Retribution Fleet Stories : Tour 7, Mission 1 -- Mission Narratives ** Poetic Narrative P.OV. by Jeremiah Matthew & MRM Winner Sing now goddess of flight how kind Jeremiah Destroyed the hosts of the cruel imperials who now attacked a convoy that he liked Muses who know all things remind us now of this how one so kind could now be stirred to wrath Now when the convoy saw they were under attack an abrupt distress call they rapidly sent out and nor was it in vain, for Vender sat nearby and hearing it he went with all of his forces damaged as they were from other recent fights and into the enemies put many fearsome frights and luck that day the empire did not favor and as their dreadnought did kill a helpless freighter the explosion that it made disabled it thus when the convoy's reinforcements arrived there remained but one ship for them to conquer Yet as Ewok emerged the foes launched too but the TIEs that now came were no match for Ewok the mighty elite squadron that now came on them for though Jiwex of many battles and much fame was now leading many men of skill in Alpha flight On the other side was Menshk of the great war cry and with him flew tall Jezza and great Nachosman Who did these great wariors kill when they came at first? Jezza destroyed Alfan from beautiful Gont then swung out of the way to avoid the bright blasts the others also avoided the attempts on them and soon Alpha did find swift Ewok on their tails turning fast Jez took out Jiwex with a great shout and it was such a shout that even Menshk was wowed Yet did the count for this squadron stop with but two? Nay, for though Nachoman was drawing all the fire and thus had not the time to massacre the imps yet Jeremiah was loose and he soon fired again nor could the weak hull stop the lasers that now flew but on they went shredding the next fighter that came Yet Menshk was he now weak? Nay for he soon shot Tej and brought the fearsome pilot from Das to his knees Zipping off it was not long till they met Beta Oh brave but foolish Beta flight! Great ones now dead! Did you really think you could take such foes as these? Though in the strength of your youth yet you were no match. For as they came each fighter from Ewok did shoot. and nor did any laser from them now fly in vain but all their targets hit, and though the hulls did cleave Now bold Hoplik found himself alone with such foes For Nacho had killed Theanhor, Jez, Iwunt And Menshk had sent terrible Tiutin the strong leader to the halls of Hades where he soon met many for in their stupidity the imps yet fought still Cloudgathering Nachos now shredded brave Hoplik Another wave of each flight soon appeared yet these new ones fared no better than the last ones for in the dogfight that soon ensued they did die Nachos blew Tonre and Yimrht a formerly fearsome pair who now met a first and last defeat Menshk also came and soon he slew Ignuh, Heng, and proud Ebton, who before the war were raiders Jez followed also, removing Ginth the greatest Warrior ever to come from Nerf-herding Hijy and also Imt the young and Sonump of large kills Yet did the battle stop to watch this great slaughter? Nay, but the Carrack continued to destroy all and after that tried to help it's precious fighters Oh the foolishness of it's stubborn captain Penw! Had he turned his ship around he might have survived Yet Skull now came and following princely Matt were Licah, swift of feet, and Sair, who moved for none they now came on and soon the cruiser it did die but while it was in it's death roll still fighters launched not long was their life, however and soon they died for coming on them unaware Ewok fought on Cloudgathering Nachoman came into their midst Hjob who in better years had been a wealthy man and Tunoh and Uhtorik al so brave pilots soon met with their commander in the shadow land Menshk of the great warcry now took the final kill and Finay started on his way over the Styx But Jeremiah was not idle all this while no, but Beta did launch one final wave of craft desperately they did fight hoping still for a win yet even that small ray of hope soon disappeared for Klor the strong and Knath his friend were soon both dead Jezza was now angry over the convoy's death to vent the fury now in him, he loosed two bolts and crafty Juintil fell before the new onslaught with a final salvo Jeremiah killed one more: Ytop who in his youth had been one of the best there was but now his old age slowed him down, for he was forty and the lasers now coming soon cleaved him in two only now at battle's end did the Evain arrive though it had been speeding on it's way since the first it had been dispatched to repair the dreadnought and now, though unprotected it tried to do that but the fighters came on in, letting loose their bombs though they flew slow yet the corvette was soon no more at last help arrived at battle's end it did come. Six Z ninety-fives of Haven came from nearby they were to late to fight, but still managed to help for they now took the patrol at Vivianas and let the battle weary forces have some rest yet the tired pilots did not go home at first for this was the last flight that Jeremiah flew they knew once they came back he would