[WotC, GA] The Husks of Titans

[Tubal Sahon]

[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wFs7NJaKEo[/media]​

​

Tubal Sahon sat aboard his ship. His eyes were affixed before the space before him. He sat cross-legged in his commander's chair, his right arm resting on the arm of the chair, propping up his head by his chin. In his mind his only purpose was the one that he had set for himself. His purpose was to rule, to take the Hakassi system and rule it with an iron fist.

The space before him was alight with the stars of the galaxy, from here he could see the core burning bright in the skies. All things before him would be his and his alone. He would rule the heart of the galaxy under his banner. The galaxy would tremble at the might of his soldiers and quiver at the hum of his hyperdrives. This was his decree: all that would not bow before him would burn.

Tubal had done well to gather allies, already the great Trandoshan warlord, [member="Causstik Rahn"] had joined him, with several more to surely come in time. The massive primeval ships of his own flew in formation, the freighters of small warlords that had sworn their allegiance to him flitted alongside them. Soon their time would come.

"All ships, prepare for hyperspace. May your gods bless you with strength on this day. The galaxy will be ours! Sound the DRUMS OF WAR!"

Tubal straightened himself in his chair, slamming his fist on to the arm of his chair with a loud thunk.

"Jump!"

His own ship hummed as it activated its hyperdrives once more. The stars began to come towards them rapidly. Faster and faster as the space before them began to turn a shade of blue. Suddenly, the ship seemed to lengthen into infinity to those outside, until disappearing with a small flash of light in an instant. Fleet would begin to follow suit, the unerring sky being disturbed with points of light becoming lost in the vast ocean of stars.


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

On Hakassi, sensors would begin to blare. Soldiers prepared to defend themselves against the onslaught, machines of war were coming to life within minutes. They were prepared to give their lives to protect and save everyone on the planet. Their fleet was little more than a handful of customized freighters, but there was little else that could be had in the wake of this war. They called for help, hoping that perhaps someone, anyone would hear them. They knew that they would not survive without it.

 

[Ohm-Lai]

CR90 ANS Firebird
03000 Hours
---------------

The Firebird was a cramped ship by all accounts- just large enough for its purpose and no larger. It was quiet on the bridge, staffed only a skeletal night crew. The acting officer stood at the control console, watching the readouts. Nothing special yet, nothing important. Patrolling Alliance borders along the Core was interesting, to say the least. Formerly peaceful without titanic governments battling it out, she had heard tell of warlords popping up to seize power, making things suddenly far more unstable. Nothing concrete had arrived yet, but along the arm, soldiers were uneasy and prepped for fast reaction, being moved away from the border with the First Order. While they were diametrically and fundamentally opposed to the Alliance, they were at least stable.

Warlords were no such thing. A distress call sounded on the console and the comm officer activated it, recording ready. The Duros' face listened intently, making notes. The acting officer listened intently, face growing pale as she heard the message. She buzzed the alert for the Captain. Everything stood still, clocks ticking as the message replayed over and over.

Minutes later, Captain Lyra Sunfell strode on deck. Eve after just being awoken, she seemed as military as could come. Her face was grim as she listened to the message on repeat over and over.

Warlords were attacking a planet right on the border. No orders had arrived from Sullust as of yet so they were on their own.

"Set coordinates for the Haaskia system," she said after a long moment, "We can not sit by while a friendly world falls under attack. The Alliance can wait for orders, but we're going on. Sound battle stations and prepare the company." Her face hardened. "Staff meeting in ten minutes."

The officers set about enacting the orders. The ship dropped back into realspace while the route was recalculated and reoriented. Alarms were sounded and everyone roused from their bunks. Soldiers donned armor and loaded their weapons. Naval personnel hurried to their stations.

In the barracks, a Wookie pulled himself from his bunk with a low growl- a translation droid plugged in beside the bunk. His comrades were picking themselves up around him. It was as quiet as a barracks might have been expected to be. It was a low-level rumble of sound, both from the engines and everyone aboard. Jowarr let out another growl.

"Of course, Jowarr," the droid said, "I'm sure the sergeant will inform us shortly." Its small chassis stayed connected to the wall, trying to get as much power as possible before deployment. Another grumble. Jowarr grabbed his bowcaster, running his paws up and down, double checking its ammunition and supplies. It was in excellent condition and he slung it over his shoulder, letting it fall next to his massive frame.

There was going to be a battle. Jowarr had never been in any actual battles before, not as a soldier anyways. He'd survived several, but this was going to be a first. He let out a low roar that echoed in his throat. Duty called and his squad would depend on him.

 

[Sal Katarn]

So many proud princes and power so splendid,​

In a moment, a twinkling, all utterly ended. ​

​

My unit is attached a CR90 named the Firebird. Just thirty-odd vacheads with an Orbalisk-class boarding shuttle. We don't talk much to the company attached to the Firebird. Some company by the name of Twilight.

Covered head to toe in black armor, I already stand out from the normal soldiers. They don't talk with us much either. Maybe it's the glowing red visors. Maybe it's the fact that they think we're arrogant bastards. Probably not wrong.

