-=Bridge of the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer Redemption, 44:4:19:19:32=-


“Sir! The Annihilator’s shields are buckling; I’m showing power fluctuations across all decks.” The yell from the crew pit was nearly drowned out as the Redemption shook powerfully from another barrage of turbolaser fire from the opposing Star Destroyer.

“She’s coming up alongside us; prepare for broadside, bring us about!”

Commodore Quinn grins wildly, teetering on one foot as the Redemption banks powerfully toward the enemy destroyer. His hands lance out to grasp the ledge adjacent to the port-side viewport as his eyes dart along the Annihilator’s hull. Sporadic but continual lances of green and blue energy reach out from the enemy Star Destroyer, splattering harmlessly against the Redemption’s shielding.

“All batteries hold your fire; helm, bring us closer! I want to be able to taste their hull!”

Jester yells, his eyes burrowing holes into the enemy Star Destroyer as he watches it grow in the viewport. The Redemption’s hull dips down slightly, presenting part of the ship’s dorsal side to the Annihilator as it closed within a scant five kilometers of the other vessel.

“Concentrated barrage; target their deck guns!” He yells, the Redemption inching closer to the enemy destroyer.

“All batteries report ready, sir!” The gunnery sergeant yells from the pit, grasping his console for stability as a torpedo from an enemy bomber breaches the Redemption’s shielding, slamming into its outer hull.

“Hold… HELM! CLOSER!”

The two gargantuan starships continue to close; the Annihilator slowly banking to starboard, her commander attempting to put a fresh shield grid between his vessel and the Redemption. Both ships show heavy signs of cosmetic damage as they continue to close; torpedo blast marks and heavy weapons fire scorching their hulls. Neither vessel seemed overly effected by the exchange to this point, but of course; Commodore Quinn intended to change that in dramatic fashion as the ships dip within a kilometer of each other.

“Fire! Fire! FIRE!” He yells, a blistering barrage of firepower from every dorsal mounted weapon on the Redemption firing at the same time. Green bolts from the vessel’s heavy turbolasers slam into the dorsal shields of the Annihilator, overwhelming its shield operator’s attempts to keep the deflection grid intact. Small explosions litter the area near the enemy destroyer’s deck guns as armor plating is melted away under tremendous energy discharges; leading the way for the Redemption’s deck guns, six quad heavy turbolaser batteries, to discharge. With a rumble that shakes both ships, massive green tendrils of energy seem to reach out from the Redemption; impacting against the soft flesh under the armor of the opposing destroyer. Fiery plumes of red and orange erupt out of the dorsal hull of the Annihilator spewing debris toward the Redemption. While most of the debris is shrugged off by the shields, the barrel of one of the Annihilator’s deck guns slips through, slamming into the hull and causing the entire ship to rumble softly for a moment.

“Sir! They’ve re-established dorsal shields!” The sensor officer yells, still trying to work out the damage the maneuver caused to both vessels.

“Our shields are still holding; barely!” The shield officer relays, working feverishly at his console.

“Pull us away, pitch along their dorsal. Show them a fresh arc; and keep firing.”

Jester commands powerfully, grinning as his eyes remain locked on secondary explosions that ripple over the dorsal hull of the Annihilator. The two ships rumble past each other, the red plumes quickly dissipating into the vacuum of deep space; to reveal the carnage wrought upon the enemy destroyer. Holes large enough to run entire starfighters through litter its dorsal hull, a neat cluster running from the base of its command tower; all the way forward to the edge of its raised hull. The starship’s deck guns lie in tatters, all eight completely obliterated under the withering barrage of firepower that the two destroyers have been exchanging continuously over the past half-hour. The dorsal barrage from the Redemption was all that was needed to tip the balance slightly in her favor. Repeated torpedo impacts from Imperial bombers continuously slam into the Redemption’s shields; each threatening to bring down the strained shield grid and bring new life to the Imperial attempt to end the ‘Rebel’ destroyer’s life.



-=Access corridor 54-C, Imperial Orbital Defense Station Sigma Prime, 44:4:19:19:32=-


“Frag out!” The yell caused the RS commandos to duck down the makeshift barricades of crates and half-wrecked blast doors littering the hallway as an object was lobbed forward toward a similar position of Imperial Naval Troopers. The dull whump of the grenade detonating was nearly drowned out by screams of pain as the relatively unarmored troopers were exposed to the full effect of high-velocity shrapnel.

“Alpha team, advance! Bravo team; heavy suppression, go go go!” The voice of Major Reb Jaxra rose over the sounds of battle as he raised his T-21 light repeating blaster toward the Imperial position. Two commandos to either side of him charge ahead, E-11 blasters spewing forth red bolts to suppress the troopers that had been unaffected by the grenade. The major’s trained eyes pick out the dull black silhouette of a naval trooper’s helmet out of the smoke-obscured hall; his T-21 ushering forth a single high powered bolt. True to his aim, the bolt slams into the trooper’s forehead just as he peeks from cover to fire on the advancing commandos. He’s blown backwards, blaster flying from his hands and clattering to the floor as the corpse issues a single violent twitch before relaxing.

