[Tales of] The New Sith Order (Redux)

[DarthTex]

Good job Def. Keep 'em on their toes (and me on the edge of my chair )

[Defender_16]

+++

 

 

Shedao Shai watched the blazebug swarms with great intensity. Grutchins were even now tearing at nearly every ship in the infidel fleet but even the great numbers of the voracious pests would not be enough to destroy a fleet the size of the one present. Despite their protests at leaving enemy’s behind that they could now easily kill, Shai's commanders followed their orders: escape.

 

Supreme Overlord Shimrra himself had Commanded Warmaster Tsavong Lah and his Supreme Commanders to preserve as many warriors as possible through the early stages of the war. This conflict would be long and the infidels numbered many. Shai knew that his forces could defeat the great Superlaser wielding Destroyer if properly prepared for the battle. That would take time not available at the moment.

 

The powerful Yuuzhan Vong Cruisers and the many other smaller ships dove from the midst of the Imperial fleet and down towards the planet. The pull of the planetary gravity well meant that the ship's Dovin Basals had to expend little effort on movement and could concentrate more on defence as they dropped away from the now disorganised Imperial fleet.

 

Despot, which was still accelerating but had built up speed by now changed course, bringing her nose relative up and swinging around the Imperial Fleet. Her heavy Turbolasers fired at maximum range but the Vong and Despot's diverging courses soon meant that the Turbolasers were out of range. The Yuuzhan Vong fleet had entered Ord Biniir's upper atmosphere at high speeds and were now using most of their Dovin Basals to propel them at many times faster than the sound barrier.

 

+++

 

Grand Admiral Burgan didn't even bother hiding his astonishment at the new tactics when he finally reached the auxiliary bridge.

 

"Sir Despot is requesting permission to fire their Superlaser."

 

"Fire it where, into the atmosphere?"

 

"Yes sir."

 

"We've still got troops down there... but it's not a bad idea. Com put me though to Richardson."

 

After a long moment the com officer finally got through to the General. The sound of heavy blaster fire could be clearly heard in the background. "Richardson here sir!" he shouted to be heard over the weapons fire.

"Jerej, we're going to fire a Superlaser shot through the upper atmosphere. You're going to get hit hard by the air burst, can you either evac or dig-in in the next five minutes?"

 

"We can dig in here, but anything closer to the horizon is done either way!"

 

"We read you. You have four minutes or less."

"Sithsp-" The General's curse was half cut off as he rushed to get his men under cover.

 

Burgan turned back to the com officer. "Com get me a channel to Despot."

"Open sir, Captain Reese is waiting on the line."

 

Picking up his comlink Burgan asked. "Reese?"

 

"Here sir, waiting for your command."

 

"Just what I wanted to hear Tycho. I want you to fire the Superlaser through the upper atmosphere as close to the enemy force as you can get without touching the surface. If you hit the surface our groundside prefab bunkers won't survive even if they're on the other side of the planet."

 

+++

 

The bulk of the Yuuzhan Vong fleet began crossing over the planet's horizon, out of line of sight from the Imperial fleet they would soon be able to pull away from the planet on the side farthest from the Imperials ruining any chances of pursuit. Then the Green beam lashed out again from the largest Infidel ship, passing through the atmosphere and turning whole swaths of air into burning plasma.

 

The air above the planetary horizon literally exploded, the first blast waves crushing a Yuuzhan Vong cruiser roughly the size of a Star Destroyer. Frigate and Corvette analogs far enough away to not be instantly destroyed were thrown thousands of meters off course. Whole squadrons of Coralskippers were washed away. The expanding shockwave slammed into the ground and spread out, rippling through the planet's atmosphere.

 

+++

 

Jerej Richardson, along with more than a few of his men threw himself under a disabled grav sled in the lower levels of the Ord Building. "Anybody without full Stormtrooper gear, hands over your ears and open your mouth! DO IT NOW!"

 

The Supersonic shockwave hit the area shortly after taking the top half of the Ord building with it. The back blast the followed was powerful enough to throw AT-AT walkers that had survived the initial blast. Yuuzhan Vong troops left out in the open in their advance were unprepared, killing many of them with debris despite their living armour.

 

+++

 

As the huge blast wave subsided the surviving Yuuzhan Vong ships recovered and continued on course. Of their cruisers only two had been lost to the Superlaser and the exact numbers of Frigates and corvettes were difficult to determine as many of them remained hidden on the surface among debris while they healed. While Shedao Shai was unhappy with the number of casualties the infidels had twice fold inflicted with their Superlaser, he knew enough of his fleet yet survived to continue the campaign.

 

+++

 

The ancient and crumpled blast doors of the Ord building's lowest levels blew outward from combined laser cannon and concussion grenade fire. A modified AT-ST lead the way through the destroyed door followed by the survivors that had taken cover in the lowest levels. The rubble of the upper levels was strewn across the ground to the south west stretching out several hundred meters. Broken AT-AT's and floating fortresses littered the ground around the site and troopers rushed to see what could be salvage.

 

It took General Richardson a few minutes that he was both hard of hearing despite being equipped with infantry grade earplugs but also seemed to be covered in blood. He'd bit almost clear through his lower lip without realising it during the blast. After another few minutes of disorganised confusion he finally found an officer in charge of the remaining AT-ST forces.

 

"Captain how are your walkers?" He asked and the two men traded loose salutes.

 

"We've got a Dozen or so AT-ST's that the shipboard techs modified. Most of them were under cover and survived the blast. AT-AT's are a write off but that floating fortress might be fixable."

 

"We need to get patrols out into the forest, find any Vong walkers that are out there wounded before they do."

 

"I agree with that sir, we don’t have any AT-AT's to draw fire like on Garqi."

 

"See about setting up a command station would you? I'm going to go scare up some medical supplies, I think I broke something in that blast."

 

"Aye sir. Should I call you if we get communications back up with the fleet?"

 

Jerej reached into the small comlink holder on the side of his combat armour and pulled put a broken mess. The pocket was right in line with approximately where it seemed he'd cracked some ribs. "Send a runner for me if you can spare one."

 

099

 

 

(Comments? Was the ending to the battle too abrupt? Let me know, this stuff can be edited.)

[tacoJoemeru]

(Comments? Was the ending to the battle too abrupt? Let me know, this stuff can be edited.)

 

Well considering the Vong could've slaughtered them, it could've been worse. Seemed to end right for me.

 

 

What kind of ship was Superior again? An Executor?

 

Almost at 100, thats got to be a record!

[DarthTex]

I though it ended OK Def. You don't have to describe or spell out every detail. It leaves something for the imagination to "fill in the gaps" so to speak. If there was something that was a plot driver or a critical event, then I'm sure you would have added more to your post.

 

Great job, keep up the good work!!

[DarthTex]

Def, when's the next installment coming out?

[tacoJoemeru]

A good question.

[Defender_16]

Test post.

[BadSamaritan]

Can we post again? is it true?

[tacoJoemeru]

Can we post again? is it true?

We couldn't post before?

[BadSamaritan]

Can we post again? is it true?

We couldn't post before?

 

Defender and I could not, no.

[DarthTex]

Hello? ... Hello? ... Hello?

 

 

Def? ... Def? ... Def?

 

 

(** taps on computer screen **)

Def, are you in there?

 

[/grumbling on] Where has Def gone and ran off to now? [/grumbling off]

 

 

 

[Defender_16]

Holy shit! not only did I get a day off work but a day in general with nothing pressing to do! ...huh guess I'll work on some New Sith Order.

 

 

The ancient and crumpled blast doors of the Ord building's lowest levels blew outward from combined laser cannon and concussion grenade fire. A modified AT-ST lead the way through the destroyed door followed by the survivors that had taken cover in the lowest levels. The rubble of the upper levels was strewn across the ground to the south-west stretching out several hundred meters. Broken AT-AT's and floating fortresses littered the ground around the site and troopers rushed to see what could be salvaged.

 

It took General Richardson a few minutes to realise that he was not only hard of hearing despite being equipped with infantry grade earplugs, but that he also seemed to be covered in blood. He'd bit almost clear through his lower lip without realising it during the blast. After another few minutes of disorganised confusion he finally found an officer in charge of the remaining AT-ST forces.

 

"Captain how are your walkers?" He asked and the two men traded loose salutes.

 

"We've got a Dozen or so of the AT-ST's that the shipboard techs modified. Most of them were under cover and survived the blast. AT-AT's are a write off but that floating fortress might be fixable."

 

"We need to get patrols out into the forest, find any Vong walkers that are out there wounded before they do."

 

"I agree with that sir, we don’t have any AT-AT's to draw fire like on Garqi."

 

Richardson looked over the debris covering the area. "See about setting up a command station would you? I'm going to go scare up some medical supplies, I think I broke something in that blast."

 

"Aye sir. Should I call you if we get communications back up with the fleet?"

 

Jerej reached into the small comlink holder on the side of his combat armour and pulled put a broken mess. The pocket was right in line with approximately where it seemed he'd cracked some ribs. "Send a runner for me if you can spare one."

 

+++

 

Grand Admiral Burgan paced the Auxiliary bridge, watching status displays over the shoulders of the other officers. He had spent the last hour attempting to form his fleet into something resembling a battle group. Refueling the surviving starfighters had begun as soon as the Yuuzhan Vong fleet had jumped out and those units that had taken the least damage now patrolled space around the fleet.

 

"Bridge to Admiral Burgan."

