Commander Cade Myrryn

Few Imperial officers carried sidearms on the bridge. It was deemed unnecessary with the quartet of elite stormtrooper guards at the entrance, so why bother with the kilo or two of extra weight? It was a habit to carry mine, from back when I was still a pilot trainee, but it was a sensible habit to keep.

The slight approving nod of the Sergeant, when I first walked onto the bridge was enough to keep doing after the first time. Why the Navy and the Stormtrooper Core were so at odds I had no idea, but it was starting to get annoying. I blinked at the new officer on the bridge.

Why was the admiral here? It was supposed to be the Moff. Admiral Chakan was talking to his nephew, who happened to be the captain of this vessel. Despite the claims, Commander Chakan was not a product of nepotism. He was a more than capable commander, even if he could stand to loosen that stick from his aft.

"Captain," I saluted despite both of us only being Commanders, military tradition already had the answer for not getting people mixed up. "Ready to relieve you from bridge operations."

The Admiral checked his chrono. "You're early." The senior officer's tone was unreadable, whether he approved or not was unclear. "Is this a constant habit?"

"Yes Admiral," Commander Chakan responded before I could, "He likes to arrive to his shift five or ten minutes early to go over how my shift has gone."

The Admiral nodded. "We need more officers like you two."

"Sir, another five minutes have passed since Besh squad missed their check in." The COMM Scan officer reported, "That makes fifteen minutes without contact." I frowned, Commander Talyn wasn't one to miss comm checks.

"The main antenna was acting up earlier, could that be the problem?" The Captain asked, "Get another Squad scrambled to investigate."

"Engineering reports the antenna is fine." An Ensign I didn't recognize reported in, "It could be that interference we've been experiencing." While the asteroid field blocked scanners, they didn't cause interference. Something was scratching at the back of my mind.

"These older ships have better comms than the older ones. One of the few things we didn't have to refit." The Admiral commented. The Huntress was an old ship, a Venator-class Star Destroyer from the Clone Wars.

With the Rebellion gaining more support, many Imperial-class Star Destroyers were being pulled from the Mid-Rim to support campaigns throughout the Outer-Rim. Older vessels like the Huntress had been recalled into active service to fill the gap. A mild refit made them more than a match for the Rebel's Mon Calamari Cruisers and a refit was far cheaper and less time intensive than building a whole new Imperial.

The problem was most of these ships were crewed by fresh academy graduates, and old Stormtroopers. The lack of veterancy would show at the worst of times.

I ducked down into the crew pit, right next to the Comm Scan station, "Show me the interference." I ordered. That was no type of radiation I had seen before. "Captain," I called up, "I recommend gong to full alert and readying the entire compliment to get ready to scramble, I think we're being jammed."

Both officers twitched but would wait for explanation. They immediately started calling the ship to alert. Too late, a dozen Droch-boarding craft, painted black, accelerated to full burn. They had been attached to the asteroids! From behind a larger asteroid a much bigger threat emerged.

An MC-80 Star Cruiser opened up with a turbolaser barrage. "Shields!" The Admiral barked. The reddish-pink hue of Mon Cal turbolasers filled the viewports.

"Brace for impact!" I called before squeezing against the console, the Comm Scan lieutenant right next to me. The Huntress seemed to shudder, before calming down. I crawled out of the crew pit, the Admiral Chakan seemed to be unconscious in the other crew pit, and the captain was screaming.

His arm looked to be bent in three places that human arms weren't meant to bend. I winced, "Get a medical team in here now! Focus fire on those boarding craft. Order General Quarters and get all Stormtroopers ready for anti-boarding operations." I found my self ordering at a level just below a shout.

"Sir, Rebel X-wings inbound. Two squadrons." The ensign looked to be bleeding from her head, "Two squadrons of TIE fighters are launching now, estimating four minutes till the launching of Sword squadron."

"Order the TIEs into a screen close to the ship. We'll help them out with our anti-starfighter armament."

"Four boarding craft destroyed, the rest have made impact."

"Focus turbolaser fire on the Mon Cal." The ship shuddered under the impact of another barrage of turbolaser fire. The shaking was much less, as the shields were raised to combat levels.

"Shields at forty percent!"

"Order the port side main battery to hit their ion cannons."

The viewport was now filled with the smaller explosions of starfighter combat, the X-wings were winning. Sword squadron needed to get out there now. "Status update on Sword." I call to the flight controller.

"Moving as fast as they can, launching in one minute."

