Battle of Naalol

> *"Once the fighters are away there will be little time for the transports to escape."*
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> *"The problem doesn't lie in getting the transports off the ground. The problem lies in getting them through those fighter screens, nevermind the fleet."*
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> - Governor Tomscrin and Koren Forsec discussing the evacuation plans
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The **Battle of Naalol**, also known as the **evacuation of Naalol**, was a minor battle fought between members of the First Order and the Resistance in 34 ABY above and on Naalol, a mountainous planet in the Outer Rim Territories. Considered one of the first victories for the Resistance since their apparent destruction at Crait, it served as a turning point for the war in the Western Reaches, which had up until then been largely a stalemate as the First Order attempted to capture agents of the Resistance.

When the members of Storm Cell traveled to the world under guidance from General Organa, they did so with the intention of recruiting the planetary governor to the Resistance, as he was already sympathetic to their cause. But after a brief clash with First Order flametroopers who were holding the Governor as a hostage, they were forced to defend themselves against a coming First Order flotilla bent on finally destroying them.

Enlisting the support of the pathetic Naalol Planetary Defense Forces, also known as the Naalol militia, Storm Cell managed to create a makeshift defense against the First Order's Lancer frigates and ground troops, but scrambled to destroy a pirate starship working for the First Order that was about to drop a bomb full of biological agents on the evacuation point. Defeating the First Order's forces with the help of several mountain shepherds and the patchwork Defense Forces, Storm Cell managed to make a successful jump to hyperspace and escape the clutches of the First Order.

## **Prelude**

Following Storm Cell's semi-successful mission at Taloraan, they were dispatched by General Organa to Naalol, a mountainous planet deep in the Outer Rim. Their mission was to recruit the local populace and, most importantly, the planetary governor, to their cause. After venturing the planet they arrived at the Governor's mountain palace, where they found it under occupation by First Order stormtroopers and flametroopers. Defeating the troopers but with Jarux Sental losing his left hand, they busted into the mansion to rescue the Governor, certain that he was taken prisoner. They found Governor Tomscrin tied to a chair and being interrogated by Lieutenant Suka, who planned on using the governor as a puppet for the First Order. With the help of Koren Forsec, Jason Sarkin managed to stun the Lieutenant after she nearly escaped, and Governor Tomscrin advised that they take her prisoner. Knowing that the First Order now knew that they were on the planet, Tomscrin begged them to help protect his people as he had them evacuated from the planet, which he knew would be brutally attacked as an example to other rebellious worlds. They agreed and began contacting their contacts in the underworld in search of transports large enough to move the citizens of the planet's capital city offworld.

## **The Battle**

### **The Space Battle**

Roughly two standard days after hiring multiple smuggler captains and their antique GR-75 transports, Governor Tomscrin and the militia began the evacuation plan, starting with evacuating all of the citizens from the capital city Rigton. Setting up a small evacuation point south of the city they began loading up the transports with the local families. After destroying one of the last of the First Order's probe droids roaming the world, Jason Sarkin and Koren Forsec met with Governor Tomscrin, agreeing with him that a reconnaissance team would need to be sent out to secure the way for the transports. Koren, in his T-70 X-wing starfighter *Storm One* led the way, with Jason following behind as the temporary captain of one of the transports full of civilians.

Once breaking through the atmosphere of Naalol, Koren led the way in his X-wing, discovering several new prototype First Order interdictor mines preventing any starship from entering the system's hyperlane. Not giving Jason enough warning time in advance, he immediately began targeting the mines, finding that they were extremely weak, yet extremely volatile once they were destroyed, causing a massive explosion that almost ripped apart Jason's GR-75.

As Koren destroyed the last of the interdictor mines, Jason discovered a group of old Imperial TIE/IN starfighters painted in a crimson color scheme approaching them from their starboard side, identifying them as pirate ships. Koren immediately engaged the Interceptors, destroying two of them and allowing the other two to escape as a warning to not attack again. During this time, Jason discovered that his entire engineering section had been wiped out, with none of the engineers responding to his requests for the ship's system status. Going down to the engineering bay he discovered multiple dead bodies of the engineers scattered about, coming face to face with a strange alien assassin jumping out at him from the shadows.

