Star Wars Infinities: The Master

Chapter 13

By: Christopher W. Blaine

e-mail: darth_yoshi@yahoo.com

DISCLAIMER: All of the characters and situations contained in this story are ©2003 by LucasFilm Ltd. They are used here without permission for fan-related entertainment purposes only. This original story is ©2003 by Christopher W. Blaine.

The ships exited hyperspace as one. Thirteen vessels ranging from a single Imperial-class star destroyer to the three Guardian series patrol craft immediately moved into a modified wedge with the larger capital ship at the point. Like an animal shaking off water from its coat, many of the vessels began to release their star fighters. TIE fighters of all types and several other craft, including Lambda and Assault class shuttles took up positions next to larger troops transports as the armada made its way towards the planet Sullust.

The world was home to a race of humanoids that appeared almost mouse-like, but their looks were deceiving. Behind their large black eyes and even more massive ears were brains and those brains held high intelligence in nearly every member of the race. Sullust had some of the best shipyards in the galaxy, though none of them were large enough to accommodate capital vessels, and it had often times made the world arrogant.

In a galaxy where space-worthy vessels were starting to become something of a luxury item, even a world that mostly built pleasure yachts was desirable. The SoroSub Corporation, which controlled the world, had been of late negotiating the possibility of leaving the Tarkin Confederacy and joining the Corporate Sector. One of the few non-human worlds in the Confederacy, it had been under appreciated as Tarkin refused to even allow minor star fighter contracts to the aliens.

SoroSub had survived, it claimed, by marketing to the very rich. The truth was, as Daala's spies had determined, was that they were servicing Republic craft. X-Wings, Y-Wing's and the like, all of them were brought in secretly and repaired or updated. As a show of force and as an indication that things were changing, Daala had sent the invading fleet to teach Sullust a lesson.

Nobody left the Tarkin Confederacy alive.

"Form up on me," the flight leader said as he made a final adjustment to the HUD crosshairs. Behind him his twin ion engine, the component that gave his Interceptor its name, hummed with power as it pulled in precious energy through the dagger-shaped solar panels on either side of the cockpit. His two wingmen acknowledged the order and soon the trio were speeding ahead of the advancing Confederacy war machine.

"Tau One, this is flight control," a voice said over his intercom. "You have incoming Republic craft. Repeat: we have identified Republic star fighters approaching your position. You are weapons free." The pilot smiled behind his helmet and reached down to his targeting screen. He pressed the glyph for the nearest enemy ship (as identified either by their IFF signal or by master control) and it targeted a Republic X-Wing fighter. They were over six kilometers from each other and at their current speed, they would be in laser range within a standard minute or so. He assigned the X-Wing to Tau Two and watched as the Interceptor to his right accelerated and veered away. The X-Wing took the challenge and broke off from his own formation. That left three more of the Republic ships to his two.

He considered calling in some reinforcements from his own command but dismissed the thought even as he adjusted his laser recharge rate. It caused his top speed to come down, but he was still faster than the X-Wing. No doubt a squadron of Republic star fighters had been here for a refit and were now trying to pay for the work in trade. The flight leader shook his head. He would never allow an inferior race touch his precious fighter. "Stay with me," he commanded his remaining wingman.

At less than two klicks his missile lock alarm sounded and the flight leader smiled. It was a standard New Republic attack. The X-Wing, a tough fighter to be sure, would put all of its shielding forward to protect the pilot as it closed the gap to fire its concussion missiles. There was really nothing that could be done about it in something like a TIE Interceptor. If you tried to get away, you ended up spending the next five minutes trying to outrun the weapon. If you were running, you weren't fighting and that meant somebody could get through to your base ship.

