Time: 1 Month Later
!!!!WAR ROLLS ON, DEATH TOLL ON THE RISE!!!!
Jetster Or Gana here,
32 days and counting since the Nation of JOG enter what’s left of the BOJ System and began slugging it out with the Empire of SWA for control of the territory. The fighting has been fierce, as both sides have taken heavy losses. And there seems to be no end in sight . . .
See holo transmission #865567 for more in depth coverage on the rising death tolls of the war
**** THE OES GOVERNMENT REFUSES TO JOIN WAR EFFORT****
This is Maximillian Starkiller aboard the flagship Orion’s Belt reporting on the latest development on the diplomatic debacle that has become of JOG and OES relations. It seems OES Prime Minister and former JOG Jedi Knight Lord Jada has issued a statement late last night stating that OES and its military would not be entering the war at all after diplomatic talks fell apart early this week.
The loss in aid from OES’s military will defiantly hamper our militaries ability to end this was quickly. It seems JOG is in this for the long haul with no end in sight . . .
See holo transmission # 865568 for more in depth coverage of this diplomatic debacle and its affect on the Nation’s war effort
#JEDI MASTERS SILENT AS WAR HAS BECOME A STALEMATE#
Antilles Darklighter here wondering what is going on in JOG’s high command. When the war first started JOG began with a bang, liberating the planet of Inaicu in a record 3 days time. Since then our forces have been bogged down in what has become a fighting stalemate with the SWA Empire. This reporter is wondering why haven’t our leaders, namely Jedi Master Frantic and Nerd Vader who lead this campaign, done more to break the SWA lines.
Are they incompetent?
See holo transmission # 65340 for more on why JOG is in this stalemate
NEWS FLASH: SOLDIERS OF THE REBELLION LOOK TO ESTABLISH GOVERNMENT IN FORMER BOJ TERRITORY IF SWA IS DEFEATED
NEWS FLASH: ANTIFREEZE SEEN AS LEADER OF THE REBELLION
NEWS FLASH: SEVERAL NATIVE BORN BOJians LEAVE JOG ARMY TO HELP THE SOR MOVEMENT. JEDI MASTAISAC ONE OF THEM.
NEWS FLASH: GIANT FEMALE WOOKIE AND JAWA PRODUCE OFFSPRING. RESULT: THE HAIREST 4 FOOT ALIEN THE GALAXY HAS EVER SEEN
NEWS FLASH: LOE”S LEONARDO AND TROT”S KING SCORPION SIGN TREATY, AGREE TO AID IF ONE IS EVER ATTACKED
Chapter 1
Location: Aboard JOG Flagship Orion’s Belt, BOJ Transitory Mist
Personal Journal Entry: Jedi Master Frantic
. . . Alone I sit in the dark, pondering all, and know not what to do . . . for I am just a man . . .but the time has come to choose . . . no matter where the path may lead. . .
Jedi Master Frantic sat in his dimly lit room gazing at a holo pad that showed the latest holo feeds coming out from the Nation. As it had been for the past three weeks, JOG reporters were slamming the war effort, as if half expecting the war to be over and done with by now. As if it could be done at the snap of two fingers. Actually as Frantic gazed up from the holo pad to his view port which show cased a spectacular greenish Nebula that the fleet had recently entered, he wished it would be just that simple.
Of course it wasn’t. The SWA Empire had improved its fleet significantly and the upgrades were defiantly giving JOG forces reason to worry. But even more so was the space around them. Filled with massive black holes and transitory mist, coordinating any attack was nearly impossible being that communications were almost always down.
Lost in thought, Frantic stood up and moved to the view port as he began mull in his mind the endless outcomes of the war effort. SWA had entrenched themselves well in the lead up of the war. It was as if they were expecting JOG to come. With the gravitational force as they were, JOG’s fleet had very little room to maneuver. And wherever they did go, it seemed SWA had stationed fleets ready to engage them. It had turn into a slugfest, the kind where many soldiers died. So the question was, what was to be done about it?
Behind him, the door to his room slide open as Master Nerd Vader entered. As the Jedi Master came walking in he was trailed by his padawan Lordzz. Noticing the holo pad still clutched in Frantic’s hand the entering Jedi Master exclaimed, “ I see you have been reading the latest holo feeds from back home. Did you happen to catch the one about the Wookie and Jawa?”
Trying to lighten the mood, Frantic understood his friend’s intentions well and appreciated the remark. “ Yes . . .” he said, “ too bad we are not fighting them instead. Four-foot hairy jawas would be a bit easier then what we are facing out here . . .” He motioned for the Nerd and his padawan to sit down.
As the two men did, Frantic sat with them and continued the conversation, “ its time we made a move here to break SWA’s choke hold on the fleet.”
“ What do you have in mind, cause it seems everywhere we turn we get bottled up by SWA’s fleet, forcing us back,” Nerd comment.
We need to get around them, that’s for sure,” Frantic replied. He gazed back to greenish nebula outside the view port. “ And I think I know away to accomplish it.”
“ I am all ears,” Nerd said with interest.
“ These black holes and surrounding transitory mist have proven difficult to communicate through, causing our ships to have to fight battle after battle straight up for every inch of space,” Frantic said as he placed the holo pad down on a table next to him. “ Our loses are starting to mount. We need to be able to flank them, hit them where they don’t think we can.”
Next to Nerd Vader, his padawan Lordzz spoke up, “ but how, with out precise communication we will never be able to strike with any coordination. And from what I have seen so far in battle, SWA modifications on their star fighters would tear us apart. Not to mention their flagship. We don’t want to be going to battle without knowing exactly what we are going to be doing.”
