"Concentration, focus, long-term thinking—those are the qualities that separate a warrior from a mere flailing fighter."
-Grand Admiral Thrawn
Deep Space, in the Calamari Sector...
"This is Ghost to Akaga, we're docking now..."
The EF76 Nebulon-B Frigate was one of the few still battle-ready. The Rebellion didn't have any resources to fully repair its warships, and they only kept losing more of them...
Hera skilly fully maneuvered the ship to the ship's docking bay, which was part of that downward spire on the 300 meter long frigate's bow. It was unreliable, and barely had any space for fighters, let alone a freighter like the Ghost. But that was their only way in, with both the port and starboard docking rings heavily damaged during an encounter with a pair of Victory-class Star Destroyers. It wasn't pleasant...
"They should be here right now," Hera said. She didn't actually know who they were meeting with, but Senator Organa had said that they were extremely important.
She was the only crew member on the Ghost, because the rest have gone on supply runs... The Yavin cell severely needed parts to repair the frigates, or new ships to replace them. The Nebulons were stolen from the Empire before, and they were extremely easy to capture.
"We have ships leaving hyperspace!" The captain's alert was well timed, both Hera and General Dodonna finally arrived on the bridge. The sight of the ships gave a huge surge of hope in the tired and weary Rebels.
"This is our chance to fight back!", she thought... Such a thought was difficult to come by now, they say defeat crashing down upon them. And they had no way to react, other than to run... Now they didn't have to.
"General Dodonna..." A hoarse voice said... "And General Syndulla..."
The hologram flickered on, and the source of the voice became visible... A Mon Calamari similar to Quarrie, from back on Shantipole... But his skin was a very deep blackish-blue...
"I am Raddus, former mayor of the city Nystullum on Mon Cala... And a director of Mon Cala's planetary defense..." The Mon Calamari said in his signature hoarse voice...
"Welcome, Raddus... I'm General Hera Syndulla of the Rebellion..."
"And I am General Jan Dodonna... Your ships are quite impressive..."
Raddus replied, "However, the largest ships are completely unarmed... The smaller frigates are Dreadnaught-class Cruisers..."
"Hmm... Our hidden shipyards have made plans involving Dreadnaughts... To turn them into powerful warships. And I believe they have space to refit your passenger cruisers, and possibly turn them into powerful capital ships," Dodonna said, "At least I hope we can... We don't have that many resources..."
"Generals, I suggest we jump to hyperspace, because it is very likely that we were tracked..." Raddus was suspicious of Imperial activity in the Mon Cala sector, due to its close proximity to Lothal.
And it turns out that his suspicions were correct! A pair of Victory-class Star Destroyers, and one Imperial-class Star Destroyer jump out of hyperspace. And in a matter of seconds they were preparing to open fire...
Dodonna immediately started spouting orders, saying, "Take evasive action! Direct power to the shields and hyperdrive! Make calculations for hyperspace jump!"
The Victory Star Destroyers started firing their light ion cannons, proving that they were the fast and deadly Victory II-class. The shields on the Mon Calamari ships took little damage from the ion shots, and took even less from the turbolaser fire directed at them specifically.
Hera saw this, and immediately a thought came to her. -If we give them good weapons, they'll be able to stand up to Star Destroyers...- They already could, but they just couldn't fight back.
"Ready for jump to hyperspace!", a Mon Calamari officer said.
And it was in perfect timing, the shields on the Akaga were almost down... If they did, the combined power of the Victories would tear it apart...
They watched the stars turn into streaks, before they turned into the deep blue glow of hyperspace... They were safe, for now...
"We should do at least three more jumps to prevent them from tracking us," Hera suggested. With these soon-to-be capital ships in their presence, it was best to avoid an attack. They couldn't risk losing them now...
On the bridge of the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer Allecto
Vice Admiral Rae Sloane looked through the transparisteel viewport, staring at the empty space once filled with Rebel ships.
"Contact Grand Admiral Thrawn immediately..." She stared at the comms officer.
In a matter of minutes, the spookily blue faced figure appeared on the holoprojector... His eyes glowing his signature deep red...
"Greetings, Vice Admiral... What do you require?"
"I've located a large rebel fleet. It had several strange looking ships, almost capital ship size... I attempted to engage them, but they escaped..."
"Your failure to capture them is most disappointing... But you have provided me with a piece of very crucial information... The Mon Calamari that escaped are in league with the Rebellion..."
"Mon Calamari?" She was confused... She was not informed of this.
"Yes, they led a mass exodus from the world of Mon Cala, close to the Lothal sector... Be on guard, Admiral... For they soon will be far more difficult to deal with."
"Yes, Grand Admiral..." The image of Thrawn disappeared... And Sloane returned to her usual duties, and began to mobilize the rest of her fleet.
Thrawn's Office, on the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer Chimaera.
Art... the key to somewhat knowing the psychology and beliefs of your enemies... Thrawn's personal chamber was filled with holograms of paintings, sculptures, anything that was of value to him...
But one piece stood out... It was an old Kaleesh mask, the mask of the legendary General Grievous... It hung above the entrance as a demand for respect from the alien-hating Imperials he was forced to work with...
"Grand Admiral Thrawn..." The voice of a female soon broke the silence. It was that of the Chimaera's captain, Varyn Faro...
"Yes, Commander Faro?" Thrawn said in a neutral tone, his eyes still closed... As if he was meditating, which is indeed his intention.