The major releases his left hand from the T-21, propping it up with his stomach plate as his arm raises high above his head; arm tilting forward as he signals the commando team to advance. A dozen armored commandos rise from cover behind him, quickly making their way forward; weapons sweeping the area as they pass through the ruined corridor. A few meters ahead, the commandos of alpha team kneel down to the sides of a large armored blast door, weapons raised and scanning for targets.

“I want this door opened five minutes ago. Alpha, flash bangs, Bravo; frags. On my mark!” The major situates himself to the right of the door, grasping his T-21 with both hands as he thumbs the selector above his trigger guard.

One of the commandos steps forward, reaching into a pack on his back to pull out a single hemispherical device. He plants it on the seam of the blast door, dead center; thumbing its activation stud.

“Breaching charge set sir; on your order.” He steps back to the side, hefting his E-11 up.

“Flash ready?” The major grins widely, brandishing his teeth.

“Ready sir!”

“Frag ready?”

“Ready sir!”

“Breach and assault!” He levels his T-21 at the door as the breaching charge goes off; the reinforced blast door crumbling inwards as if someone had just hit a piece of flimsiplast with a rocket. Four grenades quickly follow the explosion; disappearing into the dust cloud pluming out of the breached door. Each retort brings a new wave of screams and yells from the interior of the room; the two commandos on either side of the door quickly following the grenades in. Reb Jaxra quickly follows the first four into the room; his T-21’s barrel lighting ablaze with a torrent of bolts fired from the weapon on full automatic. After just a few seconds the smoke clears, revealing no fewer than a half dozen stormtroopers lying broken on the ground, armor shredded by shrapnel; those that had survived the grenades were quickly dispatched by the major’s weapon of indiscriminate destruction.

“Set up charges… Let’s give ‘em a light show.” He says with an even wider grin on his face, his eyes looking at the large power distribution grid before him…



-=Bridge of the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer Redemption, 44:4:19:19:41=-


“Sir, Commando Division reports they have planted charges on the asteroid bases’ power distribution gri…” The communication’s officer is interrupted by an enormous white flash; the glow filling the entire bridge of the Redemption before dissipating. After blinking a few times to clear his eyes; Commodore Quinn glances out over the expanse of space to determine the source. An uproarious laugh fills the otherwise silent bridge as the Commodore’s eyes fall upon the asteroid base; an entire section of it reduced to small roving shards of rock from the explosion caused by the Commando Division. White specks start to blip out of existence as the bases’ entire power grid fails, its weapons; which had been hampering RS efforts since the battle began, going silent against the dark expanse of space.

“…Now THAT is the kind of work I like to see!” Jester practically beams, even as the Redemption is rocked by another torpedo impact.

With the overbearing threat of the bases’ anti-ship weaponry gone, the starfighters of the Vigilance Starfighter Group seethe headlong into battle to make up for the time spent avoiding fire. One by one, Imperial bombers succumb to the ace pilots of the VSG; the enemy Star Destroyer slowly starting to break apart under the sustained firepower from the superior positioning that the Redemption had secured. The battle continued to rage furiously, but with heavy fire support from the asteroid base missing the Imperial starfighters were no match for the coordinated strikes from VSG pilots.

It was only a matter of time before rippling explosions extending along the entire length of the Annihilator announced its death.

Redemption or Annihilation?

Redemption.



-=Commodore Harley Quinn’s Quarters, Imperial I-class Star Destroyer Redemption, 44:5:3:02:11=-


Sleep had not come easy for the Commodore recently.

His mind, usually relatively clear of most of the tribulations of the day, was filled with thoughts of how things had been transpiring. He hadn’t been his normal self lately, much to the delight of the female officers on the Redemption; most of which had been spared his blunt advances toward them.

Ronnis, the Caelum nationals… what’s next? He wondered to himself, sighing as he leaned back to gaze at the dull grey ceiling of his quarters.

He thought back to the strategic withdrawal that had been ordered on the Ronnis system just yesterday by Raven, remembering his justification for the event.

”We’ve taken everything of value from the planet… there’s no need to hold it any further, it would just spread our fleet out more.” The Admiral says, shrugging as the Redemption races through hyperspace, fleeing the Imperial force that had arrived to retake the planet.

“But surely it has some strategic value? Shouldn’t we at least do something to stall them?” Jester nearly growls; narrowing his eyes at the Admiral’s back as he stands at the prow viewport.

“No, no… We still have not fully repaired the damage that we sustained in taking this world. Let us just take our spoils and back off; another opportunity will present itself.”

Jester shudders for a moment before taking a long pull from the flask in his right hand; storming off.

He growls. That idiot.

