Log:Legends: Turning Point
Legends: Turning Point
OOC Date: July 14, 2018
Location: The Star Forge
Participants: Darth Revan, Pikk, Aahri, and Rory
Turning Point
The end of the war was growing close, and the leaders of the Republic and Jedi forces knew this. Revan’s Sith Empire had lost too many of its leaders and much of its people had been slain, captured, or abandoned the cause after Revan’s demise at the hands of Malak. Even with the power of the Star Forge creating fleets and equipment for the Empire it would not survive, not with such a manpower shortage. And thus, after a series of visions which Bastila Shan had, she convinced the Jedi masters and the Republic leaders to launch one final assault.
The Republic gathered everything it could spare, leaving only those ships too badly damaged or too critical in defense should the Sith divert some of their remaining forces to defend and remain out of the battle. It was the largest gathering of the Republic’s forces since the onset of the civil war which had gripped the Republic in its clutches for these last few years and they outnumbered the Sith three to one. Even with a defender’s advantage, the Sith could not hope to defeat them. Only a handful of most attuned force wielders in the Republic’s fleet had a feeling of anxiety over it, but the war would be over soon and peace would reign supreme.
Unbeknownst to the Republic, a massive armada of Sith forces was traveling through hyperspace at just this moment, and soon their hyperdrive signatures would be detectable by the Republic’s scanners, but by then it would already be too late. Engaged in battle with the Star Forge’s defenders, retreat would be difficult for much of the Republic, but the Republic Commanders were confident in their assessment of the Sith’s forces and their defenses. Even if the Sith had forces to recall for reinforcements it would be a paltry cruiser or two. No, they were certain of their victory.
And so, Darth Revan, the one-time Supreme Commander of the Republic’s Forces, but now Dark Lord of the Sith and Emperor of the ancient Sith Empire, stood before her most trusted and powerful subjects to record a message to those upon the battlefield upon her arrival. Hundreds of grim-faced Sith warriors and sorcerers provided the backdrop of her recording in the primary hangar of the Harbinger. For them, the war was just beginning – and they were excited.
With so many flag officers dead in the previous years, and his premiere tactical outmaneuvering at a battle 8 months prior, Rory is currently Brevet-Captain of the Resolute. A Hammerhead cruiser currently rolling upon its central axis to present the majority of its guns on a listing but still under power Sith Empire capital ship.
His bridge is relatively quiet, considering the klaxon of battle had been silenced by his command. Most of the Republic fleet is pressed upon the main force of the enemy, and Rory's pack had been detached to ensure few were able to flee. "Hold fire. Hold fire. They will be trying to turn and we will have good firing vectors on their engines...." The man stands looking down into the tactical pit of naval officers. "Fire now."
The tall Cathari female Jedi stands on the ship's bridge, out of the way, hands folded in the sleeves of her robes in various shades of blue. She offers no advice, as tactics are not her purpose. Still, she has felt that being here, being near to this ship's commander is a crisis point. If nothing else, he may have to be defended. That at least, she can do. For now, she does her best to radiate calmness and confidence. The minds near her may well pick up on that and be heartened.
It would take a careful eye among the routine movements of busy crewmen, a keen ear among the hum of the machinery, yes only the most skilled of observers - oh, crap, did that officer just see him?
No, Pikk grabbed hold of his nerve, pressed against a bulkhead in the halls of the hammerhead cruiser. He scuttled forward in short bursts, his claws making quiet scrabble scrabbles on the floor as he came closer to his objective: Something very important to the outcome of this battle, and to the Resolute.
Though the enemy capital ship does not attempt to retreat, necessarily, it does end up in a rather bad position; several Republic bombers swoop in and take advantage of a section of downed anti-fighter weapons to pulverize its hull. It’s clear that the crew of the enemy capital ship is floundering and having difficulty pulling together a defense with so many of its weapon systems compromised. It does, however, manage to list to one side in order to bring another bank of turbolasers into the battle against the Resolute.
