First attempt at a Battle Report. I haven't done any creative writing in at least a decade and I don't know the different character's actual personalities in the EU, so please excuse any blasphemous slander. Its also a little longer, but maybe it'll help some of you kill some time at work. If nothing else I figured it was some nice eye candy for you all. Hope you enjoy!

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After a crushing defeat at the hands of the rebel insurgents the previous week (our practice "learning" game), the Galactic Empire sent a task force to the Justinian System under the command of Lord Vader. Accompanied by the Gladiator-class Demolisher, Vader arrived in system to discover the husked remains of the Imperial squadron who had, only a week previously, been the monument of undisputed power in the sector.

While the squadron's composition mirrored that of his own command - a single VSD and Gladiator - the collective experience of his subordinates vastly surpassed that of his predecessor. In fact, at that very moment, Vader's command was perhaps the most battle hardened and tenacious congregation of space jockeys in the galaxy. Among its ranks were infamous Imperial heroes such as Soontir Fel, "Howlrunner", "Mauler" Mithel, Admiral Chiraneau, and Admiral Screed; all of them household names to the Imperial faithful.

Growing frustrated and impatient at the lack of progress, Vader delegated tactical command to Admiral Screed and made for the main hanger bay that housed his personal TIE Advanced. Since his youth the simultaneous thrill and peace offered by the vacuum of space had been his outlet and escape; his unfailing connection to the Force. And after decades of war, he knew that for him there was no better way to be one with the Force than in the cockpit of a starfighter. And who knew. Perhaps a personal inspection of the previous battle's resulting debris fields and the local space station would yield clues to the whereabouts of this so called "Rebel Alliance". In his experience, his personal presence seemed to virtually guarantee results where none were to be had.

Perhaps then it was no surprise when alarms began to sound moments after he had settled into formation with Black Squadron. "Rebel ships sighted Lord Vader," stated Screed. "We are moving to engage." Calm, cold-hearted confidence resonated in Screed's voice. The embodiment of Imperial will. The insurgents had shown their hand, and the Empire was to ensure that they fold.

Led by the Mon Mothma, the Rebel fleet advanced at daring speed along the Imperial flank, hoping to strike before the powerful Victory - class Star Destroyer could bring its immense firepower to bear. But as the fleets closed one thing became apparent: the fight for Justinian would be won and lost by the squadrons of fighters that were now catapulting towards one another. Vader couldn't believe his luck. In the cockpit of a starfighter he had always reigned supreme. The Force was with him. Victory was assured.

But then he felt a strange presence... One he had not felt since...

And suddenly it became apparent that this was not just any rebel fleet. Luke Skywalker flew among its ranks. And with him were the gladiators of freedom in the galaxy. Wedge Antilles. "Dutch" Vander. Keyan Farlander. Adar Tallon. Criminals whose deeds were widely whispered throughout Imperial territory despite the Empire's best efforts to censor their successes.

Additional scanning identified the two Rebel capital ships as the Gallant Haven and Yavaris. Naval intelligence noted that their compliment of squadrons appeared to be especially dangerous in previous engagements. It was suspected that these warships harbored experienced flight controllers - possibly defectors from the Imperial Navy - and advanced sensors that ensured their pilots maintained exceptional situational awareness and were continuously passed updated targeting data. Perhaps these rebels were more than ordinary Outter Rim bandits after all...

Given these revelations, both sides now knew that the initial clash would be almost unacceptably bloody. What ensued was an elaborate, zero gravity dance between the two sides as they jockeyed for favorable position.

In the orchestrated mayhem Screed noticed an opportunity. A falter in the rebellion's step. He gave the appropriate orders. Demolisher sprung into action.

Ignoring Farlander's B-wing squadron protecting the Rebel's flank, the Demolisher charged the Yavaris. In panicked horror, Mothma realized her mistake. She had deployed the Nebulon - class frigate on the flank coming out of hyperspace hoping to protect its weaker shielding with multiple heavy fighter squadrons. However, the greater than anticipated TIE presence had forced Mothma to keep the majority of her squadrons together under the protection of Gallant Haven, leaving only the elite B-wing escort to deter any Imperial entanglements. She was now realizing the fatal predicament her misjudgment had placed her in.

Quickly, she scrambled what fighters she could to reinforce the beleaguered B-wings in a last ditch effort to save the frigate. But it was too late. As the squadrons arrived, the first salvo of assault concussion missiles struck the Yavaris. Vented oxygen caused flames to erupt throughout the frigates hull.

In desperation, Yavaris' captain ordered ,"HARD TO STARBOARD!!" in an effort to present the frigate's remaining aft shielding towards its attacker and make way to the nearby station for repairs. As the ship limped away, the few surviving crewmen fired their batteries in vengeance at the Demolisher. Although the gunners could never have known, their defiant stand at their guns punched well beyond their weight.