It wasn't some sense of Confederate loyalty that made TIE pilots protect those capital ships, it was practicality. The Confederation had very few TIE forces; in fact, the squadrons assembled for this battle represented 35% of the Imperial designed fighters left in Daala's arsenal. Most of the snub fighters in use by Tarkinist forces were a hodgepodge of whatever they could get, including some new, untested designs. One thing all of those other models had that most TIE's did not were hyperdrives. Without a hyperdrive, then you were dead because eventually your engine would either give out or your life support would.

Two missiles were approaching the flight leader and he selected single shot mode. In linked mode, his quad lasers fired at the same time, offering more punch but less shots as it took time for the lasers to recharge. In single fire mode, the pilot could keep up a continuous assault.

The flight leader, a veteran of more battles than he cared to count, selected the nearest enemy button again and it targeted the projectile that was closest. He did not waver, but instead kept flying straight towards impending death. At the last possible moment he fired his lasers. Green lances reached out and burned up the missiles. The Interceptors flew straight through the debris field, pieces of the weapons bouncing off of their hulls.

The X-Wing pilots had no choice but to break formation and the two Interceptors pounced on the closest one as soon as it presented its backside. The wingman fired first, scoring several hits but not doing enough to lower the Republic fighter's shielding enough for some real damage. "Check your recharge rate," Tau One ordered. "Your shots are getting weaker."

"Got one on my tail," Tau Two called out. There was no fear in his voice; it was just a simple statement of fact. Tau One could not take the time to assist as he was pouring laser fire into the X-Wing. "Gunboat Gamma One, this is Tau One."

There was a pause and then a gruff voice replied. "Gamma One."

"Tau Two is going to lead one to you, I suggest you disable and capture," he explained. The assault gunboat pilot confirmed he understood and though he could not see them, he was sure that at that moment, three of the craft were now going to the aid of his pursued wingman.

Assault gunboats were the workhorses of the Confederation fleet. Originally developed as a multiple weapons platform, it suffered from extremely slow speed. Even Y-Wings could outrun them on a good day! They were, currently, the only ships in this attack that were maneuverable enough to employ ion cannons on enemy ships. Normally, they assaulted capital vessels, but they were never above taking on the occasional star fighter.

Their prey exploded in shower of sparks and flame as the compressed oxygen canisters erupted and the two TIE Interceptors circled around to find more victims. The battle was now in full swing as ten Republic star fighters engaged the sixty fighters of the Confederation. In the distance, two SoroSub Evictor-class frigates, a new design turned down by the Confederation Appropriations Committee, were engaging the Guardian patrol craft.

An X-Wing blazed by in front of them and Tau One signaled they were to pursue. As they took up position behind the Republic pilot, both fighters slowed speed to match their quarry. Together they fired their lasers and eight beams of coherent light chewed through the magnetic shielding, eviscerated the astromech droid in the rear socket and then effectively cut the ship in half.

Tau One was about to congratulate Tau Three on a good kill when his wingman exploded. Immediately, the veteran pilot pulled his yoke back and accelerated to full throttle. He went up on the Z-axis, putting as much distance between himself and the atoms of his now-dead comrade as he could. A light at the top of his HUD indicated he was being shot at from the rear. "No kidding," he muttered as he pushed the recall button for Tau Two.

"Still engaged, sir," came the reply. Tau One could hear some laser fire over the transmission. He jerked the yoke over hard and hit the rudder, sending his ship into a spin. A Republic X-Wing blew by him but he knew that its pilot was already turning to come back after him. He leveled out and turned towards the battle erupting between the Evictors and Guardians.

Another button switched his weapons from lasers to the proton torpedoes he had outfitted on his hull in an external launcher. TIE Interceptors normally did not have any weapons besides the lasers mounted on each dagger point. However, because TIE Bombers were in very short supply, it was standard practice to modify other fighters as necessary.

He switched his targeting computer from who was following him to the nearest Evictor, a ship named Pride of SoroSub. By shifting his weapons to torpedoes, he no longer needed extra energy to keep his lasers charged and he could increase his speed. There was a surge as he did so and he smiled grimly as he imagined the X-Wing pilot cursing their luck as he zipped out of range. The greatest danger now was being shot in the back by a concussion missile. A quick check of his HUD showed that he was being tracked by the X-Wing's missile radar.