I glance over at one of them, a Wookiee. Powerful warriors in their own rights, but not exactly disciplined. Not like the humanoids I fight alongside.

I frown when I note the droid he's with. Translator? If it goes offline who the hell will communicate with this walking carpet?

"Amateurs."

"What was that, Thule?" Asks LT Dallows, on the helmet comm.

"Nothing, sir."

"We're coming up on the Hakassi system fast. Get down to the Orbalisk."

"Yes, sir."

I give the Wookiee one last look before stomping off down the hall.

[member="Jowarr"] | [member="Tubal Sahon"]

 

[Causstik Rahn]

Causstik Rahn sat aboard his ship the Great Hunt and stared out the bridge into the abyss of space. Two CR90 Corvette's supported his MC80 Starcruiser and aboard each of the ships sat dozens of Havoc class star fighters. Multiple companies of his war band were already in their landing pods, awaiting the order that would send them into the crucible of battle. All was ready and set for a swift victory.

"Activate the hyperdrive," Causstik hissed.

The great void greeted them and Causstik stared into the mad conglomerate of shapes and swirls. It was enough to drive a man insane, but then again Causstik already was. Rather abruptly it ended and before them sat Hakassi.

"Move the cruiser into orbit. Cover our approach with the corvettes and starfighters. Prep the landing pods for invasion," He smiled to himself happily. Then the voices began to worm their way into the grey matter of his brain.

Don't be so quick to count your victories. Others approach.

Causstik's mood turned sour and he jumped out of his seat. He swiveled to face the innocent piece of furniture and tore it out of it's placement. His crew shrank away from him as he threw the heap at the holographic command display.

"GRAGH! PREPARE THE SHIELDS! THEY WILL NOT STOP OUR APPROACH!" Causstik paced the bridge and attempted to regain his composure.

"Alert my commander. Thraxis and his friend will lead the assault."

[member="Thraxis"]

 

[Cathul Thuku]

"We're being hailed" the communications officer told Cathul.

"On screen"

"Attention Galactic Alliance Defense Force: this is the Hakunni government. Priority one to all units that can be dispatched"

"This is our cue. We can't wait for the orders, we have to help them out. Hakassi have been our allies"

The ANS Hero of Coruscant. Not even one month ago, no one would have suspected Cathul to be thrown into the throes of fleeting. While the main veterans of the Alliance military are being mustered alongside the First Order border, it would seem that Cathul is a throwaway commander for defending the Core, and, even when Coruscant is one of those heavily-defended worlds, they deemed that the defense of Coruscant was more important than border skirmishes. But the horrific experience of Korriban was a textbook example of what can go wrong with an inexperienced commander. Nevertheless, she plotted a course from Malastare to Hakassi, using Instinctive Astrogation Control, because the ship was refitted on Malastare. For some reason the ship was stolen by the Sith while it was unfinished, and, from there, the Alliance recaptured the unfinished hulk as the Sith were about to scrap it. Cathul oversaw it being refitted based on the lessons of the Omega War and the Stygian Caldera campaign: low firepower would render it unable to mount an adequate defense.

"May the Force be with us"

"I'm nervous, captain. You think you can use Instinctive Astrogation Control for getting us to respond to the distress call launched on Hakassi but after all the horror stories I've heard about IAC, I'm not sure we should use that" the ship's co-pilot told her.

"I'm not your everyday Jedi: my mind works like a computer"

The only thing that Cathul had going for her was her ability to keep calm in almost every circumstance. She seemed to be one of those more strategic types of Jedi, and what these warlords don't suspect is that even an inexperienced fleeter can amount to something. Like Charzon on Castameer, where she blasted away the escort screen. To her the point of having capital weapons on a carrier is to protect the attack craft against anti-starfighter ships, and also to defend itself when the attack craft are away from the mothership. After a dozen jumps with only two detours, they have arrived over Hakassi, and Cathul using every moment in hyperspace to sleep; even so she was still a little tired. Wearing her beskar armor, she was seated in the captain's seat onboard the bridge. No orbital bombardment, she kept thinking to herself. We do not want a repeat of Korriban or Chandrila. But what the Alliance does not know is that Cathul has had Mandalorian naval officers as patients, hence the tactical knowledge she does have. Whether said knowledge is accurate, she will soon find out. But no one wanted to command that ship because that class of ship was involved on Korriban.

"Reversion in 5...4...3... 2... 1"

"Battle stations!"

"Friendly contact: ANS Firebird, CR90-class"

"Stay alert: the Hakassi authorities asked for Alliance assistance. They must have good reason"

"Fighter squadrons reporting, captain"

"Stand ready to launch upon confirmation of hostile presence" Cathul instructed, while keeping an eye on the Castameer tactical display.

