Viscount-class Star Defender 'Viscount'

[Jahan Stresemann]

New Republic Starship Viscount
68,174 souls
"Ex Astris, Pax"



Flag, Union Fleet Group Three
Flag, New Republic Task Force 'Viscount'

Commanding Officer: Admiral Jahan Stresemann
Executive Officer: Captain Jack Rikter

Current Location: Bilbringi System
Current Mission: Defend Bilbringi and nearby systems

Supporting fleets:
Task Force 'Viscount'
Imperial Battlegroup 'Gauntlet'
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Admiral Jahan Stresemann
"The highest rank in the New Republic is that of Civilian."

[Jack Denis]

Deep in space, a large Mon Calamari Star Cruiser dropped in system from hyperspace. Moments later, the comm unit aboard the Viscount recieved a transmission from the ship as it moved into formation with the rest of the taskforce. A tall woman with dark blonde hair wearing the uniform of a new republic captain resolved before the communications officer.

"This is Captain Aletra Korrado of the MC80 Liberty Cruiser Izanagi to Viscount. Please inform the admiral that the Izanagi and its fighter squadrons Reliant, Destiny and Havoc are awaiting his command. We await his inspection at his discretion. Izanagi out."
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Jack Denis - NR Pilot
"The fight for freedom may be over, but the fight to defend it continues. We are the front line of that defense."

[Jahan Stresemann]

Stresemann stood at the entrance to the Viscount's massive Admiral's Dining Suite. He took a deep breath and allowed himself a moment of pride. It was immense. The Viscount was immense. He thought back to the start of his career, serving on a Carrack. Back then, despite his hate for the Empire, his greatest ambition was to command such a ship. A tiny, decades-old ship, one with charm, sure, but still. Now he was commanding one of the largest, most powerful vessels ever constructed, second only to the Remnant's Executors. Jahan was reasonably sure Viscount could go toe to toe with one of those, anyway.

Not that she'd ever have to.

Peace! He loved the word. Peace, unity and friendship, that's what allowed him to dine with one of his pilots and the commander of an Imperial warship in orbit of a shipyard complex jointly owned by New Republic and Imperial companies. Jahan walked over to the massive viewport that covered an entire wall of the dining room, and looked out at the planet below. He waited for his guests, arms behind his back, posture commanding and erect.
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Admiral Jahan Stresemann
"The highest rank in the New Republic is that of Civilian."

[John Kiles]

The door hissed open, and John stepped into the Admiral's opulent dining room. Stresemann was standing at the head of a decorated table covered in fine dishes and cuisine, no doubt from all over the galaxy. John noticed that while the Admiral seemed at ease, his eyes were probing John discreetly. He pretended not to notice and stepped forward, presenting the wine to Stresemann. "Admiral. Thank you for inviting me." The Admiral accepted the offering, and John clasped his own hands behind his back. "A very impressive ship you have here. I've always admired Mon Calamari engineering. Not as Spartan as Star Destroyers, but very elegant. I remember the original models from during the war. A shame the political atmosphere of the time period forced them to be converted into warships." He didn't mention that it was the Empire the ships had been converted to fight.
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Commodore John Kiles - Imperial Remnant Battlegroup Gauntlet

[Jack Denis]

At first Jack had found the Viscount overwhelming. It was larger than the Izanagi had been, and the layout was quite different. Many tmes he had accidently walked into a maintenance corrider by accident while searching for somewhere else. Fortunately most of the crew were friendly people and gave directions of varying reliability. In time he did manage to find his quarters and dressed accordingly for dinner with the Admiral.

Arriving punctually, but not excessively early, Jack entered the Admiral's Dining Suite. Several of the guests were already here, and the Admiral appeared to be in conversation with one of them. Jack took a moment to take in the surroundings. It was very grand, and the spread already on the tables looked very diverse. Jack wondered exactly how much had gone into this. Even the General's staff dinners had been fairly simple affairs. Perhaps it was a reflection of the Admiral, or perhaps the General had simply been rather mizerly with the budget for such events.

Regardless of this, Jack recovered his senses and approached the Admiral. He awaited a lull in the conversation before joining in. He gave a quick salute to the Admiral, and handed him a bottle of Corellian whisky.

