Captain Davin Essian eyed the General with guilt-ridden apprehension.

Essian knew General Ming was an extremely capable man. He had partnered in battle with him on numerous occasions in the past. Himself of course being under the command of Admiral Hyfe… always under the command of Admiral Hyfe…

No... not Admiral, he corrected himself for the umpteenth time. Regent. Regent Hyfe.

Captain Essian simply could not get over the thought.

Countless years of service under one single man…

Essian had seen the former Grand Admiral progress… from Admiral… to High Admiral… to Grand Admiral…

But... Regent?

Perhaps it was merely acrimony at having lost a fleet commander of over a dozen years. For Captain Essian had served under the command of Hyfe across the furthest stretches of the galaxy… always… always victorious…

Victory was crucial.

It is said that we are what we repeatedly do. Victory, therefore... had become not just an act... but rather a habit.

The Captain could not help but be ill at ease under the command of another. Surely he had learned enough from the Grand Admiral that if worst came to worst, he could take matters into his own hands.

But no... he mustn’t think such things.

General Chau Ming has been with the New Order nearly as long as the Regent himself.

And is it not also true that the General under whom he now served has also never seen defeat?

Essian’s pink lips curled up in a capricious smile.

Indeed... victory had become a habit throughout the entirety of the Empire. And it would stay that way for all eternity.

It was at the conclusion of this thought that the reversion mark was called… and the Imperial war fleet dropped ostentatiously into high orbit of the water world of Mon Calamari.







Captain Essian found himself being shouted orders...

But upon listening he came to realize half of them had already been carried out in hasty routine...

25 years of service to the Empire causes some things to flow through ones veins like blood itself. Like the force, Essian mused humorously to himself.

The order for system-wide communications jam had been given in a heartbeat, and detailed sensor and scanning reports were already beginning to show themselves on the TAC display, as the General would discover in no time.

The Captain did not look up from his console until the deployment order for the shrouds had been given. A smile crossed his lips at hearing the call for the Jaiprenl formation. The order was immediately sent. No doubt the Shroud commander already had his deadly cloaked forces underway, however.

The conservative Imperial Fleet quickly dropped into formation. Fighters hung in anticipation in the launch bays. Shields and weapons systems promptly came online.

And in no time at all allied forces arrived… their friendly blips decorating the tactical displays like sprinkles on a Corellian cream cake.

Essian couldn’t hold back his enthusiasm.

Only four capital ships and two small support craft would be visible to the enemy. But the deadly unseen force that even now was lashing out towards the swirling blue planet would send a shiver down the fish heads slippery spines…

And in their allies lay an even greater threat... for those of the Sith and the Swarm had committed quite impressive forces… quite impressive.


Captain Essian scratched his closely trim beard as he awaited further orders from the General... and in that moment almost felt a sense of pity for the enemies of the Empire.

Almost.

Essian smiled once more.

With veiled enthusiasm Ming noted the allied ships entering the system, and the interdiction field generators powering up on his and the Crimson Fleet’s ships. Reinforcements swarmed the tactical display, vastly outnumbering the few ships pitted in defence of the system.

They will fall, and only the Empire shall remain.

System-wide scans were being fed directly into Ming’s TAC, but already he could see that this would not be a difficult battle to win. Just as the Regent had foreseen it.

And then the call came for orders.

Ming almost smiled, then. The battle lines were drawn, the forces set out, and all that was left was to put it all in motion. He rather looked forward to it.

Another light began flashing on his command display, indicating a requested uplink from the Crimson Fleet. A quick glance at the TAC told Ming all he needed to know. Before initiating the transmissions, he summoned Essian and gave the order to launch fighters, designating a squadron of fighters and alpha group to destroy the on-planet defences. He then tapped a button on his command console, and brought up the transmissions to the other fleets.

“Commanders, this is General Ming. I will be commanding this engagement.” Ming looked again at the TAC, and then continued. “The primary objective today is the total destruction of the enemy shipyards. Resistance forces are slim, but not of immediate concern. The shipyards are the primary objective, but if you encounter enemy forces, deal with them accordingly.

“For the glory of the Empire, victory will be ours today. Ming out.”

The transmissions were cut, and almost instantly the allied forces began to change direction. “Follow them in, Captain, but keep our distance. I want to see what the Mon Calamari response is before we take our target.”

“Yes, sir.” Essian turned smoothly, and relayed the order to the Invincible’s helmsman.

Ming sat back, and watched the display change.

He was giving them a lot of freedom, he knew. The commanders of the allied fleets would be free to interpret his orders as they wished; defining ‘encounter’ and ‘accordingly’ as they wished. Under different circumstances, his orders wouldn’t have been as opened-ended, allowing for the freedom of movement to pick targets and plan their own assaults, based on their own fleet’s strengths and weaknesses.

Which was precisely why Ming let them at it. He knew almost nothing of the other commanders, and thus left them to their own devices to see how they handled the situation. It was much more effective this way, than to issue them orders that could contradict their fighting style and strategies.

