Open Buying Time For A Sleeping Dragon

[Cornelius Aurelius Grey]

The Auspicious Hunter and it's escorts, the Gallant Albatross and Phobos dropped out of hyperspace. Immediately the small task force made for Kessel at max burn, with everyone inside the carrier finishing preparations to conduct a quick and dirty raid on the planet's spice mines. It was going to be a quick and brutal fist fight.​

---

I scanned the shuttle bay as the last of the platoons finished loading up the 6 shuttles with supplies. Team leaders barking orders at the regular joes, and in turn being barked at by their leaders to make everyone move faster. A glorious sight if there ever was one. I checked the chest rig to ensure I had all the necessary equipment for this engagement- 10 charge packs for my blaster rifle, 4 for my blaster pistol, my full snack pouch I used to carry all the goodies I snag from the meals rations, and the hardened admin pouch I use to carry my fieldgrade data slate to help monitor the battlefield. Everything was good to go on my end so I made my rounds to the other platoons to ensure we were all kosher. Each of the 3 platoons was being split up between two shuttles, with the 4th platoon being held at the rear for when the shuttles return to pick them up. Being covered by the 111th Air Cav led by Lieutenant @Gualberto Amato will not only ensure our shuttles successfully get our boots on the ground and pick us back up, but keep hostile air off our backs and rain molten hell on anything we need them to.

I grabbed the other platoon leaders and went over the op order one more time with them.
"The plan is simple, which is good for you jackasses because it'll be hard to screw up. Once you breach the facility, our first step is taking out the anti air batteries so our boys in black can secure our airspace." I finagled the holomap a bit and continued, "Next is the processing equipment. We only have so many det packs to bring with us so make every bang count. If it looks expensive, or a pain in the ass to fix, blow it. After that we'll move on to the mining tunnels attached to the facility. If we can get a map of the tunnels from any of the facilities computers, great, that saves us a lot of time. If not we're gonna have to place signal beacons at the tunnel entrances so the 111th can drop precision guided munitions and collapse them." I closed the holomap and looked each one of the platoon leaders' in the eye. "After that, we get the hell out of here and head back to Imperial space. Questions?" I waited for a response, and after getting a "Negative sarn't" we broke off back to our respective platoons.

Once we made landfall, I would coordinate with the other platoons and set up a communications network utilising the two speeders each shuttle carried. The shuttle bay was beginning to quiet as most of us were heading into our respective shuttles to await our launch, so I figured go ahead and make my way to my platoon's shuttles. Once inside the first shuttle, I hopped in the adjacent commander seat next to Lieutenant Davidson. He really looked like he needed to be messed with, sitting there scowling at the popout terminal in front of him. "I just went over the plan with the others again, what have you done this whole time Sir?" He visibly sighed before giving me a bit of side eye. "Is that what you call it? Gallivanting with the men instead of seeing to the preparations yourself?" I adorned a mock expression of hurt, "First of all, I don't know what 'gallivanting' means so take your funny words and shove 'em, Lieutenant Smart Ass. Secondly, I actually do work thank you very much."

Davidson smacked my shoulder and handed me the holoterminal, pushing it towards me as the articulating arm stemming from behind the bucket seat moved along with it. "Then how about you do some work right now and quit goofing around, we need to get a radio check with Kreehawk Squadron. You do that, and I'll go talk with the pilot about any alternate landing zones." "You got it sir," I grabbed the commlink attached to the terminal and keyed the mic. "Kreehawk Actual this is Hound Seven, radio check over."





​

@The Mad Hammer

​

 

[Gualberto Amato]

THE BEGINNING OF THE FALL
​

“Radio checks good,” Lt. Gualberto Amato responded. “Tell your boys it is time to go.” walking toward his own across the hangar.

