And victorious in war... [Dex]

[Thaddeus]

Arkoh and the Aegis had dropped out of hyperspace with the stars becoming pinpricks of light once more. They had reached the rendezvous point; they were carrying a full armoured battalion, and would soon be joined by two Quartermaster-class freighters carrying essential equipment and supplies for the fortification efforts, and an escort of two Foray-class blockade runners and three of the venerable Praetorian-class frigates.

Arkoh stood upon the bridge, his sharp aristocratic features illuminated by the blue of the holoscreen relaying scans of nearby space. The bridge was a hive of activity: the helmsmen checked the responsiveness of sub-light engines; engineering monitored the hundreds of readouts from the plethora of systems that kept the Aegis aloft in the nothing; meanwhile the comms officer waited for the signal from their fellow ships, and relayed the scans to the captain’s holo; ensigns hurried this way and that at the myriad of terminals and panels, their fingers a flurry across them; marines stood resolute by the doors to the lift. Nor was the bridge the only place of activity aboard the ship, no, down in the cargo hold walkers and tanks were stowed and secured, and at the gun batteries those crews stood at the ready, in the hangar flyboys played sabaac under their Aurek-class strikefighters.

The curious thing about these seemingly uniform and metallic beasts that lurched through space was that they were anything but uniform, within those thick durasteel hulls were hundreds of people all moving like blood through the vessels of the ship keeping her alive. It was easy to see why for eons people had personified ships, you entrusted your life to something which lurched and creaked it seemed in time with the movements of all the lives within it, how could you not see something alive in that? Arkoh would of course have added that the choice of a female personification was telling.

“They’re here sir.”

Arkoh looked up from his scans to see seven Republic vessels appearing with a spark of light. He nodded to the helmsmen and the Aegis began to move towards the ships, falling into place just in front of the freighters but within the protective ring of the other frigates and blockade runners. Arkoh had the seniority, so he was not surprised when the faces of the other captains appeared before him on the holo.

A short conversation followed, like any soldiers or sailors who meet coming from other ends of the front there was much to discuss: how the war was going, what action had they seen, losses, victories, even a few personal messages (of course none for Arkoh, he did not make a habit of fraternising within the ranks, no he got enough and more enjoyment out of the strumpets and pretty boys that waited at every port). More importantly than the chitchat though was the packets of data being relayed between their ships, not just the hyperspace route they would be taking, but also intelligence and reports. The monotony of it all was beginning to grate on Arkoh, but then this whole assignment was beginning to grate upon him.

The universe as if answering his unasked prayer flashed a warning upon the long range scans, unidentified ships approaching. Arkoh cut off the chitchat, ordered all the ships to stand to, and turned his white eyes upon the holomap. Meanwhile the drone of the alert sounded throughout the Aegis, shields were strengthened, the guns primed and loaded, the flyboys were all standing one foot on the ladders to their strikefighters, and the bridge had gone completely silent except for the electronic blips and beeps of the machines.

[Dex]

Captain Faraday hacked painfully towards the ground. His first officer, a rather contemplative Torgruta female, placed a hand on his back. With a "GRhm." that possessed an air of finality, the sickly captain looked up at the viewscreen. Scouting waypoint five, an unnamed little red star with an orbiting, sizable icy silicate rock home only to lichens, a dusting of atmosphere, and a high-orbit moon, was up ahead. He waves off the concerned woman with a nod and a gentle brandishing of his right crutch. Straightening up on his crutches, he asked his greenhorn comms officer "Lieutenant Kr'pet, why do you suppose they use numbers as waypoint labels?" Kr'pet looks over his shoulder and says "Cant have too much personality in the Navy, sir."

That breaks the rather monotonous tone on the bridge right away. A warm laugh from the Captain signals the acceptability of levity aboard this vessel, and a brief moment of laugher passes. As it starts to die down, Farady says "I'm using that one next time I get a reprimand." A more subtle round of chuckles follow. The Togruta officer makes her way to the sensor station as the Terminus-class Destoryer Blizzard jumps out of lightspeed. Her sister ships in the group, the Dagger and Blooded Fist, and the five corvettes accompanying this small scout sortie jumped in shortly thereafter. The dull buzz of comms chatter ended abruptly as the Togruta, Commander Kato called out "Sir we have Republic contacts."

