Sep

Star Wars Chapter 0: KNIGHTFALL

Aboard the 'Endurance' // Deep Space // Imperial Territory

The pilots sat in the briefing room. There was quiet chatter from the command pits where officers exchanged data chits and idle conversation as they reviewed the latest information provided by the fighters running exercises, drills and patrols in the space around the ship. A holoprojector in the middle of the room was showing the battle as it had unfolded between the two training squadrons. Rae was only half watching, in the downtime after she had seen to her ship she had done nothing but pour over the attack. Two kills, twelve deaths. It was unheard of by an Imperial Squadron.

Colonel Tynrons voice sounded disappointed more than anything. As if he had been hoping for a different outcome. "Now we all know what went wrong in this fight." He nodded at the Major who hit a couple of keys on the holoprojector as it displayed a hologram of what was called the TIE Defender. "Lets see that this doesn't happen again.

A file was then transmitted to all their datapads.

image

Rae poured over the information as the Colonel spoke, while the Interceptor and standard TIE had basic shields the lack of space and power generation meant it lapsed the stronger shields of the GRM or Alaskan fighters. The hyperdrive was also only a class five and only really capable of aiding in retreat if the command ship was destroyed, or short hops in combat. Meanwhile, the Defender had strong shields and a Class 2.0 hyperdrive.

"This is the TIE Defender, it is better than anything else we have faced before and the pilots aren't like anything else we've seen before. It's slower than an Interceptor but it makes up for it in strength. Heavy cannons, shields, more concussion missiles."

A hologram of the Interceptor appeared beside the defender. "We need to lead into the advantage the Interceptor gives us. You're all more seasoned pilots than those in the Defender wing-"

Well obviously, considering the fact they're literally teeneagers. Thought Rae. Interceptors flashed round the hologram.

"-we need to play into that. I expect you to all take the time until our next drill to analyse their flight patterns."

The ships moved in the hologram, and Rae watched as it panned outwards from the Endeavour.

"This time around we're going to be the aggressors. Your squadron will be supplemented by a wing of bombers. He turned to Major Thrace. "The Major will fill you in with the plan." As the Colonel stepped back the Major stepped forward.

"Everybody listen up." The pilots stood a little straighter. "We're going to operate in two groups-" The Hologram shifted, following everything he said. ""One and Two will swoop in fast to engage the Defenders, with any hope this will split their number in two. Six on Three is a lot more manageable." He grimaced as if he didn't believe what he was saying.

Rae wasn't sure if she believed him either. "We're going to target one Defender at a time-

---

Attacking the Endeavour // Deep Space // Imperial Territory

Raes fighter wing hung behind the bombers. Hugging as closely behind the fighters as they possibly could in an effort to mask their sensor shadow. The biggest issue is while this made them blind to the enemy, they were also blind. She sent a double click on the comms through to her wing, who gave her two chirps in confirmation. They didn't dare risk full comms due to the risk of being detected.

The four bombers swung through space lazily in pre-determined manoeuvres that had been agreed upon beforehand. Her finger hovered over the trigger, while the adrenaline coursed through her veins. It took all her restraint not to hit the throttle. Laser bolts raced over her head, several of them bouncing off the bombers shields. Come on. Come on.

The communication came through from Lieutenant Ert, number eight. "Now Ten!

Pulling the stuck up and around her and her TIEs spun up and around. As soon as they were clear of the bombers her sensors screamed to life. Flights one and two had already engaged three defenders, she couldn't focus on them at the moment. Green laser bolts lanced out towards the Defender wing, clipping one as it spun off wildly. The other two broke off.

"Eight, I'm left."

"Copy, I'm right."

"Eleven hard, twelve soft. I'll keep peppering."

"Copy."

"Copy."

Rae watched as Eleven pulled up and did a hard burn in a loop to lead him ahead of the Defender, meanwhile, Twelve was going so that if the Defender turned hard he would have it covered. Peppering its shields, she saw as the bolts sparked out harmlessly against the back shields. She watched as Eleven came back down around, as soon as he was above the Defender he switched to target lock.

"One out." Rae smirked as she continued to keep her finger down on the trigger finger. Peppering it, it ducked and weaved as the missile streamed in from above before shooting past harmlessly.

It turned, and was instantly facing twelves laser fire. Rae had to suppress a whoop as it was disabled. Their plan worked, in singling out individual targets they could overwhelm them- then the moment of celebration was ruined when a missile 'collided' with eleven knocking it out. "Sithspit." She banked hard to the right, twisting in a roll. The entire ship shook as the Defender rocked past in a near miss. Twisting and banking hard she watched as Eleven was knocked out. Giving her a keen sense of Deja-Vu.

It was almost as if with the more pilots the Defenders lost the more bold and effective the remaining vessels became. "So that's how its going to be is it."

