Episode 1: Cataclysm

"Do not fight the last war. Fight the next one."


If there was sound in space, the screams of the engines of the Corellian CR-110 corvette could have been heard for quite a distance.

The ship banked hard, a large and very illegal heavy turbolaser battery firing desperately at its pursuers. A few thousand meters behind it, the gray triangle stabbed through space undeterred.

On the bridge of that ship stood a cross-looking man, arms folded behind his back, staring at a holodisplay of the corvette with an emotionless expression on his face. His uniform was, plain grey, unmarked by anything save his rank insignia and a patch on his right shoulder. The patch, which also adorned the uniform of every crewman and pilot in the fleet, was a simple affair, the words "Republic Mobile Fleet" in Aurebesh above a High Galactic 8 that dominated the patch. At the bottom, again in Aurebesh, were four short words.

The fleet's motto: "Few defy the odds."

"Their weapons are starting to scratch our shields" reported an ensign at a nearby computer terminal. "Should we escalate?"

"Not yet" said the man. "Give them another volley of turbolasers off the bow and make sure the ion cannons are ready to fire. We need them to believe that they have not just fallen into our trap."

"Yes, Commander Vahle" replied the lieutenant at the weapons control terminal.

The man pressed a button on the console in front of him, re-opening the communications channel. "Unidentified craft, this is Fleet Commander Marius Vahle of the New Republic Eighth Mobile Fleet. You are ordered to deactivate your engines and weapons and submit to a search immediately."

Vahle waited a few seconds, but there was no response but static. Not that he'd expected any, of course. Time to play his next card.

"Loc Bei of the planet Trupido" he said into his microphone. "We know you have the girl Suchi Temn onboard your craft. Return her immediately, unharmed, and you can face Republic justice for kidnapping and extortion. Continue to resist or harm her, and we'll get to see what the Tibrinese do to an outsider who hurts their Kalikeedan's daughter."

There were a few more seconds of static, and then, finally, a reply.

"You want her alive? Then don't come another inch closer!"

Vahle looked at the woman next to him, a blue-skinned Pantoran in her early thirties, lavender hair wrapped in a ponytail and a datapad eternally in her hands.

"That was definitely Mr. Bei's voice" said Major Elini Chur of the New Republic Intelligence Service. "He's stressed. Do you think he might actually hurt her?"

"Not right now" said Vahle, his voice matter-of-fact and emotionless. "If he hurts her, he loses his payday. As long as he thinks he can escape our pursuit, he has no reason to risk that."

Vahle's eyes narrowed.

"Which is why we are continuing to make him believe escape is possible."

"Of course, sir" Chur replied. "All units are still in position."

"Alright, let's turn up the heat a bit." Vahle pressed a button and opened another channel. "Vega 1, Vega 2, move in and clip that heavy cannon."


"Vega 1 copies, Top" said Wing Commander Tambralynne Kusarni, easing her X-wing out from the shadow of Vahle's flagship. The Zama, a top-of-the-line Acclamator IV/co-class command ship, was a wide triangle covered in sensor bulbs resembling tiny gravity well generators, a large Republic Blue chevron painted on the bow.

Beside her, Vega 2 appeared, the standard-issue blue paint of his T-85 X-wing contrasting with the pink fuselage and navy S-foils of Tambralynne's craft.

"How you want to play this, boss?" Vega 2 asked over the radio.

Tambralynne thought for a moment as the two fighters rapidly closed the distance between Zama and the corvette. The trick here was hitting the heavy gun without crippling the rest of the ship and putting Loc Bei's hostage at risk.

"I'll buzz 'em and sweep left" the Zeltron said. "That should get that gun's attention. Then you take it out."

"Tambralynne Kusarni letting someone else get a kill?" Vega 2 asked in fake shock.

"What can I say?" Tambralynne replied. "Getting shot at's more fun. Move in!"