Tau One juked left and right, making himself a harder target to lock onto, but kept racing towards the Sullustian ship. He changed his comms channel to the general selection and listed to the sounds of battle raging through the sector. Apparently SoroSub managed to get a hold of some Imperial vessels that were never turned over to the Confederation military. A Victory-class star destroyer and an older strike cruiser had jumped into the system behind the Tarkinist fleet.

His reinforcements had been called out to deal with the newest threat but he didn't care. His training, from when he had been part of the Empire, had taught him to be self-reliant and also to be willing to sacrifice himself if necessary in the service of his emperor, who was in this case Grand Moff Daala. He didn't want to die, that was for sure, but only because he wanted to continue to fight for the cause that he believed in. Human rights. Human superiority. Human dominance.

"The star destroyer had been identified as the Dark Vomit," the sensor officer called out. The captain of the Confederation star destroyer nodded and turned to the admiral.

"Permission to engage, sir?" he asked in a crisp and proper military tone. Many of the officers in the Tarkinist forces considered themselves the models of the military elite. So much so that even their speech had to be above reproach.

"Granted," the admiral acknowledged. It would not have mattered anyway. The Sullustian ships were on a direct course for them and running away, though possible, would accomplish nothing. They were here to make an example of Sullust for the entire galaxy. That meant engaging all enemies before passing sentence on the rebellious world. The admiral's only regret is that while they were here, the Death Star was making its way to Mon Calamari where it would deliver a lethal blow to the New Order.

The ship's captain ordered a turn to port and then to launch the five missile boats that were sitting ready just in case of an event such as this. The missile boats were armed with dozens of projectiles and were small enough to normally evade turbolasers on capital ships. It was with them they intended to deliver the blows that would bring down the shields of the alien's ships.

Then the star destroyer would turn its ion cannons on them and they would capture the vessels, returning them to the hands of their true masters. Their true human masters.

He admiral strolled over to the battle board and examined the multitude of colored dots and ship icons that were on it. Green indicated Confederate forces, red was for the enemy. There were a few cyan and violet ones as well, mostly civilian or unidentified vessels. Perhaps some cargo haulers that could be pressed into military service?

"Captain, is there any way we can have these ships inspected?" he asked out loud. The captain finished issuing his orders and as the ship went to general quarters he came to stand next to the admiral. The strike cruiser fired at them and the turbolaser blast was absorbed by the star destroyer's shielding. The excess energy was bled off as visible light. A small display indicated that shield strength was down to 95%.

"Not at the moment, sir," the captain said. He pointed to where several dots were swarming like sand fleas on a bantha. "An entire squadron of Republic X-Wings was stationed here, most likely for repairs. That has presented a problem we were not exactly ready for, but not anything that would compromise the mission."

The admiral did not bother to state that the two capital-class vessels were also a surprise. The Tarkinists considered the creatures of Sullust cowards and they had only been allowed to continue self-rule because nobody wanted to govern the "planet of rats". It was obviously a mistake now that they could look at it in hindsight. The fact that Republic forces were here indicated that there could have been some major security leaks here.

"Captain, send a flash message to Admiral Rose at Corellia. Inform him that it is possible the Republic may be aware of the movement of our vessels." The commander of the star destroyer made to add a comment, but the admiral raised a hand. "They know the Death Star has moved, I'm sure, but there is no sense in advertising that our more conventional forces are stretched so thin." Another blast rocked the ship. "And would you please do something about that?"

Tau One's viewport was filled with Sullustian frigate.

