"This is Naboo traffic control, turn off your engine and await your turn."
"C-copy that."
John Ilch sighed, great, the pilot of the second ship that had just exited hypespaces sounded nervous, no doubt another stupid smuggler. Silently John hoped nothing would show on the scanner, he didn't want to stay on duty a single minute overtime, what with having a date and all.
Smiling John leant back in his chair. As what the nabooian's called a 'collaborator' he wasn't really a popular guy among the ladies. If it hadn't been for his salary it would have been all the worse...but at least this time he had found someone who cared about him, he could hardly wait to go on their second date! Collaborator...the empire was the legitimate government dammit! And how many could say they worked on a gigantic space station? Six hundred people on a massive space station...at least he was one of the few that didn't have to wear one of those tight imperial uniforms...
"Right, focus man." Shaking his head he turned to hail the foremost vessel that was already heading towards the space station, a little too fast for his liking...damn merchants always being in a hurry. "This is Naboo traffic control, approach within scanning range and await further instructions."
"As you wish." Came through the headphones, the speaker calm. Great, maybe it would go fast?
The vessels were both ugly looking freighters, even with only the radar and a screen John could see that much. Blockish and of dull grey...cheap things that barely had a hyperdrive engine no doubt. Not the usual vessels he had to take care of when working above Naboo...but John wasn't the one to discriminate, he recognised hard-working guys like himself when he saw them.
Leaning back in his chair John put his hands behind his back. She was somewhere on base now...probably fixing up something breaking down on the base...probably dressed in that oil-stained thing she wore the first time they met...he kind of liked her being the strong engineer and him the scrawny desk-worker. It would be good for the children...dammit! Focus! It's only the second date...jeez.
"Identify yourself and your cargo." He yawned, watching the ugly freighter approach, still too fast he dully noted. "And adjust your course to point five and reduce speed."
"This is Dancing shadow, carrying machine parts." Was the sombre reply.
With the ship closer he could finally scan the freighter. "Scan...confirming that, you are clear to move towards beacon one...and reduce speed and adjust course." John would normally had added an irritated expletive by now, but he couldn't bring himself to it, he was mentally out of the work already after all. Soon he would meet her, soon...just got to wrap this up and he would be gone.
"Roger that." The pilot muttered back.
Hailing the second freighter that despite his instructions had inched forward John glanced back at the silent stormtrooper standing over by the door. Didn't that guy ever get bored of just staring at John's back? Why did they even have a guard here? It was only John and that half-sleeping imperial officer over by the other console in this small room. "You may begin your approach now, identify yourself and your cargo."
"T...this is the freighter Orion, requesting permission to land."
Land? On this space station? Everyone knew the only things let into the place's hangar was Tie's and imperial shuttles. "Orion confirmed....permission to land denied, this is an imperial facility boy." John chuckled, considering telling her about this fool...would probably be a nice story with a few additions...
"Oh...right...I meant on planet." The voice was even more nervous now, making John squint in sudden worry, the imperial officer over on his right also straightening a little, listening in as he was.
"You still haven't told us your cargo." John reminded the stranger, hand hovering over the button to alert the Tie fighters on stand by in the hangar. A chase of a smuggler would really be a story for her...John almost found himself wishing that the freighter would suddenly gun away.
"Right, I mean..."
John suddenly found himself cut transmission as he noticed the first freighter still coming at the space station, even faster now! Oh force...quick! Hailing the ship John found himself raising his voice an octave. "Dancing shadow! You are on a collision course! Adjust course and reduce speed now!"
There was a mad laugh from the other end, freezing John to his very bones. "Long live the rebellion! Love live the republic!"
What? No!
Torn of his chair John rolled across the floor together with the cursing officer as the whole space station rocked under the impact of the vessel hurtling into them. Somewhere deep below he heard a definitive crack...John paled in fear. Space...cold...death.
"What the hell is-" The imperial officer's words were drowned out as the floor beneath them split and buckled.
John's ears rang from the explosion he hadn't really heard, and his fingers bled as they on instinct dug into the suddenly torn floor falling downwards. He saw broken glass...blood, his or someone else's...screaming people and grey hallways were suddenly sweeping past.
No!
Then he was outside the station, outside.
There was a stinging pain...all over...and he felt his skin crack as it began to swell. All air rushed out of him...his chest hurt...he couldn't see.
Cold...very cold...
----
The imperial station was already listing heavily, most of it torn open by the initial explosion while the few intact compartments of it was on fire. Not that it would matter, knocked out of orbit the damaged station was already being torn apart by its own momentum as it headed towards Naboo....dooming whatever survivors were left to a fiery death.
The second merchant vessel gunned its engines, the clumsy freighter heading towards the growing cloud of debris, a set of lamps on its hull suddenly blinking alive.
Seconds later it started to spew escape pods, the freighter's engines glowing amber when the last one shot out toward the planet below.
With a crash the freighter slammed into the remains of the space station, as if the thing needed a second attack to finish it off...a moment later the freighter blew up in a cloud of blue fire, tearing the remains of the station to pieces, pieces that were already glowing white as they entered the atmosphere.
Moments later the escape pods disappeared behind the clouds below, the occupants prepared to wreak havoc...