The captain began his slow shuffle-step towards the window as the klaxons begin to thrum. "Whats on the menu today, Kato?" "Three Oldies, two 'rays and a..... Axehead escorting a pair of troop transports, sir." The captain chuckles and says aloud "I wonder which one is the flagship?" A round of nervous laughter dimly rumbles across the bridge. The captain presses the groupwide call button. "Blizzard squadron, about face and move away from that Republic fleet and into the planet's gravity well. Launch all fighters and have them stay with us. Engines on full. Let the fleet know what is going on, and hold the Durosauce." The horizon of the planet swings left as the ships turn into what typically would be considered a fleeing position, and reappears as the flames of their sublights sell the picture to the undertrained.

[Thaddeus]

Arkoh’s eyes did not even bother to look at the transparisteel window at the fore of the bridge, no he studied intently the blips that flashed red on the holomap: three Terminus-class destroyers hull numbers unknown, and five corvettes. Mentally he calculated that the destroyers alone could bring to bear as many turbolaser, laser, and ion cannon batteries as three Thranta-class and in total would be capable of launching forty-eight fighter craft. More than a match for the escort, and yet the Sith fleet was retreating towards the gravity well of a nearby planetoid. Arkoh looked up now, he was in disbelief, why move away? They had surprise they should attack without mercy… Arkoh sneered at the mistake with disdain. Mistakes were the purview of lesser beings, not him. He leaned on the railing before his platform, white hair tumbling over the shoulder epaulets of his blue uniform, and said quite clearly.

“All ships are to launch their strikefighters and bombers; I want a CAP set up.” Orders were relayed, and in the hangars of the Republic ships fighters and bombers whirred to life zooming out as heavy doors still moved slowly to open. The small craft set themselves up, orbiting the ships. “Praetorian-class you are my picket ships, anything larger than strikefighter makes it through the CAP turn it to dust.” Arkoh glimpsed at the holomap again, still pulling away from them. “Blockade runners move in close to Praetorians, keep the corvettes and any boarding craft away from them.” The Republic ships all moved easily into position forming a crescent between the transports (which were already burning away with sub-light engines) and the Sith forces, the crescent curved inward and at the mouth of it the Aegis. “Transports spin up your hyperdrives, you are to jump as soon as they are ready.”

Arkoh wasn’t going to waste the opportunity the Sith commander had given him, by delaying the attack he would allow the Republic transports the precious time needed to start their hyperdrives.

“Should we engage?” One of the helmsmen inquired.

“No. All ships are to hold this position, maintain formation.”

Define the zone of engagement and you have won the battle, Arkoh mused to himself lazily. This man was an idiot he added watching the holomap, he had had the element of surprise and an equal force, he should have pressed the advantage relentlessly. But instead he expected Arkoh to just guide the flotilla into their waiting hands, idiot, now he would have to watch as his prizes escaped.

[Dex]