Next to him Nerd nodded and look back to Frantic seeing how the Jedi Master would get around the dilemma.
“ Simply put, to coordinate any such attack will take the ability of a Jedi Battle Meld, “ Frantic said. “ the kind in which has never been attempted before.”
“ A Jedi what?” Lordzz shot back.
Next to him Nerd gave a look to silence the young man. “ Master Frantic, a meld over that great of distance in space has never been attempted before, I am not so sure if this would be a good time to attempt such a thing.”
“On the contrary, it’s a perfect time,” Frantic replied back as he took a breath to reassure himself. “ SWA will not give us an inch with out massive loss of life if we continue on the way we are going. A surprise attack such as this might be exactly what is needed to push through.”
Silence grip the room as Nerd and Lordzz took in the idea. Slowly Master Nerd Vader began to nod as if comprehending the task before them, “ Alright if it can be done, what do we need to do to prepare for the attack.”
“ I need you on board the capital ship the Arg, and from there you and I will need to coordinate with each other the movement of battle, the entire movement of the battle. It will be difficult and strenuous to say the least,” Frantic said in a matter of fact voice. “Our knights will have to be positioned throughout the battle on other cruisers, helping the meld with what they see feeding us their impressions and directing those around them as well.”
“I am not quite sure what this is all about Master’s,” Lordzz brought up. “ What is a Jedi Battle Meld?”
“In theory my young padawan, when a Jedi enters a meditative state and becomes one with the force, all things can be seen, including outcomes of battles if you properly place your troops or this case ships,” Master Nerd Vader answered, “ think of a when you use a Jedi mind trick; on where in that person’s mind the weak spots are, then exploiting them to your benefit.”
“ Yeah take that example and magnify it a thousand times,” Frantic added. “Then you start to get a picture of what we will be attempting here.”
“ You realize Master Frantic that allowing so much energy to flow through us, could very well kill us,” Nerd asked. “ Something like this has never been attempted before.”
Standing up Frantic made his way to the view port as if searching the space around to help him find the strength to take the risk he proposed. “ If we don’t, I feel JOG can not win here, leaving us to have to fight an inevitable war in JOG space. And that is something we can not allow.”
Chapter 2
Location: Flight Deck of Orion’s Belt, Prior to Battle
The main hanger bay of the Orion’s Belt was bristling with commotion. Flight techs, engineers and droids scurried from ship to ship, making sure all were ready launch. The hanger filled with Y- Wings, X- Wings, A Wings, B-wings and Stealth fighters, all had to be looked over, fueled up and armed for the up coming battle. It was a herculian effort to get it all done prior to launch, but the hanger crew was handling it.
If the hurried pace of what was going seemed hectic however, it did not phase a group of star pilots huddled together near one of the parked Y- Wings. Standing next to the fuselage of the ship, dress in their standard reddish flight suits, Red Squadron stood together in a semi circle around their leader, Captain Arggie.
“ I can’t believe we are the bait . . .” cried out Red 4, the call sign of Lyra. “ who came up with this crazy plan?”
“ It comes straight from the top,” Arggie said with a leader’s voice. “ Apparently they have a new trick up their sleeve, and the Orion’s Belt, along with its sister ships and their squadrons of fighters are meant to lull the enemy into a false sense of security.”
“ I like how we are the bantha fodder for their little games Cap,” the voice of Red 6 came into the conversation. “ I don’t see them coming down here and doing any of the fighting. Typical. ”
“ That’s enough Coyote, we are all in this together,” Arggie fired back. “ We’ve got a job to do.” His voice became a bit louder as he continued. “ We will break their lines here and now. We cannot liberate planets if we cannot get to them ladies. . .and I don’t know about you but I have seen enough of pilots dying without seeing results lately. Its time we did something about it.”
“ That’s right fuckers,” a voice came from behind. The group turned to see who it was and too nobodies surprise in was Purple Squadron’s Leader, Prophet33, “ Oh and try keep up out there this time. I hate having to continue to watch your asses out there. I’ve got better things to do with my time. ”
Arggie met the remark, “ Purple 41, they actually are letting you go out on this mission, I thought you were grounded for that little thing about you being too retarded to fly. . .”
Prophet met the remark with laughter of his own and step forward to the Red Squadron leader, “ shut the fuck up,” he said as he continued to laugh. He glared into Arg’s eyes for a second more then stuck out his hand to grasp Arggie’s hand in a warrior’s shake. “ Best of luck out there. And come back alive will yeah.”
“You too, don’t do anything stupid out there today alright,” Arggie returned with a smile.
With that the conversation was over. But the purple squadron’s leader had one more thing to say before departing and it was to the rest of the squadron, “ what the hell are all you looking at you faggots. Shit don’t you got something better to do with your time?”
Arggie took the queue; “ you heard the man, ladies, its another day and another chance to meet death with a smile on your face. Let’s get to work!”
Chapter 3
Location: Bridge of SWA’s Flagship, The Avenging Destroyer
Sitting just out side the event horizon of the nearest black hole The Avenging Destroyer, flagship of the SWA fleet rested along with an armada of ships around her. The size of a DSA Super Star Destroyer and made by the same ship yard at Kuat, the ship could handle multiple enemies at once and come out the victor with little more than a few dents and dings. A truly awesome ship, the likes of which the Nation of JOG could not hope to match with sure straight up firepower.
On the bridge of the ship officers in pure military precision and order worked about readying themselves for the battle that lay ahead.
