Chapter Two.

Chapter Two – A Working Hyperdrive?

"Report General"? RA Manitsas asked entering the bridge.

Darklord had been monitoring the bridge for the last few hours after the Rebel Cruiser had launched its fighters then escaped, for those hours the bridge crew had been working on the small amount of information they had gathered.

"We have some news Sir, unfortunately not much of it is good news" Darklord said saluting.

"Ok let's hear it" Manitsas said sitting down in the command chair.

"Well the tech's in the engine room just reported in, the hyperdrive is almost totally a write off, they have said there might be a small chance that they can fix it but to be honest it might take weeks, the damage from the last battle only made the problem worse than it was" Darklord said.

"Yes Yes, I've seen the tape" Manitsas replied referring to a single X-Wing managing to get through the Challenge's laser barrage and hitting the engines, it had made the engines power fluctuate wildly causing explosions in the engine room and blowing several parts of the hyperdrive engine.

"What's the report on the fighters"? Manitsas asked.

"We lost several Tie Fighters when the Rebels attacked, the lucky thing is we lost no pilots, they managed to go EV and were picked up, only one pilot was injured and is recuperating in a bacta tank, he should be out within a few hours" Darklord replied.

"Good, so it looks like the Rebels have located us then, shouldn't take them long to send a fleet here to wipe us out" The RA said wearingly.

"Sir, if I may make a suggestion"? Darklord replied putting down the datapad.

"Of course Darklord, speak your mind".

Darklord walked over to the Holoprojector and pushed a few buttons; it showed where the Challenge was located.

"This star system here off to our right" DL paused to enlarge the view. It swung into view, complete with orbiting moons, planets, asteroid fields and even a dust cloud. ", the Vilous system contains a substantial garrison of rebel forces. At our current sublight engine speed, we'll be there in a day." DL ignored the annoying fact that the same distance in a simple, routine hyperspace jump would have taken only fractions of fractions of a milisecond.

"If we can eliminate the defending forces, and capture the garrison, we'll be able to use any supplies they may have to bolster our own."

"And what about the root of our problem, the hyperdrive engine?" Rear Admiral Manitsas asked.

"Does this mad scheme to capture supplies from a well defended outpost somehow work into that plan?"

"Yes sir." Darklord continued, " The rebel base is known to garrison nearby worlds which manufacture important supplies for various rebel shipyards. All we have to do is find the cargo with the hyperdrive engine and"

"And the Challenge will be back on-line" Manitsas sighed appreciatively.

"Do we have any freighter craft still on board"? Manny asked with a hope.

Darklord played around with the Datapad for a minute then finally answered, "All our Assault Transports were damaged or destroyed in our last mission, we have no shuttles which are in flying condition".

"Are you telling me, we don't have one ship that will be able to capture the base, what about the personal ships, there is bound to be something in their" Manitsas said slowly watching this plan crumble.

Darklord punched a few more buttons calling up the manifest of the secondary hanger, finding a freighter in the secondary hanger would be difficult, most pilots couldn't afford to keep a large craft on the Challenge, even at a WC pay DL couldn't afford to keep his on the ship.

Darklord raised an eyebrow, "Only one sir, a Correllian Freighter".

"No way, there is no way you are taking my ship" Master said as he followed his Squad Commander, Locke down the corridor.

"You don't have a choice, you signed the agreement when you landed on the Challenge, it said at any time your ship can be used in any way command see's fit". Locke said as he approached the bridge doors.

A security guard looked at their ID tags and the bridge doors opened giving them access.

"Ah Lt Colonel, Lt Commander, glad you could make it" Manitsas said looking up from a viewscreen.

Locke saluted but Master refrained.

"I have guessed Locke told you we need for freighter"?

"Yes Sir, however I do not approve" Master replied.

"Unfortunately it's the only ship we have available, and unless you can come up with a better alternative we have no choice and will use your ship" Manitsas said.

Master thought for a moment.

"I do not approve of you taking my ship and I cant do anything to stop you, however if I was flying it, it would not be classified as taking my ship" Master said with a grin.

"Can you spare him Locke"? Manitsas asked Locke.

"Probably not, but doesn't look like we have much of a choice" Locke answered with a small grin proud of the Master's slyness.

"Agreed, Wing Commander Darklord will brief all the pilots in 20 minutes, I suggest you both are their, Lt Commander if you need a flight crew then they need to be authorised by WC Darklord" the Rear Admiral said wearily "Dismissed".

"We expect moderate resistance in the form of standard Alphabet Fighters." Various blips showed on the holographic map. What we need to do first is destroy their communications ability. We don't want the entire rebel fleet to get here in a matter of minutes. Our forces are going to need time to search for the hyperdrive and capture the container or ship that it's on" Darklord said addressing the pilots.

