Chapter Four : The Clashing of Foes
Coruscant, the center of the Galactic Empire.
Nighttime has fallen on the great Imperial City. At its center the towering fortress that is the Imperial Palace stands as a constant reminder of the Emperors power.
Deep below the surface, on sub-levels few know exist in the grand Palace, the Emperor walks alone in a darkened and abandoned corridor. These tunnels were laid out many centuries ago, long before the Presidential Palace, the precursor to the Imperial Palace, was constructed above.
The deepest recesses on Coruscant hold many secret places like this. But this place is different. Here, the Dark Side of the Force has found a safe haven from the prying eyes of the curious. In this place, the Dark Lord Emperor Palpatine, keeps his most sacred Sith treasures. Before the fall of the Old Republic, the Jedi Knights kept many of these artifacts hidden away in the dungeons below the Jedi Temple, to be kept safe from the Sith, and hidden away from any Jedi who would have been tempted to learn their secrets. Once the Jedi were defeated, the Emperor was able to liberate them. Most possess a power greatly beneficial to simple Force users. Artifacts such as amulets and weapons, powers that pale when compared to the raw power of Emperor Palpatine. He has no need for them but he does not allow others to make use of their power either.
But some artifacts, unique and powerful, open doorways into the nether world from which the Dark Lord can convene with long dead Sith Masters. Where he can find knowledge that has been lost, and gain visions of the future that can change the course of the Galaxy.
Palpatine reaches a doorway, using the Force he opens it and he steps through. He walks down a staircase, damp from water dripping from above, the splashes making sounds that echo through the chamber. In the center of the chamber is a Sith holocron atop a pedestal. But this holocron is like no other. It does not contain holographic teachings or records but rather it is a beacon with which to contact long dead Sith. This Holocron, brings forth from the nether the essence of its creator, Darth Plagueis, Emeror Palpatines former Master.
Reaching out with his hand, Palaptine summons the powers of the Force.
"Lord Plagueis, wise and undying, return now and share the wisdom of the void!" Palpatine says.
The stillness of the air is quickly replaced by a swirling torrent of energy. The walls shake and the water on the floor lifts to float in the air. A bright flash of purple momentarily blinds Palpatine, and then as it recedes, he bears witness to the figure of his long dead Master.
"Ah, Darth Sidious, the betrayer," the spectral figure of Plagueis speaks, "Why have you summoned me?"
"I seek counsel from the nether world." Palpatine speaks. "The Force has hidden paths of the future from my vision. I must know what they tell. I must know why I cannot see them!"
"Ah, I see." Plagueis says as he closes his eyes.
Plagueis contorts his face ever so slightly. He opens his eyes again and looks down at Palpatine.
"Your apprentice has seen a vision from the future. Something the Force has kept from you?"
The room shakes as if a large beast were rushing by. The spectral form of Darth Plagueis flutters as if a cloth in the wind. A stream of torrential energy flows from his essence.
"The Chosen One has bore a Son." Plagueis says. "He is destined to become a Jedi."
Behind the figure of Plagueis the vast deserts of Tatoonie appear. Palpatine watches as the vision moves into a great palace in the distance. It enters the hall of Jabba the Hutt. Below Luke Skywalker fights a rancor, and defeats it with ease. Luke will escape from this trap. His power will grow. The vision fades away from behind Plaguies.
"I will not allow it!" Palpatine shouts. "I will turn him to the Dark Side, I will see him serve me!"
"The child of the Chosen One will not turn. He will destroy your apprentice and then he will destroy you." Plagueis says. "The son of Skywalker must be destroyed."
"My apprentice will not understand." Palpatine says. "He will not destroy his own son."
"The Chosen One is a creation of the Force, his true master is the Force alone." Plagueis says. "The Force resists you my apprentice as it resisted me. You have twisted the path of the Chosen One, a great success indeed, but the Force pushes back against you. If it will not allow your apprentice to kill his son, you must send another, one who is not involved. One who has no care for the ones they destroy."
The figure of Darth Plagueis fluctuates. Other figures begin to form behind him, other long dead Sith. They have seen this conduit back to the living world, and are vying for control over it. The Holocron shakes violently, bolts of Force Lightning erupt from it, the connection to the nether is breaking.