Elsewhere, deep in the belly of the ship, a small chadra-fan makes his way through the confines of the ships walkways and corridors. His mission is of utmost importance and though none really have a reason to suspect him as a spy, it is enough to put anyone on edge. Especially amidst battle. He comes across a sealed bulkhead door, one that would need to be bypassed to continue his mission. A minor hurdle, but a hurdle nonetheless.
Aboard the Resolute’s bridge, a crewman approaches Rory. “Commander, we’ve… picked up a hyperdrive signal. It would seem that reinforcements are coming. Uh… not ours, that is.” He seems a tad nervous, likely because it could be bad news, also because he seems uncertain of the veracity of his information. “We’re not sure exactly what or how many. Just that… well… something is coming.”
Turning a corner, Pikk comes face to face with an intimidating looking security door, impressive enough to be unguarded at this time. He looks around before darting in close to the access panel, and stops.
What was the code from his intel files? 12345? ABCD? He must have memorized a dozen of them for every possible entryway. Oh, of course. He quickly taps in something with his claws. ACCEPTED, a green message blips, and the giant door opens with a calm WOOSH.
It was the ship captain's birthday.
Small shudders run along the bulk of the Resolute, some starfighters still out there dropping blaster bolts ineffectually against the ship's shields. A glance towards Aahri and he watches her for a few moments. It’s so strange to have Jedi aboard /his/ ship. This isn't a particularly important vessel. "Gunnery. I want that cruiser disabled sooner rather than later. We'll have more ships that are attempting escape soon. We'll need to be free to prevent their rabbiting the battle."
Aahri withdraws her arms from her sleeves and steps towards Rory. "Captain," she interrupts, as if what she had to say was the most important thing in the galaxy. "... Something is coming. I feel a disturbance." and her eyes slit a moment. "I fear this may be a trap. Be wary, if you will have my counsel."
With the bulkhead door open, the chadra-fan’s objective lies before it. Thrumming with energy, the Resolute’s shield generator is working at full capacity to keep the ship safe. As vital as it is, it is suspiciously unprotected. However, who would anticipate a Sith on board the ship? No less one that could bypass the heavy doors protecting it.
Out in the battlefield, the enemy ship fires a quick salvo before it is silenced by the Resolute, its battery of turbolasers shattered into oblivion. Without those, it had to continue turning to bring its final battery online, though it would be relatively ineffective on its own. Multiple fires have started across it and a large segment of the foresection had quite literally broken off into space. The Star Forge makes them sturdy, but this one was on its last legs.
“Sir! We’ve got a lock on the approaching vessels – It’s not good.” One of the crewmen adds. “It appears to be a sizable force. It can’t be more Sith, can it? I thought they were all here.” Warning klaxons begin blaring as the close range sensors begin picking up the threats, and Aahri would feel an overwhelming sense of dread growing stronger and stronger. There is definitely something coming.
Jedi tend to know things, and he'll take it under advisement immediately. "Helm, full reverse. Get in contact with the rest of the group so we can move collectively." A glance towards Tactical's sensor reading of the other ship shows it to be basically battle ineffective. Which is close enough at this point. "It can be anything. But whatever it is, it won't be good. Check in with the flagship to see if they have specific orders for us."
Kchnk. Ddrrrrbt bleep bleep bleep. A quiet sound, barely heard over the thrum of the shield generator, but crystal clear to Pikk's enormous ears. The sound was repeated several times as he carefully set thermal detonator charges around key points of the structure. Then, as quickly as he was there, he was gone and scurrying down the hall towards his escape route.
“This is Republic High Command, we are calling an immediate retreat. Full about and redirect to hyperspace immediately. Coordinates are being transmitted right now. Repeat, full retreat.” The message is heard by all, and the Republic fightercraft begin swooping back to their hangars for the retreat, but it would be too little too late for too many. The trap is sprung. Across the fleet, even on the Resolute, saboteurs hit hard and fast. Hyperdrives on some, shield generators on others, engines, even command decks gone. Some ships go up in violent explosions as fuel storages are blasted apart.
And then the enemy arrives.
