(OOC: Either way wouldn't have changed the damage amount.

And gotcha.)


Bridge of the Serephim.


Captain Alberto couldn't help but be amazed as the ORS Fleet began to turn about, despite being entirely engaged along its breadth.

"Continue firing.

As they come about 90 degrees begin to run up speeds to match and follow their route."

A lieutenant to the Captains left spoke up.

"It looks like they're trying to escape with a basic slingshot, sir."

Carlo nodded, continuing. "Begin calculating the necessary trajectory to follow them, all guns blazing..."

Sovereignty missile boats moved up from the planets surface to engage the attacking Imperials but before they could enter attack range the intercepting Phantoms struck, slamming the oblivious XM-1s. As they broken formation and tried to continue on their route, more and more fell to their unseeing enemy.

More Sovereignty fleet vessels fell as they began to complete the first 90 degrees of their turn, exposing their biggest profiles to the Imperial fleet. Truly, the sovereignty commander had not received much more than the most elementary of fleet combat training.

By the time the turn was completed the ORS fleet was in dire straights. Subsequintly, by the time they had reached their 'escape position' the Imperial fleet was still on their tails, gravity wells still well within range.




Damages:

4 BoP destroyed
2 BoP 0% Sheilds, 0% systems
2 BoP 0% Sheilds
1 ISD 0% Sheilds, 80% hull, 60% systems
1 ISD 80% Sheilds
1 Carrier 0% Sheilds, 60% hull, 20% Systems
1 Carrier 60% Sheilds
60 Missile Boats destroyed

General Septum watched as the ORS fleet fled in the distance, with the Imperial fleet hot in pursuit. He turned to his first aide.

"Begin cleanup operations." said the General.

"Whereabouts? We weren't even hit." said the aide.

"Are you forgetting about the valuable stormtrooper training facility?" asked the General.

The aide blushed. "No sir. Emergency personnel on the way. I just didn't think anyone could survive that, sir." said the aide.

"Well, with one hundred civilian trainers, and some five hundred other civilians there to see their sons and daughters off into service in the Empire, that means that once again the Outer-Rim Soveriengty has slaughtered a large number of civilians. And actually..." said the General.

"Yes?" asked the aide.

"With the 502nd out on manuevers in the western fields, there were only two hundred troops, and trainees at the facility. This means they slaughtered more civilians than military this time round. Not suprising." said the General.

"No, indeed not." said the aide.

Bridge of the Serephim.


Still fleeing, the Sovereignty ships were being picked apart. Already fallen behind the engaging fleets were a pair of BoPs, their systems reduced to nothing by the lashings of ionic fire from the Imperial craft. And more was to come.

"Launch assault shuttles."

They were already loaded, awaiting orders in the hangar bay. It took only moments for them to receive the instruction before lifting off. During their launch they could see numerous escape pods firing off the ship, some crew desperately scared of the incoming Imperials.

As more fire was poured upon the beleaguered ORS ships, their commander could only watch as more of his ships began to fall by the wayside. As they did Captain Alberto ordered more shuttles launched, some after the striken ships, others after the fleeing escape pods while more still were sent back towards the surface of Rachuk to support General Septums defensive efforts.


Assault transport Charlie Alpha, engaging frigate Hotel.



Captain Irsk watched as the enemy frigate that had been designated Hotel approached. Or was approached, since it was not under any power. Mentally he ran through the boarding procedures he had engaged in for the last decade.

There was no fear, only cool calculation. The pilot was no greenhorn either, knowing to approach the enemy ship from its weakest point of tracking, the ventral stern.

To his left sat a triplet of men definitely not of Stormtrooper bearing, despite wearing the armour that would identifiy them as one. They had a very special objective in this case that just so happened to coincide with that of the Stromtrooper Corps and so Irsk would escort them.

And just because i'm escorting them doesn't mean i don't have to shot them if they get in my way.

He smiled grimly under his helmet and was glad, for now, that it covered his face.

Suddenly the ship rocked slightly which was followed by a metalic set of clunks. They had docked.

"Move out!"