The CR-110 banked hard to the left, running close to the debris field floating lazily around the planet. A combination of natural rocks and fragments from centuries of crashed or abandoned spaceships, the field was the only thing keeping Loc Bei from jumping to hyperspace and giving the Eighth Mobile the slip. Tambralynne punched the acceleration and her X-wing jumped forwards. S-foils still locked in travel position, she fired two bursts of lasers past the corvette. They missed by a wide margin, as intended, and the big turbolaser cannon turned away from the Zama to target her.

The cannon fired and Tambralynne jerked her control stick, sending the X-wing lurching to the left and easily avoiding the turbolaser. The next several shots were also dodged, some to the left and some to the right, as Tambralynne gradually moved between the corvette and the debris field, drawing the gunner's attention with her.

Meanwhile, Vega 2 drew almost parallel to the cannon, the T-85's low sensor profile and absorbent coating making it almost invisible to the corvette's instruments. Without warning, Vega 2 opened his S-foils, banked hard to the left and dove at the cannon.

Tambralynne's distraction worked like a charm, and Vega 2 was able to get pretty close before he lined up the target in his sights and fired two quick laser bursts. The CR-110's shields barely absorbed the first one, but the second struck true and the cannon dissolved into sparks and shrapnel.

The corvette shook as the explosion resonated throughout the superstructure. Loc Bei, a middle-aged Rodian whose face seemed to be carved into an eternal scowl, looked around in apprehension. The rest of his crew looked none too happy either. In the corner of the cockpit, a small Ishi Tib girl was sitting on the floor, crying softly.

Bei pulled out his personal holocommunicator and pulled up a hologram of a grim-looking human with long white hair.

"Zann!" Bei shouted. "I have the girl like you wanted. Now where is the assistance you promised me?"

The man in the hologram hardly moved. In fact, he didn't even seem to be looking directly at the receiver.

"Relax, Bei. A little New Republic patrol should easily be within your capabilities, if anything you told me about your skills is to be believed."

Bei started to say something but then silenced himself.

"Still, you have a point. I do have reinforcements heading for your position as we speak. But they cannot reach you until you clear the planetary debris field. I suggest you make that your top priority."

"That's why you're the master criminal" Bei said, resisting the urge to roll his eyes until after he had turned off the hologram.

Suchi Temn's crying became louder.

"Someone shut her up!" Bei shouted.

"Want me to put her in the brig?" a Weequay asked.

"No" replied Bei. "She stays near me. The Republic won't dare target me if she's nearby. Now, how long until we're out of here?"

"About a minute until we're at the debris clearing" reported the ship's pilot.

"Good" said Bei. "I want us in hyperspace the instant we're clear of that floating junk. Is that understood?"

"It's my head and payday as much as yours" replied the pilot.

Bei ignored the woman's smart mouth and stared out the window into space. He, Loc Bei, had as his hostage the daughter of the Kalikeedan, the religious leader who every Ishi Tib on Tibrin venerated. He'd get a king's ransom for her, and all he had to do was get this puny ship past this damn debris field.


"Turret down, Top" Vega 2 reported.

"Good work, Vega" Commander Vahle said, looking at his holodisplay. "And none too soon. All units, target is approaching Zone C. Prepare for Phase 2 in 30 seconds."

"Copy" said a deep voice over the radio. "I-field is in place."

Vahle smiled, just a tad. Grel was always ready to spring a trap.


Loc Bei and his pilot stared at the ship's radar screen as a large hole in the debris field, carefully created by the planetary government using gravity projectors to permit commerce, inched closer and closer. The corvette banked once again and dashed into the hole, engines strained to the max as the ship reached the edge of the planetary gravity field. The two Republic X-wings stayed in pursuit, but their occasional laser bursts missed by such a wide margin that Bei wondered if they were intentionally missing him in a futile attempt to scare him into surrendering.

"We're clear" said the pilot, activating the hyperdrive without needing to be told. The engine whirred, the stars stretched and a familiar blue began to tint the passengers' vision. Then everything snapped back to normal. The CR-110 shuddered violently, sending Bei and some of his crew to the floor.

"Interdiction field!" the pilot shouted, turning the ship and gunning the engines as several new contacts appeared on the radar screen, their presence no longer hidden by the debris or low power outputs.

