RPlog:Cochran Invaded

 It has been a very bad week for the old man of the Empire, Danik Kreldin. He was kidnapped by Johanna, a Dark Jedi, subjected to torture and humiliation. But he survived. Made it back to the Imperial fleet, though a much different man. He was still suffering from the pain Johanna had inflicted upon him. His back was broken, and thus the Imperial was stuck to this medical bed, with doctors surrounding him. But he was not in the medical bay. No, no. Danik Kreldin was the newly appointed Grand Admiral, one of a kind, after the death of Imperial High Command at the Battle of O'paal - no thanks to the rebel scum. He was on the bridge of the Malevolence, the Empire's Star Dreadnought, prepared to lead the campaign against the Griffons - broken back and all. He was dressed in his white grand admiral's uniform, though he was stuck to this bed. It was an unusual sight, leading the fleet from a medical bed. But this was Danik Kreldin. He wasn't about to let something like a broken back get in his way.

Before him he watches as the Imperial warships revert to real space. The Imperial armada was quite impressive, broken up into three distinct groups. The first group consisted of the Malevolence and its support ships, and was aligned more or less with the enemy fleet over Cochran. The second group was several klicks "above" group one. The third group was several klicks "below" the first group. Kreldin had a plan, and he was prepared to execute it superbly.

Behind the entire Imperial formation were Imperial carriers. In them were the Imperial bombers, prepared to take off and give the Griffons a nice morning wake-up call. Kreldin's head was unable to move, so he had to have his tactical computer positioned above him. It was a nuisance, but one he was willing to deal with.

"Sir, Force Alpha has arrived in its entirety. Griffon fleet in orbit. Awaiting your orders."

The Grand Admiral smiles. "Execute Retribution, Commander. Let them burn."

 It was a beautiful thuesday morning on Cochran, the sun barely started rising at the horizon and people in Cochran City were waking up peacely, for most of them. Cochran was a tempered planet, prompting for life where the City was established, with the industrial zones very far in underwater facilities so that the atmosphere would remain pure, therefore Griffon citizen were rarely sick. In fact, they were living in harmony with each other in their search for the perfect Galactic citizen who would be someone brave enough to defend himself and others, facing adversity together, but also have their minds open on arts and have pleasure in exploiting that side of life. Not merely living for military combat except the most military of them who comprised the highest ranks, or for exploiting people in businesses like the CSA. Of course, their community - for the Griffons were aboveall, a large Community - strongly believed in the Military and whatever means to defend their way of life, and that was what shaded them in greys sometimes.

The two main capital ships of the Griffon First Fleet were peacefully floating above the location where the City standed on Cochran - on each of its 'sides', each with their support ships. They all were 23 skeleton crew and were crewing up themselves again as most officers and NCO personel was waking up abord. A couple of squadrons were scouting the areas farther to the 'north' pole of the planet and getting back to the Gabriel now, alkmost finished with their scouting run. The Imperial fleet was not yet detected as they were out of scanner range. A normal starting day above the former debtor colony.

 CS-7907 poses: Life aboard the GSS Gabriel, just like aboard any other cap-ship is pretty.. routine, which is basically just a nice word for -boring-.. Then again, that pretty much sums up military life in general.. 90 percent mind numbing boredom and 10 percent utter terror.. It is definitely not for everyone.. Which is why there's no greater honor for any true son or daughter of Cochran than to serve in military, let it be the Navy, Star-Ops or be one of the gropos..

With the recently concluded 'Exercise Eagle Talon' behind them the Griffon home defense fleet is back on orbit around Cochran, very much looking forward to their well-earned 96 hour pass down to the planet while the brass analyzes the data gathered during the Ex.. In fact, most of the crew is already gone.. though the remainder is still keeping a vigilant eye on the space around the system, just in case some adventurous marauder group decide to hit Cochran.

"Tea, Ma'am?" asks the young Lt. with a bright smile as he walks over the middle aged Exo, who returns the smile and the nod "Thank you.. that would be lovely.." and with that she reaches out and takes the offered cup, a small sip, then she places it into the special holder designed to keep it steady even during combat maneuvers "So, Lieutenant Jor, I hear you're planning to pop the big question while on leave, is that correct?" she asks with a smile, causing the blonde haired junior officer to blush "Ehh, yes Ma'am.. I was hoping to do it while on leave.. I invited Ensign Lyra to come and visit my family, I'm planning to ask her to marry me while we're there.." to which the XO just smiles an almost motherly smile "That's good to hear.. there was actually a pool going on to see when you'll finally ask her.. in fact, I got 50 credits riding on it, so make it say.. tomorrow around 18:00.. and I'll send my winning on a nice bridal gift.."

Then suddenly, for a split second the lights blink out and the bridge is filled with an eerie red glow "Imperial ships inbound, lots of them!" comes a shout from the officer manning the sensor controls "..including an SSD!" "Shields up, Red Alert, warn the rest of the fleet, warn civilian traffic.. stop all outgoing shuttles, see if the Captain is still aboard, helm.. bring us around, course 143, 23 mark 04, full speed ahead, bring us between the Imp fleet and planet. Bring all weapons on line, arm torpedoes.. Tac-COM.. start tagging all hostile vessels in the area and feed the telemetry to the rest of the Fleet." this is of course from the silver haired XO, her tea long forgotten as her brown eyes now focus only on the main holo-projector.. displaying the sector with more and more red glowing dots appearing within.. ))

 CS-772 poses: 	For Commander Felipe del Montefort, the CO of the HIMS Malignant, a VSD acting as a screening vessel for the much larger HIMS Malevolence, the impending battle is only a side-show in the greater scheme that is the Imperial victory. Of course, every effort has been made to ensure that as much of the crew of the Malignant is prepared to carry out this victory, but the hearts and minds of both the Enlisted and Officer corps onboard have been moulded into a single piece. There is but one purpose, and that is for the retribution for which the operation is so aptly named.

