Log:The Red Shadow
The Red Shadow
OOC Date: September 3, 2021
Location: Corellia
Participants: New Republic Black Squadron Rogue Squadron: Poe Dameron, Ektor, Jessika Pava, David Ironside, and Lofty; Jedi Order: Rey Skywalker, Rune, and Jax Greystorm with Chewbacca; Sith Empire: Darth Ferren
Below, the blue sphere of Corellia looks tranquil and peaceful from this remove, an enormous impressionist painting hung on the blackness of space. But here, all is chaos and turmoil.
The First Order and New Republic had both gathered substantial portions of their fleets to preside over the armistice negotiations, hopeful of deterring any attack or funny business from the other side, and it had been working. Then, with no preamble or warning, a third fleet, a dagger of rival Star Destroyers decked in red and black, had ripped in out hyperspace and immediately opened fire on the corvettes between the two battle lines, destroying the vessels with both governments' heads of state on board.
Now, both sides are scrambling to respond, literally, with starfighters screaming out of their hangars ready to join battle with... who? The red-colored destroyers are fanning out in a line, facing down both the New Republic AND the First Order.
Inside the Pantheon MC80 Cruiser, the Millennium Falcon's engines are coming online as Rey sits in the cockpit looking over her shoulder. "Come on!" She shouts to those in the back. "We can't wait for others, we have to go now!" She further adds as she moves to stand up from the chair. "Rune! You can fly, right? Take us out in to space!" She moves past Dio in the cockpit doorway and sweeps out in to the cockpit corridor!
"Chewie!" Rey says as she finds the tall Wookiee. "We need to hit the guns and stop whatever is out there..." She says it as she runs past him and leaps in to the turret ladder tunnel, climbing up to the upper gun well!
<<"This is General Poe Dameron from the New Republic. I'm transmitting on an open line for all forces to hear me. First Order, New Republic.. we are faced with a new foe, one that has all but scuttled our attempt at a peaceful resolution and now we share a common enemy. Alone, we will not survive. Together we can. I ask that you set aside differences and join our fighters in an all out assault. We may not be able to destroy these things, but we can disable them enough to get away.">>
Poe Dameron's T-85 X Wing is seen leaving the safe zone of the Republic Fleet and flying toward this new enemy. S-foils still locked in cruise, he pours everything into the engines to spearhead the fight ahead. BB-8 warbles something worrisome, but Poe ignores it for now. <<"All fighters on me!">>
Chewbacca is even then lumbering aboard and heading for the cockpit in a Wookiee's ambling gait when he slows to a stop when confronted by Rey. He roars, "rwarrl rwowoal wrall rwarrl rwarrl rwal?! rwowoal rwowoal rwowoal rwarrl rwarrl rwal. grarrrl rwal rwarrl rwal!"
Chewie turns in the corridor and heads back far enough to start climbing down into the Falcon's ventral turret. It's a tight fit for him but he's still agile enough. The veteran wookiee warbles, "rwal rwowoal rwal." Except without Han, alas.
Strapped in, Chewie puts his big hairy paw on the turret's grip and reaches up with the other to start flipping switches. Down here the gravity is reversed so that his weight is in his seat and though he's underneath the Falcon, 'down' will seem as if it were up. Going to be a heck of a view at takeoff! Chewie quiets as he hears the General speaking over their coms. The wookiee makes a soft sound after Poe finishes speaking though he's not transmitting.
Rogue Squadron is here, and David Ironside is in the cockpit of Rogue Leader, with the callsign identical. <<"Rogue group, report.">> he requests, not sure how many would in fact report. He'd only -been- there to witness the armistice come into effect, and now there's black and red Star Destroyers. Luckily he's not the one in charge here, so when the order comes down, David leads his X-Wing into position, s-foils locked down.
There was no situation where Rune had imagined himself working alongside the First Order... of course he hadn't considered a situation where the Sith would suddenly jump out of hyperspace and blast Heads of State to kingdom come. The sudden activity left him flabbergasted for a moment, nodding quickly to Rey as he takes over the abandoned pilot seat. "Y-yes, I can! I have been practicing!" This is the absolute truth. Finding himself in a new world with new technology, at first he fought against it... now he fights with it. Or tries to at least.