retire for now so they stayed and let him have the last kill that day the dreadnought, long disabled met it's fated end the fighters now began to head on back to home back at home Jez got out and met his friends again Licah, Menshk, Matt, and Sair climbed down from their fighters And Dev and Vykk, and Xtremegene came over too the pilots met and hugged and shared good wishes they spent the night in the squadron's new comfy lounge talking over the times that had gone by so fast how the squadron had risen and now flew so very high bright dawn came at last, yet all too quick for those there after breakfast it was now time for him to go they shook hands once more then parted ways for a while Jeremiah into retirement did go yet not without a tear and it was a short while before he missed his friends whom he had known so long ** Main P.O.V. by Bethan Leitbur Captain Aren Solan slid slowly into the cockpit of the TIE Fighter he was about to pilot. His wounds from the battle at Morba were almost healed, but he still was limping from where a conduit had overheated and fried his left leg to a crisp. Thank the Force for bacta. At least this mission was less suicidal. From what he could gather, there was a damaged Dreadnaught, a Carrack Cruiser, and a few fighters attacking one of their supply lines. The odds were they were the last batch of Imperials trying to escape Dia Pas after the Battle at Morba. The fact that the Dreadnaught was damaged seemed to confirm that, most likely it was straggling behind, stopped in Vivianas for some quick repairs, the Carrack stopped as its escort, and the freighters arrived at a bad time. Oh well, not like he'd be needed much out there. Even though the Prometheus was damaged to a great degree, it had the rest of the R2F and Sentinel taskforces to back it up. The Liberator alone would be able to take down both opponents, and this was simply overkill. He'd read up on the Vivianas System just before heading to the hanger bay, and from what he could gather it was a nice little refueling system and storehouse. Perhaps the Dreadnaught figured on asking for some quick repairs from Haven's Landing before the R2F followed up. Had they not attacked the freighters the ploy would have worked, but then again the concensus was probably that if they didn't then the freighters would report their location back, so they might as well try to destroy them and save their own skins. One minute before re-entry now, and a few drops of sweat began to form on Aren's temples. He usually didn't get nervous about going into battle, but usually he was at full health. Why he had been tapped for this mission was beyond him, but an order was an order. Perhaps after this mission he'd put in a request to transfer to Storm. It wasn't that he liked General Vender any less than General Leitbur, in fact General Leitbur was known for being cold when it came to putting his pilots at risk to achieve the objective, but at least he was cautious and didn't go into battle half-blind in a crippled ship. Oh well, that was something for the top brass to argue about. Heh, that was a funny thought, he doubted very much that the brass argued that much at all. It was all just a little wargame for them, something to entertain them while his people died. He really shouldn't be thinking like that he knew, but at times, it certainly seemed that way. Besides, the rift in the command staff between the two generals was becoming hot gossip amongst the noncommissioned officers, and while some of the rumors were just blown out of proportion, what was left seemed rather convincing. Oh well, it was time to launch, and so these thoughts could wait until later. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- General Bethan Leitbur sat at his desk looking over a hologram of the sector. It was marked off into three zones, the systems controlled by the R2F in red, the Imperial systems that were known about in green, and neutral blue for the rest. It also displayed fleet distribution as well as known trade routes. One nice yet tragic thing about supply lines was that they almost always followed traditional trade routes. Not by tradition or strategy, simply because most trade routes were there because they were the shortest or cheapest way to get from point A to Point B. That led to three things, systems that had to be moved through to keep supply lines up, systems that had to be controlled to use those routes, and finally, systems that would be the next to be taken in that chain to expand the supply line. For most of them, Eridani was the core system needed. Thankfully it was currently allied with the R2F. Unfortunately, it was not well defended at all. That would change now. With Vender soon to arrive here at Aecreas, Bethan now had a new option, he could move Storm Wing out to Eridani and keep it from being hit by the Imperials, or at least make them pay for taking it. That just left, where would they need to be to launch the proper attack, and therefore, which system would he be able to catch them in unaware? He's have time enough to think it over on the way to Eridani. ** Alternate P.O.V. by Adam Fene Vender gazed outward into the Osiris Sector, right