Star Wars: Fires of Exaron 2

[Marcus XVI]

"Sir, incoming vessels!" Kreel immediately turned to face his men "Launch the fighters - all of them! Order them to move as one group and target the enemy ships that have gotten ahead of the rest of the group. If they can't destroy the enemy ships before reaching firing range of the rest of the Republic ships have them retreat back to our own lines and take defensive positions." He heasitated mor a moment "Contact the fleet! Let's move in this formation towards the enemy and fire when we get within range."

The TIE squadrons were quickly assebled and took their places in the formation. The fighters moved swiftly to intercept the closest ships - opening fire with all weapons at maximum range. - they were like a swarm of really angry wasps and Kreel knew how a sufficent amout of wasps could kill even the largest of kath hounds. "Give the command, move at full speed!" The rest of the fleet began moving towards the enemy - they held their formation and were preparing to fire from maximum range. "Contact the Star Destroyers! Take the bigger vessels - expecially their bridges - as primary targets!" The Vice-Admiral closed his eyes and clenched on the walking stick with both hands "Maker be with us."

[Ocarab]

TERN VASILUS

Well this certainly wasn't good. Tern's Intelligence agents in Tikirt had alerted him to the massing of armored, infantry, and air forces in that newly-lost city by the Republic, and Tern had analyzed it and sent up a report, an accurate report at that, that the Republic was preparing for a push towards Rywekh in the northeast, or for the ion cannon to the north. When the Rebels started moving, their trajectory put them on course for Rywekh, and the Imperial commanders on the ground had reacted appropriately to the nearly two hundred thousand men and vehicles moving towards them. What had escaped everyone's notice, including the Intelligence agents in Tikirt, was the relatively small armored column which split off from the main body and headed due north, towards the mountains. In fact, it was not even until the reports from the defending Stormtrooper battalion at the ion cannon came in to the Citadel that anyone even knew that an Armored regiment had split off. Thinking of it now, and looking at the updated reports and brief holofeeds from the ion cannon, Tern was furious. What in hell were his agents doing? Yes, the massive force moving towards Rywekh had likely drawn all of their attention, but an entire Republic Armored Regiment? That was over two hunrdred tanks and other vehicles! How did they miss that?

Tern was a veteran Intelligence officer, and his mind immediately knew what the next order effect was: a naval assault. He had to admire the Rebel plan for its effectiveness: drawing the Empire's attention with a false ground attack at Rywekh while taking out the ion cannon to allow their Navy to begin their own offenseive, having been locked away from the planet for weeks at a time. Opening a channel to Vice Admiral Kreel's flagship, the Vanguard, Vasilus reached one of comm officers. "This is Major Vasilus of Imperial Intelligence. The planetary defense ion cannon is under assault by Rebel forces. Inform Vice Admiral Kreel to prepare for a naval assault." The comm officer acknowledged, and Tern closed the channel. It would now be up to the Navy to fend off the Rebel fleet and try to keep the balance of power. Already, Tern was preparing a report to Marshal Thompson, to recommend a course of action to ensure the Rebels could not use the ion cannon against them.

[Kangaroo]

The Imperial fighters were drawn away from the corvettes and capital ships which could protect them from the cargo on board the freighters. The first freighter exploded in a flash of white hot light as its reactor was punctured and the searing heat melted everything in contact. "Gt the cargo off those freighters now! Release our little surprise for those Imperial pilots!" Tirian ordered and suddenly the situation turned on the Imperials. Crates upon crates were ejected from the freighters straight into the path of the chasing fighters. The crates cracked open and suddenly clouds of buzz droids were propelled from the crates.

Back on the bridge of the Liberator, Tirian saw the crates burst open and clouds of droids flung out into the vastness of space and a wry smile broke out across his face. "Second stage in action, get those X-Wings into formations and the corvettes ready to back those X-Wings up! I want all capital ships to boost shields now, we need to ride out the fire from those Star Destroyers."Whilst they had less firepower then that of the Star Destroyers their triple Mon Calamari shields would take just about anything that could be thrown at them.

[The Whacko]

The tram ride to ExoGeni Corporate Labs was a long one, and it felt even longer to Brakko as the skyscrapers whizzed by. His goons were spread out over the tram in clusters of two, three or even larger groups, cleaning weapons, shooting the bull, or just sitting quietly in the case of the Houks and Nikto. Taking a slow drag on his cigarette and exhaling a pungent tobac, cloud, he thought about what he was going to do next. The Imperials had bought his story at the port, but he couldn't expect that kind of luck again. He supposed the plan would come together when they reached the labs.

