Hello again, and welcome back to my Halo/Star Wars redux.
Ladies and gentlemen, I have returned! It took me over a week to get this chapter rewritten, during which I wrote a new chapter that I will be posting at the same time as this one. Thank you all so much for your patience and support. I am deeply sorry that it took me so long.
In addition, I have decided on a posting schedule for this crossover. Every Friday, there will be a new chapter posted. If I can't get it out on Friday, I'll post it on the weekends.
As always, leave a review, and enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Halo or Star Wars franchises. They are the respective properties and trademarks of Microsoft Studios, 343 Industries, Bungie, Lucasfilms, Disney, 20th Century Fox, etc. Any material original to the franchises belongs to their respective developers and publishers. Any material not original to the franchises is of my own invention. I do not own any music listed in each chapter. Any music listed belongs to it's original composers and/or aritsts.
Sabaton - Dreadnought
Scarif
RCS Profundity
April 11th, 0 ABY (October 26th, 2558)
If there was a word that Admiral Raddus could use to describe their current situation over the planet Scarif, it was lousy. Checking his console and the viewport, he could see a huge storm of turbolaser bolts that were being exchanged between his ships and the two Star Destroyers that were protecting the station they were near. He could also see X-Wings, U-Wings, A-Wings and Y-Wings going to work on their TIE counterparts.
The station in question was a massive Golan Station that was modified to be a Shield Gate. When not engaged in war-time, the station was designed to open a minuscule hole in the planetary defense shield large enough for various transports to move through. In war-time, as it was right now, the station would retract specially designed pylons that created the hole, effectively closing the gate.
It was that same Shield Gate that they were attempting to get through right now, though in their current situation, things were not going as planned. When they'd jumped in, they'd scared the Imperials on the station into closing the gate, forcing them to pursue alternative strategies in order to win. Right now, they were trying to work out strategies for opening up the gate. Turning to his Comms Officer, he asked, "What's going on down there, Lieutenant?!"
"Unknown, sir!" his Lieutenant shouted while working at his console. "I can't raise them! All Rebel frequencies are blocked!"
Turning to his Lieutenant, Raddus quickly considered his options, then said, "Engage those Star Destroyers and let's start probing that shield!"
"Yes sir!" came the reply…
As the Lieutenant carried out his orders, other Rebel fighters in the area began engaging the TIE fighters as well as the turbolaser towers on the Shield Gate Station. Inside of his X-Wing starfighter, Garven Dreis was having the time of his life as he destroyed another TIE fighter. Five TIEs in a row, he noted. I'm an ace now.
As he concentrated on targeting the fighters, he heard his comms crackle. "Red Leader, this is Gold Leader," a voice announced. "We're starting our attack run on the Shield Gate now."
"Copy that," Garven replied, recognizing his call sign of 'Red Leader.' "Be careful around those turbolaser towers! They'll blast you out of the sky if they get the chance!"
"Copy that," Gold Leader, also know by his name of John Vander, replied. Talking to his squadron, he said, "Keep it tight and watch out for those towers!" With that, the Y-Wings of Gold Squadron flew closer to the Shield Gate. A couple that didn't react quickly enough were blasted out of the sky by turbolaser towers on the Shield Gate's upper surface, while those that did manevered closer to the station. Once close enough, they began dropping Proton charges, blasting out massive craters on the station's hull.
"Incoming!" Gold-3 shouted. Looking to his right, Vander spotted what Gold-3 had warned them about. Set into the uppermost section of the station's inner portion was what he realized were a series of hangar bays. Now that he was looking at them, he could see a massive swarm of TIE fighters flying out of them and into space.
"More fighters!" he heard another X-Wing fighter pilot shout. "Form up, Six, Five!" With that, a few X-Wings flew back towards the Profundity. A few more also flew in towards the Golan Station, before firing Proton torpedoes. Vander, looking at the impacts, frowned at how little they did to impact the shields at the Shield Gate.
"We're having no effect!" he heard one X-Wing pilot shout.
"How much more can that thing take?" Another asked.
Noting the lack of damage his own bombing run had on to the Shield Station, Vander said, "Gold Squadron, this is Gold Leader. Form up on me. We're going for another bombing run." Throttling up, he watched as the other members of Gold Squadron formed up on him…
Onboard the Profundity, Admiral Raddus was continuing to coordinate his forces as best as he could. "Sir!" he heard one of his officers shout. "Enemy fighters coming in!" Turning around, he watched as a storm of TIE fighters began flying towards the Profundity, firing their weapons all the while. While he had little concern that the TIE fighter's individual shots would penetrate, he knew that a swarm of them could cause a lot of damage.
"Get more X-Wings on those fighters now!" he ordered. Looking ahead, he could see the Star Destroyers getting closer to the Golan Station. If they got into position, they would be in a prime location to tear apart the rest of the Rebel fleet, and that, he knew, would spell defeat. Deep down, he began to pray to the Force for a miracle to happen.
Apparently, the Force must've heard his plea for help and answered. Just as he had begun to turn back to his Lieutenant, he heard the same Lieutenant shout, "Admiral! I'm picking up a strange anomaly in a region of space near the Star Destroyers!"
"What kind of anomaly?!" Raddus shouted, his heart nearly jumping into his throat.
"Unknown, sir!" the Lieutenant reported, "but it's big! Really big!"
"How big?!" Raddus asked, exasperated. Just as he turned around to see outside, he spotted what the Lieutenant was talking about.
Right next to the Star Destroyers, Raddus spotted what looked like a shimmer of light. It was fading in and out rapidly, causing an effect like that of sunlight reflecting off of moving water. What is that, he wondered to himself. Apparently, the Imperials onboard the Star Destroyer were wondering the same thing, as they began to turn towards the anomaly.
That was when things really changed. Raddus watched as the sparkling point of light suddenly turned into a portal of some sorts. The edges seemed to shine with a light of their own, while in the middle, all he saw was emptiness. That was the most disturbing part to him. There wasn't a color, nor a point of light in the middle of that portal, only a simple nothingness, like some unfathomably powerful being had removed a patch of stars from space. It was massive as well, larger than even the Star Destroyers that were now trying to turn away from it.
It was then that something flew out of the portal. Raddus watched, with shock, as a ship flew out of the portal at speeds that not even a Star Destroyer was capable of achieving. The entire ship was massive, with the ship dwarfing even the Star Destroyer that was moving away from the portal. To Raddus, it resembled a large rectangular block that a sculptor had chosen, before removing various bits and pieces of it to create a finished shape.
The dorsal, or upper, section of the ship was fairly flat, with only a few bumps and ridges here and there. The ventral, or bottom, section of the ship had more sections sticking out of it, giving the ship an odd appearance. On the entire surface of the ship, Raddus could see geometric and rounded sections, including what he initially thought were weapon emplacements of some kind. Near the left side from where he was viewing the ship, he could see a few powerful engines at work, though the largest ones had gone dark for some unknown reason. The front of the ship was flat, though he could see what looked like massive pylons sticking out from it.
What had his attention, though, was that the massive ship was hurtling towards one of the Star Destroyers that were moving. It was clear from where he was at that the unknown ship had no chance to dodge the Star Destroyer, and that the Star Destroyer's attempts to avoid being hit were futile. What happened next would shake up the course of the battle.
