion cannons. She was saved by the intervention of two cutter class gunships, cutting across the bow of the battlecruiser, and pelting the cruisers with their turbolaser cannons and concussion missiles. One of the cruisers exploded after a direct hit made it through the shields and onto the drive engine compartments. Elsewhere in the orbit of the planet the landing shuttles made it into the atmosphere, and were now heading down to the surface, nary a scratch on them. An enemy transport fell into the atmosphere, it's engine compartments on fire, a Kessel picket having concluded a brief engagement with it. The battle was in the ascendacy in favour of the Black Dragon Empire.