It took only a moment for the docking clamps to break through and the stormtrooper platoon to board. With no enemy crew or troops in the area the unit quickly set up their LZ and began to file out through the ship.

And on the ship designated 'Foxtrot' a similiar thing was occuring.

OOC:

2 BoP 0 % systems
1 ISD 0 % systems
2 Carrier 0 % systems
1 ISD 0% Sheilds 75% systems
2 Carriers 10% Sheilds

150 XM-1s destroyed

Boarding craft launched to all disabled ships

General Septum observed through the telescope as the boarding actions took place.

Send a message to the High Admiral. "If you need spare troops, we can spare plenty. Or, if the opporunity should arise, you could land the ships on the surface and let them rush it en masse. In the meantime, telescopic stations, and radar outposts all across the world have been keeping track of the ORS stragglers. This informatin is now being transmitted to you directly." stated General Septum.

"Aide, prepare the SpecNav Commandoes, Stormtrooper corps, and walkers. We may be getting company soon." ordered the General.

Bridge of the Serephim.



Amazingly the ORS fleet continued to flee, or at least that which still could, as ion fire continued to rain down on the fleet. As the last carrier fell fallow a lieutenant reported to the Captain with glee 'ionic capacitance exceeded'.

Captain Alberto nodded and ordered another flight of stormtrooper assault transports launched.

The amount of ships we're assaulting, i won't be surprised if i don't have a single stormtrooper left aboard the Serephim! he mussed.

To his left another lieutenant spoke up.

"Sir, incoming transmission from the planet...

Its General Septum."

Carlo waved his hand signaling for it to be patched through. Moments later the generals voice was heard over the bridges intercom.

"High Admiral Alberto.

If you need spare troops, we can spare plenty. Or, if the opporunity should arise, you could land the ships on the surface and let them rush it en masse. In the meantime, telescopic stations, and radar outposts all across the world have been keeping track of the ORS stragglers. This informatin is now being transmitted to you directly."

This warrented a laugh from much of the bridge crew. And the Captain was quick to reply.

"Thank you for the extended honourific General Septum, although i assure you that it will take me a long time to reach such a lofty rank as High Admiral!

I have already dispatched numerous landing transports devoid of men to pick up as many troops as they can to assist in the liberation of these craft from the filthy clutches of the Outer-Rim Sovereignty. Please equip them and return them post haste.

Also, i'll send down our compliments of landing barges and other larger craft to bring as many of your troops to the fore as possible."

Captain Alberto nodded to one of his lieutenants to signify 'make it so'. He continued.

"If any of our assault parties take longer than necessary their shuttles can return and pick up your men to reinforce them."



Surface of Rachuk.


Half a dozen assault transports were tracked by Rachuks surface radars entering the atmosphere. They bore Imperial markings that designated them as soldiers of the Corellian Diktat although one also bore lines of the Yaga Minor Protectorate. They rushed through the landing procedures for means of haste and were soon touching down on Rachuks soil.

Hundreds of Imperial personel were eagerly awaiting them and with no words of encouragement boarded the ships with glee.

As more and more assault transports, then landing barges, began to register in Rachuks upper atmosphere it could have almost been an invasion. It was, of sorts, only this time it was the Sovereignty fleet that would feel the bite of enemy troops.

More craft descended as the original ships rose up, engines straining to break out against first the planets gravity then its atmosphere. Finally they broke through and made a beeline for the nearest Sovereignty vessel.



Aboard bogie designate Hotel.



"6, advance."

Captain Irsk spoke quietly into the comlink, ordering one of his squads to begin leapfroging with another squad, designated '5'. They had secured a small computer terminal, as had dozens of other Imperial platoons on other ORS ships, and his 3 civilian counterparts were busy doing their bit.

They were busy downloading anything and everything, screening it with their own manner and method, but all in all recovering anything Imperial Intelligence could possibly be interested in. Information was wired not only to hidden data-storage locations on both Irsk and the slicers themselves, but also to a pair of task specific 'slicer droids', brought along specifically to ensure that not only did the operation go smoothly, but also to ensure the honesty of the slicers themselves.

Captain Irsks comlink chirped.

