Saga - OT Out of the Shadows (An X-Wing-inspired series following the adventures of the 13th Roving Line)

Chapter 12

"Hey Commander?"

"Yes Captain?"

"Did anyone ever tell you you're kriffing nuts?"

Corvalis smiled to himself and glanced to starboard, where the face of Captain Tannen Bochry was clearly visible only a few meters away, jagged rock formations streaking by them both in a gray blur. The two squadrons of X-wings had moved into a tight formation, running at full throttle along an ever-narrowing rift gashing the face of the massive asteroid like a garish scar.

Corvalis trusted his pilots and those of the new Crimson Dawn squadron. He had personally selected all his pilots and had been instrumental in the formation of the new squadron as well. He knew what they were capable of. Plus, he had a plan...

He nodded slightly and replied to Tannen, "All the time, Captain. All the time."

A series of whistles from Queue indicated that the trailing TIEs were following in the massive trench. With the X-wings in such a tightly packed formation, it'd be hard for the TIEs to miss once they closed the distance to targeting range, and with a higher top speed than the X-wings, they were closing that distance fast.

"Queue, keep feeding telemetry data to the others." He ducked his ship under a huge arching bridge of rock and flipped the comms, saying, "You okay up there, Gin?"

"Oh, we're just astral, Commander." Came the calm reply from Shadow Squadron's second in command. "We're just sitting here on a nice little rock watching you kreetle-kickers try to make your own little trench run."

Corvalis smiled as he jinked his ship around a large spar of rock. He let out a breath of relief when a quick look at the scanners confirmed that all his pilots managed to follow his move.

"You have the big boys ready, Two?" Corvalis asked, starting to sweat a little with the strain of maneuvering in the tight quarters.

"Just like back at Beltrix III, Lead. They're settling into position now. You're less than ten kilometers from the crater."

Pa-hon Gin's holomapping scanners provided a detailed map of the asteroid below, and his astromech continually sent data to Queue, providing Corvalis with more information than his eyes or scanners could ever give him. The canyon that they were hurling through at breakneck speeds opened into a massive crater formed by some ancient collision of asteroids in the active system.

With the scanners confirming the end of the canyon fast approaching, Corvalis heard a squealing sound as Queue confirmed that the trailing TIEs were in range of the last X-wings. Just as green blasters began pounding into the narrow walls behind them, Corvalis rolled his ship onto the port stabilizer and shot through an impossibly narrow opening into an expansive void. One after one, X-wings fired through the opening in turn like shots from a cannon.

On either side of the narrow canyon columns sat two gleaming red and white CR90 Corellian corvettes. Hovering on repulsors, their turbolasers were trained on the scared opening in the rock. As the first of the TIEs bolted through, the corvettes unleashed a devastating barrage of argent fire, melting durasteel and rock alike in a brutal conflagration that collapsed the entire canyon upon the unfortunate TIEs, still streaking toward the opening. The few TIEs that made it through the ambush were quickly dispatched as the X-wings looped around and exterminated them, scattering their wreckage along the crater's battered surface.

The Corellian pilot, Susto Asos, let out a joyful, "Yeehaw!" and the X-wings of Shadow and Crimson Dawn accelerated away from the asteroid.

As the X-wings peeled away, Corvalis offered his thanks to the captains of the corvettes, however, their response was lost over the uncharacteristically tense voice of Pa-hon Gin.

"...Engaged with twelve, repeat twelve. Requesting assistance. Shadow Six is down. We are completely defensive."

Over Pa-hon's voice, Corvalis could hear the constant sounds of blaster fire as the rear gunners of his friend's ARC-170 spat angrily at enemy ships.

Before he could respond, Niobe's familiar voice crackled over the fleetwide comms, "This is Lancer One. We're in position and pressing on with the attack. Advise all wings move to escape the gravity well and retreat." Her voice was as calm as ever, but Corvalis didn't need to glance at his sensors to know she was in trouble. This was confirmed by the unusual, and out of character, conclusion of her transmission, "May the force be with you all."

Seeing that Feye Gahst's Viper Squadron hadn't listened to Niobe's call for a retreat relieved him somewhat, but Corvalis was still stricken with a desire to blast through the waves of enemy ships to cover Lancer Squadron himself. But his best friend and fellow Shadow Squadron pilots needed him now, and more importantly, he could reach them in time. He would have to trust Viper Squadron, and Niobe's own indomitable spirit, to get his friends on the other side of the battle through.

