Sacrifice. In every military, every single man and women you see, have sacrificed something in their lives to be where they're at. Sorfe was no exception. He had a home, one waiting for him on Naboo. A wife to come back to and the life of fatherhood that he sacrificed.
He looked around the bridge, wondering what the crew has sacrificed. From a navigational officer to the janitor, they had all gave up something to be here at this exact moment. As he was in his thoughts, he suddenly remembered his duty as Captain and sprang into action after recalling one crucial aspect of the battle.
"Officer" he called out to a man running pass his. He looked a little shocked by this encounter with the Captain but to his credit did not falter. It was obvious this was his first time on the bridge. Probably as a replacement. He thought. "Alert all our remaining battery cannons to-"
He was interrupted by a blue hologram coming to life on the middle of the catwalk the light blue reflection on the floor gave the whole bridge a slight blue tinge. It showed a man, who has very clearly seen the worse of battle, he was quite scruffy looking for a man of his age Sorfe thought to himself. He wore his uniform neatly and with pride with a General insignia pin clearly shown on his uniform. His hair was neat and combed straight. He had very subtle chiselled features that some might even find charming. He looked somewhat like royalty by the way his appearance seemed. The man inhaled a deep breath before starting his announcement. His voice a very prominent one. He has obviously given many speeches in his days.
"This is General Landal of the remaining Imperial fleet. Galius Rax has perished on the planet surface-" he exhaled and took another breath of air before continuing. "All remaining Imperial ships are to rendezvous at the following coordinates. You are given fifteen minutes to leave the planet's atmosphere to form the remaining fleet over the planet, which will then retreat through hyperspace at the same time." the ship shook from an impact stuttering the holo feed but they had managed to hear the last proud saying of being in this faction. "For the glory of the-" then the signal was lost. Everyone on the bridge looked around in confusion, even the janitor. They were all looking at Sorfe for orders as per usual. Sorfe took a deep breath himself.
Perfect, thought Sorfe. He had to come in and save the day.
Meanwhile in the hangar, everyone was shouting orders towards one another similar to the bridge, but a lot more chaotic. The hanger was crowded with people. Troopers rushing into their transports wearing pristine white body armour. Officers scurried pass them with their sleek grey uniforms and caps. Alarms were blaring and lights were flashing red as ships begin to take off for the surface of Jakku in a hurry and droids moving slowly pass the men preparing for battle. Amidst the scrambling crew was Course sitting down on a crate looking around the hangar similar to a child filled with wonder. Although it all seemed like utter chaos to the rest of the crew, to Course, it was almost a sanctuary. He relished in the thought of a whole army under his command. However, it was not for reasons one might first assume. He basically saw this whole process as an escape from his usual, rather routine time on the bridge relaying whatever orders Sorfe seem fit. He would much rather be in the middle of action.
Today of all days however, he was not doing this for a personal agenda. Instead, for his fallen comrades during the war with the despicable Rebel Alliance and all those good men and women who passed with the Ravager. He stood up, eyed the crowd of men and women almost suspiciously and began answering the bombardment of requests and orders he had to approve and facilitate. Just then, a young officer came up to him. Unlike others, this was someone Course actually knew.
"Sir!" he shouted out. "I heard they were mobilising the ground assault team and you're in charge. Need any help?" he asked in a strange exciting manner.
"Are we having this conversation again officer Quint?" answered Course with a sigh.
"Oh come on. I could be your eyes on the ground and report to you if anything happens." said the officer seemingly begging to go down to the surface.
"When are you going to learn that there's more than just shooting rebels and commanding squads of Stormtroopers?" to that the officer looked down on the floor with his head tilted down. A sign of defeat. He did have this conversation before, too many to count. So he knew when he had lost. Without any need to further the conversation, he began to walk away looking disappointed. A usual sighting for Course. Somehow, this seemingly futile sign of defeat had made Course change his busy mind as he called out to the officer. He came back almost excitedly while trying to resist a smile.
"You see that transport?" asked Course pointing at a sentinel-class troop transport being boarded by a dozen Stormtroopers. "Go join them. Remember, report back to me after you're done. No exceptions."
"Thanks sir!" he answered, somewhat jokingly. Then he slid off pass the passing men, women, machinery and droids.