"Depressurize all tubes", the Commander informs his bridge crew, enciting a silent heightening of everyone's anticipation. For the countless concussion missile tubes aboard the Malignant are the heart and soul of the screening vessel's abilities, and while not one person onboard can actually hear the oxygen flooding forth as the tubes are sealed away from the ship and opened to space, almost without exception the sounds resonate in the crew's mind as the order to do so is relayed over the intercom. ((Bogumil))))

 CS-5789 poses: Almost immediately after the GSS Gabriel detects trouble, the information is broadcast far and wide on the military channels. Blood red flashing lights aboard the GSS Black Eagle are quickly mimicing the other capital ship as the order goes out for all personnel to scramble to their battle stations. Thankfully they've only recently returned from patrol, so the reaction is relatively swift.

"Move us out to join the Gabriel," comes the strangely mild yet resonating voice of the Star Destroyer's captain. "Best speed possible." ((Snarl Sorry for the short'n'slow))))

 SF-7161 poses: As the Imperial main fleet approached the Griffon fleet, the support carriers began deploying TIEs. Among the masses of TIEs, the seven Scimitars of Darksword squadron drop fromt he dauntless. "Alright Darksword, form up. Keep your weapons hot, and stay on your toes." The squadron headed straight for the Gabriel, in its usual arrow formation. "We want to do as much damage as we can, before we have to deal with the fighters." Seifer Wolf said into his comm again. "So as soon as you are in range, begin your bombing runs."

Seifer was in the right mood, he had been angry alot lately, and this was his chance to let loose. After the Dark Jedi he was ready for anything. "Watch for any enemy fighters." He said to his Gunner. ((WOLF))))

 SF-8408 poses: In Darksword 2, all was quiet. Well, except for the sounds of the cockpit. Tellain was kind of glad for the noise. It kept him from going crazy. And in the depths of space, going crazy was a bad thing to him. He grunted to himself before he activated the radio. "On it, sir." And thus, Tellain takes off from the Dauntless's docking bay, banking to orient himself with the primary target, the Gabriel. Keeping the ship in formation with the rest of his squadron, his face gets grim. It's time to rock, he thinks.))

 CS-4128 poses: Captain Sesbtain Williams, captain of the GSS Admiral Rishar, is studying the results of the latest weapons trial exercise, conducted the day before, before the warning system from the command ship comes in. He listens to the message and then quickly begins to give orders. Sound the red alert, XO, and get all crews to stations. Activate the shields and keep pace with the fleet as it moves out; I'm not about to let this ship get a bad rap. The XO nods and begins seeing to the captain's orders; the red alert klaxon begins to blare causing a rapid scramble of crew members from all over the ship. The captain regards the status panel fixedly as the stations report in one by one, nodding in satisfaction. Three minutes slower then usual..we'll run more drills when we finish here. In the meantime, let's focus on the task at hand. Weapons online, shields up, but maintain formation.(Cassandra)))

 SF-10342 poses: As the go order is passed down from the Grand Admiral life aboard the Inquisitor shifts to an entirely combat footing, TIE Interceptors are the first to launch, moving into defensive formations around the mothership to protect it from incoming Griffon ships. Launch tubes further up the vessels massive underbelly begin to launch the ships Scimitar Squadron, leading his men into battle is none other than the Imperial Warlord. His fingers brush over the control sensors as he keys the internal comlink, "Set your warheads to arm as soon as they are launched, I don't want to have to worry about staying away, their fighters will try and overpower us if given the chance, but the command ship is our primary target. " He switches his comlink to the group frequency. "Zeta Squadron, shift into a Vanguard formation, set throttle to 90 percent and begin to plot firing solutions, I want to have warheads on target as soon as we are in range." He keys the comlink off as he begins to maneuver towards the hulking Mako battle Cruiser.<>))

 SF-4239 poses: Theta Squadron was getting back from their scouting run to the Gabriel. The Mantarays didn't have very long sensors, therefore they were the last ones to be aware of the incoming fleet. But as soon as the com clicks and the announce about the Imperial fleet coming in, Theta Squad leader makes a rather long face. After being better informed, the squad leaders issues a few orders and soon theta squad is broken in two, one flight going after the scimitar bombers and the other one going against the Tie Int. Shields are waved up and the Squad leader quickly enters Combat mode, going after the nearest squad, that would be known as Darksword. "Eagle 3, I take the leader, take the second in command." and soon, the heavy lasers speak for themselves. (NPC_Gyzenbel)))

 SF-2982 poses: Another day on the farm. Ensign Antilles looks down at his sensor suite as his Bomber leaves the external rack of the light cruiser. Flicking his weapons display on he begins to see the little red flashes that are tale-tell signs of enemy vessels showing up on the IFF. He drops into position wioth his squadron as they move out towards the Griffon's Command Ship. <>))

 SF-1832 Theta 3, manned by Dak Storkrom, flies his patrol around the planet and also running typical systems checks and stuff....and as usual...not paying attention to what he's doing...or where he's going. If he didn't have the autopilot turned on....he'd fly right into the planet....again.