Shadow Squadron and Crimson Dawn Squadron throttled up, blasting towards their friends. As they approached the swarming fight within the small asteroid field, Icav Ribe voiced what they had all noticed, "Those aren't TIE fighters..."

 

The turrets of the venerable BTL-S3 Y-wings pumped streams of cobalt light back towards the pursuing TIEs. Niobe grimaced as she checked her scanners, realizing that the fleet had predictably ignored her recommendation for a controlled retreat. She sighed in temporary relief however, as she watched the pursuing TIEs wink out of existence, caught between the hammer of Viper Squadron and the anvil of Lancer's ion cannons. Unfortunately, the real threat to Lancer Squadron had manifested itself in the form of two squadrons of TIE Interceptors screaming in to cut off their approach to the remaining Star Destroyers berthed in the crippled shipyard.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



Captain Carrek stood confidently on the command catwalk of the Imperial Star Destroyer Palpatine's Will. He looked around the command pits and nodded, satisfied with the intense efficiency of his bridge crew. Out of the impressive view ports lay a panorama of destruction. The captain could see in the distance huge segments of the stricken shipyard drifting slowly towards the huge gray asteroid below. Several winking lights and brief streaks of red and green signified many starfighter battles swarming throughout the battlefield. Directly ahead of the view ports, the huge form of the Golan II defense platform grew ever larger; its myriad turbolaser and missile launchers continuing to trade salvos with the orbiting Mon Calamari cruiser and its several support ships.

The combined firepower of that fleet of Rebel cruisers and gunships had thus far failed to crack the tough shell of the sturdy station, and several of the smaller corvettes were already venting atmosphere and debris into the cold void of space. Carrek smiled grimly and thought, They are out of time.

As if agreeing with his silent assessment, he noticed the large cruiser begin a ponderous retreat, several of the smaller vessels moving to flank the Mon Cal behemoth.

Nodding in silent respect to the captain of the Rebel ship, Carrek didn't need to hear the report of the senior tactical officer to know what the Rebel fleet was attempting.

"Sir, the main Rebel fleet appears to be retreating. Analysis indicates that they are preparing..."

"...to skim the asteroid in a low orbit and use the added escape velocity to escape past us and out of the gravity well." Carrek finished.

The officer looked up and nodded, quickly adding, "Yes sir."

Another officer hunched over a terminal turned to look up to the captain, a look of disappointment on his face. "At our mass and velocity we lack the power to adjust our course to block the likely escape vector."

"Yes, I know." Carrek said, unconcerned. He looked to his chief communication officer and said calmly, "Transmit the integrated sine hyperwave aurek three."

The officer replied with a salute and relayed the order to his subordinates.

Captain Carrek looked thoughtfully out of the view ports just in time to witness the large Rebel cruiser vanishing across the terminator of the planetoid. He looked at his chrono and asked almost idly, "Report on starfighter operations."

An enthusiastic young officer stood in a pit nearby and barked, "Indigenous forces are suffering near seventy percent casualties." The Captain sighed, though that was not unexpected. The officer continued, "Elements of Razor squadron have engaged the enemy strike force at six-oh-one mark seven. Initial reports indicate they are having their way with the Rebel Y-wings" The officer couldn't help flashing a smile.

"What of Vengeance squadron?" The Captain asked, still looking straight ahead.

"They engaged a group of X-wings outside of the main fight sir. We lost contact with them in the debris field trailing the asteroid's ecliptic."

The captain allowed a hint of concern to creep onto his normally stoic visage, but it was quickly replaced by another grim smile as a tone sounded in the sensor pit below.

A youthful voice yelled out, "New contact! Bearing five-eight mark two-one" The young officer spun around, looking up at the captain and saying with a broad smile, "It's Captain Ovek's task force!"

Carrek watched thoughtfully, and typically sedate Imperial officers cheered, as the form of a Victory I-class Star Destroyer escorted by three Rendili Stardrive Light Corvettes materialized - directly along the most likely escape vector of the Rebel fleet.

 

The new Imperial task force is going to complicate things for the Rebels, as if they didn't already have their hands full with Venegence Squadron and Razor Squadron. I'm not sure if the Shadows are going to be in a position to do anything about the new arrivals or not-- the asteroid's terrain has already helped them with one problem, and I'm curious to see if the Rebels have any more tricks up their sleeves. Looks like they'll be in for a pounding if their sleeves are empty.

Great job!

