Chapter 33
Our shuttle docks on the battleship's airlock and the doors open. I lead my team into and empty corridor.
"Secure the corridor," I order.
My team runs passed me and checks corners, signaling it's all clear. Delta's commander visibly recoils at the sight of the hallways. They have a rusty brown color to them and dim lighting.
"Looks disgusting..." he mutters.
"Let's stay focused," I say as I pull on a helmet. I'm wearing some of the armor that was specially designed for me, allowing me to keep the mobility and agility a Jedi should have but maintaining the protection of our soldiers. The HUD on the helmet immediately activates and it shows me a moving green light snaking through the corridors leading up to the bridge.
"Let's get moving," I say.
I don't think I need this helmet but it's better to know where we're going. Though, I could always use the Force to guide us.
We cautiously, yet quickly move through the ship, checking corners and watching every vent panel and clearing every door we come across. It's not until we get closer to the turbolifts to the bridge that we encounter resistance.
"DIE REBEL HERETICS!"
BLAST...
My men take cover as a wall of green blaster fire fills the corridor.
Heretics? Is that what we are now?
I ignite my lightsaber and start deflecting blaster bolts. Seconds after I do that, I start seeing blue bolts flying passed me from my troops. But there's something different from our blue bolts and their green bolts. They're much faster. Too fast to track with your eyes. And instead of the normal PWAH or other sounds a blaster makes, it's a loud CRACK.
Slugthrowers... Fitting for a special forces unit.
Then I hear the usual sound of our A280 blaster rifles, which have been slightly modified to have a more focused beam. The blaster bolts are thinner, faster, more accurate, and even have a lightly increased range of up to 350 meters.
One of the Conglomerate soldiers starts to charge me with a blade and in one smooth motion, I cut his blade in half and spin my lightsaber around again to cut him down. His body crumples, smoke pouring from where I cut him.
"Anyone else?" I ask the enemy.
They all look at each other, then to their fallen comrade before shouting and running at me and my men.
I easily cut down anyone that tried to attack me while my troops engaged in hand to hand combat. In just a matter of seconds the fight was over. None of my men were killed. Wounded, yes, but not badly.
"Let's get up to the bridge," I say. "I need this lift guarded down here."
"I got it, sir," the commander says. "You three, stay with me. The rest of you go with the general!"
I get into the lift with my team and the doors shut.
"Sabine, it's Ezra. Come in," I say into my comlink.
"I hear you, Ez. Where are you?"
"We're heading to the bridge now. What's your status?"
"We're almost to engineering. Smart move taking the airlock. The hangar had a lot of trigger happy Conglomerates."
"Not a problem for you, I suppose," I say.
"Not really. My team struggled, yeah, but I didn't lose anybody."
"Good. I'll see you on the bridge once you take engineering," I say.
"See you there."
I cut off the channel and the doors open again. We are immediately met with more green blaster fire, forcing my men to the sides of the lift where they can't get hit. Unfortunately, this time two of my men were killed instantly and I activated my lightsaber to defend a third.
"DIE HERETIC SCUM!"
"What is it with you and heretics?" I ask tauntingly.
I manage to defend my team enough to get them out of the lift and into the fight. Once that happens, the fight doesn't last much longer. None of them surrendered.
"You have to hand it to them, sir. They're determined to fight," one of my men says.
I nod in agreement. "To the last man. Let's keep moving, the bridge is at the end of this corridor."
We rush to the bridge doors and one of my men tries to use the control panel to open the doors.
"It's locked, sir," he says.
"Then we'll cut our way in," I reply. I reignite my lightsaber and plunge the emerald blade into the door. I start to cut a hole in the door when the alarms blare.
"Sabine, what's going on?" I ask her through the comms.
"They've activated the self destruct. We just took control of engineering. I'm trying to disable the overload."
"Get it done quick!" I keep cutting the door.
Moments later, the alarm stops and I hear Sabine's voice again.
"It's disabled. How's everything on your end?"
"Cutting into the bridge as we speak," I say.