“Men,” Lt. Amato addressed the young men and women of Aurek, Besh, and Cresh companies, “we ain’t no Navy pilots; but in times like these it does not matter what uniform we wear. Our great Empire has fallen under attack. In the shadow of victory, of our saving of the galaxy once again, the bulbous puss of the Hutts and the thrashing headless snake of the Sith have sought to fight back. The fools. It will only end in their death.”

A murmur of agreement and “huzzahs!” accompanied the statement of fact.

“Today, the slime of Kessel will feel the talons of the Kreehawk, and the bones of the Hutts shall know that we still remain, victorious.”

Gualberto began to walk up the line of black-clad pilots standing at attention, behind them the Night Riders of HQ Company stood in rank, the most senior men, all experienced warriors and jockeys themselves, listening, they would all be in the same page. Across the hangar the remaining two companies of the 111th put the finishing touches in each of the 24 TIE craft normally assigned to them, as well as the dozen Navy bombers on loan.“The Navy, in her infinite wisdom, has decided to loan us a dozen bombers. You Reapers (Besh Company) will be taking those, escorted by the Avengers (Aurek Company). Vampires (Cresh Company) will be escorting the landing shuttles. Get them down and cover them until they get into the mines. Once planetside, the ground pounders will flag targets. Obliterate them.”

“Other targets have been uploaded to your targeting arrays. If it fights back. Put it down. If it shoots at you or your escort, put it down.” Amato concluded as he reached the end of the line, paused, and spun on his polished boots. “If there are no questions, report to your ships.”

Cries of “Aye sir,” and the snapping of salutes followed as the men and women of the 111th Air Cavalry Fast Attack Squadron broke rank abd rushed toward their waiting ships. Very soon the entire hangar would be filled with the cacophony of twin ion engines roaring to life as they were launched into low orbit alongside the escort shuttles

@Killermcgriddle

 

[Trael Osso-Drast]

Trael was requested to take part in the defensive efforts early in the war. So he was on Kessel as it was the nearest Hutt world to Imperial Space. He had been hanging out in the sensor array on one of the bases. Suddenly sirens began wailing and the alert was raised.

"We have warships coming through the Kessel Run all units prepare for battle." The whole base erupted into chaos as everyone scrambled to their positions. Trael began to make is way to a speeder when he was stopped by the base commander. "Your supposed to defend the planet right? Well get up in the air and lead the fighters."

Trael ran to the hangars getting into one of the starfighters. He began running through his preflight check making sure everything was ready to go. As he finished he spoke to the integrated astromech. "Get me a map of the topography of the region. I want to see how we could use it to our advantage."

Trael was looking over the map when the coms channel went off. "Spice leader we are awaiting your orders." He had almost forgotten he was leading a squadron of 20 starfighters. They were all loaded with concussion missiles on the hardpoints. "We are going to fly low to the ground using the terrain to our advantage. Maybe we will be able to avoid their scanners that way."

The squadron all chimed back in agreement. He sent the signal to begin moving out. The squadron split into squads of 5 and moved low to the ground and fast. Dipping into canyons and valleys to try and avoid sensors. They made their way towards the quadrant the fleet was at preparing to intercept any Imperial aerial assets.

@Darasuum @DonutResuscitate @The Mad Hammer

 

[Pellios]

Spoiler: Music

Song

Kessel was dirty business, complicated, and certainly never easy no matter what position one held in the hierarchy. But at least people at the top got to eat well and sleep in soft beds. Pellios Reverence wanted to sleep in a warm bed with a beautiful woman by the day's end. But the aging devaronian scoundrel knew he would be lucky to get his own bed. Forgot to make that I think but whatever

The smuggler looked at the anti-air battery from atop one of the walls. Silver locks of hair danced around Pellios's horns as he inclined his head towards the sky in an effort to see the larger ships from this far away. But it was unlikely just yet. He pressed a hand against the headset also as an update came in from the other defenders around Kessel.

Twenty security droids armed with blaster rifles , sidearms, stun batons and even glop grenades bolstered the defender's numbers on the ground. Normally these were used to keep a vigilant eye on the rest of planet depending on the cartel's needs and thus were programed to use brutal though non-lethal force.