“Admiral,” an officer said sitting at his post. Dressed in a black with red trim uniform reported what he was seeing on his scanner. “ The JOG fleet has just entered our hot zone. Initial scans report that it is the Orion’s Belt, flagship of the enemy. She has over 12 heavy cruisers along with her and two medical frigates in tow. It looks like they are going to try to punch through again.”
Behind him Admiral JM Slabs took in the information with a smile. “ The Jedi are fools, they just on keep trying and we keep knocking them down. When will they ever learn? Oh well . . . Deploy our fleet into the standard V wedge, and tell Harbinger of Death to wait on my command to deploy their fighters. Make sure they unleash them only when the Orion’s Belt is funneled into the wedge. I don’t want them escaping again.”
Location: The Bridge of the Arg
Master Nerd Vader sat uneasily in his chair on the bridge of the The Arg as he slowly began to concentrate on that in which was around him. The enormity of what was at hand was daunting to say the least.
Standing next to him focusing on the space around the moving fleet, his padawan Lordzz continued his updates of the their movement through the maze of black holes towards their destination.
“ This is taking too long,” Lordzz said, “ moving through here is almost next to impossible.”
“ Nothing is impossible my young apprentice,” Nerd said in a strained voice. “ Trust in the force to guide you.”
“This would be easier if you could help,” Lordzz said while still searching the force for ways through the maze.
“ Trust yourself my padawan,” Nerd continued, “ you are doing well. Besides I am about to go into the meld, and I am still not sure about it.”
Chuckling to himself Lordzz replied, “ Now who needs to trust in the force Master.”
Smiling the Jedi Master just winked at his padawan. Closing his eyes he began to feel the force around him, the ships, the crew, every fear and emotion, down to the heartbeats of those around him. . . slowly he stretched out further, into the deepness of space before him, stretching out towards Master Frantic somewhere in the blackness ahead.
“ Good luck master. . .” Lordzz muttered under his breath as the ever so slowly inched their way to their prey.
Location: Bridge of JOG’s Flagship, The Orion’s Belt
Standing on the bridge of the Orion’s Belt, Jedi Master Frantic watched as the JOG fleet had entered the stretch of space in which black holes aligned on both sides of them funneling the fleet toward the SWA Armada and the opening to the rest of the BOJ territory, in which they so closely guarded.
There was really only way out, and that was through the SWA line. The attack, from any normal standpoint would seem like a suicide mission. Especially when the SWA Armada contained the flagship of the enemy, The Avenging Destroyer. The ship alone would be a match for any ship JOG could send at her. Over confidence of an easy victory would be rank throughout the SWA line. At least that’s what Frantic was hoping for.
Slowly taking in deep breaths, allowing all thought of the coming battle to fade from him he prepared himself to open to the Jedi Battle Meld.
“May the force be with us. . .” he whispered to himself as he shut his eyes and began to concentrate harder.
Chapter 4
Day and night had no meaning to this region of space. Scarcely seeing any light except that of the greenish mist that pervaded the area, this region of space had remained peaceful and tranquil throughout the eons of time. And yet on this day, things would change.
Slowly as the two fleets of the Nation of JOG and the SWA Empire approached one another, the peace and tranquility would be shattered.
Taking the lead on the JOG side of the battle was the Orion’s Belt. A battle hardened ship, she had seen her fair share of battles and always managed to survive all encounters with enemy vessels.
A Mon Calamarian design, she was originally built to protect the home world of JOG during its infancy. It was the oldest ship in the fleet and had seen action in the old DSA-JOG War of years past.
She was the pride of the fleet and to her crew she was home.
Lancing out with its main forward batteries, it opened fire towards the nearest SWA star cruiser, causing small fires to erupt on the hull of the enemy vessel.
And with that the battle began. . .
The opening moments of the battle faded from distant fire and turned into an up close slugfest as each side closed in on one another. Both sides hammered the other with relentless barrages of laser fire as streaks of green energy flashed through the darkness of space and scorch enemy hulls.
Between the massive starships and cruisers, smaller fighters filled the voids and attacked one another, dodging in and out of the barrage of laser fire of the larger ships. To the naked eye it was almost seemed like a dance. The flow of the engagement was almost beautiful, moving throughout the battle with ease and grace.
It wasn’t until some of the fighters started to wink out of existence that the reality of the situation set in. This was war and in war things were brutal, fierce and in the end, deadly.
And like a conductor of an orchestra, Jedi Master Frantic oversaw it all in the Jedi Battle Meld. Conducting the movement of ships and nudging his crewmember’s and fighter pilot’s minds, reinforcing their courage to go where they were needed, into position to where they could do the most damage. The strain was almost unbearable. . . but he would manage for he was master of the force, and he could not fail on this day. For this day the Nation of JOG had to win.
In the heat of the battle, a squadron of Y – Wings raced towards their destined target: the engines of the enemy’s flagship, The Avenging Destroyer. Leading the squadron was the famed Captain, Arggie.
“Stay in tight Red 4,” Arg barked over the Y – Wings intercom. The battle was intense. It seemed like every other second the group was dodging laser fire. And not every dodge was successful. The Y – Wings moved like banthas and several shots had already impacted his ship and the ships of the rest of his squadron. So much so that he had already lost two members of his group, and he hadn’t even reached their assigned target yet.
“I am working on it Cap,” Red 4’s voice exclaimed back.
“ Work harder, I am not losing any one else on this trip,” the Red Leader replied back. He didn’t like losing personal and the two he had lost already was too much to bare. “ Red 6 come in, you take point, move across the hull of the enemy to its port side, it should be less . . . busy. . .” It was the only word he could think of as he juke his bomber hard to port to dodge yet another laser blast.
All he got in return from Red 6 was static.
