Chapter 12
"Move it man!" shouted Kowes at the stormtroopers.
When the last of them exited the shuttle, he resealed the shuttle and launched. The duo of A-wings that has been shooting at him welcomed him with volleys of laser fire, weakening the shuttle's already failing shields even further.
Damn it, I wish I had a starfighter around here..." mumbled Kowes as he
plunged into a roll, narrowly avoiding a barrage of laser shots. He quickly lowered the throttle, and pulled the stick. The momentum allowed him a quick turn, and he unleashed a deadly volley of ion and laser fire. One A-Wing exploded immediately, the other one layed lifeless in space.
The other Lancer frigate lay lifeless in space too, with its twin brother the 'Trident' looming over it like an executor over its victim.
Just hours ago in the Sluis Van shipyards, they captured the Lancer, and effectively used it here, on Ryloth, the homeworld of the Twi-lek.
"Frigate 'Trident', draw the A-wing in." said Kowes over the comm. After he got the confirmation, he switched his comm frequency to Beta group frequency.
"Beta leader, this is major Kowes. Report."
"Roger major, we are finished here." said the stormtrooper leader with a gruffy voice.
Kowes switched to his entire team frequency.
"Good work boys we are done here, Alpha and Beta leaders prepare your ships for hyperspace, Im feeding you the coordinates."
Shortly after he got all the acknownledgements, they were in hyperspace, racing toward Iridonia, were the last Imperial warlord waited. The most cunning and ruthless warlord ever.
On the bridge of the 'Reaper', Grand Admiral Thrawn stood infront of the front wiewpoint, with Cayel and Lomeir flanking him. Thrawn clasped his gloved right hand to the small of his back with his left hand.
"Admiral, we are exiting hyperspace in moments." said Cayel.
Thrawn nodded to Cayel, then spoke: "Is my admiral ship ready captain?"
"The 'Reaper' is fully under your command admiral." answered Cayel properly according to standard issue Imperial protocol. The Empire was not dead. Soon the arrogant self-proclaimed New Republic and the supposedly invincible invaders the Yuuzhan Vong would realize it.
The stars returned to mere points in space.
They have arrived.
"Shields up, power up turbolaser turrets and quad laser batteries and turrets, scan the area for any hostile ships." said Cayel.
"Prepare a shuttle." said Thrawn for the first time since they exited hyperspace.
Cayel nodded to the admiral,and proceeded the order.
"Prepare a detachment of our best stormtroopers." said Thrawn,turned around and squared his sholders. Thrawn raised one ironic blue-black eyebrow and smiled. "Captain, Liutenant, would you care to join me?" he said.
"Yes sir." said Lomeir and Cayel in unison.
They marched toward the turbolift without a word.
The forest greeted them with its characteristic smell as they descended down the ramp of the shuttle. About fifty meters infront of them, a dark building stood. It was like a piramid, only it had several cannons an its surface. It looked like the piramid's top was cut off, and a much smaller piramid putted on top. On each corner of the cutted top of the larger piramid, there were what seemed to be turbolaser batteries.
The batteries were placed in such way that no matter from which side the intruder came,he would be open to at least four cannons and two batteries.
"Sargeant Jiggins, assume a flank formation, and fry anything or anyone that interuppts us." said Cayel.
"Ignore that order sargeant. You are to stun anything that interuppts us." said Thrawn.
"Yes sir." said Jiggins with his electronicly modifyed voice.
As they neared the mountain, they could see carbon scorings on its surface, evidences of a fight.
They came within twenty meters, when Lomeir suddenly stopped. His neck muscles started trembling.
"Whats the problem liutenant?"
"This place reeks with anger and hatred."
"How do you know that? Sir I strongly..." snorted Cayel.
"Be quiet captain. This is the right place." said Thrawn, then continued: "Can you open it?".
"Yes, it is a trait among my specie to use rage." explained Lomeir, still struggling.
Thrawn nodded, then motioned to Cayel and the stormtroopers to draw back.
When the Imperials were back at the shuttle, Lomeir experimentally raised a hand. Streching out with his mind power, he dug deep inside his concience. After what seemed like an eternity to him, he found it. The Rage.
He turned his mental vision toward the fortress infront of him, and he unleashed the rage he held within him. The fortress shook, and the doors slided open with a hiss. Then the fort spoke to him.
"Just what is he doing?" asked Cayel when they entered the shuttle.
"Patience captain. He is opening the fort for us." explained Thrawn to Cayel, then motioned him to wait. Thrawn called for Jiggins, and the stormtrooper leader came.
"Yes admiral?"
"Sargeant, position four stormtrooper twenty five meters from liutenant Lomeir in a flank formation, yourself and the remaining stormtrooper will guard the shuttle ramp."
"Yes sir." said Jiggins and exited to proceed the orders.
"You were saying captain?"
