Ado Sector Campaign - Part 5

Part 4

The Ado Sector Campaign continues. After the 2nd Battle of Tylaq a flurry of activity occurred on both sides of the conflict.

The Rebels quickly concluded their operation in the Tylaq system and made a speedy exit with thousands of Twi'lek refugees crammed into transports. The Imperials swiftly moved back into Tylaq and regained control of the system depositing a garrison base on the primary planet, a sizable ground force, and numerous squadrons of TIEs.

Elsewhere, Rebel ships continued to harass outlying systems, broadcasting propaganda into the local HoloNet whenever possible, an effort that was beginning to have an effect on the loyalty of the fringe systems of the sector.

After the Rebel's bold operation at Lauper's World, disrupting the vacations of many Kuat Drive Yards executives, the response to the legal actions of KDY by the Imperials was not subtle. The HIMS Adamant, an Imperial Class Star Destroyer, entered the system, deposited its garrison base, an entire legion of stormtroopers, multiple walker companies, and a wing of TIEs. The local aristocrats were informed that this deployment was to prevent further Rebel incursions into the system. KDY was not pleased citing the private ownership of the system and the actions of the Imperial fleet as a gross violation of sovereignty and revoked all existing contracts.

Shortly afterword, the Imperial Admiral was informed that the Grand Moff had suspended the supply of all spare parts for KDY designed ships to the sector, effectively making it impossible to conduct repairs on any such vessel. Pissing off the largest arms manufacturer in the galaxy was not a good idea.

Then in the course of two days three battles occurred.

The 1st Battle of Silvestri

At the tail end of a minor hyperspace lane, the quiet system of Silvestri was patrolled by a collection of small Imperial starships.

The HIMS Crimson Death, a Carrack Class Cruiser Mk II, led a battlegroup of a Lancer Frigate, four CR90 Corvettes, and two Raider Corvettes. They maintained their visible presence around Silvestri prime, showing the flag and stamping out resistance. With a flash their sensor screens lit up as a Rebel starship exited hyperspace near the Oort cloud of the system; clearly a scout.

The Rebel starship, a Bayonet Class Frigate stolen from the Imperials earlier in the campaign, relayed the positions of the Imperial starships deeper in the system to the rest of its squadron and coordinated a precision jump to Silvestri Prime. The Rebel squadron of a MC40, MC30, and the Bayonet jumped in as close as they dared to the gravity well. Unfortunately, the Imperials noticed the frigate and had maneuvered in the minute it took the Rebels to organize; they weren't where the Rebels wanted them.

The Carrack and her attendant Lancer had sped away to starboard to open the distance and turn the range of the cruiser's heavy turbolasers to it's advantage.

The Imperial corvette squadrons had sped out of the gravity well in an attempt to pincer the Rebels and though not in perfect position, were still sufficiently behind the Rebel ships to avoid most of their firepower.

A few stray shots were exchanged and the two sides maneuvered to try and get the advantage. The three Rebel ships turned to starboard both to bring their broadsides onto the Imperial corvettes and try to close the range to the Carrack, their primary target. The Carrack performed a 135 degree turn to be perpendicular to the Rebels and show her broadside heavy turbolaser batteries. The CR90s and Raiders closed in to harass the MC40 and MC30. At this range the Carrack had difficulty overcoming the shield regeneration of the MC40 but poured out fire anyway.

The Imperial corvettes raked the shields of the MC40 with light turbolasers and light ion cannons achieving more than the Carrack due to the much shorter distance. The Rebels in turn found landing hits on the nimble corvettes frustrating.

The velocity of the Rebel ships was increasing rapidly while the Carrack was burdened with the relatively slow Lancer. Realizing that trying to keep the distance open was a futile endeavor, the commander of the Imperial cruiser did something rash, he turned to starboard and engaged in a broadside with the much larger MC40. At first this seemed like suicide, but this was a Mk II Carrack which replaces its point defence laser cannons with light ion cannons. At point blank range as the ships passed each other, the Carrack managed to drop the starboard shields of the MC40 and land heavy turbolaser hits to the hull. For its efforts, the Carrack had her shields dropped and her hull repeatedly torn open by return fire.

The Imperial corvettes had closed to the rear of the MC30 and Bayonet. Not confident they could deal with the MC30, the six corvettes targeted the Bayonet and destroyed it in short order. It was their ship anyway, the Rebels just stole it.

