Star Wars- Galaxy at War (IC)

[Revlona]

Kienna Barkley

The scene in front of her only grew in intensity. She took a step back, still holding her lightsaber out at the ready. She wasn't going to just give up, of course. Though the fact that there were three of them... Kienna hesitated, then extinguished the beam, setting the saber back on her belt. She scanned the people ahead of her, frowning as though they were the cause of her bad luck. Which, in a way, they were. "Forgive me, master Jedi. I wasn't aware that any of you were on that ship." She said as innocently as she could, bowing lightly. It was fake, though. At least the part she said next.

"I was attacked by pirates, forced to flee the battle. I sent a distress beacon, trying to find another ship to, uh.. request assistance." She blinked at them, forcing herself to swallow her fear. That had become a habit a small of late. After some time of silence, she spoke again as though her point hadn't been made clear. "So I'd appreciate it if you could help me out." Her hand was resting on her saber arm, ready to lash out if trouble came up. She was more akin to a sith than a jedi, it seemed. Though her aura radiated anger, fear, and desperation. A small hint of light could be seen in her.

Years of training how to read people and even longer years of working in the field as a spy helped Zaknafein detect the lie for what it was. He didn't even need the force to tell the young woman was lying through her teeth or that she was scared witless. Zaknafein extinguished his purple and green lightsabers and clipped them back onto his belt once the young girl did the same but he remained ready nonetheless. "You do realize that you would of had to kill every single person on this ship to take it. All eighteen of us. I'll have you know that I have trained my men extensively on how to fight force users and even if you were fully into your powers you would have died. In the unlikely situation that you did manage it, you can't fly this vessel yourself." He raised his hand and motioned the other two Jedi in the room to lower their weapons as well as the eight or so blasters being trained on her from the crewmen. "Now, girl. I'm going to ask you a few questions and the outcome of the answers hinges on weather you're a guest or a prisoner. You can trust that I'll know you're lying. You're terrible at it. Where did you steal that ship from and who is chasing you?"

Michea
Aboard the Aurora

Lowering and extinguishing his saberstaff, Micheal stuck out his arm and summoned the girls lightsaber to his free hand. "You won't be needing this for now"

[Sterkistan]

Master Jek-El Crois
Aboard the Aurora
Gray Jedi

---

Jek-El extinguished the lightsaber, but kept it in his hand. He didn't know if this girl was a sith but god she had the aura of one. He rested his other hand on the edge of his belt. Ready to let forward an arc of force lightning should it be needed.
He spoke under his breath, "Girl can't lie for the life of her, surprised she even got that junker."

[The Grand Duchy Of Nova Capile]

Commodore Axon Karr

---

"Our boarding party has completely secured the station, Commodore," Lieutenant Thame reported. "Strangely there were very few crewers onboard."

"It wouldn't surprise me if the Rebels knew about our attack in advance, though why they didn't attempt to set up a little trap for us I don't know," Karr replied, watching the Imperial transports as they drifted leisurely to Ruisto's surface. "Perhaps they were distracted with our little feint towards Sanctuary."

"About that, sir, we've just received a transmission from Captain Yirin, of the Despoiler. His troopers managed to make it to the surface, but he was almost immediately engaged by a large Rebel force."

"Just as we'd hoped. Tell him to hold there for as long as possible." Axon turned to face the navigation officer. "Rigel, the fleet is prepared to make the jump?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then go to lightspeed, and Thame, transmit the go-signal to Commodore Anders and Captain Reville. Synchronisation is key. Oh, and whilst you're at it, might as well send a message to Commodore Dekati. I imagine he'd like to have some revenge as well."

The planet of Ruisto, now Imperial occupied, disappeared, replaced by mottled starlines as the Imperial plot fell into place.

---

Sanctuary

---

Captain Yirin winced, feeling the pain of his ship as one of its forward turbolaser batteries was obliterated by a wing of Rebel bombers.

"We can't hold them much longer!" he complained, watching in horror as a Tartan patrol cruiser exploded before his eyes.

"Sir, we've received a signal from Commodore Karr. He- he's ordered us to hold for as long as possible."

"What?" Yirin gasped, his pounding heart seeming to stop beating.

"With all due respect, sir," one of the junior officers sounded from a crew pit, "our Commodore has asked us to do the greatest thing we could for the Empire: Lay down our lives for her. And I will willingly do so."

"You- You're right," Captain Yirin agreed after a moment's hesitation. "Order Commander Adalmar to organize a ground defense of Sanctuary. All lighter-armed and maneuverable ships, begin diversionary and hit-and-run tactics. We'll hold them for as long as the Empire needs."

Below the warring fleets the picturesque agriworld of Sanctuary had just become an Imperial-occupied planet, the white-armored invaders having secured all of its vital defenses and prepared themselves for a siege.

---

Commodore Axon Karr
Imperial-II-class Star Destroyer Typhon
Mon Cala/Dac, Mon Calamari System, Outer Rim

---

Katar had made a fatal mistake, and fallen for Karr's diversionary tactic. Now Mon Cala would pay. The two Star Destroyers and dozens of escort ships that had taken Ruisto fell out of lightspeed, the fleet of Commodore Anders and Captain Reville a half-step behind them. The massive Imperial armada began blasting immediately: Their turbolasers spewed death at the surprised but determined Rebel ships, and TIE Interceptors, Bombers and Defenders poured out of their hangars.

Commodore Karr watched from the bridge of the Typhon; watched with the sweet taste of victory and glory on the tip of his tongue.

[Whalestron]

Kienna Barkley

The girl looked offended. Normally, her lying skills were superb. But in the presence of all these Jedi, particularly the master, she seemed to have lost this touch. She grabbed her saber with both hands as it flew away from her, but was ultimately defeated. She didn't really have a choice but to comply. Besides, it wasn't going to hurt her. They were Jedi, right?