"We've got them" reported Captain Milap Grel to Commander Vahle. The Kel Dor stood confidently in the small but cozy bridge of his MCI-2 Mon Calamari Interdictor Frigate, the Certainty, which slowly began to emerge from behind the debris field. Even more bulbous than typical of Mon Calamari craft, the ship was a mere 350 meters in length, but packed that space to the brim with power generation, shield projectors and, of course, powerful gravity well generators, perfect for keeping ships out of hyperspace.

"Good job" replied Vahle. "All units, Phase 2 is go. Move in."

"Copy" said Tambralynne as she and Vega 2 accelerated their X-wings to top speed and rushed at the CR-110. Their orders were simple: if the target was about to reach the edge of the circular interdiction field, they were to shoot out the engines and stop it from escaping. That had a non-zero chance of blowing the ship in half and killing the hostage, so for now Vega Squadron's task was to be ready and watch the show.

And what a show it was.

Three B-wing Mk. II strike bombers from Libra Squadron emerged from the debris field near the Certainty. From the other direction, the fleet's two Marauder-class corvettes, small craft more associated with piracy than law enforcement, charged to intercept the CR-110 as fast as their surprisingly powerful engines could carry them.

"Ships coming in from all directions!" Loc Bei's pilot warned.

"I don't care!" the Rodian shouted. "Evade them!"

The pilot ignored a flashing light warning of excessive engine strain and rolled the ship into a tight turn, causing the first Marauder corvette to miss. As it passed behind Bei's ship, however, it rotated and unleashed the reason pirates loved it – a powerful tractor beam in its nose. The beam locked squarely onto the CR-110's large engine block and began to pull the ship back towards the Marauder. At least in theory. Given the CR-110's superior speed, it was more accurate to say that the Marauder was being dragged behind it.

With the CR-110 slightly slowed by the first Marauder's mass, the second one easily latched its tractor beam onto the midsection of the ship. Both Marauders hit their rear thrusters and began to decelerate the craft. It wouldn't be enough – the CR-110's engines were powerful enough to drag both Marauders out of the interdiction field with it. But that was okay. The Marauder-class corvette had another reason pirates loved it – two massive ion cannons on its wings, now pointed directly at Loc Bei's ship.

As the Marauders began their point-blank ion barrage, Libras 3, 4 and 5 reached the other side of the target and unleashed their own ion cannons. In a matter of seconds, the CR-110's shields were gone and power systems overloaded. The engines' glow faded, and inside the ship their humming stopped.

It was dead in space.


"Target disabled, Top" reported the first Marauder.

Commander Vahle did not allow himself to feel joy at the success of his trap. If the next part failed, it wouldn't matter.

"Understood. Phase 3 is go. Keriala sur, Nova."

"Copy, Top."

Without a word, an Omicron-class assault shuttle, painted black with a blue tint, broke away from the B-wings it had been shadowing to conceal its sensor profile and dashed towards Loc Bei's ship. As it approached the corvette, the shuttle's rear door opened, exposing the already-depressurized compartment to the vacuum of space. As the shuttle crossed the rear of the crippled corvette and veered away towards Zama, eight black-clad humanoid figures emerged. Propelled by their own inertia, with only the occasional burst from small thruster jets in their suits to readjust their course, the figures approached the top of the corvette. Touching down, magnetics in their boots attaching to the roof of the ship, they swept the area, weapons drawn.

"Nova on deck" came a brief transmission.

Commander Vahle didn't smile. The next minute was going to make or break this operation and decide if Suchi Temn lived or died. There was nothing else he could do. No more plans to make, no more orders to give.

It was all up to Nova Team.


"What happens now?" asked one of the Weequays, glancing around the cockpit nervously in the eerie red glow of the emergency lighting.

"Now they come for us" said a Zabrak. "They won't risk blowing up the ship with the girl on board."

"Then all we have to do is wipe 'em out" said the Weequay. "I can take some NRATs."

The Zabrak shook her head. "They aren't going to send NRATs."

"Who are they going to send?"

