Author's Note: June 13, So, first off, hey, sorry for my last absence, but high school was just really a large pain near the end, what with tests, projects, essays, a breakup... drum line competitions, all that good stuff... Its been hard...but that's why this site's here right? Fanfiction is a place where we writers, everyday, run-of-the-mill average people can just unwind with a good story of your own make, or one from this vast and talented community. This is where we can simply relax and witness just what the creative minds of this world are capable of in the form of free-writing. Anyway, I'm not one for long, philosophical speeches about life and its mysteries (The map is not the territory people (0-0) you have been warned), but I'm here to provide you with quality entertainment from my head, to this website... which I feel I have not been able to do.
Looking back ,I've noticed and cringed at all the glaring mistakes and cliches I seemingly let slip by and I'd honestly wanted a fresh start with this thing for awhile. Somewhere around chapter 5 or 6, you could notice a large change in my writing style...because those chapters literally came years apart. This whole story is being redone from the ground up, but don't worry, I'm keeping the old chapters up until I post the second revised chapter, meaning that possibly for the next two weeks the old H:IC will be up and readable for those who enjoyed...that...But anyways, here's the new beginning for the new take I've got on my old story concept, and once again, I am eternally sorry for wasting all this time, but now I believe that the quality of my work could hopefully outbalance the atrocious time between my updates.
September 6, Yes, this is a restart of the story, for those of you who were confused by my previous posting of this, i have deleted the old, outdated chapters, and am starting with this one instead. Grammar has been fixed, spelling, apostrophes, etc...no not a new chapter but I'm getting to it.
I thank you all again for holding out with me, and staying with me as I've struggled to get this hunka-junk moving again, but before I go...
I'd just like to raise awareness for the tragedy that occurred in Orlando, horrified that such events can occur so close to home :( for those of you wondering, I live in West Palm, not Orlando, and am currently in Vegas, but I'd like those who're reading this to pray for the families afflicted, may they find peace in this chaotic world, and may the solution to all this conflict come without unnecessary consequence to the innocents out there. God Bless.
Now...without further ado...
Exodus
Wild Space
17 BBY
The eerie darkness of space was illuminated by the twinkle of stars light years apart, creating a stellar, haunting backdrop that served as a chilling reminder of the vast emptiness that permeated the confines of the universe.
But this darkness was disrupted violently as a large starship screamed across a certain area of a particular galaxy, its 3 large engines blazing blue as its predominantly red hull blazed away in its own fashion. The hull flared as several turret emplacements fired away, sapphire bolts howling towards unseen attackers, as ruby red bolts answered back, splashing and burning away at the armor of the cruiser.
As more bolts ate away at the injured ship, an explosion threw the ship portside, a large canister like attachment having been compromised, spilling its contents explosively into the maw of space.
"We've just lost canister 4! Hull breaches along decks 3 and 5, the Rhydonium is leaking in!"
"Secondary sensory array has been knocked out. Firing acquisition is suffering!"
"The shield generators are taxed, they can't recharge! Hull integrity dropping to 70 percent!"
More and more reports of their dwindling situation reached the captain's ears, his battle-hardened ears picking out the crucial information needed to assess their current predicament. Tightening his grip on his helmet held to his side, he turned his attention towards the uniformed figure upon the command chair. "Admiral, with all due respect, if we don't get out of here now, there's no guaranteeing the safety of our cargo."
Amber eyes focused on the grey-blue patterned armor of the captain before him, its surface adorned with decorative marks as well as various scores of battle damage. "I am well aware of the situation at hand captain, and I assure you that we have a plan, but you must trust this ship to make it there."
"But we've already lost 10 percent of the Rhydonium! Sir, we need to get these contain-"
"I said, you must trust the ship, captain." With that, the veteran admiral turned towards his console as a particular notification reached his eyes.
In agitation, the captain returned his attention towards the nearest console, this one being the port targeting computers. The display frizzled and the symbols displayed flickered spontaneously, but the console remained in working condition as the ensign manning the station focused on aligning the targeting reticles with their pursuers.
A pair of explosions rocked the ship to and fro, knocking the ensigns sights off just before the turbolasers discharged, their shots missing the angular hulls of their attackers, who capitalized on the cruiser's mistake by filling the void with more fire.