Another twenty diverse mercenaries and scoundrels soon joined the droid force. They were similarly armed to the droids, all of which came from Pellios's own stores and at great bargain. However some had their own arsenals adding to their lethality.

Pellios for one was armed with his Q2 hold out blaster pistol in its usual concealed place. His micromissile gun was cradled in his wrinkled arms. His vibrosword and fusion cutter sat on their respective hips as well. The usual grenades and other gear were distributed in tasteful pockets to keep the ship captain looking as dapper as possible even when working in a rugged environment.

The seasoned criminal pulled his hand away from the headset to address Jann, his trusty redheaded copilot. "They'll be making their first attempt soon." He reached into a pocked and fished out a cigara. Jann pulled out the device he was looking for to cut the end. "Thanks."

Jann was patient up to a point but would humor her boss all the same. "What do you plan to do, Cap?" The devaronian took a toke before exhaling a near perfect circle. "They'll come to us, Jann. They wanna kark around, they'll find out." A smoking sigh followed as he continued directing the ground forces to set up strategically placed posts and watch towers. Pellios got to enjoy the cigara during the inspections but that was about it. He checked munitions and other dangers on rounds. It was weird, he almost felt like a military leader. It felt like being a the smuggler captain he already was but more grand. Maybe I just need a bigger ship

@DonutResuscitate @The Mad Hammer @Xorism @Javier esschoolbus

 

[Skelgok Desilijic]

Kessel was the jewel in Skelgok's galactic crown, and he had no intention of allowing some filthy Empire scum to come barrelling down the run without running into trouble themselves.

Unfortunately, maintenance costs were dreadfully high and with the main Hutt fleet away on serious business, it came down to a handful of ships on hand to deal with the raiders. Sitting high and mighty upon his flagship, the Daimyo's Revenge, as well as a pair of escorts the Eye of Jubba and the Palace of Plenty along with a full complement of starfighters.

Spotting the arriving arrivals, the mighty Hutt barked orders for the small fleet to begin deploying the starfighters in front of the flagship with the escorts on either side, the eye on the left and the palace on its right aiming to keep the Imperial ships off their right-hand side as they approached.

@Javier esschoolbus @Killermcgriddle @The Mad Hammer @Darasuum @Pantor

 

[The Storyteller]

Captain Korlia had not wanted to go to Kessel. It was a stupid idea. He had told Admiral Trantine that, protested all the way to the Kessel Run. He had burnt through most of the few TIEs he had been able to bring along, fried the auxiliary reactor, and overloaded one of the shield emitters trying to make it. Now, lo and behold, he was caught unready by the Hutt response. The Auspicious Hunter was in no state to fight. There had been three Yuso Corvettes in support when they had left Raxus. Now there were two. They circled along the carrier's port and starboard sides like nervous children.

"This is Captain Korlia," he said over the holo. He spoke with a thick, lilting accent that betrayed some far off Wild Space upbringing. "Squadron Commander, what's our status on those TIEs?"

"We have ten operational, sir," a voice replied. It was low and base, even through the tinny filter of transmission. "Eight fighters, my Interceptor, and a bomber."

"That's counting ones with superficial damage, Commander Uridan?"

"Yes sir."

Captain Korlia took a deep breath and held it. He could see the Hutt garrison off in the distance, slowly circling in.

"I want you to run interference, Commander," he said after a long moment. "Keep that bomber safe and linger just beyond range of their capital ships. Make them worried about committing."

"Yes, Captain."

As the motley squadron prepared for takeoff the Captain turned to weapons control.

"Let's say hello."

The Auspicious Hunter's port and ventral turrets began to shift, slowly tracking the courses plotted by the gunners. They were light turbolasers, still well out of range, but there was an intermittent whip of green bolts in the direction or the enemy, scattering ineffectual into space or disappearing against shields when luck was with them. It didn't do anything, but it was a clear statement: Go away.

