A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...
Star
Wars - Fear the UnknownIt
has been fifteen years since The Empire is at its peak Thought of resistance and rebellion Other dangers threaten the
the ending of the Clone Wars
and
the rise of the Empire
with
almost all of the known
galaxy unified under the Emperor
His
Star Destroyers are keeping
watch and control over the
population
have long
since fled the minds of
the subdued populace
yet something
festers in secret
that might mean the end
of the Empire from
within
forced peace as well
as
a ferocious enemy from beyond
from deep within the unknown
has
set its sight on total
dominance...
The endless space around the Bakuran Star system was devoid of any signs of life. The blackness of the void was enhanced by the twinkling on bright little stars and the bright white fog that formed the galactic core. The blue green planet near the center of this star system did show many signs of life and activity. There was a never ending communing from planetside to the two small moons around the relatively recently colonised world.
Small mining craft flew to the surface of the two small moons, and spent hours mining the valuable ore, which was wanted galaxy wide for the development of advanced weapon technology. Naturally, the Empire had taken monopoly on the acquiring of these metals, yet smugglers managed to roam of a part of the production for the black market.
Another near constant stream of traffic was moving from the planet's capital Salis D'aar, passing the Imperial space station and moving towards the standard hyperspace exit from the system and back. These ships mainly were trading vessels, transporting the ore to different Imperial industrial areas, and also vessels exporting Bakura's most famous industrial product, the Repulsor coils.
The Imperial space station was an intimidating sight, the sleek almost silvery construct dwarfing even the largest cargo ships, and its turbo laser batteries powerful enough to withhold against an Imperial Star Destroyer, as of yet the most powerful battleship in the Known Galaxy.
Smaller vessels, like Lancer and Nebulon frigates were patrolling the system, looking out for smugglers, raiders and insurgents. Bakura had been newly acquired by the Empire, and its population was quite rebellious, yet hadn't acted out to openly, due to the overwhelming Imperial presence, as well as the two Star Destroyers appearing every few days.
The Emperor was a master in intimidation, a fact proven by the sheer terror invoked by the massive white Star Destroyers, the whine of the TIE-fighters and the endless legions of Stormtroopers. His enormous military apparatus, headed by Darth Vader and a dozen Grand Admirals was used expertly to dominate the Galaxy, and safeguarding the unity of the new Empire.
The peace of the remote star system didn't endure much past the Fifteenth Empire Day…
The blackness of space was torn apart by the appearance of numerous holes in the vacuum… holes that radiated the blueish green mixture of light that was only visible while travelling through hyperspace. Alarms blared over the planet and through the Fleet, resulting in every Imperial reporting to his station, and every citizen looking for a place to hide…
All ships in space almost froze, as if all captains, all crew, were observing the lightshow in awe, while the nearest Frigate was assigned to investigate these space anomalies closer. Frantic messages were sent over the Holonet, asking the Nearest Imperial command for support and information…
Then, as the odd-looking Nebulon Frigate approached the nearest anomaly, an immense shape exited, stunning the crew and every observing person in fear. The first appearance was followed by many more, as a near steady stream of huge vessels of unknown design exited out of all the anomalies, forming a screen of the strange looking ships, which slowly started to encircle the planet.
The Imperial commander, Brigade Colonel Denver didn't know what to do, as he had no combat experience and was almost frozen in fear, as it became obvious these… visitors didn't have the friendliest intentions. The approaching vessels looked like a golden pyramid, of which the base was encircled by an enormous superstructure of black-grey metal. The enormous gun emplacents on the superstructure looked threatening enough, as they dwarfed the strongest turbolasers of even the Imperial Fleet.
Then, an even larger anomaly appeared, right in the middle of the approaching fleet. Out of it, a truly massive space-ship, almost a floating city in terms of size, exited, the massive golden pyramid at its center dwarfing the other vessels, not to mention the wide stretched greyish metal superstructure, dotted by impressive amounts of gun emplacements.
The massive ship came to a halt, in orbit around Bakura, the hundreds of other vessels forming a swarm around it. Every screen connected to the holonet or any other communications network crackled to life, displaying the ageless face of a handsome man with tanned skin and dark eyes.
His expression was emotionless, yet the dark eyes burned with an intensity, speaking of cruelty, insanity and an uncaring for those around him. Everyone gazing at the screens, all over the planet and aboard every ship, felt shivers running down their spines…
Suddenly, the eyes of the ageless man glowed a golden white, as he spoke with a strongly distorted and frightening voice, "I am Ra, your God! Now kneel for me and I shall spare your sorrowful lives. Refuse to kneel to your God and you shall die!"
The Imperials, conditioned to remain loyal to the Empire to the last, didn't have to think long, as the Brigade Colonel summed it up in his answer, "We only serve our Emperor, All Hail the Empire!" With that, he sent of the commands to engage the enemy, just as the few messages he had received from Imperial Command ordered him to, stalling the enemy till help would arrive.