 

The admiral stabbed a button on the console of his command chair. "Burgan here, go ahead."

 

"This is Thegas sir. We've nearly cleared the bridge but some of the bugs have destroyed several control consoles. We'll need to conduct a final sweep to make sure the bridge is secure before the damage control teams start replacing equipment."

 

"Time?"

 

"Ten or twelve hours at the very least sir."

 

"Keep me updated. I want into the bridge as soon as it's habitable again. "

 

"Aye Sir."

 

Though tired from combat, Burgan needed to set things in order before any kind or rest break could even be considered.

 

"Com, attempt to contact the ground forces again, see if General Ricardson is still alive. We'll need to coordinate with them to see if any further orbital bombardments are necessary."

 

"Yes sir."

 

+++

 

 

Ensign Keer Orainn rushed from the hastily rebuilt command center and hopped on one of the few working speeder bikes remaining. After a com blackout of several hours, contact had finally been restored with the Imperial Fleet. Kicking in the throttle the ensign headed out towards the western side of the Ord building intent on finding the General.

 

On the way he passed a pair of modified AT-ST's that were heading out on patrol duty. Each one had an additional pair of laser cannon crudely attached to the sides. Extra armour had been welded onto each of the legs and a larger power pack to support the lasers was attached to the back of the AT-ST's 'head.' General Richardson had personally overseen a crew of techs modifying the vehicles for most of a week following the first ground conflict at Garqi.

 

To the west and south of the Ord building where once had been a grass field was now a debris pile. Huge blocks of stone and other materials that had made up the upper leves of the structure had been taken clear off by the airburst caused by the Superlaser. In between some of the largest blocks the troops had set up a medical station, possibly hoping the debris would provide some cover in an attack.

 

Ensign Orainn found General Richardson inside tending to the wounded along with two other medics and some less badly hurt up Stormtroopers.

"This one is going to need blood ASAP!" yelled Richardson and an orderly rushed out attempting to find more supplies.

 

"Sir, we have communications back up. The Grand Admiral wishes to speak with you as soon as possible."

 

The General nodded. "Tretcher!" He shouted "Look after this one, I'll be back in five minutes."

 

Richardson stood and took the comlink the other officer held out for him. "Thank you ensign. do you have any medical training?

 

"Not really sir, just triage."

 

"That's better than nothing. Get in there and do what you can."

 

The General turned away and activated the comlink. "This is Goundside go ahead."

 

"Jerej, I was starting to wonder if you'd made it or not." came the Admiral's voice. "What's your status down there?"

 

"Calling it a mess would be too generous. We lost all of our heavy vehicles in the blast and the shuttles are out of comission until we get repair teams down here to work on them. We've only got AT-ST's and speeder bikes that were in the Ord building's bunker."

 

"Any chance our forces closer to the blast survived?"

 

"Not unless their bunkers had better concussion shielding than Star's End. Have things in Orbit cleared up?

 

"For the moment." The Admiral sighed. "It's going to take us a few days to salvage all of the ships we lost up here. I'll start sending teams down to reinforce your position and begin repairs in another 2 hours. I want a status update on the situation groundside this time tomorrow."

 

"Understood, and Admiral?"

 

"Yes Jerej?"

 

"This was some serious fighting today. We gave and took some heavy hits. Do you think we're finally starting to cut into their numbers?

 

"We have to hope so. In the name of all the good the Emperor has wrought, we have to hope that these Yuuzhan Vong are not limitless. That we are not facing and endless Dark Tide."

 

100

[Defender_16]

Deep at the heart of the galaxy heavy armoured doors slid open as a cloaked figure approached. The doors snapped shut the instant the figure had finished crossing the threshold, dropping the room into darkness. A faint light slowly began to fill the large circular room, reflecting off of the black faceted shape of an occupied throne.

 

"Ah my dear." Echoed a desiccated sounding voice. "It has been some time since we saw each other face to face."

 

Mara Jade bowed before the Emperor. "How may I serve you Master?"

 

Palpatine reached forward slightly and gripped what looked to be a crystalline walking staff that was held in place on the floor. With his other hand he flipped a switch on the side of his chair. A clunking sound could be heard from the floor of the room followed by the rumbling of heavy equipment moving. At the edges of the room large cylindrical obelisks rose out of the floor. When the pillars halted Mara realised that she could no longer feel the pair of hidden Imperial Guard outside through the Force. Each of the pillars -which were several meters apart- had to contain several ysalamiri apiece for their force repelling bubbles to extend so far.

 

Palpatine's cackling laughter filled the room. "Good! It would appear Desann has proven himself more useful than even he could ever realise. Not since before the death of Jerec has one of my Inquisitors proven so adept at finding relics and objects so useful at aiding access to the Force."

 

 

Mara knew what that meant. Jerec had sought to find power enough to overthrow Palpatine himself. Worried that he might attempt a coup much like Grand Admiral Zaarin had, Imperial Intelligence inserted spies into the Inquisitors fleet. Their orders had been to report on the progress of the small fleet Palpatine had assigned Jerec and interfere if it became necessary. The fleet had disappeared somewhere in the Outer Rim and it was nearly a year before the remains of a Star Destroyer were found crashed on a barely habitable planet.

 

The emperor had sent her in to search the planet for any artifacts that might have been left behind, but if there were any they had all been pilfered before her arrival.

 

"I have two most pressing missions for you my hand. First, investigate Desann and find out if any of the new force technologies he has brought forward are related to Jerec's disappearance. Don't bother looking for Jerec himself, he is long dead. I want to know if Desann is plotting to overthrow me. If he is planning to do so within the year you are to report back before disposing of him."

 

"It will be done my master."

 

"Of that I have no doubt. Your other less pressing mission is to find Darth Vader's secret apprentice. I know he has been attempting to hide one from me for some time."

 

"Why look for this apprentice now my Master?"

 

"Vader may be strong in the Force but with so much of his flesh replaced by machinery he will not live much longer. He would need a powerful apprentice to overthrow me and take the cloning tanks he needs to rebuild himself. He may even be using one of the Rebels."

 

"What do you wish done with this apprentice?"

 

"Do as you please but keep him away from Vader at all costs. However... I may eventually have use for this apprentice to replace Vader. Kill him only if necessary."

 

"I understand."

 

Palpatine nodded absently, gripping another crystalline walking staff, one that wasn't fastened to the floor. "I wish to test something. Hold the opposite end of this staff and brace yourself as you would against a Force attack."

While she may have inwardly wondered at the idea of doing so inside of a force repelling bubble she had served the Emperor for too many years to ever question such a simple order.

As she grasped the green crystal she thought she could feel wisps of the Force. Something that was impossible inside the ysalamiri bubble she knew.

 

Her attention was broken as burst of force lightning carried through the staff and struck her.

 

The blast of energy threw her back three meters but the attack stopped the moment her hand had released the crystal. It took her a moment to recover but she was soon climbing to her feet again, listening to the Emperor cackle in perverse amusement the whole time.

 

"Good! I can only hope that Desann has not yet realised what he has discovered by unearthing these crystals. Be aware my Hand that the Chistori has had many years to study how one can tap the force potential of these crystals. If he were not as brilliant as he is I never would have had use to keep him alive this long. Do not underestimate his cunning."

 

"Yes my Master." Mara breathed.

 

Palpatine flipped the switch on his chair again and the pillars began to retract back into the floor.

Noting the dismissal Mara bowed more deeply before rising to leave.

 

When the doors parted to allow her egress a young man was standing on the other side. Irek Ismaren offered the slightest nod to Mara before stepping to the side and into the chamber. When she was halfway down the hall Mara glanced back over her shoulder to be certain the dark charactered young man wasn’t following. To say that his unnatural presence unnerved her would be putting it mildly. She had the distinct feeling that she would be better off not knowing whatever the Emperor and Ismaren were planning.

 

 

101

[DarthTex]

It's been quite awhile there Def; glad to see you back (occasionally). The story is looking good as always.

 

Keep up the good work!

[Defender_16]

(Does nobody else around here write?)

 

 

Adalric Brandl opened his eyes and took a deep breath, filling his lungs with the heavily filtered air of the upper reaches in the Emperor's Corporate Sector Palace. Looking down he willed his hands to unclench from a pair of crystalline handles. Stepping back he took in the sight of the ring shaped crystalline construct. The Emperor himself had overseen its installation and there were rumoured to be similar items on Coruscant and Byss. With crystals like this someone powerful enough in the Force could stretch his mind across vast distances and communicate with nearly any other Force user.

 

It was rare that its use was needed but these were extraordinary times. He and Emperor Palpatine had communicated mind to mind. It was something few Sith would wish to do, for fear that the Sith Master would find any plots harboured against him.

 

The Inquisitor stepped onto a lift and began his descent towards the tower's Throne room.

 

"Finally." Whispered Commander Taulen down below. The three of them had been waiting for what must have been several hours while the Inquisitor had retreated to the upper most levels of the tower. While they straightened their uniforms Jag leaned in slightly closer to the other officer so that he wouldn’t have to raise his voice. "I would have expected a Stormtrooper officer to have a great deal of patience."

 

Taulen shrugged. "I don’t mind waiting if there's something to shoot afterwards."

 

Dorja and his two officers walked to the center of the room directly in front of the throne again and stood at attention.

 

The lift reached floor level and stopped with barely a whisper.

"At ease Gentlemen." Said Inquisitor Brandl in a calm voice.