At this point the Rebel commander made a decision to escape the system. He was confident that he could destroy the Imperial battlegroup but not comfortable with the losses it would take to do it. Silvestri remained in Imperial hands.

The 1st Battle of Vanda

24 hours later one jump away in the Vanda system, the HIMS Crimson Death fought another small action. The Imperial cruiser was leading its damaged battlegroup back to base for repairs and made a stop in the Vanda system only to find Rebels in their way.

Only a few hours earlier, two Rebel corvettes, a Braha'tok and Hammerhead, had entered the system and begun harassing the locals. Immediately turbolasers flew in the direction of the tiny Rebel ships but only a single hit was scored dropping the starboard shields of the Braha'tok.

The Rebel ships instantly burned for everything they were worth, turning away from the Imperial ships in an attempt to get out of the gravity well. The Imperials naturally gave chase and continued to fire at the corvettes but again only managed to drop the rear shields of the Braha'tok.

As the seconds drew on, the Rebel ships reached the edge of the planet's gravity well but the Imperials were hot on their stern. Combined fire from the Carrack and the Raiders finally managed to damage the Braha'tok, destroying it in moments. the CR90s raked the Hammerhead at point blank range tearing it apart. For the moment the Vanda system was quiet.

However, a few hours later as the Imperials performed damage assessments, more Rebels arrived. Entering the system from three directions, six Rebel starships arrived clearly intending to rendezvous with their lost brethren. Two CR90s approached from the port-aft of the Imperial group.

While to the front of the Imperials, a MC30 snapped into realspace, the same MC30 they had just fought the previous day in the Silvestri system. To the port-bow, two Braha'tok corvettes and one Hammerhead also joined the fight. Neither side was expecting this action but the Rebels were disrupted to a greater degree thanks to the separation of their squadrons. Within seconds, weapons fire streamed through the vacuum seeking targets, though with no real damage to show for it.

The Imperials were head-on to two different Rebel squadrons and so it was no surprise when a brawl in space erupted. At nearly spitting distance the Carrack and MC30 threw hate each others way. The Carrack performed the same trick as the last battle and dropped the shields of the Rebel cruiser with light ion cannons and pounded the front of the ship with heavy turbolasers while the corvettes hit on the starboard side. The MC30 was not as successful with its bow mounted proton torpedo launchers all missing their target. This one failure doomed any chance the ship had in this battle. The Rebel corvettes raced to close the distance.

Realizing that the fight was not to their advantage, the Rebels began to move away from the planet to escape into hyperspace. The MC30 activated her hyperdrive to retreat but it blinked a warning error and harmlessly dissipated its charge. The ship had miscalculated and tried to enter hyperspace while still inside the gravity well. She would have to charge the drive for a few more seconds to try again, seconds that could prove deadly. The Imperials gave chase to the most valuable target, the MC30. Again turbolasers crossed the void and rendered serious damage to the Rebel cruiser. As the Braha'tok corvettes passed by the port-aft of the Carrack, it loosed its other broadside into them with lucky shots managing to hit one of the elusive ships destroying it utterly.

As the MC30 continued to pour on the speed overtaxing her engines, the Rebel corvettes made their own retreat into hyperspace. The Imperials continued to chase the cruiser trying to down it before it left but the range was opening. More damage was inflicted but none of it crippling.

As the seconds counted down to it's retreat, the MC30 made a hard turn to starboard, a move the Imperials did not predict, and further opened the range. A few shots from the Carrack impacted the rear shields and then with a flash the MC30 jumped.

This was the third battle for the HIMS Crimson Death and her battlegroup in less than a week. Many of the ships had battle damage and were in desperate need of repair but they had successfully maneuvered their way through each encounter. The Imperials bestowed a commendation to the captain.

The 3rd Battle of Tylaq

It seemed as if the Tylaq system, a lonely mining colony, had become the focus of this entire campaign. Rebel ships had annoyed the local garrison for weeks before finally an invasion force descended and liberated the slave camps. Two major battles had already been conducted there over the proceeding days before the Rebels finished their operation and left. In response, the Imperials dispatched a Victory Class Star Destroyer to regain control of the system. With well placed intelligence agents, the Rebels new of this deployment and sent their flagship, the ANS Savior of Ryloth, a Dauntless Class Star Destroyer, to hunt the Imperial whale.

