Empty space, Caperion System
The Warspite made the jump from hyperspace into what appeared to be a mostly completely empty area of space within the Caperion System. In the far distance the planet Myryakur could be seen with its two moons Korgollo Major and Minor orbiting it. The planet was far enough away that it wouldn’t be in any danger of what was to come.
Warlord Vincent Brujah had taken it upon himself to bring the Warspite out with any and all pilots and fighters that wanted to train. Rumor had begun to turn into more solid facts. War would soon be upon the Brotherhood, and the Hand of the Empress wanted to see to it that Clan Scholae Palatinae was ready and able to support the efforts to put an end to the Collective for good.
To those ends, he had the Dreadnaught that they had nearly destroyed towed to this area of space. While he didn’t spend the credits to fully repair the vessel, he did bring the shields and weapons back online, as well as supply it with a number of droids and droid brains to simulate actual combat. He had also brought with him 3 squadrons of refurbished X-Wings. They too had droid brains installed. Both the Dreadnaught and the X-Wings had their weapons heavily altered so as not to be of any true danger. However, if a member of the Clan’s team were hit by weapons from any enemy ship it would be clear and noted upon the bridge.
For now, Vincent had entered the hangar of the Warspite. He made a quick call on his commlink and the X-Wing squadrons all blasted off out of the hangar and into space. Brujah watched them through the eyes of his helmet. He stood in front of those who had gathered in his full armor and cloak, hood down.
“Today, I have brought you here so that you can show me your effectiveness in battle. The X-Wings that just launched have all been fitted with droid brains capable of basic piloting and weapon usage. They have been programmed to attack any TIEs exiting this ship, and to attempt to damage the Warspite.”
He paused for a moment to let the words register.
“However, their weapon systems have been downgraded significantly. They are unable to strike you in a way that would damage your starfighter or ship. However, if you are hit in a way that would result in your death in a real scenario, you will be instructed to return to the hangar and your training will be over for the day.”
He looked out over a crowd of nods from the squadron pilots.
“As you can see, I have had the Dreadnaught that we boarded and seized towed here. It has the same downgraded weapons, but its shields are online. Your objective is simple. Destroy the enemy X-Wings. Protect the Warspite. Destroy what is left of the Dreadnaught. If you are even half as capable as I have been led to believe, this shouldn’t be too much of an issue. Do not disappoint me.”
Vincent raised an armored hand and snapped his fingers. As he did, alarm beacons rang out throughout the ship.
“ALL HANDS TO YOUR BATTLESTATIONS! ALL HANDS TO YOUR BATTLESTATIONS! WE ARE UNDER ATTACK!”
A squadron of X-Wings did a flyby on the Warspite and fired rudimentary laser weapons that were more like pointers than actual weapons. The pinged harmlessly off of the shields of the Warspite.
“You’d better hurry.” Brujah stated as he turned and walked towards the turbolift that would take him to the bridge.
Kole looked around at the busy hangar and sighed a breath of relief. This was finally an assignment he was suited for. He placed his helmet on his head and dashed towards the lift up into the catwalks.
He came up to a TIE Bomber and hopped down into the cockpit. The preflight sequence was almost an automatic thing for him. He flipped the sensor switches and adjusted the null dampener down to 64%. He liked the feel of G-forces affected him and felt like it allowed him to truly become one with his fighter. Data scrolled across the lenses of his helmet letting him see the status of the craft. Once everything came up green he flipped the engine start sequence and reveled in the howl of the Ion Engines coming online. “Krayt 2-1 is online.”
“Krayt 2-1, you are cleared departure.” The Launch Controller stated in a simple tone.
He took the control yoke in hand, pressing forward with his left with the throttle. When he came to 75% engine power, the clamps on the bomber released and he shot out of the hangar bay into the void. Immediately his sensors lit up with hostile forces. “Let’s do this.”
Rohan actually smiled a true and genuine smile. There were many things he liked about the Empire; the armor, the ships, the cleanliness. Sure, it had its problems but what didn’t.
More than any of the rest, more even than his Father and the potential to please him, Rohan loved to fly. He exhaled and smiled again as he clasped his standard issue TIE Helmet on.
He had been assigned to a TIE Defender, which suited him since he remembered tales from his Father when he had flown them. Sure, the ships were old but that didn’t matter to him. He rushed off to his ship and settled in.
“Draco 1-4, signing on.” The Flight Officer responded and ran through the checklist with him. They were doing this by the book for a combat launch so the ship was cold. Rohan’s pulsed quickened as he moved through the switches and nobs. “IFF to standby.”
The engines were already purring when he finished the checklist. “Draco 1-4, you’re clear to launch.”
“Roger!”
Rohan checked the board, saluted the ground crew, and let out a yelp of joy as the mag launch accelerated him out of the hangar. He nosed the TIE Defender down as he cleared the magnetic shields and went to form up to fly cover for the TIE Bomber squadron.