"I've looked over the briefing material you brought with you Admiral... It certainly seems that we live in interesting times."

 

The Inquisitor sat on the throne and seemed to ponder the situation momentarily. He looked up and stared at Dorja with an unblinking gaze. To the old Destroyer Captain the Inquisitor’s eyes seemed like the depths of the deepest gas giants, dark and murky with the crushing power of many atmospheres. He realised this coldness and malevolence went beyond what any human being had the right to grasp.

 

His resolve hardened; if this creature wanted to take one last measure before sending him away, possibly to his death than so be it.

 

"Admiral." Dorja snapped out of the trance like state he seemed to have been caught in and glanced back to the Inquisitor who had stood up.

 

"Admiral return to your fleet, I will see to organising the Corporate Sectors Defenses."

 

"What of the Imperial citizens still trapped here, and the other local assets we may still need in the Core?"

 

"Everything will be taken care of Admiral, rest assured. In the time it will take for you to reach your ships, fully half of the Imperial assets in the sector that can be relocated will already be assembled. Your shuttle will remain here. I am granting you a special... honour as it were. I'm giving your a Cloaked Fighter Admiral, along with a small escort. I'm sure you'll find ways to put them to good use in this new war."

 

+++

 

 

The three officers were lead back into the main hanger bay at a different level from before. A pair of odd looking Tie craft sat poised and ready in launch racks. They were reminiscent of Tie Raptors but had a more curved shape to their wing arrays. Each of the forward wingtips were capped with a standard SFS Laser cannon while a pair of launchers were built into the sides of the cockpit.

 

"What are they?" Asked Jag after giving the vehicles a quick look over.

 

"Chiss Clawcraft." Said General Ganmey as he walked over. "I understand they were a gift of sorts. These two are even more special, they're fitted with hyperdrives." He turned to another officer standing nearby. "Captain?"

 

"Sir." responded the man, saluting.

 

"This is Captain Rannek. He's served in the Chiss Territories and is our resident expert on these craft. He'll also be your escort on your return to Bonadan. Captain, you're being transferred to Admiral Dorja's command."

 

From elsewhere in the bay one of the large Cloak fighters disengaged from its docking clamps and rose to their level on Repulsors.

Ganmey turned to Dorja. "Admiral, if you'll step this way we'll get you some life support gear before your flight."

 

+++

 

Twenty minutes later the two Clawcraft sped down the canyons that had head into the base hangers. Jag kept a close eye on his speed and throttle so as to allow the much larger and bulkier V-38 following them to keep pace.

 

Dorja sat strapped into one of the two rear seats in the cramped Tie Phantom cockpit.

Rock outcroppings flashed by seemingly so close that he could have reached out and touched the canyon walls.

 

"No worries Admiral, we fly this canyon every day. We've never lost any of these craft."

 

"Makes you wonder what they did lose... Sir." Taulen muttered.

 

 

Captain Rannek's voice issued from the com unit. "Colonel Fel please drop back so that we may proceed single file."

"Copy that, reducing speed."

 

After a slight delay a new set of voices came over the same channel.

"You are greenlight for atmospheric launch, repeat you are greenlight. Tube is active, gate is opening."

"Roger that control." replied Rannek. "Follow my lead sir."

 

The flight swung around a tight right corner in time to see the doors of a hidden entrance pull apart on the far wall of the next turn. Captain Rannek's Clawcraft slowed slightly before entering the hidden tunnels. Given no other real choice Jag's craft and the V-38 slowed as well before entering. Small dim marker lights illuminated the edges of the tunnel for the pilots for several hundred meters until it began to widen out.

 

In the darkness making up the far end of the tunnel were bright warning lights in the shape of an arrow pointing upwards.

 

The Captain pulled up, putting his fighter on it's tail and flew 90 degrees straight up.

 

"Hang on Admiral." said the Phantom pilot as ahead of them Jag's fighter copied the maneuver. Following suit the V-38 pilot pulled up sharply, and then the vehicles occupants were looking straight up the shaft of what appeared to be a large conduit. "Express turbolift to orbit, going up."

 

Before Dorja could look more closely at the tunnel walls he was pushed back into his seat. The concentric rings making up the tunnel shaft flashed past impossibly fast and were soon replaced by open air. Looking to the side he could see the planet's surface falling away and becoming obscured by the local cloud cover. In less than a handful of breaths they were into orbit and speeding away from the planet.

 

"What did we just go through?"

 

"High power launch Repulsor." answered the Co-pilot. "It took us awhile to get it working properly. First it blasts a hole through the atmosphere just ahead of us so that when we're accelerated the friction doesn’t tear our vehicles apart. Pretty effective don’t you think?"

 

"I should say so. Now hopefully the hyperdrives on this vehicle are just as effective."

 

102

[Defender_16]

Ensign Keer Orainn climbed up and over the trunk of a large fallen tree. When he reached the top he scanned the jungle ahead for any movement before jumping down. To either side of him Stormtroopers did much the same thing, a line of troops moving steadily forward. Just behind them AT-ST's, all of them Modified, crunched through the splintered and collapsed foliage.

 

This planet had always been sparely populated, allowing the trees and forests to grow to impressive heights. After the planetary airburst most of the woodlands were now a horribly tangled mess. The General didn’t want to risk repulsor vehicles floating over the forest and becoming easy targets for anyone in hiding below. So they headed out on foot, cordoning off grid sectors one at a time.

 

Overhead wing pairs of TIE craft patrolled the skies at altitude. So far there had been no need to rely on them for close air support. All of the enemies encountered so far were dead; crushed by trees and other thrown debris.

 

'Just as well' Keer thought.

 

He hadn’t joined the Imperial Navy to go traipsing through underbrush practically asking to get shot. He'd been a ship board security officer for nearly two years, mainly tasked with overseeing cargo loading operations. The General knew they were short on troops following Garqi, but replacements still hadn’t reached the front lines. He was unwilling to strip the full Stormtrooper compliment from every ship fearing possible boarding actions. Rather than leave the planetary garrison undermanned, the General had pulled non-essential security personnel and assigned them groundside.

 

Half of the troops in this cobbled together unit were from Fleet Security Regiments like his own. Of the Imperial Army personnel that had been deployed on-world, the majority had been killed in the airburst. The survivors mainly consisted of armoured vehicle crews that had been protected from the overpressure. He glanced over his shoulder towards one of the AT-ST's. The walkers Laser cannon swivelled back and forth as the gunner constantly looked for a target. All of the remaining Army crews seemed to have itchy trigger fingers permanently now, just waiting for the chance to get even.

 

After marching through fallen jungles for what had to have been hours the troops began to hear a noise in the distance. Picking up the pace, the forward line did their best to speedily cross the distance between them and the disturbance. As the men approached they could clearly hear a sickeningly deep bellowing shriek from up ahead. The concentration of fallen tree trunks increased forming a low mound that shifted and shook with the noise.

 

"Enemy contact!" reported one of the Stormtroopers. "We have a downed Artillery Beast."

 

A dozen troops scrambled over the debris pile trying to find a place where they could get a clear shot at the wounded monster. The slight shifting of the mound did little to dislodge the pile of broken trees or the troops atop them. A Stormtrooper reached the top and looked around in every direction then shook his head.

 

"I don’t see any clear way to get aaAAAA!!!" the man screamed then fell backwards clutching his leg. A Vong warrior dragged himself out from under the trees he'd been using for cover. His ability to conceal himself was easy enough to understand: His armour all seemed to be the same colour as the tree bark. Yanking his weapon free of the trooper’s leg he whipped it towards the downed man's neck. An audible crack was heard as his neck and faceplate were both broken by the blow.

 

Three or four men shouted out "OPEN FIRE!" and started blazing away with weapons on automatic. The Vong grabbed the front chest plate of the dead trooper and pulled the body into the line of fire, acting as a crude shield. Blaster bolts slammed into the dead mans back burning large holes and filling the air with the smell of charred human flesh.

 

The closest trooper pulled a small explosive from his utility belt and yelled. "Grenade everyone back!" then pressed the delay trigger on the end of the small stick. Before he could throw however he was hit by a gelatinous mass. It broke as it hit, spreading over his armour and sticking before contact with the air caused it to ignite. Instantly covered in flames that were seeping through the cracks and lining of his armour, the man dropped his grenade. He had the chance to emit only the briefest of screams before the explosive went off. Two nearby soldiers were blown off their feet, one being thrown down the steeper side of the hill and landing on his head hard enough that his neck was surely broken.

 

The nearest AT-ST, seeing that the scattered troopers were far enough away from their target, turned and launched a concussion grenade. Keer dropped, grabbing hold of a nearby branch and putting his other arm up to ward off any debris. The vehicle launched grenade exploded with a much larger blast radius than that of the trooper's weapon. Tree branches exploded, shrapnel flew in every direction, and enough dust was thrown up to cover the entire area with the equivalent of a thick fog.

 

Not waiting for the dust to settle Keer switched to holographic imaging and charged forward. Topping the small crater of tree debris he carefully surveyed the remains. Alien body parts littered the area, seeming mostly intact but definitely not attached to a torso or other large object.

"Clear!" he reported.

 

The debris pile shifted as the artillery beast groaned in pain once more. Once the dust had finally thinned out the walker commander activated his com.

"Ok, things look fairly clear from up here. Somebody pile on some thermal detonators and kill that thing. I want to be moving on in another fifteen minutes understood?"