"0, this is 4. We have resistance in the recreation area, about a dozen soldiers armed with basic pistols and a few rifles."

He nodded and had one of the droids draw up scematics for the vessel.

"4, 0. Order 3's use of rifle grenades to overshoot any barricades, it looks like there are 4, possibly 5 enterances. They can't be holding all of them. I'll order 5 to move into flanking position for dynamic entry."

"Aye sir, 4 out."

Irsk's comlink fell silent and he watched as the droids began removing hyperspace coordinates from the ships database. Then transmission locations. Mentally the Stormtrooper captain knew that squads 1 and 2 would be moving to secure the ships engine room. Then, pending the arrival of his engineers, he could get this ship out of here.

His comlink chirped again.

"This is SEC unit hotel. We have landed."

The engineers had arrived.

"Excellent, make your way to the engine room, we we are moving to secure it now."

"Affirmative, although there are new orders from Captain Alberto. Have you secured the ships life support?"

Captain Irsk looked at his comlink quizically.



Bridge of the Serephim.



"Captain, all engineering units have been equiped with null gas canisters, as ordered."

Nodding slowly Carlo continued to stare at the holocom before, dozens of assault transports swarming over the remains of the Sovereignty fleet.

"Good."



(OOC: Damages

Entire ORS Fleet disabled.)

General Septum was at the loading docks as the shuttles landed to take his troops into orbit. He had decided that he wanted to get into the action against the people that had bombarded his planet, and killed so many of his men, and citizens when they had blown away the Stormtrooper training facility. He would lead twenty SpecNav Commandoes, and thirty stormtroopers in an attack against one of the disabled Imperial class Star Destroyers. The combat was going to be fierce, and Septum knew that there was a possibility that he was going to die. Still, he was prepared for death, should it come. He had already lost his close friend, General William Harrier, killed when the Fire class Light Frigate Spartan had been blown up. He checked his weapons. His personal DL-50 Blaster pistol was in top working order, as was his E-12 Blaster Rifle, and his Vibro-Sword. Finally, he reached down to his right leg, and checked the sheath that contained his personal Viibrodagger. All were in good order. Then the time came to board the two shuttles. Spetum glanced around, at the hundreds of other various stormtroopers, and commandoes loading onto the shuttles, and being taken either to the Imperial fleet, or the ships that were to be captured. He took one last look at the city with the civilians returning home, and the planet it's self before boarding the shuttle, and taking on off.

A little later, he reached the Star Destroyer. Four Shuttles had already disgorged their assault teams, and they had secured the hangar bay area. Power had been restored to that area of the ship via portable generators, and the magcon shield had been brought back online. But, the shipboard complement of Outer-Rim Sovereignty had been launching a fiere counterattack, and had pushed the Imperials back some towards the entrance to the hangar bays. This Star Destroyer had been tentiavley identified as the flagship, so it's capture was vitally important to the whole operation. The shuttles touched down on the deck, and the stormtroopers, Special Navy Commandoes, and General Septum debarked, and headed for the passages that would lead to the bridge, and other vital areas aft. The General lead a group of four SpecNav Commandoes on a quick scouting mission, that disposed of ten ORS stormtroopers, and four Naval Officers. They had found the main areas of resistance, and had prepared to deploy heavy artillery to mow down the counterattacking troops. The blastdoors were closed, while allowing the ORS troops to move closer, it also allowed the Imperial troops to set up the weapons of their doom. E-Webs were assembled in the narrow hallways, and in the wide ones SpecNav Comandoes with grenades and rapid fire light laser cannons waited in ambush. Then, the doors were opened, and the Imperial troops opened fire. First, in the wide hallways, concussion grenades stunned the ORS troops in the lead, and the SpecNav commandoes jumped out of cover, firing their laser cannons on full autofire. The E-webs likewise spat out their red beams of doom in rapid succession.

Within minutes, it was all over. The ORS troops, and Naval officers, what were left of this wave, were in high retreat down the corridor. Some two thousand enemy soldiers had been killed in the past five minutes, in exchange for fewer than twenty Imperial casualties, mostly stormtroopers with a few SpecNavs thrown in. General Septum sent a progress report to the Admiral of the fleet, then proceeded with his troops to march into the corridor, and prepare for anything else the ORS had in store for them.

