The Empire
"Supreme Chancellor Ekstraad's office, Galactic Senate, Coruscant. 15/07/5227, 14:30 Galactic Standard Time. This transmission is intended for the galaxy in which I serve."
"Gentlemen, I have brought together the Galactic Senate today because I have some important news, news that will affect all of us. In the last few weeks, a force, who call themselves the Imperial Army, have begun invading planets in the outer rim. So far they have control of Vectra, Sykar, Sian and Rheagant. Attempts have been made to try and negotiate a peaceful solution to stop the invasions, but their leader, a man known to us as Emperor Palpatine, has so far held base, and refused every opportunity to stop the assaults. Indeed gentlemen, as we speak right now, the Imperial Army have launched invasions on the planets of Hoth, Tatooine, Geonosis and Bespin. I need not remind you how important these planets are for they form an integral part of our trade routes, and we, as a Republic, owe their people a service not to let them fall to this tyrant. People of the Senate, people of Coruscant, people of the galaxy in which we live, after lengthy consultation with the Vice Chancellor and the Jedi council, I can confirm to you that the Galactic Republic is at war with the Imperial Army."
Dantooine could be a lonely place sometimes, but for Recon pilots Eksilo Destron-DeVictoria and Kissel Overiero-MacStreska, that was rarely the case, because it was almost impossible that they wouldn't constantly be by each other's side. Having met at a training academy for the Galactic Republic's Space program, they instantly hit it off after realising they were the only 2 representatives from Dantooine. Their extraordinarily long names led to them referring to each other as E and K, and the two of them, throughout the course, had more fun than anybody would think possible for people training in the galaxy's most prestigious academy. After 5 years of training, they both qualified as Recon pilots- and since then, have never undertaken an assignment without the other in tow. Their main job was to scout trade ships with dodgy credentials, visit planets on busy trade routes to make sure nothing was going to break out, to be the first to scout areas of potential conflict. The job took them to more planets than they had ever seen before: Mon Calamari, Naa Shaddaa, Aalderan and Corellia to name a few. However, throughout the years, they had never been involved in conflict. That was all about to change.
"E, you gotta come take a look at this." Shouted K towards the kitchen, where E was making yet another sandwich. The two of them were in their Coruscant apartment where they stayed between assignments.
"What's happened now? Has Ekstraad made his speech?"
"Yeah. Mate, it's not good news."
This caused E to actually appear from the kitchen. In front of them was a telecast, where Supreme Chancellor Ekstraad, leader of the Galactic Republic, had just declared war on the Imperial Empire.
"Wow" Said E, stunned.
"I know, this is crazy. The last time there was a major war was over 200 years ago when the Jedi supposedly wiped out the Sith."
"K…. You know what this could mean?"
K knew exactly what it could mean, and it was something he dreaded. "They can't make us, surely?"
"We're at war, of course they can. When we signed up for this, we knew that there was a chance we might have to get involved in conflict."
"We're recon pilots, not fighter pilots."
"I know, let's just wait for command to tell us what to do. Thinking about it isn't going to make it any better."
Then, as if on cue, their personal radios crackled into life:
"Pilots, this is command. All personnel are to rendezvous at East Coruscant Space Port within the hour. This is not a drill."
"Emperor Palpatine, I bring news."
Palpatine merely looked at him, an invitation to continue.
"The Republic, Chancellor Ekstraad, have declared war on our Empire."
"That was to be expected." Said Plapatine, a deep whisper against the continuous hum of the Mammoth Star Destroyer they were aboard. "Stage one of the plan is now complete."
"What do we do now?"
"We wait, Dooku. We wait for them to make their first retaliation. They won't be used to this, they'll make mistakes. That is when we strike."
"Are we safe here."
"Don't worry about the ship, the Republic could never find us here." The Emperor relaxed, took in a deep breath. "I have waited years for the perfect opportunity to strike, now it is finally happening. I shall rule this galaxy, one way or another." He looked at Dooku, "Commence stage two of the plan."
The East Coruscant Space Port was a vast space, occupying over 6 square kilometres of land. It served as the main hub of Coruscant's military action, from missile strikes to fully planned battle launchings. There were 5 space ports in Coruscant: East, West, Polar, Central and Equatorial, but it was the east port that dealt with all things military. The army there was massive, the greatest men, women and other sentient beings the Republic could find. For E and K, it was always a daunting place to go. Right now they were in the launch bay, being prepared to have a talk by their commanding officer. K especially was finding the whole thing uncomfortable, but even E had to admit the prospect of what the Commander might say was making him shifty- nobody wanted to go to war. There was a whistle, and the commanding officer signalled for everyone to give him their attention. There were about 200 people in the hangar.
