Open Invasion Thule For You

[Hauron Solus]

Spoiler: Music

Song

No less than three dagger shaped corvettes flew through the tunnel of hyperspace. Each of the raider class corvettes were escorted by a kom'rk starfighter/tranports, pair totalling six. The hangars of the capital ships held Y-TIE starbombers with a heavy payload of eight proton bombs each. Today they planned on tempting fate by banging on the front doorstep of the Sith, possibly even taking the world for themselves.

Thanks to the intelligence gathered on Mandalore, Hauron Solus led a task force of Rancor Squadron to the Thule system. They were not at full strength but that was because Hauron knew they needed the fastest ships to pull this off and the Dralaalar was far too slow. It would just be a liability and the GR-75s were just as slow and still being retrofitted. But this was bigger than Rancor Squadron. This was an operation for any mandalorians united against the Sith willing to take the risk and able to keep up. Kryze, Vizsla, Skirata, it did not matter to Hauron as long as they helped. This was not even Hauron's original idea. He had Jace to thank for the suggestion. He knew they were making a bold move, crazy even but it glorious if they could pull it off. All of it was being recorded for later review and possible propoganda.

<"T minus ten until we drop out of hyperspace. Let's give these Sith something they won't soon forget."> The badgers brutal enthusiasm was returned with an "Oya!" before the mandalorian mercenaries made their final preparations. In a matter of minutes they would exit hyperspace and enter the Thule system.

History told about a Sith ruins residing on the planet. It was said to have a capable military so the mandalorian fleet's scanners would begin checking for readings on the world's surface of the world along with enemy contacts in orbit. Furthermore, the trio of ships named Kyramud, Ramikad, & Ramorir, respectively each had communication jamming facilities onboard which immediately went into blocking any calls to and from the Thule system. The rest of the Sith would learn about what the Mandalorians were going to do but there might be a slight delay on the spread of information.

<"Approach the planet and prepare for planetary bombardment."> His visor turned to look at one of his uncles who also was one of the deck officers. Nodding and confirming verbally. The ships sped up to a speed of seventy megalights and would close the distance to the world quickly if unopposed. It remained in high orbit until it finished its scan. Only the turbo lasers were being powered up with the intent of use on the world's surface and minimize wasted energy. The ion cannons and the standard laser cannons were reserved for anti-ship duty. Each ship from the raider class corvettes to the individual starfighters had newly daubed kill markings from the continued work they performed in past months and each pilot was an ace in their own right.


@Sreeya @anyothermandos

 

[Atuu Skirata]

Atuu having heard Hauron's call back on Mandalore, and hearing of the exploits related to Rancor Squadron. Was all too quick to throw his helmet into the proverbial ring and tag along on this excursion. Trailing on the left wing of the lead Kom'kr escorting Hauron's ship. Atuu opens his comm to join the "Oya!" adding in an excited "For Mandalore!" before doing a final systems check of his interceptor and ensuring missle racks are primed and loaded.

Hearing the insturctions over the comm channel again Atuu holds his position on the wing of the lead Kom'kr and stays close to the Rancor Squadron fleet.

NOTES: Currently flying in a Osprey-Class Interceptor for this Thread.

@Darasuum

 

[Cremek "Krayt" Candorus]

​

And so it was finnaly time.. cremek inhaled, this was likely a suicide mission but it was time to truly prove his word, when hauron gave his little speel, cremek was one of the many to give the oya! shout along with handful of his clan varsuuth acaloytes, Each who had taken oaths of fealty to him, and have accompanied him today..

though cremek couldn't shake the slight sadness, he had served the order since he was nine, he had made freinds, enemies, gained power and knowledge beyond what most will see in their lives, and he was going to participate in a assault against them, he was going against everything he ever knew.

He put right hand over his left arm, which had become a habit now when cremek was deep in thought, then looked at his saber guantlet. Conducting a silent prayer to the gods that feifi wasn't there on the planet..

Given how the kyrze sisters had stolen his tie elder, he had to hitch a ride in one of the transports, ready to join the tip of the spear.

Hanging on the ronins side was a lightsaber built in the style of a katana, the hilt forged from a part of cremeks old armor to remind him of his new oath to mandalore and it's people

@Darasuum @others

 

[Aden Archer]

Word has been getting out about how Apex is becoming the premier military contractors in the galaxy. Everyone or every group that was someone had a great deal of credits wanted the services that Apex provides. In this case, that means even the Sith wanted some of Apex's services and was willing to purchase. Aden himself, although the Sith are pretty well reviled in the galaxy, didn't mind working for them. He personally worked for the Sith and took money from them before, despite their reputation.