Kienna took a moment to compose herself, then spoke. This time, every word was truth. "I was on Tatooine. Some pirates who... don't like me too much, ended up finding me. I- I stole this ship and tried to escape, but they were expecting that. I jumped into this system, and I," she paused, assembling her words. "Planned on stealing this ship to make it back to fight.. Forgive me, I thought it was the only way to deal with them." Honesty was a virtue Kienna's master taught her. But she tried to avoid it whenever necessary.

[Dentali]

Sanctuary

Bren Katar and his Battle meditation had coordinated a 5th bombing run on the Star Destroyer, this time targeting its engines so it couldn’t escape. Enough damage had been done to the Tie force to warrant breaking off half the X-Wings from the fleet to attack the troop transports landing on the planet, cutting of their escape. Bren watched the patrol cruisers explode in front of him and a larger imperial ship get ripped in half. He had 2 squadrons of X-Wings protecting his interdictor that kept the Imps from escaping, the imperials for once were outnumbered, outgunned and unable to escape.

“Focus Fire on the Star Destroyer, time to end this”


----------------_________________________________________--
Mon Cala

The Imperials had apparently not been aware of the newly installed minefield apparently, as it dropped out of lightspeed half inside one. 394 ion mines recently stolen from imperial convoys were activated. One of these mines could take the shields of a corvette, 2 the shields of a frigate, and so on. A Star destroyer could probably take a dozen before losing its shields. Once the shields were down the mines disabled the ships. The Rebels took a defensive formation near the shipyard and the several dozen under construction defense platforms, a long way from the exploding mines and within the range of the space station's shields.

At the same time Admiral Noonan activated the magnetic asteroids closest to the imperials which began hurtling towards them. Already smashing into the outermost ships of the imperial task force. The Asteroids ranged in size from the tie size to frigates, regardless they would do significant damage upon impact and break up the imperial formation, especially the ships whose shield were weakened

Noonan watched the ionic explosions rock the fleet and 2 dozen asteroids hurtle into the force

[The Grand Duchy Of Nova Capile]

Commodore Axon Karr

---

"The Rebels have set little traps for us. How quaint," Karr laughed. The majority of the mines had been set off in a chain reaction that, while it did cripple the Typhon and its escorts, wouldn't be around to damage Commodore Anders' fleet, as it dropped into the system about a minute afterward. The Commodore laughed again when a few dozen asteroids began hurtling themselves toward the Imperial ships. A few managed to hit, mostly being pushed away by deflector shields, but the majority were turned to dust by the thousands of turbolaser batteries at Karr's disposal.

"Alright, fleet. The time has come to end Dac's resistance, forever. Focus all firepower on those damaged capital ships. TIE Bombers, begin targeting the shield systems of those star cruisers. These pitiful Rebels won't hold up under our firepower."

---

Sanctuary

---

Though outnumbered and outgunned, Captain Yirin was putting up an admirable defense.

"Captain, those Y-Wings- they're going after our engines! We'll be trapped!" one of the deck officers shouted, alarmed. Yirin's bravery had worn thin.

"Enough of this! Jump to lightspeed, and fast! We'll be of better use to the Empire alive than dead!"

"But sir, their Interdictor cruiser!"

"Concentrate all firepower on it!" The Despoiler, damaged or not, was still a formidable warship, and its many dozens of turbolasers soon beat through the Interdictor's shields. The remnants of the Imperial fleet were also concentrating on it, as were the TIE Bombers, and unless it deactivated its gravity field and withdrew, it would soon be eviscerated. In the meantime, all of surviving TIE Interceptors were hounding the Y-Wings, keeping them far away from the Despoiler's engines.

On the ground, the populace, once staunch supporters of the Rebellion, were horrified when Alliance bombers soared over Sanctuary, dropping bombs on the few landing pads on the surface and slaughtering civilians along with the Imperial transports. In the meantime, stormtrooper Commander Adalmar had spread his forces across all of the planet's islands, securing them for the Empire and fortifying for the inevitable Rebel invasion.

[Whalestron]

Johanna Ent'el
Sanctuary
Aboard the Castor

The Mon Calamari cruiser was holding its own just fine, despite the torrent of lasers being fired at it. Johanna Ent'el faced watched aboard the bridge, her hands held behind her back. She frowned as she witnessed a Nebulon-B get obliterated. The fleet was still fighting, though for how long had yet to be determined. Johanna crossed the neat, metal floor over to an officer. Her tone was swift, yet calm. The situation hadn't become dire yet. At least, not for her. "We hold the defense. Wait until the reinforcements arrive."

The officer nodded, jogging away to relay the command. Johanna stared back out at the battle. At any moment, the tide could be turned. And there was still the ground battle to be considered. At least, there was a ground battle last she'd heard. Even if it was a few small groups fighting back. She spoke into her comm-piece, "Order some of our forces to the ground. I want that situation taken care of at the moment. Once our reinforcements come, the battle up here should be in our favor."

[The Grand Duchy Of Nova Capile]

Commodore Axon Karr

---

The battle raged on all sides of the crippled Typhon, ships entering the fray and being destroyed in the blink of an eye. Though the ion minefield might have proved disastrous under other circumstances, Commodore Anders' fleet had jumped in at the precise moment to soak up enemy fire, potentially saving the Typhon from destruction. Its systems were now powering back up, the last crackles of superconcentrated energy dissipating and the shields recharging; it was time to go on the offensive.

"The enemy are stout, but they won't hold up for long under the combined firepower of our fleet. In the meantime, we can begin destroying their defenses from the inside out. Begin with the plan," Axon ordered, watching the battle with rapt attention. At his words the Dominion, another Imperial-II Star Destroyer, moved forward in formation, the ISDs Judicator and Stalwart behind it. Closing about half distance with the Rebel ships, their hangars suddenly frothed over with assault shuttles, which swarmed out from their motherships loaded with stormtroopers.

