“Thranta Squadron check in.”

The order came across the squadrons comms as the last Y-Wing in the squadron cleared the cavernous launch bay of the Venator. “Thranta 2 here.” Kytra said before mentally checking off the rest of the squadron as they each responded. There were eight Y-Wings in all in Thranta squadron, and together they served as the primary ground attack force in this mission.

“Attack formation. Stay close to your squadmates and get to your objectives as quickly as possible.”

Kytra followed the squadron leaders orders immediately, forming up behind and on the right of the Y-Wing flown by Thranta Leader. The other six members of the squadron also paired off, though the squadron maintained close formation as they swooped down into the atmosphere. Kytra couldn’t help but admire the slight shimmer of her deflector shields as they passed through the clouds, though she still kept an eye on her scopes for any inconveniently positioned TIE patrols. The moment they broke the clouds another order came through the comms from Thranta leader. “Switch deflectors to double front. Break formation and take out those objectives.”

Kytra flicked the appropriate switch and watched the shield display as power was shunted into the ships fore shields - standard practice when approaching an enemy position, it would keep the fighters safe from oncoming fire and let them fly fairly straight while they lined up their targets. Once battle was joined it was often left up to the individual pilots to readjust their shields on the fly, with many of those that survived the longest having done so because they were skilled at anticipating enemy attacks and ensuring their shields were properly focused to block them.

As they neared the dark city, several anti-air emplacements opened up, lacing the sky with laser fire, slightly more than expected, but not nearly enough to give the several rebel squadrons pause. Kytra had to jink a few times to avoid any hits on her shields, but otherwise was free to focus on swooping in low over the city. Above them, a squadron of X-Wings and a mixed squadron were engaging the the TIE squadrons unlucky enough to have already been on patrol, while the second Y-Wing squadron flew against the Imperial frigates in support of the [i]Endeavour[/i]. The rebels may be few, but they hit hard and fast. Already the LAAT gunships would be following with their cargo of freedom fighters.

Kytra’s focus was straight ahead however. Before her was a shield generator for the city, powered down with the blackout. She pressed a switch to activate her targeting computer, the screen extending forward and dropping into place over her right eye. The target lit up in the green display of the targeting computer, the point her torpedoes were to strike highlighted on the righthand side of the structure. Most of the targets would only require a single pair of torpedoes from one pilot, but this one was large enough to be hit by both her and Thranta leader simultaneously.

“Target locked.” She said over comms when the computer indicated it had a firing solution. “Wait for it…” The response came from Thranta leader. “Wait for it… Fire.” He said as they got close. A simple button press was all it took, the ship shuddering slightly as the two glowing warheads were propelled out of the twin tubes towards their target. They pulled up just as the warheads struck, great fireballs blossoming from the generator.

That was when everything started to go wrong. The comms were suddenly flooded with signals from the ship, talking about Star Destroyers arriving, then an order not to retreat, then abandoning ship, and finally the terror of sudden static. Fear gripped Kytra for a moment, but it was quickly dispelled as she saw a squadron of TIEs appear from above and blast Thranta 7 and 8. Her feelings were put aside and her mind sharpened with focus and a desire for revenge.

She heard Thranta five asking for more orders over the comms, and Thranta leader begin issuing them, when suddenly the city came back to life. Light found them quickly, and quickly following that the turbolaser towers that were their very next target began to fire. It was all too sudden, and before he could react, Thranta leader's Y-Wing erupted into flames and spun down into the city below.

The plan was obviously a failure. This had to be an ambush. All she could do was survive. She targeted the tower that had just blasted Thranta leader and fired torpedoes the moment the target was locked. The big blocky structure exploded in a satisfying orange fireball, and Kytra flew right through, balancing her shields as she did.

She almost jumped when she heard an unfamiliar voice on the comms, someone from Jedi Squad. They needed support urgently. Kytra had already decided she wouldn’t be using any more of her precious torpedoes, what good was it to blow up a few more towers when the planet was lost to them anyway. No. Instead she momentarily cut the engines and kicked in her repulsors to make a sharp turn mid air before firing the main engine again. The whole ship shook as she made the harsh manoeuvre, though when she checked she noted that the ion cannons were still functional. That was fortunate.

She quickly located the exact source of the call for help on the screens, deactivating the targeting computer as she began to swoop low for a run, jinking as she went to avoid fire. As the LAAT wreck came into view, she hoped that her fellow rebels had gotten off the street - her Laser cannons were not discriminate weapons. “Jedi Squad, this is Thranta two. Airstrike inbound. Repeat, I am about to clear the street, get into the buildings.” As soon as her scopes showed storm troopers, she pulled the trigger, raking the already cratered street with laser cannon fire, explosions blossoming up in front of her as the Imperial infantry was wiped away. As she passed over the LAAT wreck, she dipped her wing slightly in salute to the fallen and then pulled up, searching for another target.