"The Skywalkers must be destroyed!" Plagueis says.
The figure of Darth Plagues turns and appears to attack the other Sith forms near him. Palpatine catches a glimpse of the deceased Sith battling one another. The energies dissipate and disappear, the room falls quiet, the water falls back to the floor. Soon Palpatine is once again alone in the darkness. He stands silent looking at the now idle Holocron.
"The Skywalkers must be destroyed." Palpatine says quietly to himself.
The walk back up to the surface level is long and quiet. As Palpatine enters his Throne room he mulls the vision and the words of his former master. Taking a seat at his Throne, Palpatine looks out over the city below. The first light of the morning sun is beginning to show in the distance.
If Darth Vader will not kill his own son, then Palpatines control over him is slipping. If Luke can defeat Vader as Plagueis foretells the Palpatine will need to replace him. But who would be worthy to take Lord Vaders place at the Emperors side?
There are many "Hands" in the Emperors service. All of them are Deadly assassins, well skilled, and capable of being trained in the ways of the Force. But there is one who stands above the rest, one whose heart is full of more hate, whose skills are more deadly, and whose devotion is unbreakable. Using the Force Palpatine summons this "Hand" to his Throne room.
A short time passed, and then the lift to his Throne room opens and a hooded figure steps out. They quietly make their way up the three flights of steps. The distinctive walk of a female can be seen through the robes and hood. As she arrives at his Throne she bows. The Emperor turns his seat to face her.
"What is thy bidding my Master?" she asks.
"Rise, Mara Jade…" Palpatine says "Your trial is at hand!"
On board the Imperial Star Destroyer 'Dark Star', Captain Ronoe has awoken and sits alone at the desk in his quarters. The only source of light in the room is the dimly lit lamp on his desk and the glow from the energies of hyperspace outside his windows. He is going through ship reports, ensuring all ships operations are in order before the battle.
"Captain Ronoe?" The voice of Lieutenant Johnson comes through the com speaker.
"Yes Lieutenant?" Ronoe asks as he hits the com button.
"We are one hour from our destination." Johnson replies.
"Good. Thank you." Ronoe says. "Have the ship go to Yellow alert status and inform the senior staff that I will be having a briefing for them in ten minutes in the main War Room on the command deck."
"Yes sir." Johnson says as the com deactivates.
Ronoe quickly gathers his files and heads towards the door. He exits and notices that there are many crew men going about their business, preparing for the up-coming battle. Ronoe is quite pleased, he half expected the crew to be out of practice. Ronoe catches himself smiling as he enters the Turbo lift.
Thinking to himself, Ronoe stands behind his assurances to Vader about the quality of his crew. As the door to the turbo lift opens, Ronoe Steps out onto the command deck and heads towards the War Room. As he enters, he is surprised to see Commander Tydon waiting for him.
"Ah, Good Morning Captain." Tydon says, as Ronoe walks around the conference table.
On the main display there is a navigational chart of the Rydine System, on it are overlays showing the current exit vector for the Dark Star and assumed location of the Hyperspace Bullet.
"What are you doing here?" Ronoe asks. "I told Johnson to call everyone here only minutes ago."
"Yes, but I expected you would call a meeting, and I have been here for 10 minutes." Tydon responds with a smile.
"I see." Ronoe says as he sits down. "What are you working on there?"
"I have been analyzing possible hiding points for Rebel reinforcements in the system." Tydon says. "There are 2 areas of the Rydine asteroid belt where you can mask Capital ship signatures. And Rydine VI is a Gas Giant with a ring system. If they have ships deployed throughout the system we can expect reinforcements within 10 minutes of our arrival."
"Very good work Commander." Ronoe says.
Tydon takes a seat next to Ronoe. A minute goes by before Ensign Heweet enters.
"Captain, I have a message from Lord Vader." Heweet says as he enters, he hands Ronoe a data pad. Ronoe takes the pad, and enters his Command Code.
The pad reads.
Captain Ronoe:
I require 4 squadrons of TIE Fighters to remain on standby aboard the Dark Star during the battle. You may dispatch the other Fighter Squadrons for defensive purposes if you see fit to do so.
-End
Ronoe erases the message and sets the data pad down on the table.
"Thank you Ensign." Ronoe says.