"Does it matter?" Bei growled. "Get to the airlocks and secure them!"

As his minions scrambled towards the rear of the ship, Bei glared at Suchi Temn, who had stopped crying but remained curled up in a ball, her beak clicking nervously.

"Don't even think about moving, little brat" Bei spat at her, hand on the pistol in the holster on his hip. "I'd rather see you dead than let these Republic dogs have you!"

Suchi didn't say anything, simply staring at the floor.

"Now," said Bei, turning back to his pilot. "How long until we get this ship back online?"


Lieutenant Aldon Daniels, New Republic Galactic Marines, had never quite gotten used to vacuum deployment. While he was certainly years ahead of his first EVA suit experience, where he'd panicked during a training test, he was still a farm boy at heart, and hated the enclosed nature of his helmet, the bulk of his suit (which, even when weightless, felt awkward to move in), the way his breath rattled as it entered his respirator.

But if that was the price of the good missions, so be it.

Colonel Tallion gave a quick hand signal and the team split in two, each group moving to one of the two side airlocks on the corvette's midsection. The outer doors to the airlocks were unsealed, as was standard, but a quick test confirmed that, as they'd feared, the interior doors were locked from the inside.

"Execute Plan Besh" Tallion said into their radios, referring to one of the maneuvers they had considered while studying scans of Bei's ship. Three of the troopers at the starboard airlock left it, closed the door and hurried to the port airlock. The last figure pulled out a small detonator, placed it on the latch section of the interior airlock door and floated back as close to the exterior door as possible.

"Dottie, breach" said Tallion.

"Acknowledged" replied a chipper, feminine voice.


Inside the corvette, five of Bei's minions reached the midsection airlocks, blasters in hand. The area was a narrow hallway, with a circular door, five feet in diameter, dominating each side.

"Get in position" ordered a Sullustan. He and two of the grunts stayed where they were, between the airlocks and the cockpit, while the other two, a Duros and a human, moved past the doors to take position on the other side. As they did, they heard a metallic clang coming from the starboard airlock door.

"What was -" started the human. He didn't finish as an explosion shattered the lock on the door and sent it swinging inwards, striking the man and sending smoke everywhere. The Duros cried out and fired two shots into the airlock compartment, only for something to slam into her and smash her into the opposite wall. The remaining three gangsters fired wildly into the smoke, uncertain of what they were facing.

Without warning, a meter-high yellow oval emerged from the smoke, rushing straight towards them. As blaster bolts harmlessly dissipated against the oval's surface, a blaster to its side fired the silver-blue circle of a stun bolt, knocking the goon to the right unconscious. The oval reached the next gangster and jerked to the left, smashing him into the wall. The Sullustan tried to fire his blaster at the now-exposed figure behind the oval, only to find a black, metal appendage clamped around his throat. Before he could react, he was tossed into the ceiling, dropping his blaster in the process. As he tumbled helplessly towards the floor, the intruder put a stun bolt in the downed gangster to its left and then one in the Sullustan. The figure crouched, three red photoreceptors swiveling around its black, cylindrical head, checking every direction. After a second of quiet, it put a stun bolt in the semiconscious Duros down the hall, then deactivated its large, yellow deflector shield.

"Area secure" DT-3, New Republic Galactic Marines, reported on its radio as it plugged a probe attached to its hand into the panel beside the port airlock. A second of turning and the airlock door popped open, spilling out the remainder of Nova Team.

"Good work, Dottie" said Daniels. The droid, using articulated fingers atypical of the IG line, gave a small thumbs-up with her blaster hand.

"Move" Colonel Tallion muttered. Now that they were inside the ship, every second counted.

Dottie reactivated her shield and took the lead, Daniels and Tallion following. Two small probe droids detached from the shoulders of Specialist Shara Da'ade and Trooper Henli and floated ahead of Dottie, scanning the hallways for hidden threats.

With one trooper watching his back, Specialist Da'ade pulled a cable from the sleeve of his uniform and plugged it into a wall socket, connecting the computer in his suit to the CR-110's systems, or at least what was still functional after the ion barrage. His Umbaran eyes, unbothered by the darkness of the hallway, stared at a small holographic display as he attempted to get the ship's systems under his control.