Apex was very well equipped, utilizing the higher profits to equip their people with the best equipment available. Bravebird was flying an Excel-class Starfighter. Very powerful ship, although very rare. The squadron he was leading consists of T-90 X-Wings. All the ships were unmarked, falsified transponders, and there would be no indications of their allegiance to Apex. Apex takes discretion very seriously.

Apex was hired for aerospace defense for Thule, why though, Aden doesn't know the details. All he knows, as one of the best starfighter pilots in the galaxy and with his reputation, he gets paid a lot. Aden and his squadron were on patrol, his squadron not too far from the main elements of the Thule's defense fleet. Shields powered up, weapons warm. Aden and his Archers are ready to respond to any threats at a moments notice.

He looked through his viewport and he saw the three very familiar corvettes he personally saw first hand. Raider-classes. Aden heard reports of three Raider corvettes popping up in various places, and now they are in Thule of all places. "Rancor Squadron" he said on the Apex channel. They are attempting to jam communications too, in and out of Thule. They would not be welcome plus they obviously aren't here with good intentions. Aden would crack his knuckles and switch his helmets recorder on before gripping his ship's controls again.

Although he worked with the Rancor Squadron's Group Leader before - Aden is being paid to do a job, he has no qualms about shooting down Hauron's men or destroying his ships.

@Mike @Mr. Teatime

 

[Nakoa Singh]

"Really? Wonder who paid them," Nakoa answered Aden over comms. Must've been a good offer if they were bringing corvettes to fight a planet known for its militarism and weapons stockpiles. Professional curiosity aside, the long-range sensors of his unmarked Tau-7 Arrowhead scanned the battlefield to confirm enemy fleet composition and feed that data to Aden's Archers. Nakoa had worked with Rancor Squadron, Hauron in particular, before over Hapes. Alas, such was the nature of business.

Wearing a tailored Wrean-centric flight suit with additional armorweave underlay and helmet recorder, and of course his usual utility belt, he was accompanied by a single wingmate piloting a matching Arrowhead interceptor and four RZ-2 A-wings. Technically they were here for the initial system scans. Apex's strategist often prefers to get a little hands-on with his planning. Nakoa hadn't been expecting trouble so quickly. But hey, they could charge a bit more.

By now the planet will have noticed hostile ships on approach and that the Raiders were targeting the surface and their fleet and starfighters would be scrambling to action. Nakoa had worked with Rancor Squadron before over Hapes, but such was the nature of business. Given their aggressive approach to Thule, Apex didn't bother sending a warning.

Their Tau-7's S-foils flared open into attack position, cannon barrels locking forward into place. Shields up, weapons online. The interceptors maneuvered to screen Aden and his X-wing squadron from enemy attack, matching their speed and heading while retaining enough breathing room to intercept hostiles.

Mandalorians were well-known as fast-attack commandos specializing in quick ground assaults and raids. Nakoa had no intention of letting them get their heavy boots on the ground unless they were carried down by flaming wreckage. This wouldn't be Aden's first time taking on corvettes with starfighters and Nakoa trusted the man's expertise.

"This is Kingfisher. With you, Bravebird. Watch those transports."

@The Good Doctor @TheDudeMike @Darasuum @Rimrald @Hastur

 

[System Defense Force]

Admiral Blackthorne​

Thule was an unassuming planet, if one were to look at it from afar. Two major population centers, Hurom and Kesiek. Old, dark eyes peered through the observation window of the Raider-class Corvette. It was a beautiful sight, seeing the two cities on the surface. Hurom had a shield covering, like a protective hood. At the corners of each city were twin-barrelled medium anti-aircraft turrets. That said nothing of the thousands of organic and in-organic troops. A constant rotation of field exercises meant that there would always be at least a regiment of 1000 Thule troopers, with battle droid compliments in each city at any given time, with the ability to call in five more surrounding the city if need be.

But the ground forces, as well beautiful of an organization as they were, were not his charge. No, he was Admiral Tyrion Blackthorne, Commander of the Thulian Navy. His flag ship was the only major vessel Thule had, but he he more than made up for it with starfighters and bombers. The acquisition of droid factories had been good for Thule. For months a constant stream of droids, built for war, came to the planet and were employed among the various areas of operations the planet hosted.