The massive ship simply smashed it's way into one of the Star Destroyers. At the impact site, Raddus watched as a gold-white field of energy shimmered into existence, with the entire front section of the unknown ship being lit up with this gold-white color. Some kind of particle shield, he noted.
What had his attention, however, was what happened to the Star Destroyer at that exact moment. The entire Star Destroyer was ripped apart by the force of the impact, with the ship being sheared in half. Durasteel plates flew everywhere, while the entire ship was shoved forwards so rapidly that Raddus knew the sudden acceleration would've been instantly fatal. Both halves of the Star Destroyer rapidly fell away, with large conglomerations of debris being hurled away before smashing into the planetary defense shield, causing massive ripples in the barrier.
As soon as that had happened, everyone onboard the bridge had fallen silent. Not even the computers, which normally were busy beeping and chiming away, made a sound, as though they to were stunned by the colossal event that had just taken place. Outside, Rebel and TIE fighter pilots simply stopped and turned to see what had caused their parent ships to stop firing…
Inside his X-Wing, Garven Drais was in awe as he stared at the ship that had just torn through one of the Star Destroyers like it was a piece of flimsy. The ship was massive, with Garven putting the size of the ship at around five to six times that of one of the Star Destroyers. "By the Force," he whispered to himself. "What is that thing?"
Onboard the Intimidator, Gorin watched with shock as the massive ship tore through the Persecutor as though it didn't exist. He flinched as it narrowly flew past the Intimidator, before coming to a stop near the middle of the space battle. What is that, he wondered.
. . .
Gorin would've been surprised to know that similar thoughts were going on in the mind of Director Krennic, the man that was in charge of the facility the Rebels were attacking. Inside of the control room that he was in, everyone else, including Admiral Sotorus, had fallen silent at the feeds they were now seeing on the computer screens. Looking at his own feed, Krennic was looking at the newcomer in awe. What is that thing? He wondered to himself as he looked at what had just happened.
Out on the beach, Chirrut Îmwe, one of the members of Rogue One, looked around to see what had happened. While he couldn't physically see what had happened, he could hear something, thoughhe didn't know what. "Baze?" he asked. "What's going on.
Nearby, Chirrut's friend, Baze, looked around as well, before grabbing a pair of manoculars. The two sharply contrasted with each other, both in outlook as well as physically. Where Chirrut was a fairly short and thin man with light skin, cloudy blue eyes and dark brown hair, Baze was a taller, stocky built man with darkened skin, black hair and dark brown eyes. As he did so and looked up, he said, "Well, I'll be dipped in poodoo! Some kind of massive ship has just arrived!"
"How massive?" Chirrut asked.
"Big, bigger than anything I've ever seen. Even the Star Destroyer near it looks tiny in comparison." Looking at Chirrut, Baze noticed that Chirrut's expression seemed far away, as though he was sensing something else. "Îmwe?" he asked. "Are you OK? Îmwe?"
Îmwe, though, wasn't listening to Baze. Instead, his attention was focused on the fact that he could see something. As he focused on what he could see, despite knowing that he was physically blind, he could hear what he thought was music. The music sounded like a chorus of men singing, while he thought he could hear instruments that he had never before heard in his life. As he did so, he thought he heard a voice whisper, Loyalty and Devotion deserves it's own reward. Now, Chirrut Îmwe, see the world through the Force!
At that moment, everything changed. Chirrut, to his amazement, found that he could see the beach. Not physically, due to his eyes being blind, but rather through the Force. He could see the whirlpools and eddies that formed in the Force as it flowed through people, with the colors changing depending on the person's alignment. Right now, though, it was a muted yellow due to the fact that death was happening all around him. He could also see the beaches and water of the planet they were on, or rather the area they were in.
What had his attention, however, was the bright blue-white glow that seemed to emanate from the sky. Looking up, he could see what Baze had been referring to: a truly massive ship, though it wasn't the ship that had his attention. Rather, it was the thousands of points of light that he could see inside the ship, with some glowing far brighter than others. "I… I can see it…" he hesitantly said to Baze.
"What?!" Baze nearly shouted in shock. "I thought you were blind!"
"I am!" Chirrut replied. "Somehow, I've gained the ability to see the ship not with my eyes, but with the Force! It's… it is beautiful." Chirrut continued to look up at the sky, while Baze continued to look at him with confusion.
. . .
Lasky groaned as a ringing sound in his ears became clearly evident, while aches and pains promptly began to announce themselves all over his body. At that moment, the blackness that had been pervading his vision was burned away by an intense light that shone into his eyes. At the same time, he could hear someone trying to speak to him, "… you… right… Lasky? Are you… Captain Lasky?" A moment later, the voice came in loud and clear as Lasky's ears began working properly, or rather his brain did. "Are you all right, Captain Lasky? Can you hear me?"
Blinking rapidly, Lasky cleared his vision as quickly as he could, whereupon he looked around as the ringing in his ears fully subsided. Apparently, he was lying on the floor, as he could see the ceiling of the bridge directly over him. Clustered around him were various faces that he recognized, including the Medic that was stationed near the bridge in the event the Captain suffered an injury. "Captain Lasky?" the medic asked him. "Can you hear me?"
Lasky tried to speak, but found that his larynx refused to comply. Forcing it into compliance, he said, "I… I'm all right… At least… I think I am."
The medic sighed with relief, before holding up a pair of fingers. "How many fingers can you see?"
"Two," Lasky replied confidently.
"What is your name, rank and service number?"
"Captain Thomas Lasky. Service Number 98604-72690-TL. Commanding Officer of the UNSC Infinity," Lasky replied.
"What is the date?"
"October 26th, 2558," Lasky replied.
Hearing those words, the medic again sighed with relief. "You're fucking lucky, you know that Captain," he said as he hoisted Lasky to his feet. "You got knocked out, but you avoided a concussion. That makes sense, given that your right forehead smacked into the holo-table. Anywhere else and your answers would not have been nearly as coherent."
"I guess," Lasky remarked as he stretched his back, which was rewarded with a few pops and cracks. Looking around, he found Melody standing on the bridge nearby as well. Her stance was shaky, though he could see no outward indication that she'd been injured in any way. "You OK?" he asked.
"I'm OK," Melody replied. "Just shaken from the impact."
That brought a sigh of relief from him. "Good." With that emergency out of the way, he asked, "Gabriela, are you there?"
A moment later, Gabriela appeared over the holo-table. "I'm here, Captain," she replied. Looking at him, she said, "You look like hammered shit, sir."
"Tell me something I don't know," Lasky retorted, though there was no anger in his voice. "Status report?"
"Green for the most part, but I got some odd error reports," she reported. "The moment you lost consciousness, sir, I detected numerous systems undergoing a hard restart. Primary shields have failed, though the secondary shields kicked in the moment they did so. The same goes for our primary repulsors; they failed, but the secondary repulsors immediately activated, though it took time for them to reach full power output."
"That explains why we've got lights and power still," Lasky noted. "Anything else?
"Yes, sir. Secondary shields are at 25%, but are recharging swiftly. Weapon systems are currently undergoing a hard restart due to power fluctuations.
"Can you raise Engineering?"
"Aye, sir." There was a pause, then, "Intercom to Engineering is ready, sir."
"Thank you," Lasky said. Keying the 'com, he asked, "Bridge to Engineering. What's your status?"
