[Kalen]
It was a light day for the most part. Tr`Riam seems to be getting used
to the crew, though as some are aware that he 'crashed' into the mine
field, his post at helm permeated a bit of tension on the Oria. Scans
were clean- nothing bothered the ship on its way to the ch`Brali.
At around 1500 hours ship time, and about 12 au away from the target,
Ghire transferred to his Warbird. This boosted my confidence some,
though I had no doubt about my crew and ship's ability, we were little
compared to a planet's garrison and orbital defenses.
The current plan seems simple enough - a traditional two pronged
attack. At 2200 hours, when the planet's defense force rotates duty
shifts, the Kalen would make its run. Targets would range from planetary central power to surface communications, though these were only cover for the more important run. Two platoons would be beamed down during the commotion- one sent to assassinate the Regent of the planet and one to steel all his personal records.
Ghire's Warbirds should be finished destroying their targets, orbital
weapons platforms mostly, by then and be supplying cover fire for the
Kalen's retreat.
A risky maneuver - as the defense fleet could easily smash the assault
aside if it were ready - but, with surprise and organization on our
side, I am convinced that we shall be successful.
All was in position, both platoons were standing by in the transporter
rooms, Ghire's ships had locked onto their targets, and the Kalen was
prepped for her dive. All that was left to do was wait.
In retrospect I should have seen it- the way the patrols flew so
cautiously, the fact there were so few capitol ships. I should have felt something was a miss...
The Kalen had moved into make her dive- we were half way to our first
target run when it happened.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
The silence of the Oira is shattered by Ghire's voice. "Takion bursts!
They new- -coming! Or- drawing..", and as soon as it had begun, the com
went dead.
Raith was about to order an abort of mission, but was too late. The Tac officer shouts incoming takion pulse just as all hell breaks loose...
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
We had no chance. No time to drop shroud and raise shields, no time to
avoid and retreat. So we just kept on going. Shroud collapsed, platoons
beamed away, and what was left of the shields raised... I still don't
know what happened to the crew - no idea if I ever will.
::Raith puts down his ISD and looks off beyond his cell. The force field pulses at its monotonous rate, the guard maintains his attentive
indifference, and Raith is still on the side he doesn't want to be.
Images of fire and the sounds of conflict buzz through the commander's
mind. Not wishing to pay them thought he turns back to his clean record
taking.::
Sticking to the plan was ludicrous as bolt fire had taken out half of
our inner shields and armor. The helmsman gave it their all though and
we made it through the maelstrom of green and blue energy fire.
I tried to convince myself that we would be back - the men would sit
tight if things went wrong - another ship could be diverted to pick them up- but It didn't matter, I still felt like I was betraying them. The hail of fire continued as we tore out of the atmosphere, still not
knowing Ghire's situation.
I still don't know what happened to the Riov. We saw his ship, alit and swarmed by smaller cruisers, but no idea where his support cruisers had gone and the Riov's personal status.
The shields were gone by then, armor wasn't far behind, and intruder
alarms were sounding. It all came on so fast... all that I experienced
was a bridge full of shock troops. I took on my share, more than I had
expected, but no one is invincible. At some point I was shot in the back and lost consensus amongst the flames.
::Raith puts down his ISD again and sinks back into thought. He had been awake in this cell for a few hours now - no telling how long he had been out before that. Things had him worried- if the faction had been compromised he'd better figure out who was selling out -and soon... Having nothing better to do the commander goes back to sleep::
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