Surrounding the Raider-class Corvette, five squadrons of fifteen TIE/R automated starfighters flew in defensive formations. Another two squadrons were further out on either side of the flag ship on patrol. When they would run out of fuel, they'd transition back planet-side to military starports and be replaced with a fresh squadron. This was the beautiful of the Thule Navy, Blackthorne thought through a hot sip of cafe; it was a hornet's nest. A bastion.

"Admiral, sir! Stalker-One is reporting three Raider-class Corvettes exiting hyperspace," the communications officer announced.

Blackthorne kept silent, eyes searching the void as they rounded the planet. Sure enough, there they were, with compliments and all. "Have Stalker-One keep in visual range. Patch the feed through. Let's see if someone's finally ready to kick our little bundle of nerves," he said in a deep, gruff voice. He was old enough to know better than to hope for battle, but couldn't quite stop the flame of excitement in his gut. It had been a while.

A display of the incoming ships appeared on the observation window, a feed from the optical sensor of the automated TIE/R. Blackthorne studied the feed, and married it to his own visual of the incoming craft. They were preparing for bombardment. That much was clear.

"Get me in touch with our contractors," he said curtly. The communications officer chirped an acknowledgement. "This is Voidwalker Six. Our guests seem to be preparing weapons. Hold your patterns until they fire. When they do, go for the engines." There didn't need to be a battle here today, but if they wanted to kick the nest, he'd make sure they stay to the end of it.

Forces Brought:

Navy
1x Raider-class Corvette
7x Squadrons (15ea) of TIE/R Automated Starfighters
7x Squadrons (15ea) of TIE/R Automatied Starfighters (still on the ground on Thule)

Army
8x Medium AA Turrets
Shield over Hurom
1000 organic Thule infantrymen (per city)
1000 B1 Battle Droids (per city)
5000 organic Thule infantrymen on call to return to either city
The entire population of fanatics

 

[Hauron Solus]

After exiting hyperspace the scanners of Rancor Squadron vessels picked up the speed at which the defensive contacts were moving. Sure enough they returned with readings that made it clear they were starfighters and some of them were even interceptors in fact. This would not be the first time the mandalorian pilots would potentially dog fight A-wings but the numbers here were fewer than they had been on Ploo. There was a variety of enemy contacts now showing on the Rally Master’s holographic display that would give most military leader’s pause.

<“Belay that last command. We have numerous enemy contacts and are at risk of being swarmed. Keep formations tight and prepare to kite. That is all.” >The majority of Rancor Squadron would know what that meant from first hand experience. Aden Archer had witnessed the mandalorian’s tactics first hand and would probably not be all too surprised by the methods the rally master intended to employ. The kom’rk transports remained well within the protective overlapping fields of fire of the corvettes they were capable of. Any enemy charging the bristling Mandalorian weapon emplacements and starships would find it far from easy to get through. It was a modern phalanx made of deflectors and turrets in place of shields and spears.

Turning to his bridge crew he ended the private communication. <"Divert power from turbo-lasers. Prioritize unique starfighters and only fire if fired upon unless I give the order.”> He knew if there were Sith aces, officers or skilled mercenaries among the enemies they deserved the Solus’ ire first and foremost. They were also likely the greatest threats. At that command each of the three corvettes had previously concealed six dual laser cannons to activate and swivel to aim towards either approaching group, beginning to make calculations on their speeds and agility but still abiding by the rules of engagement, holding fire until it was justified. Similarly the four ion cannon turrets on each raider were given attention and began preparing firing solutions. The four dormant concussion missile tubes were just as intimidating but required minimal power and were already standing by for enemy small craft threats.

Hauron was proud of how well his warriors worked. The captains of the ships kept up to date reports and did not crowd the channel with chatter. Enemy vessels were still out of range and kept the missiles from attaining lock and helped keep the triggers off the firing studs for now.

Hauron was well aware of his strike groups strengths and weaknesses. If he had to guess the enemy did as well. They had a single raider class corvette but over a hundred small craft presently sending enemy IFF tags.

<“Angle us to approach with Thurra at our backs. Maintain a safe distance.”> Rancor Squadron moved to put themselves between Thule and the star in the center of the solar system. The light from the sun would make it difficult for any hostiles to be effective on a frontal attack. But the mandalorian strike group would see anyone coming from a distance in any other direction regardless. It would keep any approaching enemies out of range for the time being unless they gunned their engines to intercept.

