The war between the Empire and the Coalition is about to enter its bloodiest phase as 2227 will go down as the 'year of battles'. Meanwhile the Jedi Order keeps fighting a parallel war against the Sith and the Imperial Federation is entangled with a...
Another attack. This time, the rebel fleet was much more consistent. With at least 10 MC cruisers accompanied by 4 Nebula Destroyers and nearly 60 other types of ships, they could pose a real threat for the blockade.
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"Contact confirmed." Mouris alerted from the pit. "The Home One has been identified."
Iulius observed the screens and spotted the large Mon Calamari cruiser, flagship of the rebel Grand Marshall Gial Ackbar.
The only time the two had fought had been at the first battle of Lianna, and in that occasion the battle was interrupted by the destruction of the Death Star and the hasty retreat imposed to the 101st by the Emperor. Now, the two top commander of both factions were about to face off in an all-out battle.
Thing was, that Iulius had an ace up his sleeve that the rebels had no way to counter, at that moment.
"Contact the Warlord. Have them jump and join the battle." he calmly ordered to Nash.
The rebel fleet surged forward, assuming a cone-shaped formation, with the escorts forming the outer shell and the major ships firing from behind. The fighters of both sides also moved in and clashed halfway. This time, it seemed like the imperial ones were holding their own, instead of being steadily pushed back. A sign that the constant upgrade of the TIE variants was finally paying out.
Still, it soon became evident that the two fleets were more or less of equal strength...for the moment.
For now, all Iulius had to do was to hold the line for around 40 minutes, the ETA of the Bellator-class dreadnought.
"Maintain the defensive line. Keep Task Force 89 in reserve and ready to strike."
"Alert. Possible enemy reinforcements on their way." STEVE announced all of a sudden.
"Report." Iulius replied calmly.
"Intercepted a transmission from the enemy flagship. They sent an all-clear message to a nearby system."
"Mouris, do we have a reading?"
"Negative, sir. They're jamming long-range sensors, but we just got readings of a consistent mass entering hyperspace from Abhean."
"STEVE, enhance the readings and see what you can find out."
"Yes, Grand Admiral."
Focusing back on the fight happening outside the Admonitor, Iulius gave another glimpse at the situation and quickly noticed that the rebels were sending forward a squadron on their right wing. Made up of a heavy MC carrier escorted by around five sizable cruisers and a few blockade runners. Presumably, it was carrying a whole fighter wing to strike the imperials on the flank.
"Reinforce our left, put the 89 on high readiness."
"Sir, their cruisers are focusing fire. The Elysiaand the Death's Head report heavy damage." Nash reported urgently.