Spoiler

Mothership:

ANS Hero of Coruscant (Mateus-class refit; 2000m)

Attack craft:

120 T-70 X-Wings (in hangar)

[member="Tubal Sahon"] [member="Causstik Rahn"]

 

[Thraxis]

The hum of the engine purred quietly as Thraxis laid in the hangar bay of the small cramped ship, dozens of men moving about with little order, laughter, merriment and the such echoed throughout the small ship as it rocked back and fourth, the sight of stars peeling across the very space they traveled through was as breath taking as the first time he saw it, the stars themselves bending to the ships will as it darted towards Hakaski at speeds even light itself couldn't manage to fathom.

As soon as the stars themselves pulled themselves back together, no longer twisted and elongated from the movement of the ship, another ship bounced into existence tight next to Thraxis own, another Jabba Class Combat Transport, filled to the brim with the leftover men who couldn't quite manage to fit in, meeting to ninety men. Thraxis opened up a Comm as the ships started to fall behind one of the CR90's, "Yo Causstik, what is going on?" he inquired, the ships hovering behind, they had a few guns, but taking one of the two thousand meter ships, that was a different matter entirely.

As he sent the message to Cuasstik he pulled up another Comm, sending a message to some members of the Cartel, "This is Thraxis requesting Backup, I have come to the conclusion that I am in way over my head. Requesting One Heart Seeker, a Dozen Half Drive Fighters and a Two Exaclibur Class Corvette's." he stated, a few squeals and grunts of the all too familiar Gammoreans rang for a bit before finally getting a response.

"Ships are incoming, be there as soon as we can get them in." the ogerish voice responded, the disgruntled voice coming in all too clear even when the Basic didn't.
[member="Causstik Rahn"] [member="Tubal Sahon"]
[member="Raph Thule"] [member="Jowarr"]

 

[Causstik Rahn]

Causstik studied the readout display carefully. Over a hundred enemy starfighters and a very large incoming cruiser. Causstik's vessel's were almost in orbit. He just needed to buy a little more time before he could launch the landing pods.

"Launch all fighters, with orders to form a deffensive perimeter around our ships. Our guns and pilots will protect the landing craft,"

A hundred Havoc class starfighters swarmed out of the hanger bays. Squadrons formed tight nit arrow formations above the larger vessels. Shields came online and Trandoshans rushed to man the gun platforms. The CR90 corvettes took up a deffensive position on both flanks of the MC80 cruiser, but they gave Thraxis's transports the lead.

They were making good pace, but the enemy was closing fast. Causstik had to reduce speed so his fighters could keep up. His old friend spoke of reinforcements. A good thing no doubt, but the sound of fear in his old pals voice worried him.

"Do not fret Zeltronian. The Scorekeeper fights with us! Glad you make it," The scaley monster hissed into an open comm channel.

The enemy had the bigger ship, but the warlords had more. It was a horde, a tidal wave that would end in a ocean of death.

[member="Thraxis"], [member="Cathul Thuku"], [member="Tubal Sahon"]

 

[Cathul Thuku]

Allies: [member="Jowarr"] [member="Raph Thule"]
Enemies: [member="Tubal Sahon"] [member="Causstik Rahn"] [member="Thraxis"]

"Enemy contacts identified: CR90s, and the enemy flagship is a MC80" the first officer told Cathul, while examining closely the tactical display. "The enemy fleet is closing in on our positions"

"Trench turbolasers, aft batteries, fire at the enemy CR90s"

"Fighters standing by for launch, captain"

"All craft, form up a defensive screen: remain within point-defense distance from the mothership"

There were four double turrets on each trench broadside, with each tube capable of firing four times as fast as normal turbolasers. The other three turbolaser turrets currently online were located in rather odd locations: one near the back of the conning tower, and the last two on the tail. To Cathul, the shipboard artillery was to be grouped in six groups: port and starboard trench (four double rapid-fire turrets apiece), port and starboard dorsal (three triple turrets on each side, with each tube packing as much punch as 12 standard turbolasers), the hypervelocity cannon (even though what everyone called a HVC is actually a 380mm long-range mass driver), and finally everyone else (or the aft batteries as she would euphemistically call them). For the time being anyway; the technicians were still working on bringing the torpedo launchers back online, in which case you would be talking about the port and starboard torpedo launchers, to the tune of five heavy launchers apiece, and then they will go work on the remaining turbolaser turrets. As the fighters form a defensive screen within point-defense range of the mothership with the enemy fleet closing on them, with 120 T-70 X-Wings lying in wait...

"Dorsal batteries, hypervelocity cannon, fire on the enemy flagship"

"Roger"

"Status on the torpedo launchers?"

"Still being repaired, captain" the chief engineer told Cathul.

"May I prove to be a better naval commander than I was a therapist"

"Out of curiosity, how good were you as a therapist?" the pilot asked the white Twi'lek.

"I was not that great, I'll be honest"

Clearly the ANS Hero of Coruscant left Malastare with some work left to be done, with some components not being "broken-in" yet. This time around it was going to be a much more formidable carrier in capital-vs-capital actions than what the Butcher of Korriban had for a flagship. But because the dorsal batteries are a little off compared to the perpendicular of the centerline, yet had a 180-degree arc, all six heavy turrets of the dorsal batteries could be pointed at the MC80's forward shields. So that's 18 shots of heavy turbolasers, fired three-by-three, each of which is worth 12 normal turbolasers, and a long-range hypervelocity cannon worth 45 turbolasers of firepower (regulatory authorities usually double the turbolaser value of a weapon if a weapon is effective at long range), fired at a rather short range from the MC80 serving as the enemy flagship. So, while the gunners knew that a MC80 was about as slow as their own ship, it was not a given that they would be able to hit it.

