Star Wars: Star Destroyer Cataclysm - Retribution
By: David Bissig
Edited By: Delante Capers & Austin McComb
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away….
Star Wars
Star Destroyer Cataclysm
RETRIBUTION
It has been twenty-nine years since the battle of ENDOR. Under the guise of the GALACTIC CONCORDIATE, the Civil War between the EMPIRE and REBEL ALLIANCE has settled into deceptive peace.
The NEW REPUBLIC expands unhindered as the forces of the defeated Empire regroup in the UNKNOWN REGIONS under the banner of the ruthless FIRST ORDER, in league with the mysterious KNIGHTS OF REN.
A fragile truce hangs in the balance as the forces of evil conspire to regain their hold on the galaxy and emerge from the vast shadows of the Outer Rim. . . .
Chapter One: The Art of Persuasion
The soft hum of the hyperdrive filled the bridge of the Star Destroyer Cataclysm. It's captain, Malivark Petris, positioned himself forward towards the bridge's frontal viewport as he gazed into the majestic blur of hyperspace.
"Sir, we are less than one minute from hyperspace exit." Said the forward helmsman.
Petris nodded, his arms crossed, his hands gloved. He stood tall in his new perfectly pressed charcoal grey naval officer's uniform. The spinning of hyperspace abruptly ceased as the Cataclysm came rifling back into real space. Before the menacing ship lay the independent and arid world of Dibora VII, along with its orbital trade port, Tunkana Station.
The planet itself was sparsely populated. In total less than a million inhabitants. Its primary usefulness to the galaxy was its abundance of rare salts and small rocky minerals found in the desert wastes, which once served as critical components to many ecological and chemical needs across the sector. Few cities dotted its bare landscape, many of the wealthy and well off were held up in the capital city of Wesigway.
"Have they picked us up on their scanners yet?" Petris said after a brief moment's wait.
"Yes, Sir," responded a helmsman, looking up from the bridges' lower left command pit. "We are on their orbital and planetary sensor nets. They should be reading us loud and clear." Said the helmsman from the lower left pit.
"We are being scanned, Sir." Said another. Petris waited a moment more for the scan to be completed.
"Hmm. Nothing? " Petris grunted as he moved to clasp his hands behind his back. He watched the bridge crew diligently monitoring their stations. "Very well, then."
"Shall we hail the station, Sir?" One of the communication officers asked from his console, somewhere out of Petris' sight. Petris offered no direct reply. His gaze was fixated on the station before them. .
"Helm," he began, as his eyes narrowed, "lock all weapons on Tunkana Station. Prepare all forward batteries and torpedo bays for launch". He mulled over the fate of the station in his mind. "No need to bother raising the shields." He added. The crew obeyed without question, as per usual. "Lieutenant Melbourne!" Petris called over his shoulder.
"Sir!" The eager young officer said as he practically leapt to Petris's side.
"Ready my shuttle. I shall be paying the good Governor a visit, planet side." The Lieutenant nodded, before turning on his heels and quickly exiting the bridge.
"Sir." A helmsman called, "weapons are ready, and we are being hailed by the station on all frequencies."
"Good." He paused again, knowing full well the panic that must have been ensuing aboard the station whilst he waited. "Open fire." Petris smirked and rolled his shoulders. Before him, a marvelous eruption of light burst from the vessel. Streaks of green plasma escaped from countless turbolaser batteries along the Cataclysm's multi-layered rim, and raced towards the station. Following them, small trails of swirling blue energy marked each of the dozens of proton torpedoes launched alongside them.
The old station's shields went up too late. Even if they hadn't, they would not have had a chance against even the aging Imperial-class destroyers, much less against the might of the Cataclysm, one of the first of the Order's new Resurgent-class Star Destroyers. Each impact against Tunkana's rusted hull was accompanied by a blinding flash of light. Explosions rocked its frame, knocking it off its orbit and tearing it apart along its stress points. Many of the docked ships were caught in the crossfire. Those that weren't immediately obliterated were wrenched from their moorings, and drifted off into space. After the initial salvo, the Cataclysm's batteries fell silent.
"The station has been destroyed, Sir. We are receiving numerous distress signals, and we are being hailed from the planet." An officer in the right pit reported as he checked over the various consuls in his area. "What are your orders, Sir?"
