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 Star Wars Civil War Star Wars Story Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Getrealistic Home Copyright 2000 GetRealistic & CRN |
5. THE BATTLE FOR BINAR The star Binari wasn't scheduled to come over the horizon at Kbonnus, Binar for several more hours. Osh Nabuk looked out from the CRN's control nexus toward the main military base of Binar. The powerful installation housed the planetary shield complex as well as heavy ground-based weapons. Osh knew that this base had to be destroyed before any space assault could be launched. He turned around and looked over the room. It was a small apartment, set up when the first troops went in. The room had several consoles to control different aspects of the operation as well as maps and communication equipment. Four of his technicians, as well as two from the Binar Militia, ran the equipment. A light blinked on. "All units in place colonel. Five minutes until the operation commences." In the center of Kbonnus, a landspeeder pulled into an alleyway near the governmental palace complex. Inside, a nervous Lt. Quiven Niquen heard a quiet beep. He checked his watch. "Five minutes, people. Get your weapons ready." Vie Nesh sat in the only environment he was comfortable with, the cockpit of a fighter. He had received the "Five Minute" warning, and was going through the preflight checklist. He knew the entire mission was running a very short timetable. In fifteen minutes Haywater's fleet would come out of hyperspace. That meant he had ten minutes for everyone involved to take out their targets. It's go time. Osh paced the room, pausing to look at each monitor. It was his deception to go forward or to abort. Four minutes left. "Send the authorization code." Over the military base, a speeder bike transport vehicle skimmed the arc of restricted airspace. Inside the cockpit, the pilot saw the countdown clock go to zero. Immediately the airspeeder jettisoned it's cargo of ten speeder bikes. The bikes raced to their objectives, slamming into two ground based ion cannons. As if on cue, Kbonnus erupted into chaos. Bombs and missiles exploded at strategically important places. A huge flash tore into the horizon as Binar went dark. Vie watched as the wall in front of him disintrigated. He took his fighter through the hole, followed by his squad. He lit his main burners and jetted away from the town toward Kbonnus. "Keep the formation tight, boys." Niquen watched the airspeeder as it began it's ugly descent toward the palace. It slammed into the wall, and a titanic explosion tore the legislative building apart. Niquen's men were out of the landspeeder before the shockwave hit, and raced toward the gaping hole. He looked to his right and saw more troops moving in. He jumped on a piece of rubble and ushered his men into the legislative hall. He saw the troops at the same time that they saw him. A group of them, definitely Binar Royal Guards stood at a blown-out door. "Get down!" As the firefight started around him, Niquen grabbed his communication equipment. "This is team PALACE checking in...no, objective has not been reached-there is a squad of enemy troopers guarding the entrance...I'll get through." Quiven dodged a bolt, then brought his gun into the action. "There it is, boys," Vie said into the com as he saw the military base, which was already burning, he noted with a smile. "Come in low, get a lock." The familiar chiming sound filled the cockpit as a lock was achieved. "Launch!!" Osh watched as an explosion tore the shield generator apart. The room exploded into cheers. He checked the clock. Well, Haywater, we gave you a defenseless planet with two minutes to spare. "Sir we have a Firespray-class leaving the palace. Heavy escort." Nothing he could do about that now. Quiven dropped to a knee and selected targets. A soldier received three shots to his torso and was down. He shifted aim and saw a bolt come strait at him. It felt like a fist had slammed him on the chest and he was thrown back onto a piece of rubble. He tried to scream but nothing came out. He looked down and saw the massive hole in his chest. Someone turned to him and yelled something that Niquen couldn't understand. Then life grew tired of going on and gave up. Admiral Erin Chrono was awakened by the shrill alarms. He was abord his flagship Coltariot Crusier, the Excaliber. He sat up and tried to clear his head. His cabin door opened and his second-in-command. "Sir, something is happening on Binar." "What?" "Everything is being hit. Power stations, government buildings, the works. You better get to the bridge." Two minutes later they were there. Chrono looked at the viewscreen as he walked in only to see the impossible happen. The shield sphere disappeared. He wheeled to see if it was a mistake. This can't be happening! "Sir, the planet is defenseless. Lord Lott is evacuating as we speak and wants us to leave also. You're supposed to set up a defense while the evacuation continues." Surgical strike in preparation for what? "Give me visual feed from the Archon." Binar's Victory