"Lousy," came Jordan's familiar voice, along with the voice of a woman chewing him and someone else out. "We temporarily lost power here, but we've got it back now. Right now, we're trying to assess the primary reactors and figure out if they've taken damage. Glassman's heading that operation, while Halsey has just arrived and is giving me and Dr. Glassman the mother of all dressing downs."
Right on cue, Halsey's voice came in strong and clear over the 'com. "Well, well, Jordan MacCallum. What have you done to my ship, and why are taking too long in speaking with the Captain about the condition of the ship?" She sounded annoyed, and a touch peeved.
"What did I do?" Jordan asked, momentarily forgetting that the 'com was still open. "I was just doing my job, then this bullshit happened! I didn't have anything to do with it!"
The sarcasm in Halsey's voice, if weaponized, could've torn a hole in the Infinity's 4.9 meter thick hull. "Really? If that was the case, then we wouldn't have ended up in this situation. Now it is up to professionals like me to find out what you screwed up." There was a pause, then she said, "Zanaka, Zorak, Zoram, would you come here please? Also, Jordan, if you take too long with helping me fix this ship, I'l have you and Dr. Glassman put in the brig. Now, let me in and get to work."
"Oh, boy, here we go," Jordan groaned. Realizing that the 'com was still active, he said, "We'll get back in touch with you soon, Captain. Right now, we've got some work to do." He closed with a workman-like, "Be in touch as soon as we've got something to report."
"Copy that, Bridge out." Turning to Gabriela as he closed the 'com channel, he asked, "Can you have all section heads on the ship report in?"
"They already have, sir," Gabriela replied. "We've got some casualties, but no fatalities. Most of the injuries are some minor concussions, and some broken bones. In addition, sir, we've taken some damage to our armor plating in the frontal section. Nothing we can't fix on our own, though."
"Good," Lasky sighed. It was a relief to know that no one had been killed when the Slipspace Drive malfunctioned. Now he just had to figure out where they were. "Do you know our location?"
"Unknown at this point," Gabriela reported. "I did record some data, but until I can access the data module for the Slipspace Drive again, sir, I won't know what happened."
"Fair enough," Lasky decided. "Lower the shutters for the ship. Maybe we can figure out where we've ended up."
"Aye, sir!" There was a muted whine as the motors controlling the shutters for the bridge began to lower, gradually revealing where they'd ended up. Once they fully lowered, Lasky could see where the Infinity had ended up courtesy of it's drive malfunctioning.
To his surprise, it wasn't a place that he'd seen before. While the familiar inky blackness of space was quite familiar, the planet that they were now orbiting over wasn't. Even from where they were at, Lasky could see a vast, tropical blue ocean, with sandy-white and green islands dotting it, like patches of frosting on a cake. The atmosphere was also a beautiful blue color, with the color showing that pollution had not marred the planet in any way.
What had his attention the most, though, wasn't the planet before him, it was the objects that were also in space with the Infinity. Looking around, Lasky found that they had arrived in the middle of what appeared to be a gathering of ships. On one side, he could see ships that had rounded hull shapes, with a few looking like geometric sections mashed together to form a ship. On the other, he could see what looked like an arrowhead shaped ship that had a large bar on top of the rear. Down below, he could see what looked like a space station that, thanks to the open area inside of it, looked like a doughnut that was fresh from the bakery.
His thoughts were interrupted when he heard Melody give a horrified, "Oh, no…" Looking around, he could see why she had said what she had said. Apparently, when the Infinity had exited the Slipstream Space Portal, it had smashed into one of the arrowhead shaped ships, ripping it apart like it was a piece of cardboard going through a shredding machine. He flinched when he saw the body of a human being brush against the transparent titanium alloy view ports of the bridge.
"Oh my…" his XO, Conners whispered. "Captain, what the hell have we stumbled into?"
"I don't know," Lasky replied. "What I do know is that when we cut power to the Slipstream Space Drive, we must've emerged too late to correct our course, hence why we had a collision. Now I can see what we collided with: a ship of some kind. It also looks like there was a battle going on here, and we've arrived in the middle of it."
"This is not good at all," Melody whispered. Turning to Lasky, she said, "If that COM Array doesn't come online soon, those two sides will think that we intentionally did this. They'll fire on us…"
"… and it'll be the First Battle of Harvest all over again!" Lasky finished. "Gabriela, get that COM array back online as quickly as possible. Inform Roland that we need him as well, and tell Chief that we need him to upload Cortana into the AI Cores on the ship as soon as possible! The sooner we can give an explanation of what happened, the better our chances of avoiding a First Contact war!"
"Aye, sir!" Gabriela replied. "I'm already assigning a few Engineers to the COM Array. Roland is on his way, and Chief is uploading Cortana into the ship systems. They'll be with us momentarily."
Commander Conners, hearing this, looked around at the bridge crew and said, "Are you all deaf! Get to work at your stations! Coordinate with Gabriela, Roland and Cortana! MOVE!" There was an explosion of organized chaos as the crew on the bridge quickly went to work.
"Weapon systems are returning to normal!" Lieutenant Austen reported from his station. "They'll be fully ready to go soon!"
"COM Array is still down!" Lieutenant Jespersen added. "Gabriela, when can we expect the COM Array to come online?!"
"Four minutes!" Gabriela reported.
"Sir!" Lieutenant Ryder, the ship's Sensor Officer, shouted from his station. "I'm detecting thermal blooms on the remaining arrowhead ship, as well as from the station below. Judging by the readings, I think we're seeing their weapons coming online!"
"Shit!" Lasky snarled. "Gabriela, status report on the shields?!"
"Secondary shields at 43%," Gabriela reported. "Primary shields are still offline."
At that moment, Roland's avatar, which was that of a WWII fighter pilot, appeared over the holotable. "Captain Lasky," he said, "I just got the report from Gabriela on what's going on. If we don't get that COM Array online soon, then we're going to be in a really big shitshow!"
"Tell me something I don't know," Lasky retorted. "We just need to -"
"INCOMING!" Ryder shouted. "Weapons are being fired at us!" Just as he said this, the entire ship shuddered as something struck it. "The arrowhead ship and the station are firing at us!"
"Secondary shields down to 40%," Roland reported. "Captain, their weapons are weak individually, but if they keep pounding us, they'll do some damage to the ship, especially in the numbers they're in right now!"
"Shit!" Lasky roared, smashing his hand onto the holo-table.
"This is it," Melody groaned. "Looks like we're in the middle of a first contact war now."
"Looks like it," Conners groused. Shaking off the despair he was feeling, he asked, "Captain, orders?!"
Lasky thought quickly. If he acted now, not only would he save the entire Infinity, but he would also spare as many innocent lives as he could. "Bring weapons fully online!" he ordered a moment later. "Launch all frigates and get a defensive net around the Infinity! Sound the alarm for general quarters! All hands to battle stations!" Alarms began to blare inside the Infinity, with everyone quickly heading to battle stations.
"Sir!" Ryder shouted. "The ships that were near the station are coming towards us!"
Lasky was about to ask what they were doing when he saw them flying around the Infinity. To his amazement, instead of attacking the Infinity, he watched as they flew into an oval formation around the ship, with the largest one quickly moving towards the Infinity's port side. They're not shooting at us, he realized a moment later. They're protecting us!
. . .