"Sir! Friendlies moving fast! It's Besh squad!" The Sensor Ensign called, "Moving to assist deployed fighters." A medical team raced in, followed by a full squad of Stormtroopers. The medical team started stabilizing the wounded, before transporting the injured out.

"Besh-Leader to Huntress. Reporting position and telemetry of Rebel electronic warfare ship." Commander Talyn's voice came over the comm distorted and mechanical sounding, a side effect of the fighter's encryption. "Requesting bomber support."

"Get the bombers prepped and launch all fighters." I order the flight controller, "I want space superiority before I launch those bombers." There was a visible shift in the starfighter battle as Besh and Sword joined the battle, Besh was led by one of the best pilots I had ever seen, and Sword were flying the advanced TIE Interceptor.

"Shields falling to twenty six percent!"

"Auxiliary power to shields! Lock all weapons on that Cruiser." Blue bolts slammed into the MC-80 in concentrated waves, but it was shrugging of the damage with it's redundant shields. After the shields fell, there was still the heavy armor common with most Mon Calamari designs to blast through.

"Local space clear. Launching bombers." The flight controller called from his position

"Direct two flights towards the Mon Cal, see if they can damage critical systems." A Venator could carry over four-hundred fighters, but supply lines had been focused into the outer rim for some secret project. We were lucky to have a single, full fighter wing. Much less the two or three that could be carried by a Venator.

It was the lack of trained combat pilots, entire wings of Alpha-3 Nimbus V-wings, I-7 Howlrunners, and Eta-2 Interceptors were siting in sitting in storage. Day by day, pilots seemed to lack the training they needed more and more. Were the Academies rushing pilots out to fast? Not to mention, Sienar's production of TIEs had dropped more than sixty percent. Reports of sabotage and worker uprisings had filtered through the ranks.

Not just in the Lianna system, similar reports were coming from Sullust, Corellia, and Fondor.

"Bomber's broke through the shields!" The flight controller shouted, audible elation and relief in his tone. There were bylaws about decorum on the bridge, but I really didn't care. I was feeling the same thing.

"Target key systems. Maximum firepower!" Blue fire lanced through space, impacting the Mon Cal ship. Turbolaser blisters detonated, and engines flared. "Hit their engines and get me a status update about those boarding craft."

With a pair of directed volleys, the engines went dark. On any normal ship, this would be the point they surrendered. Rebel ships however usually fought to the death once prevented from escaping. Or detonated their reactors. "Focus ion batteries on the reactor and start pinpoint destruction of the sensor blisters." Within moments the staggered volleys became single shots, but the ion barrage continued to keep the reactor offline.

"Sir, all boarders confirmed captured or eliminated. Stormtrooper units report ninety-seven percent combat effective." The Stormtrooper Captain reported. He had come in with the medical team as part of the bridge's defense unit.

"Captain, if I were to order a boarding action, how would the Stormtroopers respond?" I asked.

Stormtrooper helmets were designed to make the wearers voice mechanical and intimidating, often removing any inflection and minimalizing accents. In this case however, the vicious pleasure in this Captain's voice couldn't be modulated out. "With extreme prejudice."

"Captain I want basic plans of action for the boarding and capture of both the ECM corvette and the Mon Cal Cruiser within half an hour." The captain saluted, "Helm, bring us within tractor range of that corvette."

At one point in time, it had been a Corellian CR-90 corvette. Now it looked to have a dozen or so comm dishes slapped on it, and it had lost most of it's turbolasers. Power constants most likely, because despite the lack of jamming, and the lack of return fire; the engines glowed dimly instead of with their usual brilliance.

A trio of bombers fired another salvo of missiles, and upon impact the already flickering engines cut out. An ion blast slammed into the bridge, and another burst right over the reactor. There was a subtle shift in the Huntress' flight path when the tractor beam projectors grabbed the corvette, barely noticeable, but it was there. Though only one who had spent significant time on the ship would notice.

The bridge doors hissed open without warning, and several blasters turned towards the opening, including mine. Commander Chakan walked in, arm in a splint, and two med-techs shuffling around him like his own personal satellites. "Myrryn, I heard the call for a boarding action?"

"Yes, I want to know why they targeted us. I have theories, but I want hard facts." Theory one: with the Admiral on board, Huntress had the most up-to-date knowledge of fleet movements, and a Venator is much easier to capture and subdue than an Imperial-Star Destroyer.

"The Admiral ordered me to take over bridge operations. He wants you to lead the boarding of the cruiser." Chakan frowned, "There's something political afoot, and with your background its better that you're not in charge." Commander Chakan was an asshole, but he was a reliable asshole. And a good friend.

