A squadron of TIE Defenders rocketed out of the Sov’s hangar bay. The blips on Major Joe’s console brought a smile to his lips. As the last of a total of 5 Wings pulled into formation with his fighter, Joe could feel the power, the sheer awesome power of leading this many Fighters into combat was one of the best highs a pilot can have. All fighters were waiting for his orders and he could feel the eyes of the Empire on his every move, this is the time for perfection, this is the time for victory. This was his moment, he is in his prime, he is leading one of the largest fighter attacks in history, this day will be long remembered and it is his, no one can take this from him now. Its time for his moment, his claim to history itself. For a month they have been planning and training for this mission, working out every possible detail, staying up to the early morning hours to work out every outcome this attack might bring.

He flipped his com signal over to fleet wide and spoke with a clear and power filled voice. "Grand Admiral Ronin, all fighters are in position, awaiting your command to enter hyper space sir." The Grand Admiral was quick to return. "Our diversion entered the Rebel system 5 minutes ago, As we speak four Modified Frigates dozens of Corvettes and Assault Transports are attacking the space stations where the Rebel fighters are being developed. All ships, prepare for hyperspace on my command…" there was a pause that lasted almost eternity.. Then the GA spoke again. "Long Live the Empire, Mark." At that moment Major Joe pulled back his Hyperspace lever and was shot into the galaxy ready for battle. Behind him, thousands of men and women were doing the exact same.

As hyperspace zoomed around him, the few minutes they were going to be in hyperspace Joe decided to go through his plan for attack. Wing One will be the closest behind his squadron and next to Wing One would be Wing Five. Both Wings were very strong Wings and would do exceptionally well in this battle. Joe checked his crono, 30 seconds. He flipped his cannons over to quad fire like always for maximum damage. He ran over all systems quickly, and when the time came he pulled back the lever and his ship jumped to realspace. His first thought was of confusion as an Imperial Modified Frigate was finishing its last moments in time and exploded into nothingness. Joe was quick to turn on his com, still aware that this plan was not going very well already. "This is Major Joe, all fighters break by Wings, attack your assigned targets and engage all fighters you can." Joe then flipped his com over to Resh Squadron frequency. "Okay Resh break by Flights; Phantom, that nearest Cruiser is pounding our Frigates, take it out, Flight 3 go for escort." Colonel Pel was the first to reply, " Aye Aye sir, Phantom flight on me, arm proton torpedoes and rockets whoever has them." Phantom flight responded and broke off on Pel, Captain Phoenix came back after a few seconds. " Flight 3 Acknowledged, Everyone on me." Phoenix broke off with his flight; Joe now switched to Flight One frequency. "Alright, listen up, there is more safety in numbers as is more firepower. We will attack as a squad. Understood?" As the flight replied his sensors started to bend around itself, then Joe realized what it was. Fleet Com was switched on " Ghost fighters sighted! Start the net!" Joe switched to flight one " Break off! Break off! Tri-Star maneuver and arm quad cannons!" He started the maneuver, but it was too late, Four was gone, taken by the enemy fighters. His Defender looped downward as did the other remaining members of Flight one, as they did the came back sharply crises-crossing at the same exact place. The returned on their attackers and opened fire. Two of the fighters hit their mark, One Ghost ship blew. Two and Three came back with cheers as the formed up on Joe once again. Joe switched to Fleet com. "This is Resh lead, the first Ghost fighter is destroyed." That brought a lot of cheers through the fleet, and added to the moral of the Fleet. As he switched to Squadron Com, he glanced outward to see the Rebel Cruiser that Phantom Flight was harassing, was dying off, explosions racing through its hull, tearing metal and flesh alike.