He nods to Chewie as the tall Wookie makes his way out after their friend. After grabbing the commlink that hangs nearby, he places it over his ear and adjusts the mouthpiece to be within reach of his lips... and then they're off. At this point, it's almost like second nature, bringing the massive YT-1300 around and out of the hangar. What isn't like second nature are all the ships that look intent on blowing them out of the sky. <<"That is... that is a lot of ships.">> the young Jedi states, his BB unit beeping and chirring next to him before the astromech droid rolls over to plug himself into a nearby input. "Thank you, Ecksdee" Rune calls, his eyes slipping back to the blackness outside of the cockpit transparasteel, both the vastness of space and the imposing ships.
Jax had just arrived in the Jedi hanger on the Pantheon in his old T-65, Phoenix. He'd just landed and climbed out of the cockpit. The technicans were in the middle of refueling the old X-wing and Jax with helmet tucked under his arm was few steps toward the Falcon when all of sudden the engines flare to life on the famous ships. Jax was still far enough away that he wasn't caught in the jet wash. He stands there a bit confused for a moment before Poe's broadcast fills the hanger.
The jedi sighs and takes off running towards his X-wing. "Change of plans, Get me out there as soon as poosible." He says climbing up the ladder. It takes Jax and Exine were through the start up process. Then the X-wing emerges into space, ready for a fight. <This is Greystorm, Who needs me on their wing?>
<"Black Two forming on your wing, Black Leader."> War. War never changes. The abyss of the void around the sleek Incom-FreiTek starfighter as it daggers through the vacuum at the behest of lit fusial engines burning hot and red is not empty. Behind, the array of the New Republic and the First Order fleets are angled in a triangle against the arrival of new ships fanned out with all guns trained on the two parties attempting some armistice over a bloody war fought on Corellia. It's all Jessika sees through the tinted visor of her flight helmet: that array of red ships that had come out of nowhere to destroy one of their craft, members of their military, and untold others besides. Guiding her snubfighter on its intercept course, the craft itself is unwavering in its route and its goal.
Rey settles in to the turret chair and slips the headset on over her hair. She brings the turret online and swivels around in the chair as she feels the Falcon lifting up and off the deck. She looks back over her shoulder at the shouting wookiee. "He'll do great!" She says of their inexperienced pilot.
When she turns back away though she mutters to herself. "He'll do great... he will!" Like she's telling herself.
Once they're outside, she hears Poe's voice, and several others. <"Jax. Watch our six on this run, if you would. We're going to provide cover for the retreat... if there is one...."> Are they outright retreating? Maybe they could win this ambush... <"Are these ships not working with..."> She trails that comment off as her hands wrap around the firing studs of the turret controls. She's ready for targets!
And soon one sweeps right past the Falcon, Rey's guns trailing after it and sending hot red lasers in to the dark of space!
<<"Roger, Black Two. Black Squad.. stick close. We have to cover each other out here.">> Poe calls back before initiating the the s-foils to open and engage the first fighter he comes across, angling away from his original flight path to transition into the open joust. He slams an elite TIE dagger with three canon shots. <<"Black Two, warmed that one up for you!">> Poe angles off to let Jess into it. His hand shoots forward to shove the afterburners on, putting himself back against his seat. "Hang on buddy!"
<<"First Order and New Republic fleets, focus your fire on one ship at a time! Coordinate your assault!">>
The wookiee in the lower turret underneath the Falcon roars back to Rey, "rwowoal rwowoal!" Chebacca might be more worried about the ship than getting killed. The Falcon is his baby.
Mic adjusted near his mouth, the head set over his hairy head, Chewbacca swivals around hard in his seat when Rey's target comes around the armed freighter. Chewie lines up his recticle and fires his turrets but misses, letting out a wail, "rwowoal wrall rwowoal!" He keeps swivaling both his seat and his head, looking around for targets against the black and the stars. A lot of ships out there but it's only the TIEs the wookiee wants to hit.
Launching a bit later than the others is a Y-wing light bomber, engine nacelles flaring to full thrust the instant the craft clears the carrier's ray shields, Ektor drawls lazily over the comms, <<Aright, I didn't miss it- what we shooting at, yeah?>> Black 3 jukes sharply to one side as its pilot may or may not still be putting on his flight helmet with one hand. Or he might just be drunk. Maybe both. Whatever his state of dress or sobriety, Ektor follows Black Squadron in on the opening joust, landing both nose cannons into the forward shields of a latest gen TIE Dagger.
