Second Battle of Etti IV

The Second Battle of Etti IV was the largest naval confrontation between the Galactic Empire and the New Republic since the Third Battle of Sluis Van. The battle was fought in neutral Corporate Sector territory, over the Authority capital of Etti IV, and saw the destruction of several prominent and iconic warships in both the Imperial Navy and the Republic Navy, and the deaths of thousands of servicemen on both sides of the conflict.

Origins
The New Republic had assembled a task force of four Republic-class Star Destroyers, six MC80 Star Cruisers, nine Republic Assault Frigates, and numerous other support craft in an attempt to destroy the flagship of the infamous Imperial Task Force Hammer and icon of the Imperial Navy, the HIMS Conqueror, and to kidnap its most prestigous resident, the Imperial commander Danik Kreldin.

New Republic agents fed false info the Conqueror, saying that the Republic's own icon, the NRS Crusader, was near the Corellia Sector, probing for a possible invasion of the Corellian system. Danik Kreldin, who had a personal vendetta against the Crusader, took the opportunity and sent the Conqueror and the HIMS Dauntless, under the command of Captain Strenge Lehmann, to hunt down the Crusader.

The Conqueror, however, was lured into a trap set by the Republic task force in deep space. Kreldin, ever stubborn, refused to retreat so fast, and decided to engage the massive Republic fleet. Imperial fighters engaged New Republic interceptors and bombers while the capital ships slugged it out.

Towards the end of the battle, however, it was growing obvious that Conqueror could not sustain itself any longer, and Captain Antal Brencis prepared to give the order to retreat - only to be wiped out by a proton torpedo fired by Johmac Mabru, along with the rest of the Conqueror's bridge and command crew, the torpedo utterly destroying the bridge.

Command of the Conqueror fell to Lieutenant Doniger, operating from the secondary bridge. Before the fight could escalate any further, Kreldin ordered a retreat.

The Conqueror and Dauntless managed to escape to hyperspace, the Dauntless taking the lead. On the way, however, the Conqueror's hyperdrive engine malfunctioned, and it was brought out of hyperspace. The Republic task force persued, and struck the Conqueror while it was undergoing hyperdrive repairs.

It was discovered that the Conqueror could no longer make a sustained hyperspace jump to Corellia or any nearby Imperial system, and was forced to head to the closet system, Etti IV, which was neutral and had a port for the Conqueror to dock and undergo repairs at.

Etti IV
The Conqueror managed to escape once again, and fled to Etti IV, with the Republic in hot persuit. Upon arriving at Etti IV, however, neither sides were able to fire upon one another. Instead, the two sides docked at Theseus Station and underwent repairs and much needed R&R for the crew.

The Empire dispatched a fleet to save the Conqueror, as the Republic task force had yet to depart, patiently awaiting the Conqueror to leave neutral territory. Imperial reinforcements arrived, and for a week the two fleets stared each other down, abiding by the truce established between themselves for the duration at the station.

The Battle
Ever devious, Danik Kreldin plotted a means to crush the Republic task force at Etti IV. Calling up the famous commando team that had taken the NRSD Templar several months prior at Sullust, and assigning his agent, Sandor Woden, Danik charged the team with infiltrating the Crusader using stolen Republic uniforms and hijacking the gun batteries facing the Imperial fleet, and to promptly open fire on the Imperial fleet, thus giving the Empire a legitimate reason to counter-attack, and to maintain its good relations with the Authority while tarnishing the Republic's.

The plan went underway, the commando team successfuly infiltrating the Crusader. They quickly made their way to the gun batteries and executed the plan. Within seconds the Imperial fleet was responding, as was the Republic fleet, and an all-out battle erupted over Etti IV.

Danik, commanding the battle from the bridge of the HIMS Malevolence, concentrated heavily upon the Crusader, wishing to fulfill his age old vendetta. The first blow was made against the Empire; the HIMS New Order, one of the oldest ships in the Imperial Navy, was destroyed by a concentrated turbolaser fire.

The Conqueror, still heavily damaged and lacking a bridge, and under the command of Commander Lynae Caiton, was hit hard by enemy fire and, by the decision of her commanders, was rammed into the Crusader, effectively destroying both warships, but not before the majority of crewmen on both vessels managed to escape (and the commando team).

Imperial casualties, however, continued to mount. An immense amount of starfighters were destroyed, and towards the end of the battle, the Malevolence had lost her shields. The Imperials began concentrating on the iconic NRS Deliverance, and reduced the cruiser to near slag. Finally, the Republic task force started retreating, until the Malevolence microjumped and blocked their hyperspace route to Mon Calamari. The Deliverance neared destruction, but amazingly, managed to slip by the Malevolence with the rest of the surviving task force and retreated to Mon Calamari.

Aftermath
Despite succeeding in forcing the retreat of the Republic task force, and destroying the Crusader, the Imperials suffered heavy casualties, including the their famed Conqueror, and heavy damage was done to the Malevolence, all for a battle that, in the end, achieved absolutely nothing. The number of Imperial starfighter casualties were staggering, marking this titantic space melee as an Imperial Pyrrhic victory.