By now a small fleet of Transports and Assault Transports were forming a electronic net in witch to tag the "Ghost" ships with an electronic signal which would render them visible to sensors. Thirty of the Ghost fighters were already tagged and being attacked. One Flight blasted through a flight group of Y-Wings making an attack run on the ISD Immortal. All four Y-Wings were soon joining their comrades who have already perished. After The rest of Resh returned to formation after taking out a rebel Frigate, Joe opened the com. " Assault Craft, commence attack on production and research platforms. Destroy everything!" After each Wing Replied in turn, the assault squadrons were dispatched on their attack runs. Six Squadrons in total, split into two attacking groups, with two squadrons of TIE Defenders or TIE Advanced for escort. Joe switched his com to squadron frequency. "Alright Resh, lets take it in, Who ever still carries rockets or torpedoes in Phantom Flight better lock onto either platform, ETA- Two Minutes and we are at five klicks out. Arm weapons and fire at will" Pel was the first to respond, "Lead this is Five, Phantoms locking onto targets, ready to fire." Joe took a breath, "Fire." Pel smiled and let loose his dual torps and continue firing as Six did the same, Seven and Eight let lose their rockets on the 2^nd huge platform. Both pair saved four warheads in each tube for the rest of the battle. Joe took a look at his sensors, the attacking six squadrons were taking casualties; they had waited to fire at close range. "Resh, its time to draw some fire off those fighters. Phantoms, engage your SLAMS and fire at targets of opportunity, draw the station’s guns if you can. Three Flight, take some of those fighters of the attackers. One, were going to try and cover Two Flight." Phoenix came replied, "Three Flight ready, we’ll take the heat off them lead." With that Three Flight peeled off and begun their strafing runs against the enemy fighters. Phantom Flight engaged their SLAMS and shot out towards the Rebel Platforms, successful in drawing the enemy’s turbolaser fire. A pilot from One Flight came over the com, "Come on Lead, let’s cover their asses!" LT Scarlet Guard said over the com. His TIE Defender shot ahead and quickly engaged an A-wing that was following the Phantoms, letting its pilot join the statistics. Phantom Flight made its run and was pulling away, not being hit once. Three Flight was performing excellently, raking up the kills. Joe took note of a flight group of Gunboats engaging six A-Wings. While the Gunboat was powerful, it didn’t have the speed of the more maneuverable A-Wings. Joe flipped over his com to flight one’s frequency. "One flight on me, time to save some friendlies." His TIE Defender shot off to help his fellow pilots. "Fire missiles." He said as he switched over to get a lock and found he immediately got a tone to fire. He squeezed the trigger shooting off one missile at two A-Wings following the lead Gunboat. He quickly switched to quad cannons and opened fire on both, finishing them off as he watched Two and Three vanquish their opponents. His TIE flew parallel to the lead Gunboat. The Gunboat came on the com, "Thanks Resh Lead, I owe you one." Joe smiled and returned the gesture. "No problem Ayilin Lead, and you buy the drinks." Joe listened to a laugh and an agreement as the two starfighters parted their ways.

The battle was going well for the Empire. Both platforms were disabled and boarding teams had been dispatched. Two Mon Calamari Star Cruisers were in the area and attacking the Immortal. The Relentless was moving to engage the Mon Cal’s. Joe switched to Resh Squad Com frequency. "Resh this is Lead, Lets start cleaning up the enemy Fighters. Stick to the craft attacking the Sov or the other ISDs. Three Flight, keep an eye out for Phantom flight." Phoenix Responded. "Aye Aye sir, Babysitting is fun I guess." Joe could just picture the snickering coming from Three flight. Colonel Pel came back quickly. "Watch it Captain, or you and I will have a nice talk when we get back." Pel said with a grin Joe imagined. "Uhh, Understood Colonel." Said Phoenix. That brought a chuckle from both Pel and Joe. Joe turned to One Flight’s frequency. "One Flight, we are going to try and take care of the Ghost fighters that are close to the Sov. Hopefully nothing will take us by surprise. Be ready to get out of a dogfight on my command. I don’t want to loose another pilot." Joe said, his thoughts turning to the only pilot he lost…. So far, hopefully there wouldn't be any more. Joe banked his TIE Defender back towards the largest contingent of Ghost fighters and armed advanced missiles. He locked onto a fighter that was firing upon a trio of TIE Bombers making a run at the Rebel Cruisers. He waited till he got a solid lock then he opened fire. Two red darts shot out from his TIE, rushing to catch up to the Rebel Fighters. The fighter turned hard to avoid the missiles. The first one missed, but the second hit its mark. As it did the cloaking field dissipated and Joe got the first real look at the new enemy fighter. It was only slightly smaller than an X-wing. And resembled the Emperor’s Hammer’s own Cloak Shape Fighter. Smooth lines and an awkward tail assembly looked very familiar. This brought a dozen questions to mind but Joe pushed them back. He started at the fighter shooting to its left then right, then above or below to counter its movements until it was within the Sov’s tractor beam emitters, which it now was. He switched to Ion cannons and fired a few volleys, knocking out all systems. He switched his com frequency for the Sov’s Bridge. "This is Major Joe, you have a disabled Ghost fighter in range of tractor beam. Take it in now!" Joe then switched to Flight One com. "This is lead, cover me, I got the Empire a prize and I’m going to deliver it" Lt. Scarlet Guard was the first to respond. "This is Two, Three and I are on our way, you're clear for the moment lead." Joe nodded to himself. "Don’t let anything get through, we need this capture completed. At that moment the Sov Locked on with its tractor beam and hauled the small fighter into its hangar bay.