Spoiler

Mothership:

ANS Hero of Coruscant (Mateus-class refit; 2000m)

Attack craft:

120 T-70 X-Wings (deployed)

 

[Ohm-Lai]

[member="Raph Thule"] [member="Cathul Thuku"] [member="Causstik Rahn"] @Thraxis @Tubal Sahon
-----------------

Jowarr let out another low grunt as he ran his paws along the edge of the two ryyk blades. Their metal hissed softly and his squadmates gave short nods. If blades were coming out. He gave a glance over at the other unit attached to Twilight Company. Space Marines. Shiny eyes, expensive armor, egos bigger than a carrier. Jowarr let out a low woof and the squad chuckled.

"You're not wrong, corporal," a reply came from a tough looking Zabrak. Sergeant Hark had been with the Alliance since the beginning, being one of the first assigned to the infant Twilight Company and sticking with it through the entire war. He froze as orders relayed through his comms, finally finishing with a curt, "Yes, sir." He hefted on the rest of his gear and sealed the helmet.

"What's the plan sarge?" Visk asked, slipping a gas pack into her rifle. "Not like we're trying to take the world."

"Cut it, Visk," Hark said, not looking at her. "We're deploying to reinforce local security forces. Hunker down and counter any potential hostiles before they can assault. Hit the dropships when possible."

Jowarr nodded and let out another growl as they moved out the room. Troops streamed past them to the dropships. The corvette had been loaded with enough to deploy the entire company in one wave. Not that they did that often, but sometimes it did happen. Shore leave, for example. Bootsteps echoed through the narrow corridors as they wove their way to the small hangars and filtered onto the ships. It was cramped, especially for Jowarr, who had to squeeze into the smallest seat and make room for the rest.

The temperature rose in the small ship and the rustles echoed against the metal hull.

"Deploy in thirty..." A voice echoed through the ship comms and everyone buckled in. The engines rattled and roared beneath his feet and Jowarr let a wild smile spread across his face. Then the ship rose from the hangar floor and shot into space. Gravity suddenly shifted as it went to artificial gravity.

 

[Tubal Sahon]

[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEMMMi8WsUc[/media]​

Time would seem to pass in intervals of new infinities. The silence, the waiting. Sensors still blared across the Hakassi system, waiting for their enemies to come. Until suddenly they did.

Their grand entrance was sounded by the thud of rippling space and gravity. First came the Trandoshan and his followers, eager to press forward, eager to die. One could do nothing but admire their courage. Or was it insanity? While the defenders focused on those that were marching to the planet of Hakassi below, their sensors would begin blaring once more. There were yet more enemies to come.

THUM...THUM THUM..THUTHUTHUM.... THUTHTHUTHUM THUM THUM

Like the sound of drums in the distance.

Their hulls were scuffed, having only shadows of what their paint once was, marred by scorch marks from blaster fire. These ships looked war torn and aged, but they were as powerful as ever. These reinforcements numbered twelve total, nine a mixture of frigates and freighters, the other two seemingly transports as they rushed for the planet below along with two of the freighters.

The larger ships appeared to be those of the Primeval. They were mere frigates of the former power's earlier crusades, smaller and more primitive, but useful nonetheless. The ships began to turn their bows. With another blip on the sensors, it could be easily seen that these ships were charging their weapons. It wouldn't a strategist to know what the target was.

Within the Carnage-class frigate, Tubal barked orders to those under him. How it felt good to be above everyone else around him. They obeyed his every command, to question such was death.

"Get me talking to whoever's on that carrier!" The large Umbaran returned to his original position, his legs crossed sitting in his chair, but rather than put his hand to his chin, he rubbed his eyes, pulling his hand down after he was done, stretching the skin with it, before finally returning it to his chin.

"I want to see the face of the idiot trying to get in my way..." With that last sentence the warlord let out a quiet growl. He would NOT be bested by some welp of a commander.

Spoiler: Ships list

1 x Carnage Heavy Frigate - 367 meters ea.
14 x GU-20 Fighters

2 x Deluge Heavy Assault Frigate - 380 meters ea.

1x Mendacity Corvette - 200 meters ea.
4 x GU-55 Bombers

1 x YV-100 Light Freighter - 46 meters ea.
-Escorting Transport

2 x Darvro Light Freighter - 35 meters ea. (estimation)

1 x YV-929 Armed Freighter - 22 meters ea.
-Escorting Transport

2 x VCX-820 Escort Freighter - 20 meters ea.