"People, by now you will have all heard the speech given by Supreme Chancellor Ekstraad this afternoon. Our Republic is at war with a new, and frighteningly powerful enemy, one we do not know much about. What we do know is this- Their forces, numbering close to the thousands, have launched invasions on 4 planets: Hoth, Bespin, Tatooine and Geonosis. Hoth, Bespin and Geonosis are Republic controlled planets, so they will be our priority. As Tatooine is neutral, it is up to them to fight their own battles for now. I know some of you will not be used to fighting like this, will not be used to combat at all, but this is a war, and if we are going to win this then we're going to need every man we can get. You will be split into three teams, one for each Republic controlled planet. Let's get to it people!"
E and K were in their section of the hangar. Being the only two recon pilots to work with Gold team, they got their own section of the hangar to keep their XT-84 Stealth fighters, as well as being able to keep themselves to themselves. The two found out early on in their friendship that they both found it difficult getting along with people in the outside world, K more so than E, and so the hangar had become a sacred place for them, where they could talk about everything without any fear or limitations.
"This is bad" Said K, starting to stress over the situation.
"I know" Concurred E, "I don't know what we can do. You heard the Commander, every man is needed. We're powerless."
It was at this point their Commanding officer, Commander Chol- the only other person who E and K felt comfortable speaking with, entered the hangar.
"Guys" He began, "I know this is going to be difficult for you. If there was any other way then I would change it, but there isn't. I know you guys have never entered combat before, but you graduated from that academy for a reason, because you are two of the best recon pilots this army has. That's why I've decided that you two are going to go to Bespin first, to scout out the Imperial destroyers, let us know what we're up against."
"We'll still have to get invoved in the battle though, won't we?" Asked E.
"Yes, you will" Said Chol, "We need everyone we can get, especially when we find a weakness, so that we can end this quickly. Sooner this war is over, the better."
"When do we leave?" Asked K.
"We leave in 10 minutes- Well, at least you do, but it won't be so bad, you'll have me to keep you company."
"You're coming to Bespin?"
"I am, every man we can get remember? Even if that includes me. Besides, given a choice of Bespin, Hoth- where it averages below zero- and Geonosis, which is full of Seperatist factions anyway, I'd go for Bespin any day."
E and K spent most of their journey to Bespin in silence. Suddenly, this was become all too real for them. When they reached Bespin, it wasn't looking good. 3 Star Destroyers were spaced out- dull, menacing craft that were bigger than anything they had seen before. Fighters, hundreds of them, surrounded the destroyers and landing craft were entering the planet's atmosphere at will. What was once a vibrant, orange planet was now swarming with shades of black as the invasion army began their assault.
"Let's take a scope around the area, see if there are any more of them" Said E over the radio.
"I was worried you were going to say that."
E then got on the radio again, this time to command, where the two pilots had both been given codenames- E was 'Gold Scout' and K was 'Gold Recon', not that either of them wanted to use the codenames. They preferred their own abbreviations much better.
"Command, this is Gold Scout. Identify what looks like 3 destroyers; Numerous fighters and landing craft. I think they're starting the invasion."
"Roger that Gold Scout, we're just preparing to launch ourselves right now" Came the familiar voice of Commander Chol. "How many fighters are we going to be facing?"
"I don't know. I've honestly never seen a group of fighters this big before."
"For want of a better word," Chimed K over the other radio, "They have one hell of an army."
"I get the picture" Sighed Chol. "I guess we're going to have to make do with what we've got."
"Hang on; I think I've spotted a weakness!" Said K, rather excitedly, "I've just had another look at their destroyers- only the central one is releasing landing craft. If we take that out, maybe we can stop the invasion?"
"That's going to be our best option. You two wait there until the other units arrive, then we'll take them out together."
The wait seemed to take forever. They both knew that Coruscant to Bespin was a long trip, but it seemed to take a lifetime before they spotted the first of the Republic fighters. The only positive for them whilst they waited was that none of the landing craft actually seemed to be able to land- most of them were being shot out of the sky by the anti-spacecraft lasers coming from the planet's surface, but some of them were also coming back up for a second attempt. They didn't have long though; the numerous fighters swarming around the Destroyers were gradually weakening Bespin's defences. They couldn't hold out forever.
"E?" Came K over the radio, "Take a look at this a second will you?" E's display suddenly lit up. A Bespin satellite, which K had hacked into, was showing E a top view of the Imperial fleet. They had only seen the Destroyers front on- going above or beside them would have made them detectable-and they had assumed them to be all the same size. They were wrong. The middle Destroyer, which was sending out landing craft, was at least 3 times as big as the ones each side of it.
"That's a big ship." Said E in amazement.
"I know, which means it's going to be a lot harder to take out" Responded K, trying to calculate what they would do next.