 

The troops did as instructed, stringing together a half dozen of the metallic spheres and lowering them into the mass of trees. After activating a 5 minute delay timer they backed away to a safe distance. A few minutes later the weapon's reaction atomized everything inside of fifteen meters. The remaining trees and debris collapsed down into the hole created. No sign of the Vong artillery creature was left.

 

One of the army personnel spoke up as they began to move out. "If I survive this tour remind me to buy stocks in thermal detonator producing companies. I think they're going to make a lot of money this war."

 

103

[Defender_16]

Commander Brinn Tolas stood before Grand Admiral Burgan on Superior's secondary bridge.

"We've completed final counts on our Starfighter losses Admiral. We've lost sixty four percent of our Tie craft, but most of our Advanced fighters took less in the way of losses. Defender Squadrons, A-9's, I-7's, Missile Boat's, etc, we're looking at about twenty five percent for them."

 

The Admiral wasn't happy with the sustained losses, especially in what was supposed to have been a trap. Then again even the best laid plans tended to not survive contact with any enemy. He shrugged off the vehicle losses. SFS could produce new Tie craft to replace anything the fleet lost, they always had. The only problems at the moment were getting them to the lines fast enough.

"Pilot casualties?"

"Roughly forty percent."

 

Burgan tapped at a datapad.

"We lost more support ships that I would have liked. Have we received any repair estimates on the Star Destroyers?"

"Only from a handful of them so far."

"Make sure the most heavily damaged ones concentrate on their hyperdrives above all else. I'd rather send half of my force back for repairs than lose them."

 

"Understood sir. I'll contact the appropriate ships immediately."

Burgan nodded once to the Commander to proceed then turned to his left.

"Coms connect me to Despot."

 

"Channels Open."

 

The holographic bust of Admiral Reese materialized over the right arm of Burgan's command chair.

"Anything I can do for you sir? Because the Superlaser is working better than I've ever seen it."

 

"I can only image the terror you'll cause for the Rebels once we get around to them. No Tycho I don't have any combat plans for you just yet. Your ship took the least amount of damage and has the largest crew resources. I want you to start sending damage control teams to the other ships and Star Destroyers. We need to get this fleet operational again and quickly. If you have the parts and facilities to assemble Tie's from the materials reserves that would help as well."

 

"I'll have my people get right on it Admiral Burgan. Please let me know if you need any of my Advanced Starfighter squadrons reassigned to your command ship."

 

"That shouldn’t be necessary for the moment. Burgan out."

 

+ + +

 

 

Shaedo Shai stood before one of the living crystals that made up a viewport of the great Worldship Domain Shai. As he stood gazing out into space at the nearness of the stars his subordinate Deign Lian entered the chamber.

"You requested my presence Supreme Commander?"

 

Shai did not turn to face the other Yuuzhan Vong, instead keeping his back to him.

 

"I do not request anything from those under me. I demand that my orders be obeyed. Learn the difference quickly enough and you may yet live to see this system in the hands of our people."

 

Deign Lian gritted his teeth and bowed, seeming to accept his superior officer's wisdom. Shaedo Shai sighed. The insolent and idiotic Lian was a problem which he might never be rid of.

 

"Our Enemy is a powerful one." began Shai, "They have dealt us a strong blow this day, one not easily recovered from."

 

"Supreme Commander... you do not admit defeat do you?"

 

Shai spun in place eyes blazing with hatred. "I. AM. YUUZHAN VONG!" Faster than Lian could believe, Shai lunged forward with one hand and grabbed his subordinate by the neck. Lifting him off the ground Shaedo Shai slammed the slightly smaller Warrior against the nearest wall.

"The Warmaster himself would take my life before I could suffer what he considers a defeat! And were I so incompetent as you seem to think I am, I would take my own life to save my Domain the shame and Dishonour."

 

He released Lian and let the other warrior drop to the floor gasping for breath.

"Now, what is the state of the Worldship?"

 

"It is most grievously wounded great one." Lian managed to cough out.

 

"I could tell as much from sitting in the cognition throne or from the lurch under my feet when we transitioned to darkspace. I want details! What have the Shapers to say?"

 

At length Lian stood and faced his master before speaking.

"The Worldship is dying they say."

 

"You tell me this as though it were some revelation. I have known the Worldship was dying for years now! How long until its life fails is what I must know."

 

"Weeks, or perhaps months now. They do not know."

 

"Then we must secure this system and disembark the Worldship’s population."

"I agree, as rapidly as possible."

Shai ignored the disrespectful manner of his underlings reply.

 

"We must send additional troops to the surface of the habitable planet. If the Slayer does smile upon us then a great many of the infidels troops may yet lie dead from the weapon they fired into the atmosphere. Precautions must be taken to prevent losing our entire ground force to such a weapon strike."

"I shall have the landing sites disbursed over a wider area."

 

"Good. Our enemies draw support from outside the system while we do not. Begin seeding the system with Dovin Basal Mines immediately. Close off the routes via which they leave or enter the system and they will wither under our assaults."

 

"It will be done Supreme one." Deign Lian slapped his fists to either shoulder then turned to leave.

"Hold." Called Shai. "Summon the Master Shaper to my chambers."

 

"B-but he is busy with overseeing the Worldship's survival!"

Lian immediately regretted his remark and seemed to shrink under the glare Shai gave in response.

"I-it will be done as you commanded great one." the underling responded at length.

 

"Once you have completed your tasks you will spend one full planetary cycle in the Embrace of Pain."

 

Lian bowed deeply. "I live to obey."

 

"Yes, you do. Now take yourself from my sight."

 

104

[Defender_16]

"Our scout craft have located the enemy Battle station Admiral." reported Superior's sensor officer.

 

Burgan immediately stood from his chair at the words and stepped over to see the sensor officer's holo display.

 

"Where."

The officer typed a few more keys and then pointed with a stylus to a concentration of small orbital bodies. "They've moved into an orbit on the opposite side of the system's star from us."

"Force composition?"

"Difficult to say sir. Many of the smaller ships appear to have moved in closer to the station, they may even be docked."

 

"Likely healing, growing, or otherwise fixing their living warships. Put that station under constant surveillance with Probes, ships, anything that's available. We're going to need mass readings, movement patterns, everything. It's all to be recorded."

 

"Sir our ships on the other side of the planet are reporting enemy activity."

"What sort?"

"Enemy Corvette analogues. They appear to be landing more troops."

"Commander, detail a group of Carrack Cruisers large enough to deal with them."

 

"Aye sir, but the majority of our Carrack Cruisers are still undergoing repairs." Tolas glanced over his console and brought up sensor readings on the enemy force. "I don’t believe we have enough light cruisers ready for action that could engage this many corvettes."

 

"Never mind then, just send some fast ships to put a blockade in place once they're in the atmosphere. We'll need to know where they've landed their troops."

 

"Yes sir."

 

"Sir multiple long range contacts. We have artificial gravity wells forming along all major hyperspace lanes in or out of the system."

 

"What? Put it up on the main holo viewer." An overview of the system materialised showing gravity wells of planets, moons even some larger asteroids. Yellow lines showed hyperspace lanes leading from other systems and red spheres began to pop up, blocking the paths of many of them.

"We still have the two lanes here and here." Burgan mused, pointing to one side of the system. "But they lead deeper into the Rim... They're trying to cut us off from support. Hoping that they'll weather a siege better than us. Coms, transmit this data back to our hypercom support ships."

 

"At once sir!"

 

"Commander what are our four least damaged Star Destroyers?"

 

"Those would be the Contrition, Javelin, Monitor and Terminus."

 

"Get me Captain Rhamsec."

 

"He's already standing by sir."

 

Burgan sat and turned on the small holo projector built into the arm of the command chair. The bald and goateed face of Captain Arnul Rhamsec looked back at him.

"Awaiting your orders Admiral."

 

Burgan grinned slightly. He and the Captain had served together as junior officers aboard the Avenger shortly after Endor.

"You've been paying attention to the events in system?"

"Closely."

"Good. I want you to take your ship, Contrition and a handful of support ships. Your choice of which ones. Find a poorly defended enemy force and hit them. I don’t care where in the system they are I just want Vong dead with as few casualties as possible."

 

"I don’t intend to disappoint Admiral."

"I expect results within Four hours, Burgan out."

 

Commander Tolas stepped up next to the Admiral. "Sir, any orders for the other two Star Destroyers?"

"Yes, they're coming with us. I want Superior along with Javelin and Monitor over the Vong landing sites as soon as possible. Have gunnery prepare for Orbital Bombardment."

 

The Eight kilometer long bulk of Burgan's Super Star Destroyer began her ponderous turn, bringing her nose about before her banks of sublight drives flared to life. Although Superior had taken some heavy hits in the battle, most of her primary system remained undamaged. Heavy Turbolasers powered up and went through their checks, testing to see that they could still turn and depress far enough to hit their targets. The pair of Star Destroyers moved up, taking escort position on either side of the command ship. Their white hulls were marred by black scoring in places but nearly all of the weapons were intact.

 

"Orbital trajectory set. We will be in position for bombardment in 20 minutes."

 

The Admiral looked to the com officer. "Com patch me through to Despot."

"Channel open."

 

"Tycho I want you to hold your position and help protect the ships undergoing repairs."

 

"What about that Vong Worldship sir?"

 

"If they stick their heads out fire away, but no more air bursts. Just one was enough to leave both sides in dire straits. Hold down the fort, this shouldn’t take long."

