Gauntlet of Red Flight

The Gauntlet's Proclamation

The perator of Cartann, a day after declaring the new Adumar government with himself as leader, hosted another gathering. At this event, he requested that the pilots of both Red Flight and the 181st Imperial Fighter Group spearhead an assault against the dissenting nations refusing his authority.

Wedge Antilles refused this proposition, while Turr Phennir from the 181st accepted. To conceal his scheme, New Republic diplomat Tomer Darpen then convinced the perator that Antilles' refusal was due to orders from his superiors. He further claimed that Antilles desired death to alleviate his shame, ensuring future pilot-diplomats would arrive without restrictive orders.

Accepting these fabrications, the perator declared Red Flight's pilots as exiles, ordering them to escape Cartann through a gauntlet leading to a nearby air base.

Hunt on the Ground

Equipped with blastswords provided by sympathetic nobles, the pilots exited the perator's palace and retrieved their blasters. Finding a large crowd assembled outside the gates, the pilots seized a repulsorlift transport. A firefight erupted, with the pilots' superior marksmanship thinning the mob's ranks.

Though they escaped the palace grounds, the transport's engines were damaged in the exchange. Abandoning the vehicle, they scaled to a nearby balcony. Surprising the residents, they exchanged their uniforms for dark cloaks. Ironically, the family thanked them for respecting their home by not reporting them.

Opting to reach the air base instead of commandeering private Blades, the pilots created a false recording using a flatcam, which was broadcast on public flatscreens. Believing the footage to be genuine, many of the guards at Giltella Air Base abandoned their posts to search for the pilots. Disguised in women's clothing, Red Flight drove towards the air base in a wheeled transport, successfully entering the base without any casualties.

Aerial Pursuit

A guard informed them that the first part of the gauntlet was complete, and then led them to the Lovely Carrion Flightknife hangar, where four red Blade-32 superiority fighters awaited. A mechanic explained that the fighters were captured from Yedagon pilots and were in good condition, as sabotaging them would dishonor their killer.

Employing an unexpected strategy, Red Flight used their missiles to blast through the hangar's rear wall. A dogfight began, pitting them against thirty enemy fighters. They overcame this disadvantage through superior piloting skills and by exploiting the Cartann pilots' obsession with targeting the most prestigious opponents.

Tragically, Wes Janson's fighter was shot down, and Derek Klivian was ordered to ensure his safe descent in his ejector seat. With Antilles' and Tycho Celchu's damaged starfighters remaining, a pair of flightknifes approached. Preparing to engage as many enemies as possible, they were surprised when one flightknife attacked the other. This friendly fighter turned out to be the Strike the Moons Flightknife, a group Red Flight had trained in their informal flight school.

With both their fighters too damaged for space travel to reach the Allegiance, they landed and regrouped at Iella Wessiri's apartment on Cartann. There, Cheriss ke Hanadi informed them that political figures from other nations wished to meet with them. Aided by their operatives, Red Flight successfully escaped Cartann.

Aftermath

Due to the triumph of their gauntlet run, numerous undecided nations quickly joined the growing alliance against Cartann upon hearing that Antilles was leading the combined forces. As Tycho Celchu put it: Antilles' name was as valuable as a bank filled with credits.

The combined forces of these nations eventually defeated Cartann's larger army in the brief civil war. This coalition then formed the Adumari Union along with Cartann, which was now ruled by the son of the former perator.