Near Commenor, eighteen minutes before Hapan Intervention

"All is ready, then?" She asked, her dark eyes fluttering once or twice. The man she faced was new to her, a face she did not recognize.

Of course not! Admiral Bhindi Drayson had been assigned, albiet temporarily, to the command of the Korolev for this mission of vital importance. She did not like it - despite the added firepower the ship offered, she did not know the crew. Could not trust them to understand her orders fully, or fullfill them as she knew her own crew would.

She sighed. There was nothing else to do, save make sure everything was triple checked and make sure the crew here knew what she meant when she gave orders.

The Captain nodded.
"Aye, Ma'am. We're set to repel the Tholatins the moment they enter our space."

She nodded.
"Thank you, Captain. Keep me informed."

Bhindi turned away, her quick strides taking her away from the bridge. The mission was simple enough: deploy a blockade along the Tholatin's avenue of retreat and destroy their forces when they emerged from hyperspace.

It would be a massacre. Naturally.

<hr>

OOC: Fleet Manifest

Eternal Class Star Destroyer Korolev
Aegis Class Star Carrier Xaphania
Aegis Class Star Carrier Archammer
Immobilizer 418 Class Cruiser Starry Ice
Immobilizer 418 Class Cruiser Solar Wind
Terakesh Gunship Shekeshl
Terakesh Gunship Mihthish
Terakesh Gunship Senshar
Terakesh Gunship Vishda
Terakesh Gunship Kashtal
Terakesh Gunship Jeklash
Terakesh Gunship Arhasked
Terakesh Gunship Smishlohek
Terakesh Gunship Iknabrak
Terakesh Gunship Pintokosh

<LI> 26 Sqaudrons TIE Defenders
<LI> 2 Sqaudrons Missile Gunboats*

*MB sqaudrons are 18 ships each

The TTR fleet, under the command of General Skai had left Commenor peacefully. They had only fired after being fired upon. Unforunately for the nitwit that set up a blockade, he forgot to turn on his gravity wells.

The Tholatin fleeet passed by harmlessly in hyperspace and the LFX lost its opportunity to grab them. The LFX ships wouldn't know, and the TTR ships wouldn't either. Somebody on the LFX side had forgotten the most important part of the ambush.

The Tholatin fleet headed safely back to Tholatin. There they would be redeployed to their original assignments.

"Admiral, Ma'am. Report from Commenor! The Tholatin warships have exited our space."

She nodded, smiling thinly.

"The gravity wells are online?" The officer nodded.
"As per your orders, Ma'am."
"Excellent. Increase power. I don't want anything to get through."

Silence settled across the bridge of the Star Destroyer as the assemlbed crew waited for the first indication of enemy fleets emerging from hyperspace.

"Admiral! We have sensor contacts directly in front. Two frigates, Nebulon Class."

Bhindi smiled, her eyes snapping open, gleaming.

"Shields up. Fighters mantain defensive positions. All batteries, target and fire. I want those frigates dead. Alert me immediatly if anything else shows up."

There was a series of acknowledgements as the lights dropped to a redish glow and the thump of turbolasers began to vibrate across the vessel.

The smaller Gunships, vessels on loan from the Swarm, darted forward, turbolasers raking across the Tholatin warships. The two enemy craft surely could not compete with the combined fleets of the Empire and the Swarm!

They would die here today...

Amid the flashing screens and beeping alerts that cluttered the cockpit, the bright glow from the surface of Tholatin seeped through and shone in through the viewport, onto Xion as his Preybird starfighter soared upon the galactic traffic lanes that whizzed and whirled around into tholatin like the tendrils of an octopus.



The high-pitched radio wave-like alert sounded, signalling a message from the traffic control authorities on the surface.

"Preybird starfighter," came the commanding voice over the comlink, "you are carrying illegal ship-mounted weapons on your vessel which are against inbound traffic laws. If you intend to land on tholatin, your ship will be impounded if you refuse to comply with the authorities. Land at docking bay 45 alpha-pie."

"Message recieved and understood." Growled Xion.

That had been a minor part of the trouble so far, but the best was yet to come.

The two Nebulon B's were pulled out of hyperspace and immediately fired upon. They returned fire immediately and had their shields up within seconds. The Rapyir fighters they were carrying launched as well.

Moment's later, the rest of the TTR fleet was yanked out of hyperspace. They too opened fire and launched their fighters. Their shields were up and they went after the smaller ships that were attacking the Nebulon's. A message was sent to Tholatin.

