Yridia II
Bridge of the Magnus Kaerner

“Sir, Captain Hades has arrived safely on board the Cocytus,” relayed the communications chief.

“Good,” replied Oberst. Now he could go about putting his strategy into place, one that he hoped would open the battle up and allow for Tarentum's superior assets to counteract the superior numbers. They were quickly running out of time. It was obvious to Oberst that the supposed reinforcements from the Dark Council would not arrive. Of course, he had scoffed at the initial report that assistance was coming. Tarentum would be on her own. Oberst shook those thoughts from his head and took one last survey of the enemy fleet arrayed against them: the Allegiance-class flagship Halberd, sixteen  Assassin-class corvettes, three Mark-II assault frigates, four DP-20 gunships, three Victory-II-class frigates, and three Carrack-class cruisers. Despite the apparent age of many of the vessels, it was very obvious that they had been refurbished to be closer to par with the more modern vessels, though they were still lacking.

“Open a channel to all ships,” ordered Oberst as an enemy TIE Advanced shattered into pieces just shy of the bridge view port. These were Imperial tactics and Oberst had already seen their own fatal flaw. The attack was heavily centralized, with the orders obviously coming from the command ship. It was the flaw that had doomed the Empire at the Battle of Endor. If these were mercenaries attacking Tarentum, the loss of their leadership would be more traumatic.

“All ships ready, sir!”

---

As Oberst set about planning Tarentum's assault, Anshar quietly slipped off the bridge. He was not needed right now; Oberst and Scion would be able to command the battle. Instead, Anshar had other plans, though it was not one he relished. Anshar had already requested assistance from Arcona, Tarentum's long standing ally, but Arcona had nothing to spare as they too were under attack. Plagueis was unresponsive at this point. And the rest were too caught up in their own problems to help. There was only one last place to call for help. Even if they agreed to assist, there would not be much coming. This house simply did not have the capacity of the others. Still, if they could be convinced to assist, they could conceivably deliver a powerful blow.

Anshar sat down at the unoccupied terminal and opened up the secure channel. There was a minute of static and distortion before the pale Nagai face appeared. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“I need a favor, Drodik,” said Anshar. “I need you to bring what ships you have and attack the biggest ship over Yridia II.”

Yhi System
New Tython
Halls of The Watchmen

Deo Sol stirred uncomfortably within the rounded dome of the council chambers within the Halls of The Watchmen. Splayed on the table before him in the center of the room were a stack of what little intelligence the Kotahitanga-Unity Defense Force had managed to scrounge up on the matter. “With all due respect, Masters Drodik and Morotheri, but I don’t believe this is a wise course of action. We simply don’t have the military assets required for this kind of full-scale assault.”

Rising to his feet, Drodik slid a panel off the side of the table. The image flickered before a holographic representation of the battlefield appear before them, “If all goes according to plan, it is our hope that we will not need a sizable fleet in order to strike a powerful blow against the enemy. All we need is for Tarentum to distract the enemy long enough for our ships to have enough time to drop out of hyperspace right... here.” He said, pointing to a large blinking triangle on the display.

“From there, our bombers will begin the assault on the Halberd with a series of powerful bombs Tarentum had modified to be launched from proton torpedo launchers while our fighters focus on defending them. The key component to these is a small quantity of baradium, which should help in taking out key strategic points quick enough to buy Tarentum some time.”  Continued the Nagai, his voice carrying the same confidence that often accompanied his public addresses.

“And you intend to destroy an allegiance-class flagship with only bombers?” Replied Commander Abuli, his bulbous eyes absorbing the information contained on the datapads.

“No, our mission is primarily to disable the Halberd before our ground troops engage alongside Tarentum’s to capture the flagship.” Answered Morotheri, who had for the most part remained quiet throughout the meeting. Something about this troubled him greatly, although at this point it was most unclear to him. He had only recently been able to see once again through the Force as the last symptoms of the Horizons plague vanished, yet the thoughts still clung to him like a disease and his vision still faded at times.

“...And in doing so, throw the enemy into disarray. Very well, Master Jedi. I will relay the order.” Replied Deo Sol as he turned to leave the chambers with Abuli close behind.

Menat Ombo
Ordain Vonoro Spaceport
Cantina

Laughter could be heard kilometers away from the Spacefarer’s Diner as the pilots of the Call of Freedom Squadron celebrated their “last meal” in the usual pre-flight ritual. Dak Orlander made his way to the bar, where he was greeted by long-time friend and comrade, Ges Graddo who had already begun consuming copious amounts of alcohol long before everyone gathered at the cantina.

“Hey there, Des!” He called out over the deafeningly inharmonious cantina music blaring from a jukebox in the back of the room.

“Ges! It’s good to see you here friend. I would buy you a drink, but it seems you already have that covered.” He said with a wink, “How is everyone holding up?”

“Better than expected. But I reckon it’ll take those two some time to get sober.” He motioned to a pair of pilots from the Besh flight group with a motion of his head. He turned back towards Des as the bartender placed another round of drinks on the table, “Only thing is, we haven’t had this much excitement since the Empire was still under the reign of the Emperor. Some of the men fear that we may be lining ourselves up for the killing blow.” Replied Ges, downing another shot of brandy and slamming the glass against the table.

