After days and days of continuous monitoring of supplies incoming for the fleet, Fleet Admiral Firmus Piett sat down on his chair contemplating the next move ahead. Everything is going well for their next operation, as Lord Vader gave him complete autonomy on what to do while they are being resupplied. Currently, the Death Squadron is on one of the shipyards accommodated to them at the Mygeeto System, a pit stop towards their next step to the Unknown Regions then jumping-off towards Lehon and the straight to the unknown.
His eyes lidded towards sleep but instead of letting it conquer him, he took another swig of coffee and scratched his eyes to further look into the paperwork that has been piling up. A typical day for working as the Fleet Admiral.
"Sir!" Lieutenant Masil Veit, communications office aboard the Executor made himself known with the salute. He still remembered how Lord Vader made the lieutenant hire bounty hunters and with reluctance he did.
"Yes, Lieutenant? Is there something you need?" Piett spoke, relaxing his back on his chair.
"Major Dreis gave to me the report for the logistics as you requested. All repairs to the ships and starfighters have been completed while supplies are still being managed. Ground vehicles are still in progress, however, the major estimates that it will be done within four days."
Piett gave a nod, "Good, Lord Vader will be pleased. Tell all officers of the fleet to meet with Lord Vader later. We will brief you on our mission."
"At once, Admiral." Lieutenant Veit saluted him and left to contemplate on his own.
In all honesty, Piett prefers to be on the bridge of the ship, however, with so much holowork needed to be done, he is bunked down to his office. Vader requested so many provisions and things that they are almost stockpiling for a campaign, so requests like these are being notified to his datapad pad.
His shore leave consists of tracking down logistics of provisions, supplies, repairs for the Executor dreadnought, and the rest of the Death Squadron. If there wasn't an operation he would read books on naval tactics and of the exploits of Grand Admiral Thrawn. They were also given additional two ISD-II Star Destroyers to bolster their ranks and an additional two Interdictor Class Star Destroyers. They have a right to be armed for war as they got intel regarding a secret weapon in the Unknown Regions.
Capable, competent, and lacking of sycophants, they are what Piett needs and Lord Vader wants. If the threat looming from the Unknown Regions is from their reports then being prepared is sufficient enough. Recalling the meeting earlier with Lord Vader, it is quite chilling but he would never dare show it to anyone.
Lord Vader sat quietly in his meditation chamber, the mechanical breathing of the Dark Lord not even heard in the room. Piett observed from his time as the Fleet Admiral of the Death Squadron, that if Lord Vader is not customizing the most advanced TIE fighter that there is in his personal hangar, the Emperor's Enforcer would be usually in his meditation room if not in battle. The chamber itself is unopened, but he knew Vader knew he was there.
"My Lord." Piett said firmly with trepidation. While he survives within the clutches of Vader, he is always nervously alert when talking to him personally. Anyone in the presence of the Dark Lord that even one mistake could lead someone with the color of their face similar to that of a twi'lek.
The upper half of the Dark Lord's chamber rose and revealed Vader himself, in a suit and mask. He then heard the infamous mechanical breathing of Vader, the one that brought fear to any traitorous rebel or an incompetent officer. The sunken sockets and immobile face almost let people doubt that Vader is a human at all. A droid, perhaps? But no droid could ever be as ruthless as him. All that they know is that the Jedi left him scarred and imprisoned him in a suit.
Vader then spoke, his mechanical voice string notes of dread into the air, "Admiral. Prepare the fleet within two weeks, we are going towards the Unknown Regions and even beyond."
"My Lord." Piett almost said in surprise but held it within. "May I ask why?"
"If you are to learn this, would you back out, Admiral?" Vader replied almost with a tinge of humor.
"Of course not, my Lord. I'm quite curious about what our mission is. The Emperor hasn't informed me of anything as of yet." Piett wrinkled his brows and straightened his posture.
"We will go to the Unknown Regions. Patrols that are sent beyond Nirauan and Lehon are missing, none have returned. The Emperor gave us the task to deal with the threat, either the patrols are defecting to a rebel base or something else is at play." Vader paused for a moment, "Whatever they might be, they must be crushed."
