Star Wars: Vindictive

Episode I: Cinders of an Empire

The GALACTIC EMPIRE constantly battles with the scattered REBELLION, but has so far been unable to fully destroy them. Construction of the second DEATH STAR has been slow, but word has been spread the station is ready for battle. A detachment of Star Destroyers has been sent to the system of THONNER, where a group of rebel ships has been detected. Among them is the Secutor-class VINDICTIVE. As the fleet erupts from hyperspace, the rebels fire upon them. In an instant, the calm of space is lit up with green and red. On the bridge, Captain VARIK ARKADA overlooks the destruction.

Part 1: The Battle of Thonner

As the first salvo of enemy fire struck the deflector shields, Commander Kyral shouted out in surprise. "Captain, we're detecting at least twelve rebel frigates and a large base not far behind them! I thought Thonner was cleared out!"

Captain Arkada shook his head, scowling. "These rebels never knew when to quit. Don't expect them to learn. Lock turbolasers on the nearest frigate and scramble fighters Commander."

"Should I even offer them surrender Captain?" Commander Eriston shook her head. Until the fighters were scrambled or friendlies were in danger, her station was usually quiet. Not that she minded. The bridge was an excellent view of the battles.

Varik chuckled. "If the Admiral hasn't, I don't plan to." He adjusted his hat, pushing the one defiant curl of his black hair under it again. He was taller than most, and reasonably tanned. His eyes were a bright amber, and though they were alert and awake had noticeable shadows below them.

The arrowhead figure of the Vindictive cast its shadow over the scattered asteroids, bolts of green light briefly illuminating the dark rocks. Red streaks collided with the ship, the blue deflectors flashing as they did. Across the vast space from asteroids to station, streaks of turbolaser and laser fire danced. As Soloman had noted, there were twelve Nebulon-Bs. Closing in were five of the CR90s, foolishly attempting to curtail the imminent wave of TIEs. Varik then turned to look over Admiral Comeg's fleet.

Three Imperial-II class Star Destroyers took the lead. Closely behind them followed five Victory IIs. The only Secutors in this fleet, and this sector, were on the flanks. The Vindictive's sister ship, the Warspite, took the left side. Though their numbers were lower, they had clearly superior firepower. Still, it never hurt to be careful.

…

Red lights flashed and the alarm sounded. The halls were busy with stormtroopers and crewman running to their stations. As the hangars were cleared of the non-vital personnel, Commander Arden and the pilots of Alpha Squadron filed into their fighters. Arden stood back as they all boarded, making sure the rookies from Bespin hadn't been lost in the chaos. As the last one rushed by, he heard someone calling for him.

"John? Hey, good look out there, yeah?"

He turned back to see a trooper waving him off as he rushed to rejoin his squad. John smiled, knowing it must be Oren. Never one for protocol. But it was nice getting a sendoff from him. As he clambered up the steep steps, he quickly threw on his helmet. He shut the hatch, and quickly ran through the systems, switching everything on. Dangerous as his job was, he wouldn't trade it for anything in the galaxy.

"This is Alpha 1, squadron, sound off when ready for takeoff."

"Alpha 2 is ready." "Alpha 3, on your order." "Alpha 4, ready to go Commander!" "Alpha 5's good. Try not to get us killed Commander."

He chuckled at Kely's comment. De Arlos made a point about not forgetting her first mission. Shortly after her joining, the Vindictive had rushed to her homeworld of Denon to stop a rebel ship escaping with recruits. During that mission, John may or may not have led his wing on a chase through the city, trying to find every last fighter and transport. And he might have led them through a few bridges. Still, the mission was a resounding success, so he didn't see the problem.

As the last pilot sounded off, he smiled. Time to make the bridge crew proud. "All fighters detach and follow my lead. Arrowhead formation until I say to break off. Let's show 'em just how fucked they are, yeah?"

One after the next, Alpha's fighters came unclamped from their anchors and shot forward. Flying down and out from the hangar, John was pleased to see the battle already in full swing. "Good, the rebels ought to have X-wings inbound."

The squadron skirted just above the asteroids, a safe enough distance from them while being a ways off from the Vindictive and any streams of fire. Sure enough, the starlight glinted off of a spread of rebel fighter-craft. As fun as a dogfight with an X-wing was, any bombers were their priority. Those were his standard orders, so his team knew to be on the lookout. Sure enough, one of them called out.

"This is Alpha 7, enemy bomber squad inbound! They're leaving the nearest Nebulon."