"Fierfek! Admiral! Any day now."
Glancing at the captain from the corner of his eye, the admiral pressed a single button on his console, before uttering the single word, "Launch."
Upon the front of the ship, 2 panels opened up, as the contents of the storage bays were launched outwards via high-pressure delivery systems, an effective short-range silent delivery system. The engines of the cruiser kicked it up a notch as they increased their output, easily overtaking the medium sized spherical canisters they had deployed, their surfaces lined with various spines and spike-like protrusions. The objects drifted away, micro-ion thrusters ensuring they deployed into a net-like formation, creating a veritable yet unseen barrier between the rapidly departing cruiser and the 9 pursuing ships licking its proverbial contrails, barely a few thousand kilometers away.
"I need engines on full-burn but hold for cut-off. Helm, prepare defensive maneuver Over-Alpha."
"Aye sir, prepping maneuver thrusters, engines on full-burn."
The small cruiser's large sub-light engines suddenly intensified, the modified hybrid ion thrusters working hard to achieve maximum thrust without risking a compromise in the propulsion systems. Various ports along the aft of the vessel popped open, smaller XV-18 maneuvering thrusters adjusting for the task ahead.
"Admiral…"
"Oh would you just wait captain," the irritated strategist brought up a holodisplay of the ship's weapons systems. "Send word to engineering, tell them to prep the tertiary shield arrays to overclock at my mark, focus power on the bow."
"Affirmative admiral."
"Admiral Yularen, sir, I'm not doubting your plan, but I am doubting your sanity."
"Good, never live life without a healthy amount of doubt, it's what's kept us alive isn't it captain?" The admiral's ease didn't help to lift the Clone War veteran's anxiety; his trained eyes already spotting the sleek grey hulls of their enemy as they entered visual range.
"Weapons, prepare to fire on my mark, widen and scatter the turbolaser beams, reduce their power, and divert excess power to shields from all auxiliary systems. All crew, prepare to brace. "
The batteries aboard the ship, having quieted and cooled for the last minute or so soon began to focus on their targets, their Tibanna gas energizer arrays warming up as they prepared to light up the void once again. The 10 modified medium starship batteries swiveled and centered themselves to face the space in front of the cruiser, the focusing crystals in charge of concentrating the beams into thin beams of death and energy splitting to form arrays of four within the double-barreled turrets. Not too far behind the light cruiser, a scant few thousands of kilometers away, 6 frigate and 2 cruiser tonnage ships roared forwards, all while a very large capital ship analogue trailed behind them, numerous hanger bays spitting out fighter and bomber wings to engage the fleeing cruiser, slowly but surely closing in on the wounded starship.
As they closed the distance between themselves and their prey, the good admiral kept his eyes split on his ships position, and a spot of space between themselves and the enemy, seemingly waiting for the enemy to finally catch them.
"Any day now sir!"
"Oh shove it out the airlock captain!"
The red cruiser sped along in all its wounded glory, tired and obviously hurting from its pursuit but proud nonetheless. A multitude of pockmarks and burns adorned its surface, a large majority of its hull remaining intact despite the obvious signs of prolonged battle damage present across its expanse. Various smaller turret emplacements were slagged, fires and smoke leaked from the unsealed holes and breaches that spanned entire decks. Right on its starboard side, amidship was a large white symbol, easily recognizable as the symbol of the old Republic, a large scratch like mark marring the otherwise still pristine white paint. This along with the scarlet red paintjob of the cruiser gave it an air of defiance, an air that dared to stand out.
An air of rebellion.
And as the ship steadily lost ground, its pursuers closed in, sharpening their claws for the kill.
"Come on, just a little bit closer," drawled out the admiral, his eye focused on the designated critical point upon the map, watching as the 9 red blips of the enemy came ever closer. "All-crew, brace for Over-Alpha!"
"Aye sir, Over-Alpha heard!"
-(0-0)-
"Target is losing ground at just over 4,000 kilometers away and closing sir, optimum engagement range in t-minus 1 minute."
"Bomber wings are checking in, requesting permission to move ahead of the formation sir, preemptive strike; how copy?"