Ensign Heweet exits, as he does Commander Miles and Commander Breen enter. A few minutes later Commander Lousen enters.
"Thank you all for showing up on time." Ronoe says as he stands up. "In 50 minutes, we will exit hyperspace and enter the Rydine system. There we will face an unknown force of Rebellion ships. Lord Vader will take command of the battle from the Dark Star. Right now the other Star Destroyers are preparing for the engagement. We must make sure that all of our systems are operational and prepared for battle as well."
"Commander Miles?" Ronoe asks as he turns to Miles.
"Yes sir?" Miles responds.
"Is Lord Vader's Strike Team ready?" Ronoe asks.
"Their ship is fueled and prepped for a combat take off." Miles responds. "I checked in on the EVAC quarters this morning and they are empty. As far as I can tell the Strike Team snuck back on board their Transport sometime in the middle of the night."
"Good." Ronoe says as he folds his hands behind his back.
"I understand that it has been far and few between, the major battles we have fought," Ronoe says, "many of the battles we have fought, will seem insignificant to this one. But I have strong trust that you will perform up to the standards that I have grown to expect. This weapon is the prize of the Rebellion and as such we might find their entire fleet protecting it. Moreover, the infamous Rebel 'Rouge Squadron" is likely to be here."
Ronoe looks over the Commander Breen.
"As a result, I want Alpha Squadron deploy in the TIE Interceptors we have on board." Ronoe says.
"Sir, my men have not had much time to learn the Interceptor systems." Breen says in objection.
"If you continue to have them deploy in the TIE Fighters, they will never learn the new systems." Ronoe says. "As I am to understand it, the controls are identical. Lieutenant Geen and his squad will do just fine out there."
Commander Breen seems to stew in his seat for a moment.
"Don't worry Breen," Commander Lousen says, "The other fighters will only be on standby. No risk there."
Suddenly Ronoe stiffens. He looks at Commander Lousen and then quickly to Commander Tydon. Tydon notices the sudden change in mood and slowly looks over and stares at Lousen.
"Good." Ronoe says as he glances at everyone at the table. "I want all of you to make sure your Sections are prepared in 30 minutes. We will exit hyperspace at Red Alert. That is all, and good luck today."
With that, Ronoe stands up. Tydon stands up as well and steps over towards Ronoe. The Section commanders each get up and exit the room, as Lousen leaves Ronoe eyes him with a scrutinizing look.
"Sir, what is it?" Tydon asks.
As the door to the room shuts, Ronoe turns to face Tydon.
"The message from Vader, he told me he wanted 4 squads of TIE Fighters on standby." Ronoe explains. "But I erased it. There is no way he could have read it while the data pad was on the table. The only way that Lousen could know what it said was if he took the Data Pad from Ensign Heweet and read the message himself before Heweet entered the room."
"Sir, you must also acknowledge the possibility that Heweet read it himself and told Lousen." Tydon says.
"The possibility of my senior staff undermining or acting behind my back, this is not good, especially not when we are about to go into battle." Ronoe says as he looks into Tydons face, "I have a bad feeling about this."
On Coruscant, at the massive civilian transport hub in the Imperial City, Mara Jade is eyeballing the departure list for the Off World Transports.
Emperor Palpatine is sending her on a mission to Tatoonie, a back water world far on the edge of the Outer Rim. Her mission is to kill Luke Skywalker, the son of Darth Vader. This will be her final test before the Emperor will accept her as his new apprentice. She has waited for this day for a long time. She had always hoped to kill Darth Vader and earn her place at the Emperors side by destroying that twisted machine, but she will settle for killing his son instead.
As an Emperors Hand Mara would normally have use of her own personal ship, a modified Star Courier much like the ones gifted to the Emperors previous Sith apprentices. But this mission calls for Mara to infiltrate the palace of Jabba the Hutt, one of the more powerful and fearsome crime lords in the Galaxy. She will need to appear as nothing but a civilian down on her luck.
The transport hub is filled with many AA-9 Civilian freighters, large transport ships that ferry passengers to many of the populated worlds, but none of them are going anywhere close to the Tatoonie system. Mara walks through the crowds, she puts on the best expression of vulnerability she can muster. It does not take long for the bait to lure a prey.
