From the far side of the Star Destroyer, dozens of craft were exiting hyperspace, appearing as long streaks before suddenly flickering into reality. Dak counted maybe ten blockade runners, half a dozen Nebulon-B support frigates, a handful of assault cruisers and a scattering of light freighters. He couldn't make out details from this distance, but he knew Lara was among them, piloting the Centurion. Glancing at his readout, he noticed twenty star fighters had also arrived, half of which were X-Wings, that would be Red Squadron, and a mix of Y, B and A-Wings.
"They actually made it." Wedge said, in hushed tones. Seconds ago he had been willing to sacrifice his life in a futile effort, but now, he felt hope blossom within himself again.
"Course they did. Never doubted Lara for a second." Dak replied, earnestly.
"Your lies aren't convincing, but at least you tell them with conviction. You're definitely a smuggler." laughed Wedge.
A crackle of static came through Dak's comm. Someone was trying to make contact on an open frequency channel. "Hailing unidentified TIE fighters, this is..." the voice hesitated, searching for a suitable codename. "Smudges." it said reluctantly. "Switch over to our encrypted channel. You know the one." said a female voice through the speakers.
"What frequency?" Wedge wondered aloud.
"It's for me kid. Here, I'll patch you in. Prepare to recieve." replied Dak, as he adjusted his frequency. Once his was free from Imperial surveillance, he gave a full reply. "Lara! You have no idea how good it is to hear from you!"
"I can imagine, old man." she replied lightly. "Looks like we arrived just in time to stop you from doing something drastic and attempting some noble sacrifice. Again."
"Hold on, he's done this before?" interjected Wedge.
"Like you wouldn't believe. Dak has such a death wish, you'd swear hes waiting to claim his own bounty."
"Alright, alright." said Dak hurriedly, eager to change the subject. "How did you manage all this?"
"I've got friends in high places." she replied. "Hold on..."
"Commander Amadeus Holdo, at your service." said a warm, erudite voice. Commander Amadeus was a well respected member of the Alliance, known for her unwavering bravery and tactical acumen. In a previous life, she had been a senator for Gatalenta, before growing dissolutioned by the continued erosion of its powers of oversight under the Emperor's rule. "This young lady actually barrelled into me on her way to find Admiral Raddus, raving about needing to launch a rescue mission. Mercifully, I took the time to listen to her, and I learned of your plight, and of the threat posed by this very operation."
Commander Amadeus was kind enough to plead your case to Raddus personally." Lara added, sheepishly.
"Have you discovered any additional information, which may be beneficial? We're about to engage the enemy." Amadeus asked, her tone insistent, but quietly calm and considered.
"Concussive weapons are the only things that stand a chance against those TIEs." Wedge replied.
"Thank you, you have been most helpful." she concluded, ending her transmission.
"Good work Lara. But even with all this firepower, we don't stand much of a chance against that Destroyer." Dak added, feeling reality crash back down after his momentary elation.
"Oh, we're not done yet." Lara replied wryly. As if on cue, another vessel emerged from hyperspace, larger than any of the other Rebel ships by some margin. It was long, spanning almost half the length of a Star Destroyer, but was much narrower. Its profile was similar to that of a needle: a vast, narrow tube which tapered to a point at its tip. The surface was covered in large, oval shaped blisters, housing weapons batteries, tractor beam emplacements and sensor and communications devices. The base of the needle was bulky, containing a cluster of powerful engines jutting out like the end of a straw broom. Its design was typical of the Mon Calamari shipyards.
"Admiral Raddus regrets that he could not divert his flagship, the Profundity, for this operation." Lara began to explain. "However, he didn't leave us empty handed."
"A horse, wet voice boomed across the entire Rebel network. "Today we have an opportunity to strike a harsh blow against the Empire's military production. We stand against a Grand Admiral, and his designs of a new TIE fighter, impervious to energy weapons. He must be stopped, and we must be the ones to stop him. Today, his plans will crumble, his factories will be torn asunder. This weapon cannot be allowed to profligate across the Galaxy. It's time to commence our attack. Godspeed, Rebels, and may the Force be with us."
"Raddus is here?" Wedge whispered.
"Of course, no way old fishface would miss this battle." said a high-spirited reply.
"Wes!" Wedge exclaimed, then to cover his delight, he added: "Thought I was rid of you rid of you over Andriss."
"You'll have to try better than crash-landing, behind enemy territory, in the middle of a military production facility. Next time try something difficult, like jumping into a supernova."
"You'd still find a way to follow me."
"Can we please focus?" Lara interrupted. "We have a battle to win."