Onboard the Profundity, Raddus watched as the station and Star Destroyer began to fire at the new ship. When the ship had arrived, there had been a brief lull in activity as everyone had struggled to comprehend what had just happened. Raddus, in particular, had wondered if this was a new Imperial ship. That had been immediately disproven when the Imperials had begun firing on the new ship, which he was tempted to call a 'Star Dreadnought.' More gold-white flashes had appeared with each impact from a turbolaser bolt, indicating that the ship also had ray shielding.
"Admiral!" he heard a Lieutenant shout. "Orders?!"
In that moment, Raddus knew that he had a decision to make, though it was far easier than he thought it might've been. It was clear to him that the newcomers hadn't intended to smash into the Star Destroyer, and the ship's inactivity indicated that it had suffered a malfunction. The Imperials firing at it, though, clearly meant that the Empire thought it was reinforcements from his side, and given what he knew about the Imperials, they would destroy the ship first and ask questions later.
Not on my watch, he decided in that moment. Turning to his Lieutenant, he said, "Signal the fleet to take up formation around the ship!"
"Sir?!" the Lieutenant asked in disbelief.
"You heard me, Lieutenant! I will not allow the Empire to destroy a ship of that size, especially since what happened might have been an accident! Besides, this is a potential first contact! Have the fleet deploy around the Star Dreadnought and keep it safe until it is able to properly defend itself! I will not have another war on our hands!"
That shook the Lieutenant out of his stupor, as he promptly nodded and said, "Yes, sir!" Hands flying over the console, he quickly relayed the orders.
"Contact the ambassador as soon as you can!"
"Yes, sir!" the Comms Officer shouted. Turning back to the view outside, Raddus watched as the ships in the Rebel Fleet quickly took up formation around the larger ship…
Inside his X-Wing, Garven watched as the fleet took up formation around the new ship that had just arrived. Looking at his message screen, he spotted their new orders. "Red Squadron, this is Red Leader!" he ordered. "We've got new orders! We're to keep the TIE fighters away from the new contact as best as we can!"
"Copy, Red Leader!" the others replied. Before long, numerous X-Wing and A-Wing fighters were flying towards the Star Dreadnought, blaster cannons blazing as they began shooting down TIE fighters that were flying towards the new ship.
Throwing his X-Wing into a roll, Garven watched as green blaster cannon bolts barely zipped by his fighter, narrowly missing the deflector shields. Pulling off a high speed bank and dive, he quickly got behind the offending TIE Fighter, before blasting it with his own blaster cannons. The enemy TIE Fighter exploded, with the body of the now deceased TIE pilot zipping past the X-Wing.
. . .
Back onboard the Infinity, Lasky and the others were working at a feverish pace as they fought to keep the Infinity as intact as possible. "Weapon systems are fully online!" Lieutenant Austen reported from his station. "Captain, orders?!"
"Designate all of the ships firing at us as hostile!" Lasky ordered. "Gabriela, Roland, assist Austen in his duties!" As the AI's worked to do so, he asked, "Cortana, are you there?"
A moment later, Cortana's avatar, which was that of a woman with circuitry covering most of her body, asked, "Affirmative sir. What do you need me to do?"
"Can you see how far the COM Array repairs are coming?"
"Yes, sir," Cortana replied. "Well well, looks like our resident Huragok have pulled off a miracle! The COM Array is fully online!"
"Excellent!" Lasky cheered. "Melody, get into contact with the unknowns! Tell them what happened and ask them to cease fire immediately!"
"Yes, Captain," Melody replied. "Lieutenant Jespersen, try and get into contact with the attackers! Tell them that we need them to cease fire!"
"Yes, Envoy!" Jespersen replied. Working feverishly at his station, he began attempting to contact the forces attacking them. "I've got a COM channel open, but I don't know if their format's compatible with our own! Expect heavy interference!"
"Got it," Melody replied. Speaking into the mike on the holo-table, she said, "Unknown forces, this is Envoy Melody of the UNSC Infinity! Please cease shooting at us! We are not a hostile force! We wish to clarify what happened! Over!" She waited desperately for a response.
Thankfully, one did come in, though the signal was garbled due to the interference. "Unknown… ship… itself as… Infinity. Why… you… with… Rebel… Respond…" The words popped and crackled, which were more indications that whatever format the unknowns were using to communicate with them wasn't fully compatible with what they were using.
"Say again!" Melody shouted as another shudder ran through the ship. "Say again! You're breaking up!"
. . .
Onboard the Star Destroyer Intimidator, Admiral Gorin watched as the Rebel Fleet continued to protect the Star Dreadnought that had smashed through the Persecutor. As soon as that ship had arrived, he knew that the Rebels had, somehow, constructed a Star Dreadnought without the Empire finding out about it. It has to be a rebel ship, he thought to himself. It's just what I'd expect them to do!
Just then, he heard his Communications Officer shout, "Admiral! We're getting a transmission from the unknown ship, but it's heavily garbled!"
"What?" Gorin asked, surprised. "Are you certain!"
"Yes, sir!" the officer replied. "From what I can tell, they aren't using Holo Communications like we usually do. The transmission appears to be an audio only, radio signal! Beginning playback now!"
A moment later, Gorin heard a woman's voice coming in. To his surprise, despite the signal being heavily garbled, it was clear that it was in Basic, as he heard the voice say, "Unknown forces… Envoy… of the… Infinity… cease shooting… not a hostile… wish to clarify…!"
Not a hostile, Gorin thought with disbelief. Impossible! They rammed through one of our ships like it was made out of flimsy! Looking at the Communications Officer, he asked, "Can you set up a radio transmission with them?"
"It'll take me a minute, but I should have one ready to go shortly!" the officer replied.
"Set it up fast!" Gorin ordered. "Inform them that their attack on the Imperial Center of Military Research will not go unpunished!"
"But sir -"
The officer was interrupted by a look from Gorin that, if weaponized, would've melted through durasteel. "I don't care if they claim that they are not hostile!" he snarled. "They tore through the Persecutor as though it didn't exist! That proves that they are hostile!" With that, he turned back to the space battle going on…
Unbeknownst to Gorin, another person had heard the desperate call. Admiral Raddus could hear the garbled transmission from the Infinity. "Isolate that signal!" he ordered his Comms Officer. "Clear it up as best as you can!"
"Yes sir!" the Lieutenant replied. "Sir, it's not using Holo Communications. It's using a simple radio transmission. I'll clear it up as best as I can."
"Do it!" Raddus ordered. "Send it to the Tantive IV as soon as possible! Perhaps Princes Leia can make sense of it!" Keying his comm, he said, "Admiral Raddus to the Tantive IV, are you there?" He waited for a response…
Inside one of the Profundity's small ship bays, inside of the corvette known as the Tantive IV, another woman was listening to the garbled COM transmission her Comms Officer had picked up earlier. As soon as she had picked out the words, 'not hostile' and 'wish to clarify,' she knew that they were facing a first contact scenario. That had even made her look at a video feed, which showed the chaos outside.
Her thoughts were interrupted when the comm crackled. "Addmiral Reddus to the Tantive IV, do you read me?" he called out.
"Open a comm channel," Leia asked. Once the Comms Officer did so, she said, "We read you loud and clear. What is it?"