Though he may not know what the Wookie is saying, Chewie's doubt resonates strong in the Force, possibly magnified by Rune's own uncertainty. But he can do this... he will do this! But his heart does sink a bit as he looks through the transparisteel window. He's never seen anything like this... well, that's not true. Watching old holovids of the Clone Wars and the last Galactic Civil War he'd seen this exact sort of thing before, but in person it was wholly different. It was like insects sprouting from a nest on a tree, the black and red Sith fighters angling toward their ship at lightning speeds. Rune's hazel eyes widen as they pour into the midst, yanking on the controls to bring the turrets into better firing arcs to down their foes.
<<"Uuh... General Dameron, this is the Falcon. We are engaging. Any particular nuisance you want dealt with?">> Rune asks over the comms, his eyes darting to and fro as the turrets on the ship open up at the streaking enemy around them. The Ysannan reaches over to press a few buttons and raise their deflector shields, a quick check given to the sensors before he plops back into the pilot's seat and hauls them further into the madness. Hand lifted to the comm unit on his face, Rune asks, <"How are you two doing?">
<<"Falcon, this is Rogue Leader. We've got your back.">> David comms, a flick of his hand moving the X-Wing's s-foils into attack position. The TIEs seem to go for their usual, showing that no matter who the colors represent, the flight schools still claim they should just fly into the opponents in a large wall formation. His finger curls around the stick, squeezing off a few blasts into the TIEs as he rotates the craft into a defensive position near the Falcon. <<"How's it going in there?">> he requests, noting silently that his shots went wide. It's not his usual X-Wing, after all!
Phoenix's s-foils extend into the attack position. As Rey's voice comes filtering through his com set, <Affirmative, Falcon.> Jax says as he opens up on the Tie fighter that both Rey and Chewie have problems with. Jax's X-wing fires several bolts of engergy at the tie fighter and they all miss. There's a electronic snicker from Exine. Jax calls out, "What? You heard Rey and Chewie, he's slippery." Then Jax calls out on channel, <This guy is good. Where do they keep getting these good pilots? How can we recruit them?>
The mass of the force looks like regular eyeballs, but there's something new in the mix, and it stands out enough that Jessika's gaze can't help but be drawn to them as they start closing the distance. They're a new configuration entirely and it's not something she's seen before. There's a moment of calm in the dark. Just one brief little second between two forces flying at each other before it all becomes chaos. Then it happens. The tips of laser cannons light up with the destructive forces meant to destroy sighted targets, and Jessika's cockpit goes from dark and only lit by panels and buttons to flickering wildly with color. Her own snubfighter unleashes a close salvo that streaks by one of the new variants she quickly banks to pursue.
The red fleet has been silent, comms-wise, but as their fighters trade blows with the New Republic's, a deep voice speaks out on the open channel. <"Agents of the New Republic, so called, and First Order, aptly named. The time of your destruction is at hand. If you fight, you will die. Join with me, and you will be spared. A better choice, you will not be offered again.">
The TIE Daggers, with their pointed wings, hurtle through space with alarming speed and precision, their pilots clearly talented as they engage with the X-Wing-heavy sortie. One maneuvers behind the Falcon, cleverly bobbing back and forth between the two sides of its wide dish-shape, moving out of range of the top gun and then the lower gun before either can draw a bead and blasting a blue bloom across the rear shields. The one Ektor tags pinwheels off in a haze, rocketing to the side before swinging around in a tight arc to fire back.
The others largely trade taps or misses with the fighters, while all around the Republic's other fighters tangle with the onslaught.
In to the comms, Rey speaks to Rune <"Keep it together. Don't let your emotions phase you here, Rune. Remember to focus on the Force, let it guide you here. Use what you've learned."> She tries to encourage him over ship comms before looking back to Chewie over her shoulder briefly.
The sound of the ominous voice from the red fleet has Rey looking back to the flashes outside of her turret window. She sees another target streaking in toward the Rogues and Black fighters, to which she swivels in her chair and begins to pepper the stars with more laser fire!
<"Welcome to the fight, Tion."> Poe says, avoiding a TIE intending to blow him up! A smooth roll puts him out of its sights and Poe smashes his intended target with another blast creating significant hull damage. <<"This guy's hurting!">> Poe calls out, slamming the after burner lever down again to stick to them. <<"Roger, Falcon.. see if you can't spot a weak point on those big ships for the fleet to target! We need a window to get out of here!">>
When the Millennium Falcon takes hits, Chewbacca wails in such a way that it clearly doesn't need any translation, even for Rune! The Wookiee pulls off his headset and unstraps, great arms pulling himself out of the ventral turret bubble with more speed for his size than one would expect in the cramped space. But this is his home and Chewie knows the Falcon better than anyone.