The rest of Nova Team advanced rapidly through the ship, encountering no resistance. An external life signs scan had put most of the ship's occupants at the cockpit, and it seemed likely that that was where Loc Bei and Suchi Temn would be as well.

"Hold" Henli said, her eyes scanning the feed from the probe droids. "Several targets ahead."

'Ahead' meant around a large bulkhead that split the hallway in two. According to the CR-110 plans they had studied, this split was brief, and as soon as they turned either corner, they would be in a large, open room full of tables. A wise choice on the part of Bei's thugs – the defenders could be spread out in cover across the room, while attackers would have to travel through two doors full of blaster fire.

"Colonel, I have control of life systems" Specialist Da'ade reported via radio.

"Good" Tallion grunted. "Do you have gravity?"

"Of course" Da'ade replied.

"Cut it on my mark, Shade" said Tallion. "Daniels, flash and breach on mark."

Daniels drew a flash grenade from his belt and prepared to throw it around the corner. The rest of team checked their suits' thrusters and got into crouching positions, mentally preparing for what was about to happen.

"Mark" said Tallion.

Daniels threw the grenade. As it bounced off the wall and flew into the room, the ship's artificial gravity cut out, leaving the cylinder hanging in the air for a brief second before it exploded into light that would be blinding under normal circumstances, let alone to eyes adjusted to emergency lighting.

As soon as they heard the pop of the flash grenade's detonation, Nova Team sprang into action. Dottie and a trooper each leaped off the ground, propelling themselves around the corners and into the low gravity. Tallion and the fourth trooper followed, as did Daniels and Henli. The probe droids, unimpeded by the loss of gravity, rushed in as well.

Six armed gangsters were set up around the room, but the unexpected flash and even more unexpected loss of gravity had sent several of them floating helplessly above their cover. Dottie and the first trooper easily scored stun bolt hits on all of them, the small thrusters in their suits stabilizing them against the light recoil of their carbines' shots.

While most of the goons crumpled instantly, one in the back shrugged the stun bolt off. Covered in metal armor and a face-concealing helmet, this gangster stood as a proud reminder of the stun bolt's occasional lack of effectiveness, the main reason besides cost that conventional blasters remained in wide usage, even amongst law enforcement.

The armored grunt was holding a large blaster of his own, and though partially blinded by the flash grenade he nevertheless opened fire. His first two shots slammed into a wall near Henli, but he didn't get a third. Floating upside down near the ceiling from the momentum of the bounce off the wall, Colonel Tallion calmly lined up the goon's helmet in the sights of a MWC-39 heavy repeating blaster and fired a single shot.

The grunt's helmet might have been resistant to stun bolts, and maybe even light blaster fire, but the MWC's bolt went through it without slowing down. As his head snapped back, a glowing hole bored through it, the room became quiet, if not exactly still.

"Drop" said Tallion into the radio.

Shade pressed a button on his computer and the ship's gravity reactivated, sending the prepared boarders to the floor, feet-first. The unconscious and dead gangsters hit the floor with considerably less grace.

As did Loc Bei, who had spent his brief experience in zero-G flailing about in a way unbecoming of an alleged criminal mastermind. As soon as he got to his feet, he lunged for Suchi and wrapped his arms around the struggling girl.

Nova Team had advanced up to the cockpit when two blaster bolts hit the floor in front of them. Loc Bei's last two goons were perched at the top of the stairs to the cockpit, blaster rifles ready to give more than a warning shot. Nova scattered into cover on opposite sides of the hall.

"Well, well, well!" said Loc Bei, appearing at the top of the stairs, a now still Suchi in his arms. His blaster pistol was pressed directly against her head.

"It seems you Republic dogs really don't understand how all of this works" Bei declared.

"Henli, flank with droids" Tallion ordered, the sealed helmets of the Galactic Marines preventing anyone outside of their radio channel from hearing. Henli nodded and directed the probe droids into a small ventilation duct.