"Now all our cargo craft have been destroyed in our previous battles, however Lt Commander Master of Tempest Squadron has kindly authorised the use of his personal freighter".

"Now, while Master's YT-2000 freighter the Vornskr inspects the base, cargo containers, and any cargo ships in the area and then captures the main base, we are going to have some fun" Darklord said with a grin.

"We will have three squadrons in space, with one in reserve, Thunder and Typhoon squads are both on stand down because they were in the last mission, Tornado is on Yellow Alert, while Tempest, Cyclone & Inferno are in space, Tempest will attack any freighter craft, Cyclone will attack any fighters in the area, and Inferno will attack the enemy base of operations and disable it.

We have some stored away Y-Wings, which Inferno will be using, because of their large warhead bays, which are perfect for the Advanced Proton Torpedo's.

Tempest and Cyclone have also moved up in the world, they will no longer be flying the paper-crate carton-o-death, the Tie Fighter". Darklord said leaning against the wall scratching his recently shaven chin.

"Instead you get to fly fast paper-crate-o-death. In other words, you'll be flying the TIE Interceptor." Relief gave way to dread, however some pilots grinned, as it was known that many older hands did like the Tie Interceptor.

"I'm sorry about that, but repairs were naturally more accessible for the interceptors since shield generators and advanced plating weren't needed." More pilots began to grumble under their breath. Muttering angry syllables about red tape and lazy repair teams.

"Don't gripe or we'll throw you back in a normal Tie Fighter without a Heads Up Display." Darklord grinned evilly at the wary but now silent faces.

"Much better. Now if there are no further questions, let's get to our ships. We have a hyperdrive to get."

Master strode down the corridor towards the secondary hanger, luckily his ship was in such good condition that it could be started in less than a minute, however no one had jumped at the chance to help him fly, not that he wanted help anyway.

Upon reaching the hanger, he punched in the correct code for the hatch, which opened with a loud hiss of the hydraulics.

"I hear you need a co-pilot", said a voice behind him.

Master knew it was Seph before he turned around.

"If you think you can handle a real ship" Master said with a chuckle turning to face his friend.

"If it's made to fly, I can handle it", Seph said with a smile.

"Is it ok with Locke & Darklord, they don't mind that your flying with me"? Master asked taking a crate up into the deck.

"No, they said as long as we come back in one piece they don't care" Seph replied.

"Ok get on board then, we should be taking off soon" Master replied with a smile.

The doors on the far side of the room split apart with a hiss from the hydraulics and a platoon of Hammer's Fist Special Troopers walked in.

Master waited until they reached the ship.

Their Captain saluted, Master returned it with a loose salute.

"I have new orders for you Lt Commander" the captain said holding out a data disk.

He must have noticed the quizative look on Master's face.

"It comes from RA Manitsas himself," the trooper continued.

Master moved the disk around in his hand trying to figure out what could be on it that was different to the one he has seen no more than an hour ago, "Ok captain, plenty of room inside" Master said as he walked inside. The troopers entered the ship and went to the lounge area and sat in the seats.

Master put the Data Disk in the reader and sat in the pilot's chair, RA Manitsas's face appeared in the holo field. "Master, we changed one of the orders, sorry about the timing but we thought it best to change it, As of now, we want you to lead the team into the main base to capture it, it should be pretty straight forward, I was told you have Captain Sephiroth acting as your co-pilot, I'm sure he can handle the gun turret while you and the commandos capture the factory. Also COL Mairin told me you wanted her in the gun position, I have approved it because Tornado Squad is on yellow alert anyway & Capt Werdna Elbee can lead the squad with no problems, by the time you get this message she should be almost there. Best of Luck to you Lt Commander, May the Force be with you"

The Holo turned off.

Master looked up at Seph and raised an eyebrow.

"I'm sure I can handle the guns while you're inside" he said.

"I didn't doubt that there isn't many people id rather have in the turret, however I'm just wondering why I am going in with the commandos" Master said.

Seph shrugged "Manny probably just wants someone in there with them, I wouldn't worry about it". Master nodded and Seph went back to checking the systems.

Master went to the hatch and stuck his head out and saw Mai approaching.

Mairin ran towards the ship and as she entered Master hit the control switch to close the hatch.

"Slavelet" she said smiling.

"Mai, good to have you onboard" Master said with a smile.

She smiled and winked.

"You better get to the turret, we are late" Master said heading back towards the cockpit.

Master jumped into the pilots chair, "Ready to Roll Seph"? He asked after he secured himself.

