Chapter 12
The Torrent,Admiral Zinel's Flagship
Agent Tailon, ISB Agent
It felt good to look upon a Star Destroyer in space again. I give a small, genuine smile as the Imperial Shuttle approaches the massive ship a small TIE escort following behind the shuttle. As the shuttle enters the main hanger, I see two lines of stormtroopers, at least twenty men long on each side, with an aisle in between them. In the center of that aisle, near where the shuttle was just touching down stood the Admiral. He wore the olive uniform of an Imperial Fleet Commander, with a chubby like face that matched his slightly robust (though not overweight) body structure. He wore no cap, instead revealing his perfectly combed and regulated brown hair. As the shuttle makes a complete landing, I walk over to the exitting ramp, my back straight as I maintain proper Imperial Protocols.
"Admiral Zinel, I assume. A pleasure to be aboard a space-bound craft again." I say this with complete earnest, stopping in front of the Admiral. On the contrary, the Admiral merely grunts and turns around, starting to walk out of the hanger. I follow close behind.
"This whole debacle is a mess." Zinel said without the slightest hint of amusement or emotion in his voice. "I already have Tarkin breathing down my neck to quell the bloody natives on Geonosis, which is already a mess due to being given inadequate field officers. Heck, I'm almost ready to ask permission to simply gas the planet and be done with them! And then this happens, and I'm forced to leave the rest of my fleet to rescue you!" I decide not to say anything, though I do distance myself a little from the grumbling Admiral. We enter a turbolift, the Admiral pressing a button to go to the command floor. We stand there in an awkward silence, with the Admiral just glaring forward, and myself trying not to trigger him any more.
The turbolift door opens to a hallway, which we walk down until we reach the bridge. Much like the Avenger, the bridge consisted of a large viewport room, with two two pits separated by an aisle where the bridge crew and consoles sat. Once enter the busy room, the Admiral sighs and turns to me.
"I read the transcript you sent me, and forwarded it to my superiors. Are there really valuable resources on this planet? As well as an agreeable workforce?" My eyes light up slightly, my ambition flaring up yet again as my find is recognized.
"Yes, Admiral. They are overly friendly, and naive. They have resources on that planet that is ripe for the plundering, enough to put even the Kuat Shipyards to shame." At that, the Admiral actually snorted, shaking his head.
"So, this means you propose a full scale invasion, then?" My face flushes as he asks me this.
"Indeed, Admiral." I say confidently, returning his cold stare with one of my own. The Admiral just looks at me, before shaking his head.
"I didn't come here to assist in any invasion, Agent. I came to extract you and your crew. If you want an invasion force, you'll have to bring it up with Grand Moff Tarkin." My face pales as he says this. That was not part of my plan. My face then flushes red as I grow slightly angry.
"I don't have time to schedule an appointment with Tarkin! For this to be successful, we need to act now and take them while they are still unaware of our intentions!" The Admiral wheeled on me, poking a finger into my chest as I back away in surprise.
"That is incorrect, AGENT. They are YOUR intentions. My orders from Tarkin were clear: extract your crew and return them to the Imperial Station on Delvar for questioning, and then return to my post at Geonosis. Those are my orders, and I will not deviate from them. Do I make myself clear, Agent?" I flinch at his harsh words. This man wasn't weak hearted like Varinth. This was a steel boned Imperial Commander, not a Republic artifact.
"Yes….. Admiral." I say, nodding quickly. Just then, my comm link started beeping. I look down at it on my belt, before unclasping it. I look the Admiral in the eye as I hold the receiver.
"Tailon receiving." I spoke in the same tone I had to the Admiral, who was now walking towards an officer in one of the pits who was silently beckoning to him. On the comm, I was met with a slightly frantic voice.
"Tailon! This is Pier. We are under attack by the Equestrian forces!" My eyes widen as Pier, in a frantic voice, begins explaining the situation. Even the Admiral looks up from the pit, listening in on the conversation.
"My shuttle just touched down at our FOB, and all of the traitors you rounded up are revolting! Equestrian Pegasai are dive bombing and kicking our men before we can even aim! I guarantee it won't be long until their main fighting force arrives." I bite my lip, silently cursing to myself.
"Hang in there, Pier! Have all of your men evacuate to the inside of the Avenger and remain there! Help is coming." With that, I signed off, looking over at the Admiral, who seemed to have what I could only assume was the closest thing to an amused face without actually being amused.
"Peaceful and naive, eh?" He said, making my eyes narrow as he turns towards the ship's intercom and makes an announcement to prepare all fighters.