"As you wish, my Lord," Piett answered quickly. "What do they report my Lord, besides patrols not being found. The Unknown Regions is known for-"
"Obviously, you would think like that, Admiral. Anyone would." Vader told him in a condescending manner, his fist lightly shaking, shutting the Admiral up. "Until the rebels will come knocking at our doors." Lord Vader then stood, from the screen on the wall, projected various images. What was peculiar about these images by the probes is a ship, its size larger than an Imperial-I Class Star Destroyer. The appearance also of the ship is eerie.
It is somewhat of a crude vessel, cylindrical in form. The sides forming rock with metal jutting to the sides. Someone could have mistaken the ship as a mining colony left abandoned in the Unknown Regions. The most peculiar thing of the ship, however, is that the middle of it resembles that of a large weapon. Whatever it is, it is dangerous when it falls into the wrong hands.
"How could a ship like this take down our patrols, Lord Vader?" Piett asked carefully. "All they have to do is to strike it in the sides, and if the ship is that crude then a long-range battery can destroy it."
"No further evidence was found, which is why we will go there ourselves. Find this ship, destroy it, and if there are any more out there, destroy them." Vader growled lightly. "Perhaps you have assumptions, Admiral?"
Piett quietly analyzed the ship on the screen, open and closing his hands for any kind of assessment that comes to his mind. "It could mean two things, Lord Vader, that ship has a great stealth system or the patrols being sent treat this as a normal patrol when it actually isn't. And while it is crude stealth ship, it would be dangerous to fall into the hands of the rebellion, or it actually is in theirs now."
Vader gave a quiet nod, not noticeable to many but to those who want to survive under him, they would. "That is sound. If we can find the source of these ships, then we will see to it that the planet will be under Imperial rule or they will be destroyed. Has the Mygeeto System been pacified, Admiral?"
"Yes, my Lord."
"Good," From Vader's hand, a hologram appeared mapping the farthest regions of the known galaxy. "Have our entire fleet station there, resupplied and repaired. I want our supplies fully restocked. Once restocked, have the fleet jump to Lehon and we will venture forth from there. What's the current count of our fleet?"
Piett took his datapad out of his pocket. "About thirty-seven ships my Lord. The Executor, three Tectors, twenty ISD-2's, ten updated ISD-1's, three Interdictors, and fifty Vindicator heavy cruisers. Will that be enough, my Lord?"
"Yes, Admiral. Now, prepare for the fleet to jump at the Mygeeto System."
Admiral Piett sat silently, remembering the meeting from the Dark Lord. Another day for the job, he supposed. He has full confidence that the fleet can take whatever the Unknown Regions bring them. A much more dangerous place than Hutt Space. In all honesty, while ambitious he knows his place. Piett wants the full subjugation of Hutt Space and has the Unknown Regions be explored for the benefit of the Empire. However, those were all just dreams.
"Sir, the officers are now onboard the Executor and awaiting orders from Lord Vader." The voice of Major Dreis blurted out of the datapad, its loud volume made Piett squint and lowered it. He then stood up and made a quick brisk through the communications channel.
"Attention, all staff officers of the Death Squadron, this is Admiral Piett. Lord Vader and I will meet you in the conference room."
Admiral Piett speaks to his fellow officers and various captains of the fleet. It is going well as expected of the Death Squadron as any signs of boredom and inattentiveness would have those who show it be put in a body bag the next. Lord Vader sat quietly, letting his asthmatic breathing say what he has to say. "For now, our plan is to launch from Lehon and head further the Unknown Regions. After jumping from hyperspace, all deflector shields must be on. That ship is strong enough to punch through an outdated ISD-1 without any deflector shields."
"We are just going to a glorified patrol? We should be chasing the rebels and gaining more intel on their movements! Not these useless errands within the Unknown Regions!" Captain Vido slammed his fist on the table and all eyes are now on him. His face contorted with worry and anger, it seems that the man is a fresh recruit to the Death Squadron and has no idea how to operate with the Dark Lord. "Lord Vader, this is absurd!"
"A direct order from the Emperor is absurd?" Vader spoke up. "And what if that ship falls into rebel hands? Can you suggest any more solutions or perhaps any missions, Captain Vido? Because you seem uncertain."
Everyone could almost hear the captain swallowing from his outburst and his answer to Lord Vader is silence. "And that is why you are failing me, Captain Vido. Tread lightly. Admiral Piett, continue."
