Author's note: This is an excerpt of from a storyline I wrote waaaay back in 1995. I recently discovered it on a backup disc along with some other Star Wars stories. Thought I'd pop them online and see what happens. Read and review please. Hope you enjoy.
Empire Arisen
Chapter 1
There was no escape for the Pride of Endor. The Imperial Star Destroyer held the Nebulon-B class frigate tight in it's tractor beam grip and pummeled it with a full broadside volley from it's starboard cannons. The frigate's main drive engines flickered violently as the Star Destroyer's turbolasers rocked the engineering section. Abruptly, the ship's reactor blew and the entire aft portion of the Pride of Endor simply dissappeared into a cloud of shrapnel. Multiple explosions began leap-frogging their way up the thin neck which connected the drive units to the main bridge some three hundred meters away. The monstrous wedge-shape of the Star Destroyer cut loose it's tractors and sheared away, leaving the frigate to it's inevitable fate. Like blossoming fireworks, dozens of escape pods burst forth from the frigate's foward hulls, scattering in all directions. On the bridge, Captain Gavin Tangetti gripped the twisted railing tightly and gritted his teeth. The Star Destroyer had given him the bait and he fell for it like an Alduvian trout. It was an old trick. Cast out an already weakened target, in this case a heavily damaged Carrack cruiser, then, sacrificing the bait, lure the hapless victim into the net, which unfortunately for the Pride of Endor, turned out to be the Imperial Star Destroyer now veering victoriously away. The Empire, or rather it's remnants, would gladly sacrifice pawn for rook, as they had just done, thought Tangetti. His eyes narrowed and burned with the fires of vengeance that even his death would not contain. From the grave he swore to strike back at those who had destroyed his ship. Captain Tangetti died with that oath on his lips as the stampede of explosions reached the bridge and forever ended the illustrious career of the Pride of Endor and her captain.
"Captain Solo...?!"
"I saw it, Admiral. Anyone get out?"
"Sensors show fifty-five pods jettisoned. All fighters are engaged so the bays were empty."
"Well that's something at least, Admiral"
Fifty-five, thought Admiral Ackbar. Each holding a maximum six crewmembers... three hundred and thirty, plus the fighter pilots, at best escaped the same fate as their ship. He allowed himself a light sigh as he looked down at one of the many monitors which surrounded him in the command center of Home Two. All the escape pods would soon be heading planetward, onto the relative safety of Horun Gii. "Dispatch rescue shuttles to recover the crew," he said, touching the communications board. He had already ruled out using a tractor beam on the pods. There were certainly injured aboard and the sudden jolting grasp of the beam could do more harm than good. Better to let the pods do what they had been designed to do. Ackbar got up from the form-fitting command chair and walked over to the huge and heavily shielded observation window. He clasped his fin-like hands behind his back as a Corillian corvette rocketed past, heading into battle. His bulbous eyes changed focus slightly to view his own reflection in the window. How old he looked, he thought. He saw the subtle lightening of his salmon colored skin. The color was slowly draining out of him. In a few years, he would aquire a peach tint, looking almost like many humans, Then in another couple years, his skin would pale to a bleached white giving him a ghost-like pallor. He felt as though his white admiral's tunic was stained red with the blood of far too many battles and far to many friends. Captain Tangetti was a friend of long standing, well respected by officer and enlisted alike. Another friend to bury in a far too large a section of his mind. Ackbar's personal graveyard was filled to over-flowing and the weight of all of those tombstones pressing upon him were taking their toll. His eyes had drifted downward during his thoughts and were now once again focused on the mirror image of himself against the starfield backdrop. Describe the person you see, his mind asked. Old, he answered without hesitation. Old and tired.
"Admiral?" a young Mon Calmarian lieutenant said quietly, realizing his commander was lost in thought. "The destroyer is heavily damaged and sensors indicate its powering up hyperdrive engines. Looks like he's abandoning the fighters and making a run for it."
"Alright", Ackbar said quietly. "Signal all fighters to concentrate on the remaining TIE fighters. Distribute the task force and set up a defensive perimeter around Horun Gii, then signal the Intruder to begin unloading for ground assault."
"We're not going to pursue the Star Destroyer?" the lieutenant said disappointedly.
Youthful fighting spirit thought Ackbar and smiled lightly. Once upon a time, for what seemed ages ago he had felt the same way. But now... "We have what we came for, let's not be greedy."