TOTAL - 1505 meters

Transports:
2 x IF-120
-240 warriors
pending

[member="Jowarr"] | [member="Cathul Thuku"] |[member="Causstik Rahn"] | [member="Thraxis"] | [member="Raph Thule"]

 

[Thraxis]

Thraxis gazed as the ships parted the stars themselves, their metal hulls glimmering as they tugged themselves from the coil of speed that had entranced around the ships, the rest of the men gathered about, watching as they realized how under-prepared they truly were, "Ummm... Captain, I don't mean to pry but...." the voice echoed a lean Weequay standing not to far behind him, a large axe hefted over his head with eyes wide, the whole ship knew what help they would be at this point.

"Look.... I thought Causstik was more a.... Ya know, on the ground carve in half sorta guy. I didn't know he meant a fleeting fight. We will have some reinforcements soon..." he sighed, the ship still hovering ever behind the CR90's frame, a look of worry rushing over the men in the ship, a few men perked up, taking this as an opportunity to prove themselves, only to quiver away into a dark corner as a glare reached across the room, almost chocking whoever stood in its narrow path as Thraxis shoot needles at them, the words needn't be said, they all knew what it meant. Shut it.

As Thraxis rubbed his brow a response rang through as he slowly slid down the side of the hangar bay, his fingers coiled around his guns Trigger as Causstik responded, a look of confusion rushing over the men of the ship. A muddled cry of perplexity ringing through the hull as they started to contemplate what it meant, everything from a Kamikaze to a game of Space Soccer.
[member="Tubal Sahon"] [member="Jowarr"] [member="Cathul Thuku"]
[member="Causstik Rahn"] [member="Raph Thule"]

 

[Causstik Rahn]

The Great Hunt shook as it took massive amounts of fire, but the shields held for the most part.

"Focus all guns on that conning tower!" Causstik shouted to his crew. In response the Great hunts main guns began belching a salvo of death. Causstik gazed at the strategic holo map and considered his next course of action.

"Send the CR90's forward with a detail of forty fighters each. I want one corvette on either flank of that ship! The fighters will take care of the enemies weapon emplacements. When they reach the flanks, give orders to open fire," Causstik hissed and the crew raised the corvettes on the comm channels. The chieftains received the word and the CR90's raced forward. Slowly The Great hunt made ground. They were on course to go directly over the enemy deck. It would leave Causstik's ship mostly exposed, but his remaining forty fighters were to provide a defensive screen while he made the transition. If all went according to plan the enemies attention would be divided between the three ships.

"Raise Thraxis and Tubal on the holo-comm," Causstik bowed his head and offered a prayer to the Scorekeeper while his allies were alerted.

[member="Tubal Sahon"], [member="Thraxis"], [member="Jowarr"], [member="Cathul Thuku"]

 

[Cathul Thuku]

Allies: [member="Jowarr"] [member="Raph Thule"]
Enemies: [member="Thraxis"] [member="Tubal Sahon"] [member="Causstik Rahn"]

"Status report"

"There's no sign of hull damage on the enemy CR90s, and they are rapidly closing on us" the tactical officer told Cathul, as the Great Hunt concentrated its fire at the conning tower, shaking it.

"The hypervelocity cannon cannot hit the CR90s" the hypervelocity cannon crew chief relayed to the bridge. "It can only hit the enemy flagship if we pull up"

"We're going to have a lot of company!" the wing commanders told Cathul.

"Status of the torpedo tubes?"

"Torpedo tubes online, top-aft shields at 30%, top-forward at 60%" the chief engineer reported.

"Dorsal batteries, concentrate all your firepower at the Great Hunt!"

Cathul realized by then that the enemy flagship was going to board directly on top of the conning tower. Their fire isn't the most accurate so the enemy also hit the top-forward arc, that is, in front of the conning tower. But at the same time, the same 18 heavy turbolasers, firing three-by-three, each shot worth the power of 12 standard turbolasers, continued firing on the MC80 they called the Great Hunt. To the engineering team, shields are spread on 10 arcs. Across the "trench" sections are: bow, forward port/starbard, aft port/starboard, stern. On the topside are the top-forward and top-aft respectively, and the top-aft arc covers the conning tower. And likewise on the underside, bottom-forward and bottom-aft. Meanwhile the fighter screens of the corvettes meant that 80 fighters were converging on Cathul's position, 40 each on port and starboard, not realizing that 150 quad laser cannons spread quite a bit everywhere made the flak pretty heavy and it was inevitable that, while the enemy corvettes made their approach, some of the enemy attack craft took hits from the carrier's flak. And the dogfights are furiously happening outside the mothership, also engaging the enemy attack craft, making the carrier look like a beehive, but, for the trench turbolaser batteries, capable of unleashing, on each broadside, 32 turbolaser shots within the time a standard turbolaser would need to fire, point-blank range was the same as point-defense range. Plus 8 more coming from each aft battery capable of hitting targets on a broadside.

"Squad leaders, once the enemy fighters are disposed of, target the enemy ships' weapons emplacements and sensor arrays"

"Roger, captain"

"Pull up, fire the hypervelocity cannon and the torpedo tubes at the enemy flagship! Trench batteries, aft batteries, fire at the CR90s!"