"Of course, my Lord," Piett answered and continued his presentation. "Our objective is to destroy each and every ship that is similar to the ones from our data. I had our communications officer upload it to each of your datapads so check it. We will have to keep our sensors up and running, if they are detected we will have our Interdictors intercept them with their gravity well projectors if they attempt to move at light speed or jump to hyperspace. Never deactivate your deflector shields until I or Lord Vader commands you, is that clear?"
"Yes, Admiral." The staff answered.
"If any of the ships have detected any signs from their probes, inform the command immediately. If we do our jobs, this will be a swift operation. Dismissed." Piett closed the holopad and let the officers vacate the room, leaving him and Lord Vader alone. Frankly, he was used to this, when it comes to preparations Lord Vader now gives him the autonomy that he needs with their recent successes in suppressing the rebel threat. He wouldn't let down the Dark Lord.
"Admiral, how are the preparations?" Vader asked him as he turned towards him.
Piett straightened his back. "It is going well, we are well stocked for a campaign, my Lord. Hyperspace routes have been calculated as I have requested Grand Admiral Thrawn for data for additional and alternate routes that the Chiss Ascendancy has been using in the Unknown Regions. I also have assured him that this data will not fall into wrong hands."
Vader nodded, "Be careful not to overstep your boundaries, Admiral."
Piett shivered in fear from Vader's words, "I assure you, my Lord, that everything that I'm doing is for the success of this mission. Nothing more."
"With the Death Squadron's recent successes against the rebels, you seem to have garnered the attention of the Grand Admiral. I'm surprised you never let it go to your head." Vader spoke firmly, circling the table whilst observing the cargoes of ships fly by from the holoscreen.
"I'm just doing my job, my Lord. If there are more stealth ships with the capabilities of destroying our patrols, then it is only right we prepare for war. If that ship can slip past patrols, radar, and can punch through ISDs with captains leading their ships without shields, then we have the right to be worried, my Lord."
"Perhaps." Vader paused. "Do not fail me, Admiral Piett. The tower that you are building might as well crumble if this mission fails. And what if they are extra-galactic, Admiral, what would you do?"
It's always like this that makes having Vader as a superior officer unique, asking questions that are out of the box yet the Dark Lord always makes it a scale for those beneath him. An answer is that of a feather, an action is equivalent to an iron bar. "Assess the situation and possible go beyond, my Lord. If they are an invasion force from another galaxy then they must be dealt with as with the rebels."
"And how do we deal with those forces?" Vader asked Piett.
Piett paused for a moment, silently observing the Dark Lord then gave a straight answer, "We adapt, my Lord. We are cutting down the rebellion due to our nature of adaptability and it will be our greatest asset."
Vader was quiet for a moment until he turned himself to the door and stopped, "That is satisfactory. Dismissed Admiral."
Admiral Rae Sloane inspected the new starfighters that will come aboard the ship of Vigilance, the new TIE/D Defender Elite line. This would be a great addition to their arsenal, maybe a reward from the Fleet Admiral, although she is puzzled. The Vigilance was supposed to go to his nephew but instead of showing disdain towards her, he is actually okay with it, maybe because of his record as a person who rose through the ranks and not relying on money and family name.
She honestly thought that the admiral just wants to get in her pants but he displayed such incorruptibility and professionalism that almost all Imperial officers respected him. Rae Sloane knows that Firmus Piett is a great asset to the Imperial cause, and speaking of the Fleet Admiral.
The man walked quickly with few Death Troopers behind his back. "Fleet Admiral on deck!" A guard suddenly shouted and the entire crew of the bridge stood up.
"At ease men, return to your stations," Piett replied and went straight ahead to meet her, "Admiral Sloane," he forwarded his hand and she shook it with a firm grip. "It seems you received the new Defender line of TIEs, have your pilots tested it yet?"
"Not yet, Admiral. I'm still deciding who to assign the fighters for."
Piett then looked at the TIE Defenders being loaded to the launch bays. "I suggest giving it to the best pilots that we have, from the dossier I gave you, originally it assigned to those who survived twenty missions by the High Command. It is, after all, a gift and a secret project by Lord Vader to bolster our fleet. It has much simpler controls than that of the prototype and secretly rebuilt from recovered data from Lothal. Your men will have fun with this."