As for their capabilities as commanders, Ming knew they wouldn’t be where they were today if they were incompetent.

The massive ships began to move, and Ming leaned back in the chair. He locked his eyes on the tactical display, and waited for the next move.

"All Wings, deploy." Came the crackling voice of Kashuuk, Swarm High Marshal, over the comm link.

With what could only be described as an evil grin, Kashuuk led his Eluder out of Vader's ships. He could tell that all of his fellow Retak Eluder pilots were happy to be away from those ships, and he was as well. It was very hard for any Retak to pass up a humanoid meal, but the orders came from the Hive Imperius himself, and that was as strong as the words of most species' gods.

He focused once more on the mission at hand. The 206 from Vader's carriers would lead the charge with the TIE fighters at the Mon Calamari, and the 119 Retak fighters on board the Galateek would stay back and guard the Retakkenari fleet, and come assist the battle if needed. As Kashuuk surveyed his allies' forces compared to his enemy's forces, he assured himself that the 119 would not be needed in battle.

His wing, Seshkak, lined up with him, Ushmaar and Ushalek flanking them, and Tothok bringing up the rear. The Retaks flew in thier usual Swarm type pattern, occasionally fitting in what could be considered wings. All the hungry-for-blood Retakkenari waited for was the order to attack.

The Azguard fleet spread out. They made sure they were between the biggest concentration of enemies and Mon Calamari at all times. Guns were hot and shields were up, they would wait for their enemies to make the first move.

"Protect Mon Calamari. Destroy as many enemy vessels as you can before you are destroyed. Fight to the finish."

It was suicide, but at least it was suicide with a bang.

So they waited, and prayed, that the enemy would come swiftly and that they could fight. For then they would make them pay tenfold for everyone of them destined to fall that day.

K'taruuk's mind glanced to a disturbance in the energy field surrounding him, something was happening elsewhere that needed his and more to the point, the fleet's attention.

"Signal our allies, wer are needed elsewhere. We will be departing immediately."

The Retakkenari fleet turned and headed at sublight to the outer reaches of the system, where, once beyond the gravity wells, they would jump into hyperspace.

OOC=72 Hour Rule



IC:


K'taruuk stood at the forefront of the ancestral's bridge as it reached the outermost limites of his allies interdictor fields, and they jumped to lightspeed, heading to a more important mission.

"My Lord, the Swarm fleet has safely exited the system."

Aside from the irregular pings and blips of the control-pit, the bridge of the Vengance, Dioan Silks flagship, was free of distraction.

The Sovereign Protector stood at the forward section of the Vengance's bridge, his long crimson cape barely touching the floor. He stood watching the battle forming in the distance.

After a period of silence and powerful Force contemplation, he spoke.

"Recall the fighters. Form up for departure... We will follow the Swarm ships and rendevous with the Third Fleet as planned."

Simple as that, the order was carried out.

Crimson fleet II began to form up for departure. The Dark Lord opened a communications channel to Dioan Silk, one they shared alone.

"Protector Silk, you will take a shuttle and meet with Death Fleet and the Crimson Third Fleet. You will leave the second fleet under my command."

Moments later, the entire second fleet had been ordered as such. The second fleet formed up with the first and they began their run on the shipyards of Mon Calamari, save only the small band of rebels in their path.

"Open a channel to the rebels." The Dark Lord commanded as he entered the bridge area once more.

"Rebel traitors. You are criminals of the Galactic Empire. Surrender your military assets to us and you shall receive a more leiniant punishment. Do not do so and you shall surely recieve only death.

This is the Dark Lord of the Sith and Imperial Procurator of Justice speaking."

The Azguardian Forces recognized these crimson types as their closest threat. Slowly their vessels moved directly between them and their targets.

"This is Regrad. We will not surrender to imperialistic, arrogant, pompus, and incredibly evil scum such as you. Move another meter towards this planet, let your ships dare to get into our firing range, and the full might of this fleet will strike you.

"Because of your actions, many will die on this battle field today, and may the gods be with you when this battle is over and you see how dearly it will cost you ."

OOC:D olash, I suggest taking command of MCR forces, since Teebo doesn't seem active.

IC:
"Sir, some of their fleet is leaving the system."

"Excellent. Let them go. What's our status?"

"100% sir."

"Prepare the com unit, no visual."

"Yes sir."

"Attacking Imperial Forces, I am wondering what your motives are?"

"No response as of yet."

"Form up with the Azguard fleet, I want us in there with them. Get me their commander."

"Regrad, we are outnumbered and outgunned, so I have to wonder about our strategy? If it's suicide, we are ready, but is it really necessay for us to die? Isn't there a backup base that we can fall onto, and then prepare to a counter attack there? We aren't going to win, we need to have a good plan. I suggest trading some small retreating shots, while we retreat to Kamino, where we have some shipyards preparing to build future ships?"

"Target the enemy ships, be prepared to run, make sure all shields are up."

The New Rebellion fleet, with no markings on them, as was the rule, moved forward, and into formation with the Azguards.