"Good evening, Admiral. I am honoured for your invitation. I'm afraid this token is a bit of a gamble since I do not drink myself. However, it does come highly recommended from my XO."
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Jack Denis - NR Pilot
"The fight for freedom may be over, but the fight to defend it continues. We are the front line of that defense."

[Jahan Stresemann]

"The Mon Cals sure know how to build a ship," said Stresemann, nodding. He took the wine, reading the label and nodding. "Coruscant '22," he muttered, "Good year." He saluted, and Kiles saluted back. Feeling like this was not enough, Jahan offered the Commodore his hand and they shook. "May I say," Jahan added, "It's an honour to serve alongside you. We really should have done this earlier."

"We should indeed."

"You know, we both fought at Carratos," said Jahan.

"Carratos..." said Kiles, and Jahan left him to muse on that, as Denis had entered the room, which was slowly filling up with guests.

"Good evening, Admiral. I am honoured for your invitation. I'm afraid this token is a bit of a gamble since I do not drink myself. However, it does come highly recommended from my XO." The young man held out a bottle.

Jahan took it and studied the label. "Oh my," he said, "This is good stuff." He looked up at Denis. "Tell your XO he knows his drinks. Thank you, Denis." He turned to a waiter and waved the bottle briefly, the young man nodding and heading off to get a glass. "It's a shame you don't drink, or I'd offer to share a glass with you."
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Admiral Jahan Stresemann
"The highest rank in the New Republic is that of Civilian."

[John Kiles]

When the waiter returned, John gratefully accepted a tall glass of bronze liquid, evidently poured from Commander Denis' bottle. He sipped it, allowing the burning whiskey to slide down his throat and warm his stomach. As it did, he recognized the taste. Whyren's Reserve, John noted. Expensive brand. Jahan gestured them towards the expansive dining table, and the three of them chose seats that spaced each other evenly apart, making it obvious that they were not diding as officers, but as fellow fliers. "You know, Commander..." John started as he began to help himself to a platter of bruallki, "I used to be a pilot in the early years of the Rebellion."

Denis looked surprised. "Really? I thought you were a career Navy man."

"A common mistake. A long time ago, standard doctrine for TIE pilots dictated that if they survived their first year-long tour, they would transfer to the Imperial Navy as a Lieutenant. Well," he shared a small smile with them and began cutting his bruallki, "I served for three tours before transferring. By then, I was a full Captain, and I was given the Gauntlet as my commision after my-" He stopped suddenly, his expression blank as he reached back through the years. A slight look of pain crossed his face before he smothered it. "After the man originally intended to command the ship was killed."
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Commodore John Kiles - Imperial Remnant Battlegroup Gauntlet

[Jack Denis]

Jack raised an eyebrow. He'd been wondering as to the identity of this man, and so the mystery had been revealed. The commander of the Imperial division of the task force. Imperial...

Yet the fact the man had fighter experience came as a surprise. Very few TIE pilots back in the rebellion era had survived am entire single tour, let alone three. The old shieldless TIE fighters were less seen these days with the march of technology, and with more advanced versions in the TIE avaliable they weren't as frequently deployed into heavy combat situations. The Commodore must either have been very lucky with his assignments or very skilled. He was still working out how to deal with the Commodore without letting his mistrust of Imperials become too apparent.

Jack helped himself to something he didn't recognise, but appeared to be some kind fish. It tasted good none the less.

"Out of interest sir," he said, addressing the Commodore, "Did you serve in any of the uhh... 'major' battles in the rebellion era? Likewise to you, Admiral. Ever been a part of any historical battles?"
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Jack Denis - NR Pilot
"The fight for freedom may be over, but the fight to defend it continues. We are the front line of that defense."

[Jahan Stresemann]

Jahan laid down his cutlery, leaving the half-eaten fish on his plate. "Well," he said, looking over at Kiles, "There was Carratos." Kiles was silent, and Jahan didn't speak either. They just sat there, two old men looking at each other with not a word exchanged.

~

Battle of Carratos
12 Years Ago

Jahan stood at the very end of the Nebula's bridge and watched as four squadrons of E-Wings soared overhead to join the clouds of New Republic fighters forming up ahead of his fleet. He span on his heel to take in the command centre, nodding at his chief officers and making sure all the sub-officers were in support positions. They had gone from Yellow Alert to full combat readiness in 117 seconds, with all fighters launched and every one of the Nebula-class Star Destroyer's one hundred cannon primed and manned.

