Star Wars: Darth Nyx (Book 1)

Ch21: Siege of Lianna

Commodore Thrawn's POV:

I must say I am quite surprised at how much faith the Empress has placed in me, a stranger. Not only has she given me a ship of immense capabilities but she's also permitted me to take command over 600 of her Sith Warriors for this mission alongside putting me in charge of one of her Acclamator Assault Ships. Considering she only has two of these vessels in her entire navy, it shows how much faith she has in me that despite it being a crucial part of her war effort she's allowed me to use it. I definitely can't fail her now. I'd be bringing shame not only to her but to my people.

Thankfully, I've already made plans to ensure my success. Through fervent negotiations with the head of the Santhe family on the world, Lady Valles Santhe, I have secured support from the local government. Now, I only need to take care of the Imperial Fleet guarding the system.

Under normal circumstances, this would be an impossible feat with the ships at my disposal but thanks to the efforts of Lady Valles, who carried out precisely what I asked of her, we should be able to manage.

The enemy's force comprises an Executor-class Super Star Destroyer, four Imperial II-class Star Destroyers and their airwings. My lone Venator and the accompanying Acclamator are outnumbered and outgunned but that is why we plan these things beforehand.

Lady Valles Santhe has organised a planetwide celebration to thank the Grand Admiral for his continued protection of their sector. She's invited him to the planet's surface and requested that the Executor remain above the city as a sign to the people that the Empire will always protect them while reminding them who they serve. 

Thanks to this and the fact that the region is relatively peaceful, the Grand Admiral complied and even went as far as to use the opportunity to give all but the most essential crew on his flagship the chance to unwind during the celebrations in the city below.

This effectively gets rid of the biggest threat to my mission but merely having the ship in atmosphere and understaffed won't hinder the Star Destroyers still in orbit. That is where my airwing comes in. The vast majority will be launched with the intention of disabling the hyperdrives of their ships and handling their airwing while a special force using 200 Sith warriors and 5000 marines will descend to the planet and secure the Executor Super Star Destroyer, bringing it back into space.

Throughout all this, I'll have the Acclamator linger just outside the system while having my own Venator remaining out of range of the Imperial starships as the airwing continues working towards crippling their vessels. Normal pilots might fail but I have seen how successful the Sith can be by using this Force of theirs and as such, I am certain we will succeed.

Me: Remember, speed and precision. 

Officer: Commodore, sir.

Me: Yes?

Officer: We'll be arriving in the system shortly.

Me: Are all preparations in the hangar complete?

Officer: Yes, sir.

Me: Good, then open the hangar bay the second we arrive and launch our airwing.

As ordered, the moment we drop out of hyperspace all fighters and bombers within the hangar are launched. The enemy fleet is surprisingly quick to respond, immediately turning to face my ship and launching fighters. However, by the time their fighters are leaving their hangars my own are already attacking the ships and thus easily gun down the fighters they send out, clearing a path for our bombers to take out their hyperdrives and shield generators, the latter being courtesy of Lady Valles who's company works on repairing the vessels amongst other projects.