@Javier esschoolbus @Darasuum @Xorism @Killermcgriddle @The Mad Hammer

 

[Cornelius Aurelius Grey]

Alarm claxxons wailed in the background as the announcement came overhead, "All units, launch in T minus 10"

I clutched at the straps of my seat, holding them in a a death grip and knuckles going white. The one thing a ground pounder always feared was never making it to the fight. Locked up in a coffin, blasted out of space or left careening into the void until starvation kicks in... I brush those thoughts from my mind and concentrate on what I can control. Those anti air turrets we'd encounter on our way in can only traverse so far vertrically, all we needed to do was get down low enough to take them out. The speeders, held firm in their storage clamps, were pretty kitted out by the Joes as they readied them. They were covered in camo netting, the same color as the surface of kessel and tied to the frame of the speeders. The beauty of camo netting is that it scattered radar and decreased visibility. They were still able to be spotted, they definitely weren't invisible, but every little bit helps. The shuttles were gonna try and get us within a quarter of a klick from the facilities we needed to hit, each platoon taking on one of them.
"T minus 3.... 2.... 1...."

"LAUNCH LAUNCH LAUNCH"

The shuttle thrusters roared to life as their pilots throttled them as fast as they safely could to get them out of the hangar, and onto the planet's surface. I was jostled around in my seat, straps getting pulled taut as I was thrown around, the prior years of experience with combat drops helping me keep the little bit of food in my gullett from coming back up inside of my helmet. Now for the most nerve racking part of any drop.

@Javier esschoolbus @Xorism @Darasuum @The Mad Hammer @Pantor ​

 

[Gualberto Amato]

Lt. Amato watched for a moment as the men of the 111th scrambled in practiced unity across the hangar and launch bay. It was a site to behold. As each TIE fighter and bomber roared to life, Gualberto offered a knowing nod to @Cornelius Aurelius Grey before the man boarded his shuttle. It was Amato’s boy’s task to get the man and his mates to the surface safely.

Turning, Gualberto made his way briskly to the bridge of the Auspicious Hunter. From here, he would oversee the skilled work of his men. “Flight Leaders, check in.”

“Reaper One ready to launch

“Avenger One standing by.”

“Vampire One awaiting escort departure.”

All three flights checked in one after the other, like clockwork.

“Very well. You are go for launch. Attack!” Amato responded, giving the green light for the raid to commence. Setting back, Gualberto watched as the shuttles ripped from the launch bay, behind them and accelerating to escort positions were the men of the 111th, their twin ion engines accelerating them in a nearly direct downward spiral toward the surface. Get in low, get in fast. Make sure the shuttles got to ground and then clear the path and engage with any resistance forces. The job was simple enough and the pilots skilled and trained in the art of operating craft within a planetary atmosphere.

“Vampire One to Hound Shuttle, on your lead.”

————————

Once the first two flights had cleared the deck, the bomber flight and her escort launched as well. They did not follow the same trajectory as they rocketed toward the surface, the thin atmosphere of Kessel burning harmlessly against their hulls as they circled downward at a sharp angle as they began to line up their first bombing run; fast and low each carrying a payload capable of cratering the desolate spice mines back to a time when spiders rules the world.


————————

And so, it begins.

@Javier esschoolbus @Xorism @Darasuum @Pantor @Killermcgriddle

 

[Pellios]

<“Contacts are incoming. Two transports and multiple starfighters, Captain Reverence.”> A blue skinned twi’lek mercenary reported to Pellios. ”Prioritize the transports.” A moment later the anti-air batteries would begin firing on the approaching ships. The transports were the slowest and the easiest to target but both ships had shields so there was a chance they would make it down without a problem especially if they had decent pilots.

Pellios’s cigara was coming close to becoming a stub by the time the imperial ships dropped below the firing angle of the anti-air weapons. The grizzled scoundrel was used to the buzz that came with partaking the vice but he knew it would be gone by the time the imperial forces made it to the perimeter, if they even made it that far.