The ride took another twenty five minutes, and his men off-loaded their gear in a matter of minutes. The security at the lab itself, if it could be called that, hesitated a moment before they realized who he must be. He'd called ahead that they'd be coming, even if the board wasn't happy about their lab being used as a staging area for Republic Inteligence. Good thing most of the scientists had been evacuated when the fighting started, Brakko suppose. They'd just cause more trouble. It was just a skeleton crew here now, and his men would have to take over most of the facilities themselves. Taking one last drag on his smoke, he dropped it to the duracrete and crushed the butt under his boot, speaking into the comm on his colar again.

"Brakko here, arived at the labs. Setting up facilities now."

[Ocarab]

JARON ESTILOHIN

Jaron's travel through the streets of Vratokh had been winding, taking several false turns and doubling back more than once. To the untrained eye, it would appear erratic and obsessive; to Jaron and other Intelligence agents it was a way of life and something that could be the difference between life and death. In many jobs, cutting corners was possible and sometimes worth it. It was almost never worth it in Intelligence, though it was always possible. Plus Jaron had a fair amount of time before he was supposed to meet with Brakko. By the time he reached the area of Industrial 1, where the ExoGeni labs were located, he still had ten minutes available. Industrial 1 was the nicest of the ten industrial districts in Vratokh, closest to the rich Naviar and Imperial Districts. The higher the number, the nicer the Industrial district and the closer to the Empire's Citadel. It was no surprise that Industrial 9 had been the secret safehouse for the dissident cell which started here some time ago. Those brave souls had all been killed or left the planet with Major Rudder. The man was a living hero now, especially in the classified circles of the Republic such as Special Forces or Intelligence. Jaron had heard that the two cell members who escaped were now working with Special Forces, but hadn't run into them as of yet. The Bothan spy Gath Laons'hir was still working with Republic Intelligence as a full-time agent, and that was someone Jaron had met.

The ten minutes passed quickly, Jaron hiding in a nearby alleyway out of sight to observe the arrival of Brakko and his team. They pulled up and unloaded the gear quickly while a Rodian smoked a cigarette. Jaron watched the Rodian put his collar-pinned comlink to his mouth and make a call which came in quietly over Jaron's earpiece.
"Brakko here, arived at the labs. Setting up facilities now."

"I'll be there in a second," replied Jaron before stepping out and walking across the street to where Brakko was standing, checking both directions for anything suspicious as he did so. "Brakko Roolek, Jaron Estilohen," he said extending a hand.

[Voltin]

"You don't need to salute or call me sir, I'm not Army. I'm Doctor Plano, sentientologist and director of this facility. I was told you were coming. Interesting that they sent you." Talasana raised her brow to the last statement. Why was such a thing "interesting"? She would have asked, but it really wasn't her place to. "You can tell your friends to bring it through the main doors and to Lab One." Friends? This man was a funny one, but it did give her some authority over the agents so that was a plus. "Hey you," she pointed at one of the ominously dressed men, "take care of the shipment, I'm going to have a nice chat with the doctor." She turned back to face Plano. "If I may be so bold, what exactly is in those crates?"

Plano gave her an odd look before flashing an awkward half-smile and saying, "I'm not sure that's within your clearance. Major Vasilus told me you were delivering the shipment, not that you were privy to any of the classified information about it." He was clearly uncomfortable with the question, and perhaps with Talasana even being there at all.

She grimaced; what exactly could be so important in those crates, that even their deliverer couldn't knoe what they contained. "Fine then Doctor Plano, have it your way. If that'll be all, I shall return to my office when my transport is finished being used. I have a lot of paperwork to get back to."

"I believe Major Vasilus wants you to report to him upon completion," said Plano. "When you get there I'm sure you can bring up the shipments with him at that point, and maybe he'll tell you." He paused and said, "But take my word on this: you don't want to know what is in those shipments. I promise."

Ah, right; that would make sense. But what exactly was in those crates that he would give such a grave warning about? All of her years in Intelligence gave her very little of a clue. "Very well Doctor, I wish you a good day." Talasana proceeded to salute him, stopping halfway as she remembered his previous statement. She returned to the front gate as her speeder was brought back and systematically dismounted by one of the faceless agents. The twi'lek got in her vehicle, and drove back along the secluded path, her destination once again being the Citadel.