***
Aboard his shuttle, Malefic scowled darkly, his lean face mostly obscured by shadow. Only the edges of his angular features caught the scant light reflected from the looming Destroyer. He should have been proud, marvelling in his moment of triumph. His shuttle design had successfully absorbed the impact from a heavy turbolaser designed to vaporise ships ten times as large. Sure, several tertiary systems, including the interior lighting, had fused, and the life support was on energy power, but such minor quirks were easily repaired. Instead, he was furious over the arrival of more Rebel ships into his sector. No matter, he reasoned, they would simply provide additional target practice. They might be preparing to assault him with as much of a meager armada as they could muster, but it still paled in comparison to even a single Star Destroyer. The Grand Admiral allowed himself a mirthless smile. Today would see Project Indomitable triumph against these insurgents. Perhaps then Tarkin might see fit to reallocate resources towards the superior project. Director Krennic and his Stardust folly had monopolized the Empire's funding for too long.
In the moments his enemies spent regrouping before launching their attack, his shuttle had made it his personal docking bay located just below the Destroyer's bridge, at the top of its towering central protrusion. "Scramble all fighters!" he barked. "Prime all weapons batteries. Today, we go to war."
***
Admiral Raddus surveyed his command deck, swinging between various displays and tactical maps from an arched gimble attached to his chair. His moist skin glistened in the humid atmosphere of the bridge, an environment most comfortable for the amphibious Mon Calamari. "We need to destroy those main guns before our cruisers can close to attack range." he bellowed, his jowls flapping as he spoke. "Fighter group one will deploy proton bombs against those laser batteries port-side. Y-Wings will precede their attack with ion shots to help weaken its shields. Fighter group two will provide cover for the bombers. Remember, these TIE Indomitables will resist plasma shots. You must hit them with concussion missiles to have an effect."
Wedge considered the plan. A Star Destroyer had a total of eight main batteries divided into three heavy turbolaser and an ion cannon along each side, so they only needed to assault one side to leave it wide open to heavier fire. Still, the attacking fighters would have to run a gauntlet along the Destroyer's surface to last long enough to hit their targets.
"Wait!" He exclaimed, redirecting his comms. "Commander Amadeus?"
"Wedge, isn't it? Have you something else to add?"
"Dak and I should fly ahead of the first wave, Commander. Our hulls can absorb most of the flak from the their smaller laser turrets."
"Agreed." replied the commander, thoughtfully. "I'll log your transponders as friendly, your new callsigns are Wraiths One and Two."
"Aknowledged. Wraith One, out." Wedge replied. He switched comm channels to address his fellow pilots. "All fighters, form up on my position. We hit hard and fast. Remember to stay low, we'll come in close to the Destroyer's hull, it confuses their tracking."
Dak and Wedge led the charge, diving toward the nose of the Destroyer's triangular profile. The slow moving bombers followed close behind, surrounded by a cloud of more agile fighters, all bunched together in a thin train. They remained low, practically skimming the hull beneath them, while dozens of turrets spat fiery bursts of green plasma along their path. From either side of the Imperial vessel, TIEs spewed forth from various hangers, a seemingly endless stream of fighters swarming like white blood cells amassing to fight an infection. A standard Destroyer carried six full squadrons, or seventy two fighters, but as a mobile foundry the Escutcheon had access to almost double that number. As the sawming TIEs reached the Rebel convoy they opened fire, hitting the relatively undefended flanks. In response, the A-wing escort broke off to engage the approaching enemy. Half of the X-wings remained in position, providing additional cover for the bombers. The remaining five, led by Wes Janson, joined the A-Wings, breaking ranks to put pressure on the incoming TIEs.
The Rebel fighters were outnumbered by almost six to one, and worse, half of those had to remain focussed on targeting the main batteries. This left each fighter in the defensive screen to face almost an entire squadron of TIE Indomitables, a challenge for even the best fighters. In the first wave of counter-attacks alone, the TIEs registered three kills, two Y-Wing bombers and a nimble but lightly armoured A-Wing. Given their overwhelming numbers, the Imperials managed to keep continuous fire directed towards the dwindling Rebel fighters. As each wave broke off and regrouped, another was already in position to replace it. The second wave took out two more Rebels.
"We can't take much more of this!" cried one of the Y-Wing pilots, Gold Six. "There's too many!"added Wes. "Concussion missiles can only lock onto one target at a time."
Dak winced as he flew through yet another plasma beam. Despite the TIEs resilience, every fibre of his being screamed thatflying into the fire was wrong. "There's too many to target directly." he replied to the panicked pilots. "So don't even try. Look for clusters and target the TIE closest to the centre. The rest will scatter like womp rats."
"Aknowledged" replied Wes. "You heard the man, Choose your targets." The remaining X-Wings took stock as the next wave of TIEs approached. Wes noticed a group of five TIEs, grouped together, aiming for one of the remaining B-wings. "Eat this, Imperial scum!" he cried, launching a pair of concussive missiles. The clustered fighters broke off their attack, each trying to evade the incoming missiles. Neither side suffered any losses in the exchange, but the Rebels were closer to their targets.