 SF-10346 poses: Aboard Zeta-3 Lt. Commander Vorenus is excited as his vessel is ejected from the launching rack of the I2SD Inquisitor, hearing Korolov's voice come over the com he repsonds, "As you wish Lord Korolov." He lines his vessel into position as the rest of Zeta squadron follows suit, Looking over he gives his weapons officer a thumbs up, "Its time to unleash Hell." He broadcasts on the internal frequency, his Weapons Officer a Lieutenant Ryal nods in response before turning his attention back to his scopes, " I am detecting multiple signatures at maximum range, it looks like they are aware of our presence, but I am not detecting every system at 100 percent so it looks like the Grand Admirals deception has been succesful." Without a further word, Zeta three follows the Warlords fighter off to battle. ((Prospero))))

 The Imperial fleet, broken up into the three distinct groups, accelerates at full battle speed towards the Griffon fleet. As planned they weren't expecting an attack, and the Imperials were free to begin their long-awaited revenge against the traitorous Griffons. Kreldin, staring up at his tactical display (wasn't any other place he could look) observes all the units displayed on the screen. He would rather observe the actual scene with his eyes, not this computer, but for now he would have to forget about it and go with it. The escort carriers had deployed their complement of bombers and fighters, and the bombers, behind the interceptors and fighters, flew ahead of the entire fleet towards their target: the Griffon fleet. "Lock on to your primary targets. Their flagship is our number one priority. Lock on and open fire once we're in range, Chief," Grand Admiral Kreldin says softly, watching as the numbers on the display trickle down as they approach.

Then, after a few moments, the turbolasers at the fore of the Dreadnought open fire, hundreds of batteries flaring to life as they fired long-range at the enemy fleet. There was no precision shooting; they were too far for that. Instead, they were intended to scatter the enemy fleet, to isolate them and take them down, one by one. The turbolaser bolts were fired "above" the fighter and bomber formations, hundreds of fighter craft streaming towards their targets, so as not to hit any friendly craft.

"Once we reach point b, execute attack pattern triad," Kreldin speaks into the comlink set into place above him. "They won't know what hit 'em. Also, Delta Squadron, keep a tight cover around the Warlord's squadron. Don't want any harm coming to him now, or else it's on you guys." But for now, though, the Imperial fleet continues onward towards the targets, remaining in the same three-group formation as they had arrived in space, firing turbolasers across the vast void of space. They were still too far for any effective fire, but soon.. soon. (DANIK)

<COMBAT> CS-7907 poses: Power spikes inside the Mako's main reactor as the mighty battleship breaks from orbit and starts heading straight toward the incoming Imperial fleet. She's ready to take the fight to the enemy.. "All systems on line XO, Captain.." comes the voice from Tac-COM, to which the XO just sighs and nods, it seems that Captain Tialmar was already gone, which makes her the Captain "Copy, Tactical.. those Scims are your main priority.. they pose the most imminent damage to the planet and to the civilian ships. Target the lead one and then fire at will. Comms, send a message to the Black Eagle, tell her to go after the VSD, they should be pretty evenly matched.. we'll try to assist the best we can but I have a feeling that we'll be quite.. popular for a while.."

And with that the Mako continues accelerating.. all weapon ports open and she's ready to unleash a barrage of her own on the Imperials even she's hit multiple times by the enemy I2SD.. Yes, the odds might be against the Griffon defenders.. but they will sell their lives dear.. a flash.. another and a third one as three torpedoes rocket from the Mako, cerulean comets aimed at one of the Scimitars..

(Ta) ))

<COMBAT> CS-772 poses: 	The HIMS Malignant steadily advances towards it's target, designated by Naval High Command to be the GSS Admiral Rishar, rather than the lead ship in the enemy group. While not the most prestigious role, Commander del Montefort is all too happy to lend his support to the blanket fire, and turns to the chief operations officer onboard the bridge. "Designate CS-4128 for a volley and fire when ready." A simple order, to be sure, but it triggers an immense amount of effort as it quickly makes it's way down the chain of command, and as the sensors lock on to the target. Though a well-disciplined group, the crew of the Malignant let loose a cheer as all but countless missiles stream forth from the tubes, and arc towards their intended target. <Bogumil>))

<COMBAT> CS-5789 poses:

The GSS Black Eagle does not completely close ranks with the GSS Gabriel and the GSS Admiral. Instead, the Star Destroyer holds a steady distance for the moment so that the deployment of various vessels can be duely noted and a plan of attack drafted.

The captain absently strokes his lush pepper and salt mustache, not noticing the thoughtful gesture that his crew has long since come to understand as meaning he is thinking hard. "Helm, be ready to move closer to the fray once we have determined the best course to follow," the man says calmly. "Yessir," comes the prompt reply from the young red-headed woman seated at the helm controls, her fingers obediently poised to take the massive ship into motion.