Plano watched as the speeder drove off before turning and walking back into the complex; there was lots of work to be done.

[Hotshot]

Colonel Maxon Tarven, 15th Armored Repulsorlift Regiment
Northern Mountains, Exaron, Exaron System

The 15th continued their assault, advancing at breakneck pace while firing their tanks' main guns as quickly as the weapons could fire. The surprise, range, and accuracy of the 15th Regiment's tanker crews had begun their firing at the outset of the assault, as well as the speed at which they were closing on stationary targets, had overwhelmed the Stormtrooper battalion defending the ion cannon from the outset, and while Maxon had lost three tanks destroyed and two more damaged and out of service but still repairable, the BP.4 anti-vehicle laser turrets being manned by the Stormtroopers, as well as the BP.2 anti-infantry turrets were now almost completely destroyed. The tanks had now closed to within several hundred meters of the complex, and finally Maxon watched with pride and relief as the final two BP.4 turrets exploded within ten seconds of each other, destroyed by withering and accurate fire that finally melted and blew away the turrets' armor. There were still a few outlying BP.2 turrets, but they were no threat to the tanks and would be easily dispatched within moments, Maxon knew. "Lightning Six, Torch Six, turn your battalion around and establish a hasty defense on the reverse side of this hill, oriented southeast." He knew that the Republic forces down south had engaged the Imperial forces in between Rywekh and Tikirt and so there should not be any immediate counterattack, but there was no harm in being careful, especially in such an important mission as this.

Unlocking his hatch and standing up again, Maxon picked up his macrobinoculars from his tank commander's curtain behind him, where a number of things were stowed for quick access, and peered down towards the gate of the complex. The tanks had blown it open with sustained fire, and through his macrobinoculars Maxon could see the SA-5 Hoverscouts of Lieutenant Colonel Young's Reconnaissance Squadron rushing towards the gate, passing through it with their blaster cannons firing at Stormtroopers whom Maxon could not see due to the walls of the complex. The Hoverscouts spread out as they passed under the gate, providing a half-circle shape in which they count dismount their scouts under cover. The back ramps of the SA-5s dropped, and six scouts rushed out of each vehicle, moving swiftly in their platoons to combat the final Stormtrooper defenders who were hunkered down in the buildings of the complex, as well as secure the ion cannon operations center. Each platoon was comprised of four SA-5s, providing twenty-four dismounted scouts for each platoon. They were dressed similarly to regular Republic infantry, though carrying A-295 carbines rather than full A-280 rifles, and generally carried less equipment due to their mission set.

With the scouts moving into the buildings to finish off the defenders, all Maxon could do now was wait for reports from Lieutenant Colonel Young. It was a tense matter of minutes which seemed to stretch on for hours, but after about ten minutes, Maxon's comm crackled with Young's voice, "Torch Six, this is Saber Six. The defenders have been pacified and the ion cannon control room is secured."

"This is Torch Six, roger," said Maxon. "Any prisoners, over?"

"The ion cannon crew and the Naval officers here surrendered to us almost immediately," said Young. "The Stormtroopers fought to the death. We took some casualties but got the job done, over."

"Roger that," said Maxon. "Good work, Torch Six out." He was hoping that the casualties were not too bad amongst the dismounted troops. Due to the armored nature of the Regiment and the lack of any infantry, Lieutenant Colonel Young's scouts were often pressed into duties that was not necessarily within their mission set, as they had been today in clearing buildings. He knew it was not easy for them, especially when they had less men than a similarly-sized infantry unit and yet were expected to be able to accomplish the same mission, but they always had gotten the job done. They were definitely the toughest soldiers Maxon had, and he respected them and prized them greatly. Switching his comm channel, Maxon reported, "Ready Six, this is Torch Six. The ion cannon is secure. I say again we have control of the ion cannon, over."

"This is Ready Six, roger all."

Maxon now hoped that it had all been worth it, that their mission had given the Navy the time and space they needed to succeed in their own attack.

[Jarak]

The Baron pulled himself up, using the destroyed holo-projector as support. As he rose, he soon saw the devastation the bomb had caused in the command center. The Rebels had apparently found out where Isaac's command centre was located and ordered it's destruction, as well as the assassination of the Marshal in the process. His clothes were torn and his body bruised, he was still in the fight.