Taking a deep breath, Hauron cleared his mind of distractions and blinked slowly before having one of his uncles halt jamming long enough for him to hail the enemy raider corvette. “Thulian Navy, this is Rancor Squadron. We are here for Sith. Return to your bases and stand down. You will not be harmed if you do not interfere.” The holoimage of the Rally Master’s upper half would appear if the Admiral accepted the hail. But there was a chance the mandalorian communication would be outright ignored. But that in-of-itself would tell the badger all he needed to know.

@Rimrald @Hastur @TheDudeMike @Mr. Teatime @The Good Doctor

 

[Cremek "Krayt" Candorus]

Cremek placed his hand on the a stabilizing bar in the transport, grumbling on mandalorian coms

<"Jeez.. we might as well be fighting the old coroscant defence fleet..">

@mandos

 

[Atuu Skirata]

Spoiler: Pre-Game Music

Upon dropping out of hyperspace Atuu's ship began chirping and chiming with contact alerts almost immediately. Confirmed by comms chatter from the Rancor Squadron Commander. Seeing the unique signatures and the swarm of automated craft Atuu would let a groan out and think to himself.

They have numbers, they have speed, and they have the advantage of standing defenses.... What do I have? A death wish apparently.

Pushing those thoughts out of his head, he knows he can hold his own in a fight. But this might be more akin to a slaughter if his allies are not careful. Opening the secure comm between Rancor and Varsuuth - Atuu interjects during a break in traffic "Rolling high and to the rear of your flagship Commander. Osprey's hot - standing by and ready in all regards."

Holding above and behind the flagship was a tactic he had studied - hide your signature with a larger vessels and use your ships strengths when possible. Being a near peer for the ships present, Atuu needs surprise and hopefully he will have it.

Conducting a final check on systems, saying out loud to himself in the cockpit "Engines, check. Deflectors, check. Ejection Seat, useless in vacuum but check. Laser Cannons, check. Missiles, check." and with a short pause he finishes his final system review and turns off his preparatory pre-battle music piping through his helmet "Sanity? Questionable, but check." The calm before the storm rolls over Atuu - his nerves currently solid as a cold rolls through his body and his fear melts. For regardless of the outcome today, none present will be the same after the cosmic dust settles.

@Darasuum @Hastur @Mr. Teatime @The Good Doctor @TheDudeMike

 

[System Defense Force]

Rancor Squadron looking for Sith. A small curl at the end of his lips rose. So they'd come for the Sith, yet weren't looking to fight? Did they expect the people of Thule to lay down for them while they took the very beings the permeated the very fabric of society on Thule? Admiral Blackthorne had heard whispers of Mandalorian culture. Stories of old exploits and battles where they had run amuck, caused chaos, and conquered worlds. He would put them to the test today.

Rancor Squadron would hear but one word through their communications with the Thule Navy before the link was terminated, "Bold." The Admiral shifted a dark gaze to the communications officer. "Open a link with our contractors," he said. He waited until the officer gave a thumbs up. "We will be lowering into the atmosphere. You'll have Stalker-Six, and Stalker-Seven squadrons for support. Keep an escort distance away from them until the firing begins. Your objectives are their subsystems, starting with engines." He made a cut throat motion with his hand and the communications link ended.

"Helmsman, take into the atmosphere. Striking distance between Hurom and Kesiek," Blackthorne commanded. "Comms, send an encrypted message to the surface. Message: Constricting Chains." The bridge officers of the Thulian Navy's flagship got to work. The Navy began to lower, slowly, towards the planet. Two squadrons of TIE/R starfighters flew out to meet the Apex contracters, opening command links with them so that they could receive orders effectiely.

At the receiving of the message, every available squadron still on Thule would launch from their airfields. They patrolled the cities and the area in between, the target for the Thulian Navy, like a swarm.

Despite it's descent, the flagship kept it's nose pointed toward the Rancor Squadron vessels. Admiral Blackthorne's dark eyse struggled against the glaring of the sun. The sensors and targetting would function as intended though. He kept an eye on the sensors, watching Rancor Squadron and thier movements. The Thulian Fleet would stop, a stones-throw from either major city. Only Hurom had a Sith Academy, and even then the city was protected by a shield. Now it was time to see where Rancor Squadron decided to go.

