*Dâg lands the Skipray in the nearest hangar, and he and Kala get to work without hesitation. It doesn't take long for them to locate the outpost, but they decide it would be more prudent to eliminate the patrols first to avoid any surprises. They head in opposite directions, searching for hostiles. Kala makes first contact, dropping three with her shatter pistol. Dâg scores the next kill, tearing open a guard's throat with his vibrowhip. They each take down their next targets with thrown Tehk'la blades, which they retrieve of course, and then they meet back at the outpost.*

=Kala=


*Dâg grins.*

=Dâgalûr=


*Kala growls and advances on the outpost with Dâg in tow.*

Republic-class Star Destroyer "Mistweaver"
Talon class Destroyer "Blackback"
Talon class Destroyer "Queen's Revenge"
Talon class Destroyer "Hellfire"
Talon class Destroyer "Corsair"

- X-83 TwinTail Starfighter (12) : Red Squadron
- X-83 TwinTail Starfighter (12) : Gray Squadron
- X-83 TwinTail Starfighter (12) : Blue Squadron
- X-83 TwinTail Starfighter (12) : Reaver Squadron
- X-83 TwinTail Starfighter (12) : Sudden Death Squadron
- X-83 TwinTail Starfighter (12) : Black Hind Squadron
- Aleph-class Starfighter (12) : Green Squadron
- X-83 TwinTail Starfighter (4) Series V E-Wing (8) : White Squadron
- Series V E-Wing (12): Knave Squadron

Rachel's Renegades exit hyperspace, the four smaller ships in front of the Star Destroyer. All shields are raised, with addition power pouring into the particle shields. Turbolaser batteries begin obliterating a channel in front of the ships and all around them, clearing way for six full squadrons of X-83 Twin Tails, one Aleph class Starfighter squadron, one Series V E-Wing Squadron, and a mixed X-83/E-wing Squadron. Over a hundred fighters come pouring out of the five ships, shields fully charged, and a full load of proton torpedoes primed and ready to launch. On the bridge she barks out orders, pacing along the command deck back and forth, her companion standing still at the edge of the command walkway, his single remaining eye staring straight forward.

"Helm make sure not a single asteroid hit's us. Inform the "Hellfire" and "Corsair" to take three squadrons and prowl starboard. Inform the "Queen's Revenge" and the "Blackback" to do the same port. Admiral communicate with the Vong as soon as they arrive in system. Weapons besides blasting the channel for us work with sensors to target any defenses they have and obliterate them. Control, make sure none of my squadrons run into anything, but keep Knave, White, and Green close to us as a screen."

In the hangar bay the soldiers wait for the sole survivor of the ambush to exit the ramp.

*Already in the field, the miid ro'ik warship "Praetorite Command", moved in on the asteroid colony of Slayn. It was only an hour prior that the ship's Commander, Alith Yin, had received word from Kronn Yin of the Dark Corsair about the informal alliance with the pirates.* *At first it had surprised him, but the ever scheming Intendant part of his brain quickly pieced together the benefit that could be drawn from such a union. They had made such arrangements often enough during the war, it was time now to see if such acts of diplomacy would continue to pay off.* *Alith made a special note to his Warrior-Seers to watch the pirate fleet's movements and learn all that they could about their battle strategies. The Priests complied, moving off to their stations while the Commander took his seat at the main cognition throne, forming a mental connection to the living capital ship and urging its spirit to prepare for combat. It required little motivation, as the more recent conflict with the Bloodrage Pirates, brief though it may have been, had wet its appetite for destruction.*

*Meanwhile, hot on the pirate fleet's tail, the Ro'ik chuun M'arh frigate "Dark Corsair", slipped out of darkspace and began to move towards the asteroid known as Slayn. It pursued its course at full speed, its Yammosk (Susan) slaving the rearwards dovin basals to the task of propulsion, while preparing the forwards dovin basals to open micro-singularities in case of incoming fire from the Verpine defences. Inside the beasts belly, two of the three Scourges of warriors prepared for combat. Serrated edged coufees were anointed with venogel, prayers to Yun-Yammka were uttered, and oaths of vengeance on the infidels were sworn. The Yuuzhan Vong had made their blood pact with the Yun'o, now was the time to prove themselves worthy.*