"Good spot! Alright Alpha, maintain a loose cohesion 'till we reach the fighters. 3, 5, 7, you come with me to hit those bombers. The rest of you, start picking targets. Happy hunting, and watch each other's backs. For the Empire!"

As the two masses of fighters drew closer, pilots honed in and locked on. This was easily the least safe job in the whole of the Imperial Navy. He realized this. He relished in it.

In an instant, both rebel and imperial fighters opened up. Red and green bolts flew every which way. Several ships on both sides didn't make it past the first few seconds, but Arden and his escorts broke from the skirmish unharmed. Numerous as the rebels were, they were completely dwarfed by the vast swarm that was the fleet's TIE fighters. The Y-wings were a ways away, and as expected, they weren't alone. Following closely were four A-wings, the elite of the rebel fighters. As his team drew in, the A-wings broke away to intercept.

John smiled to himself. "Here comes the fun part."

Suddenly, a spread of lasers fell on the A-wings. Their shields didn't last long, and the concentrated fire tore into them. A group of six TIE interceptors soared through the explosion, arching around back to the main battle. A voice came on over comms. "There you go Alpha, clean shot at those bombers."

Despite his frown, he responded happily. "Nice shots. I'll buy you a round next time we're planetside." Switching back to his own squadron's channel, he sighed. "Damn interceptors. Always have to take the good fights."

Kely groaned. "You actually wanted to take them on? I'd rather live to see thirty, Commander. Let's take the bombers and then go hit their hangars."

"Hey, you don't call the shots de Arlos! … Uh, but… Do that." He could only imagine the curses being shot at him from the Y-wing pilots. Not that they had much time to get them out. In a few seconds, the four TIEs flew for the nearest frigate, nothing but scrap in their wake.

…

From the bridge, the battle was looking like a clean victory. Aside from fighter craft, the rebel fleet hadn't done any damage. They had already been reduced to a mere six frigates, and a single blockade runner which had pulled back. In a few more moments, the unfortunate remainder would join their comrades. Regrettable. Such dedication and passion would've been useful, if they weren't all traitorous idealists.

"Captain, we're being hailed by Admiral Comeg."

"Very good Eriston. Send it to the bridge projector." Varik turned and made his way to the rear. Out the room's left window, he could see the secondary bridge lit up by their deflector shields, lasers striking near them. The holoprojector for the bridge was near the rear. Normally, Varik would rather not take his eyes off the battle. But an admiral is an admiral, and he knew his place. "Kyral, command is yours."

"Yes sir Captain." With a curt salute, Soloman took Captain Arkada's place at the front of the bridge. There wasn't much to do with a battle this simple. But vigilance was important with people as deceptive and dedicated as these rebels.

The holoprojector flashed to light, the blue-tinted figure of Admiral Comeg appearing. Varik saluted, giving a quick nod. "Admiral."

Comeg smiled. "At ease Captain. Sorry for bothering you during battle, but we seem to have things well in hand. After we're finished here, I'm transferring you to Admiral Raythe's fleet. His mission is critical, and we need as many ships there as possible."

Varik nodded. "Understood, sir. Where am I to head?"

"His fleet and a few others are gathering near Endor. The far side of the planet from the new Death Star."

The bustle of the bridge fell quiet for a second, but Soloman cleared his throat and the crew quickly returned to work. Varik stood silent for a moment. If there were this many ships gathering at Endor…

"I'm sure you realize what this means, Arkada. It's time we truly wipe these rebels from the galaxy. We expect the attack to come any day now. As soon as Thonner is clear of these ships, make way to Endor."

"Of course."

"I envy you, Captain Arkada. To soon witness our greatest victory over this scum since Hoth. Send my regards to Admiral Raythe as well."

The two saluted to one another, and the light flickered. As it did, he heard Soloman laughing. "Well Captain, that seems to be our work done. The last ship's struggling to run away. Fa- Er, Commander Eriston. Order our fighters back." He nodded to Varik as he walked back. "I'll return you your ship captain."

…

Not a single loss for Alpha Squadron. John was pleasantly surprised. The TIE fighters were known for being… Fragile. But these rookies were clearly capable. He shook their hands and nodded to them all, enthused. "Yes! Now that was some good flying out there! What was that, maybe half an hour? Hell, these rebels are getting sloppy. Maybe they don't see the point anymore, huh?"

The squadron couldn't help but get into the spirit of things. Overly daring he may have been, but Commander Arden was a charismatic leader for sure. Even Kely was in on it. As they celebrated, a group of mechanics closed in. One of them smiled and nodded to John. "Arden, good to see all of Alpha back safe. How're the TIEs?"

