...

#: ARGO :#
(A Star Wars Story)

Report 1
- Retreat -

##########################

Commander's Log, Emergency Record.

The Death Star has been destroyed. The entire Imperial Fleet over Endor is being decimated by the Rebel Fleet. We've lost contact and sighting with the Emperor's Flag Ship. The Rear and Vice Admiral are giving no response. Only 15 Star Destroyers left. Scratch that, 13, the Designation and the Reclaimer are gone. Only the Argo and a handful of Star Destroyer are left. We want to run, but our Captain is too stubborn to face defeat.

##########################

"What are you all waiting for!? Bring forward batteries to bear! I want that Nebulon cruiser dead this instant!"

"Sir! Our entire formation has fallen, we need to retreat and—"

"Shut up Mr. Couver, I am the Captain and we stand and fight! FOR THE EMPIRE!"

Commander Van Couver didn't want this. He didn't save up his money to join the Imperial Academy to become vaporized. He didn't work hard in following one seasoned captain after another to learn the Order of Battle and the Chain of Command when the Empire displayed its might across the galaxy, only to be forgotten in a pitiful battle.

And he most certainly didn't want to die because of how stupid the captain of the ship was. Everyone in the bridge knew, this was the end. The Empire had been destroyed. If the Battle of Yavin was enough to give most of the soldiers and officer a wake up call, the sight of an exploding moon was enough to nail the conclusion into the coffin. Van Couver knew, this fight was no longer about pride or supremacy. It had to be survival now. So, the Commander was torn when he watched the Captain of the Ship yelling orders after orders to have the whole Imperial-II Class Star Destroyer face off against five Rebel starships at once. A myriad of trembling voices filled the bridge with a Blitzkrieg of information.

"C-Captain. R-rear shields have been disabled!"

"Hull damage appearing all over Deck 7, 8, and 9. Hangar bay is on fire."

"Lost contact with TIE Squadron W and G. We don't have enough starfighters left to defend us!"

"Bollocks, I ordered for all turbolasers to focus fire on the Nebulon Cruiser! I don't need to hear garbage squawking like mynoks with their heads lobbed off! Rubbish all of you!"

Van Couver flinched at his Captain's words. Everyone was scared. Their voices shaking, their hands cold, and their eyes blood shot from the adrenaline. Even in a chaotic moment like this, everyone was doing exceptionally well at their stations. That was what the Commander believed in. Yet their 'trusted' Captain didn't see something so small. To him, it was completely insignificant. And it wasn't just because he was glaring at five different Rebel Starships that were marching up to their Star Destroyer.

"C-Captain. Target's engines have been disable. The cruiser is left drifting while the others are protecting it. Should we pull back to—"

"I said Shut Up, Mr. Couver. I wanted that ship destroyed, not crippled. Hammer it with everything we got. Load proton torpedoes in the hatch!"

"Sir! We've already wasted the last volley on the Corellian Corvette and Hammerhead! Our energy levels are running low, our shields are failing, we have to pull out now!"

"We will not abandon his Imperial Majesty! Not in this critical moment! Push on and grasp victory for the Empire!"

"SIR! THE EMPEROR IS DEAD!"

The entire crew was afraid. Being surrounded by multiple starships and feeling their bodies rattled from the recoil of enemy fire, just sitting in their seats made them uncomfortable. The only thing they could do, was just work, work, work, work, work... until their brains were blank and numb. The horror around them is too much...But yet they ended up stopping when they heard the Second-In-Command yell like that. They ended up dropping everything, and forced their eyes to look up. Everyone ended up staring at Commander Van Couver, the one who declared the fate of the Emperor they served. Those words smashed their fears, and filled them with dreaded realization that they have been avoiding all this time.

"O-our Ultimate Battle Station has been destroyed. Th-the Emperor was on that very station along with countless of other Imperial soldiers!"

"...Mr. Couver."

"Th-there is nothing left for us! The Admiral's ship has sunk, the Executor has crashed, a-and everyone in the highest of command have either jumped ship or surrendered to the Rebels!"

"... Mr. Couver, if you please."

"Dying here won't help us, Sir! We have to escape and regroup with the survivors... Or else there won't be any Imperial Ships left to even take revenge against them! With all due respect, why can't you open your eyes and—"

Something cold touched Van Couver's eye. He was tense while he was saying those words, so it made it easier to express his true feelings by closing them shut. At least, he didn't have to stare at his stubborn captain's face to tell him the face-value-truth. At the same time, it left the Commander vulnerable to any surprises. A bad mistake.

"...S...Sir, wh-what are you doing?"

"I told you to shut up, did I not, Mr. Couver?"

The barrel of a hand blaster was poking into Van Couver's one eye. It was cold, so it stuck his eye lid as if branding him like a Vesperian Cowbull. At first, his brain couldn't understand. A heartbeat after... or rather, realizing he missed a heartbeat, the situation became clear.

"Commander Van Couver. You are hereby under charged for dereliction of duty, failure to fulfill your sworn duty as an officer of the navy, death threats to our grand Emperor, and ultimately treason to our entire Galactic Order. Your sentence is clear: immediate execution. May the Emperor have mercy on your soul."

"S-SITHSPIT!"

Van Couver knew what a soldier meant, especially to the Galactic Empire. He had sworn an oath where he was willing to sacrifice his life in order to preserve, protect, and advance the will of the Empire and the Imperial Navy. He had no qualm if this was the battlefield... But this conclusion is not what he truly wanted.

"KRIFF YOU!"

In the last minute, the young man's body reacted on its own. It threw down his cold hand to his hip and drew up his last defensive resort. His own Blaster Pistol. In this dire situation, he was willing to forget all of the starfleet regulations, and just turn his fangs on those he served... It was unfortunate that the Captain already had a head start.

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*

What went off first, was neither the Captain nor the Commander's pistol firing at point blank range.

It was certain crippled Nebulon Cruiser smashing into the side of Star Destroyer Argo.