Tarrick Ragnus' Fleet Combat Training

Officer, you will be commanding an Imperial taskforce. The quantity and types of ships assigned to your task force is entirely up to you, but please specify them.

You are currently blockading an Imperial World that is in the process of uprising against Imperial Rule. The World is called Ghorman.

Before your ships can deploy their troops planetside to restore order to the world, and supplement the Imperial Garrison which is already in place, a Rebel taskforce arrives at the edge of the system. The quantity and types of rebel ships is entirely up to you, but please specify them.

The enemy fleet begins to move to challenge your blockade of the planet. Their main objective in this battle is to deliver rebel troops to Ghorman, and secure the planet for themselves.

Now, take charge of the battle, and secure Ghorman for the empire.

Imperial Taskforce Blood Fang
1 x ISD Mk II “Admonisher” (6 Squadrons)
2 x VSD Mk I (4 Squadrons)
2 x Nebulon B Frigates (6 Squadrons)
2 x Lancer Class Frigates
3 x TIE Defender Squadrons
3 x TIE Interceptor Squadrons
6 x TIE Fighter Squadrons
4 x TIE Bomber Squadrons

Rebel Taskforce Bantha Slobber
1 x MC80 Cruiser
2 x MC 30 Light Cruisers
4 x Corellian Corvettes
4 x Corellian Gunships
6 X-Wing Squadrons
6 Y-Wing Squadrons

The glowing orb of Ghorman was floating in the holo-projector in front of Tarrick. He gazed down at the information and then out the viewport at the planet that slowly turned below his ship. Below the holo of the planet, important facts about the planet and its history appeared.

Ghorman was a temperate planet in the Sern sector of the Colonies region.
It was the site of the infamous Ghorman Massacre. (Footnote, see Wiluff Tarkin’s bio for more details)
It lied on the Rimma Trade Route.

It was probably a combination of all of these factors that led to the Rebel being interested in this planet. Already, massive demonstration, no doubt incited by Rebel undercover agents, had broken out at the major universities. The Governor of the planet, who was a fool in Tarrick’s eyes, had waited too long to respond to the threat. The demonstrators had taken over an armory located on the university campus and taken up arms. Rioters had destroyed most lines of communication and now they marched on the Planetary Governor’s Palace, intent on making him an example. Only then did he call for help to the Imperial Fleet.

Luckily for him, Imperial Intelligence Agents, operating within the crowd, had sent word to Fleet Command, so an ad-hoc task force had been put together to deal with the disturbance. At first Captain Ragnus was surprise by the number of ships brought together. In his time of fighting pirates, his fleet had not consisted of that many ships. It was then revealed that Intel had uncovered a plot for Rebel Starships to deliver ground troops to support the rioters. What had started off as a riot was masking the true intentions… a complete takeover of the planet of Ghorman by the Rebels.

Tarrick still didn’t trust Imp Intel, so he didn’t deploy his entire fleet at Ghorman. The Admonisher and her escorts, the 2 Nebulon B Frigates arrived above the planet and took up an orbiting position so that it could always be over the capital city. The Stormtrooper shuttles were being loaded and were due to launch within the hour. The latest communications from the palace show that Palace Stormtroopers were holding their own, but most of the militia had either gone into hiding or joined the rebels. Without the stormtrooper reinforcements, the palace would fall.

“Sir we have contacts arrived at 227 by 12 mark 28.” The sensors officer called out. His voice was calm, denoting his training at the Imperial Academy on Carida. Always calm in the face of the enemy.

“On screen Lieutenant.” Tarrick turned his attention to the holo to see what had arrived.

Eleven ships dropped out of hyperspace at the edge of system. The greater of the ships registered at the Valorous, a MC80 Star Cruiser. While not as big or powerful as the Admonisher, its shields were stronger and that could prove deadly to the ISD in the long run. Spreading out from behind it were 2 MC Light Cruisers and then a handful of corvettes and gunships… a typical Rebel taskforce.

“More contacts sir. Starfighters, this time”, the screen changed to show the arrival of the starfighters. They showed up as mere pinpricks on the sensors, but they could tell by the numbers that it was two full wings. “Profile suggests X-Wings and Y-Wings. There is also another contact dropping in behind them. Sensors suggest Landing Barges and Assault Shuttles. More shuttles pouring out from the Mon Cal Cruisers.”

What had started off looking like a task force was now looking like a full fledged invasion force.

“Fire up our shields and launch all fighters. Inform the Vics to do the same. Primary targets are the shuttles and fighters. Alert Group 2 to stand by. As soon as the enemy fighters are away, they are free to engage. Also ready Group 3. Their objective is the fighters.”

“Aye Captain.”

The crew worked away to comply with Tarrick’s orders. The Admonisher with her two flanking ships waiting until their fighters were away, then they made their way toward the fleet. Behind them, what TIE Bombers they had followed, with no shields and with their lumbering speed, they would be easy targets for the Rebel Fighters. They were ordered to hang back and follow the Admonisher into battle. Once the battle was committed, they were to either attack the capital ships, or stand off and acquire targets on the landing barges and attack.

The TIE Defenders leapt out in front of the fighter formations. They were faster and more heavily armed. Behind there came the interceptors and the Tie fighters brought up the rear.

On the screen the Rebel fighter formation changed. The X-wings took lead and jumped out in front. Then the Y-Wings fell back on the flanks of the Landing Barges. The Corellian Gunships moved to join the fighters group… to add more fire to against the fighters. They were separating from the Corvettes and the Mon Cal ships.

“Now!”