He doesn't bother telling Rey what he's doing. The grumbling walking carpet bangs his way aft as quick as his big feet can take him, then Chewbacca rips open panels in the back and starts working to see if he can reout more power to the Falcon's shields. It's taking all of his intense focus as the fight continues, big hairy fingers and hands doing delicate work as if tuning a fine instrument.
It doesn't take long before Rune will see the Millennium Falcon's shields beginning to regain power and edging back up. "wrall grarrrl rwal rallr grarrrl-rwowoal!" Maybe one of the X-wing pilots needed the astromech more. As he works, Chewie tries to give Rune encouraging thoughts, the tip of his tongue sticking out between his teeth as he works. Ripping his arms out won't help as much just now!
<<No lie? I'm getting real tired of these Hutt-suckers popping outta nowhere all 'oooOOOoooh, your destruction is at hand' all the time. It's like one of them parties Buh-Bors is on about where five girls all show up in the same dress, yeah?>> Ektor, while rambling like an idiot on a live combat channel, trades powerful hits to the forward shields with a Dagger, rolling and weaving in anticipation of the enemy pilot's maneuver to try and blast them again. He mutters to R2-G13, "Genius, you weren't drinking was you? Get on shields, already." A rude honk answers him. Despite the bomber's more sluggish handling, Ektor hammers the Dagger's shields again, scoring the red hull beneath and cackling to himself. <<Wouldn't miss it, Pretty Boy. Just holler you want me to bomb some drek, yeah?>>
David spins out of the way of incoming fire, taking a moment inverted to study the Falcon. After noting the shields on it seem to be holding, he rights his own fighter again, acquiring the target that had tried taking him out of the fight earlier, and returns fire in kind. He misses again, moving away from the Falcon to give chase. <<"Seems you're handling yourselves well in there, I'll be a minute.">> he informs whoever's flying the Falcon, before speeding off.
<<"Appreciated, Rogue Leader. We are fine... we are all fine here, now. How are you?">> comes the comm reply as Rune maneuvers the Falcon around a couple of plasma bursts that stream at them from behind. Or at least he thought he had before the ship rocks from the two blasts that connect with the shields, one hand slipping off the yoke to grab at something stable nearby. "Kriff!" the Jedi yells, freeing his hand from the support and grabbing the controls to yank them hard to the side. The Falcon screams off to the left of its present course, Rune attempting to steer them more away from danger instead of concentrating on getting a good shot away.
<"Sorry!"> "Sorry...." he calls through the headset before muttering it to himself. A measure of panic shudders his form and the Ysannan peeks at the sensors, checking who follows and what's ahead. Another glance is spared to the shield strength before a grimace twists his lips at the reading down by a quarter. The novice Jedi sucks in a deep breath and attempts to heed Rey's advice. He closes his eyes for a second, trying to center himself and push out all distractions from his mind. He calls to the Force for assistance in this endeavor, trying to enhance his reactions to better guide them through safely.... and then a chilling voice creeps through the open channel causing Rune's eyebrow to lift at the proposition. "No, thank you." he states, looking back at the ominous center black triangle that dominates the sky.
A random beep pulls his attention away from the huge knife that slices at space, his gaze falling on the shield readout that now announces 'Full'. With a bit more confidence thanks for the team at his back, Rune punches it forward, spinning the ship deftly as the Falcon's engine lights a trail through the battle. <<"Got it General, focusing on the big ships, we will see what we can do.">>
Jax trusts into the force and it doesn't let him down as he dodges the Tie Dagger's shots, << Falcon, sooo. I'm helping by drawing fire.>> Then as the X-wing turns in a for another joust at the Tie Dagger. He opens fire and misses. << Just no so much in disabling the the Tie. Do we know who this new guy is? He chatty.>>
"Kriffing--," Jessika mutters under her breath before sneaking a snap-glance at the comm toggle to make sure she's not broadcasting her own cursing over their battle net. Ailee bleeps a long response she half-catches and discards because there's nothing on her panels blaring out at her as an emergency and it's likely nothing more than something she already knows. She doesn't need her astromech backsocket jockeying while she's half-tapping and then full-sending pressure on the foot rudder and yanking her X-Wing through a plane-changing corkscrew both meant to dodge the laser cannon bolts trying to stitch across her fighter while also keeping her chosen target in her sights. What she needs is to be focused in on the fight so she can catch mistakes.