One 380mm hypervelocity cannon, 10 Morcus heavy proton torpedoes are being launched at the Great Hunt's engines - at point-blank range, these things will most likely hit even though it may not hit the engines. Especially given that the MC80s have little point-defense and that their main batteries are directed at the mothership... with the attack craft busy against both the point-defense of the carrier, and the carrier's fighter screen alongside the missiles being fired. And then the 40 turbolaser shots aimed from the trench guns on each CR90 were fired into the general direction of the CR90s on each flank.

Spoiler

Mothership:

ANS Hero of Coruscant (Mateus-class refit; 2000m)

Attack craft:

120 T-70 X-Wings (deployed)

 

[Ashin Varanin]

OOC/ After talking with a couple of you fleetfolk, I whipped this up based on your general sense of where you are in relation to each other, who's been heading for what, who arrived first, etc. If there are any issues with this at all, plz to PM me.
[member="Tubal Sahon"] [member="Causstik Rahn"] [member="Cathul Thuku"] [member="Thraxis"] [member="Raph Thule"] [member="Jowarr"]

IC/
Quite some distance away from everything, a small Naboo scout ship was getting a general idea of fleet disposition and the general situation over Hakassi.

 

[Ohm-Lai]

ANS FIREBIRD

Captain Sunfell studied the tactical displays that were changing rapidly around her. She frowned deeply, face shadowed by the angry glare in her eyes. The other crew-members were working madly to keep her up to date. She spit out a quiet curse and turned to the crew.

"Deploy all dropships to the surface immediately," her voice ice-edged, "We need to help whatever fool brought a carrier without an escort. Contact the nearest task force and call for reinforcements."

"Aye, captain!" The response echoed back from the bridge stations. Sunfell leaned against her console, seemingly older than she looked. Possibilities and options ran through her mind, echoing possibilities and choices. The Firebird's guns were meant to defend the ship itself. Not engage in fleet actions against capital ships. This would be reason to put in a petition to command- see if they couldn't get a gunship escort like the original Twilight Company. She was seeing its usefulness right now.

"Move forward to engage the closest hostile elements," Sunfell continued, "And open a channel to the Hakassi naval forces. Try and get them to flank and hit the frigate. Put us on a continuous course to swing around the engagement, angled to keep the Heart Seeker in firing arc. Keep us between them and the dropships."

Feth, this was a mess. She'd file an official report on the carrier's commanding officer as soon as she survived. They had better have excellent fighter pilots if they were to survive this and a fighter commander capable of using them effectively.

-----------------

The dropship engines flared to life with a rumble and Jowarr let out an excited growl as the ships lifted up out of the hangar. The hulls rattled as they accelerated to full speed. Aegis class dropships were fairly well armed for their class, but still not meant for fleet engagements, especially not when the enemy managed to get their hands on a Mon Cal cruiser.

"Our objective is to secure government facilities and prepare to repel assailants," the sergeant noted, "Dig in and fortify. Be prepared for sallies to respond to enemy incursions."

They shuddered as they hit atmosphere and moved to their positions. On the ground, things were quieter still, even though reports were reading enemy transports. Minutes later, the dropship came to a hover and the infantry hurried out, deploying in squads of four. Jowarr jumped out from two meters, boltcaster at the ready. Nothing yet. Only local defense forces erecting defenses as quickly as possible. The rest of the squad hopped out, all carrying heavy packs of gear and equipment.

Jowarr hefted a massive pack of supples from the ground and strode over to the local defense forces, letting out a series of Shryiwook. The droid translated to the local militia.

"Corproal Jowarr is here to assist in construction of defenses and holding these positions. What are your defensive blueprints?"

One of the local soldiers hurried forward with a quick salute, holding a datapad as he showed them. It was a ring of barriers around the entrance to the building, dotted with mobile weapon emplacements in a series of small rings whose firing arcs overlapped. Barriers were erected at nearby intersections to channel hostiles and prevent an overwhelming assault. Which, if it did happen, would leave them facing an angry Wookiee with very sharp blades.

Jowarr grunted in understanding and gripped one of the duracrete barriers, lifting it enough to move. His muscles burned with the effort and he bared his teeth, but carried it over to where it belonged and let it hit the ground with a thud. He grinned and turned to the rest of the barriers. This was enjoyable- it wasn't often that he got to do manual labor that was actually difficult.

[member="Ajira Cardei"] [member="Cathul Thuku"] [member="Causstik Rahn"] @Thraxis @Tubal Sahon [member="Raph Thule"]

 

[Tubal Sahon]

The self-proclaimed Khagan answered his warlord's call almost immediately, the mutilated body of the warlord sitting in his throne appeared before Causstik in the form of a light blue, flickering hologram. He stared into the Trandoshan's eyes in silence before speaking.

"Khan Causstik. Why do you call me at this time? Are you not embroiled in battle as we speak? Speak! What do you wish to say?!" The man's eyes flashed to the yellow color of the sith as his anger swelled, an evil aura surrounding him for a brief second, before returning to their normal pale blue.