Up close he realized that the design was not as flawed as his superiors and the news services had made it out to be. It was wedge-shaped but had an engine section that reminded the pilot of a Corellian corvette. It was bristling with laser cannons and jamming gear, but no major capital class turbolasers. It was actually an anti-fighter ship, much like the Imperial-designed Lancer-class, but it had heavier armor and obviously more speed. As his targeting reticule turned red for lock-on, he pressed the firing stud on the yoke and pulled up hard.

The torpedo struck home, pushing through the weakened shields and impacting against the hull. There was a brief flash that caught the pilot's eye and he assumed that he had gotten the message across.

Behind him, the X-Wing had been joined by another and a rare A-Wing fighter painted in the corporate colors of SoroSub. All three were trying their damnedest to get a bead on him, and the A-Wing was doing a good job of keeping up, but if he were right, it would do no good.

A large light started blinking on the HUD, telling him that the Evictor was now firing on him as well. The problem with capital ships guns, except for those damn Mon Calamari designs, was that they were limited in their angle of fire. Go up far enough over their horizon and there was nothing they could do about it.

The TIE Interceptor weaved in and out of the blazes of light coming from the ship as it tried to exact revenge for his strike. As he thought, his pursuers tried to follow him.

The newest X-Wing was the first to fall victim to friendly fire as the gunners started firing wildly in the hopes of scoring a hit. The Incom fighter was destroyed just before another TIE Interceptor from Alpha Squadron slammed into the Evictor. Tau One realized that the fight was now in full swing as the aliens attempted to halt the advance towards their world with everything they had.

Tau One rolled in time to avoid a shot from the A-Wing and darted between the two larger ships. The Guardian-class ships were not doing very well, but they had not been designed for such rigorous combat. He considered contacting main control to see if they understood the dire straits that the two patrol vessels were in, but decided against it. He had to trust in the ability of the ship's commanders.

The A-Wing, intent on blasting him out of the sky, was not ready for his turn and reacted a second too late. The pilot's arc took him straight into the path of a civilian vessel that was trying to get as far away as possible. Such was the lot of those who found themselves in the middle of a conflict. Had they not been associating with inferior species, then they wouldn't have been in danger!

Despite his best efforts however, which included several close passes to the larger ships, he could not shake the Republic X-Wing that had been his adversary since the start of the battle. Tau One turned towards the planet itself and was surprised to see streaks of blue and green light racing up from the planet's surface. The blasts were pouring into the Guardian's and tearing them to shreds. Moments later, both ships exploded.

He pulled hard to port and skimmed the upper atmosphere; his TIE Interceptor glowing as its hull heated up from the friction. The X-Wing followed but the enemy pilot managed to avoid skirting the upper canopy of Sullust. A shot nicked the starboard solar panel and the damage assessment screen showed that he had lost a laser cannon.

Tau One turned and headed back towards the main battle and dumped all of his available energy into his engines. The X-Wing seemed to have the same idea as it was working hard to keep up. The missile lock light was flashing yellow and Tau One jerked the yoke and headed up and to starboard. The Republic fighter was not shaken and they corkscrewed through a dogfight between an unknown Sullustian fighter and two TIE fighters.

The X-Wing stuck to his tale and suddenly the missile lock turned red and the alarm screamed through the cockpit. Still, the pilot in the black body glove and breath mask remained calm. The alarm meant death was coming at his back, but he still had a few tricks up his sleeve. He pulled back the yoke and lowered his speed, hoping to loop up and behind the X-Wing.

He never got the chance as the concussion missile slammed into the rear of his fighter. The initial explosion pushed the twin ion engine through his torso just before it consumed the entire craft in a small fireball. The Republic pilot let out a cry of victory as she pushed her own ship through the scattering atoms of her prey. As she emerged from the wreckage cloud, her fighter crashed into a disabled Y-Wing that had been marked for capture.

The admiral shook his head as the damage reports kept coming in. The Sullustians and New Republic forces had been routed, with fewer than 10% escaping into hyperspace. How he wished there were some interdictor cruisers left in the Confederation fleet; their giant gravity-well projectors would have prevented any escape. Unfortunately, all of those specialty ships had either been destroyed or captured during the civil war.