At that moment, everyone on the bridge who has the moment of leisure to view the screen displaying the newly engaged battle is treated to the not-so-pleasant sight of the GSS Gabriel being hit several times by laser fire. Not moments later, they receive a message from the attacked vessel. Not asking for assistance, but suggesting that they target the VSD. The captain sighs and shakes his head before glancing to his left, "Fire turbolasers on the Victory Star Destroyer and see if you can't distract them for a while. We're probably too far away to do much damage, but it may at least get their attention. Helm, stay ready." Acknowledgements are murmured from various locations before the Black Eagle's turbolasers come to life.))

<COMBAT> SF-7161 poses: Suprised at the sudden fire coming at him, Wolf easily moves out of the way of the enemy fire, spinning back and aiming towards the Capital Ship. "Head's up, fighters inbound!" he called to his squadron "Keep an eye on them, I don't want any of you going down! Accelerate to full speed.", Wolf's display bleeps at him, He was now in range of the Gabriel, "Fire!" He shouted back at his gunner, The lead scimitar bomber unloaded its first pay load, sending missiles flying towards the Gabriel. ((Wolf))

<COMBAT> SF-8408 poses: Tellain continues to stay silent as the Scimitar sails towards the Gabriel. He doesn't speak to himself, he doesn't speak to his squad, he just stays silent. That is, until the laser fire starts. At which point, he jinks back and forth a little. Since he doesn't notice anyone attacking him, he's content with minor defensive movement.

That is, until he picks up three locks heading down on him. Thinking they were proton torpedoes or some other high payload, Tellain rolls away from the lock and jinks his craft 'up' to pass the third one, 'down' and away for the second one, and back up again for the third one.

It takes him a few moments to realize he's no longer facing the target. Grumbling, he pops a radio to the squadron. "Sorry, sir, got a little carried away there." He swings back to try and orient himself for another run on the Gabriel.))

<COMBAT> CS-4128 poses: Captain Williams watches the sensor display, alternating it with the occasional glance out of the viewport, as the Imperial ships begin firing and indeed, colliding, with the ship despite the evasive manevuers .. He frowns at the display. Oh, so they've decided to try their luck, have they? Well, I've got a remedy for that. He glances to his left at the weapons officer. Prepare to fire when I give the signal, not before. He glances at the helsman and orders to keep on the present course before turning to look at the sensor officer beside the helsman. Captain, sensors are registering both fighter and bomber units approaching the fleet. Orders, sir? Order them to assume defense formations for the moment, but do not engage for the moment. XO, tell the engine room to prepare for maneuvering..I have a feeling we're going to need it. He gives the display another once over before looking back at the weapons officer. Fire now.))

<COMBAT> SF-10342 poses: "The Command ship is in range, Lord Korolov, so far their fighters are focusing on our screen. I have a solution plotted and request permission for weapons release?" Vassily Korolov looks up though the smoked eyepieces of his flight helmet, "Very well." He keys the squadron com, "Zeta squadron you are cleared for weapons release. The Scimitar Fighter-Bomber shudders as one of its payload hatches opens and a warhead is propelled outwards leaving a faint blue trail as it barrels down the GSS Gabriel. "Charge bay two to prepare for a follow up shot." <Korolov>))

<COMBAT> CS-4128 poses: Captain Williams watches the sensor display, alternating it with the occasional glance out of the viewport, as the Imperial ships begin firing and indeed, colliding, with the ship despite the evasive manevuers .. He frowns at the display. Oh, so they've decided to try their luck, have they? Well, I've got a remedy for that. He glances to his left at the weapons officer. Prepare to fire when I give the signal, not before. He glances at the helsman and orders to keep on the present course before turning to look at the sensor officer beside the helsman. Captain, sensors are registering both fighter and bomber units approaching the fleet. Orders, sir? Order them to assume defense formations for the moment, but do not engage for the moment. XO, tell the engine room to prepare for maneuvering..I have a feeling we're going to need it. He gives the display another once over before looking back at the weapons officer. Fire now.))

<COMBAT> SF-4239 poses: Theta one had barely shot warning shots at the scimitars, from a long distance, so it was no surprise they never actually threatened the Scimitars. But the scimitar squad leader was staying on target, namely the GSS Gabriel, taking care only of its mission objective. Will that be another casualty to the objective fascination effect ? Theta One pilot grins at that and would gladly speed up the process, combat senses now to its fullest. He had SF-7161's six right in front of him, at close distance. The man awaits the two HUD targets to combine together and soon a volley of double-linked cannon fire makes its way fast towards the scimitar bomber.))

<COMBAT> SF-2982 poses: Ensign Antilles banks to the right as proton torpedos begin impacting amid the Darksword Squadron's formation, his attention returns immediately to the task at hand, "Hey Razor, this would be a hell of a fireworks show if those Torpedos wern't hitting so damn close." The bombardier finds little humor in the situation, "Keep focused on the target Fenix, and I assure you we will have a much better event when our weapons bay is empty, till then just keep me alive. However that Star Destroyer is going to tear apart some of our cruisers if we can't take it down" Darksword 3 roars forward as Fenix flips to the squadron Frequency,"Darksword Lead, I can't get a clear shot on the Primary, switching to secondary Target." As the small Fighter Bomber banks slightly changing its heading towards a small hatch opening on it's underside as a single Concussion Missile screams out towards the Victory Star Destroyer. <Fenix>))

<SENSORS> SF-1832 Theta 3 jumps suddenly and hits his helmet on one of the supports. OW he mutters as he banks his fighter towards the incoming fire....despite being hit before he gets his shields up, he begins firing on the closest enemy.