It was quite obvious that Tubal was annoyed at this inconvenience on part of the Galactic Alliance. They would pay for this... some day.

"Well?..."

Tubal shifted his position, waiting for an answer

[member="Causstik Rahn"] | [member="Thraxis"] | [member="Cathul Thuku"] | [member="Ajira Cardei"] | [member="Jowarr"] |

 

[Causstik Rahn]

As the Great Hunt drifted ever closer towards the enemy capital ship it took extensive fire. Systems failed on multiple decks and the hull became breached in several sectors. Causstik didn't care at all. All of his troops were safe in their drop pods.

"Sir, we've lost all power to life support, are communications are down and the engines are failing!" A young Trandoshan hissed at the helm

"I care not! I will be making my way to the drop pods, all who wish to live are expected to do the same," Causstik hissed back as he stood from his chair and made his way to the belly of the cruisers where his army awaited.

He pulled a lever and the Hangar doors flew open with a WHOOSH. Boarding drop pods scraped against the deck carrying their precious cargo of troops into the void of space, where they would careen on their guided trajectory directly towards the enemy bridge. Causstik entered one of the pods and was greeted with great praise. He silenced them all with a single hand.

His pod floated in utter silence as Lazer fire flew within inches of his vessel. Explosions rocked his ship as nearby boat pods erupted in a inferno of flame... It was a righteous rain of iron wrath. Causstik trusted the Corvettes and fighters to do their job in guiding the craft. The pod quaked voraciously as it penetrated the shields then impregnated the hull spilling it's scaley seed into the womb of the enemy. Almost six hundred Trandoshans would be making contact by now. Their objective. Disable the enemy.

[member="Tubal Sahon"], [member="Thraxis"], [member="Cathul Thuku"], [member="Ajira Cardei"], [member="Jowarr"]

 

[Audren Sykes]

"Captain, distress signal from the planet Hakassi. Authenticated."

"Miss Kamalas, please drop us from hyperspace and plot a course to Hakassi. Mister Dhu'ramav, any other information?"

"Working on it, boss."

"Twelve-minute journey, captain."

The captain, Yvanos Dankar, resisted the urge to tell the two officers to snap it up. They knew their jobs, and now that the crew was starting to settle into a better groove he understood that they would update him as they could. Pressing them at this point would just make everyone more tense. Instead, he sounded the alert, checked what transponder they were flying under, and sent a quick summation of what he knew to another terminal on the ship.

"Captain, the Hakassi signal is including some initial data. Multiple unfriendlies in their airspace, multiple groups. A cruiser and two corvettes in one group, multiple frigates, corvettes, and smaller ships in another. A large number of starfighters present. Two potential friendlies: one carrier, one corvette."

"Seven minutes remaining."

Technically, the Tarlanc was not a Galactic Alliance vessel, and if he was studying the maps right Hakassi was not a Galactic Alliance planet. And while the ship was flying under a GA-allied banner, they didn't need to respond to this call. Yet he had a gut feeling that the vessel's owner would want to respond. More than that, he would be disappointed if they didn't. So Dankar started drawing up a battle plan. With the forces currently present over Hakaasi, the best they could really hope for was to hold until more Alliance ships showed up. If they did things right though, it could be done.

"Updated telemetry. Sending to your console, sir."

The only sound of his arrival was the hiss of the door opening to allow Audren onto the bridge. He was the owner of this vessel and the company it was tied to. It had been pure chance that he'd chosen to come along on this cruise. He hadn't needed to, it was a milk run to drop some product up to the Core worlds. He didn't need to be on the bridge either, but he wouldn't be in the way, and he might even be able to use his skills to help the captain in the upcoming fight. If this was determined to be a true Alliance fight, they'd repair damage taken. If not, he'd have a hefty bill.

"Alright, here's how we start off..."

---

The Custodian-class Patrol Frigate dropped from hyperspace a bit behind the Mateus. Transponders were set to clearly broadcast Galactic Alliance affiliation, which was not a lie. The vessel came up to flank speed and turned to the far side of the fight, putting the larger vessel between it and the remaining enemies. However, as it came into range it rolled slightly. Instead of merely having the prow firing arc able to target enemies, both the bow and starboard guns were able to shoot. Ten twin-barreled turbolaser turrets and five ion cannons blazed away at the single CR-90 corvette that was flanking the Mateus, while ten quad-laser cannon turrets poured bolts into the starfighters escorting the corvette...and the drop pods flying through space. The assault was calculated to force the corvette to split it's attention between attackers, if not outright destroy it. Most captains, after all, would have shifted shield power to put the most protection between their ship and their opponent.

With the enemy cruiser taking intense fire and systems failing left and right, the two corvettes would be on their own. With one of those corvettes no doubt taking a pounding from the frigate's onslaught, that would theoretically allow the Mateus to focus fire on the other one and smash it to bits. That would leave only two other groups, neither of which - theoretically - would have quite the combat capability as the large cruiser's group had. If it was managed right, even a stalemate could result in a win for the Hakassi, which was a win for the Alliance.