"It's such a shame to see such a pretty face looking so sad." A man says as he approaches.
Mara turns and sees an older man approaching. He has a scruffy 5 a'clock shadow with dark unkempt hair teased by the wind in the air. She eyes his clothing, they appear to be heavily worn and his hands are dirty. These are good signs that this man is a smuggler or better yet, a pirate. Mara pouts ever so slightly.
"Its so confusing around here mister." Mara says, her voice weak and soft.
"Where are you going young lady?" The man asks.
"I don't know." Mara says as she looks down and to her side. "My owner just disappeared on me last night. I guess I just want to get home."
The man smiles, but there is a sinister intention behind it he steps closer and puts a hand on Maras shoulder.
"Maybe I can help you." The man says, his voice is a perverse attempt at kindness, but there is nothing but a concealed sadistic lust in his tone. "Where's home?"
"Tatoonie." Mara says as she looks up at the man. "That's where my master bought me."
The mans shoulders drop ever so slightly. It's clear he was hoping for an easy trip in exchange for some sexual favors, maybe to a near by world, but Tatoonie is far and the trip is costly. But Mara can sense the wheels turning in his mind. This man has business on Tatoonie, not profitable business though. perhaps he has a bounty to settle on his head. If he brings his debtors a young unspoiled slave girl, they may just consider the debt clear.
"Perhaps we can work something out miss…?" The man says as he puts an arm around Mara.
"Arica, Sir." Mara says with a soft voice, she lets the man lead her away.
"Arica. Such a sweet name." The man says as he leads Mara away from the busy transport dock. "I'm Gareth. And today is your lucky day."
Gareth leads Mara down some stairs that link the main deck of the transport hub to the lower levels for private courier ships. Here the crowds are less dense, and the ships far less reputable. This is where one goes to find undocumented transport off world. As the two walk down the long aisle of ships, most falling apart at the seams, Mara can see the other pilots staring at them. She even reads the lips of an especially seedy pair of men.
"Where did Gareth pick up a mark as luscious as that one?" One whispers to the other.
"Lucky bastard. I bet you he spoils that fine specimen before he leaves orbit." The other says.
Coruscant may be the center of the known Universe, with a wealthy and cosmopolitan top side, but the underbelly of the planet is as dark and sinister as the most infested crime lair you can find. Most people would be foolish to tangle with these sorts, this is doubly true for women. But Mara is no more a mark for this smuggler Gareth than he is a wealthy prince worthy of a red carpet. This game is about appearances. These guys have no idea the trouble they have walking through their midst.
"Here we are." Gareth says as he stops before docking bay 36.
Mara looks up at the mess of a ship docked here. It has the vague appearance of an old YT-1000 freighter, but this ship has been patched together so many times that it is easily 12 different colors. It has clearly seen battle as Mara notices scorch marks along the dorsal section.
"It's so big!" Mara says. "You must be very wealthy mister. Uh I mean Gareth."
"It is big miss." Gareth says as he pulls Mara closer, his pathetic attempt at a charming smile takes over his face. "And it'll get you home just fine."
Gareth leads Mara towards the ship. The ramp lowers and the stale stench of the ships inside vents out. Mara holds back the urge to flinch and puts on a fake smile. As they head up the ramp, Gareth leads Mara to a small seating area next to a junk covered table. The floor is littered with junk and pieces of various components.
"You can rest here if you'd like. I'm going to head up to the cockpit and get us ready for launch." Gareth says with a grin as he walks up a small ramp leading to the cockpit.
Mara looks around. This ship should suit her needs just fine. She picks up a small damaged flow regulator from the ground and begins tinkering with it.
Mara hears Gareth getting permission to undock. Over the next 15 minutes Gareth does his best to fly steady as he leads this flying garbage pile out of the atmosphere and into space. The distinctive rumble of entering Hyperspace eventually comes and then the ship becomes still.
Mara can hear Gareth coming back down the ramp. He sends her a suggestive look as he enters the bay. She knows this look well, and she will enjoy the next few moments greatly.
Mara hands the flow regulator to Gareth.
"Well would you look at that?" Gareth says as he takes it in his hands. "You fixed my flow regulator! This thing has been damaged for months! I've been working on it for days."