I finish cutting the hole and I use the Force to push the cut-out into the bridge. I hear screams for a split second before silence. I jump into the bridge first and stand ready for a fight as my team storms the bridge, shouting at everyone in the bridge to get on the ground. None of them comply. They draw their blasters and start shooting at my team. This time their armor seems to hold up. I watch one of my men get hit straight in the chest, but he just gets back up and returns fire, killing the shooter. Like the other engagements this one lasts only a few seconds before the entire bridge is cleared of hostiles.
"General, the bridge is ours," a lieutenant reports.
"Take a squad and reinforce Commander Steele. We'll take it from here," I tell him.
"Yes sir!" he says with a salute before calling a few other men to follow him.
"General," one of my men begins. He's a corporal. "What do you want us to do?"
"I want to know where the rest of the crew is. We either take them prisoner, or kill them. Ultimately that's up to them. Watch the security cameras. Find them," I say.
He salutes briefly before running to a console. A few other men do the same thing, beginning to monitor the ship.
"Should we send a transmission to Command?"
"No. We can't risk anyone tracking the signal. We'll do that once we're secured," I say. I tap the comlink on my wrist. "Sabine, what's your status?"
"We've got pockets of resistance still throughout the ship, but we're cleaning them up. I'm making my way to you."
"Roger that. Commander Steele and his lieutenant are holding the lift to the bridge."
"Sir, I have an idea of how to secure the ship," a corporal says.
"Let's hear it," I say.
"It's a bit brutal, I admit, but it's too large for small boarding parties to clear out," he says.
Brutal... we're not really known to be brutal... But he does have a point. This ship rivals the size of the Avenger and we can't send every single soldier here to secure it and it would take too long for our current boarding teams to fully secure the ship.
"Go ahead," I tell him.
"I was looking through the ship's systems and found we can vent the atmosphere throughout the ship except for a few select areas. Since we took the bridge and have control of it, chances are the bulk of the enemy garrison would be there. If we could clear those areas out and vent the atmosphere from the rest of the ship, we could ensure total control of the ship," he suggests.
"Can you point out these areas?" I ask him.
"Yes sir, right this way," he says before leading me to a control console. The schematics of the entire ship appears on the screen and he highlights several areas. "These are the safe zones. There's not a whole lot of them, probably indicating that the Conglomeration doesn't care much for their crew's survival in combat. They're not large enough for everyone to be safe in the event of life support failure. That said, we shouldn't have too much resistance to deal with."
"But it looks like a good place to hold out in case of a boarding party. There's only one way in and out of those areas with what looks to be a narrow corridor. It'll be difficult to take it," I say. "Can we kill life support to those safe areas? I get we can't vent atmosphere, but what about the life support?"
"These safe rooms have their own life support systems. We can't shut them down from here," he replies.
"Then I guess we'll have to get them out ourselves," I say as I activate my comlink. "Sabine, do you read?"
"Loud and clear, Ez. What's up?"
"We've located several safe zones that we suspect the surviving Conglomerate crew to be holed up in. We can't vent atmosphere or shut off life support so we have to clear them out. Think you can handle it?"
"Just tell me where to go."
I tap on the console a bit, sending her the location of the closest safe room. "You're not far from one of them. Just down the hall a bit and to the right. Few dozen meters and take a left. You'll find one of them."
"Understood. We're on our way."
"Do we have any other teams throughout the ship?" I ask the corporal.
"I'm not sure. Let me check," he says. He walks over to another console and taps around on it.
I look back at my console and inspect the schematics, trying to make sense of the ship's design.
Their main cannon is a huge slug thrower of some kind... That has to be what crippled my ship last time we fought...
"Sir."
I turn to the corporal. "Go ahead."
"We have two more teams on their way from the flagship. Mostly droids but it's some of the newer ones from our supplier."
Kristinal's droids. I have yet to see them in action. I hope they're as good as he says they are.
"Good. How many droids are in each team?"
"Umm... We're expecting 8 droids being led by two of our guys in each team."
"10 of us in each team. Could be better but it will have to do. I want each team on separate safe areas."
"Yes sir, I'll notify them right away," he says with a quick salute. He walks off to the comm panel and passes on my orders.
"Sabine, what's your status?"
"We've found the safe room. We're trying to cut it open as we speak. They've really locked themselves in," she replies. "We'll get through in a few minutes."