Activating his personal comm-link he demanded a sitrep. He was told by one of the off-site base commanders, that the Ion cannon was lost, Kreel was attempting a fighting retreat back to Exaron, and to make it better the Rebel army was moving forward to the industrial juggernaut of Rywekh. If the Imperial forces in the city complex lost, then the only object left in Rebels way was a handful of bases and of course, the capital Vratokh.

"General, I want you to execute order Black-One-One-Alpha-Romeo-Xeno, confirmation Surface Marshal Issac Thompson. I want that Cannon destroyed." said Isaac, the Marshal had made sure to have the Stormtrooper battalion that defended the installation place many hidden detonation packs. If it fell to Rebel hands, then simply put no one was getting it. However the Marshal wasn't a fool, he knew something like booby traps and scorched earth tactics would be evident, so he planned on bombing it from orbit, if it was necessary.

It's not like the Rebels just had the crew for such a weapon on stand-by.

"It will be done." the General replied, then cut the line. He fiddled with the controls on his comm link, then spoke again. He made sure his message was being broadcasted on every channel.

"People of Exaron, I am your entrusted defender Marshal Issac Thompson. I swore a oath to protect those, who could not protect themselves. A oath to do right by the people I am sworn to defend. Yet, these so called liberators of the people, this New Republic would step to such a low as terrorism to defeat their foes? I am living proof that these bastards can not even kill me! They tried and they failed, they will pat for their own failures. What are they doing now? The Rebel armies march onto the city of Rywekh, your city of Rywekh. They claim to be going to this city to liberate it from your so called 'Imperial overlords', but ask your self this, why Rywekh? Are these thugs here to 'save you' from us, or are they here to take this planets riches?"

"Today marks a change, today they brung the fight to themselves. Before it was not a war, but an insurgencies, but now ... now, they have went TOO FAR! I will defeat this New Republic, I WILL take their riches, and I will give them to you, the people of Exaron. For today marks the beginning of the end for the New Republic."

"Today, the Imperial Armed Forces will take the fight to THEM! No longer will I stand idly by and let this child play with his toys. Too many people have died today for us not to forget this day, this day will stand in out memories forever! I ask all of you, Imperials, civilians and aliens alike I care not who you are or what you are, but today we are all brothers-in-arms. We will stand by each other and destroy the republic! We will not fail, we will not falter, We. Will. Destroy. Them."

Issac released his grip on his comm link, and turned to see a myriad of battered and bruised Imperials standing in awe. The survivors of the bomb saluted to the Marshal, Issac did so as well. "You heard my words, the Rebels may of attacked the 201st deepest sanctum, but they did not destroy. We have a Republic to destroy, lets get to it!"

[Ocarab]

"Damn it all..." Talasana said under her breath as she grit her teeth. A small pile-up had been built on a major roadway as a result of a collision between two speeders. The cleanup felt like it was taking ages longer than it should have. The twi'lek began tapping her finger on the wheel and peered out the truck's window. It appeared some bith was getting mugged in the adjacent alleyway by some ignoramus humans. It was the Tondor district that she was making her way through, so such a sight wasn't uncommon and it appeared by the many passersby that the normality of it meant the alien wasn't receiving any aid. Talasana tried to avert her gaze as the wreckage was still being cleared, but her morals got the better of her. She let out a frustrated sigh to herself before disembarking her speeder, slamming her door as she left.