Once the first of the Republic fighters arrived, it didn't take the Imperial army long to realise they had company. Whole sections of Imperial fighters broke off from the main Destroyers and headed straight for the oncoming group. E and K just sat where they were- they didn't know what they could do in battle- and started giving out instructions to the Republic fighters.
"Commander Chol" Said E, "There are two groups of Imperials coming up to your right. I'd say about 10 of them in total."
"They're coming from the left too!" Shouted K over the radio, "Much more of them on this side, I could 22, no, 23…. My god….."
"Split the group!" Yelled Chol over the radio to his squad, which was about 10 big. They did exactly that, and the Imperial fighters followed, but it was clear to E and K that the Republic was horribly outnumbered. They could only sit and watch as fighter after fighter was shot down.
"Blue team, Red team, Green team, assistance need in sector 12" Said a desperate Commander Chol, and soon more Republic fighter had joined in. It was now a fair fight, and the Imperials were getting pushed back.
"More Imperial fighter coming from the Destroyers" Said E, who was finding the battle difficult to handle. "They don't stand a chance."
"We've got to do something." Said K, "We can't just sit here and watch them all get killed."
"But what? What can we actually do?"
"We do what we do best. We scout. The Imperial fighters are so busy trying to hold back Chol and his teams that there are hardly any fighters that are protecting the Destroyers, especially not the central one."
They agreed on it there and then, and set off towards the central Imperial Destroyer. They knew they would be picked up by the Imperials, but when they did, nothing seemed to happen. No fighters tried to intercept them.
"What's going on?" Said E, "Surely they would have done something by now?" That was when they realised why the Imperials hadn't bothered with Fighters- the Destroyers themselves had massive auto-cannons, and they were a lot deadlier than a few fighters would be. The two pilots realised this almost too late, as the first barrage of plasma shells almost came raining down on them, but for their quick reaction skills. Suddenly, E and K were split up- a torrent of shells had gone straight through the middle of them both, scorching E's wing and forcing them to separate. E headed straight for the main Destroyer, unaware of what was happening to K.
"I have news from the invasions, Emperor."
"I know" Said the Emperor, not even bothering to look at Dooku.
"It seems we have started to encounter Republic resistance, the planets are not falling as easily as we anticipated."
"As you anticipated, Dooku. The Republic are not fools, this was to be expected. The plan shall still continue as it has been for the past few weeks."
"Even without the Republic fighters, we're still facing resistance from the planet surfaces."
"You have much to learn. We attacked these planets for a reason. We needed to gain the Republic's attention. Sometimes it can be a good thing to lose a battle."
Dooku faded away into the shadows. So far the Emperor had been correct about everything, but there was something about the guy that unnerved him. Something about him wasn't right, but Dooku couldn't put a finger on what it was that made him so…. Creepy. He didn't want know what would happen if something went wrong.
K was in the middle of a skirmish, and he didn't know how he was going to get out. After being separated from E, he had been chased down by Imperial fighters, and now found himself having to dodge laser fire whilst he tried to figure out where he was. More fire, from the right, caused him to dive, narrowly missing an Imperial fighter that exploded above his head seconds later. Another Imperial fighter was badly damaged, but heading straight for him. K had never had to use the lasers on his stealth craft before, but in that moment he knew he would have to. He pushed down hard on the trigger, and two pulses of blue light disappeared into the distance, and obliterated the damaged Imperial fighter.
E had spotted K, caught in the middle of the battle. He knew he had to keep going though, because he was past the plasma cannon defences. The undercarriage of the Imperial Destroyer was as bland as the top was, but there was one big difference. A massive pipeline ran down the middle of the Destroyer's undercarriage, and E instantly knew that it was a fuel line. It was the main fuel line. It was heavily protected; he would need K here as well if they were going to destroy it.
"K! K god dammit answer your radio." Shouted E, even though he could see K was busy shaking off yet another Imperial fighter. "I know you can hear me, so just listen. Turn around. If you turn around then you're facing the Destroyers, and I've found a weakness, but I need you here too."
"What's the weakness?" Came a voice over the radio. It wasn't K though, it was Commander Chol.
"The ship's main fuel line runs all the way underneath the craft. It's protected, but with two of us we can break down those defences."
"Well I'm not going to be much use to you; we've been forced too far wide by the other Imperial fighters. If we're careful, we might be able to take out the two end Destroyers, but it's going to be up to you and K to take down the main one."
It was at this point that E heard an almighty bang as a plasma shell exploded right above him. K was dancing his way through the ship's defences, just as E had done before. He had done it though; K was through.
"I heard what you said over the radio. This is the fuel line then?" K had joined up with E, and the two were sat underneath the Central Destroyer, shielded from the outside battle.
"How do you think we should take it out?"
"Well, look over there-" E gestured towards the centre of the ship, "-There's a join in the fuel line where it splits in two. I reckon that's its weakest point. That's where we attack."