{{ Hold yorik-et deployment unless absolutely necessary. }} *Alith said over the villip channel to the Dark Corsair.*
{{ Our allies have already launched more than enough fighters to deal with any resistance squadrons. Focus all your firepower on one point of the asteroid's surface. Once their shields come down, that rock will still be a tough nut to crack. Concentrated fire will stand a better chance of breaching its "hull". }}

*Kronn received the hail, looking into the eyes of his superior through the villip before him. He bowed his head and quickly responded in kind.*

{{ Understood. And what will you be doing? }}

*It wasn't a complaint per say, but there was definitely a hint of resentment in Kronn's tone. After all, he was Commander of the smaller ship, while Alith commanded the power of a miid ro'ik. If anything it should be the Praetorite Command's yaret-kor that should be concentrated on the surface of the asteroid.*

{{ Our dread weapon stands the best chance of piercing this shell. By sucking out some of the asteroid's interior atmosphere and inhabitants, we'll be able to weaken the resistance faced to your ground forces, and that of our allies, upon forming a beachhead. Once we're that close we will also be able to deploy the two chom-vrone we have aboard. The breaches they form should vent out a good number of the bugs, and since we know they can operate in vacuum, we'll be able to pluck them from the void at our leisure. }}

*Kronn paused to consider Alith's plan.* *It was a good one, he had to admit. A better allocation of their resources than he was going to suggest. It was clear that his domain mate had earned the miid ro'ik he commanded.*

*The Yuuzhan Vong frigate came into firing range just as the first green streaks of tubolaser fire began to stream from the Slayn colony. Dazzling bolts of deadly energy lanced forth from the Verpine's fortifications, filling space with a brilliant light show and harrowing the Pirate and Yuuzhan Vong fleets.*

Emerald turbolaser fire lances out from the hidden installations in the asteroids, as the Verpine defenders begin swarming out of hidden ports and hangar bays. Two squadrons of Besh class Personal Starfighters are being led by four Mandalorian Besu'liiks, while the two heavier ships, both CR90 Corellian Corvettes split up, pumping turbolaser fire at the Vong ships and the nearest pirate ship, the "Queen's Revenge". The fighters split into two group, half headed for each fleet as well.

The "Queen's Revenge" and her sister ship the "Blackback" along with their three squadrons absorb the initial fire, the eight turbolasers splashing across her hull and causing minor shield damage. In return the twenty-four turbolasers target the smaller ship and fire back, their beams causing massive shield failure. The "Blackback" uses a different strategy, unleashing four of it's Heavy Ion cannons at the Corvette, attempting to cripple the craft. Lightning races over the craft, it's shields already collapsed, and portions of the ship begin going dark, even as it continues on towards the fleet.

On the bridge of the "Mistweaver" the Admiral smiles. The Verpine/Mandalorian forces should have taken a lesson from history. Selecting certain turbolaser crews she has her most accurate gunners target certain smaller asteroids in the enemy ships path. The asteroids are pulverized by the energy, and the superheated remnants explode like bombs in front of the fleet. Half of the enemy squadron is wiped out, and as the survivors reform the pirate squadrons dive in on the doomed craft. The fight is brief and vicious as the Mandalorian led fighters are fighting for their home, but in the end the pirate overwhelm their defenders, losing three fighters, two to the Mandalorian fighter alone. The remaining fighters re-orient themselves towards the asteroid and launch a volley of torpedoes, nearly 60 missiles heading towards the asteroid. What shields they have will collapse and structural damage will ensure.

The other half of the fleet, encountering no resistance from their side continues maneuvering about for a better position, even as turbolaser fire begins lashing out at them. The "Mistweaver" also takes minor damage from the asteroids lasers, and the Admiral orders in her pilots to target the weapon emplacements.

Two soldiers move up and grab the odd creature, and force him to the ground, patting him down for hidden weapons, while four more move into the ship to secure it. The remaining six keep their blasters trained on the creature as both searches are conducted.

Failing to find any weapons on his person they haul him to his feet and half carry half drag him thru the ship, the other six guards forming an escort. Twisting and turning, and finally they open a door and have him sit in a chair, chained by restraints, and facing a man sitting behind a desk. The room is barely lit, but one would be able to make out the features of the man regardless. The man has black hair, brown eyes, and his face seems as smooth as marble. His uniform is black body armor, and in front of him lies a datapad. He could probably blend into any crowd, but right now he is the man in power.