 

Superior crossed the planet's terminator over the northern hemisphere. The low speed transfer orbit was intended to let the larger Imperial ships maneuver for better bombardment positions while giving them extra room for orbital engagement.

 

Commander Tolas spoke up during a lull in bridge activities. "Sir, I thought you should be aware of some maintenance concerns. We will be performing a restart on our main shields in a few minutes."

"We're about to conduct an Orbital Bombardment in less than twenty minutes Commander."

"Yes sir I'm aware. Mains will be down for perhaps five minutes while we swap out damaged equipment. We have secondary shields standing by."

 

"I want those secondary’s up before you drop the mains."

"Aye sir."

 

"Some days I hate this job." Burgan muttered before calling up holo images from the latest tactical updates. With at least partial restoration of the Holonet in progress the Imperial Starfleet would soon establish a clear picture of the Alien invasion. Once that happened it would merely be a question of the logistics of fighting this war.

 

Appearing farther down the lines closer to the Tion Hegemony, Lord Vader's Super Star Destroyer Executor was enroute to the Yavin system. Accompanying her or taking parallel routes were most of the famed Death Squadron. Every ship in that fleet had been made legendary in the chaotic years of the Rebellion. Most high ranking officers in the Imperial fleet had served at least a year aboard one of the ships, leading the fight against any who stood against the Empire.

 

Why they were headed for the Yavin system would have been guess work for most ship captains. Rumours of the Temples and artifacts being studied on that world had been circulating among the military for years. Supposedly they were important enough for the Emperor to declare it an important historic site. Ironic really since Tarkin had fully intended to destroy that world with his Death Star. Now it was said that a pair of Inquisitors were present there at any given time. Even with his vaunted new position as a Grand Admiral, Burgan had been offered little more information than that. Still he had the distinct impression that he should feel sorry for anyone foolish enough to enter that system uninvited.

 

Suddenly something the sensor officer said caught his attention and he glanced over.

 

"Confirmed. Helm be aware that we have semi-active debris drifting close to our projected flight path."

"Sensors let me see that." Requested the Admiral.

 

The lieutenant punched a pair of keys sending the data over.

"Their trajectory should carry them clear of our course sir."

 

"Increase power to particle shields to compensate for any stray collisions."

 

They watched the sensor displays as the smaller pieces of debris, probably from a destroyed Frigate analogue, continued to drift from the battle site.

"Debris impact with secondary deflectors. No damage."

"Commander what's the status of the enemy troop land-"

"Deceleration detected! Multiple contacts among the debris!"

 

105

[Defender_16]

The secondary bridge shook as something detonated on the outer hull.

 

"They've matched velocity, the particle deflectors are letting them through the shields."

"Enemy Carrier Analogue hiding in the debris field!"

 

Multiple explosions rocked the ship as detonations walked along the outer hull.

"Roll the ship to protect the main bay!" Shouted Burgan. "Return fire, ALL LAUNCHERS, ALL GUNS!"

 

A larger impact shook the secondary bridge, throwing officers into their restraints. It was a sign that the concussion dampening and inertial compensators might be near failure from being overworked in the battle.

"Where are my shields Commander?!"

"Main shields will be up in thirty seconds. Secondary shields still at Forty percent on our ventral."

"We have debris blocking our shots on the carrier. Despot has a clear fire lane."

 

"Coms!" Burgan pointed at the nearby officer.

"On it sir."

 

Superior's Concussion missile batteries opened fire, their missiles streaking around the ship's hull and exploding in the path of incoming Shards. A mix of TIE craft making up part of Superior's CAP sped in from the aft end of the ship, laser cannons blazing. With the Tie's now joining the fight, the Shards broke off to engage the Imperial starfighters.

 

"Main shields are up." reported Tolas "It looks like the Ties have intercepted the remainder of the Shards."

"Admiral they were throwing manned fighters at us." said the sensor officer, barely able to believe it.

"Well they're not anymore. Weapons target the Carrier with Concussion missiles."

 

The sensor officer studied his screens carefully. "Two additional squadrons of Shards are inbound... Javelin and Monitor are launching Interceptors."

 

"Missiles away. Impact with target in Twenty five seconds."

 

The ship launched concussion missiles fired off on a course taking them around the worst of the debris. At their approach a trio of large voids formed a few hundred meters ahead of the carrier, directly in the path of the missile volley. Before they could be pulled into the singularities Superiors sensors triggered the missiles proximity detonators. Two dozen explosions lit up space and were dragged down into the carrier's defensive voids. The singularities dwindled in size as they gulped down more of the explosive force and energy.

 

+++

 

Admiral Reese stood looking over into one of Despot's bridge pits.

"Weapons fire once you have good solutions."

 

Energy levels rose as the Turbolasers of the Sovereign class ship charged.

"Turbolasers at maximum power... Firing!"

The deck plating gave the slightest vibration as 500 guns fired in unison.

 

+++

 

A second volley of missiles exploded, turning large sections of the Carrier's corral hull black. Chunks of the spines where shard fighters would dock began to crumble and flake away. A bare moment before Despot's Turbolaser barrage reached it's target, one of the voids swung into the path of the green coherent beams.

 

It was a case of too little too late.

 

Between twenty and thirty Turbolaser shots were either pulled into the void of bent around it. The more than four hundred remaining beams struck true, pulverizing the Fourteen hundred meter long carrier analogue. Previously contained plasma boiled out from the broken ship hurling wreckage in every direction.

 

"Target destroyed."

 

Burgan exhaled a sigh of relief. "Continue with plans for surface bombardment."

 

+++

 

After what seemed like an eternity, Superior and her escort began their bombardment of the enemy landing zones. A continuous rain of green beams struck the planet's surface. Vong ships caught on the ground were unable to deploy voids powerful enough or numerous enough to protect from the bombardment. Even near misses were deadly as Imperial lasers superheated the air or caused foliage and exposed rock to explode. A wall of concentrated laser fire walked across larger groups of landed enemy ships. Forests burst into flames, lakes boiled and rock began to run like water in places. Clouds of ash and smoke filled the air, blanketing the area and obscuring the surface.

"Cease fire."

 

The Grand Admiral watched the images of the surface for a few seconds. A great many Imperial worlds, or former ones anyways, were going to end up like this before the end of this war. If he was going to prove that he really was worthy of the new title he'd been given, he needed to find a way to keep this from happening more often.

"Target?"

 

"Destruction of seventy eight percent of ships recorded entering the atmosphere have been accounted for."

Burgan turned in response. "What about the remainder?"

 

"We haven’t been able to locate them sir. The life sensors are having trouble picking up Vong life signs or differentiating them from humans."

"Find them, and inform our troops groundside. They need to know what they're up against."

 

 

106

[Defender_16]

Ganner Rhysode stood looking out over a lake as smooth as glass. Without instruments or the Force its depths could only be guessed at, but its dark murkiness seemed to hold a sinister nature. The great orange gas giant of Yavin hung in the sky providing more illumination now at sunset than the systems star. Still, barely any of the light which should have reflected off of the water did so. Only fitting when one considered the obsidian temple situated at the center of the artificial lake. Thousands of years old like all of the temples and constructions on this world, it was devoted to one purpose: focusing the dark energies of the Force.

 

"Well not quite one purpose." Ganner said to himself.

This was the famed temple of Exar kun, where the spirit of the long dead Sith Lord was said to reside. Ten years ago or more one of the Dark Jedi of Palpatine's order and his powerful apprentice were said to have made contact with the dead spirit. What followed had brought about the destruction of potentially the most powerful Superweapon ever built: The Sun Crusher.

 

Somehow the dark apprentice Kyp Durron had made contact with Exar Kun. With the dead Lord's experience and the apprentice's sheer power the two had struck out to find a weapon powerful enough to bring the Galaxy under their control. Darth Vader and the boy's master, Kam Solusar, scoured half the galaxy in their search. The Emperor himself had even repelled an attack on Byss by the stolen Sun Crusher using a Force Storm.

 

In the end Durron escaped into hiding, his master was slain, and Kun's spirit was pulled back to Yavin 4. The research station in the Maw was heavily damaged and the Sun Crusher lost to one of the numerous black holes in the area. Since then all had been forbidden from entering the temple of Exar Kun without the Emperor's explicit permission.

 

Ganner's comlink chirped at his belt and he picked it up. "This is Rhysode."

"Ganner are you done your holo surveys of the remaining Temples?"

"All but one..."

"You can feel the deaths cant you?" asked his master, Jaalib Brandl. "The fighting is getting closer, we need to begin evacuation procedures. Lord Vader will be arriving with Death Squadron in Fifteen hours. We need to be ready when he get's here."

 

There was a few seconds hesitation before his master asked. "Ganner do you copy?"

 

"What if we didn’t need to evacuate?" asked the young man.

 

"We do. In the sending I received from my father he said the invaders can't be felt in the Force." At length he asked in a wary tone. "...Where are you Ganner?"

 

"I'm looking at the lake Temple."

 

"Don’t do it." The tone of Brandl's voice changed. An edge of anger or perhaps fear crept into it. "Turn around and head back to the main temple right now. Don't make me come out there and kill you."

 

Ganner took a step out into the lake, putting his foot down on one of the dark stones that sat submerged just below the surface.

 

"Ganner!" Shouted his former master over the communicator.

"Respond dammit!"

