Private Sweeping Up the Remnants

[Plikh'ala'niu (Khalani)]

​

One...more...set!

Kailani gave one last push and sat the dumbbell on its rack. Sitting up, he reached over to his side and grabbed a towel, wiping down his face vigorously. He hadn't worked out like that in a long time. Probably due to Minerva Fhirdiad , who was still going strong. Suddenly, his comlink trilled. Kailani reached into his pocket, and became the commander of Task Force 24 once again. "This is Commander Fostu."

"Sir, exiting hyperspace in five minutes," Lieutenant Commander Swreepi reported.

"Prepare the ship for combat, Swreepi," Kailani responded.

The task force would be headed to Yinchorr, where, reportedly, there was an Imperial remnant setting up shop and ambushing passing ships. Kailani seriously doubted that, as he'd stopped by in several other patrols and found nothing hinting at any Imperial presence, but it was still a possibility. Some people just never knew when to give up. He glanced to his side, where a Mandalorian lay on a bench, still working out. "Minerva, we should go the bridge, now. We exit hyperspace in five minutes."

And then they would see if the rumors were true.

 

[Minerva Fhirdiad]

Tag: Plikh'ala'niu (Khalani)

Wearing bluish Alliance gym-wear including a hoodie and sweatpants she lifted the weight up and down repeatedly. Minerva mentally counted instead out-loud, not wanting to waste her breath. So focused she was on the workout that it only took Kailani's voice to get her attention. Putting down the weights, the Mandalorian briefly listened before getting up.

"Copy that commander."

Turning to the some members of Talon Company present at the gym she shouted.

"It's time Talons! Move it! Move it!"

At her call they got up and they headed for the locker rooms. Due to the constant drills they were getting on their uniforms quickly including Minerva. Now fully clad in Mandalorian armor she headed for the bridge to meet up with the commander. If the rumors are true then everyone is in for quite the fight. Since the battle of Ilum she knew firsthand how tenacious Imps can be in addition to their immense firepower.

Yinchorr is technically not in the Alliance but it's near enough to be a problem for the border if some Remnants decide to plant their flag there.

Still walking down the hallway Minerva called her chief lieutenant on the comms.

"Gakot gets everybody geared up and makes sure there is no trouble with the marines again. I don't care who started it, we got a job to do."

The Klatooinian growled through the comms

"Ya got it Cap. I'll keep them straight as always over and out."

Done Minerva put up the commlink just as she entered the bridge.

 

[Plikh'ala'niu (Khalani)]

​

The bridge door slid open behind him, and Kailani didn't need to look over his shoulder to know it was Minerva Fhirdiad . "Sir, all weapons primed and ready. Boarding shuttles are also standing by," came the voice of the Peacemaker's first officer, Swreepi.

"Good. Let us see what awaits at the end of this tunnel," he mused. A minute later, the ship dropped out of hyperspace. A world with a reddish tinge appeared in the viewport off to the right, but there was nothing else visually interesting. Kailani turned to the tactical map... and froze. It was brief, but it was certainly there. Drive emissions. All the way on the night side of the planet. "Helm, I saw drive emissions on the far side of the planet," the commander reported. He tapped away at a datapad for a second, then continued, "Bring us in to the coords that I fed to your console. It's an uninhabited system very close to here. Then, we can come in closer to Yinchorr."

The slight detour would only take an hour. Kailani hoped the marines and Talons weren't too anxious to start a boarding action. He turned around to face the woman clad in Mandalorian armor standing before the blast door. "I trust your boarding troops are ready? They're not too anxious to get to battle, hm?"

 

[Minerva Fhirdiad]

Tag: Plikh'ala'niu (Khalani)

Minerva titled her helmet for a moment.

"They'll be ready soon Commander."

Pausing briefly to look out from the viewpoint at space she then returned her gaze to Kailani.

"I know the marines don't appreciate our presence here but fighting Imps is just what both my troops and them need to sort things out. Or at least a start."

She had to resist the urge to chuckle at that last part to stay professional.

"Is there anything we need to go over sir?"

 

[Plikh'ala'niu (Khalani)]

​

At the news of the boarding party almost prepared, Kailani nodded satisfactorily. "Yes, a common enemy is necessary for the sake of unity. Too long without a foe hated more than each other, and a civilization will fall. It'll be nice for you and the marines to recieve enemy fire together." He chuckled to himself. "I don't believe there is anything else to go over. Just capture the enemy leader and bring them here for interrogation. Then, the Peacemaker does its part and destroys the Imperial vessels. Good luck."

As he turned around, the blue cloud of hyperspace disappeared into individual stars. They had arrived back in the Yinchorr system. The red desert planet was large in the viewport dead ahead. Immediately, Swreepi came to his side. "Sir, several warships detected. Five frigates and a cruiser!"