Three hundred and thirty, thought Han as he spun the Millennium Falcon into a deep dive and headed toward a group of TIE fighters. Han had always liked Gavin and had played many a sabacc game with him. Come on, Han, he told himself. He might have gotten out. Even as he thought it, Han knew he was wrong. What's more, he knew Gavin. The man would have gone down with his ship. Han was parted from his thoughts as Chewbacca growled a "pay attention" growl.
"Right, Chewie," he said, and with angry determination increased to attack speed.
The six TIEs split into two groups as the Falcon rushed straight for them. As Chewbacca altered the shield strength to maximum front, the fighters began firing, rocking the Falcon lightly. Han spun the ship on it's axis, flying sideways, giving the quad guns a clear shot at each group as he sliced between them. Engine power dropped slightly as the quads drew energy and channeled it into destructive laser fire. Seconds later, they were surrounded only by the vacuum of space.
"Nice shooting, boys," Han called over the intercom.
"Our pleasure, boss", someone returned flippantly.
The "boys" Han referred to were two young gunners who now handled the top and bottom gun turrets. With the Falcon's added performance, Han concentrated more on what he was best at... flying. With Chewie as co-pilot operating shield and damage control, (and also as the occasional voice of reason), the 'dual quads' were handed over to two of the best gunners Han had ever seen. Miks, who handled the dorsal quad, was a cocky, relaxed kid with a quick eye who picked and chose his targets then proceeded to blast them out of space with a minimum of shots. Bender was slightly young than Miks and had a tendency to overheat the gun barrels, spraying his target with a shower of laser fire.
The Millennium Falcon had become the ultimate guerilla fighter. It no longer suffered from the old plagues of it's smuggling days. Things like blown hyperspace motivators, spontaneous shutdowns, leaking hydraulic lines and even embarrassing refresher problems were now things of the past. In dry-dock for nearly six months, the entire ship underwent a massive refit and major modifications.
Lando Calrissian had returned from destroying the second Death Star and said..."Uh... I scratched it", and pointed to the sensor dish, or rather the lack of one. Lando dug up a replacement from one, as Han later found out, of his many hideaways. It was a much newer model, easily three times the price of the old one. It looked like two flat, gridded rectangles lying on a rotating platform. Once installed, Han stood back and cocked his head to one side, looked at Lando and said, "Don't like it." Despite Lando's facts and figures on it's performance, Han remained steadfast. It wasn't the specs he didn't like, just the looks.
Except for the sensor dish, the Falcon's outside appearance looked like the same beat up and battered freighter it always had. Inside, however, was another matter. The newer engines and shield generators took up much what was previously cargo space. At Han's instance though, a few shielded smuggling compartments remained untouched. Never know when they might come in handy, he had said, with a wink, to the head shipwright.
Ackbar was so impressed with the Falcon's new performance rating that he thought about contracting the Corillian Engineering Corp to begin reproduction of the YT-1300 with the newer modifications. Han franticly refused claiming he'd sue the pants off the entire New Republic, the CEC, and personally see to it that Ackbar ended up commanding a refuse dumper somewhere on the Outer Rim.
"Admiral! The remaining fighters have broken off their attacks on the capitol ships and are heading for the escape pods!"
The two Tie Fighters closest to the Falcon were still some distance away. Han turned to ship toward them and increased speed to maximum, calculating distance, engine ratios, time. Even with the Falcon's improved performance, Han realized they'd get to them too late. Suddenly, an A-wing shot past headed for the TIE's.
"Wedge, that you?", Han said.
"I'm on 'em, but it's gonna be tight."
Wedge had reduced shields to minimum, channeling their power to the engines to gain maximum speed. He blew past the closer TIE, concentrating instead on the fighter bearing down on an escape pod. His ship shook violently as the fighter he had just past began blasting him with laser fire. Good, thought Wedge, better me than the pod. Although judging by his shield monitor which was quickly moving from green, to yellow, to red maybe it wasn't such a great idea. Wedge lined up the forward TIE and fingered the trigger. The TIE disintegrated. An emergency alarm screamed throughout the cockpit indicating his shields were down. A couple more hits and the weak armor of his A-wing would give. This is gonna hurt, he said to himself as his left hand flung to his helmet, slamming the visor down sealing him in an artificial environment. His right hand yanked the ejector handle. The entire cockpit section catapulted from the A-wing's center, throwing Wedge deep into the seat moments before the ship blew.
"Wedge you know how much those things a worth." Han said with a light laugh.
"Yeah.", said Wedge as he thought back to the events moments ago. Six lives.