The security droids maintained their positions around the anti air emplacements. Pairs of two were set up at each corner and in the center of each side of the surrounding area with another four droids guarding the central formation. There was the chance that enemies could circle around to the side opposite the one they had landed so Pellios was not taking any chances.

“You lot, mercs…” he gestured to the same twi’lek as before along with the other enforcers and thugs hired for this job. He cleared his throat and switched to Huttese to make understanding him easier. <“...the blood-coats just landed. They probably don’t have more than a few jumpspeeders unless they’ve got jetpacks. Head over there and check their numbers, delay them if you can and report back.”> The soldiers for hire nodded and hefted their weaponry and headed in the direction of the landing zone. Twenty mercenaries armed to the teeth moved away from the anti-air emplacement to reconnoiter and possibly engage the arriving imperials.

Pellios himself had his souped up FC-35 Razorfin swoop bike in reserve. But he knew his skills were best served at the defensive position for now. There would be little point for him to go out there alone. The Devaronian offshoot waited patiently for his mercenaries to report in or give some indication of noting the imperial’s arrival.

@DonutResuscitate

 

[Trael Osso-Drast]

Trael and his fighters were making their way along the terrain of Kessel. Luckily the pilots he had with him practiced on the planet regularly. So he didn’t have to worry about them hitting the mountains.

As they approached the area where the imperial shuttles were coming in he began to relay orders to the squads. “Squads 4 and 5 break off and head to where the secondary forces are. Squad 1, 2 and 3 will focus on the transports and their escorts.”

The two squads broke off and made their way toward the bombers and its escort. Trael and the other squads made their way to intercept the transports.

@The Mad Hammer @Darasuum @DonutResuscitate

 

[Skelgok Desilijic]

The enemy fleet sat in the distance, lingering just outside of range of the mighty turbolaser batteries pointing in their direction. Reports flickered in of the enemy's launching of fighters, bombers and shuttles, which seemed to little startle the great Hutt at the helm. From his position, the Hutt fleet couldn't intercept the ground based attack without running into the protective screen of their fleet, and thus Skelgok gave the order for their relative distance to be maintained.

Aboard the Daimyo's Revenge, the targeting crew gave off a startled screech as they plotted the enemy's course. "We have a firing solution on the carrier, shall we launch, Daimyo?" Came the excited targeting officer. After a quick nod from their captain, the crew fumbled through the launch sequence until very loud klunks could be heard as two torpedoes got underway en route to the Auspicious Hunter. Though unguided, the powerful munitions would do terrible damage to the carrier's shields if they made it that far.

Sporadic and inaccurate turbolaser fire was likewise returned to the direction of the imperial fleet, with the medium-sized bolts creating a pretty light show more than anything. Concerned about being outnumbered initially and suspecting a trap, Skelgok kept his fleet in tight formation and the fighters in between his capitals and the enemy starbomber loitering nearby for the moment.

@Pantor

 

[The Storyteller]

Commander Vos Uridan pitched his interceptor and it screamed, long and shrill. Old, like everything in the Sector Fleet, it had lost none of its edge. TIEs were quick as a rule, and the interceptor was their king. It was a hunter. Commander Uridan was a hunter. That was why, he decided, it felt so unnatural to slalom between laser bolts, covering for some half-baked bomber as it plodded along. They had dedicated pilots for this, trained to cover the bulky craft. Lost in the Run.

"This is Silver Four," a voice cut in. One of the standard TIEs, to his back and below. "I have two on me. Requesting assistance."

The fighter bucked and rolled. The enemy were just as fast but nowhere near as agile. The bolt found him anyway, blew out his cockpit, and sent Silver Four's charred remains off into the void.

"Commander Uridan," Captain Korlia was on a priority channel, direct to his helmet. "We weren't expecting surface fighters to break off and engage us. I'm sending the Phobos and Albatross to give you some support. I'm going to try and draw the fleet away so you can deal with this."