@Darasuum @Rimrald @Hastur @The Good Doctor @Mr. Teatime

 

[Aden Archer]

"I wonder too" Who put you up to this Hauron? Or did anyone? "Aye" he said, to the Apex strategist's advice. And after seeing their initial movements, it's clear - even though Rancor Squadron is vastly outnumbered, and a little flotilla going against a whole world - they are doubling down on whatever stunt this is.

To be frank, the sun barely even a nuisance to Aden or his archers. Starfighters tended to have tinted/opaque transpisrsteel viewports and fighter pilots had tinted visors into their flight helmets, making it a non-factor. Not to mention it would be ineffective with the droid starfighters and ship targeting computers and other instruments. If the Group Leader's plan hinged on people not being able to look in the general direction of the sun, that would be pretty unfortunate.

Aden was notified the Apex team had command of two of the squadron of automated TIE fighters. Good. Apex can make good use of them. They can overwhelm the enemy and Aden would have no qualms about treating them as expendable.

"Copy" he said to the Thule navy commander. Bravebird and his squadrons would fly in line forward parallel to the enemy flotilla. They would not fly directly into the enemy, but stay beside them, but they would a fair distance in between them. They also be flying at a significantly lower plane than the Raiders. Of course Aden and his pilots are ready to respond to enemy movements/attacks as needed, the TIEs would be trailing behind. He would scout the enemy formation and if unopposed, he would have sight of the engines of all the raiders, as well as the lone interceptor and would turn around to 'escort them'.

Aden has destroyed a few corvettes in the cockpit of a starfighter. The Raider class is well known to him, he has seen them in action and is very well versed in starships. He knows all the weakness of the craft and can exploit them.

As usual, as a very experienced pilot, he has very sharp reflexes and can react to changing movements or circumstances in a heartbeat.

@Mr. Teatime @TheDudeMike @Darasuum @Rimrald @Hastur

 

[Nakoa Singh]

Keen eyes closely watched the fleet movement of Rancor Squadron, observing not just how they were moving but what decisions they made. Unlike Aden, Nakoa had only seen them act in starfighters- which they conspicuously lacked over Thule. Mostly.

The sun? Ha! Nakoa had seen brighter yellow in a man's eyes, unshielded by cockpit canopy or helmet visor. Nictitating membranes blinked over his eyes; if it was too much a nuisance, he'd use them. The TAU-7's targeting and tracking systems were undeterred by a little sunlight.

"Understood," the Strategist replied to Blackthorne over comms. Eugh, more machines. At least they were useful and followed orders. "Bee. Sync the droids." The BA-10 astromech warbled an affirmative and got to work. Stalker-Seven squadron's IFF tags and command-control systems would be linked to Nakoa directly as well as share access to the paired Arrowhead's sensor data.

Rancor Squadron took a close defensive formation. Sensors noted the Raiders scanning them back and the Corvettes' various guns revealed themselves. Nakoa was well familiar with Raiders from his time with the Empire. He knew what they could and could not do.

"Bee. Web." The astromech converted the one-word command into orders for the droid fighters, which would spread out evenly around Kingfisher's interceptor squadron. Kingfisher's squadron itself remained loosely near Aden's Archers.

Every moment that passed was another sensor ping from the twin Arrowheads. Data was gathered and parsed, steadily filling a battle map and noting enemy forces. Despite Nakoa's status as an Apex Executive, his style of 'command' from the Sith Empire remained. He was a 'strategic advisor', not an admiral. Aden was by far the more skilled and experienced pilot.

They moved when Aden moved. Nakoa would point out openings and the other man's expertise would flow into the gap like water. While the lesser pilot in mundane terms, the Force enhanced his reaction time. They shadowed the Archers at a lower plane than the RS forces, and they moved when Aden moved.

A vicious grin settled on the Wrean's face, a cat waiting to pounce. They would be patient.

@TheDudeMike @The Good Doctor @Darasuum @Hastur @Rimrald

 

[Hauron Solus]

After hearing the admiral’s answer Hauron’s visor panned to look towards one of his uncles. From behind each of their helmets the badgers both gave each other a knowing bombastic side eye, knowing what would come next without saying a word. The group leader took the admiral’s words as a compliment. Sith were not the only ones that dealt in absolutes and Hauron would see to it the Sith would experience absolute destruction.

Hauron took a deep breath and his nostrils flared as he let out a sigh. <“Bring the sun to port and Thule to starboard.”> The rally master ordered as he began to walk towards his command chair. By the time he sat down with a clinking of armored plates, the highly maneuverable corvettes and starfighters had reoriented themselves with ease. The triangular corvettes gave a broadside like view of the planetoid, their numerous turrets rotating to always adjust for the ships’ orientation.