“ Red 6,” Arg continued as he looked to his control board that showed that Red 6 was still with him, “ Coyote are you there, over.” Just then another laser shot bounced off his shields. His R4 droid announced the loss of 13% of his shields. “ Blast . . . Red 6 come in.”
Quickly the static faded somewhat as Coyote’s voice came in, “ Sorry Cap . . . can barely hear you,” the young man strained, “ my communications . . . relay is in bad shape. I . . am having difficulties. . .”
“Never mine, fall in behind Red 4,” Arg yelled back. “ Red 7, Red Baron, take the lead.”
“ Yes sir,” the man voice came back sharply.
Inch by inch, ever so slowly the group of heroic men and women that made up Red Squadron moved through the battle towards their target. . . braving all the dangers that is space warfare. . .
Chapter 5
Slowly the Orion’s Belt entered into the middle of the action. Frantic felt through the force energy that the position it now held was the key to the encounter. For what reason he did not know. It obviously became the main target of all enemy fire and would not last long in its current position.
The force itself seemed like a maze of doors, only when he opened one, did the next one present itself. Completely lost in the tide of it, all he could do was trust in it, trust that it would provide him the victory that he so desperately sought.
Outside the hull of the ship was taking a pounding. Newly modified SWA Tie Interceptors tore into it leaving openings for their counter parts, Tie Bombers to drop their payloads. Through the force Frantic felt his own crew members die as the explosions tore into several decks of the Orion’s Belt.
And yet as Frantic felt their lives fade out of existence he could not mourn them. He could not expend any more energy than he did at that moment. For the Jedi Battle Meld was intense. And it seemed the force moved him faster and faster, showing door after door, allowing him to move the fleet and his men and women under his command to where he needed them to be.
Aboard the SWA Capital Ship Admiral JM Slabs took in the battle with pleasure. The enemy’s flagship, Orion’s Belt had just entered his funnel of starships and was taking massive damage from all sides. The Harbinger of Death, which sat just to the Avenging Destroyers starboard side, had just unleashed its fighters into the battle and were at the moment tearing into the Orion’s Belt Hull with ease.
The battle would not last too much longer. Perhaps a few more hours, but once the Orion’s Belt was out of the picture, the battle would become a route. The Jedi were foolish and were going to pay for it with their very lives.
Admiral JM Slabs loved every minute of it.
Frantic continued on opening each door in the force, each step taking him closer to where he needed to go. Minor adjustments were made in the movement of his vessel and those cruisers around him. He stressed in his crews minds to work harder and faster trying to keep the shields up if not for just a few more seconds.
And then the force guided him to his destination, to where he needed to be. Finally the fleet was in position. Finally the force presented the target in which Frantic sought. This target was the key to the battle somehow. The target, were the shield generators that sat on top of the massive flagship of the enemy, the Avenging Destroyer.
Without hesitation he nudged all weapons in the JOG fleet to fire in the same direction and at the same time. As the combined barrage of laser fire flashed through space it seemed the entire dance that was the space battle halted for just a second to see the outcome.
And then it came. The massive shield generators were no match for the combined JOG firepower. As generators exploded it seemed all SWA movement stood still for just a moment longer, taking in what had just happen. It was almost unthinkable, their super weapon, their flagship had just been dealt a massive blow.
The bridge of the SWA flagship was a mess. Fires from the erupting shield generators had reached even the bridge level. Smoke filled the air as bridge officers tried to collect themselves.
Some where in the massive explosion Admiral JM Slabs had been sent to the floor, hitting his head on the glossy black surface causing a small amount of blood to trickle from his forehead.
As he righted himself up he looked over the chaos that had erupted on his bridge. Next to him a junior officer came to him with a full damage report.
“ Sir the enemy had just taken out our shield generators. We are defenseless now,” the officer reported.
Wiping the blood from his forehead he took in the news as any competent Admiral would. He issued orders for the Avenging Destroyers to start on right away. Overall the situation was surprising yet was manageable. As he finished the orders he looked to the junior officer and smiled as convincingly as he could, “ don’t worry young man, this ship is more than just shields. It has been fitted with some of the heaviest armor in the galaxy. It will take them days to start penetrating our hull. By then their fleet will be destroyed.”
It was a lie of course. Without shields the ship would take a heavy beating and would not last as long as he predicted. But the junior officer needed to hear it. It gave the young man confidence that he was sure the man was lacking now. As long as nothing else went wrong things would work themselves out fine.
Just then another explosion ripped through the bridge when from behind him somewhere in the pit that was the bridges command center a voice shouted out, “ Admiral we have just lost our port side engine. ”
“ Compensate and get a squadron out their to defend our rear,” the Admiral yelled out. This was not going as planned. Just moments before the battle was at hand and now there were . . . problems. Losing his shields all at once was devastating enough, but losing his engines would not be tolerated.
Chapter 6
“ Good shot Captain,” Lyra screamed over her Y- Wings intercom. “ Port side engines destroyed.”
The battle was defiantly easier out here. It seemed that with the main part of the battle away from their location, the squadron had been able to slip behind the enemies lines so to speak and had unlimited access to the Avenging Destroyers engines.
“ Be ready,” Arg cried out, “ the lose of that engine will be getting the enemies attention. Prepare for incoming fighters.”
“ You spoke to late Cap,” Red 7’s voice came over the com, “ I have got 12 marks coming from the starboard side. They will be here in a minute perhaps two. We won’t be much of a match for them, orders sir?”
Without hesitation Arg order his remaining fighters to begin hitting the main engine of the Avenging Destroyer. “ We have got one minute to get this done ladies, hit them with everything you got.”