Sýrra calmly and cautiously walked onto the bridge and took a seat at one of the conrtol systems. Ordinarily, she wouldn’t be on the bridge but the authorized staff was one member short what with the recent loss of one of their controllers. Supposedly he had said something that Lord Brujah found unpleasant. Regardless, Sýrra was needed at this time so that is where she found herself.
Her personal KX unit stood off to the side against the wall by the door.
Sýrra immediately got to work. She ensured everything was to the requirements Lord Brujah had ordered, the shields, weaponry, sensors, navigation… she checked it all.
Elaine found herself in a hustle in the hangar as she climbed into a a TIE-Fighter. She looked at the controls in the cockpit and found herself slightly overwhelmed. She wasn’t a great pilot but she figured if Komilia could do it so could she. Besides, she didn’t have a choice, if she denied an order from the Pro-Consul, she would have far bigger issues to deal with.
How hard can it be…? she thought as she flipped a few familiar switches an began to take off, leaving the hanger and immediately made her way to her towards the Dreadnaught, weaving through and past any enemy X-Wings.
Vincent stepped out of the turbolift and entered the bridge. The crew saluted him as he entered, but he quickly waved them off without saying a word. Instead, he watched as Defenders and Bombers began their pursuit of X-Wings. A small smile formed on his face as he wanted the first X-Wing explode from being hit by laser cannons from one of the Defenders. The Sith looked around the bridge and took special note of Sýrra sitting at the sensors.
“Ah, a new Sensor Officer. Excellent. The last one was too stupid for his own good. I do hope you’re smarter.”
He turned back to watch the battle, not waiting for her to respond.
–
Outside of the Warspite the three squadrons of X-Wings split up. Twelve of them seemed to be ready to defend the Dreadnaught, another twelve seemed to be in attack mode on the Warspite, the final twelve went after the fighters leaving the Warspite.
The Defenders and Bombers began to group into formations as they exited the ship, but before they could fully form up the squadron of X-Wings going after the fighters dove in on them, firing lasers at them. Some shots came dangerously close to the lead pilots, but quick maneuvering helped them escape from being hit. The lead Defender jolted upward as the X-Wings made a pass and shot concussion missiles up at the group of them. One made direct contact with the cockpit area of an X-Wing marking the first casualty of the battle.
“Krayt 1, that was a great shot!” came out over the radio from one of the other pilots.
“Stay formed up!” Krayt 1 returned. “Strength in numbers! Tail them!”
Kole settled into his seat and brought his throttle up as he moved into the fray. The Defenders shot ahead of his Bomber and broke up the X-Wing formation. He thumbed his weapon selector over to “Missiles” and watched at the HUD on the lenses of his helmet slowly shifted from red to green as it locked onto four of the X-Wings. He rolled the bomber up onto its starboard solar panel and squeezed the trigger. The vessel shuddered with four thumps as each missile launched.
He cranked over and shunted laser energy into his engines, giving his speed a boost as lasers flew past him. His sensors showed the missiles paths. The Xwings tried to weave out of the warheads way. The first flew past its target but the rest slammed into their targets, bringing down their shields. “Draco 1-4. Go after those X-Wings that broke off.” His sensors locked onto an X-Wing that had had split off. He swapped to his lasers and rolled his fighter. The HUD went green as he squeezed the triggers again, his duel lasers catching the X-wing just behind the pilots cockpit, shredding the fighter in half. He rolled his fighter and pulled back on the yoke sending the Bomber into a climb up and away from the fight. Kole smiled to himself as he pushed energy back into his lasers to charge them. A quick check of his sensors showed him his next target that was currently being engaged by another Bomber. “Krayt 2-1 on attack run.”
As Kadrol left the hangar, it became immediately clear why he had been “invited” to participate in this training exercise by clan leadership. First, it had been far too long since he had piloted anything but his personal vehicle, an Imperial Gozanti-class crusier which was different in almost every imaginable way. Second, the combat experience he did have had been overwritten by years of rustiness that had accumulated over the time he’d spent in jungles, fields, and temples instead of in the quiet deep of space. The layers of gases shimmering on the planet off in the distance were mesmerizing, temporarily distracting even.
Focus, Kadrol, he thought, redirecting his mind back to the task at hand. As he throttled up on the engines, the archaeologist-by-day took note of an unfamiliar switch up above his head. Deciding it was safest for everyone involved, Kadrol peeled off from the others.
“Alright, let’s see what this does.” he muttered to himself as the scream of the TIE Bomber cut out instantaneously.
“GAH! Why would they make that an option!”
The crew on the bridge watched as one of the bombers stalled out and began to fall out of formation. A couple of officers gasped and turned to Vincent, who stared silently, watching the bomber stall out. Vincent pointed to his communications officer who immediately began speaking.