The Avenger, Equestria
Jeriff Pier, Imperial Field Officer
"This way!" I shout as I beckon to the remaining troopers outside. Dead Imperials littered the ground in front of the STar Destroyers ramp, as well as Pegasai who had failed to dodge any of the blaster bolts. The traitors had risen up the moment the Equestrians came into view, tackling or strong arming their guards and grabbing their weapons. Most were killed before they could even touch their guards, but that didn't stop a good number of them from firing on the remaining Imperials on the field. With the Pegasai dive bombing Stormtrooper Corp, the only viable option was to do as Tailon said: barricade ourselves within the Star Destroyer.
The final remnants of fighting were on the ramp, where the troopers defending those running into the destroyer were just now turning to retreat. Only one of the four Stormtroopers defending the ramp ever made it in, the rest either shot or kicked off the ramp by a pegasus that dashed by. As soon as the final man was in, I sealed the airlock. A few Pegasai tried flying into the massive closing doors, but were shot down by the line of Stormtroopers that awaited just inside the door. When the door was finally shut completely, I looked around at the small group before me. The thirty to forty men before me were the final men to have come on the original Avenger crew. I look around at them all. Then, an idea came to mind. I pulled out my commlink, tuning the frequency.
"Engineering department, can you read me?" Many of the men from Engineering had befriended the Equestrians, and were probably outside, dead or helping the Equestrians break in. However, that didn't mean they all were.
"Falcar speaking, what do you need, Pier?" The loyalist in engineering asked.
"The ship is nearly completely done with repairs, correct?"
"Yes, sir, the ship is nearly done…. However, there were some final tests that i wanted to do before we did a take off." Just then, a pegasus tried flying through the viewport window. No joke, he just tried ramming it. A few more pegasai came over and attempted the same thing.
"Engineer, reroute all power to the engines and stabilizers. We are going to try to break orbit." THe engineer was silent, as though he would object, before audibly sighing.
"Yes, sir."
Caramel Dust, Royal Guard to Twilight Sparkle
"What was that" Rainbow Dash groaned, laying against the side of the wall as the ship began to tremor slightly. I look up groggily, laying on the cold and metal floor of the holding cell.
"I don't know…." I wrack my mind over what was happening. The downed ship almost seemed to be…. Moving. AT this realization, I instantly stand, looking around.
"The ship is taking flight."
The Torrent,Admiral Zinel's Flagship
Agent Tailon, ISB Agent
"Pier, this is Tailon. Why are scanners showing power being rerouted to the Avenger's engines?" I ask into the comlink as soon as the scanning officer alerted me. The voice I received back was distorted, but still somewhat audible.
"Tailon, the traitors and Equestrians are attempting to break through the viewport on the bridge! I had to do something, and the engineers told me this thing would fly. It is better for the warship to be in the air than a sitting mynock on the ground!" Pier responded. The door behind me opened as Zinel exited from the main strategic room of the bridge, coming over to the intercom station.
"Attention, all TIE Pilots! Launch Order 0-10 is in full affect! I repeat, all TIE Pilots are to disperse and assist the Avenger!" Within a few seconds, I could make out the small, agile fighters leaving the side hangers on the Destroyer, heading down to the planet's surface.
"Pier, Zinel is scrambling TIE fighters near your position to escort you out. Blasted fool, you should have waited for reinforcements!" I shout into the commlink, before turning it off and putting it back onto my belt. Suddenly, the scanning officer stood within the pit, turning to Zinel.
"Sir, something is happening to the Avenger! A power influx just happened within their main power core!" I turn my head at this, walking over along with Zinel. The power core was severely damaged during the initial landing, and was rebuilt completely within Equestria, using their supplies and our schematics. Was the Equestrian supplies not as formidable, or useful, as I had originally thought?
"So, what is happening to the core? Is the power source malfunctioning?" I ask the scanner, who shook his head.
"Negative, sir….. It seems like the Core is working TOO well…. All of its energy was devoted to the engines and stabilizers, causing them to overload!" The comm officer next to us heard this, immediately tuning his comm to that of the Avenger.
"Attention, Avenger crew! Our scanners are reporting that your engines are overheating! Divert power to another source, now!" The officer stated, rather frantically. He waited for a few seconds, before turning to us.
"I can't reach the Avenger!" I quickly turn away, pulling out my comm and pressing the receiver.
"Pier, your ship is overheating! You need to divert power away from the engines and stabilizers!" When he responded, the call was even more garbled, the Avenger having just entered the planet's atmosphere.
"I don't know how to do that! I'm only a field offic….." In the middle of his sentence, Pier's line was cut off by what sounded like a large explosion, followed by sparks, then silence.
"Pier? Pier, do you read me?" I shouted into the receiver. The scanner turned to me, and my face went white as he gave me a report.