I sighed, "Give me five minutes to change into combat gear."

Commander Sansa Talyn

Internally, I was cursing Commander Myrryn. Besh squad had already spent four hours in their cramped fighters, and now we had to spend another hour flying patrol around the disabled MC-80. The winged ship had started to list to the side, and scanners reported they had shut off internal gravity to keep their life support functioning at one hundred percent. Other sensors reported the ongoing battle from inside the cruiser. If I wanted to hear what was going on, all it would take was a switch to the comms but staying in comm contact with Besh was far more important than her curiosity.

On the other hand, Myrryn had already passed off on extended leave for my entire squad, once we get back. I can deal with the extended flight time, even if I was caked in sweat and grime from the insulated flight suit. It was the squad's whining I couldn't deal with.

"This is so boring." Besh-three stated for the eighty-seventh time since I'd started counting. Which had been after ten minutes of him repeating the phrase. "Bored. I'm so bored."

I could feel an eye twitch. "Besh-three, I will blast you if you don't shut up." With a twitch of the controls her computer locked onto his fighter. It was a warning, but she wouldn't lie and say that she wasn't tempted.

"Nah, I'm your favorite." The lock on tone was audible to the entire squadron. As was the laughter of every other pilot except those Besh-Lead and Besh-three. "Not to mention, your boyfriend would hate to deal with the paperwork."

A nervous sensation crept up my spine, "Cut the chatter Three, another non-combat related transmission and your pass is getting revoked." I barked.

"Well, it sounds like I'm going to with the pool." Commander Chakan's voice came over comms, "I knew there was something going on."

"Commander! I heard you were in the med-bay." I barely kept from shouting, heat rising in my cheeks.

"I was. Political reasons demand I'm back on the bridge, and that Myrryn leads the boarding action."

"Isn't he a fleet officer!" Five shouted, even being Huntress' XO, he was popular with the crew. Despite the fact that he was a little anti-social, he was a damn fine officer. Even the embarked members of the Stormtrooper Core respected him, no one knew why, but rumors of a boxing match had cropped up.

"He's a little more than that, but even if he is using outdated blasters, he's more than a match for any rebel troopers." Chakan's voice carried over the comms, even as I had to pull my hand from the comm controls to keep from switching frequencies.

Commander Myrryn

Aboard the MC-80 Twilight

Ruby bolts slammed into the bulkhead, and half melted slag clinked off plastiod armor. "That's an E-WEB alright. It's on its lowest power setting, but we might as well take off our armor." The Sergeant commented, "Its got waist high barricades too."

"Anyone bring concussion grenades?" I had to ask, and all I got were negative responses. "Can't risk a detonator, or the anti-armor round, Cain and Siaya are too close." The E-WEB had hit them, but both were still reading life signs. I wasn't on to make needless sacrifices. "Can't wait for the damn thing to overheat either."

"This is the part someone makes a war cry and just rushes it shooting right?" A shiny private asked. Me and the Sergeant exchanged grins, even if the Sergeant's smile was un-seeable behind his Stormtrooper helmet.

"Thank-you for volunteering." The Sergeant's tone was far too cheery. "You're going to sprint across the hallway."

I slide closer to the edge of the T junction, Mon Cal were smart enough in their designs to make one defendable corridor that lead to the bridge, and a heavy laser cannon emplacement had been added by some even smarter Captain. "Ready for the decoy." I stated as I tucked the aged but far from obsolete DC-17m blaster rifle further into my shoulder.

"You might want to get a running start." A Corporal made a snide remark.

The snarky privet audibly gulped, his helmets vocorder that usually make sounds menacing made it funny instead. "Damn."

"Go." I ordered softly, the Stormtrooper started sprinting. He had indeed backed up and taken a running start, or he was really fast.

The whine of an E-WEB started up, firing so fast that the multiple laser bolts looked like a solid stream of lethal energy. The gunner tracked the private, and I popped out of cover, rifle already aimed.

Bhadew.

A single blue bolt slammed into the Rebel marine aiming the gun, and the whining sound of the E-WEB stopped. The power box monitor rose up, stupidly assuming he could start firing the weapon before someone could switch targets.

Bhadew.

He was so very wrong. "Move up," I barked, "Get that gun manned, I don't want any more security coming up behind us as we get through that door. Someone get Cain and Saiya ready to move."

"Yes sir." The Sergeant acknowledged, "Are we cutting or blasting?"

I eyed the door, "Blasting, it'll take to long to cut. They're probably already physically destroying their computer data, we need to hurry."