***
"I want them stopped immediately!" Aegis Malefic roared with furious indignation. The other officers and crew on the bridge sunk into their chairs, hoping not to further draw the Grand Admiral's ire. "How hard can it be to destroy a handful of battered old scrap fighters?!"
He paused, willing himself calm. This was no way for an official of the Imperial Navy to conduct themselves. He thought, applying his superior intellect to the problem at hand. "Let's give them something else to worry about." he decided. "Prepare to engage with their fleet directly. Move to attack range."
***
"Approaching target." Wedge affirmed. "Get ready..." he trailed off, as the Destroyer began to rotate beneath him.
"Damn. Malefic is turning to engage Raddus' fleet. Commander, instructions?" Dak said, urgently.
"Stay the course, Wraith Two." Commander Amadeus replied. "This changes nothing. Destroying those cannons are still your priority."
"Yeah, but now we have no margin for error." Dak added softly, as he ended the transmission.
"Y-Wings in position." Wedge announced. "Fire at will." The remaining bombers trained their ion cannons on the first Imperial gun, causing its shield to flash brightly as it strained and weakened.
***
"Admiral Raddus, the Escutcheon is targeting this command ship!" exclaimed one of his helmsmen.
"Divert excess power to our front deflectors. And let's hope our bombers pull through."
***
"The shield is down! Him them with everything we're got!" Dak ordered, as he and Wedge passed by the first of four cannons. He hoped it would be enough. The remaining Y-Wings led the bombardment, releasing a trail of photon torpedoes at the first cannon. The primary power coupling was caught in the first detonation, sending a wave of explosions rippling through the cannon's structure. The metal casing split apart, revealing plumes of fiery debris through which the fighters emerged. The Y-Wings separated, allowing the B-Wings to take aim at the next cannon. The B-Wings were a relatively rare unit deployed by the Alliance, due to their high cost. However, they possessed a pod of heavy weapons typically seen only larger, support craft, making them perfect for targeting capital ships. They swiftly launched their payloads, taking out the next cannon in sequence, and the ion gun behind it.
"We're out." declared the leading B-Wing pilot. "Gold squadron, the final battery is all yours."
***
Malefic snarled as he felt the aftershocks of the destruction of cannons two and three.
"Mon Calamari cruiser in range sir." announced the chief gunnery officer.
"Then take the shot!" seethed Malefic. "What are you waiting for?"
***
Raddus braced himself for the impact. His instincts told him the final cannon would get to fire before the bombers finished their attack. He was already considering the potential outcomes. His ship would survive at least one hit, he was sure, but they'd likely lose a few weapon emplacements. It would be the start of a slow battle of attrition between the capital ships, one which would eventually favour the larger Imperial ship.
"Admiral! Commander Holdo is breaking formation." alerted one of his crewmen.
"Open a communication channel!" he ordered. "Commander, what is the meaning of this?"
"Have you ever played Dejarik Admiral?" Amadeus replied, ruefully. "Sometimes you have to sacrifice your smaller pieces, to win the game."
***
The bombers released their final payload, but before the torpedoes could make contact, the final cannon managed to fire a shot. Verdant bolts of super heated plasma were launched towards the Rebel armada , aimed at Raddus' command ship. However due to Commander Holdo's timely intervention, she positioned her assault cruiser, the Credence, in the path of the attack, taking the brunt of the impact.
Raddus stared through the viewport, as the Credence limped through the attack. Sections of the vessel had been opened to the vacuum of space, its crew sucked out into the void. Elsewhere fires and secondary explosions continued to burn across its surface.
"Commander, what's your status?" Raddus asked, with desperation. Amadeus' response was calm, through strained. She gritted her teeth, looking down at the wound in her side. "Main reactor is damaged, about to go critical. I've ordered the crew to evacuate."
"And what about you?"
"Someone's got to stay here and reroute the reactor output so the evacuees can get clear." She paused, thinking of her husband back on Gatalenta, and her daughter, Amylin. "And don't even think about sending a rescue team. It's too late for me." She winced through the pain. "But there is one last thing I can do." She pulled up a holopic of her family, and smiled sadly.
As the last of the escape pods jettisoned from the dying vessel, Commander Amadeus turned the Credence towards the bridge of the Escutcheon. "Right Malefic, you can dish it out, but let's see if you can take it, too." She sent all remaining power to the sunlight engines, preparing to ram the Destroyer's bridge. Unable to return fire given its lack of available weapons, the Escutcheon could only attempt to turn away from the impact. However, even crippled, the smaller cruiser had superior speed. "Godspeed." she whispered, thinking of her family as her world flared around her.
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