 

"I'm one of the best telekinetics on the planet Jaalib. Better than you or even your father. With the dead Lord's help I'll be able to knock starships out of orbit."

 

"If you're so powerful Ganner why haven’t you just killed me and taken your own apprentice?" Jaalib's seething hatred could be easily heard over the com.

 

"I wasn’t ready yet, you still had some things left to teach me. In another year I might have been able to match you. A year after that would have given me enough experience to be absolutely sure."

"Vader will kill you when he arrives, you know that don’t you? And I will be right there to watch you die."

 

Not someone to allow being one-upped Ganner snapped back. "I would have thought you'd have me locked in a Force cage like that woman of yours."

 

The channel cut off the Ganner could feel the surge of anger through the force connection with his former master. Shaking his head he put away the comlink.

 

"One less distraction for the moment. Not that it matters."

 

Looking down, Rhysode went back to picking his way across the lake using the stepping stones.

 

 

+ + +

 

 

A pair of Yuuzhan Vong Frigate Analogues escorted a transport as it launched a Dovin Basal Mine into space. Perhaps 'launched' wasn’t quite the right word, Captain Rhamsec thought, but it certainly was close enough.

"Grav well active." Spoke the sensors officer. The young man's voice was easily heard in the unusual silence that had formed Terminus' Bridge. Every one of the officers present had been anxiously awaiting those words.

"Activate Hyperdrive." Arnul calmly commanded.

 

For the past hour and a half his Strike group had been closely observing Yuuzhan Vong Mine laying operations. It was truly frightening in its efficiency. Over a course of minutes the transport would disgorge its Gravity mine and then move on. The Mines went active shortly after launch, projecting a gravity well at least as large as that of the Immobilizer Interdictor. The sites where the mines were currently being laid were close enough that the Vong weren’t even bothering with Microjumps between locations. Plotting their predicted course was something a child could have done.

 

The jump timer scrolled down to zero and the strike force was pulled out of hyperspace on the edge of the Mine's gravity well. The Minelayer group was well within firing range once the sensors recovered from the hyperspace hop. Turbolasers sitting charged and ready had already been given the order to fire immediately upon reversion.

 

Full broadsides from each Star Destroyer struck the Frigate analogues. The unprepared void defenses stopped only a fraction of the first laser volley. By the end of the second attack both Vong escorts had become rapidly expanding clouds of gas. A pair of Carrack Cruisers had harassed the transport until the Destroyers shifted their fire. Five Shard fighters had somehow launch before their motherships were destroyed and were met with a hail of laser cannon and quad laser fire from two Lancer Frigates alongside the Star Destroyers. The alien fighters charged headlong towards the anti-starfighter Frigates, apparently having lost hope in escape and now attempting a suicide run. The Frigate captains and crews were veterans however and both ships concentrated fire on single targets, systematically eliminating the force.

 

"All enemy ships destroyed." Reported the First officer.

 

Arnul leaned forward in his command chair. "Target the Mine, I want it dead before we move out."

"Aye sir."

 

The Captain looked over to the communications officer. "Norvul, Signal the Flagship with our status and request permission to begin strikes on the remaining mine laying operations."

 

107

[Defender_16]

Admiral Dorja's V-38 and escort reverted from hyperspace in high orbit over Bonadan.

"Orders Admiral?"

 

"Send a tight beam transmission to Colonel Fel. He's to signal Ardent to prepare for our landing in the forward bay. Also can you keep us invisible until we set down in the bay?"

"Yes sir, but the bay personnel will be able to tell that something's entered."

"That's quite alright. Please take us in. We just don’t need everyone in the system knowing we have a cloaked ship."

 

The two Chiss Clawcraft lead the way past the increasing number of ships in orbit and up towards Ardent's landing bays. Fel and Rannek expertly guided their fighters into place in the forward bay leaving enough room for the V-38 to set down in between them. To the Stormtroopers standing guard all they could see was a black angular shaped object that seemed to soak up all light that fell upon it. As the landing gear extended the cloak faded and the vehicle ever so slowly became visible again.

 

"Remarkable vehicle." commented the Admiral. "Commander" he said over his shoulder to Taulen. "I want your best, most trust worthy men guarding this ship at all times. Break them off into a separate unit if you have to. Pilots you're going to be kept off of the regular duty roster for the time being."

 

After securing their flight gear the aged Admiral climbed down the short extendable ladder of the craft and set foot on the deck of his ship. He took a deep breath of the recycled air and looked around. "Just a short jaunt away from home." He raised his voice so that the two other pilots nearby could hear him. "Colonel Fel, Captain Rannek, you're obviously both sworn to secrecy about all of this."

"Absolutely sir." Replied Fel, while the Captain answered only by nodding sharply before the two of them saluted.

 

"I trust the two of you can work out a new flight roster. Try not to lose your fighters in their first engagement." Dorja turned and headed for one of the bay entrances at a stiff walk. Without turning he shouted: "See you at the next staff meeting Commander Taulen."

"Admiral."

 

Jag looked over at Rannek. "I sure hope you brought simulator data on these fighters."

 

+++

 

The doors to the bridge of Ardent hissed open and Dorja marched through.

"Admiral on deck!" Bellowed a junior officer at one of the aft bridge stations. Three or four officers and crew not busy at the moment snapped to attention while the remainder continued their work.

 

"As you were." directed to the officers at attention, returning the salute.

"Commander." He nodded to Wintle as the man approached datapad in hand.

"Welcome back sir. We were getting a bit worried when only a pair of fighters came back."

 

"I'll explain everything after your next promotion Commander."

"Understood sir. I have some updates if you have the time. Things here have been progressing slowly but steadily since you left. Twelve hours ago we were informed that all Imperial ships, assets and personnel capable of relocation were to head here with all speed. The CSA government issued a statement just shortly ago that all Imperial citizens should evacuate for their own safety and are providing additional transportation for people headed here. They won't be providing us with any extra ships however.

As for all Imperial ships arriving in the Bonadan system, they're being transferred to your command effective immediately."

 

"Now those are what I call results Commander. You just need to know who to talk to and what not to say."

 

"If I'm allowed to ask sir, who did you see?"

"I spoke briefly with an Inquisitor ...more than that I really shouldn’t say. Now, let's get down to business, how many new ships do we have?"

 

"We have forty six ships in system so far with another hundred expected by this time tomorrow."

 

Dorja picked up a pad that the commander handed to him and began paging down the list. "Freighters, transports of every kind, luxury liners... did you look through all of these? There's even a Strike Cruiser using non-combat IFF tags. This could be even more hectic than Dal-Porath."

 

"It get's worse." Grimaced Wintle before paging to a series of sensor reports dated four hours earlier.

"The CSA have been sending us long range telemetry from the edges of the sector. Artificial gravity well signatures along the Hydian Way have increased in number by roughly two hundred percent. Some are even starting to pop up near the edges of the Corporate Sector itself."

 

"But there's no reports of them actually entering the Corporate Sector?"

"Not yet."

 

The Admiral exhaled. "That could change soon." He turned and looked out the nearest viewport.

 

"We can’t afford to leave any of our ships behind, even for the defense of the Sector." He paused then turned back to the Commander. "We still have some garrison bases yes?"

 

"The other two Imperators in our group do."

 

"This system is a strategic point in the sector, without it the regional defenses would crumble. Contact the Planetary Governor, see if we can offer them any equipment for use in planetary defense. The Garrison bases, AT-ST's, blasters, even disaster relief containers. Tell them we can spare personnel to help with deployment while we remain in the system. We won’t be leaving any troops or personnel behind."

 

"I'll take care of it right away sir."

 

"Good. I'll begin working on organising the fleet into something resembling a formation. This may be one of the most interesting convoy runs I've ever attempted."

 

108

[Defender_16]

I keep getting busy with other things and NSO grinds to a crawl....

 

 

 

 

Crew Chief Rell Thek crawled through one of the many service conduits that accessed parts of Ardent's superstructure. This one in particular ran parallel to a large trunk line containing data-feeds and other hardlines. The bulk of all data transmissions from the bridge to the rest of the ship passed along these lines. Today though that data was being routed through the secondary feeds.

 

"Are you there yet?" called one of the other workers several meters behind him. The man was unreeling a thick power cable whose end the chief was pulling along with him.

 

"No. I need another three meters." Chief Thek braced himself and hauled on the cord before crawling ahead further.

 

"How about now?" asked the other man again.

"Arse of a Hutt." cursed the chief under his breath.

 

"What'd ya' say? I couldn’t hear you."

 

As he tried to keep moving forward Rell realised some part of his gear was stuck. "Oh for crying out loud." he muttered then spoke up loud enough for his friend to hear. "It'll have to do! I'm hung up on something!"

After connecting two halves of a bulky scanning device together Rell plugged the assembled unit into the end of the power cord.

 

"You know, they have droids that are built to do this sort of thing."

 

The Chief ignored the comment and pressed the scanner up against one of bundles making up this trunk line. "They said to check them manually and that's what we're going to do!"

A buzz ran through his body as the scanner swept the area.

 

"Hey boss let me know if you see blue."

"What's that supposed to mean?" He shouted back, not taking his eyes off the job at hand.

"Well you know... it reflects cherenkov radiation if it strikes Baradium or Nergon-14?"

 

For a few seconds neither of the men said anything.

 

Eventually Rell looked back over his shoulder. "If you are NOT lying I should have enough time to kill you before I die of radiation poisoning."