"Let's see what these new Nebulas can do," said Jahan, giving his XO a nervous smile. He had been commanding Nebula for only a few weeks now, and his XO was, like him, quite a young man - at 38, just five year younger than Stresemann. He'd come abord just two weeks ago. The war was taking such a toll. "Everybody - good luck." The crew looked nervous, as well they might. This was looking like a major attack. "I want you to all take a deep breath," he added, and placed his hands down by his sides, calm and commanding, "And put your Game faces on." He stalked over to the Tactical Analysis station. "Details, Lieutenant."

"We're looking at a serious attack, sir," said the young man, "I have multiple ISDs on approach, with supporting cruisers and forty plus squadrons of TIEs... no, scratch that, 50 plus..." he wiped his brow.

"ETA?"

"One minute."

Jahan nodded and strode to the front of the bridge, leaning on the viewport. "We have to keep them from Carratos," he said, "If they take Carratos, they can outflank Bilbringi and we might lose a major shipyard..." he looked down at the bolts in the viewport frame and gave himself a second to plan. "Inform all ships and all squadrons. We'll take them head on. Reserves will be Group D, and I want all Interdictors powered up. They're not retreating this time."

He looked up, and the intelligent software of the viewscreen zoomed in on the Imperial fleet - slate grey Star Destroyer after slate Grey Star Destroyer, bristling with guns and swarming with fighters. He felt the Nebula's engines start up as his entire defence fleet powered ahead to meet the Imperials before the planet.

He tapped the glass. "Your move."
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Admiral Jahan Stresemann
"The highest rank in the New Republic is that of Civilian."

[John Kiles]

Battle of Carratos
Year 29

John crossed his arms and stared at the tactical hologram in front of him. Rather than standing on his ship's bridge, he'd opted to go for the smaller, more heavily armored CiC. It lacked viewports, but had all of the tactical displays present on the bridge and more. The lesson of Admiral Piett and the Executor had been a hard one, but it had been learned long ago. As Fourth Fleet continued to form up after their deceleration from hyperspace, the New Republic defenders were busy scrambling everything they had, from fighters to frigates to those ever-so majestic Mon Cal warships they were churning out each day. As John watched, the globe-shaped hologram shifted to show that the New Republic forces, instead of forming a protective umbrella above the planet's surface, were charging straight towards them.

Looks like they learned a lesson of their own from Anaxes, John thought wryly. Time to change the rulebooks on them. "Lieutenant, have all wings reported in yet?"

"Yes, sir. All TIEs are in the black and accounted for and are forming up in a screen ahead of us."

John eyed the hundreds of tiny blue dots that signified his TIEs. "Order half the wings to rally at this point-" he tapped an area of space a good distance outside the enemy fleet's weapon range and directly above them. "-and wait for further orders."

The flight controller half-turned in his seat. "Sir?"

"Don't worry, Lieutenant. Obey your orders."

"Yes, sir." The young officer began speaking rapidly into his comm. "All players, Gauntlet Actual. Wings A through M, break formation and..."

"All ships prepare to concentrate forward firepower on my mark," John commanded. All around him, the fleet's Star Destroyers, cruisers, and frigates were forming up. The deck shuddered slightly for a moment. "Sensors, what was that?"

"They've activated a gravity well, sir." A several red cones appeared and engulfed John's fleet, originating from half a dozen or so enemy ships near the rear of their formation. John smiled slightly at their confidence. In ten minutes you'll wish otherwise, he thought to the New Republic commander. "Mark those targets as priorities and feed them to the detatched wings. Tell them to wait for my signal."