as 3 cargo vessels were utterly demolished in front of his eyes by cold blooded imperial hands. "It's sickening. They couldn't even defend themselves hardly at all." Raising a hand, he signalled 2 fingers, meaning to let loose a flight of TIE Fighters. Luckily Ewok Squadron was onboard, or else they couldn't of really sent out any fighter craft. Unless he ordered Sentinel Wing to release some, but there was no time for that. It didn't make any difference one way or another, they were too late, and now civillians were murdered. "Captain." Vender nodded towards Captain Vedik. The Captain walked calmly up to him, and stood at attention. "Yes sir?" "I think I'll join in on that flight I told you to send out. Delay them five minutes and prepare my flightsuit." Vender grinned at Vedik. "Aye sir. May I ask why? That's an unusual thing to do, you're the Fleet Commander.." Captain Vedik began to trail off as soon as Vender nodded. The grin came back as he began to explain. "They at least deserve a good crack at the head guy himself. I'm giving the Imperials more than they gave those civilians. It's the principle of the thing." "Permission to speak freely, sir?" Vedik looked tense. "Granted, Captain." "You're nuts." Vender let out a chuckle. "Of course, what pilot isn't? No, Vedik, it's ego that is mistaken for insanity. In any case, I must be going. Don't forget, I used to be one of the hot shots in this fleet." Captain Vedik nodded as Vender left the bridge, and smiled slightly. Under his breath he couldn't help but let out a few smart comments that could of gotten him a reprimand had Vender heard. "Used to be, General, used to be. May the force be with you." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Lt. General Adam Fene, Vender as he was known. The hot-shots of Ewok seemed to welcome him back with open arms as one of them even gave up their own fighter to let him fly. He loved the courtesy he tried to uphold in the fleet, and hoped that they did this for more pilots than just him when the time was right. Two lights went green, and he was already diving out of the Prometheus as his stomach started to turn. "Whew boy, it's been a while, hasn't it old girl?" The TIE Fighter kept its twin ion engines whining at a steady pace, happy to be back out among the stars. "Of course you are." Vender grinned. The Carrack Cruiser 'Tantis' began dropping back near what was a disabled Dreadnaught. Vender recognized what was happening and opened a comm to the Prometheus bridge. "Captain, send out some TIE Bombers, I want that Cruiser eliminated." Just then, two flights of TIE Fighters burst from the Dreadnaught and the Carrack-class Cruiser. "Wish me luck, Captain." "Yes, Sir. Good luck out there." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Vender sat in his TIE Fighter, within a sea of storming laser fire from enemy fighters. The Empire was using some odd tactics in the war. Decidely warped, twisted tactics that still would not save them, at least not from the Retribution Fleet. "Where are those bombers, Captain?" Vender juked his TIE Fighter, narrowly escaping death for at least the tenth time during the fight. "General Horn says they're already on their way, Sir." Captain Vedik responded, giving him some assurance. "Check your scopes, they're passing just over the Prometheus now, actually." Vender twisted his eye for a spare second to see 4 blips in allied colors race forward toward the Carrack Cruiser that just vaped civilian cargo ships. "Thank you, Captain." "My pleasure, Sir. Captain Vedik out." A flight from Skull Squadron was now visable in the deep of space, like cold medal thorns brighter than the stars, which seemed now distant and dim in comparison. Another flight was now visable, even as the first opened fire. Four Torpedoes shot out suddenly from the group of TIE Bombers to explode against the hull of the Carrack Cruiser "Tantis". The second wave flew by the first and began to open fire on the downed Imperial Dreadnaught. Vender chuckled. "There will be nothing left of those ships but the frame. How appropriate." Not one of those bombers flinched, even as Imperial TIE Fighters tried to shew them off with hopeless shots from a distance, in attempt to scare them off. "That's good, Skull, keep it up." Vender said to himself. Vender could almost see one of Matt Brown's trademark tactics, and the skillful flying of Licah in coordination with his flight. "I bet they're getting pretty sick of Bombers. They're good enough to fly Avengers for crying out loud." Indeed, just as Vender was talking to himself, Licah took out two eyeballs with little or no strain that he could tell. "Oh yeah, they'd be killer." ** Alternate P.O.V. By Garrik Loran Face had to rush to get even close to finishing his report explaining why he wasn't out there flying. He had been drinking all last night and didn't get up when he was suppose to. "Oh well" He didn't feel like flying any tincans anyways. Hopefully Slayer kicked some ass. Face went through his report again. Making sure it was all nice, and sweet; explaining that he had had a family emergency. "Hopefully Vender doesn't remember that I have no family." "Hehe.." Face thought.