"W-what, you found something?" a noticeable jitter having entered the other man's voice.

 

"It's not an explosive. Go get the Lieutenant."

 

+++

 

Dorja eyed the small boxy device, turning it over in his hands a few times before tossing it onto the briefing room table. He glanced around at the others in attendance. Several senior officers, a Junior Lieutenant and one crew Chief were present.

"How long?" he asked at length.

 

"Impossible to say for certain," answered Wintle, "but it's a good bet it was when the main computer was offline."

 

Taulin spoke up. "We have security records of every time that access panel has been opened since the ship was launched. Multiple crew members were supposed to have been on duty at each time that trunk line was opened. It would take us weeks for us to sort through all of the crew reports though, we're not set up for large scale interrogation. It's easier to just assume that that's when it happened."

 

"Sir if I may?" asked the Junior officer

Dorja rubbed his forehead and sighed. "Yes Lieutenant."

 

"Myself and the work crews under my command were EVA to patch the outer hull when we were docked at Gravlex Med. There is no way it was any one from that group."

 

The Stormtrooper commander plugged his datapad into the table's uplink. "That still leaves us with more than 300 suspects. Your group was nearly at the bottom of our suspect list to begin with Lieutenant, not much to worry about"

 

"No sir, that was the reason given when Imperial Intelligence specifically asked our unit to begin systems checks on vital locations."

 

Dorja raised his hands and his gaze flashed around the room. "When did we have Imperial Intelligence onboard?!"

 

Wintle didn’t even bother with the datapad. "Only when we were transferring our former Second Officer into their custody sir."

 

All eyes turned to the junior officer and the crew Chief. "It was while we were undergoing refit and result alongside Leviathan 427 on the Hydian Way."

 

"And you didn’t inform a superior officer?" asked one of the staff officers.

 

"We were told to work within your orders sir" Chief Thek replied, directing his comment to the Admiral. "To check the ship for any remaining sabotage. We did simulated tests on the data transfer feeds first, sending false data through the mains to see if it triggered Rebel programming. Once the Intel people were sure the ship had passed their tests they left manual equipment checks for us to complete. We were ordered to report our results to you only if we found something or it the ship checked out clean."

 

"How much of the ship have you covered?" Dorja asked looking at both men.

 

Rell quickly glanced to the Lieutenant to be sure he wasn’t going to respond before continuing. "Roughly forty percent. Reactors, drives, fuel cells, all of those were first. Intel said they checked the main computer for viral infiltrators. We've been checking things of secondary importance the past few days when we found this." He gestured to the device.

 

Wintle reached to the center of the table and picked up the device. "If this thing intercepted coms going to and from the bridge it might explain how Lt. Commander Kirrek was able to authorize moving the prisoner when he did."

 

Dorja looked back across the table. "Did intel think he was working alone?"

 

"They never told us." said the Lieutenant.

 

"I wish someone had told me that intel had a hand in all of this a few weeks ago but it's too late for that now. Chief, continue your checks of the ship just as planned. Lieutenant, start searching for more people to recruit into your work crews. Assume that our recorded reports of where people were supposed to be weeks ago have been tampered with since then."

 

"How should I find out where people have been then sir?"

"Interview them or people working with them if you have to, I don’t care. Give me results people. Dismissed."

 

109

[Defender_16]

The aft doors to Ardent’s bridge opened and the voices of the Admiral and First officer preceded their entrance.

"Light repeating blasters are too large for fighting aboard ship Commander. Why do you think E-11's have always been so popular?"

"Market share in the Imperial navy?"

 

The Admiral pointed a finder at the younger man. "I am not getting dragged into that debate again. Just give the Espos most of our light repeaters."

 

"Very well sir."

 

As the pair reached the command walkway the sensor officer stood up at the edge of the bridge pit holding a datapad.

"Latest ship arrivals sirs."

The Admiral nodded and the officer transmitted the data to his pad.

"A Loronar Field Secured Container Vessel?" Dorja handed the pad to Wintle who paged through the data.

 

"She's carrying enough raw materials to build a dozen Star Destroyers."

"Transports larger than most Super Star Destroyers tend to be able to do that. I'm more concerned about the lack of mobility with a ship like that has."

 

Wintle’s eyebrow‘s shot up. "We now have a Super luxury liner, Viscount class."

"They've only built four of those, which one?"

"Palpatine's Virtue."

 

Dorja shook his head. "At my age I don’t need to look for new ways to die they just seem to keep finding me. You know what happened the last time a ship bearing the Emperor's name was lost?"

"...No sir."

"That's because it's never been allowed to happen." His eyes hardened and a determined scowl crossed his face. "And it's not going to happen on my watch. Find out what she‘s armed with and how many Imperial troops are part of her onboard garrison."

 

+++

 

Midway between the Cron Drift and the Yavin System the Super Star Destyroyer Executor dropped out of Hyperspace. Admiral Venka kept a close watch as they realigned for her next hyperspace jump. While the ship went through alignment and checks for her next jump the communications officer tried to connect to the holonet, with only limited success.

"Holonet relays are still out in this area. We have partial connection with the Escort Carrier Venix near the Perlemian Trade Route."

"Are we likely to have access to the holonet when we arrive at Yavin?"

 

"Yes sir. Victory Destroyer Black Gauntlet is reporting that they have a strong signal once again. Unfortunately they lack relay gear necessary for our uplink."

 

"But we will have an uplink when we arrive, Excellent. Time to arrival in the Yavin system?"

 

“Fourteen hours forty three minutes sir…” Reported the helmsman. “Engaging hyperdrives."

 

 

+++

 

 

The Fain vibration of hyperspace travel was the only sound present in Darth Vader's meditation chamber. Even the sound of the Sith Lord's infamous respirator was absent. Sitting in the chamber unmasked, the man once known as Anakin Skywalker breathed in pure oxygen from the sterile environment. He had been wielding the force for decades now, more than half a century infact, but he could still not complete it's ultimate mastery.

 

Opening his meditation pod Vader prepared to deactivate the sterility field and make another of his many attempts to heal his body. His concentration focused after hours of meditation he opened himself to the Dark side of the force. The directed power of a life time's emotions and strength poured through him, seeming to fill his body with swirling energy. He twisted the flow of energy to focus on the worst of his countless injuries.

 

Charred lung tissue injured long ago began to regenerate. Partially collapsed airways opened once again. Blood surged through previously damaged capillaries, finally able to carry as much oxygen as the human body was intended for.

Deactivating the field Vader took his first unfiltered breath in weeks. The faint touch of blowing air flowed over his skin. The joy of success threatened to bubble up and break his concentration as it had in times past. Knowing he would not be able to maintain this Dark side state for long, he used that outrage to continue fuelling his anger.

 

For long minutes he struggled with this own emotions, his own will, his connection to the Force. Just like every time before this was the most difficult struggle of his life. He'd killed groups of Jedi more easily than this. Glancing at a chronometer he realised twenty minutes had passed. His concentration and anger nearly failed him then but he was determined to fight longer. Increasing his efforts Vader was soon literally shaking with rage. Metal panels and consoles outside of the pod ripped free and crumpled under his anger. Despite all of this his control began to slip away, slowly at first but then fast enough that his very life felt as though it were slipping away.

 

Healed tissue withered back to it's previous state. Airways began to constrict again and his lungs turned black once more. Defeated Vader reactivated the field of his pod. Sitting he inhaled the pure oxygen and waited to catch his breath. A thought flickered through his mind; one day he might not bother reactivating the field regardless of the consequences.

 

Waiting for his strength to recover and not wanting to brood on his current depressing thoughts he closed the Meditation Pod. The flick of a switch turned on signal jamming that would deal with any listening devices in the surrounding room. Opening a hidden compartment he pulled out a small datachip and plugged it into one of the pod's consoles.

Before long letters flashed 'Decryption Complete' in blue letters.

The holo message contained within the chip began playing immediately.

 

The image of a man with sand coloured hair and a somewhat worn face appeared before him.

 

"Father, I know we haven’t spoken in some time but I need you to know that I have not given up. Someday you or I will find some way to heal you. But even if that day never comes I will still help you in opposing the Emperor should you ask me. You have to accept that I may never embrace the Dark Side. With or without it I could still be of great help to you."

 

The image of Vader's only son seemed to hesitate before pushing on.

 

"I had a vision recently, I think it was a glimpse of the future. ...or a possible future. A Jedi Master told me once that the future is constantly in motion. In my vision we stood against the Emperor, not just us but others too. There were Sith and Jedi on our side, light and dark alike. Then there were those who stood with Palpatine. Their faces were masked or covered by their cloaks so I couldn’t see who they were but some of them were conflicted.

"The most Important thing from the vision though was that you were already healed of your injuries. And the strangest thing was... I did not feel the presence of the Dark Side around you."

 

He sighed.

"I'm not trying to fool you Father. Just please, if there is a way you know of that could still heal you just try."

 

110

 

And the flames can commence... now.

[Defender_16]

Vader looked through a series of notes and files that had been attached to the holo message his son had sent him. They included a short journal documenting discoveries made researching the wealth of data archives the Sith Lord had accumulated over his lifetime. One file contained annotated notes that he recognised. Years ago he had studied a collection of holocrons in the hopes of finding any ancient healing techniques used either by the Sith or even the Jedi. He had ultimately discarded the research as useless; the answer HAD to lie within the Sith teachings that Palpatine himself had learned from.