------------------------------------------------------
On Tholatin, Kamon rreceived the message and ordered the Serene Justice to go assist. He also sent out calls for assistance from his allies. He was also aware of a Fighter entering his system with way to many guns. He'd watch that one.

TTR Fleet
Imperial-class Star Destroyer Serene Justice(en route)
Interdictor Cruiser Cobra
-12 Rapyir-class Starfighters
Interdictor Cruiser Black Ops
-12 Rapyir-class Starfighters

Carrack Cruiser Light
Carrack Cruiser Tehra
Nebulon B Katie's Fire
-5 Rapyir-class Starfighters
Nebulon B Yonex
-4 Rapyir-class Starfighters

The armed guards of the tholatin port authority walked towards Xion's fighter craft as it settled onto the landing pad, thier weapons drawn towards the ship.


"Please step out of the fighter so we can secure the vessel." Yelled one of the guards, attempting to be heard of the booming rumble of the engines.

The fighter came to a standstill and the guards proceeded forward. The cockpit canopy hissed open and, aided with the force, Xion lept out in the blink of an eye, up and over the unsuspecting guards, and continued running on at a blinding speed, invisible to the eyes of the simple guards.

It wouldn't take long to reach the palace, four minutes at this speed.

As Xion wizzed past the civilians and dockworkers at breakneck speed, he fumbled in his belt, readying the siezmic charges he'd brought with him, in his backpack, and thought to the oncoming destruction, the destruction of the royal palace of tholatin. His old friend might soon be having a visit from a ghost.

(OOC Note: The Allegiance and Pandemonium were sold, so please consider them to be Aegis Star Carriers Xaphania and Archammer.)

The frigates, tiny craft when placed next to the massive dagger of the Korolev, succumbed quickly, their puny weapons offering little damage to the Imperial fleet arrayed against them.

From the bridge of the flagship, Bhindi watched in satisfaction as the guns continued to pound out their fury against the Tholatin vessels. For each bank - four guns - one was always firing. With those guns split between two ships, the vessel still had an intolerable ammount of firepower, and this quickly overcame the shields of the enemy vessels.

Fire began to blossom where laser impacts shattered against the hull, ripping massive gashes across them and sending debris into space.

Bhindi pointed out one location aboard the first of the Tholatin vessels, and the orders were relayed to the gunnery stations. For a moment, the ship was still as all weapons ceased firing.

Then came a massive crash as each turbolaser drilled fire into one spot, followed by a shattering volley of warheads delivered into the same location.

The vulnerable spar that connected the bridge of the Katie's Fire to her engine housing did not snap, but simply melted away under the intense fire, and the two pieces of the ship began to spin away from each other.

The massive shape of the Korolev was left free to target the remaining frigate. This ship was suffering badly, fires raging unchecked across most of her hull as the repaair crews lie dead, slain by the almost unending wall of energy thrown against that ship.

At the same moment the Fire broke apart, the remainder of the Tholatin fleet arrived, yanked from hyperspace by the gravity wells in their path.

Before shields could so much as be raised, the two Carrack Cruisers were taking fire from the Xaphania and Archammer, and laser cannons were lancing out to destroy starfighters emerging from the bays of the Interdictors.

Fire lit the sky around the fleets as the Black Fleet closed in, their warships tightening the noose around the Tholatins' neck...

Losses Thus Far

TTR:
<LI> Two Nebulon B Frigates (one destroyed, one crippled)
<LI> Shield damage to Carracks and Interdictors
<LI> Four Rapyer Fighters

HDE:
<LI> Minor shield damage to all ships, moderate shield damage to Gunships

The crippled Nebulon was ordered to stay behind the rest of the fleet. The Interdictors had targeted two of the enemy vessels and had pounded them.

The shields were dead on both, and fires raged. At that time, the Serene Justice exited hyperspace by being yanked out. It immediately raised it's shields, and opened fire on the Xaphania and Archammer. It was assisted by the carracks.

The two enemy frigates of unknown origin died flaming deaths. A targeted attack on their engines had enveloped the ships in balls of flame. They would not see another battle.

The crippled Nebulon continued to fire on the enmy frigates. Shuttles were transferring people of high importance to the other ships in the fleet just in case.

---------------------------------------------------

Kamon had felt the presence of a Sith on his planet and had ordered his RPGC, led by Kenshin Katarn, to stop him. He had Jacen and special ops assisting. He himself would come if need be.