Darting in and out of laser fire and dogfights, the shuttles that survived enemy fire latched themselves on to enemy capital ships and frigates and disgorged hundreds of stormtroopers into them, causing chaos. Their orders were to capture as many of the ships' systems as possible, preferably the bridge and weapons batteries, and thus take them out of the fight. In the meantime it would at least distract the Rebel ships, giving the Imperials a chance to eviscerate with their superior firepower.

One of the boarded ships was the Castor; the stormtroopers had landed near the bridge and were now making a direct assault towards it...

---

Sanctuary

---

The stormtrooper garrisons watched in horror as the Imperial fleet in orbit of Sanctuary began to buckle under Rebel might. The shields of the Star Destroyer Despoiler had finally relented under Rebel firepower(for once superior), and now it was taking direct damage from the enemy ships. Communication between the ground and the Despoiler was suddenly lost as a Y-Wing squadron strafed the capital ship, destroying its bridge and several other systems in one fell swoop.

Commander Adalmar turned away in disgust as the headless Despoiler, now a sitting duck, continued to splinter into pieces under a devastating Rebel bombardment. Suddenly the fire ceased, however, and Rebel limpet ships streaked towards the Star Destroyer. Apparently the enemy wanted a prize ship. Adalmar sneered. Perhaps the enemy had won against the Imperial Navy, but the Army wasn't going to give up that easily.

"Have our men secured all of Sanctuary's space ports?"

"Yes, Commander. We've fanned out across the planet to defend all likely enemy invasion sites."

"Excellent. And Lieutenant, make sure that our men are ready to burn and salt the fields if worst comes to worst. If we can't have this world we'll make it so barren and desolate that even the enemy won't want it."

---

Surface of Mon Cala

---

The submersible darted skillfully past wayward schools of fish and other local fauna, its color making it blend in almost seamlessly with the deep blue of the ocean. They were far enough down now that the rescue team need not worry about anyone spotting them from above, whilst they were much too far away from any Quarren or Mon Calamari settlements for a native to stumble across them.

"We're converging on the source of the signal, Major," one of the shocktroopers reported, not glancing up from the navigation panel. "We should arrive in-"

"There it is," one of the other elites interrupted, pointing to a small obtrusion in the distance. It was barely noticeable, and would have been easily passed up by anyone not looking for it, but as they neared it they became sure: This was the Vice Admiral's prison. The submersible drifted to a halt nearby, and the men clanked towards the exit in their pressurized suits. The sensation of being hundreds of feet into the ocean was overwhelming, but the shocktroopers fought past it and swam up to the cube half embedded in underwater cliff.

Quickly forcing open the airlock, the twelve men fell inside, the door slamming behind them. The next one came easily, and there they saw the horribly confined quarters that Markes Cyrus had been imprisoned in. He was there too, slumped on the ground. Major Mott lifted him onto his shoulder and carried him out, wanting to be as quick and surgical about this as possible. He raised his blaster and shot at the cameras carefully disguised so as to be invisible to the untrained eye, but easy to spot for an elite shocktrooper.

The men, somehow suprised at the ease of their mission, forced their way back to the submersible with Cyrus after stuffing him into makeshift diving gear. Clambering exhausted into the submersible, they began the tedious journey back to the surface. They started to rescucitate the Admiral but Mott stopped them. A concious officer would just be an even heavier burden on them.

The pod jutted back over water with a splash, and, bobbing like a cork, waited patiently for their transport to return. Exactly on schedule, there was the Condotierre, skimming over the water's edge, their ticket out...

[Sterkistan]

Kienna Barkley

The girl looked offended. Normally, her lying skills were superb. But in the presence of all these Jedi, particularly the master, she seemed to have lost this touch. She grabbed her saber with both hands as it flew away from her, but was ultimately defeated. She didn't really have a choice but to comply. Besides, it wasn't going to hurt her. They were Jedi, right?

Kienna took a moment to compose herself, then spoke. This time, every word was truth. "I was on Tatooine. Some pirates who... don't like me too much, ended up finding me. I- I stole this ship and tried to escape, but they were expecting that. I jumped into this system, and I," she paused, assembling her words. "Planned on stealing this ship to make it back to fight.. Forgive me, I thought it was the only way to deal with them." Honesty was a virtue Kienna's master taught her. But she tried to avoid it whenever necessary.

---

Master Jek-El
Gray Jedi
Aboard the Aurora
Jek-el shut off his saber, returning it to his belt, remembering to secure it and his gun with double clamps after watching the saber being torn from the girls hands.
"Smart, choosing the easy way." He slumped slightly, sighing over the over-exertion required for such a menial task.
He turned to Zaknafein, "She's telling the truth, I can sense it."
He looked back at the Padawan, she looked pretty ragged, understandable if she was just fighting pirates, however Jek-El was curious as to how this girl ended up fighting pirates "Where's your master? Might have to inform him that honesty is the best policy."
Jek-El asked this for two reasons, one to determine whether she had a knight or master with her who may aid the Jedi cause, the other was to determine whether she'd be open to becoming his Padawan, she had discipline in the force and the Jedi ways, while also possessing a large amount of raw emotion. She was almost a perfect Gray Jedi, and Jek-El wanted to teach her balance, or the chance that she'd fall to the dark side was too high, she'd make a dangerous Sith too.

[Whalestron]

Johanna Ent'el
Aboard the Castor

The boarding was seen a few minutes before, as the parties were reported. Johanna ordered her soldiers to prepare themselves. They'd advance on the positions where the ship was breached. Unfortunately for Johanna and the ship, she'd dispatched all but a hundred soldiers to the surface below, the rest on standby. She felt the first ship attach itself, sending shudders throughout the ship.

"Get that taken care of!" Johanna demanded. Fifteen soldiers responded, heading to the location immediately. Two were killed right off, as the stormtroopers had time to prepare themselves. But the remaining thirteen found cover quickly and began to fight back. Johanna felt the next two attachments, one in the hangar, and one right next to the bridge. She scowled, keying in her commlink again. "Bridge and hangar, now!" Thirty to the hangar, and twenty to the bridge. The remaining forces would reinforce the repelling troops as they saw fit.