Gareth looks down at Mara, she smiles back up at him with her shoulders relaxed and her hands behind her back, she sways a little from side to side as she lets out a soft laugh.
"You are full of surprises you sweet thin-" Gareth says as he leans in, his hand grips her knee, his tongue vying to stick out of his mouth as he nears.
But then the unmistakable click of a blasters safety being disengaged echoes through the room. Gareth freezes, and glances down at the small gun pressed firmly against the underside of his jaw.
"Yes I am Mr. Gareth" Mara says as she stands up. "And trust me when I say that you do not want to find out what other surprises I have."
Gareths hands go up by his sides.
"Whoa young lady, you got the wrong idea!" Gareth says, his twisted attempt at a charming smile returns to his face.
"I have the right idea." Mara says as she moves away from Gareth. "You have a young slave girl, worth as much as your bounty I'm sure. You wouldn't want to spoil such a perfect opportunity now would you?"
Gareth's brow furrows.
"How did you know?" Gareth says.
"We can make this a mutually beneficial arrangement Gareth." Mara says with a smile. "You stay in your cockpit, I stay back here. When we land, you pay off your bounty and we never see each other again."
Gareth stares at her silent. His jaw drops slightly. He wants to find the words, but the only ones that come to mind are his typical cons. And he knows better than to bother with them now.
"You got a deal lady." Gareth says as he drops his hands. "We'll be there in 6 hours."
"That's a good boy." Mara says, she keeps her pistol aimed right at his heart.
She watches as Gareth slinks his way back up the ramp and the cockpit doors close. She returns the pistol to its hidden holster in her belt. She sits back down at the table, kicking one leg up to rest atop it. She looks around and picks up another damaged component from the floor and begins tinkering again.
On the Imperial Star Destroyer Dark Star, Captain Ronoe and Commander Tydon enter the bridge.
Ronoe gives a quick look to Ensign Heweet who is busy at the Communications Station. The Captain hopes Heweet's punishment for last nights scuffle hasn't prompted sudden treasonous behavior in the Ensign. Then again, his behavior last night might be part of a larger feeling of disillusionment.
"Ah, Captain." Lieutenant Johnson says as Ronoe and Tydon arrive on the officer's platform.
"You are relieved Johnson. Please help out in the Starboard crew pit."
"Yes sir." Johnson says.
"Lieutenant Brak-tune." Ronoe says towards the Starboard crew pit.
"Yes sir?" the voice of Brak-tune responds as he sticks his head out from behind a consol.
"You will be in command of the Starboard crew pit during this operation." Ronoe says.
Brak-tune nods and returns to his duties.
"And you Commander," Ronoe says as he turns towards Tydon, "You will take up position in the port crew pit."
Tydon gives a quick nod and makes his way to the port crew pit. Ronoe again eyeballs Ensign Heweet. Within the next couple minutes, many of the lower staff are relieved as the day shift comes to the bridge.
"Navigation?' Ronoe says towards the port crew pit.
"Yes Captain?" Ensign Nue'sol responds.
"E.T.A. to destination?" asks Ronoe.
"T-minus 25 minutes." Nue'sol says before continuing his work.
Ronoe stands at the front view panel, watching the flowing energies of hyperspace encircling the ship. He drifts for a moment before he is ripped back to reality by the booming voice of Lord Vader, Ronoe turns to face his superior.
"Status Captain?!" Vader asks as he strides into the bridge and onto the officers platform.
"The ship is at yellow alert status and all sections are currently in preparation for battle." Ronoe responds putting his hands behind his back as he steps away from the foreword viewport.
"Good, have the available fighters launch as soon as soon as we clear sub-light." Vader says, as he takes up position at the main viewport.
"Yes sir." Ronoe says. "Commander Tydon, have Commander Breen get the Fighter crews to their ships. Alpha squad will launch as soon as we clear sub light. Squadron's Beta, Delta, Gamma and Epsilon will remain on standby aboard the Dark Star. Have Bomber and Missile squads on standby as well."
"Yes sir." Tydon says as he sends the information down to the flight deck.
Ronoe glances towards Lord Vader, listening to the rhythm of Darth Vader's breathing. For a moment he wonders about Vader's suit, why he wears it, and if he ever takes it off. But Ronoe decides those to be ridiculous questions.