She catches the mistake. She's not psychic. She doens't know what the pilot intended to do. What the pilot does, though, leaves their next step predictable, and Jessika's reticle settles over the lead generated by her targeting computer. There's no hesitation. Jessika's leather-gloved thumb depresses the switch on her flight stick and the X-Wing's laser cannons let loose. They pound, then break through the Dagger's protective bubble, before their destructive, obliterating force bubbles through the hull like its paper instead of metal. It hits something critical inside. Probably the engine. Maybe a fuel cell. The only thing that matters is that it triggers an abrupt explosion that makes no sound and is nothing more than a brief flash of light before winking out in the darkness. Rapidly cooling debris spirals in multiple directions as Jessika banks her X-Wing away from the kill.
<"Black Two, scratch one!">
On the New Republic channel, the Mon Cal commander's gruff voice rings out again. <"New Republic fighters! Focus your fire as General Dameron directs! The peace talks are in shambles! We need to withdraw and regroup, this is no place for battefield diplomacy!">
The First Order doesn't seem to agree. While half of their fleet holds the line against the New Republic, just in case, the wing facing the red Sith fleet pivots to engage directly.
The Dagger tailing the Falcon is as persistent as she is clever, realizing that Chewie's turret has gone still and remaining on that side of the ship to blast away. Poe and Ektor score good hits, but Ektor's refuses to back off of the larger craft, wheeling away as before and turning in for another run. One splashed by Jessika is replaced by a more traditional TIE, highlighting the same issue as usual: there's just more of them.
While the dogfighting between the starfighters continues to heat up, the red Destroyers are doing something, some of them raising additional armament from hatches that open up on the top deck, pushing out a large cannon on pneumatic legs. The design is eerily similar not to the Xyston-class ships destroyed over Exegol, but to a weapon familiar to the New Republic: the Acolyte cannon. And half a dozen of them have begun charging up to fire.
Rey's eyes are on the sensors of her turret, she can see the TIE keeping itself underneath the Falcon's firing arc. It makes her pull her headset off and drop it before she turns out of her chair. She moves like a blur, grabbing parts of the falcon's interior and jumping wall to wall, side to side until she lands in the turret on the lower hull of the ship! She grabs hold of the controls and spins the gun around to open fire on the TIE, giving it a rude awakening!
"Hide and seek...." Rey mutters as she climbs in to Chewie's former station.
<<"Hold the line, New Republic. If we can work together and land several crippling hits.. BOTH fleets can get out of here. Focus your fire!">> Poe argues back, annoyed that the New Republic officers were wanting to withdraw. There's a new found respect for First Order discipline, and it shows in their battle formation. They hold the line. There was no reason the Republic couldn't do the same.
Poe pounds a Dagger into slag with a series of cannon shots that trigger an explosion. He passes by before the flames and slag expand, creating a brie orange contrail that haunts his wake.
"rwowoal worieowl rwarrl rwowoal rwarrl rwal rwoarl! wrall rwowoal rwarrl rwoarl rwowoal rwarrl rwowoal rwowoal wrall wrall rwarrl!" Chewbacca is for the moment still engaged with trying to work on the shields as his beloved armed freighter takes more hits. He growls deep in his throat, wanting to be on the turret guns but needed more back here for the moment. If nothing else, they are distracting TIE's that otherwise would be firing upon other ships.
He may catch a glimpse of Rey-blur leaping across the corridor, or maybe Chewie can just hear her moving to the other turret in a hurry. He wails, "rwowoal grarrrl!" But his own hairy hands are busy trying to keep the Falcon whole and flying. The wookiee manages to divert a bit more power to the shields but not as spectacular a surge as before.
Chewie warbles to himself and moves to another panel to try something else!