<COMBAT> SF-10346 poses: Zeta 3 follows suit as a bright blue warhead launches from its bomb bay towards the Mako battle Cruiser. As she fires, the rest of Zeta Squadron opens up as well, a dozen bright blue streaks across the blackness of space as they seek out the targets programmed into their targeting systems as they continue to relay tracking data back to the Weapons officers focused intently on their flight computers. (Prospero)))

<SPACE> The Imperial formation continues onward, turbolaser blasts spewing outward at the various Griffon ships, ranging from corvettes to the mighty Mako cruisers, attempting to scatter their formation so they could be more easily taken down. Although it wasn't essential that they did break formation, and although the Imperial barrage was rather heavy, Kreldin deep down knew Griffon resolve, determination and training would not allow them to break so easily. So they were going to have to do this the hard way.

"Grand Admiral, sir, we've arrived at the point. Your orders?"

"Execute pattern triad; all ships, you know what to do," Kreldin says into his communicator.

And thus the Imperial fleet begins to execute the maneuver. Group 1, consisting of the Malevolence and her escorts, accelerate forward at full combat speed, staying on their present course towards the enemy lines. Meanwhile, Group Two, being "above", prepares to climb towards the enemy fleet, and then when they arrive "over" the enemy fleet, they would simply come down from above, raining their turbolasers down; while Group 3, being "below", would continue onward while diving, and then when properly positioned below the Griffon fleet, they would start to climb and rain their turbolasers on the exposed weak spots of the Griffon warships.

At least, that was Kreldin's intentions. The three groups would converge on the Griffon fleet from all possible angles, attacking weak spots and making any maneuver not worthwhile; should a Griffon warship turn to face Group 2, they would expose their weaker belly to Group 1, and so forth with each group. But for now, the Imperial warships are merely getting themselves into position, accelerating as fast as they could to execute the tactic. Kreldin simply smiles to himself. He knew it would work.. it had to. But if the Republic showed up, it would throw a wrench in his plans. He had to move quickly and finish the job before the Republic could make any attempt to rescue the Griffons; they were the only variable in his plan. The damn rebels had beaten them at O'paal, and embarrassed Kreldin at Etti IV. They were getting better, for sure. Kreldin just has to stay one step ahead.

"Are the Interdictors in place yet?" Kreldin asks, to anyone in general. "Not yet, sir, they're still moving into position."

<COMBAT> CS-7907 poses: "Sir, frontal shields are buckling, they are down to 40 percent, make that 25.." comes the surprisingly calm voice of the young tactical officer as the GSS Gabriele is shaken by multiple direct hits "Copy that Lieutenant, see if our chief engineer can work his magic and redirect some power to our capacitors.. and start attacking multiple targets. Remember, our goal is to simply delay them till reinforcements arrive. Helm, bring us around to 172, 45 by 91" says the Captain quietly.. maybe it's just the red glow.. but she seems 10 years older than 20 minutes ago.. Command is a heavy burden..

With that the Mako slowly rolls starboard, now presenting a different.. fresh shield facing to the Imperials even as her weapons keep firing torpedo salvo after torpedo salvo.. now engaging multiple Scimitars in order to discourage them from firing at the fleeing civilian ships.. though so far most of the Imperials have focused their fire on her. A flicker as her tormented frontal shield finally overloads and collapses.. but for now she's still somewhat safe as her fresh starboard shield is presented to the enemy fleet.. and with that her weapons continue firing..

(Ta) ))

<COMBAT> CS-4128 poses: Willams watches his sensor screen as it displays the Imperial fleet separating into separate parts as he smiles in a grim fascination. Well, no one ever said they were dumb. He turns to the weapons officer first. Scatter the fire; maybe that'll cause them to change their minds. XO, kindly tell the chief engineer to keep our shields up if he doesn't wish a demotion before we explode, thank you. Otherwise, maintain current course and heading. This is still the opening skirmish, gentlemen. Don't balk now.))

<COMBAT> CS-772 poses: 	As the missile tubes empty, so too are they replenished, with fresh concussion missiles being flooded into the tubes immediately. But even as the crew dilligently works to restore the primary payload of the HIMS Malignant to full capacity, Commander Felipe del Montefort is already relaying orders to the bridge crew, now directing the ship towards a new target. "All missiles are to target CS-7907; turbolasers fire at will if any fighters come within range." The fighting spirit of his men is perhaps Montefort's, and the Malignant's greatest quality, however. And not even a full minute from when the first barrage was launched, the ship is aimed at a new target and ready to go once again. And the missiles come streaking out soon after.))

<COMBAT> CS-5789 poses: Well... that's done it. "Looks as though we've finally attracted a little attention," the captain of the Black Eagle comments evenly. He glances over toward the weapons helm and nods once in a solomn fashion to the man sitting at that particular station. "Although obviously not as much as the Gabriel. Resume firing on that Victory Star Destroyer and warm up the tractor beams just in case we get the opportunity to slow down a starfighter or two," the captain advises, again stroking his pepper and salt mustache thoughtfully.