"Hey! Leave that man alone!" She commanded. "Well lookey here Paul, we got a twi'lek who don't know her place!" A chortle came from the tall man's larger fellow. "Yeah, and it looks like she's playing 'Mil'tary Offeecer' by the looks of 'er's clothes. Mayee we should teach 'er where she b'longs!" The bith took his chance to try and escape, only to be punched out by the gangly one. "Some stupid move like that is only going to get you hurt, you know that right?" Talasana reasoned, only for it to fall on deaf ears. "Heres I go Bill." Paul came at her running, fist raised. Apparently the brute didn't recognize the shape of the blaster holstered on her hip as he came charging, but that didn't stop the Officer from using it. A single bolt to the knee. He toppled over, clutching his knee as he began to sob like a small child. "Now, are you going to leave the bith and me alone or is it going to take another pull of the trigger?" Talasana asked staring down the big man from the barrel of her gun. "Don't move, and give us all of your credits while your at it, that speeder of yours too, eh?" The gangly one had his own blaster pressed up against the back of the ex-agent's skull as he had walked up behind her. Man, was she out of practice from her Intelligence days. "Okay, okay. I'm putting my blaster down now..." She proceeded to do so, and threw an extra distance. "I'm going to get my credit chip in my boot right now, so give me a sec-" She didn't finish her sentence, she didn't need to. With one deft motion, she replaced her lost blaster with the one tucked away in her shoe, firing at the one holding a gun to her head through her legs; which hit him in the thigh. He collapsed over, shouting obscenities at the ex-agent. He tried reclaiming his dropped weapon, but Talasana picked it up as payment for the expensive shot she just fired from her hold out weapon. "You see, this is what I was trying to tell you." The twi'lek walked over to the still-on-the-ground bith, helping him to his feet with one hand. "You okay?" The man started going off on an almost un-understandable tirade of noises. Of course he didn't speak Galactic Basic, and of course she didn't bring a translator that day. After a minute of repetition, Talasana was able to decipher what he was saying from what she remembered of the bith language from her days as an agent. "Well, you're welcome. Just try to be careful from now on, okay?" The bith man left her, the two waved each other off until he was out of sight. She returned to her vehicle, it being the obstruction now, and continued her journey back to the Citadel.

Deja vu. Yeah, that was what she could most relate her current experience to. The same running into people down in the port, the same death glares from other Imperials as she walked the corridors of the Citadel, and the same annoyance of a receptionist who still had trouble acknowledging the twi'lek's existence. Within more than ten minutes of arriving at the woman's desk, Talasana was let through. "Sir," a salute, "I've returned from the Imperial outpost and Doctor Plano has his shipments."

~~~

Tern looked up from his computer at the Twi'lik. He had been in the process of making plans for the neutralization or capture of the ion cannon back from the Rebels, but those could wait for a brief moment. "Very good. Have you considered my offer at all in continuing to work for Imperial Intelligence?"

~~~

She had, if only for the briefest moments when she had nothing else to think about. How could she say no? Although she doubted everyone, if anyone, would welcome her back with open arms. "Sir, if you'd have me, then sure, I would like to reenlist in the field of intelligence..." Though there was still a question nagging her from the back of her brain, or tip of the lekku as the case was for her. "Sir, what's in those cases you had me deliver? I asked the Doctor, but he only referred me to you."

~~~

Tern smiled as the Twi'lek accepted his offer. She was a good agent in her time with Intelligence, he knew that from her reports, and some of her case files were very impressive. She would be an excellent addition to his team here on Exaron, especially with all of her contacts in requisitions to add to her profile. "Excellent. It won't be a difficult process, just some quick paperwork which I've already filled out. I figured you would accept the offer. Once you do Intelligence nothing else is ever good enough." He started to access the files to prepare them for transfer and his electronic signature, making everything official when the question was asked. "Ah yes. Well since you'll be working for me now I don't suppose there's any reason not to tell you since you will be involved in this. It's a biological weapon, sent from Colonel Derricote on Borlieas here to Exaron for further testing." He was intentionally vague, wondering how curious she really was and how far she would pursue the question.

~~~

Biological weapon! Talasana felt such tactics were dirty; a cheater's, or loser's way out of a war if anything. An act of terror. But what made this particular weapon something that she didn't want to know of... It hit her like a freight train. Dr. Plano's warning, the Imperial agenda, everything started to mesh together within her head. "This..." she was grasping for a word that wouldn't offend Tern, "...'weapon'... it target's non-humans, doesn't it...?"

~~~

Tern saw the gears in Talasana's head churning, as well as the seeming unease that crossed her face, even if just for a moment. Well that couldn't be good, Tern thought as she asked the question. There was no point in trying to hide it, though. "Yes, it does," said Tern. "Colonel Derricote is pursuing a number of options on Borlieas, to include viruses that specifically target aliens, as well as viruses that specifically target humans. I believe the ideal goal is to refine the alien virus to the point that it can only infect a certain species. Is it the ideal weapon or tactic to use? My opinion doesn't matter on that question. Somewhere on Coruscant, someone decided the Empire needed another large-scale weapon, and we can't very well build a third Death Star. This was their solution."