"The governor has ships, I am sure they will respond to the distressed vessels in due time." Petris turned to another officer standing on the main deck of the bridge. "Commander Tomasul, the bridge is yours. Expect my return around 23:00 hours." He said as he began to make his way towards the rear of the bridge, walking with a prudent pace. "Inform the planetary governor's office of my arrival."
"Understood, Sir." Commander Tomasul responded.
"Oh, and Commander Tomasul, if any of the governor's vessels approach the ship, you will respond most unkindly." He ordered as he entered the turbolift and faced Tomasul before the doors hissed shut.
….
Petris' white Upsilon-class shuttle approached the landing pad outside of the governor's office, its two large wings folded upwards, perpendicular to the ground, creating a towering figure. Its shadow reached to the door of the office and beyond. On the pad, the governor was waiting for him, as was a contingent of armed security guards.
The first two guards cautiously approached. The shuttle sat on the pad, motionless. Its engines powered down, leaving nothing but the gentle hissing of hydrolysis resetting and the various mechanical components of the craft cooling down.
The door of the shuttle opened, before the guards could react, an explosion went off and stunned both of them. They were gunned down by a squad of stormtroopers that came barreling out of the craft. One team went right, another went left. The squad leader tossed another stun grenade into the air as he rolled off the craft. The new class F helmets protected the troopers from the effects of stun grenades, allowing them to deploy them at will. The remaining stunned security guards stumbled about as they were gunned down. Several of them fell off the high perched landing pad in blind of confusion while others were blasted off into pieces. The squad assumed a security posture as the remainder of the governor's security detail were killed. The entire operation was conducted swiftly and with breakneck efficiency, which left the squad leader face to face with the governor, holding him at gunpoint.
Petris calmly stepped down the ramp, and over the bodies of the first two security guards, as he made his way to the governor.
"Forgive me for the mess!" He bolsted with a slight chuckle. "My men had a lot of new gear they were anxious to try out. You must be governor Jerkis." Petris said removing his gloves and offering his hand out to the governor, who simply stared at Petris with a blank face. Petris retracted his hand.
"Mr. Jerkis, I find myself to be reasonable man, but I warn you not to test my patience." He said as he stepped closer to the governor. With a quick thrust, Petris landed a solid punch into the portly governor's side, directly below the ribs. The governor collapsed and gasped for air.
"You see, I value good manners and respect. It is something we are going to have a little talk about in your office." Petris said as the governor struggled to his feet. "Come, let us walk. We have much to accomplish and so little time to do so." As he gestured with his hands and a smile towards the door way.
The squad of stormtroopers in their new sleek armor accompanied them down the walkway, monitoring the surroundings of the city and office with the heads up displays integrated into their new helmets. Petris left two stormtroopers posted outside as the door closed on the setting sun behind them.
Inside the office, Petris assumed the governor's desk and sat in his chair. He swiped his finger across its table top, accumulating a thin film of dust. The office itself was dusty from corner to corner, poorly lit, and clearly not kept to any sort of standard. Jerkis stood facing Petris, still in shock at what had just transpired, nervously making eye contact with the stormtroopers in the room as he sweated profusely.
"So, tell me governor." Petris said has he reclined in the chair. "Why is it that when a vessel of the First Order enters your system, you hadn't even bothered to hail us?" Petris asked with an irritated tone.
"This here's an independent system, y'all have no jurisdiction here. Attacking our station that's an act of wa-" The governor was cut off as Petris slammed his fist on the table.
"Governor Jerkis! Here is why I think it happened. You have a lack of respect, manners, and intelligence." Petris said as he looked directly into the governor's eyes. "Thankfully for you, they are all fixable." He moved his gaze towards the unkept desk. "You can tell a lot about a man simply by how he keeps his desk." He said rubbing his fingertips together to remove the dust. "So, respect. When one of our vessels enters your system, you hail them. Is that clear?"
The governor only looked on angrily at Petris.
"You can take your ship and your slouch-bag crew and go to hell!" He spat back.
"My good governor, I suggest you change your tone before you lose more than your decrepit space station. Which brings me to my next point, manners. Only when you are spoken to, do you speak, and when one speaks, it ought to be polite and professional." Petris said as he gestured to one of the stormtroopers, who swiftly pounded the butt of their rifle into the governor's back, knocking him to the ground.
"So, let's try this again." Petris said as he sat forward to the see the governor on the floor before the desk. "When another First Order ship enters the system, what are you going to do?"