“Krayt 7, this is the Warspite. Is everything okay there? Are you having a mechanical issue? Please confirm.”
The comms officer’s headset erupted in static howling as Rohan flew a corkscrew around the disabled TIE Bomber. Rohan beamed as he pulled up and skated along the the hull of the Star Destroyer. As he cleared the dorsal side he brought the TIE Defender in for an attack run on a formation of X-Wings.
Rohan flicked his trigger controls over to dual fire link, set his crosshairs ahead of the formation, and squeezed.
The lime-green lances of energy pierced through the X-Wings, two by two. The forward and starboard echelon X-Wings’ hulls buckled, blistered, and bloomed into fireballs as Rohan streaked past the scattered formation.
Rohan brought his TIE Defender around for another pass. He lined up on the formation of X-Wings and let loose another volley.
The droid brains had adapted to his attack patterns and he had not. Both X-wings effortlessly evaded his attacks. As he brought his ship out of its attack run he noticed both had formed up on his six.
“Warspite, this is Krayt 7,” Kadrol responded back with slight exasperation, “Just reacquainting myself with the controls. Almost remembered all of ‘em.”
The TIE bomber continued to drift off in a straight trajectory. Panicking as a result of the light embarrassment, Kadrol quickly flicked a couple of switches and jabbed at a button. At once, the scream of the ship filled the small cavity in which the pilot was seated.
Knowing he was behind the rest of the formation, Kadrol pulled out wide to try to turn into a better angle for a bombing run. “Warspite, Krayt 7. Shall I continue my attack?”
On the bridge of the Warspite, Brujah watched as a full squadron of X-Wings made an attack run on the shield generator of the ship. His eyes narrowed. While the weapons were more akin to laser pointers than true laser cannons, in the event of a real battle this wouldn’t be good for one of the Clan’s most expensive ships.
“Tell those Defenders to stop screwing around and protect the ship! The other squadron will follow and then they have most of their targets in one place!” he barked at the communications officer.
“Yes, sir. Right away, sir.” the officer responded as he sent the message out to all Defenders.
The Sith watched as the Bombers began to form up to make an attack run on the Dreadnaught. At least that much appeared to be going mostly right… aside from the one bomber that stalled, fell out of formation, and then fired back up and began following the others.
—
Outside the Warspite, what was left of the X-Wing squadron that had just completed an attack run on the fighters leaving the Warspite formed back up and make a quick turn to come back at the Defenders.
As they finished their turn, the lead X-Wing fired lasers at the group of Defenders. Most were able to evade, but one was hit. The laser did no damage to the starfighter, but the HUD of the craft instantly went red.
“Krayt 5, you have been hit. Return to the Warspite. Your day is over.”
The X-Wings fanned out to allow for more of them to fire weapons, but the Defenders suddenly changed course and began chasing after the squadron attacking the Warspite. The X-Wings lined back up and pursued.
Kole zeroed in on the Dreadnaught and adjusted his sensors to find the power spike of the shield generators. “Krayt 2 flight on me. Follow me in and drop on my solution.” He fed his targeting data to the other three bombers with him and settled into his seat. Data from his sensors displayed over the HUD and he brought the control yoke in on steady but quick jinks. He could almost feel when the capital ship weapons would fire and would do a quick maneuver to avoid being hit. This was HIS battlefield. He reacted on instinct, eyes constantly searching for threats and expertly dodging.
The bombers came low over the hill of the Dreadnaught. Point defense lasers fired, desperately trying to keep them off of the vessel but failed to make any meaningful hits on the armored TIE Bombers. Kole squeezed his triggers and sent emerald bolts against the shields near the tower that the sensors had identified as the shield generators. He knew it wouldn’t do much but as the Shields took the energy from the laser blasts there was a slight weakening. He leveled out and pumped all of his energy into his engines, swapped weapon control to his bombs and in rapid succession pulled the triggers six times. Proton bombs slammed against the shields where they hit, overloading the area around where they hit and caused a few holes to open. The next two bombers dropped their payloads, the bombs dropping and shredding into the hull of the capital ship. He pulled up just in time to see the last bomber in his flight drop its load directly onto the generator tower, massive explosions engulfing it. Kole smiled and pulled back on his throttle, searching for threats. “Warspite, Krayt 2-1. Dreadnaught shields are down. Give it hell.”
The bridge on the Warspite (except Vincent) erupted into cheers as explosions rocked the Dreadnaught and brought down its shields.
“Aim every turbolaser turret available at the Dreadnaught. Aim for the reactor. Fire them all at once on my signal. Before that, have the Bombers turn back and make another run. I want those X-Wings as close to the Dreadnaught as possible.”
“Yes, sir.” the Communications Officer returned before relaying the message over the radio.