"What are we waiting for then? Let's get to it!"
They started to scale the Destroyer. It was longer than any ship they'd ever seen before, and they had no idea where the fuel line join actually was.
"I can't see it, this ship is far too big." Said K over the radio.
"It's there, I can see it." Replied E, "Follow me."
Soon K caught a sight of the join aswell. Despite being the weakest part of the fuel line, it was still heavily protected. As soon as they got within range, they stared firing, but most of the laser pulses harmlessly deflected off the deflector shield; E even had to swerve to avoid one of his blasts coming back at him.
"Nothing's happening!" Yelled K, "If we carry on much longer we'll fly straight past the join."
"I know. Just keep going, something has to give sooner or later."
So that's what they did, and eventually they started to break through the fuel line. By the time they were underneath the join, the line was virtually ruined.
"One. More. Blast." Panted K, as he pressed down hard on his trigger button once more. The blue pulses illuminated the space infront of him, then they hit the join, right in the centre, obliterating what was left of the defences. The pipe burst open, and the volatile fuel exploded in a giant fireball, which started to engulf the entire Destroyer.
Now E and K had a new problem. The shockwave was travelling incredibly quickly. The two pilots were flying as fast as they could to escape the fireball, heading all the way to the front of the destroyer. They passed a couple of confused Imperial fighters along the way, but the shockwave was still getting closer.
"Come on, almost there….." Said E, straining under concentration.
"Just that little bit further" Concurred K. They reached the edge of the ship just as the fireball caught up with them, shooting out as the entire Star Destroyer went up, before falling towards the planet below, breaking up into thousands of pieces in the process. E and K started screaming over the radio in ecstasy, but they soon turned silent- something else was coming over the radio. Crackling, interference like, was invading the pilot's cockpits, and they didn't need to think much to realise what it was. Commander Chol's fighter, damaged to the point of no repair, flew straight over their heads. Ecstasy suddenly turned to despair as they watched their commanding officer, and mentor, fly helplessly towards the end Imperial Destroyer. Whilst Chol may not have had control of his craft, he was heading in the right direction- straight towards the ship's core reactor. Whilst the main ship had a visible fuel system, the smaller ones had vulnerable reactor cores, something which the pilots had initially failed to recognise. E couldn't help but watch as Chol hit the reactor right at its centre, whereas K couldn't bring himself to even open his eyes.
What happened next was incredible. As Chol's fighter hit the reactor core, it sent a surge of energy straight into the jet engines at the back of the Destroyer, propelling it forward with enormous force. Although the ship had its brakes on, it couldn't stop itself from flying out of control, the extra energy forcing it sideways towards the other Destroyer ahead. There was a moment of complete silence, then the two Destroyers collided in a mass of screeching metal, bending and buckling with every passing second. The reactor core of the first ship, overloaded, detonated in a massive flash, the shockwave ripping the Destroyer in half. The second ship's engines were all but obliterated, and both Destroyers followed the first craft in heading towards the surface of Bespin, breaking up even more along the way.
"What do we do now?" Asked K.
"We head for the surface" Replied E, "I think that's just about all we can do."
They landed on the surface as quickly as they possibly could. Nobody spoke a word as they walked out onto the platform, both of them still in shock about Chol's death. Just as they entered the refuelling station, K saw someone he recognised. Evo Del-KoSette had been K's next door neighbour as he was growing up on Dantooine. A pilot like them both, he had been one of the main reasons K had wanted to become a pilot in the first place.
"Mac!" He yelled out across the station. "Oh my god, it's been such a long time."
"I really wish you wouldn't call me Mac" Said K, who then proceeded to introduce Evo to E.
"Hey," Said Evo, "You guys may think K and E are cool nicknames, but I think Mac suits you much better. Anyway, how are you two holding up. I heard you were in the centre of the battle we've just had."
"Well, we blew up an Imperial Star Destroyer on our first ever conflict, so that's something. We lost our commanding officer though…." K trailed off, not wanting to speak about it anymore.
"Commander Chol. I knew him well. He's the reason I'm out here on Bespin. I manned one of the laser cannons that were shooting the landing craft out of the sky."
"Did any of the craft successfully land?" Asked E.
"No, not that I'm aware of. You guys did well taking out all of those Imperial craft, we're the only planet to survive the invasion. Geonosis, Hoth, Tatooine, all fell under Imperial control. This is going to be a long war-"
They all stopped. They heard gunfire, cannon fire as well, coming from outside.
"I thought you said no craft had landed?"
"I'm sure none of them had!"
They all ran outside. Infront of them, an array of armoured tanks were taking up their positions, ready to strike.
"I know what they are" Said K, "They're certainly not Imperial."
"Then what the hell are they?" Demanded E.
"They're droids. It's an army of battle droids."