The stars hung loosely across the black void, their alien light penetrating every corner of its dark space. Captain Phillip Grap stared into the emptiness. It was beautiful. It was his home. He could examine its infinite plain forever. No, he was Captain of the Olympia. He had a job to do.
"Markus, are all the scanners up?" The man sitting below him nodded immediately. "Curtis, the weapon systems." Another man gave him a thumbs up. "Kris…"
"Sir, if we keep this up, the ship will loose power in an hour. Why are you so worried? Nothing's going to touch us. We're the best defended planet in the Run!" said Kris, stopping the Captain mid sentence.
"Watch yourself, Kris. You're dealing with a superior officer." Phillip said angrily. He thought for a moment. He was too soft on the men. "Alright, you can shut the shields down for now. Make sure you can get them up immediately!"
Kris laughed. "Of course sir."
He did have reason to worry. Rebels had been raiding planets all along the Locosta Run for weeks. How could they resist a treasure like Moribus Kaxon? With a huge population of nobles, massive quarries of precious materials, and only a small Planetary Defense Force, it was a prime target for raid.
Only the navy was there to defend. The Admiral had wisely set a fleet here in defense. They would have to be ready for anything.
"I'm going on leave for now. Alert me if you have anything. I will be in my quarters." he said in an attempt at a commanding voice. It just didn't work for him. He turned and began to walk away, hearing his crewmen's laughter.
There was a crash. Klaxons boomed and buzzed all around him. "Frak!" He roared. The walls began to crumble. He gasped as the door before him blasted open. He lost his breath. Out of the doorway, he saw half of the ship floating away in the planet's gravitational pull.
Before he could think, he was thrown out into the blankness of space. The door airlocks kicked in and shut behind him. In a final gasp, his mind went dead.
"What the…?" Franz began. A massive ship, moments before, had blasted from nowhere. Its gargantuan guns began to spit explosive death at the crafts around it. A massive lance blast fired from its side and tore apart a massive battleship.
"The Olympia." He she heard Devin say as she gasped. The ship simply fell apart from the middle, crumbling into pieces. The new arrival was followed by more, all bearing the emblem of the Locosta Run rebels.
"Franz, are those our ships?" He asked in horror. She looked on. He was right. Emblems of the Imperial navy still hung on their hulls, blasted and burned to the point that they were barely recognizable.
"They must have been the ones from Locosta Grey…" She muttered. Realization dawned over her.
"Franz!" She jumped and looked back at the controls. Tiny objects began descending from all corners of the rogue ships. They moved together, like a swarm. They sped towards the fleet as a blanket of steel and las. Shots bounced barely off of the small Fury Interceptor's shields.
She jabbed frantically at the control panel. A small stream of las-fire erupted from the nose of the ship. "Pull us up! They're gunna hit us!" She squealed. She felt the hull lurch quickly upwards and almost became sick.
She let fly two missiles that made impact with the horde. "It's no use. There's too many!" Devin cried. There was a beep. She immediately looked at the scanner below. "Franz, I'm gunna pull up! We need to get…"
"Shut up! One of 'um's on our tail!" The small ship rocked back and forth as las fire hit it from all sides. "Pull up and back! Get behind him!" Franz ordered. Devin did as she said. The ship followed precisely.
"Damn, he's got us trailed!" Devin said frantically as he tried new maneuvers.
"Drop and power down the engines!" Franz roared. It was their last chance. She felt the ship fall several feet. It was still. The chaser flashed by.
"Let 'em have it Franz!" said Devin, obviously proud of himself. The engines blasted back online and Franz fire one last missile. It made impact with the ship, and, in a great fire, destroyed it. They laughed together and cheered.
The ship slowly turned to head back to its dock. The sight before them was terrifying. The stared at the huge body of a rebel vessel. One of the huge las-cannons fired. Light engulfed Franz's eyes. She felt heat all around her in the cockpit.
The craft fell slowly, closer and closer to the rebel vessel. With a crash, they blasted through the window. As the ship sparked and burned, Franz looked up. She was breathing her final breaths. A vox signal shot through as rebel troopers gathered around the ship.
"This is Commander Gregory Mason of the Locosta Devils. Phase one is complete. Have a good day!" said the voice jovially through the vox. She moaned. There was a crack as one of the soldiers shot her dead.