He didn't need to reply. One of the TIEs to his front took a glancing bolt through its hatch and kept flying. There were advantages to the pressure suits they wore. Full power to engines, with a sudden aplomb, Commander Uridan heaved at the controls and shot down, towards Kessel. He let the faint gravity help his dive. He cut the engines.

One second.

Two.

Three.

The TIE Interceptor accelerated so hard it made the commander's bones ache and his stomach convulse. He shot up behind the piratical squads, still in pursuit of the bomber. Two of them had broken off in long, looping arcs to try and track him, but he had time. His thumbs depressed on the firing studs. Six green bolts of energy, cycling like a rotary cannon, lanced out to momentarily connect the interceptor with its prey.

There was an instant of buckling metal, then a fireball of atomized fighter. One kill. He switched his aim. Two. All but one of the standard TIEs broke off from the bomber, mirroring their opponents circling maneuvers and coming to battle. It was a dogfight now. Commander Uridan grined.

About damn time.

Aboard the bridge of the Auspicious Hunter Captain Korlia had braced himself against one of the control panels. On their outbound flight the two corvettes had blown one of the torpedoes to dust, but the other had sailed past, intent on making the carrier crew drink vacuum.

"Why aren't we moving yet?" Korlia asked, though really it was a directionless growl.

"We've lost engine power, sir!" from the crew pits.

"Restart the reactor!"

Korlia could see it now. A pink, glistening dot, a bit brighter than the stars around it. It was getting bigger. No damn time. They had rushed to get here, and now because of that they were rushing to their deaths.

"Belay that order!" He shouted after a moment. "What's going on with the auxiliary reactor?"

"We lost it on the Run, Captain! There's no use."

"Good. Is it inert?"

"I...yes sir."

"But intact?"

"Largely."

"Open the auxiliary reactor shield. Navigation, use our maneuvering thrusters to angle the ship so that the torpedo will impact the inert core."

"Sir, if we-"

"Cut deflectors to that arm of the ship before impact. Let it cut through the hull. If we're lucky for once today it'll hit dead on and the reactor shield will contain the blast."

"Respectfully, sir," one of the junior officers, a lieutenant, cut in. "If we aren't lucky it could re-ignite the core and blow the ship apart."

"Respectfully, lad, if that torpedo hits anywhere along our spine it'll blow us apart regardless. We don't have the shield power to block it. This is all we have time for."

The stars shifted. Captain Korlia's knuckles were white. He couldn't see the torpedo anymore. That made him nervous. It had passed inside of their firing arc.

"Fifteen seconds to impact."

"Almost there..."

"Ten seconds to impact."

"Almost there..."

"Five! Four! Three!"

Captain Korlia sprawled, the entire bridge swore. The torpedo gouged a trench along the port arm of the carrier, then plunged into the hull. Alarms wailed. There was a muffled crack, then a groan, and a gout of fire and plasma nearly as long as the ship itself shot out of the entry wound. The metal plating looked warped and bulged along the entire port side of the prow, but the prow still existed, and damage reports were slowly trickling in.

"Status?" Captain Korlia asked.

"Engineering reports a glancing hit, sir. The warhead cracked on the edge of the reactor shield and detonated, but most of the blast was funneled inside and then shot back out into space. We're temporarily out of touch with a few fore-decks and the auxiliary reactor is totally destroyed."

They would scrap the Auspicious Hunter for parts if they made it back, Korlia thought.

"Excellent. Better than I could have hoped for. Restart the primary reactor and get me those bloody engines. Once we have them, full burn toward Kessel. Let's get deflectors back up and give Commander Uridan a distraction."