The order was relayed to the man upon the command throne, raised on a tall dias overlooking the majority of the bridge floor. The pristine midnight black of the man's officer uniform reflected no light as the cloth from which it was made of seemed to suck in the light around it, creating an aura of darkness around him. "Tell the bombers to hold for now, I want to end the lives of the miserable rabble myself. Let it be known, The Indomitable shall take today's kill."
Quickly turning away, the young ensign shot off a quick "Yes sir," before he hurriedly tried to escape the gaze of the Vice-Admiral commanding the small fleet, his sinister smile and dark aura immediately setting off warning bells that perhaps the man was a few consoles short of a command bridge in the sanity department.
"Admiral, sir, fighter escorts are picking up strange readings on their sensors."
"Fighters are reporting these readings across the entire board sir, looks like clusters of spherical canisters are giving off minor emissions reminiscent of electro-magnetic radiation."
Raising an eyebrow, Vice-Admiral Tav'chek simply raised his hand, palm up, to bring projections of these devices on his own holodisplay. He barely even gave them a parting glance.
"The signals are far too weak to interfere with our instruments, tell them to disregard and push on. Have our Enforcers move ahead and draw our Carrack's behind their line, I want our heavy firepower present to greet these upstarts." Having given the order, Tav'check slowly sank back into his seat, his smile returning as he imagined the faces on his soon to be victims.
"Affirmative sir, relaying the orders."
The Imperial fleet began reorganizing themselves, the cruiser-sized ships pushing ahead of their smaller brethren as they brought their much larger armament to bear upon the defiant red ship before them.
"Passing the 3,000 kilometer mark sir, our fighter screen has just cleared those strange canisters, enforcers are about to make contact wit-"
"Energy spike from hostile 1 sir, high intensity maneuvering thrusters just deployed. Enemy's flipped on her axis."
"Admiral! Weapons discharge from the renegade cruiser! Wide-beam, low intensity but multiple shots from each barrel, almost like a scatter-gun!"
The admiral actually laughed. "What's a few turbolasers going to do against the armored might of our Enforcers?"
"Admiral, you misunderstand, they didn't fire at our ships!"
…What?
"Turbolaser bolt impact against those strange canisters imminent!"
Intrigued, but still remaining indifferent, the Admiral focused his attention on the incoming weapons fire. "Just what are they doing?"
No sooner had he said that, did the laser bolts impact against the red cruiser's cargo, and suddenly Vice-Admiral Teme Tav'check found himself staring down a veritable wave of electricity engulfing his entire fleet. The canisters, housing several thousand experimental space-based electrical AOE Disruptor Charges, detonated with a visible wave of electromagnetic radiation now screaming towards his ships.
"What in the hell!" The Admiral found himself thrown forward as the wave impacted, acting as a large fleet-wide electro-magnetic pulse, overloading a large portion of the fleet's power dependent systems.
Including his Star Destroyer's engine block, weapons systems, defensive mechanisms, and communications array.
Now sporting a bloody nose and a gash above his left eye, Tav'chek hauled himself up to view the chaos before him. The entire bridge sported injuries similar to his as they found the ship's acceleration drastically reduced due to the fluctuations that plagued the engines before they violently exploded, sending the large mass of the Imperial warship careening forward and pitched downwards.
Taking a quick glance outwards through the viewport windows, he took note that the entire fleet seemed to suffer the same fate.
With a detached sense of fascination, he watched as the unshielded hull of one of the smaller Carrack class frigates plowed into the unarmored rear of the Enforcer in front of it, effectively rendering the cruiser combat ineffective and the frigate a decorative rear ornament.
Livid was definitely a word to describe the Admiral, and outright furious was the next step as the culprit of the crime, that thrice-damned cruiser, turned around and soon jumped away, activating its hyper-drive as the ship became all but a scarlet blur, seemingly stretching itself forwards further into wild space and away from charted territory.
"Somebody get those damn communications back online now! Or so help me you'll pray for the Emperor's mercy…" The Admiral pulled himself up to his full height of 5' 11" and stalked out of the bridge towards his own personal cabin, intent on salvaging as much of the situation as he could by starting the mission report as soon as possible.