As if that was not enough for the Commodore’s occupied mind; he couldn’t help but mourn for the crew of the Halberd. He had heard of the brutal way in which the ship had been sabotaged a few days prior; it still lingered with him every day as he walked along the halls. He knew that Fleet Admiral Falcion had made the Redemption the most secure ship in the fleet; but the lingering dread still remained with him.

“As of this time onward, all enlisted men and officers of the Caelum nationality will be restricted to their quarters until further notice.” The announcement over the Redemption’s internal comms was both a blessing and a curse. While most of the crew would be put to ease by the announcement, those effected; locked in their rooms with armed guards posted outside their doors at all times, dreaded every moment of it.

The Commodore sighs again, forcing his eyes shut as his long breath escapes his lips.

“…This is what I get for signing up with that crazy kriffer…”

Unfortunately, sleep would not find the Commodore this night.



-=Primary Conference Room, Imperial I-class Star Destroyer Redemption, 44:5:7:10:41=-


“Listen up, we have an opportunity here that we can not miss…” Rear Admiral Michael Raven was uncharacteristically chipper; a wide grin on his face, uniform disheveled as if he had just awoken. In an overly animated manner, the Admiral brings up a holographic display in the center of the conference room; an image of a damaged Nebulon B-class frigate appearing before the assembled officers.

“This is the Heretic, a Rogue Imperial frigate, recently ambushed by Loyalist Imperial elements; it was escorting an escort carrier filled with reinforcement fighters. A recon-en-force picked her up fleeing a battle zone; she is currently traveling on sub-light engines close by. The recon group, all of whom I will be promoting for this, followed up on the find, tracing the frigate’s potential hyperspace vector; and found this…”

The holographic display changes, now showing a planet with a few large Imperial capital ships in orbit; the Admiral’s grin widens, his right index finger curled toward the planet.

“Gentlemen, I give you Rebano; a Rogue Imperial world… that is missing one key element.” He pauses merely for dramatic effect and his own amusement before continuing. “…Starfighters.”

“Apparently, the escort carrier that was ambushed was chock-full of a fresh batch of starfighters for the defense forces stationed here. The Heretic was tasked with protecting it, and was also ferrying starfighters when the Loyalists ambushed her. This presents us with a unique opportunity to stab the Rogues right in their eye. The Admiral takes a deep breath before adjusting the holographic projector to show both the frigate and the planet at the same time.

“Utilizing starfighters captured by Dragon Squadron on the twenty-ninth of last month; we intend to, well… Defect, temporarily. I’ll let Commodore Quinn explain.” The Admiral takes a seat as Jester rises; glaring at Raven for the use of his full title.

“The operation will involve three stages. In order to assure that the frigate never makes it to Rebano, A-wings will be dispatched to commence further recon and eradicate whatever remains of the fighter screen. Once they have been sufficiently diminished, the Resurrection II will enter the area to destroy the frigate. Since we can only assume that the Loyalists will send more ships to finish the job that their ambush started; the A-wings will continue to run a standard CAP patrol until the Resurrection II completes its mission and returns to the fleet.”

He pauses, before turning toward the holographic projection of the planet.

“Simultaneously, utilizing the fighters stolen by Dragon the frigate Unforgiven will be temporarily renamed to the Heretic and will pose as the Rogue reinforcement frigate. Using the ruse to close to attack range, pilots from both the VSG and Zealot will maneuver their stolen Imperial starfighters into combat positions on the Rogue Imperial defenses. Once within range of an appropriate target, they will begin full combat operations against the defense forces. They will be tasked with removing any overt targets, and any support craft or starfighters that the defense forces may still be using as a strike craft screen. In the ensuing confusion, the Redemption will hyper into the area; and do the exact same thing that these bastards did to us… drop a metric-assload of transports right on top of them; rush for the planet, and blow the hell out of everything there.” Jester grins, as he goes on, his language seems to deteriorate. The angst, anger, and frustration he’s had over the past few days bleeding off in a few glorious moments of revelation.

“The Righteous Indignation and Commando divisions will insert onto the planet via the Redemption’s mass transport drop. The RID will be tasked with disrupting planetary supply lines; in order to lead the way for a full ground invasion. They will also be tasked with the eradication of any supply caches discovered; as these will severely hamper any potential defensive effort. The Commando Division will have a separate, but equally important task; disrupting the ground-based power production facility that the Rogues are utilizing. With both of these targets neutralized, combined with the surprise-assault on the space defenses; the entire planet should easily crumble.” The Commodore grins, satisfied, and takes a seat.

“There you have it gentlemen; that is the plan and we are sticking to it.” This time it was Raven whom spoke; grinning just as much as the Commodore. “You all have your orders... You depart in five minutes. Any vessel assigned to his mission that isn’t gone by then will be fired upon. I can not stress the urgency of you getting the kriff out enough. Why are you still here? GO! Dismissed.”