"Well, at least we know they aren't your garden variety stupid. Lets see if they are more of the bland sort of stupid." Faraday watches the crescent form around the transports on the simple holographic display on his console. He gives a lover's sigh as he pictures the slow turn rate of those bulky antiques. Commander Kato grimaces, turns the face the captain at attention, and says "Sir, their transports are getting away." "Good! That means they aren't going where they were intended to." Kato loks a little flustered for a moment. "Sir?" Faraday grins and pulls up the squadron channel, simultaneously pulling up an nav map on the planet.
"Congratulations, Blizzard squadron, you've just broken up a Republic convoy. Now we get to shoot at some stuff! All ships, cut gravity compensator programs on your repulsorlifts and accelerate in towards the planet. Perigee at.... Mark thirty-five, mark four-point-seven. I want to see engines the entire way through. Fighters and strike bombers, you have permission to break current formation but maintain current trajectory past perihelion. Save your afterburners. I might need em later." A grizzled fighter captain replies "Aye, cap'n." Faraday grins as the Supremacy-class fighters and B28's peel out across the transparesteel window, merging into individual squadrons in the wake of the command tower.
Closing the channel, he takes a good look at the Republic fleet. The IFF tag reads 'Aegis'. Interesting name. The fighters disappear over the horizon, sucked in faster and faster into the gravity well of this little icy rock. He wonders how the inertial compensators of the fighters are doing. On a whim, he listens into Violet Squadron's comm chatter. He ducks as if shot at as a whoop of agrarian flyboy jubilation bellows from the comm speaker. This is followed up quickly by "We go'n reeeeeeel fest 'ere, Vye-leader!" "Cut. The. Chatter, Vye-Three! Those compensators are gonna give you a bit of a tug back into your seat as we pass perigee, and the compensators might max out. (Ithorian)<That gives the impression of a dangerous maneuver, Violet-Leader> "Don't panic, Vye-six. Just remember your high-gee training and you'll be fine." The Captain turns off the comm. Man, he has got to head down to the hangar more often. Sounds like a hell of a group. He wonders if they are any good at Sabaac.
Commander Kato walks over, looking concerned and confused. "Captain, thirty-five four-point-seven is almost on the opposite side of the planet to the Republic fleet." Faraday looks up at the Togruta and grins impishly. "Commander, you have a penchant for picking out the most brilliant part of my plans." Her face is a study in perplexedness until the finger of the commander extrapolates their trajectory. Kato's eyes grow wide, and the captain's impish smile proves infectious.

[Thaddeus]

Arkoh watched the flashing blips on his map pull away even further, his XO looked up from his own console and seeing his captain above him on his platform interjected amid Arkoh’s thoughts. “Captain, I believe they are…” Arkoh waved him off dismissively, it wasn’t hard to tell what the Sith fleet was attempting: they were going to try and use the planet to slingshot themselves behind the Republic vessels. Clever, Arkoh mused, as two blue blips vanished from his holomap the Arkanian captain looked out of the viewport to see the transports vanish into hyperspace. But sadly too slow, Arkoh smiled confidently, yes it was a good manoeuvre but the Sith commander had taken too long. He should have come out closer to the planet.

Now some commanders would have moved to engage the Sith forces, and indeed the Aegis’ comms officer gesticulated at Arkoh telling him to check his communicator. “The transports are clear captain, should we move to engage the Sith?” Asked eagerly one of the Praetorian-class captains, Arkoh rolled his eyes and shook his head, “No captain, all ships are to pull in their squadrons and make for hyperspace immediately.”

“But Captain Arkoh!”

“We are a transport convoy, not a combat patrol, our orders are to get these supplies to their destination intact.”

There was silence for a long while, and the bridge crew of the Aegis held their breaths – they knew their captain had a low tolerance for those men who disobeyed his orders – finally after what seemed an age the comms officer confirmed that all vessels had received the orders and were obeying. Clearly the other captain was the vain sort who couldn’t stand being wrong, Arkoh preened while straightening his hair.

The Republic vessels aligned away from the planet, and the squadrons roared silently back into their hangars. Arkoh looked lazily back down at the holomap, the Sith forces were now on the other side of the planet, “Sloppy, slow, and lumbering.” He addressed the red blips on the map with disdain, before looking up again to see the other vessels entering hyperspace, “Helm take us out of here.”

The Aegis vanished into the speeding recesses of hyperspace, and they, along with the rest of the Republic ships, would arrive safely at the Republic planet within a matter of hours. Arkoh delivered his report of the engagement, noting, “The commander of the Sith forces displayed unusual originality, though ultimately lacked the tactical nuance to properly perform their manoeuvre. I would characterise the officer in command as talented, caution should be exercised, though they overreach beyond their own talents.”

((Sorry for the delay, feel free to push it ahead to the next encounter, it will be the same makeup for the Republic forces))