'Those damned upstarts and that damned ship and its damned weaponry…' His dark mumblings soon gave way to incomprehensible ramblings as he pried his private cabins doors open, the power having not been restored enough to fully reactivate such functions like the door operating systems. Brushing aside the clutter on his desk, the Admiral was relieved to find his personal holobook functional, if a bit slow running. Activating it, he quickly scrolled through the various files on it, before finding and selecting a specific file, a mission file, designated 'Renegade.' Opening the file, Tav'check was greeted by the picture of a heavily modified Consular class frigate, its new dimensions and armament easily reclassifying the ship as a heavy cruiser class assault ship. The most defining features of it were its 3 oversized engines, multitudinous heavy turbolaser turret refits, and its scarlet paintjob, unmistakable to anyone who had set eyes upon the ship. Right on the starboard side of the ship, was a large glaring white symbol of the now defunct Republic, a large slash having been drawn through the once proud symbol of peace, representing their allegiance, or lack thereof, to the new order.
It was the same ship that had caused the deaths of thousands and stranded an entire pursuit fleet dead in the middle of wild space…
"Rrrraaaaggghhhh!" a holopad was violently introduced to the wall.
-(0-0)-
"See? Everything was under control." Admiral Yularen's ease was completely out of place in the bridge, with nearly every other person within the confines of the room practically slumped over their consoles and chairs, drenched in sweat and just celebrating the fact that somehow, with the graces of the force itself, they had managed to escape by the paint of their ship.
Which was slowly burning away from the fires still present along the hull.
The armored fist of the captain reluctantly released its hold on the guard rails behind the weapons operator, the young ensign visibly shaken from the near death shave, and the visible imprint of the captains hands on the admittedly weak but still sturdy steel hand rails behind him.
A relieved and miffed sigh escaped from the aged captain, taking a moment to recollect himself. "Even after all these years working with you, respectfully, I must say that I still think you're insane for the stunts you pull admiral."
A well kept eyebrow found itself raised as the Admiral turned his attention from the status updates regarding the ship to the man who had been praised and decorated throughout his entire career. "That's quite odd coming from you captain, especially considering the plans you've designed and carried out yourself," his attention tuning back into the reports regarding the ship, "you and master Skywalker."
With his attention focused solely on the task at hand, Yularen failed to notice the faint twitch in the captain's eye, the closest thing to a flinch he would get from the grizzled veteran.
"…" Silence reigned for a few terse moments, seemingly unnoticed by the Admiral, until the armored figure turned to leave. "I'll go check up on the men, assess our casualties first-hand, by your leave admiral."
"Yes yes, go on, I expect a full report in 2 hours upon completion of your inspection captain."
"Of course sir, CT-7567 out."
Only after the bridge doors had closed did the Admiral glance at them from the corners of his eyes. 'Captain …when will you learn to let go…'
"Alright, I want a full sit-rep of our current condition, as well as full updates on our crew and cargo"
"We've suffered various hull breaches but the decks have been locked down and vented to prevent the spread of fire. Numerous casualties as well as several unaccounted men, most likely spaced if not vaporized sir."
"Sir, canisters 1-3 and 5-10 are coming in all clear, we have 87 percent of the Rhydonium intact and stable."
"Extra munitions are reporting in shaken up, but otherwise intact."
"Good, good, what of our, 'special delivery'?"
"Sir, cryogenics reporting in, gene seeds are secure and stable, all samples are coming in green and undamaged. Package is safe sir."
The admiral visibly sagged as a heavy burden was lifted from his shoulders, "Oh thank the force..." Taking a moment to recollect himself, the aged admiral took it upon himself to review the battle footage, replaying the wave caused by the detonating canisters and scrutinizing every detail he could based on the cruiser's camera footage. "Theres definite worth in these charges, just a few canisters worth for a small task force? Very promising indeed, Landra, have a full report on the combat effectiveness of our 'surprise' ready for submission to R&D, theres still improvement that could be done for the weapons delivery and detonation system before we can mass-produce it."
A young officer near the rear of the bridge quirked her eyebrow and acknowledged the request. "Of course, by your quarters in an hour?"