As the connection was terminated after these insolents refusal to bow for their God, Ra stood on the bridge of his Mothership, gazing in delight as the battle started. With a sneer on his face, he watched as his Ha'tak battleships opened fire on the approaching heretics' vessels.
The ships identified as Lancers by the database he had captured years ago, opened fire with their multitude of turbolaser batteries, creating a hail storm of small green bolts, heading towards the Goa'uld Fleet, yet splashing harmlessly against the reddish golden energy the flared up as cocoons around the Ha'tak vessels when hit by enemy fire.
The strangely shaped Nebulon frigates opened fire with their fewer, but stronger turbo-lasers, assign more green bolts to the storm of energy, splashing almost equally harmlessly against the strong shields. The storm of green energy was followed by clouds of the small eye-shaped Imperial starfighters.
With a nod to his First Prime, the commander of his Jaffa, his mothership opened fire, while launching its own numerous starfighters, known as Death Gliders. The black coloured, half moon shaped fighters exited the hanger bays at the base of the pyramids at full speed. The action was copied by the hundreds of Ha'Tak vessels surrounding the immense Mothership of their God and Master. The few hundred TIE-fighters were quickly outnumbered by the thousands of the equally fast, agile and powerful Death Gliders.
The golden plasma bolts shot by the Death Gliders diminished the TIE-fighter force quickly, while the massive plasma guns of the Ha'tak opened fire on the Imperial ships. While the guns fired slower than their Imperial equivalent, they outranked them in damage. They were the perfect weapon against large opponents, while Death Gliders could deal with all the smaller opponents. Ha'Tak did not have point defence systems, so were quite vulnerable to small and fast opponents… providing those opponents had the firepower to damage the shield.
The battle quickly turned against the Empire, as the few dozen frigates and other craft, supported by the space station, were quickly blown to pieces. A few shots from Ra's Mothership obliterated the space station effectively, while the Death Gliders, after dealing with the TIE-fighters, targeted the near defenceless transport vessels, destroying them completely.
Satisfied with the battle, Ra oversaw the reports from his Jaffa commanders and his Goa'uld vassals. Damage had been minimal, with only some weakened shields and a few dozen destroyed Death Gliders. Perfect…
Just as he ordered the Death Gliders, followed by a wave of landing transports, filled with troops, to either subdue or extinct the populace, sensors aboard the bridge started blaring, alerting the Goa'uld to the approach of several large hyperspace signatures.
Gaida Savanis, a Bakuran reporter for the Bakuran News Agency, watched in fear and awe, pointing his holocam upwards, as the thousands of black, half-moon shaped ships, with a cockpit in the center, screamed over the Capital city, while loudspeakers obviously attached to the hull shouted out, "Bow or Die! Ra is our God!"
At the edges of the city, a variety of landing vessels unleashed battalion upon battalion of of strangely dressed troops. They were covered from head to toe in heavy metal armour, almost resembling the most ancient version of the Mandalorian armour in appearance. Only their faces were visible, revealing emotionless expressions, accentuated by powerful jaw and cheek bones, and a black inked tattoo in the middle of their forehead, depicting a symbolic kind of eye…
They were all carrying some kind of staff, made of metal as well, with on one hand a wicked looking blade, like a the tip of a vibro spear, while the other end was a blunt oval shaped, slender ball of metal. It didn't seem as such a threatening weapon towards the Imperial stormtroopers…
The Jaffa, as these
warriors were called, exited the ships in orderly fashion, converging
to the First Prime of Ra, Ragnok, whom was the tallest and most
powerful build of all Jaffa in Ra's service. The Jaffa all were
imposing in stature, their length averaging around two meters, their
bodies, even covered by the heavy armour, showed signs of being buff
with muscles, as did their broad shoulders. Ragnok was impressive,
even for a Jaffa, and where the others had just a black tattoo of
Ra's Eye, his was first carved in his skin, after which the cut was
filled with molten gold. It was a painful process, but the highest
honour a Jaffa could ever reach.
They were lining up on their
standard formation, a huge, square unit, a moving body of orderly
metal-covered soldiers, all trained to be lethal with their deadly
weapon. They were trained from a young age, and once they received
their first prim'ta, the Goa'uld larvae, at age sixteen, they
were sent into battle. And battles were common as rain, with the ever
feuding Gods over territories, slaves and resources.
Even though Jaffa lived twice as long as normal humans, thanks to the regenerative capabilities granted by their prim'ta, only the best of the best actually lived a long life, gaining the rank of Jaffa Master at age 100. Ragnok was getting there, never having met an opponent that could kill him, at age 90.