"Sir, the Avenger has lost power and its engines are blown. The ship is going down!"
Caramel Dust, Royal Guard to Twilight Sparkle
The whole room rocked, sending RD and myself flying to the floor. Within a moment, the lighting and energy door powered off, now replaced by an ear grating siren. I shake my head, recovering from the blow as I looked around.
"Dash, the door is disabled!" I shout, looking down at her. While still weakened, she was up with a few seconds, leaning into me. Using each other as a crutch to help the other, we trot slowly out of the cell, down the dark hallway. While we couldn't really see where we were going, we just kept moving forward. The doors were all opened, and we continued along our path, the blaring siren hurting our ears as we searched for a way off the ship.
"Oh Celestia…" Rainbow breathed as we turned a corner, and I looked away. The hallway was a distorted mess, the bodies of three stormtroopers laying sprawled across it. They weren't moving.
"We need to get out of here, now!" I say to her, which she didn't seem to object to. Suddenly, amidst the screeching siren, there was another sound that hit our ears. The sound of wind, and tearing metal. We turned, and saw a breach in the hull, nothing to big, but big enough. I laid Lady Dash down as I trotted over to investigate. It looked as though it was burned, and wind was rushing in. I quickly realized what was happening. We were in the air. And we were plummeting down.
"My lady, can you fly?" I go over to her, who stands up, looking back at her wings, before giving me a painful smirk.
"I can fly…. Any day…." She trots painfully over to the hole, feeling the escaping air hit her face. She seemed a little reluctant, but then bore a confident look on her face, just as I remembered from the cocky pegasus. She gets on my back, to my confusion, and then orders, "Run out the hole. I'll fly." I look back at her, eyes wide and fearful. My stare was returned with that confident stare. I gulp, looking at the hole, air screeching out of it. With a shout, I run forward, closing my eyes as I leap into the whirlwind.
As soon as I leave the ship, I am suched into the escaping air and wind flying back without control. I yelp loudly as I spiral out of control, my only comfort being Rainbow Dash, who is still clinging tightly to my back.
"Knees in!" She shouts over the torrent, in which I do immediately. Then I feel the air current change, and we start gliding. Rainbows wings were outstretched and glided us out of the maelstrom. I look down, watching as the Star Destroyer plummeted to the ground, nose first, fire engulfing the whole vessel. My eyes widened as I saw how close it was to impact.
Jeriff Pier, Imperial Field Officer
My eyes opened to the sound of sirens blaring, my head resting on the ground. I quickly and groggily stand, feeling unbalanced as I lean against a blackened the viewport was undamaged, the rest of the bridge looked like a bomb had gone off, with consoles sparking and black scorch marks staining the steel floor. The bodies of the staff I had on the bridge were all on the ground, dead. I look outside of the front viewport, watching without a single emotion as the Star Destroyer collided with the ground, and fire consumed his vision.
Caramel Dust
The explosion of the Avenger was massive, the heat coming from the explosion catching the nearby trees on fire. The blast was huge, and quickly coming towards me and the flying Pegasus on my back.
"Nononono!" Rainbow shouted as we were caught in the force wave caused by the explosion, sending us flying towards a group of trees and the ground below. The force of the blast was big enough to throw RD off my back as we plummeted to the ground. I attempt to angle myself towards her, and attempt to grab a hold of her again, but it was too late. We hit the tree line, and I lost site of Rainbow as I crashed through tree limbs, which all snapped, until I hit the ground.
I groan in pain, unable to stand as I start to black out. My eyelids open and shut and all my energy could only go to inhaling and exhaling ragged breaths. Eventually, everything slipped from my mind; the explosion, RD….. and the only thing I saw was darkness.
Agent Tailon, ISB Agent
"The Avenger is gone, sir….." the scanning officer informed us, resulting in me dropping my comlink. All those weeks of repair, of friendly relations with the natives. I stare outside of the viewport, keeping calm and emotionless. It was almost symbolic, that the ship that brought the Equestrians and the Imperials together should crash and burn. Ironic, in a way. I turn to Zinel, who was staring at me. He then sighed, and turned on the intercom for the whole ship.
"Attention, all available transports, the is Admiral Zinel. I need all available ground troops to report to your battle stations. I want all scrambled TIEs to examine the wreckage, and Ground Troops to prepare for an assault." Zinel turned the intercom off, before looking over at me with narrowed eyes.
"It would seem that you have your war, Tailon."
Authors note: And thus ends the story of the Avenger and her crew. The battle for Equestria shall begin in the next chapter. Thank you guys so much for your support and dedication to my story! I really enjoy your guys comments and feedback :)