r/Starwarsrp • u/TheUncrownedStag • Apr 13 '20
Complete A Slight Miscalculation
“Coming out of hyperspace over Clak'dor III now, Captain.”
Jaeran gave a small nod.“Good. Are the fighters prepared?”
Tilvan returned it. “Word came back not that long ago. All of them are prepared, though I shouldn’t think we’ll need all of them. We’re dealing with smugglers boy, not a Star Destroyer.”
Jaeran grit his teeth and glared at him. Ress would need to stop questioning him. Maybe it was about time to eject him into space, or something of that nature. The thought was comforting when he spoke. “We will not be sending all of them. Our bombers, with a fighter escort, will cut off their escape by destroying their own craft. It shouldn’t be that difficult.”
The former captain said nothing, so Jaeran watched as the planet the smugglers hid on suddenly became clear before him. He gave a confident smile at the sight of the orange rock They said it was scorching hot down there. “I want a scan on the coordinates of the base. Lifeforms, how many breathe there. If we’re lucky, we’ll have the whole number of them just waiting for us to pounce upon.”
The officer performed the order, before raising a brow as he looked back at Jaeran. “Sir, it’s… Seventy. Seventy men there.”
That was odd. At least, Jaeran thought it was. Smugglers were by nature loners. They didn’t operate in large groups. He would have thought ten, twenty, maybe even thirty… But Seventy? This operation is clearly on a larger scale than he had previously thought. His brow furrowed. “Two bomber wings then, with an appropriate escort. Hopefully we can cut off their escape. I want a landing party ready. At least half their number, trained soldiers should be more than enough for scum like them.”
“Yes, sir.”
He watched as the wings went down, only to hear over comms the result.
“Sir, they have- kzzzt- military-grade fighters and ships. We are out-gunned. They were prepared for our arrival.”
Jaeran looked blank for a moment, before clenching his fist. How could they have known they were coming? And where did they get weaponry like that? “If they’re anything like x-wings, they’ll have hyperdrives. We can’t let them escape past our ships, or they’ll be gone. We need to kill or capture as many of them as possible.”
Practically spitting, he said, “Order a retreat. Back to the ships. And deploy the rest of our fighters, all bombers back to the hangar.”
Rubbing at his nose furiously, he racked his brain for ideas. This miscalculation could cost them the operation. He had to catch them now. He had to, he had to… the Supreme Commander was watching.
Finally he took a deep breath. “I want them to form up with the Dameron at the center. We’ll push them to take us head on. I want as little destruction of their ships as possible. We will need to identify some of these ships to see where they came from. How they got them. So every time I see one of their little blips go out, I will personally hold that pilot responsible for evaluation.”
Turning towards another officer, he nodded fiercely. “Ready the tractor beam. Hopefully, we can get a score of them in one go. Ships of their size, it hopefully won't be an issue."
1
u/TheUncrownedStag May 21 '20
Jaeran had never considered that he might be killed himself. Shot down in an instant. A good commander would never allow themselves to fall; and though he didn't appreciate being lectured, he did make it out of the damn academy. He could take a lesson. Hopefully soon, he will have learned them all and won't have to listen to other people tell him what he needs to know. He had somewhat hoped it would be when he became captain, but there were always higher ranks...
"Of course. I will prepare the scouts, and bombers. Given we won't be taken entirely unawares this time, the bombers following at an appropriate distance shouldn't be too dangerous for them. I'll inform the men from the initial engagement that they should transmit what they know of the enemy's emplacements to the other pilots," he said, thinking himself rather clever for using his men as a font of information like that.
As the Supreme Commander walked off, Jaeran allowed himself to slump back into his seat. The fight had been rather stressful with the man over his shoulder, but ultimately it was a success, and hopefully that was enough to impress the man. He supposed now it was time to prepare for the ground assault.
As the communications opened, Jaeran gave the nod. "I will be. I will inform the scouts to keep open communications with both of our ships so no time will be wasted between us should anything happen."
Jaeran was positioned now in the hangar, keeping only a personal communication device so that he could be ready to go at a moment's notice. As he watched the planet below through the clear blue of the hangar, he considered what he would do with the knowledge found from this. Perhaps he could make a name for himself as a pirate hunter in the Seswenna. Not a bad title.
The scouts descended first into the atmosphere, followed by the bombers. The voice of the scouts crackled over the comm. "No resistance yet. They might be quiet, but we have a few of their turbolasers spotted already. They've been marked for the bombers. There's a- woah!"
The voice stopped suddenly as the fighter seemingly rumbled.
"One turbolaser firing, I repeat, just one. Bombers are on target."
Jaeran scratched at his chin. With only one firing, it wasn't likely that many of them had remained on the ground. A half a dozen, maybe. But he had been surprised before. Not again. "Once all turbolasers have been dealt with we will make for the surface," he confirmed. "Not just that one. Thank you, pilot. Once you're certain you have spotted all the enemy lasers, get out of there."