Star destroyer began transmitting. Suddenly the sky in front of the Archon lit up as ships of all sizes came out from hyperspace. Chrono counted six frigates, plus a Victory Star Destroyer and a Coltariot Cruiser. "Tell Captain Vigbond not to do anything stupid. Let's get out of here." The tunnel of light collapsed as Binar shot into view. Haywater stood as the reports came in. "All ships accounted for, sir." He turned. "What about the planet?" "Sir the planet is shut down. No threat." It worked! "Bring the fleet into assigned positions and move in." The CRN pulled into position. To the left of the Intrepid III sat the massive form of the Coltariot Cruiser Poseidon commanded by Bok Quesh. Flanking the command ships were two claw frigates, commanded by the former Imperial Madab and a Brixby, a Chrysslistian. On the sides of those was positioned two CAFs. Two Nebula's, the Defender and Destructor, commanded by Captains Cashmire and Nolan, respectively, had flank containment duties. "Sir, a Coltariot Cruiser has just gone to hyperspace. Defending the planet now is a VSD, two Mirandas, two Corellian Corvettes, one carrier, and an unidentified corvette or gunboat. They appear to be waiting for us." The Firespray dodged evacuating civilian ship as it traveled up and out of the atmosphere. The six escorting fighters joined it in lighting their hyperspace engines and they left the planet they once called home behind. Haywater watched as the Archon came ever closer. Suddenly warning klaxons lit up with a fury. He spun. "Missile locks, sir, he'll be launching....now. We have 40 missiles headed for us and 40 headed for the Poseidon. 15 seconds till impact." Haywater reacted at once. "FULL SHIELDS BRIDGE!!!" "Done." "5 seconds. BRACE, PEOPLE!!!!" Haywater could see the missiles coming as he grabbed onto a handrail someone had been smart enough to install. The bridge lit up like a star going supernova as the particle shields absorbed the missile's impacts. The noise reached maximum levels as the shield held till the end-then collapsed. The bridge went dark and monitors exploded in showers of sparks. Gravity went out as multiple missiles sheered into the tower, tearing into decks. Then, as quickly as it had begun, the attack was over. The listing ship straitened out as the secondary bridge took over command. The secondary bridge commander placed Quesh in command of the fleet and told him to take on the Archon. Then, as damage reports came in, the crew tried to raise the bridge. Haywater opened his eyes to blackness. Then the flash and a shower of sparks lit up the room. He was floating over the deck, his hands amazingly still on the handrail. He wiped a hand across his forehead, and it came off covered with blood. As he looked over the consoles, one inexplicably lit up. "Deuce to bridge, over. Deuce to bridge, over..." Deuce was the name of the secondary bridge. Haywater slapped his hand on the intercom button. "Deuce, this is Haywater.", he managed to get out. "Admiral. Are you injured?" "Not badly. Damage report." "Sir, the tower's ripped up pretty badly. We're trying to rebuild shield power, but one of the domes must've been destroyed. We're proceeding toward the fight right now. I'd advise you to gather anyone you can and use the emergency stairwell." The emergency stairwell had been built for situations exactly like these. It provided a save conduit of travel between the bridge tower and the rest of the ship. "Will do. Out." Captain Nicole Nolan of the Intruder sat back in her command chair. The senior female officer in the CRN, she wasn't even Chrysslistian. In fact, she was Binarian. She had been part of an influential family forced to flee Binar several years ago. Now she had returned for a most unwelcome homecoming. She cursed to herself. The Rodian wasn't Haywater, and the Poseidon could get the job done, but not as quickly as planned. But it wasn't her concern now. She could only hope Haywater and the Intrepid could join the fight. All she could do now is hold the flank and contain the Binarian fleet. The two fleets meshed together in the whirling maelstrom of battle. All control was lost by the captains as gunners pounded targets as a gun or as a battery. At first shields held, but gaps began to appear, and commanders shifted shield power to protect, but soon the entire shield collapsed, and armor was left to absorb the blows. Haywater walked onto the secondary bridge with a bandage covering his forehead. He was greeted by cheers and reports. It didn't look good. "Sir, we can get shield power to 50%, but that's about it." He studied the viewscreen. Everything was going according to plan. The Poseidon was assaulting the Binarian VSD while the Mirandas were being engaged by a CAF and Claw each. The Nebulas, holding flank positions, were punishing the corvettes facing them. "With the Poseidon I believe we can take that star destroyer. Move us in." * * * Vie Nesh banked hard to the left, avoiding the ruby-red bolts aimed for him. His squadron was being pursued by three AR-Wings, which were possibly the most advanced fighters in the