Empire's End

In Atmosphere

As the Obediance descended down, the scope of the battle became clearer. The battle that was taking place in atmosphere was as chaotic as the one in space. Star Destroyers and Republic cruisers slugging it out with each other, supported by squadrons of star fighters weaving in and out of each other, filling the sky with red and green plasma.

Almost instantaneously, as soon as the Obediance entered the stratosphere, it intercepted a whole slew of distress signals. Without hesitation Sorfe ordered all the remaining fighters at his disposal to assist however was stopped mid-command by his first officer.

"Sir, I suggest we hold on to our current fighters for our own defence. Right now, we must think of our own ship first." Interrupted Course, his first officer and closest comrade ever since the Academy.

To that, Sorfe simply nodded in response, shocked by the desperation in Course's voice.
"Find out how many ground assault teams we still have. I want full-logistics. Troops, armoured vehicles and carriers."

"Yes sir." Course said in full attention, then he scurried of pass the bridge crew. Further vibrations begins as the ship entered a duel with a New Republic heavy cruiser. The cruiser however was already heavily damaged. The Star Destroyer managed to disable it with ease using its remaining 54 XX-9 heavy turbolaser batteries targeting its shielding first, then its engines. It wasn't long before it was up in flames and succumbed to the planet's gravity. The victory however was short lived as yet again, the Obediance was challenged by another ship.

"Captain. A Nebulon B frigate is engaging us sir. Shields are still operational." A pause while the officer checked back into his console. "There is also a Mon Calamari cruiser approaching our current trajectory in ETA 15 minutes."

"How many squadrons do we still have?"asked Sorfe.

"Dozen TIEs, 7 interceptors and 2 bombers sir."answered the officer, looking up towards Sorfe.

"Launch the bombers to strike the frigate. Order all remaining fighters to escort them and return fire with our remaining turbolasers. That Captain has made his final mistake." Sounded Sorfe, his voice cold and rough. No one was going to bring down his ship. Not then, not now.

It seems in the end, Course's suggestion to hold on to the remaining TIEs paid off. As if on command, he was then seen shuffling pass the crew towards Sorfe with the logistics of the ground force they still had in their stocks.

"Here you go Captain."he said whilst giving the report over to Sorfe. "1,200 ground troops remain, the current transports we have should be sufficient to transport them all, but we can only do it 500 at a time. They are preparing for battle as we speak."to that Sorfe simply nodded. A gesture of acknowledgement or a gesture to continue he wasn't sure. But Course took it as the latter. "We still have about 3 AT-AT walkers and a dozen AT-STs to support the ground troops. Again the transports could only unload a few at a time."continued Course, then taking a deep breath.

"Very well-" started the Captain before he was interrupted by the not so subtle cheering of the bridge crew. "What happened?" asked Sorfe looking out the viewport. Still a little startled by the sudden sound.

"The frigate sir, it's down."answered one of crew, suddenly reminded by the level of ranks.

"What about the cruiser?"

"It changed its trajectory towards another ship. It's now battling the Endurance Captain."said the officer. To that, Sorfe spared a look towards Course. Course noticed it and instantly knew what it meant.

"Your decision"said Course, almost in a smug manner. He turned his head towards Sorfe, expecting an answer.

"We help."said Sorfe finally. To that, the whole bridge shuffled and scrambled amongst each other, shouting orders to one another and eyes finding their respective screens.

Course couldn't say that he agreed with that decision, neither was he surprised. As he was about to help some members of the crew, Sorfe called out to him.

"And Course, you're in charge of helping our forces on the ground. Give them an edge."to this, he nodded approvingly. For a decade, he wanted to command a ground assault on a rebel base. He guess this was close enough.