Sloane gave him a quick chuckle. "Indeed, even though costly I'm impressed by its specifications, those rebel outlaws will sure get a run for their money; but going off-topic Admiral, do you have any experiences at all in the Unknown Regions?"
"No." Piett gave to her straight. "I've encountered some bizarre things in the galaxy but who knows what the Unknown Regions can unfold? Maybe that's why Lord Vader procured TIE/D's, but a ship that can punch through an ISD's that has no shielding in just one shot? Now that is truly bizarre and must be snuffed out."
"Or any captains who are there are incompetent buffoons." Sloane snides.
Piett sighed. "Indeed. But I have confidence in our fleet that they can stamp out this threat, that's why preparations are getting heavy, I just recently had my sixth cup today and more paperwork on my table needed to be done with supplies coming here around the clock."
"That goes with any higher positions, Admiral Piett." Sloane snorts. "The higher the position, the tighter the leash. Oh, and how is General Veers, has he returned from duty?"
"He is still kicking." His eyes wandering at the hangar. "But I'm glad he has returned to duty, although his leg has to be replaced with a prosthetic and due for a cloned leg in six months. I'm surprised he actually lived through that ordeal on Hoth, Lord Vader presumed him dead by then that even he was impressed and praised Veers. Lord Vader rarely gives praises, and I'm sure you know that."
"Of course, Admiral. Serving under Lord Vader is a privilege for the Empire. The fear can drive you to become better, once happened to me when I'm just an Imperial cadet. The captain of a Star Destroyer that I served under suddenly died when I returned from a hyperspace jump calculation error. Lord Vader was present in his office and act as if nothing happened. I suspect that Captain Baylo was either a spy or just senile, but I knew that I have to be better after that incident."
"It would certainly drive you," Piett confirmed and faced her. "I believed that I occupied your time too much, Admiral. I'm just here for a quick inspection and it suddenly turned into a conversation. Lord Vader will be pleased with the progress being made to the fleet." He again let out his right hand. "For the Empire."
Sloane then reached it with her right and gave it a firm shake. "For the Empire, Fleet Admiral."
It is on a quiet day that the Death Squadron left the Mygeeto system to jump to the Lehon system. Darth Vader felt that once they docked into Lehon or Rakata Prime from the Ancient Sith, it is steeped with dark side energy. The former homeworld of the once-great Infinite Empire, not just a footnote and left forgotten, to be re-named as Lehon after thousands of years. Only those who study the secrets of the Dark Side and Sith history even knew of their existence but it doesn't matter anymore.
The most fearsome fleet in the entire galaxy is currently waiting for the nav-coms to calculate a safe route throughout the Unknown Regions. Vader has to give credit for Piett's forward-thinking, his preparedness for the mission made the nav-coms calculate the routes at a much faster rate than possible and he saw Piett while sometimes having faults, as one of the best admirals that have served the Galactic Empire. It would simply be a waste killing him outright.
Supplies went smoothly, upgrades to the ISD-1's were fitted through and made as formidable as their updated counterparts. His secret project, TIE/D Defender Elite starfighters were completed and gave them to the best pilots of the entire fleet, the Dark Lord even has a personal one suited for his own specifications. Interdictors from other fleets were also re-assigned to the Death Squadron to bolster their numbers.
Now, it is time for the Dark Lord to assume the mantle as the Supreme Commander of the Imperial Fleet, and of course, as expected, Piett knew this. His own asthmatic breathing giving way to the various imperial officers on the bridge. "My lord, hyperspace jump is ready. What shall we do next, my Lord?"
"Alert all commands, prepare to jump to hyperspace from the last coordinates of the missing ships." Vader expunged from his vocoder.
Piett gave a slight bow. "As you wish, my Lord." He then pressed a button at the communications. "Attention, Death Squadron, jump to coordinates one-five-four five-five-four."
Darth Vader saw the flickering lights at the periphery of the entire ship and suddenly those lights turned into straight lines. Space whorled around of the entire fleet and now they are jumping towards the void of the hyperspace. In a matter of minutes, they arrived at the coordinates. What is peculiar however when they arrived is debris that lingered all throughout the place. Most of them are destroyed Imperial corvettes, star destroyers, rebel cruisers. Some even are the Old Republic's Venators while others are ships that the Dark Lord doesn't recognize anymore.
"Have the entire fleet activate their shields, now," Vader said to Piett.