Ektor's shields rock with another hit, as his astromech warbles in dismay. "Look, Genius, if you're just gonna keep pointing out the obvious, save it-" Ektor comes around again, keeping on the damaged Dagger, which spins, evades, and climbs with admirable skill... But it's not quite enough, as the nose cannons of the light bomber track through space, anticipating the next juke and tearing through the hull in a flash. "There, you happy now?" he snaps to his droid, before noting the deployment of rather familiar looking super lasers by the red fleet. <<Aw, not THIS drek again? Poe, you seeing this? I sure hope they didn't speed up the charge time on those big guns, yeah? Fighter cover is pretty thick, but I can give it a run if you want, yeah?>>
The dogfight continues, the X-Wing piloted by Dave alternating between attacking and defending constantly as two pilots keep exchanging volleys of blaster fire. <<"Have we tried, you know, blasting them at the base of their mid-life crisis weapon?">> he offers. It worked over Exegol, so there's no reason to assume it wouldn't still work, right? The X-Wing dodges incoming fire, barrels around to get back into the aggressor role and manages to land the first hit of this duel. With a slight smile, David watches the TIE's shielding flare up and fizzle out, followed by some sparking explosions on its hull. <<"Shields on that one are down.">>
<<"Can someone get this ship off our rear?!">> Rune calls through the comms as the Falcon takes another hit, the ship rocking from the impact. Immediately the Jedi's eyes snap to the shield readout, his teeth grinding together when he notes the repair Chewie did is immediately erased. Still they're probably in the best places they can be on the ship, for example... Chewie is good at repairs, shooting, and flying while Rey is good at repairs, shooting, and flying. Rune is good at.... well, he's better at flying than either of the other two options.
The Millennium Falcon roars through the cosmos, angling closer to the bigger ships while trying to find a weak spot as directed. A grimace seems all but permanently etched in his features as he continues to hold to the flow of the Force, feeling the ebb and flow of the battle as they speed between ships and blaster fire. A look to the sensor shows the hit scored against the trailing Dagger and the grimace fluctuates into a semblance of a smile. <"Nice shot, Rey!"> Another beep shows Chewie is still working on the shields, the readout rising once again but not nearly as much as before.
Eyes back in the battle, Rune squints at the approaching ship... and after a moment he spies some plating that no longer appears to be where it should be. The cannons had appeared from openings on the deck and the plating that moved to release them, well... it's no longer really protecting those holes. <<"General, Black Squad, everybody! There is a weak spot on their decks! Where they moved the plating to bring out the cannons!">>
As the Tie Dagger forgets about Jax and targets the Falcon. It may be a mistake as Jax lines up a shot on the tie fighter form behind, "I've got you now." The X-wing pilot pulls the trigger on his flight stick and lights up the Tie. Exine lets out a ping as the Sensors register that the Tie's taking a pounding. Jax responds to Rune, <There. I got it done. He or She forgot about me and got agressive.>
Lofty and his Sullustan co-pilot Stebbs soar up from the clouds of Corellia a bit late. There was a medevac that delayed the awkward-looking Wookiee gunship, called the WHORRWAARR, and there's still gore and carnage in the rear passenger compartment that might stain the wroshyr wood floors. <<"Snowball join fight">> Lofty the Talz toots over the comms, activating his forward-facing Sureggi laser cannons. The slow anti-slaver gunship flies into a mess of TIE fighters. Her rapid fire lasers squeal
PENK-PENK-PENK-PENK-PENK-PENK-PENK
as they blast mostly empty space and a little bit of shields. Stebbs says in Sullustese <<"Njogoo imwe nene?">> which loosely translates into 'what is that big rooster?' Maybe he is referring to the Acolyte cannon deploying in space.
General Dameron's pleading with the New Republic fleet doesn't go unnoticed. Jessika abstains from offering some sort of support over the net, but the feeling is there. The solidarity. She, too, is wondering why the New Republic is trying to escape from the situation rather than face things head on. It's a nightmare flashback to how things were with the First Order just before the creation of the Resistance. All she can do is fight the good fight. With one target down and another easily lost through the most basic of jukes, Jessika attempts another run on a Dagger only to have it weave out of her shots and speed forward. She doesn't leave it's six, though. She just feeds more power to engines, even while a nameless voice over the net starts talking about weak points on the big ship rolled out to meet them.
A flash of light rips across the battlefield as a bright red blast emits from one of the cannons, welling up in the focusing array and then streaking across space to smash full-on into the side of one of the First Order Resurgent Star Destroyers. The punishment is immense, tearing through the shields and detonating the central portion of the capital ship.
The response from the rest of the First Order's battle-line is immediate, as the Destroyers and their supporting ships shift into motion, the telltale alignment of a group preparing to jump to hyperspeed.