Pushing her engines to full she twisted rocking against her crash harness. Targetting computer beeping as it honed in to lock in on the target vessel. It narrowed in, the tone quickened before it became constant indicating a lock. Switching to missiles, she swung in behind the defender. Finger on the trigger ready to fire.

Rae winced as the comm silence broke. "All units, all units. Stand down and prepare for hyperspace jump. 3-5 form up on the Endurance in escort formation, all other units are to dock immediately and secure for hyperspace launch." Rae swore and threw her helmet off in frustration, as it bounced harmlessly off the cockpit wall. Right when she had the shot.

That said, as the frustration rubbed off and the adrenaline lapsed as she swung back in towards the Endurance goosebumps formed. They were supposed to be in training, as part of a top secret mission and they were being called away at the last minute?

Something was going on.

Star Wars Chapter 0: KNIGHTFALL

Who has two thumbs and wrote themselves into a corner so had to have a convenient out to end a conversation (that was helpfully provided by two other players)?

Star Wars Chapter 0: KNIGHTFALL

Keldabe City // Mandalore // Mandalore Sector

Rorwoorr took a second to compose himself. <Perhaps I failed as a Master. It is never a failure to offer aid to those in need.>

Ishtil shrugged and chuckled slightly under his breath. "That is not what I am saying. Citizens of the Empire require aid-"

<Citizens of the Galaxy.> Rorwoorr interjected.

Ishtil continued, ignoring the interruption. "You're a one-hundred-year-old Wookiee trained as a warrior from birth. If all the Jedi of your experience were to work with us, we could finally bring this war to an end."

Rorwoorr sighed. <We have had this conversation before, my apprentice.> He walked away from the plant in the centre of the room, looking up through the skylight he watched as the racing vessels passed again. This time with a different ship in the lead. Rorwoorr had lived a long life. He had seen the Republic as a strong union of the Galaxy, had seen it become festered and poisoned by corruption and greed. A sickness that infected every vein of the Galaxy, including the Jedi as the Galaxy erupted into war.

A war that killed or corrupted everyone or everything it touched. Even now the Jedi were more spread out than they had been before, with no sense of unity between the various orders. Just like the Galaxy.

<I am no warrior. Nor am I willing to take a side.>

"By not taking a side you would see the Separatists control the Galaxy-"

<I will fight for the people, I will fight to see people free, happy and healthy. This has not changed>

"Do you care nothing of Gerarks sacrifice?"

A cold shiver ran up Rorwoorrs spine. To this day some small part of him mourned his former Padawan. There was no way to know if the Jedi could have survived Knightfall, no doubt he would have died defending the Temple to ensure as many could survive as possible. Rorwoorr had been elsewhere in the Galaxy when he had felt Gerarks death, only to have it later confirmed by the Jedi Council. Could the Wookiee have helped?

Well. There was no point in dwelling. He had lost so many friends, not just to war but to the ravages of time.

<Gerark was a loss to the Galaxy, as is every other life. You waste your breath Ishtil. I care not for politics.>

The Zabrak grimaced in a near snarl, his wrist comm buzzing slightly. He turned around and took the call privately.

"There are Argent in the area. I've been called to help organise our younger Imperials to ensure their safety and wellbeing."

Rorwoorr bowed his head. <Go safely, my former Apprentice.> He meant what he said, sincerely. Though he could feel the agitation rolling off the Zabrak in waves as he walked out of the building.

Young Justice Renegades: A Team Worth Dying For

and thus Julian relapsed into his coma for another two years

Star Wars Chapter 0: KNIGHTFALL

My Rorwoorr post will get worked on tomorrow.

Life gotta life.

Star Wars Chapter 0: KNIGHTFALL

Will very likely work on a Rorwoorr post tomorrow post-work

Star Wars Chapter 0: KNIGHTFALL

Hey guys.

Have a post.

Star Wars Chapter 0: KNIGHTFALL

In Space around the 'Endurance' // Deep Space // Imperial Territory

The TIE Interceptor swung down in a lazy arc, hanging in close to the grey hull of the Ascendancy-Class Destroyer. Rae Kilian turned down to her scanner, reaching across and flicking a switch to update it. It still showed no enemy contacts. On her left and right were Eleven and Twelve respectively, while on the underside of the vessel Seven, Eight and Nine were performing a sweep going in the opposite direction, fore to aft. At the edge of her scans, she picked up One to Six performing wide counter sweeps. Rae sighed into her helmet, working the pedals lazily as she glided over the hull of the Endurance.

Rae had been assigned to the ship two weeks ago and she still couldn't get over it. It was unlike anything-

An alarm started blaring throughout the cockpit as red triangles appeared on her scanner. She flicked through her settings. One Flight was the closest, and was already swinging back around to engage while Two Flight made its burn towards them. Her comm cracked to life. "Just as we practiced. One Flight, Two Flight. Move to engage, Three and Four hang back and protect the Nest-" The procedures and protocols, training and practice made it all second nature. All the pieces were already moving into position even before Major Thrace called it in.