"There are reports of increasingly frequent guerilla raids on supply ships... The most recent one stated that they stole mechanical supplies and raw materials..." Her voice was one of cautious concern... What were they planning?
Thrawn's eyes finally opened, once again seeming to glow in the dimly lit room. He promptly switched off the holoprojector.
"What sort of raw materials were stolen in these raids?"
"All are used in starships... One primary target being doonium..."
The word stuck in both of their minds... It had been about two years since the end of Nightswan's raids... He offered tactical advice to pirates who coveted it, due to its unbelievably high demand... Thrawn's hand in putting a stop to the operations on Batonn is what earn him his promotion. Even if Governor Pryce is the one who actually killed the Rebels and civilians on Batonn.
But why? Why do the Rebels want doonium now...? Unless they were manufacturing or modifying starships...
"Were there new types of starships reported?"
"Yes, Admiral... Modified Dreadnaught-class Heavy Cruisers... We believe they're called Assault Frigates..."
"Do we have any footage of them?" Thrawn inquired...
"Unfortunately we don't..."
Thrawn's face turned to a look of calm disappointment... "Unfortunate... However, this information may lead us to the second piece of the puzzle, Captain. The piece I've been searching for now for quite a while..."
"I congratulate you... May I ask just what exactly this puzzle is?" She replied, her face clearly indicating that she was confused...
"Why, the only puzzle worth solving, of course. The complete, total, and utter destruction of the Rebellion... You are dismissed..."
The Captain nodded, before she walked out of the entrance...
The Grand Admiral closed his eyes once again, reactivating the art gallery before returning to his meditation.
Classified Location at the Edge of Wild Space
Hera came to the shipyard alone... The others were either gathering supplies to fuel this tiny factory, or stealing smaller warships from the Empire. They had nothing near the scope of a Victory-class Star Destroyer, and obviously nothing to deal with the deadly firepower of a Kuat Drive Yards Imperial I-class Star Destroyer... But these cruisers that arrived only several hours ago may be the key.
The sight of the massive cruisers very slowly being fitted with weapons always refueled her spirits. Their hull could take a beating, and their shields are extremely strong. All they need is an array of weapons so it can actually attack. For now, they're just extremely durable cannon fodder for warships...
She walked to another hallway in their hidden asteroid base, and found Senator Mothma, Senator Organa, and several scientists... They seemed to be in a very important discussion, but soon paused to look at Hera.
"General Syndulla, I'm glad you could make it," Bail said, "these two men are scientists of the Incom Corporation... I think you should listen to what they have to say."
"Thank you Senator... General, I'm Vors Voorhorian, Chief Engineer of the Incom Corporation..."
"Nice, to meet you, Mr. Voorhorian..." She politely replied, "What do you need from the Rebellion?"
"Well, the Empire nationalized Incom, and most of my staff, including myself, defected. In retaliation, we created a new class of space superiority fighter for the Rebel Alliance... However, they captured the four prototype T65 X-Wing Starfighters we created... I fear the Empire plans to use our fighters against us."
"I understand your problem... So you want us to steal the fighters?"
"Indeed... I brought several transport/gunships with me, so you can use them in the future... They're our new UT-60D U-wing starfighter/support craft... U-Wings for short."
"How many do we have?" She said curiously... They'll probably be of great use to the Alliance.
"The shipment I brought contains about 50... The company only produced 200 before it was nationalized. I'm sure Senator Organa will be able to acquire more for you, but that'll be all you have for now."
"I understand... What sort of features do these things have?"
"The s-foils are able to fold backward to increase the coverage of the deflector shields. And it's armed with two Taim and Bak TX7 laser cannons, and four 4j.4 fusial thrust engines."
"Any suggestions for modifications?"
"The loading doors can be modified into gunports for things such as EWEB Blaster Cannons, or any other mounted weapon... That sort of modification can transform them into heavy transport/gunships, like Rothana Heavy Engineering's LAAT/i, from the Clone Wars."
"Thank you, Mr. Voorhorian... We'll take all of that into consideration."
"I must be going now, I have to deliver these to Base One on Yavin."
Hera watched as he left... Trying to figure out what bold strategy she could use with X-Wings... And these new U-Wings.
The Bridge of Imperial-class Star Destroyer Chimaera
Thrawn watched as the Star Destroyer underwent repairs... and modifications. She was to be converted into the newly developed and tested Imperial II-class Star Destroyer... Which featured new, heavier weaponry and a more compact sensor tower.
He watched as the construction droids removed his main turbolaser batteries... And replacing them with heavier octuple barbette turbolasers. The main difference between the two is the ability to fire all barrels simultaneously without instand overheating...
"Ms. Wessex, did you upgrade the ion cannons as I have requested?"
"Why yes, Grand Admiral. They're being installed right away."
"Excellent... These NK-9 ion cannons will be most useful on the shielding of enemy capital ships..."
The Grand Admiral walked out of the bridge, returning to his office/art gallery so he may study the art of the Mon Calamari. Before leaving through the door, he turned the Commander Faro.
"Commander Faro, after the ship's been fully converted and the symbol is repainted, set course for the Mustafar System..."
"Yes, Admiral... But what for?" She was one of many Imperials who were not familiar with Darth Vader's castle... But she has had experience working with him.
"I must speak with Lord Vader..." Thrawn said in an unsettlingly calm tone.
Her reaction was not surprising... Thrawn had heard of Vader's tendency to execute those who failed him... He did not agree with the unnecessary brutality, but he did see its purpose: to force complete obedience through fear. Faro's face was that of fear and horror...