"Yep, Everything is in the green" Seph replied.

"Ok strap in, here we go" Master said into the intercom.

The New Republic Shipyard in the Vilous system had seen very little action, in-fact at one stage they had nothing but three scout Z-95 Headhunters. But recently New Republic command had dropped off a large amount of fighters. Apparently with the increasing Rouge Imperial sightings in the sector, command had been worried they would be attacked.

General Borrus Kavban continued on his daily duties, compiling reports, checking on new arrivals, checking on the day's departures, and sending off all of it to New Republic Command.

"General we have Imperial Ships entering the area, appears to be a MC-60, and a Modified Frigate, and they are heading directly here" a young lieutenant said running into the General's office.

"Open a communication with them, asking their intentions, Prepare to launch all fighters as a precaution, lets hope they aren't going to get hostile", the General said looking out into space.

"Ok, Inferno attack the base, Cyclone the fighters and satellites, Tempest split your group, half of you on the fighters, the other half on the parked transports and shuttles, Vornskr you know your orders" WC Darklord radioed on the primary frequency to all the craft in space from the bridge on the Malice.

X-Wings and A-wings shot out from the Platform.

"Darklord this is the Vornskr, we have Rebel Fighters entering the area, we will take some of them out" Master radioed in.

"Confirmed Vornskr, good hunting" Darklord replied.

Master heard the familiar thrum of the top turret where Mai fired the triple Blaster cannon. Seph turned on the automatic targeting system for the bottom cannon and it fired at the nearest enemy fighter. A couple of X-wings fired at the Vornskr, Master pushed the flight yoke and the ship went into a diagonal barrel roll. One of the X-Wings exploded showing the nearby space with metal. Master noticed an A-wing heading towards them, Master switched on the Ion Cannon, which was situated under the cockpit. The Vornskr rocked with a laser blast from one of the X-wings, "Damage Report"? Master asked as he moved the crosshair over the A-wing. "Shields at 180, No Hull Damage" Seph replied. When the targeting computer flashed the words FIRE Master hit the fire button and several blue bolts streaked out towards the A-wing. The first bolt was harmlessly absorbed by the shields however it seemed the A-wing pilot didn't know how much power the Vornskr's Ion Cannon actually had, the second shot shattered their front shields and the third disabled the craft. Master turned the ship to go in a wide arc around it and noticed the A-wing was blown to scrap by Mai in the top turret.

"All Fighters are off our back" Mairin said through the internal comm. "Ok time to capture that base, Darklord this is the Vornskr, we are starting our attack run on the main compound" Master said. Darklord took a moment to respond, "Confirmed Vornskr, Inferno Squadron have got their shields down to 50, think you can take care of the rest"?

"Yes Sir, just keep those fighters off our back while we capture the base" Master said jinking the craft to avoid the laser fire from a near by B-Wing which was soon blown apart by the turret cannons, then he hit the firing stud and several warheads headed towards the base.

Tempest Group was having a hard time, several of their Tie Interceptors had been damaged and pilots had been forced to go EV, but thankfully no pilots had been lost yet. "Rover form up behind me, we are going to take a run on that shuttle group trying to make a run for it" Locke radioed to Rover. "Right with you boss" Rover replied to his Commander.

Rover lined up behind Locke and targeted the shuttles running for it. "You take number two Rover" Locke said concentrating on the task at hand. Rover double clicked the comm signifying that he understood.

Locke lined up the lead shuttle in his sight and waited for the distance indicator to click down, when it reached 1500m Locke pulled the trigger, in the other Tie Interceptor Rover did the same, The first shuttles top S-Foil blew off forcing the shuttle out if control, Rover's blasts hit the rear off the second shuttle, trying to avoid the fire the shuttle tried to veer, but the first shuttle out of control slammed into the second in which they both exploded into a fireball. "Good work, now onto the transports" Locke said heading towards the transports.

"See that thing sticking out from the north pole of the base, shoot it Mai, it's a deflector shield array, ignore the tailing fighters" Master said on the internal comm., the sound and vibration from the cannon confirmed that she had understood.

"Seph I'm going in low, take over the ion for me" Master said.

"No problems" Seph said as he reached out and flicked a few switches giving him control of the nose mounted cannon.

Pushing the ship into a steep diving the Vornskr accelerated towards the enemy base, as they got closer the shots from the top cannon got louder and quicker.

"Framework coming up, watch it" Seph said concentrating on taking out and laser batteries that were in sight.

"I see it, hold on" Master replied as he gritted his teeth and pushed the yoke down slipping the ship into one of the canyons of the base, several of the enemy fighters tried to follow, a few made it in however most hit the framework and were destroyed instantly.