Opposed to the Jaffa troops, Imperial stormtroopers, and every citizen that had a weapon and dared to fight was taking positions to defend the city. Ragnok snorted in amusement at their folly. These heretics thought they could withstand the might of their God… the fools. Those who would not bow, would be dead by nightfall.
At his signal, the Jaffa started marching, holding the blunt edge of their staffs pointed forward, as they all activated their helmets. With a small hum, helmets in the shape of an eagle head, one of Ra's totems, formed over their heads, the optic eyes glowing electrical blue. Like this, fully covered in the darkish grey, gleaming metal, they looked intimidating, and were invulnerable to many weapons.
With a slew of clicks followed by a crackle of yellow electricity, the blunt tops of the staff weapons split in for, revealing the barrel of the plasma guns hidden in the Staffs. The stormtroopers opened fire, their light blaster fire ricocheting of the armour worn by the Jaffa, making the invading warriors seem like an invincible, unstoppable force. They entered the cities, and started returning fire.
The golden globes of plasma screamed forward, hitting the stormtroopers, the buildings and the different vehicles. The white stormtrooper armour couldn't withstand the firepower and was blasted apart… the advancing Jaffa left behind a trail of bodies, all with a huge burning hole in their chest, or with limbs blown off… as well as burning buildings and cratered streets…
When they were through the first lines of defence and reached the areas where most people were hiding, they deactivated their staff weapons, turning them around to point forward the bladed tip. They entered buildings, looking for people, asking them to bow for their God. Those who did, valuing life too much, were driven outside, forced to kneel and wait in the middle of the streets and squares of the city, while the others were stabbed with the blade, and carried outside that way, dying slowly, in pain, as an example to others.
Many people died that day, yet many more gave in, choosing a life of slavery above dying. All of Ra's new subjects were gathered and guarded by Jaffa, while a few of Ra's Goa'uld vassals moved around the crowd, assigning duties, whether to mine, to farm or to start working in factories, dedicated to making more weapons and ships for Ra's armada.
At the same time, more Jaffa moved through the city, pillaging and destroying all technology, while a few of Ra's scientists downloaded, or just took databases to add to the Goa'uld knowledge. When the night fell, the first stronghold of the Goa'uld in this part of the galaxy had been established, with a newly enslaved populace, rich in resources, and the former repulsor factories were modified to produce complete Death Gliders, which were constructed around a powerful repulsor lift engine.
While the Jaffa were taking over the planet, the Imperial Sector Fleet arrived, 24 Imperial class Star Destroyers strong, accompanied by a small fleet of Lancer and Nebulon Frigates, a few Star Galleon Cruisers and a dozen Corellian Corvettes. Upon arrival, they immediately formed into a standard Imperial formation, the Star destroyers in a wide wig, flanked by the smaller vessels, as they all launched squadron upon squadron of TIE-fighters, while powering up shields and Turbo-lasers.
Admiral Erctor, a Coruscant native, standing tall in his grey officer's uniform, the blue and red imperial insignae and decoration on his chest and stomach gleaming in the artificial white light of the bridge, observed the situation. His flagship, the ISD Dauntless, formed the tip of the wig formation and was only forgone by the TIE-fighters in a huge scatter formation.
The reports had been erratic, incomplete and cut short, the last mentions being about alien warships. He had expected some small cruisers at most, older ships used by raiders, whom would be interested in the rich space trade on Bakura. Definitely not this, as he gazed at the almost a thousand ship strong fleet of vessels that almost equalled star destroyers in size…
And yet more of these ships were arriving through the reported space anomalies, that looked like giant holes into hyperspace. Most of the ships that arrived now were smaller though, and were probably transports of some sort, bringing more troops and carrying supplies and fuel.
He immediately ordered to send an alert to every Imperial Command Center and started transmitting holo-images and sensor readings. His fleet was outnumbered, true, but no ship was stronger than an Imperial class Star Destroyer, and a full sector fleet was as good as invincible, even in Galactic terms. He was itching for battle, the last true one he participated in being at the end of the Clone wars, as captain of a small Republic frigate.
The officers on the bridge were all nervous though, most of them never having seen any real combat, and now they were confronted with an invasion fleet, apparently out of the Unknown Regions, as Bakura was at the border between Empire and the Unknown, one that had obliterated a planet's full garrison fleet and the Class One Orbital Defence Space Station.
The Imperial Fleet was approaching the enemy invasion fleet, a large swarm of the eye-catching pyramid shaped battleships, who in turn formed a defensive formation, obviously powering their own weaponry. Then, the sensors registered, just before the bridge crews got a visual of the massive mothership, a golden pyramid the size of a star destroyer on an enormous black-grey superstructure, that looked like a geometrical sun from above.
The silence aboard the Imperial ships was tangible now, only broken by the sound of nervously gulping deck officers and gun crews… Then, all hell broke loose, as the thousands of TIE fighters engaged the approaching horde of even more Death Gliders, space lighting up with green laser bolts, gold plasma blobs and the short lived fiery explosions o obliterated starfighters.