TTR loses
Nebulon B Yonex crippled
Nebulon B Katies Fire destroyed
Four Rapyir's destroyed

LFX loses
Tarakesh Gunship Jeklash Destroyed
Tarakesh Gunship Vishda Destroyed
Aegis Star Carrier Xaphania shield damage
Aegis Star Carrier Archammer shield damage
Minor shield damage to rest of fleet

Fire blossoming from her devestated superstructure, the tiny mass of the Gunship Jeklash found herself suddenly on a collision course with a Star Destroyer, one yanked from hyperspace by the presence of the Holy Empire's Interdictors.

The ship slammed into the raised shields of the foward bow, impacting and blowing apart as the matrix of energy intercepted her blow. On the bridge of the Korolev, the blip indicated that ship, and another of the small craft, vanished instantly.

The Star Destroyer had begun to pound the smaller Aegis Cruisers, but it had not yet deployed starfighters, and it seemed would not do so in the course of this battle.

The carriers, on the other hand, had already deployed their screens of TIE Defenders, which had already begun to torment the larger warship.

Swarms of TIEs buzzed across the hull, delivering missile salvos into the flanks of the warship, laser cannons blasting away at the seemingly inpenetrable shields.

But while the Star Destroyer was distraced fighting the Aegis Carriers, which had responded for their own self with massive, concentrated volleys of turbolaser fire into the bottom of the enemy ship, the TIEs swooped in, running across the ship's surface in the classic trench run defence used originally against the Imperial Death Star, and popped up long enough to fire their torpedoes into the bridge of the great warship.

Two dozen starfighters had targetted the command structure of the Serene Justice, and that was enough to collapse the shields over the bridge for an instant.

Half a dozen warheads, fired a fraction of a second later, smashed into the tower and exploded, vaporizing that part of the vessel and leaving her reeling as damage control crews struggled to restore command with the Captain and bridge crew dead.

And while the Star Destroyer was distracted with these developments, the Korolev had sent the request back to Commenor for reinforcements, and a another fleet element was incoming as the call went by.

As the flagship came into range and began exchanging blows with the Star Destroyer, the two carriers, both having taken a severe beating at the hands of the enemy guns, retreated under the bulk of the Korolev, daring the Tholatin ship to try and follow.

<hr>
TTR loses
ISD Moderate-severe shield damage, bridge destroyed
Nebulon B Yonex crippled
Nebulon B Katies Fire destroyed
Nine Rapyir's destroyed

LFX loses
Tarakesh Gunship Jeklash Destroyed
Tarakesh Gunship Vishda Destroyed
Aegis Star Carrier Xaphania moderate shield damage
Aegis Star Carrier Archammer moderate shield damage
Eternal Star Destroyer Korolev minor shield damage

Alderaan

"And?" Admiral Hy'Ear asked incredulously, construing his face into a sort of inquisitive expression, rebolstered by a girdle of possibly rage.

Dwight shrugged openly, and showed the palms of his hands. What was on the sheet he'd given him was all he knew.

The man sighed and looked at the reports. Everything had, originally, gone to plan, until that Hapan starfleet had shown up and trashed everything...thus throwing the entire operation into a spinning cyclone of destruction.

Now the Tholatin fleet had been pinned down somewhere outside Commenor, fortunately they had managed to transmit the exact coordinates...though in battle those coordinates oft changed quickly.

Judging by the read out it was nothing more than a skirmish between Tholatin and LFX forces...but it was not something that could be taken lightly.

Tholatin forces had been ambushed and were at that very moment being pirated even with declaration of withdrawls. So Seti Ashar was not only a corporate terrorist he was also an fascist thug.

It was of little to no matter.

The admiral handed back the reports to the commandant.

"In times of peace the most miniscule of operations require the greatest of attentions," the admiral commented, and Dwight shrugged and nodded.

"You'll be attending the battle personally then Admiral?" he asked casually.

The man shook his head.

"No, as much as I would like to, the fleet is tied down at the moment and I need to be here in case of a counter attack...but..." he trailed off and stalked over to his command chair which stood opposite of the doorway they stood at, and he sat gingerly in it, "I have compiled a small force here, just in case of an instance like this."

"Expecting Commenor to bring about some problems?" Dwight asked.

Hy'Ear shrugged. "Possibly, this let's me dispatch my force quickly...to just about anywhere in the Core for that matter."

Dwight nodded. There had been some contraversy over ressurecting the Alderaani Graveyard Base, but in the end Dwight and Hy'Ear had agreed that it was a necessity, and the forces were reset up to prevent a Commenor assault.

Surprisingly enough, the base had originally been set up to prevent attacks on Commenor. Who'd have thought that Jutraal would be sending such forces in?

"So send the men then?" Dwight asked.

"Ghost Rider Task Force," Hy'Ear confirmed.

"Yes sir."



Ships are En Route, will be in next round of posts