"One can not climb the Trees
if they are afraid to fall."
Ewok Proverb
Chapter Twelve
Luke had been sitting there for over an hour, waiting for Harper to finish his debriefing with the High Guard Command. Inside the room Harper was telling them everything that had happened to him aboard the Running and Lusankya, the torture, the work he did, and the information he gave up. Harper had confided in Luke about the torture he had endured under Lord Krell's direction, about what he had told him and the pain he had felt. The one thing that seemed to worry him most was how Dylan might react when he found out that he had been broken.
Beside Luke, Artoo-Detoo let out a little beep of concern for his master. The little droid was not entirely comfortable waiting here either.
"I just a little worried about Harper," Luke told the little droid, "Leia was tortured by Darth Vader and she still has nightmares about it. Harper's a good guy, but nothing could have prepared him for the power of a Sith Lord."
The door to the conference chamber cracked open, and a golden figure stepped out of the room visibly upset.
This was Trance Gemini, Luke figured from the way Harper had described her. She walked over to Luke and sat down on the bench beside him.
"Are you OK?" Luke asked cautiously.
"Yes, I'm fine," she answer with a sniffle, "You're Luke right?"
"Yes and you must be Trance," he responded extending his hand.
Se took his hand lightly, but as she gripped a strange look crossed her face she bolted from her seat, letting go of Luke's hand.
"I have to go," she said distractedly, "I have to go"
"Commander," a voice called from inside the chamber, "We are ready for you now."
Luke entered the chamber and took a seat at a largish desk facing a panel of High Guard and Commonwealth officials. Dylan seemed to be at the head of the panel and he greeted the young Commander.
"Commander Skywalker, welcome," he said, " Sorry to have kept you waiting for so long."
"That is all right Captian Hunt," Luke responded, "I sure you had much to discuss."
"As a member of the Alliance to Restore the Republic, or Rebel Alliance, I am here on there behalf to offer my services in your fight against the Galactic Empire."
"What can you tell us about this Empire, Commander" a panel member asked.
"I can tell you that it replaced a benevolent, and ancient Republic that lasted over a thousand generations, that they massacre innocents and oppress virtually every non-human species that they rule. I can tell you that the Empire has tried to build weapons that can destroy entire planets in a single shot. I can tell you that given half a chance they will do the same here."
"What can you tell us about this Lord Krell," Dylan asked this time.
"Krell is a Sith Lord," Luke responded, knowing this would be the hardest part of this presentation for these people to believe, they did not know the Force.
"The Sith are an ancient order dedicated to the Dark Side of the Force," he told them, "The Force is an energy field that binds all life together, it allows him and other trained in its use to move objects of great size, read thoughts, deflect weapons fire and much more. Those who serve the Dark Side seek power and domination. The Emperor himself is rumoured to be a powerful Sith Lord and his Chief Lieutenant, Darth Vader, is also a Dark Lord."
"You expect us to believe this nonsense," a Perseid panel member scoffed.
Luke responded by closing his eyes and lifting the Perseid's stylus from of the desk in front of him.
"I am a Jedi apprentice, I also study the Force, in the service of the Light Side, "Luke told them, "My skills are not as great as those of the Dark Lord, but I assure the Force is quite real."
"What useful information can you offer, Commander," Dylan asked, "That we might consider aligning our forces with yours?"
"I can give the co-ordinates to the system where the Empire has located the conduit to my galaxy," Luke told them, "That information in located in my droid."
"That may indeed have some value, Commander," Dylan told him.
The meeting went on for another three hours as Luke described the rise of the Empire and the calamities they had caused. He told them about the Ghorm Massacre and the destruction of Alderaan and the Death Star. The panel member continued to fire questions at Skywalker concerning specific actions that the Empire had taken. Luke answered as best he could but in time was sent away.
On the bed with his legs dangling over the edge in the rather nice room they had provided for him, Luke was lying exhausted.
"That was almost more exhausting then my dual with Darth Vader back on Mimban," Luke told his little droid."
Artoo responded with a supportive series of beeps and warbles.
"Your right, they'll do the right thing," Luke told the droid, "Goodnight Artoo."
_________________________
Stay away from Sith Lords, her mother had warned her when she joined the Imperial service, they are nothing but trouble. Rather her mother would have warned her if she had known.
Captain Meduk looked across a large metal table at Lord Krell.
"You have performed well Captian," Krell told her, "Much better then expected. The Emperor himself is speaking of you in glowing terms."
Despite herself she could not help but feel pride at those words.
"Thank you, My Lord," she responded quietly.
"What is the current status of our armed forces," Krell asked.
"We have nearly a full sector fleet worth of ships available to us currently," Meduk responded, "Forty Imperial Star Destroyers, Twenty-five Victory-Class Star Destroyers, and over One Hundred and Fifty support ships ranging from corvettes to strike-cruisers."
"We have established a Imperial Intelligence Ubiquitorate Base on Kafreion with a full garrison and heavy defence systems.
And we have engaged in thirty battles or skirmishes in the last month and have won all but two of them."
"Excellent Captian," Krell praised her, "The Emperor will be most pleased."