~~~

The twi'lek tried to regain her composure, but the very thought of such a virus was making such a thing an ordeal. Her years as an agent hadn't hardened her to the thought of genocide, even after the imperial takeover. Had she known about it before, she would almost have been tempted to set that damned shipment ablaze. She cleared her throat, preparing herself to speak again. "What are my orders, sir? You are my direct superior now." She tried to let out a chuckle and put it all behind her, but that again was proving difficult. so it sounded forced.

~~~

"That shipment we received was not the only shipment coming in," said Tern. "There will be more arriving from Borlieas in the coming days and weeks. The Rebels are getting closer to Vratokh with every passing day. I'm sure their Intelligence agents are already here in fact. If they have any idea that something is coming into Vratokh, from off-world, something important, they will try to figure it out and may track the shipments to Dr. Plano's compound. There's no evidence so far that they know anything, but I have a hunch and we can't be too careful. I'm going to put you in charge of the counter-intelligence team for these shipments. There is another coming in early tomorrow."

~~~

Counter-intelligence? That was certainly a big task for someone as rusty as she was. Go big or go home. She figured. There was a second of silence as she went over the procedure she would be using the next day, only realizing where she was after that second had passed. "I trust these agents will be cooperative?" Tern responded. "Good, I'll be sure to eliminate any possibility of the Rebels learning of the shipments' contents." Whether this was true or a lie, was yet to be seen. The twi'lek saluted yet again before dismissing herself from Tern's office.

~~~

"Of course," said Tern. "I'll instruct them to respect your commands as you carry this out." Talasana replied, and Tern said, "Yes, just try to identify any possible Rebel agents and observe them only for the time being. You're dismissed," said Tern. She turned and walked out, but Tern knew that he would have to keep a close eye on her, given her seeming tepidness about the virus, but time woudl tell, and this would be a good test.

[Hotshot]

Colonel Maxon Tarven, 15th Armored Repulsorlift Regiment
Northern Mountains, Exaron, Exaron System

The 15th was in the process of consolidation and reorganization now. Maxon stood in the hatch of his tank, looking out from a turret-down position on the reverse slope of the hill they had come roaring over during their assault. His regiment was arrayed in a half-moon perimeter around the ion cannon, more than a kilometer away from it; armored forces did no good clustered together when on the defense. Instead, he had pushed them out to maximize the space between them and the target and give his unit the most space between tanks. This served two purposes: first, it gave his tanks a far better direct-fire coverage of the area, and he could easily shift fire and adjust units as needed, and second, it made it harder for the enemy to bring concentrated indirect fire with any great effect upon them. So far, the units in the south had reported that the Imperial ground forces were not pursuing them, which was a good thing. Maxon would have plenty of warning before any Imperial ground forces got here, plenty of time to decide whether the ion cannon was even worth defending, or just scuttling. Lieutenant Colonel Young's scouts had laced the entire cannon control center with high explosives, as well as parts of the cannon's supports; at a moment's notice, they could detonate the explosives, bringing the cannon down and rendering it completely useless. The 15th could then pull back to Tikirt without ever having to engage the Imperial attackers.

What he did not expect, however, was the call that came in from Lieutenant Colonel Gerend, the Support Battalion Commander. "Torch Six, this is Horse Six," said Gerend. "My T-47 pilots are informing me that they have bogeys coming in from the southeast, over."

Sithspit. "Any confirmation on what they are, over?" asked Maxon.

"Negative, Torch Six," said Gerend. "But they said it's a large number of them, on a direct heading for the ion cannon complex, over."

"Any ground forces, over?" asked Maxon.

"Negative, just air forces, over."

Maxon knew if such a large air unit was heading towards the ion cannon without a ground unit to support, they had only one objective: a bombing run on the complex. He had not expected the Imperials to be willing their own ion cannon without even attempting to regain control of it, but whoever was in command was clearly not playing games or willing to take even the slightest risk that the Republic would get the cannon up and running. "Roger that, Horse Six," said Maxon. "All Torch elements, begin withdrawal from the area, back towards Tikirt. Saber Six, you'll be the last ones out and be sure to blow the explosives if the bombers pull off when they get there. Horse Six, have the T-47s screen our rear to make sure those aircraft don't try to come after us. I'll get on the horn to Command and have them divert some X-Wings to cover our withdrawal as well, over."

His battalion commanders all reported back that they understood, and moments later, the regiment began to pull out, over the hill and back towards Tikirt, leaving the ion cannon for the Imperial bombers.