From the ventral area of the frigate, now facing away from enemies, three vessels launched. Two were gunships, one a drop ship that could double as a gunship. All three headed for the surface of the planet. If they came into range of the freighters or transports currently heading into the atmosphere, they'd fire on them with missiles and laser cannons, but their primary goal was to get the dropship full of marines to the defensive position, then support the friendly ground troops.

[member="Tubal Sahon"] | [member=Jowarr] | [member="Raph Thule"] | [member="Causstik Rahn"] | [member="Cathul Thuku"] | [member=Thraxis] | [member="Ajira Cardei"]

 

[Thraxis]

A hail of fire, a bombard of light, a nigh decimation of the forces as more ships flickered into sight, the men on board faces both gleamed with a confused mixture of excitement and fear. They started to move with frantic pacing, moving about as they readied their weapons preparing for a fire fight, though in truth, the back of their mind was a flutter, resigning to death as well as contempt for Thraxis, not coming properly prepared for a fleeting match up.

As they started to move about Thraxis took one last glance, his eyes wide with worry, Not here... Not to be dashed aside like some common trash.... the words resounded through his mind, his pacing back and fourth before noticing from the side of his eye, Drop Pods, Causstik was going in for the assault. A brow raised, his arm dashing across as the men slowly turned, their gaze concentrated on the Captain, "Ready the ship, prepare for an assault, move in behind the pods! We will use them for cover!" he demanded, the crew starting to spread their numbers about, preparing at the hangar bay as a jolt forced the ship through, taking a quick glance to the side the other ship followed in his step, a jolt, then a push through space, the metallic hull pushing in behind Causstik's pods.

Thraxis clicked and flicked a few buttons on the side of the ship, opening up a Comm Channel to Tubal, "Tubal, this is Thraxis, I am currently sending my forces down with Causstik Rahn, may I inquire, what are our plans for those on the ground in case we need to escape?" he requested, he had full confidence he could pay off a bill, though them cashing in on Solann's bounty was a thought that had crossed his mind one to many a time. But these were semantics to him, he was more worried for Causstik, he had no idea what his plan was and knowing the whole plan was better then making his own escape.
[member="Tubal Sahon"] [member="Jowarr"] [member="Raph Thule"]
[member="Causstik Rahn"] [member="Cathul Thuku"] [member="Ajira Cardei"]
[member="Audren Sykes"]

 

[Cathul Thuku]

Allies: [member="Ajira Cardei"] [member="Audren Sykes"] [member="Jowarr"] [member="Raph Thule"]
Enemies: [member="Thraxis"] [member="Causstik Rahn"] [member="Tubal Sahon"]

"The enemy MC80 is heavily damaged" the tactical officer told Cathul on the bridge. "Reinforcements have arrived: the Tarlanc"

"Just fire the proton torpedoes at the CR90s, five on each of them: all the other weapons will be aimed at other ships"

"The ventral hangar shields are down: enemy drop pods have penetrated our defenses, and the bottom-aft shields are down"

"Stop, put us back to level flight"

"We have 13 more dual rapid-fire turbolaser turrets active, 5 each on the trench broadsides, 1 directly above us, and 2 more on the aft arc. However we had to take four tractor beams offline: it would otherwise make it impossible for us to power everything" the chief engineer told Cathul.

"Hypervelocity cannon, fire at the disabled MC80, dorsal batteries, fire at the Heart Seeker; aft batteries, fire on the CR90 that hasn't been fired at by the Tarlanc"

"Where does that leave the trench batteries, captain?"

"Port trench battery, fire at the Excalibur corvettes; starboard trench battery, fire at the Carnage heavy frigate"

To Cathul's eyes, a well-placed HVC hit would destroy the enemy flagship, the MC80, in its current condition. It would appear that the fighters and the point-defense were busy taking down some Trandoshan drop pods rather than the enemy attack craft. Understandable that an enemy willing to use drop pods to cover their own attack craft, especially if they had an entry point for the drop pods for boarding actions. But, while the trench gunners were previously ordered to hit the CR90s, the enemy corvettes were agile enough not to take serious hull damage from the turbolaser hits they took. The result of this is, 32 turbolaser shots were directed at each Excalibur on the carrier's port side, while the remaining 8 port shots were directed at the Heart Seeker, the latter of which had a total of 224 turbolasers headed for it, since the dorsal batteries directed all of their firepower to it, 18 shots of heavy turbolaser worth 12 times a normal turbolaser apiece. Meanwhile, the enemy drop pods made for the ventral hangar...

"Intruder alert: enemy boarding parties are in the ventral hangar! They are headed for the weapons hardpoints" security guards told the chief security officer.

"All teams, make for the ventral hangar. If you're unable to make it to the ventral hangar, make for the weapons hardpoints" the chief security officer told before turning to Cathul. "Are you coming?"

"They want to disable the ship, but I'm staying on the bridge. Leave a security detail near the bridge turbolift however"

Spoiler

Mothership:

ANS Hero of Coruscant (Mateus-class refit; 2000m)

Attack craft:

120 T-70 X-Wings (deployed)