It’s the sort of arrival that makes your heart jump into your throat. Headed by an immense dreadnaught, the Sith Empire fleet arrives. Powerful battleships open fire with deadly heavy turbolasers, tearing apart the closest unprotected Republic ships; carriers release swarms of fighters in the hundreds, each darting forward to engage in battle with whatever they can.
Communications are hijacked before anyone has a chance to react, though it would likely be overridden again soon. Appearing on the central holotable is the unmistakable figure of Revan. Larger than life and, well, alive. Though hard to see, behind her are hundreds of sith warriors.
“Forces of the Republic, today is the turning point of this war. You chose to ignore me, to fight me, to betray me. I warned of a threat beyond the borders – a threat that could devastate the Republic, but you did not believe me. You turned your back on me, shunned me, and let me take those few loyal friends I still had left to deal with it ourselves. Today, you are locked in battle with those who chose to listen, to believe, to have faith in the hero that led them to victory after victory against the Mandalorians. But, today, you will face the threat I warned you about. The Sith Empire that I now lead will crush everything in its path, and thus you have three choices.”
“You may continue this war, fighting until the bitter end and costing hundreds of thousands of lives, tearing apart families and plunging the Republic into an era of darkness unlike any it has ever seen before. You may choose to surrender to us, to be treated with respect and honor as prisoners until the war is over and you are released or the Republic trades something of value for you. Lastly, you may choose to join us, and when the war is over you will be heroes among your people.”
Deep in the bowels of the Resolute, a Chadra-fan retreats, making his way towards safety. The hangars were nearby, and would provide him with a way to escape the ship. It was just a matter of getting there without trouble, though with the proclamations of Revan, others were questioning the wisdom of their loyalty, especially with the danger they are in.
“The Republic has grown to a bloated and corpulent state, rife with corruption and greed. It cares not for you, only for the status quo. They will sacrifice you without question. I wish to unite this galaxy as one, and to do so I will go through any that stand in my way. You will either fall as an enemy, or live as a hero. Throw off the bindings the hold you, and may the Force guide your decision.”
The transmission ends, and as the battle rages, the Republic retreats as well as it can, but casualties would be high. The trap that was laid for them by Revan would set the Republic war effort back for months.
The Cathari consular snarls at the proclamation of the figure in the holotank. "Heretic." she spits, her serenity now gone away like a gossamer thing, as if it never was. Now there is only seething rage in her cat's eyes, but possibly everyone else on the bridge is too busy to notice. "Save your ship and your crew, Captain. The others are lost. If they have surrendered they are doomed." She doesn't actually know that for sure but she claims so anyway.
"Shields are down captain! Engineers say there was an explosion!" Rory literally hops down into the tactical crew pit, to lean over the shoulder of some poor tech working a console. "Turn that comm message off." It blips out of existence and Rory stares hard at the sensor screens, and the reports. "Adjust course to thread us between the Defiant and Lambast. It should keep us off their gunner's scopes for a while." For long enough. Maybe. Already the little shudders of blasters hitting shields fade as they falter, to be replaced by booming klaxons of hull damage. "Plot us an escape vector to the staging area. Communicate to the starfighters to see if anyone can catch up to us on our way out."
As Pikk tears through the halls of the Resolute, heading towards the hangar bays, he turns a corner and falls flat on his nose. By the time he scrambles to his feet, there are small patrols of crewmen rushing past to get to their new stations or follow emergency orders. Further down the hall, he sees the once relatively unguarded hangars being secured and curses under his breath.
As the warning alarms blare overhead, Pikk does his best to keep a low profile and find somewhere to stay out of sight. He secretly hoped that the captain of this ship could get him out of this alive.
The Resolute’s escape is plotted and it slips between the two ships without much difficulty. Several of the enemy flagships shots lance past, slamming into the disabled Lambast with no mercy. It splits in half in a fiery explosion, hundreds of lives lost. After a time, several life boats and escape pods launch, so not all perished, though would likely end up as prisoners. A number of shots scorch the Resolute but for the most part, it remains unharmed for the time being.
The fleet is escaping, slowly, but surely. Several ships had already evacuated, and the flagship had turned around and was making ready for its escape when the engines go dark. Something had happened and it becomes a sitting duck. Republic Command was in danger. Which they seem to understand, as they begin evacuating in an attempt to escape the now useless ship in hopes they get picked up by another.
