Laron watched as the tunnel of hyperspace turned back into realspace and the planet Borleias appeared in front of his task force. His fleet had exited hyperspace in high orbit above the planet's northern pole. He walked over to Captain Cel, who was standing over the sensor station, and said, "What's the status of the fleet Captain?"

"The fleet decanted from hyperspace when & where they were supposed to sir. All ships present & accounted for Admiral."

"Good. Hail Borleias Control." The communications officer fiddled with his station for a minute, then nodded to the admiral.

"This is the Galactic Alliance star destroyer Cal Omas, flagship of the Galactic Alliance Third Fleet Task Force to Borleias Control. We are on a routine patrol and wish to know if there's anything you need assistance with."

Several minutes past before a human voice came over the comm system, "This is Barnab Pressin, governor of Borleias. I'm glad you arrived. To whom am I speaking." Laron smiled, "This is Rear Admiral Csapl'Aro'nuruduo, flag officer of the Third Fleet Task Force. How may we be assistance Governor Pressin?"

"We're having a little pirate problem. A trio of pirate ships have been harassing the convoys that use Borleias as a hyperspace route to Coruscant. We can't use our defense fleet because everytime we send them out to hunt them down, we get pounced. Any assistance you can give us would be appreciated." Laron nodded and said, "Send us the data you have on these pirates Governor. We'll see if we can clear them out." Laron looked over at Captain Cel, "Captain, this just interesting."

-- to be continued --

Added (22-Jan-2011, 7:03 PM)
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Laron sat at his station in the after section of the Cal Omas' bridge, watching the viewer with Captain Cel watching over his shoulder. It had been twelve hours since Governor Pessin had requested that they deal with the system's little pirate problem. According to the data, they had been operating out of Pyria VI and the pirates has access to an Aurora-class Assault Destroyer, a Victory Mk I Star Destroyer, and a Nebulon-B frigate to counter any incoming fighter assaults. Laron had gone over the data and concluded that a line consisting of five ships would be sufficient. He had dispatched the Orthavan, Bloodfin, Champion, Seeker, and Etherway to deal with the raiders. And that confrontation was what the Admiral and captain were about to watch.

The five-ship task force sped for Pyria VI's fourth moon; the Mon Cal cruiser Orthavan leading the pack with the remaining vessels taking up flanking positions above and below her. A full contingent of fighters began to erupt from the Orthavan's hangars. There were a pair of XJ3's, S4 E-Wings, and X-Zero's each along with a single squadron of HB-271 Bombers that immediately formed up and took up a defensive screen around the task force.

The pirate ships moved to engage the Alliance warships; the Aurora Assault Destroyer leading the assault with the other two escorting it in. The enemy began to launch fighter squadrons, consisting of four TIE Raptor squadrons, three squadrons of A-9 Vigilances, and a squadron of B-Wings. The fighters exited the hangars in a mindless rabble. Laron wasn't impressed.

The Etherway and Seeker moved forward in response to the pirate squadrons beginning a frontal assault against the ships. As soon as they were in range their quad laser cannons unleashed a massive torrent of weapons fire at them, destroying several in the first wave. Soon after that the Victory Star Destroyer began to bombard the two gunships with its concussion missiles however the gunships fired off a combination of both turbolaser blasts and concussion missiles set to proximity detonation that destroyed most of the shots and the E-Wings that had managed to enter the fray shot down the remaining missiles.

Meanwhile the Orthavan and the Bloodfin closed in on the Aurora Assault Destroyer and unleashed a barrage of turbolasers and missiles which managed to inflict significant damage to its shields. The Aurora responded in turn with a bombardment of turbolasers and proton torpedoes. The Champion moved to engage the Victory SD with the full force of its heavy turbolaser batteries, causing the shields to ripple to the point of collapse. The GA squadrons that hadn't been commited to combat immediately moved against the Nebulon-B frigate while the HB-271 bombers began to line up a bombing run on the Aurora.

Laron sat forward in his chair and said, "This is going to get messy Captain..."

Added (23-Jan-2011, 10:46 Am)
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Laron watched with interest as the battle unfolded. He watched as X-Wings battled with TIE Raptors and E-Wings danced with A-9 Vigilances. The two B-Wing squadrons were duking it out with some fierce firepower. Along with that the two Rangers were dividing their firepower between helping the fighters and attacking the Nebulon frigate. Soon, the frigate's shields failed under the constant bombardment and concussion missiles impacted the frigate's vulnerable spine, cracking it in two. After that, the gunships manuevered themselves to bring the full force of their guns to bear on the starfighers, picking off the remaining pirates.

During that time, the Orthavan and Bloodfin were taking serious punishment from the Aurora. Soon, the Bloodfin's shields were near collapse but the Mon Cal cruiser altered its course to place itself between the heavy cruiser and the assault destroyer. Once in position, it unleashed a massive barrage of weapons fire consisting of every portside gun it possessed. The ion cannon blasts danced along the hull of the pirate ship, disabling its systems, while the turbolasers managed to punch through the ship's shields and crippled several sections. The Bloodfin took the oppurtunity to recharge its shields and rejoin the fight, although with only limited amounts of its heavy guns. Within ten minutes, the assault destroyer was destroyed. Soon after that the Victory was destroyed from concentrated fire from both the Champion and the Bloodfin. Once the capital ships were destroyed, the pirate squadrons were systematically picked off. The battle was over...

Laron stood up and walked to the forward viewport. Two hours had passed since the skirmish and recovery & salvage missions had just been completed. A young lieutenant came up to the admiral and offered him the data from the battle.

"We have completed the analysis sir. Both the Champion and Bloodfin have suffered heavy damage to their shields and moderate hull damage. The Orthavan's damage was restricted to its shields, and the Etherway and Seeker suffered very little damage. Our fighter forces suffered twenty percent casualties, however we have managed to recover over half the pilots. The Borleian government has offered its services to assist in repairs." Laron nodded, "Very good Lieutenant. Send Borleias our thanks and begin repairs. We'll remain for as long as we need." The lieutenant nodded and hurried off to carry out her duties. Meanwhile, the Chiss admiral continued to look out at Borleias, watching the repair shuttles launching from the planet surface. It could have been worse, he admitted, but it also could have been better. His forces have a long ways to go before they were truly ready for whatever may come the Alliance's way...