They had been drilling non-stop since they had come aboard, and now it was finally time to shoot at something living. "-transmitting sensor data now. Clean comms."

As the comms clicked off, she pulled up the sensor readings. Each ship had the standard TIE cockpit, with an ion engine mounted on the back. Dropping out of hyperspace, they had three wings that unlike a standard TIE curved around the central cockpit in much a similar way as a Droid Tri-Fighter. She ran her tongue over the back of her teeth and clicked in frustration. For the second time in as many weeks she was presented with another new vessel.

Clicking her comm over to her flights she clicked her comm on. "Eleven, Twelve spread out. Divert as much power as possible, active scans. I want as much information on the incoming ships as possible."

Rae could do nothing but watch and wait as the red and green blips on her array moved together and became a mess of signals. In the distance, she could see the flashes of green and red through the abyss of space. In the first volley one of the enemy ships spun out wildly before powering down. A clean kill. Whereas in the opening volley Two and Three were knocked out of the fight. She began rhythmically tapping her fingers against her leg. Her comm clicked and came to life, as the well-spoken voice of the Coruscanti came through her helmet. "Rae, they're being cut to shreds aren't we going to-"

Her comm beeped as Control, Lieutenant Anders who relayed orders from the safety of the ship, came through. "Cut the chatter Eleven."

Rae gasped in shock as on sensors she saw the Major knocked out. Always anticipate your opponent's next move, and your superior's next order. The voice of her grandfather ran through her head as she began redistributing power through the fighter. Transferring it from the sensor suite to the engines, as soon as her comm clicked again she had already pushed the fighter on.

"Move in to engage targets Two-Ten."

Four Clicks out. Max range for lasers at one click, max range for a target lock one point five. She ran through the specs in her head. Flicking over to missile targetting as the six targets swung towards the Endurance. Eleven and Twelve trailed her wing, while Seven, Eight and Nine were swinging around at a heavier angle of intercept. Sevens flight would get there after Rae was already in firing range, but their angle of entry would give them an element of surprise against the incoming vessels.

Rae flicked her comm onto the command channel. "Mark trailing target as Five, lead as One. Fill in the rest incrementally." There was a signal chime to recognize acknowledgment. Her scanner screen flashed slightly as the profiles were updated. She watched as the distance continued to close between her and the hostile ships, targets four and five suddenly turned and headed towards the other flight of TIE interceptors.

On the bright side that technically halved their problems.

Raes targetting screen flashed green. "Two out, target one."

"Two out, target two."

"Two out, target three."

As Rae thumbed the trigger and called her shot, she rolled the ship. The missiles lanced out toward the target in a forward spiral. Eleven mimicked her maneuver, whereas Twelve showed his inexperience and just fired as a straight shot. She drew power from rear shields to cannons, switching over her weapons.

Firing in bursts towards the lead ship, still spinning fighting to keep her head centered. After all, there was only so much intertia dampeners could do. At this range the cannons wouldn't be effective, dancing uselessly off the shields. What it would do, was disrupt their targetting sensors. She watched as the range ticked down, once they got too one click she effectively hit the breaks as she pulled up. Twisting in an inverted left corkscrew. Up and over the enemy craft, bringing her around on its tail. She peppered its shield with laser fire as it duked and weaved, her missiles long forgotten.

Only about half her shots hit as the enemy craft duked and weaved, as if seeing the shots before they had even been fired. "I got one on my tail!"

Rae risked a look down to look at the scanner and swore under her breath. "I can't help you Eleven, I'm pinned!"

"Breaking off, swinging around."

She watched as the enemy craft pulled away from her. Putting on the throttle she attempted to close the gap between her and Twelve. Clicking her comms back on. "Bring him to me Twelve. Right at me, manoeuvre six." She brought herself on Twelves flightpath, headed on a collision course. As he bobbed to avoid the fire from behind she weaved in unison to try and hide herself in his silhouette, it wasn't a perfect manoeuvre but if the enemy pilot was focused on his target he might just miss her presence.

A chime on her scanner informed her Eleven was gone. She didn't have time to glance down to determine what the numbers were. One problem at a time. Flicking to missiles, she disabled her targeting computer. Aiming straight ahead. "Mark."

"Sync"

"Sync" Only a split second in difference in their reaction times. Nodding to herself she counted down.

"Three... two... ONE!" She thumbed the trigger, two missiles launched out of the tubes. Bringing her reserves down to two. As they approached the TIE Interceptor he pulled his nose up, as soon as he did the missiles streamed past where he had been moments before. Green laser blasts follow in quick succession. Even as her shots landed, Rae saw the enemy ship duke and twist. Its shields failed, as it twisted and shook.