Quickly as possible the Red Squadron lined up in rows and began their attack run on the main engine. With deadly precision the Y Wing bombers dropped their payload into the massive main engine of the SWA flagship causing explosions to erupt. Yet the engine continued to roar with life.
After the first run, the squadron set up for yet another, knowing their time was running out. The enemy would soon be upon them. Seconds ticked by as each bomber again took aim and fired. Still the main engine did not go out.
“Cap,” Lyra shouted out, “ what now?”
Arggie mulled over the situation at hand. The enemy would be here before the last of his fighters made their shot. But what choice did he have. This was his target and he was not about to let the Nation of JOG down, even if it cost him his life.
“ Form up,” he cried out. “ All squadron members on me, we are going in for one more attack run.”
“ Yes sir,” we the replies from his squad mates.
A small smile crept onto Arg’s face as he new the valor of which his squad mates were made of. They knew what was at stake. They knew the enemy would be down upon them before they finished the run. They knew many would die in the coming seconds. Yet they went any ways and for that he would be happy to die by their side.
As Red Squadron made their final run, the enemy attacked. Like hornets protecting their queen so too did the SWA star fighters. They ripped into the squad with no remorse, destroying those with the weakest shields first.
Screams of fiery deaths filled Arggie’s cockpit as the remaining Y Wing Bombers pressed on. They would not die in vein he told himself. In unison the bombers dropped their payloads into the main engine yet again causing massive amount of damage.
And as fires raced across the hull of the massive flagship, Captain Arggie heard the scream of yet another pilot plunging to his death. The Y wing and its pilot Red 7, containing the man known as Red Baron, became a fireball and fell headlong into the massive main engine. And as if his death was meant to have meaning both his ship and the main engine exploded and winked out of existence.
The shockwave threw the remaining Y Wings away from the flagship, hurling them towards the thicker portions of the green transitory mist that had formed in this region of space. It would be the luckiest brake the squadron could have hoped for.
“ Sir we did it,” Lyra shouted out.
“ Pipe down Red 4,” Arggie shouted back, “ We aren’t out of this yet. Red Squadron on me!” Now their lives depended solely on their ability to make it into to the green mist before the pursuing SWA fighters tore them apart. There they had a fighting chance to survive . . .
On the bridge of the Avenging Destroyer, Admiral JM Slabs took in more bad news. “ Sir the main engine is out. With it and the port side engine gone we have to shut down the remaining starboard engine, or else we will spiral slowly into one of the surrounding black holes.”
Shaking his head at the mess that was now his situation he finally nodded in agreement. The last thing he could afford to do is get stuck in a black hole for the ship would be lost along with the crew.
Of course he knew with out his engines the Avenging Destroyer would be a sitting duck for the JOG star cruisers in the battle. Yet with the firepower that his ship contained he preferred that option to all others. He would indeed have to slug it out with no shields and no engines.
“ Time to see what we are really made of,” he muttered to himself.
He would have to fight for his very life. . . as he cursed under his breath the situation at hand he spoke out, “ Recall all of our fighters to defend the Avenging Destroyer and make sure that The Harbinger of Death stays close to us. With our shields down and engines out I don’t want anything to get through!”
Chapter 7
In the heat of the battle, in one of the many skirmishes that filled the region of space, Purple Squadron made up of advanced A – Wings were having their work cut out for them. The SWA Tie Interceptors could match them step for step in maneuverability and had a tad bit more firepower. Yet the skills of the famed Purple Squadron seemed to keep the playing field as level as possible.
It had been an hour since the initial barrage of laser fire had started the battle. Slowly and inevitably the battle was taking its toll on both sides. And yet in the cockpit of his A Wing, Prophet33, known as Purple 41 fought on.
And at the moment he was engaged in the mother of all space fighter duels.
“ Come on fucker, is that all you got,” He screamed to out loud, as if the pursuing SWA Tie Interceptor’s pilot could hear him. “ Keep bringing it!” Just as he said that the advancing Interceptor’s laser cannons found a direct hit on his port side wing. The shot did little damage to the ship but managed to piss off Prophet a bit more.
He juked his ship hard to starboard then slammed on his brakes to try to evade the pursuing Tie Interceptor. And to his surprise the move work . . . almost.
He did manage to break free of the initial pursuit but found himself plunging towards the hull of the Orion’s Belt. It took all of his strength to pull out of the dive and his certain death. As he brought his ship upright and parallel to the hull of the massive flagship, Prophet was once again in the gun sights of the enemy.
“ This faggot doesn’t give up does he,” he muttered to himself. Quickly he hit his brakes yet again as his engines screamed in protest. His ship however flew perfectly up and over the pursuing SWA fighter. And as the Tie Interceptor flew past him he quickly hit his accelerator and moved into position to open fire.
Yet even with the daft move of getting behind his enemy, he could not put the SWA fighter away. For every shot that lanced out towards the SWA Tie Interceptor, the enemy ship just juked and jinked at the last moment to avoid being hit.
“ Damn it, just die already,” he cried.
And with that, as if on command the SWA fighter flew over a laser battery of the Orion’s Belt as it opened fire. In an instant the SWA Tie Interceptor ceased to exist.
“Damn,” he muttered in surprise. Then it hit him, “ Fuckers, that was my kill!”
As he gracefully maneuvered his A wing back towards the rest of his squadron, Prophet33’s com went off, “ Purple Squadron this is command central,” a voice said. “ Brake off your attack and rendezvous with Red Squadron at the following coordinates.” Prophet looked to the coordinates given and realized that they were indeed located at the rear of the enemies line. “ They are under attack and need immediate assistance.”