"There is nothing wrong with curiosity Captain." Vader says as he looks out the viewport.
Shocked, Ronoe feels his face getting warm as a sudden fear of Vaders ability to read minds over takes him.
"I'm sorry sir, I was simply wondering." Ronoe says.
"I wear this suit, because I must."Vader says in his deep robotic voice. "I have worn it for a long time, and I am un-able to take it off."
"What happened?" Ronoe asks.
Ronoe immediately regrets saying anything. He braces himself for a serious reaming, or worse.
"It is ok Captain, at least you are not too spineless to ask questions that you feel would offend me. Other Captains would rather get promotions and treat me like a child. I can guarantee that those who act that way, will only die a gruesome death." Vader says.
Ronoe feels a strange mixture about Vader's Personality, a calm and collected human side, yet a dangerous one none the less. He wonders for a moment if Vader will answer his query. After several awkward moments in silence, he assumes not.
Vader stares hard out the view port.
"Lord Vader, we are 15 minutes from hyperspace cutoff." Tydon says from the port crew pit.
"Excellent, bring the ship to red alert status." Vader responds.
The ship suddenly becomes overcome by activity; crewmen are busy preparing their stations for battle. Torpedoes tubes are being loaded and Turbo-Lasers batteries are being charged. The battle will be the largest this crew has ever encountered.
Ronoe and Vader both wait for the drop from Hyperspace. It seems like only a few minutes to Ronoe, as the adrenaline takes hold in his body.
And then suddenly the blue energies of hyperspace begin to fade and the stars come into view. The Rydine star becomes visible straight ahead, growing larger by the millisecond. The planet Rydine V appears, first as just a speck, but it soon grows to take up almost half of the view, blocking the sun's light, and casting shadow upon the ship.
"Sub-light engines active, fighters are launching." Tydon says.
Ronoe looks around outside the ship, he sees the other Star Destroyers exiting hyperspace around the 'Dark Star'. Their fighters begin launching as well. The Assault Transports and the Interdictors Cruisers exit hyperspace and take position amongst the Star Destroyers and await their orders. Then, Ronoe notices the Hyperspace Bullet dead ahead. It's there, Vader was right, he knew exactly where it would be.
Ronoe expected it to be docked with some form of orbital platform, or that it would be clearly in a state of construction. But instead it appears intact, appearing more like a complete ship, ready for combat.
"I must say Lord Vader, I was sure the rebel agent lied to you." Ronoe says as he looks with awe at the asteroid sized ship ahead.
"His thoughts cannot lie." Vader says as he turns towards Ensign Heweet. "Open a channel to the other ships."
Heweet nods as he enters commands into the Communications Controls.
"This is Lord Vader, all ships carry out assigned mission objectives." Vader says.
Vader turns to Commander Tydon.
"Commander, inform the strike team to launch and begin capture operations." Vader says.
Tydon quickly communicates to the shuttle bay, relaying the orders to launch. Meanwhile Ronoe peers out the view port.
"I don't see any other ships, but they may be too far away to see by the naked eye." Ronoe says as he turns on the holographic display.
The view port HUD is outlined by red and blue lines. The blue lines encircle the friendly ships, and the red lines forms squares around any detected enemy ships.
"There." Ronoe says as he points at five red squares near the south pole of the planet.
"Lieutenant Brak-tune, can you indentify those ships?" Ronoe asks towards the starboard crew pit.
"I read them as three EF76 Nebulon-B frigates and two Mon-Calamari MC40 light cruisers." Brak-tune responds.
Ronoe sets the display to refresh every five seconds.
"This is too little a defense." Ronoe says.
Out side, the fighters stream in towards the Hyperspace bullet, roughly 20 or so ships from each Star Destroyer. One line of TIE Interceptors is Geen and his men.
"Alright men." Geen speaks into his com. "We have some new fighters today. You have spent some time in the simulators and you have plenty of experience with the TIEs. The controls are identical but the limits are better. There are no enemy fighters on d-scan yet, so take a moment to push the ship to its max. I want you comfortable."
Alpha squad breaks formation quickly. Each man circles around at incredible speed and is back in formation within 3 seconds. Geen smiles.