Rory could manage to save them, but it would require some serious skill.
Down in the belly of the Resolute, a Chadra-fan hides. No one seems to take the time to suspect Pikk. He is small and unassuming. However, that does not mean he feels that way, especially when someone trips over him and gets angry. “What are you doing? Can’t you see what is going on?!” The man shouts.
"We're all going to die! Everything's so loud! Save me! Save me! AiiIIIIeeeeeee!" cries Pikk, as he holds his ears and pathetically crouches down, rocking back and forth.
Rory is still standing over the scrunched and hunched down shoulders of the sensor tech in the crew pit. Who is not liking the situation, OR the Lieutenant Commander breathing down his neck. "Helm. Change course. Axial roll of seventy...nine degrees. Give those lifeboats and escape pods from the Flagship a straight shot into the hangar bay." Breathing room? Right now? In the midst of the battle? It’s roughly 30 seconds, but it’s enough for him to step around towards internal security guy who is speaking comms to arrange for triage. He gets interrupted. "I need to know what happened to our shield generator, Ensign. Do not fail me." Menacingly!? Or just a quick reminder. He isn't there long enough for the guy to figure it out.
The battle rages, though at this point it is merely a massacre. The Sith Empire’s new fleet is crushing the flank of the Republic and being forced to retreat means that what little reprisal there is ends up being minimal. Thankfully, the retreat is not entirely without its benefits. Rory manages to maneuver the Resolute to where it needs to be, not only picking up High Command, but managing to pick up the lifeboats from the Lambast on the way by. He’d assuredly be recognized for that.
“Calm down, man.” The crewman that had accosted Pikk seems to understand he is in the wrong. “Sorry, sorry… let’s just get back to our post. They’ll need us in top form for this.” He gets up and rushes off, leaving Pikk safe – again.
“Commander, I’ve got reports from engineering already, they claim it’s definitely sabotage.” The crewman informs Rory. “Not sure how it happened, but they are really confident about it. No damage anywhere else but the generators, but it sounds like that is happening across the whole fleet!” The guy just lets out a defeated sigh. “What happened, sir? How’d we get in this situation?” He’s definitely not the only one looking for answers. “I thought Revan was dead? So who was that?”
"Never underestimate what the Dark Side can do." Aahri offers as if in answer to the question hanging in the air. "Minds can be clouded, deaths faked, or perhaps Revan's rage simply kept her from shuffling off the flesh? It matters little at this point. There is no Revan anymore, there is just the ruler of a new Sith Empire."
"Sounds like questions for another time, Ensign. Lets just live first, eh?" The Resolute's throttle flutters and they hang almost in place for long minutes as escape pods and lifeboats are being pulled in expertly by tractor beam. Navigation reports having established hyperspace calculations and provides exit vector to helm. "Comms, send communications over secure channels of our exit vector. Tell others who are mobile that they can follow us out. Have fighters and escape pods intercept us on our way out."
A solitary Chadra-fan remains aboard the Resolute, hidden well, for if he is found out then things will be dire. He must remain anonymous, and hope that his sabotage is not discovered until he can make his escape or disappear into the Republic somewhere else. Others huddle aboard the Resolute as it slips into hyperspace with the rest of the fleet, retreating back into the Republic to lick its wounds until it can counter attack the new Sith offensive.
On the command deck of the Resolute, there is solemn silence. Traitors, new enemies, Revan back from the dead, massive blunders on the part of High Command, none of it was good. It was a massive setback and would take a great deal of time to recover from in which the Empire would be able to take to the offense. It had been a carefully laid trap and one executed well. Revan’s return certainly did not bode well, not at all, especially if it meant more battles like this would be in the future.
Rory is eventually joined by one of the admirals he saved with his quick thinking. The old, grizzled veteran of war looks rather haggard from his ordeal. “You have my thanks, son.” He states as he claps him on the shoulders. “All of you do. We’d be dead or worse had you not picked us up. You will not go unrewarded for this.”