 

A stream of verdant light flashed by the cockpit of the old ARC-170 starfighter. Gritting his teeth, Pa-hon Gin pulled the flight-stick back severely, jamming his foot hard into the ethereal rudder. The heavy fighter whipped around in an impossibly tight spiral, and its massive, wing-mounted blasters resounded in a perpetual staccato of crimson fire.

Frustratingly, everywhere he turned he came face to face with the V-wing starfighters of Vengeance squadron. Pa-hon grimaced as he saw a single black X-wing barrel roll around him. He noticed that one of the four S-foils had been blasted clean off, and the ship was trailing a disturbing flow of vapor. Pa-hon shook his head and glanced at his flashing sensors. Ghost Flight had been decimated. Of his original four X-wing flight element, only Shadow Four remained.

While the initial attack on the Shipyard had been successful, the arrival of the Imperial Star Destroyer and its veteran fighter squadrons had turned the tide of the battle. When distorted voices from other fleet elements frantically announced the arrival of a second Star Destroyer into the battle, Pa-hon knew the rest of the fleet was in as much trouble as he was.

"Looks like we're in it now, Captain." Lonobabas Sama, the pilot of the damaged X-wing, said with a mirthless laugh.

The voice was steady but loud enough to be heard over the alarms blaring in the X-wing's cockpit. Pa-hon felt pride in Lonobabas's relative calmness under such stressful circumstances. The young pilot from Naboo had just seen three of his best friends killed in a matter of seconds, but he continued the fight, taking on impossible odds with the deadly abandon of a Rebel.

Pa-hon chuckled to himself and responded, "We've got ‘em right where we want ‘em Lieutenant."

"Yes Sir." The younger pilot said with a ferocity that would have surprised Pa-hon only weeks before, but which seemed completely in character now. War hardens people fast.

The two of them were completely defensive, weaving in and out of tumbling asteroids and vengeful fighters, facing nearly a dozen adversaries, with help a long way off. Pa-hon noted a pair of V-wings moving to pounce Lonobabas's damaged X-wing.

"Break right, Four!" Pa-hon yelled

The black X-wing darted in front of the larger ship, TIEs gaining fast. Pa-hon ordered his rear gunners to cover him and slipped his ship in behind the flight of TIEs, taking a great risk in lining up a shot.

His powerful targeting sensors confirmed lock, and Pa-hon punched the trigger. A brilliant stream of fire completely disintegrated the TIE closest to him. As the other tried to roll away, Pa-hon snarled, "Not this time," and let loose a proton torpedo. The missile rocketed away, trailing blue flame, and detonated directly behind the fleeing Interceptor. While the TIE was destroyed, the range was close enough that the debris and shock wave from the blast shredded Pa-hon's shields. White hot shrapnel peppered the sturdy ship's hull.

Pa-hon ducked reflexively as a fist-sized chunk of rapidly cooled durasteel hammered into the transparisteel cockpit. The impact echoed sickly through the ship, and Pa-hon's eyes widened as a fine web of cracks began creeping across the clear surface of his canopy.

Alarms blazed inside the old ship, and the Sullustan gunner chattered frantically in his native language. A jarring blast hit the ship from the rear, cutting off the gunner with a disturbing finality. Pa-hon yelled in alarm as the vessel began to tumble and the deteriorating cockpit finally gave way.

The transparisteel canopy collapsed inward for a fraction of a second, causing Pa-hon to raise his hands to his face instinctively, but the explosive decompression instantly halted the inward flow. Time seemed to stand still, shards of gleaming transparisteel inches from Pa-hon's wide eyes. When the universe returned to normal speed, the shards exploded outward, blasting into the cold void of space like a shimmering halo.

His breath was taken away in an instant, and Pa-hon felt the piercing cold of space clutch at his heart. Utter silence descended around him, lending a surreal quality to the carnage of his deteriorating ship. In a heartbeat, he felt the magcon unit of his suit kick in, and he gasped for breath, struggling to find the eject handles as his ship tumbled in a flat spin, hurtling towards a large asteroid and trailing debris like a burning metal comet.

Finally, his hand clasped around the handle behind his head. He yanked it forward brutally, and his vision became a riot of motion and colors, too intense for his brain to comprehend in violent acceleration.

When his suit's personal inertial compensator kicked in and the tiny thrusters of the ejection unit fired to decelerate and stabilize him, Pa-hon found himself floating in darkness, the only sound, the rhythmic gasping of his own breath and the pounding of his heart.