It continued to fly straight at her, red blasts lancing out. What in the hell... She started to pull up out of the plane of fire, the enemy pilot doing the same and hitting the thrusters as it did so. She winced pushing everything to her engines, twisting down to the right they narrowly missed each other before her scanner beeped indicating her target was disabled.

The enemy pilot, realising he was out of the fight had tried to take her with him. No matter the cost.

A quick cursory glance at her scanner revealed that there were only two interceptors remaining, to three enemy craft. Looking around in order to get a bead on her next target, her entire ship shook and powered down. "Sithspawn!"

---

Aboard the 'Endurance' // Deep Space // Imperial Territory

The mood in the hangar was sour as the pilots disembarked from their fighters. Some threw their helmets away in frustration, while others swatted away the mechanics and techs that approached them. They all made a beeline for Major Thrace who stood with his helmet under his arm, Rae could see he was still reeling from the fight however he was easily the more composed of the pilots. He stood looking at the far side of the hangar where the strange craft had landed. Rae had to repress a scoff as technicians and officers poured themselves over the 'enemy' craft. The flight pods opened, and the pilots disembarked.

Off-duty pilots started to file into the hangar from the hallways, clearly having been in Ops or Observation. Even Colonel Tynron walked in, forcing the Squadron into attention. He didn't acknowledge them, walking across the hangar he offered the opposing pilots a curt salute. She could only see the back of his head from here, looking among her fellow pilots. She saw a mix of anger and embarrassment on their faces. The Colonel shook the lead pilot's hand, then gestured at them as they all took their helmets off.

Rae couldn't see them clearly enough to know for certain, but the murmurs among the squadron reinforced her impressions. The oldest barely looked 17. A look from the Major brought them all back in line, as an Intelligence Officer and the Colonel led the pilots away. "What in the moons of Atollon..."

"Kids, we were bested by kids?"

"Major!" Tyrell shouted across the hangar, forcing all the nearby din to quiet down. The Major turned, the vein in his forehead as prominent as an eyebrow that appeared to be lost on his face.

"Major, what in the Chancellors name was that?

The Majors voice was low, and Rae was convinced it was only the anger which carried it. "The future of the Imperial Military. Squadron dismissed, see to your fighters. Debriefing in one hour."

Star Wars Chapter 0: KNIGHTFALL

Teth // Baxel Sector // Separatist Space

^{Interacting with Talik @Queen Arya}

Vorkro swore as fire continued to rain past him, he peered around his cover, watching as the fire continued to rain against the facility's shields from his two cruisers. At the center of the compound, there was a tall spire, that looked reminiscent of a command spire. It explained a lot, whichever Separatist scientist ran this facility obviously had access to some top-level equipment. He grumbled to himself. Last time he took a job from a Mandalorian with very little intel. "Mohira!?" He shouted over the din and the fire. He flinched slightly as there was a thunk which turned out to be nothing more than her landing beside him.

"Vorkro."

"What exactly did you say was in this lab?"

"I didn't." Vorkro swung out behind cover and fired a couple of shot at approaching droids.

"Do you feel like sharing now?"

"Not really." He groaned and rolled his eyes, tapping his wrist comm before leveling his rifle, firing it as best he could with one arm.

"I want continuous fire on those shields. They can't hold indefinitely. We need to take out that artillery before we can move any closer."

Before he could reposition himself his comm flashed at an incoming message from his XO.

"Captain. Ships are friendly, patching through now." Vorkro looked at Mohira with a raised eyebrow, she merely shrugged before she once more charged head-first into the fray. Literally, when she headbutted a nearby B1 Battle droid.

"Captain Olkzar, this is Talik Gida of the Firith Tar'don. Heard you could use a hand down there, so be advised of friendlies inbound. Where do you want us?"

"You're a bit lost Miss Gida-" an explosion rocked in the background. "-Ryloth is a few sectors away. Though I won't say no to the help-" Vorkro grunted from exertion as he twisted his staff around as he heard a Battledroid approaching him round the tree. Even with the shield under constant fire these droids still seemed to be popping up as if from out of the ground. He dropped both his arms as he ducked below a clumsy lunge from another droid, swinging upwards in a left-right motion he brought the active end of the staff against a droids chest. Pushing it off its feet into a nearby clump. Ducking under another he let loose a neat cluster of blaster shots into its chest.

He could have sworn when he saw a group of droids approaching however they were soon cut down in a hail of blaster bolts. "My cruisers are laying down cover fire to the planetary north of the facility. If you swing in low to the south you may get by unaccosted and undetected."

Star Wars Chapter 0: KNIGHTFALL

Looks like the Discord link expired

@Chev

Just like my sense of humour