Nearby, Skywalker looked on in horror through his X-wing's canopy as the Yavaris' port side erupted in flames. As the wounded frigate veered out of view, Skywalker watched as its final turbolaser volley winked out of existence meters from the Gladiator. An instant later, he barely made out a split second blink of light originating from the Imperial ships fore. A section of the Star Destroyer's shielding had failed.

By instinct, he toggled his mic. "I'm going in."

As he launched his proton torpedoes and vectored his X-wing for another pass, he caught a glimpse of a seemingly unending trail of glowing red behind him. Fingers of destruction unleashed by the A-wings, X-wings, and B-wings under his command. Yet, despite being surrounded by three squadrons of Alliance snub fighters, without support from either the Yavaris or Gallant Haven Skywalker couldn't help but feel alone.

Even so, the damage caused by the Rebel fighters to the Demolisher was devastating. The Demolisher's captain rose to his feel in a bewildered daze. "Status report." In seconds he was relayed a mountain of information, none of it good. Extensive hull damage. Half of the ship's anti-aircraft batteries were offline. Inability to perform evasive maneuvers. Worse than all of this, however, it quickly became apparent that the rebel's single pass had incited crew panic throughout the vessel. The captain realized in despair that without the ability to reliably relay orders the Demolisher was essentially combat ineffective. In a slow, rolling wave of terror, his despair turned to fear. His ship was failing... and all Lord Vader had to do to know it was look out his view port.

Luckily for the Demolisher's captain, the only thing the Sith Lord could see at that time was hordes of Imperial and Rebel fighters. With half of the Rebel's fighters redeployed to help the Yavaris, Vader, "Mauler" Mithel, "Howlrunner", and Soontir Fel had engaged the remaining fighters and Gallant Haven in a bid to maintain the fleet's initiative. In conjunction with command support from Admiral Screed's VSD and the watchful eye of Admiral Chiraneau, the Imperial alpha strike quickly destroyed the A-wing picket line and moved to engage the hardier X-wings and Y-wings led by Wedge Antilles and "Dutch" Vander.

Despite the element of surprise, numbers, and experience all weighing in their favor - a formula that had caused the immediate destruction or withdrawal of most adversaries in the past - the Imperials struggled against the opposing snub fighters. Alerted to the imminent attack by warnings from the Gallant Haven and the cries of their fallen brothers from the A-wing picket, the rebel pilots had quickly redeployed themselves to launch a lightening counterattack.

In his excitement - or perhaps in over confidence - Fel had flown his squadron beyond the protection provided by Vader and the other squadrons. Exposed at the forefront of the Imperial advance, the veteran Interceptor squadron was vaporized under the weight of the Rebel advance. Vader and his subordinates were stunned. Even so, with three squadrons in reserve the Imperials held steadfast in their confidence in the inevitable outcome of the battle.

This confidence in the inevitability of victory was bolstered when the Admiral Screed unleashed a monstrous broadside at the wounded Yavaris. The mere fact that the frigate's crew was able to reach the nearby station, redirect shields to its weakened side arcs, and repair hull damage after their near fatal meeting with the Demolisher was a testament to their skill and sheer willpower. Unfortunately, willpower could not stand up to firepower and in the first barrage fired by the Imperial VSD in the battle, it vaporizes the Yavaris. So sudden and total was the destruction, no escape pods were seen leaving the doomed frigate.

With the Yavaris eliminated, the way to Gallant Haven and the remnants of its fighter contingent was paved for the three rookie squadrons held in reserve. Acquiring targeting data from the VSD, two squadrons TIEs swarmed Wedge's depleted X-wing squadron. Even with the space station as cover and the support of the Assault Frigate, Antilles watched as one by one his wingmen were picked off.

Having lost his astromech, port stabilizer, and number 3 engine, Wedge made a call to all surviving pilots under his command. "Retreat. Back to the Haven!" Although he was able to make an emergency combat landing with several others, the survival of his squadron was still uncertain. Though he had grown accustomed to handling the uncertainty of war, the helplessness that came with the knowledge that his survival - and that his squadron - was out of his hands chilled him to his core.

One by one the remainder of the Rebel's fighters were picked off. As their numbers dwindled the heavily damaged Demolisher was able to out run the bombers that pursued it. In minutes, many of those bombers would fall victim to the unyielding TIE swarm. Even Luke Skywalker, the hero of Yavin 4, fell to their might.

The systematic hunt for the surviving Rebels, however, was no small task. Outnumbered and outgunned, the maverick pilots of the Rebel Alliance were not those to be out fought. Every Imperial squadron took heavy casualties as they mopped up what remained of a battle they believed had long ago been won. And as Skywalker's earlier feeling of loneliness faded to eternal black, his father felt something he had not felt since the passing of his late wife decades before: loss.