"Admiral, its afternoon, how much will we have to wait?"
"Until the fort is opened."
They continued the conversation.
"Admiral?"
"Yes sargeant?"
"The fort trembled now."
Fully awake, Thrawn exited the shuttle with Jiggins and a very sleepy Cayel in tow. When they exited the shuttle, Thrawn was suprised. It was night.
A dark figure approached them, and Thrawn stopped and motioned to the two stormtroopers to prepare.
The dark figure disolved into Lomeir approaching them.
"Admiral, the fort is open."
"Good work liutenant. Lets go."
With elegant steps Thrawn walked towards the fort, and entered it with Cayel, Lomeir and the four stormtroopers who were guarding Lomeir.
They wandered through the hallway, which was large enough for four men to walk abroad.The first room they entered was filled with coffins.
"A graveyard?" blurted Cayel.
"Hmm. Interesting. I do not belive the Sith or the Mandalore would place their dead this way." observed Thrawn.
"You are right." said Lomeir.
"How do you know?" asked Cayel suspiciously.
"The fort told me." said Lomeir.
"The fort told you?" asked Thrawn, his eyebrow cocked in a suprising expression.
"You shall find several early-phase Darktroopers in these coffins."
"Darktroopers? Here?" Thrawn's eyes became little cuts radiating with red light.
"Yes."
"What does the fort have?"asked Cayel.
"Training rooms, a war room, the guard room where we are now, the main hangar, and..." Lomeir paused for a second, as if straining to hear a distant voice, "...something called Spaarti room."
"Spaarti room?!" Thrawn said.
"Yes."
"Take us there." said Thrawn,his voice reeking with authority and anexiety.
They entered a dank, dark hall, Lomeir raised his hand and lights were lighten. The room was filled with Spaarti cloning cylinders.
"Excellent work liutenant. This will speed our counteroffensive against the rebels and the Vong." said Thrawn, his eyes glowing with satisfication.
"How many are there?" he asked after a pause.
"Hundred, all are more or less operational." answered Lomeir.
Thrawn was about to say something, when Lomeir interrupted him.
"Admiral!"
"Yes?"
"The fort is capable of hyperspace travel."
"What?" shouted Cayel, his jaw dropped with suprise.
"Can you activate it?" asked Thrawn.
"Hmm...", Lomeir paused, "Yes, i should be able to."
"Good. Prepare it for hyperspace." ordered Thrawn,beaming with satisfication.
"Move it man!" shouted Kowes at the stormtroopers.
When the last of them exited the shuttle, he resealed the shuttle and launched. The duo of A-wings that has been shooting at him welcomed him with volleys of laser fire, weakening the shuttle's already failing shields even further.
Damn it, I wish I had a starfighter around here..." mumbled Kowes as he
plunged into a roll, narrowly avoiding a barrage of laser shots. He quickly lowered the throttle, and pulled the stick. The momentum allowed him a quick turn, and he unleashed a deadly volley of ion and laser fire. One A-Wing exploded immediately, the other one layed lifeless in space.
The other Lancer frigate lay lifeless in space too, with its twin brother the 'Trident' looming over it like an executor over its victim.
Just hours ago in the Sluis Van shipyards, they captured the Lancer, and effectively used it here, on Ryloth, the homeworld of the Twi-lek.
"Frigate 'Trident', draw the A-wing in." said Kowes over the comm. After he got the confirmation, he switched his comm frequency to Beta group frequency.
"Beta leader, this is major Kowes. Report."
"Roger major, we are finished here." said the stormtrooper leader with a gruffy voice.
Kowes switched to his entire team frequency.
"Good work boys we are done here, Alpha and Beta leaders prepare your ships for hyperspace, Im feeding you the coordinates."
Shortly after he got all the acknownledgements, they were in hyperspace, racing toward Iridonia, were the last Imperial warlord waited. The most cunning and ruthless warlord ever.
On the bridge of the 'Reaper', Grand Admiral Thrawn stood infront of the front wiewpoint, with Cayel and Lomeir flanking him. Thrawn clasped his gloved right hand to the small of his back with his left hand.
"Admiral, we are exiting hyperspace in moments." said Cayel.
Thrawn nodded to Cayel, then spoke: "Is my admiral ship ready captain?"
"The 'Reaper' is fully under your command admiral." answered Cayel properly according to standard issue Imperial protocol. The Empire was not dead. Soon the arrogant self-proclaimed New Republic and the supposedly invincible invaders the Yuuzhan Vong would realize it.
The stars returned to mere points in space.
They have arrived.
"Shields up, power up turbolaser turrets and quad laser batteries and turrets, scan the area for any hostile ships." said Cayel.
"Prepare a shuttle." said Thrawn for the first time since they exited hyperspace.
Cayel nodded to the admiral,and proceeded the order.