Teaching Sullust a lesson was turning out to be extremely expensive for Grand Moff Daala. Two Guardian-class patrol craft and a Victory-class destroyer destroyed instead of captured. The strike cruiser was not in the best of shape either. Its crew had put up a valiant effort to resist and the Tarkinists had been forced to use Zero-G stormtroopers to take the bridge. It would be several days before technicians and astromech droids would repair it sufficiently to move it out of the system.

The worst part had been the loss of the fighters. Against some forty enemy snubnose ships, the Confederacy had lost almost every single TIE fighter it threw at Sullust. In total, one capital ship, three freighters and two half-destroyed Y-Wings were to be added to the ranks of the admiral's fleet.

Then there were the transports that had been shot down by the planet side guns of the Sullustians. Five hundred troops lost to the vacuum of space; not a single transport made it to the surface. Luckily, there was a Plan B in the event that things did not go well.

The admiral looked to the status board as the captain discussed something with the duty officer. Once finished, he joined his superior to make his report. "The Orbital Night Cloak will be installed in another day according to the Weapons Officer."

The admiral nodded. "A shame, I suppose. But it will serve as an example to all. Ensure that that the entire event is broadcast on the general holonet bandwidth."

"Sir! Sir!" the valet called out, running down the columned hallway towards the black hovercar. Chief of State Regis Organa stopped and smiled despite being slightly perturbed. The valet, a young Alderaanian man wearing the garish costume of a courtier stopped breathlessly in front of the two security men who protected the leader of the New Republic at all times. Behind Regis, General Xizor spoke quietly into a small communicator.

"Yes, Roget," Regis replied.

The valet pushed past the guards, not noticing how they expertly patted him down as he squeezed through. Roget leaned in close and whispered into Regis' ear. The Chief of State's face changed from annoyance to shock. He then turned to Xizor. "Daala's forces just attacked Sullust!"

Xizor nodded and put the communicator back in his breast pocket. "Vanguard Squadron was stationed there for a refitting. Their squadron leader was the only one to escape."

"Damn it!" Regis said and then remembered that there were holocams on them. He ordered Xizor into the hovercar without any further comment to the valet. As they sped off, Regis went into a full tirade. "Why did they attack their own world? Is Daala insane?"

Xizor shook his head. "Daala is not Tarkin; she believes in direct confrontation with her enemies and she hates rebellion against authority. Sullust is lost and with it a very good resource for maintaining our smaller military craft."

Regis banged a fist on an armrest. Xizor could tell by his face that he had hurt himself. "Options?"

The Falleen had none. "Seinar Fleet Systems won't deal with us and a most of the smaller yards are afraid of reprisals from the Empire or the Confederation." He then got a wicked smile. "We could ask the Corporate Sector…"

"No! The Republic will not become another corporate takeover. What about the Hapans??"

Xizor shook his head. "Not so long as we allow the Jedi to operate freely within the Republic. The Ta'Chume has made it clear that she will have no dealings with this government until we change our more…liberal attitudes."

"That self-righteous bitch! Reminds me of Amidala," Regis said with a dark chuckle. "By the way, whatever happened to getting a man on the Death Star?"

"It is still being pursued," Xizor answered. He would elaborate no further and Regis didn't bother to push. "I will put out some feelers and see if anyone is willing to take up the service contract. However, it might be more prudent to accelerate the construction of our yards here."

"It might be more prudent if our military would capture some useful facilities instead of blowing them up!" Regis turned to look out the window. "There are only a handful of yards left that can handle capital ships. There are even less for building starfighters. Every time a shipyard is built, someone blows it up. Pretty soon we're going to have to take cruise ships to get to the battle."

"I'll see what I can do," Xizor said, knowing full well that at the rate of destruction of resources, there was very little that he would be able to accomplish.