"All I wanted was a business transaction" Bei went on. "No one had to get hurt. Certainly not this girl. But you carboniteheads seem determined to get her killed."

"You don't want to hurt her!" Daniels shouted. He could see Bei's shadow down the stairs, but the Rodian was too high up to get a shot at from cover.

"Of course I don't" Bei replied. "But I also don't want to spend the next 20 years in jail! And that's the best you can offer me!"

One of Henli's droids slipped out of a maintenance hatch behind Bei. A quick scan revealed Bei, Suchi, the two goons with blaster rifles and Bei's pilot, who was standing further back and did not appear to be armed.

"Assessment" Tallion whispered.

"Gonna be a pain with that gun on the hostage" Shade remarked from the rear of the ship, Henli's video feed on his holodisplay.

"Do we have a shot on Bei?" Tallion asked.

"Negative" said Trooper Lampsen. "Angle's all wrong. Can't get a shot without exposing ourselves."

"So I need a way out of here" Bei continued, unaware of the covert conversation. "A way out of this system, and a way out of Republic Space. And the only way out of here is with a gun to little Suchi's head."

The Ishi Tib squirmed, but Bei pressed his blaster harder against her temple, and she soon became still again.

"What if you had a different hostage?" Daniels asked. "A New Republic officer. Guarantees you safe passage and lets the girl go home."

"Daniels, what are you doing?" Tallion asked over the radio channel.

"What did you have in mind?" Bei asked, intrigued.

Daniels stepped into the hall, blaster carbine pointed down and his other hand empty. After a second, he dropped the gun. A quick tap to the front of his helmet retracted the faceplate, revealing an unremarkable human face.

"Lieutenant, regulations dictate that no Republic officer should surrender themselves into criminal custody without-"

"Hush, Dottie" said Tallion, no less upset at Daniel's 'plan.' "Squad prepare to engage on my mark."

"You're no officer" said Bei.

"I'm a lieutenant, actually" said Daniels, maintaining steady eye contact with the Rodian. "Galactic Marines. Special Forces. We're pretty valuable."

"VJs" the Weequay spat in disgust. "Republic Void Jumpers. The bounty we'd get for the likes of you."

"You want a bounty, or you want to escape?" Daniels asked.

Bei was quiet for a second, trying to figure out if this was a trick.

"Here's an idea" he said. "How about I take both of you? Cuff him" he instructed the Weequay. The gangster looked confused for a second before nodding and advancing, his blaster rifle trained on Daniels's face. The other goon stayed back but also targeted him. Daniels had hoped that Bei might point his pistol in his direction as well, but the Rodian kept it firmly pressed to Suchi's head. Daniels sighed and focused on looking non-threatening.

"I've got a shot on Bei" Henli reported on the radio. Her probe droid floated quietly above the Rodian, hidden in a dark corner of the ceiling.

"Too risky" Tallion replied. "He might fire as he goes down. Aim for the blaster instead."

"Copy" said Henli, adjusting the droid's target with the computer in her wrist.

"Squad, prepare for my mark" said Tallion. "Stunners only. Can't risk hitting the girl. Or lieutenant."

Daniels smiled at the Weequay approached him. People had always said he had a nice smile. The gangster pulled a pair of binders off of his belt, keeping the blaster rifle pointed at Daniels with one hand.

"Mark!" Tallion shouted. At once, three things happened. Henli's droid released an electric arc from its body, knocking Loc Bei's pistol from his hand. Daniels lunged at the Weequay, wrapping himself around the alien's gun arm and keeping his rifle pointed at the floor. And the rest of Nova Team sprang out of cover and filled the cockpit with stun bolts. Loc Bei fell, as did his goon on the stairs. Dottie rushed up the stairs and stunned the pilot, while Tallion moved to the Weequay, who had just struck Daniels in the head. The Weequay pulled back his free arm for another blow, only to find Tallion's three-fingered hand around his wrist. The gangster, now lacking use of both arms, headbutted the colonel's face, doing little damage, but striking the helmet's quick-release button. Tallion's faceplate retracted to reveal the scaly green skin, yellow eyes and sharp, sharp teeth of an angry Trandoshan.

