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[u][code]OPERATION: INCALMO[/code][/u]
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[code]Ord Thoden Orbit, Dynali sector[/code]
[code]00:00 Operation Time[/code]
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"Entering realspace in three, two, one."

The blue shimmer gave way to the darkness of vacuum. The [i]Evergreen[/i] flew in right behind [i]Sweet Revenge[/i]. Behind them were the decelerating figures of four more capital ships, along with several hyperspace-capable shuttles and starfighters. Thiena stood on the bridge of the [i]Nebulon[/i]-class frigate. She had briefed the assault force 30 minutes ago, and they should be assembling in the shuttle bay at this moment. Before that, she did some research on Commander Mapfo. The information was scarce, but there were several contradicting threads. She didn't have the time to dig further; they didn't seem likely to Thiena, and she certainly hoped none of them were true.

"Stormcaller here." The masked Kaleesh appeared on the holo-screen, "[i]Sweet Revenge[/i] is ready to engage. Fleet, report."

"[i]Evergreen[/i]'s taking point for the assault." Thiena keyed in.

"[I]First to Fight[/i] is in formation to support." Came the response of Major Dimet.

"[i]Palpatine's Bane[/i] here, green light across the board."

"[i]Mad Anooba[/i] reporting in; we're in formation."

A moment of awkward silence, then Mapfo appeared on the feed. "Uh yes, [i]H6[/i] is ready to go too, but-"

The check-in was interrupted by a message from the other side. No face accompanied to message, only the Imperial crest.

"Right, unknown spacecrafts, this is Imperial Customs." A distorted voice spoke. "Let's give you the benefit of the doubt, and say you entered into this restricted system by mistake. You have 90 seconds to make exit preparations; after that-"

"Spare us the pleasentries, Imperial." Stormcaller shot back. "We both know what is going to happen, and that is your death!" With that, the transmission was cut. "Scarlet Moons, battle stations!"

Thiena left the frigate operations to the bridge officer. She made her way down to the shuttles next. Each of the four shuttles carried around 30 troops, along with boarding equipment. They were divided into two pairs, assaulting different entry points of their target. The said target was a space station known as the Crown. It was a top-shaped construct in synchronous orbit over Ord Thoden. The Crown was over a kilometer in radius, at its widest, and had a height just under half of that.

Or that's what the datapads reported. Thiena had seen the space station before, but never set foot on it. It was constructed a century ago, when it was tethered on top of a skyhook. The outbreak of the Clone Wars saw the skyhook cables dismantled, in favor of more efficient shuttles. However, the purpose of the station remained similar. It was named in honor of the old monarchy of Ord Thoden. The top ten stories formed a massive domed garden, that was only accessible to the ruling elite (and their wealthy friends). The lower sections, formerly royal retreats and vaults, were converted into headquarters for Imperial Customs of the sector. The Imperials also expanded the docking rings, which...

"Major Thel," Gun Chuqu patched into her comms, "we're only detecting one enemy vessel, [i]Victory[/i]-class, along with just one TIE squadron. We'll draw them away from the Crown, while your units move in to board."

"Copy." Thiena replied.

"Wait," Yunus Dimet added himself to the comms as well, "make sure your troops have breathing masks and grav attachments for their boots; Imperial stations can release dioxis and cut gravity in case of hostile boarding."

"Fun." Thiena grumbled.

Sure enough, like any other operation of this kind, the troops didn't have everything they needed. There were a couple of prepared (or paranoid) soldiers that brought both grav boots and breathing masks. Many did not, and a Sullustan private even questioned the usefulness of breathing masks "in space".

"Space is not the point." Thiena told them. "We're not stormtroopers; we don't have a vacuum-sealed body glove. You're dead if you get sucked out of an airlock. The problem is inside, when the enemy gasses us."

The private's reaction was a mix of shock and horror. This KNB'll soon be a KIA, Thiena figured.

The approach from the hyperspace egress point to the Crown would take twenty minutes. The boarding shuttles left the frigate ten minutes in, allowing time to maneuver while denying the defenders time to prepare. The shuttle interiors were dark, with power diverted to engines and shields. Some troops glanced anxiously out of the viewport, while others stared at parts of the durasteel cabin. Thiena herself monitored her datapad, where the tactical map displayed various vessels in space. As anticipated, the TIE squadron hovered around the station, primarily near the star destroyer.

"No fighters intercepting us, Major." The [i]Evergreen[/i] bridge reported. "One turbolaser emplacement coming in firing range now. Commencing suppressive fire-target destroyed."

"Good shot." Thiena confirmed. There was a wave of relief and cheer within the shuttle. "Anything else in our way?"

"Negative." Reported [i]Evergreen[/i]. "Our other ships and fighters are engaging the TIEs, on the other side of the station. Scan shows the star destroyer only partially powered up; we must've caught it in a maintenance cycle."

Flashes of light in the distance verified this. "Let's hope our luck sticks today. Moving in for boarding."

Detaching quietly from [i]Evergreen[/i]'s cover, the two shuttles split into pairs and headed in opposite directions. Two shuttles went to the docking bays on the outer ring of the Crown, while the other two attached themselves to the bottom sections of the station. Thiena was with the latter pair, and unlike those going into existing dock bays, her shuttles had to cut their own holes into the station's hull. Thankfully, tue shuttles had built-in fusioncutters for this exact sort of mission. The shuttle airlock also sealed nicely with the new door it made, making EVA unnecessary.

However, the shuttle pilot docked in reverse orientation of the Crown's artificial gravity. The first enthusiastic soldier in, after a preliminary scan showing all-clear on the other side, fell straight up.

"Aaaahhh!" The agonizing wail was heard loud and clear.

The first "casualty" of Operation Incalmo was the Sullustan private that asked about breathing masks earlier. He was crumpled upside down on the station floor.

"That doesn't look good. Should I reorient the shuttle?" The pilot asked.

"No!" Thiena shook her head. "We'll lose the airlock seal and he'll get sucked into space."

And so those that entered after had to do so in an awkward manner. They had lie down on the airlock, brace themselves upward and scoot into the space station. Thankfully, there was no armed defenders on this part of the Crown, yet.

"Help! I can't move; can't feel my spine!" The Sullustan private was still screaming when Thiena and twenty others went in. They were in the middle of a smoky and dimly-lit corridor, with no cover except for a few crates. It's only a matter of time before the enemy gets the jump on them.

"Get him up and back in the shuttle, Coporal D'orel." Thiena ordered. "Someone give D'orel a hand, the rest of you take cover and watch both ends of this corridor."

Sure enough, the shuttle scanners picked up life signs approaching from the starboard side of the corridor. A squad of Imperial navy troopers and customs officers emerged from a sliding door on the side. The Imperial officer leading them was still checking his datapad when the Scarlet Moons shot first. Thiena and her troops got the upper hand; the Imperials were shot down with little chance for return fire. Even better, the Imperial's datapad contained a detailed map of the station.

"Alright, looks like everyone's in one piece, for now." Thiena assessed the situation. It appeared that the Imperials came from a turbolift linking to the upper levels. 

"Lieutenant Tye, stay here with the shuttles." Thiena told Arosha.

"The rest of you, split into five squads. One for the databanks, one for the power plant, one for crew quarters, one lock down the escape pods and the last one to take the command deck." These were the critical objectives, judging from the station map. Thiena tried to confirm with the other pair of shuttles at the docking bay, however, their signal was jammed. "And I need one of you with me to the docking bay."
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