"Understood. We're getting two more boarding teams to help clear the other rooms. I want to get this done as soon as possible."
"Don't have to tell me twice, Ez."
There's a sound of banging metal followed by blaster fire.
"Get behind cover!"
"What's going on?"
"We got the door open much sooner than expected. I think they opened it for us. Two of my men are down and a third is wounded."
"Do you need assistance?"
"I don't think so. There's no cover inside this safe room. They're just trying to pin us around the corner at the moment, but by the sound of their blasters, they're going to overheat."
"Understood. Let me know when you're finished there and I'll assign a new target."
...
Several hours later...
"Ezra, we've taken the last safe room. Finally..."
"Too much excitement for you, Sabine?" I ask, grinning to myself.
"Never. We'll hold up in here for now. All teams have reported in their safe areas. You're clear to vent life support to the rest of the ship."
"Understood. You get that, Lieutenant?"
"Yes sir! Venting life support now," he says. I watch as he taps about on a console.
It doesn't take long for the ship to vent its atmosphere into space, only a few minutes. The corporal who came up with the idea approaches me then.
"Ship scans indicate there's no other life forms besides our people inside the ship, sir. We've taken it completely," he reports.
"Good. Signal the fleet. We're bringing this thing home," I say.
"All ships reporting, sir. And not too soon, we're detecting an enemy fleet gathering at the edge of this system."
"Then let's not wait for them to arrive. Give me fleet comms," I order.
A lieutenant taps on a console, then gives me a thumbs up.
"All ships this is General Bridger. We have enemy forces massing at the edge of the system so I'm ordering a faint jump towards the galaxy. We'll make a jump in the direction of the galaxy, then turn 45 degrees starboard and make another jump. We'll repeat this until we have a straight shot back home. We'll have probes sent out after we arrive at the first destination to map out the route for us. I'm sending you the first set of coordinates now."
I nod to our navigator and he gets to work.
"All ships have received your coordinates, sir and reported ready to jump at your command," he reports.
"Make your jumps individually. We'll see you on the other side," I say before cutting off communications. "Helm controls, make the jump."
...
The first couple hyperspace jumps went smoothly, but because we've started something unorthodox it quickly slowed us down. However, we're nowhere near any star systems nor hyperspace routes. Uncharted territory.
Sabine has since joined me on the bridge, her usually colorful armor now marked with blaster burns which really frustrated her. It was given a fresh coat of paint not long before our operation apparently.
"I spent a solid two hours working on this coat of paint, which normally wouldn't bother me but now I have to start over again!" she complained.
"Hey, look on the bright side," I say, "We have time before we get back to Epsilon to clean it."
"Thanks," she says sarcastically.
I grin and look back to the holo table just as the probe sends its signal.
"That's our all clear. All ships lock onto the probe and jump," I say to the other ship captains. Once again, our viewscreen is filled with blue and white for only a couple minutes before we see open space again.
"General," Steele says, approaching me. "I've just looked at our current location and bearing. I believe we have our straight shot home, but that's if our probes report no obstacles between us and home."
"Understood, Commander," I say to him. He gives me a quick salute and begins to walk away to continue his duties.
"Lieutenant, what's the probe's ETA?" I call out.
"Five minutes, sir!" he calls back.
"I want everything operational until we get home. Do not let your guard down."
"Yes sir!"
I keep watch over the scanners until our probe reports the all clear. We make the next jump and we find 12th Epsilon waiting for us.
"Unidentified vessel, you have entered restricted space!"
"Redemption, it's Bridger with Delta Company. Stand down."
"General Bridger, please send identification and clearance codes."
I tap on the console and send the codes. There's silence for a few moments.
"Codes accepted. Welcome home, General. Looks like you've brought us a new toy."
"This is one Tenith would love to get his hands on. It's a Conglomerate battleship," I reply.
"That's quite a find, sir. I'm transferring comms to Epsilon Tower."
"Understood."
"General Bridger, you are marked as CB-741 on our scanners. You are cleared to approach the station and dock at dock 2-1."
"Dock 2-1, roger that. I'm leaving temporary command of this ship to Commander Steele of Delta Company. I'm flying over via shuttle craft."