Aboard bogie designate Hotel.



"Lieutenant Slayher reporting."

Irsk didn't even turn around. He knew the engineering lieutenant had been approaching for the last ten seconds, but he had more pressing matters to attend to. Grimacing as a laserbolt missed his head by mere inches the storm trooper captain was quick to heft a grenade in response.

A muffled explosion followed by a dull scream was heard which brought a smile to the captains face, not that it could be seen.

"Great, gimme a minute."

His rifle was up on his shoulder as the command squad advanced, one trooper leaping up and over the makeshift barricade that had held the stormtroopers back from the life support systems.

"All clear! 2 enemy incapacitated, 3 dead."

Moments later the barricade was kicked down from the inside.

"Good work trooper."

Now Irsk turned back to the engineering crew, all wearing slightly modified stormtrooper regalia. The lieutenant threw a salute to which Irsk just nodded.

"We've taken the life support. Cost me two of my command staff wounded. This had better be worth it."

His voice was slightly agitated. The engineer may be a stormtrooper, but he was no combat soldier. Or at least he did not hold himself so.

The lieutenant nodded in return.

"This will prevent any more Imperial personel being wounded."

Moving forward behind the combat troops, the engineers quickly hefted a number of large canisters off their hover carriers and began affixing them to the life support systems.

Such was a tactic employed at Corellia, and so it would work here. Null gas, flushed through the entire ship. And on all the ships in the sovereignty fleet in fact.

"And now, we wait."



Aboard the ISD Oracle.



The Rachukian troops had all been issued with air scrubbers and rebreathers before they assaulted the Sovereignty Star Destroyer. None had questioned why, and had simply continued on with their mission, now they realised the importance of this action.

As they advanced through the stark and austre halls of the massive Imperator Star Destroyer they started to find dozens of bodies, the life almost sucked out of them as the null gas eliminated all oxygen in the entire ship. The deaths were painful, numerous bodies found with claw marks across their throats as they desperately attempted to make their lungs work.

All this the brainchild of a group of Sith who wanted to cause the enemies of the Empire as much pain as possible when their inevitable deaths arrised.



Aboard bogie designate Hotel.



Captain Irsk moved quickly over the piled up bodies that lead to the route of the bridge. Noting the immense defenses errected around the bridge he was glad that he had not been forced to clear it out. Smiling to himself he spoke over the inter platoon comms.

"Excellent work Lieutenant Slayher, i'll see you get a medal for this! My men owe you a serious debt."

To his left the engineer only shrugged.

"What, for following orders? This the brainchild of Governor Darksword when he and his men lead the counter attack on the Coalitions flagships at Corellia.

Methinks you owe him more than me."

Almost dumbstruck at the idea that a politician had not only invented such a brilliant ploy but had also launched the first, and obviously most dangerous, attack himself, Irsk could help but exclaim.

"@#%$, serious?"

The lieutenant nodded.

"Brilliant."



Bridge of the Serephim.



"Sir? We've received reports from Captain Irsk on the Hotel, bridge is secured and engineering repairs are underway."

Moments later the same lieutenant chirped.

"More reports coming in from ships across the board. All the same.

And one from General Septum on the Sovereignty Flag."

Smiling at his success in spite of himself Captain Alberto's teeth were bared for all to see.

"Excellent. Drop jamming for a moment to send an acknowledgement to High Command.

I think they'll be extremely pleased with this result..."

Still grinning Carlo ordered a glass of Rachukian tonic water brought to his chair. It was against regulations for such an action, but somehow he knew that High Command wouldn't hold it against him.