"Activate deflector shields!" Piett shouted at the bridge and all followed his command. Shields went up all across the fleet and any debris that got in their way was swept away.
Everything was quiet, eerily quiet. The only thing in this part of the Unknown Regions is space debris that is blocking even the star of the system itself, giving the space an orange hue. It's almost as if this is the Deep Core as anyone who would try to navigate here without a shield or have a substandard one would just be destroyed by the sheer amount of debris.
Vader then observed a looming object from the very far side of the debris field. It looks like a long curved arm but in the center was a red field of unknown energy with rings revolving around it. The structure or ship gave a reddish hue around it, but Vader could notice the dark blue metal that is used to construct it. "Admiral Piett."
At notice, the Admiral has on his side ready for orders, just as he needs. "Yes, my Lord?"
Vader points his finger towards the ship. "Send probe droids to scan it, Admiral. It matches our data, then it must be destroyed."
"As you wish, my Lord." Piett gives him a nod and heads off to the far side of the bridge. For a few minutes, he waited and then went into the communications. There he observed that object that the probe is scanning while Admiral Piett crossed his arms and examined it. "We've checked all our data, my Lord. There are no inquiries regarding this object, from the scans of our probes it holds no kind of armament.
My Lord, we have also scanned the Star Destroyer that was destroyed by the unknown ship. What is peculiar is... there are no corpses, my Lord. Not even their equipment, it's like they are just gone."
Vader didn't speak as something was definitely wrong with this. "Usually, they leave the bodies intact." Vader focused his eyes on the images. "Have the probes scan if their computers have been tampered."
Piett didn't even look at him and just continued to look at the probe's camera but Vader let this slide. "Yes, my Lord. Sergeant Nass, have the probe look at the computers and see if the logs read anything." He paid close attention to Nass as he opened the log files of the computer and found nothing. The last log was at the time the Star Destroyer was destroyed a month ago.
Nass repeated over and over and over again until he came to a dead halt. "My Lord, there are no signs of sabotage of any kind. Any astromechs that haven't been destroyed are, however, intact, my Lord."
"That would prove useful." Vader told the sergeant, "Retrieve any data of any astromech droids."
The sergeant bowed to him and returned to his work. Still, they are traveling at the field with occasional bumps from the shield but every part of this space is filled with debris. The orange hue of the space gives every window in the fleet a setting star ambiance and the debris gives it even a grim estimate. But Vader did not place his anger on the debris but on the incompetent officers who would not activate deflector shields in these kinds of space.
His anger, was, however, paused by the sudden advance of Admiral Piett behind him. "My Lord, we've confirmed the unknown ship is right in front of the fleet and gathered some more ships with the same design. Any radar of the fleet found nothing, only through observation of the captains were this ship ever detected, my Lord."
"Then it has a stealth drive more advanced than our own. Admiral, proceed with our operation."
"As you wish, my Lord." Piett followed his command. "I want every turbolaser cannon aimed at that fleet! Destroy those ships!"
A hail of green turbolaser lit the orange-hued space and promptly destroyed all of the remaining unknown ships in a display of unrelenting fire and smoke. It was a swift stroke of force that capital ships of unknown origins don't even have the decency of having a deflector shield, the ships when the turbolaser hit, just exploded. Suddenly, a concentrated beam of yellow energy attempted to hit the Executor's bridge but it is captured by the deflected shield.
"Admiral Piett, concentrate fire on that ship!" Vader shouted at the admiral and immediately complied.
Soon, ships of numerous amounts appeared all across the fleet and began bombarding their ranks with their beam weapons, but their beams didn't even dent a single cruiser ship and instead became the victim of the increasing intensity of Imperial cannon fire. One ship even tried to go inside the perimeter of the ship but is squashed by the shields. Interdictors were halting any ship from escaping with their gravity wells but it also seems the ship travels through FTL at a pathetic rate.
"My Lord," Admiral Piett called for his attention.
"Yes, Admiral?"
"Our slicers have deconstructed the data from the astromechs, my Lord." Vader felt something within Piett aside from his determined behavior, and it was rage and anger. Not through him as he was used to Imperial officers lashing their deep-seethed anger towards him but Piett actually directed his anger at the ships. Piett tried to hide his anger with a deep sigh. "The people and corpses on the ship aren't missing, my Lord, they are on board those ships. A bug-like species collect them in pods, and some who survived were immobilized by some sort of toxin."