"My Lord, we still understaffed for the task we have been given," Meduk continued, "We need more ships to press the attack, but now new ships have arrived in nearly a week. We were supposed to have nearly double the ships we have right now by the end of next week. Please in your report to the Emperor, request that the ships promised do arrive."
"Of course Captain," Krell replied, I'll see to it personally.
______________________
Beyond the fringes of the known worlds a Dark presence moved. A familiar sensation tingled the mind of the Spirit of the Abyss. It was time, he had found what he was looking for over the centuries and millennia. Appearing before his thralls the Spirit used his will to drive them into action. Hundreds of swarmships departed from the world ship to join the thousands already waiting. These hundreds were no ordinary swarmships, they carried the weapons of Magog, Point-Singularity Projectors and tesseract phasing devices, no fleet could stand before them.
History was in motion, he could not be late.
______________________
The Drago-Kazov fleet was in ruins, as limped back from battle with the Imperial forces. The Empire was pressing their attack on nearly a dozen local Dragon systems, and winning.
Fleet Marshal Cuatemoc, was standing quietly on his command deck, contemplating his future. This Imperial fleet was made up solely of Kludges, and yet their ships were far superior to anything the Drago-Kazov could through at them.
"Has there been any word from Enga's Redoubt yet?" Cuatemoc asked quietly but with a fierce edge to it.
"No sir," the communications officer reported.
The Fleet Marshal nodded, and hid his disgust. They Drago-Kazov Pride was hiding, if they gathered their forces together they could easily defend against the Imperial attacks. Perhaps they could even strike back.
"Sir, a slip courier is exiting slipstream," the sensor station reported, "It has Commonwealth markings."
"They are transmitting a message," the comm. officer told him, "For your eyes only."
______________________
It had been almost a week since Harper returned with Luke to the Andromeda. Imperial Forces in that time had turned their considerable attention to the Drago-Kazov fleets nipping at their flank giving the High Guard some need breathing space.
Dylan had invited Luke to remain aboard the Andromeda to work with him to find a way to drive the Empire from this galaxy.
"We have entered the Erihs system," Beka announced from the pilot station. Erihs was a system on the very edge of the Imperial expansion, and a likely target for their next attack. The system had only one small inhabited planet, Nottibboh, peopled entirely by a small cheery human-like species called the Tibbohs.
The planet itself wasn't important but the system was located strategically in the war with the Imperials being set in a direct line with the Commonwealth world of Ekindu.
"I'm detecting a hyperspace event on the edge of the system," Rommie reported, "An Imperial Star Destroyer is approaching, ETA, twenty-five minutes."
"Battle Station's," Dylan ordered, "Is it just the one ship, Rommie?"
"Yes sir," she responded, "And Dylan, I think its the Starhammer."
"Intercept course," Dylan ordered, "Beka keep us at least one light minute away from the Starhammer at all times."
"The Star Destroyer is approaching," Rommie warned, "ETA now six minutes."
"Prepare fighters for launch," Dylan ordered, "Tyr, full spread kinetic missiles on my command at full force."
"Dylan you are aware that this is a bad idea," Beka said without sarcasm.
"Yep," he responded.
"So long as we're clear an that," she quipped.
"ETA, now two minutes," Rommie reported, "Imperial fighters on approach."
"Launch fighters," Dylan ordered, "All right Tyr, Let's bring it."
"With pleasure," Tyr barked as he let lose hundreds of missiles at the opposing warship. Each missile sailed across the space between the Andromeda and the Imperial craft in a little more than one minute striking the shields of the powerful destroyer with nearly six and a half gigatons every second. Normally this amount of power would be easily absorbed by the Imperial shields but each missile imparted its power in a fraction of second causing damage at a rate the shields could not absorb. Nearly thirty seconds went by as Andromeda continued to pound the Star Destroyer from beyond the Destroyer's maximum range. All around the Andromeda the Imperial fighters were engaged in a deadly duel with the faster and more agile fighters of the Andromeda.
"Cease fire," Dylan ordered, "Let's see what kind of damage we've done."
"Their shield's are down," the holographic Andromeda reported, "I am detecting radiation leaks from over a dozen locations, and the Imperial fighters are withdrawing."
"Order our fighters into a escort pattern," Dylan ordered, "Let's check it out."
"I may be a trap," Tyr reminded him.
"It may be an opportunity," Dylan retorted.
"Dylan," Trance yelled, "It's going to blow."
"What?"
"They are launching escape pods," Rommie reported, "And I'm reading a massive build up in the engine core. They seem to be scuttling the ship."
The Star Destroyer exploded brilliantly in the night. Masses of thick, dense armour was vaporized instantly as the ship incinerated itself.
"Begin collecting the escape pods," Dylan instructed, "No more then a handful at a time, Disarm any of the crew and lock them up."
"Dylan there are over twenty thousand people stationed aboard Star Destroyers," Beka exclaimed, "We'll never be able to fit them all."
"We will retrieve as many as we can," Dylan told her, "I will not leave them behind."
"Dylan," Tyr's voice came in over the comm., "I have someone here who demands to speak with you."
"Yes, who is it,"
"Captian Meduk."