"Prepare a detachment of our best stormtroopers." said Thrawn,turned around and squared his sholders. Thrawn raised one ironic blue-black eyebrow and smiled. "Captain, Liutenant, would you care to join me?" he said.
"Yes sir." said Lomeir and Cayel in unison.
They marched toward the turbolift without a word.
The forest greeted them with its characteristic smell as they descended down the ramp of the shuttle. About fifty meters infront of them, a dark building stood. It was like a piramid, only it had several cannons an its surface. It looked like the piramid's top was cut off, and a much smaller piramid putted on top. On each corner of the cutted top of the larger piramid, there were what seemed to be turbolaser batteries.
The batteries were placed in such way that no matter from which side the intruder came,he would be open to at least four cannons and two batteries.
"Sargeant Jiggins, assume a flank formation, and fry anything or anyone that interuppts us." said Cayel.
"Ignore that order sargeant. You are to stun anything that interuppts us." said Thrawn.
"Yes sir." said Jiggins with his electronicly modifyed voice.
As they neared the mountain, they could see carbon scorings on its surface, evidences of a fight.
They came within twenty meters, when Lomeir suddenly stopped. His neck muscles started trembling.
"Whats the problem liutenant?"
"This place reeks with anger and hatred."
"How do you know that? Sir I strongly..." snorted Cayel.
"Be quiet captain. This is the right place." said Thrawn, then continued: "Can you open it?".
"Yes, it is a trait among my specie to use rage." explained Lomeir, still struggling.
Thrawn nodded, then motioned to Cayel and the stormtroopers to draw back.
When the Imperials were back at the shuttle, Lomeir experimentally raised a hand. Streching out with his mind power, he dug deep inside his concience. After what seemed like an eternity to him, he found it. The Rage.
He turned his mental vision toward the fortress infront of him, and he unleashed the rage he held within him. The fortress shook, and the doors slided open with a hiss. Then the fort spoke to him.
"Just what is he doing?" asked Cayel when they entered the shuttle.
"Patience captain. He is opening the fort for us." explained Thrawn to Cayel, then motioned him to wait. Thrawn called for Jiggins, and the stormtrooper leader came.
"Yes admiral?"
"Sargeant, position four stormtrooper twenty five meters from liutenant Lomeir in a flank formation, yourself and the remaining stormtrooper will guard the shuttle ramp."
"Yes sir." said Jiggins and exited to proceed the orders.
"You were saying captain?"
"Admiral, its afternoon, how much will we have to wait?"
"Until the fort is opened."
They continued the conversation.
"Admiral?"
"Yes sargeant?"
"The fort trembled now."
Fully awake, Thrawn exited the shuttle with Jiggins and a very sleepy Cayel in tow. When they exited the shuttle, Thrawn was suprised. It was night.
A dark figure approached them, and Thrawn stopped and motioned to the two stormtroopers to prepare.
The dark figure disolved into Lomeir approaching them.
"Admiral, the fort is open."
"Good work liutenant. Lets go."
With elegant steps Thrawn walked towards the fort, and entered it with Cayel, Lomeir and the four stormtroopers who were guarding Lomeir.
They wandered through the hallway, which was large enough for four men to walk abroad.The first room they entered was filled with coffins.
"A graveyard?" blurted Cayel.
"Hmm. Interesting. I do not belive the Sith or the Mandalore would place their dead this way." observed Thrawn.
"You are right." said Lomeir.
"How do you know?" asked Cayel suspiciously.
"The fort told me." said Lomeir.
"The fort told you?" asked Thrawn, his eyebrow cocked in a suprising expression.
"You shall find several early-phase Darktroopers in these coffins."
"Darktroopers? Here?" Thrawn's eyes became little cuts radiating with red light.
"Yes."
"What does the fort have?"asked Cayel.
"Training rooms, a war room, the guard room where we are now, the main hangar, and..." Lomeir paused for a second, as if straining to hear a distant voice, "...something called Spaarti room."
"Spaarti room?!" Thrawn said.
"Yes."
"Take us there." said Thrawn,his voice reeking with authority and anexiety.
They entered a dank, dark hall, Lomeir raised his hand and lights were lighten. The room was filled with Spaarti cloning cylinders.
"Excellent work liutenant. This will speed our counteroffensive against the rebels and the Vong." said Thrawn, his eyes glowing with satisfication.
"How many are there?" he asked after a pause.
"Hundred, all are more or less operational." answered Lomeir.
Thrawn was about to say something, when Lomeir interrupted him.
"Admiral!"
"Yes?"
"The fort is capable of hyperspace travel."
"What?" shouted Cayel, his jaw dropped with suprise.
"Can you activate it?" asked Thrawn.
"Hmm...", Lomeir paused, "Yes, i should be able to."
"Good. Prepare it for hyperspace." ordered Thrawn,beaming with satisfication.