The Returning Knight: A Star Wars Story

Chapter 22: Siege II

"Princess." Dodana greeted. "General." Leia saluted over the holo call. "Princess, we have received a call from Admiral Trail about several things. Chief among them is the fact that he is besieged by Death squadron on Mimban and that you two have discovered a fleet." He began.

She stared in silence. Sigil must have informed them of the find. "Indeed we have." She replied nervously. "During our meeting with the Admiral, he proposed a rescue using the CIS fleet." He explained. "I was thinking the same." She said. "Can you say which ships are ready?" He asked. "Two out of three Providence class cruisers along with the Lucerhulk are ready." She answered. "And the dreadnought?" He asked. "Not yet." She replied.

"Very well. You are to take these ships and meet up with General Syndulla to mount a rescue. The Admiral recommended a full strike wing of bombers equipped with ion bombs to disable the Executor. The rest of the fleet is to engage the other star destroyers while the Acclamator goes down for the rescue. But he emphasized that he'd be called once you two were in the system to guide you to very close range of the Executor for a bomber ambush. Again this was his recommendation. You two are free to use whatever you wish." He suggested. "Thanks General Dodana. I'll contact General Syndulla right away." She said, ending the call.

Dialing in Hera's frequency, she initiated the call. She picked up around 15 seconds later. "Princess." Hera opened up. "General." Leia acknowledged. "What seems to be the issue?" She asked. "General Syndulla, Admiral Trial is currently under siege by Death squadron. We have been chosen to mount the rescue." She explained.

"I'm currently tied up right now but the imperials are retreating slowly. I'll discuss this with you later." She said. "Alright I'll trasmit you my coordinates." Leia responded. "Farewell. I'll meet you there." Hera thanked. "Farewell." Leia said, ending the call.

Phoenix squadron reached the coordinance sent by Leia in a week. Attached to them were Rogue squadron. The rebellion's best pilots. Entering the conference room aboard the Scutum were Hera Syndulla, Luke Skywalker and Wedge Antilles and inside Leia waited for them. She had assumed command over the destroyer for the time being, using it as her flagship.

"General. Captain. Captain." She acknowledged all three of them with a nod as they entered the room. "Your highness." They all acknowledged in return. They all gathered around the lit up holo table. "Thank you all for attending this meeting." Leia greeted for a second time.

"As you all know, Admiral Trial has been besieged inside a bunker on Mimban for the past week by Death squadron. Our objective is to retrieve him along with his troopers and elements of the local militia." The princess began the explanation. She waited for a while before continuing "The Admiral himself recommended a bomber ambush. Using ion bombs to disable the Executor while the Acclamator does a blockade run with the rest of the flert engaging the remaining star destroyers.".

"But we don't have that many bombers." Luke pointed out. "But we do have droid bombers." Leia countered. "But not with hyperdrives." Luke countered again. "Not necessarily." Wedge said, rubbing his chin.

"You got something Wedge?" Hera asked. "Yes. Once in hyperspace, the bombers could fly out of the hanger then be caught by the tractor beam. When we drop out, the bombers are set loose." He recommended. They all stared at him.

"Excellent job!" Hera praised. "Indeed but how do we get the bombers close enough?" Luke asked, still skeptical. "When we get in the system, we send a ping to the Admiral. Using his Jedi powers, he said that he could guide us to just above the star destroyer." Leia explained.

"You know Luke, you should ask him about lessons." Wedge joked. "Not now." Hera said. "Is your fleet ready?" Hera asked. Leia nodded "We even managed to get more of fleet online." She said with enthusiasm. "Although useful later, we need to bring the bare minimum as to not be picked up by scanners as easily." Hera cautioned. Leia nodded.