 

Ouch. I'm glad Pa-hon was able to eject, but ejecting into the middle of a battle isn't the safest of options, especially when he was one of the people who picked up pilots who were EV.

You're doing a really good job with showing the significant casualties and damage taken on both sides in a massive fight like this. The Rebels took a big risk attacking the shipyard, and they managed to inflict a lot of damage against the Empire but it's now costing them severely. And while the Empire tends to treat their forces as somewhat disposable, we're seeing how lethal the sheer number of those forces can be in a fight like this.

Keep up the great work!

 

The Ithorian Admiral Ieheeloonea Gaivee stood resolutely in the gleaming white bridge of the Mon Calamari cruiser Star Tide. The ship had abandoned the attack on the Golan II platform, and appeared to be preparing for a gravity assisted escape of the complicated mass shadows of the system, but as the salmon-colored Mon Cal helmsman called out the appropriate time for an escape burn, the Ithorian remained silent, as did the great ship's main engines.

Admiral Gaivee felt several incredulous eyes on him, but his eye stalks were locked firmly forward, where the recently arrived Victory-class Star Destroyer and Rendili corvettes swung into view. As suddenly as they appeared through the large view port, they slid past as the Rebel cruiser continued gathering speed, swinging around the planetoid in an ever expanding orbit.

With a nearly imperceptible nod from the Admiral, the Mon Cal Captain Egeleriak, standing by his side, barked out an order, "All tractors, engage now!"

There was a riot of motion and sound as the order was relayed, followed by a violent lurch that nearly knocked the captain from his feet. In contrast, the splayed feet of the Admiral were locked to the deck plating in anticipation, and the sinewy Ieheeloonea simply swayed like a bafforr tree in the wind as the great ship's multiple tractor beams locked onto the giant asteroid below.

Keeping his eyes forward, the Admiral watched intently as the bow of his ship swung around impossibly fast, assisted by the tractored mass of the planetoid. As soon as the dagger shaped prow of the Imperial Star Destroyer Palpatine's Will filled the viewport, Ieheeloonea exclaimed in a sonorous stereophonic voice, "Release...now."

The Star Tide lurched again, this time as the power to the tractors was killed, causing the ship to rocket away from the asteroid faster than its engines alone could ever propel it.

Captain Egeleriak, sliding into a hanging command chair, ordered in a raspy voice, "Main batteries, prepare for starboard broadside." As his articulated chair traversed the bridge, he continued, "Overlap shields in sectors three through six."

Ieheeloonea blinked at the scanner console before him. The information strained his eyes, but unlike a human's, his were at least able to process the scrolling Mon Cal designed information display. He nodded in satisfaction at what he saw. His smaller support ships had managed to stay with him. The Imperial captain had set up a masterful trap for an escaping Rebel force, but luckily, they hadn't fallen directly into it.

As he had guessed, the Imperials seemed not to anticipate a direct attack on their strongest vessel, and the speed in which they had closed the distance assured at least a few shots before the Imperial reinforcements could completely uneven the odds. He intended to make them count.

As the huge ships rapidly closed, the powerful turboblasters of the Star Tide were the first to fire. Curtains of gleaming red light cascaded and sizzled over the strained shields of the imposing Star Destroyer, joined by the resounding fire of two Nebulon B frigates and several CR90 corvettes. In a matter of seconds, the enemy shields collapsed under the onslaught. Armor plates buckled and jets of flame began spurting from jagged wounds in the wedge-shaped ship.

The Star Destroyer answered with a fearsome volley of its own powerful turbolasers, and staggered blasts peppered the reinforced shields of the Mon Cal cruiser. However, the surprise attack had caught the Imperials flat-footed. The Imperial Star Destroyer had heavier firepower to bring to bear on the smaller Mon Calamari cruiser, but because of the success of the initial attack, the Imperial ship had been forced to maneuver its injured flank away from the still formidable broadside of the Rebel vessel.

Admiral Gaivee looked at the scanners again and grimaced slightly. Blinking red lights indicated several potentially damaged systems in the enemy ship, but none of them were critical. In addition, the enemy captain had not hesitated in rotating his ship, eschewing the potential for his heaviest guns to inflict damage, but deftly protecting his damaged flank with the large asteroid.

Instead of wasting the energy in arresting his ship's forward momentum for a second pass on the damaged Star Destroyer, Captain Egeleriak ordered the balancing of the shields and continued on past the enemy ship.