The com buzzed to life with a familiar, yet authoritarian voice. It was Fleet Admiral Kramer, "Good work Major, the fighter is in our hands. This a very big prize indeed." And with that, the voice was gone. Joe smiled and banked in reverse to begin attacking the rest of the fighters. Two reserve squadrons from Wing Three joined the battle, one of which brought a smile to Joe, Beth Squadron. Beth squadron was his first assignment in the TIE Corps. He was in One Flight with Major Firebird. Soon after he joined he was given Flight Leader of Flight Two and he held that position for a little over a year. Think of the past when you have time Joe, not now. Joe checked his sensors as Grand Admiral Ronin himself came over the fleet-wide com. "This is Ronin, The Rebels are fleeing. Defenders and Advanced chase them into Hyper space." That brought a lot of cheers from the Fleet, we had won. Joe smiled and switched his Com over to Squadron. "Okay Resh, listen up, Flight One and Three will escort Two to unload the last of their heavy warheads on those cruisers, who knows what else we can pull out of this. Tighten it up on me, Lets give Two Flight enough room to play." Resh Squadron tightened around Two Flight. Joe looked for the nearest inbound enemy, none was attacking his squadron. Joe took Resh on the low approach, coming in under the bellies of the big Rebel Cruisers. As they approached 5 klicks out he came on the com again. "Alright Colonel, you’re clear to fire, make them count. Aim for anything critical." Pel responded, "Sure thing Lead, Two Flight acquiring targets." The Mon Calamari they were targeting was crippled and trying to limp back to the jump point. They were now 3 klicks out. Joe switched over to quad cannons and was ready to open up when a squadron of Ghost Fighters came out of the starboard side hangar bay and headed straight for Resh just as Two Flight let loose their volleys of warheads, rockets and advanced torpedoes shot forward towards the Cruiser. "Okay look alive Resh we got company inbound, Target and fire at will." Joe targeted the nearest enemy fighter and readied himself to fire. Just then, all the fighters launched missiles at their targets. "Switch to single fire and target the missiles! Break off! Break off!" Joe was already firing at his missile, which blew immediately then he switched to quad and dove below his attacker. He then pulled back up and behind the enemy fighter when his warning siren came on, he quickly banked left then rolled to the lower right. He risked a glance at his sensors, Oh great. Four enemy fighters were gunning for him alone. His cannons were still on quad fire as he found a Rebel fighter and let loose two blasts with each, which took down the enemy’s shields. Joe then quickly shot off another burst, which sent the fighter on a downward, fiery spiral, to meet his fate. Joe quickly turned about and came towards his attackers to break them up. The gamble worked as two paired off and another went it alone, Joe quickly switched to missiles and went after the duo that banked to his starboard. Joe quickly locked onto him and fired a missile, which found its mark quickly. The explosion rocked the TIE Defender but did no real damage as he quickly switched to quad cannons and opened fire on the now former wingman of his latest kill. The lone rebel fighter who broke to port was soon on his tail, firing when he can. Joe concentrated on the fighter in front of him and unloaded two volleys of quad fire into his shields. Joe side-slipped a little to the left as his attacker fired past him, and into the rear of his squadron-mate’s fighter, exploding the engine and sending the now dead fighter into space to explode. Joe brought his fighter around and quickly banked to the right, he didn’t realize how close to the Mon Cal he had become. His rear shields shook with near misses and a hit with the ship’s ion cannons. His shields were now down to 40%. Not good, NOT good! Joe quickly came about and tried to throw the gunners off their target. Joe’s eyes widdened, six fighters came out of the bay, directly at him. Joe started to bank to port as a missile rocked his fighter. His shields were now gone as he seen the fighters incoming. It’s a good day to die, Long live the Empire. Thought Joe as he awaited his fate, but to his surprise he was rocked with Ion cannons again, disabling his fighter. Argh! They plan to take my TIE! Over my dead body!. Joe quickly set the self-destruct and opened his personal long-range com. "This is Major Joe, I’m hit and disabled. Rebels are trying to take my TIE Defender. I have started self-destruct sequence and I am ejecting. I’m sending my position, Help would be appreciated." He dared not wait for a response. Joe quickly popped his hatch and ejected to the vast cold space he loved so greatly. As his body flew away from his TIE he stared at it. Goodbye old friend. He thought as he seen the initial explosion of his fighter. That’s one fighter the Rebellion can’t use against the Empire.

A while passed and his oxygen was running out. It was cold, very cold. Joe couldn’t feel his fingers anymore. Hell of a way to die, but it was worth it; this was all worth it. Joe closed his eyes, maybe if he slept he wouldn’t he wouldn’t be afraid of Death’s even colder embrace. At that moment, it all came together. The battle, the Empire, the Rebellion, the Galaxy, everything. Everything was calm, everything had a purpose. He was now at peace with all of it, he was ready.

Back to Magazine