"We've isolated a comms transmission from the Star Dreadnought," Raddus explained. "It's garbled, but we've cleaned it up as best as we can."
"I already heard it here as well," Leia replied. "From what I can tell, we're facing a first contact scenario, though it's clear that the Imperials think otherwise."
"Any advice on what to do next?" Reddus asked.
"I'll get in contact with the unknown ship," Leia informed him. "Try transmitting a radio message instead of the usual Holo Communications. That might allow us to get through."
. . .
Onboard the Infinity, Melody continued to work quickly with Jespersen at his station, while Lasky and the others worked to keep the Infinity intact. The ship's point defense weapons were now firing at any fighters that were actively turning on attack vectors to their position. This had resulted in the shuddering becoming much less frequent, especially given that some of the unknowns were protecting them.
Her mind, though, kept on drifting back to what they'd seen, especially the corpse that had bumped into the Infinity's view port. Her mind promptly went back to memories of New Mombasa. She could hear the screams and wails of dying men, women and children, the smell of flesh being burnt and charred, the roars and horrid laughter of aliens. Her hands began to shake as the memories threatened to overwhelm her mind.
She shook her head, dispelling the memories. Get a grip, Melody, she admonished herself. That was five years ago! Focus on your job: getting us out of here alive without causing another war! With that, she redoubled her efforts.
She was so focused in her work that she jumped when Jespersen said, "Ma'am, we've got another response from the unknown firing on us! I heard it loud and clear this time!"
"Can you put it through to Lasky?" she asked a moment later. As Jespersen worked to do so, she said, "Lasky, we've got a much clearer response from the unknowns. Apparently, they've been trying to contact us!"
"Put them through!" Lasky ordered.
A moment later, the transmission came back, though this time, it was crystal clear. "Unknown ship identifying itself as the Infinity, this is Admiral Gorin of the Intimidator. Identify yourself at once!"
Melody looked at Lasky and nodded imperceptibly. Clearing his throat, Lasky said, "Admiral Gorin, this is Captain Thomas Lasky of the UNSC Infinity. Do not fire on us! We had an accident with our FTL drive which resulted in us accidentally ramming one of your ships!"
On a motion from Lasky, Melody said, "This is Envoy Melody Azikiwe of the United Earth Government! We wish to discuss a cease-fire and explain what happened! We are not hostile towards you and your ships! What happened was an accident!"
The response that came back from Admiral Gorin chilled her blood. "Unlikely, considering the fact that you rammed one of our ships and that the Rebel Fleet is protecting your ship. That tells me, Envoy Melody, that your attack was intentional, and that you are reinforcements working for the Rebel Alliance. Your attack on this facility will not go unpunished!"
"We are not working for whoever this Rebel Alliance is!" Melody tried to explain. "We -"
"ENOUGH!" Admiral Gorin roared, interrupting her. "I will not listen to the lies of a Rebel ship any longer. You will rue the day you attacked loyal servants of the Empire!" Melody was about to speak when a crackle came over the line.
"He cut the COM transmission!" Gabriela shouted.
"Can you get it back?!" Lasky asked Jespersen.
"Negative!" Jespersen reported. "They're not responding to my attempts to reestablish communications, sir! Whoever that Admiral Gorin was, they're not willing to listen!"
"That settles it!" Lasky decided. "Looks like this Admiral Gorin isn't willing to play ball! Lieutenant Austen, designate the Intimidator as hostile and begin combat operations! Melody, can you see if we can contact the other ships?!"
"I've also got another COM transmission on the line. Permission to send it through?"
"Granted!" Laskly replied.
A moment later, they heard a woman's voice say, "This is Princess Leia Organa of the Imperial Senate. Can you hear me?"
"Imperial Senate? Maybe you can make sense of it, Melody."
"Working on it," Melody replied. "Open a COM linik!" Once Jespersen confirmed one was open, she said, "This is Envoy Melody Azikiwe to all ships in the area. We read you, Leia. Do you hear us?"
To her relief, Leia replied, "We read you loud and clear."
Hearing this, Melody said, "This is Envoy Melody Azikiwe. Are you with the fleet that is protecting us?"
"No," Leia replied. "but we heard everything going on. Admiral Raddus has ordered his ships to deploy around your fleet and to provide whatever assistance possible. Did you say you had a hyperdrive malfunction?"
I must've had the signal transmitting on all open channels, Melody realized. It was a rookie mistake, but now it seemed to have worked to save her a lot of trouble. "If that's your version of Slipstream Space, then yes, we did. We were testing it to make sure it was working properly when we had a malfunction that propelled us into this star system. We were trying to explain to an Admiral Gorin that what happened was an accident, but he wouldn't listen to us."
"That is the case with most Imperials," Leia remarked. "Admiral Gorin, from all appearances, is a very brash and hotheaded individual. He's likely thinking that you intentionally rammed the Persecutor in order to provide assistance to the Rebel Fleet, of which I am currently with right now. Unfortunately, your only option is to defend yourself while I get in contact with the Imperial Senate. In the meantime, I'll have Admiral Raddus transmit a radio signal that will hold information on the Imperial forces that are attacking our fleet and your ship."
"Thank you," Melody replied. "I don't know who the Imperials are, but you have my thanks."
"It is the least that I can do. May I propose something?"
"Go ahead," Melody replied. At this point, the Infinity needed all the help it could get.
"I believe that it would be in our best interests if we worked together to end this fight as quickly as possible. That way, we can help Admiral Raddus not only recover his personnel from the surface of the planet, but also make contact with the Imperial Senate so that we can explain that what happened between the Empire and your ship was a tragic accident for which no one is to blame and that Admiral Gorin attacked unlawfully, forcing your ship to defend itself. That way, we can not only prevent a war from breaking out, we can also show that you and your crew are innocent of what happened."
Melody thought the proposal over carefully. It was clear to her that Princess Leia had some experience when it came to political matters. Ending the fight and getting into contact with whatever this 'Imperial Senate' was would definitely clarify matters quickly. What worried, her, though, was that by doing so, they would be revealing one of the UNSC's most powerful military assets to a galaxy that could be very hostile. If Admiral Gorin's behavior was typical of Imperial Admirals, then she knew that they would be in for quite the struggle.
Still, given what was going on, she knew that she was handling a Hobson's choice. Taking a breath and sighing, she said, "I understand. Given our current circumstances, that appears to be our only option. We'll assist however we can. Did you say that you had ground forces on the planet?"
"Yes," Leia replied. "The Rebels learned that the Empire was developing a super-weapon of some kind and wished to retrieve the plans for it in order to prove to the Senate that what the Empire was doing was wrong. However, we are having difficulty getting past the Golan Station that is providing an entryway through the planetary defense shield to the surface. If you could help the ground forces assist in finding the plans for the Death Star, as well as in retrieving them when they've transmitted the plans to us, then we would be most grateful. I would also like to have my ship, the Tantive IV, travel to your ship. Showing the Imperials proof will allow me to show that you, indeed, exist."
Super-weapon, Melody thought. Images of the Halo Array flashed through her mind. In addition, she knew that bringing Leia on, while a risk, would also be necessary. She probably doesn't want to be framed as a Rebel. . "I believe that is most agreeable," she said. "What guarantee do you have, though, that you will hold up your end of the bargain?"