More from the Mon Cal commander: <"NEW REPUBLIC FIGHTERS! WITHDRAWAL IS IMMINENT! WE CAN'T RISK THE WHOLE FLEET TO THOSE CANNONS! THERE'S NO TIME FOR HEROICS,"> he bellows, before immediately adding <"BUT IF YOU'RE GOING TO DO IT ANYWAY, PICK A CANNON, ANY CANNON, AND KEEP IT OFF US!">
The cover of TIEs around the red destroyers is like an angry hive, but with some determination and a little luck...
Rey sweeps herself fully in to the lower turret chair. She doesn't have the headset on so she is off comms, but she does see the weakspot and can see the other New Republic ships setting up attack runs. When the Falcon gets close enough, Rey focuses her quad cannon firepower upon it! The red lasers start peppering the shields around the spot on the Destroyer's hull., unrelenting in their attack and accuracy.
Rey's hand snaps down to the comm and lifts it up to speak in to it. <"Give it all you've got. Bring those things down. We can't have more guns like that on our backs!"> She says before dropping the com again and opening up with more firepower from the Falcon before the ship is forced to turn angles and cut her off!
<<"All fighters, First Order and New Republic.. FOLLOW ME.. we have to hit as MANY cannons as we can or none of us are getting out of here alive! LET'S GO!">>-- <"Xer, bomber run.. we're going to escort you in, buddy.">
Poe takes the lead in the X-Wing, switching to cruise just as a TIE passed him and smashed his shields. Poe screams inside his cockpit as he makes for the angle, and manages to slip beneath the shields to fly belly to hull along the exterior of the Star Destroyer. <"I'm through!.. EVERYONE here?!>
Poe brings up the targeting computer and begins to weave. He targets the weak point indicated by the Falcon, releasing a pair of purple tinted proton torpedoes and passes by just before they explode. Poe banks for the exit vector and adjusts to get a look out the side of his cockpit to see if all forces attacked in solidarity.
The wookiee does a bookiee to run back up from working on the shields. Chewbacca remembers that Rey is in the ventral turret bubble so he rapidly climbs up to the dorsal. Chewie no sooner than throws himself into the seat than he's pulling the turret around and taking aim on the cannon's shields. He fires away before the Falcon's pass takes him out of range.
Then he gets a breath and pulls his headset on and adjusts his mic before watching out for other targets. "rwarrl woeieowl wrall, rwal! grarrrl rwowoal!"
There's a glance over his hairy shoulder to give Rey a thumb's up. The tide is turning in their favor now!
"Oh DREK, they figured out the slow charging thing," Ektor curses as the first deployed super laser lances across the void and annihilates a Resurgent class. The mournful warble of his astromech earns a sharp cackle as Poe sounds the charge. <<Just like old times, yeah? Hey, Jess: watch this->> Ektor shifts power from cannons into engines, forgoing any shots at the TIEs that fill space with emerald cannon fire on his approach, to keep pace with the faster X-wings. He makes the bomber dance in slipping under the shields, and cracks a crooked grin. "Genius, link both bomb chutes and disable the reload timer. JUST DO IT." Blue orbs slip almost peacefully out the chutes of the bomber, which remains at top speed throughout the dangerous maneuver, veering away from the eruption of energy that rocks the big gun in his wake, <<Ah hahaha! BOOM, baby!>>
When the order comes down the line, and just about every ship larger than a fighter that's not black and red starts to make attempts at a retreat, David does the opposite, flying right at one of the Destroyer's cannons, guns blazing towards the base of it. His hand is positively crushing the trigger as small explosions start to ravage the cannon's plating, before the tell-tale lighting of a charging weapon just sort of peters out. <<"I don't think that one's working any longer.">> he comms out, making a quick U-turn to either go for another run at it or to join in an exit.
<<"Thank you, Jax!">> Rune calls back, free of the harrowing of that particular Dagger. The reprieve doesn't last long before more of the Sith swarm the notorious YT-1300, blaster fire streaking through the black to highlight the angles of Rune's face through the transparisteel window as he flies. And fly he does... whether he is more acquainted to the speedy ship, finding his rhythm with the dance of combat, or he's just that attuned to the Force right now, the young Force user flips and spins the transport ship over and around the fire that flew their way.
