Chapter One
"Atten-SHUN!" shouted "Fiver" Skirata, Mandalorian alor, or leader as roughly translated into basic. Four men and one woman, all wearing the black and grey camouflage armor of a MACO with the squad patch of a SpecOps unit on the right shoulder stood to attention at once.
"Ready for inspection sir!" snapped "Chief" Runningbear, the squad C.O.
And indeed they were ready. The five troopers stood tall, proudly wearing their dark armor. If Fi didn't know any better, he might've assumed they were Mando'ade wearing Beskar-gam armor*, they looked so good.
"We've been ordered to BR One by the colonel," the old clone of Jango Fett informed them. "We're being called out."
Skirata noticed a grin on "Hawkeye" Kor's face. He was anxious to go to battle and avenge the deaths of his parents. The others just stood there with a neutral, almost apprehensive look on their faces. These were no strangers to battle. And, aside from Hawkeye, they were not anxious to become reacquainted. Fi looked over each of them in turn.
Chief had been selected for the SpecOps unit straight out of the regular MACOs, where he had already proved himself a superb leader of men. He had been involved in the Battle at Earth (a losing battle, yet he had distinguished himself) the battles of Corellia, Mon Cal and Andoria, and most recently at the Battle of Kuat, where he and his men had held off a small battalion of Imperial Storm Troopers* with superior tactics. Upon being selected for SpecOps, Fi had chosen him as squadron leader for the Alphas.
Gunny was, to put it bluntly, a war orphan. His parents, both Starfleet Officers, had been captured and tortured to death in the Milky Way's Dominion War when he was five years old. He had been shipped off to live with his Grandfather on the harsh frontier world of Zenos 4. He had lived there for eleven years. Then, when he was sixteen, he had applied for and been accepted to the then-dormant MACOs. And he was perfect for the job. The death of his parents and growing up on a harsh frontier world had hardened him, and he had taught himself many forms of hand to hand combat in order to defend himself against the infamous gangs of Zenos 4. But when Fi had chosen him for Alpha squad, he recognized a softer spot to the man- one not unlike his adoptive father, Kal Skirata*, who had been his squad trainer until he adopted him and his squad, helped them desert, and even arranged for a cure to their advanced aging sickness. He was hard, but kind. And so, Fi had followed his father's example and adopted the young man.
Fi knew little about Trapper, save that which was in his file. Specifically, that he had asked the MACO ground forces during the battle of Correllia to take him with them. The MACOs had been reluctant to take the mysterious medic with them, until he had saved the life of an injured trooper and held off a Dark Trooper Drone- a dangerous Borg Drone with a limited ability to use the Dark Side of the Force as well as wielding a built in lightsaber. Then Chief, the MACO whom Trapper had saved, had chosen to bring him along and sponsored his training as a MACO and a field medic-a rarity in the militaristic organization. However, even without Chief's recommendation, Fi would have selected him for his most redeeming quality- his sense of humor, which surfaced even in the direst of circumstances and helped to keep up the morale of his fellow ori'ramikade, or super commandos, in the Mandalorian tongue.
Hawkeye was also a war orphan, but only recently so. His parents had been aboard a small Bird of Prey when a Romulan civilian outpost at Narendra Three (a formerly Klingon site once destroyed by militaristic Romulans) was attacked. Like the Enterprise C had defended them when it was a Klingon base, they had rushed to defend it in the spirit of Alliance. But like the E-C, the small ship under Kless' command was no match for the superior forces (in this case an Imperial Super Star Destroyer*) that had attacked it. And when FNN broadcasted that the attacker was targeting a single defector aboard the station, and for that had destroyed it and the Bird of Prey, Hawkeye had been enraged, and swore an oath of vengeance against the Sith Apprentice who had carried out the execution of countless innocent lives and their defenders. However, little did he know that he was not the only one whose purpose in the SpecOps was to learn to fight Dark Jedi.
Despite all of the other's various circumstances, the situation of Jaina Solo*, known as "Saber Solo" to the squad, was perhaps the most complicated. As a Jedi Knight and fighter squadron leader, much had been expected from her, and she had been happy to give it. She was, after all, daughter of Admiral Han Solo and Republic Chief of state Leia Organa Solo*, as well as niece of Jedi Grand Master Luke Skywalker*. But so was she, as only known to her superiors, brother of the man once known as Jacen Solo- Darth Caedus*. Corrupted by the Sith Lord who was now Emperor of the Palpatinian Empire, Darth Muertos*, he had rapidly become powerful, and dangerous. This fact had been proven when he destroyed Narendra Three- knowing that the Solo's oldest and most trusted friend, Chewbacca, had been aboard. It was said that Han Solo had publicly disowned his "son," though the fact that such a formerly high placed Alliance Officer had been turned had been deemed classified. Fi was only aware of this because Jaina had felt it advisable to inform him about the possibility of conflict between herself and Hawkeye. He had advised her not to reveal to Hawkeye the connection she had to his parent's killer until he was dead. He then had asked why she joined the MACOs. Her reply had surprised him. "Because the only place where I can learn how to fight a Jedi is from a Mandalorian who fought in the Clone Wars," she had said. And she had proven her worth to him. He had trained her how to fight without the force by bringing to bear an Ysalimiri*- a lizard-like creature who somehow created a bubble in which the force didn't exist- a weapon which they planned to use if they ever encountered a dar'jetii (Sith lord) or, more likely, a DTD. She had also learned to use her Jedi abilities to enhance her new Mandalorian skills, making her a powerful force to be reckoned with.