"Understood, general."
"Sabine, you're with me," I say then before starting to head to the main hangar.
I take the time to really look at the design of the corridors, and I think Sabine does too since she has a disgusted look on her face.
"You know, seeing the outside of this ship, you really don't expect the interior to look like a garbage dump," she grumbles.
"Yeah I don't think anybody expected this," I say with a nod. "I've never thought I'd be so happy to see our command center again but after today I'll never take it for granted again."
"Is this supposed to be the hangar door?" she asks.
I look up at a strange symbol above a large door. "Maybe. Let's find out," I say as I hit the switch by the door. It flies open smoothly and reveals our destination.
"General! Your shuttle is here, ready and waiting," an officer reports.
"Thanks, sergeant," I say. Sabine and I board the shuttle and head to the cockpit.
"General," the pilot says. "Good to have you aboard."
"Likewise," I say to her.
"Would you like to do the honors or shall I, sir?"
"It's been a while since I've piloted anything. Might as well, corporal."
She gets up and looks to Sabine. "Ma'am, would you be the co pilot?"
"No thanks, I'm fine standing," Sabine replies.
"Suit yourself," I say as I sit in the pilot's seat and the corporal takes copilot.
I flip some switches and the boarding ramp retracts and the doors close and seals. The flight commander on the bridge comes on through the speakers.
"Shuttle 310 you are cleared for departure. As soon as you are outside the hangar you will be under Epsilon jurisdiction."
"Understood, Commander," I say as I take the bird out into space.
A minute after we leave the hangar, a new voice comes in.
"Shuttle 310, Epsilon Tower. Send access codes."
"Shuttle 310, sending codes," the copilot says.
"You fresh out of training, corporal?" I ask her.
"Yes sir, just finished two days ago. This is my first assignment," she replies.
"Ah, good," I say.
There's a moment of silence before the flight tower comes back.
"Shuttle 310, codes approved. Proceed to hangar 2, landing pad 2-4. Welcome home, General."
"Hangar 2, Pad 2-4, copy that. Thanks."
I bring the shuttle to final approach, following highlighted guidance lanes on the scanner.
I smile softly as I sense some tension from the corporal.
"Relax, corporal. You're doing a great job," I tell her.
"Thank you, sir. It's just I didn't think I'd be having you and Commander Wren on board my shuttle so I'm pretty excited," she says.
"Understandable. Stay focused, okay? Don't let your excitement take control," I tell her calmly.
"Yes sir."
I pilot the shuttle to my designated landing pad and touch down. I relieve myself and return the shuttle to the corporal, who gives me a crisp salute before Sabine and I leave.
I step out of the shuttle and onto the shiny durasteel floor of the hangar. As always, there's fighters and warships under construction and steady traffic of resources and supplies. There's personnel running about, rushing to their line of work whatever it may be.
"General!"
I look over my left shoulder and spot the top engineer of this hangar approaching me.
"Staff Sergeant," I greet him.
He stands at attention and snaps a salute, which I return.
"Command has received your transmission about the Conglomerate battleship. They've entrusted me to tell you that you are to join the Chief for inspection and studying of the vessel. He is currently in Hangar 4," he tells me. "Commander Wren will be taking command of 7th Epsilon until you are relieved."
"Oh? And when will that be?" I ask.
"When your new flagship is completed. The Chief will give you details about its completion later."
"Right..." I sigh.
The staff sergeant salutes me again and returns to his post. I feel a poke on my hand and look at Sabine.
"It's alright, Ez. I'll take care of your fleet," she says.
"I'm not worried about the fleet, especially with you in charge. I just don't want to be stuck here with a Conglomerate ship. I'm surprised you didn't object to the project, actually."
"Oh, normally I would jump on that chance, but I can't stand how the inside looks..."
"Too much for a Mandalorian?" I tease.
"Never," she smirks. "I'll see about keeping your in the 7th and having me help Tenith. After all, I do know weapons more than you."
"Without a doubt," I say. "I'm pretty sure whoever made the choice to put me there only looked at rank anyway. Not expertise."
"Maybe. But not much we can do right now. We should go see Tenith first," she says.
...