@Javier esschoolbus @Darasuum @Xorism @Killermcgriddle @The Mad Hammer

 

[Pellios]

Spoiler: Music

Song

The devaronian's horned head craned to look at the sky and was surprised to see the shields of the transports and even some starfighters flare as they took damage from the anti-air defenses. Then the shields disappeared and direct hits were struck on the fuselage of the dropships. Smoke billowed from what Pellios knew was crippling damage. The Imperial forces on the ground were cut off, unable to take off from the planet and gain reinforcements from their ship without it finding a new form of troop shuttle or it landing directly on the planet's surface itself.

The scoundrel about-faced and headed to his Razorfin swoop bike. He pressed a hand against his headset to hear better and for his own voice to be clearly heard as he spoke to the mercenaries he had sent ahead. <"They're cut off. Get behind them and space yourselves out. Pick them off if they try to advance. I'm going to begin jamming their long range communications and join you."> He knew this would cater more to the unique flavors of the soldiers of fortune he commanded. They did not all know one another well and Pellios did not want to have to explain any friendly fire if avoidable. Not to mention it just seemed like a smart thing to spread out to cover the most area given his limited numbers.

By the time the ship captain finished speaking he would have reached the cargo hold of his ship sitting nearby. The horned graybeard swung a leg over the seat of the swoop bike and took off in the direction of the crashed imperial ships. Once he was underway, the built in signal jammer in the Razorfin bike would activate to hamper messaging with the Imperial forces in orbit.

As Pellios raced across the surface of Kessel the air overhead bloomed with fire. With the threat of the transports out of the way the anti-air weapons of Kessel lit up the incoming enemy starfighters and starbombers, decimating their numbers. Imperial starships began to fall from the sky before they unleashed their payload. Few would be able to pull away just in the nick of time as they realized the extent of the defenses and perhaps their own arrogance.

@DonutResuscitate @The Mad Hammer

Spoiler: OOC

48 hour posting window has passed. No direct attack made to anyone so there's no auto-hit but transports crash and cannot take off again followed by numerous starfighters and starbombers being taken out before they can complete any bombing run.

 

[Trael Osso-Drast]

Trael knew he was getting close to his targets as he could hear the anti-air fire ring out. The fact he got this close to the fighting unabated meant his plan must've worked. His 12 fighters careened up a steep mountain coming out just where the air coverage was the lightest. A few scattered fighters were caught off guard by the sudden arrival of enemy air support.

His half of the squadron fired a volley of concussion missiles taking out the fighters. They continued making their way along the battlefield until they reached where the transports had been taken down. There was still a handful of TIEs in the sky holding out against the ground fire. "I'll go after the one that looks to be the leader. You guys just cover my flank." He gave out the orders to his men quickly receiving an answer back. "Copy that spice leader, performing a sweep of the hostile air units then will fall back into formation."

While Trael was dealing with the escorts of the transports the forces sent after the bombers had just reached their targets. Also going unnoticed due to terrain interference they snuck up on the remains of the bombing force as they tried to retreat. Unluckily for the bombers and few fighters the combination of air power mixed with ground fire would quickly whittle down the forces.

Trael fell in behind the lead aircraft trying to line up a shot as it weaved through the air. He followed it through its maneuvers barely not having the same level of maneuverability. He was struggling to line up a shot as they twisted and turned.

Spoiler: ooc

48 hour posting window has passed. No direct attack made to anyone so there's no auto-hit but most if not all the npc aircraft has been taken out by the lack of addressed enemy aerial units and the anti-air not being interrupted. For future reference try posting 48 hours after the last member of opposition's post or if needed request an extension.

@DonutResuscitate @The Mad Hammer

 

[Mae Tecono]

Mae has been out of the game for years. Years too long she often thinks. But when the Pyke Syndicate lost light for a but, she lost light in the galaxy.

Now, however, she is back regardless of the feelings of the Pykes or their leader, Rafe.

Mae piloted her OR Gunboat for this fight. She was not a huge fan of the Hutts, in fact she mostly hated the lot of them. But two things were beneficial in coming to their aid, the paycheck of course, and if the Hutts were eliminated, so would be the large criminal umbrella that they provided. If the Empire and other large factions were busy with the Hutts, then smaller criminals have it easier slipping through the cracks.

