First Battle of Mek-Sha
| First Battle of Mek-Sha | |
| |
| Date | 19.085 — 19.100 (CGT) |
| Location | Unknown asteroid field in the Sevetta sector |
| Result | Decisive Sevetta victory |
| Belligerents | |
| Sevetta Conglomerate | Independent pirate forces |
| Commanders and Leaders | |
| Fleet Commander Tomas o`Cuinn Fleet Commander Cait Catra Captain Murphy Zhylton Captain Varik Shapris |
Captain Barb Mentir Captain Finn Tegotash |
| Strength | |
| ISD Bastion (flagship) Lancer Can'gal Mirshmure'cya 8 GAT-12h Skipray Blastboats 3 Pursuer-class Enforcement Ships 4 BR-23 Couriers 12 BTL-S3 Y-wing Starfighters 12 R-41 Starchasers 12 Razor-class Starfighters 160 marines |
Fortified asteroid hideout DP-20a Gunship Foray-class Blockade Runner 12 R-41 Starchasers 10 Z-95 Headhunters 8 Y-TIE Uglies 8 X-ceptor Uglies 10 TIE-wing Uglies Hundreds of foot soldiers |
| Losses | |
| 2 GAT-12h Skipray Blastboats 4 BTL-S3 Y-wing Starfighters 10 R-41 Starchasers, pilots 29 marines Dozens of marines injured |
Lost control of the Mek-Sha asteroid base Estimated 75% personnel and ships |
The First Battle of Mek-Sha was a conflict in Year 19 (CGT) between the Sevetta Conglomerate and independent pirate forces to secure control of a mineral-rich asteroid field in the Sevetta sector, close to the Woldona system. In addition to the potential resources within the asteroids, the location was considered a strategic staging point outside of Woldona and away from the prying eyes of potential spies visiting the busy system.
History
Mek-Sha, a deep space asteroid base, served as a hideout and launch point for pirates and raiders who preyed on the shipping lanes running through and around the Sevetta sector. The pirates commanding the base were allegedly well-funded and supported when the surrounding sector was controlled by Black Sun, likely due to Sevetta's location in the midst of New Republic and Galactic Alliance space. The criminals conducted lightning-fast raids that were coordinated and intelligent - regularly hitting the shipping lanes in adjacent sectors to mask the location of their base of operations - and locating their origin proved almost impossible. When the Sevetta Conglomerate was founded in Year 19, they poured resources into examining the existing data from the years of raids and managed to pinpoint a wide section of the Sevetta sector where the pirates were likely to be based from. The conglomerate formed and dispatched a task force around its Imperial I-class Star Destroyer Bastion on a search and destroy mission in the target area.
 |
 |
The Bastion was commanded by Captain Murphy Zhylton while Fleet Commanders Tomas o`Cuinn and Cait Catra directed the task force from its primary bridge. Prior to the warship's departure from the Woldona system, probe droids were dispatched to various deep space coordinates within the search zone to monitor electronic signals in an early effort to locate the target. While the majority of the task force consisted of the actual Star Destroyer itself along with the gunboats and starfighters in its docking bays, the Lancer-class frigate Can'gal Mirshmure'cya commanded by Captain Varik Shapris was also assigned to provide dedicated anti-starfighter support during the operation. The group departed Woldona on 19.071 and spent approximately two weeks searching the area when, on 19.084, several of the previously-launched probe droids returned data triangulating several hyperwaves sent from a single location, suggesting a potential target. Setting course for the suspected pirate hideout, the task force prepared for the anticipated combat.
The Bastion dropped out of hyperspace at the edge of an asteroid field on 20.085 and immediately deployed both gunboat and starfighter squadrons to scout the area. The pirates had been in the process of launching a raid and were halfway out of the asteroid field when the Bastion arrived and deployed its reconnaissance flights. Despite the erratic movement of asteroids temporarily blocking electronic signals and leading to unreliable bursts of sensor data, the pirates had nowhere to hide from the task force. Some of the pirate's starfighters immediately fled at the sight of the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer, but the majority knew that they should be safe within the asteroid field. The Star Destroyer's first priority was to focus its turbolasers on clearing a path into the asteroid field, while the Can'gal Mirshmure'cya assisted with its heavy lasers. With the larger ships occupied with the asteroids, it was the duty of the gunboats and starfighters to engage the pirates; the Sevetta Conglomerate's ships were superior to the pirate's, as was their overall training, experience, and coordination. While the conglomerate's skipray blastboats and enforcement ships were more than capable of handling the pirate's cheap starfighters alone, they were supported by wings of R-41 Starchasers, Razor-class starfighters, and Y-wings anyway. More than half of the pirate starfighters consisted of "ugly" type starfighters pieced together from the wrecks of former ships, while the rest were either outdated Z-95s or formidable R-41s. Supporting their starfighters, however, the pirates also had deployed a DP-20a Gunship and Foray-class Blockade Runner.
Having quickly selected, agreed upon, and issued a set of pre-designed battle tactics based upon the composition of the pirate's forces, the conglomerate's Fleet Commanders each oversaw a particular aspect of the battle - Tomas handled the two capital ships while Cait directed the gunboats and starfighters. The pirate's DP-20a became the immediate focus of ships equipped with ion cannons while the rest focused on eliminating the starfighters as strategically as possible - the R-41s were prioritized over the Y-TIEs, for example, due to their greater offensive threat. When the gunship's engines and heavy lasers were disabled, the skiprays and Y-wings turned their focus against the blockade runner with their proton torpedoes; half of the pirate's starfighters had already been eliminated, with the conglomerate having lost several ships as well.