Within seconds of giving the order, two blurs dropped out of hyperspace behind the Rebel Fleet. The VSDs of Blood Fang arrived and opened fire. Their complement of fighters had been completely changed over to TIE Bombers. Now, those bombers launched and began to make runs on the Valorous. The VSD’s opened fire on the aft of the two Mon Cal light cruisers. Concussion Missiles ripped into the rear of the starboard ship, while the Quad Turbolasers struck across the portside ship. The Mon Cal had managed to get their shields up, but not before massive damage was done. Armored hull plated evaporated under the barrage. Many ripped away from the explosions underneath them. On the Portside ship, one area of the ship went dark as power relays were sheered. Generators sparked as the smaller, lightly armored Mon Cal cruisers took on more damage.

The TIE Bombers concentrated their fire on the engines and bridge of the flagship, but they had their shields up and covering. While nothing got through, Tarrick knew that the bombers were weakening the shields. Still this would be a war of attrition and at some point there would be a slugging match.

“Launch all Stormtrooper shuttles and call in Group 3.”

From the bay of the Nebulon B’s and the Admonisher, Assault Shuttles filled with stormtroopers and ground troops left the bays and headed down to the planet. The battle in space didn’t matter if they lost the planet.

Seconds later, Group Two arrived. They had positioned themselves to the flank side of the enemy starfighters. Group Two comprised of 2 Lancer Class Frigates. With their 20 Quad Laser Cannons, they were instant death to the slower fighters and landing barges. Immediately, they began to raze the formation with Quad Laser Fire. One Captain even brought his Lancer in closer so that the fighters could not turn and fire barrages at them.

The enemy fighters scattered with the Y-Wings diving down with the landing barges and the X-wings turning back to attack the Lancers. If not reinforced, the Lancers could actually be overwhelmed. But the loss of a Lancer was insignificant to the loss of Ghorman.

“Order the Defenders to take out the Landing Barges. The Interceptors have the X-Wings and the Ties can mop of the wishbones.”

With this portion of the battle under control, Tarrick released the remaining Tie Bombers to attack the Gunships that were now just entering the fray with the Lancers. The Admonisher and the Nebulon B’s moved closer to the Rebel fleet.

The surprise ambush of the enemy had an amazing affect, but the rebels were not without their leadership. The Valorous cut across the path of the lighter cruisers, putting it in the way of the VSD’. That gave the Light cruisers and the corvettes a change to come around for an attack. The rebel fleet went on the offensive, concentrating their fire on Victory SD. Though most of the rebel fleet was smaller, they outnumbered the Imperials 7 to 2. The Victory’s started taking damage first to their shields and then to their hull when the shields began to break down.

Suddenly one of the light cruisers exploded, its reactor going critical. The resulting fireball began to eat away at the ship, the armor, oxygen, and interior feeding the fire. The Tie Bombers had scored a critical hit on it. As all seemed lost for the Vics, the Admonisher and her escorts closed to firing range.

"Concentrate on the smaller ships. Designate two of the Corvettes for each Frigate and inform the VSD’s to concentrate on the last light cruiser. We will deal with the Valorous.”

The Nebulons fired their turbolaser batteries and ion cannons, splitting the fire between the corvettes. While smaller and more nimble, the corvettes were not meant to stand up to heavy fire power. The larger frigates closed and concentrated their fire on the engine compartments. At first nothing happened, but then the engines exploded on two of the corvettes and the others broke away, trying to clear the fight.

It seemed that now the Rebels knew this was a lost cause. The remaining ships began to break for open space, trying to find the safety of hyperspace, but the Imperial fleet continued to attack them. Turbolaser fire concentrated on the Valorous, destroying the hull armor and weakening the shields, while Ion Cannons wreaked havoc with their electrical systems.

“Sir, we have reports coming in from the Wing Commander. The landing barges are destroyed, along with most of the Y-Wings. One Gunship is crippled, another one destroyed before the Rebels bugged out. We lost 3 Squadrons worth of Tie Fighters and one of Interceptors. They will have to be brought up to full strength again.” The officer calling out the damage hesitated. Tarrick knew that he hadn’t finished with the damage. “We also lost one of the Lancers. The Gunships and X-Wings concentrated on it so that they could blow a hole in the trap and escape. During that time, we were able to decimate the bombers and dropships.”

Tarrick knew that there would be losses. Even without asking, he also knew which Lancer they had lost. Captain Peviet was already willing to risk his ship. He was far too aggressive and now his crew had paid for it.

“Begin salvage operations, immediately.” Tarrick turned back to look at the Rebel Fleet. The Valorous had jumped to hyperspace, along with one of the Corvettes. The rest of the corvettes were dead in the water, one having been snapped in half by the firepower directed at her. The remaining light cruiser had surrendered. Her flanks and engines were a wash of flames and explosions. Her entire hull had been decimated and several places were open to the vacuum of space.

Tarrick’s own fleet had suffered damage. Along with the Lancer and lost squadrons, the Imperials had lost a majority of the bombers that attacked the gunships. One of the Nebulon Frigates had moderate damage to their bridge, but they were operating at 72% efficiency from the auxiliary bridge. One of the Victory SD’s had suffered moderate to severe damage, being caught in a pincer movement between a light cruiser and the Valorous. The command tower had been decimated and it was in a slow spin and inert thrusters were offline.

Still, Tarrick had to smile. They had surprise an invasion force and destroyed 75% of it with only 23% loss of his own fighting force… and most of it was temporary.

“Helm, bring us back to the planet. It is time to mop us the rebel scum.”

The stormtrooper dropships had just landed in key areas. They opened fire on the rioters with deadly accuracy. Next came the ground troops. No less than 3 prefabricated bases were dropped at strategic areas around the capital city. From there ST-AT patrolled the street and martial law was established. Deep Cover Intelligence Agents provided intel on the leaders of the rioters and they were quickly arrested and brought to trial. Execution was public and immediate.

The Uprising at Ghorman was over.