The door to the bridge was blown open. The first stormtrooper was dead before any of them could react. Johanna fired another shot into the crowd before she needed to find cover. Her soldiers would arrive shortly, then they'd have a better chance of survival. Her holo-communicator buzzed with a message, which she watched intently. A captain appeared, speaking frantically. "We've lost a Nebulon-B to them, and I don't think we'll be able to hold out much longe-" he was cut off by a blaster shot. That would be two ships lost to the Imperials. Johanna fired another two shots at the crowd rushing to get into the bridge. Her reinforcements would have to arrive sooner rather than later.


Kienna Barkley
The Aurora

Kienna frowned at the floor at the question. "He's... gone." She answered. It wouldn't take a force user to sense her pain at admitting it. Her master was gone, and wasn't coming back. But she wasn't going to act as though she was weak on her own, without guidance. This was entirely true, though. "I do well on my own, I don't need help from anyone." She spat.

Then came the question of why the pirates were after her. That one was difficult to answer. She couldn't just answer that one truthfully and get away with it. It wasn't something you could just shrug off and live normally. "I got into an argument with their leader," she said, "a very heated argument."

Her eyes flitted to her confiscated lightsaber, which could probably help someone to connect the dots. "Look, I've had a long day. If you could return my stuff and drop me off at the next planet, I'd be very happy. Hell, I'd settle for a space station at this point." She was trying to evade anything else.

[G-Tech Corporation]

High Orbit, Sukkult, Inner Rim

Grand Admiral Kuat impatiently drummed his fingers on the control console of the Fealty, waiting for word from the surface. Grant had descended some hours ago with escorts to formally accept the Herglic surrender of the few rebels that had sought to bring this world on the Rimma Trade Route in to open rebellion, but there had been no transmissions from the party for some time. The last world in open revolt in this Oversector, Sukkult would be the end to this campaign. In some ways, Kuat had been disappointed with the amount of resistance the rebels showed; the arrival of two Imperial assault fleets over their worlds tended to cow even the staunchest of firebrands, which was fair enough, but still. You would think those with the courage to declare rebellion, knowing the force the Empire could marshal, would have the ideological grit to continue to pursue that rebellion once that aforementioned force appeared over their worlds.

But it had made for a quiet round of pacification, and that, at the end of the day, was good. Worlds returned to Imperial compliance peacefully, or mostly peacefully, were more productive than worlds devastated in to submission, and Kuat was not a bloodthirsty man by nature. It was the Tarkin Doctrine at work- the projection of overwhelming force made unnecessary the use of that force, for any rebellion was doomed before it began. The Midnight Fleet might not have a battlestation the size of a moon to threaten restive elements with, but at the end of the day, thirty capital ships more than did the job.

The holotransciever crackled to life, and Jarn's eyes flickered upwards from his inward reverie. It was a short transmission, but exactly the one he had been waiting for; Grant had formally confirmed the return of Sukkult to the Imperial fold, and had thanked his fellow Grand Admiral for his assistance. Now Jarn was free to carry out the Emperor's more pressing orders.

"Helmsman, set a course for Ord Trasi. We have a rebellion to end."

[Hafflegar]

Kienna Barkley
The Aurora

Kienna frowned at the floor at the question. "He's... gone." She answered. It wouldn't take a force user to sense her pain at admitting it. Her master was gone, and wasn't coming back. But she wasn't going to act as though she was weak on her own, without guidance. This was entirely true, though. "I do well on my own, I don't need help from anyone." She spat.

Then came the question of why the pirates were after her. That one was difficult to answer. She couldn't just answer that one truthfully and get away with it. It wasn't something you could just shrug off and live normally. "I got into an argument with their leader," she said, "a very heated argument."

Her eyes flitted to her confiscated lightsaber, which could probably help someone to connect the dots. "Look, I've had a long day. If you could return my stuff and drop me off at the next planet, I'd be very happy. Hell, I'd settle for a space station at this point." She was trying to evade anything else.

Zaknafein listened silently to the exchange, his keen silver eyes never leaving the young Padawan. So her master is dead, she's stranded by herself and trying to make the best of it. "That, at least was the truth." The Rattataki suddenly spoke up. He took a step toward the girl, careful to make of show of being nonthreatening. "You may come aboard but I cannot allow you to have your lightsaber back just yet. You did after all just try to hijack my vessel. I'll have a cabin readied for you with food and drink brought to youa. Your door will be guarded until I am sure you won't try anything reckless again and trust me, you really don't want to. My men are trained professionals. Once we make port if you choose to part ways with us you will be given your effects back and a few hundred credits, though it would be in your best interests to stay with us." Zaknafein paused briefly to let his words sink in. "You can have free run of the ship as long as you agree to an escort and don't go anywhere where you could cause mischief. If you agree to these restrictions then you won't have to spend the trip locked in my bring for Piracy and attempted Piracy." Zaknafein extended his hand toward the young girl, "I am Jedi Sentinel Zaknafein and this is my ship. Welcome to the Aurora."

[The Grand Duchy Of Nova Capile]

Commodore Axon Karr

---

"Commodore, our boarding parties have so far captured two enemy frigates, and are contesting ten others," Thame reported, head whipping back and forth as he tried to take in a dozen data feeds at once.

"Excellent. Order the captured ships to open fire on the Rebels; it will serve to create even more confusion, and provide cover for the second wave." The Nebulon-B's that had fallen to the Empire now turned their batteries on their former allies; whilst the frigates didn't pack much of a punch, it would distract and disorient the Rebels, which was just as good.

As the Nebulons opened fire the second wave of tightly-packed assault shuttles was launched, once more latching themselves onto enemy ships, stormtrooper squadrons spilling out of them and wreaking havoc.
"That would be the last of our men," Karr said.

"Yes, sir. Sending any more would put our own ships into danger, should they be boarded."