"That'll do, thank you and dismissed, how goes communications with our rendezvous?"
"Hold on sir, we'll be dropping out of hyperspace momentarily, prepping comm relays to scan for the signal upon our arrival."
As if on cue, the ship shuddered as it entered real space.
"Understandable, just inform me when we have a positive lock on our allies, helm, bring us around and head towards pre-designated drop point Delta."
"Aye sir, thrusters on."
The damaged ship lurched forwards, making its way towards a local star system via its standard sub-light engines. The system consisted of a Beta-sized star, glowing a soft white as 11 planets orbited it, with a very large debris field spanning the circumference of the system.
"Hmmm…Sb-A-117, a marvelous spiral galaxy, neighbor to our own Andromeda galaxy, quite a wonder don't you think?" The admiral voiced to no one in particular. "Now what's the possibility of more intelligent life? I'd love to see a greater variety of life in this universe…considering the darkness that already plagues the known variety…"
"Yes sir, another wonder of the universe, what other forms of life await us in the stars hmmm?" A random officer said, not really paying attention but answering the Admiral's outspoken question anyway.
"Yes, quite right, now ab-"
"Sir, we've received a friendly ping from our sensors! Tracking the signal now…"
The bridge waited with bated breath, eager to see if they'd made the rendezvous on time. "Signal confirmed, it's the 27th Medical sir! We made it."
The bridge cheered despite their haggard condition, eager to deliver their cargo to the mobile medical facilities attached to the renegade Medical fleet, and began making way towards the friendly signal.
But all was not as normal as it seemed.
"Sir, we're detecting strange readings around the vicinity of the fleet."
Immediately alert for danger, the Admiral brought up his own display to read the specifics. "Explain ensign."
"Sir, spatial anomalies spanning several kilometers have appeared near the fleet, but…its odd…the anomalies are evenly spaced, and are even in formation with our own ships…"
"On screen ensign!"
"Sir!"
The main holotank dominating the bridge fizzled out before replacing itself with a 3-d representation of their relative space, before panning over to and closing in on the dozens of blips signifying the 27th fleet. The 5 largest blips were representative of the large Republic-era Haven-class medical space stations, the trademark of the fleet while the other blips ranged from Venator and Acclamator analogues to smaller Victory and Strike classes, forming a formidable net to protect the esteemed medical facilities. Remnants of the Imperial 54th medical resupply and rescue fleet, the Venator's and Acclamator's on hand represented the peak of the renegade force's firepower, leaving much to be desired from the outdated Clone-Wars era ships. Respectable in their own right, the rapid advancement of the Empire's new war-machine left the aging ships in the dust in terms of combat capabilities.
But the focus of the crew was solely on the large…for lack of a better term tears in the fabric of space itself, the 'holes' having unstable, blue-white edges with energy seemingly leaking from the portals, the centers an eerie inky blackness that rivaled that of deep-space.
And from these tears glided forth large capital ship analogues, the smallest of which still spanned over 2 kilometers from bow to stern. A total of 10 ships exited the anomalies, 6 ships of a blocky, angular design, the final 4 designed from seemingly aquatic creatures, the graceful curves seemingly emulated from the large creatures of the deep.
"Sir, we are being hailed…"
"From who?" The Admiral was surprisingly calm, considering ships that dwarfed even the newest Imperial Star Destroyer by several kilometers loomed over the precious few medical stations still available to the renegade Republic supporters.
"…T-the large central ship, the 6 kilometer one sir…"
'Well, they're not firing, always a good sign.' "Patch them through."
A deep voice soon flowed from the speakers, bathing the bridge and subsequently the rest of the ship in a deep rumble caused by the owner of the voice, who only relayed a simple message: "Ah, the good admiral Wullf Yularen, we've been expecting you."
So, just an FYI, I will be bringing elements from the old story into the new one, namely characters, ships, ideas, but that isn't to say that you, the community can't still contribute. I need characters (don't worry, those who've submitted old characters, I WILL be incorporating them), ship names/types, possible weapons maybe...some inspirations for planets would be nice too. I want to see the ideas of the community, you readers, incorporated into this story, and that'll only be possible through your help.
Thank you, so read review and repeat, and I'll catch you all laters.