"Pretty good. Handled fantastic. Think I scratched the paint-job on mine though."

Still laughing, Kely jokingly smacked him on the head. "Paint, really? Your right radiator panel's at a wonk, you madman."

The lead mechanic groaned. "Oh my - Did he go diving into an enemy hangar again? I told you man, you've gotta be careful on those! It's not even hard to fix, just annoying."

John shrugged. "What can I say Lassiter? I'll be more careful next time I guess."

This only inspired another groan. "Oh, don't lie to me John. We both know you're not mentally capable of being careful."

As Lassiter's assistants began to unpack their tools, two crewmen in black uniforms walked forward. A woman with short black hair and brilliant blue eyes took the lead, an authoritative stride carrying her. At her side, a shorter man in his early twenties, a mess of curly brown hair pouring out from his hat, followed. He seemed nervous for some reason.

The woman nodded to Arden. "VS-1-1, correct?"

Like that, John's smile fell. He was never fond of those officers who memorized the ID numbers. If you didn't know their name, just call them by rank or station. He nodded. "Ma'am."

She then turned to the mechanics. "You, what's your name?"

The group saluted, and Lassiter stepped forward. "Name's Lassiter ma'am. How can I help you."

She smiled, but it was one of those smug and intimidating ones. "I'm with security, Lt. Commander Stark. Were any of you working on the TIE bombers? Epsilon Squadron in particular."

The group shrugged, shaking their heads. The nervous man who was escorting her stood a bit stiffer, and pointed at one of the younger mechanics. "That one's lying. I saw him working with the repair groups before we arrived here. We've already hit the others, Li - ah, uh, miss Stark. It's him."

Without a second thought, the Lt. Commander drew her blaster pistol. A single shot rang out and the mechanic fell, grasping his shoulder. "Excellent. Go collect him Roy. We'll have a talk with him in the brig."

The Ensign went over and dragged the man to his feet. He must have been even younger than Roy was. Gritting his teeth, he growled at the people gathered. "Dammit! I'll - Gah… I couldn't just do nothing! This whole Empire, it's all fucked!" He turned to Lassiter, near tears. "We blew up a planet! How can… How do you rationalize that!? How can you -"

Lisa took the grip of her pistol to the back of his head, and he fell into a stunned state of semi-consciousness. Roy buckled under the near-dead weight, but managed to start and drag him off. Two stormtroopers came over to help the Ensign get the man down the hall. The officer turned back to Lassiter. "Well, that's that then."

As she turned to leave, Arden risked questioning her. "Uh, ma'am, what happened to the bombers in Epsilon?"

She didn't even turn back or stop as she replied. "The traitor rigged them so the bombs wouldn't drop. They took a risky move that would've gone fine if the frigate had been hit. But instead, we lost a whole bomber squad."

Alpha and the others were quiet. John sighed, and walked off. He'd take a different hall, just so he didn't accidentally get on an elevator with that one. Kely watched him walk off, and considered following him. But as the rest of the squadron took the normal path, she decided to follow them instead. Arden probably wanted some time alone after all.

…

The rebels destroyed, the Vindictive bid farewell to the ships they'd accompanied for months. The other captains seemed just as envious, wishing it had been them Comeg was sending to Endor. They all wished Arkada well. With all surviving fighters accounted for and all systems nominal, the Vindictive tore off into hyperspace.

Varik took the time to study the crew. They were all relatively happy at their victory. He was sure there were some nerves over being sent to what would likely be the final battle. Soloman and Fable were talking near the right side window, looking over the wide ship. Commanders Kyral and Eriston were comrades of his from his previous ship, the Victory-class Barrage. Soloman Kyral was a good officer. His loyalty had been tested and proved by his brother. But it seemed treachery wasn't genetic, as Soloman was as loyal a man as there could be.

Fable was good at her job, no question. But Varik valued her more for her effect on the crew. She had a way of calming people down when they were hot-headed, and had a good sense of character. He chuckled a bit, seeing she had a similar problem getting her short-cut auburn hair to stay in place.

He turned to look down at the stations. Lt. Commander Riada sat at the nav-computer, ensuring everything had been done correctly. He was overly-critical of his work, which was flawless. The man was friendly, but quiet. He let his merit speak for him, and Varik could respect that. Riada turned to look up at the captain. "Alright Captain. We're set to arrive in a day. We'll pull out of hyperspace half an AU from the fleet, and continue at cruise speed into formation."

"Excellent." Arkada turned to look out the front. He didn't normally get so excited for a battle, but given the circumstances, he couldn't help himself. "At last… The Empire's day is coming."