Having closed in to one of the larger ships, the Falcon is brought close to the target exposed, flipping over to allow Rey to bring her turret to bear. Rune can hear the thumps of her cannon slamming against the shield of the capitol ship, comms coming alive with her voice, before more percussion announces additional hits as they pass out of range. Heavy footsteps in the hall announce the return of Chewbacca, the Wookie having reacquired a turret to engage the enemy. <"Hang on!"> Rune calls to the crew and, in a moment's notice, The Ysannan yanks back on their speed to spin the ship before ramming the lever forward again. On their return, the ship is flipped the other way and Chewie gets his chance to strafe the weak spot before the Falcon burns back toward the New Republic.
Not out of the woods yet, more blaster fire follows them, their escape having picked up a number of foe determined to see the end of the famed ship. Through gritted teeth Rune maneuvers as best as he can, calling on the mystic energy of the galaxy to guide them safely back to their side of the battle. It mostly works as much of what was sent their way finds nothing but space... however one solid hit rocks the Falcon causing her bulkhead to shudder, but the shields blissfully hold. Since being found a savage in the wilds of Ossus, Rune has floundered for something to feel useful, a calling aside from training with the gift the galaxy chose to give him. But now, the bug has been caught and a near manic smile greets those ahead of the ship as it throttles up and flies quickly back to the retreating New Republic fleet.
The Phoenix had been providing cover for the Falcon was gone as Jax had peeled off on his own run after one the overside canon on the Star Destroyers, << No problem, buddy. Keep yourself and the rest of the Falcon crew alive.>> Jax reaches out hitting a switch to arm the torpedos on his X-wing. Though he doesn't engage his targeting computer. Exine makes a nervous chirp, 'Whatcha doing?' Jax comes in at low point that he's hugging the hull of the Star Destroyer and beneath it's shields.. and it's canons. It seems the Ties are too scared to even follow. "Just like Exgol, Little Guy. Hopefully with less force lighting." Exine lets out a scream as the giant gun comes closer and closer. Jax trusts in the force and his own skill as he pulls back on the trigger and fires his full load of torpedos before breaking off. Exine reporting, 'Heavy damage but still operational. I'm getting too old for this shiv.
With Ektor and Poe making a run on one of the destroyers with its cannon charging, Jessika spots Amber's progeny doing the same with another. She doesn't carry the punch of a Y-Wing, but she can add her firepower to his. They try to stop her, but the First Order and a whole bunch of others besides have been trying to stop Black Squadron for years. Jessika makes to break port and goes starboard instead at the last second, forcing the faster fighter to maneuver around her and veer off unless they want to smash together. She's made these runs before. She knows the vector for slipping beneath the protective shielding of a capital ship. It's what she did in the navy before she became a pilot. As Greystorm's bombs go away, she adds one other to the mix, hoping to disable the cannon in its critical process of charging. If they're lucky enough, maybe it'll cause a short and chain reaction through its capacitor coils and result in a nice series of explosions that take out the whole thing instead of just the big gun it's lugging around.
The New Republic fighters go on what might look like a suicide mission, charging the Star Destroyers through the hive of TIEs, but these Sith destroyers haven't heard of Poe Dameron or his dreadnought run over D'Qar. They don't realize what's going on until the fighters are already slipping through the fractional refresh rates of the shields.
The First Order has, though, and while the New Republic's aces are bombing a cannon on one of the destroyers, a pair of TIE Silencers, so difficult to fly they're rarely spotted at all, loop in under the shield behind Jax and Jessika, setting her FoF sensors blaring. Instead of firing at her, though, they launch a devastating salvo at the cannon she's hit, disrupting the charging cycle with a dramatic backfire of energy that cracks the top of the gun, venting plasma and electricity like a geyser.
The Mon Cal commander knows who he's dealing with: theatrical heroics were never off the table. <"New Republic fighters! We're ready to jump! All fighters, fall back to rendezvous point Besk Dorn! That is an order!"> Even as the cap ships are making final preparations, one of the other cannons fires, this time at the New Republic fleet. A small corvette puts it all on the line, already in place to screen the bigger ship behind it and is all but vaporized, absorbing the brunt of the blast that still paints the cruiser behind it blue.
The First Order's line has formed up similarly, and almost in lockstep, the two fleets dart into hyperspace, one ship by one in rapid succession. Wounded, yes, facing a new threat, yes. But something between them had changed, at least for a day.
