12 cruisers, 1 frigate and 13 corvettes hovered just out of sensor range. Four Tudor battleships and 11 destroyers guarded Korukal. There were other fleets nearby, and would be able to reinforce them before the rebel forces could overwhelm them. The Tudor knew they were there, monitoring them, but did nothing, knowing a head on assault without support would end badly for them. Thus, they waited, for their morale to break, and for them to retreat.

In the rebel flagship's command room, the somber atmosphere from the last four days remained. The morale of the soldiers and pilots was at an all time low. They needed a success, and soon, too, or they would eventually collapse under the pressure.

"We do not have nearly enough to fight them in an open battle. We need more ships", said Admiral Raelos. "What do you propose?" said Admiral Taal. "Raid one of the nearest Tudor air bases, and take whatever ships we can. Construct more of the new missile tanks, and pepper them with artillery fire. Four tanks wiped out over a third of their ships. If we can have enough of them built, we can reduce our casualties completely", Raelos replied.

"Building more tanks will take time. Time that we might not have. For all we know, Tailen, Akala, Irma, Durial, Kaleor and Ralea are on the verge of execution, if they haven't been executed already", said Lorea.

...

"They left. We can continue", Ralea said. "Good. Now, there is just one thing left. Tailen, concentrate on your energy and on mine", said Irma. Tailen did as instructed, and, a few seconds later, seconds that felt like hours, he sensed a mental link forming between him and Irma. Well done. He relaxed, taking deep breaths, as the rush of energy ceased.

"It will be harder to connect with someone if they are unaware, but the concept is the same. It is also far more difficult to establish the link if whoever you are trying to message does not share your affinity. For example, we can connect fairly easily, due to both of us having the affinity for weather control. In contrast, if you were to contact Akala, it would be difficult, due to you having different affinities. It would still be possible, but very exhausting, and the link would be difficult to maintain for long", Irma said.

"For maximum convenience, I will contact Olsur", Durial added.

They watched as he closed his eyes, his hands on his lap, his whole body seemingly vibrating. And then, a few minutes later, he was completely still. His eyes opened, and he stared straight ahead. Silence fell on the cell, completely suppressing the softest of sounds.

...

"Hold. I am receiving a message", Olsur said. Everyone fell silent, watching him, as he completely stilled. A few minutes passed, and he was moving again, his body vibrating slightly.

"We are almost out of time. Durial said there will be a public execution tomorrow. We have guaranteed 9 hours until morning. But after that, there is no certainty", he said. "Then I say we go for Admiral Raelos's plan. Reinforce our fleet, and be back here within 9 hours", said Admiral Roledar. "Durial will let me know when the execution starts", Olsur said. "Alright then. Lorea, Kirtan, you and a third of the fleet will go to the nearest air bases, and take whatever you can. If you are not back within 9 hours, Lurana will transmit Durial's message to Lorea", Admiral Saaren added.

"Then I suggest we move immediately", Admiral Halsur said.

Admiral Raelos, Admiral Taal, Lorea and Kirtan, along with a fleet of 4 cruisers and 6 corvettes, departed.

...

The Ulgar Air Base was defended by 6 battleships and 15 destroyers, with 360 fighters and bombers. The rebel fleet took them by surprise. Just as they had done at Ranveor, the rebel warplanes descended on the base, and unleashed volleys of Gatling gun fire and missiles on the Tudor fighters and bombers, destroying the vast majority of them. The few that lifted off in time, were immediately shot down before they had a chance to strike back.

Lorea and several squads of soldiers boarded a Tudor battleship. Lorea conjured light flares, and directed them in the midst of Tudor troops, blinding them somewhat. With her help, the rebel soldiers swiftly cleared the hangar, with few casualties. Lorea led the rest onward, only stopping when they encountered what looked to be around 90 enemy soldiers, with 4 machine guns.

Lorea unleashed a wall of light, blinding the enemy, and the rebels shot over a third of the defenders, before the rest recovered and retaliated. Lorea was able to block most of the bullets, but the rest bypassed her defenses, and struck her in the arms, and one on the hip. More soldiers fell, some dead, some wounded. Lorea drew her sword, and, still wielding light, attacked. She descended on the frontal machine guns, killing their operators within seconds.

The surviving rebels aided her, taking out one of the remaining machine guns. Lorea blocked the Tudor soldiers' swords, and cut them down. Along with the remaining 19 rebels, she destroyed the last machine gun with a light spear to the muzzle, just as it was about to fire. The combination of energies killed most of the surviving Tudor, and the rest were gunned down by the rebels.

Kirtan led his own squads, and captured two more battleships. Unfortunately, they were forced to destroy several warships, and one of the rebel cruisers and two corvettes were destroyed, along with over a half of the fighter and bomber fleet. And yet, they had prevailed. Along with the 3 surviving battleships and 7 destroyers, the rebel fleet flew back to Korukal.

"Admiral, there is a call coming in!" Admirals Taal and Raelos, Kirtan and Lorea gathered in the command room.

"3 hours left. What is your situation?" asked Admiral Halsur. "We lost one cruiser and two corvettes, and 230 fighters and bombers, and managed to capture three battleships and 7 destroyers. We are en route", Admiral Taal replied. "Good. The Tudor launched a few probing attacks, but we repelled them every time, with minimal casualties. But we need you back", Admiral Saaren said.

"We are-

Battleships slammed into the lead cruisers, forcing them to revert back to normal speed. Two more corvettes were crushed with the sheer weight, and a destroyer was blown, as a battleship opened fire on its bridge. The 170 remaining warplanes exited the hangars, and, along with the surviving rebel ships, shot down squadrons of Tudor fighters. The 2 remaining rebel cruisers returned fire, destroying several Tudor capital ships and most of the remaining warplanes.

Only 130 planes remained in the air now, along with one corvette, two cruisers, 5 of the captured destroyers and all three captured battleships. It was all they had against 12 battleships and 20 destroyers.

...

"Do we reinforce them?" Olsur called. "We have to maintain defense here!" Lurana replied, as she cut down another Inquisitor. She faced a Commander next. She blocked her sword and her darts, and retaliated with a wave of light, burning part of her face, and unleashed a barrage of sword strikes, pounding on her foe's defenses. Olsur came to her aid, blocking several shots from the Inquisitor's electro gun and, before their surprised foe could recover, skewered her with his shadow sword. 

Suddenly, the Tudor ships turned back, leaving behind 5 cruisers, the frigate and 2 corvettes. What was even worse, however, less than 700 fighters and bombers were left, and they now had only two missile tanks.

The remains of Admiral Taal and Raelos's fleet appeared soon. They were now down to two cruisers, one corvette, four captured destroyers and two captured battleships, and only 90 fighters and bombers. In all, the rebel fleet now consisted of 7 cruisers, a frigate, 3 corvettes, 4 destroyers, two battleships, and 670 warplanes, and just two of the four missile tanks. It had been a disaster.

...

A somber mood took over the cell. The news of the battles reached the prisoners quickly, interrupting Tailen and Akala's training. They didn't talk much that night, just spending the few morning hours mentally preparing themselves for the executions. All of them knew, that even if they survived Korukal, there would still be many battles ahead, until they finally reached Roveskal.