The Weeqauy gasped in surprise. Tallion ignored it and headbutted back, which was a lot more effective. Daniels pulled the rifle away from the Weequay and Tallion punched him in the chest. Henli dropped a stun bolt into the gangster and Tallion threw him to the ground, securing his wrists in a pair of binders.

"Section clear!" Dottie shouted from the cockpit.

"Top," radioed Daniels. "Objective and Loc Bei are secured. Both are alive. Ship seems secure."

"Copy that, Nova Team" said Commander Vahle from the bridge of the Zama. "We're not picking up any unidentified life signs. Excellent work."

"It was nothing" Tallion replied, making a mental note to discipline Daniels for his stunt later. "Another day's work."

Suchi Temn looked up at the towering, scowling, 300-pound Trandoshan and recoiled in fear.

Daniels kneeled next to Suchi. "Hi" he said to the sobbing girl. "It's okay now. Colonel Tallion isn't going to hurt you. She's actually very sweet."

Tallion tried to smile, then remembered that most beings found her smiles creepy and turned away, re-sealing her helmet. No reason to cause a scared girl any more grief when the squad's cuddler was available.

"My name is Aldon Daniels, and I'm not going to let anyone hurt you. Your father sent us here to get you back."

Suchi seemed to perk up when her father was mentioned.

"Really?" she asked in a quiet voice.

"Really" said Daniels. "He's been very worried about you. Everyone on Tibrin has been. They all wanted us to come here and make sure you were safe."

"And I'm… safe now?" Suchi asked, as if she was afraid of the answer.

"Oh, you're very safe" Daniels replied.

"Uh… Nova Team?" Vahle said over the radio. "We may have a problem."


Only two kilometers from the disabled CR-110 corvette, a brown, angular Interceptor-class frigate emerged from hyperspace. At 400 meters long, the model bordered on a light cruiser, and was well known for its fast engines and powerful turbolasers, making it a serious threat to anything short of a purpose-built warship.

"Alright, boys" said a red-skinned Besalisk woman on the Interceptor's bridge. "You know what to do. Blast that ship and let's get out of here. Tyber Zann doesn't like to wait."

The frigate banked towards Loc Bei's corvette, four StarViper fighters peeling off of its hull.


"They hit the edge of the interdiction field" Captain Grel reported. "Must have been heading here anyways to help Bei out."

"Doesn't look like they are interested in helping now" said Vahle. "Nova Team, grab the girl and get off that ship. Surrounding units, protect the corvette at all costs." He pushed a button on his console to open a new channel. "Group 4, get in here. Now!'

Tambralynne Kusarni was not one who needed to be told more than once to get into the action. She hit the acceleration on her X-wing, followed soon after by Vega 2. The Marauder corvettes had been dragging the CR-110 back towards the planet, and one of them quickly disengaged its tractor beam and placed itself between the CR-110 and the Interceptor, forming a small but welcome defense for the unshielded corvette.

That barrier was soon tested as a pair of turbolaser blasts struck the Marauder, buckling its weak shields. The Zama, having taken orbit nearby to avoid spooking Bei during the hostage rescue, leaped into action, turbolaser and ion cannon fire bracketing the space around the Interceptor's slim profile. Even the interdictor Certainty fired a few shots in its direction, though it was too far away to expect any accuracy.

The Marauder had just taken another hit and suffered an explosion by its engines when three more ships emerged from hyperspace. The first was an MC40c light cruiser, the Insight, whose small frame concealed a surprisingly large array of weapons. The other two were white-hulled Mk. II Alliance Assault Frigates, misnamed cruisers from the Rebellion Era with large, rounded prows that made the ships resemble whales. Each one had the symbol of the Tibrinese Defense Fleet and all three were larger than the Interceptor.

"Aw, Malachor" the Besalisk said. "Turn this ship around and get us out of the interdiction field! Fighters, take out that corvette!"

The four StarViper fighters dove towards the CR-110 and crippled Marauder, only to find two T-85 X-wings in their way.