A slight course adjustment brought the Golan II platform and the damaged shipyard to bear. The Mon Calamari cruiser sliced past the battle platform, flanking CR90s taking a few shots of opportunity as they passed. Admiral Gaivee noticed that the station was oddly quiet. The shipyard ahead of them appeared as a sparking, spidery web of conduits and construction spars encrusting two damaged Star Destroyers.

The remnants of Lancer Squadron's Y-wings were attacking the shipyard, while attempting to evade the onslaught of the Empire's newest fighters. Despite the presence of Feye Gahst's Sand Viper squadron engaging the Imperials, the Rebel fighters were taking heavy losses.

Closing his large dark eyes momentarily, the Admiral offered a momentary prayer to the universal Mother Jungle lamenting the loss of life, but when he opened his eyes again, they burned with an intensity uncommon in his typically passive species.

"All batteries: open fire on the shipyard." Keying fleet comms, he growled, "All fighter wings fall in on the Star Tide. Commence with EV recovery. The Tide will cover the fleet's retreat at four-oh seven mark three-six."

He looked calmly at his display as a chorus of distorted comm signals replied to his orders. The Nebulon B frigates and CR90s passed in front of the viewport ahead of him, turbolasers cutting a swath through Imperial fighters as they blazed along the designated escape vector.

Behind them, the Star Tide stood strong, looming over the burning shipyards below, but its claim on the Fondor Shipyard was a tenuous one at best. In its wake, closing fast, was a devastating fleet of enemy vessels. The TIE bombers would be in range in moments, but behind them, Rendili Stardrive corvettes flanked two Star Destroyers, each eager for revenge.

As the Imperial fleet approached the massive, but still quiet, Golan II platform, Ieheeloonea looked over to Captain Egeleriak. The Mon Cal captain nodded somberly to his admiral, signifying the ship's readiness. A quick calculation had confirmed the fear that they could never evacuate the full fleet before the enemy fleet was upon them. They would have to stand and fight. The full fleet could never repel the firepower that was about to be thrown at them, let alone the Tide itself, but they could possibly allow the majority of the fleet to escape, securing the military victory the Alliance so desperately needed.

Glancing at his scanners, Admiral Gaivee sighed with relief as CR90s and Nebulon Bs began clearing the mass shadows, the first of them jumping to lightspeed as ordered.

Speaking on fleet comms, Ieheeloonea Gaivee, Line Admiral of the 13th Roving Line, addressed his men and women, "We were tasked with striking a blow into the heart of the Empire, and today we have done just that."

The stereophonic voice echoed throughout the great ship, and in the cockpits of every fighter. In the background, the rhythmic and ominous countdown to enemy firing range could be heard as the Mon Calamari command crew prepared to engage the enemy fleet.

The Admiral continued, "You have all done your jobs well, and performed admirably in the face of overwhelming adversity. Though we sacrifice much upon the bloody altar of liberty, our common goal of freedom demands no less. We may not see the end of this day, but because of our sacrifice, the Tide of victory cannot be stopped. It has been my great honor and privilege to serve with each of you... May the force be with us all. Admiral Gaivee out."

 

Great work! The commanders on both sides are a good match for each other in terms of strategy, and while that's not good for the characters experiencing a hard-fought battle, it definitely ramps up the story's tension because the outcome isn't preordained and things can go either way, even back and forth as the battle progresses. And this has definitely been a hard-fought battle for both the Rebels and the Imperials.

Nice to see Admiral Gaivee has some tricks up his sleeve. Hopefully he has a couple more left to help as much of the Rebel fleet as possible make it out.

Great job! Looking forward to more!

 

Ludmyla Gorbunov pulled the trigger, coolly watching green lances shred the unfortunate Y-wing before her. Pulling her Interceptor into a wide half loop, she disengaged from the battle below. Orienting her ship, she looked out at the form of the recently arrived Victory-class Star Destroyer as it passed by, joining the Palpatine's Will as they pursued the remnants of the Rebel fleet.

Though she had thought it quite a task to convince him to quit the fleet at Thila and make top speed to Fondor, Captain Carrek had never mentioned Captain Ovek's task force waiting just outside the system. The cagey captain had obviously been planning his own excursion all along. Ludmyla frowned under her dark TIE helmet. She would have to keep an eye on this one.

Still, she had to admit, it had been a shrewd move not to tip his hand to her or the Rebels. The terrorists had already scored a victory this day, simply by their destruction of the shipyard, but it was her job to make the punitive strike so severe that they would think twice before trying something so bold again.