 

The Emperor's now paranoid nature made it difficult to determine if all of the Sith research material had ever been available to him. Several holocrons were known to be hidden deep within the fortress world of Byss. Few of the Sith or Dark Jedi were permitted to set foot on that planet now, host as it was to Palpatine's most sinister experiments.

 

With the press of a button Vader opened the meditation pod once again and summoned a nearby medical droid. "Retrieve Container PHMRXJ-31287 from high security storage. It is to be delivered to my chamber immediately."

 

The Emdee returned shortly carrying a metal box thirty centimetres wide and ten high. After dismissing the droid he reached into the box with the Force and disarmed a trap he'd set for anyone foolish enough to open it. Opening the metal casing Vader removed the lightsaber that had been set to activate, placing it nearby. The real item of value inside was a vial or orange liquid. It was an amalgam of biomatter suspension chemicals and healthy cells that had been taken from throughout his body.

 

The technique he had stumbled upon in a holocron years ago, the same one his son had again found, was susceptible to disruption by dark side energies. Over use of the Dark Side for prolonged periods were known to result in degeneration and damage to the body. The withered husk that Palpatine had once appeared as was a prime example of such decay. Now he wondered weather he would be able to tolerate a fate like that of the Sith Master.

 

Holding up the vial he stared at it. With proper concentration of the Force on a small enough area the bio-matter could supposedly act as a catalyst for healing. It would be a very small area however, possibly the cellular level, and the resulting healed area would be at a higher risk of damage while using the Dark side.

 

One thing was certain: the current course of his progress with the Force would not deliver results in a timely manner. There was too much machine now to sustain his body indefinitely as some Sith were rumoured to have come close to accomplishing centuries ago. He would be dead long before gaining enough knowledge to completely heal himself. With the onset of a new war he needed to set plans in motion now. Hopefully with the new conflict's distractions he could make some measurable progress without Palpatine’s notice.

 

After closing the pod Vader extracted a small droplet from the vial. Calmly and slowly he began concentrating on using the Force without drawing on the Dark side. A task that was not so easily accomplished after so many years of relying on the dark energies. Listening to the regulated pattern of his breathing he used the rhythm as a focus for concentration. Closing his eyes Vader reached out and began to levitate the small speck of liquid chemical. With great care and precision he guided it through his mouth and down his throat. Suppressing the coughing reflex was a simple enough affair, it was something he hadn’t had need of since before donning the mask and armour. The catalyst dropped ever lower into his chest and toward the base of his right lung. When it at last connected with the damaged flesh a sharp burning pain shot through that part of his chest.

 

For a brief moment Vader wondered if one of Palpatine's other servants had poisoned the compound. Looking deep within his body though he saw that not to be the case. The liquid was merely dissolving some of the charred remains in that small cluster of lung tissue. By itself this combined mixture could likely be used to clean common lung wounds and burns but without the power of the Force it's true potential remained hidden. Using the techniques described in the holocron Vader focused all of the healing energies he could muster into the tiny collection of collapsed bubbles called Alveoli.

 

The process was agonizingly slow. He briefly contemplated using a powerful surge of Dark side energy, but dismissed it out of hand. He had waited too long to have his hopes dashed by impatience. With a microscopic hand he reshaped and smoothed out the bubble shaped membranes that allowed oxygen into the bloodstream. Each required it's own attention to rebuild and repair.

 

The console beeped indicating the time, drawing his attention away from his healing. He had just spent some eight hours or more testing the effects of the liquid concoction. The repaired sections seemed to be holding but he was dismayed at how little he had fixed. Only as much as one one thousandth had been restored to normal. Despite the miniscule amount he had to admit it was still progress, all he needed was time now.

 

Vader lowered his helmet from the retraction system in the top of the pod. They would be arriving at Yavin soon.

 

 

111

[Defender_16]

+++

 

The doors to Superiors bridge opened with a sound not dissimilar to that of scraping metal. Admiral Burgan had to have noticed but chose not to show any sign of it as he strode through, followed closely by several other officers that had taken the same turbolift. He glanced around taking in the extent of the repair work that had been done. Superior's Captain approached, obviously grateful to be out of a vacuum suit.

 

"Captain Thegas, everything looks to be in good order."

 

The man smiled slightly at the compliment but still managed to make it look more like a grimace. "Yes sir, nearly all bridge stations repaired and the viewports replaced with spares from storage."

 

"What about the topside domes?"

"Those will take awhile but we do have bridge deflectors back up."

"Small miracles." The Admiral whispered.

 

The usual collection of bridge officers filtered back to their posts. Before long the room was filled with the quiet hum of activity. Burgan grabbed the back of his command chair and spun it to face him. He was momentarily taken aback by it's change in appearance. White collision padding normally found in Assault Shuttles had replaced the custom sewn Nerfhide cushions that had once covered it.

"I'm sorry Admiral, the old coverings from your chair were damaged by the explosive decompression. This is all the repair crews could find in time."

 

"Don’t think anything of it Captain. I never should have spent so many credits on something so frivolous. I probably could have bought a shield generator for a TIE fighter with the same money."

The admiral froze, struck by sudden inspiration.

"Grand Moff Zsinj routinely spends extra credits to outfit certain units with above standard equipment doesn't he?"

 

"I believe so sir, but he's notorious for saving money everywhere else that he can. Where are you going with this?"

 

"I want you to spread word through the ship, a test of sorts. Any officer or crew that donates to help equip our ship or support vehicles better will receive a tax deduction."

 

"I'm not entirely certain how the men will respond to that sir, let alone the legality issues. The hanger deck crews should like the idea though. I'll be sure to pass that offer along to as much of the crew as possible."

 

"Good! Now..." Burgan sat down and began activating his chair's holo displays. "Let's get back to work, we have a war to win. I'm sure Captain Rhamsec is doing everything he can to get permission for more strikes. Let's be ready to assist him if he runs into trouble shall we?"

 

+++

 

High over Bonadan the Imperial convoy was slowly but steadily taking shape. As each hour of organizing the fleet passed the ships moved into higher and larger orbits to make room.

Wintle approached the Admiral who was overlooking a holo displays of the fleet formation.

"We seemed to have a local holonet signal as far out as the Aparo Sector but it's been cut off again."

"Where exactly?" Dorja asked, not taking his eyes off of his work.

 

"Towards the edge of the sector, not far off of the Hydian way from Cadomai. A Victory Destroyer from one of the sector fleets was acting as a relay."

 

"When we move out we'll have to plot a course that avoids the area and as much of the Hydian Way as possible."

"Understood."

"I wont risk the civilians but we do need more intel. See if there are any light freighters or scout ships that could be easily equipped for long duration flight."

 

"Your plan sir?"

 

"We confiscate some of the ships if we have to and send them deep into the Galactic Rim. Have them follow it from here on into the Unknown Regions. Let's find out if there's a limit to the numbers of enemy troops and ships."

 

"Should we compensate the captains of the appropriated ships?"

"If they don’t cause us any trouble yes, but see if you can recruit any of them. We cant spare the pilots and crew for each one. The deaths of a few smugglers would be better than losing combat personnel."

 

+++

 

Garm Bel Iblis sat down in his quarters aboard Paradise Lost, pulling out a pair of shot glasses and matching bottle. Though intended to hold some rare or exotic Liquor the bottle was now filled with water. With the fleet on nearly 24 hour alert as they advanced the General couldn’t risk getting accidentally over doing it and getting drunk. The new couch he'd sat down on along with the matching table and chairs had been scavenged from the personal estate of a Sector Moff some weeks ago. Tycho Celchu sat down on the opposite side of the table putting down a thick old datapad with a newer holographic projector built into it. The Alderaanian leaned back in the chair after picking up one of the glasses Iblis had filled. "You know some day one of us might actually get the chance to drink what that bottle was really meant for."

 

"I dont need to be drinking a depressant right now Tycho. We're throwing pilots and fighters at a problem we should be solving with skill. Right now all we're doing is using lives to buy time."

 

"It's the only choice we have isn't it? If Sovereign makes it into the Elrood Sector we're finished."

 

Both men sat in the brooding silence taking sips of their water.

 

"How much longer can we keep this up?"

 

Tycho closed his eyes. He'd been looking over the same reports so much lately he knew the numbers without looking.

"At the current rate... we'll have run out of operational starfighters in three and a half weeks. I'm not sure our pilots will last that long."

 

"We'll need a reserve force for one big attack. Be ready to de-crew Blacken on short notice, I want to use it as a target for their Superlaser."

 

Tycho leaned forward a serious look on his face. "If you think it's worth it, but really we need every Star Destroyer we have."

 

"We need something to distract them, it doesn’t need to be for long. Talk to Iella, we'll need to know what else the Imps have ready to send this way. Tell our Recon patrols that they have a priority on finding and identifying the Imp Interdictors. While you're taking care of that I'll talk to our unusual friend and see if I can get any more 'equipment' that could be useful."

 

"The ability to have secure communications has been a major bonus the past couple of weeks. Any idea what they're going to ask for in return?"

 

"No." Iblis frowned. "They're leaving me guessing on that one but it is starting to worry me. Once the Majestic Program reaches full production I'm hoping we wont need to ask for as much help."

 

"The engineers think we're still 4 weeks away from completion of the first combat ready ship. We've never field tested anything like it."

 

"We need those ships Tycho. I want Majestic engaging the Imperial fleet within 28 hours of her launch."

 

 

112