“ Great,” he swore under his breath, “ can’t they watch their own backs for even just one battle. . .”
Chapter 8
Silently sitting on the bridge of the Orion’s Belt, Jedi Master Frantic prepared for the next phase of the assault. As he watched over the battle, giving directions to all under his command, somewhere in the back of his mind he kept in constant contact with Jedi Master Nerd Vader who was in command of the capital ship The ARG. It was more the latter Jedi’s ability to constantly maintain contact with Frantic that allowed the Jedi Battle Meld to hold between the two, being that Frantic was so over worked with the rest of the battle. Frantic could feel the strain in which Nerd was under just to keep the contact. The distances between the two were great.
And yet the time for the surprise attack had come. As the secondary fleet arrived through the maze that was the black holes leading to the rear lines of the enemy Frantic could feel through the force the shock of the commanders and admirals of the SWA fleet. What had just happened was impossible.
A coordinated flanking maneuver in this part of space was unheard of. It could not happen. That was why they had chosen this space to defend. And yet as the secondary JOG fleet lead by the Arg opened up everything they had, it became crystal clear that it was in fact a reality now. Some how, some way, JOG’s fleet had pulled off the unthinkable.
Yet as this small victory had been accomplished, Frantic’s attention began to focus on Master Nerd Vader who had just entered the battle, and the resounding strain that he was now under as he undertook the full force of the Jedi Battle Meld.
Location: The Bridge of the Arg
Jedi Master Nerd Vader felt the rush of the complete Jedi Battle Meld flow into him as the Arg and its fleet entered the battle. And the overpowering sensation almost knocked him out of his seat. Never before had he felt so much of the force flow through him. The surge of the thoughts of others hit him like an asteroid. It was almost too much to bare. In his seat Nerd’s hand began to shake noticeably as the torrential out pouring of the force flowed through him.
Next to him, his padawan Lordzz sat by and offered support through the force. To the padawan it was like propping up his master so that he could stand up to hurricane force winds. Yet slowly the two began to manage it.
Taking a few minutes to sort it all out Jedi Master Nerd began to relax and trust what he felt. And as he did slowly he began to maneuver his ships into position.
There was still a battle to be won, no matter what strain he was under.
Location: The Bridge of the Avenging Destroyer
All hell was breaking loose on the command bridge of the SWA flagship, Avenging Destroyer. The surprise attack of the secondary JOG fleet had spurned Admiral JM Slabs worst nightmares into reality.
“How,” he thought to himself.
Next him his junior officer stood by and finally asked, “ Orders sir.”
But Slabs continued to stare in amazement in what he was seeing. Just an hour ago the battle was all but won. And yet now . . .
“ Orders Sir,” his junior officer continued.
Still the Admiral had no reply. Instead the man just walked towards the view port, too stunned to reply as he gazed out at the impossible feet he had just witnessed. “ Not possible,” he muttered.
“ Sir the Harbinger of Death is under attack,” his junior officer said.” It’s starting to be beaten down and as it is, it won’t hold up too much longer to the full attack of this secondary fleet. . .The ship itself is starting to spiral towards us. Should we send fighters to help?”
And that’s when it struck the Admiral. It all made sense now. The attack against him was perfectly conducted.
First the shields of his ship were destroyed allowing those that were in position to take out his engines. Which in turned made his ship a sitting duck. Of course it would be standard procedure to protect their flagship, so SWA allowed the Harbinger of Death to stay close to it. And now that ship was the main target of the attack of the secondary JOG fleet.
But to destroy the Harbinger out right. . . no , no the enemy had a far sinister plan in motion. Why take out one when you can kill two birds with one stone. The JOG fleet was pounding the Harbinger of Death, not to destroy her, but to push her into the Avenging Destroyer!
The impact of the two ships would force both into the nearest black hole for they were just outside am event horizon of one as it was.
It was almost as if fate had chosen them to die. Or was it the force? And with the Avenging Destroyer gone, the battle would become a route for the JOG fleet.
It was the perfect attack.
This battle was now lost for the Admiral and there was only one thing for Slabs to do now, and he couldn’t believe his words as they came out of his mouth, “ Abandon ship,” he ordered. “ All hands abandon ship.”
Chapter 9
Some where near the rear of the Avenging Destroyer, lost in the green transitory mist, the remaining Red Squadron pilots were fighting for their very lives. Pursued by several SWA fighters, the squadron had made their way into the green mist to shake their attackers. With targeting computers in operative due to the interference from the mist itself, Red Squadron had been given a fighting chance to survive, if however only a small one. They had managed to destroy a few fighters here and there but had lost several of their own and now the squadron only consisted of Captain’s Arggie, Lyra and Coyote Spi. Their situation had become dire.
“ Move Red leader, move” Lyra screamed. “ I can’t get to you!”
Arggie’s Y- Wing banked as hard as it could as a pursuing SWA fighter fired its laser cannons towards the bombers engines. Luckily with out the aid of target tracking, the shot went wide.
“ Coyote form on my wing, we have to get to Red leader he needs our help,” Lyra cried out into her com system. All she got back in reply was static from RED 6, yet as she viewed her instruments she noticed that he did manage to form up behind her. “ Well at least you can hear me!”
The pair dove towards the SWA fighter that was harassing their leader and opened fire. Their shots too missed as their target tracking devices on their bombers were in operative as well. “ Blast it,” Lyra exclaimed. “ This is nearly impossible. It’s like shooting with your eyes closed!”
“ Cut the chatter Red 4,” Arggie’s voice came over the com. “ Listen now, I am going to brake hard to port in 3 seconds, once I do I want you to throw everything you have at my attacker, you got it.”