Tambralynne wasted no time firing on the StarVipers, scattering their formation but scoring no hits. As the enemy fighters attempted to bypass the X-wings and converge on the CR-110, Tambralynne made a turn that would seem impossible to any other starfighter and shot off the lower wings of one StarViper as it rushed past her, sending it spirally out of control. She completed her 180-degree turn under inertial pressure that, even with the fighter's dampeners, would have knocked out a majority of beings in the galaxy and punched the acceleration, putting her directly on the other Viper's tail.

Vega 2 made a similar maneuver, but his turn was wider, giving his two StarVipers more distance as he pursued.

The undamaged Marauder corvette was light on weapons but not on spirit and fired big, bulky shots from its ion cannons in a desperate attempt to ward off the two StarVipers in front of Vega 2. Already calculating her next move in her head, Tambralynne put two laser bursts into the back of the StarViper in front of her and banked towards the other two, S-foils snapping back into travel position.

The lead StarViper reached the CR-110 and began to rake the unshielded craft with laser fire, causing Suchi to scream and bury her head in Daniels's arms. The StarViper reached the end of the corvette and was leaving the engine block in flames when Tambralynne came streaking in and scored two direct hits, smashing the fighter to pieces. Tambralynne's maneuver also had the second effect of placing her between the last remaining StarViper and the CR-110.

The StarViper, realizing how easily the Republic fighters had dispatched his squadron, decided to shift targets. As Tambralynne had hoped, her exposed rear was too tempting of a target for a pilot who realized he was going to have to get past the X-wings to escape regardless of the corvette's status. The StarViper slid into position behind Tambralynne and opened fire.

Tambralynne rotated her craft as she banked away from the CR-110. Despite her evasive maneuvers, her X-wing's rear shields absorbed one hit from the StarViper's light but rapidly-firing laser cannons, then another. A third one might have been trouble, but before that could happen, she and the StarViper crossed Vega 2's path, just as she had planned. The StarViper pilot, having gotten tunnel vision in his pursuit, didn't notice until Vega 2 put a laser blast in his ship's side, shattering it.

"Thoughtful of you to leave a kill for me" Vega 2 said.

"Like I said before," Tambralynne giggled. "Getting shot at is a lot more fun."


The Interceptor frigate, despite being under fire from four cruisers, swung out of the interdiction field with its shields still functional and prepared to jump into hyperspace.

Libras 3, 4 and 5, the B-wings who had helped disable Loc Bei's ship, had something to say about that, blasting the ship with their ion cannons. The shielding was proving to be too much, though. They could get through it, but not in time.

"Libra Squadron, full force authorized" Vahle said into his radio. "Cripple them."

"Copy, Top" said Libra 3. "Torpedoes out, Libra!"

Libra 4 and 5 wasted no time with replies as their targeting computers offered shots almost immediately. Three proton torpedoes struck the rear of the Interceptor. The engines buckled and exploded, sending the main section of the ship spinning into space. With propulsion gone and the ion cannons of Zama, Insight and the Tibrinese cruisers pounding away, whatever illusions of resistance the ship had left quickly vanished.

On the bridge of the Interceptor frigate, smoke rising around her and emergency lighting overhead, the Besalisk woman, lying injured on the ground, pulled out a personal holocommunicator.

An image of a human male with long white hair appeared.

"Zann…" the Besalisk coughed. "The Republic forces were… too strong. We couldn't destroy it in time."

"Unfortunate," said the man. "If not unexpected. Tell Commander Vahle I said hello."

The transmission disconnected, leaving her to her fate.


Onboard the Zama, Commander Vahle looked over his holodisplay once, twice and then three times to confirm that all known threats were taken care of.

"Nova Team, this is Top" he said. "Are you alright?"

"We're fine, Top" Tallion said. "A little shook up. Ready to get off this this hunk of junk."

"We'll see what we can do about that, Nova" Vahle replied. "Good work, everybody. Let's clean this up and head back to Tibrin. I'm sure Suchi Temn would love to go home."