The badger was eager for results but he knew to be patient. Rushing into things would lead to the unnecessary deaths of his people and an unsatisfactory sacrifice. Rancor Squadron maintained a safe distance from the planet and was no longer on approach. It maintained this distance as the forces of the Thulian Navy dispersed strategically across the planet’s atmosphere. The local defenses certainly had numbers on their side. If intelligence reports were accurate then the mandalorians were outnumbered ten to one. Sure they had three corvettes, but Thule had a planet and home field advantage which was never to be underestimated.

No less than 30 droid automated TIE starfighters were noted as maneuvering to support presumably mercenary support. In addition to the existing aerospace superiority ships they would be a good first match-up against the mandalorian strike group. However the continued dispersal of ships across the planet’s surface made the Mandalorian more resolved to carry out his plan.

The engines of the raiders were each capable of reaching and maintaining a maximum speed of 80 MGLT and then some. Light flared from the engines as they reached their maximum factory speed. This would force any enemies wishing to give chase to accelerate in order to have a chance at gaining on the battlegroup.

Based on the readings and long range scopes Hauron knew that the fastest of the mercenary ships like the Arrowhead, A-wings or the X-wings would still only be able to approach at a relative 45 MGLT which was slightly better than an average light freighter. The numerous droid piloted TIE fighters, capable of reaching 100 MGLT would approach from their flanks at a relative 20 MGLT and be easy pickings for the rear facing turrets of the mandalorian ships.

Each of the six kom’rk transports had two rear facing medium laser cannons. Add to that the pair of retractable capital class medium laser cannons on each of the corvette’s dorsal hull which were capable of firing in a similar arc. This thankfully would also prevent the starships from drawing on too much energy away from the engines to fire the turrets. Everything seemed to be going according to plan.

@Rimrald @Hastur @TheDudeMike @Mr. Teatime @The Good Doctor

 

[Cremek "Krayt" Candorus]

Out of sheer boredom, cremek was playing elevator music on the transport intercom, before returning to mandalorian coms.

<We're seriously not doing this are we?" I happen not to be suicidal thank you very much! Well I am suicidal, but I would prefer to die in a epic battle on the ground.">

He sighs, he had a clan to think about now, if Solus was going to prove to be a idiotic leader, cremek was going to make the practical choice and GTFO.

For now, he decided to follow the badgers ship, but made no promises to him staying if things went wrong.

@Darasuum @other mandos lol

 

[Atuu Skirata]

Following the formation's movements and bringing his engines up to 80 MGLT to match the strike groups speed. Atuu kept his eyes on the sensors and regularly flipped his vision out to the moving opponents formation. Saying to himself in the cockpit "Need to stay out of sight" and would increase his speed temporarily to keep his interceptor out of sight of the opponents flying parallel attempting to scout the formation (@The Good Doctor) meaning unless one of the craft broke formation to move faster - they would more than likely not see his signature or physical shape during these maneuvers.

Hearing the Varsuuth leader speak, Atuu would audibly scoff into the comm in return - having only met this man once before "You lack conviction Vod. There is no fight on the ground if we do not stand our ground here... If there is to be a fight or not, you should stow your questions of the commanders tactics - unless you have a better idea?" (@Hastur) Atuu sneered as he finished his maneuver.

The Osprey interceptor would now sit toward the center of the formation, slightly above the port side of the flagship using the ships physical shape as cover visually and for his ships signature. He would then open his comm once more directing his words to Hauron while looking over his shoulder at the bridge, giving a thumbs up and queuing his comm "Bird of Prey - Ready and Waiting on your next command." (@Darasuum)

 

[System Defense Force]

So... They didn't fall for the trap. No matter. The tactical display showed the entire Mandalorian formation turning their broadside to the planet. Blackthorne waited for a moment, and then two moments. Speed, and broadside. Not a bad. Not bad at all. It was time to end the back and forth of this game. "Bring us to low orbit, helmsman," he ordered. The fleet in it's entirety began to rise from the atmosphere, coming to a stop just outside it.

"Prepare turbolasers and missile launchers. Get firing solutions. Wait for my mark," he ordered without looking at the weapons officers. "Comms, notify Stalkers Eight through Fifteen to swarm the Rancor Squadron formation. Priority targets are transports and bombers. Allow engagement of targets of opportunity." The communications officer acknowledged the orders and began typing in the codes into a console. That was the best part of droids, they didn't need to be told through standard communication channels what to do. "Get me the contractors."