The New Republic fleet opened fire, and John's ships responded. Gauntlet shuddered as the first few turbolaser strikes hit her shields, then a much more protracted rumble echoed through the hull as her heavy batteries responded. "All vessels, mark!" The Star Destroyers opened up with everything they had, ignoring all else and sending wave after wave of turbolaser fire into the center of the enemy formation.
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Commodore John Kiles - Imperial Remnant Battlegroup Gauntlet

[Jahan Stresemann]

Battle of Carratos
Year 29

Nebula rocked as the Imperial fleet sent wave after wave of fire into the centre of Jahan's formation. First, he ran over to the Battle Table to study the hologrammatic display there - the Imperials were focusing on the centre of the fleet, with a priority targetting on the Interdictors. This was perfect - while the Interdictors were soaking up damage, the real warships could focus on those damn Star Destroyers. Then, he saw that fully half the Imperial fighters were heading to a point directly above his fleet and far out of weapon range.

"Hmm," he said, looking round to find the XO, who joined him. "What are they up to, do you think?"

"No idea, sir," said the XO, "I'd suggest we hang our fighters back and wait."

"No," said Jahan, "No. Signal all ships to continue to return fire, focusing on the Star Destroyers. And keep advancing until we're right among them - those heavy turbolasers will murder us, but when we're in close the fighters can focus on their weak points."

"But sir, those TIEs..."

"Only half of the TIEs are actually committed - giving us fighter superiority. I want three-quarters of all wings to hang in close around the fleet, performing point-defence until we're right in close to the enemy ships and their flak is less of a threat. The other 25% will stay behind the fleet with the reserve."

"Sir." The ship rocked again, and Jahan looked up, noticing that he could now see the Imperial fleet with the naked eye. The viewscreen was full of scarlet, crimson, angry green and blue. Increasingly, there were explosions - fighters hit by stray bolts, or flak bursts, even a corvette or two. The two fleets were charging head on, spitting gigatons of death and giving no quarter.
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Admiral Jahan Stresemann
"The highest rank in the New Republic is that of Civilian."

[John Kiles]

Turbolaser bolts flashed back and forth as the two fleets continued to close with each other. Every now and then, a few smaller ships on each side would lose shields to the onslaught and be cracked open under the barrage, but the capital ships and cruisers weathered the storm nicely. Gauntlet shuddered for what seemed like the hundredth time as more turbolaser bolts hit her forward shields. Her own batteries answered in return, drawing a much longer vibration from the deck plating that made John's teeth buzz.

"Range to enemy fleet?"

"Roughly 160,000 kilometers and closing, sir."

"Prepare to redirect forward batteries on my mark. Star Destroyers only. Have the escorts form up and begin preparing for antistarfighter defense. Once we start mixing it up they'll want to try and knock a few of our big ships out with TRD. Have the remaining TIEs form screens when we reach 50,000 kilometers." John glanced to where the other half of the TIEs were waiting, and nodded at the starfighter coordinator. "Tell the TIEs to attack. Concentrate on the Mon Calamari ships and use torpedoes and concussion missiles. Aim for their engine blocks."

"Yes, sir." The cloud of Imperial starfighters that had been hovering just above the New Republic fleet rolled down and accelerated, heading straight for the enemy. They spread out as turbolaser fire licked out at them, but none of the shots were fired with any reasonable accuracy, not at that range.

"Gunners," John said. "Prepare to concentrate all firepower on this plane here." He tapped a horizontal plane on the hologram that was a few thousand kilometers above the enemy forces, and still over a hundred kilometers from the closing TIEs. "Wait for my signal."
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Commodore John Kiles - Imperial Remnant Battlegroup Gauntlet

[Jahan Stresemann]

"Sir, those TIEs are incoming," the XO shouted, and Jahan snapped his head back down to the situation table. He could see the red cloud of enemy contacts approach his fleet. He could see the green cloud of his fleet approaching the enemy. He saw the pieces. He saw how they fit. He smacked the board.

"Gods damn it," he said, "New orders to fleet. Immediate halt! Prepare for all round defence, I want shields evened out and rear and side guns warmed up. Keep up the fire on the main enemy fleet, and prepare our fighter reserve."

"Sir, we should send our main fighter force up to meet those TIEs-"

"No," said Stresemann, "That's now how I do things. Let the bombers shoot their little firecrackers at our capitals, and we'll see how they like our PD guns. Close-in defence, Captain. Any weapon capable of anti-fighter work will hold fire until they're at fifty clicks."

"Fifty!"

Stresemann nodded. "Do it."
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Admiral Jahan Stresemann
"The highest rank in the New Republic is that of Civilian."