“ Copy sir,” Lyra replied.
“ 3. . .2. . . 1. . .NOW!,” Arggie exclaimed. Arggie’s Y-Wing broke as hard as it could and Lyra did as instructed and fired at the pursuing SWA fighter. Luckily one of the shot hit the wing of the fighter and in spun off to a fiery death.
“ Good work Red 4,” Arggie’s voice came back. “ Lets keep our eyes open there is still 4 more out there.”
Lyra checked her instruments as she looked to see where the other SWA fighters could be. But finding them was not an easy task. The mist had almost made all scanners inoperative as well. “ I don’t see any sign of. . .” she started. Just then a laser shot blasted her ship across the starboard engine, splitting it off from the rest of the bomber, sending her craft into a tailspin.
As fires erupted all around in her cockpit she screamed, “ I HAVE BEEN HIT, I AM HIT.” Her Y- Wing spun horizontally out of control as the fires began to spread across the entirety of her ship. “ I CAN’T REGAIN . . . CONTROL. . . I. . .”
Away from the fireball that had become Lyra’s Y- Wing, Arggie watched in horror as she spun to her death, “ LYRA EJECT! GO EVAC! GO EVAC!”
And then it was over. The Y-Wing that carried RED 4, Lyra, blew apart.
“ LYYYYYRRRRAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!,” Arggie screamed.
With rage boiling within him he flung his craft towards the SWA fighter that had shot down Red 4.
“ You bastard,” Arggie cried out as he poured his laser canons towards the fighter. “ Die now!!!!”
And as the final laser shot found its mark the SWA fighter blew apart.
But as his anger had helped him kill one, it had blinded him to an attack upon his vessel. No sooner had he blast away Lyra’s killer, then another SWA Interceptor appeared from above and began its own attack. In a seconds time the hunter had become the prey.
The first laser shot tore through his fuselage causing small fire to break out across the engine’s hull. Luckily his astromech droid managed to shut it down before it got too out of control.
The next blast came across the middle of his ship tearing into that very same astromech and causing an electrical fire in his cabin. His gunner, in which all Y- Wings have a compliment of, did not survive!
“ COYOTE NEED HELP NOWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!” he screamed.
Somewhere behind the action Red 6, Coyote Spi saw it all transpire. For the entire battle he has lost communications only to hear garbled voices every now and then. For the most part he had just used his instincts and stayed close behind either Red Leader or Red 4. Although he could not hear his leader now he knew the man did not have long to live.
He had seen Arggie destroy Lyra’s attacker, and saw the SWA fighter swoop in behind him for the easy kill. It was during this transition when he had made his move. As the SWA fighter tore into his friend and leader, Coyote had maneuvered his ship above the pursuing attacker placing him in the perfect position to drop the last of his bombs. When he did so, the explosion ripped through the attacking SWA fighter with no remorse, exploding it into millions of pieces.
“Score on for the good guys, ”he muttered to himself.
In his cockpit of his badly damaged Y- Wing, Arggie could see on his instrument panel that indeed Red 6 had destroyed his attacker. But there was no time for any sigh of relief. Two more SWA fighters still were out there and as he tried to fight his spacecraft that now was severely damaged, he understood he did not have a chance to survive any enemy encounter.
With barely any shields left, and hardly any maneuver ability, he was to say the least, target practice now. He opened a channel to Coyote, hoping the man could hear him and shouted what he felt would be his final words to what would soon be the last remaining Red Squadron member, “ Coyote get out of here, my ship is lost, I am done for. . .”
But to his surprise it was not Coyote’s voice that came over his com, but that of the voice of Purple 41. “ What you giving up now just because your ship is all banged up! Shit you would never cut it in Purple Squadron!”
A smile came over Arggie’s face as he heard Prophet33’s voice, “ well its about time, what took you so long.”
“ I was hoping that you could for once survive a battle with out me coming to the rescue,” Prophet mocked. “ What did I tell you back in the hanger, I am tired of watching your ass!”
“Oh well you better get to doing that, “ Arggie replied, “ there are still two more SWA fighters here.”
“ No they bugged out, seeing that Purple Squadron was on the way,” Prophet exclaimed. “ See we instill that type of fear into the enemy . . . and now that you are all safe, shall we see about getting you back in one piece!”
Chapter 10
The Harbinger of Death was now on a collision course for the Avenging Destroyer. It would not be long now until both ships would be lost. In the shuttle bay of the flagship, Admiral JM Slabs thought over his last acts of admiral of his fleet.
He couldn’t believe what had transpired. With his ship soon to be destroyed and all hope of winning the battle gone he had also given the retreat order to the rest of his fleet. They would scatter to their assigned rendezvous point then regroup to fight another day. The war was far from over, yet the loss of such as ship as the Avenging Destroyer would definitely put the SWA fleet at a disadvantage. Now JOG would be able to gain access to the core region of the former BOJ space.
He thought about going down with his ship, as it would be the typical thing to do. Yet he knew as soon as he gave the order to abandon her he would not go down with it. He would live to fight another day.
JOG had won this battle, and he would want his revenge.
And so before he left the bridge level he set in motion that revenge. JOG may have won this battle but he was not departing with out leaving the Nation with just more than a bloody nose. He would hurt them and hurt them badly.
And so as he now sat in the confines of his personal shuttle and as it flew away from his beloved flagship, he pictured in his mind his last act on board his flagship. There in the darkness and smoke filled bridge of the Avenging Destroyer, did he set in motion the auto destruct sequence of the ship itself.