"Those pile of incompetent corpses doesn't concern me, Admiral. I want those ships destroyed."
Piett steeled his expression but nevertheless calmed. "Of course, Lord Vader." With no consideration, every ship that meets the description and anyone that got in the way were simply wiped out, it was a cacophony of turbolasers and explosions. "My Lord, some of those ships are retreating to the structure." Vader didn't answer first, but he could already see some kind of energy fluctuation happening on the structure.
"Admiral! We are detecting a huge surge of energy at that ship!"
As he was about to give the order to destroy it, a sudden flash of energy imploded unto the structure and exploded outwards, engulfing everyone in the star system in its light, including the fleet and even the entirety of the Executor. The light then materialized into streaks creating an accidental wormhole that dragged the entire fleet, maybe as a countermeasure to the likes of them.
In a flash, the most terrifying fleet in the known galaxy is gone.
It was all too quiet on the Harsa System, home to the batarian homeworld, Khar'shan. There were occasional slave traders and humans escaping the clutches of slavery from ships that were swiftly brought back to the Hegemony. If anyone has to say a single thing wrong about the Hegemony, their deaths would be swift. It was nothing special for the informant, just occasional files that needed to be sent to the Shadow Broker.
The quiet was replaced with the eezo core of the Mass Relay changing to an orange hue and suddenly it imploded in a single matter. It then expands into a blinding light that shone like that of a star. Collector ships of tens amass near the relay, full speed ahead, trying to get the Mass Relay to work, but instead space warped around it.
What followed behind them is the entire fleet of ships of all sizes, numerous to the point of rivaling the one stationed at the system but what is the most awe-inspiring yet utterly terrifying is the last ship on the center of it all. It has a blue hue and almost geometrically an arrow pointed straight, and by estimation of size, no ship from any mercenary group, terrorist, thugs, or even the armies of the Milky Way compared to its size. The one that only comes close is Omega and the Citadel.
The eezo core of the Mass Relay was so small to the point of not being there none at all, rendering any relay jump to any system useless, the Hegemony is now literally on its own. That was until the Mass Relay itself began to be flicker and shatter into pieces. They can still communicate through the outside systems, but now they are all stuck.
The Shadow Broker needs to be informed of this incident, this may be one of the weirdest yet terrifying incidents that happened in the Milky Way yet terrifying. If the rumors of the Reapers and Commander Shepard being alive weren't bad enough, a fleet of the unknown ships following a Collector ship will just give more headaches. The informant only hoped that it would survive this huge mess after reporting the incident to the Shadow Broker.
...and done! I just want to get this idea out of my head since I have read a bunch of stories with Mass Effect x Star Wars and played the entirety of the trilogy in just a month, however, I haven't finished Mass Effect 3 yet since I just want to write this out first. I've also added here Rae Sloane from Canon just to expand some characters in the Death Squadron as she was one of the best characters in the new Canon. Most of it are ehhh...
I played Femshep Paragon with slight Renegade, and wow, I should've played the Mass Effect games a long time ago and it isn't a coincidence that I played the trilogy before the Mass Effect Legendary Edition is going to be released. I'm just bored and wanted to play an RPG similar to the KOTOR series. And I had this idea of what if the Death Squadron of Darth Vader gets stuck in the Mass Effect Universe? So here is the brainstorming that I got and I just want to get this idea out of my head to finish Mass Effect 3.
So the progress for the Darkest of Flames? Well, I just really apologize to my readers as I promise it would be the next thing that I would update depending on the response that I got on this story but I have ideas for Chapter 4 already and would write it down immediately after finishing Mass Effect 3. For a clue, I'm already done with Rannoch and just going to finish the Citadel DLC then continue onwards with the main story and side quests.
But don't worry, real-life stuff has winded down now and there are no exams so progress while not concrete would be faster! Again, I apologize for the fans of that story and I hope Chapter 4 will meet most if not all of your expectations.
So what do you think of this new chapter guys? If you have any suggestions, constructive criticism, or kind words, please I urge you to leave a review! It helps and motivates me to write another chapter of this story. If you have any criticism please also reach out to me or leave a review as it helps me improve as a writer! Any flames are unwelcome.