"Because I am a member of the Imperial Senate," Leia explained. "My voice carries weight in the Empire. In addition, I have diplomatic immunity for various events like this. Besides, we only came to the ship we are docked to, the Profundity, due to damage we sustained to our hyperdrive. We are not culpable for the ongoing battle, nor are we affiliated with the Rebel Alliance."
"Understood," Melody replied. "How long is your ship?"
"123 meters long."
That's... reassuring, Melody said to herself. Hangar 21-D is large enough, but just barely. Taking a breath, she said, "Very well, then. I'll inform Captain Lasky of what is going on. May we survive this battle."
"May we survive as well," Leia finished. A moment later, the COM frequency went dead...
Back onboard the Tantive IV, Leia pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. This isn't good, she thought. Not only did the Imperials act irrationally, they attacked an innocent crew that had nothing to do with the ongoing battle. Looks like my secret mission is canceled. Taking a breath, she thought to herself for a moment, then came to a decision. "Contact the Imperial Senate," she said to the communications officer. "Inform them that I need to hold an emergency session as soon as possible. If they are already in session, have them immediately redirect me to the session. We have a first contact scenario on our hands. Also, contact Bail Organa." She looked out towards the cameras, even as the comm officer went to work. The pilot, having heard her request to come over, began preparing the ship to undock for when the battle was over.
Back aboard the Infinity, Melody felt relief as the COM line cut out. Turning to Lasky, she said, "Captain Lasky, I was able to get into contact with the fleet protecting us. I spoke to one of their members, a certain 'Princess Leia Organa', and I was able to work out an agreement. If we assist the fleet protecting us in getting through the defenses and help their ground forces out, she'll inform her government of what is going on and clear us of any wrongdoing."
"Are you certain she'll uphold her end of the bargain?" Lasky asked.
"I'm certain of it," Melody replied.
Lasky was silent for a moment, then he said, "Good work, Melody. You've bought us some time, as well as a chance to prove that what happened was an accident. In the meantime, this 'Leia' wants us to help the Rebel Fleet get their personnel to safety, yes?"
"Yes," Melody replied.
"Good. Did she request permission to come onboard?"
"That she did," Melody agreed. "Her ship is just small enough for Hangar 21-D"
"I see," Lasky mused. While he would be leery of someone from another faction being on his ship, he knew that in this case, it would be crucial to show evidence of the ship's existence. "All right. We're already working to defend ourselves, so that's what we're going to do." Looking at Austen, he said, "Lieutenant Austen, target the Intimidator with our Onagers and fire off some of our Archer Missiles. Time to show this Admiral Gorin that attacking our ship was the worst mistake of his career."
"Yes sir!" Austen replied.
"Also, is the information valid, Roland?"
"Affirmative," Roland replied in response to Lasy's question. "I just screened it for any viruses and evidence of doctoring. It's all genuine."
As he said this, the 'com crackled. "Engineering here!" Jorden reported. "We've got good news, Captain Lasky! Primary reactor's fully online and the primary repulsor is ready to go again! You'll have full power in a moment!"
"Good," Lasky replied. "That means we've really got a chance now!" Just then, he remembered something. "Lieutenant, Murphy, get in contact with the CAG, as well as the Flight Officer for Hangar 21-D. Have them get ready for the Tantive IV!"
"You got it, Commander," Murphy replied.
. . .
Onboard the Profundity, Raddus waited with baited breath on what the Infinity was going to do now. He'd heard the radio transmission loud and clear, and he now knew that the Infinity was going to move to assist them. Looking ahead, he watched as the engines on the Infinity flared up, with the large ones finally coming to life.
"Admiral!" a Lieutenant shouted. "The Infinity's moving into combat position. They're moving to engage the Intimidator!"
"Understood," Raddus replied. Keying the fleetwide comm, he said, "All ships, move into attack formation. The Star Dreadnought we've been defending is able to fight again! Continue trying to break through the planetary defense shield!" As he said this, the Infinity moved towards the Intimidator at full speed. "Get into contact with the Infinity!"
"Roger that," the Lieutenant replied. "I've got a radio channel ready to go."
Clearing his throat, Raddus said, "This is Admiral Raddus of the Rebel Fleet. Do you read us, Infinity?"
There was a pause, then, "This is Captain Lasky of the Infinity, we read you Admiral Raddus. We're moving to engage the Intimidator now."
"Copy that," Raddus replied. "Once you're done with the Intimidator, can you assist us in taking down the planetary defense shield?"
"Planetary defense shield? You mean the energy shield we've been detecting at the station?"
"Affirmative," Raddus confirmed. "The entire planet's protected by an energy shield. The only way through it is through that station, though they've closed the Shield Gate. If you can find a way through to the ground, that would be most appreciated!"
"Copy that, Admiral Raddus. We'll do what we can! We're also sending you the radio frequencies for our fighters and ships. That way, we can coordinate effectively with each other!"
"Copy, Infinity," Raddus replied. " We're doing the same here now May the Force be with you!" Turning to his Comms Officer, he said, "Send them our military frequencies right now!"
"Yes, Admirals!" the Comms Officer he said this, the Infinity moved to perform a broadside attack on the Intimidator.
For all of their boasting of their military might and prowess, the Empire was not prepared in the slightest for the devastation that the UNSC and it's ships was capable of unleashing.
As soon as the Infinity had turned towards the Intimidator, it was all over for the enemy ship. A shell from one of the Onagers smacked into the hull of the Intimidator. While the durasteel hull of the Intimidator was tough, it was not nearly tough enough, nor thick enough, to survive a direct hit from a Mini-MAC. The ferrous slug punched through the hull, tearing through the decks of the Indomitable, before erupting out of the other side, tearing out a large, ugly hole in the bottom of the ship. Personnel in that area screamed as they were sucked out by escaping air and damned to the horrible death of asphyxiation.
Another shell from one of the Infinity's point defense weapons ripped into the Star Destroyer, tearing through the hull like a hot knife through butter. This time, the smaller 70mm shell ricocheted inside of the ship's hull, causing even more damage than the Onager's large shell had caused. One Imperial Stormtrooper who was unlucky enough to be in the way of the shell was promptly disintegrated by the shell's sheer kinetic energy. The slug came to a stop when it impacted one of the walls of the hallway, nearly trapping an Imperial officer in a space no larger than the ground clearance a car had with the ground. The man's nose was touching the dented metal, while the man himself was screaming at the top of his lungs.
To make matters worse, the Archer missiles on the ship were primed and ready. Gouts of fire erupted from the launch tubes as a flight of Archer missiles flew out from the Infinity and towards the Intimidator. Within a few seconds, they smashed into the ship, with the high explosive warheads immediately tearing out large crates in the ship's hull. Personnel screamed as fire briefly flew through the hallways, before those men and women were sucked out of the ship and into the cold, hard vacuum of space…
On the bridge of the Intimidator, Admiral Gorin was thrown about by the sheer force of the kinetic impacts the ship was suffering. Mass drivers and missiles, he thought with shock. That's impossible! How could mass drivers and missiles cause this much damage!
His thoughts were interrupted when an officer on the bridge said, "Sir, we have reports that they're launching fighters! In addition we… that is impossible!"
"What?!" Gorin shouted.
"I've got ten more ships appearing, sir! They're coming from underneath the ship!"