Perhaps distracted by the feeling, or by his attempts to repress it, Vader lost sight of the battle unfolding before him. A lucky shot by one of "Dutch" Vander's remaining Y-wings catapulted the Sith Lord into his wingman and they both spiraled into the side of the nearby station. The remnants of Black Squadron, morale and unit cohesion broken, scattered in fear. They were surrounded by death. Death by Emperor for failing his apprentice. Death from the Rebels that challenged them. As they each contemplated which they would prefer to face, one by one the decision was made for them.

In a spectacular fashion, the tide of battle had turned. The heart of the Empire was no more. "Mauler" Mithel fell to Keyan Farlander's B-wings. A newly formed Interceptor squadron was overwhelmed by a few A-wings. And a mighty volley of turbolasers and point defense batteries by the Gallant Haven destroyed the elusive Demolisher and all the remaining TIEs save "Howlrunner" herself.

Realizing the futility of further combat, Admiral Screed hung his head. "Prep for Hyperspace. Set coordinates to Imperial space. Inform "Howlrunner" to return to the ship with all those she can gather. We are leaving." As the powerful VSD moved towards its rendezvous point with "Howlrunner" it fired one final, fruitless volley at the Haven. A broadside salute for those who had perished, and a promise by Screed that he would return.

"Howlrunner", however, was no believer in promises and sentimentality. She believed in results. As she watched the few surviving TIEs dock aboard the VSD, "Howlrunner" rolled her TIE behind two damaged Y-wings straggling back to the Gallant Haven. With all their focus on keeping their fighters intact they were unaware of her presence. She fired a volley and was rewarded with two soundless explosions. "Dutch" Vander and his squadron had perished.

Still far from satisfied, "Howlrunner" finally headed back to the Star Destroyer. As she stepped out of her cockpit and onto the hangar deck she headed straight for the bridge, formulating her rage into the harsh words she would share.
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We played "Superior Positions" since it seemed the easiest for our first "real" game and we were itching to play, not read through objectives. The rebels ended up winning the day by about 20 points. There were a few times we nudged the dials of both Rebel and Imperial squadrons and had to guesstimate at their remaining health so between that and the luck of the die, the game really could have gone either way. Thanks for reading!

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Alwayes deploy Assault firgate last and on the side you expect to be flanked. You need to keep Yavaris alive, and side batteries Afrig are pefect for covering the flank, Gladiator having to get past or around it will suffer alot.

A very lively read. Well done!

Very nice! Thanks for that entertaining report.

I loved reading this. Some spelling errors but all in all spectacular. . . Now, if only I could learn to do special effects like you have. . .

He's using an IOS app, I think lasersword. Looks like the same one I use, but I must say OP did a truly magnificant job with it.

Great battle report all around.

I am using android so I don't think we have an equivalent yet.

I miss the actual fleet lists.

An inspiring and storied battle-report. Thanks for sharing!

just gotta say, Yavaris getting side-wound by Demolisher is basically inevitable and Mon Motha should not have reacted in panicked horror since covering the vulnerable side with squadrons to is exactly how you deal with that ship

Great report and a fun read.

Alwayes deploy Assault firgate last and on the side you expect to be flanked. You need to keep Yavaris alive, and side batteries Afrig are pefect for covering the flank, Gladiator having to get past or around it will suffer alot.

Appreciate the advice. It was our first game but lesson definitely learned. Won't be making that mistake again... haha. But hey, it made it a nail bitter till the end so I guess I can't really complain.

I loved reading this. Some spelling errors but all in all spectacular. . . Now, if only I could learn to do special effects like you have. . .

I used two iOS apps called Laser Swords and SpaceEffects. One was free and I think the other was $.99. Can't remember which was which. Between the two and the iPhone itself you can create some pretty neat effects. Each picture took a couple minutes tops to do. I actually got the idea to use the apps from WWPDSteven (?), so shout out to him. Also, appreciate the call out about the spelling. I was going off of memory without the cards or material nearby so when I went back I see I spelled a few things wrong (Motha vs Mothma, and Yavarus vs Yavaris for instance). Think I got most of them.

Appreciate all the feedback and interest! Looks like it wasn't a total snooze-fest so I think I'll try for another one. When I eventually get around to it (next month or so I'll be pretty swamped) I think I'll label it "Battle Story" or something of the sort so it stands out a bit more among its more concise counterparts.

What were the chances of the rebel fleet being so stacked with aces? Unlucky there Screed!

Space effects is free and Laser Swords is 99¢ on the Android store.

Great stuff Apolinar! Always love the fluffy side of Star Wars games. And hey, if you think you're a bit rusty, just do another one! Practice makes perfect.