cluster. The enemy fighters were armed with two rapid fire lasers and two heavy blasters. Their high speed made them a deathtrap for the aging CRN headhunters. "Okay, people. Everyone split up and go in separate directions. If you have one on your tail and can't shake it, bail." He was throwing away his only advantage-numbers. But we'll be slaughtered if we stay together. Vie received acknowledgments, then watched as his squad broke up. Blue-three immediately picked one up. Fire blossomed in the rear of three's headhunter as he absorbed hits. The fighter took a lazy roll which ended in an explosion. The AR-Wing turned and accelerated, heading right at Nesh. Vie brought his fighter low, into the man-made canyons of Knobbus. Blaster fire flew around him as he maneuvered through the maze of antennas and walkways. At an intersection sat a Binarian armored vehicle, spitting fire at some revolutionaries. Three quick bursts of fire sent the vehicle up in flames as he flew by. He tried to turn, but blaster fire boxed him in. It was obvious the AR-Wing was trying to herd him somewhere, but where? The answer came a moment later. Vie's fighter broke into open space-right into the teeth of an antiaircraft battery. Laser bursts filled the air as he tried to maneuver around the sights of the quad laser gunners. But it was not to be. He felt a jolt as a bolt took out the starboard engine. No hope. He aimed his fighter at the battery and hit the eject button. Osh Nabuk continued to pace the command center. Although his troops had suprised the planet's defenders and achieved most of their objectives, the scales were beginning to tip. Osh's out-manned and out-gunned force was pinned down everywhere. "How long has it been since the fleet came out of hyperspace?" "Twenty minutes, sir. That's five over schedule." The fleet was supposed to deploy it's troopships carrying 1,000 of Col. Hartiss' battle-hardened troops onto the planet. With the arrival of Kashar's task force, they'd be able to secure the planet. But if something unexpected had happened, or the Poseidon was destroyed, all the CRN could do was force a decisive victory in space, and wouldn't be able to hold the planet. As it was, his troops were dying. "We're in trouble." * * * The Binarian commander began to do what is known in galactic warfare as the act of a desperate commander. As the battered Archon rolled to present fresh shields to the Intrepid and the Poseidon, Haywater turned his attention to the rest of the fleet. Nolan's gunners gave the spinning Corvette one last broadside before she turned her attention to the rest of the fleet. Her job was to hold the flank, not to engage any more ships. The Binarians could have a few suprises left. She pointed to a small blip. "What is that?" "Ma'am, we've identified it as a large gunboat of some kind. Analyzing reports, it's really ripping us apart." Frig Madab winced as the gunboat made another pass, spitting fire. The Claw frigate shook with the impact, then it stopped dead in it's tracks with a sickening lurch. He spun to face his XO. "Sir, we have a hull breach in section three.", he looked at the screen, "Full reactor breach. Sir, we're dead in the water." Off to the side, the CAF next to him was ripped from bow to stern. The ship began to drift as numerous holes were gutted in it's hull. The Miranda, who had already lost it's shields and had been sitting stationary, suddenly came to life. The gunboat left as the Miranda ripped the CAF apart. Torn to pieces, the CAF's reactor exploded, finishing the ship off. Madab looked at his screen to see a flanking Nebula. "Nicole, get your ship over here or we're all dead." The Intruder surged foreward to assist it's wounded comrade. As they came closer, Nolan could see the Miranda begin working on the Claw. "How's his shields? "Holding at 45 percent. The Miranda has no shields. Madab won't last for long." "Let's give him something to think about. Fire at will." The Intruder's gunners fired at the dark, deadly shape ahead of them. At this range, the bolts would have almost no effect, but it would make the Binarian captain watch his back. With the shots, the Miranda turned and headed right for them. "You sure you want to dance with us?" The Miranda's rear weapons and the Madab's broadside guns continued to exchange shots as the Binarian commander went to face his adversitary. The Intruder's fourty turbolasers began to score hits, while all the Miranda hit was undamaged shields. As hits were scored closer and closer to the bridge, the Binarian captain realized this was a fight he could not win, and began to withdraw. "We're going for the kill. All batteries focus on the engine nacels.", Nolan ordered. Fire ripped into the fleeing Miranda's nacels. With two explotions, the ship shuddered to a halt. It sat there, still deadly. "Binarian commander, I suggest you surrender your ship." For a reply, fire tore into a hole in the claw, ripping into decks. The responce was immediete: "Kill it." In two minutes what was once a proud Binarian frigate joined the scrapmetal collecting in Binar's atmosphere. Chapter 6 |