Looking down at the fighter battles winding down below her, she thought, They have Y-wings. They sent those old nerfs against us? The modified TIE Interceptors and even the old V-wings had clearly outclassed the venerable Rebel ships, and though the mercenary Vaksais had been troublesome, if not for the capital ships moving in, Ludmyla was sure that they could have destroyed every last fighter in the battle.

As it was, the remnants of the Y-wings and Vaksais were beating a hasty retreat towards the large Mon Calamari cruiser shielding the pitiful CR90s and Nebulon B frigates as they attempted to flee. Little good it will do them, she thought, watching the Star Destroyers move past the massive Golan II battle platform as they closed on the Rebel ships.

Ludmyla looked again at the Golan II. It had been conspicuously quiet since the disengagement of the Rebel fleet. She hailed the platform calmly but received nothing but static in return.

Keying personal comms, Ludmyla called to her executive officer, "Phillis, bring the squadron here and have them hold. Prepare to pick off the remaining fighters when the heavies engage.

Her second replied affirmatively as Ludmyla kicked her little ship into full acceleration, rocketing between the massive Mon Cal vessel and the ever-closing Star Destroyers. The Golan II battle platform loomed before her, a giant gray wheel studded with turboblasters and missile launchers.

Her limited sensors read that the station appeared to be running on full power, and even its shields were fully charged. She hailed the station again, requesting docking clearance, but received no response. Sighing with frustration, she flipped open the data transmitter built into her TIE's console, and keyed in a code given only to the Emperor's Inquisitors.

With the code transmitted, she was able to pass through the particle shields of the great station and proceeded towards docking bay sixteen. As she glided along, barely meters from the dull ablative armor, she saw the docking bay yawning open. She put her ship into a standard docking maneuver...until she noticed the turboblaster turrets below the bay begin to track her.

The hair on the back of her neck stood up as her danger sense kicked in. She rolled her ship over and kicked the accelerator just as the massive guns opened fire. A screeching sound pierced her ears as a stunningly powerful comm signal flooded all channels broadcasting:

"This is the battle station formerly known as Greyfort. We proclaim this system as free from Imperial tyranny. Long live the Fondorian Alliance! Freedom Station out."

With that, space erupted around Ludmyla as curtains of blaster and missile fire pulsed from the huge platform, virtually engulfing the two unsuspecting Star Destroyers nearby. Twisting and turning madly, Ludmyla called on her squadron to fall back. Incredibly, she was able to duck her ship behind a Rendili corvette and use its mass to shield an escape route for her. Rocketing out toward her waiting squadron, she grimly noticed that the corvette that had just bought her life was virtually disintegrated by the withering fire.

Pulling out of the danger zone, she was able to catch her breath. She looked back to see the massive firefight, as the Imperial Star Destroyer returned fire on the treacherous station. Though many had been annihilated in the opening salvo, several of the TIE Bombers continued towards the Mon Calamari cruiser, which was now beating a hasty retreat.

Ludmyla noticed with growing anger that most of the Nebulon B Frigates and CR90s were already beginning to jump to light speed. Kicking up to full throttle, she hurled her ship toward the Rebel cruiser, her squadron following behind her.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *​

Captain Ovek's Victory-class Star destroyer burned ahead at full power, ignoring the Golan II raking its backside. They had one chance to stop the fleeing terrorists. A young officer in a targeting pit below yelled out, "Confirmed firing solution sir!"

The wiry captain clenched his fist and snarled, "Fire!"

The refurbished Vic unleashed its most potent weapons. A full sixty missile launchers erupted, joining simultaneous launches from several TIE bombers, sending a devastating barrage of yellow streaking concussion missiles hurtling towards the fleeing cruiser. The entire bridge crew waited in pregnant silence, anticipating the beautiful carnage.

There was a flash of light before them, as their ponderous quarry suddenly leaped into hyperspace, missiles streaking harmlessly through the now empty void.

 

The Golan is definitely a deadly battlestation. The Imperials made sure of that. I'm sure they weren't ever expecting to be on the receiving end of it, though. That really saved the Rebels and allowed some to escape by the skin of their teeth.

I'm curious about the Fondorian Alliance. Are they a small, independent group within their system, or are they a large group with ties to the local government? I wonder what it's going to do to the local system now that the Fondorian Alliance has a massive battlestation under their control. Will other locals oppose them, or will they side with them?

Great work!