"Of course. Now, let's see." Axon peered out, his eyes focusing on a Mon Calamari star cruiser that had clearly been undergoing badly needed repairs before the battle.

"Focus all fire on that MC80," he ordered, smiling grimly as the full weight of the massive starfleet at his disposal came crashing down on the wounded vessel. The star cruiser's shield generators, a priority target for Imperial bombers, had been damaged during the first battle, and wouldn't last long against a barrage of this magnitude. The Liberty ship's shields began to flicker and tremble, and the Typhon's gunners began to focus their fire, going in for the kill...

---

Aboard the Castor

---

The thirty or so stormtroopers flooded into the bridge, the first three or so being felled instantly by enemy fire, while the rest dove for cover. Rebel propaganda attempted to portray Imperial stormtroopers as clumsy and woefully incompetent, but that was anything from the case, as the Rebel bridge crew would soon find out. Operating with precise movement and near-perfect, parade-ground synchronization, the troopers fanned out behind scorched monitors, blasted databanks, and any cover they could find, and then began to move forward, step-by-step, using superior firepower and numbers to their advantage as they slowly encroached further into the bridge.

---

Freighter Condotierre

---

The shocktroopers, exhausted, hauled Cyrus into the Condotierre and then collapsed onto the stiff bunks in the back of the vessel after taking off their cramped diving suits. A stormsurgeon managed to resuscitate Cyrus, gave him some water and nutritive pouches, and then helped him into the Condotierre's cockpit.

The hired gun piloting it was frowning. "The rescue operation went seamlessly, but there's just a tiny little hitch." He pointed upwards. "The Imperial fleet showed up, and all hell just broke loose." The Imperial Lieutenant next to him was apoplectic.

"What does it matter? Just get us out of here! Transmit your authorization codes to the Imperial fleet and they won't fire on us-"

"It's not that simple," the mercenary snapped back. "The Rebels are too distracted right now to bother with us, but the minute we start leaving the atmosphere they'll start hailing us, asking us what in the name of the Core we're doing, and they might even start shooting when we don't answer. Even if we did make it up... It's a damned warzone! I'm a good pilot, but not good enough to get this piece of scrap through a battlefield."

"Scum. An Imperial would've answered differently."

The man's expression darkened and he turned to face the Imperial. "And I suppose you'd rather swim to the nearest starport and wait for the Empire to win and pick you up?"

The officer scowled back.

"Didn't think so. I'll see what I can do."

[Whalestron]

Johanna Ent'el
The Castor

The admiral herself knew fully well what the stormtroopers were capable of. The majority of others on the bridge, however, learned their alleged uselessness was a hoax. Johanna took out one more before withdrawing back into her cover. From what she could see, there were three rebels left- including herself. A soldier, an officer, and Johanna. They wouldn't last long, especially since their reinforcements had been cut in half by another boarding party. The fourteen reinforcements were engaged in one of the corridors.

She'd hated to admit it, but Johanna would have to surrender if she wanted to live. She turned to the soldier on her right, who'd wisely ducked behind cover immediately once the attack began. He looked young. Full of life. It wouldn't be human to let him die like this. "Hold your fire!" She cried, "I said hold your damn fire!"

The admiral stood up, arms raised. It was a sign they'd been defeated. This was followed by the officer first, then, grudgingly, the soldier. A single thought crossed her mind; were they taking prisoners? This was interrupted by a transmission beeping in her ear. Her reinforcements had arrived, the Pollux, an MC80 equal in size as her own, along with four Nebulon-B's. There were some Corellian frigates as well. Their last bet on hope had arrived at last. They couldn't possibly hope to win the battle, but escaping became much more realistic. All Johanna had to do was escape her own ship.


Kienna Barkley
The Aurora

The padawan nodded solemnly. "Yes, sir.." She understood everything listed in his terms. If only she'd reached out before attempting to take the ship. Those thoughts would have to wait, though. Zaknafein's handshake was intercepted by Kienna, her shake firm and somewhat angry. "Kienna Barkley." She responded, "it's a pleasure to meet you, master Zaknafein." She said. It was in an innocent tone, one of the curious padawans first realizing they were in the presence of legends. In reality, she was gauging the reactions to her name. Certain that she'd had at least two bounties over her head. One for the death of that Imperial captain, and the other for a stolen ship. She followed the escorts to her room, swallowing the suggestion. Why would she want to stay with these people? She was much better on her own, where nobody could hurt her emotionally. But the Jedi thought differently. She'd have to speak with him in private at some point, to gain whatever guidance she could.

[The Grand Duchy Of Nova Capile]

Aboard the Castor

---

Stormtrooper Commander Fyr smirked underneath his helmet as the three surviving Rebels shakily rose from their hiding places, bitterly defeated.
"Hold your fire," Fyr said needlessly, standing himself. His soldiers slowly lowered their blaster rifles. Fyr noticed the comlink buzzing in one of the officer's ears.

Sidestepping towards her, he snatched it roughly and threw it to the ground, crushing it underneath the heel of his boot. Glancing at her insignia, he stopped, impressed under his white helm. "An Admiral," he said softly, whistling in surprise and satisfaction. Capturing such a senior Rebel officer was always a surefire way to claw towards the next promotion.

"Sergeant Tavik," the Commander called over his shoulder, "take your squadron, secure the bridge, and await further orders from the Commodore. The rest of you, with me. We'll escort the prisoners back to the shuttle." Fyr wanted to personally present this Admiral to his commander. The officer paused to place restraints over the wrists of the trio. "Come on you three," he ordered, jabbing Ent'el in the ribs with the butt of his rifle, "get moving."

The Imperial soldiers and their captives trooped down the corridors of the ship in silence, the sounds of chaotic blaster-fire growing ever louder.
"Hold it, men," Fyr suddenly ordered, dropping into a crouch as they rounded the next corner. "Rebels ahead." The phalanx of stormtroopers came around the bend guns blazing, catching the enemy by surprise and slaughtering them.