He waited for the link to open. "On my mark," he said simply. There was no need to explain things to them. They would understand what was happening shortly; they already had their orders. The flagship pivotted, keeping it's nose in line with the firing solutions for the turbo lasers and missile launchers. "Fire."

All four missile launchers fired their first volley, and then a second after that. The four light turbolasers began firing. Even a single forwardmost ion cannon put in rounds to help take down shields although they were outside their effective range. None of the flagship's weapons would be super accurate at this range, but Blackthorne didn't need to hit a point target or a starfighter; he needed to hit a formation. Due to the angle of the Rancor Squadron ships, very few of the custom Raider-class Corvettes weapons would be able to return fire. The ones that were, would have to try to hit a proverbial pin in a haystack.

It was timed perfectly to the second. The moment the 7 squadrons of TIE/R's began to swarm the enemy formation, the missiles and turbolaser fire would slam into the formation as well. The TIE/R's targeted transports, bombers, and fighters. If a subsystem was exposed a squadron would do a gun run on it. The missiles and turbolasers would be doing the most damage to the capital ships from the Thulian Navy. The sevond squadrons Blackthorne kept in reserved moved in front of the flagship, to take care of any incoming fire that wasn't a laser. Why waste his ships resources on engines and point defense when he could have full power to his weapons?

The battle had officially begun.

@Darasuum @The Good Doctor @Mr. Teatime @Rimrald @Hastur

 

[Aden Archer]

Hauron, what are you up to? Aden thought to himself. He really shouldn't have attempted this stunt. At this point, the Apex team has finished their path uncontested. And the Mandalorian flotilla was so kind enough to turn to where the engines of all the Raiders would be easier to access. On top of that - unknown to Aden - the Osprey that was bringing up the rear retreated elsewhere for cover. Now all that was need was to start on their path to the enemy and get in close range. Bravebird and the Aden Archers did not wait for the slower TIEs. They would still follow and Aden would put them to good use.

Aden and co would then turn to make their way to, with the intent of entering in the shield bubble of the closest raider-corvette, immediately facing the engines. Aden kept his eyes peeled, and would be ready for evasive maneuvers if needed. if the enemy adjusts their movements, Aden can adjust as well. Surely they would close in though, soon.

They would still be on the lower plane on the apporach and curve to make to make sure that that they are coming directly behind. Raiders have no weapons down below besides from ion cannons, which make for poor point defense.

@Mr. Teatime @TheDudeMike @Darasuum @Rimrald @Hastur

 

[Nakoa Singh]

Nakoa's role for things like this was pretty simple and, frankly, he didn't enjoy flying in space nearly as much as he enjoyed getting his hands dirty at a personal scale. But that didn't mean he wasn't going to do it well.

Despite an internal reminder to be patient he caught his leg tap-tap-tapping on the floor of his interceptor as the possibly-skittish Mandalorian ships abandoned their still formation to start an orbital course around the planet. It somewhat frustrating to be directly part of things but unable to get involved, but he tamped it down as always. This was work, not pure fun.

Kingfisher and his ships matched Bravebird's chase speed and remained in a loose-spread formation for interception purposes. The TIEs lagged slightly behind but they'd get there quickly enough. Aden would have his eyes open, but it was Nakoa's job to keep threats off him and his Archers.

The Strategist's arrowhead was a dogfighter and recon ship, not a strike craft or bomber. He was particularly watching out for ships scanners hadn't picked up- in the hangars, perhaps?- and those Mandalorian transports in case they decided to join the fight themselves.

Or maybe the transports would dart for the surface? They had a decent chance of making it before interceptors caught up. Mandalorians weren't always predictable.

@The Good Doctor @TheDudeMike @Darasuum @Hastur @Rimrald

 

[Hauron Solus]

The bridge crew updated the group leader of the changing formations of the Thulian Navy as it changed. Rancor Squadron’s orbit of Thule continued for a moment, allowing the enemy raider corvette close the distance. The curved arc of the strike group’s flight path was not a straight line afterall and this would eventually enable the Thulian navy to near the maximum effective range.