More wings of Death Gliders broke through the battle in between the two fleets and did combat runs on the Imperial capital ships, who defended themselves with their lighter point defence laser turrets. Especially the light quad turbo-lasers of the Lancer Frigates unleashed a deathly barrage on the Goa'uld fighters.
Just as the Imperials started getting hope and more courage, as the TIE-fighter pilots seemed to gain the upper hand and the Death Gliders were causing little actual damage, while losing many of their numbers to imperial fire, the Ha'Tak vessels opened fire, all at once. The Golden globs of plasma energy shredded through the TIE-fighters, even obliterating their own fighters, before trouncing the Imperial ships.
Many of the officers, as well as the admiral, panicked, and tried to turn the least vulnerable side towards the stream of enemy fire, powering up their front shields even more, yet keeping their fleet gathered and almost unmoving. The Goa'uld assault was relentless, as the plasma energy quickly tore apart anything smaller than a Star Destroyer. Then, the shields of these large vessels started failing as well, powerful as they were, they were no match to the overwhelming numbers ad firepower aimed at them. The fire returned at the Ha'tak was useless, as most were intercepted either by suicidal Death Gliders, missed, exploded against the storm of plasma shots… and the few that got through all that seemed to splash harmlessly against their shields…
Less than an hour after the battle started, all that remained of the mighty Imperial Sector Fleet was a cloud of debris and floating half burned dead bodies… This time, the Goa'uld had taken some losses, but only inconsequential ones in their eyes… a few hundreds of Death Gliders and their pilots, which was less than nothing. By tomorrow, everything lost would be replaced already…
One of Ra's lowest ranking vassals, Imhotep, was left behind as governor, monitoring the planet with his small fleet of thirty Ha'tak, and an army of Jaffa, two hundred thousand strong, an intimidating and effective force for the lowly populated planet. They would enforce Ra's rule and make sure the population would reach the monthly tax quota in food, ore and production…
As the majority of Ra's fleet was gathering in smaller groups, each about a hundred Ha'tak strong, each commanded by one of his higher vassals, Ra's mothership was surrounded by the majority of his personal fleet, overseeing the proceedings, and the establishment of his first base.
Each of his higher vassals,
supported by their vassals would take their fleet and conquer their
assigned planets in this part of the sector, all establishing their
own bases and dominions, subjected to his. The other parts of the
Sector were equally divided between the twelve System Lords, those
almost as strong as Ra himself, and their vassals. This Sector, being
closest to their original dominion would be the first step into
bringing these heretics under their rule…
Ra's personal fleet
was the largest, as he was the Supreme System Lord, presiding over
the twelve regular System Lords, his traitorous brother Apophis, his
eternal foes, the cruel Sokar and the devastating Anubis, his cousin
Kronos, his sister Isis, his uncle Yu, Isis' son Osiris, the
alluring Hathor, the strong and cunning Ba'al, the sly and
secretive Nir'ti, the bloodthirsty Quetzalcoatl and the hedonistic
Braman.
Their fleets were all about equal to each other, the main reason for their never ending wars, and they couldn't see eye to eye long enough for two or more System Lords to unite and destroy another one… A fact which insured Ra would always remain the strongest. He had hoped to see his son Heru'ur as a System Lord, as his fleet was almost up to par, but the boy was foolish and would never amount to anything in his rashness and inability to think.
That is why he had left Heru'ur behind, under orders to take back Tau'Ra and decimate those annoying Tau'Ri. Should he succeed, he would think about replacing one of his more dangerous System Lords with his son. Maybe the insane Anubis… yet he would prove a useful ally in destroying these heretics.
For now, he had united the System Lords in a shaky alliance, to fight this mutual enemy. He had kept some secrets, though, ones that would give him the ultimate advantage over the others. He needed the wariness and paranoia created by Anubis presence, as well as the distrust created by all of them in each other, to cover his tracks when he would seek and gain this Empire's hidden cloning technology… then he would overwhelm everyone with his Jaffa and instead of being Supreme System Lord, he'd finally be ruler of all…
The Sector bordering on the Unknown Regions, at the far side of galaxy from Coruscant's point of view, was completely taken over by the first unified Goa'uld invasion fleet in history, completely overrunning the Imperial defences. The relatively few people living there were all enslaved, or killed, their planets brought to a pre-space-flight level of technology… And the Goa'uld were installing defensive networks, placing garrisons and gathering their fleets in different groups.
Now that they had established a fortified point of entry into the Known Galaxy, it was every System Lord for himself, on the condition they wouldn't attack each other…
With that, the first hyperspace windows opened, and the many fleets, each at least a hundred Ha'tak strong, if not stronger, followed by many transports full of Jaffa, left the first conquered sector, all eager to bring more glory to their God…