It doesn't appear that this battle will have a particularly happy ending unless something alters soon. The destruction of a certain enemy capital ship would certainly help... "Fire," the captain orders, his tone calm yet carrying that element of command that every lesser officer clearly hears and understands. Fingers dance over the weapons console, triggering yet another barrage of turbolaser fire to be unleashed. ((Snarl))))

<COMBAT> SF-7161 poses:

"Break, Break!" Comes in through Wolf's comm, straight away he puts his fighter into a spin, and sure enough the enemy fire stream passed, "Whoa, That was a bit close! Someone get that fighter off my tail!" he said into his comm, just as he looks out the window at another fighter taking interest in him.. He quickly his fighter around, dodging again.. "What is it with these people and me today?!" He said, Bringing his bomber to bear on the large cruiser once again, "Missiles loaded, Sir!" His co-pilot said, "Fire." Another Conc. missile streams from his Scimitar straight towards the Gabriel.))

<COMBAT> SF-8408 poses:

Tellain banks in just enough time to reorient himself to look back at the Gabriel. He breathes in, and back out. There shouldn't be too much of a problem attempting to shoot a--*BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP*-- Tellain doesn't take the time to facepalm as he recieves a new torpedo lock. Instead, he slams down on the pedals and rolls while keeping the Gabriel within visual range. This doesn't help as the torpedo slpashes against the ship's shields. Taking a glance at his shields, and back at the Gabriel, Tellain peers behind him in hopes he can see his co-pilot. Despite not having a good look at him, the other man grunts back at the pilot. "Try that one ship over there." Tellain asks back. "Which one?" "The one showing up as the enemy." There is a brief pause before Tellain figures out which one he means. "Oh, right." Tellain quicky banks and lets loose a missile at the Black Eagle. Hopefully nothing goes wrong there.))

<COMBAT> SF-10342 poses: "Inform Admiral Kredlin that the Gabriel's shields are down." Vassily Korolov switches from the Command Frequency in his fighter to the squadron's frequency, " Zeta Squadron, we have to stop them, their missiles are tearing up Darksword, target their weapons blisters and set your missiles for contact detonation, lets see if we can rip some holes in her armor and vent her crew into space." He pushes his fighter to full speed as he banks with the turning ship, intent on keeping the hole in it's shields in his front firing port. "You are clear to fire as soon as you have a solution." His weapons officer wastes no time as he launches another Concussion missile towards the GSS Gabriel once again. <<Korolov>>))

<SPACE> Theta One missed again against the scimitar leader. The fighter was now very close to its mother ship, the Gabriel, and by the look of it, the bulk of the Griffon StarOps was tangling against the Imperial tie fighters, leaving not much manpower to deal with the bombers. Actually, it almost looked like Theta first flight and the mako itself were defending against it, leaving not even an option for counter-attacking the incoming fleet.

The pilot made a long face out of horror as his fighter shudders a little, not from a hit on Theta One, but rather from a shock wave emitted from the MAKO below it. That meant its shields went offline. That could have made him desperate, but instead it rather heightened his will for combat. Which doubled when a torpedo from the very Gabriel hit hard on the Scimitar. "Gonna pay for this..." he mutters, as he's still sticking on the Scimitar's six, matching its very movement... that were still towards the Gabriel. Yeah, the scimitar pilot was a bold man, no doubt, but in that position the Scimitar was quite open for destruction. The scimitar let out another missile... And Theta One shot another volley of lasers, that sprayed more and more tightly against the Leader.

In the meanwhile, the city got aware of the situation above and measures were enacted accordingly. The shields above the city got up, merely only protecting it, and reserves were being called for duty. Those who volunteered were given equipment, for withstanding a direct assault, and additional fighters were being launched off the Lion's Den, the Griffon fortified base just north the hills, that extended underground. Some ships were taking off the main starport, yes, probably people who were there but were not Griffons... And nothing indicated the people down there were mass retreating. A few fast ships took off, perhaps responsible fathers who told theiur family to leave and come back once the battle is over, and headed out for hyperspace lanes, carefully avoiding the battle above.

<COMBAT> SF-2982 poses: "Were Hit, give me a damage report Razor." Several sensors start to chirp as the warheads explosion causes the shields to flicker momentarily but as the sensors recalibrate themselves they report that there has been no hull damage, The Victory Class Star Destroyer still looms ahead of the solitary fighter as Fenix banks towards the vessel, "Have another one of these you Rebel scum!" With that another Concussion Missile is launched, running straight towards the VSD Black Eagle. <Fenix>))

<COMBAT> SF-10346 poses: Zeta-3 continues to bank with it's lead wing as the orders come over to change targets the stalwart pilot presses his control yoke forward and sends his fighter into a sharp turn with the larger battle cruiser, lining up along its now exposed hull as it releases a warhead, the weapon dropping slightly before streaking away towards the vessel, its proximity detectors turned off, only contact with something hard will cause the warhead to detonate, sending the bulk of it's damage dealing ability into one direction. (Prospero)))

Reports are coming in to Kreldin's..station..that the Mako was issuing heavy fire with its proton torpedoes. And it is none too pretty. So far a lot of Scimitars have fallen. But the Empire has one major advantage: there is only one Mako. Kreldin knows it would be unable to keep up for too long. "You guys know the order of succession. Isolate and destroy them," he speaks into the communicator, watching as more ships blink out on the tactical display.