The bridge watched as the TIE Bombers formed tightly and made a quick u-turn. They dove low to the Dreadnaught. Those that had proton bombs left in their arsenal began dropping them on the exposed hull. Explosions rang out, and the squadron of X-Wings took chase.
The Weapons Officer looked ready to press the button to fire the turbolasers. Vincent interrupted his train of thought.
“Not yet! Wait for it…”
They watched as the Bombers approached the very edge of the Dreadnaught’s bow. The X-Wings were closing in on them quickly.
“NOW!” Vincent screamed.
The Weapons Officer pressed a button and fifteen different turbolaser turrets all fired on the same spot on the Dreadnaught. The hull was pierced, and then the deck above the reactor, and then the reactor itself went up. Just as the last Bomber cleared the Dreadnaught the entire ship went up in an enormous explosion of fire, sparks, and metal. As the explosion cleared, the crew saw the Bombers pull away, but no X-Wings were left to follow them. They had all been consumed in the explosion.
–
Outside of the Warspite, the 15 or so remaining X-Wings tried to group up to take on the Defenders, but every time they got close to making a clear formation, lasers from either the Defenders or the Warspite itself broke them up. Their numbers were dwindling. Over the radios, all pilots would have heard the command from the bridge of the Warspite.
“Take care of those X-Wings, Nightmare Squadron. Bombers are incoming to watch your backs.”
Rohan overcompensated as he pulled out of his last maneuver and felt his TIE Defender shake as the simulated laser blasts connected with the shields.
“Kark it!” His face betrayed more than his words. He spun into a dive and picked up a new target. His lasers splashed over the X-wing as it erupted in fire.
His blood was pumping. He was better than this. Kai or Komilia wouldn’t have made mistakes like this and he knew he was their equal in a cockpit. He was a Lap'lamiz and his Father had been a Praetorian…an elite. Rohan’s fingers flexed on the controls.
“I’m right here! Come on!” He screamed into the darkness as the radio crackled with new orders. “That’s better.” He smiled as he lined up on his approach.
Kamjin’s exhaled as he watched the lines of hyperspace swirl outside his TIE Praetor. The hyperspace navigation unit beeped that he had arrived.
“Not yet.” He reached out and turned off the alarm. He inhaled, flexing his gloved fingers on the controls. His hand hovered over the hyperspace throttle. He felt the presence before him. Soon. He exhaled as he closed his eyes. He was as one with the universe.
“Now.” He pulled back on the lever. The tunnel dissolved into individual stars as his ship materialized into the middle of the battle. Kamjin was momentarily thrown against the harnass straps. Years of training kicked in as he was thrown back against the seat. His hands never waivering from the controls.
He kicked in the sublights and was off like a blur. X-Wing’s exploded around him as his lasers scraped over their durasteel hulls. He effortlessly flitted between the TIE Defenders and TIE Bombers as he took out the pursuers.
With a spin his ship banked onto an attack run. The TIE Praetor skimmed the service like an avian hunting fish under the surface. He bobbed and weaved, taking out turrets and power junctions. Before many of the pilots had noticed the lights flickered and died on the capital ship.
“Brujah, your squadron still has more work to do.” Kamjin keyed over to a private frequency. “Rohan…you’re better than this.”
With that, Kamjin leveled out his ship. The observors had the longest four seconds to stare at it before it blinked away into hyperspace and was gone.
Kole saw the Praetor come through the battlefield and clear the last of the X-Wings and sighed. Once again one of the Force users had come in and done some of the most incredible flying he had seen in a long time. He knew he was good. He knew he was one of the better pilots in the Clan but so see the Sith pilots do that much damage in mere seconds gave him pause and doubted his own abilities.
He heard the call over the frequency and growled to himself. His anger rose as he began his docking operations with the Warspite. “Krayt 2-1 to Docking Control, inbound with a flight of four Bombers looking for vectors.”
On the bridge of the Warspite Vincent removed his helmet and slammed it into the deck with a loud clang. Every officer on the bridge flinched at the same time. The Sith’s eyes were a fiery red and a snarl covered his face. After a few tense moments, he took a few deep breaths in and tried to regain his composure.
“Call all starfighters back to the ship. This training exercise is over… but it is clear that we have a lot of work to do. I will not continue to be embarrassed by the Lap’lamiz family, do you understand me?!”
A Commander, the second in command of this mission, stood and shakily saluted the Hand of the Empress.
“Y-Yes sir! We will begin intense drills tomorro-”
“You will start them tonight! You will continue them until our pilots are capable of holding off a single craft or they die from exhaustion, and if that is the case you will find better pilots to replace them with!”
“Yes sir… as you wish, sir.”
With that the day was done. Much work was left to be done before the inevitable war on the horizon blossomed into full conflict. For now, all Vincent really wanted was a drink and a deathstick.