The ANS Savior of Ryloth jumped into the all too familiar Tylaq system, surrounded by a cloud of starfighters from its own bays and those of an escort carrier outside the system as well as a CR90 and Marauder corvette, expecting to find their prey.

But their intended target had left. In its place an Imperial squadron was slowly orbiting the gas giant. A Ton-Falk Escort Carrier, Carrack Cruiser, Tartan Frigate, and Arquitens Frigate seemed like a juicy target.

However, moments after arrival, the snap of more Imperial ships exiting hyperspace changed the equation. 120 degrees off from the Dauntless, a Vindicator Heavy Cruiser, Immobilizer Heavy Cruiser, and a Raider Corvette joined the squadron already in system. The Immobilizer seriously complicated the situation as it would prevent the Dauntless from simply leaving. A battle was now inevitable. Curiously, these ships had a TIE variant on escort that the Rebels had not seen the entire campaign, TIE/Ad Avengers. Where did they come from?

In response to the interlopers, the Imperial heavy cruisers made to fall into the shadow of the gas giant to give themselves time to organize. TIEs began to leave the ships in ever increasing numbers.

The Dauntless and her group accelerated and turned to port to round the planet. She then dispatched her starfighters to disrupt the Imperial movements.

The smaller Imperial ships turned and accelerated for the perceived safety of the other ships. The escort carrier dumped TIEs into the vacuum.

Tylaq Prime also contributed to the Imperial fleet in the form of starfighters launched from the surface. The planet became a staging ground as all forms of craft from the ships joined up with the garrison in a holding pattern.

It was at that moment that the Rebel starfighter strike descended on the Imperials, when much of their force was at Tylaq Prime. A-Wings, Z-95s, Y-Wings, X-Wings, JV-7s, and Delta DX-9s struck out for the escort carrier. All that was left to oppose this mass were two squadrons of TIE/In Interceptors and two squadrons of TIE/Ad Avengers. The ensuing release of concussion missiles and subsequent furball saw most of the Imperial starfighters destroyed and the Rebel bombing missions successful. Plasma and ion torpedoes slammed into the starboard side of the escort carrier until the entire right side of the ships was a charred wreck.

With the Imperials put on notice, the Dauntless performed a fake out and turned back to starboard trying to get its array of heavy weapons into the fight. Overtaxing her engines, the Dauntless massively increased her speed but blew out all three aft engines in the process.

As the Rebel starfighter mission returned to the Dauntless for reload the Imperial ships continued to close with each other and put more TIEs into space. They had zero interest in engaging in a long range gunnery duel with the Rebel capital ship.

All of those starfighters continued to coalesce over the planet in what could be accurately described as a death blobTM.

With the gas giant still blocking all weapons fire, the Imperials endeavored to keep it that way moving ever closer to the ball of hydrogen. The maneuvering barely succeeded with the Dauntless blocked from engaging them for a few more precious seconds.

It was at that moment that the Imperial commander judged the time was right. It was unlikely that the fleet would get another turn in the shadow of the gas giant and the starfighter Death BlobTM was of sufficient size. TIE fighters, interceptors, bombers, avengers, scouts, XG-1s, and ATR-6s crashed into the Rebel capital ship like a tsunami. The few opposing starfighters that hadn't been landed to reload were not sufficient to stop the horde. Waves of proton torpedoes impacted the Dauntless and though the PDS of the massive ship stopped a few, the rest were more than sufficient. The mighty Rebel ship was torn in half. The Dauntless was not only the most powerful Rebel ship in the sector it was also the Admiral's flagship. It spelled the end of the campaign. Almost as an after thought, the two escorting corvettes were boarded and captured.

In the sudden action of a starfighter strike, the campaign was over. The Rebel fleet had only one remaining command ship in the entire sector and taken serious losses over the last few turns, there was no coming back.

I would like to thank Will and Matt for an enjoyable experience watching the both of you navigate the map like blind drunk boxers. We managed to prosecute 26 turns in this campaign and fight 9 noteworthy battles. Many more encounters occurred where the Rebels fled at the sight of the Imperials; typical slippery Rebels.

Next up I am planning on running a Star Trek campaign. In the meantime, stay safe and stay busy.