With the rest of the mines destroyed, Koren turned his attention on the three First Order *Lancer*-class frigates that had entered the system, targeting the lead one in his X-wing to provide a distraction for the transports to escape. Zipping around it and unloading several of his proton torpedoes into it's hull, the frigate finally broke apart, but not before unloading it's complement of troops in small shuttles that traveled down to the surface. With help from the Naalol Planetary Defense Forces small picket ships that entered the system, they engaged the remaining TIE/fo fighters that were targeting the transports, with multiple TIE fighters and militia R-41 starfighters being destroyed in the dogfights raging around the transports.

Noticing a pirate VT-49 Decimator gunboat travelling to the surface of Naalol, Koren swooped down to engage it after requesting a scan of it's interior. Governor Tomscrin, now aboard one of the transports in space, notified him that it was carrying a prototype biological gas weapon. Chasing it through the skies, Koren followed it down to the planet, now realizing that they were going to drop the gas bomb on Rigton as a show of force. Out of proton torpedoes, Koren ravaged the pirate's VT-49 with a hailstorm of laser bolts, knocking out it's engines and causing it to crash into one of the mountains nearby. Seeing that the ship wasn't leaking any gas, he set off to help the rest of the Naalol militia fighters defeat the TIE/fo's.

During this time, Jason was engaged in a fight to the death with his attacker, almost being killed multiple times by the attacker's vibro-knife. He managed to scramble to his blaster pistol as he was blocking the assassin's vibro-knife from cutting his throat, stunning the assassin and tying him up with a spool of wire he found in the engineering bay. He then blacked out from exhaustion as the transports jumped to hyperspace, escaping the First Order's forces and avoiding total obliteration.

### **The Ground Assault**

As Koren and Jason attempted to escape their attackers above, Jarux had finished helping the last transport with an engine failure, allowing it to rendezvous with the other transports trapped in space. Hearing from Koren that one of the First Order frigates was sending shuttles loaded with troops down to the surface of the planet, Jarux collected what was left of the local shepherds who hadn't evacuated and prepared a motley defense. When the First Order's shuttles landed in the river canyon directly southwest of the city, Jarux loaded the shepherds into the *Foxhound Aurek* and landed above the shuttles on one of the mountains. Exiting with the shepherds and moving on foot down the mountain, they set up positions along several boulders and rock formations, eluding their attackers and preparing to ambush the stormtroopers with small arms fire.

Once the stormtroopers and three AT-ST's began their march toward the city, Jarux began the attack by rolling one of the very large boulders down the mountain cliff, which slammed into one of the AT-ST's, blowing it apart. The remaining First Order forces began attacking the Resistance troops along the cliff face, with the stormtroopers moving up the mountain on foot from cover to cover as the AT-ST's provided covering fire. The Resistance forces made up of shepherds held up the best they could, but many of them were killed by the overwhelming firepower of the First Order's ground troops, not prepared for their onslaught.

Over time the shepherds managed to create a strong base of fire, pinpointing their slugthrower rounds and killing all of the stormtroopers. With Jarux's supporting missile fire, they managed to destroy the other two AT-ST's, but not without losing many of their fellow shepherds in the process. With the ground assault finally destroyed after a nineteen minute-long firefight, the shepherds scattered into the surrounding mountains to retreat before the First Order landed any more troops. As they were doing so, Jarux noticed the pirate gunboat on it's bombing approach to the city, preparing to drop it's load of gas canisters on the city. Koren managed to swoop down and knock out it's engines before it arrived, causing it to crash into one of the mountain faces. Seeing this, Jarux entered the *Foxhound Aurek* once again, leaving the planet and reuniting with the rest of the transports above before jumping to hyperspace.

## **Aftermath**

Having already made a deal with the archaeologists on the station, the transports had arrived at Polis Massa, where the civilians would be treated humanely by the archaeologists and provided with food and medical care until the war was over and they could return home. Governor Tomscrin and the Naalol Defense Forces created a simple award ceremony, entirely allowed to award them with Resistance awards and medals. Koren Forsec received the Distinguished Flying Medal and the Star of Alderaan, Jason Sarkin received the Star of Alderaan, and Jarux Sental received the Redbird medal as well as the Star of Alderaan.

The Battle of Naalol was the First Order's first defeat since routing the Resistance at Crait, and many civilians of the galaxy sympathetic to the Resistance saw it as an example to stand up to the First Order's tyranny, now knowing that they could be defeated.