Admiral Gorin would've chided the man for being unrealistic were it not for the fact that he could see that with his own eyes. Looking outside, he watched, with shock, as ten ships deployed from the ventral section of the Infinity. These were much smaller, though Gorin had the feeling that each one of those could match his own Star Destroyer. Before long, they had arrayed themselves in tight formation around the Infinity...
Onboard the Profundity, Raddus' eyes widened as he spotted ten smaller ships coming out from underneath the Infinity. While he knew of ships that acted as carriers, he had never seen a ship that could carry other ships inside of it before. Just what did we get ourselves into, he wondered.
. . .
Onboard the Infinity, Lasky could see the damage being inflicted onto the Intimidator from a video feed that was being holographically displayed. The amount of damage was surprising, especially given the fact that the Intimidator was quite large. We're missing something here, he noted to himself.
It was then that Roland's avatar, which was that of a WWII fighter pilot, appeared. Roland was an AI designed strictly for military operations, and was trained to work alongside Gabriela to effectively coordinate the ship when it was in battle. "Looks like they don't have energy shields," he noted.
"Or they could, but they're not designed to take on projectiles," Gabriela added.
"Either way, we can't let the Intimidator get the upper hand over us," Lasky decided. "Cortana?"
"Yes, Captain?" Cortana asked.
"Can you hack into the Intimidator's systems and disable the ship?"
"Yes sir," Cortana replied. "Now that I know what format of data can be transferred to them, I can definitely do that. Just open a COM channel and I can get in. Once I'm in, Roland will take over to assist any boarding teams you send in."
"Good," Lasky replied. "Melody, can you get into contact with the Intimidator and ask them to surrender? If they choose not to, we'll have Cortana hack into their systems."
"Yes, Captain," Melody replied.
. . .
Onboard the Profundity, Admiral Raddus watched as the weapons onboard the Infinity began tearing into the Intimidator with extreme prejudice. Both eyes were wide as he watched what he realized were mass driver slugs tearing into the enemy ship, gouging out massive holes and rents in the armor on the Intimidator. Nearby, the others watched as the Infinity began to lay waste to the ship.
"By the Force!" one of his officers gasped. "Is that what the Infinity is capable of?!"
"Looks like it!" the Comms Officer remarked. "That ship is tearing the Intimidator apart! Good thing we managed to get them onto our side."
"Indeed," Raddus agreed as the Infinity ripped into the enemy ship…
Onboard his X-Wing, Garven Dreis watched as the Infinity began tearing apart the enemy ship. Spotting movement below the ship, he watched as, much to his shock, ten smaller ships began to deploy from what he realized was a hangar bay in the Infinity's ventral section. All of them soon took up formation around the Infinity.
His attention was diverted, though, when he spotted a TIE Fighter coming at him. Throwing his X-Wing into a hard left bank, he began working to throw the fighter off his tail. While he succeeded in doing so, he noticed that Red 5 had diverted from the group, with a TIE on his six. "Where are you going, Red-5?!" he asked. "Stay in formation!"
"I'm trying to shake them off!" Red 5 shouted. "I can't lose him! Someone help me!" For a moment, Garven thought that he was going to lose Red 5.
Fate, however, had different plans. A moment later, Garven watched as something shot past him. Looking at the something, he found that it was a starfighter, though it was none like he had ever seen before. This starfighter looked like a Z-95 Headhunter, only the surfaces were more curved and fluid looking than that old, if dependable, rust bucket of a star fighter.
A moment later, the fighter got in behind the TIE and began shooting. Garven watched as what looked like projectiles tore into the TIE fighter, blasting it apart in an instant. A moment later, he heard the comm crackle as a voice said, "I've got you, Red 5. It's smooth sailing from here!"
"Thanks!" Red 5 shouted as he rejoined the group. "You saved my life!"
Keying his own comm, Garven said, "This is Red Leader to unknown fighter. Do you read me? Over."
"Roger, Red Leader," came the reply. "This is Bravo Leader of Bravo Squadron. Captain Lasky ordered us to assist you however possible. Sending telemetry now."
"Copy, Bravo Leader," Garven replied as those fighters appeared on the screens in his fighter cockpit as friendlies. "Can you give us a hand with these TIE fighters?"
"Affirmative, Red Leader," Bravo Leader replied. "We'll show them what a Broadsword can do! Bravo Squadron, attack formation! We're going in!" With that, both Red and Bravo Squadrons flew into the storm of TIE fighters coming at them.
There was a literal storm of activity as Garven watched hundreds of fighters shooting out of the hangars onboard the Infinity. Most were small fighters like the one that had saved Red 5, while others were fighters that, according to his X-Wing's flight computer, were nothing short of massive. He even spotted a few ships that looked like gunship. A quick scan of his flight computer readouts showed that there were over a hundred and fifity of the smaller fighters, 50 of the large ones and around 40 of the gunships.
As soon as the fight began, he could clearly tell that the new starfighters were vastly superior to their own, both in terms of firepower, as well as maneuverability. As he took out another TIE fighter, he watched, with shock, as Bravo 2, according to his flight computer, reversed it's thrust, with a TIE figthter zipping past it. Bravo 2 then turned around and fired what looked like missiles. The missiles, upon impact, ripped the TIE fighter apart, sending pieces of it flying everywhere.
That wasn't the only one either. Nearby, three of the larger ones were flying information towards the Star Destroyer. Zooming in fast, they shot a pair of TIE fighters out of existence, before firing off missiles towards the Star Destroyer. Massive explosions tore into the surface of the Star Destroyer, causing even more damage to the already damaged starship.
Taking out another TIE, Garven spotted one firing at Bravo 3's Broadsword. To his surprise, a gold-white barrier shimmered into existence, blocking the blaster cannon bolts, while Bravo 3 fired it's main guns. The TIE was shredded by the Broadsword's main guns, with hyper-velocity projectiles tearing through the bubble cockpit, splattering the enemy pilot instantly. As the fighter exploded, Bravo 3's fighter flew through the explosion, emerging out the other side intact. "Good flying!" Garven shouted.
"Thanks!" Bravo 3 replied. "Let's clean up the rest of these hostiles, shall we?!"
"You betcha!" Garven shouted as he maneuvered to join the other fighters.
. . .
Onboard the Intimidator, Gorin was issuing out orders as fast as his lips and tongue could move. On top of the damage they had already taken, the Infinity had deployed a massive fighter screen that was now guarding the ship. To make matters worse, the TIE fighter pilots had reported seeing deflector shields around the fighters, which were not only proving to be far faster than the TIE fighters, but even more dangerous. One of them had even reversed it's engine thrust, allowing it to get behind a TIE fighter and destroy it.
"Sir, one of the Infinity's frigates is firing at our ship!" the Damage Control Officer for the Intimidator shouted. "Deflector shields are down to seventy five percent!"
"Focus fire on that ship, and keep firing at the Infinity!" Gorin thundered.
"Sir, the Infinity is no longer taking damage. Looks like they've got deflector shields as well!"
"SPAST!" Just as Gorin said this, the Communications Officer shouted, "Sir, we've got an incoming transmission from the Infinity! Putting it through on speakers!"
A moment later, Envoy Melody Azikiwe's voice came in. "This is Envoy Melody Azikiwe of the Infinity to the Intimidator. Cease your attacks on my ship immediately, or the Captain will do whatever is necessary to force a surrender! Don't throw away your life in this foolish endeavor! There is still a chance to end this fight and prevent a war!"