In her death the Avenging Destroyer would have its final victory. The explosion from its core reactors would tear through the secondary JOG fleet with brute force. Some JOG ships would survive of course. But at that close of range, some ships would be lost, some damaged, but in the end many people would die . . .
Location: The Bridge of the Arg
It all happened so fast that Jedi Master Nerd Vader could hardly see it coming. Somehow in the midst of all that was going through the Jedi Battle Meld, he did not see the actions of the Admiral, as he must have set forth the auto destruct sequence of his ship.
As the massive explosion of the Avenging Destroyer went off, his mind was at lost as he broke connection with the Jedi Battle Meld to see the oncoming shock wave as it ripped through the JOG fleet under his command. When the wave reached the Arg, the last thing he remembered was the blast that shattered his view port and sent him flying across the room.
Others who were fortunate enough not be directly in front of the view port were not knock back across the room, but instead were swept forward and out into the vacuum of space. It was not until the automatic blast shields came down did those that survive the blast have a chance to know what had hit them.
With fires spreading across the bridge, the ship seemed to have survived the massive explosion. But as reports came calling into the bridge from all over the ship, it was soon realized that the Arg would be out of action for some time. It was amazing that the few still remaining crewmembers had managed to survive at all.
And somewhere in the mess that was left of the bridge, padawan Lordzz sat crouched over his fallen master as Nerd Vader lay in a pool of his own blood that had oozed out from the back of his head and other cuts and scraps that he had suffered. Conscious and barely alive him self, the young padawan forced himself to focus on the wound of his fallen Jedi Master, doing all he could to keep the man alive. . .
Epilogue
Time: 2 days later
Location: Shuttle Bay of the Medical Frigate, The Healer
Captain’s Arggie and Coyote Spi of Red Squadron stood on the hanger deck as they awaited the incoming rescue shuttle to land. And as the shuttle’s ramp door slowly opened, rescue teams quickly moved down it, moving with them a badly burned evac fighter pilot. After spending two days in the coldness of space, Captain Lyra’s transponder was located, for to their surprise she had ejected apparently at the last second after all.
Once they had heard word that indeed she has survive, Arggie and Coyote made sure they were there to greet her when she landed.
As the medical teams rushed by them, they too ran in unison with the team as the hurried the patient to the Medical Bay.
“ Is she going to make it,” Arg asked as they ran.
The rescue leader that ran with them looked to the captain and said“ She has been badly burned and has been out there for over 2 day now sir. Her oxygen levels were at critical. A few more hours and we wouldn’t be in the hurry that we are now.” The crew rushed through the sliding doors of the hallway as they entered the main wing of the medical frigate for Bacta Immersion.
No sooner was Lyra immersed into the thick clear Bacta, did Arggie continue asking the medical druids present on Lyra’s condition, “ Will she survive, “ he demanded.
The medical droid began looking onto the medical scanner as it gave the prognosis for the badly injured pilot. Then it replied, “ Sir the patient has sustained over 86% skin damage due to the burns she received. She will need several days here to repair the damage. But other than that and the healing of a few broken bones . . .yes . . .she will survive!”
Location: JOG’s Medical Frigate, The Healer
Time: 5 days later
Jedi Master Frantic stood in front of the bed that his friend Jedi Master Nerd Vader now occupied. Sitting next to the fallen Jedi Master was his padawan Lordzz.
It had been two since days since Nerd Vader had come out of the Bacta Chamber and yet he still had not come to. The medical droid that monitored him had told Frantic that they did not know whether his friend would live or not.
Seeing his friend lying there helpless was breaking Frantic’s heart. For it was his plan that had caused Nerd Vader to be aboard the Arg . . . it was his plan that set forth so many deaths.
Yes JOG had won the day, but the cost was almost too high.
As he slowly dragged his hand across his face, he began to sum up the events that had taken place. Most of the secondary fleet from JOG had survived, but had taken much damage. Thousands however had perished when the Avenging Destroyer has exploded.
The death count was still being counted among his fleet. Some were still missing, some were presumed dead, some were dead . . . with most being injured to some degree.
Shaking his head Frantic looked to Nerd’s padawan and saw the man almost in tears. Finally when the young man seem to put himself in check for shedding too much emotion, Lordzz took the opportunity to ask, “ what now Master Frantic?”
Frantic sighed then replied, “ we are going to get the bests care for him as possible. I will be sending Master Nerd to a place called UDN. It is a small backwater planet away from here and all this, but it has some of the best medical facilities available. Besides his brother Demogath is the overseeing doctor there, it’s a nice place, he will be in good hands.”
“ May I go with him Master Frantic, to help him in his recovery,” Lordzz said sadly. “ He is my master and. . . I feel I owe it to him to be there with him.”
Frantic nodded in agreement to the young padawan’s request.
“ Thank you Master,” Lordzz said. He looked to his fallen master then back to Frantic then said one more thing as a tear formed up in his eye and strolled down his cheek, “ sir, can you do me one favor, make sure SWA, the Hutt Syndicate or who ever else that is involved with this . . . this war gets. . . gets what is coming to them. . .”
Frantic looked to the young man and nodded once more. And as his own anger started to rise at the situation just a bit, and as he fought back the tears of those that were loss from the war already, the Jedi Master whispered under his breath, “ I will young padawan . . . I will . . . I promise!”
Personal Journal Entry: Jedi Master Frantic
The war continues on. . . and new choices will continue to present themselves to me. . . for me alone to make. . . yet I can not help but feel each and every death as if it were my own . . .for although the choices are mine . . . it seems it is others that are destine to live and die because of them . . . And I wonder to my self . . . in the future. . . as this war rolls on. . . who else will die. . . as a result of these difficult choices that need to be made . . .
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