"So this is what it was like in the Death Star Trench" Seph said with a grin.

"Yea but Solo wasn't stupid enough to fly into it with the Falcon" Master said as he accelerated, "We are going to get one pass at disabling this thing, and we are going to come out right at the docking port, command area will be to the north, your only going to get a second to disable it, think you can hit it" Master said with a grin.

"No problem" Seph replied.

"Ok, Mai as soon as we leave the Trench take out our new friends" Master said as he watched his rear shields go down 50.

"No problems Slavelet" She said in reply.

With one smooth motion Master pushed the yoke and the Vornskr shot out of the trench like a gun heading for clear space, then it turned an shot back towards the command area, Seph saw what he was aiming for and shot off several shots disabling the base. Master heard the turrets fire then fall silent.

"All of the fighters following us either hit the wall in the trench or got shot down, your all clear" Mai radioed in.

Killing the engines and putting on the repulsers the ship slowed and latched onto the docking port with ease. When it stopped Seph and Master got up Seph headed for the turret and Mai headed for the ramp where she was going to secure the immediate area.

"Troopers we here, you know what your doing" Master said grabbing a power pack and putting it in a blaster rifle.

The Troopers filed out and secured the area. "Seph take good care of my ship" Master said through the comm. piece he had on his ear.

"No problems" Seph replied.

"Good luck" Mai said as Master followed the commandos out of the ramp.

Master smiled at Mai as he ran out of the ship.

The First thing that he noticed was that all power had been cut to the area, the only light came from glowrods that the commando's had attached to their rifles.

"Captain, did you shut off the power"? Master asked

"No, it appears that it was cut by someone else, perhaps by the workers to hinder us" The Commando's leader responded.

"Ok, be careful of hidden traps" Master said.

The Commando's moved forward, obviously the best, Master didn't want to hinder them so he remained at the back.

They passed several hidden traps, which were easily disarmed, including several man pits, stun nets and even a pair of laser triggered Flame Projectors.

Soon they reached the command centre; the two guards outside the door were quickly taken out.

One of the commando's pulled out an Electronic Lock Breaker and fixed it to the lock, several seconds later it gave the code and with a hiss the door's opened.

All the Command staff was taken by surprise, they had expected the battle to take place in space, not in the base.

"As you were Gentlemen, unless you want a blaster wound, and they tend to be fatal," Master yelled as several guards started for their blasters.

"Now put them on the floor and kick them over" Master continued.

The guards did as they were told.

The Commando's rounded up the staff and kept a close eye on them in one of the corners of the room.

While several checked the computers, and others left the command centre heading to take care of any guards around the place, Master questioned the General in charge.

"Now General, we believe you have a new hyperdrive situated somewhere in the base, want to save us a lot of trouble and tell us where it is, unless of course you would rather make us tell you".

The General caved quickly, "Its in the hold".

Master's communicator rang, "Yes Seph, how goes outside"?

"Fine, 90 of enemy fighters are gone the Challenge has just arrived in radio range & we have a communication from RA Manitsas, Priority One" Seph replied.

Master replied, "Patch it through" There were several beeps, "Admiral"? Master asked.

"How goes on the Base Lt Commander"? Manitsas voice came through clearly.

"Most of the enemy resistance has been dealt with, they were understaffed so that helped, and I've gotten the location of the Hyperdrive, Its in the hold, also according to the manifest, fuel cells and other ship components are in the containers outside, with those parts the fighters should be able to be fixed, at least some of them anyway" Master replied.

"Good, I want the Command Staff placed in a shuttle we are sending over, they will be placed in the brig for questioning" Manitsas replied sounding happy that they had won a small victory.

"Um, Master, you better look at this" The Commando's Captain called over from a screen.

"Hold on a moment Sir" Master said to Manitsas.

Master went to the screen, "It appears to be plans, for a super Mon Cal Cruiser, those rumours are closer to the point than EH Command realised" the Commando continued.

Master turned to the General and said in a more serious tone than he had ever used in years, "Was this ship ever made"?

The General Smiled, the face of defeat was gone from his face, "We made the plans, and if New Republic Command did make it, your days are numbered Imperial scum".

With a blink of an eye Master fired a stun bolt into the General and he slumped to the floor, "Damn Republic Generals" he muttered with a smile as he flicked the switch to the comm.,

"Sir, we are uploading plans for something to the Challenge Computer, I suggest you take a look".

The Commando uploaded the plans and there was a moment silence from Manitsas.

"Master get back on the Challenge" Manitsas said as the connection closed.