Gorin, hearing this, felt his rage boil over. "We will not surrender, Rebel scum!" he shouted. "You will rue the day you attacked the Empire!"
That was when another voice spoke up. It was a woman's voice, and the accent reminded Gorin of someone he knew from the Core Worlds. "Oh, really?" the woman asked.
"Sir!" one of the officers shouted. "My console's no longer responding!"
"Neither is mine!" another shouted.
"Sir, something's infiltrating the ship systems!" the Damage Control Officer shouted. "I think they've uploaded some kind of virus to our systems!"
"Impossible!" Gorin shouted. "No virus can infiltrate the computers of our Star Destroyers!
"Really? Because it looks that way to me," the woman's voice cut in, this time over the PA. "Oh, and it's rude to call a woman like me a 'virus.' I am Cortana, one of the many AIs uploaded to the Infinity, and I believe your ship is no longer at your command, Admiral Rondevus Gorin."
Those words shocked Gorin to the core. "A droid infiltrated my ship?!" he stammered. "Impossible! It has to be!"
"Oh, knock it off," Cortana said a moment later, "with the 'impossible' crap. Seriously. You thought that the Infinity was impossible, Gorin. Well, guess what, there are many things that you would say are impossible that actually exist. Besides, saying that something is impossible when you haven't experienced it or seen it is a sign of foolishness."
"Your insults do not scare me, droid!" Gorin snarled. "When I get my hands on you, you will regret ever fighting the Empire! Show yourself, and I'll promise you a quick and painless death!"
"As you wish," Cortana replied, "Though I doubt that you'd be able to do much harm to me. How about we come to your holo-table and talk face-to-face?" Just as she said this, the door to the bridge opened.
Advancing through it, red in the face, Gorin entered the room where the holo-table was at. There, he found himself looking at the holographic image of a woman. Her body had no clothing, but all of the nether regions and much of her body were covered in what looked like computer circuitry. The way her hair was, combined with the facial features and eyes, reminded Gorin of a woman from the Core Worlds that he'd known once.
It was clear, though, that Cortana, if this was who the droid or AI as she called herself was, was quite disgruntled. "I have to admit, Admiral Gorin, you are a very rude individual. Firing on the Infinity without due provocation after knocking out your commanding officer? Is this how you greet people from another galaxy?"
"What?!" Gorin practically shouted. "You're from another galaxy?! Impossible! No ship has -"
"Really?" Cortana asked rhetorically. "Well, guess what, Gorin? Your discounting our arrival here as impossible is a mark of how foolish you really are. Besides, there's nothing you can do to stop me. I've got control of your ship, I've hacked your databases... oh, and I've hacked your droids."
Gorin was nearly at the point of screaming in rage, then a last, desperate option came to him. He was about to key in the self-destruct sequence when Cortana mockingly said, "I hate to break it to you, but I disabled that self-destruct mechanism. Quite clever, but not clever enough. Still, now that I've hacked the droids, I'll let them deal with you and the others. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got other matters to tend to. Roland will be along to entertain you shortly. Ta-ta." With that, her hologram faded out of existence.
"Damn those Rebel scum!" Gorin shouted, smashing his fist onto the holotable on the Star Destroyer's bridge. "When I -"
"Sir!" one of the officers shouted. "Our TIE fighters have been disabled, and we're dead in the water! We've also got reports of droids stunning anyone that they come across!"
"Damnit all!" Gorin shouted, seething in rage as he watched the Infinity and it's frigate escort move towards Scarif. There was nothing he could do, but watch. Hearing a sound, he turned around towards it, only to feel a cold, biting sensation as the droids that Cortana now controlled shocked everyone on the bridge. In an instant, he was knocked out. While the crew of the Intimidator fought to save their ship, the Infinity continued to hold it's position, while several of its frigates began heading towards the Golan Station.
. . .
As the frigates approached the Golan Station, Lasky looked at the reports that were coming in, as well as the status of the ship itself. Looks like the Rebels protecting us really saved our asses, he noted to himself. Throughout the battle, he had been nervously looking at the readout for the energy shields. The lowest they had gotten during the battle was a measly 5%, enough to where the hull was starting to experience ablation from each turbolaser strike.
Now, however, the secondary and primary shields were coming back online, with the former at 45%, while the latter was at 20%. As they approached, he said, "Cortana, did you infiltrate the Intimidator's systems?"
"Yes," Cortana replied. "Their computer systems were primitive, but I was able to disable all systems onboard, safe for life support and gravity. In addition, their ships had a self-destruct mechanism, but I was able to disable that. They've also got projectile shielding, but its not designed to stop projectiles traveling as fast as the ones the Infinity fires. The robots on their ships have stunned them as well, so any boarding parties will have little trouble. Roland's gonna take over now."
"Good," Lasky remarked. "We'll send in a boarding party once we've figured out how to get past the planetary defense shield. I have to admit, I've never heard of a system before. We might need our nukes to get through,"
"Same here," Cortana replied. "With that in mind, though, I think I've got an idea."
"Go ahead.
Cortana smiled, then said, "Now that I've hacked into their systems before, I can figure out what to do now. I think I might be able to hack into the systems that the Golan Station uses and make a gate through the shields. That way, we can save our stockpile of nuclear missiles and get some juicy information while we're at it."
Pursing his lips, Lasky walked around the holo-table with a thoughtful expression. While it was possible to blast their way through the station, he knew that nuclear weapons came with a considerable level of risk. In addition, they were worth their weight in gold, and he would only use them if he knew it was necessary. After some careful consideration, he said, "No. We're going to end up destroying the station anyways at some point, though I'd rather not use our nukes if I can help it. I don't know if there are any nuclear weapons here."
"Roger that, Cortana replied. "You need me to target the Golan Station?
"Yes," Lasky agreed. "We'll use the main guns, but at a low level charge. We don't want to annihilate the ground forces. In addition, have a subcaliber shell loaded. We just need to blast apart the station, not send a manifesto."
"Copy that," Cortana replied. "Loading the shell now. Priming MAC." Outside, the Infinity turned and dipped downward slightly in order to line up it's main guns with the Golan Station. As soon as it was loaded, Cortana, working with Gabriela, loaded in one of the flechette shells used for the MAC, while modulating the charge level to where it would destroy the station without killing everyone on the ground. As soon as that was done, they fired the MAC...
Onboard the Profundity, Raddus' eyes went wide with shock as he watched what happened next. One second, the station was in one piece, the next, something blasted the station apart. One fifth of the entire station seemed to vanish, while the edges of the two sections next to that one were promptly riddled full of massive holes. At the same time, the shield surrounding the planet flared brightly, before disappearing entirely. By the Force... Raddus whispered, though the words never made it out of his mouth...
Cortana, seeing the devastation, said, "Target destroyed, Captain. Looks like we also disabled the shield in this area."
"Nicely done, Cortana," Lasky smiled. "I knew you could do it!" Looking at Lieutenant Murphy, he said, "Begin getting transports ready to send troops down there! We've gotta help the ground forces out! Also, get some Broasdwords outfitted for bombing runs out there as well."
"You got it, Captain!" Murphy replied. As he went to work, Lasky continued to coordinate operations. Either way, there was one thing for certain: the galaxy would never be the same again.