Attached to the main Frigate of the Hutt fleet, Mae detached when the fight began. She became board however of the lack of strikecraft sent at the fleet and looking over at the corvette that already holds anti strike craft armament, she decided to start a path to the surface to help eliminate some of these TIEs and bombers.

 

[Darth Arcanos]

A transmission came in right in the midst of Trael doing his attacks. Azar used the text style he saw from his acolytes, not understanding half of it.

I heard you're in Hutt space. Can you pick me up a pair of rancor hide boots and some ryll pls pls pls? <3 <3 xoxoxoxox

@Javier esschoolbus

 

[Skelgok Desilijic]

The Hutt's crew tracked the torpedoes trajectory like their lives depended upon it, in part due to that quite literally being the case for some. When the first exploded in the midst of space under fire from a corvette, the large Hutt frowned. But fortunately, the second performed better than a cantina dancer on their only dance of the night, tearing massive damage through the enemy vessel and turning the frown upside down.

In one fell swoop they had defeated the enemy and caused their retreat, only something was wrong! They were retreating the wrong way. "Chase them!" The commander called out suddenly, causing the navigator to power up the thrusters suddenly. "But they'll shoot back." Warned his second in command, rightly warning him of the danger.

Skelgok frowned again.

"Chase them from afar, then." His admirable orders would be followed, the Hutt fleet would maintain a healthy distance and continue to shoot turbolasers from an inaccurate range to occasionally pepper the enemy's shields and ensure that they were not forgotten about mid-battle.

@Pantor

 

[Pellios]

Pellios raced across the terrain and was quickly upon the imperial troops. The two downed transports had been used as a defensive structure. Some of them were spread out and others clearly already shot. But the vast majority were still alive but injured or separated. It was just a matter of time before they got wiped out.

Slowing his bike he reached up to his headset and spoke with the mercenaries that had the enemy surrounded and pinned down. Reports came into the devaronian's ear informing him the Imperial forces were losing on all fronts. <"Take them alive and I'll double your pay. Switch to stun. The day is ours!"> This command spurred the mercenaries into action. They viciously charged towards the remaining imperial troops and took them by surprise with the sudden tactical push.

Blue circles made contact with troopers. They fell one after the other and would do well to serve as bargaining chips later on. If nothing else the Hutts could sell them off for a few extra credits. But also their armor would be spared from markings too.

There would be salvage, imperial technology and prisoners of war. On top of that, the arms dealer would need to pick up his payment, whatever form that was. But that was between him and @Skelgok Desilijic or one of his subordinates.

@DonutResuscitate @The Mad Hammer @Pantor @Xorism

Spoiler: OOC

48 hour posting window has passed. Syndicate side wins after second consecutive majority time out on the imperial side.

 

[Trael Osso-Drast]

Trael had finally got a lock on and was about to fire on the Imperial ship when suddenly his screen lit up with a text. Azar has sent a message: I heard you're in Hutt space. Can you pick me up a pair of rancor hide boots and some ryll pls pls pls? <3 <3 xoxoxoxox. It drew his attention away just enough to make him miss his first volley.

The Tie was much more maneuverable than his fighter but its speed kept him on its tail and not the reverse. He followed the pilot through multiple maneuvers before spraying a burst and clipping its wing causing it to fly into the ground. "Ground team I have one bogie on the ground that will need a pick up."

As he flew back to the base he texted back. I'll see what I can do. He wasn't informed exactly of what @Skelgok Desilijic was offering as a reward but maybe he could request the stuff Azar collected on top of it. "Alright men lets return to base and get paid."

@Darasuum @Pantor @The Mad Hammer @DonutResuscitate @Xorism @Sreeya

Spoiler: OOC

48 hour posting window has passed. Syndicate side wins after second consecutive majority time out on the imperial side.