"Standard swarm pattern on the Target ship. Keep your eyes on your scanners. Break off the second you get any additional contact. Weapons tight. Fire!" Geen says into the com.
Alpha squad opens fire on the Hypersapce bullet followed soon after by countless TIEs from the other ships. Each squad orbits in an elliptical halo around the Rebel starship. The pattern results in a near constant barrage of fire against the Hyperspace Bullet.
Back onboard the Dark Star.
"Lord Vader, the fleet has reached weapons range." Lieutenant Brak-tune says from the starboard crew pit.
"Fire at will." Vader commands.
Outside all 15 Star Destroyers unleash the full force of their turbo lasers against the Hyperspace Bullet. Combined with the fire from the TIE squadrons, the firepower is immense.
Back on the bridge of the Dark Star.
"What damage to the Hyperspace Bullets shields?" Ronoe asks Tydon.
"We detect a 0.06 drop in shield status." Tydon replies.
"0.06?" Ronoe asks.
"It is very heavily defended, as expected." Vader replies. "This effect will blind the Hyperspace Bullets sensors enough for the Strike Team to approach undetected."
Outside, weaving between the unending hail of laser fire from the TIE squadrons and the Star Destroyers, a lone modified Martial Class Shuttle slowly approaches the Hyperspace Bullet. As it nears the surface it slows. Landing against its hull, several docking clamps extend on either side and lock onto the hull of the Rebel ship. The Strike team begins to cut through the hull almost immediately.
On board the Dark Star.
"Sir, the enemy fleet has adjusted course and is about to enter weapons range." Tydon says.
"Inform the Interdictor Cruisers to activate their gravity wells." Vader replies.
The battle seems to be going well, and there is almost no resistance as of yet.
"Lord, the strike team reports they have docked with the enemy vessel on the far side of our weapons strikes, they are cutting through the hull now, estimated time to entry, 15 minutes." Tydon says.
"Good. Everything is going according to plan." Vader says.
Suddenly the ship shakes as the enemy ships open fire on the Dark Star.
"Report." Ronoe says to the starboard crew pit.
"Enemy vessel bearing at 20 degrees starboard. Shields are holding." Brak-tune exclaims.
"Interdictor Cruisers report that their gravity wells are up." Commander Tydon says from the port side pit.
"Communications, inform the other ships to proceed to stage two." Vader commands.
"Yes sir." Ensign Heweet replies.
Outside the battle is intensifying. And right on cue, the other Star Destroyers all cease their firing on the Hyperspace Bullet, and all simultaneously open fire on the Nebulon-B frigates in the approaching fleet. Such ships can hardly stand a chance against a lone Star Destroyer, let alone 15, and within a few moments their shields being to fail and they quickly begin to retreat away from the battle. The Star Destroyers quickly switch targets to the MC40 light cruisers. While their shields are stronger than those of the Nebulon-B frigates, they cannot hold out for long against the concentrated fire from 15 Imperial Class Star Destroyers either.
"Communications, inform the Assault Shuttles to proceed with capture operations." Vader commands. "Have all fighter squadrons' form a defensive formation around the Star Destroyers."
"Right away sir!" Ensign Heweet calls out.
Ronoe turns to look out at the battle. The TIE Fighters have all ceased their fire on the Hyperspace Bullet and are pulling back into a defensive posture around their home ships.
Inside the lead TIE Interceptor of the Dark Stars Alpha Squadron.
"Great work guys." Geen says into his com. "The Strike Team has landed, the enemy fleet is falling fast. Reinforcements are likely to show up any second. Stay alert!"
The TIE Interceptors fall in quickly around the Dark Star.
Meanwhile the Assault Shuttles have managed to dock with all of the rebel Nebulon-B frigates and have begun boarding the ships. Several more are closing in on the EC40 crusiers.
"This is going rather well." Ronoe says.
But then, as if fate wanted Ronoe to eat his words, the sensors flash bright red. An enemy fleet is exiting hyperspace. Ronoe quickly reads over the computers calculations.
"Oh my." Ronoe whispers.
"Captain!" Tydon shouts. "We're detecting 12 assault frigates, 5 MC80 Mon-cal's, and over a hundred fighters inbound. Sensors are picking up B-wings, X-wings, and A-wings!"
"The battle has only just begun Captain." Vader says.