"I am Colonel Tobias Volker. You surrendered to us, claiming you had information on potential targets and shipments we could raid. You will write them into this datapad, and should our sources check out you will be free to join us in our conquests. Also on page two is a standard employment sheet: we need to know your qualifications. Failure to cooperate or should you resist, these fine gentlemen behind you are very happy to splatter your brains across my lovely desk her."

He slides the datapad over, as the soldiers behind the prisoner bring their weapons up on the captive/recruit.

*Kronn watched with admiration as the pirates took care of their end of the defence fleet, then quickly adverted his gaze to the secondary view-spider that was now projecting the image of the other half of the defence fleet on route towards them. The Commander's lips pursed as he began to think strategy.* *The Blockade Runner was poorly suited to taking on the larger and more heavily armed Yuuzhan Vong frigate, even with the various Verpine modifications that riddled its hull and infested its interior. However, the fighters serving both to prelude it and as an escort would prove troublesome.* *He rose from his seat, thrust his right arm forwards, and gave the order to unleash hell.*

*Searing globs of brilliant orange plasma jettisoned from the Dark Corsair's forward yaret-kor, directed in a straight firing arc for the centre mass of the incoming squadron of Besh starfighters, causing the fighter group to scatter and split in half, one to either side of the Ro'ik chuun m'arh, each led by one of the Besu'liiks. Beams of crimson streaked brilliantly from the corvette's swivelling dual turbolaser cannons, only to be swallowed up an instant later by the frigate's dovin basals. In return, the forward mounted rock spitters opened up and fired a return salvo. Magma missiles whipped across the distance, exploding upon the corvette's shields with force. To their credit, the Verpine modifications made to the shield held up longer than the standard Corellian design, but even they could only take so much of a beating. A second salvo from the Corvette was swallowed up, followed by one last salvo from the frigate. This time its missiles shattered the corvette's shields and exploded against its hull, equally tearing rents in its lightly armoured surface and boiling the durasteel into liquid goop. Crewmen were cooked alive at their stations, their flesh blackened to char.*

*As the corvette began to list to the side, bleeding atmosphere and bits of hull, the Dark Corsair sailed on passed it.* *The capital ship was out of the fight, but they would be back for its surviving crew later.*

*The Besh fighters were forced to scatter further as the Praetorite Command forced itself into the space melee. Its forward dovin basals soaked up the numerous speckled blasts from the asteroid's battlements as though they were nothing. Space's cold void was soon filled with thunder as twenty of the miid ro'ik's yaret-kor were turned forwards, expelling plasma blasts in thick streams, packing both energy and kinetic force. These weren't the smaller styled yaret-kor of the ro'ik chunn m'arh either, but the bigger heavy cannon variety, each packing enough punch to pound the asteroid into submission. Verpine weapon emplacements exploded in fiery blasts, leaving little behind but obsidian glass.*

*The split fighter squadron moving in on the Dark Corsair soon found several of its starfighters halted in mid-space, then seconds later dragged back towards the Praetorite Command as the warship's dovin basals reeled them in like over-powered tractor beams. The yaret-kor along its port side annihilated the Besh personal starfighters with ease, leaving nothing behind as the plasma bursts caused the fighter's ordnance to detonate. Half the squadron managed to survive, but soon found themselves assailed from the rear as yorik-et starfighters began to break off from the Praetorite Command. An entire wing, headless of the exchange of plasma fire, took to the void and hounded the remaining ships. The besu'liik pilots found some sense and began to break off, but every which way they turned was soon filled with organic fighter craft. They lasted seconds, not minutes. In moments the last of them were turned to micro-slag and then drawn into the passing frigate's singularities, sucked into oblivion.*

*Both Yuuzhan Vong capital ships continued their pursuit of the asteroid complex, following the pirate's example and targeting the weapons emplacements that repeatedly spat beams of green.* *Heh. The bugs offered them wasp stings, and in return, Rachel's Renegades and the Praetorite Marauders swung the fly-swatter.*

Excuse me Colonel if I do not divulge all my secrets at once as I feel they may be the only thing keeping me alive.
*Taking the datapad handed to him he pulled out a map of the galaxy. He circled an area of space known as the carbonite run, two notable planets of intrest he crossed out were Vulptur a heavily polluted world but more than likely it had some wealth to be taken. The second being Empress Teta. It was a beautiful world that would be perfect to find wealthy people there vacationing.