"Saiya's lifesigns just went dark." A trooper called out quietly. "Cain just might make it." Anger spread through the team. What people tended to forget was that there were true sentient beings underneath those helmets. Uncaring officers might call Stormtroopers by their numerical designations, but even people born with numbers for names had names. And every sentient being, clone, non-clone, and even some droids had friends. And thus, they were pained by the loss of those friends.

"Stabilize Cain." I ordered, angry, but less angry than the squad. "Check blaster to stun or other non-lethal settings." I called, the tension in my voice audible to everyone. Instead of the normal stun-setting, I changed attachments. The PEP laser attachment sliding on with an internal viciousness.

The Sergeant chuckled darkly when he noticed the switch. "I wish we all had those."

"I know." The half sphere charge on the door connected magnetically with a clunk. The seven second timer on the Variable Breaching Tool (VBT) started clicking down. I joined the breaching formation like I'd done it before, because I had. I wasn't the first to go in, but the second. The PEP whined, fully charged.

"Two…One." There was a subtly deeper click, and the charge exploded, blasting the blastdoor. The reinforced durrasteel bent, warping into a hole big enough for three people, less than half the original doorway. There was a slow rush, and the sound of lethal blaster bolts and stun rounds mixing.

It was almost a complete rout for the bridge crew. Well trained, experienced Stormtroopers vs panicking bridge officers who had never fired a shot in direct combat. A security officer was in the middle of aiming a DH-17 when a blue stun round caught him in the chest. A second security officer, still reaching for her sidearm was caught in the chest by a PEP blast. The girl tumbled, like a bad holo-comedy.

"Wookie!" There was a deafening roar, and a shadow loomed over me. My vison was blocked by a bright flash and a thunderclap dazzled my ears and a wookie lay dazed at my feet. A PEP laser to the face would stop most creatures in their tracks, even an enraged wookie. I shot the warrior a second time. This time I had to blink away afterimages. I need a good helmet.

Thankfully that was the only wookie on the bridge. I shot another Rebel, this one a Mon Cal officer. The officer landed roughly on his (her?) back. PEP lasers were weird, some people were thrown by the projectile, others dropped immediately like they had just died.

Just as suddenly as the one-sided firefight had started, it was over. All the bridge crew were unconscious, or wished they were. "Stuncuffs, now." The Sergeant growled. "Sir, would mind getting ready to PEP the wookie again?"

I trained the rifle on the over two-meter-tall alien. It flinched when the rifle was directed at its face but didn't even move to fight the two stormtroopers tripling its stuncuffs. "Not at all."

A Stormtrooper with a heavy backpack transmitter signaled me with a wave. "Sir, permission to signal Huntress to cease ion barrage. Generator, secondary bridge, engineering, armory, and primary bridge confirmed to be under Imperial control."

"Go ahead, get me an update on the other boarding operation." There was a nod, the Comm Trooper put a hand to his helmet.

"Sir, minor resistance in non-critical areas." The Sergeant reported, "Most high-ranking officers were captured between both bridges, squads requesting to exercise no-quarter?"

I frowned, "One moment," I directed at the Sergeant. "I'm a firm believer in the Alderaan Accords. Tell me how to use the ships PA system to announce the offer of surrender, in five seconds the offer disappears, and I forget about the accords, seal off the sections my troops are in and vent the rest of the ship into space.

It got to four seconds before a Lieutenant waved a pair of cuffed hands. "Wait please! My sister is aboard this ship! I know how to Activate the PA system." Several others shot the older brother scathing looks. Their eyes saying traitor, when most of them would do the same thing in that situation.

"If you're lying to me, you'll live to see the ship vented."

There was an audible gulp, but the man showed me what buttons to push. I pushed the buttons quickly but un-hurried. If I wanted to save lives, both those under my command, and Rebel I had to maintain an image. "This is Commander Cale Myrryn of the Imperial Navy, all strategic locations aboard this vessel have been captured. Surrender now, and you will all be treated fairly under the Alderaan Accords. Any and all resistance will be met with lethal force and extreme prejudice."

"Sir, reports across the ship about Rebels surrendering." The Sergeant reported. Something in his tone seemed…questioning.

"Sergeant," I called, "Brief me on casualties." I walked far enough away from the bridge crew that we could talk. "What's wrong?"

"Sir, would you have really vented the ship?"

There was no hesitation, "Absolutely not. I know there are some fleet officers who would, but I wouldn't. It worked though." I gave him a small grin, "There's a reason Imperial Intelligence didn't keep me."