Indeed, Fiver thought, they all were a force to be reckoned with. But they had trained and lived together for over a year, and they were ready. In fact, they were as good as, probably better than, the ARC Troopers of the Clone Wars!
"Report to Briefing Room-One in five minutes," he ordered after he looked them over. "Dismissed!"
Jaina entered the briefing room behind Hawkeye, but sat across from him, next to Commander Jagged Fell*, alor of Beta Squad. Jag Fell, pilot, son of legendary Imperial pilot Baron Soontiir Fel, nephew of famous Rebel pilot Wedge Antilles, was very… close to Jaina. Early in the war, before the Hand had officially joined the Galactic Alliance, he had led the Hand 181st Clawcraft* squadron into battle alongside Jaina and her Silver Bullet squadron. The two had been the first sample of the benefits of working with the Alliance as opposed to the Empire, and it had greatly contributed to the current alliance. Now, though, he was an alor like Fi, trainer of Beta squad.
The room darkened as Colonel Jack O'Riley stepped forward to the now active holographic projector, which cast a glow about the room.
"Welcome MACOs and Alors," he began. "Alpha and Beta squads have been selected to carry out a highly dangerous, yet vitally important mission for the alliance. The eventual outcome of this war may depend on the success- or failure- of this mission. Your task is to capture, neutralize, or destroy an Imperial Thrawn-class Ultra Star Destroyer from the inside out."
This statement was met with stares of astonishment from the squads and their Alors. And with good reason! At three times the size of a Super Star Destroyer, the USD was the most powerful warship in the known galaxies- more powerful than a Borg Cube by a marginal amount. In fact, they were so large and expensive to produce; only three were known to exist. The Chimaera, Empire of the Hand's Emperor Thrawn's flagship, was one that was an Alliance vessel. The Sith Revenge, Sith Emperor Muertos' flagship was another USD, and the Emperor's Fist, currently blockading occupied Earth under Imperial Admiral Natasi Daala was the third. Of the three, none were available to be captured or neutralized under any circumstance, and they could only be destroyed at great loss to the attacking force. In fact, an entire fleet had been wiped out to destroy the USD Infiltrator 2, under command of sith clone apprentice Darth Mauul. So what does Colonel O'Riley have in mind, Jaina wondered.
"Intelligence has discovered a new USD under construction at a secret shipyard in the Hoth asteroid belt," O'Riley enlightened them. "I'll turn the stand over to Admiral Solo to brief you completely."
As O'Riley stepped back, Admiral Han Solo, Jaina's father and Commander of the New Republic Fleet, stepped into the holoprojector's glow. As, usual, Han had forgone an Alliance Admiral's uniform in favor of his familiar spacer's wear- a simple white shirt, pilot's vest, and blue pants with a red Corellian Bloodstripe running down the sides. The only concession he made to formality was an insignia pinned to the left breast pocket of his vest and an Admiral's rank bar on his shirt collar. Han was aged, his once brown hair now grey, and wrinkles were clearly visible on his face. However, though he looked old, he was no cripple. Years of living as a smuggler, always on the run, had taught him to keep in shape. And, until recently, his friend Chewbacca had always been there to make sure he kept that way. But no more was Chewie there to encourage him. With his son's betrayal and Chewie's death, Han had become a hardened man. Only with his wife and surviving family did he mellow, and even then only a little. He had developed a reputation among the MACOs and others as one of the best Admiral's in the fleet, never asking his men to do something he himself was unwilling to do, if given the chance. He had come to be known among Mandalorians as kandosii al'verde, or indomitable Commander, affectionately as "Kan" for short.
"The ship you see here is nearing completion, so the small fleet previously guarding the Hoth system has been reduced to a task force led by two Imperial 2 class Star Destroyers," Han said, pointing towards a scaled down hologram of a USD floating above the projector's base. "As far as we've been able to determine, the weapons systems of the Destroyer are not yet active, nor are her sublight drive systems. However, the shields are fully functional, as is her hyperdrive so an all out assault at this point would most likely be futile. Even if we could take down the shields under heavy fire before an Imperial fleet arrived, they could jump to hyperspace from where they were, destroying the shipyard and our fleet in its wake, while only taking a moderate amount of hull damage itself. And so subtlety is required.
"Remember-this information is extremely sensitive- the Empire does not know that we know about it, and only a handful of people at Alliance Command are aware of it. And for our plan to succeed, it must remain that way!
"Therefore, the Alliance War Council has put together a four-phase plan to take this ship, and Admiral Nahrahl and I have been put in command."