The Imperial fleet continues on their present course to encircle and trap the Griffon fleet, the three groups fanning out and preparing to spring the trap. 'A few more minutes,' Kreldin muses to himself, wishing he could get up from his medical bed and observe the battle from the bridge view port as he normally does. "That Victory Star Destroyer is giving hell to the Malignant.. focus batteries 15-35 on the Black Eagle, Chief." Danik's orders are followed out. On the port side of the massive hull of the Malevolence, the Star Dreadnought, turbolaser batteries begin opening fire, streaking out towards the Black Eagle. The space between the Imperial fleets and the Griffon fleet are filled with green and red turbolaser blasts and missiles, but that space is slowly but surely growing smaller and smaller. Other portions of Group 1, however, keep up their fire on the Gabriel and other vessels, the other two groups still not in position to open fire yet.

The Interdictors, however, are still moving into position, their gravity well generators powering up. They were moving to strategic points in the system, escorted by Lancer-class anti-starfighter frigates and a squadron of TIE Interceptors each. But there was still some time before all preparations could be finalized, enough time for the civilian transports to get away.

"Grand Admiral, sir, the shields on the primary target have fallen. How shall we proceed?"

"Precision firing on the Gabriel; target her proton torpedo launchers. Those pilots need all the help they can get." Kreldin doesn't seem phased by the departure of the civilian ships; they were meanginless to him. He was not here to shoot down those who would flee; rather, kill those who decide to stay and fight, however foolish it is. And the raising of the planetary shields does not come as a surprise. He planned for it, and the second phase of the operation would handle it - if they got that far. The Republic was still an adversary he could not underestimate. "Ignore the civilian ships. Let them go."

<COMBAT> CS-7907 poses: "Helm, full stop.. engineering, redirect all power to weapons and shields.." says the Captain of the Gabriele grimly and with that just nods to her 'XO', a young looking Lieutenant "..we got nowhere else to go, this is our home, we won't retreat.." she adds even as the Mako shakes and shudders under multiple turbolaser and concussion missile barrages. Her once pristine hull is rapidly becoming blackened and pock-marked.. she's venting atmosphere and small fires are blossoming all over her bow.. but still, she fights on.. Even as the air becomes noticeably stale on the bridge, even life-support got shut down, her remaining torpedo tubes flare again.. and again.. even as the ship slowly rotates, now facing the Imperial armada assembled against her. ))

<COMBAT> CS-772 poses: 	"Again! It must be destroyed!", the CO of the HIMS Malignant shouts above the sound of the warning klaxon telling the bridge that the shields are down. Only a few minor hits have happened to the hull so far, but then a VSD is not the Malevolence, and will simply be unable to provide sustained coverage for too long after taking damage. Once more the tubes are filled with concussion missiles, and a third volley is fired upon the same target as before; CS-7907, marked for death by High Command even beyond the Malignant's original target. And once more, a spider-web of flares seem to erupt from forward tubes on the vessel, all streaking towards their target by individual routes, but only one purpose.))

<COMBAT> CS-5789 poses: Reports from the Gabriel flood into the communications console of the Black Eagle, and the news is not good. Beginning to look a bit grim, the captain shifts in his command seat briefly before coming to a decision. "Time is of the essence," he says quietly. "We must strike harder, it would seem. Do all the damage that we can while we can. We may not have much time left."

There is a brief pause, tension seeming tangible in the air of the bridge and making it harder to breathe despite the fact that life support is functioning perfectly well on the Star Destroyer. At least for the moment. "Weapons, switch our next attack from turbolasers to concussion missles and fire again on that Victory class SD... but see if you can't manage to strike the other capital ship as well. Just once," the man with the bushy mustache finally orders. Might as well try to share the 'wealth' as it were.))

<COMBAT> SF-7161 poses: Once again being fired upon, Wolf managed to dodge it /again/ "Will someone get him off my six?!" he said into his comm hopefully trying to catch the attention of a Interceptor. As he turns back to look ahead of him, the Gabriel was firing on him.. Acting quickly, Wolf tries to move out of the way but is struck. Alerts sound through his cockpit telling him his shields have finally fallen.. 'No need to stop now.' he thought, sailing towards the Gabriel, he fired after his Co-Pilots reload signal; sending Conc. missiles towards the cruiser once again.))

<COMBAT> SF-8408 poses: This time Tellain facepalms as the new torpedo strikes the hull. So much for an easy first sortie.

His co-pilot points at the monitor. "Your shields are down." Tellain turns back. "Hey, I do not need the echo in the ship. Just do what I ask and we'll get back to the ship with minor scratches and maybe some fresh paint for the kill." Since the Black Eagle has yet to fire at him, Tellain doesn't see much of a threat to their collective well being and sets off another missile at it.)) <

<COMBAT> SF-10342 poses: Vassily Korolov's Zeta Squadron continues to loop around the Gabriel, targeting weapons emplacements at will now that her shields are gone and she is focusing fire on other targets, "Focus Fire on the forward Torpedo launchers, There are holes in the armor, set warheads to a five second delay, it will give us the punch we need to cripple their launchers." He flicks off the command net communication as he focuses on staying out of the Mako's defensive batteries. <<Korolov>>))

<COMBAT> SF-4239 poses: Theta One continues to match the flight path of the scimitar, that obviously is starting to really get hell against its hull. The squad leader has, thus far, not been threatened by any Tie Interceptor going after him, but he had quite the greatest difficulties to actually *hit* that scimitar. 'Damnit how can a bomber that heavily laoded be so evasive' he mutters to himself, still in the scimitar's six.