A few moments before the enemy flagship was at just beyond turbo laser range he gave his command, relayed to the captains of each mandalorian ship. <”Pull away from the planet. Keep that Thulian corvette at our six o’clock and at a range of fifty five kilometers. Tell me if they gain.”> He knew the effectiveness of the turbolasers would be nullified by the expanse of vacuum spanning between them. It was a distance that the starfighters would otherwise be able to close. But the raider class flagship of the Thulian admiral would not make visible progress no matter how long it chased Rancor Squadron.

Turbo laser fire would streak across the blackness of space and fall short of even grazing a single mandalorian shield. The focused energy losing cohesion and exploding like unstable flak fire against a starry sky. The ion and laser cannons weaker than the turbo lasers would have a shorter range and similarly not be able to reach the highly mobile invaders. In fact, the only thing the attacks by the admiral did was endanger the Apex contractors could get hit in the crossfire. In that instant each of the mandalorian ships moved into action and returned fire in kind.

The only way the Thulian Navy was going to land a shot on Rancor Squadron was if it was fired from a starfighter. The Thulian flagship could not touch them. At least that was what Hauron thought before he was reminded of the missile launchers as the enemy raider fired two batches of four missiles which were already flying through the open expanse, rapidly gaining on the starship formation and swerving around other Thulian ships without issue.

< “Rally Master, missiles!” > One of his officers alerted him. <”I see them.”> His tone firm but the expression underneath was concerned. It would be a few seconds before the missiles reached rancor squadron but the shear distance continuing to grow between the lightening fast warheads was the only thing keeping them from exploding yet. <”Double shields to rear.”> The bridge crew executed the command without hesitation like a well oiled machine.

The stars spun before the bridges of each mandalorian ship as they reoriented. The Threebooters already had been given their previous command to prioritize unique ships over others and the fastest approaching targets would be met with laser cannon fire. The captains of each vessel rolled so that the corvette’s medium laser turrets and its dorsal side remained facing the starfighters trying to get beneath it. To an outside observer the three daggers seemed to be barrel rolling and keeping their medium laser turrets on the small craft trying to attack their ventral side. Two medium dorsal turrets from each of the three corvettes tracked and fired at Bravebird and Kingfisher respectively despite their seeming spiral attempts to get “beneath” the corvette formation. The vessels simply had to roll which was quick even for a corvette of their size. The speed gap between the ships helping to mitigate the skill and agility of the smallship. Priority would was made against the lead ship which was likely the Tau Arrowhead. (@The Good Doctor @Mr. Teatime )

Keeping to their escort duties. Three kom’rk transports maneuvered safely inside the shield bubble of the corvettes. They maneuvered to dip alongside the enemy facing hull and then maneuvered back around but not before each of them fired the two medium laser cannons at the Archer X-wings. Another three kom’rk transports made similar maneuvers against the Apex A-wings forcing them to either make evasive maneuvers and slow their progress or hope their light shields could match up against the mandalorian laser cannons. But they knew to put the corvettes between them and the imminent missile barrage still flying through the void towards Rancor Squadron. They would reach the formation probably before the TIE droid fighters by the looks of it.

@TheDudeMike @Rimrald @Hastur

Spoiler: TL;DR

3x corvettes each firing 2x medium dorsal laser cannons at Aden and Nakoa's starfighters (6 total)
6x kom'rk transports firing 2x medium tail laser cannons at X-wings & A-wings (12x total)
Missile impact against rancor squadron imminent (next turn)

 

[Cremek "Krayt" Candorus]

Meanwhile, poor cremek was just sitting on the transport, the pilot continues to keep close to the rest of the force, but Cremek was essentially useless until they could land, he sighs, sitting down cross legged like a child, taking out a romance novel, ninjas of love, it was beyond cheesy, and cremek hated it. But he couldn't put it down no matter how hard he tried, he had to finish it, and what better a time?

"I have more conviction than you ever will, whelp, so before you presume to know me, try doing research on who I am, because if I wasn't trying to turn a new leaf I would have killed you for less as soon as we landed."

He spoke methodically, he wasent just making an idle threat, he was stating a fact, Cremeks gratitude at allowing to be redeemed as a true mandalorian was the only thing stopping cremek from just killing the skirata for daring to question his conviction, what would HE know of conviction, cremek had betrayed literally everything he knew for mandalore, was Willing to march upon Thule itself to prove it, and he dared question the ronin's conviction?

He now moved to the tail laser, manning it with a sigh after discarding his book, he would wait until he got a proper view, firing if he could at the incoming enemies.

@Rimrald @Darasuum @and anyone else I missed