At the mention of her name, a tall woman with jet-black hair and barely visible pointed ears stood up. She wore the insignia of a Romulan Khre'Riov, or Commander-General, an old Romulan rank that had until recently been in use since the 23rd Century roughly analogous to a Starfleet Commodore or Rear Admiral. The ancient rank had recently been re-established, along with many other archaic traditions, on New Romulus, the home world of the Romulan Star Republic since Romulus was destroyed in the Hobus Supernova years before. Nahrahl nodded in acknowledgement, but allowed Solo to continue the briefing for a time.
"The first phase of our plan will be a diversion," Han continued. "I will take the Falcon's Nest and a small strike force to the Bespin system, where we will raid the Tibana gas mines. We will hopefully be able to obtain the gas, but it is secondary to our goal. When we have as much as we can get, we'll make a short jump to the Hoth system, allegedly to regroup. Once there, though, we will be "sabotaged" by Imperial agents, and be unable to jump out. At this time, our pursuers will arrive and attack us- followed by our own Alliance Second Fleet's arrival. This will prompt the task force guarding the shipyards to reinforce the imp pursuers, and that is when Admiral Nahrahl will launch phase two.
"General Hallard says you're the best, and since my daughter's on your team, I don't doubt it for a microsecond," Han said, giving his daughter a wink. Had she been a green recruit, she probably would've been beyond embarrassment. But she had long since gotten past embarrassment. Here she was a SpecOps, an elite trooper, and she didn't need to prove herself to anyone. Anybody in the group foolish enough to think she'd only gotten in the Specs because of "Daddy" deserved what they got. Trapper and Hawkeye might tease her about being singled out, but that was just good natured fun, and she would tolerate it from them. She knew her mates and they knew her, and there was no need to be embarrassed. So Jaina merely smiled at him in response and winked back as he continued.
"You'll need to be the best for what we have in mind," Han said on a solemn note. "I'll turn the floor over to Admiral Nahrahl, who will be your commander for this assignment."
"Thank you Admiral Solo," said the Romulan formally as she stepped into the still unused holoprojector's glow.
Suddenly, a magnified view of the Hoth system, asteroid field and all, appeared to be floating in mid-air. As Nahrahl began to speak, the asteroid belt became highlighted in red.
"For phase two, a single ship, my ship, will release random debris from its cargo hold as it cloaks, appearing to have been inadvertently destroyed by friendly fire," she began, as the holoproj displayed a simulation of what she was saying. "This ship will then follow the ion trails of the enemy fleet to the co-ordinates of the dry-dock where the USD is being built. Once there, two asteroid-shaped shuttles, each with one team aboard it, will be launched from our fighter bay."
The holoproj showed two small dots moving away from the holographic warbird towards a scaled down holographic USD.
"A third 'rock' will also be launched, with a precise trajectory adequate to propel both craft towards the outer perimeter of the dock," Nahrahl continued, her words again prompting a holographic simulation. "We have been informed that the dock's sensors are programmed to ignore asteroids and other seemingly inanimate objects unless they present a threat to the dock, which our "asteroids" will not. However, you will be close enough to beam aboard simultaneous to a regularly scheduled materials transfer to a cargo bay of the USD, thus masking your entrance. Once you are aboard, phase two will be complete and phase three will commence."
The holoprojector again shifted, this time showing a schematic of the elongated spear shaped USD from a bird's eye view.
"Alpha team will beam in here, close to the main engineering section," Nahrahl said, a blue dot appearing towards the massive sublight engines at the aft-end of the gargantuan ship. "They will be accompanied by Engineering Captain Scott, one of the Federation's most highly decorated officers and our foremost expert on USD drive systems."
An old, heavyset mustached human wearing a uniform Jaina couldn't identify but recognized as old-style acknowledged the reference. Great, Jaina thought, extra baggage.
"Beta team will enter here, near the command deck," Nahrahl continued as a green dot appeared on the indicated area of the 3-D image. "Alpha's assignment is the more complex. You are to escort Captain Scott to Engineering and secure it, where he will, with the assistance of Alliance Crypt Chief Ghent's code-breaker hack into the computer core and secure it. Beta's goals are to secure the main bridge and gas the skeleton crew of Imperials aboard ship, then beam them aboard the station. If this is accomplished, they will clear Captain Scott to complete his mission and bring the drive on line, as well as sending a two-second transmission to me aboard the Empress Ael informing us of mission accomplished, and we will escort the captured USD out of dry-dock, the asteroid field, and finally the system, assuming Captain Scott can get the sublight drive functioning correctly. You will be briefed on contingency plans en route, but we hope we won't need them. If you fail completely- and we all sincerely hope you don't- then Admiral Solo's fleet will send an emergency beacon to a fleet waiting nearby, led by the Enterprise, which will join Admiral Solo and attempt to take out the USD by more …conventional means. Admiral Solo has aptly named this mission "Operation 'Eat My Space Dust'," or "Dust" for short. Let us hope that is what the Imperials do as we take their prize right out from under their noses. Good luck MACOs, and May the Force be with you."