"Do you really think y'all are going to get away with this? Once the Republic Senate here's of this, you're through. You're violating the treaty of-" The governor was again cut off.
"That meaningless treaty no longer applies here governor. You are now under my jurisdiction. This is the reality you now live in, and I suggest you come to terms with it. Now, I see we are still struggling with the manners lesson a bit? Not to worry, I'm here to teach after all." Petris said with a demented smile as his finger pointed skywards.
Petris leaned back again in the governor's chair and withdrew a small comlink from his jacket pocket.
"Commander Tomasul come in." He requested.
"Sir, Cataclysm standing by." Tomasul responded.
"How are things going up there my friend?" Petris asked with a cheeky tone.
"Uneventful Sir, the governor's ships haven't responded to the damaged vessels, nor have any approached the ship thus far." He answered.
"Good, very good. Commander I need to ask a favor of you." Petris asked.
"Of course Sir."
"I need you to fire two of our BLS-8 torpedoes into target grid Echo Five Delta Three if you please" Petris asked as the governor's eyes opened widely while soaked in a cold sweat.
"Weapons hot, Sir." The commander responded.
Petris lowered his comlink and spun the chair around to face the window behind him. He invited the governor to his side, and pointed towards the outlook on the city. Two small lights darted down from the sky with a crackle and struck a target less than a mile away with great force. The loud explosions rattled the office, sending flames and smoke shooting high into the sky and reduced nearly a dozen buildings to burning rubble.
Petris turned the chair to face the governor.
"I am going to try this one last time governor, or else I am going to level the rest of your pathetic city to the ground. When one of our vessel's enters orbit, what are you going to do?" Asked a testy and perturbed Petris.
"Hail them! We will hail them! Please stop this, we did nothing to you! If its salts you want just take 'em!" The governor pleaded with great panic.
"Good. Progress. I have no interest in your worthless sands governor. Now, discipline. When I give you orders, I expect you to follow them. Your refusal would be most, unwise." he said examining the governor's sweaty, stressed, and troubled face. "I'm sorry but I also must point out that, that thing on your face, that mustache, it's obnoxious and unbecoming of you. Anyway, I digress. I trust that I have made my point clear on discipline Mr. Jerkis?"
The governor shook his head slowly has he grasped his desk from the floor, looking out to the burning section of his city.
"Times governor, they are changing and rapidly. So I suggest you adapt, or you will be overtaken by them." Petris said as he took to his feet. "On this datapad is a list of instructions for you. The planetary and city access codes I need, economic and communications information, and some other small tasks I need to be completed. I understand you're a busy man, so I will give you until the end of tomorrow to accomplish all of this." Petris slid the datapad across the desk.
"I think you understand what will happen if you are late with this, correct?" Petris asked with narrowed eyes as he slowly tapped the desk with his fingers.
The governor nodded as he slowly brought his eyes to bare on the datapad.
"Good, so you have regained your intelligence too. I believe this is the beginning of a beginning of a beautiful friendship after all. We are going to get along just fine governor." Petris said as he patted the governor's back.
"When.. how long are.. were ya going to stay?" The governor asked as he stumbled over his words looking out the window towards the burning buildings.
"As long as it is necessary, the Order has fantastic plans for your world governor, it's the dawn of a new era, and it starts here in this very office. I shall await your transmission, once I have that information we can go from there." Petris said as he readied himself for departure.
"Until next time then, good evening governor." Petris said as he tipped his hat and marched out of the room, his compliment of stormtroopers exited with him.
….
Petris' shuttle gracefully entered the port side hangar of the Cataclysm, the stormtroopers disembarked first, gathering their gear and clearing their weapons. Petris watched over them as they departed, and made his way down the ramp to find Commander Tomasul at its foot.
"I trust the evening went as planned Sir?" The commander asked.
"I believe the planet is ready to serve the First Order's needs and the governor properly readied to play his part in all this. Here is my report, please forward this to General Hux at once, and inform him that the table is set." Petris instructed as he handed over an encrypted datapad to Tomasul.
"Right away, Sir." Tomasul offered a nod and made his way to the turbolift.
Petris remained in the hangar a moment longer, and observed the many craft that now filled it. He watched the many busy workers tend to their duties, the shined deck plating of the hangar floor, the newly stocked landing craft in the new TIE fighter racks, the new weapon systems and armor abound. We are ready, Petris thought to himself. He turned and marched off to his turbolift.