"It seems your disciple pulled through after all, repaying your gestures," Fleet Admiral Roran Darr said out loud, his hands on his back. Clad in his Fleet Admiral uniform, he looked out the windows of his Star Destroyer, the Bloodraven.
And beside him stood his trusted friend and mentor, Vice Admiral Corr Killian, his executive officer.
"I told you, he'd pull through. We've been allowed the opportunity of a lifetime to advance our goals," Corr said, a beaming smile on his face. He knew as well as I did that we had pulled a gold mine.
The Bloodraven was the flagship of the 1st Flotilla. Consisting of four dozen Imperial Star Destroyers and two dozen Ton-Falk Carriers, hidden behind the three Heavy Lines of Star Destroyers, alongside three Interdictor-Class Heavy Cruisers split amongst our lines to maximize the Interdictor field.
"Sensors picking up incoming signatures!" one of the ship's many sensor officers shouted, as the screen of multiple signatures appeared, and Corr let out a sigh of relief.
"His ability to predict is truly something..." Roran said, as the rebel ships began appearing — the seven MC80s first, followed by their various support ships, too many to count.
This was officially the largest battle between the Imperials and Rebels, and Roran was proud to say he'd command it.
"Launch the first and second TIE waves, activate command protocol Cresh-Cresh," Roran said as he walked forth to the very tip of the window. The Bloodraven was in the third heavy line, but due to being slightly elevated above the second line, which was again elevated above the first, he could see the rebels already.
He then saw thousands of TIEs rush out of the Imperial Star Destroyers of the First and Second Lines, a truly immaculate sight. The black space somehow turned pitch black through the swarm.
The Lines were split between the 48 ISDs, 15 in each line, and then another three on escort duty for the Interdictor-Class Heavy Cruisers.
Roran far outmatched them in firepower, and the Imperial standard's weakness was fighters. But Roran had accounted for it, bringing along two dozen Ton-Falk Carriers, improving fight capacity by 50%.
So naturally, their target was the Interdictors, as they needed to escape.
"Inform all pilots, their priority is hostile fighters. Leave the graded ships to the lines," Roran said as the first and second lines opened fire.
"First and Second Line ships, set speed at 20 MGLT, dead ahead," Corr told another communications officer, and the ships began to slowly speed up, though only the First and Second Lines. The third line and Ton Falks remained behind.
"The current fighter ratio is 1:2 in our favour, but we both know that isn't sufficient. Their fighter number fits their carrying capacity and the report of the Arquitens—they've deployed all their fighters," Corr said from Roran's side, as the TIEs inched closer to the X-wings, yet the TIEs kept a relative distance to the ISDs, never going further than a few hundred meters.
"Deploy the Ton-Falk Fighters as well, but keep the Third Line in reserve," Roran said, and fighters began streaming out of the carriers, flying at full speed to face the incoming rebels.
"Fighters clashing in 3... 2... 1... now," one of the sensors said, as all eyes turned toward the front, where the pitch black and grey fighters clashed with the more colourful ones.
Even at 2-to-1 odds, the TIEs quickly began falling—the story told by the falling number of registered signatures on the sensors—yet it quickly turned as close to 2000 TIEs from the Ton Falks smashed into the already existent dogfight, turning the tide.
"Target the frigates and medium-sized graded ships. The MC80s can wait," Roran said with a smile, as the smaller and undefended frigates, cruisers, and corvettes were laid upon by the devastating guns of Imperial Star Destroyers.
My task is simple, keep them here and overwhelm them in sheer firepower, Roran thought, as he saw the first batch of deserters from the rebels, three corvettes breaking off from their formation. One turning towards their starboard side, attempting to evade the Interdictor field to the East, which would lead them to Shilli, while the two others turned towards their port, willing to risk a deep-space jump to Billbringi.
But of course, Roran wouldn't allow anyone to escape. Right before the two corvettes, an Imperial Star Destroyer appeared.
One of them reacted too slowly, and their Corvette slammed into the Imperial Star Destroyer, barely damaging the massive vessel. Though the Corvette exploded in flames, and its brother quickly followed.
Meanwhile, on the East side, another Imperial Star Destroyer appeared, crushing the deserting rebel vehicle within seconds. The rebels were losing on every side.
And seeing as how even deserters failed to escape, morale within the rebel fleet fell.
They had been predicted and had walked willingly into their cage. And Roran would pay anything to see Hiram's face right now, realizing he was done for.
Yet, Hiram hadn't given up. As five of his MC80s slowly pushed forth out of their own formation, turning sideways as if they were about to hit the Imperials with a broadside—from this range.
Yet Roran and Corr knew better. They were forming a shield, a human shield for the rest of the fleet, and it was clear for all to see.
The Corvettes, Frigates, and Cruisers formed up in a tight formation around the five MC80 Star Cruisers, as the two remaining formed on the side, protecting them from the guns of the flanking Star Destroyers.
"Interesting, seems Hiram hasn't yet completely lost faith," Corr said, and Roran nodded. Yet as he saw a notification, he couldn't help but chuckle.
"Yet it is all for naught," Roran said, showing the notification to Corr, who sighed.
"Indeed, to think a Lieutenant Commander would cause the destruction of one-third of the Rebel Forces," Corr said, as in the middle of the Rebel Human Shield, appearing amongst the smaller ships, a cargo freighter appeared.
One of the Interdictors had manipulated said ship to arrive in that precise location, yet the rebels immediately realized something was wrong.
"Scan that ship immediately!" Hiram shouted from the bridge of his flagship, turning to face the cargo freighter.
"Rhydonium Radiation discovered, zero life—" the sensors officer said, but all the men on the decks' faces fell, as they all knew what that was. Yet nobody pointed it out as the next second, the ship exploded, its massive splinters and debris smashing into the nearby weaker frigates and corvettes.
Usually, suicide bombings in such a way were useless, mainly due to the distance the debris had to travel across the battlefield—unless it was intended for one ship, of course.
But Hiram had gathered all his ships, especially the weaker ones, close enough that a single cargo freighter with explosives took them all out.
The concussion and particle shields of the smaller ships were a lot less durable than the MC80s due to a focus on ray shielding.
Which was why the seven MC80 Cruisers were relatively unharmed, but the frigates, corvettes, and cruisers weren't. Every single one of them suffered damage; few escaped with anything less than severe damage.
And over a hundred various ships exploded in a chain reaction of flames, as Hiram's face fell.
And the next second, 45 Imperial Star Destroyers appeared out of hyperspace in different positions, forming a half-circle behind them.
And as Hiram's eyes turned to the sensors, he realized that the fleet that had awaited him at Datar had also formed a half circle.
A full circle—and they were surrounded.
Yet, it was not yet over. As the tips of the Star Destroyers lifted slightly, showcasing the underside of the Imperial Star Destroyers.
And then every single MC80 shuddered as if something grabbed onto it.
"TRACTOR BEAMS! HUNDREDS OF LOCK-ONS!" one of the younger crewmen shouted, terrified.
Then thousands of ion blasts hit the seven MC80s, ruining their aiming systems, guns, and engines. They were locked in space, with over 700 Heavy Tractor Beams locked onto the seven ships.
And by sheer instinct, Hiram knew it was over. As he walked up to the master control, putting in his overall command codes.
Command: Cleanse Datapad. Confirm?
Hiram pressed confirm, and as the controls showed a cleansing confirmed, Hiram brought his pistol out of the holster before turning around and marching out of the bridge.
He would most certainly die here today, but he'd take as many of the fucking Imperials down with him.
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