Hello again! Sorry this new entry took so long, but the period of the end of school is incredibly stressful. You would think the teachers would ease up a bit after AP exams, but that is very wrong. Anyway, school is finally winding down, but my update schedule will still be irregular for the foreseeable future. Details will be shown at the end of the chapter.
Chapter 3
USS Explorer
Unexplored System
Beta Quadrant
Milky Way Galaxy
"Captain, their firing weapons." Elisa stated calmly. After two years of nearly constant fighting, she had gotten used to giving that report.
"Go to red alert, target their engines and weapons, and return the favor, just with phasers now. We don't want to destroy them, just disable." Despite what he had told the arrogant admiral, Brandon did not actually want a war, and he was hopeful that once the ship was disabled they would be able to come to an understanding. However, that did not mean he wasn't willing to resort to violence.
"Zonidi to bridge, I'm bringing one of our guests up to the bridge, one Sabine Wren."
"Acknowledged, though it may not be necessary; that tower practically screams importance. Whoever designed this was very clearly going for intimidation over practicality." Anders responded with a hint of amusement.
Elisa then spoke up, "Sir, fore shields are beginning to fail. An order to fire would be great."
"You need an order at this point?! Go ahead and fire." Anders responded; it was a standing joke between the two of them. He really needed a vacation.
Corellian VCX Freighter 'Ghost'
Shuttle Bay 4
USS Explorer
Sabine Wren was not a happy person. The mission was supposed to be easy, fly to Alderaan, pick up some new recruits for the growing Rebellion, and leave. But of course, they were the former Lothal cell, so things could never have been that simple. They had the terrible luck to run into Kallus and Constantine, and now she was waking up with a splitting headache. However, her mood brightened considerably when she noticed that she was still on the Ghost and not in an imperial cell as she thought she would be. Looking through the turret window she could tell that they were in the hanger of a larger ship, though definitely not imperial; the bay was far too bright and the walls too light a color to be imperial. She looked to her left and noticed some type of shuttle. She did not recognize it from any imperial designs from her time in the Academy, but she did notice that on it was a registry in some numerical system she didn't recognize, followed by a name written in, strangely enough, High Galactic that read USS Freedom. Not recognizing the prefix and not knowing any planet that still used High Galactic over Aurebesh, Sabine found herself wondering where they had been dumped this time.
She was shaken out of her thoughts by a rumbling warble that could have only been one thing. She looked at the Ghost's resident droid and said, "Chopper! Where are we? How is the rest of the crew?"
Chopper responded in binary as he always did. "C1-10P found no recognizable stellar patterns. Ship=rescued by larger ships. Rest of crew + 2 others=still incapacitated. More water sacks outside. Sabine=meet with rescuers."
"Did they say anything about who they are?"
"Rescuers named ship USS Explorer. They said no more."
"Right then, time to find out for myself then." With this being said, Sabine walked out of the turret section and to the ship's exit. She thought about putting her helmet on, but settled with arming herself. She decided that she should show some trust; these people did rescue them after all. She lowered the ramp and walked down to a woman wearing a blue and white uniform. She looked human, until one noticed the series of spots that ran down one side of her face and disappeared into her uniform. She stepped forward. "I am Lieutenant Commander Zonidi, the Chief Science Officer on this ship. Welcome aboard the Explorer."
"Sabine Wren. Not that I'm not grateful for you rescuing us or anything, but who exactly are you people?" Just then the ship shook.
"That's an explanation that will have to wait. Something tells me the Captain would like to see you." Zonidi then pressed the arrow-shaped badge on her shirt before saying, "Zonidi to bridge, I'm bringing one of our guests up to the bridge, one Sabine Wren."
A voice that she supposed belonged to the Captain replied, "Acknowledged, though it may not be necessary; that tower practically screams importance. Whoever designed this was very clearly going for intimidation over practicality."
With this being said, Zonidi tapped her badge and said, "Follow me." The two walked over to what was clearly a turbolift before Zonidi said "Bridge." The doors closed and after a few seconds and a very slight sense of movement, they opened again to show a hallway leading into a multi-leveled elliptical bridge. A man with red hair and wearing a yellow and white uniform was telling a red haired woman to fire. Through the viewscreen, Sabine could see what was clearly a Star Destroyer. Before she could tell the crew to run, an orange beam of pure energy, unlike anything she had seen before, lanced out towards the Star Destroyer, striking the aft section of the ship and travelling straight through. Sabine was rendered speechless at the display of power.
Two further beams struck the Star Destroyer and ran down the length of the ship. The red haired woman then said "Unknown vessel has been disabled, recommend we send a boarding party to take the bridge."
The red haired man nodded and said, "Agreed, beam over a team of MACOs. A ship that large that is that blatantly aggressive no doubt has a large contingent of soldiers." The man then turned towards Sabine before saying. "You must be Sabine Wren. I'm Fleet Admiral Brandon Anders, commanding officer of this ship. It seems we have much to discuss."
ISD Lawbringer
Unknown Location
Constantine was furious. The rebel craft had not only survived an onslaught of turbolaser fire that should have destroyed them with ease, but had quickly, if not easily, disabled THEM. He was about to order the launch of all fighter squadrons in order to help him to recover from this humiliating defeat when he heard several high pitched hums fill the bridge, followed by several pillars of light. From these pillars of light appeared individuals of an unknown humanoid species, wearing full body armor and armed with strange weapons. He reached for his blaster, but before he could fire a beam of energy was shot from one of the weapons, and he knew no more.
Kallus watched as Constantine collapsed, grudgingly impressed with the new individuals. They had managed to not only cripple an Imperial Class Star Destroyer with shocking ease, but had managed to take the bridge. He was now convinced that the individuals were not rebels; they were not so well armed, nor were they so well trained.
One of the individuals pointed at him and shouted "Drop your weapon!" Kallus complied quickly; with no way to retake the bridge without creating a worse situation between this Federation and the Empire, Kallus decided that it was in both his and the Empire's best interest to cooperate, and hope that this powerful new unknown wouldn't declare war. After Kallus and the other individuals stationed on the bridge had surrendered, one of the armored individuals closed the doors to the bridge and set up a device near it that was quite obviously a shield. Kallus knew that the crew of the Lawbringer had passed the point of no return when one of the individuals spoke into a device on his wrist and said "Captain Anders, the bridge is secure."
So regarding my update schedule, it will remain irregular for the time being. Next weekend is when I graduate from high school, and I will going through a period of huge change over the coming months. In two weeks, I will be leaving my home with my parents for the last time, and I will be travelling up until the point where college begins. And then there's the issue of adjusting to college life. So throughout the coming months, my updates will be made whenever I find the time to write. I will be sure to let you know when I can switch to regular updates. Until next time!