Still, for the moment the troopers were distracted...

---

Commodore Axon Karr

---

"Sir, enemy fleet about to come out of hyperspace!" Thame reported.

"Manhunter, let them in on a vector that'll put them completely out of position," Axon commanded, hand on his chin, grey eyes boring into the monitor. Moments later the reinforcing fleet fell out of lightspeed; another MC80 and a handful of frigates and other support ships, all out of the fight for a few minutes because of the Interdictor cruiser. It was the all time they'd have.

"Star Destroyers, move into position to destroy the last of their original fleet. All surviving stormtroopers, you're to reboard your shuttles and board the enemy space station and shipyards. We'll want to try and capture them intact. Quickly now, men; let's crush them before their reinforcements are here and the chance is gone."

[Whalestron]

Johanna Ent'el
The Castor

The admiral smirked at the troopers' mistake. None of them had stayed behind to guard the trio, leaving them a clear opportunity to escape. Johanna weighed the options in her head, and decided escaping now would have the most fruitful results. She nodded to the other two, who seemed to be thinking the same as she was. They turned and began running down the long corridor, taking an abrupt turn as soon as they could. "The hangar won't be too hard to find," said Johanna. "First we need to focus on getting these- ah, perfect!"

Repairing a broken section of the ship was an astromech. An R3, from what Johanna could tell. It wasn't taking notice of them, likely more focused on the task at hand. Johanna approached it, issuing an order. "Droid, we're going to need some assistance." It swiveled its head around to acknowledge the speaker. Johanna held her hands out. The astromech seemed to understand, and went to work on the binds. In a few moments, the cuffs were off of Johanna. It moved on to the other two, finishing in about the same time, and went on with its futile task of repairing the ship. "Let's go."

The three continued making their way to the hangar, their footsteps the only sound other than the blaster fire and siren wailing. It didn't take them long to make it to the hangar, which was surprisingly vacant. At least, that's the way it seemed. Two blaster shots served as their warning. Johanna was pulled backwards by an unfamiliar set of hands. Certainly not a trooper's. And they weren't. They belonged to one of her own men. Five in all had been defending that very position, holding as long as they could. It seemed their escape would go smoothly after all. Or would it?

Once everyone was rearmed and prepared, (the goal was a shuttle that hadn't been completely destroyed in the fights), the rebels positioned themselves near the blast door. Two soldiers ran in, straight for the craft. Two others entered to cover them. The first two were cut down, but the ones covering them dealt with the problem. It seemed they were in the clear. At least, the stormtroopers looked to be vacant. The hangar must have been of low priority. Though a force of them could have easily stayed behind to stage a trap. And what better time to spring it than when the admiral herself is running through a clear hangar?

[The Grand Duchy Of Nova Capile]

Aboard the Castor

---

The last of the Rebel soldiers were cut down in a storm of blaster fire, crumpling to the floor with screams of agony.
"Nice work, men," Commander Fyr complemented, glancing down at the carnage. "Now get the prisoners- where are they?"

"Sir... They must have escaped."

"What? You damned fools! Find them, then! They can't have gotten far!" This was a big opportunity, the capture of a Rebel Admiral. Fyr wasn't going to let it slip through his fingers. And, if she escaped, it could even mean a demotion, or at least a reprimand and a smudge on his record. Cursing over and over under his breath, the stormtrooper commander began the search.

Several minutes later, one of the troopers saw them through a security feed.
"Heading towards a nearby hangar bay, sir," he reported.

"Come on, then!" Fyr snarled, "after them!"

The column of white-armored soldiers began bolting through deserted corridors at full-speed, armor clanking, Fyr panting but not slowing at all. He had just picked up his second wind and came hurtling around the corner to see his prisoners, along with a few new Rebels. The two groups stopped to stare at each other for half a second before they came to their senses and began to reach for their blasters.

"Set weapons to stun! Don't let them get away!" Fyr barked, sounding very much like a wild animal. "Men, fan out to defend the remaining shuttles!"
He sent a few stun bolts sizzling towards an enemy soldier.
"They can't get away!"

---

Commodore Axon Karr

---

With their flagship captured and their Admiral out of the fight, the Rebel defense was crumbling. The superior firepower of the Imperial fleet, combined with the disorganization of the surviving Rebels, made for a very one-sided battle. Turbolasers blazing, the Star Destroyers were now just mopping up; a few were even now repositioning to advance against the Pollux and its escorts.

"Report in from Commander Saarn," Lieutenant Thame said, much calmer and collected now that the crucible of battle had largely passed. "His troops have captured the command bridge of that Golan station, and are now beginning to secure the rest of its weapons systems and the shipyards."

"Excellent. What of Commander Fyr?"

"His last report was from a while ago, Commodore, but apparently he captured a senior Rebel officer, perhaps the Rebel commander." Karr raised an eyebrow to match Thame's look of suspicion.

"We'll see about that. Very well. Syclla and Justicar, reposition to deploy against that MC80 with your escorts. Dominion, Stalwart, and Typhon, we'll clean up the remaining Rebel ships. No further orders should be necessary," he laughed, casually glancing over the last of the Rebel fleet. They were fighting valiantly, but it was a lost cause.

"Sir... We're also receiving an encrypted transmission from a ship, the Condotierre, on the surface. They're using Imperial codes-"

"That would be Vice Admiral Cyrus' extraction team. Tell them to remain in place; we'll send escort ships down to assist them soon enough."

[Whalestron]

Johanna Ent'el
Aboard the Castor

The rebels hadn't expected the sudden arrival of the Imperials, though it was highly probable. The remaining forces began running for the shuttle, which appeared to grow farther and farther. A soldier went down from a stun bolt, forcing Johanna to stop in her tracks. No man left behind had always been a mindset. She scooped him up, carrying the dazed man. Another slowed to match her pace, supporting her.