“That’s why we celebrate every mission as our last, Ges.” Said Des, “Everyone! May I have your attention, please?” He called out, taking his place upon the table like a podium, “Now, I know many of you fear we won’t make it back home. But remember this - If we don’t act while a fighting chance remains, our very homes might be in peril. Once the fleet conquers Tarentum, who will be next? If we strike a grievous blow to the enemy, we can ensure the safety of New Tython. The fate of New Tython depends on us, gentlemen. Drinks are on me. Make this last one count.”

Yridia II
Bridge of the Magnus Kaerner
“Major hull breach on the aft passenger deck!” Called XO Ailsa Cadran around a mountain of static. The Phlegethon had taken a few brutal impacts, but had for the most part shrugged off the worst of the damage.

“Inform the engineers to seal it off, and press on with the defense.” Commanded Oberst, who was able to remain cool and calculating throughout the entirety of the onslaught. The assault was already in motion, the enemy fleet was forced to reposition, exposing the Halberd for a direct bombardment from any ships making the jump in-system to the coordinates supplied to New Tython’s intelligence. For the moment, Tarentum had the upper hand.

“Reports coming in, sir.” Called out the communications chief, “The Requeim has relocated to draw the enemy fleet away from the flagship. Unfortunately, sir, the Phlegethon is sustaining heavy damage. We can’t hold these positions for much longer, sir.”

“We won’t need to. The Jedi of Odan-Urr have already begun sending their reinforcements en-route to the coordinates provided. Once they arrive, they will begin the assault on the Halberd and confuse the enemy long enough for us to deal a massive blow to their numbers.” Informed Anshar as he looked up from the console, “With luck, they’ll be here in a matter of a few minutes.”

“Excellent. Once they arrive in-system, patch them into our communications.” Ordered Oberst, turning to the communications chief who offered a snap-salute.

“Yes, sir!”

Yridia II
Approach

“This is Cresh One, status update on approach?” Called Dak Orlander over the comm channel to all units of the Cresh flight group. Years of formal training on Coruscant had often been attributed to his immense skill at leading his fight group into and through nearly impossible odds. A multitude of red lights flashed on the communications board as the other pilots confirmed their status.

“Cresh Two, ready.”

“Cresh Three, sober.” Replied the final voice as the comm channel exploded into laughter.

“Cut the chatter!” Commanded Dak Orlander as he flicked a few switches to connect to the Militia Captain, Revak Kur to await further orders on approach.

“Aruek One, this is Cresh One. Cresh group is green and awaiting further orders.” Called Dak Orlander through the approapriate comm channel.

“Aruek One, all other units are green. On approach, your unit will begin a direct bombardment of the closest side of the flagship Halberd. Desh will be there to assist in neutralizing any hostile fighters. Masters Elleron, Guinevere and Jonuss have already given us the green light, and will be there to assist with their respective squadrons.” Answered the Militia Captain, who was currently piloting his fighter on a parallel route through hyperspace alongside them. A few minutes later, they would arrive at the coordinates provided to them by Anshar, and conduct the assault. Any of the pilots of the Call of Freedom squadron were willing to put themselves on the line to ensure the safety of New Tython, yet Revak could sense the growing unease of his pilots as they neared ever closer to the battlefield. As the ship lurched forward out of hyperspace, nothing could prepare them for the sheer chaos before them.

“Emperor’s black bones...”

Yridia II
Bridge of the Magnus Kaerner

“Sir, additional reports coming in from the Kotahitanga-Unity Defense Force of New Tython.” Informed the communications chief as he offered a snap-salute to Anshar.

“Let’s hear it.” Replied the Quaestor, clasping his hands behind his back.

“The Call of Freedom squadron has just left hyperspace, and is commencing the assault on the Halberd, additional squadrons will arrive in a matter of seconds, sir.”

“Good. See to it that the rest of the fleet is ready to move back into position as soon as Odan-Urr’s squadrons are in place.” He replied as he glanced ahead at Oberst, who was currently surveying the battlefield lain before them. So far, the tide of battle had taken a turn in their favor, granting them additional freedom to go on the offensive. Without turning his gaze from the floating debris strewn throughout the battlefield, Oberst gave the order.

“Open communications to all friendly assets. Inform the Cocytus and Requeim to move into attack position. The Phlegethon is to move behind our lines and await repairs.” He commanded as the enemy fleet was thrown into disarray. Among the confusion, a handful of mercenary starfighters broke formation, effectively opening themselves up as an easy target and disintegrating under the heavy bombardment of the Cocytus' turbolaser emplacements.

“On it, sir!” Called out the communications chief as he performed a snap-salute and turned on his heel to tend to the task before him.

“It’s time.” Said Oberst from the transparisteel viewport, more to himself than anyone else. As he gazed into the dark void of space, he caught a glimpse of the bright flashes of white light, just before the Assassin-class corvette was torn in half from fore to aft, leaving a trail of debris strewn in it’s wake as the fore section of the craft drifted through the cold darkness of space.

---

That's right, the feud has officially begun. You should receive from your house summits a list of events with rules and such. However, you can also find a thread on the House Tarentum message board

EDIT: I realize I forgot to mention it, but all submissions should have your dossier number and ID line in the email and on the submission (with the exception of graphics). Message board has also been updated.