On the planet below, more important ships such as DSV or corvettes were being launched, probably families who didn't own a private ship - since the Griffons were community-oriented, personal wealth was often small - had probably been stacked on those ships. They fly the same path in order to avoid the ongoing battle that looked quite dire, considering a whole fighting group didn't even engage into battle.))

<COMBAT> SF-2982 poses: Ensign Antilles rolls his fighter, firing several directional thrusters at once to cause the inbound torpedo to zoom on by his vessel, "That was a close call Razor, I don't think our shields could take another hit like that. Do we have another missile ready to launch?" Razor speaks up, "Warhead Three up, Missile Away." With that another missile lances out towards the GSS Black Eagle. <Fenix>))

<COMBAT> SF-10346 poses: Zeta-3 and the rest of zeta squadron separate into 4 sets of three Bombers, each flight moving towards a different target, their intention to defang the mighty Warship before it can wipe out any more Imperial fighters. Bright blue streaks lance out as the Scimitars find their targets and launch, at this range and this speed, missing is almost impossible. (Prospero)))

<SPACE> Kreldin considers calling in the tactical reserves, the second fleet waiting just a few lightyears away. The thought is quickly set aside, however, as he realizes they already have enough to deal with the Griffons. The reserves would be a nice surprise if the Republic decided to show its ugly face. It was his one back up plan. Still strapped to this medical bed, Kreldin can't help but seem somewhat pathetic; this was his first battle as a grand admiral, and here he was, strapped to a bed with a broken back. Hopefully his crew didn't frown upon him for his crippled state.

The time has come, however. Groups two and three had finally arrived in position, and were angling towards their targets, firing turbolasers and missiles at the new targets. Ships vanish under a blossom of explosions as the Imperial vise begins to close on the Griffon fleet.

"I suppose the Griffons have really been suffering ever since Pride-1 more than we though," Danik says, blinking as he watches the tactical display. "All the better. Pending any unforseen events, I think we have this well under wraps.." Of course he was referring to the Republic. As Danik watches the civilian ships flee towards hyperspace, Danik can't help but wonder just how far away the Republic main fleet is.

<COMBAT> CS-7907 poses: The GSS Gabriel, or what's left of her, soaks up more damage as she maintains her position in front of the Imperial Fleet.. blocking the route to the planet, trying to buy some time for the civilians to evacuate.. Her entire hull is now buckling under the combined assault of the enemy fleet.. fires are burning out of control as the damage control systems were also shut down so power could be redirected to weapons and shields.

"Sir, we lost most of our torpedo tubes on the starboard side, some of our turbolaser batteries are also destroyed as well, we cannot lost much longer against them." comes the calm, almost emotionless voice of the tactical officer, though his face is openly showing the strain he's under "Copy that.." says the Captain and her brown eyes narrow as she considers the situation "Helm, give me ramming speed.." a second of silence, then without any further hesitation the helmsman complies.

The ship lurches forward, completely ignoring the enemy missiles slamming into her hull.. her own weapon system fall silent one by one.. some due to being destroyed and the rest because energy has been cut from them and redirected to the engines "Arm all torpedoes, initiate a cascade loop to overload the main engine, all non-essential personnel.. abandon ship.." comes the Captain's second last command and within second escape pods are beginning to leave the doomed flagship as it continues maintains its course.. gaining more and more speed every second.. heading straight toward the Imperial armada.. At this point her exact target is almost impossible to determine.. but chances are she's not going after one of the Scimitars..

(Ta) ))

<COMBAT> CS-772 poses: 	The fire taken is gradually waning, but the Malignant surely isn't coming out of the fight unscathed. "Kill it already!", the CO shouts, his vision of the inevitable victory gradually fading with each hit. If his ship went down, surely he'd go with it. And before the glorious revenge set upon the people who had killed so many brave Imperial servicement, it is something that he cannot allow. "Another volley!" And with the command, so too do the missiles streak forth, though the piles at the ready are all but extinguished.))

<COMBAT> CS-5789 poses:

For a moment, most activity on the bridge of the Black Eagle ceases as things begin to happen quickly on screen. It would appear that the dying Gabriel has decided to go out in a blaze of glory and hopefully take as many of the enemy ships with it as possible. While a sad state of affairs, the captain of the Eagle can't help but approve those brave souls in his heart. He sighs quietly at the loss of life before lifting a hand and directing his gaze toward his weapons officer. "Give them a moment. We need to see where and how the enemy scatters..." He breaks off as the communications officer imparts important news. "Sir, the New Republic fleet is arriving. Help should be here soon."

Another brief pause can be felt on the bridge of the Black Eagle while the captain absorbs the information and decides on what to do with it. After a moment, he strokes his large salt and pepper mustache before answering, "Fire again on the that Star Destroyer closest to us, and then... we will retreat and regroup with our New Republic allies. It will give us time to repair our shields and enter the fray afresh. I believe that we will be most effective that way and the Gabriel's sacrifice may be less in vain. We would accomplish little here on our own without shields." The reasoning complete, the captain nods. "Go ahead, weapons. Fire missles. Helm, prepare to retreat to the New Republic fleet's location. Engineering, see about getting our shields repaired en route."))