"That's quite alright, Lieutenant Commander. Once the boarding party captures the Imperial leader, who is most likely aboard the largest warship, we will have sufficient evidence to provide to High Command. Then we will come back with a joint task force and destroy them. For now, lets focus on engaging the frigates while the Talons and marines board the light cruiser. Ready the weapons, and prepare the ship," Kailani ordered. He mulled over the plan in his head. Confidence filled him, as it always did before his battles. He had studied prior Imperial remnants, and the Empire itself, and had deduced from the footage and records that ninety-seven percent of the time, the Imperial commander was aboard the largest line ship. Given that this was a remnant, the largest warship was in the back of the formation, given that they couldn't afford to lose a leader.

Kailani spun around in his chair, then turned back a bit because he spun too far. He was now facing the Talon commander. "It is time. Your boarding craft are waiting. I will announce when the time is right for you to launch."

He spun back and began to study the tac-map. The five frigates seemed to be decently armed, but they weren't the most interesting thing the remnant had to offer. Kailani was drawn to the cruiser, which didn't seem to be a cruiser at all. It was a modified shieldship, used to protect ships from harsh sunlight. It seemed to have few weapons, but its defenses were impressive. The commander estimated it would take an hour or so of sustained bombardment to do anything to the shield itself. Good thing it would be disabled from within.

"And, Minerva Fhirdiad ," he called. "Could you possibly plant charges in the cruiser while you're there? It would be much quicker destroying it from the inside."

 

[Minerva Fhirdiad]

Tag: Plikh'ala'niu (Khalani)

With a quick salute Minerva turned around and walked off from the bridge. As long as the Peacemaker crew distract the hostiles the marines and her team will do their part. Once out of the commander's view the Mandalorian ran to the turbolift. Activating it slid open and she went inside before it closed again.

Calling in from her commlink Minerva demanded. "Status Gakot."

"We're all set and ready, Cap. Some newbies are a bit anxious openly but we'll set them straight. The marines are finishing up their preparations too and few of them and ours have been making bets on who's gonna take out the most Imps in this fight."

"Let them have their competition as long as they do their jobs. I'm on my way and will be there shortly. Over and out."

Subsequently she got Kailani's call next and she grinned fiercely before replying.

"With pleasure Commander."

Soon the lift stopped and opened up again she sprang out. Minutes later Minerva arrived at the hangar with the crew all around hard at work. Seeing Gakot waving at her from one of the shuttles she flew over and landed just a few feet in front of him. He held her blaster rifle and handed it over. Nodding her gratitude, Minerva and the Klatooinian went up the ramp to link up with the rest of the unit inside and the ramp closed behind them

Swiftly she briefed them on their objectives and they and the marines who no doubt been similarly on their separate transport waited for the order to launch.

 

[Plikh'ala'niu (Khalani)]

​

The Peacemaker had entered combat range. Immediately, all its forward facing weapons opened up, peppering an enemy frigate. The mass drivers easily punctured the frigates' particle shields, and began to tear into their armor. In addition to the drivers, a missile barrage was now streaking towards the innermost frigate. Kailani watched intently as it neared the ship...then struck the bridge, exploding into glittering sparks and shrapnel. "What is the status of Frigate Two, Lieutenant Commander?" Kailani asked, pointing towards the targeted warship.

"We took out its command, sir! Floating adrift on collision course with Frigate Three!" Swreepi exclaimed.

Kailani's eyes flashed with light as the two frigates crashed into each other. Frigate Two had sustained serious damage to its bow, while Frigate Three had its engines knocked out. It was obvious these Imperials hadn't trained for a long time. So Kailani would perform a maneuver that also hadn't been used in a while. "Helm, tilt the bow ninety degrees down. Once that is done, have our squadron of X-wings launch behind the cover of our entire ship at full speed, targeting the cruiser. They will be screening for the boarding party's shuttle, which will launch a minute after the fighters."

Swreepi raised her eyebrows and asked, "A Marg Sabl? Commander, I haven't heard of that in years!"

"Exactly. If you haven't heard of it, living on an information-dense world like Coruscant, then this Remnant certainly wouldn't have heard of it all the way out here," Kailani explained. At least, he hoped it would work that way. By tilting in that direction, he would be directly exposing the ship's strongest mass driver to enemy fire. A weapon, that if damaged, would take months to fix. Oh well, he'd take the risk.

The ship began to rotate, and soon, the viewport revealed nothing but stars.

"Captain Minerva Fhirdiad , prepare to launch a minute after the X-wings," Kailani informed her. He shut off the comm and watched the tactical map, specifically observing Frigate Four, who's shields were rapidly weakening.