The quicker ones of their group made it onboard, and began firing it up. Their escape was just within reach. All they'd have to do is make it out of the hangar and onto the Pollux, and they'd be free. At the very least, they'd inform their friends that they were safely outside. Hell, Colin knew when he'd have to leave anyway. He wouldn't waste resources on a futile rescue.

The Pollux and its own forces were merely there to cover the escape of anyone who could make it. Which was very few. Maybe two hundred men and women total had made it out of the system. It was the best they could do. The attacks couldn't be repelled after all of the boarding parties. They'd lost this battle.

Johanna was just crossing the final stretch when a strange, numb feeling shot across her left leg, causing her to stumble and fall. The barely-conscious man had been supported through her fall, luckily. They were still several yards from the shuttle, and everyone else was inside already, keeping away from enemy fire. They couldn't risk losing a single person in there. The woman who'd helped Johanna to carry the unconscious soldier looked back at the admiral, who waved her away. "But-" She'd protested futilely. "Get him in that ship and leave, that's an order! Tell Colin we're finished here, make sure everyone who's still alive jumps out of here!" Johanna shouted.

The young woman hesitated for a moment, then turned and ran for the ship. Once she was inside, the door closed, stun bolts hitting it fruitlessly. The shuttle began hovering, then positioned itself so it was facing the exit, and left. A minute later, the Pollux had turned itself around, followed by the several other ships that came with it. One by one, they jumped into hyperspace. The Imperials had won.

Johanna grunted as she drew her weapon. She could feel the tingling pain that came about from her leg as she positioned herself into a crouching position against a crate. She retaliated by sending lethal bolts at the enemy. She took a couple down, then felt the same sensation slamming itself against her left shoulder. Johanna barely had time to aim her weapon at them when another one, the final one, slammed into her torso. She went down hard, lifting her head once only to have it fall back down to the ground. She couldn't fight back. She was now a prisoner of the empire.

[The Grand Duchy Of Nova Capile]

Aboard the Castor

---

Commander Fyr tensed beneath his armor as several blaster bolts shot by, barely missing him and connecting with a pair of unlucky troopers behind him. Taking careful aim at the female officer staggering towards her escape shuttle, the Commander fired; his shot caught her in the leg, and she buckled and fell. Fyr began to start forward, but was distracted by a sudden flurry of blaster fire from inside the shuttle. Turning his attention to the offending Rebel soldier, Fyr dispatched him with a stun shot, sending the dissident sprawling backward into his commandeered ship. Two more Rebels, a very young woman and a semi-conscious man, stumbled into the shuttle before its landing ramp began to ascend.

"Sir!" one of the troopers called as the shuttle began to take off. "They're getting away!"

"Not the one we want," Fyr responded, barely glancing at the fleeing shuttlecraft as he began to advance towards the woman he'd stunned. But she wasn't incapacitated, as he'd thought. She suddenly lurched forward with a blaster in hand, delivering a salvo of red blaster fire that sent two or three more troopers reeling with fatal wounds. But a dozen or more blaster rifles were trained on her, and the torrent of stun bolts that responded put an end to her resistance.

Stepping towards the still body, Fyr nudged aside her blaster pistol and kicked her onto her back. "Just as I thought; our little Rebel Admiral. Sergeant Xin, inform the Commodore that I've captured the enemy commander. You two," he gestured to a pair of soldiers, "carry this traitor back to our transport. I'll accompany you. Sergeant, I leave you in command. Secure the rest of the ship."

"Yes, sir."

"Now let's get this prisoner back to the Commodore. I'm sure he'll be pleased."

---

Commodore Axon Karr

---

Axon watched, a sublime feeling, perhaps the taste of his first major victory as an independent commander, on his lips. The Rebel relief force, after evacuating whatever men they had left, had limped away into lightspeed, leaving Dac to the Empire. Now Karr had dismissed a convocation of his commanders, to applaud them for their hard work. The dozens of quarter-sized blue-tinged holograms had also looked pleased with themselves, no doubt glad that such a major victory would know show up on their track record.

"Lieutenant Thame, anything to report?"

"Yes, sir. It happened about half-an-hour ago, but was lost in all of the reports. We lost contact with Captain Yirin and the Despoiler. I can only assume the worst."

"A lamentable but relatively inconsequential loss, compared to the victory we've won here. Captain Yirin's apparent sacrifice was necessary to the Empire's triumph. He will be remembered well for it."

"Yes, sir. There's also the matter of Commander Fyr. He requests an appointment with you, and is still insisting that he's captured the Rebel leader."

"Well? Is what he's saying true?"

"The ISB officer has identified her as 'Admiral Johanna Ent'el', but cannot confirm her as the enemy leader as she is unconscious, and he doesn't want to resuscitate her until he's received further-"

"Yes, yes, all in good time. There are more pressing matters at the moment," the Commodore said, glancing sideways at the mottled blue surface of Mon Cala. "Now, Thame, I'll need you to open a channel with Grand Admiral Kuat."

"At once, sir."

Karr once again straightened his cap and uniform, dusted off his still-new Commodore's rank plaque, and managed to contain his joy and adopt a neutral countenance. Folding his hands behind his back, he waited for Kuat's holographic likeness to appear. He'd waited a long time for the moment when he'd truly impress his commanding officer, and perhaps now was the time.

[Parcia]

The freighter

Cyrus coughed a dry cough and kept sipping the water, blanket clad around his shoulders. "The Gr-75s, they are bound to have the leaving the world, likely to evacuate."
He paused. "Shadow one and use its signature to hide yours, just turn everything save your engines and life support off."

He had seen the rebels use such tricks before with Their fighters, and even a few rumors of Imperial troops doing the same.

[The Grand Duchy Of Nova Capile]

Freighter Condotierre

---

"That's a hell of an idea. Guess you weren't promoted to Admiral for nothin', huh?" the pilot said gruffly, beginning to pull the frigate up and into the atmosphere. He soon caught sight of a small convoy of fleeing troop transports and, beginning to cut off the systems one-by-one, shadowed one of them through the planetary shield and out of the atmosphere. The mercenary let out a low whistle when they came into space and had a clear view of the battlefield.

