"By order of the Commander, the General Staff issues the following commands:"
Galactic Standard Year 4, December 15, 13:00. Cloud City, Bespin. Mandalorian Armed Forces Chief of the General Staff Michael Saxon was issuing orders in rapid succession.
"Order: All Bespin Mandalorian Armed Forces units are to enter Condition One readiness, effective immediately."
"Order: Navy First Fleet; Army Aviation's Zeal Squadron and Tempest Squadron—launch. Advance to the coordinates where the visiting fleet will revert from hyperspace. Clear the surrounding traffic and sanitize the airspace. Any vessel that refuses our dispersal orders is to be destroyed on the spot."
"Order: The Army Base Air Defense Battalion—man all stations."
"Order: Army Aviation's Ardor Squadron and Fervor Squadron—launch and conduct combat air patrol in the atmosphere around Cloud City."
"Order: Navy Second Fleet—launch. Form a defensive formation at five hundred kilometers above Cloud City and hold position."
"Order: Army Aviation's Zephyr Squadron and Zenith Squadron—launch and conduct combat air patrol in the atmosphere around Cloud City."
"Order: All remaining Army and Navy personnel—armor up and stand by."
"Order: The newly raised Riishi forces are to coordinate with Cloud City police to maintain order within the city."
The moment the orders went out, klaxons began to wail. Bespin's war machine spun up to full power.
Chief of the General Staff Michael Saxon's expression was grim. Following his line of sight, outside the window, a starship formation and multiple fighter groups were already punching through cloud layers and mist.
Aside from the Navy Shriek-Hawk independent starfighter squadron currently away on escort duties (four providing cover for the Cloud City ship, eight escorting tibanna-gas transports), the main combat assets of the Mandalorian Army and Navy were surging out in force.
Navy First Fleet and Second Fleet together fielded: two MPO-1400 Purrgil-class light cruisers, eight Gozanti-class light cruisers, and two carrier air wings—twenty-four Fang-class starfighters in total.
The MPO-1400 Purrgil-class light cruiser measured 300 meters in length. At its forward A turret position, it mounted a dual heavy turbolaser cannon. At its midships ventral B position, it carried a heavy ion cannon. On the aft sublight engine platform, it had six quad light turbolaser emplacements. In addition, it carried six concussion missile / proton torpedo launchers and two tractor beam projectors.
It could house a full squadron of twelve Fang-class starfighters in its internal hangar and had the capacity to perform major overhauls on embarked fighters.
The Gozanti-class light cruiser measured 63.8 meters long, 32 meters abeam, and 14.7 meters tall. On its dorsal hull, it carried a twin laser cannon at the bow and another at the stern. On the ventral hull, it mounted a heavy laser cannon.
Via external racks, a Gozanti could carry four Fang-class starfighters. When executing missions, the First and Second Fleets typically prioritized using Gozantis to carry Fangs for rapid deployment.
However, the Gozanti lacked maintenance and support capability. Routine servicing and major overhauls for Fang-class craft could only be done aboard the Purrgil-class.
The Fang-class starfighter was a light starfighter produced by MandalMotors Shipyards. It measured only six meters long—small, nimble, and exceptionally maneuverable. It mounted a laser cannon at each wing-root leading edge, and a proton torpedo launcher on the belly. [1]
Army Aviation's six starfighter squadrons—Zeal, Tempest, Ardor, Fervor, Zephyr, and Zenith—fielded seventy-two Z-95 Headhunter starfighters in total.
The Z-95 Headhunter was one of Incom's signature designs, famous across the galaxy for being rugged and dependable. The craft measured 16.74 meters long, with an 18.12-meter wingspan and 3.24 meters in height. It mounted one KX5 laser cannon at each wingtip, and an MG5 concussion missile launcher at each wing root.
Two light cruisers, eight light cruisers, ninety-six starfighters—defending Bespin with that was, frankly, stretched thin.
Still, for today at least, against the shadowy opportunists skulking around the edge of Bespin's gravity well, the Mandalorian Army and Navy held a clear advantage in both numbers and quality.
And that wasn't even accounting for the gap in personnel. A ragtag mob didn't compare to elite Mandalorian warriors.
The advantage was theirs—but Michael Saxon didn't relax for a second.
This time, the Commander had warned him again and again: be extremely careful. If the Commander was that cautious, there was a reason. Michael Saxon did not dare let his guard down.
…
On the bridge of the Acushnet, the holoprojection showed forty-one red contacts—one large, four medium, and thirty-six small—closing fast on their position. Hondo Ohnaka shifted his gaze from the projection to the viewport. He could already make out the faint sheen of armor plating.
"Boss?" one of Ohnaka's pirate captains asked from the side.
"Withdraw," Hondo said, rolling his neck. "Unless you feel like dying here."
"Yes, boss." The captain agreed wholeheartedly. "All engines. Fall back at best speed and maintain a safe distance from the Bespin fleet."
Watching the "friendly" contacts on the holoprojection begin to pull back as well, Hondo rubbed his chin and muttered, "So it won't turn into a fight. Nobody's willing to stick their neck out."
"Boss, are we going to buy gas?" the captain asked.
"Why are you in such a hurry?" Hondo shot him a sidelong look. "Wait and see."
…
("No opening.")
Nym eased the controls, bringing the Havoc away from Bespin. He was bold—and skilled—but that didn't mean he liked doing stupid things.
"Better to wait," the "Avenger" told himself. "Sometimes you don't have to hunt for an opportunity. Be patient. If you wait long enough, an opportunity will present itself."
…
The Pyke Syndicate's armed freighter group hadn't even reached Bespin before it turned around.
Lom Pyke was dead. They needed to return to Oba Diah to handle the former boss's affairs—and to fight for the seat of whoever became the next boss.
…
14:13. The Bespin–Corellia joint fleet reverted from hyperspace at the outer edge of Bespin's gravity well.
The Wide-Area Silence, the Brave, the Resolute, the Glorious, and the Great formed up and fired salute volleys. On the public band, a broadcast rang out: "Welcome to Bespin!"
"That's a beautiful refit," Berethron raised a thumb. "The turret layout—"
"Deflector shields to full! Prepare to engage!" Max barked.
Admiral Berethron froze, thrown off by Max Vizsla's sudden move—and then he heard the Tyrena's report crackle through his headset:
"Admiral, we're detecting an unknown fleet reverting from hyperspace!"
PS: The Gozanti has many variants, with many different weapons configurations. The loadout used for the protagonist faction's Gozanti-class light cruisers in this chapter is based on the Gozanti configuration seen in the live-action series The Mandalorian. [3]
PPS: The Z-95 Headhunter has many sub-variants. The protagonist faction's Z-95s use the classic Z-95-AF4 variant.
PPPS: Fang-class carrier squadrons are all named with words starting with "F". The two existing carrier squadrons are Falcon Squadron and Flamingo Squadron.
Z-95 Headhunter squadrons are all named with words starting with "Z".
Gozanti ship names are all chosen from words starting with "G".
Jedi Masters and Sith Lords are welcome to submit name ideas—let's name them together!
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🛡️🔥🌌 STAR WARS: THE RISE OF MANDALORE 🌌🔥🛡️
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