On the second page he found the recruitment page after answering the mandatory questions like age sex and that kind of stuff he came to the end. He didn't have much to gloat about, he was a decent pilot but he played that up a little so to make himself seem better than he was. He could shoot his sniper rifle very well and considered himself an expert. Other than that he didn't have much to say other than that he could virtually fly in water and was better on snow or mud than anything else.*

Tobias laughs, a short bark of a laughter.

"The only thing keeping you alive is your temporary usefulness to her. Don't carry your weight and she'll space you. Let's see that now."

He grabs the datapad flipping over the information and the employment sheet. Vulpter was an industrial playground worth checking out, at first with a recon due to it's location in the Core. Empress Teta was another story, Krath hellhounds and all. If their were not Krath supporters there, fine it would make an excellent target with all that Carbonite, but again another recon would be advised.

Pilot and sniper.... he looks over the specimen in front of him. A penguin.... almost a joke. But pending some medical tests perhaps he may just be of use in the infantry contingent. An unknown like this would be a good recon specialist, perhaps one day even a commando. The raid on Roche would be too early, but perhaps the Vong could be persuaded to interrogate him a bit once on the surface and see what else he knows. He stands up, datapad in hand.

"Very well. We'll be along shortly." he says as the soldiers and he walk out the door, slamming it shut behind him. Two guards remain outside while he goes to make his report to the boss.

Yeah that's cool you can just leave me here all alone I don't mind.
*Odet felt kinda scared, he was on the craft of those he not only wanted to kill, but those who no doubt wanted to kill him. He was prepared to die but hopefully that little bit of information bought him some good will of these men and their captian.*

The "Blackback" maneuvers alongside the Corvette, pumping additional ion cannon fire into it to ensure that no self-destruct could possibly go off. Fifty heavily armed Commandos enter the ship thru docking collars and begin purging the ship of all resistance, their blasters pistols set to stun just in case they find any crew not hostile. They also work to stabilize the ship with atmosphere so they can conduct a more thorough search.

The remainder of the fleet, including the now free starfighters begin taking strafing runs at the massive asteroids defenses. Torpedoes lash out at the asteroid in waves, collapsing the industrial grade shielding network, meant more to protect the design from other asteroids than pirates or attackers. Slowly one by one the Turbolaser defenses are destroyed, plasma from the Vong Frigate, and turbolaser strikes from the fleet targeting their counterparts. Shields flicker on all the ships as they absorb more fire heading in, and another two fighters are lost to lucky hits and asteroids but soon the asteroids outer defenses are all gone.

Now comes the hard part, the hand to hand fighting. None of the former soldiers heavy equipment could possibly help them, their heavy tanks being more suited to land invasions not zero-g fighting or hallway to hallway fighting. This would be up to the soldiers and the Vong troops. Boarding and landing shuttles are prepped for the work as the ships draw into a protective cocoon around the asteroid.

Tobias calmly walks up to the bridge while the guards watch the room with the "prisoner" inside. He flips thru his own datapad to check the reports on the prisoners ship from the scanning team. They had found nothing sinister, simply what appeared to be a privateer's ship, colder than humans would appreciate, but that would probably be normal for a species like his. On the bridge he watches the Admiral and "her" conduct the battle for a few minutes before marching up behind "her" and delivering the report in person. He could have transmitted it, but he felt an in person report was better.

"The Deep Core is quite far from our current location but the two worlds may yield plentiful bounties. Keep him questioned for a couple of hours until the battle is sorted, then maybe we can see how he does attacking such targets....with an escort of course." "She" comments, casually flicking the datapad back to him. "She"turns her attention back towards the battle, and he bows before returning back down to the interrigation areas. Doubt their was much more to be discovered even if they bothered to actually interrogate him but orders were orders.

*There wasn't very much for Odet to do at this moment so he just sat there. Bored out of his skull he by now had accepted his fate and was fully prepared for whatever thee was in store for him.*

How much longer will you be taking you crazy pirates!

Upon deciding the fate, the guards move back into the room and grab the person inside. moving back thru the ship they head back to the craft he came in, toss him inside, and seal back up the ship. Tractors push the ship out of the hangar bay and into space. A moment later a shudder is felt thru the fleet, and the group maneuvers back thru the asteroid field before jumping to hyperspace.