"Sir, the rest of the enemy troops have been knocked out by the null gas." reported one of his SpecNav Soldiers from another hold farther aft. After stopping by a local armory to replenish some power packs, General Septum and his assault teams had been working aft with the other Imperial teams to take and secure the bridge. At least I now know why the Imperial troops from the Navy are walking forward with such confidence thought the General bitterly. Soon they arrived at the blastdoor that lead into the bridge. Just in case anyone managed to grab some gas masks before the null gas hit, General Septum ordered the Imperial stormtroopers to blow the door with the special bomb force materiels. Soon, after a small explosion, they were standing on the bridge. Septum quickly had the engineers go to work on the console stations, seeing how long it would take until everything was back to working capacity. Using a portable generator, an engineer managed to get the communications station working. General Septum walked over to it and transmitted a direct message to the Fleet Commander.

"This is General Septum, acting captian of the now Empire owned Imperial Star Destroyer Oracle. Our job here is finished. The ship is being repaired, and brought up to full combat capacity as soon as possible." reported the General.

Bridge of the Serephim.



Carlo continued to sip his tonic as reports continued to flurry in as to the state of the enemy ships, now in the hands of the Imperials. Every so often something was relayed directly to him but for the most part he simply sat there, awaiting final confirmation that would allow the ships to be hyperjumped to safety.

The few transmissions he did take personally were those from the Imperator Class Oracle, upon which General Septum and his men were engaged.

Swirling the liquid in his hands Captain Alberto watched as stormtrooper assault transports criss-crossed his vision, their dilligence testement to the Imperial victory that had just occured. Suddenly to his left Lieutenant Cuervo motioned for the Captains attention.

"Yes José?"

He saluted before speaking, informing Carlo that General Septum had come through with another communication.

Nodding in acceptance, it was patched through immediately.

"This is General Septum, acting captian of the now Empire owned Imperial Star Destroyer Oracle. Our job here is finished. The ship is being repaired, and brought up to full combat capacity as soon as possible."

Pausing to smile at the possibility that Admiral Kraken might attempt to 'gain access' to the ships his men had assisted in taking, Captain Alberto sipped his drink before continuing.

"Excellent work General. An additional unit of stormtrooper engineers will be dispatched along with units of the Serephim's crew to assist in both the repair and transport of the ship back to Diktat space.

Any prisoners will be repatriated to the Sovereignty via the Hapes Consortium."

He said that now for the benefit of anyone listening, he knew full well that noone survived and the few who had were simply pilots drifting in space about to fall into Imperial custody, even though it was a complete falacy.

"Congratulations on successfully defending the planet. Will you remain aboard to assist my crew in transporting the ships, or should i have my landing barges take your men back to planet to begin the clean up?"


Bridge of the Frigate designate Hotel.


Captain Irsk was happy to send his first full blown report from the now empty bridge of the Sovereignty Bird of Prey. The engine and reactors were offline, although not dangerously so and would be back online within the hour. No Sovereignty troops had been encountered since the null gas had flushed the ship and so the only issues left to deal with was what to do with the bodies.

After issuing his report and mentioning the bodies, he was surprised to receive a reply not from the Serephim but with Imperial Intelligence commtags. Intreigued by the markings he opened the communique and grimaced. One excerpt specifically irked him:



"First i have to kill 'em, now i have to search 'em? This is @#%$." He shook his head but behind him a sergeant heard his angry reverie.

"Whats that Cap?"

Turning to the new noise Irsk grunted.

"Never mind Traydon. Reassemble our search details, we've got a dirty task ahead of us."

"Let's go boys. We've done our part in the capture of the ISD Oracle, now we need to go back to our planet and start commencing clean up operations. Send the message ahead that all units within a five kilometer radius of the main captial city of Rach are hearby ordered to converge on what used to be the stormtrooper training facility and to commence the search for survivors." ordered the General.

"Yes sir. Message is being dispatched, and our shuttles are prepared." responded the SpecNav Commando.

Some time later they were once again heading down to the planet below. As General Septum watched, a throng of Imperial stormtroopers among other Imperial units were marching to the site of the orbital bombardement with whatever tools they could scrounge.

"One last thing. Have my personal camera man standing by with his holocamm. We should be able to get in a few good pictures for the News and Propoganda reports." ordered General Septum.

"Aye sir. He responds that he is on his way." said the shuttle pilot.

With that, General Septum allowed himself to relax for the first time in several tense hours.