"Wait!" luckily he managed to here Course after some distance apart. "Good luck Son." To that, the young Quint just smiled back and continued running. He managed to board the shuttle just in time as the door was closing and when the inside was being pressurised. Normally Course never believed in the force. But today is an exception. He hoped the force will guide his Son and protect him from whatever danger he faced on the surface. Though he was young, Quint was very skilled with a blaster and was always top in his class. Maybe he didn't need the force after all.
Just then, a droid appeared from the crowd approaching Course. An astromech painted black. A reflectivity old model. It spun around to identify Course and then projected a hologram of Sorfe. A live feed from the bridge.
"Course, how is the attack going?" He asked in a hurried manner. His jaw was a little out of place and he was sweating profusely. Something was wrong.
"Well, we have transported about 4,000 men and most assault vehicles. The shuttles-" he didn't finish before he was interrupted by Sorfe's panic voice.
"Stop! Halt all transports. I've just received orders. We are evacuating the planet." the news struck Course like a blaster shot through the heart. Now he only had one concern. His only child he'd just sent down to the planet. He turn around to see that the shuttle had already went, giving him the same feeling as he just had but a lot worse. He became sweaty as he stuttered for words.
"That can't be right... I just... How much time do we have?" He manages to blurt out.
"13 minutes" answered Sorfe grudgingly. "We won't have time to retrieve our personal on the ground and they seem to be jamming our signal. I'm afraid we'll have to leave them behind. Prepare your crew for vacuum conditions." then the hologram disappeared from view.
That was it Course thought to himself. He had sent his only child down to the surface without a ship to return to. What could I do he asked over and over again. No, he was going to try he said. He is not going to leave his Son behind on some force forsaken planet.
The speaker began to sound stating that all launches are now prohibited. Course quickly ran to the comms tower overlooking the hangar to ask for assistance. The door slid open with a clang showing dozens of officers desperately trying to establish a comm channel but to no avail.
"Officer. Are you able to penetrate their jamming signal?" he asked the head of the room trying to sound calm. Though it did not sound the way it wanted it to.
"I'm sorry sir we're doing do best we can." the officer manage to blurt out before his eyes found the screen again wiping his sweat. It was obvious he did not want to talk at the moment. He was too preoccupied with alarms blaring out here and there. A simple look around had told Course that he wouldn't get any answers from anyone else. He was beginning to lose hope.
He decided that only one person can help him get his son back now. That person was the Captain. He left the Comm tower as fast as he could without running. He weaved pass people with such agility that he even surprised himself. Nine minutes he said to himself. Nine minutes.
"How are the engines coming?" shouted Sorfe toward the bridge. He was now desperate. He only had eight minutes left to bring his crew and his ship to orbit safely. Though he was almost above the atmosphere, he was being pursued by Republic ships constantly firing upon his ship.
"They are going as fast as they could Captain! If they go any faster our ship's hull might burn up." under constant barrage from enemy ships, the hull integrity is not to be pushed above its limit.
Under normal circumstances, Sorfe will be experiencing one of his panic attacks again but now, the remainder of the fleet is in clear view from the glass of the bridge. This had managed to calm him down just enough to not slide into distress again. The apparent lack of Republic ships in orbit were also the cause for the decrease in agitation. It was now clear, they were going to make it. Just as it all was going well, Sorfe's first in command appears from the lift walking towards him.
"Captain, I am in need of help-" before he was interrupted by Sorfe's voice.
"Not now Course, we are in the middle of an evacuation. Jump when we have obtained the coordinates." he said to Course before turning to talk to one of the navigational officers. Sorfe sounded calm and soft as if the battle had been won.
"Yes, it's about the evacuation." taking a pause expecting Sorfe to answer. To his surprise none came. Sorfe just turn his head slightly to lay eyes upon Course. To that he continued. "What about our troops on the ground? We can't just leave them there to die."
"I'm sorry Course but it's for the good of the ship and its crew. The safety of whom is my responsibility." Sorfe explains to Course. "Right now it's either they die or we all die." He said.
This however manages to tick off Course. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a punch came from him directed towards Sorfe. It landed square on the captain's cheek as he lands on the floor. This swift move had surprised everyone on the bridge where even the security had not seen coming. After the contact, the security managed to pin Course down on the floor. The bridge crew still staring at the whole incident unfolding in front of them.
"Is this what it has come to? Take him away!"
To that the Stormtroopers dragged him toward the lift. Sorfe stood up and wiped his lips from the blood coming out of it. He turned just in time to see the stars elongate to form a streak of light towards the ships until the fleet, the planet and the New Republic had vanished out of sight.
They had entered hyperspace.