"Absolute carnage," he commented. Even the Lieutenant was visibly impressed. The burning, bisected husks of several massive Mon Calamari capital ships were drifting listlessly through empty space, the remains of countless smaller ships surrounding them. Meanwhile, eight Imperial Star Destroyers lurked in the distance, resisted by a sole Rebel star cruiser and its escorts, which even now were beginning to maneuver to leave.
"Guess we're through, then," the pilot sighed. "This is Condotierre to Typhon. We have your Admiral."

"Confirmed. Condotierre, you are clear to land in the Typhon's hangar bay." The freighter sped towards one of the Star Destroyers and came to a gentle landing. Major Mott and his men trooped off to one side for their debriefing, the pilot went to the other to collect his payment, and the Lieutenant helped Vice Admiral Cyrus down the landing ramp, where he was greeted by another officer.

"Vice Admiral!" he saluted, "I am Captain Tschess. Commodore Karr is currently occupied and, much to his disappointment, was not available to welcome you back, sir."

[Hafflegar]

Kienna Barkley
The Aurora

The padawan nodded solemnly. "Yes, sir.." She understood everything listed in his terms. If only she'd reached out before attempting to take the ship. Those thoughts would have to wait, though. Zaknafein's handshake was intercepted by Kienna, her shake firm and somewhat angry. "Kienna Barkley." She responded, "it's a pleasure to meet you, master Zaknafein." She said. It was in an innocent tone, one of the curious padawans first realizing they were in the presence of legends. In reality, she was gauging the reactions to her name. Certain that she'd had at least two bounties over her head. One for the death of that Imperial captain, and the other for a stolen ship. She followed the escorts to her room, swallowing the suggestion. Why would she want to stay with these people? She was much better on her own, where nobody could hurt her emotionally. But the Jedi thought differently. She'd have to speak with him in private at some point, to gain whatever guidance she could.

Zaknafein immediately recognized the young woman's name but carefully schooled his expression to not show any sign of it. I've had my contacts out searching for her for months and she just drops right into my lap. Yes...the force does have a plan for us all.. Four new force users in as many days all aboard my ship. This is no coincidence. Zaknafein watched her depart with his sergeant at arms and another member of his crew for a few moments before turning to address the other two Jedi, "We're setting a course for Rhodia. Our mission is to destabilize the current ruling clan enough for them to be toppled and a more Alliance friendly institution to be installed. They have promised to throw their support behind the Rebellion and provide us weapons and equipment. Meet me in the Captain's lounge in an hour for the full briefing if you wish to participate in operation Thunder Hammer" The Jedi master nodded respectfully to Jek-El, gave Michael a hardy clap on the shoulder and brushed past them, already barking orders to his crew.

[Monsters and Humans]

Roliduf's Fleet, Jarkina System

Another Star Destroyer blew up this made Roliduf angry how were the Rebels able to surprise him with this attack? During his many years in the Clone Wars he was never once surprised by a enemy fleet and now it seems this will end his streak.

"Admiral we have to leave! New Horizon can't take any more hits! We already lost our engines!" The Officer said.

"You go on and leave I shall stay with this ship I failed the Empire and I must go down as a disgrace to the Emperor." Roliduf said.

The Officer nodded as he left the bridge along with the other deck officers it wasn't long until New Horizon started getting pulled towards a near by planet. Roliduf looked at the planet and closed his eyes as he waited for his death to come.

~Several hours later~

It would seem New Horizon was able to survive the crash landing along with Admiral Roliduf who was surprise himself on how he survived.

"I can't believe it... I survived?" Roliduf asked himself getting off the floor of the bridge as he looked out the shattered viewport and looked on to the vast and endless jungle. Knowing this his second chance to redeem himself he went over to the transmission station to see if it still works he press a button and sent this message.

"Attention all nearby Imperial fleets this Admiral Roliduf of the New Horzion fleet my ships have been destroyed by a Rebel sneak attack if you get this message send help I am currently stuck on a planet in the Jarkina System."

[Sterkistan]

Zaknafein immediately recognized the young woman's name but carefully schooled his expression to not show any sign of it. I've had my contacts out searching for her for months and she just drops right into my lap. Yes...the force does have a plan for us all.. Four new force users in as many days all aboard my ship. This is no coincidence. Zaknafein watched her depart with his sergeant at arms and another member of his crew for a few moments before turning to address the other two Jedi, "We're setting a course for Rhodia. Our mission is to destabilize the current ruling clan enough for them to be toppled and a more Alliance friendly institution to be installed. They have promised to throw their support behind the Rebellion and provide us weapons and equipment. Meet me in the Captain's lounge in an hour for the full briefing if you wish to participate in operation Thunder Hammer" The Jedi master nodded respectfully to Jek-El, gave Michael a hardy clap on the shoulder and brushed past them, already barking orders to his crew.

Jek-El Crois
Master Gray Jedi
Aboard the Aurora

---

Jek-El returned the nod, "See you in an hour then."
As Zaknafein walked off Jek-El turned to Michael, "I'm going to see what else I can get from her."
He turned toward where the two crew members took her. Trudging down the corridor behind them to where the Padawan was being kept.
He motioned to the guards, "I'm just going to speak with her," before he knocked on the door..
"It's Master Jek-El, Kienna, I want to speak with you."

[Whalestron]

Kienna Barkley
Aboard the Aurora

Her room wasn't too big, but it wasn't too small either. Kienna almost took a liking took a liking to it until the word 'cage' swam through her head. She'd just have to be compliant to gain any form of trust from them. Maybe she'd have to take Zaknafein's request seriously and stay with them. All those Jedi on one ship... Kienna thought briefly back to the time her master had given her a history lesson on the old Jedi Order. It was an interesting concept.

Then one of the other Jedi knocked on her door, requesting to enter. As if I have a choice, she thought bitterly. "Enter." She said aloud.